Chapter 232: Had He Not Existed? (2)

"This stop is the DG Guild."

As the announcement echoed from the bus's speakers, a girl released her grip on the handle and reached for her transit card. Though raised in an unusual family, she had turned out just fine. When the bus came to a halt, she bowed her head to the driver who met her eyes in the rearview mirror, then stepped off.

The moment she exited, her eyes fell on a towering building. Beside it was a tree even more enormous and shrouded in mystery. The DG Guild's beloved mascot and youngest S-Class Hunter was waiting at the crosswalk, lost in thought as she gazed up at the tree. Spotting the Hunters stationed at the main gate, she broke into a wide smile.

As soon as the light turned green, she hurried across, calling out, "Uncles!"

"Our Ji-Hee is here!"

"Ji-Hee! How's school?"

The Hunters' warm greetings echoed the unmistakable influence of Kim Ki-Rok, whose quirks had spread throughout the DG Guild.

Seeing two Hunters fresh off a raid imitating the Guildmaster's playful tone, she burst into laughter. "It's going well. But why are you two on guard duty?"

"We took about a week off after clearing that overseas Gate," one replied.

"Then, after reporting our results at the Association hotel, we had another two days' rest," the other added.

In short, they'd already taken their break and returned promptly to work. Kim Ji-Hee nodded, accepting their explanation, and started toward the entrance. Just before passing through the main gate, however, she paused and glanced around as if sensing something.

A crowd of reporters had gathered and their cameras were flashing. Since the press had already covered their return during their debrief at the Association's hotel, she knew it wasn't the overseas team.

It's probably not because of Mister...

she decided.

Though he was officially registered as her guardian, Kim Ji-Hee would still call him that since she had been doing so since childhood. She only switched to "Dad" or "Father" when she really wanted something.

"Uncle."

"Yeah?" Both Hunters answered at once, grinning.

"Is someone visiting?"

"The Queen of the Elementals," one replied.

"Again?"

The Queen visited a little too often for anyone's comfort.

"Yeah, and she brought her friends," the Hunter explained.

The Elementals' support corps, who had aided Earth with Yuashiel's reinforcements, hadn't returned to their realm even after their mission ended. Or rather, they had, but only for a brief moment before being called back again.

Kim Ji-Hee glanced to the side, though nothing caught her eye. She recalled the new Permanent Gate that had appeared beside the old one leading to Yuashiel's dimension.

"Was it Mister's doing, or is it because of the Queen of the Elementals?" Kim Ji-Hee wondered aloud, head tilted.

"Our Guildmaster? Nope." The Hunter shook his head. "You saw how obsessed the Queen is with her games. Remember the pile of venti iced chocolate cups by her keyboard while she shot at people on screen?"

Various images flashed through the three Hunters' minds. The Queen of Fire Elementals would sip on iced chocolate as her hands flew between keyboard and mouse. She would chew on a biscuit stick while barking orders into her mic, groaning whenever she had to pull herself away from her game.

Kim Ji-Hee and the others nodded in unison.

"But you said she brought friends?"

"Yeah," the Hunter replied.

"Water hyung and Earth noona are here too," the other added.

The King of Water Elementals and the Queen of Earth Elementals had come along.

"I see—" Kim Ji-Hee started, but was interrupted by another round of camera shutters. Realizing she'd lingered at the entrance longer than planned, she offered an apologetic smile.

"Take care, uncles," she said.

"Bye, Ji-Hee."

"Are you sure you don't need any money?"

Kim Ji-Hee shook her head. "I'm fine."

She slipped through the main gate, but instead of heading home, she made her way around the building to its rear, stopping before the World Tree of Earth. A gentle wind greeted her, as if welcoming her back.

"Hello. Nothing happened today, right?" she asked the tree.

The wind responded again. Kim Ji-Hee cocked her head, as if the World Tree was hinting at something. But when its breeze mingled with a sense of reassurance, as if telling her it had grown stronger thanks to the Elemental Queen's visit, she nodded.

She set off again, retrieving a plastic bottle of plant nutrients from the warehouse that Kim Ki-Rok had built and swapping it for an empty one.

Thirty minutes passed as Kim Ji-Hee chatted with the World Tree, sharing stories about her school day and friends. When she finally rose from the bench Kim Ki-Rok had made, a branch curled playfully around her pinky, as if the tree didn't want her to go.

She patted the trunk affectionately and set off toward her next stop.

"Oh, Ji-Hee, you're here?" called the highly paid janitor.

"I'm back," she answered.

A Hunter team, heading out on a mission, greeted her too. "Oh, Ji-Hee, you're here?"

She responded with a nod. "I'm back."

"Ji-Hee, wait a moment," called Chae Ji-Na, the front desk staffer. Kim Ji-Hee turned her way.

"I'm back," she repeated.

Chae Ji-Na handed her a macaron, which Kim Ji-Hee took with a grateful bite as she approached the desk. After a brief chat, she got up to leave.

"Ah, Ji-Hee... Before you go home, could you stop by the break room?" Chae Ji-Na asked.

"The break room?"

"Yes. Under Mr. Dong-Wook's supervision, there was a game match between the spirits and Elementals. They used up all the mana in the gloves during the match."

Kim Ji-Hee stood speechless for a moment. "I'm not even sure how to react to that."

***

A soft click came as the doorknob turned and the door creaked open. Kim Ji-Hee could hear the faint but heavy footsteps of a man.

She let out a sigh and rose from her seat. "Again?"

Ever since the appearance of multiple S-Class Gates, Kim Ki-Rok had developed a habit of going up to the rooftop to drink beer. He never drank to excess, but his habit had slowly shifted. First, it was one or two cans a week, then twice a week, and then three times a week.

"

Mmm.

"

Kim Ji-Hee stretched her arms overhead, hopped off the bed, and made her way to the rooftop.

When the S-Class Gate had first appeared, it sparked debates everywhere about its role in the world system, humanity's awakening, the construction of Gates to other dimensions, and the dangers they posed. Professors, Hunters, and the Association all claimed uncertainty at official events, but in truth, their words and expressions revealed their real beliefs.

Kim Ji-Hee ascended the stairs and opened the securely shut rooftop door. A man sat on the railing, drinking beer, seemingly oblivious to any risk. Watching him quietly, she approached.

"Mister," she called.

"Oh my, our Ji-Hee." He greeted her with a bright smile. Whether due to mana or Awakening, Kim Ki-Rok—now in his late thirties—still looked to be a decade younger.

Kim Ji-Hee hopped over and plopped down beside him.

"For you, banana milk," Kim Ki-Rok said, handing her a carton with a straw.

"Wow, you really can see the future," she joked.

He answered with a hearty, exaggerated laugh. Kim Ji-Hee snickered, turning her attention to the city beyond.

The view from up here...

"It's a shame," she murmured.

"Yeah," Kim Ki-Rok agreed. "There are more people working late than I thought."

The lights in the houses and apartments were mostly off, but the high-rise building shone brightly. Using mana to enhance her vision, Kim Ji-Hee spotted a man inside, hunched over his keyboard, dark circles under his eyes. He stretched for a bit before sitting back down and returning to work.

Kim Ji-Hee and Kim Ki-Rok peered at the overtime workers in the high-rise, then the young adults burning the midnight oil below.

"Let's go! Round two, round two!"

"

Ha ha ha!

"

"Bleh!"

After taking in the scene and leaning back, she commented, "It's a mess."

"Yeah. And it's not even Friday. Ji-Hee, it's Monday, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, Monday."

"Wow, starting strong for a Monday."

Kim Ji-Hee burst out laughing at his comment, then glanced away from the bustling young people outside the building.

They people-watched together, unconcerned with the passing hours. As the overtime workers trickled out and the city gradually quieted, Kim Ji-Hee turned to Kim Ki-Rok again.

"Mister."

"Yeah?"

"Is it going to be dangerous?"

He looked at her silently for a moment, then glanced back at the streets, where taxis and people ambling home after a night out filled the subdued cityscape of Seoul.

"It will be," he said at last.

"How dangerous?"

"Hmm. Very, very."

"I see. Very, very dangerous."

As she drank her banana milk, the sweetness seemed to vanish.

"Not just you, Ji-Hee," he added. "Retired Hunters, too."

Some Hunters had quit from fatigue or injury. Others, though still Awakened, eventually lost the battle against time.

"In the worst-case scenario, we might even have to get help from Awakened criminals in prison," he said quietly.

Kim Ji-Hee had always watched Kim Ki-Rok from up close. As a child, she'd even shared a bed with him. She understood there was a massive secret the world didn't know: his "clairvoyance." She didn't know if it was prophecy, regression, or something out of a storybook, but she knew it was real.

"Still..." Kim Ji-Hee, sobered by the view and Kim Ki-Rok's gravity, glanced back to find him smiling again.

"It'll work out somehow," he assured her.

***

Kim Ki-Rok never understood why clearing the thirty S-Class Gates faster only made the Hell Gate come sooner. Even when they deliberately delayed the clearings, hoping to buy time, it didn't help. If all the S-Class Gates went berserk at once, Earth would suffer catastrophic damage, and then they'd face Hell.

"Time Rabbit."

Kim Ki-Rok, having sent Kim Ji-Hee home first, called out.

[The Time Rabbit asks, "Why are you calling me?"]

"This is the best possible future, right?"

[The Time Rabbit replies, "Yeah. This is the best possible future...no, the best present."]

There had been retired Hunters, some injured, but no casualties. The S-Class Gates had been cleared before the Breaks, minimizing civilian harm. Except for the worst offenders, even Awakened criminals had been safely apprehended. They'd forged alliances with both the Yuashiel Dimension and the Elementals.

Kim Ki-Rok let out a long breath, stood, and turned to face the night.

"Then...let's do it. Let's clear the Gate, Hell."

***

More and more people began to believe that the reason the Awakened were created, that the Earth System aided them, and that Gates allowed travel between worlds despite the risks, was to prepare for the thirty S-Class Gates that appeared in 2050.

But one month later, on April 4, 2051, at precisely 4:44 a.m., a dark red, colossal Gate appeared in the center of the Pacific Ocean.