Frustrated by the communications officer stammering, Jin-Woo pulled out his own cell phone. The person who could deliver the fastest, most accurate information at a time like this. Jin-Woo scrolled through his contacts and called the direct line of Special Agent Adam White, Asia Division, US Hunter Management Bureau. For a moment he worried the call might not connect, given the circumstances.
—Hunter Sung Jin-Woo!
A nervous voice called out to him from the other end of the line. There was no time for small talk, so Jin-Woo got straight to the point.
"Adam. Has anything happened with the super-massive Gate in Canada..."
Just then, a wave of cheering erupted from the other end of the line. It was so faint that even Jin-Woo's heightened hearing could barely pick it up. But it was enough. Jin-Woo asked urgently, his voice stiff.
"Where are you right now?" —I'm here with other agents. We're at the site of Canada's super-massive Gate right now. "Why the hell are you there!"
Unable to hide his bewilderment at Jin-Woo's agitated tone, Adam blurted out an answer.
—We're not in a position to just sit back and watch the Canada Gate from the sidelines... It's not just me—many of our agents are tied up here.
He then added that he was positioned far enough from the Canadian Hunters' front line that he could flee immediately if anything happened. Listening to this, Jin-Woo felt an indescribable frustration.
'What I warned them about...'
They still had no idea what scale of enemy they were dealing with. But. The fact that Adam was still alive meant his prediction might have been wrong. Jin-Woo calmed himself and asked quietly.
"Has there been... no change at the Gate?" —Yes. It seems the Gate was empty inside, same as the others. The site is calm.
That's a relief. Even considering that his warning could be proven wrong and draw the world's scorn, Jin-Woo let out a sigh of relief. Hoo—his prediction seemed to have been off. But just then.
—Huh? Wait a second.
Something about Adam's voice sounded unsettled, sending a chill down Jin-Woo's spine. Why was it that ominous feelings never seemed to miss? Adam quickly explained the situation.
—Right now! Something is coming down from the Gate! Huh? Wha—a person... A person is coming down!
Jin-Woo's heart, which had been settling, started racing again.
'A person... one?'
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Jin-Woo's voice rose.
"The hair!"
He'd said Adam was positioned at quite a distance from the site. In that case, it would be hard to make out that man's grotesque eyes—eyes that weren't even human.
"What color is that person's hair?" —Just, one moment...
He briefly heard what sounded like Adam borrowing special equipment from a nearby agent.
—It's a mix of black and red... dark reddish hair.
Good Lord. Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
"Adam! Run! Get in a car or something and get out of there right now!" —What?
Before Adam could even ask what was happening.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-ANG!
A horrific explosion of sound rang out, audible even through the phone.
—Oh my God!
Adam's voice had already turned into a scream.
"Adam!"
As if pulled back to his senses by Jin-Woo's voice, Adam spoke in a trembling tone.
—The Hunters! The top-tier Hunters in the front row all turned into charred lumps in an instant! Th-the flames on their bodies are still burning! Good Lord! "Adam, Adam! It's okay—just run. You need to get out of there as fast as possible."
Jin-Woo tried to calm Adam down, but he seemed to have already lost half his mind.
—Jesus...
Even as he sobbed, Adam described everything he was seeing and hearing to Jin-Woo, as if it were his duty.
—Dragons from the sky... dragons and other monsters are pouring down endlessly! All kinds of monsters mixed together. Ahh, how can this...
His voice carried a sense of grim resignation. Unable to listen any longer, Jin-Woo took the risk of connecting his consciousness to the Shadow Soldier he'd planted on Adam. And then. Jin-Woo was able to sear the scene Adam was witnessing into his own eyes. It looked like the end of the Earth. Herolds of destruction were pouring from the wide-open Gate in a black torrent. The sky, and the earth, were being engulfed by terrifying monsters. The roars of beasts shook the ground, and the beating of wings filled the sky. The Hunters who had gathered to fight them evaporated without a trace at a single gesture from the Monarch of Destruction, who had descended before they even reached the ground. Those who remained were fleeing in all directions, but the chances of any of them making it out alive seemed slim.
'But...'
He could save at least one person—Adam. The High Orc Shadow Soldier under Jin-Woo's control grabbed the terrified Adam by the wrist.
"A-aagh!"
Adam, who had screamed in terror upon seeing the black-armored High Orc, soon saw the shadow of a familiar person in the orc's eyes.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo?"
There was no time to explain to him. He could explain while moving him. When Jin-Woo, inhabiting the High Orc, tried to pull Adam into the shadow at his feet. Someone who had silently approached grabbed the High Orc by the shoulder. Whoosh. The High Orc turned around to find a middle-aged man with grotesque reptilian eyes glaring at him.
[Where do you think you're going, Shadow?]
The man opened his mouth wide. Inside that mouth, an unimaginable power was gathering. Jin-Woo looked at Adam. At that moment, Adam too seemed to sense something and stared at Jin-Woo—at the High Orc Jin-Woo was controlling.
"Hunter, I—"
KWAAAAAAH—!
The breath that poured from the man's mouth erased the Shadow Soldier without a trace.
"Ugh!"
In that instant, Jin-Woo felt his body catch fire and writhed in excruciating pain. He had only been connected to the High Orc by a neural link, so he was able to break free—but Agent Adam, who had been right beside it, could not. The last thing he'd seen of Adam. Recalling his eyes blackening in the flames, Jin-Woo clenched his teeth. BOOM! He slammed his fist into the ground, and the area shook as if an earthquake had struck.
'Damn it...'
He should have predicted this. When fighting against the Shadow Army, which grew stronger the longer a battle dragged on, he should have kept in mind that the enemy could do the same—narrow the battlefield and concentrate their forces in one place. The Monarchs had opened all eight passages, making it seem as though they would execute their original plan.
'They concentrated all their forces at the Gate furthest from me.'
It was a painful blunder. His plan to use the time bought by other regions being attacked to grow his Shadow Soldiers and launch a counterattack had gone up in smoke. Liu Zhikang, who had noticed something was wrong, approached cautiously.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo..."
Just then, the communications officer, who had belatedly received word about Canada, approached with a face drained of color.
"Hu-Hunters... Canada..."
The rest of his words didn't need to be spoken. Jin-Woo raised his head. The Gate that had been blocking out the sky was flickering and slowly fading away, as if it had served its purpose.
* * *
One Shadow Soldier and the human beside it had burned to nothing. The breath of destruction that melted even an immortal soldier in a single blow.
'...'
The Dragon Emperor gazed down with satisfaction at the result of his own work—the ashes piled at his feet—then finally turned away. Soldiers of the Netherworld, who had been trapped in the rifts between dimensions for so long with no outlet for their strength, were enjoying their freedom like fish finding water. The Dragon Emperor closed his eyes tight, spread his arms wide, and reveled in his freedom. The heartbeats of living things. Their screams. The delightful sounds of creatures being destroyed kept ringing out as if listening to exquisite music. Then. BOOM! Ancient dragons landed on the ground. Two Monarchs who had gently set foot on the earth. And numerous Legion Commanders. They all knelt respectfully before the Dragon Emperor, the strongest of all Monarchs. The Dragon Emperor smiled. The mana trembling through the atmosphere gathered in his hands. The mana he had released to strengthen this land also enhanced the power of those who could wield it. Yes. The preparations on their side were complete, too. KHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! The Dragon Emperor's laughter, intense enough to shake the earth, boomed as he shouted to the soldiers still pouring down.
[Destroy them all! That is the only mission given to us!]
Hundreds of dragons soared swiftly over his head and unleashed fierce flames upon the earth, burning everything on the ground. KWAAAAAAH—!
* * *
Director David Brennan was alone in his darkened office. He ignored the reports still streaming in and the calls from above, opening a bottle of expensive liquor he'd been saving for his eldest daughter's wedding and sipping it. The only light in the dark room came from the muted glow of a TV screen. Monsters flickered across the screen in brief glimpses. He knew why the news stations kept replaying the same footage in their breaking coverage.
'They're all dead.'
Just like the Bureau agents he'd sent to support Canada. There would be no survivors. Not the Hunters, not the agents, not the reporters who had filmed the footage. They were all dead. Still, thanks to the short footage the cameraman had risked his life to film, they could get a rough idea of the enemy's scale.
"It's all over!"
The Director screamed like a madman. Hunter Sung Jin-Woo hadn't been exaggerating. Hundreds of dragons alone. Behind them came giants, beasts, and insect-like things flooding in like a tidal wave. Calamities that no amount of human capability could handle. Only now did he understand why Hunter Sung Jin-Woo had repeatedly emphasized staying as far away from the Gates as possible. The world was over. But.
"The lunatic!"
And yet, wasn't Sung Jin-Woo himself heading to China with his summoned creatures to fight those very things? How could he know about the existence of things like these and still think to fight them? If he could, he'd crack open Jin-Woo's skull and take a look at his brain.
'Of course, before I could do that, my own head would be torn to pieces first.'
Hmph. Chuckling to himself without quite knowing what was funny, the Director pulled a photograph from inside his coat. It showed him with a clearly annoyed expression alongside his daughter in a party hat.
'Was she sixteen here?'
If he'd known his daughter would become a victim of a Dungeon Break the following year, he would have made more time—or even quit his job—to take a few more photos. The fact that this was the only photo he had with both of them in it made his chest ache. Sip. Another glass emptied. He'd thought he would never open this bottle after his daughter was laid to rest. He smacked his lips bitterly and shook the bottle. By now, the bottle was already half empty.
"Yeah... it's all over."
They said half of Canada had already disappeared. And that was just an estimate. No one actually knew how fast they were advancing toward the United States. The Director roughly loosened his tie.
"I won't die at your hands."
He had sworn vengeance on the monsters and promised at his daughter's grave that he would never die by their hands. At the very least, the moment his life ended would be of his own choosing. With that meager resolve finally settled, he stood pressed against the window, looking down at the dizzying drop below. A cool breeze brushed past his sweat-soaked forehead.
'...I hope my daughter is where I'm going.'
Tears glistening in his eyes, he squeezed them shut and was about to fall. Someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Wha—!"
Startled out of his wits, he turned around with wide eyes to find a familiar-looking man standing there.
"S-Sung Jin-Woo?"
Jin-Woo said to the Director, who had gone pale as if he'd seen a ghost.
"There's something I need from you."