Sudden Gate Break - Part 1
The morning was filled with chaos due to a Gate Break.
The city was deafening, filled with the blaring of sirens and the constant pinging of disaster alerts. People who had been rushing about their morning routines scrambled toward shelters, while Awakened individuals moved to their designated positions to track the gate where the break had occurred.
"Damn it, a 6th-Circle Gate breaking? Can you measure the number of monsters that poured out?"
Upon hearing Gu Haesang’s question, Park Miso, a member of the government's dedicated break response team, frantically searched through the data before answering.
"We estimate at least 30,000. We expect about half to exit through the underground passages, while the rest will likely remain inside to begin breeding."
It was already known that there were three types of monsters inhabiting the gate that had just burst.
The biggest problem was a type of fighting dog known as a 'Hound'. They were massive combat beasts, boasting a hulking frame that reached two meters in height.
"Damn it, why wasn't it managed properly?"
"There was a subjugation request pending, but it seems the break happened suddenly."
"How much time was left on the schedule?"
"It was recorded as having occurred five days ago, with about twenty days left until the scheduled break."
Perhaps they were adjusting the schedule slowly because there was still plenty of time left. In reality, a 6th-Circle gate was classified as a disaster-level event, the kind of gate that Awakened guilds would fight over to claim. Because they offered massive profits and were a significant help to the growth of Awakened individuals, it was the type of gate where a break should absolutely never occur.
Yet, an emergency break had erupted.
"What is the position of the guild in charge?"
"They were swept away along with the break. It’s said they were preparing supplies for the subjugation."
"Damn, things are getting complicated."
To make matters worse, the gate had appeared in the Seoul underground drainage system. Because it occurred in a location that was difficult to enter and even harder to manage, the situation was tangled in every way. Furthermore, the massive number of monsters that had surged out at the same time as the break were flooding Seoul, spreading damage like a tidal wave.
Usually, when a break occurs, the entrance is reversed, causing the monsters inside to pour out, but in this case, the entrance had split, scattering the monsters across a certain range. While there are cases where monsters cannot exit due to the size of the entrance, ironically, because it had split into several pieces of a size suitable for the canine monsters to squeeze through, the damage was spreading at an alarming rate.
"Have you identified all the entrance locations?"
"Five have been identified so far, and team members have finished deploying to three of them and are currently moving."
"Tsk, is the place we're heading to the one with the most damage?"
"Yes, but there is one problem. What should we do?"
"Is it the Yongsan area?"
"Yes, it’s the gate that appeared behind Seoul Station. Because there is a large floating population, the Awakened are barely holding on, but the spread of the monsters is said to be too strong."
"What about the police and the military?"
"They have entered."
Gu Haesang thought the timing of the Gate Break was the real problem. He checked his watch; it was 4:55 AM.
'Is it inevitable to be late even though we responded within ten minutes of the break?'
It had been fifteen minutes since the response began. The response was clearly swift, but the problem was that the monsters were fighting dogs known as 'Hound variants', which were tracking humans by scent and increasing the casualties.
"Pull up the information on the Awakened living nearby."
At that request, Park Miso quickly searched for the information and projected it into the air. At that moment, Gu Haesang spotted one person and hurriedly took out his phone.
"Please, just pick up."
Gu Haesang grew anxious as the signal rang. Then, Park Miso asked.
"Who are you calling?"
"The savior who will calm this situation!"
Park Miso wore an expression wondering who that could possibly be, and Gu Haesang answered with a single action rather than a hundred words. He pointed at one person with his finger.
"...Geum Seongchan? The Dark Mage?"
As soon as Park Miso finished speaking, the call connected.
"Let's get to work."
"W-wait!! Please, help us respond to the break. It’s near your old house, can’t you do it?"
"Damn it, can't you just help us out? We're short on hands."
There was no answer for a long while at Gu Haesang’s desperate voice, but soon, a short reply came.
"Thank you..."
The connection was cut before he could even finish his sentence. Seeing this, Park Miso asked.
"He’s incredibly rude, isn't he?"
"He’s a person who has earned the right to be."
Park Miso became curious about who could make someone as meticulous as Gu Haesang act so submissively. So, she checked the information on the individual again and was horrified.
"This person... is the 'Most Terrifying'?"
"To us, he is a hero. He is only called the 'Most Terrifying' by his enemies. If you ever meet him, don't be rude."
Park Miso couldn't help but have countless thoughts. She had heard too many bad rumors about the 'Most Terrifying'. Even though his personal information and even his name weren't properly known, the epithet 'Most Terrifying' was something everyone knew for certain.
"How... on earth do you know someone like that?"
To Park Miso’s curiosity, Gu Haesang answered lightly.
"He is my lifesaver. That’s enough, right? Let’s go."
Just in time, Gu Haesang spotted the Awakened fighting the hounds that had popped out of the break and dove into the scene without hesitation. Park Miso, unable to ask any more questions, ran alongside him.
I received a phone call in the early morning and got dressed. Go Yujin, who had been asleep, tossed and turned before opening her eyes.
"What’s going on?"
"A break has occurred. It seems they are short on hands."
"...Is it nearby?"
I gently pressed down on Go Yujin as she tried to sit up and said.
"I’ll handle it quickly and be back. It shouldn't be a large scale."
"...I'll help. Me too!"
I dissuaded Go Yujin again as she tried to get up and left the mansion. Then, I released my mana to search for monsters over a wide area. During the Great Cataclysm, Awakened individuals would cultivate the ability to search for monsters in their own ways. In my case, I simply utilize mana to locate them.
'There are quite a lot. Are they Hounds?'
They are a species called fighting dogs, and since they are a type specialized entirely in combat power, they are extremely dangerous monsters. However, fighting dogs have tough hides that are easy to process, making them very useful, and the bone fragments from parts like their teeth are hard enough to be preferred for arrowheads. Despite being relatively expensive, their cost-effectiveness was so excellent that they were highly sought after.
Given that, the fact that a break occurred in a gate where such monsters inhabit suggests that it exploded in a sudden form.
'If there are many of them, and someone like Gu Haesang requested support, it must be a diffusion-type break. The scale must be large, too...'
I thought I was lucky because it wasn't a time of day when people were walking the streets, which would minimize the damage. With that thought, I utilized levitation magic and flew into the sky.
'Are they heading toward Seoul Station?'
It seems they caught the scent of humans and spread out into the surroundings. Fortunately, these days, every household installs magic defensive barriers to prepare for breaks, so they cannot be breached by ordinary means. Even a 2nd-Circle defensive barrier is enough to stop a Hound.
That must be why they are flocking to Seoul Station, where a large population is gathered and the scent is thick.
'If casualties occur, they might curse the Dark Mage again.'
The Dark Mage is often the target of groundless resentment for many reasons. Gu Haesang asked for this, but there is no particular need to minimize the damage. I just need to deal with the monsters. However, if a request was made to a Dark Mage and casualties still occurred? Then they would blame our incompetence and curse the Dark Mage along with it. Thinking it was best to avoid that, I released even more mana, quickly set a 'Lock On' for each individual, and immediately activated 'Air Ring' magic.
It is a simple spell. It rotates blades of wind rapidly to form a ring. I set the spell to manifest near the 'necks' of the targets and, after instantly organizing the mana pattern, activated it. The presence of the living fighting dogs quickly faded away.
It was then, as I was moving to find the remaining individuals and the location of the break where the fighting dogs were pouring out, that I noticed something.
Was it because of the strong mana movement? Some Awakened individuals nearby had rushed out of their buildings, and upon realizing the commotion outside, they tracked the direction I was heading and followed. They were divided into those who stopped in their tracks upon discovering the countless corpses of the fighting dogs, and those who continued to track me. A while later, when I arrived at the break location and landed on the ground, a woman who had arrived by my side just in time spoke to me.
"Why did you bother stepping in?"
It was the woman known as the 'Ice Witch', someone I had encountered once before, so I gave a light nod before speaking.
"It’s a request from the dedicated team."
"I didn't know Dark Mages accepted requests like this."
"It’s better to help if asked. But what brings you here?"
"I was just curious."
They hadn't stepped in at all while the chaos was unfolding, yet they were snooping around now? Perhaps they thought this was an opportunity to boost their image. There were many corpses of fighting dogs strewn about everywhere. If an Awakened individual who hadn't done anything stood in the center of that, the general public might mistake them for having killed all of them. It was a way to improve their image without spending money or effort.
It was cunning, but it didn't matter to me whether they used this situation or not.
'The break feels artificially induced. Is it possible for a normal emergency break to shatter so uniformly?'
If you look at the traces of the break, you can roughly understand what state it was in. So, I took out my phone and called Gu Haesang.
"I’ve dealt with most of the monsters, and I’m in front of the break tunnel. Can you send me photos of that area and other locations?"
"I want to check the artificial parts."
Gu Haesang hung up. At this, the Ice Witch, Cheon Se-ah, who had been eavesdropping on the call, asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Gate Breaks take on various forms. In the case of a diffusion-type break, it shatters as if swirling around the center of the gate. That’s why it’s also called an 'explosive type'. But doesn't this gate look like a neatly sliced piece of cake?"
Cheon Se-ah, who understood the meaning of my words immediately, was flustered and asked with a serious expression.
"Are you saying... someone can artificially manipulate a gate?"
"We are in a situation where we don't know much about gates properly. No one knows what kind of tricks can be used to cause what kind of miracles. Since I only recently learned that there are people committing even greater eccentricities, who knows if there is something even worse?"
It wasn't a story Cheon Se-ah could fully grasp, but I thought that unless she was stupid, she would be able to feel that I knew much more than she did.