Machine God with EX-rank talent (Deus ex machina)

It’s hard to pinpoint where things went wrong.

About a month had passed since Hyun Suho had handed over the Sacred Sword Technique.

Hyun Suho had given the precious martial arts manual to Chuhon Chang (the Pursuer of Souls Spear) without any compensation, hoping that it would help him overcome his previous defeat and rise again.

Even if he couldn't surpass Tahwa Jajaecheon, he believed that even a small realization would be beneficial to the Maru-mun Clan.

But what returned was news like a bolt from the blue.

Qi deviation, or mana backlash.

This term refers to when internal energy reverses or goes berserk due to the inability to control Qi.

It happens when one is struck externally during training or when their mind is severely disturbed by something like inner demons.

This almost never happens to Hunters who use mana provided by the system.

It usually occurs in traditional practitioners who confine Qi in their danjeon (energy center) or magicians who create circles in their hearts.

Though the details were unclear, it seemed that Chuhon Chang had also used traditional methods.

"Still, this is too strong. Can someone in Qi deviation be this powerful?"

The Armored Bear is among the lowest-ranked named monsters.

Compared to something like a Golden Tail at the same level, it falls short.

However, it's still a formidable Level 8 monster.

No matter how strong Chuhon Chang was, as a high-ranking Level 9 warrior, it shouldn't have been taken down in a single blow.

“He’s not able to control his mana. This is very bad…”

If Chuhon Chang crossed into China like this, it would be a major disaster.

Even if he didn't meet Tahwa Jajaecheon, if even one ordinary Chinese citizen were to be injured or killed, there would be no escaping responsibility.

Considering the seriousness of the situation, all the Korean rankers should be assembled.

But that was not an option.

If the government intervened…

"They would take drastic measures."

Of course, it's not easy to kill a berserk Level 9 Hunter.

But saving him would be even harder.

Even if Na Yeon-sil, Hyun Suho, and Eun Hui-gwang joined forces, it would be a daunting task.

[That’s why we have to use our brains.]

The idea came from Nova.

Currently, Chuhon Chang was moving northward, almost like a magnet was pulling him in that direction.

He was likely trying to meet Tahwa Jajaecheon.

Fortunately, he didn’t show extreme aggression, and as long as he wasn’t attacked, he wouldn’t chase after someone or swing his spear at them.

Aside from aggressive monsters like the Armored Bear, others were safe.

They decided to use that to their advantage.

Na Yeon-sil’s urgent voice came through the walkie-talkie.

- We’re almost at the destination.

"Got it. Nova, are you ready?"

[Everything is prepared.]

"Then let's begin!"

Na Yeon-sil and Eun Hui-gwang guided Chuhon chang into a narrow canyon.

At the end of the canyon, they set up a trap that wasn’t really a trap.

"Mechanical Creation!"

When Hyun Suho used his ability, a dense wall was erected behind the canyon.

Although he could still move forward, the intricate design made him wind around in circles.

No roof was built, as if Chuhon Chang realized he was trapped, he could break through with sheer force.

“Please, let this work!”

The layout of the walls was designed to create an optical illusion.

Even if he walked in circles, he wouldn’t feel like he was going in the same direction.

Of course, a Level 9 warrior would normally realize this quickly, but Chuhon Chang wasn’t in his right mind.

Everyone held their breath as they waited for Chuhon Chang to enter the maze.

Fortunately, Chuhon Chang moved as they had hoped.

[It seems… we’ve succeeded.]

“It’s too early to be relieved. He could still move at any moment.”

If this method didn’t work, they’d have no choice but to stop him by force.

Even if they won, it would leave only scars.

Time continued to pass as everyone held their breath.

Five hours passed, and Chuhon Chang was still wandering aimlessly through the maze.

The operation was a perfect success.

Worried that Chuhon Chang might exhaust himself to death, Eun Hui-gwang cautiously asked,

- Isn’t this old man going to die from exhaustion?

Even for someone like Chuhon Chang, walking nonstop for several days wouldn’t harm his body.

But now, even just standing still caused his body to leak mana due to Qi deviation.

If he collapsed from exhaustion, his body would be in shambles.

Though it would be a good idea to subdue him before that happened, Hyun Suho had a better plan.

“Let’s start now.”

[Understood. I’ll move the nano-particles.]

The massive maze itself was a creation of Hyun Suho, made by clustering nano-particles together.

He created a pathway to transfer the healing factor through the maze.

“Over Technology.”

A simple healing factor wouldn’t be enough to cure Qi deviation.

But with the Over Technology skill, the situation changed.

It was a method that had cured even the Curse of the God of Destruction. He believed it could easily cure Qi deviation.

Whether it was due to that belief or not, Chuhon Chang, who had been walking endlessly, suddenly collapsed as if hit by a tranquilizer dart.

“It worked!”

The first to rush over was Na Yeon-sil.

She checked her father, Na Chu-sam's, pulse and let out a sigh of relief.

"He's safe."

“Phew! Thank goodness.”

“My heart almost stopped! Why did you have to go and do something unnecessary to the old man?”

“Shut up! Can’t you read the room?”

Luckily, they managed to capture (or rather, rescue) Na Chu-sam before any conflict arose with China.

Though he seemed a bit exhausted, he didn’t appear to be in any life-threatening condition, so they could just take him home now.

While they were thinking that, Na Chu-sam suddenly opened his eyes.

Eun Hui-gwang, who locked eyes with him, freaked out and fell backward.

“Ahh!”

“He’s…awake?”

Even though the other two weren’t as startled as Eun Hui-gwang, they were still taken aback.

If he went on a rampage again, they wouldn't be able to avoid a fight this time.

Fortunately, Na Chu-sam's eyes, though slightly weakened, were clear and focused.

“...Where am I?”

“Father! Are you back to your senses?”

“What’s going on?”

“You passed out during training. You fell into Qi deviation.”

“Qi deviation?”

Na Chu-sam seemed unable to believe that he had fallen into Qi deviation and wandered aimlessly northward.

No matter how long he had stayed out of the public eye, he was still a Level 9 superhuman.

It wasn’t something he could easily accept, that he had lost control of his mind to mere Qi deviation.

Na Chu-sam sat cross-legged and tried to gather his thoughts.

Though the healing factor had treated him, his body wasn’t fully back to normal yet.

It would take some more time for him to clear his mind.

Just as he was trying to do that, Na Chu-sam suddenly sprang up and threw his spear.

Not at anyone, but into the empty air.

Whoosh!

“What, what’s going on?”

Although it wasn’t aimed at anyone, the group jumped to their feet, feeling the threatening force behind the attack.

They wondered if he still wasn’t fully back to his senses.

But soon, they realized the situation was even stranger than they had thought.

Na Chu-sam had thrown his spear with full force.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if it had flown out of the atmosphere, yet it stopped mid-air, where there was nothing.

As the group's eyes turned in that direction, Na Chu-sam growled.

“It’s not Qi deviation. It’s him.”

The first thing that appeared was a hand holding the spear.

Then, a shoulder, a torso, and finally, a face emerged.

“Ohohoho!”

It was bizarre.

Although the voice was clear, it felt as though it was distorted, as if there was noise in the transmission.

The strange laughter made it impossible to tell whether the person was male or female.

Their appearance was even more peculiar.

They wore a ridiculously exaggerated red outfit with white circles drawn on it.

Their face was also painted white, with only the lips and eyes heavily accentuated with makeup.

The hair, whether it was a wig or dyed, was a bright lime green.

It was someone who looked like they belonged in an amusement park.

“A clown?”

The appearance was unmistakably that of a clown.

The only unusual thing was that the clown’s face was painted not with a smile, but with a grimacing expression.

The suddenly appeared clown leisurely spun the spear and spoke.

“Ohohoho! It was just getting interesting, but you caught me. I was sure I had prepared thoroughly, so how did you come to your senses so quickly?”

Although they didn’t fully grasp the situation yet, it was easy to tell that this was something ominous.

Na Chu-sam, who had thrown the spear, spoke.

“It’s him. The one who messed with my mind.”

“Messed with your mind?”

So, it wasn’t Qi deviation but an attack by someone.

‘A mental-type ability user?’

No matter how powerful a mental ability was, controlling a Level 9 Hunter was nearly impossible.

The clown must have taken advantage of Na Chu-sam's unstable mental state.

Even considering that, it was clear that this opponent was dangerous.

‘What do you think?’

[I can’t measure his energy. There’s some sort of interference blocking it.]

Nova had never failed to detect someone until now.

Although the term “interference” was used, Nova’s technology had easily penetrated the level of interference seen on Earth.

Yet this ridiculous-looking clown had been the first to block it.

“Interesting. But not fun. Intriguing, but something’s lacking.”

The clown muttered to himself like a madman.

As Na Yeon-sil, seeing her father out of breath, drew her sword and shouted,

“Who are you?! What did you do to my father?!”

“Na Yeon-sil? It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

The clown clearly knew who Na Yeon-sil was. But he didn’t seem particularly interested in her.

His gaze wasn’t on Na Chu-sam or Na Yeon-sil but on Eun Hui-gwang.

And in an instant…

Poof!

With a puff of smoke, the clown’s figure disappeared…

“This is strange. I don’t feel anything at all.”

The clown suddenly appeared next to Eun Hui-gwang.

“Are you really his adversary? Rather than that...”

Swish!

A sword strike swiftly aimed at the clown.

It was a surprise attack from outside his field of vision, but the clown dodged it by contorting his spine in a bizarre way, almost like a mollusk.

And with his head twisted nearly 270 degrees, he locked eyes with Hyun Suho, who had swung the sword.

“This one has more of a feeling to him.”

His gaze was far too deep to belong to a madman.

The depth of those eyes made Hyun Suho feel as if his very soul was being laid bare.

As Hyun Suho hesitated, Na Yeon-sil also swung her sword.

“Get away!”

The clown, seemingly unable to dodge Na Yeonsil’s combined attack as easily, leaped backward to evade.

Of course, even being able to retreat in such a situation was impressive.

‘At least a high-ranker?’

Just from a few movements, they could sense it.

This bizarre individual before them was at least a Level 9 superhuman.

He was on par with the rampaging Na Chu-sam from earlier.

Hyun Suho shouted at Eun Hui-gwang, who still looked dazed.

“What are you doing? Get it together!”

“Oh, right!”

Finally snapping out of it, Eun Hui-gwang gripped his sword and focused on the clown.

But the clown, as if he had no intention of harming them, simply tilted his head in a carefree manner.

“Ohohoho!”

A laugh from a face painted with a crying expression.

The contradiction made them feel even more trapped.

The tense group held their breath, watching the clown's every move intently.

They needed to buy time until Na Chu-sam could regain his strength.

Then, suddenly, the clown looked at his wrist as if checking the time and spoke in a troubled tone.

“Oh dear, it’s already this late.”

There was clearly no wristwatch on his wrist.

The group, suspecting another trick, glared at him without a word.

Seeing their reaction, the clown exaggeratedly shrugged as if he had no choice.

“I was curious. Just what kind of person would be important enough to warrant a prophecy. And whether there really is something that could stand in his way.”

At those words, everyone instinctively looked at Eun Hui-gwang.

The prophecy from the Japanese shrine maiden.

Hyun Suho had already shared its contents with Eun Hui-gwang and Na Yeon-sil.

They needed to know at least the gist of it to be able to respond.

Without letting her guard down, Na Yeon-sil asked,

“Are you...from the Order of Reus?”

“Ohohoho! So you already know about us?”

Na Yeon-sil’s face showed a brief moment of regret at the clown’s response.

She had inadvertently given away valuable information to the enemy.

In any case, it confirmed that he was indeed from the Order of Reus.

‘What kind of organization has such powerful individuals...’

There was Gula, the apostle of Aphos.

Though he hadn’t fully controlled his power, it was undeniable that he had been a formidable hunter.

But this clown was far more dangerous than Gula.

Both in terms of power and the aura he exuded.

Even with the four of them combined, they weren’t confident they could win.

“I just wanted to check things out today. I thought it would be fun to see a fight with China, but...this isn’t bad either.”

As the clown spoke, he lightly shook the lapel of his shirt, revealing that it had been sliced and was fluttering in the air.

It had been cut by Hyun Suho’s sword earlier.

If it had gone a bit deeper, it would have sliced through his chest.

“It’s been a while since I felt such a thrilling sensation.”

With that, the clown snapped his fingers...

Whirr!

A circular portal about 2 meters in diameter opened in the air.

“Well then, goodbye, everyone! Ohohoho!”

With a short farewell, the clown quickly jumped into the portal.

The portal that swallowed the clown closed almost immediately, leaving no trace that it had ever existed.

And only silence remained.

“...”

“...”

It was only after a few minutes had passed that they could confirm the clown was really gone.

“What...was that?”

No one could offer a clear explanation for the situation.

* * * 

A pitch-black room, with not a single light entering.

The air was as cold as ice.

The narrow rectangular space had no windows, nor even a door to enter or exit.

The only things in the room were a small chair and the person sitting in it.

A middle-aged man, with neatly styled hair, square glasses, and dressed in a gray suit.

In a room where even the passage of time was hard to gauge, he sat there motionless like a corpse for hours.

How much time had passed?

Eventually, he raised a hand as thin and rigid as a tree branch, pointing it at the air.

Then, the images of people appeared as holograms.

Shu shu shu shung!!

They lined up as if in a video conference.

Glancing at the figures, the man spoke in a deep, gravelly voice.

“Is everyone here?”

At the man’s words, a large man in the holograms raised his hand cheerfully and said,

“Long time no see, Professor. How long has it been since our last meeting?”

Compared to the lively man, a woman who had been inspecting her nails spoke bluntly.

“Why did you call everyone? The Order’s general meeting is still a long way off.”

The man, whom they called Professor, replied in a calm voice.

“Recently, the grand plan has been repeatedly going off course.”