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#18
The laborers who had been stationed outside were the unfortunate victims, swept away by the tempest and engulfed by the Red Gate, carried along with the crushing waves. This was precisely how the original ‘Han Dokyeom’ had been drawn into the Gate.
He miraculously survived, only to find himself trapped alone within, surrounded by countless corpses. That day’s events were categorized as a pivotal turning point in ‘Han Dokyeom’s’ life.
In the novel, when describing ‘Han Dokyeom,’ Dokyeom had once hinted at this crucial plot point:
[If someone were to survive that ‘Red Gate,’ they would undoubtedly become Geon Ita’s greatest ally.]
It was a prophetic declaration, stating ‘will become,’ not ‘would have become.’
What did this imply? It meant that Han Dokyeom, though initially declared missing and his fate uncertain, would miraculously survive, clear the Gate, and emerge.
His indeterminate status in the early stages was a narrative device to allow ‘Han Dokyeom’ to make a surprise reappearance later in the story.
He was to be the protagonist—no, Geon Ita’s most formidable ally. Regrettably, this never fully came to pass.
This was because, exactly one chapter before ‘Han Dokyeom’s’ scheduled appearance, Dokyeom had awakened in ‘Han Dokyeom’s’ body.
“This pier will soon sink! Or, to be more precise, it will be dragged into that Gate and sink along with it!”
At Ju Uiryeong’s words, the laborers’ faces paled. Some were unable to contain their fear, tears streaming down their cheeks.
Dokyeom ran a frustrated hand through his hair. His original plan had been to enter the Gate alone. He had intended to end it quietly, without creating any casualties. If only Ju Uiryeong hadn’t appeared.
From the moment Ju Uiryeong arrived, it seemed inevitable that there would be casualties. The bewildered gazes of the people confirmed it.
“How about we enter the Gate and try to clear it?! O-of course, I’m not suggesting this without a plan! Should a dangerous situation arise, I will use my abilities to rescue all of you without hesitation!”
[‘Orias,’ the demon of ‘Lemegeton,’ scoffs derisively at that statement.]
They were right. The majority of these people hadn’t even reached C-rank Hunter status. Inciting such individuals? It was tantamount to pushing them towards certain death.
“If not now, it’ll be too late. This Gate will soon sink beneath the sea!”
“B-but we don’t even have any A-rank Hunters, how can we possibly clear it…?”
“Do you all not trust me? Have you forgotten that with my abilities, I can get us out of danger instantly? This Gate may have a high rank, but it’s a difficulty we can definitely clear, even among ourselves!”
Even while inciting the crowd, Ju Uiryeong cast several anxious glances at the Gate behind him. Someone else nervously spoke up.
“But we’re all just C-rank Hunters…”
“You can do it! No, *I’m* here. Have you forgotten I’m A-rank? I will never let any of you die!”
Why were people listening to Ju Uiryeong, even in such a desperate situation? The answer was obvious. It was due to Ju Uiryeong’s
“Just trust me this once. If this Gate disappears beneath the sea now, it can never be cleared again. You want to know what incredible things are inside, don’t you? You want to claim them. You all came this far because you wanted to seize something, anything, didn’t you? So, trust me. It’s a Red Gate, after all!”
This arrogant scoundrel, exuding such immense confidence as he manipulated the crowd, clearly knew what lay within that Red Gate. Or perhaps there was something specific he needed to acquire. Of course he would know. There was no way he wouldn’t.
He was the same person who had so brazenly sent a message, claiming to have read the novel well.
Perhaps Ju Uiryeong’s fervent, almost desperate, efforts were beginning to pay off, as people one by one, as if entranced, began to rise.
“…Alright, since it’s come to this, let’s at least go in. I’m so resentful of that traitor who abandoned us, I almost *want* to go in.”
“You’re, you’re really saying we can do it with our abilities?”
“What do you think, Director? I’ll follow your lead…”
“What do I think? What’s there to think about? Whether we become fish food here, or go in and get beaten to death by monsters, it’s all the same. Better to try something before we die, right?”
At the Director’s words, a wave of relief washed over Ju Uiryeong’s anxious face. Around that time, amidst the pulsing, vein-like lights, the Red Gate began to submerge.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble*
The ground beneath their feet trembled as if struck by an earthquake, and shoals of fish thrashed wildly, as though impaled on a spear, churning the waters into a frenzy. Ju Uiryeong’s gaze darted urgently towards the Gate.
The Gate began to slowly sink, spewing foam. From this moment on, it was destined to descend into the deep sea.
“Come on, let’s go! As long as you trust me, there’ll be no problems!”
One by one, at Ju Uiryeong’s urging, they gripped their shovels and pickaxes and rose. The Director was no different. Only after everyone else had risen did Dokyeom, finally, push off his knees and stand.
[‘Orias,’ the demon of ‘Lemegeton,’ tugs at your clothes, warning that the place is dangerous.]
“So, should I just stay here alone and become fish food? Unless you’re going to get a boat, let go.”
In truth, from the moment Ju Uiryeong acted this way, the laborers had no other choice. Ju Uiryeong was the only one capable of teleportation, and he shamelessly used his ability to persuade them. ‘Persuade’ was a kind word; it was nothing short of blackmail.
Follow me, and I’ll save you.
Could there be a more heartless proposition? So, effectively, they had no choice. A few of the laborers, understanding this, already had faces that had turned a ghastly, deathly pallor.
Dokyeom picked up a discarded grappling hook nearby and followed the others as they were swallowed by the crimson light.
Amidst the metallic wail of the wind, a long, drawn-out whistle seemed to pierce the air from somewhere distant.
****
Drip-drop.
Drops of water collected on the ceiling plummeted onto the damp cave floor. The people huddled together, navigating the dark, moist cave path. Each held a weapon they had chosen, and wore protective gear with lights on their heads.
*Splash*
Someone stepped into a puddle and startled violently. The sound echoed through the gloomy cave. The man who had stepped in the water offered a quiet excuse.
“It’s, it’s too dark to see anything ahead, so how am I supposed to know what’s there…?”
“It’s only like this at the entrance, so don’t worry. It’ll get brighter soon.”
Ju Uiryeong, walking ahead, reassured everyone with a confident tone. The laborers swallowed dryly and, trusting his words, resumed their steps.
After a long while, just as Ju Uiryeong had promised, the interior gradually brightened. Upon passing through a narrow passage and arriving in a massive dome-shaped cavern, they found the surroundings so brightly illuminated that they could easily distinguish friend from foe, even without their lights.
The sapphires embedded in the cave ceiling, interspersed with glowing lantern-flowers, were responsible for this luminescence.
At the rear of the group, Dokyeom lifted his head and swept his gaze across the vast cavern in awe. This was indeed the magnificent place described in the novel: an immensely wide, dome-shaped cave containing a reservoir.
From a distance, the sound of waves could be heard, and dozens of shallow and deep pools, like blue holes, collected water across the cave floor.
This was the domain of the monster, ‘Dagon.’
Dagon was a creature whose entire body was covered in grotesque scales, with webbed hands and feet, and fins like a marlin extending down its back to its waist. Unlike mermaids, its face was a blunt, monstrous visage reminiscent of a marine iguana, yet it possessed two legs like a human, allowing for bipedal movement.
This was Dagon’s habitat, an endless, exit-less underwater cave.
“Wait a moment.”
Ju Uiryeong, who had been leading, called for them to halt. The laborers, who had been lost in admiration, gaping at the cave, startled, and immediately gripped the weapons in their hands.
“This is Dagon’s territory. You see those lake-like pools? Dagon is a species that spends most of its day in the water. They’re probably in the water right now.”
“Dagon… Dagon is a C-rank monster, though. They’re not particularly difficult monsters…”
“Do you remember the Gate’s rank before it became a Red Gate? It was B-rank. There must be a reason why it suddenly turned into a Red Gate. From now on, we need to find that reason.”
While Dagon possessed highly developed senses, acutely sensitive to even the slightest disturbance from intruders, it was not a difficult monster to contend with. In fact, it was a manageable foe, one that could be subdued and the Gate cleared with the current number of people.
The real problem, as Ju Uiryeong had stated, was the ‘reason’ it became a Red Gate.
“The Red Gate probably occurred because something happened to the boss. So, for now, let’s cautiously search for the boss. Please let me know if you see anything.”
“Don’t worry, we laborers know that much. Of course, as Hunters, we wouldn’t be ignorant of that.”
While Ju Uiryeong was addressing and rallying the laborers, Dokyeom, at the back, felt along the wall, searching for something. Moving unnoticed between shadows, he ran his hand over the rough wall for a moment until his damp fingertips brushed against a fissure.
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