Someone to Protect
So, they needed someone to protect.
That summer when Baek Yena was twenty-two, the Dungeons appeared.
Up until then, Yena had been your average college student, convinced that scientists would sort everything out, idly flipping through her TOEIC vocab book.
The next month, monsters poured out from the Gates.
There was no solution.
Weak monsters could be taken down with guns and bombs, but when stronger ones emerged, soldiers died helplessly.
The nation stopped sending people to deal with the monsters.
The creatures overran the roads. People were trapped in their homes, unable to even open their windows. Those who ran out of food simply starved to death.
Some risked their lives venturing outside for supplies. Those who joyfully found roads free of monsters soon had their heads blown off by flying beasts from the sky.
People called that period the Isolated Month.
The Isolated Month was pure hell.
All people could do was watch news filled with phone interviews from the government, waiting for rescue—or rush outside unable to bear the hunger and get torn apart by monsters.
Monsters hadn't yet destroyed broadcast towers or water systems, so electricity and water still worked fine. But occasionally, one would break into a building and drag someone away.
Two days after her elementary-school-aged little brother was killed that way, on the day of the so-called Mass Awakening when the first Hunters awakened, Yena—who had been hiding under her bed without making a sound—had half-lost her mind after becoming a Hunter.
All the Hunters back then were out of their minds.
The Hunters who awakened on the Mass Awakening Day had endured a month of near-death terror and lost everyone around them. Their sanity was shattered.
So they threw themselves into slaughtering monsters indiscriminately, ignoring their own safety.
In just a week, the monsters that had isolated people for a full month were wiped out completely.
The moment Yena became a Hunter, like the others, she threw herself into exterminating monsters.
She wasn't in her right mind back then, but paradoxically, that's what earned her everyone's trust and made her a national hero.
After that, the government declared the incident resolved.
As things calmed, they compiled lists of those killed by monsters, knocked on every door to check for starvation deaths, and began repairing damaged buildings.
While national Hunter management agencies slowly formed, Hunters rushed to new Gates to clear monsters.
Around then, it became known that they could rescue people dragged into Dungeons—and that most of those people were confirmed dead.
Yena obsessed over raising her skill levels even a little, getting stronger by any means.
But... well, it was pointless.
Yena no longer had anyone to protect.
Lee Gayeon and Park Haejun, who had bonded with her through life-and-death in Dungeons, noticed her half-broken state and dragged in Ji Sein, a Hunter the same age as Yena, to found a guild.
Living together with others in one house eased the horrific emptiness and loneliness a bit, but Yena still couldn't find meaning in life.
So over the past two years, she'd tried all sorts of ways to find a purpose.
College? She dropped out since people stared at her like a zoo monkey, and it was just for getting a job anyway!
Clubs? People freaked out demanding autographs on day one, so she quit!
Volunteering? Kids swarmed begging for skill demos, so she stopped!
What's the point of being strong? I have no one to protect.
Yena was achingly lonely.
She couldn't fathom why she had to protect the world, clear Dungeons, and come back out—when no one waited for her. She had no reason to keep living.
She couldn't even be proper friends with her guildmates. Her same-age friend Ji Sein? Their personalities clashed too hard.
Ji Sein had awakened on the Mass Awakening Day like her, lost her whole family in the Isolated Month, become a Hunter, and dropped out of college. With all that in common, they should've clicked—but they clashed spectacularly.
"Dip it in sauce."
"Sauce on top."
"I like stuff that moves."
"I like holing up at home."
"Action flicks."
"Romance movies."
"Let's just stay un-friends forever."
"Sounds good."
Yeah, like that. So Yena was completely alone.
No point hanging with other strong Hunters. Weak civilians found her intimidating. Old friends? Contact cut off after she became a Hunter.
Should I get a dog? ...Nah, we wouldn't even communicate.
That evening, after cracking open a beer, Yena knelt on her bed and gazed up at the sky through the window.
The moon was especially bright that night.
It felt like she had to make a wish.
"Ha, God, hear my wish...."
"Yena, that T-shirt in the living room is yours... What are you doing?"
Ji Sein, who had just entered Yena's room, frowned.
"What do you think? Praying."
"Sigh, praying my ass~."
"If you pray hard enough, one of the gods will listen, right?"
Ji Sein looked at her pitifully, then quietly knelt beside her.
"Lord, I wish for someone who can understand me. Without any preconceptions...."
"God, I've become strong enough, but I still don't know the reason for my life. I'm this strong, but who am I supposed to protect as a Hunter? Lately, I've been having doubts. Give me someone to protect...."
It was close to drunken nonsense, an impulsive ramble.
The next day, they met Seoya—the little girl who fell from the sky.
"That's what happened...."
"What are you talking about?"
Seoya stared oddly at Yena and Ji Sein, who seemed lost in their own thoughts, ignoring her question.
"So, you won't abandon me?"
The moment she said it, Ji Sein froze with a "Did I hear that right?" expression, and Yena gaped at her in horror.
Their eyes met—pitch-black irises like bottomless voids.
Just like Ibin's.
The jet-black hair that let in no light, the striking features, the cold aura—all reminiscent of Ibin.
Her hot-tempered personality, affectionate only toward her, might resemble Taesa.
That's why, among those around her, Seoya trusted Yena the most.
And distrusted her the most.
"What? What nonsense is that? Why say something like that out of nowhere?"
"Just."
"Y-yes, Yena... It's the world's fault.... Our wittle cutie soft fluffy baby strong mouse said something like that because the world is wrong...."
Yena made a pouty, abandoned-puppy face, fidgeting at Ji Sein's words before shouting.
"Ah, right! For your ID registration, they needed a family name, so I put you down with mine! And Park Haejun made it like you're his cousin too. So, you're family now."
Family.
Seoya blinked at the word.
From age eight until now, Ibin and Taesa had played family for her.
But they ended up abandoning me anyway. They acted like they loved me.
While Yena and Ji Sein earnestly debated if Seoya needed psychological counseling, Seoya recalled Ibin and Taesa, who had always been blindly devoted to her.
Why did they abandon me?
***
A woman with long black hair cascading down busily moved her hands.
With each motion, blue mana intricately wove into the massive mechanical device.
The mana flowed into a hole the size of a grain of rice atop the machine.
Creeeak—
The old door opened, but the woman didn't turn.
"Ibin."
The red-haired man, Taesa, spoke in a choked voice.
"I... I...! I stabbed that kid with my sword...."
"It couldn't be helped."
Ibin replied coldly, without even glancing back.
"I can't take it anymore.... Are you sure it's really working out well, Ibin?"
"I'll make it so."
Ibin dabbed roughly at the fresh nosebleed with tissue, saying.
Used tissues stained with blood littered beside her—evidence of how much she'd bled. Her already pale face looked ghastly.
She spoke curtly.
"Go back and do your job. Don't keep coming here and raising suspicions."
"But in this damn headquarters...!"
"I'll do my best."
Her inscrutable black eyes stared impassively at the monitor.
Seoya, where are you?