Chapter 41
A spacious, spotless director’s office.
Beyond the wide glass wall, the city center stretched beneath his gaze.
As darkness slowly settled over the skyline, Seo Byung-chul clenched his fists unconsciously.
It was as if the descending night reflected the heaviness in his heart.
“……”
His tightly sealed lips betrayed tension. His eyes were fixed on the monitor in the center of the room.
On-screen glowed the operational status of the [Ghost Signal] mission—
the one his daughter, Seo Gyeoul, had been deployed to.
[Operation Name: Ghost Signal]
[Personnel: Seo Gyeoul + 2 others]
[Status: Rescue signal ongoing. Mana interference stable. No irregularities detected.]
Every time his daughter’s name appeared on that screen, he let out a weary sigh.
He tried to stay calm—but his chest tightened more each time.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been sent on a dangerous mission.
But no parent ever gets used to seeing their child in danger.
‘It’ll be fine. It always was before…’
He repeated that to himself, pressing his fist to his chest to smother the unease.
Then—
“…!?”
Beep—beep—!
The green letters on the screen flickered and vanished, replaced by flashing red text.
Seo Byung-chul immediately bent forward, eyes narrowing.
[Rescue signal lost]
[Mana interference — terminated]
A chill crawled down his spine.
His intuition screamed—something had gone terribly wrong.
And that instinct had never failed him, not once, through every major crisis of his career.
That same instinct was what had raised him to Director of the Gate Management Bureau.
‘…What happened?’
Whatever it was—it was bad.
“!?”
Rrrrrrring—!
The phone on his desk rang sharply.
Without hesitation, he picked it up.
“Report.”
—“Director! Code Red! We’ve just detected traces of an Outer God’s Will—one minute ago!”
“Where? Don’t tell me… the abandoned factory complex in North Seoul?”
—“…Y-Yes, sir! That’s correct! We’ve confirmed signs of an ‘Outer Will’ at that location!”
His expression hardened.
The worst-case scenario—realized.
“Have you made contact with Officer Seo?”
—“We’re still attempting, sir, but… communications are down!”
His daughter had vanished the very same moment the trace appeared.
It couldn’t get any worse.
“Raise [Ghost Signal] to A+ emergency level. Dispatch Disaster Control Team 7 immediately.”
—“S-sir? Team 7?”
He cut her off, voice sharp as a blade.
“That’s an order. Deploy them now.”
—“Y-Yes, sir!”
Clack.
He slammed the receiver down. His fingertips trembled.
“…Please. Be safe.”
He muttered under his breath—then caught sight of something on the monitor.
Another name, beside his daughter’s—
[Operative: Kang Si-woo]
His lips twitched faintly.
“…Of course. Wherever that brat goes, trouble follows.”
A weary sigh escaped him.
The fact that his daughter was with Kang Si-woo both annoyed and unsettled him.
Every mission involving that young man turned chaotic.
But…
‘Still…’
Beneath the irritation, a reluctant respect flickered.
‘Is it that trouble finds him, or that he finds trouble?’
He couldn’t tell which came first.
But every time—it ended well.
‘Not perfect… but not bad either.’
One by one, he recalled the young man’s achievements—
The irregular who cleared a gate immediately after awakening.
The first double-awakened player to defeat Ju Geon-ryul in the Hall of Records.
The rookie who cleared a White Gate—a world first.
A prodigy courted by the Goblin and Sunyang Guilds alike.
Most of all—
‘…The player my daughter acknowledged.’
As a father, that was the hardest part to accept.
But it also gave him hope.
‘No one knows my daughter better than I do. That discerning eye—she got it from me.’
So it wasn’t that he trusted the young man—
He trusted his daughter’s judgment.
“…Bring her back safely, Kang Si-woo. I’m counting on you.”
His voice, calm now, carried quiet conviction.
He closed the file with Si-woo’s name and looked out the window.
A red-blinking helicopter was soaring into the dark.
* * *
Inside the helicopter, spinning red lights painted the cabin walls.
Disaster Control Team 7 checked their weapons and gear as the team leader briefed them.
“This operation is rated A+.”
“……”
“The site was previously B-rank, but conditions may change rapidly. Stay sharp. And…”
Normally, their commander was brisk and fearless—but this time, his voice lingered.
The entire team paused mid-check and looked up.
“……”
He frowned deeply, the long scar over his single eye twitching.
“Traces of an Outer God have been confirmed at the target site.”
“……”
“……”
Silence.
It wasn’t unheard of—but any operation involving an Outer Will almost always meant casualties.
Finally, the youngest member, trying to break the tension, forced a laugh.
“Whoa, an Outer God! I’ve only ever heard stories. This is kind of exciting!”
No one responded.
“C’mon, guys! You’re acting like we’re heading to our deaths!”
The captain gave him a hard look before continuing.
“You’ll get full details in your brief.”
They each pulled up their tablets.
Moments later, the rookie—the same one—spoke again, startled.
“Wait—Kang Si-woo? You mean that Kang Si-woo? The double-awakened guy all over the news?”
The deputy commander, a grizzled veteran, grunted.
“Yeah. First man to clear a White Gate. Even the Guardian Order tried to recruit him.”
“Please, those mercenary guilds only care about money—”
“Their skill is real.”
The rookie shut his mouth.
He knew it was true—he’d seen Si-woo in joint operations before.
“Still… he’s the one who got lost, right? Couldn’t even finish the—”
“Tae-o.”
A short-haired female teammate laid a hand on his shoulder.
“…Yeah?”
“Read the rest.”
Her calm tone made him scroll down.
When he did, his eyes widened.
“…Officer Seo Gyeoul?”
“That’s right. She’s one of the missing.”
“No way…”
“She’ll be fine. You know her better than anyone, right? She won’t go down easily.”
He fell silent, slumping slightly.
To lift the mood, the others chimed in—
“Hey! Don’t look so grim! You’ll go save her yourself, hero-style!”
“Yeah, rescue her and confess while you’re at it!”
“Wha—?! No way!!”
Laughter rippled—until the captain’s cold voice cut through it.
“You think this is a picnic? I said Outer God mission. Stay focused.”
Silence fell instantly.
The captain turned to the window.
In the distance—the shadowed factory complex.
He brushed his scar with a gloved finger.
‘If even one’s alive down there… that’ll be a miracle.’
He’d faced such entities before—he knew what they meant.
The helicopter sped up, cutting through the chill night air.
* * *
In the basement of a dark, abandoned factory—
A burly man scowled at a shimmering, transparent wall.
Within the faint blue glow, a woman with long hair floated motionlessly.
A small, expressionless girl approached.
“How’s Ruby-17 doing?”
“Same as before,” the man grunted. Then, narrowing his eyes, he barked,
“Hey—you used magic again, didn’t you?!”
“Yeah. Guess you already knew.”
She turned slightly away.
He scratched his messy hair, grumbling.
“Damn brat… just hang in there till the Commander gets back. I’m not babysitting you.”
“Okay.”
An awkward silence.
Then the girl asked again, quietly, “Where’s the Commander?”
“Damn it! You ask that every—ugh!”
He flushed red, then exhaled, reigning himself in.
Getting angry at someone who barely felt emotion was pointless.
“Fine… what were you using magic for this time?”
“Cooking.”
“What?”
“I needed fire for porridge.”
“…You mean that oatmeal sludge again?”
“Yeah.”
“You know that stuff sent me straight to the toilet.”
She blinked once. “You still ate three bowls.”
“…Tch. Fine. Anyway—listen, Rebecca.”
He forced calm and pointed toward the glowing barrier.
“See that woman? Who is she?”
“Ruby-17. A Fallen One.”
“Right. And we climbed all the way up to the 100th floor to bring her back to the Cult. Remember?”
Rebecca nodded faintly.
“And how did we catch her?”
“She tried to mend the Rift… used up her strength. We ambushed her.”
“Exactly. And then?”
“…Don’t remember.”
“Ah, for f—!”
He roared, punching the wall in frustration. The transparent barrier trembled.
“Haah… haah…”
After venting, he turned back.
“The Commander said we’d need a relic to take down that Fallen bitch, right?”
“Ahh…”
Rebecca blinked slowly, as if recalling a distant thought.
That vague “Ahh” was enough to reignite his anger.
“‘Ahh’? That’s all you—?! Ugh, you drive me insane!”
He looked ready to explode when—
BEEP! BEEP!
Both froze.
The perimeter alarm spell shrieked.
Their heads snapped toward the entrance.
A wicked grin spread across the man’s face.
“Guess we’ve got company.”
The girl, Rebecca, slowly raised her right hand.
A small, crimson flame flickered to life on her fingertip.
“Good. Let’s burn them.”
