Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Fragments of the Past (5)

「You don't have to worry about me!! Please just close the rift!!」

The man forced strength into his body as he shouted those words.

He gripped the rock so tightly that his nails flipped back and broke.

「Okay, just hang in there until I'm done!」

Ivan could tell that Shin Ah-yeon's words were a lie.

The pallor of her face told the truth.

Shin Ah-yeon was a genius.

There was no way that she, a great mage and S-rank hunter, did not know about the rift.

She also knew full well that closing it alone was absolutely impossible.

Moreover, the rift before her was no smaller than the one Ivan had witnessed at the Grand Canyon.

If this had burst, a fifth of Korea would have surely vanished.

In the face of such a cataclysm, Shin Ah-yeon did not run.

'She could have survived.'

Anyone else might not, but Shin Ah-yeon could have lived.

But she chose to stop the rift.

Even knowing that it was impossible, she remained at the site.

Why?

For that man?

That couldn't be. Ivan didn't know why that man was there, but from their conversation, it was easy to see they weren't that close.

「Ugh... Uuugh!!」

Crack, craaaack!!

The staff in Shin Ah-yeon's hand was an object capable of withstanding the great mage's magic power.

It was so expensive that no individual could ever hope to buy it, made by one of the few true artisans in the world.

Yet now, it was cracking apart and breaking.

It was not simply that the staff couldn't withstand Shin Ah-yeon's magic power—it was breaking because she was forcing something impossible.

No matter her efforts, the rift did not budge.

On the contrary, its size began to increase, devouring everything around it.

"No..."

A faint murmur, almost like a whimper, escaped from Shin Ah-yeon.

She, too, must have realized it.

This was something that no individual's strength could possibly overcome.

Ivan recalled what Shin Ah-yeon had said earlier: "My mana hall was damaged."

That statement was true.

The magic power she was emitting far exceeded what she should have been capable of at this moment.

It may have been a mere vision, but the space around Shin Ah-yeon appeared to warp and shimmer with intense magic power—it was undeniable evidence.

It was a phenomenon that simply couldn't occur without an overwhelming outpouring of magic power.

'How did she possibly survive?'

If the scene before his eyes was the present, Ivan would have staked his life that she would be swallowed by the rift.

That's how desperate things were.

Yet, Shin Ah-yeon not only survived this situation—she had even closed the rift.

Craaaack!!

Shin Ah-yeon's staff shattered into pieces, and the rift grew even larger.

The dungeon's outer walls collapsed entirely, and the earth beneath Shin Ah-yeon's feet as well as in front of her was consumed.

Of course, the ground where the desperately-holding-on man stood also broke apart, drawing him toward the rift.

"Jung-woo-ssi!!"

Only then did Ivan realize that the man's name was Park Jung-woo.

As Shin Ah-yeon's staff broke and the rift grew, she squeezed out all her magic power to avoid being sucked in.

If she, an S-rank hunter, was barely managing to hold on, there was no way an ordinary person like Park Jung-woo could survive.

"Grab my hand—take my hand!!"

Shin Ah-yeon forcibly approached him and reached out her hand.

But the distance was too great.

Park Jung-woo was being sucked into the colorless rift, turning jet-black with darkness.

Park Jung-woo poured his last ounce of strength into reaching out his hand toward Shin Ah-yeon's.

A hand that could never reach.

Shin Ah-yeon's face twisted as if she were about to cry, watching his desperately extended hand.

"Save...!"

Park Jung-woo was moments from being devoured by the rift, so his words could barely be heard.

His desperate cry must have been to be saved, to be rescued.

But there was no way that wish could come true.

Unless a miracle happened.

「Understood.」

But then.

「... If that is what you wish.」

That was when the anomaly occurred.

Shin Ah-yeon's distorted face suddenly turned peaceful, and a ray of light shone from her back.

'Is that... a symbol?'

It was hidden under her clothes so not fully visible, but some sort of pattern was appearing on Shin Ah-yeon's back.

It wasn't an engraved magical spell, and a force entirely different from magic power was radiating from that symbol.

「.......」

Then Shin Ah-yeon fully splayed the hand she was reaching out.

The light that spread from the illumination flowed toward her fingertips.

BOOM!!!

For the first time, the previously unmoving rift began to tremble.

Park Jung-woo had already been sucked inside, but a white light extended from Shin Ah-yeon's hand into the rift.

A shimmering white thread.

Ivan witnessed it clearly.

When the thread disappeared into the rift, Shin Ah-yeon made a gentle fist with her outstretched hand.

Then, as if it was all a lie, the collapsing space folded in, and the rift began to close.

No magic power was needed for this.

It was as if the rift was simply meant to close, and it collapsed upon itself.

A disaster that humans could never overcome.

Vanished by the mere grasp of one person's hand.

"... You are..."

Witnessing that, Ivan realized he was being overwhelmed by an emotion he had long forgotten.

After becoming a great mage, creating his own magic,

After becoming UnderStellar and an outlaw shunned by the world,

He had forgotten—primal fear.

"Who are you?"

Was she really human?

Ivan wanted to ask that very question to the Shin Ah-yeon in this illusion.

Of course, Shin Ah-yeon gave no answer to his silent question.

「.......」

Having closed the rift, Shin Ah-yeon slowly collapsed.

The scene turned dark.

That meant Shin Ah-yeon's memory ended there.

"!!"

Ivan tore his eyes away from the vision and belatedly turned to Shin Ah-yeon.

And he couldn't help but flinch in surprise.

"......"

He had no idea for how long, but Shin Ah-yeon was quietly staring at him.

With a strangely serene smile on her face.

Hunters were strewn around her as if they were asleep.

"... Is it you?"

The 'you' Ivan was referring to did not mean Shin Ah-yeon.

He was referring to the one who had closed the rift in the vision.

To Ivan's question, Shin Ah-yeon just gave a gentle smile and placed her index finger slowly to her lips.

It meant, "Shh. Be quiet."

'I should withdraw.'

Ivan was not foolish enough to pick a fight with someone who could close a rift alone.

Furthermore, there was now some kind of wave emanating from Shin Ah-yeon.

It was a force completely different from magic power, or the strength imbued in his gloves.

He guessed that what closed the rift must be related to this power.

'Looks like the client's item is broken, too.'

There had been that sharp gemstone he was supposed to drive into Shin Ah-yeon's heart.

He'd been told it would erode her and turn her into a 'monster'.

Ivan had thought it was no ordinary object, but even brushing against this going emanating from Shin Ah-yeon was causing it to crumble little by little.

If he approached any closer, stabbing it in would be impossible—the stone would just fall apart like sand.

"I see. I'll withdraw. I'll stay out of this incident, as well."

With those words, Ivan stepped back.

He didn't really know why, but he needed to disappear while she wasn't showing hostility.

Until he figured out the identity of that power he'd seen in the rift earlier, he must never attack.

"... Shin Ah-yeon."

Ivan murmured the name that had shaken him today, and hurriedly left the place.

But one thing he couldn't understand was why she had let him go so easily.

Her attitude had changed, but the hostility hadn't disappeared.

Judging by the power he'd seen in the vision, she could have defeated him without effort.

As if... she had a reason to let him live.

"I don't get it."

Even after more than a hundred years, he couldn't recall a day as shocking as today.

Ivan decided to return to UnderStellar first, and gather information about Shin Ah-yeon.

He might figure out something that way.

***

"... Ah?!"

Shin Ah-yeon came to her senses just a few minutes after Ivan disappeared.

She had been boiling with rage, wanting to smash Ivan for exposing her weakness—but suddenly, the memory just cut off.

"Ugh~, why am I like this lately?"

It happened with Ji Yeon-hwa last time, and now this again.

Just in case, she touched her back, but fortunately there wasn't any pain like before.

"Ugh."

Shin Ah-yeon kicked the ground in frustration.

She had been planning to thoroughly destroy that old man hiding behind a young face, but he was gone now.

'But do I have a medical issue or something?'

Park Jung-woo definitely seemed to know something, so she'd have to interrogate him.

She was nervous, since her emotions kept causing this sort of thing lately.

'Anyway, I have to come up with an excuse about the gacha earlier.'

She was already worried about how the other hunters would see her.

Shin Ah-yeon shuffled awkwardly and then—upon noticing the hunters sprawled on the ground—jumped in shock.

"Wh-What?! Why is everyone passed out?! Did Ivan do this?!"

"Ugh, uuuugh..."

She shook the unconscious hunters here and there, but they didn't seem about to wake up.

There were no wounds, and from the faint groans it didn't look serious, but she couldn't help but be worried.

"I should hurry up and call someone to come get them."

Shin Ah-yeon pulled her smartphone from her pocket.

She considered using the radio to call other hunters, but they were probably busy, so contacting the association directly seemed better.

"Hm?"

But when she checked the phone, there were tons of missed calls.

The gate's appearance had disrupted transmissions, but things seemed to be back to normal now.

"Why did Soo-ah call so many times?"

Well, it was a disaster after all—of course she'd be worried.

Counting the calls, Soo-ah topped the list with ten, followed by Sung-hwan.

And surprisingly, there was even a call from Yeon-ji.

"Hello, Soo-ah? Why'd you call?"

【How can you ask that now?!】

Shin Ah-yeon called Soo-ah, since she had the most missed calls, and got a frustrated reply.

"What's wrong? We're all fine here, you know?"

【How can you be fine?! Haven't you seen the news?!】

"How would I see the news? I've been busy closing a gate!"

【W-Well, that makes sense. Anyway, hurry and find Manager Park!!】

"Jung-woo oppa? Why? He should be in the shelter, right?"

Since Shin Ah-yeon hadn't heard anything about problems at the shelter where Park Jung-woo was, she replied so, but Soo-ah yelled urgently.

【Manager Park is missing!!】

"Huh?"

For a moment, Shin Ah-yeon couldn't process what Soo-ah had just said.

Who was missing?

【He tried luring monsters by himself and fell off a seaside cliff. The rescue teams went but the area's still crawling with monsters, so the news is saying he's hard to find!】

Soo-ah's urgent voice left Shin Ah-yeon speechless.

She didn't know why, but the second she heard those words her mind went blank.

'... He'll be okay, right? I mean, it's not like Jung-woo oppa is a normal person.'

Park Jung-woo was a returnee.

Now, quite a few people knew that, but Shin Ah-yeon knew his capabilities best.

'Yeah, this much isn't a big deal, right?'

So she was sure that the monsters spilling out of a gate like this would be no threat to him at all.

Yet, for some reason, her hands and feet turned cold and her heart pounded.

【Unni? Why aren't you saying anything?】

"... Where is it?"

【Ah, near Ae-wol. I don't know the exact spot...】

"Got it. I'll look for him."

Shin Ah-yeon hung up, then moved the unconscious hunters to a safe place nearby.

All the nearby gates were closed, and the monsters had been swept up, so there shouldn't be much danger.

'Seriously, why does he always disappear and make me worry?'

She remembered what had happened when Park Jung-woo vanished into the rift.

Just hearing the word "missing" attached to Park Jung-woo shook her deeply.

Apparently, the wound left in her three years ago was much bigger than she'd realized.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Is it the Goddess of the other world who helped Ah-yeon an Jung-woo 3 years ago?
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】