45. It Will Become a Catastrophe.
Kang Moo-hyuk took a step forward. Joo Se-ah stopped him in a voice that had sunk to a whisper.
"D-Dangerous."
"It'll be fine. They called me first, after all."
"Called you?"
"I'm more worried about the others."
Kang Moo-hyuk glanced back over his shoulder. Joo Se-ah's eyes followed his.
"D-Deok-gu... and the others?"
At the resort entrance, guild members stood frozen with glazed, entranced eyes, as if possessed by something.
"They joined up from the lake side and came with me. But for some reason, it seems like I'm the only one granted permission to be here. Everyone else is unconscious."
As Kang Moo-hyuk took another step forward, Joo Se-ah forced herself to straighten up with a desperate effort. No matter what the thing was or why it was here, she couldn't let him go alone.
Matching his pace, she strode toward the unknown presence, and the emblem made of geometric shapes and runes rippled.
Only then could she see it clearly. The emblem was formed from clusters of light particles—tiny black specks of light that had gathered into a shape. It was a form where darkness and light coexisted.
The light warped the background and devoured the sunlight. As the surroundings dimmed, sunlight would rush back in, only for it to gorge itself greedily, as if lying in wait.
Staring blankly at the scene felt like being pulled into a black hole.
That was when Joo Se-ah saw it. It was a hand. A pale, slender hand seemed to emerge, then it turned palm outward.
The unknown presence lightly pushed her away, as if refusing her approach.
Joo Se-ah stubbornly took another step forward, only to spew up a gush of blood. Her body crumbled, but she endured on one knee through sheer grit.
'Why is Kang Moo-hyuk fine?'
The question suddenly struck her.
"I told you. It feels like I'm the only one invited."
Seeing Kang Moo-hyuk answer as if reading her mind sent a chill down Joo Se-ah's spine.
It was because a non-hunter was far too composed in front of that existence.
'A non-hunter enduring that thing up close? Did he change after barely surviving death? No, that alone doesn't explain standing tall before a monster like that.'
Kang Moo-hyuk was aware of the contradiction Joo Se-ah felt. But he had no idea why he himself was unscathed. He simply accepted the situation as it was.
"Guild Master, don't push yourself. If it wanted us dead, we couldn't have escaped anyway. The fact that it hasn't killed us yet means there's some reason."
Kang Moo-hyuk, a step ahead, reached out to hold Joo Se-ah back and stared straight ahead.
She stared at him in disbelief.
"How... how can you stay so calm in a situation like this?"
"It's confusing enough as it is. The stoicism's a family trait."
"This isn't about family traits!"
Kang Moo-hyuk steadied his ragged breathing and addressed the invisible presence.
"I've accepted the invitation, but what exactly are you? ...I don't have the right to know? Then why did you call me? Hm. ...You never called me? ...I just heard it? What does that mean?"
Joo Se-ah tilted her head, wondering what he was doing. He was asking questions and answering them himself. It was as if only he could hear a separate voice. He looked insane.
Ignoring her gaze, Kang Moo-hyuk continued.
"What I heard was your voice. So if you didn't call me, then what did? ...What? Mana? What does it mean that mana called me... Gah!"
Suddenly, a crushing pain seized his chest.
"Na-kup. E-du-hot wi-oo-heu."
As the voice emerged, the emblem drew closer.
The pressure sealed Kang Moo-hyuk's words. Cold sweat drenched his body in an instant.
At first he couldn't breathe, but gradually the crushing force eased.
Before he knew it, Joo Se-ah had stepped in front of him.
With his breathing finally easing, Kang Moo-hyuk managed to retort to the existence's words—words Joo Se-ah couldn't comprehend at all.
"A blessing? And a curse at the same time? What... is the blessing, and what's the curse...?"
Its form was invisible. No expression to read.
Yet somehow, Kang Moo-hyuk could sense it.
The other side was observing him with interest.
"I have a question. What are you?"
The emblem gave no reply. The voice of mana fell silent.
Kang Moo-hyuk started to ask again, then closed his mouth.
He'd seen Joo Se-ah's slumped shoulders.
She had reached her limit protecting him from the pressure.
Kang Moo-hyuk shelved his curiosity. Instead, he decided they needed to resolve this situation.
'I don't know what kind of magic it is. But it's something the goblin great mother summoned...'
A tiny minority of hunters had similar skills.
【Summoning Magic】
'Assuming that thing was summoned, the conclusion is simple.'
He recalled the three elements of summoning magic.
Caster, sacrifice, price.
The 'sacrifice' seemed to be human tribute. One hostage lay dead, bleeding out.
The 'price' for summoning magic was usually mana. Especially for powerful summons, vast amounts were required to exist in this world.
But the summoner was already dead, and the summoned being was doing nothing.
The conclusion was straightforward.
'The summoning is incomplete.'
For now, he could communicate with it.
Kang Moo-hyuk thought there might be room for negotiation here.
'No other options. Can't win with force anyway.'
Nothing to do but try.
No sooner had he resolved himself than he changed the subject.
"The one who summoned you is already dead. Is there any reason to stay here? You must be running out of mana to hold on. Wouldn't it be better for you to return without forcing it?"
It was a gamble.
His earlier comparison to summoning magic was just speculation.
'Please let it work.'
And please understand.
'I beg you!'
Fortunately, the gamble paid off.
The emblem's presence twisted its lips in a smile and began retreating.
'Did it just... smile?'
He felt like he'd seen the unseen.
The invisible being left that smile behind, fading gradually until it vanished completely.
"That was one ridiculous monster."
Joo Se-ah muttered her impression in a voice on the verge of death, then collapsed onto her butt.
Starting with her, the goblins around them all flopped to the ground. It wasn't mere fainting. They were foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back.
The hostages were in the same state. Kang Moo-hyuk approached to check. All dead.
Startled, he whipped around to the spot where the hunters who'd come with him were. All collapsed. He rushed over, held a finger under Pyo Beom-hee's nose, then checked her pulse.
"Phew. Just passed out, looks like."
In this vast resort, only Kang Moo-hyuk and Joo Se-ah remained conscious.
"If something like that shows up again, it'll be a catastrophe."
Joo Se-ah, barely pulling herself together, waved it off as she spoke.
"Couldn't agree more."
The two let out long sighs in unison.
They felt like empty tin cans—stamina, physical strength, even mental fortitude utterly drained.
For some reason, no one else on site except Kang Moo-hyuk and Joo Se-ah remembered the unknown existence summoned by the goblin great mother.
Kang Moo-hyuk decided to keep its information under wraps for now. No way to explain it, and no need to stir unnecessary fear.
Instead, he attributed the A-rank hunters' collapses and the goblins' deaths to the goblin great mother's magic. Same for the hostages.
Hearing the story, Jang Deok-gu shook his head.
"The goblin great mother was a monster beyond expectations. No wonder Brazil Guild got wiped out. Using such terrifying magic."
"Yes. If not for the guild master, we'd all be in deep trouble."
Kang Moo-hyuk chimed in agreement with Jang Deok-gu's sentiment. He pinned everything on the great mother's magic and called it a wrap.
Afterward, Kang Moo-hyuk filed a separate report on the goblin great mother to the Hunter Association.
There was something to look into. He requested the report be classified and included an inquiry about the summoning.
If the report got shared with the World Hunter Federation later, they might connect it to the goblin great mother from the Amazon.
"Let's keep that existence our secret, just you and me, Guild Master. I filed the report anyway, so we might get some answers."
At the time, Kang Moo-hyuk had merely tossed out a light hook, but the report he wrote would later unleash a massive storm.
Something he never could have anticipated.
"We haven't cleared all the scattered goblin remnants yet, but stability has returned around guild HQ."
"Ah, righ... Ugh! Wh-What's that smell... Urp!"
"Sorry. Haven't finished cleaning yet. We're working hard at it, but the goblins pissed everywhere... Haha. Still, a cleaning specialist and remodeling company will be in soon, so it'll improve fast."
Oh Jeong-yeon, formerly of the management team and now wearing the communications team sign under the reorganization, guided the Guild Cooperation Department staff.
Most had only handled desk work or tasks outside gates.
Having no experience with monster-infested sites, they looked skeptical no matter how much she assured them it was safe.
"Then I'll show you to the temporary campground. Settle in there, and starting tomorrow, survey the planned guild site and the spots for your future branch office."
Oh Jeong-yeon led the stiff-faced staff away.
Then one raised a hand.
"Could we see the Raid Leader today, by any chance?"
It was Park Chung-su.
The Guild Cooperation Office staffer picked by Cha Gil-ju for being the first to take Kang Moo-hyuk's call at the complaints desk.
Beyond the official survey, he had the mission to relay Cha Gil-ju's message.
"Sadly, the Raid Leader went to Seoul today."
"Seoul?"
Should've known... no point coming here.
Park Chung-su asked despondently.
"Then the Guild Master at least..."
"She went with him. Had some business."
"When will you be back?"
"Lots to handle, apparently. About... a week? Gotta check with the secretary's office for sure."
Park Chung-su unwittingly clawed at his hair.
'Screwed.'
The first to seek out Kang Moo-hyuk at the busy former Taeseong Guild building amid reorganization prep was the Taeseong Group chairman's office.
"You're the one I saw before. Jeong Sil-jang, was it?"
"The Chairman wants to see you."
"What a pickle. I'm swamped right now."
"The Chairman's pretty pissed. Please don't make me rude."
"Quite the elegant way to say he'll throw punches. Well, what can a powerless guy do? Gotta go if I don't wanna get hit. Fine. Lead on. Not like avoiding it changes anything."