Dimensional Rift
"Wh-what the hell?!"
"The air's splitting open!"
"Hah!"
"Kyaaah!"
"Mommeee~!!!"
As people scrambled in panic, black shapes burst from the air that had been shimmering only a moment before. And then a massive form came lunging straight toward Hye-suk, A-reum, and Mi-ju.
"A-reum!"
Startled, Hye-suk threw her arms around A-reum's shoulders. Among the black shapes erupting in every direction, one creature shot forward in a straight line and let out a roar that seemed to shake the very earth.
"UOOOOOORGH!!!"
The thing that appeared was a monster well over seven meters tall. The instant it materialized, it bellowed and swung the enormous club in its hands straight at A-reum and Hye-suk standing right in front of it. There was no time to dodge—the creature had come at them in a direct line, and both of them were already too late to get clear.
Whoooosh!!!
Someone yanked psychic energy up in a desperate rush and stepped into the path of that crushing swing.
Chwaaaaaah~!!!!!
The figure who thrust out a hand charged with power was none other than Kim Mi-ju.
KRAAAAAANG!!!!!
A tremendous crash rang out—and with it, Kim Mi-ju's scream.
"Aaaagh!"
What was that?
At that same moment, Min-hyeok had just reached the café and was about to order iced Americanos for Hye-suk and Mi-ju, plus chocolate shakes for his sister and himself, when the uproar outside made him turn around in confusion. The other customers were equally startled by the chaos beyond the doors when the front entrance burst open.
"Kids! Run!"
"What's going on?"
"Did you park the car?"
Two people who looked like friends near the counter stared at him in bewilderment, and the man who had flung the door open shouted again, frantic.
"Monsters! Monsters showed up!"
Min-hyeok's eyes went wide. He bolted outside without another thought.
"?!"
And then he saw it—people fleeing in chaos along the beach, pig-headed monsters roaring and sowing mayhem. His gaze went instinctively toward where his sister, Aunt Hye-suk, and Mi-ju had been. What he found was a hulking monster over four meters tall, two heads on its shoulders, staggering backward under the force of a heavy impact—and the unmistakable signature of psychic energy.
"Shit!"
That energy was Mi-ju's. No question. Min-hyeok didn't stop to think. He tore toward them at once.
"Monsters!"
"It's a dimensional rift!"
"S-save me~!"
People screamed and fled. Among them, a few Awakeners surged forward one by one, engaging the pig-headed orcs and buying the civilians time to escape.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"It's got two heads!"
"An o-ogre!"
"An ogre?!"
"You know—the ones from fantasy novels and games!"
Looking again, it really did resemble the monsters called ogres. The problem was that this one had two heads instead of one.
"A twin-head ogre...?!"
The man who'd named it must have spent plenty of time with fantasy novels, movies, or games; the words came out of him naturally.
Shushushut!
Paaaaang!
The Awakeners who had rushed out were fully occupied with the pig-headed orc monsters and couldn't easily close on the massive creature that had been driven back.
"UOOOOOORGH~!!!"
Enraged that it had been forced to retreat, both of the twin-head ogre's heads let out a tremendous roar. With heavy footfalls that shook the beach—thud! thud! thud!—it charged toward the one who had shoved it away.
Hye-suk and A-reum were still there, mercifully unharmed. And at their feet, a single figure lay collapsed on the ground, bleeding.
"Mi-ju..!!!"
Hye-suk cried out. A-reum was on the verge of tears. Mi-ju coughed up a mouthful of blood that had surged back up her throat and gasped for breath. When the monster had suddenly appeared and swung, she had had no choice but to protect Hye-suk and A-reum—and that meant taking the twin-head ogre's attack with her entire body.
"UOOOOOORGH~!!!"
Roaring, stomping closer, the monster raised its club over the blood-spitting, fallen Mi-ju, Hye-suk, and A-reum.
"Th-those people are in danger!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Run!!!"
Onlookers farther off screamed for them to flee—but neither Hye-suk nor A-reum could abandon Mi-ju as she lay there coughing blood and fighting for air.
"They're going to die!"
"Somebody do something!!!"
The Awakeners nearby, though, were already hard-pressed just dealing with the orcs that had come through alongside the twin-head ogre. Given time, local guilds and other Awakeners would arrive—but the problem was this exact moment.
"Kyaaaaah!"
The club came down as if to pulp them where they stood. Watching civilians and women screamed and covered their faces.
Shwhaaaaaat!
Pababababang!!!!!
In that instant a blue gale of force slammed into the twin-head ogre's chest and drove it staggering backward.
"Is everyone all right?!"
The one who had stepped in front of them was Min-hyeok—the same Min-hyeok who had gone to the café.
"M-Min-hyeok...!"
"Ugh..."
At Hye-suk's cry and his sister's tearful voice, Min-hyeok looked down at the fallen Kim Mi-ju.
Damn it!
Even a glance told him she was in critical condition. He needed to call emergency services and get her to a hospital—but the twin-head ogre was bellowing again, and the orcs were still running wild. That wasn't an option right now.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
As the twin-head ogre closed in once more, Min-hyeok roared.
"Don't you fucking dare, you bastard!!!"
He surged forward in a single burst, power flooding up through him, and drove out a crushing fist.
Shwhaaaaak-!!!
A blast of force shot along the path of his punch and hammered the charging twin-head ogre square in the chest again.
Puuuung!!!
The explosion of impact still ringing, Min-hyeok closed the distance and snapped a kick out.
Puuuk!
A heavy crack of contact. Then—
Teok!
—he launched himself off the ground, spun in midair, and drove his foot into the twin-head ogre's right head.
Baaak!!!
The shock of the blow rang out. The twin-head ogre lost its balance, reeled, and howled in pain.
"Wh-who is that guy?!"
"Incredible!"
"He's amazing..?!"
Even in the middle of the chaos, people watching Min-hyeok single-handedly press the twin-head ogre back stared in awe and astonishment. He kept driving the monster, pouring on attack after attack. For the first time, Min-hyeok was truly unleashing the full measure of the power he possessed.
A-reum, still sniffling, wiped the blood that kept welling from Mi-ju's mouth with her hand.
"Mi-ju...!"
She shook her, but Mi-ju wouldn't come to. Her breathing only grew more labored. Leave her like this and there was no telling what would happen.
Pupupupupung!!!!!
A rapid string of detonations and the sound of heavy blows made her turn her head. There was Min-hyeok, displaying astonishing skill as he drove the giant monster back toward the sea and beat it down. Hye-suk looked down at Mi-ju again.
"...Mi-ju...you can't...die.....hhk...!"
Listening to A-reum's tearful voice, Hye-suk turned her head once more. Awakeners were locked in a bloody struggle with the pig-headed monsters. The whole area was pandemonium. She looked back at Mi-ju. Leave her like this and Mi-ju would die—and Mi-ju had ended up this way because she had stepped in to save Hye-suk and A-reum.
—You understand, right? You must never use that power.
Seong-min had told her. Revealing this power to the outside world would bring nothing but trouble. So she must never use it. Never.
I'm sorry, Seong-min...
But in this moment, if she didn't heal Mi-ju, Hye-suk felt she would collapse all over again—right on top of the old wound of having failed to save her own son.
"A-reum..."
A-reum, still crying, lifted her head.
"It's all right...step back a little."
"...Mi-ju...won't...die....?"
At A-reum's tearful question, Hye-suk managed a smile.
"Mi-ju isn't going to die...don't worry."
A-reum nodded and slowly took her hands away from the bleeding. Hye-suk set both palms against Mi-ju's chest and focused.
Saaa...
In that instant, centered on Hye-suk's body, something other than the usual blue haze of psychic energy began to gather—a pure white radiance wrapping around her.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"That person is glowing!"
"There's white light shimmering around her!"
People nearby stared in shock as white, heat-haze-like rays of light wavered from Hye-suk's body. The light slowly enveloped the gasping Mi-ju as if being absorbed into her—and then something astonishing happened.
Shuaaa...
In a single breath, the wounds covering Mi-ju's body closed, and her ragged breathing settled into something steady. At that incredible sight, several people pulled out their phones and started recording.
"Nngh..."
Time passed, and the eyelids of the unconscious Mi-ju slowly opened.
"Mi-ju...are you all right?"
"Auntie..?"
She blinked, looking around, as A-reum came closer.
"....Mi-ju...are you...awake...?"
"Unnie...?"
Paaaaang!!!
A sudden explosion of force made Mi-ju push herself upright—and she saw it: Min-hyeok, power erupting from him, blasting the twin-head ogre away. Only then did she understand why she had been lying on the ground.
I definitely got badly hurt blocking that monster...?
In the middle of her confusion—
"Eat this and get the hell out of here!"
—Min-hyeok shouted, condensing psychic energy at his fingertips and driving it hard into the monster's solar plexus.
Puhwaaaaaak~!!!!!
A ferocious impact rang out.
"KUUOOOOOORGH!!!!!"
The twin-head ogre screamed and reeled backward, staggering—and the place where it had been struck clean through at the solar plexus was a gaping hole. The massive twin-head ogre lurched, then crashed forward with a tremendous noise.
Kuuuung!!!!!
"Huuuh..."
Min-hyeok drew a deep breath and let it out. He turned toward where his sister, Aunt Hye-suk, and the injured Mi-ju had been.
"......?"
For a moment he was baffled. Mi-ju was sitting up, looking straight at him. Wondering how that was even possible, a thought flashed through his mind.
No way—!
He sprinted toward them at once.