"Wow, you work fast, Chiyeon."
Seo Elena smiled brightly as she looked up at the newly installed sign hanging above the café entrance.
The elegant logo swayed gently beneath the afternoon breeze, the name Shurelia written in soft gold lettering across the dark wooden signboard.
For a moment, she simply stood there admiring it.
Then a quiet hum of satisfaction escaped her lips.
The interior preparations had already been finished days ago, and with the new menu items she had prepared beforehand, the grand opening itself hadn't been particularly difficult to organize.
Everything was finally coming together.
Well... Mostly.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted downward for a brief moment.
Toward the hidden dungeon beneath the café.
Even now, its existence still made her nervous sometimes. No matter how much time passed, knowing something like that rested directly below her workplace wasn't exactly comforting.
But strangely enough, it had never actually harmed her.
So after thinking about it for a long time, Elena eventually decided the best option was simply to ignore it and move on with her life.
After all, she finally wanted to live peacefully for once.
Unfortunately, life never seemed willing to let her have that peace for very long.
Hyein came running inside after ending the call.
Her breathing was uneven, her face pale. The moment she reached Jiyeon, she grabbed both of her shoulders with trembling hands.
"N-Noona... I have to go to Japan right now."
Jiyeon frowned at her panicked state. "Hyein-ah, calm down first. What happened?"
"It's Minmin." Her voice cracked. "He's in Japan right now, and there's a monster there..."
The words spilled out hurriedly, almost incoherent.
"It's... it's similar to the one that appeared when Elena noona's café was destroyed."
At that, the atmosphere inside the room instantly froze.
Even Elena's expression stiffened.
Hyein's eyes reddened as she tightened her grip on Jiyeon's shoulders.
"Please, noona. You have to take me to Japan."
Jiyeon fell silent for a moment.
A creature comparable to that disaster wasn't something anyone could treat lightly. Even now, just remembering the aftermath of Elena's café incident left a bitter heaviness in her chest.
Still...
Minwoo was there.
And with Hyein this shaken, there was no way she could simply ignore it.
Jiyeon let out a quiet sigh before speaking.
"Okay."
Hyein's eyes widened slightly.
"But listen carefully." Jiyeon's expression turned serious. "I can only use my skill once. And because it's a fixed coordinate, I can't send us directly to wherever Minwoo is."
She paused briefly.
"We'll only arrive at the designated location in Japan. After that, you'll have to make your way there yourself."
"I understand." Hyein nodded immediately, almost desperately. "That's fine."
Before Jiyeon could respond again, another voice suddenly cut in.
"Can I come too?"
Both of them turned at the same time.
Elena stood there with a tense expression, her fingers unconsciously curling against her sleeves.
"The monster..." she murmured quietly. "If it's really similar to the one from back then, then I can't just stay here pretending it has nothing to do with me."
A faint shadow crossed her eyes.
A wave of her memory from when her world had been destroyed by the Outsiders, and the suffering of both worlds because of her...
Elena lifted her gaze again.
"And Jinhyuk is there too."
Her voice softened slightly at the end.
"So... let me come with you."
Jiyeon gave a small nod before extending her hand toward Elena.
"Hold on tight."
Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly paused and pulled out a large thermal bottle from her inventory.
"Wait. Drink this first."
Hyein blinked in confusion as Jiyeon unscrewed the lid and handed it over.
Inside was nothing but clear water.
Still, the moment the faint scent reached them, their eyes widened slightly. They could feel the mana radiating from it.
Jiyeon drank it first then handed it to Hyein, then to Chiyeon.
"It boosts physical abilities for about five minutes," she explained calmly. "Strength, agility, stamina... all of it."
Hyein quickly took a few gulps before passing it along.
After everyone drank from it, Elena casually poured more water into the bottle from another container before tossing the thermal bottle back into her inventory.
Who knows when it will be useful again.
Only then did her expression finally turn serious.
"Ready?"
The others nodded.
Jiyeon slowly closed her eyes.
Mana spread outward from beneath her feet like invisible waves, the air around them distorting slightly.
'Recall Point.'
It was one of Jiyeon's most valuable, hidden skills.
A teleportation-type ability that allowed her to move instantly to coordinates she had personally designated beforehand. She could maintain up to ten fixed locations at once and travel to them whenever necessary.
The downside, however, was a seventy-two-hour cooldown and complete mana exhaustion. Which meant once she used it now, there would be no turning back, and she won't be able to participate in the fight either.
Fwoooosh—
The surrounding scenery twisted violently for a brief moment.
The next second, the cold air of Korea disappeared completely.
Bright lights flooded their vision.
The sound of rolling suitcases, distant announcements, and overlapping conversations echoed around them.
Haneda Airport.
They had arrived in Japan.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Hyein immediately looked around frantically before rushing forward without hesitation.
"Hyein—!"
"She'll be fine," Jiyeon said with a tired sigh, already knowing there was no stopping her now.
Instead, she turned toward the other two.
"I'll handle the entry paperwork. You two can go ahead."
Because unlike dungeon gates, international airports unfortunately still followed real-world procedures.
Even in emergencies.
Meanwhile, Chiyeon glanced toward Elena before crouching slightly in front of her.
"I'll carry you."
Elena looked startled. "W-What?"
"You're a healer, aren't you?" Chiyeon said matter-of-factly. "You won't be able to keep up once we start moving."
It wasn't meant as an insult.
Just reality.
Compared to combat-focused hunters, healers naturally lacked physical enhancement abilities unless they specifically trained for them.
And right now, wasting time wasn't an option.
Elena hesitated for a moment before reluctantly climbing onto Chiyeon's back.
"...Sorry."
Chiyeon adjusted her grip easily before standing back up.
"Don't apologize." Her gaze shifted toward the airport exit, expression sharpening. "Save your energy instead."
Because from the suffocating pressure faintly leaking through the air even from this far away, something truly monstrous was roaming in Japan.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk was stalling for time. With the amount of people still around the vicinity, it wasn't ideal to fight as they could get caught up in the battle.
"Oh, it seems another human is approaching." The creature seemed to be pleased. The culprit of that presence was revealed to be Minwoo who came as a backup after hearing news of it from Hiro.
"Hyung, that's..."
"It's an Outsider."
Even if Minwoo had been granted the chance to regress, he still never understood the outsiders language.
The Beast King was different, since he was integrated with the third version of the system allowing him to be understood by humans, but this outsider was different.
"This human reminds me of a Pyrekin. Those guys are quite adept at controlling fire." Its sky blue tranluscrnt body rippled in bright colors, as if to show it was happy.
What exactly was it happy about?
"What's he saying, hyung?"
Jinhyuk didn't respond to Minwoo. "Why are you here? Why are choosing to invade this world."
The creature looked confused at that question.
"You are not informed?" It said. "I thought you would be since you are the mate of the one loved by it."
Jinhyuk kept his expression neutral, though the confusion was genuine. Fighting here meant devastation... Buildings, civilians, everything in the surrounding area reduced to collateral. He needed to keep the Outsider talking.
"What are you talking about?"
They exhaled, something almost like amusement crossing his features. "How difficult you are." He tilted his head as if the conversation itself was a luxury he could afford. "Let me simplify it then. This galaxy, it's beautiful. The surrounding planets have their merits. But this one?" His gaze drifted, taking in the space around them with something that looked uncomfortably close to appreciation. "This planet is something else entirely. A rare environment. Aquacorls can survive here without issue. Pyrekins can survive here without issue. Do you understand how unlikely that is?"
He let that sit for a moment.
"Do you understand what I'm saying, human?"
"So you want to eradicate every living thing on this planet. Take it for yourselves."
"Oh?" The Outsider tilted his head, looking almost pleased to be understood. "Close. But eradicate isn't quite the right word." He said it the way someone might correct a minor spelling error. "As it turns out, human DNA is far more compatible with ours than we anticipated. Some of your kind can be... kept. Bred, even. So no, not all of you have to die."
He said it like it was a concession. Like they should be grateful.
Jinhyuk's expression didn't change. "So that's what the churches are for. Spreading your reach. Sorting through the population. Deciding who's worth keeping alive."
He clapped his hands, delighted. "Correct. But that isn't the only reason. We are also quite curious about human biology, you see, you share more than you know with that huma—"
The Outsider stopped.
His attention shifted the way a predator's does. Complete and immediate reorientation.
Jinhyuk followed his gaze.
Hyein. Chiyeon. And Elena.
What the hell are they doing here?