CH 5

It wasn’t until all five layers of barriers were in place that I realised someone was missing.

“Wait, I don’t see Mr. Han Cha-soo.”

It was a sharp voice.

The voice sounded like a sharp knife cutting into the back of my neck, and I turned around without thinking.

Baek-sun’s slender eyes gleamed.

“Has anyone seen Han Cha-soo?”

There was no reply. The faces of the team members who were preparing to return to work stiffened.

This was an opponent even an A-grade Hunter couldn’t defeat. The situation was too bad. It was hard for everyone to keep themselves together.

There were dozens of excuses.

However, they made it to the gate without anyone getting killed.

No loss of life for the first team.

However, the disappearance of a secondary team member was enough to make people freeze.

‘The moment we return, we will be X.’

Everyone on Team 1’s minds were racing.

-What’s the situation, Seo-heon?

Jung Yi-heon’s calm voice hit Jung Seo-heon’s eardrums.

“Ah.”

Jung Seo-heon snapped out of his reverie and returned his gaze to the red orb in his hand.

It was a communication item that his brother had given him just before they left, telling him to take it with him in case something happened.

”…I think my secondary teammate got left behind.”

-What?

His brother’s gaze, reflected in the red beads, was sharper than ever. Jung Seo-heon bit down on the corner of his mouth.

‘Shit.’

The image of Han Cha-soo flashed through his mind.

The man who helped me when I was trapped in blizzard, barely more than a production worker.

A dark pang of guilt dug into his chest.

“Hyubg, I’ll get back to you. For now, we need to send a rescue team….”

Just then, the frozen ground rumbled and the heavy air hit him.

Woooo-

A jet-black figure glided towards them, almost touching the sky.

“How many minutes until the gate close?!”

“Three minutes, it can hold on for three minutes!”

“Shit, it’s going too fast!”

The team members moved in unison, and so did Jung Seo-heon.

But the black shadow’s movements were too fast, even for them. In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of the barrier.

Kuuung-!

With an eerie sound, a black nail as long as a human head sliced through the air.

Kagagak!

A creepy sound pierced the air, and the first barrier shattered.

Kwang, Bang, Bang-!

Then the second, third, and fourth barriers shattered.

[Hihihik-!]

The shadow sneered at the humans as it slammed its nails down.

Tiny shadows sprang out whenever the staff he wielded with his other hand touched the ground.

“Get the fuck out of here!”

“Damn it, what if it’s already cracked…!”

The people gritted their teeth to defend the last remaining barrier.

But hope was short-lived.

Jjoouck-

The barrier cracked each time the wraith swung his giant staff.

‘So, this is how it ends.’

Smiling bitterly, Jung Seo-heon gripped his sword. If he could stop it, he might be able to save the few remaining people.

Changang!

The last barrier shattered, and Jung Seo-heon plunged through the scattering shards.

“No!”

Kwaaaaang-!

A powerful explosion accompanied by an ear-splitting roar.

A sharp smell poked his nose as he fell in the middle of the explosion scene.

“What the…. Kulk, kuk!”

Jung Seo-heon’s face was white as he managed to open his eyes through the fog.

A giant wraith that seemed to cover the sky was crumbling to ashes.

And beneath it, a man stood with his arms outstretched as if to protect himself.

“Ha, Mr Han Cha-soo?”

I asked in a low voice, and the man in front of me smiled faintly.

“Y, you’re safe… Thank God…. Kuluk!”

Shake.

The man’s body collapsed, blood pouring out of him like a waterfall.

His back, where his armour had been blown off, was full of terrible wounds, as if he had taken the last blow with his body.

“Cha-soo hyung! Hyung!”

The white snowfield in front of his feet turned crimson.

Jung Seo-heon stood dumbfounded, looking at the scene, and then Baek-sun rushed over and screamed.

“Hyung, wake up, don’t die!”

The sound of Baek-sun holding onto Han Chae-soo and sobbing drew a crowd.

-…..

A flash.

The red orb’s light flickered faintly as it rolled across the ground, then flashed.

The Heavenly Spirit Guild’s raiding team had been in the Frostgiant Dungeon for less than half a day when they exited.

“Already out?”

The Dungeon Safety Department official, who was busy with work, scratched his head.

According to the signal from the attached gate stone, the raiding team exited the dungeon two and a half hours after entering.

They didn’t quit or retreat, they ‘completed’ the dungeon.

“They said that Jung Seo-heon were sent in instead, and that’s pretty good. So even if it’s a parachute, S-class blood is still blood?”

The official flicked his pen between his fingers.

His forehead was deeply wrinkled, as if he was disappointed in the achievements of the much younger Jung Sung-heon.

Being a Flame Realm, he must have come out quickly, and being the guild leader’s brother, he must have had access to high-end items.

The official, who had gotten rid of his inferiority complex by demeaning Sung-heon, stood up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to have a cup of coffee.”

The official smiled and lightly tapped his wrist.

“One for me, then.”

“Sure.”

He walked into the breakroom, switched on the coffee machine, and casually logged into the anonymous community.

At the top of the board, a bolded title caught his eye.

It was uploaded 10 minutes ago, and it seemed pretty aggressive to have it upvoted already.

[Title: Mil Hyun-gu almost burst into Monwe today + Verified]

Monwe? A monster wave was about to explode? Kim In-gyu arched an eyebrow and clicked on the post.

-Now. A dungeon in Seoraksan Mountain, Milhyeon-gu, almost exploded. One hunter is stuck and about to die.

ᄂAnonymous1: Fuck senility.

ᄂAnonymous2: Fucking bullshitᄏ I’m in there right now and it’s fucking peaceful.

ᄂAnonymous3: Portal article not even a single one, what’s wrong with this idiot? Monwe never seen him before, he’s monwe easyᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ

ᄂAnonymous4: No that’s why I want you to have a certificate.

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ᄂAnonymous54: Is it the end of cheap writing?? I can’t wait to see if I’m going to be the only one who’s going to be able to do that.

ᄂAuthor: (image.jpg)

ᄂAnonymous54: Fuck hate attention paste

ᄂAnonymous36: Crazy bastard

ᄂAnonymous13: What the fuck is dead?

ᄂAnonymous51: I’m going to follow Jung Seo-heon

The photo the author attached was slightly shaky. It looked like it was taken up close and personal.

But the subject matter was spot-on. A bloodied man on a stretcher.

Medical personnel were urgently placing an oxygen mask over his face, several holding onto a stretcher.

One of them was a man Kim In-gyu knew well.

“Crazy. It’s Jung Seo-heon, isn’t it?”

As Kim In-gyu rushed out of the room, eyewitness report began to appear from all over the place.

[Title: The Hunter who blocked Monwe]

-I’m talking about Seoraksan o o there’s an explosion.

The human following him is also right, I checked with my friend in Cheonryeong and he said he was a potion maker who followed them to gather something, but now he’s being treated like a hero inside;;;;

“…It’s crazy.”

Vice Guild Leader of the Heavenly Spirit Guild, Lee Jin-ryul, pressed the back button with his pale face. He heard the voice of Jung Seo-heon through the earpiece.

-I’m sorry, Jin-ryul. We were all so busy, we didn’t think to call you.

“…I can understand that.”

He didn’t find out until half a day after it happened, but it had happened.

“Take care of yourself first. We’ll take care of the writing. We’ll send a security team over there.”

-Please.

The call ended, and Lee Jin-ryul sighed.

This was both good and bad news for the Heavenly Spirit Guild.

The good news is that the guild’s B-class hunters were able to stop the dungeon raid. However, the bad news was that an elite raiding team was present at the time.

The public would point out the incompetence of the Heavenly Spirit Guild’s raiding team, and it was only natural that Jung Seo-heon, the leader of the raiding team, would be the recipient of the arrows.

“Jung Seo-heon, you’re lucky.”

Lee Jin-ryul groaned, rubbing his head.

It was his own bad luck that this had happened just as Jung Yi-heon was leaving for Jeju Island.

“Let’s contact the media that’s on our side, and have the dictatorship email the legal team.”

“…”

“Are you listening to me, Secretary Kim?”

“Vice Guild Leader, I think you need to see this.”

Lee Jin-ryul’s face rotted as he looked at the screen of the terminal handed to him by the secretary.

Yubaek Hospital, one of the most expensive hospitals in Korea, and a tall man pushing his way through the crowd of reporters.

It was Jung Yi-heon, who was supposed to be on Jeju Island.

“Why is he here?”

Secretary Kim said, looking at Lee Jin-ryul, who couldn’t keep his mouth shut in shock.

“Because Jung Seo-heon was also hospitalised.”

“Oh, right.”

He was a brocon. Rather odd that he’d remain still after hearing the news.

Lee Jin-ryul swiped at the screen of his phone. Sure enough, an alarm popped up saying that the emergency gate that had appeared on Jeju Island had been completed an hour ago.

‘Crazy.’

It looked like he’d been pushed out with firepower. The secretary asked as Lee Jin-ryul clicked his tongue.

“Now that the guild leader is gone, we’d better get more bodyguards, right?”

“…Yes. Well, pick a group of kids who can deploy shields and go.”

A bodyguard team was necessary for the safety of the people who would cling to Jung Yi-heon.