"Something's coming out from inside!"
The camera, which had been showing Utopia's demon-slaying, quickly turned towards the gate.
"It's a person! Covered in blood! The emergency healers are—"
"Wait, isn't that a Holy Knight hunter?"
"Yes! It's a miracle!"
The Holy Knight, who had entered the gate to rescue the hunters, had returned.
But the surprises didn't end there.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
One by one, people were being thrown out of the gate, like products on an assembly line.
"They're hunters! Our hunters are returning!"
The caster, excited, shouted with a crack in her voice. It wasn't the grand return they had envisioned, but who cared!
-Holy shit! That's Alex, one of the 200 hunters who went in first!
-Damn... He must've gone through hell. Look at how pale he is.
-How the hell did he survive?
-Did Utopia save him?
-Probably.
-He's slaying demons and saving people... He's done everything.
-Damn...
And after 163 hunters were thrown out of the gate...
Finally.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The Utopia party walked out of the gate.
"As I speak, Utopia has returned!"
At this point, even Shin Se-hee, who had been forcing a smile at the return of the injured hunters, jumped to her feet.
"That's right! They're all back! I knew it!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She was so excited that she punched the air without realizing it.
She didn't even notice that everyone was filming her.
-Haha, Cheonhwa is so cute!
-Shin Se-hee's punch though!
-And the speed of that punch, even though she's a non-combatant, Utopia is on a whole different level!
-Look at the shockwaves coming from her fist! If she joined another party, she could be the main damage dealer with just her fists!
-Haha, she must've been really worried.
-Cheonhwa Punch! Cheonhwa Punch! Cheonhwa Punch! Cheonhwa Punch! Cheonhwa Punch! Cheonhwa Punch! Cheonhwa Punch!
Everyone was in a frenzy.
As the party members emerged from the gate, drenched in sweat and exhausted, Shin Se-hee rushed towards Jin Yuha without a care for what others might think.
"Jin Yuha!"
She jumped into his arms.
"W-What's wrong, Se-hee?"
Jin Yuha was taken aback but caught her in his arms.
"Why did it take so long? You said it would only take three hours!"
Her voice was filled with worry and reproach, and Jin Yuha let out a small laugh before gesturing towards the stretchers carrying the hunters.
"I was busy rescuing these people."
"I was worried! I was so worried! You said it would only take three hours!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Were you really worried?"
"Yes! I was worried! You should've told me!"
As Se-hee complained in Jin Yuha's arms, the other party members looked on with narrowed eyes.
"Hmm, she doesn't seem to care about us."
"Yeah, Se-hee, I'm disappointed."
"What did you expect from a flower vase?"
Feeling the weight of their gazes and words, Se-hee broke free from Jin Yuha and cleared her throat.
"Ahem, so what happened? Weren't the chances of rescuing the first group of hunters almost impossible?"
"Well, it was..."
In reality, there was no way to rescue those hunters.
But they got lucky.
First, the demon that appeared from the Demon Gate was Sloth, which was fortunate because Sloth, true to its name, was not known for its diligence or thoroughness.
Instead of finishing off each enemy one by one, Sloth simply piled them up when they were incapacitated. It wasn't a wrong decision, as they would've died anyway.
The second factor was the hunters' vitality.
The dust particles Sloth used were effective in damaging the respiratory system and reducing their activity. However, Awakened individuals had much stronger vitality than regular people without mana.
As a result, the hunters' rate of dying slowed down significantly when they were piled up and left unattended.
The third variable was none other than Sophia.
Jin Yuha had instructed Sophia not to heal the injured hunters, as the safety of Utopia was the priority.
But Sophia's skill, 'Healing Rain', was a wide-area healing skill that covered the entire stage, and its healing power was considerable.
During the battle, Sophia used this skill whenever it was off cooldown, and the hunters within the area received automatic healing as well!
However, many hunters had died before receiving Sophia's healing.
"Well, we couldn't save everyone, but..."
Jin Yuha scratched his cheek awkwardly, but Se-hee shook her head, not understanding.
"No, this is amazing! You went in late, defeated the demon, and rescued them, with only 40 casualties!"
Of course, Se-hee's reason for being happy was different.
She had many questions, like why Utopia didn't actively rescue them earlier, why Lina stayed back while Utopia went in, and why they should get credit for the success since the hunters who went in first sacrificed themselves.
Even in an emergency, these politicians and media outlets couldn't grasp the situation and just spewed nonsense.
Se-hee had put these words aside for now, but she remembered every single one of them. "Hahaha... We can finally give those politicians and media outlets a taste of their own medicine."
Se-hee let out a low laugh.
The moment the Demon Gate opened, who were the most anxious?
The hunters, excited and tense, wondering what rewards they might receive for facing a new enemy?
The ordinary people, who had grown accustomed to monsters emerging from the gates, now faced with even more formidable foes, sighing in despair and cheering for Utopia?
Or the politicians, who had lost their influence to the powerful hunters, quietly seething in the background, only to jump at the chance to stand in front of the cameras when a new opportunity arose?
It was only natural that the appearance of the Demon Gate and the devils caused a stir among all these groups.
But the ones who were most shocked by the Demon Gate were none other than the demons themselves.
It was only natural, as they had been forced underground, unable to fully express their true nature and desires, thanks to the pressure from Velvet Hunter Academy, Utopia, and the Demon Slayer Corps.
The appearance of the Demon Gate and the devils was like finding an oasis in the desert for the demons, a chance for a turnaround.
Why am I bringing this up now?
"You said you felt something was off when you dug a little deeper?"
At my question, Shin Se-hee nodded seriously.
"Yes, the Four Nations Alliance's assault on the Demon Gate was carried out in an extremely irrational and abnormal manner."
Se-hee explained that the assault on the Demon Gate was a major operation, involving 200 high-level hunters.
They didn't know what kind of demon would emerge from the gate, how to deal with it, or even what they could gain from it.
"Well, others don't know what they can get from assaulting the Demon Gate."
At Se-hee's explanation, I looked down at the book in my hand.
Of course, they had obtained other items as well, like the weapons used by the minions, adamantium ore, high-purity top-grade magic stones and black magic stones, and various other materials.
But compared to the book I was holding, a worn-out, pitch-black book, those were all just trash items.
On the cover of the book was the title, 'Dust of Life and Death'.
It was a demon skill book, which would allow the user to obtain the skill used by the demon Sloth.
'I haven't seen a skill book since my first time being transmigrated, and I was starting to wonder if they didn't exist in this world. But here it is.'
If this became known to the outside world, it would cause quite a stir.
This was a 'fusion skill' that allowed the user to incorporate demon abilities into their own skills.
'If Se-hee uses this, she'll be able to spread the dust like a fire, and if Sophia uses it, she'll be able to use a continuous healing skill, a healing light dust. On the other hand, if Soup uses it, it'll increase the defense of the entire party, but only by 10 points, which is honestly not that useful.'
The effectiveness of the demon skill book varied greatly depending on who used it. That's why I hadn't decided who to give it to yet.
'I need to see Ichika and Alice's skills first, and mine as well.'
Anyway, others didn't know what they could gain from the Demon Gate.
The information I released about the gate was vague and lacking in detail.
Yet, they rushed to assault the gate with the lives of 200 high-level hunters at stake.
"They forced the top 200 hunters to assault the gate, hoping to reap the rewards after we cleared it and distribute the spoils to them."
"Yeah, this skill book is like a bible to the demons."
"Yes, and from the demons' perspective, weakening the hunters' power..."
"Is something they would welcome, as it creates an environment for them to thrive."
I nodded in agreement with Se-hee's words.
'This makes sense.'
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