"Look! Look! The gate! It's turning blue…they did it!" Yoonho shouted with joy.
Yoonho Baek had been anxiously waiting by the gate for hours. Gaia and Hae-in Cha heard about the red-gate and quickly arrived to the site as well. As they waited together with Yoonho, two more familiar faces joined the wait. Jong-In Choi and Suho Sung.
From the gate came worn-out but proud faces. The first to come out was Captain Jongsoo Park, followed by Kihoon Son, then Miho and Thalia, followed by the rest of the hunters.
Jong-In Choi sighed deeply…all the hunters had returned home safely. However, before the celebration could begin…the sense of relief soon turned to confusion…in addition to the hunters a crowd of people came out of the gate. Most looked weathered and worn down, others were too weak to walk and required help or someone to carry them.
Jong-In Choi quickly summoned emergency response teams…the news media gathered at the scene broadcasted the horrific scene to the entire world. Hundreds and hundreds of people came out of the gate…all looked like survivors of some horrific tragedy.
Among the survivors were terrans, manfolks, dwarves, fauns, and even humans! There were humans from North Korea, Russia, China, United States, Europe and South America. In total, there were 1,253 survivors.
As the world watched…they could no longer think of these people as "refugees" they were now all "survivors".
Medical and emergency response teams arrived on site, first aid and medical attention was quickly organized to assess and assist the survivors.
As the commotion calmed down, Yoonho hugged his daughter and cried tears of joy. Similarly, Gaia and Hae-in hugged Thalia.
After some time, Hae-in Cha said, "I almost forgot to introduce you…Thalia this is my son Suho. Suho this is Thalia…she is Gaia's daughter."
"It's a pleasure to meet you…wait…let me clean my hand…I've been fighting in a dungeon for days now." Thalia extended her hand, resting it gently within Suho's.
Suho's fingers were long, calloused at the tips and joints. They spoke of a young man accustomed to hard work. Thalia's grip was firm, not forceful, one that suggested confidence and strength of will.
Neither of the two looked away…rather they lingered in the handshake for a bit longer than normal. The handshake was a kind of greeting…
I see you.
I acknowledge you.
"Hunter Thalia…you are needed for a debriefing." Choi said casually.
Thalia excused herself and walked away.
"I…I umm…I think I saw stars in her eyes." Suho said softly.
Yoonho chuckled and said, "some things never change…no matter who you are."
[VOID]
"That's the fifth attack today." Igris said with a hint of boredom.
For the last week, Jinwoo Sung had been guarding earth from incursions. The first attacks were Apostles and their soldiers…then Itarim started attacking and retreating constantly.
At first Jinwoo thought these were normal Itarim attacks…just more greedy Gods wanting to claim earth (the usual stuff). However, Jinwoo quickly realized something was off…the attacks were powerful but small…and the attackers retreated frequently.
"Perhaps they are scouts…probing our defenses for weaknesses." Igris said.
"I don't think so…their attacks seem more like "gorilla tactics" aimed at chipping away at our forces." Beru suggested.
"It looks that way…but that not it. The Itarim know that sort of strategy will not work against us…this is different…this is stalling." Jinwoo said.
"Stalling for what, my King?" Bellion asked.
"I don't know…but it seems our enemy intentionally wants us here…pinned down defending. They are trying to remove us from the equation by forcing us to remain here fending off these constant attacks." Jinwoo said firmly as he gazed into the void.