The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Transcendent-Grade Blacksmith’s Return — Chapter 82
Since Amaterasu’s debut, Japan had been burning hot in every sense of the word.
<A challenger borrowing the name of a goddess for her activity handle? That’s embarrassing WWW>
-Did that challenger want to package herself as a goddess? Is some Awaker acting like she’s become divine?
Amaterasu is revered in Japan as the supreme deity, the chief god and goddess of the sun.
Moreover, she is the Imperial Ancestral Deity of the Japanese imperial house, so such an act could easily be construed as an insult to the throne itself.
Yet because of Amaterasu’s extraordinary origins, that very logic was instead lending strength to her supporters.
-Amaterasu was part of the imperial family in the past, wasn’t she? No matter how much she’s become a commoner now, blood is blood, right?
⌎I agree. She’s even saying she’ll climb the Tower for Japan’s sake, so why do those people oppose her so fiercely? Is it inferiority complex?
⌎Hey, that’s pretty harsh LOL
Japan had an imperial house, but it existed only as a symbol of the nation; the monarchy could not meddle in politics.
In other words, as a constitutional monarchy based on democracy, the logic that she might enter the political arena simply didn’t hold.
But if people gave up just because their logic was losing, they wouldn’t be raising their voices so zealously.
-Even if she doesn’t do politics directly, can’t she still exert influence over the political sphere?
-Isn’t publicly claiming to be a member of the imperial house while wielding the Kusanagi an act that damages the dignity of the imperial line?
“…these foolish people don’t even realize how many must bear great burdens so that they can stretch out and sleep in comfort…!”
Tsukuyomi, stirred by emotion as she read the comments, wore a terrible expression while her thumb moved viciously across the keyboard.
Just as she was about to hit the post button, a single finger appeared beside her from nowhere.
“There’s a typo here. I think it’d be better to fix it and repost.”
“Oh. I made a mistake. Thank you, young—wait, miss?!”
Tsukuyomi flinched in surprise.
Caught up in anger over the comments, she hadn’t noticed that Amaterasu had quietly settled beside her.
“Oh my, did I startle you? I’m sorry. I thought you’d already know it was me, Tsukuyomi.”
“No, not at all. It’s my fault for being too focused on something pointless.”
“Not true. You were doing it all for me.”
Amaterasu smiled warmly at Tsukuyomi.
Tsukuyomi sensed that the smile carried no shadow whatsoever and found it puzzling.
“Are you truly unbothered, miss? These ignorant people are spreading such vicious rumors….”
“Hehe, I expected as much. And besides, it’s not entirely bad for me?”
What Amaterasu said was true.
Based on Amaterasu’s claims, people dug relentlessly to verify whether they were fact or fiction.
As a result, her bloodline relations and even her family tree were being thoroughly excavated.
But that was, ironically, an act that proved the very history of her lineage that even Amaterasu herself had never uncovered.
“With the imperial family tree now recognizing my bloodline, this will work in my favor.”
“I see. I’m ashamed not to have grasped your wisdom, miss.”
Tsukuyomi bowed in apology.
Amaterasu waved a hand dismissively with a smile and shifted her gaze to one spot, changing the subject.
“But Susanoo still hasn’t woken? He’s sleeping later than usual today.”
“I found it strange as well. Shall I go and wake him?”
“That would be good. We have a press conference today, after all.”
Mystery—who had demanded historical relics rather than Tower items as compensation for Gate subjugation.
Today there was a press conference where Mystery’s position on that matter would be announced.
Amaterasu walked toward the room where Mystery was staying, Tsukuyomi beside her.
But Mystery stood before the door, so they didn’t need to venture inside.
“Susanoo. You’re awake.”
Amaterasu greeted Mystery with a welcoming tone.
But unlike usual, Mystery was gazing skyward in bewilderment.
“It’s already afternoon?”
“My. You seem flustered to have woken later than normal. Hehe, I’m delighted to see that the special bed I prepared serves its purpose so well for restful sleep.”
Amaterasu smiled brightly, rejoicing with innocent delight.
Mystery, who had offered no reply to that, turned to face Amaterasu.
“Is there a press conference today?”
“Mystery—no, Susanoo! How much longer will you speak to miss in that manner—”
“Yes, that’s correct. The journalists who arrived early are preparing for the conference as we speak.”
Amaterasu cut off Tsukuyomi by taking her hand.
Tsukuyomi, unable to open her mouth, glared at Mystery with furious eyes.
But Mystery paid no notice to Tsukuyomi’s gaze, ignoring it entirely.
“I’ll hold the press conference once we’re ready.”
“Before that, though—couldn’t you give us some hint as to what you’ll be saying?”
Amaterasu gently probed Mystery’s intentions.
Though the Nested Gate, which had been the greatest problem, had been destroyed, Japan still had many Gates remaining.
Truthfully, Tsukuyomi wanted nothing more than to meet Mystery’s demands as fully as possible and process these Gates safely and swiftly.
Yet in the span of a single day, Mystery’s demeanor had shifted considerably.
“The conditions I mentioned to you remain unchanged. Rather, if there is any change, it is only that conditions have been added.”
“Conditions?”
Tsukuyomi asked in bewilderment, and Mystery nodded.
“I’ve grown weary of working at this sluggish pace. From now on, I will receive compensation first before taking any action.”
“What? No—on what basis do you expect me to accept such terms? Has your self-awareness grown that dramatically in a single day?”
Tsukuyomi spoke as though the notion were absurd, but Mystery did not respond.
And Mystery’s words were not yet finished.
“Furthermore, if you attempt to negotiate over this, express doubt, or impose conditions of your own—I will refuse the commission altogether, without exception.”
“What on earth—!”
Faced with terms so excessively self-centered and unilateral, Tsukuyomi could not even begin to formulate a response.
Mystery pressed on with deliberate finality.
“And furthermore, if Japan fails to properly resolve the matter of compensation for this commission, I will cease all support and leave before the work is completed.”
* * *
Shortly after, a press conference was held.
Mystery, without altering a single word, repeated to Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi exactly what he had told them.
A flood of questions poured forth, but Mystery offered no answer and left the podium.
“Damn it! What in the world does that bastard want?!”
One Diet member slammed the desk.
Until now, he had boasted that he would skillfully persuade Mystery, coordinate their differing views, and thereby serve Japan’s interests.
His plan to exploit the uncomfortable press conference to apply pressure and formally negotiate conditions had crumbled to nothing against Mystery’s immovable behavior.
“Since he’s nailed it down that he won’t move until he receives compensation first, we’ve lost the ability to use the tactic of changing our position later.”
“Fine, then. I never liked his audacity in the first place—a foreigner speaking so brazenly to us, without proper courtesy!”
The Diet members’ opinions began to lean increasingly toward disregarding Mystery’s demands and sending him away.
Besides, the greatest problem—the Nested Gate—had already been solved.
Mystery was merely a convenient tool to have on hand, not an indispensable necessity.
“When you think about it, we’ve already gained all the benefit—we’ve been using Mystery without offering any compensation at all.”
“Precisely. And we’re unlikely to face such a crisis again in the future.”
“Before, we were careless. But now every nation in the world will operate differently than before.”
Previously, because humanity was encountering the Tower for the first time, they lacked both information and resolve, which had created the crisis.
But now that they understood how the Tower’s system functioned,
and now that they knew what benefits could be gained from the Tower, neither Awakeners nor nations would move so passively as they had before.
“Mystery is no longer necessary. After all, we have two World-class Rankers of our own.”
At the mention of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, the Diet members’ faces brightened.
No matter how strong Mystery might be, he could not surpass two World-class Rankers.
As the Diet members were deciding to send Mystery away without compensation,
one member cautiously raised his hand and offered his opinion.
“As you say, Mystery is no longer necessary to Japan. But then… wouldn’t it be prudent to eliminate the bud before it can grow into a future problem?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Another Diet member started in surprise.
The member who had raised his hand explained with an awkward smile.
“If he returns as things are, won’t Mystery simply go into hiding again? And besides, Mystery himself is one of the World-class Rankers. So perhaps at this very moment—”
“Enough. I will regard what you just said as unspoken.”
Another Diet member cut him short.
Regardless of how much disdain they harbored, to kill Mystery, who had played such a crucial role in saving humanity?
That would be not merely barbaric, but a foolish choice that would benefit Japan in no way whatsoever.
“My apologies. That was reckless of me.”
The Diet member who had spoken withdrew his hand, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
But the face of the member who had turned away was cold and hardened.
‘Damn wretch. You should keep silent and obey—and yet you, a mere Diet member, presume to oppose me?’
The member’s fists clenched tightly.
Though he now hid his true identity behind the mask of a Japanese Diet member,
his true self, as he conceived it, was an executive of a superior and secretive organization—far above comparison with such common humans.
‘No matter. I’ve confirmed he exists, so with time, I can track him down and eliminate him.’
Before the return, there were the human traitors who had driven a knife into humanity’s back as they fought to stop the Tower—
and this organization represented a significant portion, nearly half, of those traitors.
An organization that worshipped the Tower as the path by which humans could ascend to godhood.
The eyes of this Tower-worshipping organization’s executive, as he contemplated Mystery who had torn down the Tower, gleamed with a sinister, subtle bloodlust.
* * *
The day after Mystery concluded his press conference. Outside Narita Airport.
Before Mystery, who had come to Narita Airport to return to Korea by private jet, journalists who had been lying in wait swarmed forward like ants.
“Mystery! You haven’t changed your position from what you said at the conference, correct?!”
“There are countless Gates remaining not just in Japan, but across the world! With the power you possess, don’t you feel any sense of responsibility?!”
“I’ve already fulfilled my duty.”
Mystery answered without breaking stride.
At Shin Tae-ho’s response, the journalists grew agitated and hurled more questions at him.
“With so many Gates still remaining, you claim you’ve fulfilled your duty?! Such irresponsible—”
“Am I supposed to obliterate every Gate in existence?”
At one journalist’s question, Mystery came to an abrupt halt and fixed his gaze on the reporter.
The journalists who had been eagerly firing questions just moments before fell silent, cowed by that intensity, unable to utter another word.
Mouths shut, footsteps stilled, the airport grew quiet.
Mystery’s low, otherworldly voice rang out all the more clearly.
“I’ve opened breathing room for the United States and Japan, widely recognized as possessing the world’s strongest Awakeners. Now those two nations have room to maneuver.”
“…What?”
The journalists, who had been trying to provoke Mystery’s sense of responsibility and morality in hopes of eliciting the reaction they wanted, were caught off guard.
Worse, this was being broadcast live, so every word was being transmitted as it left his lips.
Already anticipating this fact,
Shin Tae-ho, who had foreseen even this question, pressed on without hesitation.
“So at minimum, handle the remaining cleanup yourselves. The Management Bureau of each nation. And ITRO.”
Mystery resumed walking once he finished speaking, but the journalists, blindsided by this unexpected turn, could not keep pace.
The government-backed reporters, who had been trying to catch Mystery in a trap only to fall into it themselves, went pale.
Continued in the next episode ▶
The Regression of the Transcendent Master Blacksmith
Author
Bongseun Haesol
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law and is prohibited from unauthorized republication and reproduction. Violations may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes writers’ precious manuscripts.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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