Hmm.

Someone was lying on the sofa, wiggling their toes while watching TV.

"Wow, this is really entertaining. Korean dramas are the best."

Munch, munch.

Before she could finish the snacks in her mouth, her hand was already reaching for the snack bag again.

"Oh? Already finished? Why are snacks so small these days? Ugh."

She half-rose and tried to open another snack from the countless ones on the table in front of the sofa.

But then,

"Stop."

Someone snatched the snack bag from her hand.

"Hey, why!"

"We're having dinner soon, how many snacks are you planning to eat? And you brought these snacks and drinks up from the first floor again, didn't you?"

"Well, our house is practically a convenience store, should I buy them from somewhere else? And I can eat dinner even if I eat a lot of snacks. Snack stomach and meal stomach are different, you know."

"Then why did you leave your dinner saying you were full the other day?"

A young man playing a mobile game nearby muttered in response to her words.

"And the real issue is that you keep bringing snacks and drinks up from the first floor."

"Hey, youngest. Be quiet. Do you want to die?"

Unable to bear the eldest daughter's fierce glare, a middle-aged woman smacked her on the back.

Smack!

"Ouch! Mom, that hurts!"

"What did you do right to be threatening people! And how could a delicate mom's smack hurt you? Huh?"

"Even Awakened ones feel pain!"

"You think you can fool your mom?"

"Ouch, ouch!"

Sigh.

Leaving behind the typical(?) bickering between the eldest daughter and the mom, the youngest let out a short sigh and picked up the remote.

"...Hey, hey! Why are you changing the channel? I need to watch the next episode!"

As their mom rushed back to the kitchen upon hearing the soup boiling over, Tae Yiseo growled at Tae Yijun again.

Without even turning his head, Tae Yijun replied.

"Excuse me. There's no episode after the one you were watching. Season 3 comes out next year."

"What? Really? Ugh, I shouldn't have watched it. I hate cliffhangers. It's like stopping halfway through a poop, ugh! So unsatisfying. You know, you should finish it all at once... huh? What's with that face?"

Sigh.

The youngest, Tae Yijun, looked at his sister with a frown.

Why do people like this stuff?

Believe it or not, the eldest daughter of this family was as popular as an idol.

Crimson Flame Tae Yiseo.

With her innocent face, excellent fashion sense, and most importantly, as an S-rank Hunter and the captain of the 7th squad of the top domestic guild 'Guardian Gate', there wasn't a single high school friend of Tae Yijun's who didn't like her.

She was the epitome of a popular celebrity.

However, knowing Tae Yiseo's true nature, Tae Yijun could never agree with his friends' passionate admiration.

Outside, she was a noble and beautiful top-tier Hunter.

At home, she turned into an incorrigible brat of an eldest daughter.

How could her behavior at home and outside be so different?

She's practically a monster, yeah, a monster.

"Hey. What are you staring at?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. Just live your life."

It's pointless to argue; the existence itself is the problem.

Giving up on the conversation, Tae Yijun slowly changed the channel.

Hmm.

Nothing seems interesting. Maybe I should visit my room before dinner...

[Breaking News.]

Hmm?

As Tae Yijun casually flipped through channels and put down the remote, some news caught his eye.

[Reports of a sudden gate appearing in parts of Mapo-gu, Seoul. Residents nearby are advised to refrain from going out, and those in the newly designated Red Zone should quickly move to shelters.]

"Huh? What's this? A sudden gate?"

Tae Yiseo, who had been lounging on the sofa, suddenly sat up and stared at the news.

Her previously relaxed gaze turned sharp.

Hunters and guilds, including the emergency response unit 'Guardian' affiliated with the association, have a responsibility to prioritize the strategy of gates threatening humanity and the safety of citizens above all else.

Unless they're demons.

But Mapo-gu...

Mapo-gu was neither too far nor too close from here.

...Should I go?

If it were a situation and distance where she really needed to go, she would have received a summons message by now.

The fact that there was no contact yet meant,

'It means a raid team suitable for the gate level is already dispatched or on the way.'

Even so, Tae Yiseo hesitated.

Because of a very small anxiety that something unexpected might happen.

Hmm.

I should probably go.

Tae Yiseo slowly got up.

But then,

"Maybe there's no big problem?"

Hmm?

Tae Yiseo's eyes turned to Tae Yijun, who was busy thinking.

Tae Yijun pointed at the TV with his finger.

"Someone went to that neighborhood for something earlier."

"Who?"

Looking at her as if asking what he meant, Tae Yijun nonchalantly replied.

"Our family's unemployed loafer who's been lazing around for two years. I mean, the failed writer."

* * *

"Ahhh!"

"Hey! Don't look back, just run!"

"But where do we go!"

"Hey! Hey! This way! This way!"

When several screens installed on buildings were destroyed by monsters, those fleeing lost their way.

As a result, people who had been running together scattered in all directions.

Some of them just managed to hide inside a clothing store.

"We should be safe here."

"Shouldn't we find a shelter and move?"

"How are we supposed to find a shelter when all the guide screens are destroyed?"

"Can't we find it on our phones? If we open a map app, won't it show up?"

"That's nonsense. Don't you know that Wi-Fi and everything else don't work around gates?"

"...Then what do we do now?"

"What else can we do? We have to hide until it's all over."

"...Sniff."

Until the sirens went off, this group of aspiring writers had been excitedly planning to drink beer tonight.

Some were already in tears, and others couldn't stop their bodies from trembling.

Even in the era of gates, sudden gates were extremely rare.

Usually, it took about four days for a gate to occur and for the monsters inside to overflow outside, giving civilians plenty of time to evacuate.

In fact, most of the time, Hunters would attack before the overflow, so there was no need for evacuation.

But sudden gates released monsters immediately upon occurrence, causing significant civilian casualties.

It was an event that might happen ten times a year worldwide.

Especially in Korea, the last sudden gate occurred two years ago in Mokpo.

It was a situation where one couldn't help but think they were incredibly unlucky.

"Damn... I had a bad dream last night. I should've just stayed home and watched anime today."

"Hey. Stop it. Who knew this would happen?"

"Sob, sob, sob..."

They all felt like they had fallen into hell.

The only thing they wished for was to return home safely.

Please, please!

But as if to shatter their hopes, monsters began appearing one by one on the street outside the store.

"GORRRR."

With long ears, a humanoid form, and a grotesque green body, it was a goblin.

"GOKAI."

"GAROOKAAR!"

Goblins, who always moved in packs, began destroying everything in sight with unintelligible sounds.

And then,

Crash!

The goblins shattered the glass of the store where the aspiring writers were hiding.

"Eek!"

One of them screamed involuntarily.

"Be quiet!"

They quickly covered their mouth, but...

"GORRRR?"

The goblins, who didn't miss the sound, began gathering toward the clothing store.

They had caught on.

"...Damn it... damn it."

The number of goblins they saw when they peeked out was too many for them to run away recklessly.

They felt like it was all over.

To think they'd die like this. They had never imagined it.

One of them spoke with a hopeless face.

"Maybe if we're lucky... we could regress."

At his ridiculous comment, everyone let out a small laugh.

And then,

"GORRRRKAA!"

Simultaneously, the goblins rushed into the store. Or at least, they tried to.

At that moment,

Boom!

A tremendous bombardment engulfed the goblins.

"Are you alright?"

People clad in black combat uniforms appeared.

A large shield emblem was engraved on their chests.

"We're saved!"

It was the gate emergency response unit, 'Guardian.'

"Please come this way! We'll guide you to the shelter!"

One of the Guardians urgently gestured, and the aspiring writers rushed out of the store.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen goblins appeared on the street.

The Guardians quickly bombarded the goblins, but they began to be pushed back as more goblins kept appearing.

Then,

"Move aside."

A large man standing at the back stepped forward.

Holding a massive hammer in one hand.

"Hooah!"

Crash!

As he slammed the giant hammer into the ground, a massive shockwave erupted, engulfing the goblins.

"Isn't that Bulldozer Ma Seokgi?"

The name slipped out of one of the aspiring writers' mouths without them realizing it.

It was a fairly famous name in Korea.

He was the captain of the 4th squad of the gate emergency response unit, 'Guardian.'

An A-rank Hunter known to be strong even among close-combat Hunters.

Kueeeek!

Boom! Boom!

Crash! Boom!

Kueeeek!

Like his nickname, Bulldozer, he was smashing the goblins with overwhelming force.

How much time had passed?

No goblins were visible in the area anymore.

"Phew. Is it roughly over?"

Ma Seokgi let his hammer hang to the ground.

"Alright. From now on, Team 1 will quickly move the remaining civilians who haven't evacuated, and Teams 2 and 3 will start clearing the remaining monsters with me."

Yes!

At Ma Seokgi's command, the Guardian 4th squad began moving quickly.

'But still.'

Watching the disappearing Team 1, Ma Seokgi rested his hammer on his shoulder.

'A sudden gate out of nowhere.'

The emergency magic level measured by the center was A-rank.

At that level, his team could handle it.

It was fortunate, if anything.

There were almost no casualties so far.

And judging by the situation so far, there didn't seem to be any particular problems...

"Captain, over there."

Hmm?

All the squad members, except Ma Seokgi, were looking up at a certain spot on a tall building.

And there, a massive shadow was looking down at them.

"What, what is that..."