Chapter 68: The One Who Returned Alone

Racing down the dark country roads through the night, the support guilds arrived one after another in Dohwari. Since it was a small rural village with barely any parking space, several large vehicles were lined up along the roadside.

At the very front of the line were the cars of Helios, the first guild to rush in for support. Knocker arrived second. They seemed deeply shaken by the fact that one of their guild members had been caught up in the gate. Im Changwon looked at them with sympathy.

He understood their feelings all too well—especially since it was a new guild recruit who had gone in. No matter how much experience one had fighting in the X-Gate, a gate that had existed for seventy years was fundamentally different from one that had just appeared. The biggest problem was the complete lack of information about what was happening inside.

Because of that, even though the support guilds arrived early, they couldn’t enter the gate. Lee Hyerin and Shin Yoonjae paced endlessly near the entrance, clearly frustrated.

“f*ck it, should we just storm in?”

“And get disciplined? Have your hunter license revoked?”

Unfortunately, this incident qualified as a national-level disaster, meaning no one could act without government and Hunter Association authorization.

Worse still, the gate was in a berserk state. Forcing entry now meant risking complete annihilation. It was a gamble. Under normal circumstances, the chance of something going wrong during entry was around 1%. Now, it had skyrocketed to 50%—a pure coin flip.

And “not even leaving bones behind” wasn’t just a metaphor. It meant the possibility of vanishing from the world without a trace.

And that didn’t necessarily mean death.

It was far worse.

Even knowing that blocking entry was the right decision for safety, being unable to do anything was unbearable. Hyerin approached her guild master. Im Changwon was in deep discussion with the other guild leaders.

“Still no entry permission?”

“…Not in this condition.”

“Then we’re just supposed to wait here until they come out?”

“I know it’s frustrating, but given the situation—”

Im Changwon answered apologetically. At that moment, another guild master cut in.

“Honestly, we’re frustrated too. We rushed here after an emergency request, and now we’re just standing around. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have come.”

As the waiting dragged on without explanation, complaints began spreading among the guild members.

“Our guild was dragged here straight out of a gate. Our people aren’t even in fighting condition.”

One guild master glanced back at his members. As he said, several were half-sprawled on the dirt. Even if entry were permitted now, they wouldn’t be able to function properly.

Hyerin looked around.

While their condition was particularly bad, the other guild members were visibly exhausted as well. Some were sitting on the ground, tossing stones aimlessly.

“At this point, why don’t we withdraw and leave only the core personnel?”

Clutching his throbbing temple, Im Changwon proposed an alternative. But most of the guild leaders refused—too much time had already been wasted to leave empty-handed.

“This is the first gate of its kind, and the government issued an emergency support request. We can’t just leave. At the very least, our people need to get paid.”

“Agreed. We didn’t come all this way for a joyride.”

Government orders and national safety were secondary at best. What they really wanted was the first-subjugation title, the loot, and the massive reward attached to the emergency request.

The incentives were enormous.

A pack of hyenas.

Hyerin stared at them in disbelief. Seeing them calculate nothing but personal gain made her teeth clench.

“Is that really what you should be saying right now? My friends are in there, barely clinging to life!”

Her raised voice made the guild leaders bristle.

“That’s your personal issue. Hunters dying in gates—what’s so special about that?”

“…….”

“Hunter Lee Hyerin. Please come with me for a moment.”

Im Changwon led her away to prevent further conflict. She had no desire to keep arguing with people like that anyway.

“Minah…! Koo Minah!”

A desperate voice rang out from the crowd. The hunters immediately straightened. Veterans were adept at spotting civilians on-site.

Pushing through the hunters and rushing toward the gate was a middle-aged man.

“Unauthorized personnel are not allowed past this point, sir.”

Im Changwon spoke respectfully, but the man didn’t seem to hear him.

“Minah!”

“Sir.”

Im Changwon called out firmly again. Only then did the man turn.

“What is it?”

“This area is restricted. As a civilian, you cannot enter. It’s dangerous.”

At the calm explanation, the man’s agitation slowly faded.

“…My daughter is in there.”

“You’re Hunter Koo Minah’s father, correct?”

From the name he’d been shouting, it wasn’t hard to guess. Koo Minah’s father nodded weakly. His legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed. Im Changwon caught him.

“Are you alright?”

“…I told her—told her not to become a hunter…”

Hearing his daughter referred to as Hunter Koo Minah left him half-unconscious.

“I’ll take him.”

Shin Yoonjae had already approached and began supporting Minah’s father. Im Changwon asked him to escort the man safely beyond the restricted area.

Watching the scene, Hyerin’s eyes stung.

“Are we really just going to keep standing here? There’s nothing we can do? What exactly is the problem—!”

“…Prepare for entry.”

Im Changwon spoke in a low, resolved voice.

“Guild Master?”

“If things go south, we’re going in. I’ll do everything I can to minimize the punishment…”

Hyerin’s eyes widened.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I won’t be able to follow you in. It’ll escalate things. You understand, right?”

“That’s fine. I can go in alone.”

“No. Not alone. Convince Hunter Shin Yoonjae—”

“Of course! I’m going with Hyerin.”

Shin Yoonjae returned, breathing hard, declaring his intent.

“Good. Once the gate stabilizes and permission is granted, I’ll follow immediately. Don’t worry too much.”

Im Changwon scanned the area with a determined look. Losing valuable personnel hurt—but this was a choice for something more important.

The pitch-black sky had begun to turn a deep violet.

The three moved toward the gate entrance.

Then—

The gate’s exit began to tremble.

“What—what’s happening?!”

Hyerin reacted first, spinning around and sprinting toward the exit.

“Please…!”

As if responding to her prayer, the exit began to glow. Within the light, a long-awaited silhouette appeared.

It was a suffocating moment.

All the hunters held their breath.

Hyerin leaned so close she might have collided with the exit itself, only to be pulled back by Shin Yoonjae. The instant she stumbled back—

Someone burst through.

“…Sung Jiwoo!”

It was Sung Jiwoo.

Hyerin grabbed him and hugged him tightly. The impact was so sudden that Jiwoo almost struck her, mistaking her for a monster. When he heard her quiet sob, he finally realized who it was.

“Hyerin…? Why are you here…?”

Hyerin lifted her head, looking past his shoulder—waiting for the other two.

But no one followed.

“…Where are the others?”

The gate exit, having released only one person, went still again.

At her question, Jiwoo echoed it back in disbelief.

“…The others?”

“I’m asking you! The others! Didn’t you go in with Koo Minah and Yoo Heero?”

“…Didn’t Minah and Yoo Heero come out first?”

Their words crossed, clashing as their voices rose. Jiwoo pulled himself free and hurriedly scanned the area.

“…They didn’t?”

They weren’t there.

In that moment, Jiwoo’s assumption and Hyerin’s hope both collapsed. Jiwoo’s pupils trembled. His fist clenched weakly.

He couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“…Looks like they didn’t make it out.”

After a long pause, he whispered in despair.

Silence fell like a grave.

Breaking it, Shin Yoonjae spoke calmly.

“…We’ll go in. For now, you should rest.”

Hyerin finally snapped back to herself.

“Right. We were just about to enter anyway. When did you get separated from them?”

“You know the gate went berserk, right?”

“Yeah. That’s why we were emergency-called. Same for everyone else.”

Jiwoo looked around and only then realized how many hunters had gathered—and that all eyes were on him.

But that wasn’t what mattered now.

He took a deep breath and spoke.

“I think we got caught in the gate’s rampage. Right after we finished the first dungeon, a storm suddenly hit. When it ended… I was alone. That’s when we got separated. I couldn’t find them. I thought they’d escaped before me, obviously—but…”