Chapter 4

The threat of countless Dimensional Beings pouring in due to the dimensional intersection.

Above it, a young woman and a man were walking.

One was the Cheonma of Murim, exuding an overwhelming, domineering aura that perfectly fit the term “majestic.”

The other, of course, was me.

“Ayu, do we really have to go this way?”

“It’s been a while since I used my power, so I need to focus my internal energy. Just be quiet for a bit.”

We were currently flying through the sky.

Well, to be precise, we were walking.

Remember the scene from *Howl’s Moving Castle* where the heroine walks holding Howl’s hand?

That’s exactly what I looked like right now.

According to her, it’s a technique called “Lingkong Xudao,” but to me, it just looked like Howl’s sky-walking.

Of course, I was just holding Ayu’s hand while walking.

‘Should I call this form Cheon Hong-ryun?’

After Ayu returned to her form as Cheonma Cheon Hong-ryun, her personality did a complete 180.

I guessed she was a rare case of a possessor among the Returners.

So this must be her true form.

The Ayu I met, Shin Sora, must have been maintaining her original Earth appearance.

But this domineering aura and ruler-like demeanor flowing from her body must be her true self.

‘It’s a common trait among Returners.’

Dimensional Movement is, of course, no easy feat.

Therefore, most Returners who come back through Dimensional Movement are often the strongest in their respective worlds.

Because of this, the dimensional intersections caused by Returners are usually difficult to handle unless you’re a Returner yourself.

Even among the Awakened Hunters on Earth, there are few who can stand against Returners.

And Ayu was raising her Aura Sensation to find the Returner who caused this situation.

Even for someone like her, a Cheonma, she needed to concentrate to find someone capable of Dimensional Movement.

“By the way, why did your way of speaking change so much? You even look different, like a completely different person.”

“That form was suppressing my magical energy. When I use my magical energy fully, I return to this state. As for my speech, it’s because of the Cheonma bloodline. I was forced into rote education as a child, so when I’m like this, I end up speaking like this. ……Do you dislike it?”

“It’s a new feeling, so it’s interesting.”

“Then that’s fine.”

Even while concentrating, she smiled at me and answered familiarly.

After all, Ayu was still Ayu.

The four years of our relationship wouldn’t change, no matter what form she took.

‘I have Dimensional Beings beneath my feet.’

Just this morning, I was worrying about rent, and now I’m in this situation.

But the desire to save people was real.

And to save as many people as possible, finding the Returner was urgent.

We needed to close the Dimensional Gate the Returner opened, and above all, it was widely accepted in academia that most Returners were mentally unstable when they returned.

Well, of course.

Most of those who decided to return after wreaking havoc in other dimensions were weakened by severe homesickness.

So if a Returner were to start massacring civilians…

The aftermath would be unimaginable.

‘Plus, the Hunters are here now.’

Since the Dimensional Movement occurred in an urban area, the Hunters quickly responded.

Thanks to that, the Hunters below were subduing Dimensional Beings and diligently rescuing people.

Rescuing people and dealing with Dimensional Beings were their specialties.

So what we needed to focus on was the Returner.

“Found it.”

At that moment, Cheon Hong-ryun’s half-closed eyes snapped open.

Her eyes, tinged with a deep red, were fixed on the rooftop of a building about 30 stories high.

“We’re going to jump. Hold on tight.”

“Hold on?”

I was momentarily stunned.

Cheon Hong-ryun looked even more striking than when she was Ayu.

Her slender legs exposed beneath her martial attire, and despite the loose-fitting nature of her clothes, her chest was noticeably prominent, leaving no place to look.

And her slim waist was no joke.

Honestly, there was nowhere to hold onto.

“Why are you like this? You could just hug me.”

And this girl had become even more mischievous.

Seeing Cheon Hong-ryun’s sly smile even in this situation, I got annoyed and grabbed her waist tightly.

“Kyaa?!”

Surprisingly, she let out a girlish scream.

When I looked at her with a strange expression, she blushed and turned her head away, embarrassed that she screamed even though she told me to hold on.

“Not even one person in Murim dared to touch my body.”

“You told me to hold on.”

“Hmm, you can hold on tighter.”

“I’m too embarrassed to do more than this, so let’s just go.”

Even while blushing, she said everything she wanted to say. Truly a Cheonma. But we didn’t have time to mess around anymore.

Dimensional Beings were still coming out of the Dimensional Gate, so we needed to find the Returner quickly and make him close the gate.

“Let’s go.”

With those words, as Cheonma stepped into the air, my vision changed.

When I came to my senses, Cheon Hong-ryun was already stepping onto the wall of the building she had pointed out earlier.

And without hesitation, her feet began running up the building’s exterior.

“Did you put glue on your feet or something?!”

“Glue? Nonsense, this is a martial arts technique called ‘Sheng Tian Fei.'”

Damn, I’m only in my third year of martial arts classes, so my knowledge is limited.

I regretted not studying Dimensional Movement more, but before I knew it, we had arrived on the 30th-floor rooftop.

Since we had climbed the exterior, my blood rushed to my head, and I felt a bit dizzy, but I straightened my posture.

Because right in front of me was a woman sitting down.

With black hair and a black eyepatch engraved with a peculiar pattern, she was holding a massive cross-shaped sword in both hands, dressed in a nun’s habit.

At first glance, she looked like a devout believer, but the aura emanating from her was unsettling to me.

‘Where did she come from?’

Having majored in Dimensional Movement, I had a good grasp of the dimensions from which Returners had emerged so far.

Many dimensions created based on Returners were still appearing, but occasionally, Returners from the same dimension would appear.

Since time flows differently between dimensions, it was possible for another Returner to emerge from the same world.

And this time, I could deduce from her nun’s habit and the pattern on her eyepatch.

“Serlintium.”

[Category: Fantasy · No. 14]

Returner Emergence: March 12, 2012

Name: Seong Ho-ram (Aegis Seiya)

· Characteristics

1. A religious world that believes in the god Aegis.

(The symbol of the Aegis Church is attached in the photo)

2. Warning: Witch hunts targeting heretics are common. Any mention related to gods is strictly prohibited.

3. Clerics use divine artifacts received from the god, capable of repeatedly restoring and exploding enemy bodies.

4. Heretics known as “Outer Gods” exist, and Aegis priests have an extreme aversion to them.

5. Representative Outer God symbols

(The symbol of the Outer God is attached in the photo)

…

The information listed in my head matched one of the Outer God symbols from the world of Serlintium.

Fortunately, it had appeared in a university assignment, and I had memorized it desperately for a full scholarship, so it was still fresh in my memory.

As evidence, when I casually mentioned “Serlintium,” her gaze under the eyepatch turned toward me.

‘An apostle who believes in the Outer God Auleps.’

Having guessed her identity, I glanced at Cheon Hong-ryun.

Still exuding her domineering aura, she didn’t seem to care much about the Outer God’s apostle.

But she was also a powerhouse capable of Dimensional Movement.

No matter how strong Cheon Hong-ryun was, caution was necessary.

“…Ayu, I’ve figured out the Returner’s information. And what abilities she uses.”

“You even know that?”

“I studied it. I only know because it’s a recorded world. This is a bit of a special case.”

Don’t underestimate a full scholarship graduate from Korea’s top Hunter University.

If I studied it, I still remember it even five years later.

‘Actually, I’ve been keeping up with the updated Returner-related information too.’

Since my sister disappeared, I’ve been checking Returner-related information whenever I had time as my last hope.

There was no other way to find even the slightest clue about my sister.

Thanks to that, the Returner information in my head was constantly being updated.

Anyway, the point is, we need to deal with the nun in front of us.

‘Returners can generally communicate.’

They were originally Earthlings, after all.

Not invaders.

‘But she…’

She might be a special case where communication isn’t possible.

“Aegis Seiya. Where is he?”

Just as I was pondering how to start the conversation, her voice echoed.

For a moment, my head spun, and my vision turned black.

“You know, don’t you?”

Her voice echoed again, scrambling my thoughts.

The Outer God Auleps’s characteristics are illusions and mental domination.

His apostles have the power to dominate minds just by their voice or eye contact.

“Ha.”

But it was only for a moment.

With a flick of her long index finger, Cheon Hong-ryun shattered the mental domination that had entered me.

Realizing this, the nun’s gaze turned toward Cheon Hong-ryun.

She must have sensed the extraordinary aura emanating from Cheon Hong-ryun.

“How dare you touch my partner in front of me?”

Wait, we’re not partners.

We’re just gaming buddies.

But I couldn’t say that now.

Her bright red hair was defying gravity and rising into the air, as if she were angry.

Scary.

“I only asked what I needed to ask.”

“Shut up. The buzzing in my head is like mosquitoes flying around my ears, making me incredibly irritated.”

At the same time, Cheon Hong-ryun’s eyes began to gleam with a murderous intent that even I, an outsider, found chilling.

“If you had just planned to ask questions, you wouldn’t have brought those pests here on purpose.”

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

She brought the Dimensional Beings here on purpose?

Why would she do that?

The nun didn’t answer.

Cheon Hong-ryun glared at her with disgust.

“Domi, listen well. You seem to think all Returners are victims.”

As Cheon Hong-ryun’s crimson sword energy flowed over her blade, her figure blurred.

“But not all Returners have pure intentions. It’s good to know that.”

Clang!

With those words, Cheon Hong-ryun suddenly thrust her sword at the nun.

The nun, already aware of this, drew her cross-shaped greatsword and began to counter her attacks.

Witnessing a duel between Returners for the first time, the wind pressure alone felt like it could cut through my skin.

One thing was certain: she could communicate with us.

I was worried it might not work, but that part seemed unnecessary.

However, I kept my eyes glued to the situation, watching intently.

The information about the Outer God Auleps was in my head.

‘That nun’s goal is Seiya.’

Then, rather than killing me, who knows about Seiya, she would want to interrogate me to find out more.

Cheon Hong-ryun advised me that not all Returners have good intentions, but I already knew that.

Many Dimensional Movement research papers showed that some Returners had malicious intentions.

Among Returners, there are criminals.

But there are also victims.

Meeting them and immediately driving them out isn’t the answer, so I just want to save them.

‘Whatever her reasons are.’

The fact that the nun deliberately brought Dimensional Beings here is a problem.

In other words, to solve the problem, we have to subdue the nun.

So, I needed to relay the information I knew to Cheon Hong-ryun according to the situation.

Despite how I look, I graduated at the top of the Hunter Guidance Department.

The purpose of the Hunter Guidance Department is to instruct and help Hunters make decisions.

Knowing that, Cheon Hong-ryun must have brought me here for that reason.

Then, I had to do my part.