Chapter 88: The Accelerated Catastrophe

Geon Ita merely let out a derisive, ‘Ha,’ and laughed. His gaze flowed naturally towards Dokyeom. His eyes, which seemed to traverse good and evil, curved into a faint smile, and then he slowly mouthed words.

‘Where are those brats you can’t live without? Why are you alone today? What if you get hurt?’

Dokyeom, without so much as a blink, raised his middle finger at Geon Ita. Seeing this, Lee Sanghyeon hastily intervened to manage the situation.

“Ah, indeed. There are times when even E-ranks are needed. When teaching, one sometimes discovers the true potential of promising trainees, regardless of their rank. However, haha… I’m not necessarily saying that about *him*. As you can see, he lacks a bit of self-awareness.”

The moment those words were uttered, someone behind Dokyeom spat out the coffee they were drinking. Instantly, all the Sahyeon Guild hunters seated in the lounge turned to stare at Instructor Lee Sanghyeon. Their eyes were filled with murderous intent and bewilderment.

‘What kind of traitorous bastard is that?’

Even if the rookies could be excused for their ignorance, every seasoned hunter’s eyes gleamed fiercely as they rolled up their sleeves.

‘It’s a universal rule to package anything that falls into your hands like a gold ingot and display it proudly. But this traitorous bastard, he’s practically selling off the country!’

While the hunters fumed, Lee Sanghyeon gazed at Dokyeom, who was slurping the last drops of his drink with a loud straw noise, as if he were a homeless person. With a troubled sigh, he then guided Geon Ita toward the elevator.

“Let’s go. Our Guild Master is waiting. He’s not really someone worth paying attention to.”

‘Is he a spy? What kind of bastard is he?’

Someone glared, grinding their teeth. Beside them, a chorus of grinding teeth echoed. ‘Unless that bastard’s a spy, how could he act like that? Is that guy really an instructor?’

Even if Dokyeom was an E-rank, an instructor disparaging a fellow guild member meant that even the Feather Guild’s subordinates were looking down on them.

This sight thoroughly enraged them.

After a brief moment, as soon as Geon Ita and some other hunters boarded the elevator heading directly to the Guild Master’s office, all the Sahyeon Guild hunters in the lounge swaggered to their feet. Their expressions were like beasts setting out for a hunt, and their demeanor resembled street thugs preparing to shake someone down.

“Wow, the Feather Guild members are all looking so good these days, having solved that Red Gate incident. Perhaps that’s why their eyes seem so… lacking.”

“Why bother coming here just to pick a fight? Go give your E-rank a good talking-to. Wow, it seems he was even flipping the bird earlier, mindlessly at that. Next time we meet, will he be giving a double bird?”

At the words delivered with a sneer by the fresh-faced youth, a Sahyeon Guild hunter laughed so hard his mouth seemed to split.

“Haha, why are you all so interested in another guild’s E-rank? If it bothers you so much, why don’t you recruit an E-rank yourselves?”

“We don’t need one! We wouldn’t use one even if it were free, no.”

“Why? You seem quite bothered and irritated. Do you know this? Our Sahyeon Guild was the only one with an E-rank who participated in this Red Gate. Did the Feather Guild get scared and just send out A-ranks, tucking their tails between their legs? Wow, and then they’re strutting around claiming they solved it, even their subordinates are celebrating a ‘moral victory’!”

“No, those are some rather strong words, aren’t they?”

In an instant, the formed group split into two factions. Lee Sanghyeon watched the scene with a bewildered gaze.

“Strong words? What’s strong about them? You guys were cooped up at home while our guild’s E-rank was fighting tooth and nail, like a dog in the rain, on that battlefield! You didn’t even deploy to a battlefield where even E-ranks were fighting, yet you’re all strutting around acting tough, aren’t you?”

“What are you bastards talking about!”

“Hey, our guild entrance is swarming with people every morning. Do you know why? The news that our Sahyeon Guild’s E-rank is the living witness who returned alive from there has spread everywhere. Reporters camp out here every morning. We’re practically dying from exhaustion, I tell you!”

“Besides Guild Master Geon Ita, have you guys ever had anyone else make headlines? Wasn’t the Feather Guild a sinking ship until recently? With no E-ranks to speak of.”

“Ah, yes, yes. I don’t know about anything else, but I certainly know that the Sahyeon Guild is childish. Your standards are truly high.”

“Why, are you jealous? In fact, you’re probably dying of envy, aren’t you? Just say the word. I’ll listen.”

“If you’re so envious, then you recruit an E-rank who flips the bird too.”

“No, who would an E-rank…!”

It seemed an external enemy was necessary to unite internal factions. Or perhaps, they were simply having a fit, acting as if their guild’s prestige was their very lifeblood.

‘Why are they acting like that?’

Dokyeom rested his chin in his hand, calmly observing the scene.

It seemed their ‘arms were bending inwards’ because others were badmouthing them, causing their insides to churn. However, Dokyeom, who knew they had chuckled while watching his every move as if subscribed to a regular broadcast, found his guild members’ antics utterly preposterous.

They had disparaged him for being an E-rank, and now they were scrambling to save face, acting as if an E-rank was an S-rank. What utter nonsense.

Dokyeom slurped his straw again. After draining the last drop, he picked up the straw from another drink he had ordered and put it to his lips.

As if to join the fray, someone with a scowl etched on their face was seen striding purposefully from inside the distant cafe. With sleeves rolled up, their appearance was quite formidable.

It was just as Dokyeom let out a hollow laugh at the sight.

삐이이이-

A ringing filled his ears. And then, the world slowly began to turn upside down.

As soon as he realized it, the world flipped completely black with a clattering sound. The ringing vanished, replaced by a dull humming noise that permeated his ears. This was different from seeing someone’s future. No. This wasn’t that at all.

The world swayed as if filled with static, and flashes of light rained down through it. Dokyeom gasped for breath, chasing after the faint afterimages.

A pitch-black sky, reflecting three towering snow-capped mountains within.

Amidst the swirling blizzard, a colossal snow mountain, encircled by forest, came into view. Yet, it was positioned upside down, appearing as if it could fall at any moment.

And it was directly above Seoul.

“Hngh,”

As he abruptly exhaled, Dokyeom was thrust back to the moment just before the world had inverted. Instantly, his mind tangled, and his limbs stiffened, turning pale.

‘What is this?’

Three inverted snow mountains above Seoul. As far as Dokyeom knew, this was the ‘Grand Historical Reenactment’ slated to arrive in Korea a year later. Known as the ‘Three Sisters of Snow Mountain,’ it was a historical event directly tied to the renown of the Saints rooted in history.

‘But why is this…?’

“Th-the elevator has arrived! Come on, the remaining Feather Guild members, please head up now!”

Suddenly, the shout of the ‘traitor’ Lee Sanghyeon, who had been watching the fight between the two divided hunter teams from afar, rang out.

Dokyeom forced his stiffening head to turn towards the elevator. Time seemed to crawl. Legs stretched into the elevator’s interior, moving as if in slow motion.

Goosebumps prickled all over his body. A sense of déjà vu, signaling something about to happen, brushed against his nape. Something was about to occur.

That premonition arrived when the slowly unfolding scene returned to its normal pace. It was when the steps moving towards the elevator suddenly halted, sensing something.

The moment the air grew heavy, Dokyeom witnessed the sun, which had been resting by the lounge window, rapidly vanishing.

As an empty darkness cast its shadow, the sun fled as if being chased. One by one, the people seated by the window turned around.

The world was darkening. A world that was barely noon was being swallowed by something pitch black. Not only those in the lounge, but also those in front of the elevator, one by one, stared blankly out of the building.

Silence settled terrifyingly thick, and heavy sighs escaped from various corners. Amidst the darkening world, an ominous notification, as if foretold, arrived.

The screams raining down from the street.

Dokyeom quickly dashed out the door. Looking at the sky, something crimson was engulfing the black night.

A sinister, swirling flash, like a black hole, spewed forth an abyssal, chilling terror.

It was a ‘Red Gate.’

“Why… why is there a Red Gate…?”

“A Red Gate?!”

“That’s impossible!”

Hunters, rushing out like a swarm of bees, regardless of rank, craned their necks back so far it seemed they might break, gazing up at the sky. The ominous red light pulsed, as if on the verge of erupting something.

쩌저저저적-

And finally, it opened its maw, revealing the world within.

An afterimage of three distant, deep, snow-laden mountains, with snowflakes swirling.

In the dimming world, only the vivid, swirling snowflakes remained so clear. White, chilling, their coldness palpable to the point of helplessness.

[The supreme ‘Overseers’ of ‘Myth Recommencement,’ having deliberated several times, have resolved to initiate the prologue of this ‘Grand Historical Reenactment’ with a Korean narrative.]

Letters steeped in darkness appeared like a black curtain. A pitch-black haze began to swallow even the light.

The Saints’ first ‘Grand Historical Reenactment’ had blossomed right here, right now. A historical event that should have occurred much later.

That catastrophe… had been accelerated by an entire year.

****

The guilds and associations that had gathered for the Seolleung Station Red Gate incident were ultimately forced to change their focus due to another Red Gate appearing over Seoul that very day.

According to the secretaries waiting outside the meeting room, the atmosphere was highly charged, with shouting and papers flying, unable to conceal the palpable tension.

The fruitless meeting ultimately returned to square one. The Association limited its duty to merely “frequently measuring the gate’s decibel levels” before departing, leaving the Red Gate’s strategy details entirely to the three major guilds.

In short, the Association had simply washed its hands of the entire affair.