The Purple Flame Descends
7 PM, just below the summit of Gwanak Mountain.
"Haaah!"
Seung-hyung's fist collided with the monster's. Even wrapped in his Fire Bear coat, the massive beast—far larger than him—grabbed his wrist with its other hand the instant their fists met.
"Kuh?!"
The giant monster's grip began crushing Seung-hyung's wrist. He swiftly cut off the mana flowing through his arm and yanked himself back.
Fwoosh!
The Fire Bear's arm slipped free, and the monster's wrist crumbled under the flames. It glanced at the fire clinging to its hand, then casually rubbed its fingers together like striking a match to extinguish it.
Kyahaha!
The charging monster thundered toward him, tongue lolling as if eager to devour him whole. Its raw power from sheer size outmatched Seung-hyung's, and even its mana reserves surpassed his. All that remained was speed.
"Hup!"
Before the beast's hands could reach him, Seung-hyung dove under it instead. Sliding between its leaping legs like a baseball player stealing home, he unleashed a massive swing of Fire Bear's claws.
Kyaaak!
The monster screamed as its ankle tore half off, collapsing in a heap. Like an ancient tree felled by an axe, it tumbled and rolled, then fixed its gleaming eyes on Seung-hyung.
"Hup!"
Seung-hyung leaped onto the monster's chest. Desperate not to lose its prey, it raised its hands toward him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
From behind Seung-hyung, the blazing Fire Bear swung both arms wide, smashing into the monster's shoulders. The beast ground its teeth as its strength faltered momentarily, but Fire Bear's descending fists hammered relentlessly until its arms went limp.
Kyaaak!
The monster lifted its head to swallow Seung-hyung. Fire Bear's arms remained locked, pinning it down.
"Hup!"
Regulating his breath, Seung-hyung channeled mana into his clenched fist. Separate from Fire Bear's, his Fire Fist erupted, shattering the monster's approaching teeth and incinerating its head.
Gya...aaah...
With a final death cry, the monster perished. Seung-hyung reattached Fire Bear's arms to his own and sprinted toward the summit.
"Hoo, haa!"
Leaping rocky paths in single bounds, he spotted the dimension gate hovering at Gwanak Mountain's peak.
"Thank goodness, haa."
Atop the vantage overlooking all of Seoul, Seung-hyung caught his breath and tapped his smartwatch. Signals were spotty from the gate's interference, but it was enough to report his status.
Thwack!
He pulverized a fresh monster bursting from the gate with one punch, then shouted into the watch.
"Fire Bear Lee Seung-hyung here! Reached the dimension gate—destroying it now!"
The flames clinging to his back swelled, forming a massive bear silhouette. The roaring inferno twisted its waist, poised to shatter the gate's core.
Bzzt, static.
A signal came through on Seung-hyung's smartwatch.
"Minister?"
The voice crackled with urgency. How was a government official on the association's channel?
"Yeong-ho hyung?!"
The other voice belonged to Yoo Yeong-ho, his senior and head of tactical planning.
The dimension gate's mana intensified, cutting the signal. Seung-hyung quickly pieced it together.
Association side—Yoo Yeong-ho—wants the gate closed immediately.
Government side—Minister—wants to hunt monsters from it first, then close at the right time.
"...Hoo."
If he'd had more leeway, Seung-hyung might've sided with the government. His influential family held sway there. But as a hero fulfilling his duty, he hesitated no longer.
"Coming down soon, Ga-eul-ssi."
Fire Bear's fist surged toward the gate's core.
Amid the otherworldly wind seeping through the gate, an impossible presence stirred. Blue flames. The utmost priority target for elimination. A spirit.
Zzzt!
The monster hurled itself toward the dimension gate.
Same time, Hero Association HQ.
"Dimension gate reaction vanished! Monster signals fading!"
Yoo Yeong-ho clenched his fists at the operator's report. A nagging unease lingered, but Lee Seung-hyung had fulfilled his duty as a hero, successfully destroying the gate.
A speaker icon flashed on one screen with a roar. Below "SOUND ONLY" read Republic of Korea Monster Countermeasures Ministry.
"I know. We sealed the gate. What's the problem?"
Calming his excitement, Yeong-ho replied coolly—scratching the other's nerves further.
"Yes. Closing gates by any means was the President's own words during his campaign, wasn't it?"
Yeong-ho quoted the President from a TV debate on "dimension gate efficiency."
"I may not agree with everything, but that much I respect—"
Yeong-ho clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Sorry, Minister. Gate interference messing with the signal. Bzzt."
Yeong-ho infused mana into his smartphone, smashing it. The operator—who'd merely forwarded the call to his device—swallowed tears thinking of the remaining payments, then rushed to connect a flashing signal.
"HQ here! Agent Lee Seung-hyung?!"
Seung-hyung's face appeared on the main screen. For someone who'd closed a gate solo, he looked unnervingly anxious and fidgety. Yeong-ho's instincts screamed something was wrong.
"What happened?!"
"But what?!"
Yeong-ho snapped irritably. Seung-hyung hesitated, tilting his smartwatch skyward.
Crack! Something shattered, and Seung-hyung's signal cut out. Silence blanketed the ops room.
"......."
Yeong-ho crushed his coffee can with trembling hands. Flashes of the infamous Dallas Gate footage—not delusion, but certainty.
"Scan for monster reactions! Now!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
The operator frantically rescanned mana distribution near the gate to estimate monster grades. Staring at her monitor in horror, she turned to Yeong-ho.
"Estimated S-grade overflow...! It's a 'Demon-species'!"
Yeong-ho's vision darkened.
Lee Seung-hyung couldn't believe the sight before him.
Why?
The dimension gate was successfully closed. Fire Bear's max-powered punch had neatly obliterated the core. Yet suddenly, directly above it—in the sky—a precursor to a new gate formed.
Crunch, craaack!
A deep violet claw burst from the rift, forcibly prying it open. Each talon dwarfed his torso. Seung-hyung enlarged Fire Bear behind him and struck the rift—but the punch rebounded off the claw, flinging him away.
"Uwaaak!"
Tumbling over rocks into a tree, he vomited blood. The overwhelming mana had inflicted severe internal injuries beyond mere bruises.
"N-no!"
Instinct screamed: this ominous beast heralded a catastrophe dwarfing all prior disasters. As a hero devoted to saving the world, a human acutely attuned to survival, and a wielder of "flame" ability, he knew it bone-deep.
Kwach!
The claw gripped and tore the world's rift wide. The monster shoved its head through.
"A bird?"
A bird's head wreathed in violet flames emerged from beyond. The monstrous bird glanced around, then thrust its head further.
Zzzzt!
The rift tore long. The beast's body surged out entirely, landing on Gwanak's summit.
Thud!
The mangled gate it had ripped through sealed quietly, its purpose fulfilled.
■■■■■■.
It planted its legs in the rock, spreading vast wings. Violet flames roared between feathers, igniting surrounding trees into an inferno.
Fwoosh!
The night-shrouded Gwanak Mountain blazed purple. Seung-hyung stared speechless at the devastation.
My fault.
He could've closed it sooner. But hesitation delayed him, botching the seal. Thus, this monster set foot on Earth—on Seoul.
■■■■?
Seung-hyung locked eyes with the beast. The brief gaze—under a second—overwhelmed with mana and presence; his Fire Bear flickered out like a match.
■■■■■■.
As if the insignificant pest unworthy of a swipe, the monstrous bird soared skyward. Seung-hyung could only watch in terror as it ascended.