Chapter 21
Chapter 21. Oppa, I’m So Glad You’re Safe
Having neutralized the hostile group and officially resolved the Gate expedition, I transferred the remains of the criminals over to the Hunter Police squad tasked with handling rogue hunter incidents and departed.
It was a relief that we had somehow prevailed against the assailants and placed them in official custody, but the true complication was what lay ahead.
I lacked an exact assessment of how powerful the trio of rogue hunters truly was, yet it was glaringly apparent that their combat prowess far surpassed anything a standard D-rank hunter could handle.
Despite being disadvantaged in numbers and rank, a solitary D-rank operative had thoroughly decimated them. In the eyes of any outside observer, such an outcome was bound to raise deep suspicions.
The investigators would undoubtedly press us hard regarding those specifics during our formal statement. Still, doing so was simply their responsibility.
There was no point in fretting over the unavoidable.
Following the completion of the standard legal formalities, Junhwi and I made our way out of the precinct.
“Hyungnim. Regarding the official inquiry… We managed to get past today’s intake, but how are we supposed to explain things when the questioning begins?”
“What part of it?”
“Well, none of it makes rational sense from an investigator’s viewpoint. A basic D-rank hunter managed to wipe out three criminals who were likely sitting somewhere between B-rank and C-rank caliber.”
The authorities would quite reasonably suspect that we were concealing our true ranks. If suspicion tipped that way, they would naturally begin probing into whether the two of us had intentionally registered at a tier far below our genuine combat capabilities.
I was fully cognizant of that dilemma myself. Because of it, from the second I stepped out of the Gate, I had continuously attempted to summon that strange, shimmering auroral blade aura once more, though every single effort had ended in failure.
Fortunately, there remained a crucial factor working to our advantage: an intact video record detailing the entire sequence of events.
“For the time being, we have no choice but to provide the clearest account we can offer. Alternatively… we could claim an unforeseen hazard occurred within the Gate, severely maiming the criminals first and handing us the opening needed to finish them off.”
Unpredictable anomalies were known to occur within dimensional Gates on occasion, making it a believable cover story. In the end, the internal ecology of a Gate remained largely uncharted territory for modern civilization.
“In that case, we need to synchronize our testimonies perfectly.”
“Indeed. Let’s think through the specifics and coordinate privately afterward. Also, Junhwi.”
“Yes, hyungnim?”
“There is only a single year between us. Addressing me as hyungnim feels a bit excessive.”
I had barely reached my mid-twenties. I was far too young to have someone using such overly deferential, syndicate-style titles with me.
…Listening to the way he carried himself genuinely made me wonder whether he had previously associated with an organized crime ring.
“Ah, my apologies. My older sister constantly addresses the members of her guild as hyungnim, so the habit became second nature to me. It is remarkably hard to break.”
He seemed to have been scolded about it frequently. Junhwi offered an embarrassed grin, scratching the back of his scalp.
“Even so, it makes me feel quite awkward. Just stick to calling me hyung.”
“I will do my best, hyungnim.”
Good grief, this fellow. While it hadn’t particularly bothered me initially, the repeated formality was now starting to make me cringe with secondhand embarrassment.
“Furthermore, hyungnim.”
“Now what?”
I opened my mouth to correct his phrasing once again, but upon noticing the solemn sincerity reflected in Junhwi’s gaze, the retort died in my throat.
“I know I have already expressed this, but I am endlessly grateful for everything today. Hyungnim, if there is ever a favor you require, simply give the word.”
“So you were building up to this again.”
“No amount of gratitude could ever suffice. You preserved my very life today.”
I truly wished he would drop the heavy sentiment. The sheer embarrassment was threatening to overwhelm me.
It hadn’t been obvious upon our initial encounter, but Junhwi carried an unexpectedly earnest intensity beneath the surface.
“Just treat me to a meal sometime.”
“I will treat you to as many courses as you wish! Are you fond of omakase, hyungnim?”
“I explicitly told you to drop the ‘hyungnim,’ really now.”
Given that evening had already settled in, I shared dinner with Junhwi before heading back to my apartment.
Perhaps due to the sheer volume of chaotic events crammed into a solitary day, pure exhaustion weighed down my limbs. Had I listened to my physical instincts, I would have dropped straight onto the mattress and drifted off to sleep without a second thought.
Nevertheless, placing a call to Sia was an essential duty before turning in.
“…Should I call her?”
Was reaching out truly the best course of action considering the turmoil that had just transpired?
It certainly wasn’t that I resented speaking with Sia. Far from it. I simply wished to spare her unnecessary distress.
I had mentioned to Sia earlier that morning that I was headed into a Gate, so the expedition would inevitably arise as a conversation topic. Once it did, I would be forced to disclose the confrontation with the rogue hunters.
Fabricating a story that nothing out of the ordinary happened was not an option. Even if I attempted deception, Sia would detect the falsehood eventually, and above all, the wearable camera had documented every single detail with total clarity.
If the truth of today’s incident reached her…
‘Sia’s heart… will be burdened with immense worry.’
She might spiral into endless anxiety believing similar dangers would threaten me again down the road. Worse, she could completely lose her composure upon realizing someone had attempted to take my life.
Understanding Sia’s temperament, I knew sleep would completely evade her tonight once she heard the news.
Even so, picking up the phone remained the proper path forward.
‘I must call her.’
I was guilty of no wrongdoing, nor was this something that ought to be kept secret from her. In any case, Sia was bound to uncover the truth through one avenue or another before long.
I dialed her contact without further delay, and as if she had been sitting beside the device waiting for the notification, Sia picked up in under a second.
“Hello?”
[Oppaaaa! I missed you to death!]
As expected, the screen shifted directly into a video call.
Sia was enthusiastically waving both hands at the camera, glowing with unrestrained joy. A year prior, video calls were a rarity between us, but following Sia’s return, nearly all our communications had transformed into face-to-face video chats instead of standard audio calls.
“I missed you too. I’m eager to meet up with you again soon.”
[Why does time always crawl by so painfully slow?]
A soft smile tugged at my lips at her charming grumbling.
[Oppa, how did the expedition go today? Did everything proceed smoothly in the Gate?]
Her gaze shone brightly as she stared into the lens, fully eager to absorb every detail of the raid.
Yet the briefest hesitation in my response proved enough; Sia instantly registered the minute shift across my countenance.
[…Oppa? Did an issue arise? You look unwell.]
It had been no more than a split-second pause while I weighed how to frame the news, but she had seized upon it immediately.
“Our Sia really behaves like a clairvoyant. You guessed right. An incident did take place.”
[What was it? What happened? Tell me everything, Oppa. I will listen to whatever you have to share.]
Just moments prior, Sia had been radiating an affectionate beam.
Yet the instant I acknowledged an anomaly had occurred, her entire aura shifted sharply into rigid alertness.
[Don’t tell me some wretched woman tried soliciting your phone number again?]
‘Again’?
[Of course. I knew it. This is precisely why I can never let my guard down for a moment. Oppa, who was she? Did she join your expedition party inside the Gate? Or—]
…She had evidently jumped to the conclusion that another woman was involved, recalling the incident that had unfolded during our visit to the tteokbokki establishment in the past.
However, that frosty detachment on her visage endured for merely a fraction of a second before raw insecurity took its place. Sia unconsciously raised a fingertip toward her lips, beginning to nibble on her nail.
Before the misconception could spiral into something worse, I moved swiftly to clarify the truth.
“It definitely was nothing of that nature.”
[It wasn’t? What a relief. I feared a repeat of that dreadful scene.]
Reassured by my denial, Sia’s tense demeanor melted back into her familiar warmth.
Yet did she realize that the ordeal I had just survived was infinitely graver than petty jealousy?
It pained me to place this burden upon her, yet it remained a conversation that could not be avoided.
“Sia.”
[Yes?]
I pitched my tone into the most grave, steady register I could summon.
Initially, Sia maintained a gentle expression, but the moment she detected the unusual weight behind my voice, her pupils quivered with subtle apprehension.
“…”
As the silence stretched uncomfortably between us, thick distress began painting her features.
[What took place? What is it, Oppa? Tell me, please?]
“Something… extraordinarily dangerous happened.”
Releasing a heavy exhalation, I laid out the sequence of events that had transpired within the Gate during the day.
I detailed how the rogue hunters sought to eliminate me, how I suddenly unlocked the capacity to channel brilliant auroral blade energy, and how I wielded that mysterious power to execute the assailants.
Naturally, I withheld the vile slanders the villains spat toward Sia and myself in their final breaths. There was zero benefit in burdening her with those filthy words.
“…And that is how it concluded.”
Drawing the lengthy, somber account to a close, I cautiously monitored Sia’s expression.
Precisely as I had anticipated, her visage grew grim. It was obvious she possessed countless things to express and an abundance of questions to fire off, yet she was visibly forcing herself to maintain composure.
Her gaze, in particular, was tempestuous. An overwhelming tangle of intricate, heavy sentiments swirled within her eyes, impossible to capture in simple speech.
For a brief period, she held those volcanic emotions in check, but soon enough, her expressions began shifting wildly from second to second, as though the dam restraining her inner turmoil had shattered completely.
Perhaps wishing to hide that state of distress from my view, Sia abruptly shut off her video feed.
“Sia…?”
[…I am so relieved, Oppa.]
Her tone sounded composed, but only because she was forcibly strangling the surge of raw emotion in her throat.
[I am beyond grateful that you returned safely.]
“Thank you. Honestly, part of that survival belongs to you, Sia. If I hadn’t been holding the blade you gifted me, I doubt such a miraculous turnaround would have ever occurred.”
[No. That was a miracle wrought entirely by your own hands, Oppa. I am endlessly grateful that you came back to me whole.]
She attempted to speak with an upbeat cadence, striving to appear completely unbothered, yet the strain of repressing her feelings remained blatantly clear.
To preserve her pride, I acted as though I noticed nothing amiss.
“In any case, Sia, I managed to walk away completely uninjured, so please don’t fret over it. Understand?”
[…Understood.]
A dull ache gripped my heart at the barely perceptible tremble lingering beneath her bright facade.
Prolonging the call under these circumstances would only bring further distress to the both of us.
“Ah, exhaustion is catching up with me. I apologize, but let us conclude our conversation for tonight and catch up extensively tomorrow. That sounds fine, doesn’t it?”
[Without a doubt. Rest comfortably, Oppa.]
Once the connection severed, I remained sitting, staring aimlessly into the empty room.
Witnessing Sia compel herself to maintain a cheerful front left a hollow, sickening weight in my stomach. A restful night’s sleep was out of reach for either of us now.
If it were within my power, I would have rushed to her side, whispering gentle lullabies until sleep claimed us both while wrapped in each other’s reassuring embrace. The silence of the night felt singularly lonely.
The very instant the call was terminated, Sia found herself utterly incapable of suppressing the turbulent fury surging upward from the core of her spirit.
Having persevered through endless trials and tribulations to finally hold her cherished lover once more, she had teetered on the brink of losing him forever to an absurd, vile ambush.
Yet despite enduring such harrowing peril, Minjun had expended his energy worrying over her peace of mind instead. Bearing witness to his endless consideration caused profound sorrow and crushing remorse to swell within Sia’s being.
Quickly, however, those tender sentiments morphed into a consuming inferno of hatred directed at the worthless scum who dared attempt Minjun’s murder—a rage that twisted into a bitter, suffocating agony constricting her lungs.
While Minjun put his very existence on the line to break through that mortal danger, she had contributed absolutely nothing to his salvation.
‘It only succeeded because Oppa managed to awaken that hidden strength.’
What if he had failed to summon that dormant power?
An outcome too horrific to even contemplate would have unfolded.
The moment that dark realization crystallized, Sia’s fingers instinctively clamped down around the beverage container she held.
Though composed of simple plastic, the bottle didn’t merely warp under her catastrophic grip. It shattered violently into minute fragments, as though constructed from brittle glass.
‘What can I possibly offer Oppa?’
Sia was prepared to execute anything for Minjun’s sake. Absolutely anything.
Yet in this crucial hour, the sole contribution she could manage was listening passively to his recount and offering hollow words of comfort.
Those wretched degenerates who deserved to be drawn, quartered, and torn into raw scraps were already lifeless corpses.
Despite possessing the terrifying supremacy of a genuine dragon, she had stood utterly powerless to shield him. That profound impotence served only to stoke her fury into an uncontrollable blaze.
CRACK!
Driven by pure hatred toward the villains and disgust at her own absence, her fist smashed directly into the stone flooring.
The surface was crafted from reinforced marble, yet beneath the impact of her knuckles, jagged fractures spiderwebbed violently in every direction.
‘I must take action.’
Not solely for Minjun’s retribution, but to preserve her own sanity. Remaining idle without enacting vengeance threatened to push her over the edge of madness.
While searching for any feasible path forward, a sudden revelation ignited across her consciousness.
‘Just because their physical forms are dead doesn’t mean their retribution has concluded, does it?’
To an ordinary mortal, such an endeavor would remain impossible, but Sia was an ancient draconic sovereign. She commanded power vast enough to tear through natural boundaries.
Having personally undergone the phenomenon of soul transmigration and rebirth, she had harbored an intense fascination toward the arcane arts of necromancers ever since her hatchling days on the Throne.
That lingering curiosity had spurred a dedicated pursuit of knowledge, driving her to master their forbidden disciplines entirely on her own. As a consequence, she possessed peerless mastery over necromantic sorcery capable of forcefully dragging forth the departed souls of the slain.
‘This is the path.’
If the scoundrels she sought to butcher were already deceased, she simply needed to pull their ethereal souls back into the mortal realm via necromancy and inflict her vengeance upon their spirits instead.
By now, their wicked essences had undoubtedly descended into the underworld.
“I shall prove to you that an agony far surpassing hell itself exists in this world.”
A chilling, bottomless bloodlust settled heavily within her gaze.
Comments for chapter "Chapter 21"
MANGA DISCUSSION
Madara Info
Madara stands as a beacon for those desiring to craft a captivating online comic and manga reading platform on WordPress
For custom work request, please send email to wpstylish(at)gmail(dot)com