The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 375

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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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Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 2, Episode 196

In that moment, the absurdly vacant face of Bishop Yi flashed through my mind.
‘Bastard.’
I know the truth.
Bishop Yi can see the future, but he’s not an ability user who can create it.
Still, it infuriates me.
Perhaps it’s because Bishop Yi is the only convenient target I can blame, but ever since the Apocalypse Cult made their prophecy, my already volatile temperament has been festering like poison, threatening to explode at any moment.
“Sigh.”
But a heated mind accomplishes nothing.
I exhaled deeply, like releasing steam from a pressure cooker, when I heard the Association Director’s somewhat anxious voice.
[ “Yeo Joo, our healer—are you listening?” ]
“Yes, I’m here. I was just thinking for a moment.”
Fortunately, the deep breath had worked.
I spoke in a much calmer tone.
“This was something we anticipated anyway, Association Director. We’re prepared for it.”
[ “… Yes, you’re right.” ]
“So let me go over it. A Double Dungeon appeared at the Gate that opened on Gwanak Mountain, and right now both Guild Master Yoo Myung Hwa and Guild Master Sung Ro Sa are going berserk, correct?”
[ “To be precise, both are showing signs of berserk state. They’re holding on through sheer willpower.” ]
“That’s… possible?”
Berserk wasn’t something you could suppress through willpower alone.
[ “Both are desperately trying to maintain their sanity because of the other hunters present… Let’s continue this conversation in front of the Gate in a moment.” ]
“Understood.”
The call ended, and in the chaotic atmosphere, Sa Ma Young asked me.
“You said you’re prepared—what do you mean?”
“The Apocalypse Cult spouted some strange nonsense. So just in case, I asked the Association Director to prepare various things in advance.”
One of them was to have people kept away from the Gate’s perimeter beforehand, and the second was.
“Ah, here they come.”
At my words, everyone turned around.
A pair of men and women who appeared to be in their thirties came hurrying over, where there had been no one moments before.
“Hello! I’m Jang Kyung Joo from the Awakeners Association support team. Are you all ready to move?”
“Move?”
I spoke to Kang Han, who tilted his head in confusion.
“The Association Director said it earlier—to come up to Seoul.”
“He did say that, but I thought it would take more time. Is this also something you prepared in advance, Yeo Joo?”
“Yes, A-rank Gates are opening in both Seoul and Busan. If something goes wrong, we can’t exactly hop on the KTX and rush up there, can we?”
I shrugged and approached the two space-displacement ability users who were breathing heavily as they waited, asking them a question.
“Pardon me, but what are your ranks?”
“A-rank.”
“I see. And what’s the limit on how many people you can move?”
“Right now, we can transport up to 4 people including ourselves.”
It seemed to be because the distance was so great.
“Four people….”
That was far fewer than I’d hoped.
“Is there any way you could increase that number?”
“…If we take about a 10-minute rest in Daejeon, we could manage 6 people.”
After conferring with each other for a moment, Jang Kyung Joo answered.
They were definitely pushing themselves hard.
I could tell just by looking at their expressions without needing to ask.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. It’s an emergency situation, so we’re glad we can help in any way.”
“Then please wait just a moment.”
Every second counted in a situation like this, but there was something I absolutely had to do.
“What kind of Double Dungeon opened that made them go berserk?”
And for both guild masters to lose control at the same time, no less.
I could understand it happening to Sung Ro Sa, but I couldn’t make sense of Yoo Myung Hwa being in the same state.
‘I’d just lowered the addiction rate a few days ago, too.’
Fortunately, the stream continued without interruption despite the emergency.
I rewound the playback to the moment the Double Dungeon opened to assess the situation.

[ “Wait, isn’t that a Gate?”
“Damn it! Everyone be careful… Ahhhhh!” ]

A sight I’d never seen before was unfolding on my phone screen.
“Is that not a Gate but a black hole?”
Ryu Sang Eun, who was also rewatching the Group A stream like me, muttered in bewilderment.
But I didn’t have the presence of mind to answer him.
“…This is insane.”
Why is this appearing now?

* * *

Choosing six people to move to Seoul wasn’t easy.
“Why are you overthinking it? You, me, the Kang Han Guild leader—just pick three more.”
Sa Ma Young asked as I deliberated.
“I know, but… hmm.”
Now that I understood the true nature of the Double Dungeon, there was far more to consider.
I pulled up the status windows of all the hunters from the Justice Guild and Sama Guild above their heads, weighing my options.
The first two factors I considered were paramount.
Low addiction rates, and no abnormal status conditions like darkness vulnerability.
And above all else.
‘They cannot be someone who dies in that dungeon.’
That final condition eliminated several Justice Guild members from consideration.
“Hunter Ju Sa Eun, Hunter Bang Wi Jin—would you come with us?”
Neither of them had expected their names to be called, so their eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s a dangerous Gate, but…”
“Ju Sa Eun, Bang Wi Jin—bring potions.”
Sa Ma Young cut off my attempt to ask for their consent, issuing the command coldly instead.
It was typical of the Sama Guild, where absolute obedience was the norm.
“Yes, my lord.”
“And the last person is…”
Me, Kang Han, Sa Ma Young, Bang Wi Jin, and Ju Sa Eun.
That made five, leaving only one spot remaining.
Who should I bring?
There wasn’t much time to deliberate.
“Then…”
I was about to call out the name that had just come to mind.
“Ah, this way, please!”
The Korean Awakener Association Busan branch employee who had first greeted us called out loudly toward something.
Just as I turned my head in confusion, I noticed Kang Han’s face had gone rigid.
What was wrong?
Turning around, I found my answer.
“…Muwoon?”
The Shin Tae Muk and Shin Tae Jung brothers—the last I’d seen them in Ji Jung Hwi’s office—were walking over, leading hunters from the Muwoon Guild.
Shin Se Hee was nowhere among them.
“Why is Muwoon here?”
“We received a support request from the Association.”
Shin Tae Muk answered Sa Ma Young’s question.
“Since the Guild Cup has been suspended, shouldn’t someone clear the A-rank Gate that opened in Busan?”
The Association Staff member’s explanation was reasonable.
Most high-grade Gates in the Busan area fell under the Muwoon Guild’s purview.
They occupied a position similar to the Cheongmun Guild, which had grown rapidly as a top-tier force based in Incheon.
‘Still, Muwoon Guild bothers me.’
I exchanged a quiet glance with Kang Han, my thoughts churning.
We were in the midst of suspecting a connection between Muwoon Guild and the Apocalypse Cult.
And then, conveniently, the Apocalypse Cult made a strange prophecy, hunters fell into crisis exactly as foretold, and Muwoon appeared right on cue.
Could coincidence really be this perfectly timed?
Even though the Shin brothers must have felt my suspicious gaze, they maintained their shameless composure as if they knew nothing.
“We’ll handle things here, so please head back to Seoul with peace of mind.”
Shin Tae Jung smiled sweetly at Kang Han.
Unlike Shin Tae Muk, who looked so stern and expressionless that anyone would think ‘I’m the eldest,’ his smile carried a certain charm.
Looking at that smiling face, I spoke half on impulse.
“Would you like to come up to Seoul with us, Hunter Shin Tae Jung?”
“…Pardon?”
“Yeo Joo?”
“What?”
Not just Shin Tae Jung, the target of my question, but Kang Han and Sa Ma Young also called out to me in surprise.
“We happen to have an open spot. If S-rank Hunter Shin Tae Jung would accompany us, it would be a tremendous help.”
“But… I need to close the Busan Gate.”
“It’s only A-rank. Hunter Shin Tae Muk and the other Muwoon Guild members should be more than sufficient. Meanwhile, the Seoul situation is far more dire with the Double Dungeon. You already know that.”
Whatever his reasons, he seemed intent on staying in Busan, but the logic was on my side.
“I’m formally requesting your dispatch from Muwoon Guild right now, Hunter Shin Tae Jung.”
In other words: ‘You’re S-rank, so come help us.’
“Ah.”
Shin Tae Jung’s gaze turned toward his older brother, Shin Tae Muk.
It seemed like he was asking for help, but instead Shin Tae Muk nodded.
“If you can go and lend a hand, that’s the right thing to do.”
“…Understood.”
Done.
I’d successfully separated the suspicious Shin brothers.
Though I had no concrete evidence yet, I wasn’t careless enough to ignore the instinct that screamed every time I saw Shin Tae Muk and Shin Tae Jung.
And above all, I recalled Shin Tae Jung’s face as he smiled at Kang Han just moments ago.
‘I’ve never met anyone who smiles like that who turned out to be decent.’

* * *

Thanks to the sacrifice of two space-movement ability users sent by the Awakeners Association, we arrived safely at the Gwanak Mountain Gate.
And waiting for us there was a group of people.
I gave a silent bow to the Association Director, whose eyes met mine first, then approached the man standing with a stern expression, gazing at the Gate.
“Director Seo.”
“Yeo Joo, you’re here?”
Seo Yu Baek smiled faintly and handed me a box.
As I carefully opened it, ten Dark Purification Potions emitting a soft glow came into view.
“I never thought these would be needed so quickly.”
“It’s incredibly fortunate. We almost had all the hunters experience being vampires.”
It was a joke thrown by Seo Yu Baek, who knew that the raw material of the purification potion was my blood.
But seeing Seo Yu Baek’s already pale face turn even whiter—perhaps imagining hunters rushing at me to drink my blood—I quickly changed the subject.
“Director, are you ready to enter the Gate after all this time?”

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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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