The Challenger Gate behind them shimmered once before vanishing, leaving only a hushed silence in the waiting zone. Hunters passing by glanced at Team DEATH—not with curiosity, but with caution. Even among the Hunter Association staff, murmurs traveled like wildfire.
"Is that them?" "Did you hear they cleared an A-rank soul-binding trial?" "They're still just C-ranks… right?"
Kim Suho ignored the whispers. The Gladiator's Sigil pulsed faintly inside his storage pouch, calling to him like a heartbeat in his mind. It was warm, rhythmic, and heavy with a promise.
A Quiet Night
Later that evening, the team gathered at a quiet rooftop noodle bar, bowls steaming in front of them, the city lights flickering far below like rivers of stars. The wind carried the scent of roasted garlic and chili oil.
Mirae twirled her chopsticks, her eyes still a bit dazed from their victory. "We're monsters now," she said with a soft laugh. "Three months ago, I could barely light a candle."
Minho slurped loudly. "Still can't light a stove."
Hojin grinned. "Suho's the monster. We're the supporting cast."
Suho said nothing, but a faint smile tugged at his lips.
Mirae grew quiet. Then, in a low voice, she asked, "You never told us. Why are you doing all this?"
Suho paused. The question hung in the air like a cloud of smoke.
"I have someone I need to reach," he said. "Someone waiting beyond a gate no one else can open."
Minho leaned forward, voice softer. "Sector 19?"
He nodded.
"And your sister?" Mirae whispered.
"Yes."
There was silence for a few moments. Then Hojin raised his cup. "Then we're with you. All the way."
They clinked cups beneath the stars.
One Final Raid
The next day, they dove into an unclaimed mid-level gate in Sector 10: a cursed, ancient train station lost to time and decay. The station was filled with warped shadows of commuters who no longer breathed—Time-Worn Wraiths who floated across shattered tracks. Their whispers sounded like broken announcements over an intercom.
The final boss, a hulking Necrosteel Juggernaut with rusted plating and molten joints, emerged from the buried metro tunnel.
But Team DEATH was ready.
Mirae's flames curved around Minho's defenses with precision, turning fire into artillery. Minho braced each slam from the Juggernaut, keeping the team unshaken. Hojin darted between crumbled kiosks and shattered benches, slicing through weak points in the monster's armor.
And Suho—
He led an army.
Thirty skeletal knights. Eight mutated horrors. Four spectral assassins. One Brambled Charger. One Thorn-Crowned Warden. One Hollow-Eyed Butcher.
His command was absolute.
The Juggernaut screeched as Suho triggered [Corpse Explosion] underneath it, using the decayed bones of former passengers to detonate like landmines.
It fell with a roar.
Suho raised his hand.
[Bind: Iron-Forged Sentinel]
The Juggernaut's soul, flickering like a blue flame, was pulled into the void. It joined his army.
[Undead Controlled: 50 / 50] [Level Up: 35] [Soul Fragments: 3 / 7]
The final requirements were complete.
Return of the Sigil
That night, Suho returned alone to a hidden temple beneath the city, guided by the Gladiator's Sigil. It vibrated in his hand, glowing brighter as he stepped deeper.
He found a cracked altar, long forgotten, moss growing between its ancient tiles. He placed the sigil upon it.
Light burst out.
An ancient spiral glyph began carving itself into the stone, forming a map. The pattern ended with a jagged crest—an icon that pulsed red.
[Sector 19 – Memory Tomb]
A voice echoed—not heard, but felt.
"To walk where souls remember… is to risk being remembered by the wrong things."
Visions slammed into his mind—Areum's final moments. Blood. Screams. Shadows that coiled and dragged her away. The image of her hand, reaching back, then vanishing behind a sealed door.
A message followed:
[Do You Accept Entry to Sector 19: Memory Tomb?] [Requirements Met] [Entry Unlocks at Dawn]
Suho opened his eyes, heart pounding.
Final Preparations
Dawn broke across the city like fire spilling over glass towers.
Team DEATH stood at the hilltop overlooking Sector 19's coordinates. The land beyond it was warped—mist rolled unnaturally, trees were twisted, and the sky above seemed… too still.
"Is that… a gate?" Mirae whispered.
"It's breathing," Hojin muttered. "Like it's alive."
Minho slammed his shield into the ground, letting the sound echo. "Let it hear us coming."
Suho stood in the center, gear fastened, mana steady, eyes forward. Areum's voice, faint and far, drifted like a memory.
"I'll be waiting, Oppa."
He turned to his team.
"This is it. The gate that holds my sister's soul. The next fragment. The truth."
Mirae nodded. "Then we're bringing her back."
Minho adjusted his grip. "Dead things or not, we'll fight through all of it."
Hojin cracked his knuckles. "Time to wake some ghosts."
Suho smiled, just faintly.
"Gear up," he said. "We leave in one hour."
They walked toward the twisted fogline of Sector 19.
To the gate where memory lived… and the dead remembered.
To Be Continued…
Kim Suho Level: 35
Undead: 50 / 50
Soul Fragments: 3 / 7
Trait: Commander's Vision
Relic: Gladiator's Sigil – Map & Key to Sector 19
Next Gate: Sector 19 – The Memory Tomb