Dreams
...Sometimes, there are moments like this.
Moments when you face a situation, fully aware that it is nothing but a dream.
Moments when vivid emotions wash over you, even though you know for certain it isn't reality.
"You killed us."
"How could you do this to us!"
"Ari, we were sisters. Please, spare me—"
These dreams always returned just as she was beginning to forget.
She would scream that it wasn't true, but nothing ever changed.
If anything, the illusion only tightened its grip around her throat.
"..."
Blink, blink.
Ari opened her eyes blankly.
The images of her sisters, weeping tears of blood and spitting resentment, vanished into the dark.
In place of a forest engulfed in a raging inferno, a strange room built of cold concrete came into view.
...I woke up.
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and sat up.
Shifting her weight, she wiggled over to the edge of the bed and let her legs dangle.
"Haa..."
Resting her elbows on her knees, she let her gaze drop to the floor.
Her tumbled silver hair tickled her cheeks, but she left it alone.
She felt completely drained of energy, or perhaps she just needed to sort out the thoughts tangled in her head first.
It's an illusion. It has to be.
There was a period when she had blacked out after devouring a demon in her blinding rage against the gods.
Could she have been the one who erased her home forest back then?
Could she have devoured even her own sisters, the ones she had grown up with since birth?
Once she allowed herself to doubt, the worst-case scenarios began to chain together, one after another.
And sometimes, those thoughts manifested as nightmares, just like the one she had today.
A terribly horrific sight.
She let out another long sigh.
No, of course not. There's no way I did that. Beside, I don't feel any residual trace of their power within me.
When she wielded her mana, she preferred to manipulate pure energy itself.
Although she was capable of utilizing the powers she absorbed, she rarely chose to do so.
Therefore, the forest engulfed in flames and the devouring of her sisters—it was only logical to dismiss them as illusions born of her own guilt.
Of course, dismissing it so easily was only possible now that she was awake...
"...Ugh, seriously!"
She shook her head vigorously to dispel the stray thoughts that naturally crept in.
Her silver hair became a wild, tangled mess in the process.
She combed through the strands with her fingers as she stood up.
Opening the beverage fridge, she grabbed a soda and gulped it down. The cold carbonation burned satisfyingly down her throat. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
Only then did her head feel clear.
Right. It might be a good idea to investigate when I get the chance.
The bizarre mana storm that had torn through space to trap her, and the exact reason she had been returned to Earth.
The people of Earth seemed to call those phenomena Gates and dungeons...
Either way, Ari was far too much of an anti-theist to chalk her return to Earth up to mere fate.
She didn't just hate gods; she had firsthand experience slaughtering one.
Maybe my sisters followed the goddess and fled to another world...
She would much prefer that to be the case.
After all, the fantasy world she had been living in was hurtling toward destruction by the second.
I hope we can meet again.
The days when she played lightheartedly with her sisters, free of any worries, had been truly wonderful.
Thinking of those happy times brought a soft smile to her lips.
Ari moved with fluid grace and pressed the call button.
Rather than sitting around reminiscing about the past, she decided it was time to get some fresh air as planned.
"Did you call?"
A voice immediately crackled through the speaker.
It was somewhat gender-neutral, but its soft undertone suggested it belonged to a female staff member.
"I need some comfortable clothes to wear," Ari said. "Should I go out and buy some, or can you just bring me something simple?"
This time, there was a slight delay before the voice responded.
"We will prepare something for you immediately."
The Hunter Management Bureau and the government had been working through the night, engulfed in a flurry of activity.
The main topic of discussion was how to handle the information regarding the Calamity-class Gate Boss, Ari.
For now, they were leaning toward controlling and manipulating the narrative, planning to release fabricated information to the public.
The consensus was that trying to restrict her movements would be a disastrous move. More accurately, they had come to realize it was physically impossible.
But what if she went out while her true identity was public knowledge?
It was painfully obvious what would happen if some reckless idiot decided to pick a fight with her.
A minor personal dispute could instantly escalate into a national security crisis—a full-blown national disaster.
Even the great Kang Chulwoong hadn't lasted a single minute against her. What hope did anyone else have?
It was all too easy to picture the surrounding area being reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"First, set up a bank account and a credit card for her to use when she goes out."
"We also need to designate a specific area for her visit. Somewhere we can minimize casualties in the event of an accident."
"We will mobilize as many agents as possible to keep all variables under control."
"Urgent report! Boss Ari has requested new clothes..."
The conference room never fell silent, and the hallways were a constant blur of rushing staff.
The higher-ups were already discussing the creation of a brand-new, specialized department dedicated solely to managing Ari.
Meanwhile, Han Jihyun was in a state of exhaustion.
"*Yawn*..."
She let out a long yawn, having barely slept. She hadn't dared to go home and rest, terrified that Ari might suddenly call for her.
Instead, she had grabbed a few essentials, rushed back to the research facility, and tried to catch some sleep in the night duty room.
Fortunately, she hadn't been summoned yet, but the tension in the air made it impossible to rest properly.
"I'm so tired..."
With her face completely bare of makeup, she sat in a chair, her head nodding off repeatedly.
Yet, even in her disheveled state, her natural beauty drew frequent, lingering glances from the research staff passing through the corridor.
If there was any silver lining, it was that she had been temporarily relieved of all her standard duties.
As long as Ari didn't summon her, she had absolutely nothing to do.
Out of habit, Han Jihyun pulled out her smartphone to check the time.
She began mindlessly tapping and scrolling through her screen, a completely aimless gesture to pass the time.
But then...
"...Huh?"
Her finger froze.
She tapped on a photo, and a selfie popped up on her screen.
Well, calling it a selfie was a bit of a stretch.
Strictly speaking, it looked like an accidental shot that had simply been saved to her gallery.
Staring blankly at the image of Ari—a face of such unforgettable, ethereal beauty—Han Jihyun's mouth parted in a small 'O'.
Ah, that must be from then!
It was from when the silver-haired girl had borrowed her phone, turning it over and over in her hands.
She recalled hearing a faint shutter sound back then.
Wow... She's so gorgeous, even from such a bizarre angle.
Mesmerized, she couldn't tear her eyes away.
She pressed down on the screen.
The three-second Live Photo, capturing the moments right before and after the shutter clicked, began to play.
"Pfft."
A soft giggle escaped Han Jihyun's lips.
Startled by the sudden flash or sound, the girl in the photo had her eyes wide and round, her lips parted in a tiny, surprised gasp at the very end of the clip.
The way she froze in sheer bewilderment made her look exactly like a startled white kitten.
She's so incredibly cute just to look at.
She looked so soft that Jihyun felt an urge to reach out and stroke that glossy silver hair.
To think that this adorable creature was the terrifying entity temporarily classified as a Calamity-class Gate Boss.
It was a stark, almost painful reminder of the old adage: never judge a book by its cover.
Han Jihyun's expression grew solemn.
I need to keep myself alert. I can't let my guard down!
With that noble justification, she promptly set the photo as her phone's wallpaper.
Now, every time she woke her screen, she would be forced to remember the danger she was dealing with.
It was strictly a safety measure to maintain her vigilance. There was absolutely no other motive behind it.
...Probably.
She spent the next few hours repeatedly checking her phone whenever she had a spare moment.
As lunchtime approached, orders finally came down from the higher-ups.
She was to accompany Boss Ari, who had requested to go out and sightsee, acting as her guide, monitor, and emergency contact.
Han Jihyun swallowed hard, quickly got ready, and headed toward the containment room.
The moment she stepped inside, she instinctively raised a hand to cover her mouth.
Ari had already changed into the modern casual clothes someone had brought her, and the sight was absolutely breathtaking.
Ah, I want to take a picture so badly.
It would be so helpful for maintaining her vigilance!
As Jihyun stared at her with wide eyes,
"...Does it look weird?" Ari asked, her cheeks flushing slightly as she looked up to gauge Jihyun's reaction.
She lifted her arms slightly, looking down to inspect her outfit in a way that was incredibly endearing.
Even though she was wearing loose, unisex, one-size-fits-all clothes, they couldn't entirely hide her delicate yet shapely figure.
Han Jihyun whipped out her smartphone with lightning speed.
"Could you hold still for just a second?"
"Huh? Oh, okay."
Click. Click. Click.
"See? It looks wonderful on you," Jihyun said, showing her the screen to reassure her.
"Really? That's a relief."
The newly snapped photos were immediately saved to Jihyun's gallery—purely for the sake of maintaining her vigilance, of course.
Perfect. That was completely natural. I should make a separate folder for these later.
Jihyun nodded to herself, thoroughly pleased.
Ari looked away from the phone and looked down at herself once more.
A plain shirt and ordinary pants.
It was the kind of outfit you could see on any street corner.
It feels so strange.
She had spent far too long wearing loose, flowing robes and draped fabrics in the other world.
But then, recalling her past life on Earth, she remembered something.
Back then, even just changing from long sleeves to short sleeves when the seasons shifted felt a bit weird at first.
With that thought, she figured she would get used to it in no time.
Ari clasped her hands behind her back and strolled toward the exit, with Jihyun quickly falling into step beside her.
"Ari-nim, before we head out, there are a few quick things we should go over," Jihyun said.
"Go over?"
"Yes! Since this is your first time exploring the city, I want to explain a few basic rules, just like we did with the smartphone yesterday."
With a heavy clang, the steel door swung open, and they stepped out into the corridor.
"First of all," Jihyun began, "I don't know what the laws were like in the world you came from, but in South Korea, murder is strictly illegal."
"Well, obviously," Ari replied casually.
"And the same goes for property damage, assault, and threats."
"Oh, come on, you don't need to worry about that. I've gotten pretty good at controlling my strength."
The very fact that Jihyun and the research staff were standing here, conversing with her normally, was proof of that claim.
If she hadn't suppressed her aura, they would have been collapsing from seizures and vomiting blood by now. The sheer gap in their power was just that vast.
"S-strength control?" Jihyun stammered. "Couldn't you just... leave everything to us instead?"
"I might be relying on you guys for now, but I plan to live independently eventually. I need to start practicing early."
Practice? Wait, don't tell me...
Jihyun asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"W-what do you mean by practice...?"
Ari beamed, offering a smile as radiant as a blooming flower.
"I'm going to wander around by myself today! You should take this chance to get some rest, Jihyun."
She had been granted the ironic, fortunate opportunity to experience her former homeland of Korea as a complete stranger.
How could she throw away a once-in-a-lifetime chance like this? Absolutely not!
After all, the best kind of travel was completely unplanned.
Today, she was going to fully immerse herself in the joy of the unexpected.
Jihyun seemed completely overwhelmed by the idea, placing a hand over her heart, utterly speechless.
Ari figured the woman was probably deeply moved and relieved that she wouldn't be dragged around all day and could finally get some rest.
Mhm, mhm.
This was what true, warm consideration looked like. In other words, pure humanity.
Feeling like she was already perfectly prepared to integrate back into Earth's society, Ari took a light, cheerful step forward.
Soon, she left the research facility behind, riding in a vehicle provided by the government.
Ari didn't notice—nor did she particularly care—but a tail of unmarked cars quietly followed her from a distance.
Dozens of agents had already been deployed ahead to wait at her destination.
A top-secret, covert security operation had officially begun.