Yeonhwa recalled a memory that didn’t exist.
Death, destruction, and despair she had never experienced.
A city in flames, countless dead, fallen comrades.
She wondered why fragments of memories that floated beyond the edge of consciousness even existed.
She simply accepted it as such.
To summarize what the government scientist had just said, it meant they had come looking for her because of something about to happen soon.
“How do they know?”
How do they know when some incident will occur? And how did they know who could deal with it?
“Why are they so sure of my abilities?”
There were too many things she was doubtful of.
It was exactly as the rumors on the internet and in the communities had said.
Right now, the Golden King was hiding behind the Nation’s Curtain.
A mysterious Government Department and its master, who solved every problem people brought and answered every question.
Walls surrounding the city, Gates encircling other Gates, helicopters flying through Downtown dozens of times a day.
“What are they hiding….”
But that much was fact.
A Gate could open at any time, anywhere, and other threats could also appear out of nowhere.
There was no place safer than being ready to fight with her comrades.
No matter how much she agonized over it, there were only two options.
Believe, or don’t believe.
Fight, or don’t fight.
Doctor Lee talked as if there was a choice.
“Can this really be called a choice?”
She was already under surveillance, and if she acted uncooperative, she couldn’t predict what problems would arise.
She’d already heard they had wiped out hostile Awakened more than once.
“Well, there’s no helping it, then.”
***
The location where the fourth Gate would open was Incheon.
From her memory, three or four Gates opened every month.
Even this month, three had already appeared.
“We’re fully prepared.”
Dozens of helicopters were flying toward Incheon today as well.
Several helicopters landed in an empty parking lot. Among them were a few eye-catching machines.
“Those are Association helicopters.”
Neither the Association President nor the Holy Knight had come in person.
“One’s preparing for a Gate expedition, and the other is training new recruits, was it?”
The Saintess frowned as soon as she landed.
“What is that?”
“It’s a Hunter Association experiment machine.”
Ever since several methods had been devised to grow Magic Stones in laboratories, some people had started building strange things like that.
“Well, from a researcher’s perspective, it makes sense.”
I explained our plan to the Saintess.
“For now, the Association and Army forces will secure the city area. They said Monsters will probably appear in Incheon, right?”
“Yes.”
“The plan is simple. As always, when the Gate opens, we go in as quickly as possible, engage the enemy, and keep them from crossing the Gate into our world.”
Gate detection vehicles were roaming all around the city.
We would be able to confirm the exact location and move in immediately.
But as we saw with the Goblin Gate, even a small delay could allow Monsters to spill into our world.
Depending on the situation, letting even a few slip by could cause a true Curse.
Just look at North Korea; it didn’t take long for the Bugs’ Legion to occupy and destroy several cities.
It hadn’t even taken several days.
How long would it take for dozens of Giant Army Ants to cross over into our world? Probably less than an hour.
That much was enough to reduce a city to ashes.
Especially if the Queen Ant crossed over and started breeding offspring….
“It would be a disaster, just like last time.”
Downtown Incheon was unusually quiet.
Not knowing when the Gate would open, or when Monsters might appear, everyone was in hiding.
Thanks to that, even if only a few cars were on the road, the streets were practically empty.
“We’re moving toward the center.”
The Saintess nodded.
Wherever the fourth Gate appeared, it would be best to move from the city center.
And then—
A response from Dr. Wi’s side came quickly.
— Gate reaction confirmed. Emergency movement requested.
“Moving to the location.”
I climbed onto the armored car’s deck with the Saintess.
The armored car was moving as fast as it could.
“Think we can arrive before something shows up?”
I squinted in the wind and turned on my phone’s map.
The reported location of the Gate was Incheon Grand Park.
We were heading in the right direction—
—This is Dr. Wi. We’re en route to the site where the Gate just opened, but did a hostile entity come through?
“Unable to confirm. Why?”
—Hostile entity appeared. Requesting support.
It didn’t take long to confirm Dr. Wi’s location.
Head for the Gate, or head for Dr. Wi…? Which first?
“Let’s go to Dr. Wi.”
The armored car changed direction immediately.
There were a lot of people at the site.
Here, it made more sense to go rescue Dr. Wi.
Still, something felt off.
Helicopters should be scouring the area, so how could a Monster have escaped and attacked Dr. Wi?
“They never said a Monster got loose.”
This must be the work of the Gate Worshippers.
Even though Dr. Wi was a high-level Awakened, there was no telling how the fight would go.
“Ah, ah. Doctor Wi, can you hear me?”
—Situation ongoing. In flight. Looks like a Hunter.
“Yes.”
“Hope we get there before it’s too late.”
We were moving as fast as possible, but an armored car could only go so fast.
“Are you still alive?”
—Yes.
I cast Detection Magic.
Over there, Dr. Wi’s armored car was moving.
And, unbelievably, several arrows were sticking out of the armored car….
“Good thing we arrived on time.”
The armored car stopped, and after setting off a smoke grenade, I jumped down onto the road.
All around was a hazy fog.
Someone had already popped several smoke grenades.
Numerous Awakened in the area.
I swept the area with Detection Magic once more and took cover behind the vehicle.
“An archer-type ability user?”
How high must their level be for arrows to stick into an armored car?
—Armored car damaged. Likely to stop soon.
We needed to engage quickly.
“They must be after the doctor.”
Whether they picked up on our comms or spotted the target visually, it was clear they were after the scientist from the Institute for Advanced Science.
A humanoid figure was caught by Detection Magic.
The moment to decide—was literally a split second.
A Traitor? An Awakened? One of ours? An enemy? Just a passerby? Hundreds of thoughts flashed through my mind.
My finger moved.
It was a Magic Engineering railgun for hunting large Monsters.
Unless they were top-tier Awakened, and equipped with a combination of magical and physical defense like a Hell-Det, there was no withstanding this.
Tang!
The enemy Awakened’s head exploded.
The problem was, my position could be tracked from the direction the head had blown off.
I moved forward, using the parked cars for cover.
Normally, I’d complain about illegal parking, but just for today, it was convenient.
“First, I have to draw the enemy out.”
I needed to lure them away from Dr. Wi, but the enemy’s position wasn’t clear.
“Where’s the other one?”
***
A thunderous explosion sent the car beside me flying into the sky.
Fortunately, thanks to the Saintess’s defense magic, she seemed unharmed.
The smoke from the blast offered some cover as well.
“A magician type.”
I could see traces of mana lingering nearby.
The enemy Hunter, from the start, had likely used magic just to buy time to escape.
Tang!
Missed this time.
Muttering a curse, I moved in the direction the enemy fled. If I let them go now, something bad would definitely happen soon.
But the arrow stuck in the ground snapped me back to reality.
No point regretting or recklessly chasing after one I’d already gotten.
On the other side—a Traitor, again—
There.
Firing arrows also gave away their position.
I dashed toward the direction the arrow’s fletching pointed.
The enemy Awakened, bow in hand, was drawing the string, and I calmly—yet as quickly as I could—pulled the trigger.
This time, I missed the head; the enemy clutched their arm and tried to run, but….
I fired again at the retreating figure.
Another Awakened fell.
“That’s the second.”
One ran away. If they brought four, there’s probably another nearby.
Now—
Behind.
With a clang, bullets ricocheted off a mana shield.
An opponent wielding shield and sword charged at me.
I reflexively swung my Reinforced Rifle, and the sharp clang of metal striking metal pierced my ears.
“Ugh.”
The Saintess, hidden nearby, raised her staff.
“Reversal-Healing.”
Black Thread coiled around the enemy.
It wasn’t extremely powerful, but it was enough.
“Now!”
I took the opportunity to drive the bayonet into the shield and pulled the trigger.
Bang—!
This time, the shield was penetrated.
Enemy blood splattered onto the asphalt, and the scene before me was no different than what I’d seen before Return.
Every time a Gate opened, there were always those who came to interfere or block the response.
“At least this time we handled it.”
It might have looked one-sided, but it had been a dangerous situation.
If they’d used Defense Magic Tools like before, even modern firearms would have struggled.
The only reason it went this way was that the enemies lacked experience; if they’d properly coordinated with Support Magic and Suppressive Fire, they could have given me a run for my money.
“Of course, I still have a few tricks left myself.”
I exhaled, found some cover, and activated the radio.
Unfortunately, there was no time to waste.
“Doctor Wi. Did you survive?”
—Yes, I think I’m okay for now.
“That’s a relief. We need to take care of the fourth Gate now. Sorry, but I’ll move to that site right away.”
Killing people should have been a shock, but I didn’t feel anything.
Maybe I’d become numb because of things that happened before Return.
I wasn’t exactly pleased, but I didn’t have the time—or the luxury—to get lost in thought.
All I could think was that I had to get to the fourth Gate as quickly as possible.
This must have been the Gate Worshippers’ plan.
I didn’t fully understand the logic of those madmen.
Probably, they meant to kill me and sabotage the response to the fourth Gate, turning Incheon into a playground for Monsters.
Maybe they were counting on the response failing if I died.
That was why I needed to raise more Awakened quickly.
“Let’s go.”
“You killed three people.”
“They weren’t just people—they tried to kill us.”
I felt the Saintess narrow her eyes at me.
I couldn’t really remember what kind of person I was before Return.
All I remembered was the nature that had crumbled after the war.
“If it was just our problem, I’d want to rest too, but if a Gate opens now, the whole area is in danger. They say Kaesong was abandoned after a few dozen Monsters appeared, even though three hundred thousand people lived there.”
It wasn’t us, but the North Korean Army that gave up.
The Saintess let out a long sigh, then followed after me.
I felt a bit sorry, but there was no time left to delay.
At least until we could raise some S-rank Hunters, I had to keep moving obsessively.