Rewinding the Split Second
It was a split second. Even roughly counting, over thirty demons burst out all at once, bellowing in unison. Every combat-type demon except the one dispatched to Cheonan had been summoned. These were the very demons that had elevated Baek Hye-seo to Korea's S-rank Hunter status.
The monsters inhabiting this D-rank gate—not to mention Haneul sandwiched right in the middle—were all thrust into mortal peril.
"No!"
Baek Hye-seo desperately tried to calm the demons that had surged forth unbidden, but with one hand trapped in the wolf's jaws, it was no easy task. Forcing it out by strength would surely shatter the wolf's jaw. Besides, simple commands wouldn't suffice to rein them in anyway. These demons prioritized their apostle's protection above all else. The moment Baek Hye-seo felt even a hint of "pain" from a monster, they rampaged to annihilate her foes. It was precisely this kind of berserk frenzy that had confined her to her room, commanding summons from afar.
Still, she couldn't just stand there stunned. If there was a way to provoke their rampage, there had to be a way to soothe it. By chanting the incantation to control the demons.
"Lemegeton…!"
The grimoire Lemegeton materialized above Baek Hye-seo's hand and unfurled wide. Then, following her will, its pages flipped furiously.
Shraaalaak—!
Through the rapidly turning pages, she glimpsed the demons finally lurching into motion.
'Hurry…'
She already knew the incantation. Even though it wasn't in any Earth language, she'd used it so many times she could spell it out flawlessly. But reciting it from memory alone had no effect. She had to open Lemegeton, find the desired page, smear it with her own blood, then chant.
'Faster…!'
The pages halted. Baek Hye-seo immediately bit her tongue and spat the flowing blood—ptui!—onto it. Lemegeton shuddered in outrage at the indignity, but given the dire circumstances, it held its silence.
Amid the demons' deafening roars, Baek Hye-seo's voice laid a calm incantation over the chaos. A tongue no ordinary human could comprehend—one even she, chanting it now, didn't fully grasp.
'Too late…?'
A foreboding instinct prickled as she chanted. It was already too late. Haneul wouldn't be harmed, but the monsters encircling her faced annihilation. If they'd all fled, they might have survived—but their circular formation to shield Haneul sealed their doom.
She chanted on regardless. Finishing took just over a second, yet to Baek Hye-seo, that instant stretched into eternity.
Stop. Stop right now.
When she poured her fierce will into completing the incantation, every demon froze. But the lead demon's maw was already spewing hellfire.
She could halt their movements, but not the flames already unleashed. Flames that petrified all they touched. Humans might recover somehow, but monsters? Impossible. The beasts of this D-rank gate would likely crumble to dust, leaving no corpses behind.
"Ah…"
A sigh escaped Baek Hye-seo. She'd sought out a monster tamer and started off on such a good note. A mere wolf bite was trivial—her body, honed to S-rank, wouldn't even scar from a C-rank monster. But to the demons, it was different… and this was the result.
She'd finally found her. Just when she thought she'd complete her mission.
But no such thoughts crossed her mind. Baek Hye-seo felt only guilt for harming Haneul's friends.
I'm sorry, Haneul-ssi. Forgive me, Constellation-nim. It's all my fault for being so incompetent…
The moment she began sinking into helplessness again—
Tick.
The world stopped.
[The Constellation 'Lord of Father Time' rises and glares at you.]
"Grandpa's still kicking, huh? Long time no see—feels good. Right?"
A small chuckle accompanied a pale white hand that turned the clock hands backward.
Tick.
It was a split second. Even roughly counting, over thirty demons burst out all at once, bellowing in unison. Every combat-type demon except the one dispatched to Cheonan had been summoned. These were the very demons that had elevated Baek Hye-seo to Korea's S-rank Hunter status.
The monsters inhabiting this D-rank gate—not to mention Haneul sandwiched right in the middle—were all thrust into mortal peril.
"No!"
Baek Hye-seo desperately tried to calm the demons that had surged forth unbidden, but with one hand trapped in the wolf's jaws, it was no easy task. Simple commands wouldn't suffice anyway. These demons prioritized their apostle's protection above all else. The moment Baek Hye-seo felt even a hint of "pain" from a monster, they rampaged to annihilate her foes. It was precisely this kind of berserk frenzy that had confined her to her room, commanding summons from afar.
Still, she couldn't just stand there stunned. If there was a way to provoke their rampage, there had to be a way to soothe it. By chanting the incantation to control the demons.
"Lemegeton…!"
The grimoire Lemegeton materialized above Baek Hye-seo's hand and unfurled wide. Then, following her will, its pages flipped furiously.
Shraaalaak—!
Through the rapidly turning pages, she glimpsed the demons finally lurching into motion.
'Hurry…'
She already knew the incantation. Even though it wasn't in any Earth language, she'd used it so many times she could spell it out flawlessly. But reciting it from memory alone had no effect. She had to open Lemegeton, find the desired page, smear it with her own blood, then chant.
'Faster…!'
The pages halted. Baek Hye-seo immediately bit her tongue and spat the flowing blood—ptui!—onto it. Lemegeton shuddered in outrage at the indignity, but given the dire circumstances, it held its silence.
Amid the demons' deafening roars, Baek Hye-seo's voice laid a calm incantation over the chaos. A tongue no ordinary human could comprehend—one even she, chanting it now, didn't fully grasp.
'Too late…?'
A foreboding instinct prickled as she chanted. It was already too late. Haneul wouldn't be harmed, but the monsters encircling her faced annihilation. If they'd all fled, they might have survived—but their circular formation to shield Haneul sealed their doom.
She chanted on regardless. Finishing took just over a second, yet to Baek Hye-seo, that instant stretched into eternity.
Stop. Stop right now.
When she poured her fierce will into completing the incantation—
"Huh?"
Baek Hye-seo blinked wide-eyed.
'…It definitely felt too late?'
Every demon had frozen. Not locked mid-attack, but halted mid-stride, eyes bulging wide. And those bulging eyes all fixed on one spot.
'…Haneul-ssi?'
All the demons stared at Haneul, stock-still. Even if her incantation had stopped them, fixating solely on Haneul was downright bizarre.
It was a Shadow Hound—a wolf—that had bitten her. Yet the demons weren't glaring at the wolf; their bulging eyes locked on Haneul. Not with malice or mere curiosity, but with eyes popped wide open. Like they were terrified.
'Something's off…?'
It was a relief, sure—but something about the scene didn't add up. Had the King of Wisdom intervened?
'…No way.'
Constellations couldn't interfere in the human world. All they could do was grant power to their apostles. Overstepping meant losing massive divinity—the very essence of their existence as Constellations—not to mention being cut off from observing the world for ages.
So it wasn't the King of Wisdom. Then what?
Baek Hye-seo racked her brain, probing for the source of that nagging dissonance.
"Whoa."
As her thoughts tangled, Haneul's innocent exclamation cut through.
"They've got horns. Demons? You're a summoner?"
"Uh… y-yeah! A-are you okay?!"
Only then did Baek Hye-seo snap to and check Haneul over.
"I'm fine. You? Oh, gotta get your hand out first. Hey, open wide. You can't just bite people like that."
"Wuung."
"Even if she touched you all willy-nilly, that's no excuse. Do it again, and you die, I don't. Got it?"
"Wuuung?"
"Open up already."
Once the wolf obeyed, Baek Hye-seo finally freed her hand. No wounds, not even teeth marks on the saliva-slick skin—an expected outcome for an S-rank Hunter's body.
"It's fine. Thank goodness. You can wipe the drool on its fur."
"Woof."
Baek Hye-seo tentatively reached out. Bitten or not, she wanted to pet it. So she pretended to wipe off the drool as an excuse to touch.
"My house dog bites too, so be careful."
"…Okay."
Baek Hye-seo opted to wipe it on her own clothes instead.
"So, big sis, why'd you come here? Showing off your demons? Nah, doesn't seem like it. Wanna join the fishing contest? Got a rod? No harpoons. But grabbing 'em by hand's fine. Ever caught fish barehanded?"
"Uh, umm…"
It had been ages since Baek Hye-seo ventured outside. Her conversations had been limited to her secretary, Choi Jina, and almost never face-to-face. Calls or messages at best. This direct exchange felt so novel that Haneul's barrage of questions left her reeling.
And Haneul seemed to have no idea who she was.
'…How doesn't she know me?'
Her reclusiveness didn't erase her fame. She figured every Korean would recognize her on sight, yet here was total stranger treatment. It only deepened her confusion.
Still, she'd take it slow, step by step. Starting with the most nagging issue: the nickname.
"Big sis…?"
"Aren't you older? Or younger? Friends, then? Should I just use names and go casual? Formal's easier, though?"
"…Casual's fine."
"Why're you here, you wench."
"…Too casual."
"Casual with me too, Hye-seo."
"Hye-seo…"
Baek Hye-seo's ear tips flushed pink—a huge shift for someone whose emotions rarely surfaced.
'How long since someone called me by name?'
Orphaned and raised in a home, her muted feelings marked her as odd even there, earning subtle disdain from teachers. It was no surprise she endured 12 years of bullying: six in elementary, three in middle, three in high. Neighborhood schools meant it followed her relentlessly.
Post-graduation, she insisted on remote work, holing up. Gates opening made it permanent.
In short: no one had ever called her by her two-syllable name before.
"So I call you Haneul…?"
"Duh. That's what friends do."
"Friends…"
What a beautiful ring. Tears welled in Baek Hye-seo's golden eyes.
Friends, just like that—without doing a thing. Was making friends always this easy? Even as Cheon-gun Guild leader, she'd failed.
[The Constellation 'King of Wisdom Who Commands 72 Demons' sheds emotional tears.]
What do friends do? Give friend fees? Elixirs? Elixirs are best for Hunters… Yeah. Or just money to buy her own? Lets her pick… Oh, a house? I'm tax-exempt anyway…
[The Constellation 'King of Wisdom Who Commands 72 Demons' scolds you, saying friends don't exchange such things.]
'Then what? I-I've got nothing else to give!'
Baek Hye-seo's eyes spun.
"So, seriously, why're you here? Fishing?"
"Ah… I…"
Shaking her head clear, Baek Hye-seo met Haneul's gaze squarely.
"I…!"
Her expression burned like a general marching to war. Sealed lips fit a warrior perfectly.
'…What do I even say?'
She wanted to blurt, I want to tame monsters like you do. But "monsters" might offend. Calling them animals might irk the beasts themselves…
"What about you?"
"I…"
"Bathroom? Just go over there if you need to pee. These guys have their own spots."
"…No. I went before coming."
"Impressive. Good job. Amazing. Cool."
"…Ah, uh, thanks."
Four praises earned a reflexive thanks. For what? No clue. Utterly mortifying.
[The Constellation 'King of Wisdom Who Commands 72 Demons' consoles you, saying you can just speak freely.]
Emboldened by the Constellation's reassurance, Baek Hye-seo mustered her courage once more.
"…I want to tame monsters. Like you do, Haneul."
The phrasing shifted slightly, but the intent landed true. Hand on her pounding chest, she gazed at Haneul.
"Could you teach me?"
"How to tame monsters?"
Haneul tilted her head, then turned to survey her animal encirclement.
"You guys tamed by me?"
The beasts each voiced their cries. Even the eagle circling overhead bellowed deeply. Baek Hye-seo couldn't parse the language, but sensed firm denial.
"Right. We're friends."
Yet Haneul replied as if understanding perfectly.
[The Constellation 'King of Wisdom Who Commands 72 Demons' says you must fully comprehend that 'language.']
"Language!"
"Language?"
"Yeah, I… want to understand the monsters' language too."
Haneul blinked, then nodded with an "Ah!"
"That I can teach."
"Really…? Can I do it?"
"Yep."
Casual as ever, Haneul hopped off the wolf's back and approached Baek Hye-seo.
"You really wanna learn?"
"Yes…!"
"Even if it's a bit annoying and tricky?"
"Yes, totally fine."
"No regrets?"
Haneul's amethyst eyes peered straight into hers. Baek Hye-seo nearly nodded—awkward eye contact aside, something about the question demanded caution.
But she had to learn. Summon the last two demons. Test her limits…
With that resolve, she started to nod. Or tried to.
Her gaze flicked behind Haneul. Haneul's too—eyes rounding as she whipped around to stare at the same spot.
The forest's deepest recesses. The gate's far end emanated a massive presence even Baek Hye-seo couldn't ignore.