RG 45

The cold stare fixed on me snapped me to my senses. I quickly grabbed the hat that had fallen to the ground and put it back on, forcing a nonchalant smile.

“You’re late, aren’t you?”

“What are you doing here?” 

Grunting as I moved Inog’s corpse aside, I braced my shaky legs and stood up. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m sealing the rift.”

“Who asked about that? Why are you sealing it alone?”

Kwon Taehyeok’s words were much shorter than before. Isn’t that almost a reprimand?

“I just happened to pass by and saw it. No particular reason,” I shrugged and replied lightly on purpose, causing Kwon Taehyeok to look me up and down with suspicion. Feeling uncomfortable under his sharp gaze, I pulled my hat down further and fidgeted with my mask to make sure it was properly in place.

“…Sealing the rift alone for no reason? Until it got to this point?”

“You must think I’m garbage. When ordinary people are in danger, I act. I thought if I held out for a bit, reinforcements would come. I knew Yesung Guild was handling a rift nearby.”

Just then, I heard the sound of cars arriving below the building. They were the Hunters from Yesung Guild, following behind Kwon Taehyeok. Now I could relax a bit. I let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Kwon Taehyeok, who was still glaring at me. “I knew you’d come as soon as you heard a second rift had opened.”

“What do you mean?”

I honestly confessed my trust, but he seemed even more displeased. I raised my thumb toward him conspicuously.

“The idol of all Hunters! The strong and righteous Hunter! The proud number one ranking Guildmaster of Yesung! Well, I’m number one now, but…”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just quoting the internet headlines. Anyway, who else could I trust in this situation but you? And you came at the perfect time.”

Kwon Taehyeok glared at me and then abruptly turned his head. I went through all the trouble to compliment him, only to get a disdainful look in return. Such a high-maintenance guy.

Anyway, my job here was done. I discreetly checked my bleeding shoulder under my clothes and thought about a quiet escape route, but a sharp killing intent pricked my skin.

I turned toward the source of the hostility and flinched involuntarily. Four sharp blades were floating in the air, aimed right at me.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Pardon?”

How did he notice I was trying to leave? His instincts were uncanny.

I lightly pushed the blade aimed at my forehead with my finger and opened my mouth, “Just trying to go my way. An S-class like you is here, and the secondary team has arrived, so there’s nothing more for me to do.”

“Who said you could leave?”

“Of course, I decided… ack.”

Kwon Taehyeok strode over and grabbed me by the collar without hesitation. “If you don’t want to be dragged by force, you better cooperate until the rift is completely sealed.” His black eyes, burning with determination, made it clear he wouldn’t let me go. A chill ran down my spine.

‘It’s scarier that he’s grabbing my collar instead of pulling off my mask.’

He could have overpowered me and forced me to reveal my face, but Kwon Taehyeok didn’t even consider that approach.

“…I’m really exhausted.”

“You won’t die from this.”

No, seriously, I’m exhausted! I handled that monster all by myself without any skills, and now he’s treating me so carelessly.

I felt a surge of indignation, but there was no way I could explain my situation to Kwon Taehyeok. Even if I did, he wouldn’t understand.

‘I have no choice. I’ll pretend to cooperate and then make my escape.’

Kwon Taehyeok would lose track of me once he got tangled up fighting the monsters. With that plan in mind, I let him drag me along.

Screeeeech!

“…!”

An ear-piercing noise echoed from high above. Both Kwon Taehyeok and I looked up at the sky.

The sound came from the rift. The rift, which had been quiet since the second wave, was now glowing ominously.

“That is…”

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

With a rumble of thunder, the rift began to shake violently. We, along with the secondary team Hunters, were all transfixed by the sight.

Crack, crackle!

Like glass shattering, blue lines appeared around the rift, expanding the gaps. Black smoke poured out as something forced its way through.

It was a red arm and hand, with flesh tangled grotesquely. The monster that emerged, wrenching the small rift open, was entirely crimson. Its two large fangs and fiery mane resembled a lion, but its body was distinctly humanoid. A powerful aura emanated from the monster. Kwon Taehyeok, sensing it as well, muttered, “S-class.”

The presence of this monster was on a completely different level compared to the ones from the first and second rifts.

I swallowed hard and narrowed my eyes.

‘An S-class monster from the second rift? How?’

In the previous timeline, the second rift had led to many deaths due to lack of preparedness, but there was never any mention of an S-class monster appearing. The highest rank monster from the second rift was supposed to be A-class, which was why I planned to hold the line until Kwon Taehyeok arrived.

But an S-class? My mind raced.

‘Has the future changed?’

Why? Nothing significant enough to alter events had happened.

As I was reeling from shock, the monster fully emerged from the rift and scanned its surroundings with piercing eyes. It quickly spotted Kwon Taehyeok and me, exhaled heavily, and then leaped downward.

“Get out of the way!”

The Hunters below the rift scrambled to avoid the impact. With a tremendous crash, the monster landed, crushing parked cars. It drew a long machete stained with dried blood.

“Wait, there’s more coming.”

I could sense more hostile auras. As I suspected, more creatures began pouring out of the now widened rift.

Screeech, screeech!

Monsters poured out, making insect-like noises. They had round bodies with eyes and mouths, and six thin arms, forming a grotesque and terrifying sight. Fortunately, their rank was lower than the S-class monster, being B-class, but there were well over ten of them, making it no easy task to handle. If even one of them slipped through, the civilians still evacuating could be in serious danger.

The other Hunters would need to handle this many creatures. Meanwhile, Kwon Taehyeok and I would have to stop the S-class monster.

Kwon Taehyeok gestured toward the S-class monster with his eyes. Quick to assess the situation, he must have had the same thought as I did. I sighed and warned him in advance, “I’ll fight alongside you, but don’t expect much help.”

“I wasn’t expecting any.” With a curt reply, Kwon Taehyeok left me and leaped down from the building first.

How heartless. Grumbling internally, I followed him off the rooftop.

“Guildmaster!”

“Leave this one to us and take care of the swarm of monsters that just descended,” Kwon Taehyeok commanded the guild members, who were startled by the sudden appearance of more monsters. As he moved his hand, the blades that had been floating behind him flew forward. In the meantime, he had pulled more blades from his inventory, increasing the number from six to nine.

Gripping one of the blades, Kwon Taehyeok readied for battle. I stood next to him, calmly examining the S-class monster before us.

‘Is that machete its only weapon?’

I hoped so. Since Kwon Taehyeok was more skilled than I was, it would be better if I distracted the monster while he delivered the effective blows.

The sight of the long, massive machete, smeared with dried blood, was enough to make anyone tense. Ignoring my instinctive fear, I said, “I’ll go first.”

With Kwon Taehyeok behind me, I pushed off the ground and charged. The monster snarled, opening its mouth and roaring like a beast as it saw me approaching.

[Main Quest: Survive the second rift. (Time remaining: 7 hours 12 minutes)]