When Yonghoon returned, the room was dark with all the lights turned off.
However, the city’s streetlights were shining, and the sky was scattering the light of the aurora, letting a soft glow seep through the window.
Yonghoon looked around the room.
It hadn’t changed much since he had left. The only difference was that Elena was now sleeping on the bed.
Yonghoon looked at the sleeping Elena, his face showing slight surprise. She was more beautiful than he had expected. Until now, he had only seen her injured and battered face, so he hadn’t anticipated it at all.
Yonghoon shrugged and sat down on his own bed.
Yonghoon looked down at his clothes. They were a mess. Literally riddled with holes like a beehive. His ordinary Hunter armor and the clothes he wore underneath were all in tatters.
Yonghoon grabbed his backpack containing spare clothes and entered the washroom attached to the room.
Yonghoon took off all his clothes and shoved them into the dimensional tunnel. His tattered clothes disappeared outside the dimensional tunnel. They would reappear on the rooftop of an old building in the old city.
Yonghoon sighed as he showered.
He was recalling the foolish mistake he had made in the Warp Zone. It seemed that his rapid growth had made him forget his true nature.
He had been a low-level Awakened stuck at C-Rank for over five years. And yet, just because he had gained new abilities, he had forgotten his past.
Moreover, upon coming to this world and becoming invulnerable to ordinary attacks, he had let his guard down. Although he managed to escape safely thanks to his defensive power, if the enemy had known about it and attacked using Dimensional Power, it would have been hard to survive.
Furthermore, the enemy might have already figured out some degree of his defensive capabilities.
One mistake was enough. Yonghoon clenched his fist tightly.
Morning dawned.
Elena opened her eyes to the bright light. She stared blankly at the ceiling before suddenly snapping to her senses.
“That villain!”
She shot up from the bed and looked to the side.
“It’s Yonghoon.”
Yonghoon was sitting on the bed, tending to his equipment.
“Yonghoon?”
Elena looked puzzled at the name Yonghoon. It was an unusual name. But Yonghoon showed no interest in her curiosity.
Elena sighed at the sight of Yonghoon focusing back on his equipment.
Elena collected her thoughts. She had something to talk about with Yonghoon.
“I don’t know about you, but I have to make a living. I’m going to the Association today to look for a job.”
At her words, Yonghoon fell into thought.
Today marked the third day.
There were four days left until the scheduled return date. And keeping her confined was also becoming a problem.
“How long would it take once you head out?”
“If things go fast, three days. If it takes longer, over a week.”
Yonghoon nodded.
If she was outside the city while he returned, there would be no risk of being exposed. Even if she reported him after he left, it wouldn’t cause much trouble. Moreover, some of his identity had already been slightly revealed to the Awakened on this side.
And considering they had moved together for several days, there was a high chance she would also be suspected as an accomplice. It would be hard for her to casually reveal anything.
However, even if they didn’t meet again, he needed to give her a warning.
“Once you’re done with your business, head there.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Elena made an incredulous face.
“Hey, how long are you planning to keep watching me?”
Unable to stand it any longer, she threw the question at Yonghoon.
Yonghoon looked at her.
“Not much longer.”
Elena was surprised by Yonghoon’s answer. Moreover, an inexplicable feeling of regret brushed across her chest.
It was the meeting room inside the large Warp Zone building.
The meeting room was crowded with people. Officials from the large Warp Zone and external personnel had gathered.
Moreover, Robert Spemann, the head of the New Berlin City Dimensional Warp Zone, was also present in the meeting room.
However, Robert was standing at attention while giving a briefing.
“Early this morning, an intruder broke into the dimensional Warp Zone. It was a young man with black hair wearing sunglasses.”
“Sunglasses in the middle of the night?”
At Robert’s words, the man listening frowned. He was a middle-aged man with a strong presence, sitting comfortably in his chair unlike Robert.
“He probably wore them to hide his identity.”
At Robert’s words, the man gestured for him to continue.
“He infiltrated the Warp Zone building interior through spatial movement and was soon discovered by security. He attempted to escape immediately using spatial movement but was blocked by the barrier and chose to flee.”
“But you let him get away?”
At the man’s words, Robert immediately offered an excuse.
“The man’s movement speed was fast, but the real problem was his defensive power, which endured dozens of bullets. He even survived being showered with machine gun fire from the guard post and managed to escape.”
At his words, the man’s face twisted. Robert quickly wrapped up his report.
“Judging by his failure to perform spatial movement within the barrier, we estimate he’s a C-Rank spatial ability user. And given his defensive power, he appears to be a B-Rank defense-type Awakened. In conclusion, we suspect he’s a B-Rank or C-Rank Linker.”
After hearing the story, the man turned his head to the side.
“Which Linkers are currently unaccounted for?”
At his words, a woman standing nearby spoke up.
“Among the returned Linkers, three are missing or have gone into hiding. However, none of them are spatial ability users. In fact, there’s currently only one spatial ability user among the Linkers.”
At her words, the middle-aged man groaned.
“Are you sure the target wasn’t wearing armor?”
“Yes, it was definitely standard armor.”
At the man’s question, Robert answered confidently.
“Ugh, then it’s a Linker. But one we know nothing about.”
“Could it be that the rebels obtained a Dimensional Connector and created new Linkers?”
At the woman’s words, the middle-aged man waved his hand side to side.
“If we go down that line of thinking, there’s no end. This case has been handed over to the intelligence department; they’ll analyze it.”
The middle-aged man crossed his legs. He tapped the armrest of his chair and spoke.
“What’s the current status of the dimensional larvae?”
At his question, Robert stepped up to answer.
“This morning, we transferred one to the C dimension. Due to stabilization issues, we plan to transfer one more each tomorrow and the day after.”
At his words, the man clicked his tongue.
“The C dimension really is problematic. We even lost contact with Peter, who was sent to check on the Linkers.”
“Yes, so we’re proceeding with dimensional transfers according to the original invasion schedule before launching a full-scale attack.”
At Robert’s words, Brigadier General Jacques Mitterrand stopped tapping the armrest.
“Then the reconnaissance was successful. They discovered the dimensional larvae.”
His fingers began moving again.
“Knowing about the dimensional larvae increases the chances of a terrorist attack. Just in case, my team and I will guard the area for two days.”
“Thank you very much!”
Robert’s voice echoed loudly through the meeting room.
“Gilbert! Summon those two B-Ranks. We can leave New Berlin to Hans.”
At Mitterrand’s words, Colonel Gilbert, the commanding officer, immediately issued orders to a soldier standing behind him.
“Summon Ain and Schultz!”
At her words, the soldier rushed out of the room.
“Should we request a checkpoint in New Berlin just in case?”
At Robert’s cautious suggestion, the brigadier general shook his head.
“The opponent is a spatial ability user. It would be pointless. No need to stir the grass and let the snake escape. Let’s send off the dimensional larvae first and investigate slowly.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the brigadier general’s words, Robert immediately responded.
“Then shall we wait? Personally, I hope the guy shows himself.”
Jacques leaned back leisurely in his chair.
Elena returned just thirty minutes after leaving to find a job. It seemed things had gone well.
“I managed to join a decent hunting party. The team leader is a C-Rank Awakened. I think the distribution after the hunt will be pretty good.”
At her words, Yonghoon gave a perfunctory nod.
Elena cautiously asked Yonghoon.
“The Association said there were gunshots last night at the large Warp Zone, and hunters flocked there this morning. You’re not involved, are you?”
At her words, Yonghoon turned to look at her.
“Warp Zone?”
“Yes, since there’s no checkpoint, it might have been an accident. This area usually doesn’t see much activity from the Rebels……”
A new word appeared in her speech.
“Rebels?”
At Yonghoon’s question, Elena let out a sigh.
“Yes, there’s a group that opposes sending beasts to other worlds. They attack large Warp Zones and military bases. The older guys say they’re likely remnants from the Unification War.”
The Unification War-something he had heard about from Elena.
It was the story of the war that broke out during the unification of the fortress cities. When each city was grouped into a single force, those opposing the unification rebelled. It was a story from decades ago.
Yonghoon focused more on a different part of her story.
‘The personal guard units rushed over but no checkpoint? Is it a trap? Or is it for defending against Dimensional Beasts?’
Yonghoon thought he needed to ponder it a bit more.
Elena quietly watched Yonghoon, who had fallen into thought.
“I have to leave after lunch.”
At her words, Yonghoon nodded.
“I’ll come find you after you’re done.”
Elena sighed at Yonghoon’s words and stood up.
“Are you not eating?”
Yonghoon shook his head.
“When do you even eat? You don’t even go to the bathroom. Are you really human?”
Her muttering as she walked out reached Yonghoon’s ears.
Yonghoon gave a bitter smile.
In the afternoon, Elena left the city through the southern gate with about twenty hunters.
She kept looking back from the truck’s passenger seat, but she couldn’t see Yonghoon anywhere.
Eventually, she shook her head and focused on her own work.
Yonghoon saw her off from the rooftop of a ruined building.
She had gone through a lot of trouble because of him over the past few days, but considering the current situation, he thought it wasn’t a bad ending.
Yonghoon had heard about the hunting grounds from her, but he had no plans to visit, even later.
Parting ways like this was better for her.
As the hunting party’s figures grew smaller, Yonghoon turned his gaze to the fortress city. It was time to focus on his own work.
Yonghoon infused his sword with Dimensional Power. The sword radiated a brilliant light. His Dimensional Power had fully returned.
He had done enough reconnaissance. Returning to his original world now wouldn’t be a big problem. However, he still had a scheduled goal remaining, and a major objective lay before him.
Yonghoon was planning to attack the large Warp Zone.
He had hesitated after yesterday evening’s failed ambush, but after seeing the Dimensional Beasts inside the Warp Zone, he couldn’t just leave.
If those Dimensional Beasts crossed dimensions, tens of thousands-or even hundreds of thousands-of people would surely be contaminated. He couldn’t let that happen.
But even so, he couldn’t recklessly attack like yesterday. He needed to prepare properly.
Yonghoon leapt through space toward the fortress city.
Six hours later, the sun had set, and the city was bathed in the red glow of twilight. As it was quitting time, people were returning to their homes.
The Warp Zones were also closing down and starting to lower their shutters.
There were three Warp Zones within the fortress city. One was a general Warp Zone for civilians, another was the hunter-specific Warp Zone Yonghoon had used to enter the city, and the last was a military Warp Zone used by the army and personal guard units.
The first two Warp Zones were adjacent to each other, but the last one was located inside a military facility on the opposite side of the city.
The building housing the military Warp Zone had also finished its operations. All workers had left, and only guards remained to protect the building.
Yonghoon’s figure appeared on the rooftop of a building 500 meters away from the Warp Zone building.
Over the past six hours, Yonghoon had traveled around various places using spatial movement. He had scouted the large Warp Zone, confirming that many powerful Awakened were stationed there, and had checked various facilities inside the fortress city.
In the end, he chose the military Warp Zone as his first target.
Yonghoon pulled out a spear from behind his back. It was a monster spear he had newly prepared when he crossed over. He filled the spear with Dimensional Power.
Yonghoon’s Dimensional Power made the spear shine brightly. He thrust the spear forward.
A small dimensional tunnel opened in front of Yonghoon. The tunnel connected to the Warp Zone building, and small sparks flew from it. It seemed that even this Warp Zone had Dimensional Movement Blocking Devices installed because it was military.
However, the blocking devices only worked from the inside. They were useless against attacks from the outside.
Yonghoon’s spear passed through the dimensional tunnel and appeared inside the Warp Zone building, where it exploded.
Boom!
The building exploded from the inside out.
Enormous flames soared into the sky. The Warp Zone building literally blew away, and surrounding buildings began to collapse under the impact. It was a catastrophe.
Sirens began to wail throughout the city, and soldiers started running in all directions.
“Now, let’s see how the enemy responds.”
Yonghoon looked at the burning military base and opened a dimensional tunnel. He teleported toward the large Warp Zone.
Behind the building where Yonghoon had disappeared, the city and the sky blazed red.