NOVPUB
Chapter 253
Sudden chaos had broken out.
Sirens began blaring across South Korea. They weren’t coming from just one area—the sound echoed everywhere at once. Disaster alerts also popped up on people’s phones.
“What is it this time...?”
“What’s going on?”
At the same time, a dark shadow loomed over the heads of those walking on the streets. Without saying a word, the people paused, tilted their heads to the sky, and immediately froze in shock.
“Holy sh*t.”
“What is that?”
Something massive was flying extremely quickly.
Was it a passenger plane? A fighter jet? No, it couldn’t be either.
The unidentified object roared monstrously.
“A m-magic beast?!”
“It’s a flying magic beast!”
“Oh my god!”
People’s eyes widened with fear, and screaming filled the streets. A huge creature with vast wings was flying over the city center, its dark form blurring against the sky.
—Breaking: Magic Beast Appears Above Seoul
—Urgent: Where Is the Flying Magic Beast Headed?
—Hunter Association Fails to Respond. Is Public Safety at Risk?
Photos of the black dragon flooded portal sites within moments. Someone had managed to snap multiple shots of its trajectory with a phone camera.
Despite the panic, there were fortunately no reported casualties. The beast simply flew past, soaring high in the sky.
Of course, the situation was too serious to be ignored.
***
Even before the magic beast arrived over the Korean peninsula, all of the country’s hunter guilds and the Hunters Association had declared a state of emergency.
“A magic beast is attacking!”
“It’s a dragon! It’s flying straight toward South Korea!”
The association resembled a meteorological forecast center preparing for a typhoon. Unfortunately, the storm in question was hitting land far too quickly.
The hunters shouted back and forth to one another.
“Find a way to stop it before it gets here.”
“It’s flying at too high an altitude, sir!”
“It would be too dangerous to have hunters fight over the water...”
“Could we use surface-to-air missiles to shoot it down?”
“Missiles with no mana will not harm a magic beast!”
“Who doesn’t know that? I’m saying we need to slow it down somehow!”
“At this speed, it will arrive before we get government approval to act.”
There was simply nothing that could be done. If they detonated missiles over the city to shoot down the magic beast, it would only put citizens in danger.
“It looks like we will only be able to respond once it lands!”
“What are the chances that it will just fly right past us?”
“It’s already over the peninsula.”
“Goddamn it! Pursue it immediately!”
The moment the black dragon arrived, every available hunter and association member sprang into action, their weapons at the ready.
“Which direction did it go?”
“N-north!”
“After it!”
They chased the dark streak heading north, but sending random hunters would not be enough for this kind of situation.
The guild leaders barked out orders.
“I want only A-rank hunters and higher!”
“Bring healers, but only those at B-rank or above!”
This was a dragon they were facing, after all.
“That thing is A-rank at minimum. Given its speed, it might even be an S-rank magic beast!”
“If it’s specialized for flight, its combat strength might only be A-rank...”
Guild distinctions no longer mattered—everyone needed to work together.
“Contact the association! Send emergency alerts to all nearby hunters! We have a dragon raid on our hands! A dragon raid!”
The phrase sent a chill through everyone. They prayed that no one would be hurt before the raid was over.
“I’ll go myself!” Baek Yoonho shouted.
Unsurprisingly, the fastest responders were the White Tiger Guild. They prioritized citizen safety above all else.
Yoonho gritted his teeth, letting mana spread across his entire body.
Beast Transformation!
Suddenly, he was covered in white fur.
He charged forward at top speed, becoming nothing more than a white blur. He was moving so fast that it wouldn’t have been surprising if sightings of a white-furred magic beast in downtown Seoul hit the headlines next.
Yoonho didn’t care. He raced on, gritting his teeth.
There was more than just public safety on the line.
It went in Miho’s direction!
The black streak was moving toward the location his daughter had headed that morning for an important event—Suho’s trip to North Korea.
Since Miho was close to the association, she had been put in charge of protecting the supply trucks full of government-provided supplies for Woo Jinchul. Since there were so many supplies and much of it was expensive equipment, she was there for support in case of an emergency.
And now a mysterious magic beast was heading straight for her.
There’s no way this is a coincidence! Yoonho thought.
He trusted his instincts. When he was a firefighter, that sharp intuition had saved countless lives.
Miho! Please stay safe! I’ll be with you soon!
Yoonho growled, his white mane billowing behind him as he tore through the city at breakneck speed. People, roads, cars, buildings, rivers, trees, mountains, and more mountains—all passed in a blur. This was the full speed of an S-rank hunter rushing to save his daughter.
He eventually arrived at the demilitarized zone before anyone else. The river boiled, lightning cracked across the sky, and thunder rumbled.
“Miho!” Yoonho roared as he took in the sight in front of him.
His beast eyes glittered sharply as he took stock of his surroundings. He desperately scanned for signs of his daughter, along with any traces of the dragon that had flown this way.
There! I’ve found it!
The dark menace, wrapped in white cold and streaked with lightning, had begun to land in front of the fence. Non-hunter soldiers were risking their lives as they formed a perimeter to block its path.
Huh...?
The dragon suddenly yawned.
Yoonho flinched. His instincts kicked in, and he jumped to the side, half expecting it to breathe fire. He quickly leaped in front of his daughter, who he finally spotted standing near a cargo truck.
“Miho! I’m here!”
Right at that moment, the other hunters arrived.
“There it is!”
“The dragon’s right here!”
These hunters who protected the country were the pride of South Korea. Though they were always competing with one another, they fought as one when the lives of citizens were on the line.
“Everyone, ready yourselves for combat!”
“Yoonho’s here too!”
“It’s Baek Yoonho!”
In seconds, the hunters formed a combat line around the guild master. Those who were first to see the black dragon moved toward it with determined expressions.
However, there was something odd going on. Despite being cornered by so many hunters and soldiers, the dragon seemed completely unbothered.
It stretched its massive wings, then calmly folded them. After that, it crouched down with its front feet gathered neatly under its body. It almost looked like it was sitting in a polite bow.
What in the world... Yoonho thought.
Everyone around the dragon gulped nervously. Then their eyes widened in shock as two figures gently climbed down from the dragon’s back.
The crowd stared, filled with confusion and disbelief.
The two riders were none other than Cha Haein and Sirka. They hadn’t been spotted by the public since the dragon, Kaisel, had been moving too fast for cameras to catch them.
“Uh... Maybe I should have told him to fly a little higher,” Sirka muttered in embarrassment as she glanced at Haein.
Seeing the crowd, Haein was deeply apologetic.
“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t think anyone would see us at that height!”
Her ears turned bright red as she immediately bowed.
Perhaps they had made the mistake because Haein had only flown in the stormy world of the ice elves before. Her face showed that she believed she had just caused the biggest disturbance of her life.
But no matter what she said, none of the gathered hunters could hear a single word.
“M-my god...”
Someone’s shield clattered to the ground.
“The dragon...”
“People were riding it?”
Everyone froze at the utterly shocking scene. This was far beyond the bounds of common sense.
Yoonho, the only S-rank hunter present and the oldest in the group, flinched.
“W-wait, don’t tell me... Are you...?”
Amid the panic, he alone recognized Haein’s face. She was unmistakable.
Of course, it had been about twenty years since he’d last seen her at the wedding of the son of Sung Ilhwan, the man he so admired. She had been the bride.
But Yoonho had known her long before going to that wedding. The entire country had. No South Korean would fail to recognize her.
“Cha Haein? The runner?!”
Her name finally burst from Yoonho’s mouth.
Haein had once been a track and field idol and an Olympic gold medalist. She was the Asian runner who officially came in under the nine-second mark and set a new world record. She was South Korea’s global sports icon.
“What...?! It’s Cha Haein?”
Everyone around Haein and Sirka looked astonished.
The sound of cameras clicking filled the air as the journalists who had gathered to cover Suho’s trip furiously snapped photos of Haein, the woman who had descended like a comet on the back of a black dragon.
*** 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The dragon’s supposed ambush quickly faded from people’s minds. A far more shocking event, one that filled people’s dopamine reserves to the brim, soon dominated the internet instead.
—Breaking: The Shocking Identity of the Hunter Riding the Dragon!
—National Athlete Cha Haein Returns! What is Her Rank?
The articles’ comment sections exploded with activity.
—Cha Haein? Who’s that?
—Kids these days. How sad.
—It’s been long enough that people are starting to forget, I guess.
—How could you not know Haein?
—I suppose teenagers weren’t even born at the time. I feel ancient...
—It can’t be helped. She’s been retired for over twenty years.
—But she’s still just as pretty!
—I guess you can outrun age?
—For real. She looks even more stunning than before.
—Ugh! Seriously, who is Cha Haein?
—She’s basically a heroine. Before she retired, she accomplished everything a track and field athlete could accomplish.
As if to answer the curious younger readers’ questions, articles about Haein’s career soon filled the news portals.
—Track Record of Cha Haein, the Former National Athlete
—Gold Medalist Cha Haein’s Career
—What Did Cha Haein Do After Retiring?
—Haein, the Nation’s Hero and Living Legend
—Keywords: #ChaHaein #HaeinTheLight #Olympics #hundredMeter #trackAthlete #goldMedalist #worldRecord
Even after more than two decades, she was still South Korea’s sports star. As time passed, she had faded from the public eye simply because she had chosen to live a quiet, ordinary life after retirement. Her activities after stepping away from the spotlight remained a mystery.
Countless paparazzi had tried to dig into her post-retirement life, but none had succeeded. Her bodyguards were too skilled, and any photos journalists managed to take were always blurry or covered in dark shadows. On top of that, Haein had no social media presence, which only added to her mystique.
As a result, people’s memories of her often stopped at one iconic moment: the interview she gave on the day she announced her retirement.
“As a retiring athlete, do you have any special training tips for those who want to follow in your footsteps?”
“Hmm, I don’t know what to say to that. I’m not sure my method would work for everyone. I just... ran hard so I could beat my boyfriend at least once. Before I knew it, I had set a world record.”
“Your boyfriend? He’s in civil service, right? We’ve heard he’s been very supportive.”
“Haha...”
The interviewer had smiled, apparently finding it cute that Haein seemed embarrassed in front of the camera even after becoming so famous.
“So now that you’ve set a world record, you must be faster than your boyfriend.”
“Yes, I am. But I only beat him once, and it was pure luck.”
“You are so modest.”
The interviewer’s smile broadened at the way Haein glanced nervously at the camera while cutely bragging about her victory.
That humble charm was part of what made her a beloved figure. Despite her amazing achievements, she had never lost touch with her roots. She remained grounded and modest throughout her career.
“In any case, it’s a shame you’re retiring so soon. But now that you’ve set a world record... What are your plans after retirement?”
“I’m getting married. I won, after all.”
“Oh my!”
Her sudden declaration of retirement was followed by a surprise marriage announcement.
Every man in the country had scrambled to find out who her mysterious boyfriend was. However, his identity was never publicly released.
According to a close source, the couple dedicated themselves entirely to raising their child. Their dream was a simple one—for their child to live a normal life.
“That river water looks too hot, Suho. It’s dangerous. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Ah. Thank you, Mom.”
But as the dragon roared, the onlookers thought that nothing about Haein’s post-retirement life seemed normal.
