Monster Wave
A C-rank gate had opened near Gangnam Station in Seoul.
While the Origin Guild Team 2 raid party stood by to clear it and a few Hunter Association staff guided civilians to safety, Lee Chaerin spoke up.
"Unni. I called a healer."
"Who?"
"Someone you know."
"Don't tell me… Ellie?"
"Yep."
A flicker of worry crossed Han Yuseol's face at Chaerin's answer. Had they really dragged her out on her day off? Ellie must have things of her own to do…
Catching the look on Yuseol's face, Chaerin let out a short laugh.
"Geez, Unni, you worry too much. If it still bothers you that much, just treat her to a meal afterward. And honestly, even if she comes, Ellie Unni barely has anything to do."
"Well… true enough."
"More importantly, though. Aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
"Ellie Unni's fairies."
To say she wasn't curious would have been a lie. The moment she first heard the name Fairy King, Ellie was the one who sprang to mind.
"Do you think Ellie Unni is the Fairy King?"
"Who knows… Still, I think it's better not to ask."
"Why?"
"Mm…"
How to put it? From the very first meeting, it had been obvious she was no ordinary person. Yuseol had always thought of her as someone mysterious, full of secrets. Digging into a friend's secrets just didn't feel right. And she had a feeling Ellie wouldn't want that either.
"I think it's polite not to ask until the person brings it up themselves."
"I see… Ah, Ellie Unni's here!"
In the distance, a petite girl was approaching. No matter how many times Chaerin saw her, Ellie always carried that same mysterious air. How to describe it? The city around them bustled with people, yet the space around Ellie Unni felt like a quiet forest touched by warm sunlight. Just being near her made one's heart settle.
"Ellie Unni! Over here!"
Chaerin waved, and a guild staffer at the cordon waved Ellie through. Even those tiny footsteps somehow radiated elegant dignity. Seriously—was Ellie Unni some chaebol family's youngest daughter or what?
As Ellie drew near, Han Yuseol spoke first.
"Ellie-ssi, it's been a while. Have you been well?"
Ellie gave a small nod.
"Honestly, there isn't much for you to do. Just wait here for us, please."
Ellie tilted her head at that, as if to ask whether she really only needed to stand by. Chaerin grinned.
"Unni, isn't this the absolute best? Not just anyone can do this, you know. Feels like pure connection privileges."
Truly, Ellie had almost nothing to do. Her role was simply to wait outside the gate and, once the raid finished, heal a few lightly wounded members of the party. Team 2 already had a healer of its own.
The standby healer was only there as insurance, in case the party's own healer somehow couldn't cast, say if they took a critical wound mid-raid and lost consciousness, or worse. Naturally, such situations were extremely rare.
"Just hang out here and collect the pay. Total free money, right?"
Ellie answered with a gentle smile and a nod. Even her smile had atmosphere, Chaerin thought.
"It's almost time."
"Ah, Ellie Unni. See you when we're done."
I was a little thrown when Han Yuseol told me I only needed to wait and do nothing.
Then I didn't need to come prepared like this.
My plan for healing without revealing the fairies had been simple: hide Pin up my sleeve. But if there was no healing to do after all, I'd just stuck poor Pin in an awkward spot for nothing.
"Pihihi…"
Or maybe not? From the way she was wriggling around inside my sleeve, she actually seemed to be enjoying herself…
Still, it tickled, so I gave the sleeve a couple of light taps to tell her to settle down.
"Pi? Pihihi."
"…"
She only wriggled harder, thinking I was playing with her. Sigh… fine. In the end I gave up trying to stop her and simply waited.
While I stood there, an Association staffer approached.
"You're the standby healer for the raid party, correct? It's cold out here—please come this way instead of waiting there."
They led me to a rest tent. With the weather this chilly, they had set one up. Inside, a portable heater kept things warm, and they'd even laid out hot canned coffee and snacks for a light bite.
Huh?
Was I really allowed to just lounge around like this? I had come here to work, after all. Somehow I felt guilty toward Hunters Yuseol and Chaerin.
Should I treat them to dinner today?
That was when it happened.
"Standby healer! Is the standby healer here?!"
An Association staffer burst into the tent in a panic, looking for me. I blinked in confusion, and he spoke urgently.
"Signs that the gate is shifting into an open type have been detected. Please prepare in advance for any contingency."
What?
Shifting into an open-type gate? Didn't that mean monsters were about to pour out of it in a flood?
I scrambled to my feet and stepped outside the tent—just in time.
"Everyone runnnn!!! It's a monster wave!!!"
Team 2's raid party, the same ones who had entered the gate earlier, came charging out in a desperate rush. Every one of them sprinted toward us for all they were worth. Looking closer, one of them was carrying someone on their back.
It was Lee Chaerin.
In that instant—
—Kieeeeeek!!
—Krooooaar!!
Ear-splitting shrieks tore through the air as countless monsters surged out of the gate all at once.
My parents were hunters.
Every now and then they would come home badly hurt from a job, and each time I would beg them to just quit. What had Father always said then?
"Dad doesn't want to either. But nothing else pays this well. So listen, Seohan. If you ever awaken, make sure you awaken as a healer. Healers have it made."
…Looking back, my father had been a pretty easygoing man.
"But you know, Seohan. The work I do is like what the firefighters do—saving people. That gives me some pride. So take after your dad. Don't cause trouble for others, and don't live in a way that would shame you. Got it?"
I had never caused anyone trouble, but the part about not living shamefully… I probably failed that one. Well… I'd done a fair amount of nonsense on the galleries, after all.
And finally… he had added something else, I think.
"And another reason I can't quit this job. After you save even one person, it feels pretty damn good."
Monsters poured from the gate in a roaring flood. People fled the monster wave with everything they had. In that desperate moment when everyone was moving purely for survival—
Why now? Why, of all times, was I remembering something from so long ago?
Dreamy King's Dignity is activating with great force.
But right now there was something more important I had to do. My calmed emotions told me exactly what that was.
I opened my mouth.
"「Valt」."
A clear, pure voice rang out like an echo. The sound that spread in every direction seized control of the charging monsters' movements. In that instant, the monsters that had been rushing the raid party froze in place as if by a lie.
"…Huh?"
"The monsters…"
While everyone reeled at the sudden stillness, I calmly carried out what needed to be done—as if this action were the correct one, or as if I were simply used to it.
I spoke.
"Pin. Arwen."
"Pi!"
"Ppyu!"
As if answering the summons, the fairies rose into the air on either side of me like guardians. I stretched a hand toward the monsters and said,
"Dispose of them."
"Pi!"
"Ppyu!"
Seraphin moved first. Drawing a golden trail, she shot toward the monsters like a bullet. At a speed that defied belief she punched straight through several of them. With monstrous strength impossible to imagine from that tiny body, she snapped a few monsters' necks a full three hundred sixty degrees in a single motion.
Next came Arwen. She rose high into the sky and looked down on the monsters with open arrogance. When the staff in her hand gave a small flick, dark clouds began to gather. Magic born from the harmony of the four elements.
Grand Magic: Heavenly Punishment.
KRA-KOOM!!
Lightning bolts lanced down from the black clouds and struck the frozen monsters with perfect precision. Smoke rose from their bodies with a soft hiss. The monsters hit by the lightning cooked through and died where they stood.
I went straight to Team 2's raid party. One of them was missing.
"What in the world is—"
"D-Did the healer do this…?"
"U-Unni…"
At that moment the unconscious Lee Chaerin slowly lifted her head and looked at me. In a trembling voice she forced the words out.
"Y-Yuseol Unni is in danger…"
Apparently Hunter Han Yuseol still hadn't made it out of the gate. I nodded and gently stroked Chaerin's hair.
"Rest now."
"…Huh?"
Chaerin's eyes went wide with surprise, but only for a second before her face, which had been barely holding on, slumped forward. One of the raid members spoke up.
"Concussion. She took a hard blow to the head, but you healed her, so she should be fine."
I nodded quietly in relief and turned my gaze to the gate. Han Yuseol was still inside. There was no time to hesitate if I meant to save her.
I started walking toward the gate.
"Pi."
"Ppyu."
Pin and Arwen followed close behind me.