Chapter 9

03. S-Rank Beings Fall from the Sky (1)

"Spirits everywhere, spirits indeed!"

Cha Taeyang, with blue flames in his hands, extended his arms as if dancing. A blue line traced the path of his moving hands, and even to my limited knowledge, it didn't look ordinary.

It must be an incredibly powerful wide-area skill that even affects the undead...

Standing at the boundary between incantation and song, Cha Taeyang spun around and drew a large circle with his hand. His skirt billowed and settled like flower petals with his movement.

"According to the wind, according to the waves, according to the guidance, they went three thousand miles to the healing waters."

Ding!

The goblin didn't move, but a bell sound came from somewhere.

Then, blue light swirled in the dark sky, and a strong floral scent covered the stench of the undead.

At the same time, the wind began to blow wildly.

"Be fierce, be fierce indeed. Look toward paradise and cleanse everything with the lotus!"

As Cha Taeyang shouted, an unknown symbol floated within the circle he had drawn.

Standing in front of the completed array, Cha Taeyang clasped his hands, and a mist of five colors enveloped the greenhouse.

Thud! Thud!

Then, four giant gates fell from the sky.

The gates, which had a strange luster, resembled the entrance gate of a temple but had goblin patterns carved on them. Even though I knew they had appeared to protect us, the overwhelming presence made me break out in cold sweat.

Cha Taeyang, who seemed to be highly focused, closed his eyes tightly and formed a seal.

"Open the Gate of Spirits!"

The giant gates opened silently.

On the other side of the open gates, an endless flower field spread out.

Creak!

The undead, sensing something ominous, screamed and fled. But the auspicious gates that consumed the impure did not let them escape.

The monsters were pulled into the gates as if drawn by a magnet.

Endlessly, endlessly.

The impure beings that filled the open space were sucked into the gates and then scattered as a handful of dust.

We all held our breath at this bizarre scene.

The gates, which seemed to stand forever, finally closed silently after the last one was consumed, and then vanished as if they had never appeared.

This is an S-rank skill, a power that splits the sky and causes miracles.

The group exhaled the breath they had been holding. Cha Taeyang, who had ended the skill, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Seo Youngwoon quickly caught him. Cho Sung-hyun, who seemed to be in a daze, only laughed hollowly.

'Being an A-rank, the shock must be even greater. Or, even if not...'

Everyone, except for the goblin who jumped over to Cha Taeyang, remained speechless for a long time.

Then, a bell sound broke the silence.

Ding! Ding!

A small bell hanging on the mansion was swinging.

It was the bell that announced the completion of the 19th layer.

The bell sound, which I had never thought I would hear in my life, echoed in my head.

"It's over, isn't it?"

Seo Youngwoon muttered in a dazed voice. Cha Taeyang, cradled in his arms, smiled brightly.

"Yes, we did it. We did it."

We cleared the main quest.

Everyone looked disheveled, but their eyes shone with achievement and joy, unlike before.

Now I understand why they said they would never forget the moment they first heard the bell.

"Are you completely crazy?"

"Taeyang, you were the best! Your family will be amazed when they see you!"

"Hey, I'm hungry. Let's go out quickly."

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work."

To avoid the trouble of going around, Cho Sung-hyun kicked the glass ceiling of the greenhouse. Seo Youngwoon glared at him, but Cho Sung-hyun just whistled and ignored it.

"I don't think anyone else has experienced this in a field practice."

"I don't want to experience it again... But it's not something you can do often."

The group, now relaxed, walked toward the gate, chatting about trivial things.

'Ah, when I get back, I'll soak in a warm bath, eat some hot chicken, and have a can of beer. Then I'll sleep like the dead. As for the report... I don't know.'

My body felt limp.

Just as we were about to enter the gate, a large figure appeared.

What, you're just here for reinforcement?

The man who walked out of the gate laughed heartily and waved his hand.

"Hey, you all look beat. Sorry, I'm a bit late, right?"

"Who are you?"

"Haha, it's embarrassing to be greeted so enthusiastically."

'Why is he here...'

A towering figure even among the best hunters, eyes dyed by the influence of awakening, a cape that reached his ankles, and a feather-decorated staff with a gemstone the same color as his eyes.

I was sure.

The man who casually approached us was Geon Jiwoon.

The best wizard in South Korea and the guild master of 'Seize the End of This Night,' also known as the White Night guild. He wasn't the type to come as reinforcement to such a place.

'Even if he had five bodies, it wouldn't be enough. Why is he here?'

Seo Youngwoon and Geon Jiwoon seemed to know each other, as Geon Jiwoon laughed heartily and patted Seo Youngwoon's shoulder. Cho Sung-hyun, who had been staring blankly, soon lit up and observed Geon Jiwoon with bright eyes.

He was a rare sight. I didn't realize how overwhelming his presence was until he was close by.

"Hmm, why isn't the quest window showing up?"

"We just cleared the stage."

Geon Jiwoon raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Seo Youngwoon looked at me, probably wondering if he should mention my skill.

I shook my head slightly. We hadn't even told our own guild yet, so we couldn't tell someone from another guild.

Geon Jiwoon looked at me and laughed dryly, as if acknowledging my effort and deciding to pretend he didn't know.

Seo Youngwoon calmly recounted the day's events. His explanation was unusually smooth for someone who usually speaks little. The goblin occasionally interrupted to emphasize Cha Taeyang's performance.

The more he explained, the more Geon Jiwoon's eyes sparkled with interest. By the end, his gaze was so intense it felt almost uncomfortable.

Given that even among the eccentric S-ranks, Geon Jiwoon was known for being particularly unusual, I subtly avoided his gaze.

Fortunately, his gaze swept past me and fixed on Cha Taeyang.

"Good thing I came. Something interesting happened, didn't it?"

"Fortunately, we had good luck, or we might have been wiped out."

"I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest."

Geon Jiwoon briefly explained the situation outside. The delay in reinforcement was due to a mistake by an employee of the IHS (Inhuman Situation Bureau). The employee, who was monitoring the gate, had dozed off.

"Are you serious?"

"He must have been out of his mind."

I was momentarily stunned. Dozed off? Even though three A-ranks were assigned to a C-rank field, they had been so careless. Thanks to that, we almost saw the afterlife.

Geon Jiwoon chuckled at our disbelief.

"Phew, that's scary. But bear with it. Getting angry at me won't help."

A supervisor had visited the office on the way, and only then did the IHS employees realize something was wrong. They hurriedly sent an emergency signal to nearby hunters...

"And the one who responded was me."

"Guild Master Geon Jiwoon, this wasn't a situation that required your presence."

"Ah, I happened to need an item from the 19th floor. It was a coincidence."

An item needed by him, who leads the assault team on the front lines? From the 19th floor? A dark attribute item, perhaps. There aren't many layers related to black magic, so it makes sense.

Geon Jiwoon continued, patting Cha Taeyang's head.

"To be honest, the biggest reason was that Jiwha was nagging me. You're the girl Jiwha was boasting about, right?"

"Ah, do you know Witch Jiwha?"

"Of course. Ah, this is a secret."

Jiwha must be Kim Jiwha. I had a vague idea from the mention of Witch Jiwha, but it was indeed Jiwha.

Kim Jiwha, the former guild master of the Wilderness, the End of the Apocalypse. Though retired now, she was a legendary hunter in the history of Korean hunters.

"She threatened to beat me up if you got hurt... But that won't happen."

"The party members are very tired. Can we continue the conversation outside?"

"Hmm, sure. Everyone worked hard."

I was worried he might refuse, but Geon Jiwoon nodded without hesitation, emphasizing the word "worked" and looking at me.

'He must think I didn't do anything.'

With a bitter thought, I walked out of the gate.