Prologue: The Two Red Auras

The battlefield was a wasteland of shattered concrete, twisted metal, and deep cracks stretching across the muddy ground. Smoke drifted between the ruins, mixing with thick clouds of dust that turned the distant structures into blurry silhouettes. Broken equipment lay scattered among the rubble, and dark stains marked the places where the cleanup crews had been working.

Somewhere beyond the smoke, something heavy collapsed.

The ground shook beneath my boots.

“Everyone, move! Get behind the rocks!”

My voice barely carried through the chaos.

“Keep moving! Don't stop here!”

I hurried toward a worker stumbling across the rubble and grabbed his shoulder to steady him.

“Can you walk?”

He nodded frantically.

“Then get behind that boulder! Go!”

I pointed toward an enormous boulder several metres away. He limped toward it, nearly losing his balance before another worker caught his arm and helped him the rest of the way.

I turned to count the others.

Seven workers had already reached the boulder. Two were helping a woman with blood running down her forehead. Another man was dragging a damaged equipment case across the ground, refusing to leave it behind.

A few metres away, one of my coworkers was still sitting in the mud, clutching his injured leg.

“Hey! Can you stand?”

He looked up at me. His face was pale, and sweat ran down his temples.

“I… I can't.” He gritted his teeth. “My leg won't move.”

“Come on. Try to get up. We need to get out of here!”

“Ahhh! It hurts!”

He tried to stand, but the moment he put weight on his injured leg, he collapsed with a cry of pain.

I rushed to his side and crouched beside him.

“Damn it…”

I glanced toward the boulder, then back at him.

We didn't have much time.

“Put your arm around my shoulder,” I told him. “I'll help you.”

He hesitated before lifting his arm and draping it across my shoulders. I wrapped one arm around his waist and braced myself before helping him stand.

He was heavier than I'd expected. My knees bent beneath his weight, and every breath scraped against my throat. I'd already spent too much mana trying to keep track of the workers scattered throughout the battlefield.

But I couldn't leave him behind.

Not when I could still help.

I activated Arcane Sense, my F-rank skill.

The familiar sensation spread through my awareness.

Small blue points flickered through the smoke. Some glowed steadily, while others trembled at the edge of my perception. They were mana signatures, traces that allowed me to sense awakened people nearby even when dust and debris obscured my vision.

My skill wasn't powerful enough to reveal everything. I couldn't identify every person or determine exactly what was happening beyond the ruins.

But it was better than relying on my eyes alone.

“Three people to the left!” I shouted. “Stay close to the rocks! Don't go toward the open ground!”

One of the blue points began moving away from the others.

“No! Not that way!”

I took a step toward it, then froze.

Something was wrong.

My Arcane Sense had detected something beneath the ground.

Two points.

I focused on them, trying to understand what I was sensing.

They weren't blue.

They weren't any of the familiar mana signatures I'd encountered during my work as a cleanup hunter.

They were dark red.

The two points flickered deep beneath the shattered battlefield, faint at first, almost lost among the countless traces of mana surrounding me.

I frowned.

What the hell was that?

I concentrated harder.

The red points became clearer.

Then they moved.

They weren't traces left behind by the battle. They were moving beneath us.

“Everyone, get back!”

Several workers turned toward me.

“What happened?” someone shouted.

“I don't know! Just move!”

A low tremor passed beneath my feet.

Then came a sharp, grinding sound.

I looked down.

A thin crack had appeared in the muddy ground between my boots. It stretched across the rubble, branching toward the enormous boulder.

For one brief moment, everyone seemed to freeze.

Then the earth trembled again.

The crack widened.

“RUN!”

The battlefield erupted into chaos.

Workers stumbled over broken concrete. Someone screamed for help. The woman with the injured forehead fell to her knees, and the man beside her grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

I tightened my grip around my injured coworker's waist.

“Come on! We have to go!”

“I can't!” he cried. “My leg! I can't move!”

“Then hold on to me!”

I pulled his arm more firmly over my shoulders and forced myself upright.

Pain shot through my knees as I struggled to support his weight.

Come on.

Just a little farther.

The boulder was close. If we could reach it, perhaps we'd have a chance.

We had taken only a few steps when the ground split open behind us.

A deep, wet sound rose from the darkness below.

I turned.

Something enormous was emerging from the crack.

I couldn't see its body through the dust. I couldn't even make out its shape. But a long, pale appendage suddenly shot out of the opening, moving so quickly that my eyes barely followed it.

A tongue.

It lashed across the battlefield and smashed into a concrete barrier.

The barrier burst apart.

Chunks of concrete flew through the air. One struck my shoulder, sending a sharp burst of pain down my arm.

I staggered.

My injured coworker slipped from my grasp and crashed against me. I caught him before he could fall completely, but his weight nearly brought us both to the ground.

“Get up!” I shouted, trying to steady him.

He didn't move.

His eyes were fixed on the enormous crack.

I followed his gaze.

The two red points were no longer faint.

They burned beneath the ground, directly below the opening.

Whatever was emerging from that darkness was much closer than I'd thought.

“Please…” the man whispered. “Please, I don't want to die.”

Neither do I, I wanted to tell him.

Instead, I grabbed his wrist.

“Move!”

We took one step.

Then another.

The earth beneath us gave way.

I lost my footing and dropped to one knee. My injured coworker crashed against me, his fingers digging painfully into my arm.

“Get off me!” he screamed.

“What?”

“LET GO!”

Before I could react, he planted both hands against my chest and shoved me away.

For a fraction of a second, I couldn't understand what had happened.

His hands were still outstretched.

His terrified face was right in front of mine.

Then the ground disappeared beneath my feet.

I fell backward into the widening crack.

Instinctively, I threw out my hands.

My fingers caught the jagged edge.

Pain shot through my palms as my body swung over the darkness. Loose stones broke away beneath my grip and vanished into the depths.

Above me, my coworker scrambled away from the opening, dragging his injured leg across the ground.

“Help me!” I shouted.

My voice echoed through the crack.

He stopped.

For a moment, he looked down at me.

Our eyes met.

I waited for him to reach out.

He didn't.

“I'm sorry!” he cried.

Then he turned and crawled toward the rocks.

I stared at the place where he'd been.

He was alive.

He was moving.

And I was hanging over the darkness because I'd tried to save him.

My fingers began to slip.

“Wait!”

I reached up with one hand, desperately searching for a better hold.

The edge crumbled beneath my fingertips.

The last thing I saw was the broken battlefield disappearing behind a curtain of dust.

Then my grip gave way.

Darkness swallowed everything.

For a few seconds, I couldn't think.

I couldn't even breathe properly.

My body tumbled through the air, and the distant sounds of screaming and collapsing stone grew quieter with every passing moment.

Was this really it?

Was my life actually going to end here?

I had imagined death before. Every hunter probably had, at least once. We lived in a world where ordinary people could awaken extraordinary abilities, where Dungeons appeared without warning, and where a single mistake could cost someone everything.

But I'd never imagined it would happen like this.

Not today.

Not when I still had so much left to do.

Dad…

The thought came before I could stop it.

I remembered my father, Kang Mu-jin, sitting at our small kitchen table, rubbing his injured hand while pretending it didn't hurt.

“It's nothing,” he'd say whenever Mom asked about it. “I'll be fine.”

And I'd pretend to believe him.

My father had spent years working dangerous jobs, cleaning up the remains of battles that other hunters survived. Even after his injury, he kept going because our family needed the money.

I hated seeing him come home exhausted, his clothes stained with dirt, his face drawn with pain he never admitted to feeling.

I'd promised myself that once I became a hunter, things would change.

I'd earn enough money that he wouldn't have to risk his life anymore.

I'd tell him to rest.

I'd make him listen for once.

I'd wanted to change our lives so badly.

And now, I might never get the chance.

Mom…

Han Mi-yeon would probably be waiting at home.

She always tried to hide her worries whenever I left for work. She'd ask whether I'd eaten, whether I had enough money, whether I was being careful.

And I'd give her the same answer every time.

“Don't worry, Mom. I'll be back soon.”

I'd said it so often that it had become easy.

Too easy.

Had she prepared dinner today?

Would she keep it warm for me, thinking I might return late?

Would she look at the clock and wonder why I hadn't called?

My throat tightened.

I wanted to tell her I was sorry. Sorry for making her worry, sorry for leaving her with so many problems, and sorry that this time, I might not come home.

Ha-eun…

My little sister.

Fifteen years old, stubborn whenever she wanted something, and always pretending she didn't need anyone's help.

I remembered her complaining about our old belongings, talking about what she wanted to do when she grew up, and asking when we'd finally be able to afford something better.

I used to tease her.

“Become rich yourself. Why are you waiting for me?”

She'd glare at me and say that I was her older brother, so it was my responsibility.

I'd laughed every time.

I hadn't realized how much I'd come to love those ordinary arguments.

I'd promised her that one day, things would be different.

One day, we'd have a proper home.

One day, Dad would be able to rest.

One day, Mom wouldn't have to calculate every little expense before buying groceries.

One day, Ha-eun could chase her dreams without worrying about money.

I had so many plans for that day.

And now, all those plans were slipping away with every passing second.

I didn't want to die.

That was the truth.

I'd never wanted to become the greatest hunter in the world. I'd never dreamed of standing above everyone else or having people chant my name.

I'd only wanted enough power to protect the people I loved.

Enough money to give my family a better life.

Enough time to keep the promises I'd made.

Was that really too much to ask?

The darkness rushed past me.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Mom, Dad… Ha-eun…

I wanted to come home.

I wanted to hear Mom telling me to wash my hands before dinner. I wanted to hear Dad complaining about some ridiculous news he'd seen. I wanted to hear Ha-eun asking me to buy her something on my way home, then pretending she hadn't been waiting for me.

I wanted one more ordinary evening with my family.

Just one.

But the darkness offered no answer.

My fingers curled into empty air.

For the first time since the ground had opened beneath my feet, I stopped fighting the fall.

I'm sorry, Mom.

Dad… Ha-eun…

I wanted to keep my promise.

But the darkness swallowed my words before they could reach anyone.