Lv.99 Princess of Dark Flames (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8

The sixth S-class hunter of Korea, Baek Rang.

He was said to be an extraordinary ice sorcerer capable of turning the entirety of Seoul into Alaska if he so desired. That was merely one of the countless rumors surrounding him.

The reason Baek Rang, the subject of rumors with unknown origins, did not reveal himself to the world was, in truth, far less grand than one might imagine.

‘Is this the last one?’

Si Woo flicked his index finger lightly one final time after shattering the monsters charging at him one after another.

Clang!

Along with the body of the monster he held, the ice shattered into fine pieces like shaved ice. At the same moment, Si Woo swallowed back the urge to retch.

‘……The smell.’

Si Woo turned his gaze away from the monster fragments scattered with the ice. As if suddenly remembering, he hurriedly covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, then rummaged through his hood pocket and pulled out a thick mask.

It was true that he was the young master of the Wolf Guild, Korea’s largest guild, and the sixth S-class hunter.

However, the truth was that he found gates and monsters repulsive and had no interest in hunter activities. No—he outright loathed them.

While putting on the mask, Si Woo noticed that his sleeve had been torn in the previous battle. The ragged fabric would only get in the way if left like this.

He couldn’t remove his top here. After a moment’s hesitation, Si Woo roughly tore the sleeve off entirely.

“…….”

Countless scars, so severe they made one doubt their eyes, were revealed on the surface of his arm. Stab wounds, burn scars, cuts from sharp edges—there were too many to count.

Si Woo knew very well when and where he had received each scar, and that they extended beyond his arms to his shoulders and back.

His blue eyes, staring fixedly at the dense scars, grew coldly still.

‘Do you truly believe you can bear the weight of the wolf with only that much?’

Si Woo, who had been gazing blankly at the scars, pulled his sleeve back down as if to block them out. Just as he was about to take another step—

“What is this.”

Something sparkled at his feet.

Si Woo, mask still on, bent down and picked it up. A fist-sized purple ore.

It looked like a gemstone, yet also like plastic—it was a “gate core,” a stone obtainable only upon defeating a boss monster.

If he brought this back, it would serve as proof that he had completed the tutorial.

After securing the core, Si Woo checked the phone in his back pocket. The current time was 7:58. It had taken roughly thirty minutes.

‘If I take a taxi back to the café where Kim Kwang Hyun is waiting…’

It would probably be around 8:30. He wouldn’t be late. Si Woo wiped his hands and phone screen clean with a white handkerchief, then turned to leave.

But something was strange.

‘The exit… is closed?’

He had clearly eliminated every last monster. He had even collected the core. Si Woo stood still for a moment, thinking about the situation.

He didn’t know. Even with over ten years of experience and knowledge honed through real-combat training, he had never heard of a case like this.

Could this be the legendary Unknown Gate?

‘No. It was definitely green.’

Gates could be judged by the color of their rift. The Association’s data had clearly marked it as B-grade, and he had seen a green rift when he entered.

That left only one possibility. There were two bosses.

Occasionally, there were monsters that possessed two bodies by splitting or similar means.

‘I have no choice but to check.’

Si Woo eventually stepped back into the heart of the gate.

A path of pure white ice stretched out, marking the direction he had come from. Naturally, not even an ant was visible on it.

After passing through the passage, Si Woo walked endlessly along the inner walls.

When irritation finally began to ripple in his calm, lake-like aquamarine eyes, he discovered a violently churning black rift deep inside the gate.

It was a phenomenon he had never seen before, but his instincts told him clearly. The last one was there.

After a brief hesitation, Si Woo stepped toward it.

The rift writhed fiercely as if resisting for a moment, then scattered into the air with a hiss.

In an instant, pitch-black darkness flooded his vision. It felt as though he had fallen into ink.

When time passed and his sight cleared again, Si Woo discovered a pair of eyes staring at him.

[Lv.30 ‘Red-Eyed Black Tiger’ charges toward you!]

‘……A tiger?’

A massive tiger, black from head to toe, was charging straight at him.

Si Woo angled the edge of his hand diagonally.

As if snow had begun to fall in this place, the tips of his dark blue hair gradually turned white. At the same time, frigid air gathered, and the edge of his hand began to turn pure white.

In the blink of an eye, a sharp ice blade formed along the shape of his hand.

Shwick!

Without warning, the cold blade swung and bisected the beast-type monster.

Si Woo frowned at the cleanly sliced chunks of meat.

‘What on earth is this.’

A beast-type monster, completely different from the insect-types he had fought until now. It was strange. He had never heard of a gate existing within a gate.

Clack—

Then, suddenly, a jet-black shoe tip appeared among the scattering ice fragments. He could feel powerful energy approaching even through his skin.

Si Woo slowly raised his gaze.

“……So you’re the real boss.”

Unlike his unwavering voice, the tips of his fingers trembled faintly, as if suppressed by an invisible, overwhelming presence.

But if he didn’t eliminate it, he couldn’t leave this place.

‘It’s fine. This is the last one.’

Steeling himself, Si Woo raised the edge of his hand again. Cold air began to concentrate once more along its elegant line.

“……Boss, you say?”

Abruptly, his hand froze in midair.

Unbelievably, he heard Korean. The hair that had turned white instantly returned to dark blue.

‘……A woman?’

His sharp eyes widened into circles. What emerged from the darkness, unbelievably, was the form of a human woman.

Approximately five minutes earlier.

Having left her shelter, Eun Ha was wandering the gate as usual. The fifth named monster she had been desperately searching for was still nowhere to be seen.

‘……Another wasted trip today.’

Strength drained from her shoulders. Because of that, her carelessly placed foot stumbled.

‘Damn it.’

Eun Ha barely regained her balance and pressed a hand to her forehead. The ground was still, yet her brain shook as if a massive earthquake had struck.

Her condition had been the worst lately. It was getting worse by the day.

Malnutrition, perhaps? There were limits to filling her stomach with tiger meat.

She no longer knew how many days—or weeks—it had been since she was trapped in this gate. At the very least, it was not just a few days or weeks. She hadn’t had a proper meal in a long time, so it was understandable that her body was protesting.

Or perhaps it was extreme exhaustion accumulated from continuous combat. Especially recently, she had been struggling to find the last named monster and hadn’t been able to rest properly.

Either way, her body’s red flags were not welcome news to Eun Ha.

[Lv.30 ‘Red-Eyed Black Tiger’ is watching you.]

It seemed one more trash monster remained. Creatures that were no longer even a handful to her felt especially annoying today. The moment she irritably raised her parasol—

[Lv.30 ‘Red-Eyed Black Tiger’ is terrified! It attempts to flee.]

Again. Another monster started fleeing.

Eun Ha let out a low sigh. She had no desire whatsoever to chase after such small fry.

She wanted to ignore it, but she couldn’t. Even trash monsters would become troublesome later if not completely eradicated.

The moment Eun Ha pressed her temples and spun around to chase it—

[Warning! System damage detected. External interference suspected.] [Force resetting the gate.] [ – – – Loading – – – ] [Warning! Unknown error occurred.]

Crimson warning windows overlapped and popped up before her eyes.

‘What is this all of a sudden—.’

Suddenly, an ear-splitting siren began to blare.

[System Error = 21387 [GARBLED DATA]] [System Error = 21388 [GARBLED DATA]] [System Error = 21387 [GARBLED DATA]] [System Error = 21388 [GARBLED DATA]]

As error warnings stacked higher and higher, a violent earthquake strong enough to make her whole body stagger struck. With her already severe headache and the ground shaking, her mind grew faint.

Eun Ha barely steadied herself and quickly scanned her surroundings. Cracks were spreading across the inner walls of the gate.

Ding.

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ senses an unfamiliar presence and hisses sharply.

“So you’re the real boss.”

Eun Ha, who had somehow grabbed her parasol and assumed a combat stance, suddenly froze in place.

“……Boss, you say?”

If she hadn’t misheard, the voice that just rang out belonged to a man.

A human.

There was a human in this gate—not a monster. Soon, Eun Ha met the blue eyes directed at her. They were filled with hostility and wariness.

“You… are you human?”

She muttered in disbelief, and this time he looked shocked.

Her heart began to pound like mad. She could not remember the last time she had faced a person instead of a monster—months? Years?

Overwhelmed with emotion, Eun Ha took one step toward him. He immediately scowled fiercely, as if an unbearable stench wafted from her.

“Let’s talk for a moment—”

“I have nothing to say to monsters.”

Whoosh!

A razor-sharp icicle drew a thin red line across Eun Ha’s left cheek before embedding itself murderously into the wall behind her.

His ice-cold eyes were filled with pure hostility.

Si Woo quickly analyzed his opponent. Jet-black hair cascading to her waist, skin so pale it resembled a corpse in stark contrast, and lips tinged almost purple with dripping crimson blood.

A suspiciously ornate and dark dress.

A black parasol adorned with rose decorations.

Flickering flames writhed around her entire body like living serpents.

No matter that she spoke Korean and appeared as a young woman—this was a gate. A gate where humans could not survive.

It was only natural for Si Woo to conclude that she was not human.

Whoosh!

An icicle loaded like a bullet shot toward her at lightning speed. As if intending to finish her in one blow, it ignored air resistance and flew straight at her.

He no longer wished to remain here. The disgusting smell of monster blood. The adrenaline spreading through his body from prolonged combat—it was all unpleasant.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He poured out relentless attacks…

Was it just his imagination? Not a single one was landing.

‘This… is supposed to be a B-grade gate?’

Impossible.

The composure gradually vanished from Si Woo’s face. But he could not back down here.

Ding.

[Authority ‘Fangs of the Dog’ activated.]

A yellow message window appeared before Si Woo’s eyes—though Eun Ha could not see it.

Pshook—!

The ice fragments surrounding Si Woo took the shape of sharp beast fangs—this much she could see.

She knew instinctively. He genuinely intended to kill her.

‘No choice then.’

Eun Ha’s eyes, which had been focused solely on evasion, sharpened. The atmosphere was far from calm enough for a peaceful conversation.

From what she could tell, he was an awakened with a unique ability—a hunter. In that case.

‘As long as I don’t kill him.’

Having made up her mind, Eun Ha leaped gracefully into the air in a soft arc.