Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Inside and Outside the Gate
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“You beat her up that badly just because she pulled some aggro?”
“I said I was sorry. It's because you kept spouting so much crazy shit!”
No matter how much of a loose-tongued bitch she was, she was still an A-Rank Hunter.
From A-Rank on, they were superhuman. Inside a gate, they could crush anyone of a lower rank.
This wasn't something C-Rank Nayeong could handle.
'I've got to make her lose her mind.'
With three Great Spirits on my side, earthquakes wouldn't faze her, but A-Ranks had superhuman judgment too.
If she sensed danger, she'd pull back and tear a return ticket in a flash.
That's why I'd pulled insane aggro to make her charge at me blindly.
No matter how testosterone-fueled they got, guys didn't just dive in to eat pussy without thinking.
She still seemed to like Nayeong, so I'd hit her with NTR-level shock.
The result? She never even thought of using her return ticket before the sand hand grabbed her.
“Gaaah! You... bastard... let... me... gooo...”
“Still got breath left to talk, huh?”
Crunch!
Even after a solid dislocating massage session, she kept resisting.
An A-Rank should feel pain just like anyone else, but damn, she was tough.
Time for Gnome.
'Let her down.'
The sand hand dropped Tongue onto the floor.
With all her joints dislocated, she couldn't even crawl, let alone stand.
'Start from the feet.'
The sand on the floor slithered up her body like a living thing.
It piled up from her feet, steadily burying her until only her head stuck out, vanishing into the sand.
From the front, she looked like a human sphinx.
“W-What... are you doing...?”
Finally catching on, she spoke in a terrified voice.
It was the first fear she'd shown since we got here.
“What do you think? You kept yapping nonstop, so I figured talking wasn't getting the answers I wanted. Figured I'd bury you like you did to that other girl—cut off her limbs and all. We'll meet in the afterlife and get along better this time.”
Sand began creeping up her neck.
As it reached her chin, Tongue's attitude flipped.
“P-Please... spare me. I'll talk... I-I'll tell you everything, I swear...”
About time she felt like chatting.
“What's your connection to the loan sharks? Setting up a scheme this big means it's no casual tie.”
That was the real question.
Dragging in an unregistered gate from loan sharks just to get revenge on Nayeong? Even an A-Rank couldn't pull that off solo.
“That company... it's my dad's...”
Ah.
Tongue spilled everything.
A gate had appeared on private land owned by her dad's loan shark outfit.
They'd planned to sell it as golf course property, but the gate wrecked that.
Reporting it to the government would've turned it into a development-restricted zone, making things even messier.
So they cooked up their own gate raid plan.
Clear it and turn it white? It'd be a magic stone mine.
One day, Tongue learned about Mito Guild and Nayeong's connection, using debt forgiveness as bait to rope in the Guild Master.
She told her dad she'd raid the gate herself and asked him to assemble a team.
Top priority on the team? Nayeong, naturally.
“Did you know what Tongue's dad does for a living?”
I asked Nayeong.
“She said something about running a club, but nothing specific.”
“He's got two clubs in Gangbuk. My dad's a pretty infamous gang boss around there.”
A gangster-run loan shark operation.
Mito Guild got tangled up because of their debt to Nayeong.
“But why'd they kick you from the guild? Your dad could've covered for you.”
Nayeong asked Tongue.
“Juyeon's dad. He's got my dad's back. Dad sacrificed me to smooth things over with that bitch.”
Classic story—their family had more pull, so hers backed down.
“You killed Juyeon over something that petty?”
Rage burned in Nayeong's eyes.
Juyeon had tormented her in the guild, but she'd been a teammate.
“What could I do? Gates are full of accidents, right?”
She even giggled about it.
What a devil of a woman.
“Why do you leave the guys alone and go after bitches like this?”
“Is that my fault? I clearly said no.”
Nayeong looked wronged.
“Guess that sinful pussy still needs my tongue to purify it.”
Thwack!
“I said no slapping!”
“Fine. Next time I'll stab it with an arrow.”
Damn bitch.
She was gonna get her pussy licked raw.
“My dad and the company guys are waiting outside. Let me go, and we'll let you walk out safe. Deal?”
Killing Tongue here was easy, but I had to think ahead.
Inside the gate, she was a hunter. Outside? Just a regular person.
Company guys? Obviously gangsters, and not just one or two.
Unregistered gate meant no calling the cops.
'Can you use your power outside too? For real?'
I asked Gnome.
If I could wield Great Spirit power out there, it changed everything.
«Of course. Power that crosses dimensions? Doesn't make sense it'd only work inside gates.»
«Tell me if you need water. Gotta repay you for letting us out.»
«The wind is always by your side.»
I could control wind, water, and earth outside too.
No need to deal with Tongue personally.
'Feed her some sand. Just enough not to kill her.'
Countless sand grains floated into the air, gathering in one spot.
They clumped tight—some into triangle rice balls, others into steamed buns.
Gloves formed, grabbing the rice balls and buns before approaching Tongue.
“Gaaah! N-Nooo—!!”
The gloves pried her mouth open and shoved in the sand rice balls and buns.
She gagged and thrashed, but with limbs buried in sand, she was helpless.
Finally, her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.
“She dead?”
“You think I'm as soft as Tongue? Nah, just knocked out.”
“What now? Push to the boss area?”
Confidence surging, Nayeong wanted to take on the boss while we were at it.
Normally I'd say yes, but Tongue's words nagged at me.
If the gangsters showed up like she said, the retired folks and Guild Master were in danger.
“Let's head out first. If she's telling the truth, the Guild Master's at risk.”
“I'm worried too, but how do we handle gangsters just the two of us?”
“That's why I said I have a plan. You think I'm a hothead like you?”
“Asshole. You never end on a nice note. Guess I am crazy—telling a prick like you it's okay to lick me.”
“But you like it, right?”
Thwack!
Taking a slap on the back from Nayeong, I tore the return ticket.
Stepping out of the gate, a hulking thug stood with a line of goons behind him.
Easily thirty at a glance.
Tongue hadn't lied.
In the corner, the Guild Master and three retired hunters lay sprawled, bound and wriggling—they'd been beaten.
The hunter slashed by Tongue was still bleeding.
“That the kid holding my daughter?”
The big guy up front asked.
“If you're asking about the one who tore up Tongue, yeah, that's me.”
The thug's eyebrow twitched.
“Hoo~ Appreciate you bringing her out, but if that's your handiwork, you ain't leaving alive.”
“It was me, yeah.”
“What?”
“Popped all her joints. Stuffed her mouth with sand till she was damn near suffocating. Miracle she's breathing.”
“Y-You little shit! I'm gonna kill youuu—!!”
An excited goon held back the thug.
“Boss, stay cool. I'll smash his legs and make him kneel.”
He called over a few guys from the back.
They could've all rushed at once.
«These fools don't respect you, contracted to Great Spirits, even a speck. How shall we handle them?»
'Make 'em unable to move. All of them.'
«Easy enough.»
The ground shook like an earthquake.
The charging goons couldn't handle the tremors and face-planted.
“Wh-What...?”
“The hell?!”
Earth rose from the floor, wrapping their legs.
It climbed in seconds, binding up to their waists.
The goons struggled to shake it off with all their might, but it didn't budge.
Like their lower halves were set in concrete.
'Bring some water. Enough to seal the warehouse.'
«Ahahaha, my turn?»
Moments later, the floor swirled, water gushing up from everywhere.
Somehow staying inside the warehouse, it rose steadily.
“Hey, what the hell did you do? What about us?!”
As water filled up, Nayeong stomped in panic.
“Talk to them and see.”
I pointed to the corner.
A thick air pocket had formed around the four sprawled bodies.
“What? You do that?”
“Great Spirits did. You saw inside the gate.”
Nayeong stared at me, dumbfounded.
“Spirits... are here? Now?”
Supernatural gate beings never emerged outside.
No such case since gates appeared on Earth—it was common sense.
Until recently, I'd accepted it too. Not anymore.
Three Great Spirits had emerged through the patterns on my hand.
“They're dwelling in my body. This is all them.”
“N-No way...”
“I'll explain after we deal with these guys. Just watch for now.”
“W-Wait! What about the water? It's still rising. We need air pockets too!”
«I'll lift you up. Gonna talk to them?»
'Yeah, got words for the big thug up front.'
The ground under Nayeong and me rose above the water.
A stepping-stone path formed to the bound goons.
Water now lapped at their necks.
A few short ones bobbed like crucian carp, lips barely above the surface.
I walked up and called Undine.
'Feed 'em water. Just short of drowning.'