The black shadow that had twisted through the room slowly shrank and slipped beneath its caster’s feet. The man who deactivated the skill looked around with an emotionless gaze.
Every piece of furniture was smashed beyond recognition. The walls were torn as if scraped by the claws of some massive beast. The only thing left untouched was the window.
When his gaze lowered, he saw the boy collapsed at his feet. His flushed face, red with fever, still bore clear signs of the recent battle.
He was bleeding from cuts all over, utterly exhausted—unable to even lift a finger. Yet even in that state, he continued to glare up at the man.
This was expected. For someone who had harbored “that thing” for so long and still retained his sanity... such resistance made sense.
As the man stared down at Cha Sahyeon, a new voice broke in.
“You done?”
It was a Hunter who’d been dispatched with him to retrieve Cha Sahyeon. She had messy ash-gray hair tied loosely in a single knot and specialized in item crafting.
“Damn, you really wrecked the place.”
The item specialist whistled as she looked around the devastated office, then slung off the guitar case from her back. Without hesitation, she lifted the unconscious Sahyeon and stuffed him into the bag.
The guitar case was smaller than Sahyeon’s body, but it was lined with a spatial expansion artifact, so he fit easily.
“But what’s that?”
She pointed toward the other side of the room with a puzzled expression. There, the owner of the office lay unconscious, bleeding.
She glanced at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, then seemed to realize something.
“Oh, that guy? The Hunter who was hiding ‘this’?”
“......”
“Is he dead? You know it’ll be a pain later if we don’t clean this up.”
She said it like it was a casual tip. The man glanced at the bag where Sahyeon now lay.
Inside, Sahyeon glared back, barely able to hide his panic. The man stared into those pale green eyes for a long moment before opening his mouth.
“...He’s already dead.”
The item crafter probably couldn’t hear it, but the man clearly detected Cha Seohu’s heartbeat—it was as loud as ever. Still, he chose to lie.
“Well, alright then.”
She didn’t seem to care either way. With a shrug, she resumed her task.
Once the zipper was closed, the guitar case looked completely ordinary. No one would ever suspect a boy was stuffed inside.
Wearing a pair of strength-enhancing gloves, she hoisted the case onto her shoulder with ease and turned back to the man.
“Let’s go.”
He nodded, preparing to follow her out—when a low hum echoed through the room.
Bzzz...
A vibration buzzed from somewhere nearby. They turned to look and spotted a smartphone among the shattered furniture debris.
The man silently stared at the screen as the call rang, then went to missed call. The moment the ringing stopped, he crushed ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the phone underfoot.
Crunch!
The screen and internal components were completely destroyed. Without hesitation, he left the ruined office.
Outside, the crafter removed a small rectangular gadget she had stuck to the hallway wall.
It was an artifact that suppressed sound and vibration.
“Easy job, huh.”
Grinning, she tucked it away and walked off with the man.
The long dial tone eventually ended with no connection. Kwon Taehyuk lowered the phone from his ear.
“Guildmaster.”
His secretary had just returned from stepping out.
“I contacted the security team to check, but they didn’t report anything unusual.”
“Hm.”
“Several people have entered the building, but all of them were visitors to other floors.”
Kwon Taehyuk smoothed his lips, then gave a nod.
The building where Cha Seohu’s office was located was a normal commercial building—complete with banchan shops and study cafes. Heavy foot traffic was unavoidable.
“What about Hunter Cha Seohu?”
“No reports of him leaving. Apparently, he’s been staying inside with his younger brother.”
Then why wasn’t he answering the phone?
The unease building in Kwon Taehyuk’s chest deepened.
With a face torn between worry and irritation, he glared down at the phone. His secretary, looking slightly awkward, asked,
“Guildmaster... did you call Hunter Cha Seohu?”
“...He didn’t answer.”
So yes. The secretary exhaled quietly and gave a polite smile.
“He’s probably just busy. From his point of view, this move happened suddenly. He’s likely packing or organizing things.”
“I called to help.”
“Well... offering to help with that might come off as a bit too much. Packing isn’t just about moving furniture—it’s exposing your personal space. There are private belongings involved, after all.”
At that, Kwon Taehyuk’s gaze faltered slightly.
‘Was I being too much?’
Come to think of it, Cha Seohu hadn’t exactly welcomed the idea of moving into the Yesung Guild building from the start. He only agreed for safety reasons.
As if reading his thoughts, the secretary continued gently.
“I’ve only met him a few times, so I can’t say for sure... but Hunter Cha Seohu seems like someone kind and sensitive. He’s probably cautious and guarded too.”
Raising a child alone would naturally do that to a person. Kwon Taehyuk gave a small nod.
“So when you try to do too much for him, he might just feel more pressure. Since he said he’d come tomorrow, I think it’s best to give him space for the rest of today.”
At her calm advice, Kwon Taehyuk tucked his phone back into his suit pocket with a look of resignation.
Watching him, the secretary felt a curious sense of surprise.
Had there ever been anyone Kwon Taehyuk had been this concerned about?
Given that Cha Seohu was just a B-rank supporter with no remarkable background, it was unexpected.
“I’ll brief you on today’s schedule.”
Especially after he had canceled everything yesterday on a whim just to visit the amusement park, their pending tasks had piled up.
Hoping he’d finally focus on work today, she began the day’s briefing.
Time passed slowly but steadily.
The sun that had once hovered high in the sky sank lower, casting the sky in red, and eventually turned it a deep navy blue. Bare branches swayed in the wind blowing from far away.
In the sun’s place rose a faint yellow moon. Its light spilled through the window, illuminating the office with an eerie brilliance.
Under the pale moonlight, a white hand twitched. A small whisper followed.
“...Activate.”
Crackle!
Sparks flickered as the body on the floor began to change. Jet-black hair turned a soft, pale blond, and his hands grew slightly larger.
Drenched in blood and sweat, Cha Seohu finally pushed himself upright. The headache that had hammered at him nonstop became a little more bearable.
Even as an S-rank now, moving was still hard.
His consciousness kept flickering, and his limbs were numb. Something was definitely wrong with his head.
Slumped on the floor, he reluctantly opened his inventory.
He pulled out a recovery potion bought from the item shop. His last one. It was a waste—but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
He downed it in one go, and the pain immediately faded. Then he walked toward the shattered phone.
With trembling fingers, Cha Seohu picked up the wreckage and pulled out the chip he had inserted earlier.
If the chip was intact, he could use the tracker embedded in Sahyeon’s earring to find his location. But...
“...Ah.”
It was broken.
Cracked and splintered. Even if he tried it in another phone, it wouldn’t work.
His last hope had been crushed.
Staring at the useless chip with a hollow expression, Seohu clamped his mouth shut, forcing down the boiling rage inside.
‘If I had just accepted Kwon Taehyuk’s offer right away... no, if I had just taken him to the hospital... none of this would’ve happened.’
What was I thinking, keeping him in such a vulnerable place? I knew it was dangerous. I was so fucking stupid...
Sweat mixed with blood trickled down his temple.
His chest throbbed. Pressing a hand hard over his heart, he closed his eyes.
‘Calm down. No time to regret anything now.’
He hadn’t really counted on the tracker anyway. Even if the chip had worked, the bastards who took Sahyeon likely removed the earring.
‘So what now?’
It was obvious why the lab rats had taken him. To resume the torture that had been interrupted.
Saving Cha Sahyeon wasn’t just about his safety—it was about the safety of the entire world.
He needed a way to find him. But by morning, he wouldn’t be able to use his hidden skill anymore. It had to be fast and effective.
‘Could Hyun Dowoon find something? Or Kwon Taehyuk?’
Both were digging into the lab, but so far, neither had turned up anything substantial. It didn’t seem likely they’d suddenly find Sahyeon.
‘Is there anyone else I can ask...?’
Then it hit him—like a bolt of lightning.
Eun Woojeong.
The paper card he’d found before they left for the amusement park. He remembered putting it away.
Cha Seohu rushed to the bedroom and grabbed his wallet off the nightstand. The card, with an address written on it, was still inside.
‘Spiderweb’s been monitoring us this whole time. They must’ve noticed the people who attacked earlier.’
It wasn’t about trusting Eun Woojeong or Spiderweb. At this point, he’d cling to anything.
The only issue was contacting Spiderweb’s leader, Eun Woojeong.
‘I’ll go to the address on the card.’
It was late—very late—but there was no helping that. This was the only thread he had to reach him.
With a plan in mind, Cha Seohu wiped the blood off his face and quickly changed clothes. Right before leaving, he put on a cap and mask.
It took less than five minutes.
Instead of walking through the front, where the door had been blown off, he leapt out the window.
There was a chance the lab would send another Hunter to clean up. He had to stay low.
As he landed in the back alley and took his first step—
“This way, Cover Hunter.”
A stranger’s voice came from deeper in the alley.
A masked Hunter emerged from the shadows and bowed respectfully.
“We’ve been waiting for you. Please, follow me.”

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