#165
“Waaah…”
As Dan Joo-hyuk approached, the child in Yoon Seul’s arms suddenly burst into tears. Yoon Pa-ran turned around in surprise. Even though Dan Joo-hyuk was suppressing his aura like before, the infant continued to cry.
Seeing this, Dan Joo-hyuk took Yoon Pa-ran aside, creating some distance from the child, and said:
“Let’s leave escorting the children to Hunter Kim Sin-cheol. Just in case something happens on the way.”
“Huh…?”
Yoon Pa-ran hesitated at the sudden suggestion to entrust the children to Kim Sin-cheol. Could they trust a hunter they didn’t know well?
But time was of the essence. Trusting Dan Joo-hyuk, Yoon Pa-ran nodded. After all, Kim Sin-cheol was a skilled A-class hunter.
“Please evacuate all the children here. I’ll text you where to go. The bus will arrive soon.”
As soon as Yoon Pa-ran agreed, Dan Joo-hyuk turned to Kim Sin-cheol with the request.
Kim Sin-cheol, who had been standing near Dan Joo-hyuk like a prop, responded uncertainly.
“Huh? Oh.”
However, Kim Sin-cheol stared at Dan Joo-hyuk for a while as if he had something to say.
Then he glanced at the children in the distance.
“Ahhh…”
Eventually, he sighed and approached Yoon Seul.
But once he reached Yoon Seul, Kim Sin-cheol’s expression became smooth, as if he had never sighed.
“Director, hello. I’m Kim Sin-cheol.”
“Ah, hello, Hunter.”
“Please don’t worry too much. This is all just a precaution…”
Kim Sin-cheol walked toward the children with Yoon Seul.
For some reason, he also naturally asked something of the security company staff. They nodded and rushed into the orphanage.
“Oh…? It’s a hunter!”
Soon, the children who recognized Kim Sin-cheol cheered from inside the walls. They seemed to recognize the face of Kim Sin-cheol, a rather famous A-class hunter.
With that commotion behind them, Dan Joo-hyuk whispered discreetly to Yoon Pa-ran.
“Only family members and Kim Sin-cheol should enter the bunker.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Once the bunker door closes, they’ll be isolated inside.”
“Ah…”
It was something Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t considered. Though he thought the security company staff were trustworthy, it was better to be safe.
Then Dan Joo-hyuk reached out his hand. Yoon Pa-ran slightly hunched his neck at the sensation of fingers gently rubbing his earlobe.
“You can trust Kim Sin-cheol.”
“Okay. I’ll trust your judgment.”
“…”
Yoon Pa-ran answered without hesitation. While it was difficult to immediately trust Kim Sin-cheol, whom he didn’t know well, he could trust Dan Joo-hyuk’s judgment.
Dan Joo-hyuk suddenly fell silent. It remained the same even though Yoon Pa-ran glanced at his face several times in puzzlement.
The somewhat awkward situation was soon resolved thanks to the arrival of the bus Dan Joo-hyuk had called.
It was a yellow kindergarten bus, somehow acquired.
“Come on, get on one by one!”
“Yes!”
From inside the walls, Kim Sin-cheol’s voice could be heard skillfully directing the children. Meanwhile, the security company staff who had returned helped Kim Sin-cheol escort the children toward the bus.
Seeing this, Yoon Pa-ran also moved toward the bus, saying:
“I’ll help too and come back.”
“Alright.”
Dan Joo-hyuk now stood there completely suppressing his presence. Yoon Pa-ran felt grateful that he seemed to be considering the children.
“Big brother!”
“Yes. Careful with your feet, let’s get on quickly. Everyone must wear their seatbelts.”
Starting with Ju-hee, Yoon Pa-ran helped the children board the bus one by one.
By the time there were about five children left outside the bus, it was Min-woong’s turn.
“Aren’t you coming with us?”
“No. I’ll follow soon. Listen to the director and be good, okay?”
“Okay!”
Min-woong looked disappointed but smiled brightly when Yoon Pa-ran said he would follow soon. The children really thought this situation was a field trip, so they all had bright expressions without feeling anything strange.
Min-woong carefully climbed the bus steps one by one. Suddenly, the child looked over Yoon Pa-ran’s shoulder.
Standing at a distance was Dan Joo-hyuk. Because he had completely hidden his presence, all the children had boarded the bus without noticing him. Even the infant in Yoon Seul’s arms had stopped crying.
But Min-woong somehow spotted Dan Joo-hyuk and smiled brightly again. His half-grown front teeth were clearly visible.
“Big big brother!”
Yoon Pa-ran’s eyebrows rose crookedly at the curious form of address. As Min-woong waved his arms excitedly, Dan Joo-hyuk gently waved back from behind Yoon Pa-ran’s shoulder.
Beeeep—!
“…!”
At that moment, a loud gate alarm sounded from his phone.
“Huh?”
“It’s okay. Min-woong, get on the bus quickly.”
Simultaneously, Yoon Pa-ran’s phone rang loudly. Yoon Pa-ran tried to reassure Min-woong, whose face showed anxiety at the successive loud noises.
The caller was Hunter Na Young-mo from the Fish Cutlet Guild.
After quickly getting Min-woong onto the bus, Yoon Pa-ran accepted the call. His heart pounded as if the gate alarm he had just heard was directly hitting his stomach. He felt nauseated from the excessive tension.
“What’s going on?”
Na Young-mo’s urgent voice burst from the phone.
—Gates are suddenly appearing all over Seoul right now. It’s complete chaos!
“What…?”
Answering the call, he hadn’t seen exactly which area the gate alarm was for.
He had vaguely assumed it was nearby and felt urgent, but it wasn’t just here—it was all over Seoul?
—Some hunters waiting in front of the gates are suddenly jumping into them! I don’t know if they’re crazy or having aftereffects from injuries, but they’re pushing away anyone trying to stop them—it’s insane!
The news that followed was consistently ominous. Just as Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t open his mouth due to the tension that shook his entire body like an alarm,
Something happened that drove a wedge into his vague anxiety.
[The sacrifice has been fulfilled.]
[Multiple sacrifice candidates with tokens have been confirmed.]
[The Great Gate will open.]
[Time remaining: 5 minutes]
“Ah…”
Ominous phrases blocked his vision one after another. Yoon Pa-ran froze, his gaze fixed on the words “Great Gate.”
“Waaaah…!”
Then, hearing his younger sibling’s cry, Yoon Pa-ran snapped back to reality.
Urgently looking around, he saw everyone pale-faced, staring into the air. He immediately realized:
This was the third system message.
To make matters worse, a massive flow of power could be felt from the orphanage yard. With difficulty, he turned his stiff neck to look in that direction. A tremendous power was swirling inside the orphanage in sync with his heartbeat.
A gate was opening right here, now.
As soon as he realized this, Yoon Pa-ran instinctively moved.
“Get on quickly! I’ll help the rest board. Get the children seated right away!”
“Pa-Pa-ran…”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be safe there.”
He reassured Yoon Seul, who was still outside the bus. Coming to her senses belatedly, Yoon Seul hurriedly boarded the bus and calmly seated the children.
“Children, fasten your seatbelts. Hurry!”
At that moment, two shadows passed by Yoon Pa-ran. Dan Joo-hyuk and Kim Sin-cheol were carrying the remaining children who hadn’t boarded yet under their arms.
“Go now!”
Dan Joo-hyuk shouted as he hurriedly disembarked after confirming all the children were on board. Kim Sin-cheol headed to the driver’s seat, gritting his teeth.
“Damn it. If you don’t explain everything properly later, I won’t let you off.”
Thanks to the engine being started in advance, the bus could depart immediately. Just as the bus disappeared from view, a gate began to form in earnest in the air. They had narrowly escaped the gate.
“…”
This was the first time Yoon Pa-ran had seen a gate forming. The space that had split as if torn gradually expanded its domain along with the power swirling like a vortex.
Unlike other gates, the one that formed in the orphanage’s air was red from the beginning.
Nothing about it was normal at all.
“You too, run away quickly!”
“Y-yes!”
Yoon Pa-ran shouted to the security company staff who were blankly staring at the air.
Understanding the serious situation, they quickly left the orphanage area.
“What do we do now?”
Yoon Pa-ran murmured helplessly, looking up at the gate that had turned blood-red as if about to burst at any moment.
He hadn’t expected such a concrete danger as a gate to appear so suddenly. Should he have evacuated with his siblings? Would the path to the bunker be safe?
If this was happening all over Seoul, abandoning the orphanage would be the right choice. However, due to an inexplicable pull, Yoon Pa-ran looked up at the air with a helpless expression, unable to move either way.
Is there any way to resolve this situation?
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk blankly looked down at Yoon Pa-ran’s face from beside him.
The red light of the gate rippling across Yoon Pa-ran’s white face felt quite surreal. He had thought Yoon Pa-ran’s concerns were baseless assumptions, but feeling the power gathering in the air, he was dumbfounded. And to think it was a gate on the verge of breaking from the start.
Still, it was fortunate that they had managed to send the children to the bunker, even if just barely.
“…”
At the thought that suddenly occurred to him, Dan Joo-hyuk inadvertently paused. The realization that he genuinely felt relieved the children were safe was unfamiliar.
Unable to overcome this unfamiliar sensation, Dan Joo-hyuk was slowly reaching out to Yoon Pa-ran when…
“Ah.”
A quest appeared before the two of them.
Strangely, the status window was even fainter than usual.
[Trial of the Practitioner]
Stop the fourth axis
Reward for success: Reduction of Great Gate influence
Penalty for failure: Destruction of Seoul
Two days before the new year. It was truly the worst end of the year.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
