Chapter 42: Into the Gate
Park Sa-ha tried to leap into the gate, but she grabbed him and yelled.
"Lee Seonjwa-ssi! That guy's still alive!"
Please, just this once. Please.
"Hurry up!"
"Hyung!"
"You guys stay back!!"
He bellowed at the other members rushing after him.
Through the cloud of dust, Kwon Yul amid the shattered outer wall and twisted metal debris heard it crystal clear.
She looked down at Kim Jae-won in silence.
It would be a lie to say there was no damage, but he was still breathing, coughing raggedly with great effort.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' says that lowly creature's stats are different from before.
I know.
Otherwise, none of this would be possible.
Just the stadium audience alone numbered in the tens of thousands. No way a hunter capable of mind-controlling that many at once was merely C-rank.
Nor was he still clinging to life right now.
Even without physical enhancement traits, any average hunter had bodily capabilities far exceeding a civilian's. For an upper-rank hunter, barely hanging on like that was par for the course.
"Don't die on me yet."
Yul grabbed his collar and yanked him up.
"What the hell did you do to my mom, you bastard."
"Haha... who knows, cough."
"Don't wanna talk? Fine. I'll crack your skull open and find out."
She could just drag him to Ryu Shin-ah and get answers.
Or if that didn't work, use that thing...
Fucking mind-type hunter...
After her dad, now her mom too. What shitty coincidence.
She irritably swept back her bangs.
Calm down. There's still the gate to deal with...
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' advises you to take slow, deep breaths.
It seriously warns that rampaging is dangerous.
I know, I know. That's why I'm calming down.
Yul's aura settled noticeably.
There were plenty of efficient ways to resolve this.
Whatever he'd done to her mom, they could beat it out of him until it wore off... or if not, hire an S-rank mental-type hunter from overseas to undo it. Either way, she was confident.
Whether beating him to the brink of death or strong-arming(?) foreign national personnel into helping.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' says those are excellent ideas and takes your side.
It performs baby talk, saying our Yul is so wise to think of such things~
The constellation's reactions returned to normal too.
Kim Jae-won let out a feeble chuckle.
"Planning to drag me to Hamsurokkun?"
"Curious who'll set up your funeral altar?"
"Aigoo... cough. He hates mental-types, though..."
"He's a hacker. You're a con artist."
"You look more like the con artist..."
But Yul had no mercy for nonsense.
The moment she dragged Kim Jae-won onto the main stage.
Boom!
The ceiling near the entrance exploded.
Lee Yu-na looked up from the impacts battering her barrier.
Joo Young, helping tripped evacuees into the portal, grimaced.
"A double gate?"
"This is insane, for real...!"
But the real problem came next.
Park Sa-ha twisted his ankle from the vibrations and started tilting inward.
The remaining members, unable to hold back, charged onto the stage and reached out, but.
Thud!
Of course, Seo In-ah was a step faster.
He yanked Park Sa-ha back, swapping positions, and gritted his teeth.
Not this time.
The situation was different, but entering here meant the same outcome, no doubt.
And this time, he had no intention of letting it happen.
"Hyung!"
"Seo In-ah-ssi!"
Seo In-ah shoved Park Sa-ha backward, his body tilting into the gate.
The gate vibrated as if waiting, expanding, and just before he vanished completely.
...Ah.
The last things he saw: the members charging toward him.
And.
"Grab my hand!"
Yul, having beaten Kim Jae-won senseless, leaping into the gate after him.
The landing she expected to be a tumble was surprisingly smooth.
"You okay?"
Yul looked down at Seo In-ah in her arms.
She'd scooped him up bridal-style, arms under his back and knees.
Seo In-ah blinked at the atmosphere, so different from her bold dive, then quickly nodded.
"P-put me down..."
"Oh, sure."
Oops, he's embarrassed.
Yul swiftly set him down, accepting it.
He wobbled slightly, hesitated, then asked.
"Why... did you follow me?"
"Leave you behind? You're a civilian."
Yul replied matter-of-factly, checking him over.
Since she'd shielded him, he was obviously fine, but no injuries apparent.
That wasn't the issue now.
A civilian getting swept into a gate meant two big things.
First, death. But she was here, so that was off the table.
Second.
...What if he awakens by mistake, Star-nim?
The chance of awakening.
Like in the early days, most awakenings happened when people got sucked into gates or caught nearby.
In short, Seo In-ah was now enrolled in the "one-and-only fast-track to hunter" course.
Yul herself had awakened that way, after all.
No reason he wouldn't.
Korea's hunter numbers had exploded after the S-rank gate incident four years ago in densely populated central Seoul. In hindsight, it made sense.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' says that's unavoidable.
It adds that the lowly creature chose it himself from the start.
Still...
Yul swept back her bangs with a sigh.
Seo In-ah, who had been silently watching her, asked.
"Worried you'll awaken?"
"...Honestly, yeah."
"It's fine. I jumped in knowing that risk."
Seo In-ah answered calmly.
Yul reflexively frowned.
What was it? His personality she'd gleaned from fangirling shone through in that stoic response, but...
"...It's still dangerous. The awakening chance."
Not just as a fan, but as a hunter, it genuinely bothered her.
"I know."
"You must've thought it through... No, whatever. That's enough from me."
It was already done.
She didn't want to meddle in the heart of someone who'd thrown himself to save her little bro.
Constellation 'Blind Sovereign of the Sky' gnaws on a handkerchief, saying he doesn't get our Yul's deep affection.
Its eyes sparkle, wishing it could receive such worry too.
If Star-nim wants worry, the whole world would've had to be too fragile and die off already.
Anyway, what kind of dungeon was this?
Yul slung her baseball bat—Judgment—over her shoulder and scanned around.
Only one path forward: the tunnel ahead.
It looked like a cave or underground space.
"Ah, left my communicator behind, no Hamsu either... Why's the system so slow?"
Seo In-ah stared fixedly at Yul muttering about not knowing the rank.
The person he'd heard so much about but never met.
If Park Sa-ha from before was right, female gender.
Didn't tell me her real name, though.
Yul checking her status window snapped him from his thoughts.
"Seo In-ah-ssi. Let's head in first."
"Ah, yes."
"Good thing the rank isn't too high. I'll take down the boss quick and get you out. Sorry I couldn't protect you properly."
"No."
Seo In-ah shook his head.
This was sincere.
He knew it truly wasn't Yul's fault.
It might've been inevitable anyway.
In fact, his intuition told him.
...I'll awaken here.
And become a hunter.
Like Park Sa-ha from before, but this time, in his place.
Seo In-ah. Age 28.
Unlike his striking height of exactly 180.2 cm, he was generally quiet with minimal actions.
His looks were average for an idol—unlike Park Sa-ha or maknae Park Ho-young, who'd shown idol potential pre-debut.
But Seo In-ah's self-proclaimed and fan-acknowledged charm wasn't from appearance.
His dedication: composing and producing full albums, even lyrics.
Passion and talent.
Contrasting his consistently cool demeanor, his stage presence oozed sensuality, with warm smiles reserved for fans and members.
Gap moe. The epitome of "visual charm."
That was Seo In-ah's fangirling hook.
The pillar upholding Double Black.
But it all stemmed from bitter setbacks and failures.
"Hyung's really... You sure you're only five years older than me? Be real. What life round is this?"
"Second round?"
"Second round's impossible, Yu-jun hyung. That level's gotta be third round at least."
Park Ho-young stuck out his tongue, and Seo In-ah smiled faintly.
"Fine, third round."
"Ugh, he admitted it!"
"You started calling it that."
"That's different from you admitting it!"
Worth admitting, so I did.
Seo In-ah swallowed his words with a wry smile.
It really was his third round.
A secret he couldn't tell anyone.
Seo In-ah was currently living his third twenties, after two regressions.
Splash!
The snake collapsed limply onto Yul's staff and sank into the swamp.
"Not many left. Numbers were low to begin with."
Yul touched near her bandaged eyes.
The dungeon they'd entered: C-rank, Swamp of Silence and Tacit Understanding.
Beyond the cave: a rotting swamp.
Fittingly, the boss was a giant twin-headed crocodile.
Mid-boss: snakes.