Chapter 5 ….
“Ugh, gross.”
Sejin scrunched her lips and shook her head, moving forward with a reluctant expression.
“Ah, I don’t want to collect this.”
[Making a fuss over hot or cold food now, huh?]
Pagun lowered his voice toward Sejin, who shook her head in disgust, as if he thought she was pathetic.
[Hurry up and seal it!]
“I will… Really, she’s so hot-headed.”
Sejin shook the hand that had been holding the bow. In an instant, the bow in her hand transformed into a bell.
Better seal it quickly before it nags me any further.
Furung-furung. The Immortal Demon nudged Sejin with its head, exhaling through its nose.
Sejin hid her reluctant expression at the demon’s request for praise.
‘It looks way too scary to call it a pet demon.’
“Y-yeah. Good job.”
Sejin patted the demon’s head once or twice.
The demon shook its head happily, pleased.
Its actions were cute, but its appearance… not so much.
Sejin tapped the spot on the demon’s head where its horns were with the bell. A bright blue light shot up.
Where the light scattered, the demon vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.
“Hmm.”
Sejin turned her head to look at the newly revived Shinbong, who was barely alive.
A black liquid ran from Shinbong’s head, as if it had taken a critical hit.
The stench made Sejin instinctively pinch her nose.
“You demon risen from hell.”
Her voice sounded muffled, but fortunately, the spell worked.
[Ugh.]
Ignoring Pagun’s sigh, Sejin shook the bell weakly in the air.
“I grant you the chance to wash away your original sin.”
Sejin felt awkward hearing her own dull voice, so she slowly lowered the hand that had been holding her nose.
“Become my power.”
Sssssk—
Like when summoning the Immortal Demon, a blue circle spread around Shinbong.
The radiant light spread, and Shinbong’s body turned to grains of sand, sucked into the circle.
And after a short while…
What remained wasn’t Shinbong’s body, gasping with a shattered head, but a Gwehwang Paper.
A talisman inscribed with red hieroglyphics.
The demon now belonged to Sejin and would obey her commands absolutely, just as the Immortal Demon had.
“Hmm.”
Sejin bent down and picked up the Gwehwang Paper from the floor.
“Now there are only two.”
From now on, the spiritual creatures Sejin could command were the Queen Shinbong and the Immortal Demon. The previous spirit had exhausted its energy while capturing the Immortal Demon and had turned to a burnt Gwehwang Paper.
Sejin tucked the paper into her chest and sighed.
“Another wasted effort today.”
[Don’t be too disheartened.]
Pagun gently comforted her as she swallowed her frustration.
“I wasn’t expecting anything anyway.”
Sejin answered bluntly.
Flames flickered.
Sejin pressed her hood and hat down tightly, staring at the exit, where red heat shimmered.
She didn’t forget to put on the mask she had shoved into her pocket.
The dispatched hunters hadn’t entered yet, but she couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
Usually, if a gate appears and isn’t closed within 24 hours in real-world time, creatures can escape the gate and harm people.
So the rule was: eliminate the threat within 24 hours.
But gates that appeared suddenly and unpredictably could be acquired for a lower price.
After the owner was determined, it typically took about six hours to assemble a team.
Sejin used that window to enter the gate first and make a move.
Moreover, time flowed slower inside the gate than outside. Otherwise, hunters would have already been dispatched.
Sighing, Sejin shook her head.
How long do I have to keep sneaking around, closing gates?
The government, determined to capture illegal hunters, had even dispatched Elite Team 1, the nation’s top unit, after her.
The team leader, Han Ki-tae, was relentless in his pursuit. Handsome as he was, he was insanely persistent.
Last time, Sejin had narrowly escaped by luck… but this time, she didn’t know what would happen.
She quickly stepped outside the gate.
“Please, not now.”
She prayed desperately—but as soon as she stepped out, a black van came charging toward her.
[Huh, what’s that?]
“Damn it.”
The emblem on the van marked it as the Crisis Response Bureau under the Hunter Promotion Agency. Sejin’s eyes went wide.
“Oh crap!”
Since her activity had been around an unpredictable gate, it seemed Elite Team 1 had easily predicted her location.
As if they had spotted her, the rear door of the van suddenly swung open while driving.
Flap-flap.
The uniform marking the Crisis Response Bureau fluttered in the wind.
Sejin’s body flinched at the fierce gaze of the man beyond her legs.
[It’s Han Ki-tae! Run, Sejin!]
Pagun shouted urgently.
“This is insane.”
Unrefined curses slipped out of her mouth.
‘Why now of all times?’
Seeing her opponent, Sejin gritted her teeth.
Quickly, she leaped to the opposite side. Kiiiiiik! Turning her head at the sound behind her, her mouth dropped open.
“Crazy bastard!”
Han Ki-tae, the team leader, had jumped from the van and was fiercely chasing her.
He was so fast that she could barely see his legs hitting the ground.
[We’re gonna get caught! Hurry!]
“Ah, damn it.”
Sejin summoned her bell immediately. It rang, enveloped in blue light, responding to her call.
“Shinbong!”
With a shout, she pressed the newly created talisman underfoot, and a massive barrier appeared.
Swish.
Shinbong appeared with the wind, no trace of hostility in its expression, and greeted Sejin happily.
“Kyu!”
“Y-yeah. Nice to see you.”
Sejin stared at Shinbong’s friendly display with a reluctant expression.
“I have to ride this, don’t I?”
Seeming to understand her urgent situation, Shinbong lowered its body.
[Hurry, get on! You’re being caught!]
Even though Shinbong was now her subordinate, she couldn’t help finding it creepy. Squinting tightly, she climbed on.
“Ughhh.”
She felt Shinbong’s hard exoskeleton between her legs.
‘This isn’t a wasp… definitely not.’
No matter how much she mentally repeated the mantra, she still hated it. With no other choice, she gritted her teeth and shouted:
“I-I’m flying!”
“Kyu-kyu!”
As if understanding, Shinbong flapped its wings vigorously. Han Ki-tae had already closed in and drew his sword, his voice full of rage.
“Stop right there!”
‘Would you stop if you could?’
Sejin shrank at Han Ki-tae’s audacity. True to his ice abilities, blue frost condensed around his blade.
“Go, quickly!”
Kicking Shinbong’s side with her heel, Sejin urged it to speed up.
Brrrr—
The noise of the wings was deafening, everything whipped around. Sejin held the hood strings tightly to keep her hat in place and looked back.
“Surrender! Or I will attack!”
Han Ki-tae’s blade glowed with concentrated blue cold, ready to strike.
‘You think surrendering will save me? No way!’
Sejin glanced briefly behind, then commanded Shinbong:
“Let’s get out of here!”
Crash!
The attack came as soon as she took off, sending a chill down her neck.
As expected, the ground where she had stood was deeply gouged.
True to his ice abilities, sharp ice crystals jutted from the floor.
“Isn’t he crazy?!”
Sejin lowered her body, stunned.
‘If I’d been hit… a fatal blow isn’t even the right word. It’s death, instant death.’
Dodging Han Ki-tae’s next swing, Sejin shot upward at high speed.
“Kyuuu!”
Shinbong, angered by the attack, trembled violently.
“N-no. Just go!”
Sejin raised her voice, as if to prevent any temptation to turn back and fight.
“Go! Please!”
Catching demons and harming humans were completely different matters.
Even though she told him not to, Shinbong still expressed his anger in a cute voice, contrasting with his appearance.
“Kyu-kyu-kyu-kyu!”
Sejin shook her head firmly.
“Kyu?”
It sounded like he was asking if he should attack.
“No, just run. Okay?”
Shinbong responded cutely, seeming to understand her plea.
Even just his voice was comforting…
“Kyu-kyu!”
Shinbong shouted bravely, reassuring Sejin.
Sejin looked back, taking in Han Ki-tae, who had given up the chase.
‘Wow… he’s terrifying.’
His burning gaze was so intense it could have scorched skin.
“Ugh. That was way too close.”
