The Rift

"Mmm..."

My eyes opened on their own, drawn by the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Master, did you sleep well?"

"Ah, it's Jin-yul. How's your body? Are you okay?"

"It's strange... my nipples keep tingling..."

Why would my nipples be itchy? I'd spent the whole night tormenting and playing with Harin's breasts—there was no reason they should be bothering me.

The answer came from the whispered conversation behind me.

"It's only natural. Stimulating the mammary glands artificially to promote milk production is bound to feel a little off."

"Harin? Wait. Jin-yul, you don't mean..."

"Yes, that's right. I performed the great method of making milk flow from her breasts."

"Ohhh!!"

So that means I can drink Jin-yul's milk now?

"Jin-yul, come out here for a moment."

"Just a moment..."

—Squirt! Squeeze squeeze!!

"Hah... it seems to be flowing well..."

"No, don't waste that precious milk!"

I couldn't let Jin-yul's historic colostrum go to waste. I lunged forward and clamped both nipples in my mouth.

—Gulp gulp gulp!!!

"Hyaahh!! You can't suck that hard...!!"

It was delicious. Too delicious. It was packed with concentrated yin energy, and it felt refreshing on top of everything.

This level of quality was enough that I could drink it every morning without getting tired of it.

"M-Master... please use me as your personal milk dispenser and onahole from now on..."

"...Where on earth did you learn such filthy talk?"

"I... I learned it from materials that came from the Human World..."

If I had taught her properly from the start, none of this would have happened. Jin-yul had been self-studying sex education through HitoMi, which meant she'd occasionally get flustered just like she had just now.

"Hmm. I'd like to express my gratitude, Hwan-hyun. If it weren't for you, I would never have had that blissful experience last night."

Harin conveyed her thanks to me. From her half-bowed upper body, her large breasts swayed, and between her legs, semen that hadn't fully hardened yet clung stickily.

But what was I supposed to do? I had no intention of stopping here.

"Harin, do you remember our promise?"

"Hm? What promise are you talking about..."

"Don't dodge the question. You said you'd grant any wish I had."

"...I don't remember saying anything like that..."

Harin averted her gaze and trailed off. Of course, the scale of what I was asking was too large to promise casually—but it was absolutely true that she had said, "I'll grant your wishes as many times as you want."

"You recorded the video, didn't you? Where..."

I transferred the footage from the camcorder to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my phone. 4K UHD resolution with a 540Hz refresh rate... she'd really been using some top-notch equipment.

I played the video. About halfway through, obscene moans and the sound of flesh meeting flesh erupted in full force.

"Ugh... I can't believe I made those sounds..."

"This is the highlight, so watch carefully."

"..."

"Are you still planning to back out?"

"...You said there was a condition that Hwan-hyun would stop for a moment..."

"I did stop. Briefly."

"..."

It seemed the risk was simply too great for her. She tried to make excuses and slip away, but—

"Mother."

"...Why do you say that?"

"I'm disappointed. The mother I knew was someone who took full responsibility for everything she said..."

"Kruuuh...!"

That was a knockout punch.

The remaining evidence in the video, and the contemptuous gaze of her beloved daughter.

There was no more room to refuse.

"Hah... I understand. From now on, I will help you with whatever you desire, to the best of my ability."

"Yay, I knew you'd say that, Mother!"

"...Jin-yul, you really need to talk to your mother more often."

If it had just been Harin and me, things wouldn't have resolved so easily. It was only possible because of Jin-yul's lethal assist.

"It's almost time for breakfast. Let's get dressed, shall we?"

"Ah, yes."

The three of us were still completely naked. We'd taken precautions to keep anyone from entering, but there was no way we could let the servants catch sight of this.

Then—

—Aaeeeeaaaaaang!!!!

A deafening roar erupted from outside the window. The sound filled the sky like a siren.

"Harin, what is that..."

"Why is this happening suddenly...! S-rank Gate alert! Please hurry and join the others, then leave Hyunmu Hall immediately!"

Her demeanor had completely changed. Just moments ago she'd been nothing more than an ordinary woman who'd been violated alongside her daughter through the night, but now there was a gravity to her that hadn't been there before.

With those words, Harin hastily grabbed her clothes and dashed out through the window. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The building was a wooden structure, but it was quite high—and it didn't seem to be much of a problem for her.

But still, an S-rank Gate? Why did it have to happen right now?

"Master! Let's go to where Seol-hwi is!"

Jin-yul bolted ahead. Without understanding what was going on, I just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠followed her out. By the time we reached the corridor, four people were already there.

Everyone was startled by the urgent situation.

"Master! Jin-yul! What's going on?!"

"Gate alert! We need to get Master out immediately!"

Seol-hwi asked Jin-yul, and Jin-yul answered. The conclusion was clear: we all had to get out of Hyunmu Hall right now.

"S-rank Gate? So the rift finally broke."

"Auntie... no, big sister. Do you know anything about this?"

"I'll explain on the way."

Big sister Yeryung would know something. She was the only one among the six of us who had experienced the Elder Gate incident twenty years ago.

As we exited the building, Yeryung spoke up.

"Hwan-hyun, the gate above the Divine Sandalwood Tree that your parents sealed hasn't been completely shut. You know that, right?"

"Yes."

"Fortunately, the sacred power of the Divine Sandalwood Tree prevented the inner sacred earth from being violated, with each Hall serving as a barrier. But among them, the four largest rifts sent roots down to the boundary between the Halls and the outside world."

"..."

"And the Hall leaders must always be in their positions to manage them and block any monsters that might burst out if those rifts were to collapse."

"So there's a problem with one of those rifts?"

"That's right. If it's bad enough to trigger an S-rank Gate alert, it means A-rank monsters have swarmed out from inside."

The situation was worse than I'd thought. I didn't know why this was happening while we were staying here, but it was clearly no good.

"Wait. Jin-yul, roughly how many personnel are holding the Gate right now?"

Seol-hwi asked Jin-yul.

"Probably our mother and father... the defense force has almost all been deployed."

"Do you think they can hold it?"

"...Yeah."

The answer was far from reassuring. An S-rank Gate meant A-rank monsters would be lurking about, and the alpha entity could match an S-rank.

"Father has opened the 7th Northern Constellation, and at that level he should surpass S-rank hunter capabilities."

"Don't we need to go help?"

"Hey, Baek Seol-hwi! If you want to go fight, just go alone! Master is right here, what are you playing at?!"

Yu-ryun snapped at Seol-hwi. Beneath the sharp words was her concern for me, and my chest tightened warmly.

"First, let's get out of here. Hyunmu Hall has a passage connecting to the Human World, so we can exit through that."

Yeryung took the lead. We left the dormitory and moved through the plaza. Before long, we found a suspicious door right in the center of the plaza that looked like it was saying, "I'm the entrance," for anyone to see.

"Remember this well. Trying to enter the Spirit World from anywhere without a fixed passage weakens the boundary between the two worlds. Always use designated passages like this one."

Now all we had to do was go through this door and return to the Human World. Harin was a little worried, but she'd opened up to the 6th Constellation, so there was nothing for me to worry about.

...It should all work out fine. But for some reason, an uneasy feeling kept circling through my mind.

"Even if we return to the Human World, the Gate there will have collapsed too. We'll need to get back to the Academy while keeping our bodies safe—"

"...Wait."

"What is it, Master?"

Something felt wrong. If we went back like this, something big was going to happen.

Ah.

It was because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the skill. Other than the Hwanguk Sword Method and the five elemental energies, it was the only skill I had. I didn't even know its rank or what it was for—but what was certain was that my skill was screaming at me right now that I had to stay here and deal with the Gate.

"I don't think we should go right now."

"Hey! What are you talking about?! We need to run!"

Yu-ryun reacted sharply to my words. Cheonghwa, Jin-yul, and Seol-hwi all stared at me with worried eyes.

But Yeryung was a little different.

"Hwan-hyun."

"I'll explain everything. Well, I'm not sure I can explain it..."

"You 'sensed' something, didn't you?"

"...Yes. How did you..."

"It was one of the abilities your father possessed. The ability to divine auspicious and inauspicious omens, and when pushed to the extreme, to catch even the faintest glimpse of the future."

"..."

"The fact that you're sensing something like this means there's a reason for it. I trust you."

Yeryung stared at me with resolute eyes.

"Master. Are you really planning to go to the scene?"

"Yeah. It's hard to explain. But..."

"I understand. I will prioritize Master's safety and join the Hyunmu Hall forces."

"?"

Seol-hwi readily followed me. She was already preparing her sword, and Yeryung said she trusted me. Jin-yul's expression also showed she wanted to go protect her family.

"...Are you really going?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Won't it be dangerous?"

"...I feel like I have to go."

If I were just worried about Harin and saying this, it would be a pointless interference—but Yeryung said it was my father's ability. If that's the case, then surely this strong pull must mean something.

"Tch. Fine. What can we do if you're using Soul Command? We're powerless against you."

"Thanks."

Yu-ryun also followed my words.

Now was the time to head to the rift in the northern territory, where the fighting was underway.