"Kyaaaa! It's Han Jinhyuk!"
"Please look over here!"
The moment I approached the Hunter Association building, I was greeted by a crowd of people gathered outside. Some were overly enthusiastic civilians, while others were reporters desperately trying to get my attention. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few hunters mixed in among them, too.
Honestly, they were all equally annoying.
I couldn't care less about the commotion, though. A massive dungeon had opened in the heart of Seoul earlier that day, and according to the reports, it was the most dangerous dungeon ever recorded in history.
It was so dangerous that every available S-rank hunter in the world had been summoned to deal with it, whether we liked it or not. As for those who refused to cooperate, I had been given the lovely responsibility of convincing them otherwise.
Not that there were many S-rank hunters to begin with. There were only about fifty of us across the entire world, so we had no choice but to recruit some of the strongest A-rank hunters to fill the gaps.
By the time the meeting began, five hundred S-rank and A-rank hunters had gathered in the Hunter Association's auditorium to discuss the operation.
Five hundred hunters, all gathered in one place.
It sounded reassuring until you considered what we were up against.
We had no idea what awaited us inside the dungeon. Every scout sent in to investigate had vanished without a trace. Not a single one had returned, leaving us with no choice but to assume they had all died before they could report back.
And that was precisely why the entire world had been forced to cooperate.
Political disputes, territorial conflicts, and personal grudges had all been pushed aside, at least for the time being. Nations that would normally hesitate to share information were now working together, pooling their resources and sending their strongest hunters to protect the planet.
After all, what did political disagreements matter in the face of a threat that could potentially destroy everything?
Whatever lay beyond that gate, it had already made one thing clear.
This wasn't a dungeon any single nation could afford to face alone.
After the meeting, several hunters approached me with all sorts of questions about the operation. I tried to entertain them at first, but their incessant chatter soon gave me a headache.
If only she were here...
I froze.
If only she were here?
Who the hell was I talking about?
For a while now, ever since the dungeons had begun appearing, I had been experiencing a strange illness that no one seemed capable of explaining. It started with the dreams. I kept seeing vague figures in my sleep, and although I could never remember her face when I woke up, I somehow knew that they were a woman.
Sometimes, I would even catch myself mumbling strange words without realizing it. Words that made no sense to me, as though they belonged to a language I had once known but somehow forgotten.
Even the best healers in the world couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. After exhausting every possible explanation, they had suggested that I consider seeing a therapist.
A therapist. Me?
In what world did the strongest hunter alive need therapy? The very idea was humiliating. I had a reputation to maintain, and I wasn't about to let people think I was losing my mind.
Besides, I was certain this had something to do with the dungeons.
I must have been cursed by one of them without realizing it. That was the only explanation that made sense. Whatever was happening to me was beyond the abilities of ordinary healers, and if even I couldn't identify the source, then it had to be something extraordinary.
Something no one else was strong enough to detect.
A few days later, the day of the subjugation finally arrived.
We stood before an enormous portal, its height rivaling that of a skyscraper. Even from a distance, its sheer size was enough to make the hunters gathered around it look insignificant.
Some of the hunters had already entered the dungeon the previous day. Now, it was finally our turn.
There was no need for a grand speech or words of encouragement. We all understood what was at stake. Our mission was simple: close the gate and ensure the safety of this world. Whatever threat lay beyond it, we would eliminate it before it had the chance to reach us.
"Let's go in."
My voice came through the earpieces worn by every hunter in our group. As the leader of the first S-rank team, I stepped forward and entered the portal first.
The moment we crossed the threshold, everything changed.
The transition was so sudden that we barely had time to prepare ourselves. My breath caught in my throat as an overwhelming sense of cold washed over me. The temperature dropped sharply, and the darkness surrounding us was so complete that I could barely make out what lay ahead.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then I looked around, trying to make sense of our surroundings, and realized something that made my entire body stiffen.
This wasn't an ordinary dungeon.
We were in space...!
·•—–٠✤٠—–•·
"How can our forces be losing to mere beings created by the System?!" one of the Aquacorls shouted in frustration inside their command chamber.
"You ask questions that serve no purpose," another replied coldly. "That human girl understands the System better than anyone in this room. Do you have any idea how much she is interfering with the codes even now?"
"Then what are we supposed to do? We have already mobilized the remainder of our forces. Even the higher-ranking members have joined the battlefield!"
The room fell silent.
They had exhausted nearly every option available to them, yet the situation continued to deteriorate. Their forces were being pushed back, their control over the System was slipping, and the human girl responsible for it all showed no signs of stopping.
Then, as they struggled to find a solution, one of them noticed a portal opening in the middle of the battlefield.
More humans were coming through.
For a moment, the Aquacorl stared at the sight before a realization slowly dawned on them.
Of course.
There was one thing humans valued above almost everything else.
Their own kind.
They were creatures who would willingly throw away their lives to protect one another, even when doing so offered them no guarantee of survival. It was a weakness the Outsiders had never truly understood, but perhaps it was time to put that sentiment to use.
A slow smile spread across one of their faces.
"Then let us use those humans against her."
Meanwhile, the hunters were struggling to adapt to the battlefield.
Fighting in space was already difficult enough, but the lack of gravity made it nearly impossible for those without flight-related abilities to maneuver. Without anything to push against, even the simplest movements became a challenge, leaving many hunters vulnerable to the Outsiders' attacks.
Fortunately, Seo Elena noticed their predicament and manipulated the System to provide them with floating rocks they could use as stepping stones. With something to anchor themselves to, most of the hunters managed to adapt and continue fighting.
Not everyone was so lucky.
Some couldn't adjust quickly enough and eventually met their end.
It was an inevitable consequence of an all-out war in space. With no air to breathe and no gravity to guide their movements, even the world's strongest hunters were forced to fight under conditions that tested the limits of their survival.
But the Outsiders had no intention of letting the battle drag on.
After devising a plan to kill Seo Elena and seize control of her System completely, they turned their attention toward her, carefully observing her every move.
And just as they had expected, she was prioritizing the humans over herself.
How foolish.
It was precisely this tendency that had kept humanity so primitive. They were willing to sacrifice their own lives for others, even when doing so offered them no benefit. To the Outsiders, such behavior was nothing more than a weakness waiting to be exploited.
"Have you noticed her eyes?" a Pyrekin asked.
Its red body glowed like molten magma, while flames rose from its head like a crown. It pointed toward Elena, its gaze narrowing as it studied the codes surrounding her.
"She's reacting strongly to that human. Look at the fluctuations in her codes."
A blue-skinned Outsider turned to examine the battlefield more closely.
The Pyrekin was right. The codes surrounding Elena were fluctuating wildly, responding to something that had little to do with the battle itself. Even without access to the System, it would have been easy to tell that her attention was being drawn toward a particular human.
The Outsiders exchanged smiles.
They had finally found the opening they needed.
"We've found our key."
Meanwhile, Elena's gaze remained fixed on a figure fighting among the hunters.
Despite the chaos surrounding them, the hunters were working in groups, coordinating their movements and covering one another's blind spots to keep as many people alive as possible.
And among them was someone she never expected to see.
Someone who shouldn't have been here.
"Hyuk-ah..." she murmured, barely aware that the words had escaped her lips.
Her eyes widened as she watched him fight.
Why is he here...?
From another portal that had opened in the distance, a swarm of people emerged. At first, Elena barely paid them any attention, assuming they were simply more hunters she didn't recognize. But as more and more of them poured onto the battlefield, familiar faces began to appear.
Hyein, Jiyeon, and Chiyeon. Minwoo and Jaewon. Kingsley. Even Hiro Kishida, the Japanese hunter.
Hunters from all over the world had gathered here, throwing themselves into a battle that could very well cost them their lives. And all Elena could think about was Han Jinhyuk being caught up in this mess.
She had wanted to keep everyone out of it. She had wanted to handle everything on her own, even if it meant bearing the burden alone.
But now, she couldn't.
Hunters were dying one after another at the hands of the Outsiders. Despite their overwhelming numbers, fighting against a horde of enemies who had mastered the System was nearly impossible. The only reason they stood a chance at all was because of the constellations supporting them.
"I need to do something quickly," Elena murmured to herself, forcing her attention back to the task at hand.
She searched through the codes surrounding the Outsiders, desperately looking for an answer. Every second wasted meant more people dying, and she couldn't afford to let herself get distracted.
But then her gaze landed on Han Jinhyuk.
And just as her eyes found him, his gaze met hers.
For a brief moment, they looked directly at each other across the battlefield, only that one of them recognized the other.
A flicker of regret crossed Elena's face before she quickly turned away. She couldn't afford to dwell on it, not when the fate of everyone here rested on her shoulders.
Still, even as she returned her attention to the codes, she made sure to keep an eye on Jinhyuk and the others. She manipulated the System to provide whatever support she could, shielding them from attacks whenever possible while continuing her search for a way to defeat the Outsiders.
Could they really win this war?
The answer depended entirely on her.
If she couldn't figure out how to stop the Outsiders, everyone here would die. The hunters, the constellations, Jinhyuk, and even herself.
And after everything she had done to bring them this far, she couldn't let that happen.