Erased Records
Thud, thud.
I shook the blood off my hands and scanned the surroundings.
"That should take care of all the monsters around here, right?"
No more live Serggal were in sight.
I couldn't sense any monster presences either.
"It's safe now. You can relax."
"Th-thank you..."
I turned my gaze to the woman slumped on the ground.
Her legs had given out, leaving her sitting there blankly staring ahead.
"You're from the orphanage, right?"
"H-how did you...?"
"In this day and age, how many people still wear a yellow apron like that?"
"..."
Even though it was stained with dirt and water, it was obvious enough.
I pointed to one spot with my hand.
"Head that way, and you'll find the gate entrance. You should be able to get out."
"B-but the kids!"
"There were 16 kids at the orphanage when the Sudden Gate opened, right?"
"Pardon? Oh, yes."
"All rescued. You're good."
"Wha...?"
"They left with the director. Relax."
Drip, drip.
Tears began welling up and falling from the teacher's eyes.
I glanced at her scraped, bloodied feet, then nudged Elpinire with my elbow.
"Elpinire."
"I know."
Whoosh—
Energy flowed from Elpinire's hand, instantly healing the woman's raw feet.
Finally managing to stand, she bowed at a perfect 90 degrees to me and Elpinire.
"Thank you. Thank you so much!"
"Eh, it's just hunter work."
I'd only done what was expected.
That's what being a hunter is, isn't it?
So.
"Stop looking for the kids and get out carefully. Got it?"
"Yes..."
"Just keep going straight to the exit."
I watched as she staggered away.
"Elpinire. Good job."
"Tracking traces is just a guardian's specialty. Nothing to praise."
Not worth praising, huh? Yet her ears were twitching freely like crazy.
I smirked at Elpinire, who was forcibly pulling down the corners of her rising mouth.
Just say you're happy, why play it cool?
Anyway, if Elpinire hadn't spotted those faint footprints on the ground, that teacher would've been dead.
Good job's a good job—no need to nitpick.
"Looks like that's the end of this gate."
"I think so too."
Where does a gate end?
The answer was simple: you'll know when you see it.
What does that mean?
I cracked my neck lightly and glanced to the side.
The trees, swamp—everything was sliced clean like with a knife, divided perfectly.
I trudged over and reached toward the invisible boundary.
My hand hit something intangible and stopped, unable to go further.
Elpinire, mimicking me, widened her eyes in wonder.
"First time seeing a gate's edge."
"Master. You too?"
"Yeah, first for me."
I'd only ever entered a gate once before.
And even then, I'd bailed quick.
Pretty fascinating, though.
But that's as far as it goes.
I turned, Cheori—looping her tail end toward the boundary over and over—dangling from my neck.
She eyed me like leave me a bit longer, but no dice.
"...Master. One presence is heading this way, fast."
"I know."
Company's coming.
I gave a short reply to Elpinire, who was starting to flare her mana.
She looked puzzled at my calm and asked back.
"Should we be on guard?"
"Nah."
I already knew the presence.
That's why it was surprising.
I grinned and waved at Jeong Chan-woo, who leaped out silhouetted against the moonlight.
"Jeong Chan-woo Hunter. Long time no see?"
"...As expected. You took out the Serggal and rescued the civilians first, Han Mir Hunter."
Thud.
Landing lightly, he glanced at Elpinire beside me, then back to me.
"Han Mir Hunter."
"Yeah?"
"When rescuing civilians, the protocol is to escort them all the way out of the gate in case of unforeseen issues. Please be mindful next time."
"..."
Elpinire's brow twitched at Jeong Chan-woo's words.
"It's fine."
"It sounded like he was dismissing you, Master."
"That's just how he is, and human society doesn't run purely on brute strength."
So it's cool.
I reached out to stop Elpinire from lunging.
Jeong Chan-woo eyed the scattered Serggal corpses and spoke.
"You cleared all the monsters first to close the gate?"
"Bingo."
"Good call. You did save most of the civilians."
"Really?"
"Yes. Just got word—the only building with people sucked into the Sudden Gate was the orphanage."
They were still investigating, but no other civilians got pulled in—that was their guess.
Jeong Chan-woo added that, then cut straight to it.
"Han Mir Hunter, I won't ask where you've been the last two weeks or why you were unreachable."
"...?"
Two weeks?
I'd only been in the tower about a week...
...Oh. Right.
I'd crashed at home before entering.
Forgot that—thought it was just a week total.
So way more time passed than I figured.
"Senior's been calling you to the Association since last week. No response, so I've been checking your place daily for the last three days."
"...For real?"
I smacked my lips lightly and eyed Jeong Chan-woo.
Didn't expect that much follow-up.
Anyway, he must've found something on big bro.
That's why he sent Jeong Chan-woo after me.
I nodded and said,
"Then let's wrap up and head out."
Monsters were mostly cleared anyway, and no more civilians meant we handed cleanup to the late-arriving Association hunters.
We piled into the back of Jeong Chan-woo's car.
"Whoa...!"
Vroom.
The car glided smoothly.
Elpinire, face pressed to the window, kept gasping at the speeding road and cars.
"Fast. No mana, and it's this fast."
"...Can't you match that speed?"
"Faster, even."
"Then why the fuss?"
"Not the speed—the scenery. Never thought views like this existed..."
Makes sense. To Elpinire, who'd lived her whole life in the forest, the city was like alien tech.
Even Elcid was worlds away from this urban sprawl.
I turned and checked the rearview.
Jeong Chan-woo gripped the wheel one-handed, driving steady.
"The one beside you... from far away?"
"Yeah, pretty far."
Another world, really.
I swallowed the rest and spoke to Jeong Chan-woo loosening his tie.
"Jeong Chan-woo Hunter. Sorry for the hassle."
"No trouble. Nice break from desk work."
"Ah..."
"Kidding. This is nothing. The real grind was..."
He trailed off.
Veins bulged on his face in the mirror.
What kinda hell did he go through?
Unable to hold it, he sighed long and flicked the right blinker.
"...You've gotten ridiculously stronger."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes. Wiping monsters that fast in such a short time... only Senior could pull that off."
That level?
I tilted my head at his words.
Seemed pretty easy to me.
Glancing quietly at Elpinire, she wore the same is that hard? look.
Guess I'm not off-base.
Just hyping me up.
I nodded vaguely, letting it slide in one ear and out the other.
"Guess so."
"Thanks to you, we closed the Sudden Gate with zero deaths. Allow me to thank you again."
"Like I said, just doing my job as a hunter."
"That's why I'm saying it—in a world overflowing with hunter trash who can't even manage basics."
He meant it, turning smoothly as he spoke.
"Thirty minutes to arrival. Rest up till then."
I nodded, sinking into the seat and pulling out my phone.
"Hm..."
What went down in my two-week absence?
Propping my chin, I scrolled mindlessly.
"Whoa... not as tall as Mother's tree, but still impressive."
The Awakening Association in Gangnam.
Elpinire's eyes sparkled at the towering building.
"Wow..."
"Model?"
"Outfit's a bit..."
"That look with that face?"
Like I always say, Elpinire's an elf.
A jacked elf who could compete in bodybuilding.
Even in baggy sweats, loose pants, and a black coat wrapping her frame, she drew stares.
Sniff.
Feels kinda pathetic.
I'm no slouch myself.
All the spotlight's on her.
Suddenly the side character, I waved at Jeong Chan-woo approaching after fixing his tie from afar.
"Over here."
"Figured you'd be somewhere like this."
Scanning around, he said to us,
"Let's head in. I notified Senior alrea—"
"Yoo-hoo! Black Dragon! You made it?"
Whoosh!
A burst of white light leaped up ahead.
Seong Yu-mi popped out grinning.
"...And you are?"
"Elpinire, human."
"Oho?"
She grabbed Elpinire tight and dove back into the light.
View flipped in an instant.
Arriving in the familiar space, I eyed the beaming Seong Yu-mi.
"If you're gonna teleport, why bother having Jeong Chan-woo bring me?"
"Long distance guzzles mana. Bad mileage."
Plopping into a chair, she snapped her fingers.
Drinks rained down from thin air as usual.
Grabbing orange juice—no mistake this time—I sat across from her.
"So, why'd you call me?"
"Hm... how to put this."
She scratched her cheek.
Before she spoke, I cracked open an apple juice for Elpinire and handed it over.
She hesitated at "apple," but relaxed at "no real apples, just artificial sweetener" and sipped.
"Sorry to start with this."
"Pardon?"
"Can't find him. Your 'big bro.'"
I turned from Elpinire—eyes sparkling at the taste—to Seong Yu-mi.
Her awkward smile hid dark circles like she'd pulled all-nighters for days.
"His name's Shin Seon-woo, right?"
I nodded.
Shin Seon-woo.
Met at 20, but he taught a family-less me what family meant.
"I dug deep. Nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing?"
"Exactly that. No records under Shin Seon-woo. At all."
No.
More like...
Her eyes darkened as she covered her mouth.
"They're erased. Every single record of Shin Seon-woo."
"...!"
Not missing—wiped.
I got the implication instantly, eyes widening.
"That's...!"
"Yeah. Someone deliberately scrubbed them."
Your big bro's records.
She added softly, giving a bitter smile as she watched me reel.