Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: S-Rank Gate Emergency
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[S-Rank Gate Alert Issued]
LOL is this for real?
Our country's screwed lol gg
The hunters will handle it, right?
Dude... you still... believe in people...?
Remember when that massive demon gate blew up in the US? 13 out of 52 S-ranks got shredded.
That was just a freak incident.
Honestly, that was on another level.
And what makes you think this one won't be the same?
A massive photo of the gate was attached to the online news article.
Its diameter looked to be at least a kilometer wide.
The size of a gate directly indicated the power of the beings inside it.
And a 1km-class gate was nothing short of a catastrophe.
The black-haired woman standing before it let out a low groan as she gazed up at its overwhelming size.
"...That's a bit much. Is there a dragon in there or something?"
Han Su-hyeon, guild master of Leon Guild.
One of the 21 S-rank hunters in Korea.
S-ranks were those who could cleave mountains with their swords and part the seas.
Yet right now, the expression on Han Su-hyeon's face wasn't one of confidence in her own abilities, but a hint of fear.
Seeing her like that, her longtime friend Kim Seo-yeon spoke up.
"So what if it is a dragon? Your title's 'Dragon Slayer,' isn't it?"
"That's ancient history... It's been a while since I returned. And the one I took down was just a hatchling. Even then, I nearly died. A full-grown adult that can actually use magic? I'd probably drop dead from a heart attack just making eye contact."
"You're too lacking in confidence."
Kim Seo-yeon chuckled softly as she looked at her old friend.
Han Su-hyeon sighed in response.
"You say that 'cause you've never seen a real dragon."
A sword appeared in Han Su-hyeon's hand.
Her eyes, fixed on the gate, burned with determination.
"You're really going in?"
"Gotta find out what it is, right? If it looks too bad, I'll just come back out."
"What if you can't?"
"If I can't even run away, the country's already done for. What's there to worry about?"
"...No backup plan. If you die, our guild's finished."
Her voice carried genuine concern.
But Kim Seo-yeon knew.
No one could stop Han Su-hyeon when she was like this.
"I'll be back."
And just as she stepped toward the gate...
Rumble...!
The massive gate began to shudder violently.
"...What?"
Han Su-hyeon's brow furrowed.
There was still over a month until the gate break.
So why were signs of it opening already appearing?
Before she could even voice the question...
Something burst out from the gate.
"...!"
Darkness fell over the city.
Even from a distance, the shadow cast by that colossal creature felt like a death knell, proclaiming despair upon the world.
"...A real dragon?"
What emerged from the gate was the head of a massive dragon.
Its form and size left no room for excuses—it was an adult.
The dragon, covered in horrific wounds with one horn severed, crawled out of the gate and planted itself on the sandy beach.
"...Ugh."
...If even a being like that was this injured, maybe there was a sliver of hope.
With the power she'd honed in that world, 'Essidrin,' she'd returned from.
With this holy sword that had felled a dragon.
But in that moment, a dragon's voice echoed in her mind.
"[Do you dare point a sword at me, stained with the blood of my kin.]"
"Kuhk...!"
Facing that overwhelming presence head-on, Han Su-hyeon suffered massive internal injuries.
Just one word.
And with it, her unyielding convictions shattered, her knee buckling beneath her.
Blood trickled from Han Su-hyeon's mouth.
"[Insolent human. I'll tear you apart in the most agonizing way, carrying the grudge of my dying kin.]"
Rumble...!
Storm clouds gathered in the once-clear sky.
Lightning flashed between them, tracing a massive magic circle across the heavens at the dragon's command.
"[Perish with your kin, amid screams of agony.]"
"..."
This is it.
The moment she thought that.
"Hey."
Suddenly, a man's voice pierced her ears.
It wasn't the earth-shaking roar of the dragon, yet it rang clearer than anything.
And with a sound like something shattering.
Crack!
The storm clouds and lightning-woven magic circle in the sky converged to a single point and compressed.
As if they'd never been there at all.
"...What?"
A miracle?
The next instant, a massive explosion erupted near the dragon's head.
Boom!
Its proudly raised head slammed into the ground.
"...??"
Gawkers who had come to watch gathered from all directions.
Thankfully, it was a beach some distance from the city center, and the area was cordoned off due to the gate, so no one was crushed by the dragon.
And...
What the hell just happened?
Han Su-hyeon felt fear, but she had to investigate.
Protecting the weak.
That was the duty and responsibility of the strong.
To do that, she needed to know what had occurred.
Suppressing her fear, she gripped her sword and approached the dragon.
And there, she encountered another person.
"Huh?"
He was a man clad in a jet-black dragon robe embroidered with golden thread.
He flashed her a bright smile, but the moment she met his eyes...
Thud—
It felt like her heart stopped; she forgot to even breathe.
"..."
No mana could be sensed.
So, not an awakener.
Which left only two possibilities: just a passerby...
"Sorry about that. She's not fully trained yet, so she's a bit ill-mannered."
"..."
"But this is Earth, right?"
...Or someone who gained power from another world and returned.
A returner, just like her.
**
Judging by the aura and scenery, this was definitely Earth.
Busan.
My old neighborhood, so I knew it like the back of my hand.
But...
In the Earth I knew, there weren't people with that kind of power.
I lifted the teacup from the table and sniffed its aroma.
A sweet scent I quite liked.
"...So that's how it happened."
I'd heard the rough story from Han Su-hyeon about why this world had changed so much.
Gates had started opening one day, letting beings from other worlds spill into ours.
If you didn't clear a gate quickly, the creatures, environments, or anomalies inside would spill into reality, so caution was needed.
"...A lot's changed in five years."
"Yes. But who is this with you...?"
"Oh, her?"
I turned to glance at the silver-haired woman sitting beside me.
A being with snow-white skin and jewel-like sparkling blue eyes.
Her cheeks puffed out, she glared at me, making no effort to hide her displeasure.
"What? Got a problem?"
"With the killer of my kin right in front of me, how could my stomach not turn?"
Her true identity: Aselin, the Thunder Dragon.
Dragons called it polymorph; they could transform into any race they desired.
But they couldn't change their appearance freely—each race had a fixed form unique to them.
In other words, she couldn't suddenly turn into a hairy brute just because she didn't like looking human.
"Watch your tone. You trying to die for real?"
"You... What the hell do you take dragons f—"
Bam!
My fist collided with Aselin's head, creating a thunderous boom.
"Guh...!"
"Behave. Cause more trouble, and this won't end here."
"...You're so mean."
Tears welled up in her blue eyes.
Yet she didn't even dream of retaliating.
"..."
Han Su-hyeon watched, speechless.
She knew what dragons were like.
A prideful race that would choose death over bending their ego, their heads filled with an elf-like sense of superiority and rigid stubbornness.
And they possessed power befitting such arrogance.
For one to humble itself like this?
It defied her common sense.
Which meant the man before her was beyond it.
"Hand over the horn you severed from me!"
"Nah, it's mine now."
"Argh...!"
To joke around with a dragon like that—what level did one have to reach?
A desire to test him surged within Han Su-hyeon, but...
She knew better than anyone that now wasn't the time.
She pulled a business card from her pocket.
It read '[Leon] Guild, Guild Master Han Su-hyeon' along with her contact info.
"Not many people have my personal number. Call if you ever need help."
"...Why's this?"
"You know why."
"Yeah... Thanks. I'll take it."
The world I'd returned to after so long had changed enormously.
Even in my hometown, help from those already adapted would be useful.
I grabbed Aselin's intact horn and stood.
"Ah, ow...! Don't grab the horn...!"
"Well, see you around."
I didn't bow my head.
Leaving the Leon Guild building, I recalled the house I'd once lived in.
"...Wonder if it's still there. They wouldn't have moved, right?"
Hoping everyone was doing well.
With that thought, I slowly headed toward my old home.
"Ah, let go!"
"Shut up or I'll really kill you."
"..."
Accompanied by a dragon of unknown usefulness.