"Damn it, where the hell did they go?!"
The bald man kicked the air in frustration, his shoe scraping harshly against the pavement. His face twisted with anger, but there was a hint of panic beneath it.
His life had started falling apart long before this.
It began with gambling. At first, he only played for fun, convincing himself that he could stop anytime. That lie did not last long. Losses piled up, and soon he was borrowing money just to keep playing.
When no one else was willing to lend to him, he turned to his grandmother's savings.
He told himself it was only temporary. He believed that one lucky win would fix everything.
It never came.
By the time he finally stopped, every last bit of her hard-earned money was gone.
That was when the cult found him.
A well-dressed man approached him one night and spoke calmly, as if he already knew everything. He offered simple work and quick money. All the bald man had to do was hand out flyers and guide people to their church.
At first, the job was easy.
He stood on street corners, handing out papers and repeating the same lines. For each person he brought in, he received enough money to survive. It paid for his meals and his cigarettes, and that was enough.
But the instructions slowly changed.
They told him to be more convincing. They told him to bring in more people, no matter the method.
The pay increased, so he didn't question it.
He began targeting the elderly, especially those who looked confused. Sometimes he approached younger people, but only when they seemed desperate enough to listen. He stopped thinking about whether it was right or wrong.
As long as he got paid, nothing else mattered.
For an entire year, everything went smoothly.
Then one day, it all disappeared.
The church was empt my and the people were gone. Even the signs and furniture had vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place.
He searched everywhere, but found nothing.
"Those bastards," he muttered under his breath.
They had used him and thrown him away like he was nothing.
Of course, after working with the cult for a year, he had seen more gruesome things than most people would in a lifetime. Things that would haunt an ordinary person forever.
But a rotten apple does not sweeten with time.
None of it bothered him.
If anything, he took advantage of it.
Whenever he lured in the elderly or runaways, he made sure to squeeze them for whatever little money they had left before bringing them in. He would listen to their stories, nod along, and twist their desperation into something useful.
Then he would lead them straight to the church.
They believed they had found salvation.
They believed their prayers were being heard.
They never realized what was actually being taken from them.
Their mana.
And once they had nothing more to give, they were discarded without hesitation. Some were sold off, others simply vanished without a trace.
It was a system built on quiet, efficient cruelty.
And he was part of it.
Yet none of it weighed on his conscience.
What irritated him now was something much simpler.
Money.
The bald man drank until his wallet ran dry, the cheap alcohol burning his throat as his frustration grew. As if that was not enough, he even bumped into a woman on his way out, earning himself a string of curses and a shove that nearly knocked him over.
"Damn it," he muttered.
Life only seemed to get worse.
By the time he returned from his grandmother's house, the night had grown heavy and still.
Then he saw them.
Figures in robes stood silently near his door.
His expression shifted, anger quickly replacing surprise.
Those robes were unmistakable.
The cultists.
"What brings you here?" he snapped. "You disappear without a word, and now you show up again? You still owe me money, you bastards."
One of them stepped forward and tossed a duffel bag at his feet.
The zipper had barely closed over the stacks of cash inside.
His anger faltered.
"...How much is this?" he asked, his voice lower now.
"We have one last job for you," one of the robed figures said calmly. "As a down payment, you will receive three hundred million won. The rest will be paid upon completion."
The man's anger dissipated at the amount, and he swallowed, whether from anger or excitement, it was unclear.
It just felt unreal, like stumbling onto a buried treasure.
"...What do I have to do?"
Another cultist stepped forward and placed something into his hands.
It was a small stone, dark and faintly glowing, pulsing with an unnatural light.
"Break it in the center of a busy shopping district," the cultist said. "Make sure there are plenty of people nearby."
The man frowned, turning the object over in his hand. "What is this supposed to be?"
A slow smile spread across the cultist's face.
"A revelation."
·•—–٠✤٠—–•·
On their last day of vacation, Hye-in had been wanting to go to the beach. Jeju had beautiful beaches and they couldn't just not visit this place.
It had truly been the best vacation, especially considering everything that had happened with the sisters. The curse, the dungeons... each of them had nearly lost their life. If not for Seo Elena saving them in their most dire moments, they wouldn't be standing here now.
Remembering her gratitude, Hye-in thought it was the best option to spend their last day lazing away by the ocean.
Not just her, but even Jiyeon who suffered through her curse for so long that she hasn't been out that long found this vacation truly peaceful.
As they sipped their drinks by the ocean, basking in the warmth of the sun, an ominous feeling crept along Elena's skin. Her eyes were closed as she lounged on the chair, but the prickling sensation made them snap open.
What was that? Was someone watching her?
Unable to make sense of the strange feeling, she brushed it off and returned to relaxing, choosing to ignore it.
By the time the sun began to set, the beach had emptied, and everyone agreed it was the perfect moment for a barbecue. After a day of sun and sea breeze, nothing could have sounded better.
And so, they made their way to the largest shopping district in Jeju, home to some of the best food vendors around. Known as a tourist hotspot, the area was packed with shops, entertainment, and an endless variety of food.
"There! Let's eat there!" Hyein pointed toward a restaurant that looked more local than the others.
She had been scrolling through her phone earlier and found the place online, praised for its stunning ocean view and relatively quiet atmosphere.
Chiyeon couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration for the youngest. It was as if Hyein had grown up overnight. Of course, that was only in her eyes, having been together for so long, she still saw her as a child. In reality, Hyein had always been far more capable and mature in the eyes of others.
Just as they were about to step inside, an elderly woman suddenly collapsed, her cane clattering against the ground.
The others pitied the old lady, but none dared to help her.
Jiyeon saw this spectacle and clicked her tongue before walking over to the elderly lady, "Ma'm, are you okay?"
"Oh, what a kind child you are. Thank you." She replied as she got up while hunching.
"Where are you headed to? I'd like to take you there."
Maybe it's because the child reminded her of her daughter, but she didn't refuse this beautiful lady's kindness.
"I'm looking for a church. My granddaughter awakened and said she would earn money to pay for my hospital... That poor child, she's only in highschool." The lady began to tell her story as Hyein and Chiyeon searched for any nearby church around.
"Do you remember where the church was?" Elena asked, helping Jiyeon guide the old woman.
"No. My daughter said she's been part of something lately. And she would often come home with a lot of money. That kid... I hope she's alright."
"I found one! There's an abandoned church not too far from here. If we—" Hyein abruptly stopped her sentence and shifted her attention somewhere else.
It was the same for Jiyeon and Chiyeon, their heads snapping in the same direction.
"Can you bring the lady to the church, Elena? It seems like something troublesome had come up." Chiyeon said as Hyein sent her the location located in the middle of the woods.
How in the world did Hyein manage to find such a hidden building? Well, that was thanks to her constant research on places to go for these past few days.
Anyway, Elena, sensing that something was off, nodded her head and gently led the woman towards the church.
In the meantime, the three Baekwha girls rushed toward the source of the problem, a man who had gone mad and was forcing a rift open in the middle of a bustling shopping district.
"Damn it! I was told to break this stone here, but how was I supposed to know it would turn out like this!?" he screamed.
He was a D-rank awakener. His ability allowed him to see about ten seconds into the future. It was also why he had become obsessed with gambling, he could predict which machines would pay out.
But that same obsession had led him to his own reckless downfall. If he'd just used his ability, he would've seen what was coming, but seriously, who would use it on a random rock?
Chiyeon quickly closed the distance, moving to subdue the man and bring him in for questioning. However, with his precognition, he managed to react just in time, even against an A-rank opponent.
Even so, he was still sent flying back, crashing into a wall and leaving a crater behind.
"I—I wasn't the one who did this! I was forced into it by a bunch of cultist bastards!" he blurted out, hoping that the lie will lessen his punishment.
When people awakened, they were given a handbook outlining the rules, what they should and shouldn't do. One of the most important rules to note was that any action causing harm to the public could result in life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole.
Of course, prisons were useless against high-ranked awakeners. They could easily break free and destroy the devices meant to contain them. But those facilities weren't designed for them... They were meant for lower-ranked awakeners, B-rank and below.
As for higher-ranked individuals, they couldn't be detained by conventional means. If they ever posed a serious threat to the public, they were executed.
Not bothering to listen to the pathetic excuses of the D-rank hunter, Chiyeon and Hye-in moved to subdue him until a colossal being emerged from the rift.
A presence so overwhelming that even the two S-rank hunters felt a chill run down their spines.