The Fairy King Is Angry

Gates come in many varieties, and each type carries its own set of rules.

Generally speaking, the only gates that can be classified as manageable are the closed type. Open-type and erosion-type gates, by contrast, cause civilian casualties merely by existing — and so they must be cleared and eliminated without delay.

The gate that had appeared in Yeoksam-dong was precisely one of those cases.

An erosion-type gate.

Where an ordinary gate takes the form of a black hole standing upright, an erosion-type gate manifests as a three-dimensional hemisphere that grows larger with the passage of time, swallowing everything in its path. And as it expands, its danger rating climbs right along with it.

In short, it was the kind of gate that had to be removed the moment it appeared — before the scale of the damage could spiral out of control.

On top of that, its danger rating was a full B-rank.

Naturally, a great many people were watching this particular raid with keen interest.

I see.

I nodded to myself.

At any rate, this gate was apparently expanding at a leisurely pace. Meaning if it ever looked like it might reach my house, I could just run then. But that scenario was never going to happen — Hunter Han Yuseol would clear it long before it got that far.

In other words, all I had to do was loaf around and wait for Hunter Han Yuseol to finish the job.

Thirty minutes passed.

An hour passed.

Two hours had gone by.

"…"

I stared quietly at my phone.

There had been no word from Hunter Han Yuseol. It seemed she still hadn't managed to clear the gate.

I rose, stepped out of the rooftop room, and stood at the edge of the roof. In the distance, a massive hemispherical gate loomed — swelling larger by the moment, as if determined to devour everything in its path.

I lifted my phone and checked the posts.

Ding—

A text arrived. I checked the sender — Lee Chaerin.

"…"

As I stared silently at the messages, Ayla approached. She draped a warm blanket over my shoulders from behind, worried I might be cold.

I spoke to her without turning.

"Ayla."

"Yes, my Queen."

"My friend is inside that gate."

I gazed steadily at the gate as I continued.

"Do you believe our fairies could clear an A-rank gate?"

"…My Queen."

Ayla's voice was calm and gentle as she answered.

"You need only give the command."

I turned to look at her. The same gentle smile she always wore was still there — and with that expression intact, she placed one hand over her heart and slowly sank to one knee.

"Please tell me what you desire, my Queen."

"…"

"I and the Elder Fairies stand ready at all times."

…What I desire.

I looked at Ayla and opened my mouth.

"Ayla — are you strong?"

A deep smile curved her lips.

"If you give the order, I shall clear it and return shortly."

"I do not wish for you to be harmed. The same holds for our fairies. Therefore, I shall accompany you."

"If that is my Queen's wish."

I nodded and called for the fairies.

"Pin. Arwen. Lumiel."

Whoosh!!

The fairies gathered at my side in a blur of speed. Whether they were resonating with my emotions or not, every one of them was brimming with resolve.

I spoke to them.

"Aid me. My friend is in danger."

"Ppi!"

"Ppyu!"

"Pya!"

They answered with firm nods. At the same moment, Ayla extended her hand.

"Given the urgency, I shall create a shortcut."

The instant the words left her mouth—

KOOOOOM!!

The ground shuddered. Right in front of our front gate, trees burst up through the concrete, twisting together into a single living path that stretched in a straight line all the way to the gate — a road leading directly inside.

So this was a Dryad's power — the ability to command trees.

"Shall we go, my Queen."

I nodded and stepped onto the path Ayla had made, walking straight toward the gate without a moment's hesitation.

Inside the gate.

Beneath a night sky lit by a crimson moon, across a vast and barren plain, skeletons armed with rusted weapons swarmed toward the civilians and the raid team who had been caught inside.

The raid needed to advance — but with monsters pouring in from every direction, the team couldn't risk a reckless push. Two full hours of continuous combat had already worn them down to the bone when—

"We can't keep going like this."

Vice Team Leader Ha Dae-uk, the team's tanker, spoke up.

"I'll force an opening — even if I have to push myself past the limit."

Han Yuseol's gaze traveled to the far distance, where a boss monster lounged on a throne of bone, watching the battlefield with idle amusement. The boss, too, was a skeleton — but one that carried an entirely different presence from the rest. An ominous staff rested in its hand, and its robes were those of a mage.

Han Yuseol kept her eyes locked on the creature as she asked Ha Dae-uk,

"Can you do it?"

"Just once. I'll create a single opening."

One chance. Han Yuseol understood immediately what he intended.

"I won't last more than ten seconds. I'm counting on you, Team Leader."

"Understood."

Han Yuseol nodded, authorizing the skill. In that instant, Ha Dae-uk roared—

"Everyone, cover your ears!!"

A tremendous surge of power erupted from his body. He began to grow, swelling larger and larger, and then — as if reason itself had fled him — he threw his head back and howled at the sky.

"GRAAAAAAAAH!!"

Han Yuseol did not waste the opening.

Whoosh!!

She sprinted straight toward the boss monster. This was the final chance her vice team leader had given her — she would not squander it.

In moments, her body closed the distance until she stood right before the creature. Her katana flashed in a sweeping arc—

And that was when Han Yuseol noticed something wrong.

…!?

The boss was still sitting on its throne, watching her with complete composure.

Something was off.

The thought had barely formed when—

Kang!

Her katana was stopped cold. A transparent barrier surrounding the creature's body had blocked the blade entirely.

The boss opened its mouth.

"?!"

The gate boss could speak?

KOOOOOM!!

In that same instant, space itself seemed to warp and collapse around Han Yuseol's midsection — and a dizzying, searing agony tore through her abdomen.

KRAAAAAANG!!!

The distorted space detonated in a single direction, slamming into her gut with catastrophic force. Her body was launched backward even faster than she had arrived.

Han Yuseol's eyes fluttered open.

She must have blacked out the moment her body hit the ground. Worse — her arms and legs refused to move. Through half-lidded eyes, she could see a healer frantically pouring recovery magic into her.

"Hold them back!! Hold the line!!"

"I— I can't, I'm out of mana!!"

"AAAAARGH!!"

"Ky-Kyungcheol!!"

Even without seeing it, the chaos in those voices told her everything. With both the team leader and vice team leader down, of course the formation had collapsed.

H-how many seconds… no, how many minutes was I out?

The healer kept casting, but the wounds didn't seem to be closing. The healer was sobbing now, screaming—

"N-no!! Don't die! Team Leader! Team Leader! Why isn't the healing working?!!"

Han Yuseol blinked, then managed a bitter smile. She already understood. She wasn't going to make it.

There was no sensation in her arms or legs. Severed, most likely — or injuries just as bad. After two hours of continuous raiding, the healer was almost certainly out of mana as well.

Han Yuseol smiled bitterly and thought to herself,

I'm sorry, everyone.

Knowing that neither her teammates nor the survivors would make it out filled her with nothing but regret. She had done everything she could… it just hadn't been enough.

Ah… her consciousness was slipping further away. Her eyelids grew heavier, flickering on the edge of closing for good.

"Team Leader! Stay with us! Team Leader! Team Leader!"

Even her healer's desperate cries couldn't reach her now.

The moment Han Yuseol's eyes fully closed—

Hwaaaaaaah!!

A brilliant light flooded through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her shut eyelids. The instant it washed over her, the exhaustion and agony ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vanished from her body, replaced by a deep, enveloping comfort.

This was healing. There was no mistaking it.

As her body mended, her eyes gently opened — and a familiar voice rang out across the battlefield.

The chaos and urgency of moments before vanished as if they had never existed. Absolute silence settled over the plain.

"…Huh?"

"What on earth…"

"…Fairies?"

At her teammates' voices, Han Yuseol forced her eyelids open once more. Through her blurred vision, a familiar face came into focus.

Ellie.

Ellie was standing there. But the gentle expression she always wore was gone — replaced by a cold, almost furious stillness as she stared in a single direction.

The boss monster, Han Yuseol guessed.

She called out to her.

"Ellie…"

Ellie turned her head and looked at Han Yuseol. The familiar, gentle smile returned at once. Then she spoke.

"Please rest. I shall finish this shortly."