Chapter 39 – Missing Gate

Traffic began to back up. Se-min stared blankly beyond the road. The vehicles did not think to move. A horn honked from behind.

It seemed there was an accident ahead.

It was while Se-min was fiddling with his cell phone.

Flinch.

Se-min froze his body slightly.

Had his words become reality; what Yoo Sang-heun had said was realized.

He checked Yoo Sang-heun out of the corner of his eye. He was resting his chin on the steering wheel and complaining. Se-min calmly withdrew his gaze.

A message had arrived from Bang Yu-bi.

It was the first contact made between them.

Se-min leaned his forehead against the car window, pretending to be tired.

Because the message was long, he could not grasp the content through the preview. All sorts of thoughts bubbled up. Should he look? What was the content? How should he reply? Was there really something between them, just as Yoo Sang-heun said? Was that ‘something’ ‘something’ in English, and in abbreviation, ‘some’?

Se-min began to shake his legs frantically.

“You’re shaking away your luck.”

Se-min stopped his legs.

“Traffic is bad. It’ll take long. Aren’t you late for the raid?”

“I have a few hours to spare.”

While answering so, Se-min suddenly looked at the sky above the line of cars stretched ahead.

It was hazy.

It was not hazy just because there was a lot of fine dust and the air was bad.

“President.”

Se-min said. Yoo Sang-heun replied while yawning. Se-min grabbed his shoulder without taking his eyes off the empty air.

“Were you good at fighting when you were active?”

“I was exactly at the Gold level.”

“You carry a sword in your trunk, right?”

“Why all of a sudden…”

Yoo Sang-heun looked at Se-min, and then looked back in the direction Se-min’s gaze was pointing.

He had not felt anything yet.

Suddenly, a residual image of the past overlapped with the present. He was once a Raider and had fought magic beasts on the dead line, and the sky right before they appeared was also peaceful like that.

Se-min said.

“I think it’s a Missing Gate.”

Through living with Se-min, he knew well that Se-min was different from others.

Therefore, before doubting those words, a cold sweat broke out.

Cars filled the road. The bus standing beside them was packed with people and looked like there was no room to step. On the sidewalk beyond, crowds were cowering so as not to bump shoulders.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Se-min unfastened his seatbelt.

Seeing that, Yoo Sang-heun also unfastened his belt.

In the middle of the road blocked with no end in sight, the two men opened their car doors on both sides and stepped out.

“I hope it’s a weak one.”

“Statistically, the probability of a Gold-grade or higher Gate appearing is extremely low.”

“But why do I always face Platinum or higher?”

“That’s because Platinum Raiders are also that few, you punk.”

Se-min expanded his sensory range. Over there, in the empty air about 10 meters away from them, the airflow of a Gate was felt. Not much time was left. Se-min drew the claymore carried on his back.

This sword acquired from Geoseong Metal Industry’s container looked old, but it was in good condition. Going to a weapon workshop and getting simple maintenance was enough.

Se-min swung it in the empty air, reviving his sense.

As a man held a sword and swung it on the road, people rolled down their car windows.

“What are you doing?”

Se-min pointed to the empty air with the tip of his sword.

There, a reddish energy began to rise in the empty air.

“Flee quickly.”

Se-min ran forward. Yoo Sang-heun caught up while contacting the Raider Bureau.

Se-min kicked off the ground just like that, stepped on the car positioned right under the Gate, and stood on the roof. The roof crumpled slightly.

“Y-you, what kind of bastard are you!”

The driver came out and pointed his finger at Se-min.

Se-min pointed in front of him without a word.

A Gate was forming. Although even the shape of the iris was not formed yet, the man who saw it gaped.

“I will try my best, so flee as far as you can.”

He stepped back with a shocked face.

Soon, screams resounded from the sidewalk. Starting with that, car doors opened all at once and people scrambled out. However, because the crowd overlapped, evacuation was not easy.

Leaving that confusion behind, Se-min gripped the claymore.

It was a difficult situation. The moment the magic beasts burst out, a scene of carnage would unfold.

Therefore, at the same time the Gate unfolded, he would go all out.

He composed his breathing. His aura blazed up enough to be visible even to the naked eye.

Yoo Sang-heun froze at that brutal momentum. The roof of the car he stood on was buckling.

Right in front of the Gate, he would annihilate the enemies here.

“President. Please watch my back.”

“Alright.”

Yoo Sang-heun also answered, knowing his intention.

The eye of the detestable Gate opened.

Se-min raised his middle finger. The shape of the iris glared around, faced Se-min, shook narrowly as if laughing, and soon opened the passage leading to another world.

Magic beasts thrust their heads out.

And they became corpses, scattering in pieces.

The moment they left the Gate and fell to the ground, Se-min’s claymore became a grinder and ground them up.

The energy of aura rising from his body dominated the area. Every time he swung the claymore, a sinister vortex arose and smashed the magic beasts’ corpses.

Blood, flesh, and intestines flew like a festival.

The screams of people soon mixed with the death throes of magic beasts.

Amidst that, Se-min focused solely on the Gate.

First, a pack of Zorgs and Kargs appeared. They were weak entities, but their numbers were large. Without missing, Se-min stabbed, cut, and tore them apart. Blood splattered near his eyes, but he never closed them.

Next, an Emerit appeared. Before it could touch the ground, Se-min’s sword stabbed its abdomen. The enraged Emerit screamed and swung its two fists at Se-min. Se-min retreated, then kicked off the asphalt again, leaped, and thrust his sword into its crown. The Emerit, whose brain was pierced, collapsed just like that.

The Emerit summoned next was already swinging its fist at Se-min.

Beyond it, a Mantis was falling.

Already he was falling behind in order.

Se-min gritted his teeth and condensed his aura in one place. Withstanding the pressure of the aura, Se-min squeezed up the energy of Tai Chi Wisdom.

“Aaaaaaaaaaa!”

It was rare for Se-min to scream.

Before the Emerit’s fist could land on his head, at the very moment the Mantises beyond raised their claws toward Se-min, Se-min swung his sword.

It became a storm and swept away the front.

The Emerit’s solid body was divided into several pieces and slammed onto the road. The Mantis’s torso and bodily fluids flew into the sky. It was a massacre by a single sword.

Se-min struck down with the claymore toward a Mantis that barely survived.

The Mantis blocked with its claw, but he tore its head and body apart as was.

The Mantis split left and right.

At that moment, Se-min was blown back by a white object.

The newly appeared creature was a Raigo. Fluttering its white fur, it roared toward Se-min. Nearby cars rolled over and shattered. The Raigo bared its teeth at Se-min as was. However, it could not bite.

Yoo Sang-heun had attacked the Raigo.

The Raigo hesitated. Meanwhile, Se-min, who rose from his spot again, counterattacked the Raigo.

Under the joint attacks of the two, the Raigo could not resist further and began to flee back. Se-min pursued and drove his sword into its spine.

The Raigo sank down.

Se-min dug into its spine just like that. He struck down the claymore multiple times. The convulsing magic beast soon dropped its head and fell silent.

The Gate paused for a moment and delayed the summoning.

Se-min stood again on the half-destroyed car under the Gate.

And he waited for the next magic beast.

***

A Missing Gate occurred.

It was also on the road around Sadang Station where vehicles were congested.

The news was delivered to Gwanghae. They were the most famous company located nearby. Gwanghae dispatched Raiders immediately.

Gwanghae’s Gold Mark Raider, Yoo Jin-se, was also among them.

He was the leader of the response team this time.

“Steel your minds.”

Yoo Jin-se said to the Blue Mark Raiders. The rookies meeting a Missing Gate for the first time looked extremely tense.

Of course, it was not that Yoo Jin-se had met a Missing Gate before either. What he had heard was also all. And those experience stories were all tragic without exception.

There was no Raider who did not know what happened when magic beasts were unleashed in the city.

It became ruins, and corpses piled into mountains.

Demons specialized in slaughter, that was what magic beasts were.

“Don’t glance even if there are corpses, just deal with the magic beasts.”

“Yes.”

“I’m trembling too.”

Yoo Jin-se said.

The small bus operated by Gwanghae raced with a siren. Cars cleared the way. The news of the Missing Gate occurrence had already spread nationwide. People cheered for them.

Yoo Jin-se buried himself in his seat and closed his eyes. The Missing Gate was literally an unstable Gate that failed forecasting, and no one could predict what kind of situation would unfold.

The vehicle stopped. Stopped cars filled the road, preventing further entry. The Raiders began to run.

It was strange.

It was too peaceful.

While running against the flow of people, everyone’s expressions were not that dark. Going further, there were even those who did not avoid but stood on their tiptoes to watch the far distance.

As the leading Raiders shouted to step aside, the people hesitantly made way.

Soon, the Gate that was still not closed was seen.

“What is this?”

Yoo Jin-se tilted his head.

The fact that it had been open all this time meant an immense number of magic beasts had been pouring out continuously, but neither magic beasts nor corpses were visible in the surroundings.

When they approached the Gate’s position, Yoo Jin-se found a man standing on the roof of a car.

The car he was stepping on was a ship.

And below that.

A sea of blood was flowing.

A magic beast crawling out of the Gate was cut into pieces again and drifted to the reef.

He wiped the blood on his eyes and raised his sword again.

“Who is that…”

Someone muttered.

Another magic beast fell from the Gate.

A Drake.

A powerful magic beast that an ordinary Raider would consider a single meal.

Such an entity collapsed in a single strike. The Drake had a fit while swinging its claws, but the man’s movement defied the flow like a feather and drove his sword into the enemy’s opening. At that spot, aura exploded and dug into the Drake’s body.

The Drake sank and added its body onto the corpses of the magic beasts.

He wiped the blood splattered on his face and raised his sword again.

It was a mechanical slaughter.

A newly appeared magic beast flew into the sky as several pieces of flesh.

That blood splattered on Gwanghae’s Raiders.

But no one opened their mouth.

Only then did Yoo Jin-se recognize the gold dragon embroidery shining on his back.

Someone whispered his name.

“It is Lee Se-min.”

People kept taking pictures of that sight with their cell phones.

When a Missing Gate appeared, one had to run away or hide without looking back. However, no one did so.

Because not even a single magic beast could escape his hand.

It was extremely rare for a raid scene to be exposed to civilians this closely, and cases ending without damage like this were practically non-existent.

Yoo Jin-se and the other Raiders also became mere onlookers and watched the sight.

The Gate, having nothing more to spit out, soon lost the shape of the pupil and shrank into a handful of dots.

The last magic beast let out a short death throe and became part of the pile of corpses.

Se-min caught his breath.

Yoo Jin-se, who was watching the scene, spoke without realizing.

“That person is from the same academy as me. We’ve even sparred.”

He wanted to brag for no reason.

In the past, he had clashed with Se-min.

When he was arrogant relying on his own aura, that man ignored the prominent difference in aura and subdued him. It was a complete defeat. Since then, Yoo Jin-se began to do what was called effort.

It was a turning point.

The raid industry was vast, and there were many possessors of talent superior to him. He was merely a frog in a well.

But he did not give up.

Before he had been defeated by someone inferior to him, Yoo Jin-se could also endure frustration.

Yoo Jin-se definitely thought Se-min would become a great Raider. The news that he failed the Raider qualification exam was the last, but by subduing two Kesias, he appeared in the world again. Yoo Jin-se was not surprised.

He knew he would see him someday, but to think it would be in this way.

“Rookie. Bring the first aid kit. Take care of Raider Lee Se-min.”

“Yes!”

With his words as the starting point, Gwanghae’s Raiders also began to move.

Everyone’s heart heated up at the martial prowess Se-min showed. Although there was not much they could do, they wanted to do at least something.

Blocking the Gate alone to save the city.

A man who put into practice a lie-like thing was before their eyes.

Yoo Jin-se cleared his throat, and then walked toward Se-min.

Se-min was sitting astride the roof of the blood-stained car, giggling.

“President, I really didn’t know you would just watch from behind.”

“You told me to only catch the ones you missed.”

“I just said that. I am disappointed from the bottom of my heart.”

“I should have just left you alone when you were getting scolded by the Raigo.”

Even after accomplishing an immense thing, they shared daily conversations.

Even that sight was somehow cool.

Yoo Jin-se approached, stepping on the half-destroyed cars like stepping stones. Recognizing his presence, Se-min turned his gaze. Yoo Jin-se said.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You came quickly. Where did you come from?”

Se-min had a face that did not remember him at all. Yoo Jin-se was slightly hurt.

“I came from Gwanghae.”

“Gwanghae is always fast.”

In the Missing Gate incident where Park In-jae lost his arm, the one that appeared first following the Iron Horse Company which was on the spot was also Gwanghae.

Se-min gestured to the road with his chin. It was tightly blocked with the corpses of magic beasts and ownerless vehicles.

“I will leave separately for a raid.”

Se-min stood up while dusting off his clothes. The person who had been blocking the Missing Gate until just now said he was going to carry out a raid.

Yoo Jin-se asked him.

“Is your body okay? A first aid kit is being brought.”

“Ah, just give me that. I have some scratches, but it shouldn’t leave scars. I have to manage my skin.”

A Blue Mark junior was running over from the far distance.

Yoo Jin-se asked.

“Do you happen to not know who I am?”

Se-min looked at him and tilted his head.

“I thought I had seen you somewhere…”

In the end, he could not recall. Yoo Jin-se wore a bitter smile.

“The one who sparred at Taeseong Academy…”

“Ah?”

Se-min’s expression brightened.

“The friend whose arm was twisted by me back then?”

“That’s right.”

“Have you been well? You look good. The mark too…”

Se-min grinned while looking at the Gold Mark attached to Yoo Jin-se’s shoulder.

“It’s a Gold Mark. I knew you would do well.”

Se-min thought that although he lacked manners, his talent was definite, and expected he would be able to climb to the top if he made effort.

He had certainly entered the Gold Mark quickly. Excluding exceptions like Se-min or Bang Yu-bi, he was promoting rapidly among those of the same age.

“How is Teacher Hwang Jeong-hun?”

“Yes. He is working at the academy just as before.”

Se-min thought he should visit sometime, but he did not.

Hwang Jeong-hun, and Kim Deok-bae.

They were the people who supported him during his hard times.

“I should go see them sometime.”

Gwanghae’s rookie ran to Se-min holding a first aid kit. He also stepped on cars to avoid the magic beasts’ corpses, trotting along. He had a look sickened by the smell of blood filling the road.

Se-min took off his Sukajan and rolled up his shirt.

His body was full of scars.

They were wounds that would not be made by blades. The forms of being cut, torn, and bitten remained as they were.

A Raider would know that this was the trace of magic beasts.

The flank, arms, and minor wounds were covered with the kit. Yoo Jin-se injected aura himself.

The drug began to permeate the wounds. Although first aid kits had good effects, they were bound to accompany pain, but Se-min had no change in expression. Rather, he even showed the composure of playing with his cell phone.

To the rookie Blue Mark Raider, Se-min looked like Guan Yu, who reportedly entrusted his body to Hua Tuo and played Go. His resolute attitude had something extraordinary.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“No.”

Se-min suddenly confirmed a familiar figure in the crowd. However, he disappeared in an instant and was not seen.

It was Cheongmyeong of the Triads.

Se-min smirked. It seemed he was chasing him after being beaten hard back then. He could face him anytime.

Se-min waved his hand toward where Cheongmyeong had been. He would know that Se-min knew. He did not appear again.

Instead, the people waved back at Se-min. Se-min decided to do fan service and waved both hands. The people cheered. When he took a pose emphasizing arm muscles like Popeye, everyone fell about laughing.

“Fufu. Since I am at this level…”

Se-min turned on his cell phone.

“It would be natural if it is natural.”

Right before feeling the omen of the Gate, he had received contact from Bang Yu-bi. He was worried because what Yoo Sang-heun said bothered him, so he had been contemplating without even grasping the content.

Was something really about to happen between them?

Gaining confidence from the people’s response, Se-min checked the message in one go.

Bang Yu-bi: [Our Marble] From tense dice rolling to the fun of building! The game that all friends fell into! Don’t hesitate, let’s play Our Marble together! [GO to Our Marble!] [Set Invitation Reception]

“…”

Se-min dropped the cell phone on the floor as if throwing it away.

And he fell backward.

“It hurts. It hurts.”

“A-are you in pain?”

“I can’t live because it hurts. Aigoo. I can’t go to the raid.”

Yoo Sang-heun, who was watching that sight, shook his head.

“Why is a guy who was perfectly fine suddenly like that. Get up quickly and work, you punk.”

“The president is exploiting the employee. I can’t live. Damn it.”

Se-min sprang up.

“This is all because of the magic beasts. I must go drive the magic beasts to extinction. Magic Beast Cleaner Lee Se-min is going. You are all dead.”

Carrying the claymore on his back, he trudged across the cars. Looking at his back, Yoo Sang-heun nodded.

“Indeed a great employee.”

“…”

“You guys work hard too. The president of Gwanghae will also love enthusiastic employees.”

The siren of the Raider Bureau was wailing in the far distance. This chaotic street would soon be cleaned up too.

Yoo Sang-heun gestured.

“Give me a first aid kit too.”

“Are you injured somewhere?”

“I’m not injured, but…”

He cleared his throat.

“I must pretend to have fought to save face.”

Yoo Sang-heun smeared magic beasts’ blood on his clothes and attached the first aid kit to his body. Then, he looked like a veteran Raider who had engaged in a bloody battle with magic beasts.

He soon sat on the car, placed the sword on his shoulder, and stared into the empty air.

Soon, the Raider Bureau employees rushed over.

“Is everyone okay! Are you injured anywhere!”

The Missing Gate was an absurd disaster.

The hero who blocked it was over there.

The man whose face could not be identified due to the backlighting turned his head.

“Ah… you mean injury.”

The man with his back to the sun smiled quietly and said.

“Slightly tired. It was a fight of just about that level.”

“Y-you are amazing!”

Watching that scene, the rookie thought it was a relief he joined Gwanghae.

***

After the Geoseong Metal Industry event ended, Bang Yu-bi was returning to the company with the Raiders of the Iron Horse Company.

She sat in the passenger seat and fiddled with her cell phone.

It was true that she felt curious about that person, Lee Se-min.

However, sending a message first somehow hurt her pride.

She opened and closed his profile, which did not have a single photo.

Why did she care about that person, whose raid skills were outstanding but who only wore a strange jacket and whose personality was not ordinary either.

The collision with Jin Bu-sik was slightly cool. Even his psycho-like actions were funny when she watched them.

Lee @Hye-jin, who was holding the steering wheel, said. -> Lee Hye-jin, who was holding the steering wheel, said. (Wait, let’s fix it back to Lee Hye-jin.) -> Lee Hye-jin, who was holding the steering wheel, said.

“Yu-bi. Shall Unni help you?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s all written on your face what you are thinking.”

Bang Yu-bi laughed awkwardly. Lee Hye-jin was a senior in the Iron Horse Company who, along with Kim Seon-ha, adored Bang Yu-bi; though her rank was lower than hers, she was a Green Mark Raider with rich experience.

“If going straight is hard, there is a way to go around.”

While holding the steering wheel and staring forward, she operated her cell phone with one hand.

Soon, a message was delivered to Bang Yu-bi.

“Install this and send it.”

“Pardon?”

“Because the Unnis will look over the estimate for you. Right?”

The two sitting in the back seat also giggled and agreed.

Bang Yu-bi, who was doubtful, just followed their words. She installed the game linked with the communication app and found his name in the invitation list. Right before sending it, Bang Yu-bi asked Lee Hye-jin.

“He might find it annoying if I send something like this…”

“Then he must have no interest anyway. See his reaction and continue the conversation.”

Bang Yu-bi pressed the send button.

The mobile game invitation was delivered.

He did not check for a while.

“Traffic is congested. Still hasn’t looked?”

“No.”

“He must be busy.”

The companions with different destinations got off in turn.

Bang Yu-bi and Lee Hye-jin headed to the Iron Horse Company last. Breaking news was delivered on the radio.

[A Missing Gate occurred near Sadang Station. Everyone in the vicinity, please evacuate. Currently, Raiders have been dispatched, and the scale of damage has not been identified yet. Everyone, please be cautious.]

“A Missing Gate?”

“Should we contact the company?”

“We’ll get contacted if something happens.”

Soon, Bang Yu-bi checked her cell phone.

The ‘1’ of the invitation she sent had disappeared.

And there was no reply.

Although she had not expected much, being ignored like this somehow made her feel bad.

“He left me on read.”

“What? Really?”

Lee Hye-jin, who paused her words for a moment and turned the steering wheel, opened her mouth.

“It’s not a positive sign.”

“Whatever. I can just play the game too.”

“Right. Good choice. That person lacks manners. If our Yu-bi invited him, he should have replied quickly saying thank you.”

Bang Yu-bi ran Our Marble.

She decided to become an ardent fan of Our Marble from today.