Hell Gate 1: Vroooom!
A-rank mana stones fueled the mana engine's deafening roar. The pitch-black painted chassis. It was originally a hearse for transporting corpses. Now, it had become a monstrous machine embodying the pinnacle of magitech engineering.
"Ready for departure."
I finished checking the gauges while gripping the wheel, and the passenger window slammed down roughly. Adel, with her disheveled purple hair, stuck her head out. Her gaze swept over the dozens of burly men lined up at the parking lot entrance.
"No one's missing, right?"
They were former Red Skull gang members. Now, official figure storage custodians.
"Yes! All present and accounted for!"
Right there in the front row stood the hulkiest one, standing at rigid attention. Just hours ago, he'd been the action captain, but now he'd earned a thrilled promotion: Doki.
"Hey! Safety manager!"
Doki jumped at Adel's booming shout and rattled off his title and rank.
"Yes! Safety Manager Doki reporting! You called, Lady Adel?!"
"You. Did you memorize the manual I gave you earlier, or not?"
"I've got it all down! Humidity between 50% and 55%! Temperature constantly at 24 degrees! No direct sunlight!"
Doki recited it desperately, his face more serious than when taking a hit contract. And why not? The taste of that mad mage's sample torture—electric zaps— was burned deep into his brain.
Adel narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
"Listen up. Assistant No. 1. No, Safety Team Leader."
"Yes! Thank you! Promoted from No. 3 to No. 1! It's truly an honor!"
He looked terrified under the surface, but on the outside, he was shouting with feigned ecstasy. Adel jabbed her thumb toward the back seat—precisely, her treasure vault stashed deep underground.
"When I get back,"
Adel's voice dropped low.
"If there's even a 1mm scratch on the corner of my Dessoir limited-edition box? Or a single speck of dust blocking Dessoir's noble gaze?"
"Th-that'll never happen! I stake my life on it!"
"Your life? Don't make me laugh. That's way too cheap."
Adel bared her teeth. Her smile was more demonic than the devil himself, more unhinged than a mad scientist.
"If there's even a single blemish, I'll rent out the Room of Truth just for you. I'll strip your soul bare and use it as a figure stand. Got it? I'll permanently preserve you!"
"Y-yes! I'll keep it in mind! I'll guard it with my life! Loyalty!"
Doki bowed at a perfect 90 degrees. Behind him, the gang members clutching brooms and dusters chorused in unison.
"We'll guard it! Loyalty!"
From the driver's seat, I watched the spectacle in the rearview mirror. Hardened criminals who once ruled Korea's back alleys, trembling over a mere toy.
Fear really is the ultimate motivator.
I shifted into gear.
"Let's go, Adel. Quit tormenting the guys who've already got their death sentences signed."
"Hmph. I'll be watching to see if they manage it right. I'm monitoring via the CCTV app 24/7."
Still shooting suspicious glances, Adel rolled up the window. She pulled out her smartphone, launched the app, and kept muttering, "Are my babies okay?"
"Hold on tight. Flooring it."
VROOOOOOM!!
The hearse rocketed out of the parking lot with insane acceleration. Tires screamed, and blue mana flames spewed from the exhaust.
Our destination: the heart of Seoul. The stage about to turn into hell. Seoul City Hall Square.
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
You seeing this? Is the sky color over City Hall Square for real right now?
Blood-red clouds swirling, and underneath, a gate opening. But it's not purple—it's straight-up pitch black.
Association sent an emergency disaster alert.
[Level unassessable. Suspected Abyss Gate S-rank or higher. 5km radius access prohibited.]
But know what's scarier? See those white uniforms laid out in front? Estelle Knights. Isha personally mobilized the entire order to set up barricades. Regular cops and military pulled way back—they're handling control themselves. Atmosphere's straight murder.
Seoul City Hall Square. An eerie wind blew.
A place usually filled with protesters' megaphones and tourists' chatter. Now, only heavy silence and the stench of death lingered.
In the center of the square. A black gate tearing through the asphalt and rising. Like a massive monster's maw, it sucked in surrounding light and emitted a humming vibration.
Blocking its front: a wall of white. Saintess Isha von Estelle and the Estelle Knights.
"Saintess."
The vice-captain reported in a trembling voice.
"The gate's mana waves are amplifying continuously. First break expected within 30 minutes."
Isha stared at the gate without responding. Her red eyes were bloodshot, her lips bitten until blood welled.
A gate that feeds on death.
She knew its horrific nature. A gate that appeared only once in historical records. One that wiped out an entire imperial city in its first break alone. The more entered and died, the stronger its master grew. Thus, weak hunters' sacrifices were merely catalysts hastening humanity's doom.
"All units, hold position."
Isha's voice was colder than ever.
"Association high-rankers? Reinforcements? Unnecessary. No one crosses this line without permission."
She drew her Holy Sword and plunged it into the ground. Golden waves enveloped the knights, forming a massive barrier.
"If anyone ignores control and approaches..."
Isha's hand trembled. Faces flashed in her mind. The man who mocked her as he fled: Lee Han. His crazed accomplice, grinning madly: Adel. A premonition—no, certainty—they'd appear here. If they truly sought world destruction, they'd exploit this gate.
"Kill on sight."
"Pardon?"
The vice-captain doubted his ears. Too brutal for the saintess's lips.
"No hesitation. Whoever they are, whatever excuse. The moment they cross, they're humanity's enemy."
Isha closed and opened her eyes. Hesitation vanished, resolve alone remained.
"I'll lead. Elites only, follow me."
"Estelle's swords stand with the Saintess!"
Hundreds of knights drew blades in unison. The square thrummed with grim determination.
Isha raised her Holy Sword high.
"Entering!"
WHOOOOM!
Isha plunged into the black veil first. Elite white-uniformed forces followed into the darkness.
Silence returned to the now-empty square. The guarding Estelle Knights swallowed hard, glaring ahead like they'd miss not even an ant.
"Performance is solid, huh?"
"Lee Han. I'm Adel von Kryber, you know."
140 km/h. Our modded hearse tore down the empty Sejong Boulevard like a missile toward City Hall Square.
In normal times, scattered guards would've screamed and dodged or intercepted with magic. But now, they just stared blankly at the sky. Not even glancing our way.
[Transparency Function ON]
[Blocks sight, sound, mana detection, even smell—full optical camouflage mode]
[Adel von Kryber's masterpiece]
[She claims she developed it for secretly ordering late-night snacks]
"Lee Han! Slow down! You'll crash!"
Adel yelled at the approaching barricades and human wall of knights filling the windshield. At this speed, it'd be a catastrophe.
"Relax. Just munch your popcorn."
I pressed the accelerator harder.
"You maniac! We're crashing! CRASHING!!"
I hit the red button by the gearshift, switching it to blue.
[Applied Mode: Phase Shift ON]
[Detaches vehicle's physical coordinates from reality for 0.5 seconds]
[Ignores physical collisions]
"Passing through. Don't bite your tongue."
SHWOOOSH!
A bizarre sound battered our eardrums. Like diving into water, muffled and thick.
Our hearse slammed frontally into the Estelle Knights' defensive line. Or it should have. No impact. The chassis turned ghostly translucent, phasing straight through solid barricades and heavily armored knights.
"GYAAAAH! Huh?"
Adel, mid-scream, went wide-eyed. We'd just passed through the vice-captain's torso.
In the rearview, the baffled vice-captain patted his chest.
"Huh? What? Why's it suddenly cold and chills?"
"Vice-Captain? Everything okay?"
"Nah, felt like a cold gust whooshed through."
"Now that you mention it, whole body's shivering."
The knights, oblivious to the massive steel beast slipping between them, just tugged at their collars.
"Puhahaha! See that? Their faces just now!"
Adel rolled clutching her stomach.
"Total idiots! No clue we passed! Man, this thing's OP! Never dreamed it'd be used like this. Next time we hit a bank—"
"Cut the crap and eyes front."
I gripped the wheel tight.
Adel, you've got a lot to learn from me.
A massive black vortex loomed ahead. The S-rank gate's maw awaited. Up close, its pressure was otherworldly. Vibrations like space itself screaming. A foul stench from the crumbling boundary of life and death.
Isha von Estelle's death trap. For me, a land of opportunity.
"Adel."
"Yeah? What?"
"Self-destruct button. Flip the cover."
Her eyes sparkled. She flipped open the plastic cover on the dashboard's central red skull-shaped button with a ting.
"Ooh, already? Blow it right on entry? Ballsy!"
"It's self-destruct, not suicide bomb."
I floored the pedal.
"Gotta exit in style. Give the audience an unforgettable fireworks show."
The engine screamed at its limit. Speedometer needle strained upward. The black portal swallowed the windshield.
"Alright, let's enjoy the drive. To hell."
"Kyahahaha! Go bro! GOOO!!"
With Adel's manic laughter.
The invisible hearse plunged relentlessly.
Silently into the gate's abyss.