The streets of southern Seoul had already descended into chaos by the time Suho arrived.
Police barricades surrounded several city blocks while civilians evacuated in panic through rain-covered streets illuminated by flashing emergency lights. Hunters rushed toward the center district from every direction, mana signatures colliding violently across the area as guild response teams attempted to stabilize the situation.
But the moment Suho stepped closer—
he understood immediately.
This wasn't a dungeon.
The air itself felt wrong.
Reality distorted unnaturally around the center of the district, buildings flickering between different environments every few seconds. One moment concrete roads existed normally—
the next, ancient silver forests appeared in their place before vanishing again.
The dimensional overlap had become unstable.
And standing above it all—
was the Rift.
A massive tear hovered in the middle of the city street like shattered glass suspended in space. Silver energy leaked endlessly from the opening while distorted sounds echoed faintly from whatever existed on the other side.
Hunters nearby looked terrified.
Not because of monsters.
Because their systems weren't functioning correctly.
"This thing's interfering with status windows!"
"My mana control keeps fluctuating!"
"What even is this?!"
Sera landed beside Suho moments later, immediately activating Resonance Field to stabilize the area around them.
[Hunter: Kang Sera]
[Lv: 76 (C-Rank)]
[Skill: Resonance Field (A-Rank)]
[Field Stability: Active]
The pressure eased slightly near them.
But not enough.
Suho's system continued flashing warnings repeatedly.
[Dimensional Rift Detected]
[Reality Stability: Critical]
[Foreign Realm Collision In Progress]
Then the Rift expanded.
Hunters across the district immediately backed away as enormous pressure exploded outward from the crack in space. Streetlights shattered instantly while nearby buildings trembled violently beneath the unstable mana surging into Earth's atmosphere.
And then—
something stepped out.
A creature unlike anything humanity had encountered before emerged slowly from the distorted opening.
Tall.
Thin.
Its body resembled black armor fused directly into flesh while silver cracks glowed faintly across its surface like broken stars. Four glowing eyes opened across its face as distorted energy spread around its body continuously.
The system activated instantly.
[Void-Touched Knight (B-Rank)]
[Corrupted Dimensional Entity]
[Warning: Foreign Existence]
The surrounding hunters visibly relaxed for half a second after seeing the B-Rank classification.
Then the creature moved.
One of the nearby C-Rank hunters exploded backward before anyone even saw the attack clearly.
Blood splattered across the ruined street as the hunter crashed through a vehicle nearly thirty meters away.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Because no B-Rank monster should move like that.
Another hunter screamed while activating a fire-based skill toward the creature.
The flames passed straight through it.
Like reality itself rejected the attack.
The Void-Touched Knight tilted its head slowly.
Then vanished.
A second later—
three more hunters collapsed simultaneously.
Sera's eyes widened.
"…It's phasing between dimensions."
Eryndor appeared beside them instantly, silver light forming beneath his feet as he stared directly at the monster.
[Entity Analysis Updated]
[Void-Touched Knight]
[Realm Corruption Confirmed]
[Estimated Combat Power: A-Rank Equivalent]
That explained everything.
The surrounding hunters began retreating immediately as panic spread across the district.
"This thing's not B-Rank!"
"We can't hit it!"
"Fall back!"
But before the situation could worsen—
the Void Knight suddenly stopped moving.
Its four glowing eyes shifted directly toward Suho.
Then—
the system reacted violently.
[External Recognition Confirmed]
The creature trembled unnaturally.
Almost like it recognized him.
Suho's instincts sharpened immediately.
"…Something's wrong."
Eryndor's expression darkened slightly.
"…No."
His glowing eyes narrowed.
"…Something noticed you again."
The Void-Touched Knight suddenly released an inhuman scream.
The sound distorted the air itself.
And then black energy erupted violently from its body as the Rift behind it expanded even further.
Another hand began emerging from the opening.
Larger.
Far more terrifying.
The hunters nearby froze in fear.
Because this presence—
felt far worse than the first creature.
Suho's system exploded with warnings.
[WARNING]
[HIGHER ENTITY ATTEMPTING DESCENT]
[DIMENSIONAL BARRIER FAILURE IN PROGRESS]
Eryndor moved instantly.
Silver magic formations erupted across the sky as dozens of glowing chains shot toward the Rift, temporarily slowing its expansion.
But even he looked strained.
"…It's forcing synchronization manually," he muttered sharply.
Sera activated Resonance Field at maximum output while stabilizing nearby hunters whose systems were beginning to malfunction from the dimensional pressure.
Suho stepped forward slowly.
And for the first time since the Resonance began—
his system opened a hidden interface on its own.
[Emergency Authorization Available]
[Would You Like To Temporarily Access Legacy Synchronization?]
Suho's eyes narrowed immediately.
Because the system had never offered him direct authorization before.
The Rift trembled harder.
The second entity continued forcing itself through reality.
And somewhere deep within the system—
something ancient awakened further.
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