The Long Night Begins
Having lost the gate carrier to the expeditionary force, Xenocrates could no longer build their sanctuary—in other words, they could no longer create a Level 9 Gate.
They had lost the initiative. They were out of time.
The plan had been perfect, yet everything had fallen apart before it could even begin.
All because of that arrogant bastard Lee Shin—the one who had the nerve to type “lol” at them.
“Are you certain he’s Korean?”
“Do I look like I wouldn’t know the writing system of the country I was born in?”
“You need to be precise. You weren’t born. You were created, weren’t you?”
“Do I look like I’m in the mood for jokes, Belphegor? Read the room.”
“Oh dear, my apologies.”
The blue-eyed, blond gentleman Belphegor tilted his wine bottle in a gesture of contrition, but Hyeol-bong snatched it away and took a long swig straight from the neck.
“Should we fold… or should we push forward…?”
“Belphegor, what does that precious truth of yours have to say?”
“How vulgar. Truth does not reveal itself in such a rushed manner. It must be nurtured slowly and carefully, like this wine.”
“Still full of shit, I see.”
Enough. Forget initiative, time, and all that nonsense. The fact was simple.
They had failed.
They had failed completely.
Now these two had to choose.
Would they accept the failure and retreat with their tails between their legs?
Or would they force the plan through no matter what?
The answer was the latter.
“The situation is extremely uncomfortable.”
“I don’t know what kind of magic they used, but a net has already closed around us.”
“At this point it’s obvious the Bureau is involved. Which means the moment tomorrow arrives, the airport will be sealed shut along with everything else.”
“If we scatter now, we’ll be hunted down like rabbits. We’ll have to stay hidden like dead mice for at least a few years.”
“…Belphegor, you feel it too, don’t you? If the plan fails in this worst possible way, the organization will split apart completely.”
“The first joint operation is always the most important. After it collapses this miserably, we’ll never be able to unite again.”
“Which means…”
“The other bastards will be drooling at the chance to take over.”
Sacrifice?
That wasn’t an issue.
These were villains who would use any means necessary. As long as humans clung to their desires, they would sprout like weeds no matter the environment.
What mattered was the total power of their faction. A reduction in that strength carried a completely different weight.
In the underworld these villains inhabited, it was directly tied to survival.
In cruder terms—if you looked like easy prey, you were fucked.
“We agree that we need to show them something, yes?”
“Crashing through and destroying an entire country doesn’t sound so bad. Where should we start? Bolivia? Colombia? I’m partial to Colombia myself.”
“No. Brazil.”
“…Oh? So Hyeol-bong hasn’t given up after all. Fourth Corps Commander. Or rather, since it’s just us, let’s speak plainly. You’re thinking of retrieving that gate slave?”
“We cannot abandon the gate transport ability. If the Bureau claims it, it’s over.”
“True. It is a power that touches upon truth itself. Far too valuable for a mere slave to possess.”
Finding someone with a gate-related ability wasn’t like searching for a needle in a haystack. It was like searching for a needle on the far side of the galaxy.
The fact that Xenocrates—a global villain organization—had scoured the entire planet for decades and only found one such person said everything.
That was why losing that slave meant there was no guarantee they could find the ability again. Yet despite their desperation, the reality was that they had no clear method.
Whoever had done this had perfectly grasped their movements and kidnapped the target with surgical timing.
There was no way such meticulous opponents would have left their defenses lax.
When Belphegor asked the question, Hyeol-bong’s finger pointed outside the tent.
“Reverse every single gate you gathered with that truth of yours.”
“!!”
They had already prepared numerous gates around the area for their grand plan, including multiple Level 8 Gates.
If they detonated them all, it wouldn’t be a Level 9 Gate, but it would still create a catastrophe more than sufficient.
Belphegor, however, looked troubled by the suggestion.
“Look here, Hyeol-bong. Even for me, reversing this many gates at once is difficult.”
Belphegor’s ability was less about gates themselves and more about “twisting truth.”
It was genuine magic. It required a corresponding cost—whether in mana or consumables.
That was when the decisive words left Hyeol-bong’s mouth.
“If it’s a cost you need, we have a suitable offering right here.”
“??”
“That filthy traitor and all his byproducts.”
“!!”
Belphegor’s lips curved upward.
“You’re a genius.”
Reputation has increased.
Reputation has increased.
Reputation has increased.
...
Leadership has increased.
Leadership has increased.
Leadership has increased.
...
Politics has increased.
Politics has increased.
Politics has increased.
...
All applicable stats have been raised to their current limit of 90.
* * *
In the command center, countless screens floated in the darkened room, each one filled with monsters.
Under the oppressive darkness came roars that shook the soul and made the earth tremble.
The Brazilian hunters froze as they watched a tidal wave of monsters surge forward, smashing through the horizon—or rather, the green horizon of the Amazon.
But did they know? Their actual commander, Lee Shin, was absolutely delighted.
“That’s right!!”
Just as he’d expected. Thank you—your little stunt just got me properly fired up.
Lee Shin grabbed the microphone and pulled it close.
“Testing, testing. Can everyone hear me?”
Whether the translators were working properly or not, the crowds on the screens began looking around at the sound of his voice.
“So? Wasn’t I right?”
He had already explained it during the meeting.
Xenocrates’s First Corps Commander, Belphegor, could force gates to reverse flow.
Though they couldn’t check his status window since he was a villain, Lee Shin’s knowledge and experience told him it was almost certainly the SSS-rank trait Truth Distortion.
“They’re going to reverse every gate they’ve stockpiled. To do that, they’ll need a massive sacrifice. There’s a high chance they’ll offer up the entire Second Corps—their own people.”
“The reason? Because they don’t trust you! Congratulations, everyone. We’ve gotten the best possible scenario right from the start.”
At his cheerful tone, the Brazilian hunters on screen let out dry, disbelieving laughs. Even so, the rigid tension in the air visibly loosened.
Lee Shin’s deliberate lightness had worked. His dominance over the battlefield had just grown even stronger.
Let’s add one more layer.
Lee Shin’s fingers flew across his status window, dumping every single stat point he had been saving.
Now was not the time to be frugal. He would use everything he could.
This battlefield held not only the Mountain King and Hwarang, but also rankers like the Divine Archer and Black Star whom Lee Shin favored, as well as Mir’s future—his own children: Park Su-bin, Baek Yeon-woo, and Yu Ri-ra.
Relying on luck or gambling wasn’t his style.
The moment every point that could be invested was raised to the limit of 90, Lee Shin brought his mouth to the microphone once more.
“The enemy has committed to a short, decisive battle. All we have to do is hold.”
Think of it simply. This was just a wave-clearing defense.
A slightly more varied monster wave than usual. All you have to do is stop them.
“If you’re a major guild, you can handle a single Level 8 Gate, right? Is there anyone here who hasn’t cleared a Level 8 Gate before? No? Exactly.”
“There are twenty major guilds gathered here. On top of that, the forces from the Second and Third Divisions are backing you up. By the numbers, we could even handle twenty Level 8 Gates. Just looking at it, this wave is clearly smaller than that. Yes, that’s right. This is nothing!”
He stoked their confidence.
You can do this.
This is no different from what you usually do. There’s no need to overthink it.
Lee Shin’s voice, now carrying even greater persuasive power, spread across the battlefield.
“You don’t need to rack up points. You don’t need to kill a lot of them. Just hold the line. You are protecting your own home.”
“When this night ends, the Bureau’s main force will arrive. Once the sun rises, today’s disaster will be remembered as nothing more than an amusing anecdote.”
So—
“Let’s suffer through this together, shall we?”
He didn’t simply tell them to trust him blindly like usual. After all, he was still an outsider here.
Instead, he promised to stand with them.
He assured them he would take full responsibility for both the rewards and the consequences.
At those words, the thousands of Brazilian hunters’ eyes shone with far greater resolve than before.
“Let’s begin.”
The moment Lee Shin gave the signal—
――――――!!
A deafening roar shook heaven and earth as a wall rose up across the defensive line.
It was an iron wall created from the Mountain King’s plants, Black Star’s white bones, and every last item and magic stone they had desperately scraped together from the Bureau and the Brazilian government.
After they had perfectly established their formation, it didn’t take long.
The monster wave crashed forward, beginning with direwolves slamming their heads against the ramparts.
The long night had begun.
Magic power flashed everywhere.
Swords, spears, axes, cold weapons, guns, cannons, magic railguns—every weapon emitted dazzling bursts of magical light.
Magic filled the air as well.
Fire, water, wind, earth—the four major elements—and magic circles of every possible attribute swept away the darkness and erased the monsters before their eyes.
―――――!!
An indescribable sound slammed into their ears, followed by horrific slaughter.
Screams tore through the air. The sickening stench of burning flesh assaulted their noses. Monsters that fell from the ramparts were torn apart into blood and chunks of meat.
Yet the river of blood they created was instantly refilled by the next wave of monsters.
No matter how many they killed, it never ended. An overwhelming numerical advantage.
The enemy’s intention was clear. In a battle of attrition, they held the advantage.
They were right. This side consisted of living humans, after all.
Which was exactly why Lee Shin had prepared these three.
“Duck!”
“!!”
A hunter struggling against a climbing ogre quickly crouched at the shout from behind him. A milky-white giant’s arm swept over his head.
Crunch!
The ogre took a direct hit to the face and plummeted.
“Thanks!”
“Keep it up!”
The Brazilian hunter waved at the distant figure, and Park Su-bin flashed a thumbs-up as he flew past.
Soon Yu Ri-ra and Baek Yeon-woo gathered at his side.
“Lira, what about the basilisks in Zone C?”
“I sniped them—ppangya! They’re kissing the ground right now.”
“Did you take care of the elite orc pack in Zone D, Yeonu?”
“They’re just orcs, what’s there to ‘take care of’… What about you and the ogres?”
“Done with those too.”
Lightning, radiance, and a giant.
Lee Shin’s children… no, the trio who had earned a new name for themselves today raced across the battlefield.
Park Su-bin recalled what Hyung had said.
—‘Kids, to be honest, it’s hard to fully trust the Brazilian guilds. Actually, the same goes for pretty much all the guilds in South America. This place is lawless, so the hunter pool is genuinely terrible.’
He’d said anyone with even a little talent had already gone to America.
—‘The major guilds are decent at least, but the problem is the minors. The minor guilds that form the roots here are a complete lost cause. The whole ecosystem needs to be rebuilt. Anyway, the point I’ve been trying to make is…’
There could be holes everywhere!
“Noona!!”
“I’m on it!”
At the distress call coming through his earpiece, Park Su-bin shouted, and Yu Ri-ra vanished in a streak of lightning.
In that moment, Baek Yeon-woo grabbed the back of a hunter’s head who was in danger, flung him aside, and drove his sword into a dark elf’s throat.
Park Su-bin’s giant brought both fists together.
Crack!
It crushed the head of a rising gargoyle.
On the ground, one hunter was sitting frozen in terror.
His pants were visibly wet. His precious weapon was nowhere to be seen—probably dropped somewhere.
Park Su-bin let out a quiet internal sigh at the pathetic sight.
—‘No matter how much hope I try to give, there will definitely be casualties. Realistically, a battle of this scale without any losses is impossible. But what if the ones suffering are rookies who’ve never experienced intense combat in an emergency like this? You can imagine it, right?’
These inadequate people would harm not only themselves but the morale of their entire team and the battlefield as a whole.
That was why Lee Shin—why Hyung—had asked them for this favor.
It could be annoying to have to suffer because of these rookies, but…
—‘Even if they’re lacking, let’s still protect them. Hyung is asking you.’
“Stand up.”
“!!”
“Here. Take this spear. Just hold your position. Don’t overdo it. Got it?”
Park Su-bin helped the fallen hunter to his feet and handed him a spear he had stored in his subspace.
—‘Today we aren’t Lee Shin’s children. We’re Lee Shin’s firefighters.’
Firefighters who would put out the flames across the battlefield.
Park Su-bin and Baek Yeon-woo met each other’s eyes and nodded.
Then the two of them exploded into motion.
In an instant the giant’s fist slammed down, and a blade of light sliced through flesh. The giant roared like a lion once more while the blade of light transformed into a massive sword and crashed down.
The two of them swept away every monster climbing the ramparts.
They were in the middle of clearing the area when it happened.
— “Emergency! Zone Z! Zone Z is collapsing!!”
A distress call through the earpiece.
— “It’s a monster!”
— “Save… krrrrrrch——.”
After that, only static.
Something was wrong. Park Su-bin’s body moved before his mind could catch up.
“I’ll head there first! Finish up here and follow!”
“Hey! Sunfish!”
Don’t overdo it!!
Park Su-bin smiled at his friend’s shout from behind and shot across the battlefield.
It was urgent. Faster.
The orb of light carrying Park Su-bin responded to his will, accelerating again and again without limit. Fired like a bullet, Park Su-bin barely made it in time.
Orbs of light blocked the exploding violet flames.
Crack——!!
“??”
At that moment, the caster of the spell tilted his head and looked in his direction.
“!!”
Park Su-bin slid across the ground, shielding the fallen hunters behind him.
The two of them recognized each other.
The blond man looked at Park Su-bin with interest.
“…Ohhh?? Did you just block my magic?”
“…”
Instead of answering, Park Su-bin checked his communicator.
As expected, it was jammed. Keeping his eyes fixed on the man, he spoke to the hunters behind him.
“Everyone, hurry and report to Hyung—no, to the Commander.”
Tell him a Corps Commander has arrived…
That’s right.
The man standing before Park Su-bin was the First Corps Commander, the one who wielded the language of truth—Belphegor.