Sheâs a humanoid monster that appears deep in the darkness beyond the gate. Sheâs quick like a cat and as pale as a vampire.
Iâve heard that she has a strange charm which you canât forget. A certain hunter, who was distracted by her appearance, was just standing still and then suddenly, his eyes were plucked out with the top of her parasol.
If you see her, run away.
âIf you can escape her black flame.
***
It was late summer after a terribly long rainy season.
As she was walking down the street, Eunha couldnât stand it anymore and looked at the paper in her hand once again.
<Quinlish College>
Test Number: 9782136
Name: Cha Eunha
Note: Passed the Pet Grooming Department
It was already the twenty-sixth time Eunha checked the acceptance letter and put it back in her bag. Even after repeating the process twenty-six times, it remained a clear letter of acceptance.
She was finally able to study dog grooming at a famous university in the United States, something sheâs always dreamed of.
Across the road where the smell of rain did not reach, she could see an empty bus stop. Eunha raised her head and looked up at the sky. It had stopped raining, but the heavy clouds could still be seen.
Once again, Eunha looked at the acceptance letter and hurried. It was a twenty minute walk from school to her home. However, the street sheâs used to walking down everyday felt longer than usual.
Not far away was a telephone box. Eunha wanted to inform her mother about the acceptance letter as soon as possible. Her mother would surely be delighted.
Riiingâ
Her heart was beating like crazy as the ringing tone continued.
At last, the ringing stopped and a familiar friendly voice came over the receiver.
âHello?â
âMom, Itâs Eunha.â
Eunha spoke as calmly as possible, not forgetting to swallow her saliva.
âI donât have a hundred won, so Iâll tell you quickly. You know, momââ
But Eunha couldnât finish her words.
Tockâ
The telephone fell helplessly.
Duuuungâ
Suddenly, the sky cried loudly and dozens of red lightning bolts fell all over Seoul. The asphalt split and the atmosphere vibrated. As the surrounding buildings collapsed like dominoes, people began to run away as if they were running out of a collapsed ant house.
âHello? EunâŚHaâŚ.â
The rain which began to fall again at some point was pounding on the payphone box, leaving black tear marks behind.
âWhat the hell is this? Whatâs going on?â
It was too vivid to be called a dream, and it was unbelievably terrifying to be called reality.
A car crashed through the cracked asphalt, and the street lamp tangled with electric wires shook like crazy.
The person on the signboard of the shopping mall that flew from somewhere was crushed as if they were a boiled potato.
As Eunha watched the scene blankly, she felt like something heavy had fallen onto the payphone box.
âAaahâŚ!â
Eunha heard her mom screaming over the phone. She quickly snapped out of her daze and reached back to grab the phone.
âMom? Mom!â
There was no answer no matter how many times she called out.
I have a bad feeling.
And bad forebodings were always right.
Eunha immediately started running home. As she ran, she held the acceptance letter tightly in her hand. She couldnât remember exactly how she got home at that time. She just ran and ran in the opposite direction of those who ran past her frantically.
Eventually, when she turned the corner and arrived at the familiar gate, Eunha dropped the acceptance letter she was holding.
The wind mixed with someoneâs distant screams carried the acceptance letter that had been rolling on the floor, eventually flying away.
***
September 1997.
The world had changed.
The red thunderbolts that fell from the sky left huge traces all over the country. The various cracks on the ground exuded a suspicious and gloomy energy, but it didnât cause anything special.
Red thunderstorms occurred all over the world and the cracks that remained like traces were later called âgatesâ.
Then one day, an incident occured in which researchers investigating cracks in the metropolitan area were killed in droves. Out of dozens, only one returned alive.
âThere was a cicada bigger than a car or a bus! I lost my arm to it!â
The world treated him like a maniac. However, it was soon revealed that his words were true.
October 1997.
Horrible monsters escaped the gates and appeared out in the world.
It was a disaster.
Starved monsters devoured passersby at random, regardless of age or gender.
The government deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to various gates across the country, but none of the weapons developed by modern humans worked against them.
Those things were good.
Motherâs funeral home.
Due to the circumstances, it was only long after Eunhaâs mother passed away that she could rent a small funeral home.
âWhat? We donât have a house. We have three children, three!â
âWhat if I take care of her? If sheâs older than eight, she can stay!â
Eunha stood motionless in front of her motherâs portrait. She had no place to go.
It had already been an hour since the relatives who only knew each otherâs faces used Eunha as a gossip subject.
âI donât know, I donât know. Whereâs her father? We can leave her to her dad.â
âOh, do it yourself! I donât know!â
âShh! Sheâs coming!â
âŚI can hear everything.
After all her tears had dried up, Eunha touched the bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist.
That bracelet was all she had left from her mother after the house they used to live in collapsed and turned to dust.
âEunha, youâll be an adult soon so youâre going to be old enough to live by yourself.â
âYes.â
âI donât feel comfortable leaving you alone, but you know I have three kids. You understand?â
âYes, I know.â
âThe state will provide you a temporary home and disaster relief funds, so youâll be fine. If youâre still struggling, contact me.â
âYes.â
Eventually, Eunha was left alone.
The house provided by the state was made of boards and tents, but Eunha wasnât in a position to ask for more, so she was thankful for that. Since then, sheâs been spending her days with disaster support and free meals.
âDid you hear that? Ma Dongsik seems to have awakened.â
âWhat? Really?â
âI havenât seen him since yesterday. It seems he was taken to the training centre.â
âPlease, I hope it wonât be me⌠If Iâm drafted, I would have to live a life when I could die at any moment.â
âMe too. Fighting monsters like that⌠Iâd rather be stuck in this rotten shack.â
The atmosphere inside the free cafeteria was more chaotic that day. It had already been quite some time since extraordinary superpowers began to appear all over the country, or even all over the world.
Eunha thought that was none of her business.
Until that day.
***
[Starting Identification.]
[Name: Cha Eunha]
[ââLoadingââ]
[Unique ability has been activated.]
[Connecting to the new channel.]
ââŚWhat is this?â
As she stretched out her fingers with a confused face, it seemed as if an electric current was flowing from the tips of her fingers.
No, it wasnât an electric current.
âFireâŚ?â
The flames spread like embers from her fingertips. It lit up the old and dark shack and no matter how much Eunha tried, the flames wouldnât go out until dawn.
And a few days later.
Someone from the state arrived.
How did they know?
They introduced themselves as a member of the National Security Agency and told Eunha to pack up her things.
Eunha calmly followed their guidance and boarded the bus. There were around forty other people besides her.
She only learned a few hours later that they all had also âawakenedâ with superpowers like Eunhaâs.
Finally, the place they arrived at was a training camp.
âBecause of the unprecedented national disaster, you have been given the opportunity to devote yourself to the country.â
The voice that rang through the microphone was heard by everyone gathered at the training camp.
âKeep in mind that thousands or even tens of thousands of lives are at stake for each and every single one of you gathered here.â
The training camp was quiet as if someone had poured cold water over everyone. However, Eunha could hear sobs from time to time.
The cracks, or gates, at various parts of the country are said to be filled with horrible and ferocious monsters. Eunha had also heard about it from the news.
âAre you telling us to deal with them?â
Eunha looked down at her trembling hands. Although she had awakened, she had no idea how to use her ability to fight monsters. Yet, there was only one thing she knew.
They killed her mother.
They took away Eunhaâs home, her dreams, and her life.
The cruel monsters did not wait for an unprepared awakened to appear. Even at that moment, the monsters were running wild and someoneâs family was dying.
In a situation where every minute was precious, the huntersâ training was shortened to only three months. It was a rather long time for Eunha.
There was no reason for her to enter college, and she had no money left anyway.
Eunha, who had lost everything, was braver than those who had everything.
Her unique ability, âfireâ, was optimised for combat. Her flame was very strong, aggressive, and unstoppable.
April 1998.
After completing the minimum training of three months, the hunters were immediately thrown at the gate. All they had was a dog tag hanging around their necks and a very heavy burden of âmankindâs last hopeâ on their shoulders.