The Returnee Lee Sia (2)
The Dungeon Overbreak threw not only South Korea but hunter associations worldwide into a state of emergency.
While not every single dungeon mutated, approximately thirty percent of the active dungeons in South Korea underwent this sudden transformation, causing immense chaos.
Despite the sudden crisis, the hunters did not panic.
By nature, hunters operated on a system of self-preservation. Unless they were part of a formal expedition, they hunted and gathered dungeon byproducts for individual profit. Naturally, the golden rule was to delay slaying the dungeon boss for as long as possible to squeeze out every last drop of profit.
However, with the Dungeon Overbreak mutating the structures and causing ranks to skyrocket, high-grade hunters quickly banded together to hunt down the bosses.
If they judged their combined strength to be insufficient even after cooperating, they chose to send out a distress signal and hide. The Association dispatched rescue hunters with utmost urgency, and even the notoriously individualistic S-grade hunters lent their hand to the rescue efforts in this state of emergency.
Among the S-grade hunters participating in these rescue operations was South Korea's very first S-grade hunter and a living legend: Yeon Seo.
"We have successfully rescued all hunters from the gate-type dungeon 'Karmana Lava Zone' in Busan. Aside from two individuals showing mild symptoms of exhaustion, there are no casualties. Thank you for your hard work, Lady Yeon Seo."
"Ugh, does this wretched Association have no shame, putting a retired old woman to work like this?"
"Ha, haha... I'm terribly sorry, Lady Yeon Seo."
As the junior agent dispatched by the Association and the government let out an awkward chuckle, a woman with a striking blend of blue and white hair looked at him and smirked.
Behind her, a group of visibly exhausted hunters was emerging from the collapsing dungeon back into reality, supported by rescue workers.
"Oh, hush. If you react like that to a joke, it makes me feel awkward, child. Just a simple thank you will do."
"Ah... Yes! Thank you! Thanks to you, Lady Yeon Seo, everyone has returned safely without a single casualty."
"Sigh... So, are there no more dungeons undergoing an Overbreak?"
"Y-yes! No further reports have come in, and..."
The junior agent, well aware of the woman's identity, bowed his head, breaking into a cold sweat.
And for good reason. The woman standing before him was quite literally a living legend.
She was a genuine hero who had saved humanity not once, but at least a dozen times, with achievements far grander than anything the media ever portrayed.
Hunter Name: Knight of Silver Light.
Real Name: Yeon Seo.
Despite being eighty-six years old in the year 2088, she maintained the appearance of a woman in her twenties. She was the world's very first S-grade hunter and the architect of the modern hunter society.
Even though decades had passed since the Great Rift of 2024 ushered in the age of hunters, she remained the strongest, unsurpassed by anyone to this day.
Her blue hair, streaked with white highlights, was her signature trademark. Yeon Seo was not just a hero; she was the very symbol of humanity's peace and strength.
Some of the more exaggerated praise even claimed that as long as Yeon Seo drew breath, humanity would never face true ruin.
"Still, I'm glad no children were hurt. Losing the young sprouts who must lead the world in my stead one day would be a terrible loss."
"Ah! Lady Yeon Seo, thank you for your hard work!"
At that moment, a man in a dark suit approached from a distance, causing Yeon Seo to knit her brows.
He was the current Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association, a man Yeon Seo had crossed paths with a few times.
Although the retired Yeon Seo held no official rank, her reputation and achievements as a hunter were so peerless that even the Vice Chairman bowed a full ninety degrees to show his respect.
Yeon Seo usually referred to him as Director Lee.
"Oh, shouldn't you be working, Director Lee? Why are you here? Don't tell me you ran all this way just to add more wrinkles to this old woman's face? Or is the office of the Vice Chairman really that idle?"
"Oh, heavens, of course not. Due to the sudden Overbreak, the President has convened an emergency response committee. I merely came to express my gratitude now that things have settled down, thanks to you."
"Save your gratitude. If you're here, I assume the situation is mostly under control?"
"Yes. The Overbreak that began around 1:00 AM was officially resolved at approximately 5:38 AM, marked by the completion of your twelfth rescue operation. By the time the morning news airs, it will likely be reported as a brief segment: 'An Overbreak occurred but has been resolved.'"
"It was nearly a disaster, yet you seem quite pleased that it makes the Association look competent, Director Lee."
"Haha, while you certainly did the heavy lifting, Lady Yeon Seo, the other rescue hunters saved many lives as well. Is this not all thanks to the rescue hunter system you established before your retirement?"
"Tsk, always so silver-tongued..."
Sensing that the battle was entirely over, Yeon Seo made the shimmering silver sword in her hand vanish into thin air and began tying up her hair with both hands.
Despite her eighty-six years, her immense mana and power kept her breathtakingly beautiful. The way she tied her hair was so ethereal that the passing rescue workers couldn't help but steal glances.
"Ahahaha... I must really be getting old. In the past, my hair would never come loose, but now I can't even remember where I left my hairband during the fight."
"Ah, if you don't mind, would you like to use this?"
"Thank you."
Taking the hair tie Director Lee offered, Yeon Seo closed her eyes and spoke.
"So, Director Lee, my boy. What is it?"
"Ah, did you know?"
"Know what? I simply figured that if you came rushing over like this, something rather serious must have happened."
"Haha, I just wanted to see you..."
"Stop talking nonsense and get to the point."
At her words, Director Lee fell silent for a moment, as if bracing himself.
"A distress signal was received."
"When?"
"At approximately 1:25 AM, right after the Overbreak began."
"And? Was the rescue successful? Did another rescue hunter go?"
"That is... immediately after the distress signal was sent, the signal from the support drone was canceled."
"Oh?"
Yeon Seo finished tying her hair and looked back at Director Lee.
"Stop beating around the bush. There is more to it, isn't there?"
"......"
"Speak. If it is urgent, I must hear it quickly so I can resolve it."
"...It's Miss Yeonhwa."
"Hmm?"
"The hunter who sent the distress signal... was your granddaughter, Miss Yeonhwa, who recently became an A-grade hunter."
"......"
"And the distress signal was active for about a minute before it was canceled."
As if confessing a grave sin, Director Lee's expression grew increasingly rigid as he delivered the report.
"The dungeon Miss Yeonhwa entered... is the A-grade gate-type dungeon, the Naftare Great Forest. At that time, Miss Yeonhwa was the only hunter who had entered the dungeon."
"......"
"And shortly after she entered, the Naftare Great Forest underwent a Dungeon Overbreak. The A-grade dungeon mutated and was upgraded to S-grade..."
Thud!
"...Ugh!"
In that instant, Director Lee gasped as a crushing, monstrous pressure weighed down on the surroundings.
Yeon Seo's killing intent wasn't even directed at him.
It was merely a momentary lapse in emotional control, causing her mana to erupt violently.
The hair tie she had just put on snapped under the force of her mana, which was thick with killing intent. Her blue and white hair whipped wildly around her like a spectral aura.
Though he knew she wouldn't, Director Lee felt the terrifying illusion that Yeon Seo was about to glare him to death.
"Director Lee."
"Y-yes!"
Though the sheer pressure and killing intent in her voice made it hard to breathe, Director Lee desperately managed to answer.
"We have known each other for quite a long time, haven't we?"
"We... have."
"Then why is it... that my only remaining granddaughter was caught in an Overbreak and placed in mortal danger, yet I am only hearing about it now? Do you already look down on this old woman just because she is retired?"
"H-how could that be?!"
According to Director Lee, Yeonhwa had been trapped in the dungeon and sent the distress signal around 1:00 AM. It was now nearly 6:00 AM.
"T-that is... the administrative staff... since the distress signal was canceled... they assumed the hunters had cooperated to clear the boss and didn't think much of it... *gulp*. But around 4:00 AM... a delayed report came in stating that there was only a single A-grade hunter in that dungeon. And we only just realized that the hunter was Miss Yeonhwa..."
"Are you making excuses now? Ah, you are offering explanations. Do you know what this old woman hates most in the world, Director Lee?"
"No! I apologize! It is entirely my fault!"
Crack...!
At that moment, Director Lee, who had his head bowed, saw the asphalt beneath Yeon Seo's feet split open like parched earth in a drought.
"Guide me. Right now."
"Lady Yeon Seo, please calm down..."
"Director Lee, I am currently very rational. However, if you keep wasting time, this old woman's rationality might fade as if she has dementia..."
Creak, crack...!
"...Answer me while I am still speaking nicely."
The cracked asphalt beneath Yeon Seo's feet was now crumbling into tiny pieces.
Damn it... I shouldn't have come myself.
"...T-the Naftare Great Forest is located in Chuncheon. I have transmitted the coordinates to your support drone, so you will be able to find the location... *gasp*... immediately. And... I am truly sorry."
"I see. We will finish this conversation later."
"...Miss Yeonhwa's support drone signal hasn't been cut, so nothing truly terrible should have..."
If anything had actually happened to Yeonhwa, a catastrophe would surely follow.
Before Director Lee could even finish his sentence, a brilliant flash of silver light erupted from Yeon Seo's body, and she vanished from his sight.
Her title and hunter name was the Knight of Silver Light.
The most popular theory for the name was that she fought by teleporting in flashes of silver light.
While the public believed her ability was teleportation, Yeon Seo's true power was spatial coordinate manipulation.
She didn't just move herself.
She could designate and send her own body, others, objects, living creatures, and matter to any coordinate she pleased. Of course, those with strong mana resistance could resist her coordinate manipulation, but she could also telekinetically move swords to slice through monsters alone. Shaking the very ground or space where a target stood was child's play to her.
During the Great Rift, she had once saved an entire city by shifting its spatial coordinates away from disaster.
She was not called the first S-grade hunter and a living legend for nothing.
The sole reason a small nation like South Korea was not pushed around by other countries after the Great Rift was the existence of Yeon Seo.
It was also thanks to her that the country could claim rights over S-grade gates.
If the support drone canceled the distress signal, it means one of two things...
Either she was safe and no longer in danger.
Or the support drone and the hunter holding it were in so much danger that they didn't even have the luxury to keep the signal active.
Naturally, she prayed it was the former, but if Yeonhwa was truly in danger... if, by some horrible chance, it was already too late...
No...
Yeon Seo already carried the pain of losing her granddaughter, Yeon A.
The granddaughter who had fought the monsters to the very end to protect a young Yeonhwa, burning out like a fading flame, was someone Yeon Seo could never forget, no matter how hard she tried.
She had wanted to cherish and raise her remaining granddaughter with utmost care, but perhaps due to a severe rebellious phase, Yeonhwa refused to rely on her. Instead, she acted like a dungeon addict, constantly hunting monsters and seeking ways to grow stronger.
Naturally, Yeon Seo had told her to take it easy, warning her that she would ruin her body and pleading with her not to push herself so hard. Yet, perhaps due to the trauma of losing her older sister, Yeonhwa remained abnormally obsessed with strength, always hovering on the line between life and death.
Fortunately, Yeonhwa had returned safely every time, and her terrifying growth rate had given Yeon Seo some peace of mind, but...
That child. Her granddaughter.
Was trapped alone in an S-grade dungeon? A gate-type dungeon that was impossible to leave until the boss was slain...?
No. I cannot lose another...
Yeon Seo immediately readjusted her coordinates to Chuncheon.
Her heart ached as she imagined how terrified and hurt Yeonhwa must be.
If Yeonhwa had suffered even the slightest scratch, Yeon Seo had absolutely no intention of letting this matter slide.
Thump!
Space was forcibly torn open as the coordinates were adjusted, and Yeon Seo stepped through the rift into a forest.
Using her coordinate manipulation, she had bypassed the gate and forced her way directly into the Naftare Great Forest dungeon.
And there, she immediately spotted Yeonhwa.
"Yeonhwa... Yeonhwa... Ah?!"
It wasn't just Yeonhwa. Yeon Seo saw a silver-haired woman standing with her.
However, the writhing tentacles sprouting from the woman's lower back were menacing and grotesque, their teeth clicking together. She was busily chewing on some unidentified meat she had apparently been eating.
The woman was holding Yeonhwa's hand, looking as if she was about to wrap those horrific tentacles around her at any moment.
And hadn't Director Lee said so?
Yeonhwa was the only hunter who had entered the Naftare Great Forest. Then who was this?
Yeon Seo's instincts flared.
That thing is not human.
She couldn't feel the vitality unique to humans.
Instead, she felt something entirely different from the mana hunters used.
And looking at those grotesque, twisted tentacles, how could anyone judge that thing to be a normal human?
After processing these thoughts in a split second, Yeon Seo reached her conclusion.
How dare this filthy tentacled wench try to harm my granddaughter?
"Take your filthy hands off her this instant."
Boom!
"...Huh? Ah! Grandmother?!"
"......?"
Yeonhwa gasped in shock and confusion at the sudden appearance of Yeon Seo and the massive spatial pressure hurtling toward Sia.
Sia, on the other hand, merely tilted her head, looking back and forth between Yeonhwa and Yeon Seo.
Wow... grandmothers these days are so young and beautiful. Cosmetic procedures must have really advanced...