Tearing the Gate Apart - Chapter 93

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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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Chapter 93.
Ha Gyeong returned directly to the Eastern US Association Headquarters.
Originally, what the Americans wanted was to identify the Gate Break location.
And participation as a way to add responsibility to their choice.
But he had achieved far more than what was contracted.
With just three people, hadn’t he eliminated the Core Guardian?
Moreover, he had finished everything before the garrison was destroyed.
Frankly, he could have demanded another Artifact.
Yet Bennett’s expression was grave beyond measure.
“You destroyed the Gate……entirely?”
“Yes.”
“Why on earth did you do that?”
“Ultimately, it was necessary.”
Bennett had no response to Ha Gyeong’s answer.
There was nothing wrong with what he said.
The Jaredore Empire wanted to make Earth into an Abyss.
The Awakened Ones had to stop their plot.
For that, closing the Gates should come first.
It was easier to fight when the enemy’s invasion route was cut off.
But Bennett’s thinking was different.
“What about the infrastructure around the Gate? So many people’s livelihoods depend on it.”
“With that approach, we’ll lose. We’re at war now, and we have no choice but to make harsh decisions.”
“Will you do the same thing when you return to Korea?”
“We’ll see.”
“Then why do you have different standards?”
“Because Gates in Korea are well-managed.”
……
Bennett had run out of words.
Korea had only five Gates.
The situation was entirely different from America with its seven hundred.
The population relative to area was low, so there was a shortage of actual Awakened Ones.
When Ha Gyeong pressed the point, Bennett rubbed his forehead.
“Still, you should have at least consulted us. This will definitely cause a huge backlash.”
“Enough to put your position in jeopardy?”
“……I won’t deny it.”
Of course, this wasn’t merely about self-preservation.
Usually, distinguished senior Awakened Ones held high positions.
A position was nothing if he gave it up.
The problem was the contract with the Korean Association.
The question was whether he could fulfill it.
Ha Gyeong smiled meaningfully and spoke.
“You need to change your perspective.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Think about it. There’s a Gate right in the middle of New York, isn’t there?”
“Thanks to it, it has better accessibility than any other Gate.”
“That’s only convenient for Awakened Ones. Ordinary citizens can’t help but feel uneasy. Would anyone want to live alongside a bomb that could explode at any moment?”
“Ah?”
Hadn’t that happened just today?
With a sudden Gate Break, they couldn’t even issue evacuation orders.
If Ha Gyeong hadn’t been there, the damage would have been catastrophic.
He nodded casually and spoke.
“Hold a press conference and say you had no choice but to destroy the Gate out of necessity. That you had to seize this opportunity to save New York.”
Sigh……
Bennett let out a long breath.
He seemed to realize that he had no choice but to follow Ha Gyeong’s advice.
Soon, Bennett nodded.
“That might indeed be the wisest response.”
“Good. Then let’s fulfill the contract. Give me the list of promised Artifacts.”
“Time to collect payment.”
Like an organization overseeing countless Gates.
The Artifacts held by the Eastern US Association were impressive.
Among them were pieces fine enough to catch Ha Gyeong’s eye.
“I’ll take these two.”
The deliberation was not long.
He just needed to pick what suited his taste.
The Artifacts Ha Gyeong chose were the Necklace of Dominion and the Bastion Shield.
Bennett looked puzzled.
“There are better ones, so I’m curious why you’d choose these in particular.”
“If I try to take things with only high utility value, you’ll object anyway, won’t you?”
“Ah, yes. That’s true, but……. Ahem!”
Bennett suddenly broke into a fit of coughing.
His true thoughts had slipped out, and he seemed flustered.
Ha Gyeong shrugged as if he’d expected this.
“If I pick something reasonable, you’ll have something to say too, won’t you? We negotiated hard and secured an appropriate benefit. That sort of thing.”
“Thank you for being so considerate.”
“Well, you should go now.”
“Eh? Where are you saying?”
“You need to hold that press conference. The sooner, the better. Before people notice the Gate is gone.”
“Ah, yes.”
Bennett stood blinking, frozen in place.
Then he nodded and turned to leave.
He muttered to himself.
“For some reason, I feel like I’ve been caught as a Pokémon.”
* * *
Ha Gyeong was watching Bennett’s press conference on the news feed.
―Citizens, rest assured. The Gate Break in New York has ended, and the Gate that occupied Highland Park has also been destroyed. This is the first time in history that…….
Whether Bennett had taken Ha Gyeong’s advice to heart.
His demeanor throughout was shamelessly confident.
Of course, all the unfavorable details were omitted.
Like the fact that Ha Gyeong had pulverized the Gate’s Core.
Or that they’d given him two Incomprehensible Grade Artifacts.
In any case, the dispatch mission had been concluded without incident.
Ha Gyeong decided it was time to pack.
But then John approached his door.
“Hey, bro.”
“Don’t stand like that—it looks like something out of an American drama. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Aw, man. I finally got the vibe right, and you’re killing it like this?”
“Save that kind of talk for your wife.”
“Ooh! That’s downright threatening……. You don’t understand the struggles of a married man.”
“We’re heading back soon, so pack quickly. And stop saying you don’t want to go home.”
Ha Gyeong waved his hand dismissively.
But John didn’t leave.
He just stared at Ha Gyeong with an enigmatic expression.
“Is there something you wanted to say?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure if I deserve this. All I did was chase away some mob enemies.”
“No, that’s not true.”
Ha Gyeong denied it firmly.
Of course, the battle with Barcaron had been led by him.
But was John and Bradley’s role negligible?
Not really.
John had lured the field boss.
And Bradley kept unleashing Support Skills.
So Ha Gyeong could focus entirely on fighting Barcaron.
“Without you, I’d have been backstabbed and gone down ages ago.”
“Thanks for saying that. So what about Bradley?”
“The Eastern US Association will compensate him. But why are you so concerned?”
“He’s a pain in the ass, sure, but we did suffer together.”
“That’s true.”
While they were at it, Ha Gyeong wanted to examine the Artifacts.
What he’d obtained this time was the Necklace of Dominion.
It was a summoning-type item, so it didn’t have particularly high utility value.
But like the Crimson Edge, it had two options as its feature.
The first increased dominance over summoned creatures.
The second had the effect of increasing their numbers.
Ha Gyeong immediately activated the Core Belt.
[Core Belt Activated]
[Summoning Liquid Core]
[Necklace of Dominion Activated]
[Control of summoned creatures becomes easier]
[Number of summoned creatures increases]
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
A silvery form writhed from Ha Gyeong’s waist and crawled out.
Then it transformed into an exact copy of him.
Not one, but two.
Ha Gyeong tried giving a mental command.
‘Go over there.’
Then something surprising happened.
The Liquid Cores began walking with purpose.
Ha Gyeong couldn’t help but cry out in delight.
“Yes!”
Until now, the Liquid Cores had only mimicked his movements.
But now, they obeyed his commands.
This meant he could use his summons far more actively.
But then John suddenly tried to touch one of the Liquid Cores.
“You’re that happy just from them walking? How long must they have been disobeying you…….”
Whoosh— Smack!
The Liquid Core’s fist, swung without warning.
John was a skilled Awakened One.
He would normally have just blocked it.
But this time his reaction was a fraction too slow.
It was because new arms had grown from the Liquid Core’s body as it struck.
John stared at Ha Gyeong in disbelief.
“Seriously? Just because it obeyed a command doesn’t mean it has to hit me?”
“That wasn’t me.”
“Liar! You were just controlling this thing.”
“I’m serious. I didn’t give any command. It just reacted on its own.”
“Really?”
“If you don’t believe me, try touching it again.”
“What if you command it to hit me?”
“Then I’ll step out.”
Ha Gyeong immediately walked out of the room.
He closed the door and stayed far away.
Then a heavy sound echoed again.
Crack!
“Ha! I blocked it this time.”
Smack!
“Ugh! I dodged but it still hit? Seriously? You want to do this?”
Bang-bang-bang! Thud!
“Argh! Since its body is liquid metal, it’s impossible to predict. This is crazy.”
After a while, Ha Gyeong opened the door.
John was tangled up with both Liquid Cores.
Apparently they were tougher than expected.
He’d clearly taken several hits.
Ha Gyeong let out a dry laugh.
“Hey! You were supposed to just test the reaction, not get into a serious brawl.”
“You weren’t lying. They automatically attack whenever they’re touched.”
“I told you. I didn’t give any order.”
“Anyway, these things are yours. They’re way stronger than the monster we saw back then? Does the power scale with the owner?”
If they could trade blows with John in unarmed combat, they were quite formidable.
Ha Gyeong wore a satisfied expression.
They’d be useful in many ways.
He checked the amount of Abyss Energy consumed.
‘Not really worrying, actually. And there’s no separate cooldown.’
The Core Belt was similar.
If so, it was as if he’d gained two bodyguards.
Ha Gyeong gestured toward John’s Bastion Shield and spoke.
“How about that one?”
“It creates a protective barrier, and the performance isn’t bad. Though it does consume quite a bit of mana.”
“Glad it’s useful.”
“So you’re really leaving now? I’m gonna miss it.”
“Still, I have to go.”
He’d come all the way to America, and instead of sightseeing.
He’d been on a plane the whole time, then fought for his life.
Though it wasn’t a leisure trip, still, when would such an opportunity come again?
Yet Ha Gyeong was resolute.
“Staying longer won’t do any good.”
“Can I ask the exact reason?”
“Eventually, word will spread that I destroyed the Gate’s Core. I could end up involved in troublesome matters.”
Hadn’t something unprecedented just happened?
Bennett keeping quiet wouldn’t be the end of it.
Once they investigated Bradley Turner, Ha Gyeong’s name would come up.
Rather than get caught up in trouble.
It was better to leave quickly.
Ha Gyeong set his suitcase outside the door.
Then he was about to call Eden Han.
But suddenly, someone approached across the hallway.
“Ha Gyeong, is that right?”
Tall, imposing build.
A white man with a long scar across his face.
The atmosphere was quite different from John’s.
Much sharper presence, one might say.
Ha Gyeong looked at the stranger with a questioning gaze.
The large white man extended his right hand.
“Colin Harrow, Director of the Eastern Association. I hear we received considerable help from you.”
“That’s fair to say.”
“I’d like to hear more details about the Gate’s Core.”
Ha Gyeong clicked his tongue inwardly.
What he’d anticipated was happening.
Much faster than expected.
He nodded calmly.
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
“But my information doesn’t come cheap.”
……
Even after revealing his position as an Association Director.
Colin Harrow’s eyes dimmed slightly.
An expression like: what kind of nonsense is this?
Then Colin nodded promptly.
“Fine. I’ll pay a fair price.”
He acknowledged that he wasn’t in a position of advantage.
Tearing Open the Gate
Author |
Modeun Moa
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Inc.
Editor in Chief |
Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C Inc. – Dream Books
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UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260306112
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@dreambookss
Submission |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from Samyang C&C Inc. – 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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