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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗𝟔: 𝐒-𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝟐
In the dead of night, the forest consumes all shapes and forms.
The moon and stars that once adorned the darkness are lost to the embrace of towering trees.
Only the hushed footsteps of wildlife stir the forest path.
Past the witching hour.
Rustle, rustle.
A clamor that would rouse the slumbering stillness echoes from the forest’s edge.
They cut through the darkness, their steps quickening toward their destination.
Before them looms an ominous S-Rank Gate, its maw pulsating grotesquely.
“It’s. . .unnerving,”
Do Kyung-hoo mutters, his gaze fixed upon the Gate, his body clad in full combat gear.
A veteran hunter of nearly two decades, even he has never encountered a Gate as unsettling as this.
Is this what fear feels like? he wonders.
‘𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚.’
He chuckles at the thought, a wry smile playing on his lips.
His eyes scan his surroundings.
Numerous Hunters tend to their weapons, awaiting the moment they will charge into the unknown.
How many of them will return home?
“You seem nervous.”
“. . .Hunter Kang Yeo-hwa.”
Do Kyung-hoo turns his head, his body still, at the sound of approaching footsteps.
The familiar azure locks he has known for years now belong to a formidable S-Rank Hunter, her eyes burning with determination.
“To think we’d be entrusting the fate of our nation to a greenhorn like you. How can we not worry?”
“As the number two Hunter in all of South Korea, what do you have to worry about?”
“Heh. The number two will freeze to death.”
Do Kyung-hoo unsheathes the sword at his waist, inspecting its edge.
There’s nothing quite as reassuring as a weapon that has been with him through countless battles.
In the direst of situations, it has always been the blade in his hand, not his comrades, that has saved him.
“It’s good to see you’re still in fighting shape. Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Wait, Kang Yeo-hwa.”
“Yes?”
Do Kyung-hoo asked her without taking his eyes off the blade.
“I hear rumors that he has returned. Is it true?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Heh, from up there.”
Do Kyung-hoo points a finger toward the sky.
Choi Dae-soo.
“Yes, he has returned.”
“. . . . . .I see.”
Kang Yeo-hwa tries to read the expression on his face.
But the darkness of the forest obscures his features, shielding whatever emotions lie beneath the surface.
“I heard he won’t be participating in this Gate raid?”
“Well. . .he’s not in the country right now. He’s at the HSIU headquarters.”
“Is that so. It’s a shame to lose such a powerful asset.”
Do Kyung-hoo sheathes his sword, his words hanging in the air.
“Let’s get ready to move.”
As he rises and takes a step toward the Gate, the other Hunters cease their movements, their gazes fixed upon him.
There is little light, but Do Kyung-hoo’s stature and presence as a leader are undeniable.
“To all of you gathered here today, I extend my deepest gratitude. The Republic of Korea faces a crisis unlike any other, an S-Rank Gate.”
His voice, resonant and unwavering, carries through the forest.
Every Hunter stands at attention, their focus solely on him.
“We have no aid from our allies, no support from our neighboring countries.”
Do Kyung-hoo continues, his words measured and deliberate, his eyes sweeping across the crowd.
“Many Hunters will be injured or lose their lives. Someone’s sibling, someone’s parent, someone’s child, someone’s lover or spouse!”
“. . . . . .”
“Today, you will fulfill your calling and be forever etched in the annals of history.”
A gust of wind rustles the leaves of the trees.
Silence hangs in the air, each person lost in their own thoughts.
“But, even so.”
Do Kyung-hoo’s gaze falls upon each and every face.
“As we always have, the Republic of Korea will prevail. The blood we shed today will be the nourishment for that ‘always.'”
His fervent words reach into the hearts of the people, peeling back the layers of darkness one by one.
“Guild Leaders!! Are you ready!!”
At Do Kyung-hoo’s roar, the Guild Leaders respond in unison.
“[Frosthorn Guild] Lee Ye-ji and 32 others ready.”
“[Imperial Guild] Min Si-joon and 47 others ready.”
“[White Lion Guild] Choi Sung-il and 44 others ready.”
“[Blue Moon Guild] Kang Yeo-hwa and 50 others ready.”
“[Gold River Guild] Ryu Ji-hwan and 25 others ready.”
“[Limitless Guild] Gi Il-yeon and 57 others ready.”
“〈Korean Hunter Association〉 Kim Eun-ju and 20 others ready.”
“〈HSIU Korea Branch〉 Hwang Jeong-gu and 18 others ready.”
Do Kyung-hoo nods.
“[Brawler Guild] Do Kyung-hoo and 29 others ready.”
A total of 331 Hunters.
Never before in the history of the Republic of Korea have so many Hunters gathered for a single subjugation.
It is also the first time that every Guild Leader of the [Heptagram] has assembled.
‘𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. . .’
This number pales in comparison to the forces deployed by the United States, Russia, Japan, and China in their respective S-Rank Gate operations.
Japan, with the smallest force, had over 600 Hunters, while the United States had deployed over 2,000.
‘𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚.’
Among them are two of South Korea’s three S+ Hunters and six of its ten S-Rank Hunters.
‘𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.’
Do Kyung-hoo extinguishes the flicker of doubt that had begun to grow in his heart.
This is not a battle for victory.
It is a battle to slay their enemies.
“Let’s go!! Let’s show them hell!!”
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
𝚊𝙬𝘦𝔟s𝐭𝙤𝘳𝙞𝙚s.ċ̇𝐨𝚖
Edward had prepared the open space and three magic stones at Siwoo’s request.
There was no open space nearby, so he had hurriedly rented a place, cordoned off the area, and restricted access in order to prepare.
Edward looked at him with anxious eyes.
“Are you sure this will work? Wouldn’t it be better to go to the airport while we still have time?”
“Ah, well, it’ll be fine.”
“Have you ever tried this before?”
“Um. . .once?”
“. . . . . .”
Edward was speechless at his nonchalant reply.
He couldn’t help but wonder if this was really the best course of action in such a time-sensitive situation.
“Are you sure you can pull this off? Maybe we should find a professional Hunter.”
“Where are you going to find a professional Hunter who can do this? They’re all out in the field. And it’ll be faster if I do it now than if I try to find them.”
Siwoo picked up a piece of chalk and began drawing a large circle on the floor of the open space.
Siwoo drew a circle that was easily over 10m in diameter, then added several smaller circles within it.
“Do you really plan on drawing all of this?”
“I have to. Teleportation magic isn’t something you can just cast with a single skill.”
[Teleportation], as the name suggests, is a magic that allows one to move from point A to point B, and it is a technique that is legally prohibited in most countries.
If it were possible, it would likely be used for dangerous activities such as espionage, sabotage, or terrorism, which is why it has been outlawed.
Therefore, what Siwoo was attempting to do was a clear violation of the law.
Of course, if he were caught, Edward’s influence would be enough to hush it up.
“How long do you think it will take?”
“Well. . .it shouldn’t take more than 6 or 7 hours. By the way, did you know that’s still faster than flying?”
Edwin, who had been about to suggest that they just take a plane, hurriedly closed his mouth.
He was quick to catch on.
【𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰-𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭? 𝐈’𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤!】
“Are you crazy?”
【𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞.】
“Stop it, please.”
Siwoo clicked his tongue at Pre.
He decided that from now on, he would never drink with those guys again.
‘𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨.’
Siwoo grumbled to himself as he continued to draw the large diagram.
What he was currently drawing was the magic circle for [Teleportation].
He had to draw at least a thousand circles, shapes, symbols, and characters, and there could be no breaks in the sequence when checking its formula.
Among Hunters who use magic circles to cast skills, those who can memorize such circuits are extremely rare.
In particular, it is difficult to draw such a complex formula even when looking at a book, but Siwoo was reconstructing it solely from his own experience, without any reference materials.
“Why the hell are you memorizing something like this?”
“If you had been messing around in another world for a hundred years, you’d be able to do all sorts of things.”
“I still wouldn’t do something like this, you magic otaku. No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend.”
【𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐮. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐫. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.】
“. . .Both of you, shut up before I lose my mind.”
Siwoo sighed and continued to draw the magic circle diligently.
He filled in the formula on the empty spaces, kneeling on the floor without taking a single break.
Edward was secretly impressed by his determination.
He may have teased him playfully, but Siwoo was nothing short of a prodigious genius.
In all his years of meeting countless Hunters, greeting dignitaries, and leading organizations, Edward had never seen anyone with Siwoo’s abilities.
Enormous magical power, vast knowledge, and combat skills that rivaled even Choi Dae-soo’s.
‘He used to be somewhat human in the past, but now he’s become an insurmountable monster.’
He watched Siwoo, who had been drawing the magic circle for three hours now, and couldn’t help but gasp.
The length and shape of the strokes through which the magic power would flow, their fusion with other strokes.
He had to calculate all of these things in his head and draw them without a single error.
Siwoo’s hand moved without hesitation, and as he had said, he gradually filled in the circle, as if he would complete it in just 6 hours.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
ᴀẇ̇𝐞𝘣s𝙩𝘰ṙ̇𝔦𝐞s.𝙘𝕠𝕞
Inside the S-rank Gate, the Hunters scanned their surroundings with tense expressions.
The area was a desolate wasteland, like a desert, and a forest could be seen about 3km ahead.
“We’re lucky that the monsters haven’t attacked us yet.”
“Maybe there aren’t as many monsters as we thought.”
Kang Yeo-hwa replied to Do Kyung-hoo’s words.
Occasionally, there were unfortunate cases where Hunters were attacked by monsters lying in wait as soon as they entered a Gate.
“First, let’s split into teams A, B, and C as planned. We’ll move in the same direction, but keep a slight distance between us, so please hurry.”
At Kim Eun-ju’s words, the people moved to their respective teams.
Choi Sung-il, Hwang Jeong-gu, and Do Kyung-hoo, who would take the lead as Team A.
Gi Il-yeon, Min Si-joon, and Lee Ye-ji, who would support the front and rear as Team B.
And finally, Ryu Ji-hwan, Kang Yeo-hwa, and Kim Eun-ju, who would take up the rear as Team C.
“Alright, let’s have Team A move out first. Keep about 100m between you.”
As Do Kyung-hoo spoke, the people from Teams B and C nodded.
The hundred or so Hunters belonging to each team kept their eyes on the leaders of their respective teams, their tension palpable.
Before coming here, everyone had looked through the data on S-Rank Gates and entered.
However, it would have been better if they hadn’t seen the data at all.
In the end, the nine previous S-Rank Gates had all been disasters with different names, each bearing its own unique horrors.
“Do you think we’ll really just be providing support? We won’t actually be fighting, right?”
One of the Hunters whispered to a colleague beside him.
“This is my first S-Rank, so how would I know! I’m sure we’ll be fine with Hunter Do Kyung-hoo or Hunter Gi Il-yeon there. . . .”
“Why?”
“Well, it’s. . .um. . .that.”
The trembling finger pointed to a single, enormous eyeball that was staring at them, blinking slowly.