Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 59
"You've arrived, Master."
Jaemin, the second-in-command of the Immortal Guild, who had arrived in Busan earlier, was the first to greet Yoo Hwan.
Yoo Hwan replied with a short "Mm," and lightly scanned the surroundings.
Even at a glance, it was clear their numbers were low.
"As you can see, Do Sungyoon and all the guild members are still missing."
At Jaemin's report, Yoo Hwan thoughtfully stroked his chin.
Immortal's third-in-command, Iron Man Do Sungyoon.
No other explanation was needed.
He had entrusted the task to him because he believed in him.
Even if all other guild members perished, he was confident Sungyoon alone would survive and return.
Yet, he hadn't returned.
'It would be best to discard your existing common sense. At least for this mission.'
Indeed.
Beside Yoo Hwan, who raised the corners of his mouth as if amused, Jaemin kept glancing cautiously.
"Uhm... Master. Actually, there's one more thing to report."
"Hm?"
"The Princess of Dark Flare, a contract hunter hired by the Wolf Guild, apparently trespassed into the gate."
"What?"
Yoo Hwan's expression hardened.
The point he focused on wasn't 'trespassed', but 'Wolf'.
Seeing Yoo Hwan's face grow increasingly grim, Jaemin hastily added.
"B-but... the hunter is said to be F-Class. So it shouldn't be a major problem—"
"Nonsense."
Yoo Hwan cut him off sharply.
"Do you really think Wolf would send an F-Class hunter here?"
Yoo Hwan's distinctively deep voice resonated deeply around them, as if whispering in a cave.
With his hearty smile gone, Yoo Hwan's face was ferocious, like that of a wild beast.
In an instant, the air froze.
However, as if it never happened, Yoo Hwan soon burst into hearty laughter.
"Well, whatever. Just one more spoil of war."
But no one else could laugh along with Yoo Hwan.
A chilling killing intent still crawled over their skin.
Yoo Hwan walked past his subordinates.
And stared intently at the black crack, swirling like a black hole.
The gate entrance hadn't closed yet.
Meaning, while exiting from the inside might be impossible, entering from the outside was still possible.
That alone was enough.
"Clear everything outside within 20 minutes."
A black vortex that would make even seasoned veteran hunters unconsciously flinch.
Before it, Yoo Hwan began to stretch lightly.
"I'll go with you, Master."
Crackle, crackle. As the sound of popping joints subsided, Yoo Hwan, without turning his head, spoke curtly and firmly.
"I'm enough on my own."
The moment he stepped towards the vortex without hesitation.
Wooooooong──
"M-Master!"
The quietly swirling black vortex began to shatter into pieces like broken pixels.
Like a typhoon raging, nearby tree branches and pebbles scattered violently.
"Wh-what in the world..."
"They succeeded."
Yoo Hwan casually dodged a pebble flying towards him by merely tilting his neck.
See? What was so special about an Unknown Gate?
"That Do Sungyoon never disappoints me."
At his mutter, Jaemin quickly turned his head.
"D-Do Sungyoon is back?"
"Yes. They've cleared the gate."
"What are you all doing not grabbing your tools? We need to sweep up anything useful before it closes completely."
Flashing his bright teeth, Yoo Hwan stared at the gate entrance with a confident gaze.
And not long after, just as he said, someone emerged from it.
"Huh! That woman..."
One of the Immortal guild members quickly covered his mouth.
Unmistakable.
The bizarre woman in the black dress, the Princess of Dark Flare.
Click, clack—
Jagalchi Market.
Over the cawing of seagulls in the morning breeze, the refined sound of high heels echoed clearly.
"M-Ms. Hunter. That person over there..."
Jehwi, following Eunha, cautiously parted his lips.
As he whispered something in Eunha's ear, her pitch-black pupils momentarily flicked this way.
"..."
"..."
Yoo Hwan and Eunha's gazes met head-on.
Yoo Hwan stood with his arms crossed, looking at her languidly, while Eunha resumed her halted steps.
Click, clack—
"Wait."
It wasn't Yoo Hwan who stopped her.
It was the man in sunglasses who had let Eunha slip into the gate before his eyes last night.
"You, how did you get out?"
"How did I get out?"
Eunha replied indifferently, as if he had asked something obvious.
To exit a gate, defeating the boss was the procedure, and Eunha had followed that procedure.
"..."
The man scanned Eunha's appearance up and down.
She looked much more disheveled than before entering the gate.
It seemed she had gone through quite a grand battle inside.
"As promised, I didn't touch any resources inside. You can go in and check if you like."
Eunha, with a tired gaze, gestured lightly towards the gate entrance with her chin.
"Let's go."
Then she spoke to the Park siblings following her.
The Park siblings walked closely beside Eunha, glancing furtively at their surroundings.
"Ah."
As Eunha stopped abruptly, Jerim, following a centimeter behind, bumped her forehead against her back.
"This."
Whoosh—
Eunha threw something.
Towards Yoo Hwan, who was watching them intently from afar.
"Spoils of war. There was no gate core."
Thwack!
Catching the object Eunha threw, Yoo Hwan checked his hand.
A blue system window popped up before his eyes.
['Ocean's Tear' Accessory (Pendant) / Rarity: Relic / Pendant worn around the neck of the 'Alluring Deceiver of Benevolence'. Gazing at the blue gem evokes a dreamlike feeling.]
[Passive Effect: Wearer's Water Resistance +50% / Luck +20% / 100% Immunity to Lv.99 and below Mental Domination skills]
As expected of a relic-grade item, its options were extraordinary.
The increase in water resistance and luck was almost unbelievable.
But the most surprising thing was,
'...100% immunity to mental domination skills?'
Impossible.
Yoo Hwan blinked, disbelieving.
Among the relic-grade items occasionally appearing at auctions, he had never seen one with 'complete' immunity to status effects.
'And even Lv.99 and below...'
The maximum monster level was 99.
Therefore, just possessing this necklace meant immunity to all mental domination skills.
This was an item so valuable it couldn't even be priced.
Did this woman truly return it to Immortal knowing its value?
No, she couldn't have known.
If she knew the value of this item, she wouldn't have returned it so easily.
This was a treasure worth risking one's life to steal, even if one wasn't a stealer.
There was another notable point.
[Active Effect: Dispels all Mental Domination skills. However, cannot be used on the dead.]
Yoo Hwan's gaze, scanning the item's detailed information, stopped at one part.
[Current Uses (3/10) - If usage count is exceeded, 'Ocean's Tear' turns to dust and returns to the sea.]
Used? Where on earth?
The moment he harbored that question.
"Master! Do Sungyoon has returned!"
At Jaemin's shout, Yoo Hwan snapped back to reality and turned his gaze.
There, three shadows had just emerged from the black crack.
Do Sungyoon, and the two guild members who had been dispatched with him.
"M-Master..."
The moment their eyes met, Sungyoon bowed his head as if he were a sinner.
No, in fact, he was a sinner.
He had failed to clear the gate, and that meant betraying Yoo Hwan's trust.
Yoo Hwan, staring at Sungyoon with his arms crossed, slowly opened his mouth.
"Only three?"
"I apologize."
Sungyoon replied softly, unable to lift his bowed head.
Yoo Hwan's red eyes, usually curved in a cheerful crescent, stared at him intently, devoid of any laughter.
Thump.
Yoo Hwan placed his large hand, like a lion's paw, on Sungyoon's head.
"You worked hard."
Was that word the trigger?
Jaemin, who had been watching anxiously, shot out like a bullet and grabbed Sungyoon's shoulders.
"Do Sungyoon, you bastard...!"
Tears welled up in Jaemin's bloodshot eyes.
Damn it, he tried not to cry, but the tears welled up on their own.
"You, you... I thought you were dead, how on earth..."
"I almost died."
"See, what did I tell you! I said let's go together, right? You can't do without me!"
"Anyway, I came back alive, didn't I?"
Sungyoon scratched his cheek, avoiding Jaemin's gaze.
Of course, their survival wasn't due to their own strength, but entirely thanks to that woman.
The woman who accurately plunged the frilly parasol between the doll's eyes.
Not only that, but she set it ablaze, then slammed the charred doll to the ground, sending it tumbling.
All of that happened in less than two seconds.
In that incredibly short time, she defeated an Lv.80 monster and saved the three of them.
'But that wasn't the end.'
Just when he thought he had escaped death, they faced another crisis.
With their stamina and mental strength already depleted, they couldn't ward off the singing.
By the time he realized it, he was already floundering in hallucinations.
When he opened his eyes again, she, whom he thought had disappeared, was back before him.
'It should be fine now.'
Behind her, when they met again, were two individuals who appeared to be ordinary civilians.
Sungyoon knew instinctively.
This woman, she defeated the boss and returned.
'These corals...'
'They are our comrades. No, those who were our comrades.'
At Sungyoon's words, she approached the corals.
And with sunken eyes, she stared at the corals for a long time, then finally brought the pendant she was holding to the coral's surface.
Sungyoon sensed that the pendant was no ordinary item.
But no matter how great an item, it was useless.
There was no item in the world that could bring back the dead.
'It's already too late. Those completely coralized cannot be returned to human form, no matter what.'
At Sungyoon's words, Eunha finally withdrew the pendant.
Slowly, as if a little regretful.
Eunha, who withdrew the pendant, offered no words of comfort to Sungyoon and his comrades.
She simply stood up and asked.
'Shall I help you carry them?'
Sungyoon looked at her with slightly surprised eyes.
But soon, with a bitter smile, he quietly shook his head.
'...No, it's alright.'
'I see.'
She didn't offer a second time.
Just like that, she turned her back and exited the gate with the two seemingly ordinary civilians.
"Do Sungyoon, are you listening? Next time, absolutely do not start a raid without my permission..."
Leaving behind Jaemin, who was nagging loudly, Sungyoon looked around.
His eyes met with the woman in the black dress, his lifesaver.
And the next moment.
"...!"
"...!"
Everyone there was surprised.
Iron Man Do Sungyoon, famous within the guild for his high pride,
"Thank you very much."
—bowed 90 degrees to her, showing his respect.
At that astounding sight, even Yoo Hwan's eyes widened.
Sungyoon never bowed his head to anyone except Yoo Hwan.
It had been like that for the past 15 years.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' is relieved, saying there was at least one normal person among them.]
But just as the cat was relieved, Jaemin, watching the situation, raised his voice angrily.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing? That woman is a spy sent by Wolf."
Jaemin strode towards Sungyoon, who was bowing to Eunha, and grabbed his shoulder roughly.
"Since when did your head become so light? You don't just bow like that to anyone."
"Watch your mouth. That person is the lifesaver of us three."
"Insulting our lifesaver—I won't forgive it, even if it's you, Heo Jaemin."
"Didn't you hear? That woman is from the Wolf Guild."
"So what? The fact that she saved our lives doesn't change."
"You..."
Heo Jaemin, Do Sungyoon.
Fierce sparks flew between Immortal Guild's second and third-in-command.
Opinions were divided even within the Immortal Guild.
"That woman ignored us and trespassed into the gate. This is a clear challenge from Wolf."
"But she didn't touch any internal resources. Besides, she saved our guild members..."
"How can we believe that without seeing it? Anyway, she has to pay the price for disrespecting our Immortal. Seize that parasol immediately... Ugh!"
Thwack—!
It happened in an instant.
One of the guild members, who had been vehemently expressing his opinion with veins popping, flew through the air as if hit by a truck.
Since it happened in a flash, most people didn't understand what had occurred.
But Eunha and the cat knew.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' fizzes! Pops open a can of soda.]
Yoo Hwan.
That man had struck his guild member.
