Chapter 67

After class, I walked with Ayu, leaving Josiah behind, who seemed to be pondering something. Since today’s classes were over, I planned to kill some time, have dinner, and then head to the dormitory.

‘Speaking of which, Eun-namu is taking a long time.’

I tilted my head, thinking of Eun-namu, who still hadn’t returned. Could the meeting be taking this long?

Then, my thoughts suddenly shifted in another direction.

‘Could it be that she ran away after knowing Ayu and Eun-hyeon were coming?’

I was suspicious that she might be from Giraseong. She was a Returner, hiding her appearance, which made her even more suspicious.

If that were the case, should I tell Ayu? Ayu, walking beside me, was sucking on a popsicle with her red lips. When our eyes met, she pulled the popsicle out of her mouth with a pop.

“Why? Do you want a bite, Domi Oppa?”

“Why would I eat what you’re eating?”

Saying that, I took a bite of my fish-shaped popsicle.

“Then I’ll eat it.”

“Hey, wait.”

Before I could stop her, Ayu took a bite of the top part of my fish-shaped popsicle. With her small mouth, she chewed and then stuck out her tongue, giving me a mischievous smile.

“Was it good?”

“Domi Oppa tastes good.”

“When did I become your food?”

“I’m still eating you bit by bit.”

Seeing Ayu’s excited expression, I wondered if I should bring up Eun-namu again. Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Ayu leaned her head on my shoulder as we walked.

“Hey, it’s hard to walk like this.”

“I’m tired from work today too. Let me lean on you. Or do you want me to carry you to bed?”

“Stop talking nonsense. You’re not walking straight.”

“Hmph, my legs hurt. Carry me.”

“Where did you learn to act cute?”

Looking at Ayu, who was busy playing pranks instead of showing her Cheonma form, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. For some reason, I didn’t want to see Ayu and Eun-namu fight.

“…Manager?”

At that moment, a voice called out, accompanied by the sound of something falling.

When I turned my head, I saw Si-ho, who had dropped a black bag that seemed to contain ice cream. When did she teleport here?

“Si-ho.”

As soon as I called her name, Si-ho disappeared using Space Movement. Then, she appeared in front of Ayu and started tugging at Ayu’s clothes, trying to drop her.

While I was wide-eyed, Si-ho was glaring at Ayu with a furious expression, and Ayu looked shocked when their eyes met.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing?”

“Manager is Si-ho’s boyfriend!”

“What? No, what?! Domi Oppa!”

At that moment, Ayu’s eyes began to burn fiercely. Panicking, I quickly tried to explain to Ayu.

“Wait, Si-ho, you can’t just say that. Ayu, calm down. There’s a reason…”

“A reason?! Why does that involve me? What did you two do?!”

We didn’t do anything.

“Manager and Si-ho decided to date. Get off.”

“Eww, pedo! Lolicon! Criminal who touched a minor!”

I didn’t touch anyone.

Feeling a headache coming on, I silently watched Si-ho and Ayu argue. I was a bit annoyed because they were fighting without listening to me, while I had my own worries about Eun-namu.

After a while, Si-ho and Ayu gradually quieted down. They glanced at me, sensing my mood, and both slightly lowered their heads.

“Oh, the guy who never gets angry finally got mad. That’s effective.”

Baeksan chuckled from the side, but I ignored him.

“Are you done?”

When I asked with a smile, both of them flinched and shrugged.

“Do you two have more to say?”

They both shook their heads simultaneously.

“Sorry, Domi Oppa, I got mad without listening. I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

“Manager, I’m sorry. Si-ho spoke out of turn. I won’t do it again.”

As they spoke, they held hands, showing they wouldn’t fight anymore. Watching them for a moment, I rubbed my forehead, feeling a slight headache, and then spoke.

“First, about Si-ho saying we’re dating, it’s because of Josiah.”

I carefully explained to Ayu what happened at the Academy. Ayu looked angry at first, but after seeing my face, she calmed down and fidgeted.

“…Cheol-hyeol, I wondered why he sent me here.”

She muttered something to herself but didn’t say anything more.

“Si-ho, you shouldn’t just say things like that. This was something we agreed on together.”

“Umm, Si-ho was wrong.”

Si-ho hung her head, unable to look up. She seemed genuinely remorseful, so I decided to let it go.

“So, Ayu, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

BOOM!

At that moment, an explosion sounded in the distance. Just as I was about to talk to Ayu about Eun-namu, Ayu’s phone rang.

It was Eun-hyeon. Ayu met my gaze and nodded.

“It seems Giraseon remnants have appeared.”

Damn, is Eun-namu really from Giraseong?

“Ayu, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll go check it out. You and the kid stay here.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Of course. It’s not like there’s any real danger. We’ve already caught everyone dangerous in Korea except for Asura.”

Ayu’s face showed a confident smile.

“Being by my side is the safest place.”

Truly, the words of Cheonma.

“Let’s go.”

As soon as I said that, Si-ho quickly reached out to me and Ayu. As soon as we held her hand, Space Movement activated, and we arrived on the roof of a building where an explosion had occurred.

Under the collapsed roof, centipede-like Dimensional Beings were crawling everywhere. They were much larger than humans, and the inexperienced students were screaming and running away, unable to fight back.

Their grotesque appearance made it hard for the students to handle.

“These are the Millennium Centipedes from the 6th Celestial Realm. A Dimensional Gate must have opened.”

Knowing about these Dimensional Beings, I mentioned them, and Ayu’s eyes turned toward something.

There, among the centipedes, a phone was glowing brightly.

It was an Artificial Dimensional Gate created by Giraseong.

“They’re trying to buy time and escape with the Artificial Dimensional Gate.”

As Ayu said, the Artificial Dimensional Gate seemed to be for stalling. At that moment, the sound of something collapsing echoed from another direction.

The sounds coming from everywhere were clearly the sound of Artificial Dimensional Gates opening. It seemed they had prepared in advance, as Gates were opening all over the Academy.

“Brother Ha-chan! Si-ho!”

Just then, Seo-ho called from below. The instructors seemed flustered by the sudden situation, as they were hastily fighting the Dimensional Beings.

Some students were helping, but most lacked real combat experience, so they weren’t much help. Meanwhile, Josiah was quickly evacuating the students.

“Seo-ho! There should be electronic devices where the Dimensional Beings are concentrated! Since it’s an Artificial Dimensional Gate, destroying them should solve the problem. Please help Josiah!”

“Got it!”

Seo-ho immediately responded and started running, creating an icy path as he went. What a reliable guy.

As he moved, I turned to Ayu.

“Ayu, where’s Eun-hyeon?”

“No idea. She sent a text and disappeared. Maybe she’s chasing them alone.”

Ayu frowned, saying her detection skills were lacking. If that was the case, I decided to leave the Giraseong members to Ayu and bring up someone else I was concerned about.

“Ayu, there’s a junior named Eun-namu.”

“Eun-namu? What kind of name is that?”

“She’s probably a Returner. No, she’s definitely a Returner.”

At my words, Si-ho also widened her eyes, knowing Eun-namu.

“But I’m not sure if she’s from Giraseong.”

When I spoke uncertainly, Ayu snorted, “Hmm.” Then, her eyes turned red, and the ends of her clothes began to take on the color of camellia flowers as her outfit changed.

Returning to her form as Cheonma Cheon Hong-ryun, she held a sword and spoke.

“You want to talk to her, right?”

“I’m being too selfish.”

“I like that part about you, so it’s fine.”

As she said that, the tips of Cheon Hong-ryun’s ears turned red.

“Find her, and I’ll catch her. Tell me her appearance.”

“Well, she has black hair that reaches her neck and dresses like a man. She also gives off a strange vibe. You’ll know her when you see her.”

“Dressed like a man? Dressed like a man?!”

Suddenly, Cheon Hong-ryun’s eyes widened, and she turned to look at me sharply. Si-ho also grabbed my collar abruptly.

Under their gazes, I remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“…Can we talk about this later?”

In the middle of this chaos, I couldn’t explain everything in detail. Hearing my words, Cheon Hong-ryun looked uncomfortable but eventually nodded.

“Then I’ll go with Si-ho to block the other Dimensional Gates.”

“It would be better not to leave my side…”

This situation calls for a cat’s paw.

Unable to talk further, she sighed and said, “Don’t get hurt,” before leaping down to the collapsed roof.

As soon as she landed, Cheon Hong-ryun began obliterating the Millennium Centipedes, a truly terrifying sight.

“Si-ho, are there any Artificial Dimensional Gates in areas without buildings?”

“Yes, there are.”

Given my abilities, I needed to use Thunderbolt in areas without buildings or people. So, I planned to move to such areas.

Taking out Keraf from the air, I immediately spoke to Si-ho.

“Are there people there?”

“A few. They seem to be running away.”

As a spatial genius among Spatial Ability Users, Si-ho had a wide spatial sense and could grasp everything.

“Good. Let’s go there.”

“Okay, got it.”

With that, Si-ho activated Space Movement, and we arrived at a forest inside the Academy grounds.

The slightly hilly forest wasn’t very large, but it was a less frequented area.

“Ahhh!”

At that moment, two men rolled out of the forest, screaming. Drenched in sweat and panting heavily, they looked at us with wide eyes.

I recognized them immediately.

“Lee Soo-ho’s gang?”

Lee Soo-ho and his girlfriend weren’t there, but the two guys who always hung out with him were here.

“…F-class, damn, this isn’t the time! A Dimensional Gate opened, and Dimensional Beings are pouring out!”

As he shouted urgently, a plant stem suddenly shot out from the ground.

“Ahhh!”

At that moment, one of Lee Soo-ho’s gang members was caught by the plant stem and lifted into the air, while the other fell to the ground in shock. Then, a plant-like Dimensional Being walked out from the forest.

It was Delpharis, a plant-type Dimensional Being.

From the commotion inside, there must be more.

*Click-clack-*

I immediately aimed Keraf at it. I wouldn’t use Thunderbolt.

Instead, I fired a small bullet made of 0.1% energy.

*Bang! Thud!*

The lightning bullet flew and severed the plant stem with a spark.

“Ahhh!”

As the stem was cut, the two tied-up men began to fall.

“Si-ho.”

At my call, Si-ho had already raised her hand, and the two screaming men were teleported next to us.

As she pointed at Delpharis with her index finger, the creature’s body crumpled.

Even while using her abilities elsewhere, Si-ho was an A-class Hunter. A D-class Dimensional Being like Delpharis stood no chance against her.

While the two looked at us in shock, I was about to tell them to run when a thought stopped me.

“Where are Lee Soo-ho and his girlfriend?”

“Uh, well…”

Seeing them unable to speak, I clicked my tongue. They must have abandoned them to save themselves.

“Let’s go, Si-ho.”

Thinking they weren’t worth talking to, I slung Keraf over my shoulder and started walking into the forest. The two could only watch us in stunned silence.