Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 52.
The unexpectedly formed expedition was making its way toward the Gate.
Park Jun Ho kept voicing his unease.
“Are you sure this is right? You made the right call, didn’t you, Ha Gyeong?”
“Why are you like this after coming all this way? We can’t turn back now.”
“I’m just anxious, that’s all.”
You ignored the garrison commander’s orders and were full of nerve before—I don’t understand why you’re like this now.”
“Ahem! Why do you keep bringing up the past?”
“It was quite memorable.”
Then Seo Jun Hyeok, who’d been walking behind them, voiced his criticism.
He still harbored some emotional resentment toward Park Jun Ho.
It was unavoidable, really.
After all, the fighting had gotten difficult because of the Raiders Guild members’ blunders.
Just then, Ha Gyeong, who’d been leading the way, suddenly stopped.
“Something feels off.”
“What?”
“I could see the Abyss Core clearly from a distance, but now it’s gone.”
“What’s that?”
“The source of the Gate Break.”
“W-wait, are you certain of this information?”
“It’s only a guess, but the odds are quite high.”
“If you’re right, this is a truly extraordinary discovery.”
Seo Jun Hyeok clenched his fists tightly.
His eyes gleamed like a journalist who’d stumbled upon a scoop.
Very little was known about Gate Breaks.
If they could identify the cause, responding to them would become far easier.
As they wandered through the thick fog.
Boom! Boom!
A heavy vibration suddenly rippled through the air.
Ha Gyeong quickly ducked behind the rubble of a building.
An enormous form swept past mere inches away.
This was likely the third Wave.
The second had been a parade of countless medium and small monsters.
Park Jun Ho and Seo Jun Hyeok exhaled in relief.
“Phew! If you hadn’t been here, we’d have been dead by now.”
“Right. The fog blocks our senses—we can’t feel anything—but I have no idea how you’re dodging like that.”
They’d been bickering with each other, but when it mattered, they worked together flawlessly.
While the two of them stared at Ha Gyeong in wonder.
He was peering through the fog itself.
‘Something’s wrong. It feels like someone’s watching us.’
The transcendent senses granted by Soul Stigma tolled silently in warning.
He never overlooked even the smallest signal.
Walking carefully, taking in every detail.
Then suddenly, goosebumps erupted across his back.
He’d realized there were four of them now.
Ha Gyeong quietly drew his Karambit.
‘When did it happen? Or rather… who is it?’
Strangely, he couldn’t make out his companions’ faces.
Seo Jun Hyeok and Park Jun Ho.
And someone else, a third person.
That third one had to be the source of this strangeness.
Thud.
Ha Gyeong stopped walking.
He shut his eyes completely.
But no one questioned it.
In that moment.
Ha Gyeong understood.
‘It’s not that one intruder snuck in. All of this is designed.’
If that was the case, he couldn’t afford to act rashly.
He turned slowly.
Then, staring into empty air, he spoke.
“What did you do with my companions?”
He hadn’t simply guessed at where an opponent might be.
The Soul Stigma’s thermal-vision-like sense, as Ha Gyeong called it for convenience.
A faint, grayish form had flickered there.
Soon a grim voice burrowed into Ha Gyeong’s mind.
―I was curious how you managed to move in sync with the Core, but you’re no ordinary specimen, are you?
Something dark emerged abruptly from the fog.
Roughly two meters tall.
A skeletal torso barely draped in tattered rags.
It had a human-like form, but its head was distinctly different.
Multiple pieces of flat, wasp-nest-like flesh stacked atop one another.
It bore a striking resemblance to the faceless creature from a horror film.
Though its appearance was grotesque, Ha Gyeong remained unmoved.
“Skip the bullshit. Just answer my question.”
―Those wretches? They’re wandering lost somewhere in the fog, I’d imagine. Just like you were a moment ago.
“At least they’re not dead, then.”
―Now’s hardly the time to worry about those small fry.
Swish!
The moment the creature finished speaking.
Ha Gyeong felt an immense sense of danger.
As if dozens of invisible blades were carving through his abdomen.
He threw himself aside instinctively.
At first, he retreated just one step.
But unable to shake the overwhelming dread, he kept moving backward.
Crash! Slash!
Only when the razor-sharp killing intent faded did he finally stop.
Where Ha Gyeong had been standing moments before, something extraordinary had taken shape.
Large craters had been gouged into the ground.
Cold sweat ran down Ha Gyeong’s spine.
‘Not a trace of warning, yet the power is immense. If not for Soul Stigma, I’d be dead already.’
Judging from what he could gather.
It was a technique that annihilated everything around the target point.
In a sphere roughly three meters in diameter.
The creature stood on a protruding rebar from the collapsed Ruined Fortress Walls.
It had planted its feet on the narrow edge.
Without the slightest tremor.
Like a martial master perched on a tree branch.
It was as if the creature were asking: do you feel the difference in our power?
Ha Gyeong adjusted his stance.
Immediately, the creature’s dark voice reached him again.
―You learned the Core’s location, dodged my attack, and yet I still can’t comprehend you. Where did such a thing come from?
All of this was thanks to Soul Stigma.
A special sense that grew alongside Ha Gyeong.
A skill born from the title of Ultimate Escapist.
But there was no reason to explain such details to an enemy.
Ha Gyeong focused his mind.
‘This is a different type from any opponent I’ve faced before.’
The ultimate assassin.
That was exactly the impression it gave.
Again, the sensation of blades plunging into his abdomen.
Ha Gyeong immediately kicked off the ground.
Bang!
This time, instead of retreating.
He charged forward.
Not directly at his opponent, of course.
The creature’s attack might be a projectile after all.
He moved diagonally.
Then, using the collapsed Ruined Fortress Walls as his path, he began running as if on level ground.
Rapid footfalls! Whoosh!
Despite the silence, Ha Gyeong could sense it.
‘The creature’s skill is detonating exactly where I just was. One moment of hesitation and I’m finished.’
He glanced back.
As expected.
The Ruined Fortress Walls were scarred with deep gouges.
Right where Ha Gyeong had just been standing.
He launched himself toward his opponent.
Then a long curve appeared on the wasp-nest-like head.
As if it were smiling.
―A creature suspended in midair is as easy prey as it gets.
Swoosh!
Maddening danger surged toward him.
The creature would surely predict his movement and strike.
In a way, it was reckless.
There was no reason to leap so far and expose his weakness.
Yet Ha Gyeong wore a smile of triumph.
[Cross Wind activated]
[Mid-air repositioning available]
Crash! Sleet!
Something horrifying tore past Ha Gyeong’s side.
Without Cross Wind, he would’ve taken a direct hit.
As he shifted direction in midair, the creature’s face convulsed.
Its shock was evident.
Ha Gyeong swung his Karambit without hesitation.
[The Abyss Challenger’s Compression authority concentrates Abyss energy]
Zzzt!
Now wasn’t the time for Kin Predation.
So he’d chosen Compression Soul Devouring instead.
Its power might be reduced, but its speed was overwhelming.
A pale flash cut through the air.
Ha Gyeong’s Karambit found the creature’s neck precisely.
Thunk!
A tingling sensation ran through his grip.
Ha Gyeong was certain.
His unorthodox mid-air strike had landed cleanly.
He’d severed its life completely.
But then, in an instant, a tremendous impact shook his entire body.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Ha Gyeong was hurled far backward, groaning.
He couldn’t even tell what had hit him.
He managed to stabilize himself in midair and landed steadily enough.
But his efforts hadn’t been for nothing.
[You have encountered the Core Guardian, Silent Ruin]
He’d finally learned his opponent’s identity.
Ha Gyeong focused on the words “Core Guardian.”
‘So the creature’s been hiding the Core.’
Then there was no choice but to fight, win, and find its location.
Ha Gyeong stared at Silent Ruin intently.
The creature was a humanoid monster roughly two meters tall.
This wasn’t a boss raid—it was a true duel.
He’d thought the Ranking Battles were pointless ceremony.
But now it seemed otherwise.
That experience would prove quite useful.
Ha Gyeong gripped his Karambit tightly.
‘From the aura it gives off, it seems to easily surpass Incomprehensible Grade. Then…’
It was probably at the lower end of Limit Grade.
Stronger than the Guardian he’d fought in the Proliferation Abyss.
To face such a creature alone.
Ha Gyeong found himself wishing for Seo Jun Hyeok and Park Jun Ho’s support.
Though if Ha Gyeong was alone, it didn’t mean he was without options.
‘I’ll drain its Abyss energy with Kin Predation and manage my resources carefully.’
[Kin Predation skill target locked]
[Objective: Silent Ruin]
Screech!
An eerie ringing cut through the air as it never had before.
* * *
Meanwhile, Seo Jun Hyeok and Park Jun Ho were lost in the mist.
The thick fog had robbed them of their sense of direction.
And their growing panic made thinking even harder.
Seo Jun Hyeok shook his head.
“I can’t even guess where we are.”
“Look harder. You’ve been with Ha Gyeong several times.”
“How am I supposed to match someone else’s sense of direction? You never taught me anything.”
“You can learn just by watching.”
“Finding your way through the Abyss isn’t exactly a simple skill, is it?”
“Wait, why have you been so curt with me? We’re both lost here.”
Park Jun Ho’s complaint was actually justified.
If anything, he was the senior.
Park Jun Ho was a first-generation and a half Awakened One.
Seo Jun Hyeok was merely a prospect.
With nearly twenty years between them in age.
This seemed a bit much.
Realizing something was wrong, Seo Jun Hyeok scratched the back of his head.
“You’re right. Why was I being so prickly?”
“How should I know?”
“It’s probably because of the Raiders Guild. Your reputation is… well, notorious.”
“Ah, come on…”
Again, it was his guild affiliation that weighed on Park Jun Ho.
He’d heard similar things from Ha Gyeong too.
He couldn’t simply dismiss it as something the younger generation said.
Were only young people prejudiced against the Raiders Guild?
Deep doubt clouded Park Jun Ho’s mind.
As they wandered aimlessly through the fog.
Suddenly, a powerful sensation jolted both of them awake.
Boom!
“Huh?”
“Wait?”
A heavy shockwave, and the fog dissipated around it.
They’d been bickering, but their reactions were oddly synchronized.
Like a pair of meerkats.
Both stood with their necks craned, staring into the clearing.
Then they could see what was piercing the air.
Seo Jun Hyeok and Park Jun Ho shouted simultaneously.
“I-is that Ha Gyeong?”
Then they each reacted differently.
Seo Jun Hyeok moved to activate a support skill.
But Park Jun Ho turned to run—then suddenly froze.
“Ah, damn it…”
It had triggered: Escape.
Ha Gyeong’s words about him being a punk echoed in his head.
Park Jun Ho was too terrified to even look back at Seo Jun Hyeok.
Gate Tear
Author |
Moraetop
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Chief Editor |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
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7th Floor, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260306112
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submission |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or manner without written permission from Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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