Inside the spacious but dimly lit government HQ office, the mood remained professional but strained.

  The manager placed a set of thick gate reports on the table and slid them toward Mu Yichen. "Here are the latest missions for your consideration. As always, the final decision is yours."

  Just as the air settled into business, Seo MinHyun leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with a frown. “Tch. I swear, everyone in HQ has no sense of respect. You all act like I’m invisible.”

  The manager didn’t flinch. “I don’t manage celebrity fan clubs.”

  Seo MinHyun’s eye twitched. “I’m not asking for a fan club. A little acknowledgment wouldn’t kill you.”

  Mu Yichen chuckled softly, already familiar with this dynamic. The manager is strict, efficient, and absolutely immune to nonsense and has a long history of brushing off Seo MinHyun’s flair for theatrics.

  And Seo MinHyun, ever the attention seeker, always responded like a cat being denied affection.

  They were like natural enemies doomed to eternal banter.

  Ignoring the background bickering, Mu Yichen casually sifted through the folders until something caught his eye, a plain brown file at the edge of the desk, thinner than the rest. He reached for it.

  “That one isn’t necessary,” the manager said quickly, noticing the movement. “It’s a small matter. No need for someone of your level to be involved.”

  Mu Yichen raised an eyebrow and opened the folder anyway.

  Seo MinHyun, now momentarily intrigued, leaned over his friend’s shoulder. “What is it?”

  Mu Yichen carefully finished reading the file, his expression unreadable.

  “It’s about the west area,” he said calmly, placing the folder back on the desk.

  Seo MinHyun’s eyes narrowed with curiosity as he glanced between Mu Yichen and the manager. “What about the west area?”

  The manager stepped forward and began explaining. “For the past year, the number of gate appearances in the west area has been noticeably less than usual. Normally, gates mostly low rank but occasionally mid to high rank pop up regularly there.”

  “Since the west area is largely abandoned,” the manager continued, “we haven’t paid it much attention. We just send hunters to clear gates when we receive signals, then move on.”

  “But last week,” the manager added, “during the annual year-end summary, higher-ups noticed that gate appearances in the west have been declining steadily for over a year. The decrease is significant enough that the government decided to investigate the area more thoroughly.”

  Seo MinHyun frowned, folding his arms. “The west area is the place people and even the government abandoned because of the constant gate activity, right? Low rank gates most of the time, but sometimes high rank ones too?”

  The manager folded his arms. “There’s something strange about it. Gates don’t follow strict patterns, but the rate in that area dropped to less than one-third of what it should be. It’s almost like something is... destroying the gate before they fully manifest. Or clearing them before we even respond.”

  Mu Yichen’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying someone’s been clearing the gates without reporting them?”

  “Possibly or it's just a natural occurrence, ” the manager replied. “We’ve received a few inconsistent signals. Gates appear briefly on radar, and when we send a team and nothing. Just silence. Empty space. No core. No monsters. Nothing.”

  Seo MinHyun frowned. “Are you sure it's not a system error?”

  “We checked. Multiple times. It’s not a system issue.”

  Seo MinHyun clicked his tongue in displeasure. “All kinds of strange things have been happening these days.”

  He glanced at Mu Yichen, who was still staring at the folder with an unusually deep look.

  “Are you going to take the mission to investigate the west area?” Seo MinHyun asked.

  Mu Yichen slowly nodded.

  The manager looked surprised. “That’s unusual. You typically choose the most difficult missions.”

  Mu Yichen calmly stood up, folder in hand, meeting the confused gazes of both Seo MinHyun and the manager. His voice was steady as he said, “A sudden decrease in the number of gates in a certain area is not a coincidence, no matter how you look at it.”

  Seo MinHyun’s expression turned sour with disappointment. “Investigating the west area is a waste of time. Not to mention, it’s where no human really wants to go.”

  But both Mu Yichen and the manager knew the truth beneath Seo MinHyun’s words. The west area was desolate and remote, no crowds, no spotlight.

  No matter how Seo MinHyun fought monsters there, no one would notice. It went against his usual desire for attention and fame.

  The manager, who usually ignored Seo MinHyun’s complaints, nodded quietly in agreement. “It’s a waste of resources. We’ll send some other hunters.”

  Mu Yichen shook his head firmly. “I will go. I handle gates and monsters all the time. An investigation is just a change of scenery. It’s necessary.”

  Without waiting for further argument, Mu Yichen turned and left the office. Seo MinHyun followed closely, irritation evident on his face.

  Meanwhile, far in the silent ruins of the west district…

  Lee Aseok sat on the cracked floor of an abandoned gym, sipping canned coffee. The shattered windows let in fading sunlight as he stared quietly at the opposite wall where a worn punching bag still hung.

  He didn’t look at the gate core he had just absorbed, still pulsing faintly on the floor behind him.

  He didn’t report it. As usual.

  Lee Aseok let the silence stretch and muttered under his breath, “The less people care, the better.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  He didn’t know two powerful hunters were already on their way.

  And the holy sword, still locked away in its containment chamber far from here, pulsed faintly for the first time in weeks.

  In the car, Seo MinHyun gripped the steering wheel, stealing a glance at Mu Yichen sitting silently in the passenger seat. “What’s the real reason you’re taking this mission?”

  Seo MinHyun knew Mu Yichen never acted without a plan.

  Mu Yichen’s calm reply surprised him. “I want a change of pace… and I want to find out the real cause of the abnormality in the west area.”

  Seo MinHyun glanced over at Mu Yichen, clicked his tongue, and muttered, “You’ve been acting weird ever since the holy sword appeared.”

  Mu Yichen said nothing in response. His eyes remained fixed on the passing scenery outside the window.

  Since the first time he saw the holy sword, a strange feeling had settled deep inside him, a sensation of loss, grief, and an unexplainable sadness. He didn’t understand why, but he was certain it was connected to the holy sword. He never spoke of this to anyone.

  Choosing to investigate the west area was a decision driven purely by instinct, a gut feeling he could neither explain nor deny. Even Mu Yichen himself wasn’t sure why he had come.

  The rest of the journey was silent.

  As they approached the west area, the sparse signs of civilization grew fewer and fewer. Eventually, the car entered what looked like a long-abandoned town.

  Vegetation had crept over buildings and roads, the pavement cracked and broken, structures crumbling and covered in moss and vines.

  Evidence of past gate outbreaks was everywhere, the scars of battles etched in shattered walls and toppled pillars.

  The west area had been forsaken for good reason. Gates appeared here with unnerving frequency, not always high rank, but frequent enough that residents had long since fled. The government sent hunters to clear these gates only after receiving distress signals.

  Seo MinHyun surveyed the desolate city and muttered, “The Regent’s already heading this way.”

  Suddenly, the car shook violently. Seo MinHyun slammed on the emergency brake.

  The car trembled violently just as Seo MinHyun caught sight of the decaying skyline of the west area.

  “The hell?” he muttered, slamming the emergency brake.

  Both he and Mu Yichen stepped out of the vehicle. A sharp crunch echoed under their boots, splinters of white monster bones were scattered across the cracked pavement, and the front tires were completely slashed open.

  Mu Yichen crouched briefly, surveying the scene in silence. Then, rising with unhurried grace, he looked around the desolate area and said, “Since we’re here, might as well check it out.”

  Without another word, he started walking forward, his long coat swaying behind him in the dusty breeze.

  Seo MinHyun scowled at the sky. “Right. Just toss away the luxury vehicle like it’s pocket change,” he muttered, then glanced at the destroyed tires. “Do you know how much this car cost? That was imported from Italy, you lunatic.”

  Mu Yichen, of course, didn’t respond. He’d already turned the corner of a crumbling pharmacy.

  Grumbling, Seo MinHyun jogged to catch up.

  They moved carefully, yet fluidly through the forgotten city. Vegetation had devoured fences and crept up buildings like slow-burning flames.

  Rusted lamp posts bent at strange angles, and windows were either shattered or completely boarded shut.

  “Seriously, why do horror movies always start like this?” Seo MinHyun whispered, only half-joking.

  Despite his usual arrogance, he activated his detection spell without delay. A faint circle of pale blue shimmered around him as the spell flared to life. “Scanning for lifeforms within 500 meters,” he muttered.

  Mu Yichen gave a nod and started climbing the remnants of an old café’s metal fire escape to get a better vantage. The stairs creaked beneath his weight, but his movements were graceful, practiced, and eerily silent.

  Not to be outdone, Seo MinHyun jumped onto the same structure. “Bet you fifty bucks I will get to the top faster.”

  “You’ll break the railing,” Mu Yichen replied mildly.

  “Have some faith in me,” Seo MinHyun huffed. Then, halfway up, he slipped, caught himself, and muttered, “I’m fine. That was just gravity being jealous of my elegance.”

  They reached the rooftop and looked around.

  The west area sprawled out before them like a forgotten skeleton of civilization. Rows of collapsed buildings stretched far into the horizon.

  Old cars sat rusting under cracked highway signs. And yet… There were no monsters. No people. No signs of movement, just a city choked in silence.

  “Weird,” Seo MinHyun said. “I expected something, anything. Blood, traps, maybe some evil villain with a cigar.”

  They climbed other buildings. Crawled over jagged glass and tangled rebar. Checked the dark insides of malls and abandoned stations.

  And every time Seo MinHyun made a dramatic comment, Mu Yichen remained silent, scanning, noting, calculating.

  Hours passed. The sun dipped lower, dyeing the ruins in amber hues.

  Still nothing.

  Mu Yichen finally paused near a collapsed metro entrance, staring at a deep slash carved into the stone wall. It was old. Dried. A fight had occurred here but not recently.

  Even Mu Yichen's usually unreadable eyes carried a flicker of confusion. This place should not have been this empty. He expected at least a rogue boss monster, or maybe a group of criminals harvesting gate cores illegally. But there was only decay… and silence.

  From behind, Seo MinHyun gave a frustrated grunt and kicked a small rock.

  “Waste of my time,” he growled. “Do you know how many people are probably missing my livestreams right now?”

  Mu Yichen turned slightly, the corners of his mouth curling faintly, not quite a smile, but enough to show he was listening.

  Seo MinHyun pointed at the dead street ahead. “We combed this whole place like detectives in a noir film, and all we found was dust and trauma.”

  “You did complain loudly enough to scare away anything that might have shown up,” Mu Yichen said mildly.

  Seo MinHyun blinked. “Was that sarcasm? From you? I must be dreaming.”

  Even someone like Mu Yichen, always calm, composed, and unreadable, found himself pausing. His sharp eyes scanned the cracked asphalt, faded bloodstains, broken concrete, and blackened walls.

  Nothing.

  No monsters.

  No humans.

  No lingering magical traces.

  He had expected a nest of boss monsters lurking beneath the abandoned streets, or at the very least a group of illegal hunters trying to harvest cores quietly. But there was nothing except the wind and the eerie silence of a city lost to time.

  Seo MinHyun kicked a broken rock at his feet with a frustrated grunt. “Seriously? All this walking, climbing, and monster-bone-induced car damage, for what? Dust?”

  Mu Yichen didn’t respond immediately. His expression was serene as ever, but his tone held a quiet edge.

  “Not finding anything... is a bad sign too. The decline in gate appearances here is real. Something is suppressing or consuming them.”

  Seo MinHyun opened his mouth to complain again, but before he could, a loud crack of thunder echoed above them.

  Then, the sky opened up.

  Rain poured down like a broken dam, cold and punishing. It fell without warning, turning dust to mud and soaking both men to the bone in seconds.

  Mu Yichen stood there, blinking at the downpour. His usually perfect posture and expensive coat sagged under the weight of water. Seo MinHyun, meanwhile, looked like someone had dumped an entire lake over his head.

  They both looked at each other, silent, drenched, and entirely speechless.

  “…I’m cursed,” Seo MinHyun muttered finally, dragging his hands down his wet face. “I swear someone put a curse on me. That old fortune teller was right.”

  Mu Yichen, ever composed, simply ran a hand through his wet hair. “…Should’ve brought umbrellas.”

  Seo MinHyun gave him an incredulous look. “We’re in the middle of a monster-ridden no-man’s land and you’re regretting not bringing an umbrella?!”

  He cast a small magic barrier over his head, trying to at least shield them from the worst of it but the rain poured down so relentlessly that even the shield sputtered and hissed against the pressure.

  Normally, drying spells would’ve worked. But against this level of downpour, even magic was ineffective.

  “Stupid apocalyptic weather,” Seo MinHyun mumbled. “Ever since the gates showed up, even the sky’s had mood swings.”

  Mu Yichen tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he scanned the surroundings. Then, he spotted it, a five-story building off to the side, only partially collapsed. The walls were still intact, and it looked… surprisingly stable compared to the skeletal remains around it.

  He pointed. “There. We’ll wait until the rain stops.”

  Seo MinHyun followed his gaze and grumbled. “Figures. Of all the ruins we’ve seen, that one just had to be the least haunted-looking. Probably filled with ghost cats or sentient mold.”

  Still, soaked and sticky, he didn’t argue. His boots squelched with every step as they made their way toward the structure, the rain hammering down like war drums on the crumbling city.

  As they reached the old building and ducked under the shadow of its awning, Seo MinHyun wrung water from his sleeves and muttered, “When I said I wanted to be in the spotlight, I didn’t mean this. We better not find a sewer boss monster living here.”

  But he followed behind anyway, grumbling under his breath the entire way.

  Mu Yichen, however, was unusually quiet.

  The closer they got to the structure, the more he felt it. A strange sense of unease no, not unease. A stirring.