"Hm… it's gotten quiet again."
Gazing toward the far end of the distant demonic realm, Scáthach let out a sigh weighed down with complicated emotions.
Today, neither Sung Jinwoo nor Cha Hae-In set foot in this dead-silent country as they usually did.
After enduring a stretch of training that could only be called hellish, Sung Jinwoo felt his strength—and his preparations—were finally enough. It was time to head to Cartenon Temple, to settle his score with that mysterious "System" once and for all, and pry open the truth hidden behind it. Right now, he was on Earth making his final preparations and adjustments.
As for Cha Hae-In, the mana hypersensitivity that had plagued her for so long had been largely resolved under Scáthach's guidance. And as one of South Korea's very few S-Rank Hunters, she carried more than her share of responsibilities; lately, she'd become busy again. The only reason she'd been able to remain in the Land of Shadows for so long and train was because her guild's head—Guild Master Choi Jong-In—was reliable enough to proactively shoulder a large portion of the work that should've fallen to her.
But recently, something had happened in South Korea—something serious. Practically every S-Rank Hunter in the country had received a mobilization order. The goal was to retake Jeju Island, which had been completely overrun by ant monsters because of an S-Rank Gate.
Even Sung Jinwoo received the notice. After all, he was now officially registered as South Korea's tenth S-Rank Hunter.
Cha Hae-In had already made her decision to participate in this crucial reclamation operation. Until this large-scale military action was fully concluded, she likely wouldn't be able—or have the time—to come back to the Land of Shadows to train.
"Lonely… I wouldn't call it that."
The Land of Shadows—unchanging, desolate, and dead—reflected in her crimson eyes. Scáthach gave a faint shake of her head, as if rejecting an emotion someone else had assigned her, or perhaps speaking quietly to herself. Her voice was light, almost a whisper, spreading slowly across the empty land.
"It's just that… this place… really hasn't been this lively in a long time." The corner of her lips seemed to lift into the faintest, barely perceptible curve. "Those hot-blooded, noisy warriors and disciples—headache-inducing as they are—their presence truly did bring this dead country, a land even sunlight is stingy with… a little… color unlike anything else."
"Hm… I really am not Scáthach, and I never will become Scáthach…"
Scáthach released a long sigh, her gaze sweeping over this kingdom soaked through with death and silence.
"This atmosphere… I can't get used to it."
Unable to bear the Land of Shadows' dull monotony, Scáthach quietly came to Earth once more. To blend in, she even changed into an unremarkable set of casual clothes.
"So… why do I have to come along too?"
Esil trailed after Scáthach step for step. The little fangirl Sung Jinwoo had "picked up" in the Demon Castle had her lips puffed out, her face full of sulky confusion.
"I thought you'd be happy about it." Scáthach didn't look back. Her gaze lingered with clear interest on the pedestrians, the shopfronts crammed with goods, and the strip of white cloud slowly unfurling at the horizon—things the Land of Shadows could never offer.
"You're curious too, aren't you? The place where the kid was born and grew up. Back then, when he left after defeating the Monarch of White Flames, it was so rushed he couldn't even give you a proper goodbye. So? Do you resent him for it?"
Esil shook her head so hard it was like a rattle drum.
"How could I resent him?" Her tone was firm, leaving no room for doubt. "Lord Jinwoo is the great benefactor of House Radiru—someone our entire clan must remember and repay."
"So you're not denying you're curious about his hometown, then?"
"De…"
No, she didn't resent him. But Esil really was intensely curious about the place Sung Jinwoo had been born and raised. So when Scáthach suddenly appeared at the Demon Castle and casually invited her to "go to Earth for fun," Esil barely hesitated before nodding.
Most demons lacked reason, left only with instincts for destruction and devouring. They attacked indiscriminately.
But Esil was different from those low-grade demons. She was born a demonic noble—intelligent enough to converse normally—and her appearance was very close to human. Only her skin was an unnatural pallor, her ears longer than a human's with slight points at the tips, and elegant, mysterious black markings decorated her cheeks.
If you asked Esil to play a vampire in some legend, she probably wouldn't need makeup at all.
Similarly, it wasn't as if there were no monsters that looked human. For example, the white demons nicknamed "ice elves." They not only knew how to use terrain and craft weapons—they were infamous for their cruel habit of torturing humans to death, often more frightening than many monsters with far more grotesque forms.
If Esil walked the streets in her true appearance, those pointed ears and markings would cause an uproar and a wave of panic.
So Scáthach had already used rune sorcery to place a delicate cognitive glamour over Esil. To ordinary passersby, she was nothing more than a slightly pale human girl with a distinctive air—no different from anyone else.
The traffic light at the intersection switched to a glaring red.
Scáthach stopped at the curb—and, with quick reflexes, grabbed Esil before she could step straight into the road, unable to read the signal, narrowly preventing a potential accident.
Of course, Scáthach wasn't worried about Esil.
She was worried about the driver.
With the toughness of a demonic noble's body, if some unlucky driver hit her, who knew whether Esil would go flying—or the car would.
"How is it?" Scáthach asked quietly as they waited for the light, glancing at Esil with a hint of scrutiny. "Being this close to so many humans… Do you hear any voice? One that orders you to kill every human in front of you? Or do you feel some irresistible urge to slaughter?"
"Mm…" Esil checked herself carefully, then shook her head with certainty. "No. No strange voices or impulses."
Scáthach asked because dungeon monsters, when they encountered humans, all heard a mysterious "command" forced into their minds—driving them to kill every human in sight.
But Esil's kind seemed different. They could hear that voice as well, yet the order it gave was to protect the Demon Castle. So Esil wouldn't be like dungeon monsters—unable to control her killing intent the moment she saw a human.
"So why did you pick me, specifically, to come with you?" Esil couldn't hold back her curiosity. She turned to Scáthach, who looked perfectly at ease, and pressed her. "Having a demon stroll around the human world like this—no matter how you look at it, it's weird, isn't it? If you just needed someone to go shopping with, there are thousands of humans in this city you could choose from."
"Weird? No." Scáthach smiled, carefree as if she had no conscience at all. "I'd call it 'interesting.' Besides, I don't really have many people I can talk to. When I thought about it, you were the only suitable choice…" Her tone brightened. "Want to try ice cream from the human world? It's summer—summer means ice cream."
She said they were here to have fun, but once they arrived, Scáthach realized she didn't actually know where to go for it.
It wasn't like she could kill time the way she used to—at an amusement park, or in an internet café.
And Esil, her companion, knew almost nothing about Earth. There was no point expecting her to have any constructive ideas.
If she'd come to a new world, she ought to experience something novel—something different.
So when Esil looked up at the towering Hunters Association branch building in front of them, her expression went strange, and she couldn't help asking—
"Why are we here?"
"At the Hunters Association?" Scáthach said as though Esil's are-you-okay face didn't exist. "Of course we're here to become Hunters. I've already figured out the process. You take the level test here, get evaluated, officially obtain Hunter status, and then we can legally—openly—go explore dungeons ourselves."
"…I thought you were planning to declare war on the entire Hunters Association," Esil muttered under her breath, still uneasy. "Even I know letting a demon become a Hunter is absolutely not normal… And, uh, you and I aren't human either, are we? Can we really become Hunters?"
She had zero confidence in this.
"Why don't we go in and try? If you give up before you even attempt it, that won't do."
Esil couldn't win against Scáthach. In the end, she could only be herded into the Hunters Association building.
Inside, it was packed shoulder to shoulder—people of all kinds, with all kinds of purposes.
Most of them were Hunters here to take—or retake—the level test. Among them were plenty of "veterans" who'd tested multiple times already. They weren't satisfied with where they stood. They wanted a higher evaluation, greater strength…
After all, while a Reawakening was rare, it wasn't impossible. Everyone retesting carried a sliver of hope—however faint—that they might become one of the lucky few.
A smaller portion of the crowd were recruiters from small- and mid-sized guilds. Like hunters with sharp eyes, they watched every person stepping up for evaluation, quietly recording their information. The moment results came out, they'd move—trying to persuade and absorb fresh blood into their guild.
Of course, the ones who used this kind of "stakeout" method were usually guilds with limited resources and reputation. For top-tier names like the Hunters Guild or the White Tiger Guild, there was no need—countless high-level Hunters tried to claw their way in every day even if those guilds did nothing at all.
Everyone has a gambler's heart. It was like those elite majors or coveted jobs with acceptance rates of one in hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands. You knew the odds were awful—yet someone would always ask with inexplicable confidence:
"Then why can't the one who gets picked be me?"
…What a viciously feral thing to say.
After shaking off the recruiters' pestering, Scáthach brought Esil to the front desk and smoothly completed their identity registration.
Fake identities were natural for Scáthach.
As for Esil—Scáthach had set her up as her "cousin."
The two of them just so happened to share striking long purple hair and red eyes, so pretending to be relatives fit rather neatly.
"Why do I have to be your cousin?" The moment they reached an empty corner, Esil grumbled in a low voice, clearly dissatisfied.
"My identity is fake anyway. Making you family makes it easier to forge everything." Scáthach answered without expression, then—as if something occurred to her—added in the same flat tone, "Or are you unhappy with 'cousin'? I suppose I could make you my daughter instead…"
"I'm not being your daughter!" Esil bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She even bared her small, signature fangs without thinking, protesting fiercely. "If it has to be sisters, then why can't I be your older cousin?"
Before the words had even fully settled, Scáthach silently placed a hand on top of Esil's head. She leaned in slightly, crimson eyes locking onto Esil's, and a faint chill slipped into her voice.
"You… serious?"
"…I'm kidding," Esil said immediately.
She forced a flattering smile onto her face—no bristling, no hissing—obedient as could be.
Another person finished the test. He stumbled out of the evaluation room looking hollow-eyed, murmuring, "E-Rank… I'm E-Rank…" like he'd been crushed.
E-Rank Hunters did have mana, but their combat ability wasn't much higher than an ordinary person's. Even the mining teams and retrieval teams of major guilds couldn't be bothered to take them. So most E-Rank Awakened, once reality hit, chose to abandon the dangerous Hunter profession and turn to ordinary clerical or labor work instead, living quietly and safely.
Someone like Sung Jinwoo back then—an E-Rank Hunter who still insisted on entering dungeons—was truly rare. In most people's eyes, it was no different from courting death.
A young woman in a crisp suit—clearly an Association staffer—stood at the test room door with a standard professional smile, politely seeing off the last Awakened who'd finished. Then she turned to the hall and called out in a clear, steady voice.
"Next!"
Scáthach and Esil exchanged a look.
Scáthach: "You first?"
Esil: "....Fine."
Before going in, Esil looked back at Scáthach one more time—then, tense as anything, followed the staff woman into the room for level testing.