The Final Draft

[Amidst the chaos, Jae Min stood alone—his silhouette framed by ruin, his breath ragged, his body trembling as blood spilled from the corner of his lips, trailing down his chin like a thread of crimson silk. Without Eunseok on his side, one cannot defeat such beings.]

[The entity stared at him, amused. Then, from its back, two more figures emerged—humanoid, yet utterly wrong. Their movements were fluid, like oil sliding over glass.]

["Pitiful... aren't they, brother?" murmured the one on the right, voice like a whisper through broken glass.]

["Truly. Cowards, hiding behind borrowed strength," sneered the one on the left.]

[Jae Min gritted his teeth, eyes falling to his bloodied palm. His sword was planted into the ground, the steel shaking as if resonating with his heart. Around him, his comrades were still locked in desperate battle against the daemons—screaming, clashing, falling.]

[He reached down, fingers wrapping around the hilt. Slowly, he lifted it. A golden surge burst from within him, will turned into radiance, light spilling from his skin. The dungeon, dim and suffocating, shuddered under the sheer force of his awakening.]

[Yet the three entities didn't budge. Their smiles didn't falter. Their eyes gleamed with cruel interest, as if amused by a child's tantrum.]

[Behind Jae Min—unseen by all—a figure writhed. The cherubim. It screamed silently, the four wings snapping open, however, another pair burst out, the pair of wings covered the angels head, each feather brimming with ethereal fire. Light spilled from them, so intense it blurred the edges of reality.]

[The three entities flinched from the intense light casted by Jae min—their expressions finally shifting—but not from fear but fro#!#$!#$%$%#$...]

A burst of static flickered across my screen.

[Sudden distortion has been detected.]

The screen shook, like a pulse had gone through the data.

[Sudden distortion has been detected.]

I froze mid-step, my breath catching. The message blinked twice more—red, urgent.

My pupils dilated.

A distortion?

The word clawed at the back of my mind. That only triggered when someone—something—tampered with the course of the original plotline. But no one else had this ability. No one but me.

Then who the hell was interfering?

Is it the deities again? But... why? Is it because it's not their incarnation in play? Or because Jae Min's sponsor isn't from their pantheon? What the hell is going on...

"Are you okay, Seo-jun-ssi?" Eunseok's voice snapped me back. I blinked at him, the wind tugging at my coat.

"Nothing," I muttered, brushing it off as I shifted my eyes back to Jae Min.

"Hey, Jae Min... do you know which Olympian incarnations are going into that dungeon too?" I asked, my tone sharper than before.

He paused, tapping his chin, then shrugged lightly. "Not exactly sure, but definitely the main raiding squad of the Olympus Guild will be there. Plus my squad, obviously."

The main raiding squad of Olympus... so there's a big chance one of the sky deities' incarnations will show up. Zeus's people. If Zeus himself is pulling strings behind this mess, then I'm stepping straight into a storm of divine interference, again.

"Why? Are you gonna be joining too?" Jae Min smiled, completely clueless to the knot tightening in my chest.

I exhaled, a dry laugh slipping out as I buried my hands deeper into my coat pockets. "Yeah... seems like I don't have a choice"

"I feel like it's unfair that only you two get to go into the Hell's Gate and leave me behind," Eunseok grumbled, his lips twisting into a playful frown.

Jae Min just let out a loud chuckle and threw an arm around Eunseok's shoulders, giving him a rough shake. "Aww, poor Eunseok~ abandoned by his mighty brothers in arms!" he teased, their armor plates and steel parts clanking against each other with every jostle.

"You idiot..." Eunseok muttered, half-laughing despite himself as he pushed Jae Min's arm off. He glanced at me, his expression softening into something almost brotherly. "Take care over there."

 ---

The clanking of armors are tinkering in my ear as i walk between crowds of hunters all around, in the middle of the broken road and collapsed buildings, stood two pillars that has blue swirling light in the middle, like a portal to the other dimension, a hell's gate.

my neck kinda hurts as i look at it from the bottom to the top, all around the world, portals like this appeared, the beginning of the apocalypse started from this fucking things.

my eyes roamed around the crowd as i halted my steps.

immediately finding the person that might start the distortion.

"hey..." a voice echoed behind me all of a sudden, grumbling and grown, i looked back at who it was and saw a bald man, wearing a bulky armor, his sword strapped on his waist, a shield on his left hand and his helm between his waist and right arm, "are you lost or something?" he says, chuckling with a smile.

laughter then echoed in the small circle of group not far from us, "no..." i said coldly, "well...listen here...this is a dungeon raid, not a fashion show"

do i fucking look like a model or something?

the laughters became loud, as they teased, "i am a hunter...." i said, drawing something in my pocket before presenting my badge.

"Investigator Park seo-jun... i am not here for jokes, so please if you dont have any important matter.." i took my badge back in my coat, before shooting him with grim in the eyes "mind your business" i walk passed him, bumping his shoulder, his armor clanked as he almost fall down.

"H–hey!" he barked, his hand clamping down on my shoulder.

I stopped.

With the last ounce of patience I could summon, I reached up, grabbed his index finger, and twisted.

Crack.

He screamed — loud, shrill, pathetic — as he dropped to one knee, cradling his hand like it might fall off.

The crowd stiffened. The laughter was gone.

"h..heyy!" he grumbled as he grabbed my shoulder. With what little patience I had, I caught one of his fingers and bent it back.

Crack.

He screamed—loudly enough you'd think he was getting rushed to the ER.

"If you wanna die before the raid even starts, you could've just said so," I muttered, my hand slowly reaching for Bloodtears.

But then, a familiar loud, joyous voice cut in.

"Woahhh, wait wait... Seojun-ssi!" he called out, stepping between us just as I was about to threaten the life of a mere side character.

"Calm down," he added, crouching a bit to help the bald guy up. With an annoyed sigh, I slid the half-drawn sword back into its sheath and stuffed my hands into my coat pockets.

"I'm sorry about that, haha... Hunter Park has a little patience—about the size of a pea," Jaemin said, grinning.

Walking away from the scene, I kept scanning the crowd—my eyes tracing every face, every subtle twitch, every aura that felt even slightly off. I was hunting for the one responsible for the distortion. Or maybe their incarnation.

But so far, nothing.

When I checked the original plot, the distortion only began once they engaged the three entities. After that, everything went dark—like the story hit a wall. No plot holes, no inconsistencies. Just... silence. Like it was always meant to stop there.

"Heyy, wait upp!" Jae Min's voice chased after me, his armor clinking as he jogged into step beside me. "What was that about?" he asked, his breath light but his curiosity heavier.

I didn't respond, still surveying the fleet, eyes sweeping across the mass of hunters. For some reason, they all seemed normal—too normal. There was no sign of any obvious deviation, no incarnate energy flaring, no suspicious presence. Just a sea of hunters, armored and armed.

"Hello...? Am I talking to someone here?" the boy with goldilocks pouted beside me.

But I was focused—so deep in thought, I tuned him out entirely.

You might wonder, Seo-jun, why not just use your Inner Monologue Tap?

Well, sure. I could.

If I wanted my brain to fry like an overheated motherboard.

A sudden flick of fingers near my eyes jolted me from my tunnel vision. I blinked, turning slightly to see Jae Min's annoyed expression as he snapped again like he was trying to reboot me.

"What?" I asked, eyes narrowing.

"Why did you do that?" he said.

"Do what?" I replied flatly.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

We both stared at each other, heads slightly tilted in sync like confused birds, until it finally clicked in my head.

"Oh... you mean baldie, right?" I said with a low snort.

"He deserved it."

Jae Min groaned. "We can't just decide who's bad or good here, you know..."

"I didn't say he was either," I shrugged. "I just handled a problem."

Then I pivoted the conversation without giving him room to moralize more.

"Anyway... do you know who the main raiding squad leader is?"

"The main leader? …Ahh, yeah. His name's Jang Yoo-jun. He's in that tent over there with the other squad leaders," Jae Min said, pointing ahead as we made our way toward it. "Why do you ask?"

"I have some business," I replied, already narrowing my eyes at the tent.

As we approached, the air grew tenser. Two armored hunters stood guard outside, polearms crossed like they were guarding some medieval royal chamber.

"Stop right there. You can't enter. This is a restricted area," one of them said with an authoritative bark.

"I–I'm sorry, we just got lo—" Jae Min tried to mediate with that peacemaker voice of his.

"If you're not gonna let me in..." I cut in, staring the guy straight in the eyes, voice like steel, "...I'll beat you two to pulp."

I didn't have to look beside me to know Jae Min was already panicking. Probably waving his hands or mouthing 'stop stop stop!' like a cartoon sidekick.

"What did you say, you piece of shi—" the other guard started, stepping forward.

I didn't let him finish.

Crack.

The flat of my Association badge slammed across his helmet, hard enough to leave the dent of the insignia pressed into the metal.

"Detective Park Seo-jun, from the Association," I said coldly, holding the badge inches from his face. "Now move."

I can't deny it—there's a certain satisfaction in wielding the title. Being part of the Association means authority, real authority. Especially over A-rank hunters or lower. We're not just watchdogs—we're here to maintain balance. If one of them ever strays too far, if corruption seeps in…

Well, we're the ones who put them down.

The hunter who hadn't been hit stiffened at the sight of my badge. His eyes flicked between the dented helmet of his partner and the glinting insignia in my hand.

Without another word, he stepped aside.

"You're one of the Association???" Jae Min asked, his tone tinged with disbelief and curiosity. He followed close behind me, clearly hungry for answers, but I didn't offer him any—not yet. My steps were deliberate as I entered the tent.

The air inside was different. Tense. The kind of tension that only existed in places where authority, pride, and power clashed. A few heads turned, eyes narrowing at the sight of two uninvited guests.

A woman in form-fitting armor stepped forward, her saber resting comfortably at her hip. She studied me with a sharp gaze. "And who are you?" she asked, her voice cool but laced with caution.

Before I could answer, another voice chimed in—calm and smooth.

"Jae Min, my boy, what are you doing here?"

The man stepped into view, standing just beside the armored woman. He looked... unassuming. Long white hair, neatly tied. Eyes shut as if he were blind, yet his presence carried undeniable weight. The kind that didn't need sight to see through you.

He didn't speak loudly, but the room quieted around him all the same.

"Ah... Father Jung," Jae Min stammered, his posture shifting ever so slightly—respectful, almost reverent—as he addressed the white-haired man. From the way Jae Min spoke, it was clear the man held more than just authority. Priest, perhaps. Maybe something deeper—spiritual. Anchored in power, not just politics.

"I was just following my friend," Jae Min added quickly, trying to defuse whatever tension hung in the air.

The others around the table—clearly squad leaders or high-ranking members—glanced between each other, murmuring under their breath. Judging from the round table cluttered with blueprints and dungeon schematics, this was their war room, and I'd just barged into their council.

Then a heavy boot echoed against the dirt floor. One of them stepped closer—broad-shouldered, draped in polished armor, every inch a soldier of pride and dominance. He leaned slightly forward, eyes narrowed like a hawk sizing up prey.

"Your face is unfamiliar. Who are you?" he asked, low and sharp, his stare digging like a blade.

I didn't flinch. Instead, I slowly raised my badge into the space between us, the insignia of the Association gleaming faintly under the tent light.

"I've introduced myself twice already today," I said, voice steady, laced with dry sarcasm. "Would you kindly let me breathe for a moment?"

He looked at the badge, eyes twitching slightly as recognition set in. The room grew quieter still.

"Calm down, he's from the Association. I received a letter from the President himself—said he'd be sending one of his men to observe and investigate the dungeon," came a voice from the far side of the table.

It cut through the tension like a blade.

Every head turned toward the man who spoke.

There was no mistaking him.

Byeom In-Seok.

The leader of Olympus Guild's main raiding squad.

His presence was like a strike of pressure—steady, but electric. The kind that made your instincts straighten your spine even before your mind processed why. His armor shimmered faintly with etched golden veins, the unmistakable emblem of lightning stamped across his chestplate.

The lightning bolt.

A symbol that didn't just mark power—it screamed divinity.

And judging by that insignia, there was a very real chance I was looking at one of the incarnation of the diety of the sky.

Zeus.

My eyes locked on his for a beat too long. He didn't smile. Didn't threaten. Just stood there—calm, composed, and watching.

Of course. If there was someone capable of causing a narrative distortion in the Olympian camp… this man would be the center of gravity.

Though, I am not really sure of it yet.