F-Class Destiny Hunter

Chapter 93

Seo Gangrim, while somewhat puzzled, shook hands with her. Even when he recalled the message he had just seen, it clearly only had Kang Dohyeon's name on it. Moreover, the two of them belonged to different teams.

After silently shaking hands, Seo Gangrim spoke, "I didn't expect Agent Annaby to be here as well."

"It seemed challenging with just the two of you, so I decided to join as well."

Although that's what she said, in reality, it was because of Team Leader Gong Joo's interference.

[Seo Gangrim and Kang Dohyeon knew each other?]

[Yes, Team Leader.]

[Darn, this is getting annoying. There's no way I can let Seo Gangrim join Team 1. Annaby, since you've known Seo Gangrim to some extent, go and try to bring him over!]

Just as they were about to send Annaby, Gong Joo found out that both of them had been assigned to the Demon Realm operation. Even though this was against the rules, Gong Joo decided to send Annaby.

Since there had been no prior communication, Kang Dohyeon's gaze towards Annaby wasn't very pleasant. "Agent Annaby. This isn't an appropriate situation. Do you think it's reasonable to interfere with Team 1's work?"

"Isn't this matter quite urgent? It's not related to Team 1 but rather an assignment from the central branch, so Team Leader Gong Joo dispatched me."

"Then you should have informed us in advance. What's the situation for suddenly showing up like this?"

Kang Dohyeon seemed as if he had no intention of taking Annaby with him. In fact, it was Annaby who had barged in unannounced, so her voice grew quieter and quieter as they argued. Eventually, Annaby nodded.

"You're right, sir, and I'll head back."

"Agent Annaby."

As Annaby tried to leave, Seo Gangrim quietly blocked her way. He had no intention of letting her go.

'It might be better if Annaby is here.'

Seo Gangrim needed to convince Kang Dohyeon, but Kang Dohyeon was quite wary of him. In fact, in their last encounter, they had almost gotten into a fight after just exchanging a few words.

'Given Kang Dohyeon's personality, having someone else around will probably keep him from acting recklessly.'

Seo Gangrim turned to Annaby and spoke. "If you help us, I'd be grateful. I hope you can accompany us."

"But..."

Annaby glanced at Kang Dohyeon as if questioning his decision. Kang Dohyeon sighed and looked at Seo Gangrim.

"You... never mind. Let's just go inside."

He lifted the golden thread barrier and walked underneath it. The building with the stretched golden threads was an old abandoned factory. As they stepped inside, the sound of their footsteps echoed through the empty space. Seo Gangrim looked around and asked Annaby, "Do Agents often come to Demon Realm?"

"No, we are dispatched only for special circumstances. In this particular case, no one has returned after discovering it, so we were sent to investigate."

Seo Gangrim felt puzzled by the explanation. In cases of Demon Realm with high difficulty, it's quite common for people not to return in the early stages. But why had they been dispatched to a Demon Realm like this, which wasn't considered particularly challenging?

"There are quite a few cases of people not returning from the Demon Realm, aren't there?"

"Yes, that's true. However, this Demon Realm... despite not being highly difficult, there have been no returners, which led to an investigation."

"That's certainly strange."

This Demon Realm was at Human First-class. It wasn't low in difficulty, but it wasn't on the higher end either. It had been unexplored for several months, and no one had returned.

'I don't have any information about this one.'

Despite being a regressor, Seo Gangrim didn't know everything. He only had information about major Demon Realms or special ones.

'Demon Realm is Demon Realm, but I need to talk to Kang Dohyeon.'

Although a considerable amount of time had passed since their last encounter, Kang Dohyeon hadn't said a word to Seo Gangrim. If it weren't for their mission, the atmosphere was tense enough that they would have left immediately.

While listening to Annaby's guidance and heading further inside the place, Kang Dohyeon suddenly stopped.

"It looks like that's the entrance."

He was looking towards a wall of the factory. The central wall of the factory had an elegant door that didn't match its surroundings at all. That was the entrance to the Demon Realm, and around it, there were a few people gathered.

"Oh? Aren't those agents?"

There were people who had arrived before Seo Gangrim's group. They were not agents of the bureau but ordinary hunters. Seo Gangrim scanned them, but he didn't know any of them.

"They seem like un-trained hunters."

Not all hunters were trained in training facilities. Some had opened their Destiny either by paying the Destiny Protection Bureau or through some kind of contract.

Annaby spoke after seeing the people who had arrived first, "Are you planning to enter the Demon Realm now?"

"Yes, yes. What about you?"

"We've also come for an investigation, but... it might be better not to enter this Demon Realm."

A Demon Realm with no returning hunters, meaning zero returnees. In some ways, it was the most frightening Demon Realm.

The party that had arrived first exchanged glances among themselves, and the person who seemed like their leader smiled.

"But agents of the bureau are going in, right? We'll go together."

It seemed like they judged it would be safer with agents accompanying them.

As Annaby hesitated, Kang Dohyeon spoke with a cold tone, "Agents are only responsible for protecting regular people."

The party members seemed taken aback by his attitude, but in the end, their opinion didn't change.

"We can protect ourselves just fine! You don't need to worry about us."

Judging from their behavior, it seemed like they believed that even if they said such things, the agents would help if there was any danger. Without giving Annaby a chance to stop them, they entered the Demon Realm. Kang Dohyeon let out a deep sigh.

"Already a hassle, and now we're tangled up with even more troublesome people."

Annaby glanced at Kang Dohyeon and spoke, "If it's too much trouble, Agent Kang Dohyeon, you don't have to come."

Kang Dohyeon responded irritably, "Forget it. I already know why you followed me."

"I'm just following Team Leader's orders..."

"Team Leader's orders to recruit Seo Gangrim, right?"

Rather than refuting, Annaby chose to remain silent. It seemed like she had a straightforward personality and couldn't lie.

"Of course, it would be a great thing if talents like Seo Gangrim joined our team."

"Give up. Seo Gangrim won't go to Team 2."

"We won't give up on recruiting Seo Gangrim."

During this exchange, Seo Gangrim remained silent. Getting into a fight over himself would only complicate things. Besides, he had no intention of entering the bureau.

"Let's go inside for now."

At Seo Gangrim's words, the two stopped arguing and opened the door to the Demon Realm. As they entered, the abandoned factory disappeared, and a new place appeared before their eyes.

[Entered the Demon Realm 'Sculpted City.']

"A city...?"

Inside the Demon Realm, there was a city sprawled out before them. Buildings with a mix of Eastern and Western architecture, although they were destroyed and in ruins, still had a charming atmosphere. If someone saw it, they might mistake it for a movie set.

"Where's the exit?"

When Seo Gangrim turned around, the door he had entered through had disappeared. It seemed like they would have to complete the mission to get out of this place. And as if to confirm his speculation, a window appeared in front of him.

[Destroy the statue, which is the medium of the barrier.]

[No time limit.]

"Those hunters who came here earlier still seem to be in this space because they haven't destroyed the statue yet."

Annaby read the mission message and then looked around with a puzzled expression.

"But I don't see the party that entered just now."

The party that had entered just a while ago had vanished without a trace. In that short time, where could they have gone? Or perhaps, every time someone entered, the starting point was different.

Kang Dohyeon said with an indifferent expression, "Anyway, those people don't matter. Let's conquer this Demon Realm quickly and get out..."

"Ahh, ahh!"

At that moment, a sharp scream echoed from nearby. Annaby was the first to react to the sound. She rushed towards the source of the scream, with Kang Dohyeon and Seo Gangrim following closely behind. When they arrived at the source of the scream, they found the party that had entered earlier.

"Damn it, get a hold of yourselves!"

"Why aren't the agents coming in? Do they really not intend to protect us?"

The party members were struggling as they were surrounded by monsters. The monsters had a shape resembling broken mud ornaments and were inching closer to the party members, wriggling.

"Ugh...! S-Save us..."

-Slash!

Seo Gangrim, Kang Dohyeon, and Annaby immediately rushed to engage the monsters without hesitation. They swiftly cut down and dismembered the monsters, restoring order to the surroundings.

The party members were visibly relieved. "T-Thank you. Thanks to you, we survived!"

"We've been waiting for hours, and you still hadn't come... We thought you wouldn't come to our rescue at all."

Hours? Seo Gangrim felt a sense of unease upon hearing that. After the party members had entered, Seo Gangrim had entered this place within minutes. Yet, the party members had struggled here for hours as if they had been wandering for much longer.

Annaby, seeming puzzled, asked, "We entered just a few minutes ago."

"Yes? It's been hours since we entered. What's going on?"

They replied with perplexed expressions. After listening to their words, Seo Gangrim could now grasp the nature of this Demon Realm. "Agent Annaby, it seems that time flows differently in this place."

Time within this place seemed to pass at a rate several times, if not dozens of times, slower. The distorted flow of time inside now made sense to him.

Annaby, upon hearing Seo Gangrim's explanation, wore a grave expression. "If that's true... I'm worried about the hunters who haven't returned. Those who entered a few weeks ago..."

Those who entered earlier than them might have spent years in this place, or worse, they might already be dead. Lost in thought, Annaby then turned to Kang Dohyeon, who was looking down at the fallen monsters, as if observing something.

Annaby asked Kang Dohyeon, "Agent Kang Dohyeon, what are you examining?"

"I'm examining the fallen demons."

Kang Dohyeon stood up and said, "I've killed more monsters than Seo Gangrim, even though he's the so-called top-ranked trainee."

His eyes were fixed on Seo Gangrim, expressing a faint sense of victory.

"Even Seo Gangrim, touted as the top trainee, is nothing special."

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