Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Dream
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"...Iroha?"
"Ah, yes. Yes."
"Why are you spacing out like that?"
"I-it's just so amazing."
"I get it. This is a first for me too... It has no presence, yet it's clearly there."
Unlike Cheon I-ryeong, who was brimming with curiosity, I shivered from an intense chill. A prickling terror swept through my body, making my hairs stand on end.
Star Devourer.
What the hell was that, screaming my name three times?
It felt like some crazy stalker had latched onto me.
I was in deep shit...
I took in a breath as if it were my first, then exhaled consciously, steadying my chaotic mind.
That problematic core.
The moment I properly recognized it, I saw the void.
An unfilled darkness.
It felt black, but it had no substance, not even color.
Like a universe without stars, in that endless emptiness without end, I felt a gaze upon me.
Star Devourer... Probably the master of this gate.
Judging by the name, the gate breaking and resulting erosion was its meal.
And we'd gone and disturbed it while it was eating.
"Step back for a moment, please."
For now, I needed to seal that core, where the eerie gaze still lingered.
My Clairvoyance had shifted into Insight Vision, revealing the contamination core like the backside seen through a torn canvas.
Let's assume our dimension is one canvas.
The countless drawings within form the world, creating more drawings and building a grand masterpiece.
But that was from another dimension.
A worm eating away at the canvas.
To seal the hole it bored, erasing wouldn't do. I treated the mana-saturated air itself as canvas and began restoration.
I poured my mana into the brush tip glowing vivid blue, starting to close the core.
Gasps of astonishment rose as the hole narrowed bit by bit.
Not enough. The core shrank sluggishly compared to the mana draining away like mad.
Mana depleting several times faster than a normal restoration.
Thankfully, the moon bunny's buff restored my mana, so I poured even more into the restoration.
The baseball-sized contamination core soon shrank to the size of a 500-won coin, then was fully filled with mana and vanished.
With the source of contamination gone, the prickling sensation faded.
"Iroha! You did it!"
"Lady Iroha, are you alright?"
"A bit exhausted..."
"To purify even that unidentified thing... Does this mean the erosion is over? This'll cause another uproar."
"If it's just an uproar, we're lucky. Iroha looks worn out too, so let's head back and sort things out later."
We finished off the remaining monsters and exited the gate.
The gate, now back to blue, shrank the moment we emerged and disappeared.
I nearly blurted out, Where's the old lady?
Probably some sensory ability like an artist's inspiration.
For use in creations? How exactly?
"The gate has vanished!"
"The Association stopped the erosion! We've reclaimed our land!"
The hunters guarding the extended barricade near the gate shouted in joyous surprise.
Cheon I-ryeong calmed them and began organizing.
"Settle down, everyone. Keep today's events under wraps for now. Section Chief Lee, stay on site and start the investigation."
"Understood."
"Track everyone connected to Nam In-ho and the Federation's movements. I'll contact Minister Jin Tae-san to verify Nam In-ho's past movements."
"President, it's impossible to prevent all leaks from the site."
Cheon I-ryeong glanced around at Lee Jae-hoon's words.
Not just hunters, but countless soldiers' eyes were fixed intently.
"True. But delay the official announcement. Control the blockade area strictly with hunters, so it spreads only as rumors. Once we have solid intel and set a policy, we'll make the official statement. I'll instruct the military to keep it confidential as much as possible."
"Yes, understood."
After issuing orders swiftly, Cheon I-ryeong stood on Seol A-yoon's opposite side, who was supporting me, and helped carry me along.
No, that wasn't it. My mana had just drained rapidly, leaving me with severe fatigue.
"I can walk on my own. I'm not injured, so no need to..."
"No, after something that massive, you must be strained!"
"Exactly. Rest is top priority for you now, Lady Iroha."
My protests were lightly brushed off, and we headed back together.
Both wore expressions full of questions but held back since I looked exhausted. I was just as conflicted.
I had no idea where to even start explaining.
How much time passed, lost in thought while feeling Cheon I-ryeong's warmth pressed close beside me? I drifted into a light sleep.
A crimson sky.
Monsters poured endlessly from countless gates.
Building-sized monstrosities demolished the city center, while swarms like ant hordes blanketed the land endlessly.
Screams, explosions, fire, blood.
Countless deaths unfolded before my eyes.
Familiar faces stared at me wide-eyed amid the carnage.
Cheon I-ryeong, Seol A-yoon, Lee Jae-hoon, Min Ji-yeon, the art academy director—
Everyone I knew lay crushed under piles of corpses.
"Gasp! Haah, haah—"
"Are you okay, Iroha?! A nightmare?"
"Lady Iroha! Contamination?!"
"No, no... Just a dream. I'm fine."
Cheon I-ryeong wiped my pouring sweat, her eyes full of worry. What was that? It felt too vivid for a mere dream.
The acrid smoke and metallic blood scent still lingered at my nostrils, furrowing my brow.
"Iroha, head in and rest up. See you at the Association tomorrow?"
"Yes, thank you for your concern."
"What thanks between us? Probably from that earlier attack... We're the ones sorry. I'll make sure it never happens again."
"No. Anyone would've been caught off guard. I'm really fine, don't worry."
"Still... Rest well today. Want me to stay by your side?"
"I'm good. You're busy, so I'll head in now."
Grateful for the concern, but Cheon I-ryeong entering my home was absolutely off-limits.
She'd probably cling like a body pillow all day.
With my head already a mess needing time to think, I stopped her.
Finally alone, I collapsed onto the bed.
Savoring the plush bed melting away my tension, I recalled the dream again.
Like a movie scene.
If I painted apocalypse as a theme, would it feel like that?
The overwhelming despair and terror lingered like an afterimage.
Even S-Rank hunters couldn't handle that hell.
If it became reality... Could we overcome it?
Above all, the myriad deaths etched into my mind refused to settle.
"Star Devourer..."
The gate's master, Star Devourer, and the apocalyptic dream.
No doubt they were connected.
Was the dream thanks to Inspiration?
A supernatural premonition manifesting as foresight, realized in a dream?
The problem: if true, it wasn't good news.
An impending apocalypse.
Utter hopelessness of impossibility.
The Star Devourer targeted me, and the world headed to ruin.
But I couldn't just sit idle.
Even if just a dream, preparing wouldn't hurt.
And to stop it, everyone uniting and growing stronger was the conclusion.
I didn't know what to do immediately, but Insight Vision revealed one thing.
Cheon I-ryeong and Seol A-yoon.
And the contamination clinging stickily to other hunters' souls and life forces.
Top reason hunters retire: death.
Second: erosion outbreaks.
The illness from accumulated contamination while roaming gates, damaging the mind. And I had the solution.
Applying today's purification to mental contamination—couldn't I remove it?
Then uniting hunters would be effortless.
The Federation might resist, but what choice against a so-called incurable disease?
And given today's suspicions, time to flip the narrative decisively.
"Scarlett, take a look at this."
"What is it?"
Scarlett, weary-faced, looked up from her documents to footage of a disaster site on some mountain.
Her eyes sparkled at a girl with angel-like wings spread wide.
"Oho... A flight ability?"
"No, she's the hottest healer in Korea right now."
"...A healer? Must be an angel."
"Someone we've been watching closely lately. Hotline info says... she purified a Zero Ground."
"What? Purified? Is that confirmed?"
"Info's suppressed, no official word yet... But with Korea tightening Zero Ground control, it's credible."
"We'll keep a close eye. If we can recruit her, maybe solve our Zero Grounds... Wait, rewind the footage a bit."
Amid the astonishing news, Scarlett's gaze halted on one corner.
Unlike the focused angel girl, a woman stood in the periphery.
Unfamiliar when turned away, black hair flowing, but the power halting the precarious landslide was one Scarlett knew well.
A hunter with that level of psychokinesis.
"...Eriña. So there you are."
Scarlett smiled, her burning gaze fixed on the black hair.
Korea.
Time to visit as soon as possible.