Hunters Association HQ
Chairman Go Gun-Hee was walking quietly in the corridor when a hunter ran up to him, panting. "Ch-chairman Go. D-dungeon."
"Calm down and speak straight." Go Gun-Hee ordered, his features tightening. "What about a dungeon?"
"The dungeon…it's an S-rank one." The hunter replied.
Go Gun-Hee's eyes widened. "What?! An S-rank dungeon?"
The hunter nodded. Go Gun-Hee was about to pull out his phone to call Jinchul when the hunter continued. "Gangseo district, around the Gayang Bridge. But it disappeared again."
Go Gun-Hee froze. That was where Woo Jinchul and Yun Ah-Ra went to meet The Breaker. They had convinced him not to follow, saying they'd bring The Breaker to him. "It disappeared?" He muttered. "You can go. I'll speak with the Guild Masters."
The hunter bowed and quickly left. Go Gun-Hee tried Jinchul's phone but there was no reply. Same thing with Ah-Ra's as well. After a few failed attempts, he decided call Choi Jong-In - Guild Master of the Hunters Guild and also known as The Ultimate Hunter.
"Good evening, Chairman." A voice came in from the speaker.
Gun-Hee didn't answer, just gave a straight order. "Gather all the S-rank hunters and meet at the office as quickly as possible." He cut the call.
"I should have just gone alongside them." Gun-Hee exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What have I gotten them into?"
Moments later,
All Guild Masters of the Five major guilds in the country stood in the chairman's office.
- Cha Hae-In, Vice-Guild Master of the Hunters Guild.
- Baek Yoonho, Guild Master of White Tiger Guild.
- Choi Jong-In, Guild Master of the Hunters Guild.
- Ma Dongwook, Guild Master of Fame Guild.
- Lim Tae-Gyu, Guild Master of Reapers Guild (Also know as the Fiend Guild.)
- Park Jongsoo, Guild Master of the Knights Guild (A-rank)
Go Gun-Hee cleared his throat. "You should have heard about the appearance and sudden disappearance of an S-rank dungeon. Correct." It wasn't a question, but they nodded either ways. "I want you all to prepare your forces for the gate's reappearance." He continued. "Hopefully, it may be one we can handle. But, Chinese National Level Hunter, Liu Zhigang is on his way here, so we're hopefully on a safe side."
"What's he looking for in Korea?" Choi Jong-In asked.
"It's obvious," Yoonho replied him. "The one reason the country's been swarming with hunters from across the globe."
"That Breaker guy." Dongwook chimed in.
"You are right. I sent Jinchul and Ah-Ra to meet him and that's coincidentally where the dungeon appeared and now I can't reach them." Go Gun-Hee admitted.
A stunned silence filled the room. Yoonho cut the silence. "That Bastard is a monster. I knew it. He must've—"
"Yoonho, we don't have anything to say about him just yet, other than him clearing the monsters that threatened humanity alone and maybe killing people who were sent after him…there is no solid say on what he truly is. Monster or not, he's fairly been on our side from the shadows. An S-rank gate appeared and we don't know what happened, so we'll wait." Choi cut him off.
Yoonho gritted his teeth, pissed.
"Just go and do as I said. Gangseo district, around the Gayang Bridge." Gun-Hee said. "I don't know if to wish it opens again or not. The area should be fully evacuated before you get there. See if you can bring Byung Jin to help."
Yoonho stared at the ground and then nodded.
They went out, not only prepared to face the S-rank dungeon, but to also face the Breaker.
Go Gun-Hee sighed. "What is really happening? The Breaker. Another unknown S-rank. The ants in Jeju Island, all gone. Now an S-rank dungeon appears and vanishes. Are this series of events all related? I hope they can handle this." He clutched his chest.
Inside the dungeon.
Each crack from the egg sent a powerful gust of mana across the entire dungeon. Jinchul and Ah-Ra remained frozen in their places.
"H-Hunter Lee, what—" Ah-Ra started but was cut off by Minho who turned, placing a finger against his lips with a low "Shush."
The egg made one final crack. All the cracks shimmered with an almost blinding crimson light. And then…
BOOM!
It burst open, sending pieces flying and shrouding the entire dungeon in a thick smoke. Jinchul and Ah-Ra had covered themselves during the explosion. Minho stood still with his hands buried inside his pockets as a strong wind hit them.
Ah-Ra and Jinchul coughed, trying to get themselves together inside the smoke. They found Minho still standing, without moving an inch from his initial position. The smoke in front of him was thicker. The change in the mana density made their legs feel wobbly.
"J-Jinchul…wh-what is that?" Ah-Ra muttered, barely pointing at the smoke where what seemed to be a massive pair of eyes opened, glowing an unnatural red.
A low growl that shook the entire dungeon came from it.
A tense silence followed, then a deafening roar erupted, sending the whole dungeon into a heavy rumble. The terror got too much for Ah-Ra and Jinchul and their legs gave out as the knelt, trembling. This wasn't a normal S-rank dungeon.
Jinchul managed to raise his head and see Minho still standing casually with his hands in his pockets, and what made his eyes widened more was: the look on Minho's face was a puzzled reaction. One that didn't even consider what was ahead to be a threat.
Another sickening roar followed after the previous, rattling not only their bones but also their mere existence. This was a calamity.
Back in Seoul.
Jinwoo's home.
Jinwoo was on the laptop, checking mundane human news sites when his system screen appeared before him with a "Ding!". His eyes widened for a fraction. The system? It still exists? But he had destroyed it. How was this even possible when his younger self hadn't even met the Architect?
But that wasn't the worry, at least not for now. The issue was the message displayed on the system screen.
[Alert: Shadow Extraction has been undone!]
[Kamish is no longer a shadow soldier!]
"Huh?"