“Fine, fine. Let’s take care of that thing first.”
Cover, unable to flat-out tell Ryu Sunghyun to get lost, gave a vague reply while glaring at Eun Woojeong.
“If you want to talk to , cooperate nicely. If not, get lost now.”
“Hm.”
Eun Woojeong, hesitating awkwardly, gave a playful smile as he looked at Cover standing there in silence.
“Well, sure. You’re a high-value asset. I understand.”
Yeah right.
Cover sneered and turned her head.
She had said they could talk after this, but in truth, she had no intention of chatting even once the rift was sealed. Even now, a corner of her mind was occupied by concern for Cha Sahyeon.
And there was no benefit to wandering around too much while still using the Cover persona. Worse, thanks to that annoying Eun Woojeong, the connection between Cover and Cha Seohu had been exposed, so she had to be even more cautious.
Kwon Taehyuk will just say sothing pointless, so I’ll ignore him. And Sunghyun—I’ll be visiting the Circle Guild anyway, so I’ll talk to him then.
The real issue was Eun Woojeong. There was only one reason he would’ve co all the way here to find her.
He’d probably uncovered new intel about that cult they found last ti. Or maybe it was because Kwak Seunggyu, from the research lab, was nearby.
Either way, it was worth talking.
...If there’s ti, I’ll talk. If not, later.
If soone else had been watching the kid, she might’ve felt at ease—but of all people, it was Kwon Seoyul. His skills were fine, but his personality was garbage. Definitely not good for Cha Sahyeon’s emotional health.
Having made up her mind, Cover kicked away a nearby corpse and sliced through the fresh wave of goblins.
KIAAAK!
A shrieking horde charged toward them—at a glance, easily over thirty. The goblins had been drawn to the aura of the S-rank Awakeners.
That wasn’t the issue. The problem was that there were so many goblins, they were starting to scatter in other directions.
There were other Hunters stationed around the Royal Palace, but it wasn’t enough. If even one monster got past and into the front gate of the Royal Palace, it could attack civilians.
“Vice Guildmaster.”
They needed sothing powerful enough to hold the goblins in place. Cover called out to Ryu Sunghyun.
“How about a surprise move?”
“...What?”
Ryu Sunghyun blinked in confusion at the sudden request. As he continued slaying goblins, Cover added, thinking his puzzled face looked kind of cute.
“Rember that area-of-effect skill you used in the competition? You rember, right?”
Ryu Sunghyun blinked again as the sa scene ca to mind.
“We can’t let these monsters spread. We have to draw all their attention here.”
Cover didn’t exactly want to destroy the palace, but it was already wrecked from battle. Cleanup was inevitable. At this point, going big to lure in the monsters was better.
Ryu Sunghyun nodded.
“Understood.”
As soon as he spoke, brilliant golden light erupted from his body. It expanded outward, forming a shape and shooting into the sky like fireworks.
It ford much faster than during the competition. Cover, realizing how much stronger he’d beco, smiled under her mask and swung her sword. A goblin that had leapt toward the light like a zombie was cut clean in half.
The light that had decorated the sky now rained downward. Fist-sized clusters of golden energy hardened like rocks and slamd into the goblins below.
BOOM! THUD!
KREEEEK! GRRK! KIAAAK!
The sound of the impacts and the goblins’ dying gasps mixed into a chaotic roar. The ground trembled and dust rose in thick clouds.
“Flashy. Clean, too.”
Eun Woojeong observed the precision of the falling light with a dry comnt, and Cover was prouder than even Ryu Sunghyun himself.
Of course. It’s your skill, after all.
Thanks to Ryu Sunghyun, they had successfully drawn in the monsters’ attention and cut the goblin numbers by more than half. Cover quickly ran the math on how long they had before the next wave.
Was it around 30 minutes between waves? Normally, a rift produces five or six waves. But with this insane rift?
It was already ridiculous that the wave interval had shortened from hours to 30 minutes. If the number of monsters was also increasing...
Cover bit her lip and prepared to clean up the rest of the goblins before calling a strategy eting—when it happened.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
“......!”
That sound. It was horrifying and eerily familiar. Her heart sank. Cover gasped, looking up at the rift.
“You’ve got to be kidding .”
Like a nightmare coming true, a crimson light flickered across the rift—then a new monster pushed its head through.
Wings covered in black feathers. The head of a goat. A towering, humanoid body.
It was a Baphot. An A-rank, demon-type monster.
They erged one after another.
Not even ten minutes after the goblins had appeared, the next wave had started—and this ti, with even stronger monsters.
“What the hell...”
Kwon Taehyuk narrowed his eyes and muttered.
He had never seen a rift like this before. Crimson glow. Giant entrance. Shortened wave intervals. Randomized monster ranks.
And now the Baphots—they were problematic enough, but there was also no way to predict the next wave.
As the group stood frozen, twenty Baphots spread their wings and began flying in all directions.
Cover dashed forward, yelling,
“Stop them at all costs!”
Flying monsters were already hard enough. But demon-types? Even worse.
They were stronger, more vicious, and all their bodily fluids were acidic and poisonous. If a civilian so much as stepped in a puddle of their blood, they’d suffer severe burns or flesh lt.
They absolutely could not be allowed to escape into the city.
Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun sprang into motion behind Cover.
They sliced through the remaining goblins, passed the Gate of Diligent Governance, and erged onto the Bridge of Eternal Relief. A Baphot had already descended nearby.
KKEEEK!
Flapping its wings, the monster shrieked like nails on glass. A long, black tongue snaked out of its mouth, jagged teeth lining its jaw.
One of the flying Baphots locked onto Cover’s aura and dove. Cover blocked the creature’s sharp claws with her blade but was forced backward by its strength.
“Urgh...!”
She was already struggling without her skill. Now that two or three Baphots were piling onto her at once, it was overwhelming. And the others—Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Eun Woojeong—were just as swamped.
We can hold out... but the other Hunters...
Gritting her teeth, Cover jabbed her sword forward at the perfect mont, skewering a Baphot through the stomach. Even choking on blood, it lunged at her, snarling savagely.
Unless its head was cut off, a Baphot wouldn’t stop. Killing them took ti—and that was running out. From near the front gate, a civilian’s scream echoed clearly.
“We need more support!”
“Get that thing! Don’t let it go!”
The Hunters understood the stakes. They knew they couldn’t let these things spread.
But catching sothing flying was hard. So they hurled themselves into danger, trying to force the fight.
Injuries piled up rapidly. As the screams multiplied, Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun fought harder, growing visibly anxious as they tried to finish off the Baphots that had targeted them—but they were getting nowhere.
KREEEE!
“Haah... haah...”
Cover severed her third Baphot’s head and gasped for air.
None were on her now—but she couldn’t relax. Just as she turned to help the others—
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
A deafening roar shook the heavens. Her body went cold.
Cover looked up.
No way. No. This couldn’t be.
The rift trembled violently—and sothing round began to erge.
She imdiately knew it was a face. A massive one.
CRACK! CRACKLE! GRRRRNNK!
The rift twisted and shattered as an enormous monster clawed its way out.
A demonic dragon—its body malford with seven bloated, tumor-like heads.
Lightning tore through the sky as the monster twisted in midair. Cover whispered, as if in a trance:
“...Leviathan.”
S-rank demon-types weren’t common.
In the previous tiline, things like this appeared around the world all the ti. But here—now—most had never seen one.
KYAAAAAK! GRAAAAH!
The Baphots howled, frenzied by the arrival of a higher-ranked demon.
Baphots, Leviathan, and the still-active rift.
Cover stared upward, numb, her mind swallowed by a wave of helplessness.
Why?
Now she questioned the rift itself.
She had thought Kwak Seunggyu created it. But now?
Could soone like Kwak Seunggyu... or that lab... really have made this?
Was it even possible?
“......”
Her gaze slowly lowered, settling on Ryu Sunghyun, still battling. Then Kwon Taehyuk. Then Eun Woojeong.
She wasn’t giving up. Even if the rift could spit out S-rank demons and still remain open, she wouldn’t back down.
She was just... /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ lost. Unsure of what she was even fighting against anymore.
...Stop. Stop thinking.
The headache pierced her skull. Cover squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
She could still fight. She would fight. There was nowhere else to run now.
Hoo...
She exhaled, gripped her sword tighter, and took a step forward.
At that mont—
Ding!
A system alert sounded. Her wide eyes trembled.
《A Sub-Quest Has Arrived!》
《Sub-Quest: Eliminate the Source of the Rift (S-rank)》
Eliminate the cause of the rift to shut it down.
When the source is removed, the rift duration will be erased.
Remaining Rift Duration: 1 hour 18 minutes 57 seconds
“...What the...”
Cover’s face contorted in horror.
A quest? Now?
“Eliminate the source”? How the hell did the system know what that even was?
Questions piled up—until:
Crackle!
Sparks jumped from the quest window. A corrupted ssage appeared—no longer in Korean, but incomprehensible English characters:
《□□□ has paid the price.》
《□□□ has paid the price.》
《□□□ has paid the price.》
《□□□ has paid the price.》
She’d seen this kind of corrupted status window before.
As she stood frozen, the broken interface faded—and a clean, updated window replaced it.
《Sub-Quest difficulty is being adjusted.》
《Adjusting...》
《Adjustnt complete.》
《Sub-Quest: Eliminate the Source of the Rift (C-rank)》
《The source’s location is now visible!》
《Current location of the Rift’s Source: Next to the Gate of Diligent Governance》
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