CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR!
────a king and his queen.

❝SHALL WE GET GOING, MY QUEEN.❞

FLASHING CAMERAS POINT AT at jin-woo and [y/n] in matching suits as they walk up to the memorial with white flowers in their hands.

it's been a week since the conclusion of the jeju island raid, it took at least two days to clean up all the ants.

it was both chaos on and offline.

the jeju island raid was their first appearance as s-rank hunters. it was pretty much their debut.

the names sung jin-woo and [y/n] [l/n] became a national topic and interest.

of course, as much as they had their supporters...

but they've also experienced the criticism of arriving so late to the raid. they've could have minimized the loss of a life which could not be avoided.

though they received such criticism and hate, the two were never bothered by it as they don't care for such things.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE TWO PLAYERS lay the flowers in front of byeong-gu's smiling portrait.

'may you rest peacefully in the sun...' [y/n] muses sadly as she reaches to hold jin-woo's hand.

the two paid their respect as they begin to walk away from the portrait. the dark-haired player catches sight of who seemed to be byeong-gu's mother, crying.

the [h/c] haired player walks past yoon-ho and stops when she hears him speak.

"i always believed that it takes more than a single hero to end a war." he starts, his voice a bit weak. "but since this event... i've come to believe that is not necessarily so. raise your heads up, miss [l/n] and mister sung. you two merely wrote the last chapter in this book of tragedies."

"THANK YOU."

with that, the two players walk away from the man. [y/n] meets the eyes of cha hae-in. she gives the young girl a small smile and a wave, to which she looks away with blush tinting her cheeks.

the female player tilts her head in confusion as jin-woo tugs her hand so they could leave.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

ONCE THEY FULLY leave the funeral sight, [y/n] sighs in relief and tugs the black tie around her neck lose.

"how the hell do you wear these things? it feels like i'm being suffocated." she whines making her lover chuckle at her.

"welcome to my life." jin-woo retorts back making her stick out her tongue at him.

the two walk bit further to meet up with the chairman to discuss a few things with him.

they sit down on picnic table, jin-woo and [y/n] sitting down side by side as gun-hee sits across from them.

"so, you mean to establish your own guild hunter sung jin-woo?" the old man questions and this makes the female player deadpan.

"i love it how you never told me about this." she sarcastically adds making the two men chuckle.

the male player pats her head. "i wanted to keep it as a surprise." he defends only to be met with her pinching his cheek.

"surprise my ass, creating a guild is an important idiot. and for the record, i elect myself as the third founding member of it." she declares, and lets got of his cheek.

he interlocks his hand with her's under the table and smiles at her. "fine by me. i was gonna make you the third member anyway." he mentions.

the chairmen look at the two interact, adoring the dynamic they had. they quiet down and let the old man continue.

"an s-rank hunter doesn't need a guild master license. you only need to call the association. we'll take care of the rest." he assures the two.

they nod at him in gratefulness as they note to discover what the benefits of an s-rank hunter are.

"did two by any chance put up a barrier or something similar on jeju island?"

this catches the attention of the two players, greatly confusing in what the chairman meant.

[y/n] tilts her head. "what do you mean?" she asks innocently.

"there was an incident where people were dispatched to clean up the remnant ants and to retrieve the magic stones suddenly all lost consciousness. there were all a-rankers and some b-rankers, including some from the knights guild." gun-hee informs them. "i was wondering if you two had maybe casted a barrier of some sort and had forgotten about it."

the two players shake their heads. "no, we didn't set up such a thing." jin-woo answers him.

"i see, i had thought so..."

"the people who were sent there, what did they say?"

gun-hee sighs dejectedly and tiredly rub his temples. "none of them remember a single thing before they lost consciousness. we simply can not even determine whether this was magical in nature or not."

the two stay silent as they thought they had missed something the ants set up... but unknowingly to them, that wasn't necessarily the case.

"association chairman," an association employee calls, waking up to the man and whispers something in his ear

he nods and turns to the two players. "my men tell me that my next appointment is early, so i must excuse myself. i appreciate you two making yourselves available to me." he explains as all of them stand up.

the female player smiles and nods at him. "don't worry about it."

"it's nothing." the male player replies.

the two say bid farewell to the chairman and walk back to their van.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

A LOUD YAWN escapes [y/n]'s mouth as she stretches her arms into the air.

"you tired my sun?" jin-woo muses, using the affectionate nickname when they were alone.

after finally becoming an official couple a week prior, he wasted no time spoiling the female player with love.

he had a variety of nicknames for different settings. any chance he got he would shower her in displays of affection.

he wasn't embarrassed to do them in public. he had the beautiful sun incarnated in his hands, he wasn't about to let her slip away.

she feels her cheeks heat up at the nickname. "yeah a bit, lover boy." she replies, using a playful nickname for him.

the [h/c] haired player couldn't be happier. she felt bliss and free. she was finally in a better place than she was months before.

her heart was being mended from all the damage it had endured, it was finally healing.

jin-woo gently grabs her hand, bringing the back of it to his lips and kissing it softly.

"say the word and we can sleep for as long as you like." he suggests as he slowly intertwines his fingers with hers.

she giggles and leans her body into his. "i'd like that." she replies as they approached the car.

"EXCUSE ME, ARE TWO HUNTER [L/N] AND HUNTER SUNG?"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE COUPLE TURNS around to see who called their names, they are faced with a foreign man, most likely an american.

his korean was very fluent, which didn't surprise them in the slightest. seeing as they could understand every human language thanks to the system.

"yes, we are." [y/n] answers, a bit cautious of him.

he smiles kindly at the two. "it's a pleasure to meet you two my name is adam white, i'm an agent from the hunter management bureau, united states of america." adam introduced himself and passed his business card to the female player.

"please call me adam."

she looks down at his card, feeling her lover wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"i went to look for you at your office, but it seems like you two are very hard to find down. i hope you can understand why i had to track you down at a place like this." he explains with an apologetic look.

this catches jin-woo's attention. 'ah is he the man jin-ho mentioned before?'

"what is your business with us?" he asks quickly, a bit annoyed they were interrupted like this.

"i have information i would like to pass onto you both." the states.

[y/n] looks back up at him. "information?" she questions.

adam nods and smiles. "probably no other country on earth or an organization has this information. except us, that is."

"and the reason for passing on such information to us is?" the dark-haired player muses.

"we stand to benefit in some way merely by passing information to a certain group of specific people." adam starts. "i was planning on meeting you two alone. but your performance at the jeju island raid left an impression on our deputy director. he wishes to meet you two in person."

the two glance at each other, now a bit curious as to what the u.s hunter's bureau wanted if they were to meet them.

"expectational circumstances, as you must understand. the rest, our deputy director can fill you in. we have a car waiting nearby, would you like to meet the deputy director?"

almost telepathically, the two had their answer.

jin-woo sighs as he opens the door to his van. "i'm not sure if i can trust this information you speak of. we'll consider it and be in touch."

'which means, see you never!' [y/n] comments with a small snicker, entering the passenger seat of the van.

adam chuckles at his response. "i forgot to add... in negotiation, you shouldn't hide your trump card." he states confidently.

"UPGRADER..."

this causes the two players to freeze and look at the man with wide eyes.

"ARE YOU TWO AWARE THERE IS AN AWAKENED WHO CAN ELEVATE THE ABILITIES OF THE AWAKENED?"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THEIR INTEREST HAD been peaked from the mention of an upgrader. so, they agreed to follow adam in meeting the deputy director.

the two arrived at a hotel and were led to the top floor suite of the hotel, soon they were met with the deputy director.

he smiles brightly and shakes hands with them. "it's nice to meet you two. hunter management bureau, deputy director, michael connor."

"sung jin-woo and this is [y/n] [l/n]." the dark-haired player greets as the [h/c] haired player only gave a polite smile.

michael leads them to a more private room and gestures to the couch opposite of him, indicating for them to have a seat. jin-woo sat in the middle, with [y/n] on his right while adam sat on his left.

"i'll straight to the point, mister sung and miss [l/n]." he began and slid a tan sealed folder on the table, "these here are immigration documents. usually, this would be something that takes about 1 to 2 years. but for you two, that isn't the case."

he raises his index finger with a grin. "one second. say one word and in 1 second, you two can become united states citizens."

"we were under the impression from what agent adam said that information was the only thing under consideration today."jin-woo abruptly states, narrowing his glowing eyes at the man as he wraps an arm around [y/n].

"is it truly possible to upgrade the abilities of a hunter?"

the deputy nods. "actually, that person is already present here. please have mrs. shelner come in." he instructs one of his agents.

almost immediately, the door opened behind them and two agents escorted a middle-aged african-american woman into the room.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE TWO PLAYER'S narrowed slightly after picking up a strange aura coming off from her.

"the only person in the world, who can help other awakeners exceed their limits..." micheal introduces the woman.

"SHE IS MRS. NORMA SELNER."

michael stands up, allowing the woman to take his place on the couch.

'she does have a different vibe than other awakeners that's for sure...' [y/n] thinks, her eyes following her figure.

"mrs. selner, please explain your ability to hunter sung jin-woo and hunter [y/n] [l/n]." the deputy continues as she begins to take a seat.

she eyes the two players as she takes off her hat. "you can't believe it, don't you? all the other hunters had your eyes at first."

mrs. selner takes a seat getting her comfortable. "but, once experience it...

"YOU'LL HAVE NO CHOICE TO CLING ON TO IT."

she muses, with an alluring smile and her eyes glinting at them with interest.

"as you know, all awakeners have a limit. no one can exceed it. so unless you are reawakened, you will never be able to reach a higher rank. it's basic knowledge for a hunter." she explains, taking a bite of cake that was laid out for her.

[y/n] tilts her head. "so mrs. selner... " she trails, raising an eyebrow wanting to ask her a question but the women beat her to it.

"yes, i have the ability to help others go past that limit. i can raise it by helping them go through three stages... but i am not certain on whether i should call it a reawakening them by force or raising their potential." she continues as she takes another bite of her cake.

"what she is says is true." michael interjects. "but once she uses her power she has to rest for a long time... so only a few awakeners can be chosen each year to earn its benefits."

the female player wanted to burst out laughing. 'that has to be a fucking joke! unless what he said is actually true, then this woman has the u.s.'s hunter management bureau wrapped around her pinky! mad respect~' she comments to herself, hiding her smile.

"okay, then tell me. how efficient is this, exactly?" [y/n] counters, still a bit skeptical.

"it depends on the person, but once they finish the third, they can feel at least 20% or maybe up to 30% stronger."
norma answers her.

she raises her eyebrow pleasantly surprised. "if this kind of power gets leaked out..."

"that's why mrs. selner is with us. we take responsibility for her safety and pay her a reasonable amount. and mrs. selner helps the hunters we select to reach a higher level." micheal adds, confirming her statement.

'protection and money?! oho! she has this department on their knees for her!' [y/n] thinks, focusing her eyes on the woman in front of her.

the deputy gesture his hand to norma. "mrs. selner's ability. this is the gift we can give to both of you."

"isn't it more like a deal than a gift?" jin-woo questions and raises an eyebrow at them.

"if you two become of the united states, we will make sure that you two are the first to earn the benefits. also, in order to create a deal with the best conditions, we can make an arrangement with a guild of your choice." michael offers with a knowing smile.

norma puts down her cup of tea on a small plate. "there's no need to rush. we came to help you both open up the first 'button' for today." she interjects catching both players' attention.

"excuse me?"

"we told you, right? it's a gift." norma reminded them.

"without a cost?" jin-woo repeats, looking at them with doubt.

"think of it as a complimentary service," michael
suggests.

"HOW ABOUT MISS [L/N] GIVES IT A GO FIRST?"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

AT THE SUGGESTION that the female player should go first, the two s-rank hunters glance at each other.

'there's nothing to lose from this... so why not?'

[y/n] then sits up straight and looks at norma. she nods her head, indicating that she'll do it.

the woman takes her wrist gently in her hands and begins the process.

"look into my eyes, closely. that is the first step." she instructs her.

the [h/c] haired player does what she's told and norma looked into her [e/c]'s eyes, using her powers at once.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

NORMA GASPS AND blinks rapidly as she finds herself in a completely different plane of existence.

she looks around and she is met with an endlessly vast plane of pristine clear water. a blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds that reflected off of the water.

she stares in awe, enamored that this beautiful plane is related to [y/n]'s power.

curiously, norma begins walking forward. wondering aimlessly as the sound of water being stepped on rings in the air.

it felt so warm.

she kept walking for what felt like an hour but it was only for a couple of seconds, she is startled when she faced with two white greek like pillars.

confused and curious, she walks through them and when she does a strong breeze blows at her face. strong enough that norma had to cover her face with her arms.

once the wind settles, she flutters her eyes open and is shocked at what stands before her.

instead of standing in vast sky like plane, she stood in a beautiful garden. overfilled with vibrant flowers of all kinds.

the air was incredibly peaceful, nothing looked out of place and it was all warm and comforting.

as if this garden was heaven itself.

norma looks to the sky and it was still the same sky she was in before.

'can hunter [y/n] [l/n]'s soul take many forms?' she ponders to herself as walks up to a bush growing colorful hydrangeas.

"BEAUTIFUL AREN'T THEY?"

the new voice scares norma and she turns to her right to see someone's side profile.

it was a woman and in her right hand held a boquete of small flowers, all varying in colors. so ever curious, she slowly approaches woman.

she had golden like hair that reached her mid-back, she wore a white loose dress, little flowers were intertwined in her hair, and wore a gold circlet headband accessorized with jewels.

the mysterious woman turned to meet norma's eyes and she was stunned.

IF THE WORD 'ETHEREAL' WAS A PERSON, IT WOULD BE HER.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

INTRODUCING...

AURORA, ???

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

"hello there norma selner!" aurora greets with a dazzling smile, her voice harmonic and alluring.

norma blinks in shock. "wh-who... are you? what are you?" she questions with wide eyes.

"rude! isn't it good manners to ask someone for their name first?" the goddess-like woman pouts.

"then, what is your name?"

"oh, i can't tell you! sorry!"

she looks at the blonde woman in disbelief as she laughed joyfully. then, her pink ruby eyes stare at norma once more.

"i can't have you know my name and rely it to my dear [y/n]! it isn't time yet!" aurora teases with a childish voice, as she continues making a boquete of different flowers.

it wasn't hard to notice how brightly she shined, the garden seems to enhance that feature.

"are you the source of her power?"

"well... yes and no? hm, it's a bit complicated! ash knows how to explain it better than i do."

norma was now utterly confused at her frantic talking, she wanted to ask why she couldn't say her name and who was this 'ash' person she spoke of.

but before she could do so, the blonde taps her chin and her face brightens when she gets an idea.

she spreads out her arms with a grin. "think of this plane of existence as a measure of power that my dear [y/n] holds!"

she suddenly snaps her fingers and fresh wind blows around them, flower petals getting caught up in the breeze, bringing the two women back to the beautiful sky again.

then she lowers her arms and points at norma with a cheeky smile, her eyes held a playful youth to them.

"NOW PLEASE, NORMA SELNER. TELL ME, WHERE DO YOU THINK THIS SKY ENDS?"

her question confused her but norma freezes at this new sudden realization coming over her.

there was no end to this place she visited, much like the water plane she now stood in. no matter how she looked at it and no matter what form it would take. there was no end.

THERE WAS NO LIMIT.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

SHE LETS OUT soft gasp and lets go of [y/n]'s wrist. the woman no longer finds herself in the sky and is now back to where she was before.

she looked nervous, even a bit scared.

the female player gazed at her curiously, wanting to know what made her react like that.

"now shall be mister sung's turn," michael announced with a smile.

norma hesitantly turns to jin-woo and he takes notice of
that. his eyes went back to his lover, wondering what happened when she looked inside of her powers.

she could only shrug.

she held jin-woo's wrist, this time looking into his steel grey eyes.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

NOW, NORMA FOUND herself somewhere completely opposite to where she was before.

darkness only surrounded her, it garnered her curiosity but she held back. it was much different to [y/n]'s sky like plane, where it was warm and peaceful.

this place felt ominous.

"to think, they are completely polar opposites. it would be impossible for them to be together." norma mumbles, looking around the dark abyss. "but somehow they are, despite that."

she wasn't able to see anything, not even a spec of light. and when she looks up, her eyes widened when she saw something or someone staring back at her.

unlike with [y/n] and the woman in her soul. the eyes she stared into now filled her with nothing but absolute...

FEAR.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE TWO PLAYERS were extremely startled when norma suddenly screamed in fear.

in response to that, the agents in the
room pointed their guns at them.

"you bastard! what have you done to mrs. selner?!" one of the agents shout while pointing his gun at [y/n]

jin-woo quickly pulled [y/n] into his chest, protecting her. his eyes glowed dangerously, ready to attack if the agent if he were to pull the trigger.

"STOP!! ARE YOU GUYS OUT OF YOUR MIND?! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU ARE?!" michael shouts walking to one the agents in fury.

"but mrs. selner is—"

"if you're that worried about
mrs. slener, just go and take care of her!"

the agent frantically nodded his head and went to check norma if she was alright.

michael bows to them immediately, apologizing. "...my apologies, miss [l/n] and mister sung. our agents
stepped out of line."

jin-woo tightens his hold on [y/n] who was clutching to his shirt. still on edge that a gun was pointed at his lover specifically.

then, the glow in his eyes seem to go away and he loosens the hold he has on her.

he looks towards michael. "it's fine..." jin-woo states, still shocked at what happened within a matter of seconds.

he looks down to [y/n] who was still in his arms. "my sun, are you alright?" he whispers, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

she gives him a hesitant nod. "yeah, i'm fine... i was just really surprised."

michael lets out a breath of relief that jin-woo didn't take immediate action. he quickly walks over to norma and kneels beside her.

"mrs. selner, what's wrong? you're sweating profusely. are you feeling ill?" he asks frantically, worry covering his face.

norma didn't respond, her glowing eyes stayed on [y/n] and jin-woo in fear and was shaking uncontrollably.

he sighs and turns to the two players. "it seems that mrs. selner isn't feeling well today. can we contact you another time?"

"...sure." jin-woo replies as he and [y/n] stood up from their seats.

"adam, please show them the way out." michael instructs and he does what he's told, leading the two player out of the room.

once they were out room completely the deputy turns to the woman again. "mrs. selner, what happened?" he questions frantically.

"he... he is... he is a king and a very powerful one." norma began, her hands shaking. "and standing beside every king is a queen, and she... she was just as powerful as he was."

his eyes widen in shock. "then, does that mean that those two are about the same level as the national level hunters?"

"n-no, i'm not sure. i've never experienced something like this before... they are a king and queen, but they are different unlike the rest. when i looked into him. he was also looking back at me." norma stammered out, hugging herself.

tears pouring out of her eyes as she tried to explain what she felt. "it wasn't hunter sung jin-woo! but rather, it was an endless darkness inside of him! it was looking at me!!"

"an-and hunter [y/n] [l/n]! there was a women inside of her and she knew of my existence! she the embodiment of the sky, there was no end to said sky! she stared at me with the same power as hunter sung jin-woo!" she states, bringing her head to her knees.

michael was now speechless, becoming more confused by the second as norma tried to speak her last statement...

"THOSE TWO... THEY DO NOT HAVE A LIMIT!"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

"YO FUCK THE existence of heels, these things are torture devices! i am so glad i packed extra shoes in this car." [y/n] complains making jin-woo chuckle as she ties the laces of some old black converses.

he leaned on the steering and stares at her, they got stuck in an unexpected traffic jam.

while the waited, they mostly theorized on what mrs. selner saw inside them. it was serious until it somehow turned into some type of roasting match.

though they were now a couple, their playfulness with each other never disappeared.

"what is this traffic jam? it's really backed up..." [y/n] sighs and leans back into her seat.

she noticed it had gotten quiet and she gazes to the side to find jin-woo shamelessly staring at her.

"you look beautiful. have i ever told you that?"

he suddenly states and heat rises to her cheeks. "um, well... i think multiple times..." she mumbles, a bit shy from the attention she was getting from him.

he chuckles at her sudden shy demeanor. he reaches to cup her face in his hand and she lets him, leaning into his touch.

jin-woo hums in delight as he notices the sunset's hues hit her face perfectly.

"amazing, i have the sun at the tip of my fingers." he mumbles, reaching over to kiss her lips.

this makes [y/n] giggle, she feels her stomach explode in butterflies. before he can pull back, she pecks his lips.

"you're so cheesy. it's sickening."

"you love it don't you?"

"uh, i beg to differ."

the two burst into giggles as their faces were still inches apart. as jin-woo was about to lean in again for another kiss, his phone begins vibrating loudly.

he groans and grumbles something incoherent but it sounded a lot like curse words. to which, [y/n] bursts out laughing, slumping back into her seat as he answers the phone.

"hello mister sung, this is go gun-hee speaking."

jin-woo eyes widen in realization and pursing his lips into a thin line as he was about to cuss out the person on who called him.

not knowing that person was chairman go gun-hee.

he clears his throat. "uh, yes, how may i help you?"

"well, i've gotten a report of a gate in the middle of the road. i believe it's located near the neighbourhood where your office is. it's a b-rank gate. could you and miss [l/n] handle it?"

the chairman asks and the female player deadpans, looking outside the car window. "that explains the stupid traffic jam. we've been backed up for like an hour." she explains with a annoyed tone.

"you mean without a raid permit?" the male player skeptically questions and gun-hee laughs over the line.

"mister sung, who do you think is in charge of those entry permits?"

"that would be the hunter's association." he replies.

"and who are you speaking to right now?"

jin-woo chuckles and answers "the chairman of the hunter's association."

"haha! so you don't worry about it."

"alright, [y/n] and i will take care of the gate." jin-woo agrees, nodding

a bright smile paints [y/n]'s face, "you can count on us chairman!"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE TWO PLAYERS arrived at the b-ranked gate and approach the area, already seeing a few association members and reporters.

the two push past the wall of people, approaching the gate until a female employee stops them.

"hey you, stop!" she shouts. "you can't just come in here!"

jin-woo looked down at her, his eyes not wavering. then the female employee realizes who he was.

"oh! s... s ranker sung jin-woo?!"

[y/n] pokes her head from behind his tall body and waves at the girl. "heyo!" she greets with a smile.

"ah?! s-ranker [y/n] [l/n] too?!" she exclaims looking between the two.

"its sung jin-woo and [y/n] [l/n]!"

"they must be here to take care of the gate personally!"

the short female employee glares at the two. "you might be s-rank hunters but we can't allow actions that go against regulations." she states matter of factly. "do you two even have a raid permit? even if you do, i can't allow you two to enter this gate unless you come back with a party that meets the minimum number of members required!"

the two sweat drop at her orderly personality. jin-woo sighed, taking out his phone to call the chairman.

"yeah, we've arrived at the location of the incident and there's seems to be a slight problem."

he then passed the employee his phone. "here take the call." he demands and this confuses her.

"who... who is it?" she questions, her voice a bit shaky.

"another rule-breaker who i'm sure you wouldn't like." [y/n] replies with a cheeky smile.

"this is the association chairman speaking!"

the female employee panics and takes the phone as she speaks to gun-hee. the call then ended and she passed jin-woo his phone back.

"we'll be going in then."

"nice meeting ya!"

[y/n] waves goodbye to the employee as the two walk hand in hand entering inside the gate.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

INSIDE THE GATE, the two players deadpan noticing they were in a rainforest jungle.

"we entered a red gate didn't we?"

"yep."

the female players looks at her outfit and sighs happily. "i am so glad that i changed outta my heels cause fighting in heels is so painful!" she adds with a relieved smile.

"but you look good in heels."

"yes, i do. but those things are killing machines sung. you wouldn't understand!"

"try me [l/n]."

the two stare at each other quietly when they suddenly burst out laughing.

the [h/c] haired player runs her free hand through her wet hair and looks to the cloudy sky. "ironic isn't it? that we're in a red gate." she vaguely asks.

"why is it ironic?" the dark haired player hums.

their eyes meet and [y/n]'s [e/c] eyes held a nostalgic spark to them. "our first gate together was a red gate. it feels so long ago."

jin-woo chuckles at the memory. "i remember how you insulted kim-chul right in front the whole attacked force!" he points out with a smile.

"or when you smacked him right into a tree!" she adds, wheezing.

the two players reminisce old memories that seemed so long ago as masses of their magic spread under their feet, summoning their soldiers.

they kept chatting or flirting as their summons did all the hunting for them.

once the soldiers were done with the area they were currently in, the summons bowed on the sidelines to their respective king or queen. creating a clear and safe path for them.

jin-woo turns to look to [y/n] and he bows to her, kissing the back of the hand he held.

"SHALL WE GET GOING, MY QUEEN?"

"THOUGHT YOU NEVER ASK, MY KING."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR! END!
────a king and his queen.