Chapter 8: Red Moon

The news of Phantom discovering a gate and successfully securing its rewards quickly reached Red Moon.

Naturally, Red Moon’s leadership took this matter quite seriously.

One might call it just a B-rank gate, but the fact that it was a Shadow Gate was the issue.

The fragments containing knowledge from another dimension could potentially propel Phantom further ahead, a bitter pill for Red Moon, perpetually in second place behind Phantom.

As a result, Red Moon’s Awakeners had no choice but to remain on standby until another gate appeared.

Even if a gate appeared within Red Moon’s territory, if it emerged in an area overlapping with another guild’s territory, the first to arrive would claim priority.

To curb the escalating conflicts between guilds, the government had introduced an overly simplistic law.

But sometimes, simplicity is the most effective solution.

Though guilds initially grumbled, they quickly adapted to the rule that whoever arrived first claimed the gate, significantly reducing excessive inter-guild conflicts.

Of course, rival guilds like Phantom and Red Moon still clashed.

One person particularly stung by Yusoha’s monopolization of the achievement was Han Chaeyeon, the leader of Red Moon’s Team 1.

“Lucky her,” Chaeyeon muttered.

Han Chaeyeon was the daughter of Red Moon’s leader, Han Jaeho, positioned as a counter to Phantom’s beautiful sisters, Yusoha and Yudanha.

With her stunning looks, dazzling combat skills, and even an adorable Guardian Spirit, she had all the qualities to garner public support.

Her timing was impeccable, too.

At a time when Yusoha was stirring up trouble, many who disliked Yusoha became fans of Chaeyeon.

Given that she accounted for a significant portion of Red Moon’s popularity, Yusoha’s recent achievement was anything but welcome to her.

Still, staying on standby wasn’t exactly pleasant.

“Damn it. We don’t even know when a gate will appear, so how long do we have to sit around at the office?”

“Tell me about it,” replied Seo Minha, a laid-back young man with a tired expression, responding to Chaeyeon’s grumbling.

“I know, right? Why does Yusoha have to go and make achievements, making us busier? Next time I see her, I might just smack her.”

“You’d probably get hit instead,” Minha teased.

Chaeyeon, slightly stung, tried to mask her embarrassment.

It was true.

“Your fancy swordsmanship got completely crushed last time,” Minha added.

“…You wanna die?”

“By the way, Yusoha’s pretty impressive. A-rank without a Guardian Spirit? That’s almost mythical. Most Awakeners peak at B-rank, so that’s something.”

“I’m A-rank too, you know. So is Yudanha,” Chaeyeon retorted.

“Yeah, but you’ve got a Guardian Spirit. And a terrifying one at that.”

Pop!

At that moment, with a cute sound, Chaeyeon’s Guardian Spirit appeared before Minha.

Covered in black fur and resembling a desert fox from Earth, it was undeniably adorable.

“Eek!” Minha flinched.

While many of Chaeyeon’s female fans were drawn to her because of this creature, Minha, who knew its true nature, turned pale.

The moment the Guardian Spirit appeared, an overwhelming sense of pressure bore down on him.

Chaeyeon’s Guardian Spirit, Delpharine.

Despite its cute appearance, it was a monstrous otherworldly being that devoured anything Chaeyeon deemed an enemy.

Having witnessed Delpharine consume things by Chaeyeon’s side, Minha could only shut his mouth.

“Easy, Delpharine,” Chaeyeon said.

“Kyuu…” Delpharine drooped its large ears at her command, gave Minha a fierce glance, then vanished with another pop.

“I didn’t summon Delpharine when I fought Yusoha because I didn’t want to kill her. We can’t exactly start an all-out war with Phantom. So, can you shut up, Minha?”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

As the two bickered, the news they’d been eagerly awaiting arrived.

“A gate has opened!”

“Where?”

“Jongno!”

“Damn it! Everyone, move out!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The reason Red Moon’s Team 1, led by Chaeyeon, sprang into action was simple.

Jongno-gu, Seoul, was right on the border between Phantom and Red Moon’s territories—slightly closer to Phantom’s side.

* *

“Another gate?” Yusoha asked.

“Yes. What’s the plan, Team Leader?” Mina replied.

“Mina, we just deployed three days ago. Do we have to go out again? What’s Team 1 doing?”

“Well… they’re apparently busy.”

“Busy? Why?”

“You know the Knowledge Fragments we retrieved?”

“Yeah.”

“They say that world is the same one Team 1’s leader’s Guardian Spirit, Hidelyxia, came from.”

“Oh.”

Yusoha was slightly annoyed but understood.

Processing the knowledge from fragments was more critical than deploying to a gate.

“So, we’re deploying again today? Ugh…”

“But Team 1’s leader said we can borrow some of their members, so let’s move quickly. The gate’s in Jongno-gu.”

“Then we’ll take some of Team 1’s people. Mina, tell Team 2 to rest. Jongno-gu? Hah. Red Moon will show up too.”

“Yes, understood.”

Mina sent a message to Team 2’s group chat:

– No deployment today.

As expected, the chat exploded with cheers and emojis.

“Are you coming, Mina? You don’t have to.”

“I think I should. I’m your personal escort, after all.”

“Then let’s go. We can’t let Red Moon take this gate.”

[Do I just stay quiet today too?]

“Yeah. You don’t need to step in anyway. If you did and accidentally killed some Red Moon people, we’d be in trouble.”

[Got it.]

“Is that Eclipse?” Mina asked.

“Oh, you can’t hear him, right? Yeah, he was asking if he should stay quiet today.”

“Got it.”

“Let’s move. Time’s tight.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* *

The moment the gate opened in Jongno-gu, civilians fled the area upon seeing it form.

Even though the otherworldly threat was considered manageable, no one knew what might happen near a gate, so evacuating quickly was their best option.

Thankfully, with the frequency of gate appearances, civilians had learned to evacuate swiftly.

Red Moon and Phantom’s Awakener teams, seeing the civilians evacuate, picked up their pace toward the gate.

As dozens of Awakeners rushed toward it, some civilians paused their evacuation to watch leisurely, surprised by how quickly the Awakeners arrived.

“It’s Phantom and Red Moon!”

“Then we can take it easy.”

“Hey, if we snap some pics and sell them to reporters, we could make some cash, right?”

“Idiot, there are probably reporters here already.”

Some evacuating civilians even stopped to take photos of the Awakeners.

By tomorrow, social media would likely be flooded with images tagged “Jongno Gate.”

While civilians paused to snap photos, Yusoha and Chaeyeon arrived at the gate simultaneously.

“…”

“…”

They glared at each other.

The Awakeners behind them did the same.

“Looks like we got here first. How about you hand over the gate?” Yusoha said.

“What are you talking about? We arrived at the same time, didn’t we?” Chaeyeon countered.

“Same time? Anyone can see we were faster.”

“Seriously? We clearly arrived together.”

Yusoha didn’t press further. It was just a test anyway.

From what she could tell, they had indeed arrived simultaneously.

“Fine, then we’ll do it by the book.”

“Alright.”

The law regarding gates was as follows:

When a gate appears in an area contested by guilds, the first to arrive claims priority.

If “first” isn’t clear, the leaders of both sides settle it with a quick contest.

This could involve combat or negotiation, but no one else could interfere.

“So, negotiate or fight?” Yusoha asked.

“Be honest, Yusoha,” Chaeyeon said.

“What?”

“You have zero intention of negotiating, do you?”

“No, I’m open to it.”

Yusoha was genuinely willing to negotiate.

She wasn’t confident she could beat Chaeyeon in a fight.

Everyone knew Chaeyeon’s Delpharine was infamously powerful.

Moreover, from what Yusoha could see, Chaeyeon seemed unusually impatient today.

‘Makes sense. I just scored a big achievement, so she’s probably desperate. Looks like she’s ready to unleash Delpharine to secure this gate…’

Chaeyeon had risen to Red Moon’s team leader with a resolve never to fall behind Phantom.

On a day when her nerves were this frayed, she might actually summon Delpharine if things went south.

If Chaeyeon brought out Delpharine, Yusoha would have no choice but to summon Eclipse.

Even if Yusoha could overpower Chaeyeon individually, Delpharine was a wildcard full of variables.

Yusoha weighed her options carefully.

‘Should I call Eclipse?’

But no matter how she thought about it, revealing Eclipse now didn’t suit her.

This was too lackluster a stage.

The Phantom Tournament—where all of Phantom’s elite Awakeners gathered, and her respected grandfather, Yuhyuk, personally attended—was the kind of grand stage worthy of Eclipse’s debut.

No matter how strong Delpharine was, Yusoha wasn’t willing to sacrifice her grand stage just to deal with it.

‘Yeah, it’s too soon for Eclipse. But just backing down feels a bit off… I’ll decide based on the gate’s details.’

“…What?” Chaeyeon asked.

“I said I’m open to negotiating.”

Chaeyeon narrowed her eyes, clearly skeptical.

“You don’t trust me? I keep my word, you know.”

“…What do you want?”

“Nothing specific. How about we negotiate after the gate’s analyzed?”

“Why wait for the analysis?”

“If it’s a mediocre gate, I’ll just leave.”

“Mediocre?”

“A B-rank or lower, non-Shadow Gate. If it’s that, I’ll back off. I’m kinda tired anyway. Used a lot of energy three days ago.”

“…Seriously?”

Chaeyeon mulled over Yusoha’s words, reflecting on the past, and came to a conclusion.

“…Fine.”

“Great. I’ll wait quietly until the gate’s analyzed. Team 1, fall back.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Yusoha had her Awakeners step back and casually sat on a nearby bench.

Curious about her intentions, Chaeyeon followed and sat beside her.

She also had her team fall back to keep the conversation private.

“…What’s your angle?”

“No angle. Just giving my rival some face. You came all this way because of me, right?”

“Who’s your rival?”

“Oh, come on. I acknowledge decent people, you know.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Chaeyeon said sarcastically.

“No, really. I don’t like the rest of Red Moon’s trash, but I respect you.”

“So why back down all of a sudden?”

“I told you, I’m tired.”

“Tired?”

“We deployed three days ago, and now they want us out again? No way. Since I’ve got a good excuse, I’m stepping back.”

“…Feels a bit suspicious.”

“Don’t believe me if you don’t want to.”

“If you’re serious, I owe you one. Let me know if you need anything later. I’ll help within reason.”

A lesser-known fact: despite their mutual dislike, Yusoha and Chaeyeon respected each other.

That’s why they hated owing each other anything.

They saw each other as equals.

Chaeyeon’s offer to repay the favor stemmed from this. Owing Yusoha anything was unthinkable for her.

“No need. I don’t want anything. Just rack up some achievements. That way, my name doesn’t lose value when we’re compared.”

“…Fine, I get it.”

As silence settled, both sides’ gate analysts delivered the same report.

The gate was C-rank. Not particularly high, but enough to save face.