Chapter 255: Chapter 253

Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

WEEEEE—!

Wail!

Waaaaaaaaail—!

Chaos erupted simultaneously across Korea.

"...What's going on?"

"What's happening?"

Emergency alert messages flooded everyone's cell phones. And...

Whoosh—

'...!'

Black shadow loomed over people walking on the streets. Pedestrians looked up at the sky without prompting, and gasped in shock...

"Holy crap."

"What is that?!"

SWOOSH—!

Was it an airplane?

A fighter jet?

No.

KIAAAAAAAAAAA—!

"M-magical beast?!"

"It's a flying magical beast!"

Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!

People's eyes widened. Screams erupted everywhere. A giant monster with large wings! It was flying over the city at terrifying speed, leaving a black trail!

– (Breaking News) Magical beast appears over Seoul?

– (Urgent) Where is the flying magical beast headed?

– (Important) The Hunter Association fails to respond. What about the citizens' safety?

Pictures of the black wyvern flooded portal sites in an instant. Even in that short time, someone must have chased its trail and frantically pressed the camera button on their phone. Fortunately, contrary to concerns, there were no casualties. The magical beast just flew past overhead at high speed. But this wasn't something that could be ignored. Even before the flying magical beast arrived on the Korean Peninsula, emergency alarms were ringing in all Hunter guilds and the Hunter Association in Korea.

"It's a magical beast attack!"

"The type is a dragon! Presumed to be specialized in flight!"

"It's charging straight towards the Korean Peninsula!"

It was like watching the Korea Meteorological Administration right before a typhoon. But the speed of that typhoon was way too fast.

"Find a way to stop it before it arrives!"

"It's flying too high!"

"It's too risky to have Hunters fight it over the sea!"

"How about shooting it down with a surface-to-air missile!"

"Even if we hit it with a missile, it will be difficult to damage the magical beast!"

"Who doesn't know that?! At least try to slow it down!"

"At this speed, it will arrive on the Korean Peninsula before government approval is granted!"

There was simply no way. If they recklessly fired missiles over the city to shoot down the magical beast, it was clear that only the citizens would be put at risk.

"It seems like we can only respond once it lands!"

"There's no chance of it just passing by, right?"

"It has already arrived!"

"Damn it! Chase it now!"

The moment the black wyvern arrived at the Korean Peninsula, All the Hunters and the Association rushed out with their weapons, as if on cue.

"Which direction?!"

"N-north!"

"Let's go!"

Towards the north, following the black trail! But it wasn't a problem that could be solved by just anyone chasing after it.

"Only A-rank or higher should follow!"

"I want support from B-rank Healers or higher!"

The opponent was a wyvern. A dragon, no less.

"At least A-rank! At this absurd speed, it's highly likely to be an S-rank magical beast!"

"If it's a magical beast specialized in flight, there's a chance its combat power is only A-rank!" It was a moment where everyone had to join forces, regardless of guilds.

"Contact the Association! Tell them to send an emergency alert to all nearby Hunters! It's a dragon raid!"

Dragon raid. The weight of that name was truly terrifying. They could only hope that there would be no casualties until the raid was safely over.

"I'll go myself!" As expected, the White Tiger Guild, which prioritized the safety of citizens, was the fastest to respond. Baek Yoonho gritted his teeth and unleashed his magic power.

'Beast Transformation'

Whoosh—

White fur covered his entire body. A pure white trail was drawn as he ran down the road with all his might. At this rate, there might be news about a white magical beast appearing in the middle of the city. But Baek Yoonho didn't care about anything.

SWOOSH—!

He gritted his teeth. The reason he was in a hurry wasn't just for the citizens' safety, but also...

'It's the direction where Miho is!'

The place where the black trail led happened to be where Baek Miho went early in the morning for an important event. Sung Suho's entry into North Korea! She was close to the Association, because she was tasked with escorting the cargo truck carrying the supplies that the government prepared for Association President Woo Jinchul. Since there were a lot of supplies and many valuable pieces of equipment, she went to support the Association in case of any unexpected situations. But an unknown magical beast was flying towards that very place?

'Could this be a coincidence? No way!' Baek Yoonho trusted his instincts. When he was a firefighter, How many lives had he saved with this sharp sense?

'Miho! Please be safe! Dad will be there soon!'

Growl—

The speed at which Baek Yoonho ran through the city, his white mane fluttering, was dazzling.

People, roads, cars, buildings, rivers, trees, mountains, mountains, mountains.

The scenery that passed by him changed endlessly in an instant. This was the full speed of an S-rank Hunter trying to save his daughter's life.

Thud—!

He finally arrived. Before any other Hunter.

'Demilitarized Zone'

Rumble! Crash!

The bubbling river with thunderbolts striking above it.

"...Miho!" Baek Yoonho roared. At the same time, a sharp light gleamed in the eyes of the beast as he quickly scanned the surroundings. Looking for his daughter, Baek Miho. And traces of the black wyvern that flew here.

'Found it!' It was the black wyvern!

Just then, a ferocious magical beast accompanied by white frost and lightning was landing in front of the barbed wire fence. To stop that one creature, non-Awakened soldiers were surrounding it, risking their lives... and standing awkwardly.

'...Huh?'

KIAAAAAAM—!

Flinch!

The black wyvern suddenly opened its mouth wide and yawned languidly. In case it breathed fire, Baek Yoonho instinctively jumped to the side. And he found Baek Miho, who was standing in front of a nearby truck, and blocked her.

"Miho! Dad's here...!" Just then, other Hunters who arrived a short while after Baek Yoonho also gathered.

"Here!"

"We found the wyvern!"

The proud Hunters who protected Korea. Even though they usually bickered due to their competitive spirit, they all united in times when the safety of citizens was at stake.

"Everyone, battle formation!"

"Hunter Baek Yoonho is here too!"

"It's Hunter Baek!"

Without even taking a breath, everyone naturally formed a formation around the S-rank. The Hunters, witnessing the true form of the black wyvern, surrounded it with determined expressions. But...

Groan...

'...?'

Something was strange. Despite being surrounded by Hunters and soldiers in an instant, the black wyvern was calm. As if stretching, it spread its giant wings wide, then folded them neatly and curled up its body. And then it respectfully (?) gathered its hideous front paws and prostrated itself on the ground.

'What the...'

Gulp.

While everyone swallowed dryly, Two people gracefully stepped down from the wyvern's back.

Thud.

At that moment, everyone's eyes were filled with a mixture of puzzlement and shock. Those two people were... Cha Hae-In and Sirka, whose faces weren't even properly captured on camera because the wyvern was too fast.

"Uh... should we have flown higher?" Sirka muttered awkwardly and looked at her friend's face. Cha Hae-In had a very apologetic expression as she looked at the people surrounding them.

"S-sorry! I thought no one would see us at that height!" Cha Hae-In hurriedly bowed and apologized, her face flushed red.

Was it because the only flying she had ever done was in the world of ice elves with blizzards? She had an expression that said she had caused the biggest disturbance of her life. But it didn't matter what Cha Hae-In said, the Hunters gathered here couldn't hear anything.

"Oh-oh my god..." The shield held in someone's hand dropped to the ground.

"The wyvern..."

"The dragon..."

"Brought people?"

Rumble! Crash!

Everyone froze at the shocking sight that defied common sense. But then. Baek Yoonho, the only S-rank Hunter here and the oldest...

"W-wait. Could you be..."

While everyone was in a panic, only he recognized Cha Hae-In's face. No, there was no way he wouldn't recognize her. The last time he saw Cha Hae-In was about 20 years ago. That is... When he went to the wedding of his respected senior's, Sung Il-Hwan's, son. She was the bride that day. But that wasn't the problem. Even before going to that wedding, Baek Yoonho had known Cha Hae-In's face very well for a long time. No, the whole country knew her. Because she was someone no Korean could ever forget.

"...Athlete Cha Hae-In?!" Baek Yoonho finally exclaimed her name.

The idol of the track and field world. Olympic gold medalist. As a pure Asian, she officially broke the 9-second barrier and set a new world record. The global sports star born in Korea. 'Cha Hae-In'

"...What?! That Cha Hae-In?" While everyone was shocked,

Click.

Click.

The shutters of the reporters' cameras gathered to cover Sung Suho's entry into North Korea clicked. Towards Cha Hae-In, who appeared like a comet riding a black wyvern.

* * *

The sudden wyvern incident that swept across the Korean Peninsula ended as a brief nuisance. But an even more shocking incident that would fill people with dopamine flooded the internet.

– (Breaking News) The shocking identity of the Awakened who appeared riding a wyvern!

– (Urgent) Cha Hae-In! What is the ex national athlete's rank?

The comment section exploded as well.

– But who is that Cha Hae-In anyway?

– Tsk tsk, kids these days.

– How fleeting time is.

– How can you not know Cha Hae-In?

– Well, I guess teenagers weren't around back then. I really feel the generation gap.

– It can't be helped. It's already been 20 years since Cha Hae-In retired.

– Wow, but she still looks beautiful even though she's 20 years older.

– Do you not age if you run fast?

– No, she's become even more elegant.

– So who is Cha Hae-In!?

– If you ask who she is... One could say the brightest star. In terms of career, she's someone who achieved everything a track and field athlete could and retired.

As if answering the comments from teenagers, information about Cha Hae-In soon began to fill the news.

– (Information) Former national athlete Cha Hae-In's awards record

– (Information) Gold medalist Cha Hae-In's athletic career

– (Information) Cha Hae-In after retirement

– (Information) National pride, the living legend, Bright Hae-In

– Related searches: #Cha Hae-In, #Bright Hae-In, #Olympics, #100m sprint, #Track and field athlete, #Gold medalist, #World record

Even though it's been 20 years, 'Cha Hae-in' is still a true sports star from Korea. But as time passed, she was forgotten by the people because after retirement, she chose to live an ordinary life rather than being a celebrity or entertainer. Her daily life thereafter was kept completely confidential. Countless paparazzi tried to cover Cha Hae-In's life after retirement, but no one had succeeded yet. It was said that she had such skilled bodyguards that even the few pictures they managed to take were all obscured by black shadows. Moreover, since Cha Hae-In didn't even use social media, the mystery surrounding her deepened. In the end, When people recalled Cha Hae-In's last appearance it was the interview video from the day she announced her retirement.

– ...As a senior who is retiring, could you share any special training methods for your juniors?

– Hmm. Well. I don't think my method will work for everyone. I just... ran hard to try and beat my boyfriend at least once, and before I knew it, I had set a new world record.

– Ah, you said your boyfriend is an ordinary public official, right? I've heard many interviews about how he always motivates you.

– Haha...

The announcer smiled softly at Cha Hae-In's humble smile, still awkward in front of the camera despite being so famous.

– Then now that you've set a new world record, you must have beaten your boyfriend.

– Yes, I won. Just once. It was a fluke, though.

– You're so humble.

The announcer's smile deepened at Cha Hae-In's simple smile, who was cutely proud of herself while still being conscious of the camera. This simplicity was her charm. A living legend who never lost her beginner's mind and remained humble despite her tremendous achievements.

– Anyway, it's a shame that you're already retiring. But since you've set a new world record... What are your plans for the future?"

– Since I won. I should get married.

– '...!'

The shocking interview video where she announced her marriage along with her retirement. At that moment, men across the country were determined to find out who that person was. But the identity of that ordinary man, a public official, remained a secret. And according to a source close to them, the couple was solely focused on raising their child. All that was conveyed was that their only wish was for their child to live an ordinary life, a simple dream.

* * *

"...This river looks too hot and dangerous. Mom will give you a ride."

"Ah, thank you, Mother."

KIAAAAAAAAAAA—!

...That wasn't ordinary at all.