The Villainous Director Is Raising a Child!

Gate breach.

The worst kind of catastrophe — the dimensional wall between dungeon and reality collapses, and the monsters inside come pouring out into the real world.

Any number of scholars had thrown themselves at identifying the cause of this disaster, and the truth they'd landed on at the end of it all was mana pressure.

The principle is simple.

A Gate is a huge dam, and the mana inside a dungeon is like water, rising.

From the instant a dungeon forms, mana inside it multiplies endlessly.

The way rainwater keeps flowing into a reservoir.

Time passes; the water pressure the dam has to hold back rises; and the moment it finally exceeds the structural limit... the Gate collapses, the way a dam bursts.

This theory leaves Hunters facing one cruel paradox.

Namely: the higher the Gate's rating, the less time there is before catastrophe.

The higher-rated the dungeon, the denser the mana inside — and the faster, exponentially, that mana multiplies.

For normal C-rank and lower Gates, low on mana, the dam will hold even if left alone for over a month.

But at B-rank, that window shrinks to fifteen days; and for an A-rank Gate, where mana pressure is at its worst, in a mere seven days it hits critical mass and blows.

That was exactly why high-rated Gates, by mandate, had to be cleared the moment they were found.

"You're insane... are you in your right mind right now?"

Seo Jihyeok wrung the words out, color drained from his face, voice shaking.

"You're going to deliberately trigger a Gate breach? You're telling us to set off a disaster?"

His shock was a given.

A Hunter's calling was to prevent Gate breaches, not cause them.

It was madness past taboo — a denial of the very reason Hunters existed.

"Yeah. You heard me right."

I didn't back off — I said it again, clearly, hammering the nail in.

"An artificial Gate breach. That's the only method that can fix Hunter Choi Juran's core."

My reason for being this sure was simple.

In the original novel, I'd actually seen Cha Yul do exactly that.

Of course, I can't do it exactly the way Cha Yul did in the original, but...

Even so, if it worked, it was a proven method that could bring a dead core back to life.

For a stretch, a suffocating silence held in the office.

Han Jewoon was the first to break it.

The sly smile that usually hung at his mouth was nowhere to be found — his face had frozen cold and hard as stone.

"Do you even know what you're saying right now?"

His voice dropped low.

"A Gate breach. And not a C or D-rank one — an A-rank. What kind of catastrophe that turns into if it blows, there's no way you don't know."

"..."

"Besides, the whole premise is impossible to begin with. We can't just sit and wait either."

He pointed out, cold.

"The faintest sign of a Gate breach and the Bureau will swarm in like a pack of dogs. They won't leave us so much as an opening to move."

He wasn't wrong.

That was the common sense of this world — the way the system worked.

But I smiled, easy, and shot back.

"Which is exactly why I said it."

I leaned forward and looked them dead in the eye.

"Not a natural one — an artificial Gate breach is what we need. Before the Bureau catches on, we set it off ourselves."

At that, Han Jewoon's eyebrow twitched.

"You mean... a Gate breach can be forced, by human means?"

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous!"

Seo Jihyeok shot to his feet and yelled.

"That flies straight in the face of the founding principles of Gate studies! Is a Gate a balloon? Poke it and it pops? Manipulating an energy mass on that scale, as an individual, is theoretically impossible!"

An outraged reaction. But I nodded and laid down the decisive piece of evidence.

"Why call it impossible? Just two weeks ago, you saw it with your own eyes."

"...!"

The simultaneous Gate breach incident that had turned downtown Seoul into a wasteland two weeks ago.

Seo Jihyeok's pupils shook like an earthquake had hit them.

"You're saying... those incidents weren't the Bureau missing the signs..."

"That's right. The terrorists actually caused them. Artificially."

Truthfully, even I'd been half-skeptical of the hypothesis.

But the conversation between Mad Dog and Fox I'd overheard in the abandoned factory had given me my certainty.

[Running around all of Seoul dumping mana out isn't exactly easy, you know.]

The moment I heard that, I knew, on instinct.

They know it too — how to force a Gate breach!

At the same time, an eerie sense of déjà vu ran through my head.

The mystery criminal organization in the original novel — the one that tormented an adult Cha Yul to the very end, staging terror attacks all across the city.

The original didn't spell out the details, but I could be sure.

The current Awakened Liberation Front was the precursor to that massive organization.

The grounds for it were clear.

The organization in the original had also, by any means necessary, triggered Gate breaches to throw society into chaos.

And the presence of two core executives called Mad Dog and Fox alone made it unmistakable.

There was, though, exactly one puzzle piece oddly out of place.

The ones in the original had grown their power by mainly targeting the major guilds — but this current bunch was baring its teeth at the Awakened Management Bureau as its main enemy, and only the Bureau.

Is that a butterfly effect from my interference? Or... is there some other variable hidden in there that I don't know about?

My head was tangling up complicated, but I forced the questions down.

Now wasn't the time to show it.

"Ha..."

Seo Jihyeok let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Artificially triggering a Gate breach... is that really possible? How on earth..."

Fear and shock at a catastrophe past all common sense hung on his face.

"Anyhow, that's why we have to move on this operation with the minimum number of people."

"..."

"The more people, the more mouths, and the more secrets leak. And the opponent is the Bureau. Those bastards have an uncanny nose for it."

I looked from Han Jewoon to Seo Jihyeok and drove the nail in.

"Your intel sources aren't trustworthy — I told you before, didn't I?"

At that one line, both of their expressions hardened at the same time.

"So bring me people. Only ones with the skill to handle an A-rank Gate at minimum staffing."

I tapped the table, laying out my terms.

An A-rank. And a forced Gate breach on top of that.

Bring hangers-on to a job like that and it was a straight ticket to a pointless death.

But mobilizing a large force meant risking leaks.

Trustworthy, and overwhelmingly strong. A small, elite handful.

Heavy silence settled over the office at the conditions.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Han Jewoon, arms folded, drummed his index finger against his forearm in a steady rhythm.

His brow was drawn tight.

After a long silence, he spoke.

"I can get them. An entry team, at least, I can pull together somehow."

His gray eyes glinted at me.

"But... you know this too, don't you? To force a breach, on top of the strike team going inside, a defense team to hold off the monsters spilling out is a hard requirement."

I nodded without a word. That was a given.

"Factor that in... and we're short-handed."

He added, bitter.

"Bawi Guild is big, which means we've got plenty of enemies. Hyenas on every side, looking for a way to bring us down."

Han Jewoon clicked his tongue.

"In a situation like that, top-tier rankers with the skill to stop an A-rank Gate breach and the loyalty not to entertain funny ideas — wholly loyal to me? ...I could count them on one hand."

"So?"

Han Jewoon jerked his chin at me.

"Bring your soldiers, too."

"...What?"

I couldn't believe my ears.

"Those little brats I saw at the factory that time. Holding out against Mad Dog like they did — they're better than a lot of active-duty Hunters."

Han Jewoon just kept dropping the bombshell like it was nothing.

"Bring them along, we go into the Gate together. Strike team or defense team, at that level of firepower they'll pull real weight."

"Are you insane?!"

I couldn't hold it in — I shot to my feet.

"They're not even ten years old! You want to take babies like that into an A-rank Gate? Are you out of your mind?"

"What does age have to do with an Awakened?"

Han Jewoon shot back, flat, like he genuinely couldn't see the problem.

"If you've got power, you fight. If you're weak, you die. That's the common sense of this world, no?"

"Shut up! Absolutely not!"

I refused, hard.

"Nothing like that is happening on my watch — don't make me laugh!"

At my violent refusal, Han Jewoon's eyes narrowed.

He fixed me with a hard, odd look.

"That's strange."

He cocked his head.

"You're the one who said, right out of your own mouth, that they were dolls, soldiers. Chess pieces to be used and discarded, no? So... why does it feel like you're circling around them like this?"

"...!"

The hit landed dead center, and my words dried up. I bit down on my lower lip and forced out an excuse.

"Th — that's because... they're expensive! If my soldiers get so much as scratched, who's going to answer for that loss? Absolutely not!"

"Haah..."

Han Jewoon let out a sigh deep enough to sink the floor.

"Fine. No choice, then."

He got to his feet, slowly.

And then he started walking, step by step, straight toward me.

Wh — what?

The pressure of an S-rank Hunter came rolling out. On instinct, I stepped back.

Don't tell me... he's going to threaten me? Take my life hostage and force me into it?

The giant shadow, closing, blocked out my sight.

Fear rose all the way up my throat.

But I didn't back down.

"D — don't come any closer! Ev — even so, no! Even if you kill me, you're not getting the kids!"

I shrieked in a strangled, cracking voice, scared out of my mind, and squeezed my eyes shut.

That was the moment.

Kung—!

The dull sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

"Guild Master!!!"

Seo Jihyeok's horrified scream rang out through the office.

"...?"

I cautiously opened the eyes I'd been squeezing shut.

And doubted my own optic nerves.

Korea's Rank 1. The Sword Emperor, Han Jewoon.

Was kneeling at my feet.

"I'm asking you."

"Uh... buh — buh..."

I was too stunned to even string words together, and something stupid came out of my mouth.

Meeting him in person had shattered plenty of illusions, sure — but Han Jewoon had still been my unshakeable second-favorite character.

Why had I liked this character in the first place?

Munchkin-tier firepower? A striking face? Neither.

The real adult who always stood behind the kids as a solid, dependable fence.

And that heavy sense of responsibility and loyalty — willing to throw down his own life without a second thought for a comrade.

The object of my admiration — exactly as I'd pictured him reading the novel — was right in front of me, head bowed.

This is killing me... seriously.

My heart was rattling itself apart.

I had to refuse. Rationally, I knew it wasn't happening.

But my feelings were already crying surrender.

I bit down on my lip, tried to steady the wavering in me, and forced a shake of my head.

"S — still, no!"

But even to my own ear, my voice was missing the resolve of a moment ago.

"The kids... are too young. They're not even ten! How am I supposed to take kids like that—"

"You know it, too. Those kids aren't ordinary little ones. They're Awakened. Prospective Hunters who already have power in them."

"But..."

"In that case... how about we ask the kids themselves, directly?"

Han Jewoon lifted his head, looked me dead in the eye, and pitched it.

"Instead of us deciding, let the kids — the ones who actually have the power — choose for themselves."

"..."

"If the kids say they'll help, I'll stake my life on protecting them. And—"

He grinned and held up a single finger.

"As the head of Bawi Guild, I'll owe you one more wish, down the line."

"You already gave me a wish IOU last time, didn't you?"

At my flat reply, Han Jewoon shrugged and hammed it up.

"Yeah, well... a Rank 1's wish shouldn't come this cheap."

At that playful — but pointed — line, the scale in my mind tipped.

A wish IOU...

The truth was, there was one more thing I'd been quietly determined to squeeze out of him.

Which made his offer a sweet, and deadly, temptation.

"Hooo..."

The math was done.

I let out a deep sigh and propped my chin on my laced fingers.

"Fine. But—"

I looked Han Jewoon dead in the eye.

"If the kids say no, that's the end of it. No forcing them, no talking them into it."

"You have my word."

Han Jewoon answered without missing a beat.

"And if they do end up doing it... the kids' safety had better be handled more surely than your own life."

"Obviously. I'll swear it on the Sword Emperor's honor."

There wasn't a shred of a lie in his eyes.

I got to my feet.

"Let's go. To ask the kids."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!