“…He’s still breathing!”
The shout shattered the silence inside the ruined apartment.
Heavy boots thundered across the broken floor as a squad of Saint Hunters rushed into the destroyed bedroom.
The moment they entered, they froze.
The room looked as though a natural disaster had swept through it.
Concrete walls had collapsed inward.
Furniture had been reduced to splinters.
A massive hole gaped where the outer wall once stood, allowing the cold night air to pour into the apartment.
At the center of the destruction…
A teenage boy sat slumped against a shattered pillar.
A jagged wooden beam had pierced through the lower left side of his abdomen, pinning him against the rubble.
His school uniform was soaked crimson.
Blood pooled beneath him.
“…Impossible…”
One of the Hunters immediately rushed forward and pressed two fingers against the boy’s neck.
A heartbeat.
Weak.
Barely noticeable.
But unmistakably present.
“Captain!”
“He’s alive!”
Several Hunters exchanged stunned looks.
“With injuries like these…?”
“He should’ve died before we arrived.”
The squad medic quickly opened a silver medical case and knelt beside Lucas.
His expression darkened almost immediately.
“Don’t remove the timber.”
One of the younger Hunters reached toward it before stopping.
“If we pull it out now,” the medic continued, “he’ll bleed to death within seconds.”
Silver light flowed from intricate runes engraved across the medic’s gloves.
The gentle radiance wrapped around Lucas’s body, slowing the bleeding without disturbing the embedded timber.
The medic exhaled.
“I’ve stabilized him…”
“We need an emergency transport immediately.”
The captain nodded.
“Do it.”
Then his sharp eyes swept across the ruined apartment.
“This place has been torn apart.”
“There may be more survivors.”
“Search everywhere.”
“Yes, Captain!”
The Hunters quickly split into teams.
Some searched the lower floor.
Others investigated the collapsed rooms upstairs.
Several minutes passed.
Then—
“Captain!”
A voice echoed from outside the building.
“We found someone!”
The captain immediately hurried through the shattered bedroom wall and looked down.
Below the apartment…
Concrete debris, broken bricks, and splintered timber were scattered across the ground.
Lying among the wreckage was an unconscious woman.
She was covered in dust.
Blood trickled from a wound on her forehead.
One arm was twisted unnaturally beneath her body.
Yet…
Her chest still rose and fell.
“She’s alive.”
The medics carefully climbed down and examined her.
“Multiple fractures.”
“Severe internal trauma.”
“Possible brain injury.”
“…She’s in a coma.”
The captain’s expression grew grim.
The medic remained silent for a moment before answering.
“If she receives ordinary treatment…”
“…her chances are very low.”
Another medic looked toward the waiting ambulance.
“But the Healing Sector…”
“…might be able to save her.”
The captain nodded immediately.
“Transport her.”
“Yes, sir.”
The unconscious woman was gently secured onto a stretcher before being loaded into a separate emergency vehicle.
Meanwhile…
Lucas was carefully lifted from the ruined apartment.
The timber remained lodged inside his abdomen to prevent catastrophic blood loss.
His face was pale.
His breathing barely noticeable.
One Hunter looked down at the unconscious student.
“…Whoever attacked them…”
“…was terrifying.”
Another slowly surveyed the apartment.
Broken concrete…
Collapsed walls…
Deep claw marks carved into solid stone…
Even veteran Saint Hunters felt uneasy.
“This wasn’t the work of an ordinary Corrupted.”
“No…”
The captain quietly shook his head.
“This was something far more dangerous.”
The ambulances pulled away moments later.
Lucas was rushed toward St. Genesis Medical Center, where surgeons and emergency physicians waited to save his life.
The unconscious woman was taken elsewhere…
To the Healing Sector within Saint Headquarters—a secure medical facility reserved for victims of supernatural incidents whose injuries exceeded the limits of conventional medicine.
Neither of them knew…
Their lives had already become entangled with powers far beyond human understanding.