Babel Tower Descends

Ryu Shin-ah greeted her with a playful curl of his eyes, feigning delight.

"What, you finally showed? Late again."

"...Hamsok-kkun. You little...!"

"That's eleven times now, right?"

Ryu Shin-ah cackled. Dungeon stealing was common enough in the hunter world, but for a top-three domestic guild like theirs, no one in their right mind would dare attempt it.

Except the woman standing before them now—she was the kind of existence that made any protest impossible.

"At this point, don't you think it's time to level up? Getting robbed ten times and still showing up late? Your feet are too damn slow."

"You bastard...!"

"If you'd come even a bit earlier, maybe you'd have snagged more. Let's see... how many'd you get?"

In precursor gates like this one—not spontaneous outbreaks—the system calculated contributions to the clear and divvied up rewards accordingly. Ryu Shin-ah glanced at the performance stats on the monitor and sneered.

"Just ten? Did you all play nice and take one each?"

"..."

"We're done here, so get the hell out before it closes. C'mon, Your Majesty."

Yul nodded curtly. The staff slung over her shoulder morphed into a bat in an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant before she dismissed it. A gust laced with venomous intent tousled her black bob. The intense blankness beneath her bandages fixed on Gu Se-ji and his guildmates.

She looked down at them, then tilted her head upon spotting a familiar face. Kim Jae-won, with his light brown hair and eyes.

"...You still haven't quit the guild?"

"Ah, well..."

"I remember giving you some advice... Stick around here, and your head's really gonna roll."

To train lower ranks, you took them into lower-rank gates—or so she muttered indifferently. Not that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it mattered; his record was already a mess of highlights.

But Yul wasn't one for meddling too much—what some might call apathetic.

'I warned him. If he ignores it and dies... well, that's on him.'

She wasn't the sentimental type to cry over such a death.

"Do whatever if you wanna die. Your life's yours to manage—"

At that moment, a status window from her constellation popped up before Yul's eyes.

In a format she'd never seen before.

"...!"

Something instinctively prickled down her spine at the bizarre window. An omen, or something akin to unease.

And then, with a cheerful chime, it arrived.

Ding-!

"...What the hell is this?"

"System?"

"Babel Tower? Like the one from the Bible?"

"I'm Buddhist."

Everyone began murmuring in confusion at the inexplicable situation.

The only ones silently assessing it amid the chaos: Yul, Ryu Shin-ah, and Gu Se-ji.

Ryu Shin-ah's expression turned grave as he glanced at the rigidly tense Yul.

She couldn't tear her eyes from the system window. The glowing blue screen finished loading.

Larger additional windows appeared before the three of them: Yul, Gu Se-ji, and Ryu Shin-ah.

Their commonality? All top-rank holders.

Their gazes briefly met. Yul opened hers first, slowly.

"...Your Majesty."

"Hold on."

Yul stopped Ryu Shin-ah. Her constellation hadn't responded no matter how many times she'd called since earlier. The sudden situation was bizarre enough, but what was the source of this ominous pounding in her chest?

The answer came soon enough.

Bzzz.

Vibrations overlapped in a timely chorus. Daehwanjang guild members, Ryu Shin-ah, and even Yul all checked their devices.

"What?"

"Alert? From the Management Bureau?"

They muttered in bewilderment, peering at their screens. A group alert from the Director's office.

And there it was...

"...Mysterious tower appears in Haeundae, Busan?"

"Suspected to be the 'Babel Tower' announced system-wide... Huh?"

"Your Majesty!"

Confirmation that set Yul's instincts ablaze. That was her limit.

She bolted from her spot toward the exit. Ryu Shin-ah chased after her in a panic.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Beneath the fabric, the screen dimly showed 'Mom'.

It felt like the world, having gone mad once already, was declaring the start of Act Two.

* * *

"General! Wait! Phone—answer the damn phone first!"

"-Ah."

At the gate entrance, Ryu Shin-ah finally grabbed Yul's wrist. She pulled out her still-vibrating phone and answered hastily.

"Mom? Mom, what's wrong? How's it over there?"

-Honey, don't you dare come down here. Got it? Mom's fine, so stick to Shin-ah and don't move.

"Tell me what's happening first, Mom!"

Her voice sharpened with rare anxiety. Yul raked back her bangs with a hiss. Even through the bandages, her twisted expression was clear.

-...Something showed up. Babel Tower or whatever. That window only hunters see popped up for me too—did it for you?

"...Yeah. I saw it."

-Okay. Something crashed into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the beach like a missile, and then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it appeared. I'm fine, and it looks like civilians got it too.

Yul steadied herself at the calm explanation. Mom was safe. No injuries. That alone was a huge relief.

Ryu Shin-ah projected his device's contents onto a monitor and gestured. Yul skimmed the translucent screen.

An official notice from the Director: declaring a national emergency, emergency muster for all S- to A-rank hunters. Destination: Busan. Assemble at Management Bureau HQ for group transport.

And naturally, Yul was on the list.

"Mom, pull back for now. Ryu Shin-ah says Management Bureau's dispatching hunters—don't touch anything... and stay away from the tower."

-Hunters dispatched? Shin-ah coming too?

"...Probably. I'll stay here."

-It's dangerous for you! Ask Shin-ah to send another hunter or—

"I'm fine. Really. That's what's dangerous right now."

Kang Young-hwa fell silent at Yul's words. After a brief pause, Yul pleaded,

"Be careful, Mom."

-Don't worry about Mom. I'm in one piece.

"...Got it."

The call ended. Yul looked up from the darkened screen.

"Let's go. We need to see what this is..."

"..."

"...for ourselves."

Five years since the first gate. Her hunter instincts screamed that something on par with it was beginning anew.

* * *

The city outside the gate was pandemonium. No physical damage from gates or waves, but the 'change' evoked that day five years ago—everyone trembled in unease.

Billboards, phones, every screen blared the news.

Yul and Ryu Shin-ah raced at full speed to the Management Bureau HQ's top floor.

Meanwhile, at their destination: five people, including Director Jeon Se-han.

Top 30 rankers who'd gotten special alerts. Specifically, the top 7 domestic hunters.

All guild masters, A+ minimum. When the nation called, even guilds had to answer.

"This is insane."

A woman with white hair to her waist and gray eyes sighed. Domestic rank 5, nickname DawnLight.

The man with dark blue hair beside her glared into space. Rank 4, Jellyfish. He muttered,

"My constellation's not answering either. Not just me, right?"

"Everyone's the same right now. No one's reachable."

"First time for this."

Lee Yu-na murmured gravely. The sudden window was one thing, but no hunter could contact their constellation.

"..."

Unlike the trio, the silent one beside the Director was the hunter nicknamed Joo Young.

As frustration led to heavy sighs—

Crash!

"...!"

Yul and Ryu Shin-ah shattered the floor-to-ceiling window and landed lightly. The arrivals everyone awaited.

Lee Yu-na gasped involuntarily.

"LeeSeonjwaKiller."

"...Finally."

"You two...!"

"Joo Young's handler's here too."

The hitherto silent Joo Young muttered, followed by DawnLight and Jellyfish.

Gu Se-ji hadn't arrived yet, but with him, it'd be Korea's full hunter powerhouse lineup.