009- The Sword's Cry (+ Interest)

A short while earlier.
Chartia was wandering through the city, trying to get a better feel for Seoul.
First of all, it was crowded. The throngs of people living their busy lives gave the city a vibrant, energetic feel.
Considering how many places were turning into ghost towns as their populations dwindled, Seoul seemed to have no such worries.
‘The barrier is sturdy, too.’
The barrier protecting the city was exceptionally well-maintained.
While it couldn't stop threats appearing from within, it would undoubtedly provide an ironclad defense against any outside invasion.
She didn't know the Seoul Hunters' dispatch protocol for monster incursions, but with a barrier this strong, they could manage one way or another.
It was clear the city administration was paying considerable attention to the barrier's strength and the replenishment of its magic stones.
On the safety front, it passed.
"Hmm..."
No matter where she looked, it wasn't bad.
But still, something was missing.
Something that would truly capture her heart.
There were plenty of other cities that were "decent enough."
Tokyo and Beijing in the neighboring countries were at least this developed, and if it was a matter of wealth, the Middle East was better.
For a culture she was familiar with, cities like London or Paris in Europe would be a better fit.
‘Are they all just… similar?’
Thinking about it now, maybe there was no such thing as a truly exceptional city. Perhaps she was chasing a fantasy, searching for something that didn't exist… As she wandered, lost in thought, a particular building caught her eye.
The Seoul Municipal Library.
It was just an ordinary building, an ordinary library, yet she had no idea why it had suddenly grabbed her attention.
She wasn't a scholar and had never intended to visit a library, but as she tried to walk past, she felt a strange pull.
‘Maybe I’ll take a quick look.’
Come to think of it, she did have a hobby of learning foreign languages.
It was less a pure hobby and more a practical one; as someone who traveled the world planting trees and raising forests, various languages were essential.
No matter which city she settled in, she had no intention of stopping her pilgrimage, so it might be good to check out the library at least once.
If it had a good collection of foreign language dictionaries, that in itself could be a point of attraction.
Though, in an age where a smartphone could do everything, she wondered if that could truly be called an attraction…
She didn't know. Maybe she was just rationalizing the fact that she was inexplicably drawn to the library.
Inside, she saw a man.
He was tall with sharp features, giving off a decent impression.
He had a large pile of books about different species and was groaning in frustration.
A whim struck her, and she watched him for a moment, noticing he was only reading the sections related to Elves.
Why?
She was curious. So she spoke to him.
As a frequent world traveler, she had no hesitation in striking up a conversation with a stranger.
After all, she had more experience than anyone when it came to grabbing a local for directions when she was lost.
"So, who are you?"
The man asked, a hint of caution in his voice.
She could feel the wall in his response, but she actually preferred it.
Perhaps because her past life was an Elf, her appearance was a cut above the rest.
An Elf's beauty wasn't merely about being pretty; it was said to hold a mystique of its own, a trait that seemed to have carried over to her.
Because of it, the number of men who hit on her at every opportunity was staggering.
There were those who pursued her obsessively for her Elven looks, and those who harbored disgust and animosity for the very fact that she was an Elf.
She didn't like either type.
This level of distance felt comfortable, reassuring even.
"I'm—"
And so, to sum it up.
Her first impression of him was quite good.

Erosion was a disaster that began to appear alongside the Gates.
Gates themselves caused no harm to the Earth.
Unawakened civilians couldn't enter them, and their mere existence had no effect on the planet.
But Erosion was different.
It was a phenomenon where the energy of another world flowed backward, corroding the Earth.
Any place engulfed by it was instantly contaminated by the dark energy of another dimension and transformed into a danger zone.
And it…
"Kyaaaaaah!"
"I-It's an Erosion! Run!"
"Run where?!"
…threatened everyone, awakened or not.
The area including and surrounding the library was corroded by dark energy, transforming into a dungeon.
Bwaaaaaaah—!
CRASH! CRACK!
The sounds of panicked people echoed to the heavens, and chaos erupted in an instant.
"The shelter! Get to the shelter!"
"This is Yoo Seong-jin, a C-class Hunter! I will protect you, so please evacuate in an orderly fashion!"

Erosion was a sudden disaster that could strike anywhere, anytime.
To prepare for it, Seoul had countless shelters. Some were built underground, while others were designated locations like schools or gymnasiums.
Fortunately, the area of this Erosion included a designated shelter.
This very library.
"You, what's your name?"
"Kang Jinwoo."
"Jinwoop?"
"Jinwoo."
The foreign woman smiled apologetically.
From her calm demeanor, Jinwoo could tell she was a Hunter.
And a high-ranking one at that, to be so unfazed by an Erosion of this scale.
"Seeing you pull a sword from thin air, you must be a Hunter too, Jinwoo?"
"Yes. Though I only awakened recently."
"Then you should be fine on your own. Stay here. I'll be right back."
She placed her hand on a window stained black by the Erosion.
The window, though unlocked, wouldn't budge no matter how hard one pushed.
Corroded by the dark energy, it had completely lost its original function and properties, becoming a fixed object.
That window…
SHATTER~!
…crumbled to pieces at her mere touch.
After breaking the window, the woman suddenly leaped outside.
Jinwoo was startled by her abrupt action, but the next sight shocked him even more.
A thick tree trunk grew rapidly, catching her and lifting her all the way to the library's rooftop.
But it didn't stop there.
Dozens of tree trunks sprouted around the library, wrapping around the building, shattering parts of it as they intertwined and fused into a solid structure.
The dark energy surrounding the library tried to corrode the tree trunks as well, but a faint green aura emanating from the wood pushed it back.
In an instant, the entire library was encased in trees and vines, looking like a forest at the end of the world.
‘What is this?’
As Jinwoo stood stunned by the scale of what he was seeing, flowers began to bloom, one by one, from various spots on the tree trunks.
Not just in the lounge where Jinwoo was, but also in the reading rooms and offices where others were gathered.
A voice flowed out from the small, white blossoms.
—This is Chartia, an S-class Hunter from New York. I have deployed my domain centered on this building, so please accept the evacuees. Who is in charge?
The library director, who was in his office, answered.
"I-I am the director here."
—I'm leaving this place to you. I will guide the people here.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
The municipal library was a designated shelter. As such, it was properly equipped with a manual for just such an occasion.
The director ordered his staff to prepare the shelter and receive the incoming crowd.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo peered out at the scene below through the window Chartia had broken.
"An S-class Hunter..."
He hadn't caught her introduction earlier because of the roar of the Erosion.
He was hearing her name for the first time now.
S-class Hunter Chartia. He didn't know her face, but he had heard the name.
The Druid of New York.
The only woman in this desolate world who could turn it green again.
He seemed to recall reading that phrase in a column somewhere.
‘It was so over-the-top, I thought it was a huge exaggeration.’
It wasn't. Looking at the cityscape unfolding below, he realized the column had been an understatement, if anything.
Tree trunks extending from the library wrapped around and crushed roads, telephone poles, and traffic lights.
The world inside an Erosion wasn't the real world but an alternate plane manifested by otherworldly energy, so no matter how much was destroyed, the real Seoul remained unharmed.
In fact, the more destruction, the better.
By destroying the physical manifestations of the condensed dark energy, it slowed the Erosion's progress and also had the effect of drawing the monsters' attention.
ROOOOAAAR!
KAAAAAK! KAAAAAH!
Grrrrrrrrr!
Countless beasts born from the dark energy bit and clawed at the tree trunks in a frenzy.
But from the bitten trunks, vines shot out, wrapping around the monsters and strangling them.
Yelp! Yelp!
Whimper!
The monsters that had charged in so fiercely were now bound by vines, unable to move a muscle.
This scene played out everywhere.
On the roads, on nearby buildings, and in places where people were gathered.
However, there were some clever monsters.
Seeing their kin get counter-attacked for assaulting the tree trunks, they carefully avoided the branches and targeted the people instead.
It was the middle of Seoul, so people were everywhere, and right now, they were all rushing towards the library to evacuate.
To a monster's eyes, it must have looked like a fishing spot teeming with fish.
—Grrr.
A pair of eyes, narrowed in a sneer, spotted a group of people rushing to evacuate.
Everyone was scrambling, but the paths to the shelter were limited, so they couldn't move quickly.
It searched for the tenderest, most delicious-looking prey.
The form of a small human child, being led by its mother's hand, not knowing what to do.
—RAWR!
The monster's muscles exploded. It leaped like a powerful spring, aiming for its prey's back.
However.
Krrrrrumble!
The next moment, a sharp wooden spike shot up diagonally, impaling the monster and flinging it far away.
"Huh?"
When the child turned its head at the strange sound, there was nothing there but the tree trunk.
Such scenes unfolded all over.
Thanks to this, people were able to evacuate to the library safely.
There were some who suffered injuries from the hasty retreat, but not a single person died from a monster attack.
‘Wow…’
Jinwoo was purely impressed.
Not even twenty minutes had passed since the Erosion began.
In that short time, Chartia had established safety and order over this wide area and impaled countless monsters.
"You waited patiently."
Having more or less finished her work, Chartia grabbed the upper window frame and vaulted back into the lounge.
"Chartia. So that was your name."
"That's right. Have you heard the rumors? About the Hunter whose past life was an Elf."
"The column I read said you would be the hero who saves the Earth."
"Oh my, is that how they talk about me in Seoul? That makes me feel good."
Chartia's eyes sparkled.
She knew full well that one column didn't represent the opinion of the entire city.
Still, after hearing nothing but 'traitor to humanity' and 'rebel' back in New York, being called a hero didn't feel bad at all.
It seemed Ma Doo-sik's words weren't just empty flattery.
"It'll be over if we wait a little. Erosions have a Core, and it ends once that's destroyed."
"And if it isn't destroyed..."
"You've seen the black lands, right? This place becomes just like them."
If an Erosion is left unchecked, it completely devours the Earth and turns it into a black land.
It transforms into an alternate world that is Earth, yet not Earth.
No plants or animals can grow on such transformed land.
Even a healthy human will die from Miasma contamination if they enter a black land.
Therefore, whenever an Erosion appeared, its Core had to be found and destroyed.
If they wanted to defend what little human territory remained.
"My plants are searching for it, so just wait a bit. I'll send you back to the real world soon."
"Whew."
Hearing an S-class say that was incredibly reassuring.
Was there any place safer than right here, right now?
However, there was one thing that bothered him.
Jinwoo's senses could feel the presence of everyone around him. To be precise, he could feel the flickering of the Blue Flames they held within.
But in a place a little ways off…
Based on the location, it was somewhere between the back of the building and the road.
He could feel a black flame.
Vmmmm—
The white gem sword he had been holding since earlier began to hum. A sword's cry.