Faced with the horrific scene before him, the A-rank Hunter broke into a cold sweat.
He had already known, just before coming here, that the intruder was S-rank. But he hadn’t expected an S-rank to be this powerful.
It was his first time facing one in person—and now, he fully understood what that meant. The thirty-four Hunters who died before him must have realized it the same way.
He didn’t even use any skills, did he?
When a Hunter uses a skill, you can feel the energy ripple outward. There’s no way you wouldn’t notice it at this distance.
But that S-rank... hadn’t used a single skill. He’d won purely with his own ability. They said even among S-ranks, there was a wide gap in power—and this guy was definitely at the top.
If someone that skilled actually did start using skills against him...
Shit, I’d die for sure!
He had to run.
Of course, there was still the chance he’d get caught and killed while fleeing, but the enemy looked exhausted too. If there was ever a time to run, it was now—when there was still a chance.
The A-rank Hunter was just about to turn to flee—
“You’ve got decent skill, huh?”
A mocking voice, sharp footsteps echoing down the hallway.
A woman with jet-black hair appeared behind the A-rank, flanked by four other Hunters.
The Director stood among the corpses, sneering as she looked down at the exhausted Cha Seohu.
“I thought the energy I felt wasn’t bad, and sure enough—you’re S-rank.”
“....”
Cha Seohu straightened from his bent posture without a word. Sweat-soaked blonde hair peeked out from beneath his deep-pressed hat.
Even when he raised his head, the mask and hat concealed everything—but the Director already knew what face lay beneath that disguise.
“You bastard... Do you know how many guilds I had to dig through to find out who you belong to?”
On the day the lab was attacked, more than ten guilds had allied with Yesung Guild to carry it out.
The Director assumed Cha Seohu had been part of one of those guilds. After escaping the lab, she investigated every single participating guild. But Seohu was nowhere to be found.
“And you’re S-rank, too. Must be from the Association or the Bureau, huh? I’d heard rumors that those rats were secretly raising Hunters off the books—but I didn’t think they were true.”
At her sneer, Seohu raised a brow and tilted his head.
As expected, she didn’t even acknowledge the corpses of those who had died protecting this place. Even though he was the one who’d killed them, the fact that not even their superior paid them any mind...
Pathetic.
This twisted cult needed to be wiped out at the root.
Clicking his tongue internally as he looked at the corpses around him, Seohu opened his mouth.
“You’re really spewing a lot of bullshit. All that just to say you didn’t figure out a damn thing. So what now?”
He flicked the blood off his blade and continued.
“How about you shut the fuck up and get out of my way?”
Beyond the Director’s position was a staircase leading down—he’d seen it while being chased earlier.
“Hm.”
Despite the blunt threat, the Director just chuckled. She didn’t seem remotely interested in stepping aside.
Seohu quietly took a deep breath beneath his mask, trying to ignore the taste of blood in his mouth as he assessed the situation.
Five A-ranks.
Could he handle them?
He stood tall, acting like nothing was wrong—he couldn’t show weakness in front of her. But the truth was, after hours of nonstop combat, his body was nearing its limit.
From being ambushed at the office, meeting Eun Woojeong, and ending up here—the day had been far too long. With his current condition, fighting five A-ranks was almost impossible.
Still, he had no intention of giving up. There was no escaping cleanly now, and he couldn’t just abandon Cha Sahyeon.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you go down there.”
The Director chuckled and took something from one of the Hunters beside her. A small remote, barely the size of her palm.
She pressed a button—and the ground and ceiling shook violently.
Rumble!
“...!”
A thunderous noise rang out as dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Seohu braced himself against the trembling floor and realized:
The floor... it’s rising?
From where he stood to where the Director stood, the hallway floor began lifting upward, while the ceiling parted like a door opening on both sides.
Like an elevator—she was raising the entire hallway.
Seohu watched in shock as the Director casually tapped the remote.
“It’s obvious what you came here for. What, you thought I was stupid enough to let you go downstairs?”
“You...”
“You’re gonna die here. Oh, but I’ll leave your head intact. Even if no one knows where you’re from, hanging it in Gangnam will send the message just fine, don’t you think?”
Boom!
The trembling stopped.
All that work to get to the first basement level—and now Seohu was right back where he started: the church’s ground floor.
With a glance from the Director, the four A-rank Hunters standing like soldiers stepped forward. Even the Hunter who’d tried to flee earlier joined them, glancing nervously at her.
The situation had changed. Now it was five A-ranks versus one S-rank. Even for someone as skilled as Seohu, this was going to be rough.
This... isn’t good.
As the five A-ranks began closing the distance, Seohu bit down on his lip.
He could probably handle four of them.
But the one on the far right... That guy felt different. The sheer weight of his energy wasn’t the same.
He’s just shy of S-rank...
Normally, Seohu might’ve had a shot. But not in this state. And the others were still A-ranks—not to be taken lightly.
“I’ll go first.”
The lead Hunter stepped forward with a curved blade, his voice polite.
Crackle!
Lightning arced up his arm, wrapping around the blade.
Clang! Boom!
As the man lunged, his sword clashed with Seohu’s. The air filled with the sound of thunder crashing.
Even when Seohu blocked the attacks, lightning traveled down the blade, burning into his hands and arms. With every clash, pain radiated like his limbs were on fire.
“Urgh...!”
He gritted his teeth and dug his feet into the floor, refusing to be pushed back.
Because he hadn’t used any skills, the attacker grew more confident—swinging faster, more aggressively.
Clang! Screech!
As the Director watched with her arms crossed, one of the waiting A-rank Hunters checked his phone. Then, he hurried to the Director’s side.
“Director.”
“What?”
Instead of speaking, the Hunter showed her the screen—carefully, so the S-rank wouldn’t overhear.
The moment she read the message, her expression turned ghostly pale.
“This is... no way. Is this real?”
“You have to leave. Right now.”
Grinding her lips in frustration, the Director finally turned to the other Hunters.
“Take care of that bastard. You—come with me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The Hunter who’d shown her the phone followed as she fled the scene in a hurry.
“You—! Grrk!”
Even while fending off the lightning-charged attacker, Seohu had been watching the Director. He caught on immediately.
But with two more attackers joining the fight, he couldn’t pursue.
With her face twisted in frustration, the Director stormed out of the church.
“What «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the hell! How the fuck did he get out of the glass chamber?!”
“Th-the chamber suddenly shattered. The lab’s security footage glitched as well...”
“Fuck! I was finally going to see that bastard die for real!”
She kicked the side of the church’s outer wall, seething, and ran a hand through her hair.
“What the hell was J doing?! And the producer? What the fuck were they doing that let the lab go to shit like this?!”
“We don’t know where J is, and the producer left the lab a while ago. A-also... one of the lab staff was found dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yes. The body was too mangled to identify.”
“Un-fucking-believable.”
Muttering curses, the Director pulled out a cigarette. The Hunter guided her toward a parked car while continuing to speak.
“This place isn’t safe. I suggest relocating to another sanctuary and dispatching an Apostle later.”
“Why bother with that crap?”
“W-well... the staff member may have been killed by the specimen. And that specimen is far more powerful than any S-rank. It’s dangerous.”
Seeing the unease in the Hunter’s eyes, the Director lit her cigarette and laughed. A sneer tugged at the corner of her lips.
“Hah. Idiot. So what if the specimen killed a few staff? I’m practically its parent—”
Her words were cut off.
Spurt.
A drop of blood splashed across her cheek. The Hunter she’d been talking to suddenly had a fine red line across his neck—and then his head rolled off his shoulders.
Thud.
His lifeless body collapsed a second later. The Director froze, her sneer still frozen on her face.
“Parent?”
A calm voice came from above. She instinctively looked up.
There, sitting atop the car, was a shadowy figure completely merged with the darkness—except for his glowing green eyes.
“‘Parent,’ huh...”
The figure echoed her words and narrowed his eyes, as if recalling a memory.
“Yeah. You taught us that for twenty-two years. That you saved us, abandoned and dying... that you were our parent.”
“W-what... how did—”
“To be exact... ‘I believed that.’”
The Director collapsed to her knees, trembling.
She knew she had to run, but her body wouldn’t move. She instinctively understood—if she so much as looked away, she’d be torn apart.
The crushing presence smothered her like a tidal wave. She couldn’t even lift a finger.
“I know better now. It’s not even worth questioning.”
The black figure whispered with a faint smile. A shadow burst up from the ground and lifted the Director into the air.
“Uagh! Wh-what...!”
Startled, she finally began to struggle. But a massive hand closed around her throat like a predator snatching prey.
“Gahk!”
Her breath was cut off instantly. She clawed at the figure’s wrist in panic, but left no mark.
Her throat turned a sickly purple as the grip crushed it. She couldn’t even scream—just choked and gasped.
The black figure leaned in and whispered again.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hang your head in Gangnam.”
“Gh... ahk...”
“Instead, you’ll wander forever... trapped in the space I created.”
Blood leaked from her bulging eyes. A crack echoed—her bones breaking—and her limp body dangled.
The black figure dropped her like garbage. Her corpse vanished into the shadow, leaving not a trace behind.
Above, the moon peeked through the clouds. Bathed in moonlight, Cha Sahyeon smiled faintly, his cheeks flushed with satisfaction.
“...Hyung.”
Now, the cleanup was done.
It was finally time to reunite.
With light steps, he climbed down from the car and walked back toward the church.
Main Quest: Reunite with the Villain (Time Remaining: 2 hours 36 minutes)

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