Thump, thump, thump. He lightly stepped over the corpse and approached me with a truly sinister expression.

“Yes, yes. A mental hunter surpassing Lord Gale… Huh, this loss amount… In reverse… Then…”

The sound of his shit-for-brains churning could be heard from here. It was obvious what he was thinking. Well, it’s hard to do this kind of thing with a sober mind.

I opened up his information.

[Name: Gale

Overall Rank: S

Alias: ※This subject has been stripped of aliases.

Status: Villain]

I knew it. I stared straight at him, waiting for what he would say next.

Being the same S-rank, I couldn’t say for certain that I had the upper hand. Moreover, while he was an experienced and seasoned Awakened, I was a novice who had just Awakened with no ability to handle unexpected situations.

Yet I wasn’t worried.

“Hey, I’ll overlook you causing trouble in my workshop.”

Whether it was due to the influence of my mental barrier.

“So why don’t you join hands with me and make some big money? Hehehe…”

Or because I didn’t think I would lose, I wasn’t sure.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Ni, Nisha. Target. W-we…”

“Wait, stay still for a moment.”

Jin Sa Hyun reacted as the auction house owner they had been targeting finally appeared. Despite claiming to be scared, the diligent man was clearly aware of what he needed to do.

In contrast, Nisha merely wore an expression of interest.

“Yohwa’s abilities haven’t fully manifested yet. Let’s observe a bit longer and step in if it gets dangerous.”

True to those words, what Yohwa had shown so far was just a small portion of her abilities. To be able to handle this area alone with just a fraction of her power, she was truly worthy of being Cheon Shin Woo’s blood relative.

Gale was a formidable villain. Otherwise, there would have been no need for both the Emperor and the Saint to be deployed simultaneously.

Nisha intended to intervene only when she was certain it was the right moment for them to act.

After all, Nisha and Jin Sa Hyun’s mission had two objectives: to subdue or kill Gale, and to safely bring back Yohwa.

It was a variable, if anything, that Yohwa was stronger than she had anticipated.

“Do you know how much asset damage you’ve caused, you little X?!”

“Not really…”

Gale shouted in anger. The body of a guard who was still alive suddenly straightened up and rushed towards Yohwa.

At that moment, she flinched and barely managed to step back and avoid the attack.

It was a strange movement. As if she could have easily dodged it, but reacted slowly due to being startled…

However, her confusion didn’t last long.

“This X and that X.”

The moment Yohwa thrust what appeared to be a standard-issue staff into the ground, a strong pressure spread around.

“Why does everyone insist on controlling others instead of acting directly?”

Simultaneously, everything around became quiet. Gale, who had been trying to control slaves somehow, took a step back in confusion as things didn’t go as he intended.

Silence. Above it, the rising scent of flowers, sweet and nothing else.

“Ah, so…”

As Yohwa approached, Gale kept backing away until he tripped over a corpse behind him and fell on his behind.

“That skill you used, the brand or pattern or whatever, it felt like this, right?”

Stopping about three steps away from the man, she pointed her staff directly at Gale.

The magic circle blooming above it was composed of unusual language and moved as if alive.

“Wha-what, what are you doing!”

“What else?”

Her brightly smiling face was incredibly beautiful, completely out of place in the situation.

“Put yourself in my shoes. You should experience it once too, mister?”

The application and combination of skills is something that cannot be done without innate sense.

Yet she easily combined magic and illusion to use on Gale.

A technique created to brand with magic that prevents disobeying the master’s will, while simultaneously making one eternally consumed by terrifying hallucinations.

It shouldn’t have been possible for a novice who had just Awakened.

Watching this, the Saint inadvertently let out an exclamation of admiration.

“My goodness…”

Both were S-rank Hunters. Yohwa was a novice who had just Awakened, while Gale was a Hunter who had been active for 10 years.

So, assuming they were of the same rank, Gale should have had the advantage, but.

“To think she’s this overwhelming…? At this level, it seems like no one except you, Emperor, could be her match…?”

An ability worthy of appearing in the prophecy. Though she still showed constant openings due to her youth and inexperience, it was clear that even the Saint, ranked 3rd in the world, wouldn’t be able to handle her if those disappeared.

Beside her, the Emperor trembled as he spoke.

“H-h-h-how am I supposed to d-d-defeat such a m-m-monster!”

By definition, he who was even more of a monster than Yohwa whimpered.

“Please. Right now, Yohwa is overly excited. If we don’t calm her down, it will be difficult to fulfill our roles. You know you have the advantage in terms of compatibility, don’t you?”

“Ugh, n-no. I’m scared…”

“Jin Sa Hyun.”

“…”

The Emperor froze upon being called by his name rather than his title. Realizing that further refusal would change nothing, he trudged forward.

The Saint smiled as she watched.

After all, what Jin Sa Hyun feared was not the situation of being harmed himself.

But rather, inadvertently killing everyone around him.

[This is the timeline separator]

Having dealt with the auction house owner, the control of the gate should have passed to me, but something felt off. That man was treated as a villain, equivalent to a monster, so the spoils should have come to me the moment my victory was certain.

Just as I wondered if I needed to kill him…

“Excellent.”

The sound of applause came from somewhere.

Turning around, I saw a figure dressed entirely in black, looking every bit the part of ‘I’m the villain’ walking towards me while clapping.

“Who are you?”

“‘Who are you,’ you say? That’s quite rude to the master of the gate.”

“Master of the gate?”

“That fellow was the owner of the auction house, I am the master of the gate. You could say we’re business partners with aligned interests.”

I hurriedly tried to use my skill on him. However, the skill was blocked by something.

“It’s useless. To partner with the likes of him, a mental barrier is an essential skill.”

Mental magic becomes more resistant the higher one’s mental strength. Or, the more mental defense skills one has, the easier it is to defend.

In other words, he and I have poor compatibility.

“…”

“It was quite a profitable business, what a shame it’s come to this.”

His low voice resonated, as if he harbored no other ill will or desires towards me.

I quickly tried to open his information window.

[System :: This information is unavailable for viewing.]

But nothing came up.

Suddenly, I realized how truly bizarre this situation was.

Buying and selling people like objects, using someone’s pain as a means of profit.

How did I end up here, facing someone like this?

Once it arose, the sense of dissonance mercilessly robbed me of my sense of reality.

“Anyway, I can’t just take a loss…”

“…?!”

I immediately stepped back when I noticed he had approached me in the moment I took my eyes off him.

This woman is an S-rank Hunter.

“I’ll have to make up for this loss somehow.”

Just in case, just maybe. As soon as I created some distance, I used magic to summon a strong wind.

As if naturally acquired, the most basic of magics was easily performed at my fingertips.

“Oh my.”

The hat flew off.

“You’ve seen my face, haven’t you?”

Cold sweat ran down my back as that face was revealed.

I had seen it briefly in a magazine before. I don’t remember exactly, but I recall it was a fairly popular Hunter ranked within the top 100 in the world.

A person with a name and fame, involved in something like this?

“Why are you doing this…”

“No need to know the reason. More importantly, I have no intention of killing you, so don’t worry.”

Her eyes fixed on my neck. Or more precisely, on the necklace Cheon Shin Woo had given me.

Only then did I remember the existence of the necklace. My stupidity was astounding. I had forgotten about this direct line to Cheon Shin Woo all this time.

“If you hand over your items quietly, I won’t touch a hair on your head.”

“I’m sorry, but this was a gift from my elder brother.”

Should I call him now? Can I handle this situation alone? What should I do if I want to? Am I capable of dealing with that person?

No, regardless of whether I can or can’t handle it…

“Then I have no choice.”

My staff blocked her blade. Simultaneously, a loud clang of metal against metal rang out.

Damn it, I’m done for. It’s a speed I can’t keep up with.

“It would be problematic if my notoriety increases further here.”

The gate master said. It’s strange that he’s still concerned about his reputation at this point. Haven’t you been labeled as a villain yet?

I deliberated. That person has seen my face. Even if I escape safely from here, it could become a problem later.

Either call Cheon Shin Woo to resolve this situation, or deal with that person directly myself, or at least come up with a plan.

I was torn. What do I want to do?

An innocent voice whispered in my ear.

−What’s the problem? Just do whatever you want.

But at that moment, I also recalled words that someone had consistently told me.

‘You can’t live among people, in society like that. You need to make an effort to understand others, adjust to each other, and live with consideration. I’ll help you.’

−What happened to Se Jin unni who lived blending into society like that? In the end, she died without receiving any help.

‘Shin Ah, I know you’re still adapting to this world as a returnee. But you’re still young. You can learn. You can adapt.’

−You, you’re still holding onto what happened back then, aren’t you? When your close unni died so futilely, and you couldn’t do anything.

‘Shall we start by relearning Korean?’

−Now you can do it. It’s easy, isn’t it? Something like toying with a human like that.

My body wouldn’t move. I don’t know what I should do, what I want to do. In less than a second, many thoughts flashed through my mind, mixing with numerous emotions.

“It seems no one taught you. Never let your guard down during a fight.”

In that instant, the silver glint of a blade flashed before my eyes.

Simultaneously, black death spread across the floor.

“Fi-fi-fighting is ba-ad…”