A Woman’s Complex Heart

The Gate had appeared in front of Yongsan Station.

If a Gate Break occurred here, an immense number of Orcs would pour into the surroundings.

Generally, it was an area with many Awakeners, and the government would try to respond to the Break, so the actual damage might only end with the buildings, but the citizens would evaluate the current government as incompetent just for the destruction of facilities in the heart of the city.

Therefore, Awakener groups were deployed in an emergency, and three teams in total, including two 2nd generation Awakeners, were dispatched and were raiding the Gate with half a day left before the Break.

‘Are there 7 hours left until the Break?’

Not only did it feel like time was tight because the number of Orcs was high, but the time required for the work would show a difference depending on the combat style of the deployed personnel.

If it was a style like Jeong Sang-hu’s before, where the inside of the Gate was collapsed to bury the monsters, the workers would struggle in many ways to recover the byproducts.

While heading to the Gate, Geum Seong-chan was able to receive information about the deployed personnel, and his face scowled because of one person.

“The Cold Witch is here.”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

Just as the name suggested, she was a female Awakener who used cold air. Because she was an Awakener who used ruthless cold and had no mercy in her hands, she was called the Cold Witch, but there was a reason why operators like Seong-chan disliked her.

Frozen corpses were simply difficult to recover.

Furthermore, she boasted such prickliness that if Go Yu-jin were to make a Golem and board it, she could suffer damage because of the cold.

It felt like they had no choice but to deploy her because the Gate was urgent, but in this case, the team would inevitably struggle with byproduct recovery.

“The contract is already finished.”

It was the government official speaking as if to emphasize while looking at Seong-chan.

‘They made the contract knowing everything; did they come looking for us because they knew it would be difficult?’

It was a mistake not to ask who had been deployed beforehand. Because there was no reason for someone like the Cold Witch to be deployed to this kind of Gate.

Seong-chan let out a sigh and spoke.

“I’ll make sure to remember the debt from this job.”

“Just fulfill the contract properly. Shouldn’t we speak after that’s done?”

It was an unpleasant way of speaking. After checking the man’s civil servant ID card, Seong-chan memorized his name.

‘Jo Seong-bin… It’s a world where today’s ally becomes a sworn enemy tomorrow, yet he’s going too far.’

Even while knowing it was a harsh world, there were always rude humans who failed to recognize it properly.

Seong-chan met his gaze once and immediately moved his steps, and once he entered the inside of the Gate, the first thing that seeped into his nose was a terrible stench of death.

‘The management is a mess; is it because there are many close-range Awakeners?’

It felt so cramped to the point where there were no intact Orc corpses. So he expected that the time would not be very ample for now, and since he couldn’t afford to be idle, he immediately began to spread mana to the surroundings.

‘Which magic would be the most appropriate to use?’

In the case of Gates with generally high populations, it was a wise move to use ‘Dead Rise’ and the like to create Orc Zombies and induce them to naturally walk out of the Gate.

However, as seen, as long as the corpses were not intact, he had to induce morphological transformation.

It meant that additional mana would be wasted.

Since the limits of the work would become clear, it was generally not desirable to give variations to existing magic, but since it was certain that Go Yu-jin would also come in a little while anyway, Seong-chan shaped the mana he had emitted.

Dead Rise was a relatively low-grade magic corresponding to the 3rd Circle, but because its power varied depending on the amount of mana used, it was also a magic favored by many black mages.

However, depending on how one gave variations, the efficiency and ability were worlds apart, so mages who showcased the same operation hardly existed.

In a case like now, Seong-chan planned to reconstruct the form of the zombies with a ‘Slime’ feeling.

He saw the government official who had followed him in and was watching the situation, and beside him, the operators who were loading and carrying the work volume also caught his eye.

They were probably intending to set a plan and arrange for vehicles.

This was because the transportation direction changed depending on how much volume could be cleared at once.

Seong-chan glanced at them and spoke.

“It would be best to arrange for as many vehicles as possible.”

“We’ll decide that after seeing for ourselves.”

It was an arrogant answer. He seemed like an operator acting in concert with the government official.

‘Birds of a feather.’

In his heart, Seong-chan wanted to end it by paying the penalty regardless of the contract, but that amount would be significant.

Since it would also damage the company image, he recalled that he would have to gradually mediate the dispute regarding this unfair transaction and decided to focus on handling the work properly for now.

The emitted mana took form and was absorbed into the ground.

And as a huge magic circle was drawn, countless Orc remnants scattered here and there gathered, forming a large Slime shape and beginning to crawl slowly.

Since the number reached at least several hundred, Seong-chan looked back again and spoke while looking at the government official and the transportation operator.

“If you can’t clear it all, it’s your fault, so I don’t know.”

The two were colored with embarrassment, and Seong-chan emitted mana, which still had much reserve, once again and drew a magic circle in another direction.

“H-how about using magic after processing it all!”

It was the government official approaching and speaking urgently.

“Didn’t you say there’s no time? It would be right to pull them all out even if we have to pile them in downtown Yongsan. Besides, it seems the work will be hindered because someone didn’t provide proper information, so why don’t you worry about the aftermath instead of interfering?”

“Are you going to be like this?”

“Yes, I am.”

Clenching his teeth, the government official took his mobile phone out from his pocket and left the Gate, and soon after, the transportation operator also followed him out, looking like he was urgently calling somewhere.

‘I’ll see how you clear up the heap of shit that’s piled up.’

Go Yu-jin arrived at the scene a little later than scheduled, but she couldn’t help but be flustered after seeing the surrounding situation.

‘What is all this…?’

A large number of vehicles were carrying away byproducts, but her speech was blocked as she saw the Orc remnants piled up to the point it could be called a huge mountain.

Just as she was about to head urgently to the Gate at that, there was someone blocking Go Yu-jin’s path.

“CEO!”

The government official with an urgent expression; he spoke while pointing at the Orc remnants that were constantly being pushed out of the Gate.

“Couldn’t you make it stop?!”

“Isn’t it a good thing if we can finish the work quickly?”

“Still, isn’t this a bit too much?”

It wasn’t a wrong statement. However, Go Yu-jin had also grasped the circumstances before and after while coming here.

“If you deployed us urgently without informing us that it was a work site where the Cold Witch is, shouldn’t you handle it?”

“I’m sorry. I can apologize for that part a hundred times, a thousand times. But if you pull out and pile up byproducts recklessly like this, public opinion won’t be good!”

“Do I look like a person who would care about such things?”

Go Yu-jin pushed the government official aside, took another look at the Orc remnants that were being spat out of the Gate as if being forced, and moved her steps.

The government official followed Go Yu-jin and was in a fret, but Go Yu-jin, who entered the Gate without replying at all, looked at the back of the man who was operating an immense amount of mana as if it were nothing.

‘He’s amazing… Anyone would see him as an overwhelming monster, so why does he think only he is weak?’

Black magic is a realm of talent. No, magic itself can be said to be a realm of talent. Even if one has awakened, if they lack magical talent or lack intelligence to the point they cannot operate magic properly, they are of no value.

In reality, Go Yu-jin could also use black magic, but because she lacked the talent to handle mana outside the body, she ended up only active as a Golem Meister.

And because this meant a clear limit, it frequently happened that she held her colleagues back, even leading to cases where she caused harm to allies.

The impulse to kill was literally just an excuse.

One’s own inadequacy; perhaps it could be called a chronic problem that all Awakeners possessed. Furthermore, most of the 1st generation are so fixed on their obsession with strength that they are still frantic to become stronger.

Anyway, the man who showcased a strength that would never be believed to be 2nd generation even by such a 1st generation could be called a rare case.

“Are you going to pull out all the volume?”

“You’re here?”

Go Yu-jin stuck out her tongue at the sight of him replying leisurely while operating an immense amount of mana.

“Anything to help with?”

“It’s just that the volume is large; it’s not a difficult task. But the problem is the frozen remnants; could you just handle those?”

“It’s prickly, but… it will be more leisurely than processing all these many things. Is it enough if I just do that?”

At the sight of Geum Seong-chan nodding, Go Yu-jin reached the point of rolling up her sleeves, saying she understood.

She glanced at Geum Seong-chan. Then, when their gazes met, he, looking curious, asked a question.

“Is there something to say?”

“No… Rather, I want to ask?”

“What?”

“Last night… it was good, right?”

Right after asking the question, she wondered what kind of absurd nonsense this was, and it was the moment when embarrassment rushed in to the point that even her ears turned hot. Geum Seong-chan’s answer flowed out as he nodded calmly.

“If the partner is you, there’s no way I would dislike it, is there?”

Go Yu-jin’s heart thumped in an instant, and with an answer of “Fine,” she scurried away and reached the point of running in the direction where the terrible cold was felt.

Watching that appearance, Geum Seong-chan also scratched his head as if sheepish.

‘Did I need a slightly cooler line?’

He tried a belated regret, but because the work volume was so large, his consciousness was soon concentrated back on the work site, and he reached the point of savoring the expression of the government official looking like he had tasted shit while operating the huge Orc remnant Slimes that constantly left the Gate entrance.

“The Gate Core has been dealt with. It’s clear now.”

The Cold Witch, Cheon Se-ah, nodded at her teammate’s words and began to withdraw her cold air.

Although she had been deployed in an emergency, she didn’t like it in the sense that it wasn’t a Gate where someone of her skill level should come.

However, it was an emergency request, and because various benefits, including tax reduction, are given if one performs an emergency request made by the government once, she had set out inevitably.

And she had dealt with the Gate Core five hours after deployment.

“The Break has been prevented, and it seems there’s a little less than 7 hours left until closure, so let’s look around the surroundings to see if there’s anything to take and then go out.”

Everyone scattered with an answer of understanding. But at that moment, Cheon Se-ah turned her head with a ‘snap’ because a massive mana was felt.

‘Mana of this scale; was even a 1st generation deployed?’

One cannot specify whose power it is with mana alone. However, since the groups that use mana are mages, she thought there must be a figure deployed in an emergency for byproduct processing.

But when the massive mana that had been emitted once occurred one more time not long after, Cheon Se-ah could no longer ignore it.

“…Who did they call in?”

Curiosity raised its head.

She thought about who the mages capable of using this much mana currently were, and because one person’s face flickered past, she immediately moved her steps.

Thus, Cheon Se-ah was moving her steps toward the Gate entrance, but how far had she moved?

The being with the massive mana had entered the Gate and was soon getting closer to the direction where Cheon Se-ah was.

‘…Two with mana of this scale… It’s certain.’

She had thought of those who perform remnant collection work among the powerful mages currently active in Seoul.

And because one was a welcome face and the other was an unpleasant human, Cheon Se-ah’s expression hardened.

‘Go Yu-jin… You are always an interference…’

The ice flower in her heart was about to reach full bloom.