Why Are You Still Alive?
Time had slipped into the heart of a sweltering June. It had been over three weeks since Cheon Ji-hoo returned to Earth in May. He was enjoying peaceful days. He'd reunited with his little sister, secured a spacious home. The house stayed perfectly comfortable year-round thanks to a few spells, and in this world, you could summon delivery food with a snap of your fingers. Well, aside from a few minor chores.
Really minor stuff. Dragging Cheon Ji-yoon around in her white armor for some light raiding. He was closing rifts the Hunter Association hadn't spotted yet, gradually honing her skills. Her affinity with the sword spirit was paying off—her mana control was improving by leaps and bounds. No talent for magic, as expected, but her swordsmanship was exceptional, just like her.
"Phew! Oppa, how's this?"
"Looking good."
Cheon Ji-yoon pulled off her helmet, shook out her sweat-matted hair, and flashed a big grin. She was only seventeen, yet here she was slicing monster heads off while clad in that armor and wielding her blade of light.
...There had to be plenty of scumbags out there who'd fall head over heels for a sight like that.
My sister's mine to protect.
For the record, today's rift was rated B-grade. From the trash mobs to the core guardian, she'd handled everything solo. At this rate, she was S-rank material. Watching her grow so fast brought tears to his eyes.
He casually wrenched the core free with a crunch and placed a hand on her shoulder, activating Space Transfer. In a blink, they were back at the rift entrance. As they stepped out, the rift crumpled shut behind them.
Cheon Ji-yoon watched it close, then finally voiced her long-held curiosity.
"Oppa, so where are we this time?"
"Pyeongtaek."
"Some random mountain around Pyeongtaek, huh."
"Yep."
The rifts Cheon Ji-hoo took her to were mostly fresh ones in remote spots. They'd cleared four so far—out-of-the-way places in Gyeonggi Province or tucked into Gangwon-do's mountains. It was uncanny how he zeroed in on them.
And the travel time's negligible.
He'd explained it as Space Transfer, a spell linking coordinates with mana, but she couldn't wrap her head around the principle even after hearing it.
Looking up, the sky was thick with stars. The mountain air made them shine brighter. It was night now. They'd eaten dinner and entered around eight, taking about two hours to clear out. Cheon Ji-yoon beamed at her improved clear time, but Cheon Ji-hoo just patted her back.
"Let's head home."
Hand on her shoulder again, he cast Space Transfer. With a faint blue ripple, they vanished.
* * *
"Phew, this should do it."
"This many? It'll sweep the front lines clean in one go."
"If that summoner guy were still around, we could've gathered even more."
"Kinda wasteful. But it drew eyes away, didn't it? Honorable death, honorable death. A sacrifice for the greater cause."
Two figures in black robes snickered from a hilltop, eyeing the distant scene. Monsters were massing.
Pocheon City, Cheorwon County. Earth had turned any remote, people-less spot into a death trap. Rifts popped up everywhere, and if one went unraided in an empty area, a core monster would spawn. That beast would emerge with its horde and claim territory.
The robed pair had herded such core monsters—using hunter skills—into what was now a barren wasteland: Cheorwon. Once a frontline military zone, North Korea had agreed to a ceasefire years ago, redirecting all forces to rift closures. Their situation was dire; without it, they'd have collapsed.
"This'll make an S-grade rift, right?"
"Twenty A-grade core monsters, plus over a hundred minions. Unless five or more S-ranks show, no easy win."
"Kyah, what a show! Total—"
One cackled wildly. Visions of screaming evacuees filled his mind. The terror, the despair—it was music to his ears.
Their first target: Uijeongbu. They'd lead this monster army there and paint it red with blood and screams.
"The boss'll love it. Plenty of souls to harvest."
"And we get our fun too."
"...Yeah. Handle the finale. I've got other business—heading out."
"Go on, scram!"
The two silhouettes on the hill merged into one. The lone figure grinned ear-to-ear, arms spread wide.
What a wonderful world. Even with an S-rank villain bounty, the self-righteous goons couldn't catch him. Roaming free on unexpected gains—it was a killer paradise.
"Alright, let the festival begin!"
* * *
Hunter Association headquarters. The large conference room buzzed with guild masters and hunters like HCU commander Hong Ji-hwa.
The agenda: satellite footage of a monster horde.
"Estimated A-grade core monsters: at least fifteen. Trailing sub-monsters: around six hundred. Currently advancing south from Pocheon toward Uijeongbu at high speed."
HCU's everyman staffer Lee Joo-hwan's briefing, slick with cold sweat, drained the color from faces.
Fifteen A-grade cores. Six hundred regulars. Brains whirred. Guild alliances might hold a defense line, but losses would be massive. Prized members could die.
No one spoke up eagerly. Someone had to do it, but why them? Especially smaller guilds.
Lee Joo-hwan glanced at the Association President and Hong Ji-hwa before continuing.
"Sat imagery suggests not a natural swarm. We suspect manipulation, tied to the recent Hunter Way incident with S-rank villain 'Summoner'."
A feint. Distract with Summoner at Hunter Way, amass army in Cheorwon.
Everyone got it. The mood stayed grim. No one dared speak until the Association President did.
"When establishing guilds, you signed contracts with us. Guilds must cooperate unconditionally in national disasters."
Rare authority, used in great rift crises. In exchange, the Association offered perks. But this wasn't quite a national disaster, so some guild masters bristled—until the President cut in.
"That aside, I'm asking. HCU leads a defense line to stop them. Anyone scared can sit out, but cooperators get government rewards later."
The old president wasn't sleazy. His straightforwardness worked best on veterans who knew it. Long-standing guilds nodded reluctantly. An HCU-led alliance formed.
Post-meeting, guilds mobilized for defenses. Left behind: the President, Hong Ji-hwa, Lee Joo-hwan.
Hong Ji-hwa asked, "Should we contact Cheon Ji-hoo?"
"No."
"He'd be our ace. Could solo it—no need for all these guilds, way more efficient."
"But then we'd look like Korea relies on one man. We need to win without him."
"His existence is classified anyway."
"Mobilizing him exposes his power abroad. Better this way."
"Understood."
Hong Ji-hwa smacked her lips, bowed slightly, and left with Lee Joo-hwan.
Alone, the President rose and approached the window. Hunter Way sprawled below. They'd mourned the recent dead collectively, but it still thrummed with life.
He remembered the great rift ten years ago. Masses vanished. Masses died. The nation drowned in screams; crime surged in chaos. Without awakeners, it would've ended Korea.
He murmured softly.
"That's why we protect it..."
No repeats.
* * *
"Hm."
Cheon Ji-hoo blinked down from the sky. A monster army. Core-bearing beasts aplenty, trailed by hordes. And everything was frozen in time.
Monsters mid-stride, an unnatural tableau. Turning, he saw the other side: people in odd gear, spewing fire from hands or cloaking blades in blue aura.
Cheon Ji-hoo pondered briefly, then stated:
"A dream."
Recognizing it snapped the world into motion. Monsters thundered forward, shaking earth. Hunters roared back in fearful fury. High-rankers blocked core beasts, but flankers shredded low-rankers.
HCU's Hong Ji-hwa rampaged amid them, hellfire blazing from her body as she led agents like a demon.
"Hm."
Why this dream? Prophetic visions came occasionally, but none this vivid in ages. Only major threats stirred his instincts.
His head turned instinctively. From the monsters, three humans emerged, flipping the battlefield. Two men, one woman. Villains? Hunters yelled challenges, clashed—but soon routed.
Not enough to ping his instincts. Something bigger lurked. His nape prickled...
"Hmm..."
A robed figure stepped from the monster side. Human-like, yet wearing a human skin. Cheon Ji-hoo focused, then burst out laughing in disbelief.
"Just a dumb dream?"
If real, it threatened his peace. What emerged was something that shouldn't exist on Earth: a Demon.
Precisely, a Demon King follower. Humans who'd embraced evil so deeply they'd corrupted into its image. The forehead mark confirmed it. Cheon Ji-hoo descended, facing it. The world froze again—easy in a known dream.
Peering closely, he smirked.
"This is interesting."
Fascinating, really. If a true prophetic dream...
Why were these guys—whom he'd thought slaughtered—still alive?