The first thing Eunseo saw when she woke up was a white ceiling. Then she saw Yonghoon and Sunhee looking at her with worried expressions.
It was a room that gave off a clean and orderly feeling. And it was a room Eunseo had seen before.
“This is New Prague. While you were unconscious, Yonghoon brought you here.”
As Eunseo looked around with a curious expression, Sunhee explained to her.
Eunseo, who had been blankly looking around, suddenly remembered what had happened before she collapsed. She hurriedly asked,
“What happened to the battle? What about her?”
At Eunseo’s question, Yonghoon pulled out a Dimensional Core from his pocket. It was an S-rank Dimensional Core.
“She’s dead. Buried deep in the valley.”
Yonghoon explained to Eunseo what had happened after she fainted.
After Eunseo collapsed, Yonghoon had separately evacuated her and Sunhee to a nearby cave, fought and defeated an S-rank Awakened, and finally brought the injured Eunseo to New Prague.
Fortunately, even in the middle of the night, they were able to use the passage through the old city center to enter the Rebel base in New Prague.
Listening to Yonghoon’s story with a tense expression, Eunseo let out a sigh of relief. She glanced at the Dimensional Core and then stared intently at Yonghoon again.
“You’re amazing. You took down an S-rank Awakened all by yourself. Maybe you’re the strongest in all the dimensions, Yonghoon?”
At Eunseo’s joke, Yonghoon gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“I was just lucky this time. Besides, according to what the dead woman said, there are Awakened stronger than her. And depending on compatibility, there might even be A-rank Awakened stronger than me.”
After saying that, Yonghoon’s expression hardened.
“I think we need to head back quickly. Thankfully, the two of us destroyed the Warp Zone and prevented further movement, but two Dimensional Beasts have already been transported. We don’t know where they sent them, but we need to be ready.”
Nodding at Yonghoon’s words, Eunseo remembered the tremendous pain she had felt in her arm before she lost consciousness.
It seemed like the bones in her arm had been shattered. But now, she hardly felt any pain.
She could feel the Dimensional Core, starting from her chest, flowing through her arm and healing her injuries.
Eunseo tried moving her arm.
Her arm, fixed with a makeshift splint, moved without any problems.
“Even if it feels fine now, you should avoid moving it for a few days. The treatment isn’t completely finished yet.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Eunseo nodded. The Dimensional Core was truly amazing. An arm that should have taken months to heal was recovering in an instant.
Fortunately, the previously unstable Dimensional Core now felt stable.
“How much time has passed?”
“It’s been about four hours since you fainted. The sun will be up soon.”
At her words, Eunseo looked apologetic. It seemed she had held them back.
Seeing her expression, Yonghoon spoke.
“It’s not because of you. Sunhee and I also used a lot of our abilities, and we needed to rest to recover our strength for Dimensional Movement.”
Yonghoon continued speaking.
“Besides, we needed to check the situation before leaving. Luckily, you woke up just in time.”
Eunseo’s expression lightened a bit.
Just then, there was a timely knock at the door, and Branch Leader Karel entered.
The face of the middle-aged man, weathered by the storms of life, now looked like a mess of surprise, exhaustion, and helplessness.
“Ah, you’re awake. That’s a relief.”
He spoke warmly upon seeing Eunseo awake.
Then he turned to Yonghoon.
“Fortunately, all our colleagues who were in Nuremberg have safely escaped.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Yonghoon was relieved at his words.
He had been worried that his attack on the city and the monsters’ rampage might have harmed the Rebels.
“Nuremberg has been completely destroyed. It wasn’t a big military city to begin with, but with several dimensional larvae running rampant, nothing is left. It seems the explosives in the city spread around and caused utter chaos. Everyone living there is evacuating. Even the government is recommending withdrawal.”
Branch Leader Karel spoke while looking at Yonghoon with a curious expression.
“And there’s a message from HQ. According to a report from an informant inside the government, they’re recalling all Awakened dispatched to other dimensions. The ones in A Dimension are already returning, but those in B Dimension are still wrapping up, so it’ll take a bit longer.”
Yonghoon’s face darkened.
“They’re wrapping up B Dimension?”
“Yes, only a few islands remain, and it seems they’ll be conquered soon.”
At the Branch Leader’s words, Yonghoon’s face stiffened. The attack was faster than expected.
Yonghoon jumped up from his seat.
“What’s wrong?”
The Branch Leader looked at Yonghoon in surprise.
Yonghoon stood there, staring at the door.
She was in danger.
But the Warp Zone to B Dimension was located in the enemy’s capital. A place swarming with powerful Awakened and layered with multiple defenses.
There was currently no way to sneak into such a place and reach the Warp Zone, let alone cross over to B Dimension.
After standing silently for a moment, Yonghoon sat back down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He had to trust them. The Awakened in B Dimension were strong. When he had crossed over, there had been five A-rank Awakened in Korea. Although there were no Linkers, Jeju Island should be well defended until then.
And,
Yonghoon opened his eyes and looked at Sunhee and Eunseo.
Eunseo, thinking that Yonghoon was worried about his homeland, looked at him with a sorrowful expression, while Sunhee gazed at him sadly.
Images of the other Team Crazy members and the people he had met so far flashed through Yonghoon’s mind.
They were in even greater danger now. And he couldn’t just abandon them.
Yonghoon clenched his teeth.
If he could take care of the Dimensional Beasts this time, he could finally catch his breath.
After that, he had to block the remaining Warp Zones and find a way to return home immediately. There was no more time to waste.
After regaining his composure, Yonghoon reassured the people around him.
“It’s nothing. Sorry, I was just lost in thought.”
The Branch Leader looked a bit puzzled at Yonghoon’s apology but decided to let it go.
“Destroying Nuremberg was impressive enough, but taking down an S-rank Awakened… it’s hard to believe.”
Even as he spoke, the Branch Leader didn’t look particularly happy.
“It’s a strange feeling. Rationally, I know it’s a good thing, but emotionally, it’s complicated. Maybe that’s why HQ plans to keep Yonghoon’s achievement a secret. They probably expect a lot of internal turmoil.”
Maybe he was right, or maybe there was another reason. Either way, Yonghoon didn’t put much weight on it. Their relationship with HQ was always somewhat distant. It wasn’t his place to comment on how they handled internal matters.
After the conversation ended, Yonghoon spoke up.
“As you know, because of the Dimensional Beasts, we need to return to our original world immediately. Now that Eunseo is awake, we’ll head out right away.”
At Yonghoon’s words, Eunseo gave him a sideways glance. He had said otherwise, but it was clear he had been waiting for her to wake up.
They quickly gathered their equipment.
Yonghoon grabbed his last remaining sword and two Dimensional Cores, while Eunseo picked up the shield given by a Rebel Linker with her other hand. Fortunately, the shield had withstood even the attacks of an S-rank Awakened.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
Eunseo answered energetically. But Sunhee cautiously asked Yonghoon,
“Um, what about Robert?”
At her question, a look of realization flashed across Yonghoon’s face. But there was no time. They couldn’t afford to bring him along.
“We gave him plenty of food, so he’ll have to wait a bit longer.”
At Yonghoon’s response, Sunhee nodded.
“Still, I feel a little bad.”
“It can’t be helped.”
Yonghoon also felt guilty, but there was no choice.
After finishing their preparations, the group headed back toward the passage with Branch Leader Karel.
The city at dawn was filled with tension. However, it didn’t seem like inspections had tightened yet.
They safely arrived at the house connected to the underground passage in front of the wall, and then entered a building in the old city center through the underground route.
Upon reaching the first floor of the building, Yonghoon turned to Branch Leader Karel.
“We’ll depart immediately. If all goes well, we’ll return in a few days. Please send our regards to Elena.”
Eunseo and Sunhee looked at Yonghoon with surprised expressions at the short timeline, but Yonghoon ignored their gazes.
“Understood. You can come back here next time. The government will likely cause a commotion, so the Resistance HQ will probably relocate.”
At the Branch Leader’s words, Yonghoon nodded.
Then he wrapped his arms around the waists of the two women standing on either side to keep them from falling inside the dimensional tunnel.
“Let’s go!”
Yonghoon opened the dimensional tunnel.
And then Yonghoon, Eunseo, and Sunhee disappeared from the Rebels’ hideout.
Branch Leader Karel, who remained behind, muttered as he stared at the spot where Yonghoon had vanished.
“No matter how you look at it, it seems like he’s living with both women. Impressive.”
In the end, he misunderstood.
A dimensional tunnel opened on the rooftop of the five-story building that served as Team Crazy’s office, and Yonghoon and the two women tumbled out.
Landing on the ground, they took deep breaths. Eunseo and Sunhee’s faces had turned pale.
Fortunately, this time they managed to complete the Dimensional Movement safely.
Moreover, Eunseo and Sunhee’s faces were quickly returning to normal.
Yonghoon was also sweating quite a bit, but unlike before, he moved with ease.
Yonghoon glanced at his wrist. His smart watch displayed his level.
Level A
Dimensional Power 17323 / 20000
When he first checked his experience after the battle, Yonghoon had been extremely surprised.
The opponents they had faced included two A-rank Awakened and one S-rank Awakened.
It seemed he had gained an enormous amount of experience from fighting the S-rank Awakened. His experience had nearly doubled.
At this rate, it wouldn’t take long. Breaking through the limit level was a problem, but once he solved that, he would become an S-rank Awakened-a rank he had never reached even in his original dimension.
Anyway, thanks to the increase in experience, the burden of Dimensional Movement had significantly decreased.
Right now, he had only dropped about one level, feeling roughly like a B-rank. At this rate, he would likely return to normal after just half a day.
They had departed at dawn, but by the time they arrived in Seoul, it was afternoon. It was due to the time difference between Europe and Seoul.
“But it looks like no one’s here?”
Catching her breath, Eunseo looked around with a puzzled expression.
The surroundings were quiet.
Even to Yonghoon’s senses, there were no signs of people.
“I don’t see any soldiers either.”
Sunhee, who was peering over the railing, spoke to Yonghoon.
Not only the building, but the entire area was silent. Even in the other buildings, there were no signs of people.
Yonghoon pulled out his mobile phone. Fortunately, he could still make calls.
Yonghoon first called team leader Han.
The ringtone sounded, and the call connected immediately.
“Hello…….”
Yonghoon’s words were cut off as team leader Han’s voice burst from the phone.
[Captain! It’s really you, right? Thank goodness. Thank goodness. We’re in Uijeongbu! Everyone’s gathered here to fight the beasts. Please come as soon as you can!]
Team leader Han’s message was heard by everyone.
With surprised expressions, Sunhee and Eunseo immediately approached Yonghoon, and Yonghoon placed his hands on their shoulders.
Though he was uneasy with his reduced abilities, they couldn’t just stay here.
Yonghoon leapt through space toward Uijeongbu.