*
"Something must have happened. I'll go check it out."
"Ah... I'll ask you that favor."
As I came to my senses from the loud alarm, Jia Unnie, fully armed, was already standing there.
I was wondering if she had just woken up or had been awake already, and while I was pondering what to do about Jia Unnie's ambiguous reaction, she had already disappeared.
Seo-ah pushed for it, but I didn't actively refuse, so I guess you could say I agreed in effect.
"What... is it...?"
Seo-ah, as if just waking up, rubbed her eyes, got up from her spot, and yawned adorably.
"I don't know either."
My rough guess was that, like before, the monsters around us were charging towards us.
But I wouldn't know for sure until I checked.
Opening the tent to check, the Hunters next to us seemed to be in a similar situation, just gawking around with dumbfounded expressions.
Honestly, with this many people gathered, chaos would usually ensue, but unexpectedly, everyone was calmly gathering their equipment.
If this had happened outside, the citizens would be screaming and panicking in fear, but those who make a living doing this were definitely different.
'I should get my equipment ready too, right?'
I quickly changed into my combat uniform and came out of the tent, and Min-ah's side was already done preparing for battle.
"What's going on?"
While everyone was looking around, having stayed up all night, Jia Unnie's shadow mark appeared in front of our group, and then Jia Unnie appeared.
"What's going on?"
"What's the situation right now?"
Kim Si-young Instructor and Min-ah asked urgently, and Jia Unnie looked flustered, unlike her usual self.
"It's a Gate Mixing phenomenon."
"What...?"
"What did you just say?"
Gate Mixing, a phenomenon where an existing Gate overlaps with another Gate in the same location and becomes mixed.
The phenomenon that Hunters want to avoid the most, a disaster, is happening inside the Red Gate?
'How is that even possible?'
I expected it to be dangerous, but I never imagined a Gate Mixing phenomenon would occur.
And what that meant was that we could no longer get out.
"Shit..."
"Is there enough supplies?"
"Has anyone seen a Gate Keeper?!"
Perhaps it was because of the sense of security that the number of people gave, or maybe it was because S-Rank Hunters like Choi Tae-soo and the Grim Reaper were with us.
Despite the worst-case scenario, the Hunters were maintaining their composure.
Well, the truth was, I was also feeling a sense of complacency, thinking that with this many people, we'd be fine no matter what happened.
The other Hunters must be feeling similarly; they might be thinking that with such a large group, unlike being alone, there's nothing we can't handle.
"Ha... Should I have just stayed out..."
"Something big isn't going to happen, is it?"
Of course, not everyone was like that.
They might be pretending to be okay on the outside, but there must be quite a few Hunters who are shaken by the current situation.
'Why now of all times...'
Well, I'm probably the same; with Seo-ah, Tae-yeon, Min-ah, Kim Si-young Instructor-nim, and even Jia Unnie with me, if even one of them gets hurt...
'That must never happen.'
I can't stand to see my woman get hurt.
'I'll protect Mother-in-law too.'
Even though she's an SSS-Rank Hunter, she's still my woman after all.
Well, the old man will live well on his own; no matter what happens, I can't picture the old man getting hurt.
If that human gets hurt, who would be able to handle it?
'Well, the goal hasn't changed after all, right?'
The Gate might be temporarily closed, but we have plenty of supplies, and we can say we have time to spare.
We came in to hunt the Gate Keeper from the start, so nothing has changed.
Except that the time to spare has disappeared?
The problem is what kind of variables the Mixing phenomenon has created.
That's when it happened.
That's when I realized something was wrong.
"..."
"Ha..."
"Shit..."
The Hunters sighed at the unpleasant sensation coming from afar.
We might not have as much time as I thought.
"A Hell Gate?"
Because the gates of hell had opened.
*
"I wonder what kind of expression they're making."
Most of the Hunters are probably in despair; Lee Byung-ho raised the corners of his lips with a pessimistic expression.
The woman just clicked her tongue at his expression, which really suited the saying that a smile didn't suit him.
"I'm still not convinced. Do you think we can win?"
Before Lee Byung-ho, people wearing black robes stared at Lee Byung-ho with hardened expressions.
"Why are you still afraid of that human?"
"..."
The man wearing the black robe didn't answer and remained silent.
Those who were in this place had a fear engraved in their minds without them even knowing.
Would there be any human who wouldn't be afraid when a person's head exploded like a balloon right before their eyes?
No, they were already beings that couldn't be called human.
The black, unpleasant smoke rising from their bodies, the power called Magi, which could be called poison to ordinary people.
Their identities were the Demon Alliance, and they were standing in this place to take revenge on Choi Tae-soo and the other Hunters.
"I didn't really think we could cause a Gate Mixing. It's a truly ridiculous ability... But you also need to know that if we fail this time, we're all finished."
"Conversely, if this is successful, we'll be establishing a Demon country on this land for the first time."
"..."
A dreamlike story, they who had always been ostracized and had to live in hiding, a country for them.
They know it's a poisoned chalice, but what could be a more attractive offer than that?
Right now, the people in this Gate were Hunters who could be called the best combat power in South Korea.
If they all disappeared, a huge void would inevitably be created in South Korea.
If the Demons take advantage of that gap and seize the government?
Building a country for Demons, which they had only considered a dream, wouldn't be impossible.
If the Demons who had been hiding all over the world gathered here, other countries would have no choice but to acknowledge it.
"Yes. If we succeed, that is."
To do that, they had to kill all the Hunters inside the Gate right now.
"Don't you think we've come too far to turn back now?"
Her ability couldn't be used while the Gate Mixing was happening.
Now that it was impossible to escape, a death match had begun where one of the two sides had to die.
"I don't care what happens to this country. As long as I can kill them all."
Lee Byung-ho clenched his fist so hard that his hand bled, and he burned with fighting spirit.
"What are you so afraid of?"
"..."
"Do you think Choi Tae-soo can run wild even in this place?"
Their surroundings were filled with black Magi; even Choi Tae-soo wouldn't be able to do much in this Magi.
"We've bet everything."
A Gate commonly called a Hell Gate, a Gate where Magi for Demons exists inside.
A Gate that was called heaven for Demons and hell for Hunters.
Among those Hell Gates, there was a unique Gate, and that place was the Gate called Gehenna.
The Gehenna Gate in North Korea was so dense that Magi overflowed and poured out, polluting all the surrounding land.
It was a place where even Hunters gave up on subjugation because Magi overflowed, and it was a living space where Demons could be guaranteed absolute safety.
They had mixed that Gate, so now this interior would be filled with Magi.
They would lose Gehenna with this operation, but if they could take South Korea, it wouldn't be a loss at all.
But if they failed, the Demon Alliance would lose everything.
"Hunters can't do their job in Magi."
Magi was a power that could be called a deadly poison to living things except for Demons; monsters were less affected, but it was generally a harmful power.
Even if Hunters could withstand it with Mana, they had to consume Mana to withstand it, which would inevitably reduce their combat power.
That's why so many Hunters avoided Magi.
"What if it's a high-pressure zone made of Magi on top of that? Can those great Hunters withstand it?"
They're affected by high-pressure zones created with Mana, but a high-pressure zone made of Magi?
It was like walking into a radioactive zone without any protective equipment.
"But if it's Choi Tae-soo..."
"He's human too. And don't worry. I'll take care of that human."
"..."
The Demons quietly nodded at Lee Byung-hoon's answer.
Hadn't they already confirmed his power with their own eyes? They were somewhat relieved if he stepped up.
"Either way, they're the ones who are impatient. They won't be able to withstand it for long in a place overflowing with Magi."
"We don't have much time either. We don't have enough supplies to last long."
Ordinary plants and animals couldn't live in areas eroded by Magi.
It wasn't for nothing that they were struggling with food shortages.
"Even so, they're the ones who are more impatient. They'll end up moving first."
"Is that so..."
Choi Tae-soo, that human would definitely walk out confidently.
He must think he can solve everything with his power.
The leader of the Demon Alliance finished his thoughts and nodded.
"Everything for the Demons."
""Everything for the Demons!!!!!!!""