Woo Jin-chul and Go Gunhee's group ultimately arrived too late.
No matter how hard they pushed the car, no matter how they squeezed every last drop of speed from the road, by the time they rushed to the construction site, Scáthach and Thomas were already gone—vanished without a trace, leaving behind only shocking devastation.
The scene was beyond ugly: the half-built structure had been mauled so badly it teetered on the edge of collapse; the ground was scarred with massive craters, as if a meteor shower had passed through; earth, stone, and shattered debris lay scattered everywhere, hurled by some terrifying force…
The whole area looked as if it had just survived a natural disaster.
But the real headache wasn't the physical damage.
It was the people who had witnessed a battle that shattered all common sense—Hunters who remained rooted to the spot, shaken and unable to move on.
Woo Jin-chul and Go Gunhee exchanged a glance, then immediately began directing their people. Their first priority was evacuating the shell-shocked Hunters from the danger zone and calming them as quickly as possible.
"Chairman Go? You came personally?"
Go Gunhee turned at the voice and saw Cha Hae-In and Choi Jong-In approaching unhurriedly.
"Guild Master Choi, Hunter Cha—where did Miss Scáthach and Mr. Thomas go?"
Cha Hae-In looked pale, clearly still affected by the overwhelming pressure Thomas had released earlier.
Choi Jong-In had been inside the Dungeon leading the raid against the Final Boss. By the time he emerged, Thomas had already been taken into the Land of Shadows by Scáthach—whether that was good or bad luck, he couldn't say.
Go Gunhee knew this wasn't the time for pleasantries. His expression was grave as he got straight to the point. "Where did Miss Scáthach and Mr. Thomas go? On the way here, we saw that golden blaze shooting into the sky—we felt that terrifying mana fluctuation…"
Urgency seeped into his voice.
The explanation naturally fell to Cha Hae-In. Aside from her, no one else present had been able to approach even the edge of the battlefield; the wild energy alone was enough to keep them back. She had already briefed Choi Jong-In, but now she had to recount everything again—this time for Go Gunhee.
Cha Hae-In's account was clear and measured, as objective as she could manage.
Even so, the normally composed Go Gunhee couldn't help showing his shock twice.
The first was when he learned Thomas had attacked first—only to be sent flying by a single punch from Scáthach, crashing humiliatingly into a nearby high-rise. Go Gunhee's brow furrowed deeply; he hadn't imagined this newly appeared "Sung Jinwoo's master" could be that powerful.
The second came when he heard Scáthach could apparently open a Purple Gate—and had disappeared through it with Thomas.
That revelation hit Go Gunhee even harder than the first.
To humans, the Gates connecting Earth and the Dungeons were deeply mysterious. How and why they formed—these unanswered questions had plagued humanity for ten years. Until now, Scáthach was the first being they had ever encountered who could open a Gate by sheer will.
Of course they were nervous.
When Scáthach stepped back through the Gate to Earth, the first thing she saw was Go Gunhee, Choi Jong-In, and Cha Hae-In standing together. Everyone else had already retreated far away.
In that single moment of eye contact, Go Gunhee felt pure battle intent crash into him—razor-sharp and cold, like a blade pressed to his throat. The old man, who had weathered countless storms and long believed his end was near, felt his quiet heart jolt in one involuntary, heavy beat.
"Ah… sorry. The battle intent hasn't cooled off yet."
By the time Go Gunhee recovered his senses, Scáthach had already reined it all in. A perfectly timed, friendly apology appeared on her face as she dipped her head slightly in greeting.
But compared to her fleeting battle intent—and her casual apology—their attention was immediately seized by something else, their minds reeling.
They saw it clearly.
From the not-yet-fully-closed Purple Gate, Scáthach dragged Thomas out—slowly, as if hauling a trophy.
Unconscious. Miserable. A wreck.
"Hiss—!"
All three drew a sharp breath simultaneously, words utterly failing them.
Not long afterward, Thomas was secretly transferred, still unconscious, to South Korea's top medical facility. The nation's leading doctors and strongest healer-type Hunters collaborated to provide meticulous treatment and constant care.
The secrecy was deliberate.
The injured man's identity wasn't just sensitive—it was explosive.
Thomas Andre. A National Level Hunter.
If news of his defeat leaked, an international uproar would erupt in mere moments, the shockwaves and consequences impossible to calculate.
More importantly, if Thomas woke and discovered his crushing defeat had already become worldwide news… then the fury and humiliation that followed might become a disaster South Korea couldn't withstand. An enraged National Level Hunter wasn't something you could "deal with" after the fact.
After Thomas was moved, Go Gunhee and the others finally let out a relieved breath—
Only to discover, with sudden dread, that Scáthach had vanished.
But Scáthach hadn't disappeared for any dramatic reason.
She'd simply gone clothes shopping.
The casual outfit she'd liked had been destroyed during her fight with Thomas. This time, she chose a loose, comfortable dark gray hoodie and khaki cargo pants with multiple pockets.
Plain as it was, it carried a distinct charm on her—an effortless, striking presence with an undercurrent of strength.
Inside the speeding ambulance, several healer-type Hunters were sweating and trembling as they cast healing magic on Thomas.
Yet the deeper they probed, the more shocked they became.
"Every bone in his body is broken. His internal organs have varying degrees of damage… and he's lost a tremendous amount of blood."
"This is insane. With injuries this severe, any other Hunter would've died ten times over. But his breathing and heartbeat are still so strong… is this the true nature of a National Level Hunter?"
"Can this even be called human? He's a monster…"
"Our healing magic isn't working well enough… We need to get him to a hospital—advanced equipment, a full medical team, comprehensive treatment."
During the healing, someone noticed something else.
"There's still an extremely domineering energy lingering inside Thomas Andre… Our healing magic can't affect it! And it's suppressing his body's natural recovery!"
Then a cool, unfamiliar voice spoke beside them, sudden and clear.
"Do you really need to be that careful? His body's sturdy enough. He's not some delicate flower that shatters if you breathe on it. Even if you're rougher, you won't 'heal him to death.'"
Scáthach's sudden appearance startled everyone in the ambulance. They all whipped their heads around—
And saw her calmly seated in an empty corner of the compartment, relaxed as though she'd been there from the start.
This was a moving ambulance. The doors were firmly shut.
Where in the world had she come from?!
A few sharp-eyed Hunters recognized her immediately—the one who had reduced the supposedly invincible Thomas to this pitiful state. Their faces went pale, and they fell silent, stiff with fear.
Even now, it was hard to believe. Thomas, the unbeatable National Level Hunter, beaten to such a state—it felt unreal.
Across the entire world, how many people could push Thomas to such a point?
No—more accurately, until today, no one had even known whether such an existence, capable of utterly crushing him, truly existed.
"Look at you—scrambling like headless chickens." Scáthach's cool voice carried unquestionable authority as it filled the compartment. "Move aside."
The people in the ambulance seemed pinned by an invisible force. As she approached, no one even thought to stop her. They instinctively retreated, making way for Scáthach to reach Thomas's side.
"You can't even resolve Bajiquan's hidden force. This so-called healing magic you've mastered is even more useless than I expected."
The blunt rebuke made the healer Hunters flush red, yet none dared argue. They simply lowered their heads further.
Scáthach raised a hand and patted Thomas's chest lightly a few times.
In those casual motions, the stubborn, life-destroying hidden force lodged inside Thomas—like ice meeting flame—melted away without resistance, effortlessly dissolved by Scáthach.
She only neutralized the hidden force left behind by Bajiquan. The rest of the treatment she left to the healer Hunters and medical staff. Even if she could heal Thomas far more easily herself, she had no reason to do so.
At the hospital, Scáthach encountered Go Gunhee, Choi Jong-In, and Cha Hae-In once more.
She could sense clearly—their attitude toward her now carried a trace of restrained nervousness they couldn't quite hide. That caution might have come from her strength, surpassing even Thomas, or from her ability to open a Purple Gate at will.
Or both.
Scáthach didn't particularly care. She simply gave Cha Hae-In a calm instruction.
"Make your preparations today. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Land of Shadows for training."
"The Land of Shadows?" Cha Hae-In blurted, startled. The other two wore similarly puzzled looks.
Scáthach explained matter-of-factly, "It's the other side of the Purple Gate. I'm the ruler and administrator there. The giant spider you encountered was something I placed there. Little Jinwoo usually trains there with me as well."
"That spider monster… killed many Hunters," Choi Jong-In said, frowning. He'd led the initial raid against it, and the defeat had been devastating. Watching teammates dissolve into pools of blood from poison wasn't something easily forgotten.
"But I revived you," Scáthach replied, arms crossed and unconcerned. "Aside from its natural poison, that spider wasn't much stronger than your S-Rank Hunters. Your defeat was simply your own fault."
"Still, you've only had mana for ten years. Your inexperience is understandable. That's why I lowered the difficulty somewhat. You should be grateful."
Scáthach had assumed Cha Hae-In and the others would have questions piled to the sky.
Instead, she found it mildly surprising—they seemed to have given up pressing her further.
Earlier, in the A-Rank Dungeon, Cha Hae-In had asked her one question.
"May I ask… are you human?"
Scáthach had answered, "I believe I am."
That seemingly ambiguous reply—though carrying a subtle stance—was ultimately what made Go Gunhee and the others abandon all further questioning.
They knew very well that Scáthach's identity and abilities were filled with mysteries and suspicions.
Yet her actions had clearly shown goodwill toward humanity.
The strongest evidence was that she had forcibly relocated her battle with Thomas to the Land of Shadows.
If she hadn't—if a National Level Hunter's power had erupted unchecked in a densely populated city—the resulting catastrophe would've been unimaginable.
Unable to fully grasp her intentions, faced with an unknown existence who possessed absolute strength and was, at least for now, acting benevolently…
Keeping a respectful distance and a healthy fear felt—at least to Go Gunhee and Cha Hae-In—like the wisest choice.
They didn't want their loose tongues to incur the displeasure of someone as powerful as Scáthach.