Home Run to the Gate
KABOOM! The stray beam of light gouged a massive crater into the pavement.
Yul didn't hesitate, kicking the impersonator flying backward.
Thud-crash. The faker tumbled ass-over-end.
"Wha...!"
He gaped up at Yul, now standing right in front of him.
Thud. Ignoring him completely, she stepped forward to block the hellbird that had claimed the entire road. Its wings spread wide, whipping up gusts of wind that made her purple hoodie flap wildly.
Yul muttered under her breath.
"'Blind Sovereign of the Sky', activate."
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' shares its incarnation and power.
Full Awakening State: 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky's Arbiter' activated.
Authority: 'Judgment' summoned.
Black energy currents began swirling around Yul's right hand.
The hellbird beat its wings. Piercing through the wind and its screech, Yul's hand sliced through the air like flowing water.
KRA-KABOOM! A deafening sonic boom engulfed the area, threatening to rupture eardrums.
Shatter-crash. The shockwave turned building windows to glittering rain that poured down.
And atop that, a spray of dark red liquid like blood rain.
"J-Just now...?"
"What the...?"
"Wait. Over there—Lee Seonjwa... two of them?"
Those huddled just outside the underground shelter, unable to make it down, whispered from behind the door.
Shards of the shattered glass door rained down over their heads. When they looked up, they were greeted by wings stripped of flesh and bone, a deeply gouged hellbird torso—and most tellingly, a headless corpse.
"...Shut up already."
Yul muttered. Bandages had already wrapped around her eyes—something that naturally appeared in her "awakened state," which she called "activation." Her actual vision was fine, of course.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' beams with pride, saying it's a piece of cake for our Yul.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' delights that the envious stares aimed at our Yul always give such a thrill.
It mocks, telling you to behold that dumb creature's face.
Yul brushed the bloodstains off her shoulder.
"I-It’s falling!"
"H-Hunter over there! Get out of the way!"
A shout came from higher up on a nearby building. The lifeless hellbird began to topple forward.
"Not on my watch."
Regeneration or whatever—better settle it inside. Yul casually swung the bat in her hand.
The bat scattered silver light as it smashed dead-center into the hellbird's body, which was plummeting toward the road.
Crack-snap. From the point of impact, bones shattered and flesh tore with gruesome sounds echoing everywhere.
Yul twisted her wrist. The bat whipped through an arc.
Soon, the massive corpse rocketed straight into the gate.
GRRRROOOOM! The gate shuddered like a groan as it repelled the monster's body.
Home run?
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' cheers that our Yul is great at baseball too!
Yul casually rotated her wrist.
"Let's close that thing and head back in three minutes."
She tugged her hood down like a vow, then kicked off the road without a second thought.
Whoosh. The gate's interior beyond the darkness was a canyon terrain. Sheer cliffs loomed on both sides. Hellbird chicks in nests along the crevices began screeching at her.
And there, the hellbird's body she'd hurled into the gorge. Lesser monsters lay crushed beneath it.
Leaving trash mobs behind for the boss to show up? Something's off.
Yul didn't hesitate, raising the bat in her hand. Black energy rose, transforming it into a silver staff taller than her by a head or two, engraved with dragons at both ends.
It looked too heavy for a normal person even to hold straight, but Yul gripped it effortlessly and slammed it into the ground.
BOOM! The earth split around the staff. The cliffs trembled, and hellbird chicks and monsters poured out, charging at her.
"Hellfire."
Hellfire activated.
Lava-like flames erupted from the earth's fissures, devouring everything.
* * *
"J-Just now...?"
"What kind of hunter takes down something like that solo...?"
"More importantly, Lee Seonjwa... no, did anyone even see the hunter who just went in?! It was Lee Seonjwa!"
In the city center after Yul vanished into the gate, those who'd witnessed the majestic scene slumped to the ground.
"Hunters have arrived!"
"Any injured? Right now...!"
Hunter Management Agency hunters and the Daewhanjang Guild arrived late, but even they fell silent at the sight.
An Agency hunter spotted the wing debris by the gate and reported urgently.
"Presumed to be a hellbird wing."
"A hellbird solo...? Any word on an A-rank hunter dispatch?"
"Wait, look over there! Isn't that the Lee Seonjwa hunter?!"
As they panicked at the unexpected situation, the answer came from an unlikely source.
"That's not her. I-I saw it."
"Pardon?"
"The hunter who saved us. It wasn't her."
The woman who'd stayed closest to the door explained rapidly—everything up to the moment just before Yul entered the gate.
"Bandages over her eyes. And what she held in her hand..."
"A-a bat!"
"Right, a baseball bat! She smashed the hellbird with... huh?"
The clamoring citizens trailed off. Hunters and civilians alike exchanged glances without a word.
Eye bandages, vague features. Baseball bat.
It all pointed to one person.
"The 'Lee Seonjwa Killer'...?"
As soon as someone whispered the name in a trembling voice, all eyes turned tacitly to the "fake Lee Seonjwa."
The impersonator, slumped pathetically on the ground, couldn't even lift his head.
No way.
Those in the dark and those who knew traded awkward silences, eyes drifting to the gate.
It was a hypothesis too wild to voice aloud.
And rightly so—nothing from the imposter to the target was remotely ordinary.
The Agency hunter finally pulled himself together and shouted.
"First, entry... huh?"
Shiiiink. The gate's edges oxidized, shrinking to normal size.
And from within, a figure strolled out casually.
"I-It’s real."
"The real one...!"
The hunters spotting Yul sucked in their breaths.
It was just like four years ago. Even if none of those present had been there that day, no one could forget the scene.
Someone muttered then.
"Then what's that guy? He looked exactly like Lee Seo—"
"Hey."
A neutral yet utterly flat voice cut through the murmurs like a blade.
Yul approached the impersonator, still slumped on the ground.
Same perfect appearance, but an aura no imitation could match. Civilians gaped at the confirmation of their wild guess; Agency and guild hunters broke into cold sweats.
"Was it fun?"
Yul spat. Though her eyes were bandaged, her icy gaze felt piercing.
The illusion cloaking the impersonator shattered like glass.
Revealed was a man with light brown hair and eyes. Everyone held their breath at his appearance.
Yul placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You, and you there. Guild master."
She turned to the hunters.
"Let's talk. Just like you wanted."
I'll come to you first, so wait for me.
No one could object to her added words.
Guild members wore stricken expressions; excited onlookers whipped out phones to live-tweet the scene.
In that heavy silence, a cheerful alert chimed in Yul's ear.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' sets off fireworks for our Yul finally resurfacing.
It grins, saying now everything can start over.
* * *
Crack. The phone screen shattered satisfyingly in her hand.
Another instance of her nickname proving true (in the worst way). A familiar status window popped up before Yul.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' fidgets anxiously, telling our Yul not to be upset.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' asks if 100 concert tickets would do.
"I'm good..."
Yul muttered glumly. The phone screen blared "SOLD OUT" in scratched-up lines.
"Life is shit..."
Am I just cursed? Is the system telling me to ditch fangirling and grind?
So what if she cleared the gate fast? So what if she could dash to another PC bang? She was still too late!
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' is pleased, saying the reactions to our Yul are still red-hot.
Glad it worked out just like you wanted. Great for you.
Yul flopped face-first onto her bed. All motivation evaporated.
Maybe I should just go dark again starting today.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' whines that no, you can't.
The Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' hopes its incarnation will be more active.
But her constellation knew her too well. Spot-on read of her inner thoughts, and Yul could only gaze pathetically at her phone.
"...When Ryu Shin comes tomorrow, we'll go get a new phone. Might as well."