Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 51
By the time she finally reached Jagalchi Market through various twists and turns, it was already past 10 p.m.
"..."
Eunha glanced at her phone.
It was still off.
Because Shin Siwoo, having learned that Eunha ditched the recording, had been calling her like mad.
Because of that, she had temporarily turned off her phone, but thinking about it, without a phone, she couldn't find her way.
'I've become someone who can't live without navigation now.'
Eunha sighed deeply, tucking the powered-off phone into her sleeve.
Asking people for directions, she thought she had finally arrived at Jagalchi Market, only to find she had taken a wrong turn or ended up at another market with a similar name—a series of very eventful occurrences.
Busan was a much larger city than Eunha had imagined.
For the first time in her 23, no, 53 years of life, Eunha realized today that she had no sense of direction.
The taxi she splurged on unfortunately took nearly an hour, driving in circles, before dropping Eunha off at Jagalchi Market.
'Still, looks like I really arrived safely this time.'
Confirming her surroundings, Eunha folded the taxi receipt and put it in her sleeve.
All receipts had to be submitted to Jehwi.
'Assuming he's alive, that is.'
No, let's not think negatively.
As she hurried her steps, ding! A yellow message window popped up.
Eunha slowly scanned her surroundings.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' sniffs the air, saying "Sister, fish! Fish! I smell fish!"]
The wind blowing under the moonlight carried the salty smell of the sea.
The cries of seagulls could be heard not far away.
She walked along the pier lined with old fishing boats.
Stepping over colorful net fragments scattered on the street, the smell of the sea gradually disappeared.
'Looks like the gate really did appear.'
Cracked asphalt.
Wind that sounded like sobbing.
Tree branches withered like mummies.
Ant swarms hastily moving in lines.
A scene she had seen somewhere many times before.
Indeed, the crack that split the air and even shattered concrete had a detrimental effect on the surrounding environment.
No matter how stable the era became, this phenomenon seemed unchanging.
Eunha walked steadily over the dark reddish soil.
A familiar yet unwelcome stench grew stronger.
After walking a short distance, she spotted yellow barricades and police officers guarding them.
Thump!
Eunha lightly pushed off the ground with her heels and jumped.
Her movements were as light and agile as a cat's.
"Did you hear somethin' just now?"
A police officer guarding the barricade glanced around.
"Hear what? Didn't hear nothin'."
Oblivious to the gaze watching them from atop a nearby streetlight, they scanned their surroundings.
"Ah. Scared to death. Now I'm hearin' things too."
"Hey, look at this scaredy-cat. Unknown gate or nothin', no need to be scared. Immortal is here, they'll clean it up quick."
Unknown Gate.
Just now, he definitely said that.
Eunha pricked up her ears, focusing more intently on their conversation.
"If Immortal is so great, why don't they do the guard duty too? What did we do wrong?"
"Hey now, is Immortal the problem? It's all 'cause of that guy."
"That guy? Who?"
"Y'know. The guy who caused a ruckus here this afternoon."
"Ah. Talkin' 'bout his sister?"
"Yeah, him. Phew. Got a screw loose. Don't know if his sister really got caught up, but so what! What's he gonna do? Looked like a non-awakened."
"How would he know it was an Unknown Gate? Well, thanks to him, gonna have some nasty nightmares tonight."
As if by agreement, they shook their heads.
They seemed completely unaware that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.
'Looks like Manager Park definitely came here.'
In that case, Eunha's path was set.
Eunha, standing stock-still atop the tall tree, cast her gaze far away.
The gate entrance was to the west.
"Anyway, Koreans' lack of safety awareness is really somethin'—"
Whoosh!
A black shadow passed by.
Literally in the blink of an eye.
"Huh?"
The moment the blowing wind brushed his cheek, the police officer looked up.
There was nothing.
Only thick clouds rapidly drifting past the moon.
The police officer, completely unaware that a flying squirrel in a black dress had whizzed over their heads just seconds before, muttered indifferently.
"...Looks like rain."
In fact, the flying squirrel Eunha had already soared far past them, landing on a streetlight several meters away.
The black crack was visible there.
'It really was an Unknown Gate.'
Seeing the intensely black color, as if it had absorbed all the blackness in the world, she was certain.
Tap!
Stepping onto a corroded sign,
Tap!
She leaped high off a parked truck.
With the sound of cutting through the wind, her long hair fluttered in the air like ebony.
Closer to the entrance now, Eunha surveyed the area from atop a suitable nearby tree.
Six figures were visible in front of the gate entrance.
Three of them held weapons.
One, a fork-shaped trident; one, a greatsword straight out of a fantasy movie; and one, a bow.
Probably hunters.
As she quickly scanned them,
"What?"
Her eyes met with one of them.
The man wearing black sunglasses, despite it being night, stared directly in Eunha's direction.
"What business do you have here?"
His tone held the certainty of Eunha's presence.
Unlike the oblivious police officers, being hunters, they seemed to have easily detected the unfamiliar presence.
'I underestimated them.'
If she had known, she would have concealed her presence more carefully.
Well, it didn't matter much.
The gate entrance was singular.
Unless they moved, she would have to pass them to enter the gate anyway.
'Actually, this is better.'
No longer needing to hide, Eunha landed lightly and walked straight towards them.
Click, clack.
The sound of her heels, incongruous with the desolate surroundings, was particularly clear.
Finally, as their distance closed to almost point-blank, the moonlight, which had been hidden tightly behind the clouds, revealed itself whitely as if it had been waiting.
"A Halloween party in August?"
That was the first impression upon seeing Eunha standing against the moonlight.
If she just had ketchup smeared around her mouth, she'd look like a perfect foreign ghost.
"...That can't be it."
The man holding the greatsword studied Eunha carefully.
A dress and a parasol.
Seen on the street, one might simply dismiss her as a cosplayer, but this was the entrance to a gate.
That meant this woman had evaded all the police officers guarding the perimeter and reached this point.
"May I briefly inspect the inside?"
Eunha spoke politely.
However, rendering her politeness futile, the man with the greatsword twitched his eyebrow.
"Inside? You look like a hunter yourself, yet you say that even after seeing this pitch-black gate entrance?"
"There's something I wish to confirm."
The man, studying the calmly responding Eunha, spoke slantedly.
"What confirmation are you trying to make?"
He seemed highly suspicious of the strangely and bizarrely dressed woman.
"...An acquaintance of mine seems to have been swept into this gate."
"Are you sure?"
"Almost certain."
"Almost, you say."
The man's eyes stared intently at Eunha.
It wasn't a particularly friendly gaze.
From their perspective, it was natural to block an unidentified person from entering the gate.
She wasn't unaware of that, but Eunha had a reason she had to persuade them.
"I promise not to touch any resources inside."
"...Hah."
At Eunha's answer, the man let out a humorless laugh.
This was an Unknown Gate.
A dangerous place one might never return from if entered carelessly.
And her request was to enter such a place, yet she spoke of resources, not her life, which struck him as absurd.
Was she that confident? Or simply devoid of fear?
"Your alias?"
"...I'm called the Princess of Dark Flare."
The man's face contorted strangely.
From behind him, another hunter interjected abruptly.
"Hey, I've heard of her. Isn't she that F-Class concept hunter contracted with the Wolf Guild?"
Following his words, the remaining hunters began nodding one by one.
"Right, right. I remember now. Princess of Dark Flare. Didn't she appear on TV once too? Didn't watch it though."
"Wow, are all Wolf people like this? Fearless. An F-Class wants to enter an Unknown Gate?"
Ah. Now he understood.
The hunter who had blocked Eunha's path looked at her differently now.
"...Did Wolf send you?"
Otherwise, no hunter in Korea would make such a crazy demand against Immortal.
Yes. His judgment was natural.
Except for one thing.
'Why send an F-Class, of all people.'
He couldn't fathom Wolf's thinking.
That's why he disliked Wolf.
The man scanned Eunha with dubious eyes.
"Whatever the reason, go back."
"Contract hunter or whatever, I detest anyone who smells like a dog."
Among those affiliated with the Immortal Guild, not a single one was friendly towards Wolf.
No, they despised them to the point of baring their fangs at the mere mention of the name.
The rivalry between Wolf and Immortal was notorious in the hunter community.
Of course, this was news to Eunha.
"Please."
"Immortal doesn't repeat itself."
"I absolutely must go inside."
"..."
"..."
A frozen silence descended under the moonlight.
The man resolutely blocked the entrance, and Eunha stubbornly refused to back down.
Whoosh. A sea breeze blew.
"This is why I hate Wolf. So arrogant. Think they're something special."
Muttering lowly, the man shot a sharp glare at Eunha.
"You, do you think Immortal is a joke?"
"Calm down, friend. Are you planning to start a fight here?"
Another hunter, watching the situation from behind, tried to calm him down.
Left unchecked, he seemed poised to actually draw a weapon.
"Well, I tried to stop him, but I agree with my friend here."
"I understand the situation, but I'd appreciate it if you went back."
His tone was slightly gentler than the previous hunter's, but his eyes still held thorns.
The reason was singular.
Because she was Wolf's person.
That alone was reason enough for them to be hostile towards the woman before them.
"Orders were given that until the Guild Master arrives, not only members of other guilds but even we are not to enter."
"You're not suggesting we disobey the Master's orders, are you?"
This strange woman, who wouldn't back down even after all this, was starting to feel increasingly bothersome.
They all thought the same.
The Immortal guild members began surrounding Eunha, adding their own comments.
"This is an Unknown Gate. Don't you know casualties related to Unknown Gates are initially ruled as accidental deaths? And..."
One hunter abruptly approached Eunha.
"If it's a civilian, they'd be long dead by now anyway."
Instantly, Eunha's gaze turned ice-cold.
"...Dead or not, shouldn't we confirm that before knowing for sure?"
"Right, well, that's not wrong. Then let me rephrase."
The man strode forward and firmly pressed his index finger against Eunha's forehead.
"Concept trash, just piss off."
"..."
An icy silence descended momentarily.
Watching the quietly silent Eunha, they began to chuckle one by one.
But only a few seconds later.
"Can't do that."
At the chilling voice, devoid of any playfulness, the laughter stopped abruptly as if a faucet had been turned off.
—There was no longer any way to persuade, nor any reason to ask.
The moment everyone's gaze simultaneously focused on Eunha, her eyes flashed fiercely.
[Passive ▶ 'Night Reader' activated.]
[Accuracy significantly increases when fighting in dark spaces.]
Her vertically slit pupils, seeming inhumanly alien and even bizarre.
Golden eyes, holding clear determination, shone eerily in the darkness.
Those who mock the death of the weak are not hunters.
Towards such individuals, Eunha could say this without a shred of hesitation.
"You piss off."
