The back alleys of Seoul, draped in the hazy glow of moonlight veiled by clouds, exuded an unusually eerie atmosphere. The daytime bustle was gone without a trace, and only stagnant water pooled between broken pavement blocks rippled under the streetlights.
Through that darkness, sharp gazes trailed a single man's back.
Kang Somyeong, dressed in the rough work clothes porters typically wore. He had a heavy bag slung carelessly over one shoulder and walked with an unhurried stride toward the depths of the alley, betraying not a hint of caution.
"More of a dimwit than I expected. That's the guy watching the back of the White Tiger Guild's prospect?"
A man concealed behind a building rooftop railing whispered into his radio. These were the backstreet cleaners—the so-called hound team—sent by the Sun Guild's Strategic Director Oh Changseok. They specialized in kidnapping civilians or F-rank hunters without licenses and extracting information.
"Be careful. There's a theory that this guy might be the reason Strike Team 3 went down."
"Come on, the Director's being too paranoid. Look at that clueless face. He's just a porter who got lucky when the elites got caught up in something and ran."
The hounds' leader, a man called Sergeant Kim, smirked and signaled. In an instant, four shadows descended the walls and cut off Somyeong's front and rear.
Somyeong stopped. But far from alarmed, he tilted his head with the expression of someone eyeing an annoying fly.
"I haven't even finished digesting dinner. Persistent bunch."
Somyeong's voice was flat. Sergeant Kim furrowed his brow at Somyeong's unexpected calm and drew a dagger imbued with magical energy.
"Listen, porter. That little lady you serve has been drawing too much attention lately. Come with us for a chat, will you? Play nice, and we'll let you keep a few fingers."
Instead of answering, Somyeong fished a piece of candy from his jacket and popped it into his mouth. The crack of the candy breaking echoed through the quiet alley.
"Chat amongst yourselves. I'm a bit busy right now."
"This bastard, for real—!"
Sergeant Kim kicked off the ground and surged forward. Backstreet origins or not, he was a proper C-rank body-enhancement hunter. His dagger hurtled toward Somyeong's thigh at a speed no civilian could react to. The intent was to cause pain and neutralize.
But just before the dagger touched Somyeong's skin, the air froze.
'Huh?'
Sergeant Kim felt his senses go numb. No—not just his senses. The magical energy flowing through his heart reversed, and every joint in his body locked up like lead.
Somyeong had not taken a single step. He had merely held a thread of cold true energy in his eyes.
"Kh, urgh......!"
Sergeant Kim tried to inhale, but the pain of his lungs shriveling made it impossible to scream. The other three were no different. They collapsed to the ground as though crushed by an enormous invisible hand.
Somyeong slowly lifted his foot and stepped into Sergeant Kim's line of sight. His shadow fell thick over the man's face.
"Tell me where your master is. Don't make me ask twice."
"Gghh, ggrk......"
Absolute terror filled Sergeant Kim's eyes. He understood. The being before him was something wearing a human skin. An overwhelming pressure that could not be defined by hunter grades—one that shattered even the will to resist.
Somyeong lightly flicked his fingertip.
CRACK—!
Sergeant Kim's shoulder blade twisted at an unnatural angle. A short scream burst out, but the barrier of true energy Somyeong had set in advance prevented a single sliver of sound from escaping the alley.
"The safe house...... near Bukhansan...... Cheong'un Villa...... please......!"
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Somyeong replied offhandedly and seized the man by the hair. He then sent an infinitesimal thread of true energy into the man's brain. The hounds' eyes all went blank simultaneously, losing focus. They would never recall this night's memories for the rest of their lives, and would spend their days wandering the back alleys as little better than empty husks.
Somyeong adjusted his bag and launched himself into the darkness. His figure vanished between the buildings like a thread of wind.
***
At the same hour. The White Tiger Guild's late-night training hall.
"HYAH!"
The magical energy erupting from the tip of Jina's sword pierced clean through the training column. It was speed and power she could not have imagined just days ago. The guild instructors watching from the sidelines were beside themselves, scrambling to revise their records.
"This is insane. Her output just went up another ten percent. Is there no ceiling to her growth at all?"
Jina wiped her sweat and caught her breath. The energy inside her body was squirming as though alive, responding to her will. The power she once had to wring out by force now rippled smoothly through her veins at the merest thought.
'It's strange. Every time I train, it feels like someone beside me is setting me on the right path.'
Jina looked down at her hands. Whenever her focus slipped, her center of gravity would mysteriously correct itself and the flow of her magical energy would straighten out. Was it because of the lunches her brother packed? Or was she truly a genius?
"Hunter Kang Jina! That's enough for today. At this rate, next month's assessment isn't just a pass—you're on track for the top spot, guaranteed!"
Jina smiled brightly at the instructor's encouraging shout and bowed.
"Thank you! I'll try even harder tomorrow!"
She hurried off to the showers. She wanted to wash up fast, get back to the dormitory, and call her brother—to brag about today's amazing results and pester him into going for dessert together on the weekend.
While his sister dreamed of that hopeful future, Somyeong had been breathing entirely different air.
Bukhansan foothills. A luxury hideaway surrounded by dense forest. The private retreat used by the Sun Guild's Strategic Director, Oh Changseok. On the surface it was an ordinary villa, but it was outfitted with cutting-edge magical energy detection radar and protected by an elite guard team that included five A-rank hunters.
To Somyeong, none of those defenses existed.
He circulated his true energy and erased his presence completely. Heat sensors, magical energy detectors, even the hunters' sharp instincts—nothing could pick him up. Somyeong slipped through the guards like a ghost and penetrated deep into the villa.
Click.
The study door opened without a sound. Oh Changseok, who had been nervously awaiting a phone call at his desk, raised his head.
"Who is it? Reports start with a knock—"
The words died in his throat as horror flooded his eyes. The man at the door was the very porter he had ordered killed.
"How...... how did you get in here?!"
Oh Changseok lunged for the emergency button under his desk. But his fingers froze mid-reach. An invisible, colossal pressure was binding his entire body.
"I told you the hunting grounds are mine to choose."
Somyeong walked slowly into the room. With each step, the air grew heavier. Expensive potted plants cracked under the strain, and the thick glass window shuddered and whined.
"S-Stay back! Hey! Is no one there?! Intruder!"
Oh Changseok screamed until his throat tore, but outside there was no response. The guards in the hallway had already been laid silently to rest on the floor.
"Don't bother. Your voice does not leave this room."
Somyeong settled into the chair facing Oh Changseok. His manner was as easy as if he were in his own home.
"The Sun Guild, was it? Have you thought about the cost of touching my sister?"
"Th-That was a misunderstanding! We merely wanted to recruit talented......"
"Lies are unnecessary. Reading the inside of your head is no trouble at all."
Somyeong's eyes blazed crimson. Soul Seizure, a sub-art of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, tore through Oh Changseok's mind. His eyes drifted blankly toward the ceiling as focus drained from them. Every sordid crime he had committed, the plans to dismantle the White Tiger Guild, the details of clandestine deals with overseas powers—all of it poured into Somyeong's mind.
Once every scrap of information had been absorbed, Somyeong stood. He waved his hand dismissively, as though his business was done.
"The road to hell will not be lonely. The karma you have built will keep you company."
"P-Please, spa—"
Oh Changseok's final plea went unfinished. Pure white true energy from Somyeong's fingertips embraced his body. No screams, no flames. Oh Changseok's flesh dissolved into particles—as though he had never existed in this world to begin with—and scattered into the air.
Somyeong pocketed the burner phone and a handful of documents from the desk. He erased every trace of himself from the room, opened the window, and threw himself into the night air.
By the next morning, news that the Sun Guild's Strategic Director Oh Changseok had absconded overseas with all funds and classified documents would rock the hunter industry. With no sign of intrusion and no evidence of foul play at the scene, people would conclude he had fled fearing exposure of his embezzlement.
***
Dawn was breaking.
In front of the White Tiger Guild main building. Jina, returning to the dormitory after training, spotted someone at the entrance and broke into a brilliant smile as she ran over.
"Oppa!"
Somyeong, who had been dozing on a roadside bench, cracked his eyes open. His clothes were damp with dew, and his expression was as calm—almost stupidly so—as always.
"Oh, Jina. Done already?"
"Did you spend the whole night out here?! I told you I was going straight to the dorm!"
Jina brushed the dust from Somyeong's shoulders, worry written across her face. Somyeong scratched the back of his head sheepishly and stood.
"I was just exercising nearby and figured I'd wait. Hungry? I picked up that sandwich you like from the convenience store."
Somyeong pulled a sandwich from his bag and offered it. Jina grumbled but accepted it with a happy smile.
"You really are the only one I can count on, Oppa. But why do you look so much better today? Good news?"
"Who knows. Maybe it's just the nice weather."
Somyeong gently stroked Jina's head, and they began to walk. Behind them, the rising sun stretched their shadows long.
The blood-reeking judgment of last night had already faded like a passing dream. What mattered to Somyeong now was the ordinary morning air—walking with his sister, sharing a sandwich.
"Oppa, I really think I can nail the grade assessment this time. I'm going to spoil you rotten!"
"Sure. I believe in our Jina."
Somyeong's quiet answer dissolved into the morning air.
"But Oppa, got another sandwich? I'm starving from the exercise."