-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Disaster Grade
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kang-jun, having abruptly awoken in the middle of a snowy plain, blinked dazedly for a long while.
“A Gate…?”
He muttered softly, scratching furiously at his bird’s nest of a hair.
What in the world was going on?
Kang-jun began to piece together the jumbled puzzle in his mind.
Just then, a scene from a TV news report he’d watched with his sister a while back flashed through his mind.
[ As is widely known, newly generated Gates have the property of pulling in ‘all life forms’ within a one-kilometer radius, so please exercise caution at all times… ]
[ Furthermore, the academic community currently predicts the next Gate generation site to be in the ‘area south of the Han River in Seoul’… ]
Only then did a clearer picture of the situation begin to form in his head.
“What, don’t tell me….”
Could it be that a ‘new Gate’ had opened near the comic book cafe while he was dozing off?
And it seemed he had been unwittingly sucked into that suddenly formed Gate.
Once he had a vague grasp of the situation, he immediately worried for his family’s safety.
“I wonder if they’re all okay….”
It bothered him that the distance from the commercial district near the comic book cafe, the presumed epicenter of the Gate, to the supermarket his family was heading to wasn’t very far.
And it wasn't just the supermarket; their ‘home’ was also a concern, being only three or four bus stops away. He couldn't help but worry.
But the worry was fleeting.
The moment he remembered that his strategist, ‘Crabslie,’ would be sticking close to his family, all his concerns melted away like snow.
“I was worried for nothing.”
Crabslie hadn’t risen to the rank of Grand Duke, second only to the Emperor, merely because of his fervent loyalty.
It was his martial prowess.
He had stood at the forefront of many battlefields alongside him, achieving distinguished merits and proving himself more than worthy of the title of Grand Duke.
As his worries subsided, he stretched and twisted his waist from side to side.
Perhaps because he had been tormented by a ‘terrible nightmare’ just moments before, his entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.
“Ugh, I’m so sick of this….”
Muttering softly, Kang-jun wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and stood up.
“This is why I’m sleeping less and less.”
Although the dream had been as dreadful as ever, the rare good night's sleep seemed to have filled his body with overflowing energy.
“Huh? Wait a second.”
A subtle smile crept onto Kang-jun’s lips as he stretched and gathered his thoughts.
“This might have actually worked out for the best…?”
The ‘Gate usage fee’ that Hunters had to pay to the Bureau every time they used a Gate was, at the very least, several million won.
But….
If he thought about it, wasn't he now an undeniable ‘victim’ who had been unwillingly swept into a Gate?
The Bureau should be offering him ‘compensation’ for being in such a predicament, not the other way around….
“No matter how shameless they are, surely they wouldn't have the gall to charge me a Gate usage fee….”
In other words, it meant he could now use this Gate ‘for free,’ ‘without limit,’ and ‘to his heart’s content.’
“Free, without limit, to my heart’s content….”
As his thoughts reached that point, a profoundly rich smile spread across Kang-jun’s lips.
The unmistakable smile of capitalism.
Kang-jun began to hum the jingle from a TV commercial he had recently watched with Crabslie.
“Enjoy the endless bounty of this brand-new Gate….”
Simultaneously, he began to walk across the blizzard-swept snowfield with steady crunches.
Meanwhile, the situation outside was indescribably grave.
“Elder, I think the situation is serious.”
Lee Su-bin, her voice trembling with fear, stared intently at the news broadcasting on her smartphone screen.
- Our Bureau has classified the Gate that has appeared near Shinlim Crossroads Station as ‘Disaster Grade.’
- This is the highest level in our risk classification system, which consists of Calamity, Catastrophe, and Disaster….
- The Bureau has deployed a large number of Hunters stationed nearby to suppress this Gate….
- We are doing everything in our power to minimize the damage. We ask that all citizens near the generation point follow the instructions of the rescue personnel dispatched to the scene and evacuate as quickly as possible…
The Director of the Gate and Awakener Management Bureau, who rarely made public appearances unless the matter was of utmost importance, was delivering a speech.
‘Disaster Grade….’
It was a term used for the highest-risk Gates, which, if handled poorly, could lead to the downfall of an entire nation.
This was the first time a Gate of such a severe risk level had appeared since the very first Gate emerged exactly three years ago.
Lee Su-bin immediately patted ‘Seol-i,’ who was hugging her tightly and looking up at her.
“Seol-i, don’t worry. It’s okay. Nothing bad will happen….”
She tried to sound calm for the child’s sake, but her own voice was trembling uncontrollably.
It was an unforgiving world for a young child who looked up at her with innocent eyes.
Lee Su-bin hated this world.
She hated this precarious, dangerous world where the happiness she had barely regained could end at any moment without warning.
“Hah, hah…”
Panting heavily, Kim Bong-gu began to recall the events of the past few hours.
‘What kind of disaster is this….’
A Gate had suddenly appeared near Shinlim Crossroads Station. What’s more, it was a perilous Gate classified as ‘Disaster Grade’….
To suppress it, he and all the other Hunters stationed nearby had been deployed.
It was an attempt to somehow prevent the ‘Wave phenomenon’ that inevitably occurred when a newly generated Gate wasn’t suppressed quickly enough.
But, really?
The only hope for the emergency assault team, the ‘S-rank Hunter,’ seemed to be on the defensive, struggling to hold his ground.
“Dammit, this is a normal monster—?”
The young man, his brow furrowed, muttered as he began to swing the sword in his hand at a speed that was hard to follow with the naked eye.
S-rank Hunter, Rank 10.
Chu Ji-hun of the Swift Sword.
The owner of supreme martial power, considered the tenth strongest among all Hunters in the country.
And yet, such a powerful individual was struggling against a single normal monster from this Gate.
A Jotun soldier.
A giant monster boasting a frame so immense it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it rivaled a decent-sized building.
Every time the giant swung the massive double-bladed axe in its hand, a gale would rise, and the ground would shake with each step it took.
“Kuaaaah—!”
Chu Ji-hun, narrowly dodging the axe swung by the Jotun soldier, moved nimbly, inflicting large and small wounds on the creature’s body.
*Slice—!*
*Shnk—!*
*Slice—!*
Watching the scene unfold, Kim Bong-gu couldn't help but let out an awestruck “Wow….”
‘So that’s an S-rank Hunter?’
But the Jotun soldier was fighting back against Chu Ji-hun with equal ferocity.
“Kuaaaaaaaaaah—!”
Despite the accumulating wounds, it didn't even flinch, continuing to charge like an enraged bull, letting out monstrous roars.
‘A small fry like me is completely useless….’
A total of about twenty Hunters had been deployed, but apart from the sole S-rank Hunter, Chu Ji-hun, the rest were effectively just part of the scenery.
All the others could do was barely stay alive while cheering Chu Ji-hun on.
The fierce battle between the Jotun soldier and Chu Ji-hun continued endlessly for some time….
“Kuaaaaaah—!”
When the Jotun soldier, its heel deeply slashed, finally fell, a tremendous roar echoed as dust and dirt flew high into the air.
Chu Ji-hun once again shot forward like a flash of light and plunged his sword deep into the neck of the fallen Jotun soldier….
*Plunge—.*
After twitching for a long while, the Jotun soldier finally stopped convulsing and its fingertips went limp.
Chu Ji-hun was flicking the blood from his blade when he suddenly let out a pained groan and collapsed to the ground.
“Ugh…”
He grimaced, gently feeling one side of his ribs.
Three or four of his ribs were already broken.
The problem was the snow, piled up to his ankles, which prevented him from moving at his full potential.
On top of that, the blizzard had blurred his vision, causing him to take several hits.
Watching this, Kim Bong-gu found himself swallowing a dry gulp.
‘That was only about ten of them….’
Inside the Gate, there were bound to be at least several dozen more monsters powerful enough to make even an S-rank Hunter struggle.
Yet, countless had already died, and the assault team’s hope, S-rank Hunter Chu Ji-hun, was now seriously injured.
‘Even if we get lucky and defeat all the normal monsters….’
Could they possibly defeat the boss monster of a Gate like this? A feeling akin to despair began to creep into his heart.
‘Dammit….’
The other survivors didn't show it, but they all seemed to have sensed their impending doom.
From the beginning, this wasn't a place an assault team consisting of one S-rank Hunter and a dozen or so nobodies could handle.
If they failed to suppress it, unbelievably powerful monsters would pour out into the world….
It was only a matter of time before Seoul, the Gate’s location, was turned into a wasteland.
*Kuuuuuuuung—!*
Just then, a roar sounded from the distance, the ground shook, and a flock of birds flew high into the sky.
Everyone’s gaze turned towards the source of the sudden noise.
*Kuuuuung—!*
*Kuung—!*
*Kuuuuung—!*
The unidentified roar continued at regular intervals, and it was getting closer.
Chu Ji-hun gripped his sword tightly again and shouted, his neck veins bulging.
“E-Everyone, fall back—!”
Not long after, a monster incomparably larger than the Jotun soldiers they had faced so many times before revealed itself.
It was a giant so massive and terrifying that it blotted out the sky, casting a shadow over the entire area.
Its flesh looked so tough that it seemed impossible to even scratch it with ordinary weapons….
Not only its skin, but its eyebrows and beard were as white as snowflakes.
The most terrifying part was the chilling cold emanating from its body.
“The boss monster….”
It was a mutter from a Hunter in the emergency assault team who had already lost all will to fight, staring blankly into the air.
[ The guardian of the Jotun Sanctuary, ‘Hrimthurs the Frost Giant,’ has appeared! ]
His voice was laced with palpable fear, a fear that was terribly contagious.
Just as everyone was frozen, paralyzed by terror, unable to move a muscle.
「I am Hrimthurs, guardian of this Niflheim and apostle of the gods all Jotun serve. Before I execute you for daring to set foot in the Jotun sanctuary, I will ask one thing.」
As the grotesque voice, chilling to the bone, flowed from its mouth, most of the barely surviving Hunters lost consciousness and began to drop like flies.
“Kuaaargh—!”
“Gaaaaaah—!”
All Kim Bong-gu could do was desperately cling to his fading consciousness.
Then, ‘Hrimthurs the Frost Giant’ spoke again.
「Where is ‘■■■’?」
When no one answered the question, Hrimthurs, with an unexpectedly swift movement, reached out its massive hand and seized S-rank Hunter Chu Ji-hun.
「I asked where ‘■■■’ is, the one who entered the Jotun sanctuary with you.」
No matter how strong an S-rank Hunter he was, it was impossible to speak while every bone in his body was being ground into fine powder.
No.
To begin with, he had no idea what this ‘■■■’ the Frost Giant Hrimthurs was talking about even was.
“Guh-uh-uh-uh…”
In the end, unable to bear the overwhelming pain, Chu Ji-hun helplessly passed out….
Hrimthurs the Frost Giant tossed Chu Ji-hun roughly to the ground before continuing to speak.
「■■■! Do not hide like a coward! Show yourself—!」
「Just as you did, I will kill all of your brothers!」
The few remaining survivors collapsed to the ground.
“My God….”
Chu Ji-hun, the assault team’s only hope, was now crumpled in the snow like a broken marionette.
Judging by the faint rise and fall of his chest, it seemed he was still breathing, but….
“It’s all over….”
With their most powerful combatant instantly incapacitated, everyone was terrified and had no choice but to give up on survival.
“I-I can’t die….”
‘Kim Bong-gu,’ however, was the exception.
“Ju-hee, Mom….”
Recalling the faces of his family, Kim Bong-gu turned and started running in the opposite direction without a second glance.
He was out of breath and his legs were trembling, but he never stopped, running on and on.
Even when his legs gave out and he tumbled, he immediately got back up and ran again.
“P-Please….”
Just a day ago, after meeting his Big Bro, a glimmer of ‘hope’ had finally started to appear….
The single thought that he couldn't die so helplessly now drove him to squeeze out every last ounce of strength, running and running.
「Arrogant mortal. Unfortunately, the guardian of this Niflheim never loses its prey.」
At that voice, Kim Bong-gu’s legs froze.
Slowly, Kim Bong-gu raised his head.
His eyes met with a giant ‘mist giant,’ its form indiscernible as it was shrouded in a thick fog.
“I can’t… die like this….”
Just then, from the far opposite direction, a thunderous roar, loud enough to make his head ring, began to sound once more.
*Kuuung—!*
*Kuuung—!*
*Kuuung—!*
*Kuuung—!*
It was a rhythmic boom, the kind that would only be made when dozens of giant soldiers marched in unison.
‘Hrimthurs the Frost Giant’ also turned its gaze, looking towards the source of the sudden noise….
「■■■, you’ve finally shown yourself—!」
It finally let out a roar filled with rage.
Kim Bong-gu also looked towards the source of the noise.
“Huh…?”
A dozen or so Jotun soldiers with lifeless, dark skin were approaching in formation.
But for some reason, a few among them looked quite wretched.
Some had large holes gaping in their chests, others had caved-in faces, or their necks had been severed….
As Bong-gu stared blankly at the faces of the Jotun soldiers, a voice called out.
“Bong-gu?”
At the sudden, familiar voice, Kim Bong-gu’s eyes widened without him realizing it….
“What, it really is Bong-gu.”
Kim Bong-gu’s gaze shifted to the ‘top of the head’ of the soldier at the very front of the Jotun group.
“Eh…?”
Muttering softly, Kim Bong-gu rubbed his own eyes and stared at the figure again.
“Hey Bong-gu, what are you doing here?”
Atop the head of the lead Jotun soldier, Kang-jun was sitting comfortably with his legs crossed.
Was he hallucinating?
Yes, he must be seeing things because he was so terrified….
“I asked what you’re doing here.”
“B-Big Bro…?”
“Who else would it be, your sister?”
Kim Bong-gu blinked blankly before asking again.
“B-Big Bro, why are you… up there…?”
