Chapter 581
Crack! Wham!
A whip of fire struck the ground. The snow that had piled up melted, and the yeti’s blood began to boil. Kim Hwajong’s voice came out through clenched teeth, as if he were grinding and spitting the words.
“Song Cheon-woo, you bastard…”
Butler Kim’s wide-open eyes were fixed on the spot where just seconds ago, someone had collapsed.
If this was how it was going to end, if he was going to meet his death like this, then he should have been killed by his own hand. But Song Cheon-woo, using some final strength from who knows where, had thrown himself into the deep crevasse, choosing his own death.
It was too honorable an end for a traitor. And more regrettable than that…
“We’ve lost an important witness. I apologize, Young Master.”
“It’s all right.”
At Kim Hwajong’s sigh, Choi Minwoo shook his head. His gaze was nailed to the crevasse, its depth impossible to guess.
“You don’t need to apologize, Mr. Kim. I should have been more careful.”
Victory dulls your vigilance. Maybe it was even more so because the fight had been so difficult. Choi Minwoo poured the rest of a half-empty potion onto his own body.
Ssssss. As the sound of flesh burning rang out, his wounds began to heal little by little. Feeling the faint pain, he continued.
“Song Cheon-woo must have thought this was the only way to save his family.”
“It’s not that I don’t understand… but it seems he was more desperate than we thought.”
Kim Hwajong muttered in a rough tone.
“Stupid bastard. There’s no guarantee his family will be saved by this, so what was the point?”
“He must have been that afraid. Isn’t it human nature to cling to hope, even in despair?”
Choi Minwoo answered quietly, taking his eyes off the crevasse. He couldn’t be sure how deep it was, but it had to be at least hundreds of meters. Song Cheon-woo, already on the brink of death, had almost no chance of surviving a fall like that.
“We should call the guild members. Actually, it would be faster to order a team from the guild house.”
The two had worked together for more than twenty years. Kim Hwajong understood immediately.
“Do you want to recover the body?”
“I don’t know if it’s possible, but we should at least try. Song Cheon-woo is still the European branch manager of the Ares Guild.”
Even if his life had ended, his position remained. If even half of what happened here could be proven, the shockwaves would rattle Seok Gojun beyond the iron fortress of Ares.
“Attempted murder, contract killing, whatever it is, not even the Ares Guild’s vice guild master will be able to escape disgrace. Especially in times like these.”
A fortress built over decades doesn’t crumble easily. But Seok Gojun was different. Choi Minwoo was determined to use all his strength to drag him down from the lord’s seat.
“From now on, we’ll be busier than ever. Both you and I, Mr. Kim.”
Kim Hwajong smiled with satisfaction.
“I’ve been waiting for this day.”
“I’m grateful. It’s reassuring to have you at my side, Mr. Kim.”
“You’d better use me before I get any older, Young Master. We have to make Seok Gojun regret pulling this kind of stunt.”
“That’s the plan.”
Nodding, Choi Minwoo turned away from the crevasse and began walking. Maybe it was the aftermath of the fierce battle with Song Cheon-woo, or maybe it was all the blood he’d lost, but fatigue weighed down his whole body. And as his consciousness grew dim, he retraced his steps until he suddenly stopped.
Squish.
Dirty water, a mix of snow and blood, splashed up around him. Kim Hwajong, following behind, asked in confusion,
“Young Master?”
But Choi Minwoo didn’t answer. He stared silently at his foot, half-submerged in the muddy puddle, and then muttered,
‘Regret.’
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say earlier, Mr. Kim, that we’d make Seok Gojun regret doing something so vile?”
“I did, but is something wrong…?”
“You left out the ‘why.’ Why did Seok Gojun do something so vile?”
Choi Minwoo stared at the puddle. Even a single step sent ripples through the dirty water, so why did Seok Gojun send Song Cheon-woo, an assassin from the Ares Guild, to kill him?
Was it because he was that powerful? Because he was a traitor?
Both answers were wrong. This was…
‘A trap.’
The word struck his mind like lightning, and Choi Minwoo’s body trembled—not from the shock of realization, nor from exhaustion.
No, it hadn’t just started shaking now.
Rumble.
Another ripple formed in the once-settled puddle, and a pile of unmelted snow collapsed. The ground was shaking. As the snowy mountain trembled, the terrified cries of yetis rang out everywhere. And at the center of it all was a massive resonance.
Crack! Rrrrrumble!
As if on cue, Choi Minwoo and Kim Hwajong turned their heads at the same time. The ground split open with a tremendous tremor, cracks spreading like a spider web. The thin fissures connected to the darkness behind them.
Crunch. Craaaack.
Crevasse.
A vast darkness whose end couldn’t be seen yawned open. Darkness, no—overwhelming magical energy poured out of the rift, shaking the snowy mountain and tearing at space and time.
Swooooosh!
And then, the two of them saw it.
Beyond the split space, the endlessly stretching blue sky and buildings—the world they lived in, and would continue to live in.
“…Monster Wave.”
Two worlds that should never be joined were now connected. The roar that signaled the beginning of that catastrophe shook the earth.
– GRAAAAAAAH!
Before the abyss that finally revealed itself, Kim Hwajong stepped in front of his young master, his eyes darker than ever.
Crunch.
The snowstorm raged. Tainted by magic, it was no longer white or beautiful.
* * *
“Team leader. Have a drink?”
With a sly grin, a team member approached holding a bottle of soju, but the team leader grumbled in reply.
“No thanks, you bastard.”
Despite his words, the team leader lifted his glass. The team member, grinning knowingly, filled the empty cup.
Gulp. The team leader downed the soju in one gulp, then dipped a piece of flatfish sashimi in red pepper paste and swallowed it. The chewy texture brightened his mood a little.
“…Damn, it’s still tasty.”
“Right? This place is famous on the hunter community.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, there are tons of reviews if you search for it. It’s the best after a raid.”
“Those guys probably enjoy their drinks after a raid and plenty of magic stones. It’s not like there’s anyone here who struck out like me.”
“Aww, come on, team leader…”
The team leader smacked his lips. If he were part of a guild, it wouldn’t matter whether a raid failed or not, but as a freelancer leading his own hunter team, things were different. Even if he had to dip into his own pocket, he had to make sure the guys around him, laughing and chatting, got paid.
That included this cheeky guy too.
“Team leader, you’re not mad, are you?”
“Just pour me another drink, will you?”
“Yes, sir!”
Saluting and diligently pouring, the team member made the team leader chuckle. The team leader turned his gaze to the railing outside. Even though the raid had been a bust, drinking while looking out at the snowy scenery wasn’t so bad.
‘Pyeongchang’s scenery really is nice. The scenery, at least.’
No wonder there were so many ski resorts here.
Muttering to himself, the team leader kept emptying his glass, admiring the view. Crowds flocked to the ski slopes, gondolas went up and down nonstop, proof of just how thoughtless people could be.
“Hey, isn’t it funny?”
The team member, devouring sashimi, looked up.
“What is?”
“There’s a Gate up on the mountain and magic power has increased by seven percent, but people are still acting like this.”
And they say there’s a Monster Wave in Busan down below. The team leader shook his head.
“Reminds me of when idiots went to ski resorts even during the COVID outbreak.”
“You mean ‘Melona’?”
“…Forget it. Just eat.”
Letting out a deep sigh, the team leader downed another drink. Thinking about what must be happening in Busan made his chest tighten.
“Uh, hey! Hey, hey, hey!”
‘What the…’
“…What’s her deal?”
At the sudden outburst, not only the team leader but everyone’s attention turned to one spot. A woman hunter in her twenties, lost in thought, was waving her smartphone frantically.
“Wow, unbelievable! This is insane!”
The team leader responded with a worried look.
“Yeah, she does seem a bit crazy.”
“No, that’s not it! Remember I said the handsome guy in the mask up on the mountain looked familiar?”
The team leader recalled the group of hunters they’d run into earlier, especially the young man at the back.
“Yeah, and thanks to those guys, our raid was a bust.”
“But that guy! Wow, he’s amazing.”
Kim So-hye. Is her eye for faces that sharp? How could she recognize him?
“I’m about to lose my mind—just tell me what you’re talking about!”
“Look at this!”
She shoved her phone in his face. Frowning, the team leader looked at the screen—then his eyes widened.
“What? Is this real? Looks like him…”
“Told you! Team leader, don’t you believe me?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, come on. This time I’m sure! I’ve been a fan for thirty years—you can trust my eyes!”
“You’re twenty-five. Did your father fangirl too?”
“I’m telling you, it’s him! If I’m wrong, you don’t have to pay me today!”
Putting her day’s pay on the line for this? The team leader started to believe, curiosity rising.
‘If this is true… what would someone of that level be doing here?’
On the phone was a face good-looking enough to be an idol, along with a short article.
[Team Leader Choi Minwoo of the Peace Guild: “The rescue team is for everyone.”]
A big shot. A really big shot.
He hadn’t seen the man’s face properly earlier, but just from the photo you could sense the calm eyes and unique presence. ‘If this is true, then all those hunters must be from the Peace Guild too.’
He’d heard plenty about Choi Minwoo lately. Even if only half was true, he’d be too busy to breathe, so why visit a B-rank Gate in Pyeongchang with his guild members?
‘Wait. That guy I saw on the way down…’
The thought hit him suddenly.
Rumble!
A massive tremor swept the area. In an instant, all sound stopped and everyone’s heads turned in the same direction, as if on cue. The team leader was the first to notice the abnormality.
Just before the tremor started, his gaze was already fixed on one spot.
‘…There.’
It was the place they’d climbed up to, only to come back down in disappointment—the so-called [Yeti’s Winter Mountain Range], a B-rank Gate.
And in the next moment, what he saw was the mountain collapsing, black darkness falling over it. Among the wreckage of gondolas and buildings, a horrifying roar shook everyone to their core.
– GRAAAAAAAH!
Monster Wave. And the people left inside the Gate.
The team leader, seized by suffocating fear, barely managed to shout,
“Call it in! Call right now!”
A terrified question came back.