Chapter 35
Rifts have laws.
First, rifts spread along ‘surfaces.’
Second, rifts are ‘passages.’ When crossing the purple surface to the other world, there must always be a core entity that opened that ‘passage.’
Third, the purpose of the monsters beyond rifts was always the same. Human extermination.
Before the first hunters awakened, humanity was helplessly defeated by powerful monsters that they had only seen in imagination. When the monsters first revealed themselves, there was something people cried out in unison.
‘This… these are monsters we’ve only seen in myths.’
Some resembled dragons and imugi, some resembled jangsan tigers, giant centipedes, house-sized tigers. The monsters were far too similar to beings that had appeared in ancient myths, legends, and taboos.
Therefore, people speculated that monsters had existed since very ancient times and had only now learned ‘how to completely cross over.’ In other words, they had evolved their ‘passages’ over long years.
A monster attempting a new type of invasion might perhaps be another evolved form, as human resistance that they had taken lightly grew longer and battles became prolonged. In any case, nothing was certain yet.
Mujin openly displayed his bewilderment at the southern disposal site of District 3, where waste was piled up like mountains. Whether it was a new species of monster or whatever, his purpose was to quickly deal with it and turn off the alarm… but at this place, he was likely to lose daylight searching for it. No, he was likely to miss it before that.
Requesting reinforcements for the search team at this point would be too late. Most of all, it wasn’t an area that could be handled even with increased personnel.
“What kind of garbage…”
Mujin, who had been looking around with a heavily furrowed brow, suddenly felt bitter in his mouth. It was because he recalled the report he had heard from Yeon Seokchun. The place where the tent village children first discovered Eunseong was also a waste disposal site. The waste disposal site in District 1 would be worse than this place, if not the same.
A dirty, dangerous, and desolate place. Dry dust carried by the wind burrowed between his hair strands.
“…I don’t like it.”
Mujin muttered briefly and then instructed the hunter following him to step back. He got down alone and knelt on one knee.
The moment his palm touched the ground, *thud!* The surrounding earth shook briefly. Soon after, crimson flames spread flickeringly from a span below the ground surface. The dark earth of the waste disposal site began to glow brightly as it was heated by Mujin’s power.
As a net of red flames spread out in a circle centered on Mujin, the hunter watching him from above spat out a curse in admiration.
“This crazy, what kind of firepower…!”
He had wondered how they would find a rift small enough for a child to pass through in this vast waste disposal site, but to think he’d use such a brute force method of covering everything with his own power. Most of all, the fact that this was even possible was amazing. Would anyone believe him if he returned to base and talked about what he witnessed? The hunter shook his head.
Soon Mujin’s fire covered all at once the wide land that looked like hundreds of soccer fields connected together. *WHOOSH!* The flash rising through the ground was blinding.
It didn’t take much time to find it. Mujin’s eyes, who had his hand pressed to the ground, sparkled. He raised his head and extended his arm toward a certain direction.
*WHOOOM!* Heat concentrated at one point flew like a spear. Trash exploded like fireworks at the point of impact, and then a pillar of fire shot up to the sky.
“Capture alive! You need to capture it alive!”
The hunter shouted like an idiot. He didn’t even have time to collect his body that had rolled and tumbled down. He ran frantically to chase after Mujin who had already rushed toward the target.
The monster they had finally found was melting down. The hunter retched at the sight of the human shell it had been wearing cracking and flowing down everywhere. Mujin approached without hesitation and grabbed the creature’s head with one hand, lifting it up.
“There’s contamination risk, if you grab it with bare hands…”
“Don’t… ah, don’t hurt, me.”
The monster’s remaining eye rolled around and then glowed blue.
“Eun, Eun, Eunseong hurts… Eun, Eun, Eunseong…”
It was the moment Mujin flinched and stiffened.
The monster’s body, which had been writhing in pain, swelled into a sea urchin shape. *Thud! Thud thud!* Numerous sharply protruding spikes pierced and burrowed into Mujin’s hand, arm, and body.
“Ha…”
Mujin, who had quickly tilted his head, pulled up the corner of his mouth. A spike that had narrowly missed left a long cut on Mujin’s cheek. He slowly wiped the flowing blood with his other hand.
How exactly should he deal with a monster that had the appearance of a young child? Recalling Lee Haesu’s childish whining made him want to laugh. Mujin erased his expression and turned around.
“Did you hear that?”
“What? Hear what?”
It seemed Eunseong’s name was only heard by him. Mujin carefully observed the hunter’s expression, but there wasn’t a single sharp glint in his dumbfounded face.
“What are you doing? Report it.”
“Huh? Ah! Yes, yes.”
The monster whose body had split into pieces continued to struggle, transforming into bizarre forms. However, Mujin, who was enduring by drawing strength into his battered arm, looked more frightening than the monster.
The hunter who finished reporting stammered.
“Why do you… endure that much with your bare hands…”
Mujin made a face as if asking how he couldn’t know that.
“Because I need to get home quickly?”
* * *
The glass door opened and Yeon Seokchun and Eunseong entered the cafeteria.
“The place I showed you earlier is the guild leader’s personal space, and from this floor down to the lobby, everything is arranged for free use by all guild members. It’s welfare, so to speak…”
Yeon Seokchun considerately dimmed the indoor lighting for Eunseong’s eyes.
“You can have meals here or use the dining room. If it’s inconvenient, you can have it brought to your room. Even during business closure hours like now, if you order through the intercom, the standby staff will take your order.”
“Wow…”
Eunseong exclaimed in admiration looking at the sparkling dessert showcases lined up in rows. Despite saying it was a guild that hadn’t even officially launched yet, the scale of the internal facilities was surprisingly luxurious in everything he saw. However, it didn’t look entirely good because he automatically recalled the time he had lived with Hanyeong at ‘the bottom.’
He pulled down the safety glasses that had been placed above his forehead to roughly understand the internal structure. When he sat down as Yeon Seokchun led him, he brought out two warm drinks and sat across from Eunseong.
“Even if this place looks good, it can’t compare to the old Yuseong. Though Hunter Baek Mujin put effort into arranging it. The welfare of Yuseong that you operated was the best among hunter guilds.”
“Actually, that title of guild leader still feels awkward to me.”
“What? You were such a good leader. You should accept it naturally. Both you as guild leader and the previous guild leader Yoo Hwan-nim… were truly the best.”
After Mujin volunteered for monster subjugation and left, Eunseong had exchanged feelings with his past colleagues in his own way. After eating dinner and everyone withdrawing, only Yeon Seokchun remained.
Having a long conversation with him for several hours, Eunseong noticed that the gaps in his memory were somewhat peculiar. Not only memories about his own life, but even memories about ‘Yuseong,’ which was supposedly his own guild, had been carved out like black holes. Since not only things about Yuseong but even things related to Yuseong had disappeared from his memory, even the common knowledge he thought he knew well had sparse holes.
For example, the welfare aspect like now. The guild that was rumored to have the best welfare in hunter society was Yuseong, but ‘Yuseong’ itself didn’t exist in Eunseong’s head. Even though it was supposedly so famous that not only hunters but even civilians envied it.
“Team Leader Yeon knew my father well, right?”
“Of course I did. He was such a kind person. He loved you most in the world.”
Eunseong nodded. While listening to Yeon Seokchun’s stories, he learned that he had no remaining family, but he wasn’t greatly surprised. It was partly because he had lived without family for the past three years, but he seemed to have known it unconsciously. However, it felt quite good to have it confirmed that his father was a wonderful person. Eunseong smiled slightly while recalling the bearded man he had seen in a fragment of a dream.
“Please try the tea. It’s cooled to the right temperature. It’s something you used to enjoy, but I don’t know how it suits your current taste.”
“The aroma seems nice.”
“When you were lying down, Hunter Baek Mujin and I prepared all sorts of things together.”
Yeon Seokchun looked fondly at Eunseong who was rolling the tea in his mouth to taste it. He lifted his wrist to check the time and then spoke again, saying you must be tired.
“I’ve only told you superficial stories all day today, so you probably can’t focus at all.”
“I heard a lot, but I’m worried I’ll forget it all again.”
“Haha, then you can ask again. Now it’s time to wrap up the day, so I’ll give you one brief word of advice as the last thing and finish.”
Eunseong also smiled following the smiling Yeon Seokchun. Perhaps because they really knew each other, it felt like they had grown much closer in just one day. If his father were alive, it would probably feel like this, Eunseong vaguely thought.
“You might learn as your memories return, and from now on, there will inevitably be things you’ll hear whether you like it or not.”
“Listening to stories all day today and seeing people’s atmosphere… I had a feeling.”
Eunseong nodded as if he was prepared.
“That I was a hated existence in this world…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
