Chapter 183: At the Threshold of the Crimson Gate

[Σ Ltd. Utmost (8): Moving to the next gate!]

I’ve lost count of how many chats have come in already saying they’re moving to the next gate.

At first, only the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Hayeon—who knew everything about the current situation—sent chats, but after seeing them, the other Awakened started to follow suit and sent chats too.

Because of that, everyone became conscious of how quickly the gates were being closed and moved on, and a competition sparked up.

[Wanso (7): Sixth one.
Σ Ltd. Utmost (8): We just closed our fifth and are on the move too -_-
PodHMan (6): Blood Scent is closing the seventh gate ^0^]

James, Cha Hyunseo, and Lee Hwan didn’t participate in this competition, but they consistently sent chats whenever they were moving to the next gate.

Even after staying up all night, nobody complained about being tired; everyone did their best to sort out the situation.

But as if mocking our efforts, the situation showed no signs of being resolved.

“It’s not getting under control……”

“Where the hell is that kid?!”

Ban Eunhyeol, who now only referred to her as ‘that kid’—apparently sick of saying her name—shouted irritably.

The morning sun had already risen, and despite all the gates being closed, no one had seen a single person inside; it was enough to make anyone feel stifled.

“What if she already came out of the gate?”

Everyone was so focused on finding Lee Dana, but the fact that she still hadn’t shown up was odd.

The commanders who came to this dimension with Lee Dana had long since returned to my side. There was no reason for only Lee Dana to still be trapped inside the gate.

If Lee Dana had already exited the gate and was walking around out there, what were we supposed to do?

‘I can’t exactly check everyone’s face, one by one.’

Pressed against Bisharp’s back, I racked my brain for a way to resolve this.

That’s when a good idea hit me.

“If she came out, she’d definitely look at the electronic billboards on the street, right?”

“If she’s back in her old neighborhood, the chances are high.”

“Then what if you appear on the news you’re filming and reveal your location? Maybe do an interview or something.”

“What?”

Ban Eunhyeol immediately scowled.

He clearly wasn’t happy about voluntarily doing an interview just because of Lee Dana.

But if we wanted Lee Dana to come to where we were, this seemed like the most effective way.

Sahin had said that Lee Dana still liked Ban Eunhyeol, missed him, and wanted to see him.

So if she just found out Ban Eunhyeol’s location, she’d run straight to him.

Of course, it didn’t feel great, but if we wanted to find Lee Dana, I figured it was best to use Ban Eunhyeol appropriately.

Realizing my intention, Ban Eunhyeol clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Well, there’s plenty of news she could show up on.”

Just glancing below, I could see a lot of reporters and crews covering the scene.

We just needed to pick one team and do a simple interview.

With an Awakened of Ban Eunhyeol’s caliber appearing, the media would flock to us on their own; we wouldn’t even need to approach them first.

“Let’s go down there.”

Right then, I spotted a group of reporters filming for a major news channel. I asked Bisharp to take us down.

Bisharp was just about to descend when it happened.

[Commander, I’m detecting abnormal magic from the north?]

Bisharp paused for a moment, looked north, and spoke.

Almost simultaneously, Ban Eunhyeol, who sensed the abnormal flow of mana, grabbed my wrist.

I swallowed dryly and asked as I looked at his tense face.

“You felt it too?”

“……Yeah. You too?”

“Bisharp, let’s head that way.”

We immediately began flying toward the direction where the mana was surging explosively.

[Focus (1): S-rank gate opening in the Seoul Forest direction.]

Ban Eunhyeol sent a chat to the channel, then looked ahead with a grim expression.

A crimson gate that looked dangerous at first glance was yawning open, as if it could swallow Seoul Forest whole at any moment.

We anxiously waited in front of the S-rank gate for the other Awakened to arrive.

We couldn’t just charge in as a pair—who knew what kind of danger awaited inside.

“This is the red gate Kang Yedam talked about, right…?”

“Looks like it.”

Even though we both knew this was the S-rank gate Kang Yedam had told us about, we stared ahead in disbelief.

This felt different from any gate that had opened before—on a whole different level.

Even back in the other dimension, when I was an active Awakened, I’d never seen a gate like this.

Even the S-rank gate that opened at Jangnam High wasn’t like this.

“I thought we changed the future………….”

I was seriously resentful of the system that had dragged me around with all those quests.

I’d switched bodies with Lee Dana, the gates had disappeared, and I’d thought we’d finally found peace. But barely any time had passed since the gates vanished before Kang Yedam’s terrible future became reality.

It almost felt like the system was toying with us, and I couldn’t keep my words polite.

“If this was going to happen, why bother giving us those quests? What kind of system can’t even properly manage a dimensional gate?”

“Ha, absolutely useless.”

We grumbled about the system’s incompetence as we kept an eye on our surroundings, waiting for the other Awakened to arrive.

That’s when we saw Red flying in fast, carrying Yeon Hayeon and Eun Bada.

“Red! Guys!”

[Commmaaanderrrr!]

Unlike Bisharp and Sahin, who had both sensed the seriousness and were subdued, Red was still as lively as ever.

Despite moving nonstop all night, he didn’t look tired in the slightest.

Yeon Hayeon and Eun Bada slid down quickly from Red’s back, which had landed roughly, almost crashing into the ground.

“Crazy.”

“It’s exactly like Yedam described…..”

As soon as they landed, the two gaped at the S-rank gate before them, mumbling in disbelief.

“We’ll have to go in once we have enough people, right?”

“Kang Yedam said Dana, Ban Eunhyeol, and Do Ihyun went in first and got seriously hurt, didn’t he?”

At Eun Bada’s worried question, Yeon Hayeon answered firmly, eyes fixed on the gate.

In the future Kang Yedam experienced, as soon as the S-rank gate opened, I, Ban Eunhyeol, and Do Ihyun went in first and fought monsters.

I must have realized the S-rank gate had opened first, and those two who knew my identity went in with me.

‘They probably thought we could close it somehow.’

But, contrary to their expectations, the gate’s difficulty was way too high, and a disaster happened—many Awakened who joined later ended up dying.

“……Ah, there’s Kang Han.”

While everyone stood with dark expressions, Eun Bada spotted Ji Kanghan and called out in a slightly brighter voice.

Ji Kanghan, having summoned the spirit of wind, was flying over with Han Jibin.

“Is this everyone who can get here quickly?”

Bisharp has gone to where Do Ihyun is, so he’ll bring him soon. Red also flew off to find the others for now.

As soon as we arrived, I’d sent Bisharp to Do Ihyun’s neighborhood. Since he knows Do Ihyun’s face well, he should be able to find and bring him back quickly.

Red also knows the faces of the Awakened I’ve met frequently, so it shouldn’t take long.

We’d already confirmed everyone’s locations in the chat, told them to wait there, then sent Red.

Ten minutes felt like an eternity.

We did our best to calm our anxiety as we looked up at the sky. As expected, Bisharp and Red soon brought the Awakened to us.

With Mark, James, and the late-arriving Cha Hyunseo, our group was finally assembled.

All the Awakened in my chat channel had gathered, and the other gates, aside from the S-rank one, would be handled by the guild members led by them.

“Is everyone okay? Can we go in?”

James checked on our condition with a worried expression. Understandable—after running around all night fighting monsters, everyone was in rough shape.

The Four Heavenly Kings who summoned spirits looked neat enough, but the other Awakened clearly showed the toll of last night’s fierce battles.

Especially Cha Hyunseo—he looked the worst.

‘How does anyone fight to end up like that?’

Maybe because I’d never cleared a dungeon with Cha Hyunseo, I couldn’t guess how he fought.

Unlike the other Awakened, there were no videos of Cha Hyunseo’s battles online, so I had even less idea.

I tore my eyes away from the shocking sight of Cha Hyunseo and looked at Do Ihyun.

He must have been overwhelmed after being thrown into battle as soon as he returned to Korea, but he looked the calmest of all.

It wasn’t the time to ask how he was doing, so I kept quiet.

“Let’s go in.”

Perhaps because he was reliving something he’d already experienced, Kang Yedam, wearing the darkest expression, took the lead.

With determined faces, we followed him and stepped into the gate.