CHAPTER 2

Episode 2: The Black Gate

A gate opened in the middle of Seoul.

This in itself wasn't particularly rare.

Ever since gates first appeared across the globe thirty years ago—like the Jamsil Gate, the Namyangju Gate, and the Songdo Gate—it had become routine for them to emerge in the heart of a city.

The problem was its classification.

"Black…"

An "Out-of-Class" designation, something even the World Hunter Association didn't officially categorize.

Gates were measured by the amount of energy they contained, boasting a 99.9% accuracy rate.

The Korean Hunter Association took full-scale action, requesting support from the World Hunter Association and calling upon the country's top hunter guilds to enter the gate.

"Those bastards… Only busy when it benefits them."

"It's not the first time the hunter guilds have acted this way."

Han Hari, a hunter affiliated with the association, barely reacted to the frustration in the voice of Section Chief Kim Jinsoo.

A Black Gate—the first one to appear in thirteen years. The major domestic guilds refused to enter at first, opting to watch and wait.

Which made sense. Even an A-rank gate, a crimson one, resulted in heavy casualties. And this wasn't even an S-rank red gate—it was an Out-of-Class black gate.

No guild wanted to risk its elite forces in a gate where the danger level was impossible to measure.

As a result, the government-backed Hunter Association had no choice but to take action.

A scouting team would enter first, assess the danger, gather as much information as possible, and distribute it to the major guilds.

It was the standard approach—having pre-entry intel could be the key to successful gate clearance.

The real problem was for those going in without any prior knowledge.

"Hari… are you sure about this?"

Section Chief Kim looked at Hari with concern.

It was a dangerous scouting mission. Even within the association, only volunteers were chosen—each leaving behind a will before departure.

He hated the thought of a promising rookie, barely twenty years old, stepping into such a perilous role.

"I'll be fine. I'm the only A-rank hunter among the volunteers. We need at least one proper melee combatant, right?"

"Even so…"

An A-rank hunter was a powerful asset. But the association barely had any A-rank hunters at all.

Most hunters with real talent were absorbed into the major guilds.

"Our motto is to ensure the safety of citizens and the security of the nation, isn't it?"

"…You reckless fool."

She was one of the association's few rising stars.

In a world where the top guilds monopolized talent, most hunters who chose to become government employees were D-rank or C-rank. Even the experienced ones barely reached B-rank.

Yet here was an A-rank prospect, who had applied to the association straight out of the academy. If nurtured properly, she had the potential to become the only S-rank hunter in the association besides the director himself.

He wanted to tell her to turn back for the sake of her future.

But with the scouting team so critically short on power, sending her away wasn't an option.

A Black Gate after thirteen years. Even an S-rank hunter wouldn't be enough to face it—yet their only A-rank hunter was Hari.

"Sigh… Let's just pray we all make it back alive."

—We're entering! Everyone, get ready!

"Ugh… It had to be a field-type gate."

The scene inside the gate was a disaster.

Some gates looked as if they had already been destroyed, left in ruin. But the Black Gate the scouting team entered was beyond imagination.

First, the sky was blood-red.

It wasn't like a sunset—it was a menacing, unnatural red, as if the sky had been flipped inside out.

The ground was barren, devoid of a single blade of grass. It was so dry and desolate that it was hard to believe anything had ever lived here.

"My god, I've never seen a gate like this. Where even is this place?"

"Stay alert, Hari. This is an unmeasurable-class gate—who knows what's in here."

"I know… But what kind of world is this for it to be unmeasurable?"

"No idea… Maybe there's a high-ranking demon inside?"

"Don't say things like that."

That was when it happened.

A notification appeared before all the association's hunters.

[Gate Mission]

Ever since gates appeared and hunters awakened to mana, a mission system had emerged.

For those who entered a gate, this system provided at least minimal information and the objectives required to clear it.

"S-Sir…"

"…Fuck."

The hunters' faces turned pale as they read the mission details.

[Hunt all demons.]

Remaining demons: 117 / ????????

"Demons…"

A species that rarely appeared, only in the highest-ranked gates.

Six years ago, the upper-rank demon Kanballa appeared in a crimson-ranked gate and killed Korea's S-rank hunter, Go Jinhyuk.

And that wasn't all.

Twenty-two years ago, in China, the emergence of the Great Demon Skajacaria—a lord-class demon—had led to one of history's worst catastrophes.

"Shit! Shit! We have to get out of here!"

"Chief!"

Even the battle-hardened Kim Jinsoo lost his composure at the realization.

This gate was a Demon Gate—one of the worst kinds in existence.

"Those bastards don't stay dead!"

They weren't truly immortal. They just kept resurrecting.

The Great Demon Skajacaria, from the Demon Gate in Shanghai, had been killed five times over the last twenty-two years.

But the Demon Gate itself never disappeared—it reopened every four years, triggering another dungeon break.

"We have to retreat! We need to report this to the association!"

This was far beyond what a scouting team of fewer than twenty could handle.

Kim had just ordered a retreat when—

"Sir! Over there!"

A hunter pointed.

A massive, masked demon was looking down at them.

"Shit… It's a Greatsword!"

A low-rank demon, roughly 1.5 meters tall, wielding a sword bigger than its own body.

But despite being classified as "low-rank," Greatswords had unparalleled attack power.

Just a graze from their blade would cause unstoppable bleeding.

And they weren't alone.

More and more Greatswords appeared.

Along with other demons, their numbers already exceeded a hundred.

"They're already triggering a dungeon break?!"

Usually, there was a grace period before the monsters poured out. But here, they were attacking immediately.

—The gate! The gate!

—We're alive!

—Run! Run!

The demons cheered bizarrely, rushing toward the gate.

The hunters gritted their teeth, gripping their weapons.

"Everyone, focus! We can't let them get through! If they reach Earth, they'll disappear into the shadows!"

That was the terror of demons.

They could disguise themselves as humans or hide inside their shadows.

Even a single one escaping would spell disaster.

"Form up! I'll take the front!"

"Hari!"

Ignoring Kim's protests, Hari unsheathed her sword.

They had to fight.

Because if these demons crossed over…

Seoul would be doomed.