The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

“He’s working at a children’s theater group these days. He often plays the Demon King there. Just look at his face! Doesn’t he look exactly like a Demon King?”

“Is that meant as a compliment?”

“It is.”

“That is a most gracious thing to say.”

“…….”

Seoha stared with her mouth slightly open, utterly baffled. Meanwhile, I was sweating profusely, struggling to cobble together an explanation.

“He’s… the type who really gets immersed in his roles…”

“Ah… I see…”

If only I could call the Demon King’s older brother right now. Hey, want to commiserate? Living with this guy must be a nightmare for you too. Having him in my guild is driving me crazy.

As I lamented internally, Seoha asked, “So, what now? What are the three of us going to do for fun?”

“What?”

I hadn’t planned on hanging out at all. The idea was to get rid of Dobin and then shoo the Demon King away.

“Before that, I think you should tell me your name,” the Demon King interrupted.

“What? My name?”

Seeing Seoha’s confused expression, I scrambled to fabricate another lie.

“He has a lot of lines where he says, ‘You there,’ so it just slipped out!”

“…Oh, I see.”

Seoha nodded reluctantly, her doubt still evident.

“Haun.”

“Yeah?”

“You attract the weirdest people.”

“I am not a strange person,” the Demon King replied indignantly, then added, “I am a Demon King.”

“…….”

Without saying a word, I picked up my ice-filled glass and pressed it against my forehead.

“Do Haun, are you unwell?”

“Yeah, thanks to you, I’m feeling pretty awful.”

“……!!”

The Demon King widened his eyes in shock. Ignoring him, I stood up.

“Let’s just leave.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

“I still haven’t learned that one’s name—”

“Seoha! Bae Seoha! My friend Bae Seoha, you idiot!”

I smacked the Demon King’s back hard and pulled Seoha down the stairs with me.

Seoha glanced back, but I yanked her closer. “Don’t look.”

“Where on earth did you meet someone like that?”

“I went to a play by myself and bumped into him. Bad luck, I guess.”

“……?”

Seoha gave me a skeptical look that clearly said she didn’t believe me, but I brushed it off.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Seoha stopped with a startled noise.

“What’s wrong?”

“I left my phone inside! Wait here, just for a moment!”

“Take your time. This country’s main crime is bicycle theft, anyway.”

Seoha burst out laughing and dashed back into the café. At the same time, the Demon King approached, his long black hair swaying as he walked.

“Can’t you just leave?”

“You called me a friend, did you not?”

Right. I dug my own grave here.

I sighed inwardly and asked, “So, how did your commission go? Did you handle it?”

“The Constellation Lord expressed their gratitude.”

“Sounds like you did well.”

“Indeed. So, Do Haun.”

“What now? Don’t ask.”

But, of course, the Demon King asked a needless question.

“Do you think I’ve grown stronger?”

“You can’t get stronger from just one commission. You’d need to complete at least 100 more.”

“……!!”

Seeing his shocked expression, I merely shrugged.

“Haun!”
Seoha came running back, holding up the phone she’d left behind. I was about to tell her there was no need to sprint when—

Boom!

A massive tremor shook the ground, making me bite my tongue. My body staggered, but the Demon King caught me before I could fall.

The wound on my tongue healed quickly, but confusion set in.

I frowned and looked up.
“That wasn’t an earthquake, was it?”

“It was not.”

“And Seoha? Seoha! Bae Seo—!”

My voice caught in my throat as I inhaled sharply. Just one block away, an opaque, crimson barrier had formed and was slowly expanding.

“Aaaaah!!”
“Help!!”

Screams began to echo from all directions.

[Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters]
At 2:21 PM today, a gate has appeared in the Gangnam area.
Residents in the vicinity, please evacuate immediately.

The emergency alert arrived perfectly on cue, and I let out a bitter chuckle.

“Are you going, Godslayer?”

“Of course.”

The crimson barrier was growing larger by the second.

“As you wish.”

The Demon King began walking forward, muttering to himself,
“Let us become moths and dive into the flames of hellfire.”

“…….”

Does he hear himself? Goosebumps spread over my arms as I rubbed them absently. Then, without waiting for him, I leapt into the gate ahead.

******

[Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters]
Gate classification: Level 3.
Per the Special Disaster Act, all nearby Awakened are requested to assemble immediately.

[Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters]
Correction: Gate classification upgraded to Level 1.
Per the Special Disaster Act, all nearby Awakened are requested to assemble immediately.

“Ah.”

Under the crimson sky, a man scratched his head.
“So much for my half-day off. What a mess.”

Amid the chaos, Seoha sat slumped on the ground, her legs having given out completely.

“Ha… Haun. Where’s Haun….”

She managed to regain her senses and tried to stand, but as soon as she did, a force shoved her shoulder, causing her to fall and roll on the ground.

The phone she’d just retrieved clattered to the floor, its screen shattering. Seoha bit her lip, struggling to rise once more.

Grrrr…

If not for the guttural growl of a beast right in front of her, she might have succeeded.

Her breath caught. Her teeth chattered as they clashed together uncontrollably.

Don’t look up.
Don’t look up.

But despite knowing better, Seoha’s fear drove her to lift her gaze.

The moment she locked eyes with the bloodshot gaze of the beast, she knew death was imminent.

Crunch—!

The sound made Seoha squeeze her eyes shut, her body bracing for the inevitable.

But the next noise startled her— it wasn’t from her but from the beast. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Someone must have stepped in to save her—a Hunter, perhaps? Relief washed over her, but it didn’t last long.

“Ah… This sucks. If I toss this, I’ll have nothing to wear. What do I do? If I ask for an advance on my paycheck, my manager’s going to throw a fit.”

The man wore a gray suit, now splattered with dark red blood, and held a bloodied briefcase in one hand. Despite his disheveled appearance, he looked more like an ordinary office worker than a Hunter.

The briefcase seemed to have been used as a weapon, as the bloodstains were particularly dense there.

Seoha, still too shocked to think about fleeing, sat frozen in place.

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes?”

The man’s voice snapped her out of her daze. He smiled, his eyes crinkling, and pointed to something.

“There’s the exit.”

“……?”

An exit?

In a gate, the barrier doesn’t close unless the central “core” monster is destroyed. 

There’s no way a gate could have an exit.

But there it was—a white door engraved with crimson patterns, exactly where the man was pointing.

Suspicious.

With doubt written all over her face, Seoha glared at the man. He sighed deeply and said,

“You need to go quickly so I can decide whether to cast Meteor or Earthquake or whatever else I need to do.”

Then, with a mischievous grin, he added, “Or would you prefer to stick around and get eaten along with the rest of them?”

Behind him, dozens of bloodshot eyes glinted in the shadows. Seoha gasped and bolted toward the door.

Now that she thought about it, there wasn’t a single other person nearby. Still confused, she grabbed the doorknob.

Clunk.

It wouldn’t budge. She tried again, but it didn’t move.

“Is the emergency exit locked?”

While Seoha stood there in growing panic, the man was busy smashing a monster’s head with his briefcase.

“Would you just get inside already?!”

“I’m trying to, but…!”

She stopped mid-sentence and read the message that appeared before her.

“‘Capacity exceeded,’ it says.”

“What?”

The man smashed a monster’s eye with the corner of his briefcase, then strode over to her in no time.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

He frowned and gave the door a light knock.

01—【999/999】
…15—【999/999】

“Huh.”

His dumbfounded reaction made Seoha tilt her head in confusion.

“Hey, what day is it today?”

“Friday.”

“And where are we?”

“Gangnam.”

Distant cries for help echoed. Somewhere, a scream pierced the air.

The man let out another sigh and opened his briefcase.

Grrrr…
Graaaah…

Monsters with sharp, glistening fangs crept closer. Seoha, trembling, took a step back in fear.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes?”

Even as chaos unfolded around them, the man remained calm.

“Forget everything you saw here, okay?”

“O-okay…?”

Satisfied with her answer, the man flashed a grin and moved forward, still rummaging in his briefcase.

The monsters, baring their fangs, lunged at him all at once.

Screeech!!
Graaargh!!

And then, time froze.

Seoha stared wide-eyed at the monsters, suspended in midair as though someone had pressed pause.

“Ugh, for real. I need to clean up my files when I get home.”

The man finally pulled his hand out of the briefcase.

“A… gun?”

“This is for you.”

He tossed a handgun to Seoha and raised a shotgun toward the monsters.

A crimson magic circle began to unfold around the creatures.

Seoha’s jaw dropped as she watched the surreal scene.

The man’s long fingers pulled the trigger.

Boom—!!

The sound was deafening.

*****

“Seriously!!”

A sudden gust of wind whipped the Demon King’s long hair into my face.

“Tie your hair, you bastard!!”

“I have no ribbon.”

At that, I grabbed a fistful of the Demon King’s hair and yanked it down.

“Godslayer, you insolent fool! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into maintaining this hair?!”

“I don’t care, you bastard.”

Dragging the Demon King by his hair, I glanced around warily.