A Glitch in the System
Before leaving the Gate of the Succubus Queen, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, we had to coordinate our stories with the Murim Alliance guild members. We cleared the Gate? Great. But what about the report? Neither the Hero nor I had ever written one of those. Sure, we occasionally wrote them in the other world, but back then, we just scribbled, "Anyway, we solved it with our own power!" and called it a day. We couldn't get away with that here, which meant we had to dump the paperwork on Namgung Min.
On top of that, we had to hide our strength—or rather, the Hero's strength. Making him look like an S-class out of nowhere? It was possible, but... Regardless, considering the people we rescued and the possibility of this Gate appearing again in the future, we needed to devise a plausible strategy. The best option would be teaching people the otherworld language of the Demon King that had broken the Succubus Queen, but... I needed to think about that a bit more.
For now, we agreed to coordinate with Namgung Min and claim we had cleared it through standard tactics. Aside from the boss and the environmental hazards, the Gate was essentially a B-class Gate... so I suppose that was a saving grace. Then again, if you couldn't overcome the environment, that classification was meaningless.
"What an utterly absurd Gate..."
"Tell me about it."
I was starting to feel exhausted and just wanted to rest. It had been a while since I'd fought a proper battle. I'd seen blood, and I'd expended a significant amount of energy. Perhaps it was because I'd been lazy for the past year, but my body felt completely out of shape. Losing my combat instincts was one thing, but my connection to the Goddess had also been severed, leaving me weaker than before. The drop in power wasn't massive, but it was still a bit disappointing. Maybe I should start training seriously again...
We exited the Gate before the rescued hunters could regain consciousness. Outside, a full day had already passed. The piece of trash I had beaten to a pulp was glaring at us with an incredibly disgruntled expression. And what are you going to do about it, huh? What can you possibly do to us now that we've cleared the Gate? What can you do against a massive guild like the Murim Alliance? On top of that, we had successfully rescued every single person that trash had left for dead.
"Did you rescue everyone?" a hunter from the Hunter Management Department approached and asked.
"Indeed," Namgung Min stepped forward to explain. "They have all received treatment, but some were in critical condition. They will need to recuperate for some time." My healing magic was versatile, but it couldn't mend psychological trauma.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Yes. I shall submit the report after we have rested."
In times like this, Namgung Min's reputation was incredibly convenient. Since South Korea's top S-class hunter was the one speaking, they readily accepted his words without question. I was an S-class too, so they would probably listen to me, but I couldn't command the same level of absolute trust as Namgung Min. At any rate, the people were saved, and the Gate was slowly destabilizing, so I decided to relax. I changed out of my gear, ready to head home and rest, but...
"Eugene?"
The Hero was following me.
"Ah, well... I have something to say."
If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you creeping behind me like a lost puppy...
"Is that so? Should we head to a nearby cafe first, then?"
I looked for a quiet place where we could talk. My younger sister, Seohee, clung tightly to my side with a thoroughly displeased expression. Once we arrived at the cafe, I ordered a sweet dessert and an iced Americano. Perhaps because I had pushed my body to its limits, I was craving calories.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
"About this Gate... or rather, the Succubus Queen."
Ah, that bitch...
"Is this about what happened during the raid?"
"Yeah. It was strange, wasn't it?"
It seemed the Hero had noticed it too.
"It certainly was..."
The error that occurred the moment the Demon King was mentioned. Her glitch-like behavior... Honestly, I had been so pumped with adrenaline during the battle that I just brushed it off. If I hadn't been, seeing that grotesque spectacle might have shattered my sanity first. It was that bizarre and terrifying. It was so skin-crawlingly creepy that I would rather fight the Demon King again than witness it a second time.
"I think the problem lies in the fact that Gates are recreations of the past."
Seohee, sitting beside me, perked up her ears at this unfamiliar topic.
"Do you think so?"
"Essentially, a Gate is a space peeled away and preserved from a specific point in time." Probably... "They can't obtain any information from the outside world—meaning anything beyond the space created by the Gate. That's why she glitched out when we brought up the Demon King."
It was clear that the monsters inside the Gates retained some level of memory. Otherwise, she wouldn't have recognized Eugene and me, calling us the Hero and the Saintess.
"That makes sense..."
Eugene fell into deep thought, his mind clearly racing. I took the opportunity to stuff my face with cake.
"Sissy, what does that mean?"
Ah, right. I hadn't properly explained it to my sister yet.
"I told you that Gate was a recreation of the other world we were in, right?"
"Yeah, you said that's why it was dangerous."
"Well, that castle was the exact place where the Hero's party fell into a trap."
She probably knew about this. It was one of the most infamous incidents from our time in the other world...
"Ah, the incident you mentioned before?"
"Yeah. The one where all our comrades fell asleep, and Eugene had to fight all by himself."
Only now did Eugene seem to realize just how perilous the situation they had just survived truly was.
"We were in serious danger, then."
"Yes. The biggest factor was that the boss couldn't trigger her trap."
It was likely thanks to whatever was managing the Gates—a balance patch of sorts implemented by Earth's divine entity. In the other world, the moment we entered the castle and met the Succubus Queen, Eternal Sleep was triggered instantly, trapping us before we could even prepare.
"Wow, I had no idea..."
"You saw the magic circle forming above the castle, right?"
"So that was the trap?"
"Exactly. That's why we destroyed it halfway through."
The sword aura Eugene had unleashed back then had been incredibly powerful...
"Nix, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
"What is there to think? It's just a pain in the ass."
"What if... the Demon King appears in a Gate?"
The Demon King...? Wait, could the Demon King actually manifest inside a Gate?
"If that happens, Earth is as good as destroyed."
Even if Eugene and I were at full strength and in peak condition, he was an entity whose defeat we could never guarantee. If there was some sort of gimmick or strategy like with the Succubus Queen, maybe we'd stand a chance, but... the likelihood of that was slim. Of course, if things got truly desperate, they could always drop a nuke inside the Gate. There was a chance the Demon King might survive a nuclear blast, but utilizing Earth's ultimate firepower would still be the safest and most viable option.
"A nuke..."
"Apparently, there are actual cases of S-class Gates being cleared that way, so there's no absolute need for us to step up."
Of course, countless lives would be lost in the process of figuring that out... but what could we do? Still, if a Gate like that appeared here in South Korea where we lived, we would have no choice but to act.
"Why do you think the Succubus Queen ended up like that?"
"That? It was probably the intervention of some divine entity."
An intervention to prevent the recreated creatures inside the Gate from breaking down. Perhaps when she heard the NG Word and realized her own state of existence, the system wiped her memory to reset her. When I voiced my theory, my sister shuddered.
"What's wrong with you?"
"No, it's just... it's creepy."
Well, I can't deny that. It creeps me out too.
"After all, things like the Status Window and Awakened didn't just appear out of thin air."
"I suppose..."
"If the other world had gods, wouldn't Earth have one too?"
In the past, I would have scoffed at the idea of believing in a god. But after everything I'd been through, I had no choice but to believe... Especially since I had been directly connected to a deity myself. Having personally experienced the reality of a divine being's existence... at this point, claiming they didn't exist would actually be the harder thing to believe.
"True. Before I went through all that, I didn't believe in gods either..."
"To think the Status Window was bestowed by a god..."
"It's highly likely. Haven't you ever found it strange how the Gates have been appearing in a sequential order?"
When I pointed this out to my sister, who had experienced the Gate phenomenon from the very beginning, she looked visibly startled.
"Whoa, now that you mention it, that is weird."
From their very first appearance until now, the Gates had always manifested in accordance with humanity's capabilities. Even S-class Gates could have been cleared without nukes if all the S-class hunters in the world had gathered to fight together. And since nuclear weapons were also a product of human power, they, too, fell within the scope of humanity's capabilities...
"That's why I suspect Earth's god is regulating them for humanity's sake."
"Then the recent Gate issues are..."
My sister looked back and forth between Eugene and me.
"They're probably because of us," I confessed readily.
Since we had returned to Earth, the overall power level of humanity had risen, and the Gates had adjusted accordingly. Or perhaps the number of Gates was already destined to increase, and our return was merely a coincidence. However, seeing how Gates containing remnants of the other world were appearing... it seemed highly likely that we were the cause.
"Sigh... Just how strong are you and that guy, Sissy?"
I offered a faint smile. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure myself. I had sparred with Namgung Min, but my skills had definitely dulled... Even by the standards of the other world, the Sword Saint was undeniably strong. However, he wasn't quite on the level of the Hero's party.
"Will more Gates like this keep appearing in the future?"
"Who knows? It seems like similar Gates have been popping up quite a bit overseas too."
And from what I gathered, people were struggling to clear them. There was really no answer for Gates that couldn't be cleared by brute force alone. When the entry requirements themselves were as high as this Gate's, it was difficult to deploy a raid team even if you wanted to, and even if you did, the success rate plummeted.
"Anyway, Eugene, is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Uh, yeah, pretty much...?"
I wondered if we really needed to have this conversation right now, but it did cover some important points.
"If Gates like this keep appearing, it'll be tough to handle them alone."
"We'll have to trust the other hunters."
They weren't completely helpless. It was just that this particular Gate had been a terrible matchup for them. They had handled the Thousand-Year Ancient Capital Gate perfectly fine before.
"I guess I really should become a hunter."
"Yeah. It seems like hunters make good money."
If it was the Hero, he would achieve success in no time.
"Sissy, don't tell me..."
"Why? He's a powerful asset. I might as well bring him in and put him to work."
Despite my blunt words, Eugene's expression brightened.
"Well, fighting monsters is something I did every single day in the other world, so you don't have to worry."
My sister glared at Eugene, looking thoroughly displeased about something.
"I'll recommend you to the guild tomorrow, so you can handle the rest yourself."
Tomorrow, I fully intended to do absolutely nothing and just rest. I was about to leave the cafe and head home, but Eugene stopped me again.
"Uh! Since it's already this late, why don't we grab some dinner before heading back?"
Checking the time, it was still a bit early for the sun to set. It was a tad early, but perhaps not a bad time for an early dinner?
"What do you think?"
I looked at my sister next to me. She...
"Let's go home. I'll cook you something delicious."
It seemed she really didn't want to eat with the Hero.
"O-oh, is that so?"
Eugene looked far more flustered than I was.
"Well, that's how it is. See you next time, Eugene."
I bid him farewell. Eugene lingered, unable to take a step away, his eyes glued to me with lingering regret. Watching him like that made me feel a bit guilty... Come to think of it, he had returned to Earth after eight years, so he probably didn't have any friends. Which meant he had no one to hang out with. Man, he went through so much only to end up so pitiful... If I didn't have my sister, I might have ended up just like him. My poor, pitiful Hero. I should make some time to play with him later.