⟨'M.M.L.I' Identity Sparks Emergency in U.S., China, and Japan… "Emerging Force Possessing S-Rank or Higher Combat Power"⟩
⟨Government Official: "M.M.L.I Is an Unidentified Organization Even Intelligence Agencies Can't Track… What Is Their Relationship with the Haetae Guild?"⟩
⟨"A Transnational Hunter Organization Has Appeared?" South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Attempting to Confirm M.M.L.I's Nationality and Establish Official Contact⟩
"…Haah…."
Watching the flood of articles pouring in one after another, Yoo Do-a, Guild Master of the Haetae Guild, let out a quiet groan.
The world was in an uproar over the newly emerged S-Rank awakener and the mysterious organization M.M.L.I she belonged to.
"Who even is that? And what the hell is M.M.L.I?"
"A cooperative relationship? With us? Since when?!"
"Do-a, say something. Is this true?"
Even the Haetae Guild's own executives were thrown into confusion by the sudden appearance of Arkiel and M.M.L.I.
The only person who had known in advance what would be revealed at today's press conference was Yoo Do-a alone.
She hadn't breathed a word of it to the other executives.
"…For now — M.M.L.I is on our side. That much is certain."
But there had been no other choice.
Everything related to M.M.L.I had to be kept in absolute secrecy.
That was the only way Yoo Do-a and the Haetae Guild could avoid getting swept up in unnecessary chaos — or so the unfamiliar girl from the night before had told her.
And in the end, Yoo Do-a had to admit the girl was right.
***
[ …Wait, senior. Hold on a second. ]
This was a few hours before Kim A-rin and Arkiel's first official press conference in England.
Right around the time discussions were in full swing over how to handle the aftermath of the Thames Red Gate incident.
"What is it?"
[ Right now, I mean… Actually, hold on. Let me talk to someone and come back. ]
Kim A-rin, who had been explaining Arkiel's battle in greater detail, stood up from her seat for a moment.
Then she turned her head away from Yoo Do-a on the video call screen, toward someone else entirely.
[ …I'd like to talk. Is now a good time? ]
[ I'm sorry, but may I ask what this is regarding…? ]
[ It's about your sister. …And something that concerns all of you, too. ]
An unfamiliar yet somehow youthful voice and Kim A-rin's voice alternated back and forth.
After a lengthy exchange with whoever it was, Kim A-rin finally turned back to Yoo Do-a and spoke.
She said that one of Ji-woo's other summons wanted to meet her.
Wanted to meet Yoo Do-a.
"…Me?"
[ Yeah. Apparently there's something she wants to tell you about this Red Gate incident… ]
"Hmm…. Alright, I got it. Put her on."
Up until that exact moment, all Yoo Do-a knew was that a new summon had appeared.
She had no idea what Ji-woo had done over in England to summon yet another one, or why this summon suddenly wanted to speak with her of all people.
She knew none of it.
But then, right after that.
【Entity: Erdis Arcana connects the gap between spaces.】
—Crrrk.
"……!?"
A small crack slowly split open in the air directly in front of Yoo Do-a, and an unfamiliar girl stepped calmly out through it.
On the other side of the crack, she could see Kim A-rin's face — looking just as flustered as Yoo Do-a felt.
Kim A-rin was clearly in England, and yet Yoo Do-a could see her as clearly as if she were standing right in front of her.
In other words.
"Are you Yoo Do-a?"
This girl had just created a portal connecting Korea and England — opposite ends of the earth.
The portal slowly contracted and vanished completely not long after, but one thing was unmistakably clear.
The girl standing before her was no ordinary person.
"Yoo Do-a, Guild Master of the Haetae Guild. That's you, alright."
"Then you're… Ji-woo's summon?"
"Well… yeah. Think of it that way for now."
The girl — who gave off an even more dangerous feeling than Arkiel — introduced herself as such.
And without any preamble, she got straight to the point of why she'd come to find Yoo Do-a.
"What was your reason for trying to say that the lizard — Arkiel — was sent by your Haetae Guild?"
"Ah, Arkiel can't be known as Ji-woo's summon. Ji-woo would be in danger."
Yoo Do-a explained to the unfamiliar girl — to Ji-woo's new summon — in a tense voice.
No matter that Ji-woo was Arkiel's master, she was still only an eleven-year-old child right now.
So the Haetae Guild was trying to handle this situation on Ji-woo's behalf, somehow.
It was the only option available to them right now.
That was Yoo Do-a's explanation for why they had planned to announce Arkiel as a Hunter affiliated with Haetae.
"Then let me ask you something."
—Step.
"Can you and your Haetae Guild truly handle all the attention that will come pouring down on Arkiel?"
"……What do you mean?"
"Exactly what you heard."
If she were being honest, the answer was no.
Even for the Haetae Guild, the level of power Arkiel had displayed in England was far beyond anything manageable.
No — it was a kind of power that even Yoo Do-a had never seen before.
The monster wave that Kim A-rin and numerous other Hunters had failed to stop had been slaughtered as easily as a colony of ants underfoot.
"I'm asking whether you'll be alright. Because you're going to face enormous scrutiny and hostility."
"…………."
If she were thinking purely of the Haetae Guild's interests, the answer was already decided.
Step back from everything involving Ji-woo and Arkiel.
If she revealed from start to finish that it was all Ji-woo's doing and withdrew, the Haetae Guild could slip away without any significant fallout.
But even knowing that full well, the reason Yoo Do-a hadn't done so was simple.
"I've already accepted Ji-woo as a guild member."
Because it simply wasn't the right thing to do.
And because the Haetae Guild owed Ji-woo a debt — the life of Kim A-rin, their S-Rank Hunter and a vital asset.
"I appreciate the concern, but this is a problem we have to shoulder ourselves."
The Haetae Guild was not free from the consequences of this incident either — Yoo Do-a said as much to the unfamiliar girl, her voice firm.
And upon hearing those words, the girl opened her mouth once more.
"What if, because of Ji-woo, beings like Arkiel were to multiply by tens or hundreds of times over."
Would she still give the same answer as now?
"…What did you just say?"
"Exactly what you heard. Same as before."
It was what Kim A-rin had once said — that Ji-woo could gather as many summons like Arkiel as she pleased.
Regardless of how much Yoo Do-a wanted to help Ji-woo, that was a scale she could never manage.
No guild in existence could handle that kind of power.
"So step back a little."
"………?"
"We'll handle our own problems ourselves."
If it were them — Ji-woo's summons — they could manage everything related to Ji-woo without breaking a sweat.
The girl made that promise to Yoo Do-a with a perfectly composed expression.
"The problems that might arise from your procedures and systems — just handle those for us. Everything beyond that, you don't need to worry about."
"How am I supposed to… trust that."
"And if you don't trust it, what exactly are you going to do?"
"…………."
Strictly speaking, it didn't matter whether it was true or a lie — Yoo Do-a had no options either way.
Because this was never a problem she could handle on her own to begin with.
She'd been completely outmatched in her sparring match with Arkiel not long ago, and if summons on par with her could multiply without limit —
Frankly, it wasn't just regime change. World domination was within the realm of possibility.
If someone extended a hand and offered to deal with the problems surrounding summons of that caliber, Yoo Do-a would have no choice but to take it — no matter whose hand it was.
"…I'm glad we can talk like reasonable people."
The unfamiliar girl said as much, adding that she'd be counting on Yoo Do-a's cooperation.
It was right after that when the specific measures she wanted Yoo Do-a and the Haetae Guild to take were conveyed.
"Announce Arkiel as a member of M.M.L.I, not Haetae."
"M.M.L.I…? What is that?"
"Our name."
No further explanation was given.
Because at the end of the day, it was nothing more than a fabricated alias with no real substance — created solely to conceal Ji-woo's existence.
"Keep Ji-woo listed under your organization. Make it look like we and Ji-woo have absolutely nothing to do with each other."
And so, after conveying the rough outline of measures needed to handle the situation to Yoo Do-a —
The girl ended the conversation, saying they'd talk again once Ji-woo returned to Korea.
"As long as you don't make us your enemy, we won't treat you as one either. Keep that in mind."
With those parting words — step.
The girl slowly walked away from Yoo Do-a.
But there was one thing Yoo Do-a absolutely had to confirm.
Just what kind of being this girl was — one who had arrived directly from England on the other side of the world to Korea in an instant.
What kind of being she was, that she could be so certain she could control all of Ji-woo's powerful summons.
"Wait."
"?"
"Can you tell me… which of you is stronger — you or Arkiel?"
"…I'll say this now, since it'll save us both the trouble."
"Comparing us is an insult in itself."
And with that, the girl turned her back on Yoo Do-a and once again split open a crack in the air —
Creating a portal connecting Korea and England.
【Entity: Erdis Arcana connects the gap between spaces.】
—Crrrk.
So effortlessly. As though it were nothing at all.
She accomplished what no Hunter in this world had ever managed, as naturally as drawing breath, and stepped back through the crack she had made, returning to England.
On the other side, Kim A-rin — still visibly flustered — was glancing back and forth between the girl and Yoo Do-a.
"Senior. What on earth just hap——"
At that same moment — swish.
The portal that had been connecting Korea and England until a moment ago vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.
Kim A-rin's voice cut off, and not even the faintest trace of the portal's existence remained.
"…Haah…."
Silence returned to the office.
Yoo Do-a let out a quiet sigh and barely managed to suppress the tangle of thoughts swirling through her head.
Whether she should count herself lucky that what the unfamiliar girl had offered was a solution rather than a problem…
***
And so, as time passed.
Just as the unfamiliar girl had instructed, Arkiel was announced as a member of M.M.L.I rather than Haetae.
And as the world's attention shifted away from the Haetae Guild and toward this strange new name that had appeared —
"Ji-woo."
"Yes, Master."
"You said you wanted to get stronger."
"Uh…. Yes."
Erdis Arcana began.
The teaching that the Ji-woo of before had desperately begged for — the path to becoming someone of use.
"Your power ultimately comes from your followers."
To grow stronger, Ji-woo would need to gather more Hidden Bosses like Arkiel under her.
Erdis Arcana explained this calmly.
"The more followers you have, the more lives you'll be able to save."
"…! S-So then?"
"You'll have to go meet them. The ones who were once your followers."
"I'm ready, Master. Let's go go go——"
"You're not ready yet."
"Eck."
She calmed Ji-woo down a little and then asked her.
After meeting a new follower — a new Hidden Boss — what did Ji-woo plan to do?
"Raise their affection meter…. Ah, I mean. I'll get close to them."
"And after you've gotten close?"
"I'd probably keep them by my side, like Arkiel and you, Master?"
"…Your followers don't have a place to stay yet."
"Oh, my house is big. There are tons of empty rooms, and we even have three whole bathrooms!"
"One lizard can't even fit inside properly. What do you mean big."
"Eck."
If Ji-woo just kept adding followers without any plan, even her spacious house would hit capacity in no time.
So she needed to prepare a separate place for her followers to live.
Erdis Arcana said as much, and slowly extended her right hand toward Ji-woo.
At the same moment, a key insignia rose to the surface of the back of her hand.
【Entity: Erdis Arcana transfers ❮The Ark: Noah❯ to Entity: Lee Ji-woo.】
【Do you accept?】
【Warning: This action cannot be undone once accepted.】
"…Think carefully. This place will be fine, but you won't be able to return to your old life anymore——"
—Grab!
"I accept!"
【❮The Ark: Noah❯ has been transferred to Entity: Lee Ji-woo.】
"……Unbelievable."
Ji-woo had seized her hand and shouted her acceptance before she'd even finished speaking — Erdis Arcana stared at her with an expression that had completely given up on making sense of things.
Ji-woo's entire life was about to be turned upside down, and she hadn't even stopped to think before making such an important choice.
Unlike her old disciple, she had no sense of caution whatsoever.
Even so, she had ultimately handed over the 'key.'
—Ding.
【❮The Ark❯ responds to its master's call.】
—Rumble.
—Rumblerumble…….
The Ark that Erdis Arcana had roused from its long slumber now began, at last, to return to its rightful owner.
Enormous shadows gathered in an instant toward where Ji-woo stood.
"M-Master?"
"What."
"It's a house, right? Like, an apartment or something…?"
"It's a house, yes."
—Rumble.
—Rumblerumble…….
"…Is that really all of it?"
"Yes."
"Oh my god…. …Oh wait, I don't have a mom."
"…………."
Ji-woo was staring up at the islands in the sky with enormous, stunned eyes — and Erdis Arcana found herself genuinely wondering.
Whether she had passed on those vast, ancient legacies of her old disciple a little too soon.
A serious, deeply contemplative sort of wondering.
***
【❮The Ark: Noah❯ has been transferred to Entity: Lee Ji-woo.】
【❮The Ark❯ responds to its master's call.】
—Flinch.
『…This presence. Could it be.』
The 'Guardian,' sensing a strangely familiar energy, immediately left her dwelling and broke into a full sprint.
It had been a very long time since she'd breathed the air of dry land, but right now there was something she wanted to see far more than the land she'd missed for so long.
『Haa, haa….』
Past the boundary of her dwelling, through the vast forest.
The Guardian finally reached the edge of the Ark and saw it at last.
Down below, standing in the middle of an endless expanse of land.
A pair of young, wide eyes gazing up at the Arks.
The source of the familiar presence she'd felt moments ago — and the face she had missed so terribly.
The Guardian saw it.
『………….』
—Grin.
『Mom────! I'm home────!!』
