Silence hung in the training hall. Kim Seungtae, the A-rank hunter who had been arrogantly projecting his magical energy just moments ago, lay crumpled on the floor, twitching faintly. His followers stood frozen in place, watching the scene with eyes that refused to believe what they were seeing.
The most bewildered of all was none other than Jina. She looked down at her own trembling hands. Just moments ago, when Kim Seungtae had pressed his magical energy against her, she had felt the energy inside her body surge differently from usual. But she had never dreamed it held enough power to reverse a man's magical circuits and knock him unconscious.
'Did I do that? Really?'
Jina's eyes wavered. She had placed her hand on the sword hilt and focused, true enough, but she had not even drawn the blade. She had expected to absorb the pressure at best, yet the result was an utterly devastating victory.
That was when Somyeong added his clumsy performance, walking up beside Jina. He re-shouldered his bag and let out an exaggerated exclamation.
"My god, Jina! Did you see that? That guy just collapsed under your pressure?"
"Huh? I...... Oppa, I don't even know myself. Suddenly my magical energy just surged, and......"
"As expected of my little sister. Did the Association get your grade wrong? This isn't C-rank—this is S-rank at minimum!"
Somyeong laughed breezily and patted Jina's shoulder. His voice carried clearly through the training hall's internal microphones and out. His theatrics were more than enough to turn Jina's doubt into conviction. She blushed and tilted her head.
'Did my power really grow that much? If even Oppa says so......'
In truth, everything had been Somyeong's work. He had sent a minute thread of true energy through the floor, timed to the moment Jina drew her magical energy upward, and guided it into a collision with Kim Seungtae's energy that triggered an explosive backflow. To any observer, it appeared as though Kim Seungtae had been repelled by Jina's defensive response—a technique of impeccable precision.
"What is going on here?! What's this commotion?!"
The training hall door burst open and White Tiger Guild executives and security staff rushed in. Among them was Vice Team Leader Park Cheoljin, who had overseen Jina's test the previous day. His face went pale the moment he spotted Kim Seungtae frothing on the floor.
"Wh-what happened here? Why is Hunter Kim Seungtae in this state?!"
One of Kim Seungtae's followers pointed a trembling finger at Jina.
"Th-that new recruit...... the second Seungtae-hyung opened his mouth, she did this with nothing but her presence! She didn't even touch him, and then his magical energy suddenly went haywire......"
Park Cheoljin's gaze turned to Jina. Though Jina was clearly flustered, the circumstances were already painting her as an extraordinary powerhouse. Park Cheoljin gulped. Suppressing an A-rank hunter with presence alone. Theoretically, it should be impossible. And yet the evidence before him said otherwise.
"Hunter Kang Jina...... did you truly do this?"
Somyeong stepped in front of Jina and answered with composure.
"Our Jina acted in self-defense. He came at her projecting his magical energy first, so she got startled and couldn't control her strength. Even I—a simple porter—nearly got caught in it."
Park Cheoljin wiped the sweat from his brow. He had heard the rumors about disgruntled elements within the guild trying to put the new recruit in her place, but he never imagined the backlash would be this severe. He clicked his tongue at Kim Seungtae lying on the floor.
"Get Hunter Kim Seungtae to the medical wing! And Training Room 7 remains under Hunter Kang Jina's exclusive use as scheduled. Anyone with an objection can come tell me directly!"
At Park Cheoljin's declaration, the surrounding hunters all clamped their mouths shut. The eyes that had been whispering about a parachute just moments ago now held a mix of awe and fear.
***
While the chaotic clean-up unfolded, Somyeong slipped away from the crowd and headed for the corner. Seizing the moment when attention shifted to the medical staff, he nudged the device Kim Seungtae had dropped with his foot and recovered it into his palm.
Somyeong sat on a shadowed bench in the corner of the training hall and examined the device. It was a crude, outdated communications device, but the security settings were ironclad. To Somyeong, however, who had handled every manner of arcane formation and hidden mechanism over a hundred years, a mechanical gadget like this was simpler than a child's toy.
'Let's see what rats are pulling the strings.'
Somyeong channeled a minute thread of true energy through his fingertip and directly probed the device's internal circuitry. With a burst of static, the locked screen opened and encrypted messages spilled out.
[Target: Kang Jina. Assessed as a core prospect of the White Tiger Guild.]
[Directive: Rather than direct confrontation, exploit internal disturbance to kidnap or inflict permanent injury.]
[Handler: Sun Guild Operations Team 3.]
Somyeong's eyes narrowed. This was no simple confrontation—it was a meticulously planned operation. The Sun Guild. One of the nation's top three guilds and a long-standing rival of the White Tiger Guild. They had used an internal mole like Kim Seungtae to uproot the new prodigy who had appeared at the White Tiger Guild.
'The Sun...... quite the grandiose name.'
Somyeong pocketed the device. In the distance, he could see Jina throwing herself into training. She was pouring magical energy into the heavy bag, as if trying to forget the earlier incident. The knowledge that such filthy machinations swirled behind her pure passion stirred Somyeong's displeasure.
If there were obstacles on the path his sister would walk, it was her brother's role to clear them in advance. Even in the martial world, Somyeong had always done this. To protect those who shone in the light, he had taken on the blood-soaked cleaning in the shadows.
"Jina, I'm going to step out to the restroom. Grab some water on the way."
When Somyeong waved and called out, Jina stopped her training and smiled brightly in response.
"Okay! Oppa, buy me a cold drink!"
"Got it. Be right back."
Somyeong's steps as he left the training hall were light. But whenever he passed through the corridor, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop ever so slightly. His path toward the restroom shifted to the emergency stairwell. He climbed to the empty rooftop and traced the transmission source of the communications device he had examined.
The coordinates pointed to an abandoned factory district on the outskirts, not far from the guild headquarters.
***
The city outskirts, drenched in the red of the setting sun. Inside an abandoned textile factory, a chill tension hung in the air. Five men in black tactical gear were conversing in low voices. The emblem of the Sun Guild was etched clearly onto their chests.
"That idiot Kim Seungtae, he's gone radio silent."
"You think the White Tiger Guild caught on?"
"No way. Kim Seungtae was a piece we invested heavily in planting. There's no chance he got made just trying to handle one rookie."
The man who appeared to be the leader, his face scarred, stubbed out his cigarette and stood.
"Change of plans. We move in person. We intercept Kang Jina on her way home. The brother playing porter gets dealt with on the spot, and we knock the girl out and take her."
"Understood."
Just as they were checking their weapons and preparing to move—
BOOOOM—!
A thunderous boom shook the entire factory, and the firmly sealed steel front gate crumpled like paper and flew inward. The gate, which must have weighed hundreds of kilograms, embedded itself in the wall, raising a cloud of dust.
"Wh-what the—?!"
The men drew their weapons in shock. Through the dust cloud, the silhouette of a single man walked in at a leisurely pace. Wearing an ordinary T-shirt and cotton pants, with a convenience store plastic bag dangling from one shoulder—Somyeong.
"Who are you?!"
The leader roared, but instead of answering, Somyeong pulled a can of coffee from the bag, popped it open, and asked—
"Is this the Sun Guild's errand center?"
"This son of a—...... have you lost your mind?!"
The men opened up their magical energy and rushed Somyeong. Each was at least a B-rank fighter, and their coordinated attack tore gashes into the factory's concrete floor.
But Somyeong took a sip of canned coffee and lightly stepped forward.
Heavenly Demon's Sovereign Stride.
Space itself seemed to distort with his uncanny footwork, and the men's attacks sliced only empty air. Before they knew it, Somyeong was standing behind the man who had been at the front.
"My sister's waiting for a cold drink, so I need to hurry this along."
Somyeong's fingertips lightly grazed the back of the man's neck. A single touch, yet the man crumpled to the floor without so much as a scream. His entire nervous system had been paralyzed in one stroke.
"You monster—!"
The leader swung a massive greatsword and charged. The crimson magical energy beading on the blade tore through the air and rained down toward Somyeong's head. Somyeong did not dodge. Instead, he raised his left hand and lightly grasped the air.
SHATTER—!
The steel greatsword's blade shattered between Somyeong's fingers like glass. The leader's eyes flooded with terror. This was martial power beyond any hunter's understanding. Crushing A-rank equipment barehanded, without even a magical energy barrier.
"What...... what are you? Did the White Tiger Guild send you?"
Somyeong dropped the shattered blade fragments and seized the leader by the collar. Inside Somyeong's eyes, pitch-black energy swirled. The gaze of the Bloodstream Heavenly Demon that had plunged the martial world into terror a hundred years ago.
"I'm the one asking questions."
Somyeong's low voice froze the factory interior.
"Whether your guild master ordered this or you cooked it up on your own—lie about a single thing, and the Sun Guild headquarters building won't see tomorrow's sunrise."
Somyeong placed his hand on the leader's throat as the man quivered in terror, and downed the rest of the canned coffee in one gulp. The empty can clattered to the floor, breaking the silence. The real cleanup was about to begin.