WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 79: How About WWE?
──────
Logan Hayes.
The man who had once been the strongest in the Human Realm.
The hunter who had ranked first had now fallen to 451st place.
True to America's reputation as the land of conspiracy theories, all kinds of rumors were going around.
[Discord among the Guardians. Is Logan responsible for Jose and Arjun's disappearance?]
[Infighting in the Guardian Club. Three members fall in rank after injuring each other in a fight.]
[Jose Ramira and Arjun Mehra appear to have fallen outside the top 1,000.]
[A fall to Rank 451. Is Logan in seclusion? Logan Hayes vanishes from public view.]
America's hunter-management agency, Sentinel, had taken the exact opposite approach from Taiwan in its treatment of Logan.
[Logan Hayes currently participating in research in cooperation with Sentinel.]
[Logan Hayes has never left the United States. Recent conspiracy theories dismissed.]
[Logan remains a key hunter asset for America. America does not abandon heroes who have served their country.]
Sentinel's statements weren't entirely empty words.
Logan really was cooperating with the Sentinel LA branch on its research.
Of course, some of that cooperation was less than voluntary.
“...So when will my house arrest end?”
“Logan. Things aren't looking good. You know that, don't you? The governments of Paraguay and India are putting us under serious pressure.”
“Just admit everything. They've simply returned to God's embrace.”
“Oh, Logan! You want us to reveal everything about their deaths? That's not a good choice.”
The head of the Sentinel LA branch let out a deep sigh.
“I'm the one who brought them into this. I have no intention of running away. If there's any blame to bear, I'll bear it all.”
“Logan. I can't get used to you acting like this.”
The branch head clutched their head.
Logan's endlessly positive attitude was driving them crazy.
“Have you become Buddha or something? What on earth happened in Japan?”
“I've told you everything. I haven't told a single lie.”
“No, I don't mean the facts of what happened that day. What on earth happened inside your head?”
“I simply accepted God.”
“Oh, for God's sake!”
The head of the Sentinel LA branch waved both hands in the air.
Their conversations always went in circles.
The US government had officially approved the assassination of the Mad Sovereign.
Logan had secretly invited Jose and Arjun, with the US government taking the lead in helping him.
All three G-rank hunters had entered Japan as American citizens, with officially issued documents.
Both Paraguay and India were now putting pressure on America.
Unlike the Asian countries, they weren't open to reason.
“They think we abducted them and brought them to America. G-rank hunters, no less.”
“But that isn't true, is it?”
“The truth is even harder to reveal!”
We didn't recruit your hunters. They went with us on an assassination mission and died.
Would they believe that truth?
No, whether they believed it or not, America couldn't be the one to say it.
They knew the whole truth, but they had to pretend they didn't.
“I understand my country's situation.”
“Then have you changed your mind?”
“My position has always been the same. I belong at his side.”
“Oh my God. Logan. Please, come to your senses.”
“I'm perfectly sane.”
“Shit.”
The LA branch head rose to their feet in anger.
They knew Logan was sane.
Logan had undergone every psychiatric evaluation, and they'd even brought in a hunter who specialized in removing status ailments such as curses and hypnosis to examine him.
Logan was perfectly normal.
That was the problem.
“Logan, you are America. You're this country's pride and symbol!”
“America has plenty of G-rank hunters.”
“Oh, come on. Stop playing word games. Those are just numbers.”
“...”
“Tell me, Logan. Is rank a measure of strength?”
“...”
“Could you really not beat Sophie Giro, who's now ranked first?”
“...”
The LA branch head shook their head.
“Logan. I don't know about anything else, but one thing about your personality change is definitely positive. You don't tell lies anymore.”
He might keep his mouth shut when an answer would hurt his case, but he wouldn't lie.
Logan's new habit of acting like a pure-hearted paladin was infuriating, but the branch head liked that one part.
“That silence of yours is why we can't let you go.”
A drop in rank?
He'd simply gone from first place to 451st.
Had Logan really lost all his “Guardian Power”?
Sentinel's answer was NO.
Logan was still a hunter with potential.
“This is pointless. In the end, my place is at his side.”
“Haah.”
The LA branch head looked straight at Logan.
Seeing the steady seriousness in his eyes, which made any attempt at persuasion useless, they asked,
“Do you really have to go to Korea?”
“...That's where he is.”
An odd gleam appeared in the branch head's eyes.
‘What if we brought Kim Junyong from Korea to America?’
Logan wouldn't leave.
No, that was certain.
‘But how?’
The plan to stir up trouble in Korea by egging Japan on had fallen apart. They hadn't expected Japan to bow to Korea so eagerly.
On top of that, the US president, firmly in control of the White House, had even granted Japan tariff relief.
All in exchange for a single “Awakening Ticket.”
‘What a mess this country's in.’
In any case, the branch head had only one task now.
To find a compromise that would benefit both Logan Hayes and America.
For now, Logan wasn't forcing his way out.
Sentinel had stopped the president from openly pressuring Korea.
Logan knew what Sentinel had done.
If he forced his way out and left for Korea, there was no telling what America might do.
Then he would have to...
Fight the country he loved.
“All your crew members have decided to stay in America.”
“I respect their free will.”
“Damn it, that team came together for you and you alone!”
“Sentinel LA Branch Head.”
Logan's eyes flashed briefly.
For the first time, something like desire showed in them.
“I still love my country, and I care about my companions.”
“...”
“That's why I haven't forced my way out.”
He couldn't let his beloved America make the wrong choice.
He couldn't let his country be destroyed at his hands.
Or let his precious companions fall to his wrath.
“Whew. I'll leave it here for today.”
“I hope you'll accept it soon. The moment America makes an enemy of him, it will face consequences it can never undo.”
“Yes. I wish the president would listen to that.”
Sentinel, America's hunter-management agency.
Being caught in the middle was no less difficult for them.
Once Logan was alone again, he took out his hunter phone.
A hunter phone was an item bound to its hunter, so it could neither be confiscated nor destroyed. When the hunter died, it vanished along with them.
It was a device that connected the Demon Realm and Earth.
Tap tap tap.
With Sophie gone, only four people remained in the Guardian Club's secret chat room. Today, once again, he tried to persuade his friends.
- It's not too late. Go to Korea right now and ask him for forgiveness.
- Fuck! Logan! One crazy bitch is enough, and we've already got Ryu Jai!
- I can't take this anymore. I'm quitting this whole guardian business too. I think looking after Africa is enough to fulfill my duty. You can deal with the world's problems yourselves.
- Jabari Okoye has left the chat.
- I'm leaving too. If you want to contact me from now on, go through Sentinel.
- Vikram has left the chat.
Now only two people remained in the Guardian Club's chat room.
- Ryu Jai, what are you doing?
She must have been busy. There was no reply.
- You must be busy.
Ryu Jai was the only one who understood his loneliness, his mission, and this sacred feeling.
He'd hoped Okoye and Vikram would become companions who shared this joy too...
‘It must all be fate.’
Whether they submitted to him and received a chance,
or clashed with him and disappeared, it was all fate.
“Whew.”
He could only hope his country realized it soon.
Submitting to him was the path to survival.
* * *
G-rank hunter Vikram.
He had originally been Indian, but after returning to Earth, he'd become a naturalized American citizen.
Life in America wasn't bad, with its generous financial support and benefits, but one thing kept getting on his nerves.
Logan Hayes.
A white hunter born in America.
Ranked first in the world, too.
With everything Americans could possibly love, Logan was always the star, while Vikram was often treated as backup.
His resentment had been quietly building when all this happened.
Ryu Jai had gone to Korea to determine whether the demon sword was genuine, only to end up broken.
Logan had then visited Japan with Jose and Arjun, and they'd been beaten too.
Logan and Ryu Jai had become devoted followers of the Mad Sovereign.
Jose and Arjun were dead.
“Fucking hell. They've gotten attached to a broken toy...”
Sentinel was still protecting Logan.
Apparently, they were defending him to the government and insisting that he would make a comeback...
“There's no coming back for that bastard.”
Following some Mad Sovereign?
Whether the demon sword was genuine no longer mattered.
Wasn't that right?
Everyone cared about their own life. Who gave a damn about world peace?
This was all just show business.
‘I just have to stay out of Korea.’
All he had to do was avoid meeting the Mad Sovereign.
The second fiddle, always treated as a shadow behind the star, finally had a chance to take the lead!
[Sophie Giro: Rank 1]
[Vikram: Rank 2]
[Jabari Okoye: Rank 3]
So what if that French girl was first?
He was American.
The hunter who represented America was no longer Logan. It was Vikram!
He wished the US government and Sentinel would start realizing that.
He was growing quietly frustrated that they still hadn't pushed Logan aside and put him in the spotlight.
Ding!
The G7 secret chat room.
“Here we go again.”
Irritation rose inside him.
That bastard Logan.
He wasn't even a guardian anymore, but he still acted like he was the star. A lousy R-rank hunter.
“The King of Africa left.”
There was no reason to stay in this madhouse any longer.
Tap-tap-tap.
- I'm leaving too. If you want to contact me from now on, go through Sentinel.
The moment he posted the message, he left the room.
A thrill ran up his spine.
“Heh heh.”
Now I'm the strongest in America.
The strongest in the world?
The Mad Sovereign?
Bullshit.
Save the world,
or fuck it up. Do whatever you want.
“I'm the best.”
I'm going to enjoy my life.
Someone else might rank first, but he was American.
This was his chance to stand at the top of the world, a hunter with the power of a nation and the strongest country backing him.
It wouldn't be hard.
Public opinion in America was already heated.
Arjun and Jose had disappeared.
Ryu Jai and Logan had fallen in rank.
Those four departures had left a gap among the G-rank hunters.
That had created a gap in national security.
People were anxious about a dimensional invasion.
And right on cue, “that hunter” in Korea had risen to prominence.
“I'll be his opposite number.”
Why bother being stupid enough to fight him?
He only had to establish himself as that man's rival.
The idiots were the ones who'd gone to face him in person.
Couldn't he just stay away?
“I'll just cash in on the popularity.”
That was how show business worked.
And as always, this show on the world stage would bring enormous fame and wealth.
“Only an idiot would fight.”
Vikram gave a nasty smile.
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