Chapter 287: Episode 287

The citizens realized this was the ’Level 1 Evacuation Situation’ that the media had relentlessly warned them about.

“Level 1 Alert! A Level 1 Alert has been issued!”

“All citizens, please evacuate the buildings immediately through the emergency exits!”

Emergency broadcasts blared from speakers all over the city. Panicked citizens scrambled out of underground shelters and buildings. Apartments, skyscrapers, parks, subways—all the various structures of the city began to slowly fade away. The roads and concrete tiles beneath their feet blurred, transforming into a desolate red sand where not a single blade of grass grew.

“Th-This is…!”

Veteran hunters quickly grasped what was happening. This terrain was unmistakably a Red Gate.

“S-Seoul… the entire city is turning into a Dungeon!”

“It’s identical to the infiltration team’s report files! Seoul is becoming a Red Gate!”

The situation was spiraling into the worst-case scenario. The sprawling metropolis of countless skyscrapers was turning into a barren red desert. At the same time, monsters from the Red Gate began to emerge from the sand.

“This is B-50! Seven Tamulus-class monsters spotted!”

“This is Z-6! We’ve found one Overseer!”

The fall of the Republic of Korea was imminent.

“We cannot allow any more civilian casualties!”

“Evacuate the citizens out of Seoul! Now!”

The hunters stationed in Seoul moved frantically. It was still the early stage of the Cataclysm, and the terrain hadn’t been 100% replaced yet. It was a transitional state, halfway between Seoul and the Dungeon. For now, the number of regenerating monsters was small enough to manage, but the terrified crowds fleeing in disarray made it difficult for hunters to single out and eliminate the monsters. It was a chaotic battlefield where the lines between combat and non-combat zones were blurred.

“My fellow citizens! Please remain calm!”

At that moment, President Lee Deokbae’s face appeared on every available screen in Seoul.

“Our Republic of Korea is a nation of resilience! At times like these, I, Lee Deokbae, implore you to demonstrate mature citizenship!”

His impassioned voice made some citizens pause and look at the screens.

“The traffic congestion in the outskirts is currently severe! Please follow the government’s instructions! We will first evacuate those in the outlying areas, followed by those in the city center! Do not worry! The city center is safer, as it is being protected by hunters!”

Lee Deokbae announced the designated waiting areas, but his words fell on deaf ears as citizens were preoccupied with their own survival. The president’s pleas were empty.

“Everyone! Do not panic! I am also in Seoul! After every single one of you, my fellow citizens, has been evacuated, I, Lee Deokbae, will be the last one to leave! The government will not betray you!”

However, some citizens noticed. With the Cataclysm manifesting throughout Seoul, buildings were blurring and disappearing, yet Lee Deokbae’s office remained perfectly solid. He hadn’t been in Seoul to begin with.

“You piece of trash!”

“Cut the crap!”

The citizens erupted in furious curses.

* * *

’What is all this…?’

Meanwhile, Ha Yerin was observing the ruined city of Seoul through the eyes of the Sky Castle. People were fleeing from every corner of the city. People here, people there. Crowds swarmed the roads like bees, trying to escape Seoul, with monsters chasing after them.

Her body trembled with guilt. ’I shouldn’t have come. I should have just listened to him. Who am I to get involved in a fight like this?’

…Why did she?

Because she had been dazzled. Because she had been envious. The sight of Kim Yusin and his comrades, laughing and talking proudly after risking their lives together to fight monsters—she had been envious of that bond. She wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to laugh with them.

But who was she? Just a high school student with nothing to her name, not even a certified hunter. Who was she to—

[The Apostle has awakened. Detecting an entrant.]

’…What?’

She blinked at the player message, the likes of which she had never seen before.

[The Apostle of the Sky is judging the entrant’s suitability.]

[Name: Ha Yerin. Mana Compatibility: SS. Synchronization Rate: A.]

[Entrant has been judged a suitable individual.]

[The entrant possesses the qualifications to become the master of the castle.]

She swallowed hard. She could tell now that this wasn’t just any player message. It was the voice of the Sky Castle itself.

[The Apostle of the Sky wishes to grant the entrant lordship. Will you accept?]

She squeezed her eyes shut. She could guess this wasn’t just an ordinary offer. At the very least, it would turn her daily life completely upside down. If she accepted, what would happen to her?

Then, Yusin’s face came to mind. When all this was over, he would return to his position as the Tower Master. He would become one of the world’s top figures. A person in a position so far above her it was incomparable. The lessons she took from the Tower Master would become nothing more than a memory. They would have to part ways.

Her eyes flew open. Even if it was a power that felt like cheating, even if it wasn’t her own. To stay by his side, she had to change.

“I accept.”

The words had barely left her lips when the Sky Castle’s core began to shake violently, emitting a green light. That mana was sucked into her body. The pain was like her body was being reconstructed, an immense sense of foreignness. Ha Yerin writhed and thrashed in agony. She slammed her head against the wall, letting out a groan.

’I have to endure it. No matter what.’

She gritted her teeth and fought against the alien sensation filling her body.

* * *

Sindang Station Shelter.

People who had been hiding underground were scrambling to get out. The hunters fighting off the encroaching monsters shouted, “Come on, come on, hurry up! Faster!”

Among the people pouring out of the shelter were many students from KAIM, including Oh Jeong-ho, the one who had been beaten to a pulp by Yusin.

“Ah, damn it! What is this mess?” His shoulder was stained red. When a monster had appeared and threatened civilians, he had boldly used magic, only to get injured in return. The certified hunters who arrived after had only chewed him out. He thought he could win. He thought it would be just like hunting in the designated grounds.

“Look out!”

At someone’s shout, Oh Jeong-ho looked up. Beyond the buildings, the giant, white-faced monster was looking down at them.

“Ah…”

He had never seen anything like it in his life. It wasn’t just its size; its features, from the calluses on its forehead to the wrinkles on its lips, were identical to a human’s, sending a shiver down his spine. He had to get out of here, but…

“Waaah!”

He heard crying from beside him. The little kid who had been running ahead of him had fallen, scraping his knee, and was now wailing.

“Ah, for crying out loud!”

It wasn’t some paltry sense of justice. His body just moved first. He sprinted toward the child, casting a second-order Lightning Glaive and hurling it at the demon.

Crackle!

But it only produced a small spark upon hitting the demon’s body. The demon lowered its arm, and Oh Jeong-ho scooped up the crying child and ran. But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t escape the demon’s shadow. It was too massive.

’Shit! I’m going to die here…!’

A deafening roar. A gust of wind. And a grating, metallic screech.

“Hurry up and go, will you!”

Oh Jeong-ho, who had squeezed his eyes shut, opened them to see a girl with wings blocking the demon’s arm. A girl with emerald-green eyes—it was unmistakably…

“H-Ha Yerin?”

SCREEECH!

Extending one wing, the girl met the demon’s arm in a contest of strength. Then, she spread her bent wing wide, knocking the demon’s arm back. Simultaneously, a green gale erupted from her other wing. The demon’s body tilted heavily as it was pushed back.

’What the hell was that? Is that really Ha Yerin?’

The cursed child. The underachiever from his class who was always getting bullied and called a demonkin. How was he supposed to describe this scene to his friends—the sight of her sending that colossal monster flying?

Stunned, Oh Jeong-ho snapped back to his senses. Monsters were flying toward her from behind.

“Ha Yerin! Behind you!”

She placed a hand on her chest.

<Ha Yerin Original – Air Chakram>

A circular blade of wind formed around her right arm. When she swung it, the monsters’ bodies were effortlessly sliced in two. Watching her, Oh Jeong-ho could only think it was impossible. In the short time he hadn’t seen her, it was as if she had ascended to some celestial realm all on her own.

’Whoa, so cool… huh?’

Ha Yerin, who had been slicing through monsters with ease, slammed her head into the side of a building.

“Ack!”

Then, with a comical scream, she fell. Her legs spread wide, she landed right inside an open trash can.

“Flying is haaaard!”

He was speechless.

’Why am I the one feeling second-hand embarrassment?’ Oh Jeong-ho picked up the kid with the scraped knee and quietly left the scene.

“Ugh, seriously!”

She leaped out of the trash can. A banana peel was perched perfectly on top of her head, but she didn’t notice.

“Raaaaah!”

The demon spotted her and leaped.

“Here it comes.”

Her face tense, she bit her lip. The demon’s arm descended in a black arc and collided with her wings.

BOOM!

After successfully blocking with both wings, she immediately sent feathers flying. The feathers, like flashes of light, struck the demon’s body in succession.

“That’s enough!” she shouted, raising her left arm, the one not holding the chakram. “Fall!”

As her left arm came down, the mana in the feathers was converted into weight, and the demon plummeted from the sky. It crashed into the ground, which was turning into a desert, creating a large crater.

“Graaaah!”

The demon, now on the ground, roared in fury and opened its mouth wide. Mana instantly gathered inside before a beam of destruction shot out. In response, Ha Yerin smiled and spread her right arm.

“Fire.”

The sky flashed, and a beam of light shot down from the waiting Sky Castle. The demon’s beam and the Sky Castle’s cannonade collided, buckling the nearby buildings.

The demon let out a strained cry. The Sky Castle’s blast broke through the demon’s beam and slammed into the center of its chest, setting off a massive explosion.

“Hah… hah…”

Staring at the billowing smoke, she panted for breath. ’I’m… so exhausted.’ She had overdone it, having only just acquired this power. The power of the Sky Castle Lord was immense, but she, the one who had accepted it, wasn’t ready.

WHOOSH!

Just then, the demon’s arm shot out from the smoke. Faster than Ha Yerin could react, the elongated arm grabbed both of her wings and slammed her to the ground.

“Ugh!”

She desperately threw the chakram in her hand, but the demon opened its mouth and bit down on the blade. As the magic was dispelled, the shock caused her to spit up blood.

The White-Faced Demon bared its teeth and lunged its maw toward Ha Yerin.

“Ugh, look at those rotten teeth.”

She was dumbstruck.

The demon’s approaching face was caught by a rough hand.

“Get lost.”

BAM!

The demon’s body went flying as if hit by a truck. Ha Yerin’s eyes widened. A man, scattering feathers of light around him, had appeared and was now looking down at her.

“Ah, Mister!”

“Can you stand?”

“Yes!”

Taking Yusin’s hand, she got to her feet and stammered, “I-I’m sorry! I used the castle you lent me without permission… I’ll return it in a bit!”

At the word “return,” Yusin let out a laugh. “Return what? I gave it to you with this in mind from the start.”

Yusin took a moment to admire her with her Icarus wings spread, then smiled and patted her shoulder.

“Congratulations, new Sky Castle Lord.”

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep