The Blade of Misunderstanding

In a quiet cafe near the Association, Yoo-cheon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Kim Na-hyun were conversing in a secluded corner.

"I'm planning on going alone."

From Yoo-cheon's perspective—having effortlessly cleared every gate from F-class to C-class—it was a perfectly natural response. It might have been different for other hunters who had painstakingly climbed the ranks step-by-step, but for Yoo-cheon, everything had been smooth sailing. At this point, even a B-class gate didn't feel like an impossible hurdle.

But hearing those words, Kim Na-hyun doubted her own ears. Is he actually serious? She was the person who understood Yoo-cheon's abilities better than anyone. If even she was reacting this way, any other hunter or ordinary citizen would have openly mocked him.

And in fact, there was an ordinary person who had just overheard his statement.

...His arrogance is piercing the heavens.

It was a reporter from the Hunter Daily. Yoo-cheon was currently the hottest topic at the paper. Although he had only become a sensation this morning and his personal details hadn't been fully uncovered yet—allowing him to move around relatively freely—he couldn't escape the sharp eyes of the Hunter Daily. They had doggedly tracked him down all the way to this cafe.

Since it was an exclusive scoop, there was no reason not to conduct a covert investigation. It was a brilliant move. A slip of the tongue from the hottest rookie hunter. A claim about soloing a B-class gate would cause an absolute sensation if released just as Yoo-cheon's popularity began to wane. Honestly, it would perform incredibly well even if published immediately.

And for good reason—soloing a B-class gate was entirely unprecedented. Something that countless powerhouses, and even established S-class hunters, wouldn't dare attempt... and here he was, acting like he was hot stuff. Just a newly awakened hunter. Although the reporter wasn't an Awakened himself, he couldn't help but sneer at the sheer absurdity. Working as a journalist made it impossible not to get emotionally invested.

Tsk, he's all talk anyway. There's no way he's actually going alone.

Surely, his D-class and C-class gate records had been manipulated somehow. Sneering inwardly, the reporter kept his ears sharp, catching every word of Yoo-cheon and Kim Na-hyun's conversation. Not much followed after that. The dialogue wrapped up with Yoo-cheon's arrogance clashing against Kim Na-hyun's desperate dissuasion. The conclusion was a bit ambiguous, but they seemed to agree on Yoo-cheon attempting the solo raid in two days.

The reporter slipped his pen-shaped voice recorder into his breast pocket. He waited a long while after Yoo-cheon and Kim Na-hyun left the cafe before leisurely making his exit.

The next morning.

My phone, which had been blissfully quiet all of yesterday, began to ring off the hook again. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to freeze the device, but it was incredibly annoying. To make matters worse, the contents of the text messages ruined my mood first thing in the morning.

It wasn't just one person sending them. A barrage of malicious texts with similar vitriol was pouring in from countless different numbers. Even as I stared at the screen, more were arriving.

"...What is all this, all of a sudden?"

Beside me, Arin peeked over at my phone. I gently nudged her head away with my hand.

"No peeking without permission."

"...Hmph."

The reason my phone was working was because we were at my house. While Yugi was far too massive to bring along, there was no issue bringing Arin inside. In any case, staring at a phone that was constantly buzzing with a flood of malicious comments was starting to take a toll on my mental state. Was this the price of fame? It was a lot harsher than I expected. Still, wanting to know why everyone was suddenly acting like this, I opened the internet. The first thing that caught my eye was the Hunter Daily.

I browsed through the highly sensationalized articles in chronological order. I already knew about the first two. Naturally, my eyes drifted to the third article. It contained an audio recording. In a distorted voice, the conversation I had with Kim Na-hyun was laid bare for everyone to hear.

"...So it's this bastard."

I scrolled up to check the reporter's name.

"Kim Myungho... Kim Myungho."

The muscles around my mouth twitched with a cold tension.

"Yoo-cheon? You're scaring me..."

I turned off my phone and grabbed my jacket. It would be cold in Gangwon-do. Then, I dialed Kim Na-hyun's number.

"About that B-class gate you mentioned yesterday. I'm not going tomorrow; I'm going right now."

"I don't need any backup. If there are any curious reporters, tell them to wait out front. I'll be out in a flash."

Hunter Daily, let's see each other at the front.

Taking Arin with me, I arrived at the location of the B-class gate in Gangwon-do that Kim Na-hyun had specified. There was nothing there besides the towering, majestic gate. The surrounding buildings had been crushed and destroyed by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the gate's immense pressure, and there wasn't a single soul living nearby. Still, the local reporters would probably arrive soon. Thanks to riding Arin's waves, I had managed to get here faster than anyone else.

I stood before the B-class gate with Arin. Hummm. Arin's water droplets grew even denser, neutralizing the ominous energy radiating from the gate. Honestly, I was nervous. But being nervous didn't mean there was anything special I could do. Just like always, I had no choice but to trust Yugi and Arin.

"Yoo-cheon, be careful. I don't think... my abilities will be enough to easily suppress the things inside."

If even Arin was saying this, it was bound to be a tough fight. I nodded to her and took a step forward. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But in that exact moment, Arin bared her sharp fangs and cried out in panic.

"No!!"

There was no time to process what was happening. A massive explosion erupted from the B-class gate, engulfing me.

KABOOM!

It was a blast of such terrifying power that, without Arin's water barrier, I would have been vaporized instantly. Although I sustained no physical damage, witnessing such destruction with my own eyes took a heavy toll on my mind. Three agonizingly long seconds passed. Seeing the water barrier turning sluggish and unstable, I quickly checked on Arin first.

"...Arin, are you okay?"

A weak voice drifted from behind me. It was barely more than a groan.

"...Yeah."

I tried to turn around to check her condition, but Arin clung tightly to my back. Ultimately, I kept my eyes fixed forward and asked, "Are you really okay?"

"...Look ahead. It's a Gate Break."

A Gate Break. It was a phenomenon that occurred when a gate's magic core absorbed too much mana from Earth. The explosion was bad enough, but the real nightmare was that the kaiju inside would emerge directly into the human world.

Grrrr—

A bone-chilling growl vibrated through the air. A massive wolf shadow loomed within the cloud of dust. The silhouette grew larger and larger as it slowly stepped forward, one paw at a time. Normally, the sheer pressure would have made my knees buckle. But with a steady reservoir of anger built up inside me, I pushed back against the beast's oppressive aura. I summoned a dark purple gate as massive as a building.

"Grrrr."

Surprisingly, the growl came from Yugi. He emerged, letting out a roar far more overwhelming than that of the wolf kaiju. Yugi glared at the wolf with wide, terrifying eyes. Unable to withstand the sheer pressure, the wolf kaiju began to tremble. Yet, unlike lower-grade monsters, the wolf refused to flee. It howled fiercely to conquer its fear.

The wolf kaiju's howl echoed. It felt as if the world was plunging into darkness and a blue moon was rising. They say kaijus of the 4th Grade and above are on an entirely different level, primarily because they can wield unique abilities much like Awakened hunters. Feeling the invisible moonlight washing over us, I muttered,

"Yugi. Kill it."

Whoosh—

The moment the words left my mouth, Yugi's tail whipped forward. The darkness summoned by the wolf was painted over by Yugi, replaced by an even deeper, absolute blackness. Yet, the beast managed to endure Yugi's strike. Even though it was clearly hit, it didn't disintegrate like the other monsters had. It only seemed slightly withered, and nothing more. In fact, it tenaciously bit down on Yugi's tail. Each time, Yugi swung his tail with immense force, flinging the wolf kaiju away. I was taken aback by how long the battle was dragging on. After several fierce clashes, Yugi let out a deafening roar. In an instant, the entire area was enveloped in pitch-black darkness, as if Yugi had dragged his entire domain into this world.

Thump. Thump.

A sound resembling a beating drum echoed in my ears. Then, system notifications began to flood my vision at a frantic pace.

Only now did I truly understand why Yugi's attribute was 'Death.' Watching the wolf kaiju crumble into gray ash and scatter in the pitch-black darkness, witnessing that bizarre phenomenon, it finally clicked. Startled, I quickly checked on Arin. If this domain was tied to death itself, Arin might not be safe either. Praying that wasn't the case, I spun around. Fortunately, Arin was fast asleep, breathing softly inside the water barrier connected to me.

"...Yugi, that's enough."

From a considerable distance, Kim Hosung watched the ruins of the B-class gate. His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Unable to control his trembling, he eventually dropped his sword. Cold sweat drenched his entire body.

Upon hearing that Yoo-cheon was going to solo a B-class gate, Kim Hosung had rushed to the scene. To force Yoo-cheon to reveal his true power, he had intentionally channeled an excessive amount of mana into the gate, artificially accelerating the Gate Break. His plan was to launch a surprise attack and kill Yoo-cheon if he showed any suspicious vulnerability. But...

"...Why does a monster like that even exist?"

Kim Hosung muttered to himself like a madman.

"In all of my 678 regressions, nothing like this ever happened..."

Something was wrong—terribly, fundamentally wrong. This was a calamity far beyond his ability to handle.

"...Where on earth did this variable come from? Heh, hehehe. I guess I'll have to repeat dozens more regressions."

Kim Hosung picked up his sword, infused it with mana, and slit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his own throat without hesitation.

Meanwhile, at that exact moment, the Holy See was in utter chaos.

"S-Saintess! Where are you going so suddenly?!"

Fully armed and walking with urgent strides, the Saintess came to a sudden halt.

"...I felt the aura of calamity. If left unchecked, the world will surely be destroyed."

"B-But you can't possibly go alone!"

"I have lived my entire life for this single moment. This is my duty, and I am the only one who can do it. I will stop the calamity myself."