The Child Who Swallowed the Gate
Gates typically fell into one of two categories.
The first kind had a core that remained obediently embedded within the gate itself. In those cases, all one had to do was place a hand on the core and endure for a set amount of time. Once that time passed, the core would shatter and the person would be ejected from the gate. Of course, holding steady while fending off swarms of monsters wasn’t easy, but not having to hunt for the core was a significant advantage.
The second type was when a monster had swallowed the core. Then the creature became the gate’s new vessel, and it had to be found and killed. Fortunately, because a gate was an “abnormal passage,” destroying the core would still force everything back to its original location. The monster that had devoured the core was also bound to the gate and could not leave a certain range. Still, both locating it and killing it were considerable tasks.
Especially since the core empowered the monster that consumed it.
The advantage was that the core itself grew weaker in exchange for strengthening its host, allowing it to be destroyed immediately without wasting time. The problem, however, was that the monster’s body swelled dramatically, making the core’s location nearly impossible to pinpoint.
Killing an empowered monster was already a hassle. Searching for the core inside that massive body would be even more tedious.
If there had been time to spare, it wouldn’t have mattered. But right now monsters were still pouring in. They would likely continue to do so for a while. People had been left behind outside, so there was no leisure to leisurely rummage through corpses in search of a core.
I should have left the Guardian Spirit behind.
If that part of him remained within their sight, they would never forget him.
But it was already too late. Raven gave a bitter smile, stabbed the vital point of the monster performing aerial acrobatics to shake him off, and severed its life. Then he fell from its back without resistance.
As he plummeted, he calmly pulled out a single talisman and sliced the tip of his finger. His thumb already bore a wound from being bitten earlier, so he used his index finger instead.
Blood welled from the cut that had nearly reached the bone. He let it drip onto the talisman, then used the incoming monsters as stepping stones, leaping upward to slap the paper against the gate.
Whether his body, having fulfilled its purpose, continued to plummet or not, he took out another talisman and smeared it with blood from his index finger, linking it to the one he had just attached. After a moment’s thought, he cut his middle finger as well and added that blood too.
With only the index finger, I could only track the main body.
Sacrificing the middle finger as well would allow for more precise tracking, such as the exact location of the core inside the vessel’s body.
Normally, tracking with such minimal measures would be impossible, but…
The value of my wounds is great. This should be enough.
To someone whose wounds never healed, even a small injury carried considerable cost.
Though the wound was minor, in the current situation simply creating a fresh cut to use jusul was sufficient. The blood on the talisman served as proof of that sacrifice.
“Then now…”
He summoned the Guardian Spirit.
The spirit, reading his intent, appeared in midair, clasped both hands together to form a platform, launched the falling Raven high into the air once more, and vanished.
“Cough—!”
A cough mixed with blood burst from his throat.
This is exactly why I didn’t want to summon him.
Losing his vision temporarily was no big deal—just like blinking hard once. But this was annoying. Raven irritably spat out more blood than he had expected and drove a dagger into the massive vessel’s body, climbing upward.
He checked the other talisman with his free hand and let out a low laugh.
“Precious children are waiting for me.”
His green eyes shone vividly, filled with both madness and killing intent.
“Let’s finish this quic—”
“Wait, why is there a gate in the sky?!”
“…!”
A familiar voice.
Raven’s head snapped around. Flowing black hair like waves filled his vision.
Between the strands, he caught sight of orange eyes, and his own green ones widened in shock.
“Row…ina…?”
The murmur, almost to himself, slipped out like a groan.
Whether she heard it or simply sensed his gaze, Rowina whipped her head toward him, grinned fiercely, then grabbed the tail of the monster charging at Raven and clung to it.
“Ugh…”
With one hand still driving his dagger into the vessel, Raven dropped to both knees and arched his upper body back like he was lying down. The monster’s claws barely grazed above his chest. Then Rowina fell.
Even though he was barely holding on with a single dagger himself, Raven reached out without hesitation and caught her.
Rowina glanced at the arm and hand supporting her so firmly that his knuckles had turned white from how tightly she gripped his collar. She flashed him a bright, unreadable smile that didn’t match the situation at all. A cheerful greeting followed.
“Hi?”
“…”
Kiiiiieeeeek!
No answer came. The moment he opened his mouth, the vessel shot straight upward. No—it went beyond vertical and spun a full circle in the air.
The dagger, unable to bear the weight of both of them, finally tore free. Feeling the fierce wind against his back again, Raven held Rowina tightly to his chest and sighed. Then he subtly shifted his posture.
“The core is at the back of its neck.”
“Hm?”
“Can you do it?”
Child.
At the sudden whisper, her eyes widened for a brief moment.
Whoosh!
Her body was hurled into the air. Rowina looked down at the vessel now in her sights and the corners of her mouth curled upward.
“Of course I can, but…”
He’s stronger than he looks. Just moments ago the vessel had been above them. He had thrown her quite high.
However.
“In my current state, I’ll probably get spotted before I can reach it—”
Raven, who had summoned the Guardian Spirit again and immediately followed, wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and stretched out his leg, placing the top of his foot beneath hers.
Rowina instantly understood. She laughed brightly—haha—bent her knees, and braced herself. Neither of them paid any mind to the fact that they were floating in empty air or that they were plummeting headfirst.
They didn’t need to count out loud. Pure instinct told them the timing.
Now.
Shwaaaack!
The force of his push combined with her kick.
Like an arrow, Rowina shot toward the back of the vessel’s neck and thrust out her hand. Crunch! Her fingers, packed with power, pierced its hide, reached the core in an instant, and—unable to withstand the explosive force—burst out the other side still clutching it.
She stared blankly at the core now in her grasp.
Now all I have to do is destroy this and it’s over, but…
She couldn’t end it like this.
Instead of shattering the core, she twisted her body as if lying down and spread both arms wide toward Raven. The corners of her eyes curved, and a playful smile lingered on her lips.
Raven’s eyes trembled.
Rowina?
Anything that crossed over to the Abyss through a gate would be ejected outside once the core was destroyed, no matter the circumstances. Even if it was inside a monster’s maw, shattering the core and closing the gate would send it back to the surface.
In other words, destroying the core was the only way to escape this life-threatening situation.
Why.
Why was she doing this?
From this height, with added momentum, they were plunging straight toward the ground. If they hit like this, not even an Awakener—let alone a Fighter—could survive.
They would die instantly.
“…Brother!”
Raven urgently called the Guardian Spirit, using the push he received to close the distance between himself and Rowina. In the process, Rowina noticed his eyes flicker from grey back to green, a flash of emotion crossing her gaze, but he was too focused on the crisis to notice.
He was too busy calculating whether his current action was the best option, whether there was a better way, analyzing the optimal solution for the present situation.
If it were the Ancestor, he could catch Rowina and still safely receive me as well.
No, actually, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t catch me.
He knew the Guardian Spirit would never do that. If he wasn’t certain he could catch Raven safely, he would abandon Rowina without hesitation. Above all, until safety was secured, he didn’t want to take his eyes off her.
That was why, even though he knew asking the Guardian Spirit would be the cleanest solution, he didn’t.
He simply swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth, pulled Rowina’s arm tightly into his embrace, turned his own body to face the ground, and was about to call the Guardian Spirit again when—
Crack.
Before he could even turn fully, Rowina—who had reversed their positions and wrapped her arms around him—shattered the core in her hand.
Thud.
The two of them were ejected from the gate.
The outside had already been cleaned up.
The moment he emerged from the gate, Raven scanned the surroundings. Only after confirming there was nothing left to be wary of did he look down at Rowina, who was still tightly hugging his waist.
A face far more mature than he remembered—both familiar and strangely foreign—filled his vision.
She’s already twenty-seven.
That little child had grown so much.
Because she had been lowering her head, the hair tie that had endured even during aerial combat finally reached its limit and snapped.
Black hair cascaded down over Rowina.
“Ah.”
Liv had tied it for her.
It must feel stuffy. He glanced at the fallen strands with regret for only a moment before examining Rowina again and rising to his feet. Now that there was space, a crow staggered out from his coat, gave his arm a sharp peck, and fled into the sky.
He followed it with his eyes for a second, then quickly ducked his head.
Swish—!
The hand that had mercilessly pierced the vessel’s neck grazed past the side of his face.
No wonder it was too quiet. Don’t tell me…
If he hadn’t dodged, his head would have been crushed.
“Captain?”
“Master.”
“Don’t come closer.”
“…”
“I’m fine.”
The people who had been watching the sudden situation hurriedly stepped forward. Raven stopped them, then slowly and firmly pried away the hand still gripping him and stepped back.
Several more attacks came during the process, but he blocked them without difficulty, so the situation did not escalate.
As expected.
In his widened field of vision, he saw orange eyes gleaming with killing intent.
She looked as if she had lost her reason from excessive excitement in battle.
“…Right. You only stopped once you saw blood.”
Raven murmured calmly.
The arena where children’s lives had been wagered for entertainment. The smallest and youngest child he had rescued there overlapped with the woman before him now.
She had received no proper education, and from the time she could remember, all she had witnessed was killing and being killed. Even the money-crazed spectators had refused to accept her.
They’re all insane.
Not a single one of them is sane.
He had come to verify the truth after hearing that beasts were gambling with the lives of children for amusement, but this was beyond imagination. Raven pressed his lips tightly together to hide his churning emotions and crossed his legs.
Saving the children is already decided.
Now, what to do with the beasts gathered here.
Killing them all seemed the cleanest and most convenient option in many ways.
Tap. Tap. His fingers drummed against his folded arms. His green eyes, pondering whether the path he wished to take preserved humanity or destroyed it, turned downward again at the next shout.
“The next one to come out is a very special one!”
The host announced the number of a nameless child.
He added that this was the child’s first appearance, then explained that the fighter was only seven years old.
“…Ha.”
Raven let out a hollow laugh, ignoring the host’s prattle about how the child, though young, possessed exceptional skill worthy of standing in this arena.
All the children who have come out so far were at least teenagers.
Seven years old. Wasn’t that basically telling the child to die?
As if that weren’t enough, only small, young children had been brought out until now. This time, an even smaller one walked out with a lifeless expression.
The crowd’s roaring cheers in response turned his stomach. In the end, Raven frowned and pressed the hoods of Altare and Liv, who sat on either side of him, down even harder to block their view.
There was never any need to agonize over this from the start.
There was no reason to weigh humanity when slaughtering things worse than beasts.
I’ll have to kill them all.
Nausea surged within him.