"Did She Take Her Meds?"
"Did she take her meds?"
I muttered something weird and nudged the unconscious woman's hand away with my foot. Her grip on my skirt loosened, and she flopped flat onto the ground.
"Doesn't look like a vagrant."
For someone who'd snuck into S University—a vagrant hideout in Seoul—she was subtly too clean. Her outfit had that plain, unassuming college student vibe, like a fresh-faced newbie straight from the countryside.
"Tch."
I didn't know why or who she was, but something about just leaving her behind felt off.
"I can always make another veil."
I sprinkled the lingering echo of my mana onto the veil around my neck. With my presence fully imprinted on it, any monster would sense it and steer clear—no exceptions.
Rustle.
I tossed the veil haphazardly over her body.
'No need to play Good Samaritan on the way out.'
It had been a while since I'd torched those monsters ambushing fleeing civilians on my way up. Some monsters crossing straight from Terra picked up the Otherworld God's influence, gaining a Chaos attribute that twisted their destructive instincts and intelligence solely toward toying with humans and indulging in slaughter.
In one corner of the parking lot, a crushed van caught my eye. Nothing I could do for the dead.
"Alright, time to—"
I rubbed my bare neck and was about to spread my wings when the woman at the edge of my vision nagged at me.
A vast parking lot. A fallen woman. A veil flung carelessly over her.
"...Ugh."
I scooped her up and laid her on a nearby bench. Wrapped in the veil's warm glow, she breathed peacefully, like a baby bird in its nest.
I draped the long veil behind her neck, letting it cascade over her body to the ground. Stepping back a pace, I studied her face.
"Huh, she looks a lot like Cheon Ga-eul. No way."
I chuckled, smoothing out her tousled hair. Strip away Ga-eul's venomous edge and her hatred for the world, and you'd get exactly this—maybe a few more wrinkles, a touch more mature allure.
Could it be her? Nah. Ga-eul wasn't this youthful. She'd aged at least ten years by comparison.
"...Nah, no shot."
I slapped my cheeks to shake off the ridiculous notion.
Masquerade. The heroine known as the Masquerade Ball. No way that witch who treated killing like a joke was some innocent pushover.
I shoved the absurd thought from my mind and leaped swiftly between the buildings.
...Then turned back.
Thankfully, no monsters had shown up in those ten-odd seconds.
'Gotta stash her somewhere first.'
If she really was Cheon Ga-eul, dimension gates wouldn't matter anymore. Scooping up the presumed Ga-eul from the middle of the parking lot, I dashed into the least damaged lecture hall building.
* * *
April 4, 2020, 6:35 PM — Hero Association Republic of Korea New Seoul Headquarters
"How many heroes responded to the summons?!"
"Seven from Gwangmyeong! Five from Anyang! No word yet from Seongnam!"
"Get them on the phone—whatever it takes! We need to build a defensive line to keep them from coming down!"
Kang So-yeon gnawed at her thumbnail in frustration. The third dimension gate in Korea had to pop up right in the heart of Seoul—the worst possible spot.
"Damn it...!"
She glared at the screen showing the gate's location, barely containing her rage. Not just the gate, but that place—of all spots, it was where they'd planned to shoot today.
"Team leader! Nonstop inquiries coming in!"
"Ignore them! All of them!"
The external lines were already ringing off the hook—media, civilians, even agency reps flooding in.
With trembling hands, So-yeon pulled up the portal on her smartphone. Search rankings and breaking news were already swamped with gate chatter.
"Aaaargh!!"
So-yeon tore at her hair in hysterics. Everyone in HQ shot her sympathetic glances but averted their eyes.
"I told you this was a bad idea! Why do you always have to do the one thing I say no to?!"
The nation's hottest drama right now, Last Love. The PD had begged to shoot the leads' first date scene at S University. So-yeon had ranted herself hoarse, nosebleed and all, insisting Seoul shoots were off-limits.
—Is filming in Seoul really that hard?
The Association rep summoned by the government quoted the S University alum president expressing regret over no S Uni first-date scene. Still, So-yeon held firm: impossible.
Who'd bulldozed through with fiery insistence on Seoul? The shoot's star himself, Lee Seung-hyung.
"When he gets back, I'm kneeing him in the balls, that jerk."
So-yeon chugged ice water to cool her boiling guts.
"Team leader! It's BH!"
"...Ugh."
She took the phone from the staffer, straightening up.
"Yes! This is Kang So-yeon of the Hero Association New Seoul Branch!"
"Good to meet you, Agent Kang So-yeon."
So-yeon flinched, grinding her teeth at the voice.
"...Yes, Minister."
"...The VIP specifically asked that nothing go wrong with this shoot..."
So-yeon gnashed her teeth. A dimension gate pops up, and he's worried about the shoot?
"Yes, Minister. Heroes are already responding to the emergency summons. We'll dispatch from New Seoul soon—"
"That's your problem. Just make sure Agent Lee Seung-hyung returns safe and sound to New Seoul without a scratch. Right? Heh."
"Minis—"
Suddenly, someone snatched the phone from her grasp. A middle-aged man with deep dark circles under his eyes took over.
"This is a dimension gate emergency. Unnecessary external comms are cut for operational efficiency."
"What? Hey! Who the hell are you?!"
"Submit official paperwork if you have business. Goodbye."
Click.
He powered off the smartphone completely and handed it to the staffer.
"No pointless calls on duty."
"How do you hang up on the Minister?"
"You a tax-fed civil servant? Complain in person. I'll deport him myself. Busy enough as is..."
The man irritably cracked open a canned coffee and chugged it. His frayed white coat bore the badge: Hero Association Tactical Planning Division Team Leader <Yoo Yeong-ho>.
"Kang So-yeon. Mic."
"Y-yes!"
Yoo Yeong-ho clipped the mic to his ear, pulling up the holographic map. A hero with overwhelming power, he also had the commander's talent to direct them.
"That should cover the base of the mountain."
He positioned nearby hero signals to encircle Gwanak Mountain. Orders relayed through operators zipped out; heroes shifted positions accordingly.
"This is the Executioner. Closing the gate. Follow orders. Don't die. Out."
His words and face were impassive, but his fingers blurred, assigning each hero and issuing commands.
Static, static.
A green hero signal pinged mid-mountain on the map's center. An A-rank registered with the Association.
"What? An A-rank? Who's that?"
Massive mana waves from the gate center jammed signals. Hero info blank, Yeong-ho pecked the screen like a woodpecker. So-yeon quickly pulled up the data.
"Hero Iron Bear was here! Signal's lost, no contact, but he's surely blocking the gate."
"Iron Bear? ...Lee Seung-hyung?"
Yeong-ho clicked his tongue, checking the time. About 15 minutes since gate emergence. From his last position and abilities, Yeong-ho ran mental sims.
"And it's still open?"
S University grounds to Gwanak peak? Any hero covers it in under 10 minutes. Physical enhancer like Seung-hyung? Five, tops.
An open gate meant he was either tied up by a strong monster... or rescuing stragglers.
"Why's Seung-hyung even in Seoul? Isn't he swamped with drama shoots? Out on a monster extermination gig?"
"W-well, uh..."
So-yeon hemmed and hawed. No way she wanted the fallout if he learned the truth.
"Ah, don't need to say it. Got it."
Yeong-ho caught on quick, sighing. He'd handpicked him for passion, but the guy's skills and background were a headache.
"Lee Seung-hyung... Sigh."
Yeong-ho recalled their first meeting—his lecture. The bold youth declaring before peers he'd block the gate. As Executioner who'd trained and commanded countless heroes, he knew Seung-hyung's type: all talk until reality hit. Straight-A kids caused the biggest screw-ups. His creed.
'Gotta close it fast. Korea can't afford drawn-out gates.'
Powerhouses like the US grew gates to harvest max cores, but Korea lacked the firepower. Quick closure was doctrine.
"...Trust him?"
Yeong-ho pondered.
Option 1: All-in on the gate. Fast close, but leaking monsters hit hard.
Option 2: Assume Seung-hyung closes it; form massive defense net. A-rank speed seals it quick; line holds casualties near zero.
Two made sense, but his gut screamed faint distrust of Seung-hyung.
"......Gotta trust."
Please be wrong, gut.
He rearranged heroes into area defense, watching signals anxiously.
Beeeep—
"What signal?!"
Not gate closure. An operator paled, yelling.
"Monster reaction near Deoksan Station! A-rank!"
Screens lit up with Deoksan Station feeds per Yeong-ho's order.
A soaring pillar of blue flame pierced the sky.
Rooooar—
The 40-meter blaze pillar shaped into a humanoid form, roaring to life.
"What the—?!"
So-yeon screamed. A bolt from the blue—an A-rank monster out of nowhere.
Even an S-rank in central New Seoul wouldn't shock like this.
"Team leader! Hunters are diverting to the monster!"
"Which?!"
"Deoksan A-rank!"
Map markers swarmed toward Deoksan. Allies or not, hunters chased profit.
"Directive change!"
Yeong-ho infused mana into the mic, bellowing.
"Assume no hunter support! Defense line as usual, us alone! Anyang team splits A and B! A intercepts Deoksan A-rank, B holds line! We'll cover A's gaps!"
Fingers flew.
"Hold till Iron Bear seals the gate! Out!"
Gate without warning. Sudden 40m giant. Coincidence? Yeong-ho couldn't shake the unease.
'Need insurance.'
If Iron Bear failed or another outlier hit, Seoul burns.
"Kang So-yeon."
"Yes!"
"Brief him on the situation."
"Him?"
Yeong-ho's voice cracked desperate.
"Gwanggeom!"