Chapter 26: The Wooden Doll (木刻人形)

“Why… didn’t they tell me…” Luna muttered to herself, her voice laced with bitterness.

If they had told her first, she would have protected the counselor faster and more safely than anyone else.

Just as she was about to silently curse the guild officials, a voice piped up beside her.

Lily, who had been listening to her muttering, tilted her head and asked innocently, “Huh? What are you talking about? As far as I know, only the standby rapid response team goes on emergency dispatches like Transfers. That’s why Elice went.”

Only then did Luna remember. She recalled Elice whining about being put on the standby team recently.

“Ah…?”

Luna was stunned.

Ah.

So that’s how it was.

Elice hadn’t gone to protect the counselor for any special reason.

And I didn’t even realize…

The flames of jealousy that had been scorching Luna’s heart black just moments before turned to shame and died out in an instant.

Luna immediately clasped her hands together, praying that they would be safe.

*

Busy.

I was busy as hell.

The center of Seoul Forest was the presumed location of the Transfer. The Association’s temporary field command post, set up near the heart of the chaos, was incredibly hectic.

“Please put on this transparent protective gear… and the earpiece…”

The technology of this world had continued to advance by leaps and bounds since the first Transfers. At first, it had been limited to sounding an alarm only after an anomaly had occurred. But now, it was possible to analyze the waves to predict where a Transfer would happen and even estimate how powerful the Outsider would be.

In other words, I had a little bit of time to prepare.

I was handed protective gear made of a transparent material, designed not to intimidate an Outsider who had just arrived in this world, and a small earpiece for communicating with the command center.

I finished my preparations and took a deep breath.

“Hoo…”

It was time to begin my first mission.

Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

Just then, the smartphone in my pocket vibrated.

[Jin Se-ah]

It was Jin Se-ah. I answered immediately.

“Hello.”

Her weak, trembling voice came through the receiver.

“Seon-woo…”

“Yeah, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

My heart sank at the sound of her voice. Had something happened to her?

“Nothing’s wrong with me… Seon-woo, are you okay? You have to be careful. Haa… really. Our guild should have been the one providing security… but if you’re not the designated guild, you can’t even go near the area…”

It seemed Jin Se-ah was worried about me. She sounded frustrated that she couldn’t come herself. This was the first I’d heard that other guilds couldn’t make immediate contact with an Outsider. It seemed the rule was created because more than one or two guilds would try to approach an Outsider who had just arrived.

“I’m fine. The Union Guild assigned me some great protection. You know Elice, right?”

I dropped the most reliable name I could think of to reassure her.

“Elice…?”

Her voice on the other end of the line turned cold.

“Yeah, the S-class hunter…”

“Counselor~ Are you okayyy?”

Just then, Elice pushed aside the flap of the command post tent and stepped inside. She spotted me on the phone but, as if not caring at all, gave me a mischievous smile.

“Ah, Elice, you’re here. Just a moment…”

I gave her a look that said, Just a second.

But Elice casually ignored the signal, walked right up to me, and grumbled with her hands on her hips—in a cheerful voice loud enough for the person on the other end of the line to hear everything, of course.

“You might be okay, Counselor, but I’m noooot okay at all. Because you worked me so hard yesterday, my back almost broke, you know? I almost couldn’t even make it for guard duty today.”

She was talking about yesterday at the orphanage, when she’d given the children piggyback ride after piggyback ride. I had excitedly placed child after child on her back, and I remembered that by the end, she had been quite exhausted.

“…What was that just now? Seon-woo. Seon-woo?”

Then, an Association staff member followed Elice inside. It looked like the mission briefing was about to start.

“Hey, the briefing’s about to start. It’ll be fine. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“No, wait, why does her back hur—”

Beep…

Before she could finish her sentence, I turned my phone off completely. This was more important right now.

“Who was that? Your girlfriend?” Elice’s playful voice came from behind me after I ended the call.

“No.”

I felt Elice’s ears perk up at my answer, but I didn’t have time to play along with her games right now. The Association staff member’s briefing had just begun.

“We’ll begin the briefing, Counselor. Today at 06:03, a Transfer wave from the regulated world of Jungwon (中原) was detected in the Seoul Forest area.”

The staff member pointed to a giant holographic screen in the center of the command post. A flashing red warning sign and complex data floated on the screen.

“Based on the current scale of the wave… only one Outsider has crossed over. We estimate them to be a powerful individual of at least A-class. Considering the nature of Jungwon, there is a high probability they are a martial artist (武人).”

Jungwon… martial arts…

I repeated the two words in my head, and the face of one person came to mind.

The woman who had vanished without a word the moment the siren blared.

Ja Hwa-yeon.

She, too, was an Outsider from Jungwon.

The staff member’s briefing continued. “It appears the Transfer phenomenon will be complete shortly. As soon as it concludes… you will need to enter.”

He looked at me and continued, his voice growing heavier. “Your mission… is clear. You will enter the site first with the security team and attempt first contact with the subject. Your duty is to induce psychological stability through conversation and to determine the subject’s threat level.”

The staff member placed a small, palm-sized device in my hand. Three buttons of different colors were embedded in it: red, yellow, and green.

“They correspond to Danger, Caution, and Safe. Please use these buttons to inform us of your assessment of the subject.”

Simply put, I was supposed to press a button based on my assessment during the counseling session.

“As mentioned, security will be handled by Hunter Elice of the Union Guild, the guild currently assigned to house calls.”

A cheerful voice sounded from behind me. “Don’t you worry~”

I gave a wry smile at the sight of Elice waving her hand innocently.

It was at that very moment.

KRA-KABOOOOOM!!

A deafening roar erupted, as if the entire command post—no, the entire area—was being shaken apart. Simultaneously, every monitor in the command post switched to a red warning screen.

The staff member, who had been calmly briefing me just moments before, said, “It’s begun, Counselor.”

Elice, the staff member, and I hurried out of the tent.

Outside, heavily armed hunters had deployed a giant, multi-layered translucent force field, completely sealing off the area. And at the center of that force field, the target point was shimmering an unreal blue, like a heat haze. It was an alien landscape… as if space itself were distorted.

I could see the shimmering slowly begin to fade.

“Wave stabilization confirmed. Transfer complete. You may enter.”

The voice of the command center came through my earpiece. Elice and the staff member standing next to me seemed to have received the same message, nodding with grim expressions.

The staff member gave the final authorization. “The wave has stabilized. From this point on, control of the site is transferred to you two.”

He added in a solemn voice, “You may… enter.”

Zzzzzzt…

We stepped inside the force field. The moment we passed through the translucent barrier, it was as if we had entered another world. All outside noise was cut off as if by magic.

In the air outside the force field, dozens of camera drones with blinking red lights followed us, likely broadcasting the arrival of the new Outsider in real time.

Under all those gazes and in the dead silence, I could feel my body tensing up involuntarily.

“Don’t be so nervous, Counselor.”

Just then, Elice, walking beside me, spoke in a low voice to reassure me.

“I’m… a lot stronger than I look, you know?”

Her voice held its usual playfulness, but also a layer of confidence.

“That’s reassuring,” I replied, not with a wry smile, but with a genuine one.

I knew. I knew what kind of hunter Elice was. The weight of the title “S-class hunter” was beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine. Even as a former hunter, it was something I couldn’t fathom. In fact, this one powerful rabbit next to me was far safer than dozens of clumsy bodyguards.

Just as I was feeling a sense of relief and walking with her toward the epicenter of the Transfer…

“Yes, do not be too concerned.”

“……?”

A third voice had spoken, right next to us.

“For I shall not stand idly by and watch as my physician is harmed by a wooden doll from the Righteous Faction.”

“Yes, thank you…?” I stopped myself, having almost answered reflexively.

A cold sweat trickled down my back.

What the hell.

Me and Elice. In this space where it should have been just the two of us, a figure was now walking silently beside us.

It wasn’t just me. Even Elice hadn’t noticed her approach at all. Her eyes wide with surprise, she spun around to face the intruder.

There, dressed in black martial arts robes, stood the Heavenly Demon, Ja Hwa-yeon, wearing a perfectly relaxed smile.

“We meet again, Physician.”

Ja Hwa-yeon glanced over the massive force field, which the other hunters had deployed with all their might, with an expression that suggested it was pathetic, as if she were merely taking a stroll in her own garden.

I hid my bewilderment and asked in the calmest voice I could manage, “Heavenly Demon… what brings you… here…?”

“Ah… you ask of me?” Ja Hwa-yeon gazed toward the epicenter of the Transfer, shimmering with a blue light in the distance. Her voice was tinged with what sounded faintly like anticipation. “It is because I sense a… truly dreadful… and unpleasant energy from beyond.”

She turned back to me and continued, “I have come to confirm it with my own two eyes.”

With those words, Ja Hwa-yeon gave a profound smile.

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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