Chapter : 08
Anomalous Phenomenon**
“……*Haa*.”
Cha Baek-jin felt the corners of his eyes twitching.
His head was burning as if he were suffering from a severe flu, and his heart felt like it was freezing cold. His arms and legs had long been paralyzed and motionless. Under an overwhelming pressure where moving even a single finger felt nearly impossible, Cha Baek-jin forced his gaze upward to look at Do Min-hyuk.
‘*……A single strike?*’
It was quite literally a single strike. What’s more, it was an absurd outcome produced entirely through pure physical strength—without using a drop of mana.
Indeed, no mana could be felt from him. The expression of sheer horror on Priestess Lee Eun-rim’s face right before she took the fist was proof enough.
If he had at least used mana to perform Body Enhancement (身體强化), it wouldn’t have been this bewildering. A body reinforced with mana naturally possessed a force akin to magic.
However, that wasn’t the case here. It was merely pure, unadulterated muscle strength—an utterly nonsensical outcome generated by nothing more than the basic motion of winding up and extending a fist.
“…….”
*Shatter—*
Within Cha Baek-jin’s line of sight, the physical body of Priestess Lee Eun-rim crumbled away. Even though she had simply been struck by a fist, Lee Eun-rim’s fake body lost its magical integrity and was now scattering into gray ash.
‘*……If I told other people about this, I’d be lucky not to be treated like a lunatic.*’
That body had not been Lee Eun-rim’s actual self. Transcendent beings like her were bound and restricted by special laws, and this applied equally to Lee Eun-rim, a priestess of Ahihil. Therefore, in order to project their power into the modern world, they required an appropriate vessel.
These were referred to as “dummies.”
Fake bodies—astronomically expensive treasures that could only be completed after undergoing intense magical processing. Considering it had allowed a high-level entity like Priestess Lee Eun-rim to set foot in the modern world, there was no need to even ask how extraordinary of an item it was.
In terms of quality, it was top-of-the-line. Its performance was indisputable.
One only needed to look at the record of the highest-grade dummy issued by the hunter superpower Germany to their top ranker, Yulia Paffenbrock. It possessed a monstrous defense capable of enduring seven full blasts of breath from the 7th-grade rift monster, ‘The Spotted Serpent Lurking in the Blighted Land.’
Priestess Lee Eun-rim’s dummy could not have been inferior to that. It was either equal in grade or slightly superior.
Yet, that very vessel…
‘*……Was turned to ash by pure physical force? And with just a single punch?*’
Cha Baek-jin let out a bitter smile at an outcome he couldn’t bring himself to believe, even after witnessing it with his own eyes.
Just then—
*Swish—*
Having confirmed that the priestess’s dummy was completely destroyed, Do Min-hyuk turned around.
Only then did his face come into view, adding an even greater sense of incongruity to the bizarre reality Cha Baek-jin was processing.
Hair darker than the blackest night sky. Milk-white skin. A strikingly handsome, youthful appearance in his early-to-mid twenties that naturally drew eyes toward him. It felt as though if he had lived an ordinary life, he would have undoubtedly been a celebrity.
Cha Baek-jin stared intently at Do Min-hyuk for a long moment before finally speaking up.
“……Thank you.”
Cha Baek-jin flinched, startled by his own words.
*Thank you? Did I just instinctively blurt out a thank you for saving my life? Even though I was trying to die just a moment ago?*
“…….”
Suddenly, an old memory resurfaced in Cha Baek-jin’s mind.
Seven years ago. A memory involving a certain orphanage he used to sponsor—the Hanlim Orphanage located in Yongsan.
「*……Mister, thank you.*」
It remained crystal clear in his memory: the words spoken by a child who had held tightly onto the doorknob, looking at him with a trembling voice.
Anomalous Phenomena (異常現象) always appeared without warning, and that day was no exception. The phenomenon had suddenly engulfed the orphanage during a late afternoon.
‘*……I couldn’t save them. Pathetically.*’
Like a sticky, viscous swamp, darkness swallowed the large room of the orphanage. The children were crying, clinging to one another.
Shamefully, on that day, Cha Baek-jin couldn’t move. He was petrified with fear. Only an intense, disgraceful desire to turn around and flee pressed heavily upon him.
「*Mister! I’m scared. *Sob, sob*. Pl-please, can’t you do something about this?*」
「*It’s cold…… *Ugh*. Why is it so cold?*」
「*Mister! Baek-jin mister? Yes? Can’t you please do something about this? Please…… *Waaah*.*」
Cha Baek-jin used to wonder: Why couldn’t he move? Why on earth couldn’t he?
Honestly, back then, a dark thought had crossed his mind: *I volunteer every weekend and support their living expenses, but do I really have to lay down my life for children who aren’t even my own blood?*
All kinds of stray thoughts cluttered his head. He desperately searched for an excuse not to throw himself into the anomalous phenomenon.
Then, at a certain moment—just as the anomaly that had swallowed the room began creeping out past the doorway—a young boy stepped up to block the door, tightly clutching the handle in his small hand.
「*……Baek-jin mister? Are you scared too?*」
It was a little 7-year-old boy named Lee Woo-jin—a child who used to laugh happily, saying he was going to start school next year.
Cha Baek-jin could still vividly recall Woo-jin’s words that day, spoken as the boy looked straight at him with trembling eyes.
「*……Mister? You told us that even if it’s scary and hard, there are things you just have to do, right?*」
Those were words Cha Baek-jin himself had once said.
「*You told us that if we keep living, a happy day will definitely come eventually, right?*」
He had certainly said that as well—that if one kept living, a happy day would surely arrive.
「*I really hope you get to be happy, Mister. In our place…….*」
With those final words, Woo-jin closed the room door.
Cha Baek-jin knew exactly what it meant when a person contaminated by an ominous curse closed the door. And as if to prove it, the endless expansion of the anomalous phenomenon instantly halted the moment Woo-jin shut that door.
「*W-Wait! Just a minute! Damn it……!*」
Snapping out of his trance too late, Cha Baek-jin tried with all his strength to open the door, but it was useless.
Later, the Information Department of the Management Bureau detected the anomaly and dispatched hunters, but nothing changed.
*Special-Grade Anomalous Phenomenon.*
That was the judgment delivered by the Bureau after failing to open the door. Today, it remained in the cold case archives under the name ‘The Closed Door of the Orphanage.’
‘*……Even thinking back on it now, I was so pathetically useless.*’
If he had just taken a few more steps—just a few more—couldn’t he have saved Woo-jin and the children?
Cha Baek-jin clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white, his fingernails digging deep into his palm. Why was that memory so vividly etched into his brain, refusing to be forgotten?
Could it be that he was doing the exact same thing now? Was he feeling relieved simply because he hadn’t died, thanks to Do Min-hyuk’s intervention?
No. Not this time.
*Swish—*
Cha Baek-jin turned his head toward the black-haired man.
Do Min-hyuk. A returnee who had recently come back to Earth. A transcendent monster whose class was vastly beyond that of ordinary returnees.
‘*If that returnee helps me…….*’
Suddenly, a thought struck him: maybe the man standing before him could pull it off. If it were this monstrous man whose true strength was impossible to gauge, perhaps he could open that sealed door of the orphanage—the door that was now closed off, where no one dared to set foot anymore.
“Ahem. Excuse me, Mr. Do Min-hyuk……?”
“Speak.”
“Regarding the restoration of your identity that you mentioned earlier, I’ll ask an acquaintance of mine. I know a high-ranking government official. It will be handled as quietly as possible…… so that you won’t be detected for the time being.”
“A high-ranking official…… That sounds like it will cost a fair amount of money. How much should I pay you for your fee?”
“Well, the fee is…….”
At Do Min-hyuk’s question, Cha Baek-jin hesitated, stumbling over his words. However, his deliberation didn’t last long. The decision had already been made.
“Is it possible for me to save it for later?”
“Save it?”
“……Yes. Instead of receiving payment now, could I store up equivalent favors for the future? In return, when the time comes and I feel it is appropriate, I would like you to grant me just one request. Beyond that, I will handle all your future requests completely free of charge.”
Anyone who knew how ruthless Cha Baek-jin was in this industry would have been horrified to hear this. He was someone who acted relentlessly just to squeeze out every last cent from a commission fee.
Of course, such trivial commission fees were the furthest thing from his mind right now. Cha Baek-jin desired only one single thing:
*The door of the orphanage.*
*That damned anomalous door.*
If he could just resolve that, Cha Baek-jin would willingly lay down his life for Do Min-hyuk.
“……Would that be possible, by any chance?”
Following Cha Baek-jin’s plea, Do Min-hyuk fell into thought for a moment before looking at him with a calm gaze.
Then—
“If it’s not a particularly difficult request after I hear it later, let’s proceed that way.”
“T-Thank you! I will definitely contact you today regarding your identity documents! Thank you so much!”
“Then, I’ll be relying on you.”
Do Min-hyuk replied casually and extended his finger to retrieve the White Snake Spear lying on the ground.
*Slither— Slither—*
The soot-covered snakes sprawling on the floor carefully began to coil around Do Min-hyuk’s finger. As if nothing had ever happened, the snakes shrank down in size, soon forming a white ring woven from seven strands on his finger.
“I’ll be taking my leave then.”
With those words, Do Min-hyuk stepped forward.
At the same time—
*Crack—*
With the sound of something unknown shattering, Do Min-hyuk vanished on the spot. Just like when he first appeared, he vanished without leaving a single trace.
It was different from the authority of *Surge Transformation* used by high-rank hunters. Nor was it *High-Speed Movement*, which was a more potent mystery. It was likely a spatial movement that bypassed space itself. High magic of that nature was something the librarians of ancient libraries used on rare occasions.
“……*Haa*.”
Left alone, Cha Baek-jin stared blankly at the spot where Do Min-hyuk had vanished.
He truly was a strange man—an existence far closer to an anomalous phenomenon than any anomaly Cha Baek-jin had ever encountered before.
—
“*Yaaawn*.”
Returning home, Na-hyun changed her clothes and let out a short yawn.
Her body felt a bit sluggish, perhaps because she hadn’t slept well. But aside from that, everything was great.
It might have just been her imagination, but lately, her body felt noticeably lighter. Originally, even without any major illnesses, she used to suffer from minor aches here and there, but ever since her uncle returned, her body felt light as a feather. It was just different. Even when studying at school, her concentration was terrifyingly sharp.
“……*Hmm*. Is it just a coincidence?”
Honestly, there was no logical reason why her body would miraculously improve just because her uncle returned. Although Mr. Kang-baek often praised her uncle as an amazing person in passing, from Na-hyun’s perspective, he was simply her precious uncle. Aside from his handsome looks—which were striking enough to make her daze off at times—he was just a uniquely grateful and precious family member.
Na-hyun recalled Do Min-hyuk’s face and let out a soft giggle.
“*Heehee*. I want to see Uncle again. Huh? But why is Mr. Kang-baek taking so long……?”
Around the time school ended, a text had arrived from Kim Kang-baek, suggesting they have another samgyeopsal (pork belly) party today. He had confidently claimed that today, he would definitely show her his special secret sauce that he hadn’t managed to show yesterday.
And yet—
“It’s getting late, but why hasn’t he reached out……?”
When there was still no word long past their promised time, Na-hyun cautiously called Kang-baek.
However—
*Ring— Ring—*
Even though the phone rang for a long time, Kang-baek didn’t pick up. She tried calling again after a short delay, but there was still no response.
By the time she had tried dialing five or six times—
“Did something happen to him?”
Feeling a faint sense of unease, Na-hyun bit her lip gently.
And then—
“Uncle. Are you busy right now?”
She immediately placed a call to Do Min-hyuk.
