**Outside the Sung Family Home - Late Afternoon**
Sung Il-Hwan stood on the sidewalk outside his own home, staring at the modest apartment building as if it were a dungeon boss he needed to prepare for. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, his posture tense despite his best efforts to appear casual.
'It's been so long,' he thought while his heart beating faster than it had during most of his battles with magic beasts. 'Too long. Will they even want to see me? Will they understand why I stayed away?'
The weight of his absence pressed down on him like a physical force. Years. He'd been gone for years, fighting a shadow war against the Monarchs as the Fragment of Brilliance—the Apostle of the Brightest Light.
All to protect his family from a cosmic conflict they didn't even know existed.
He had carried the crushing weight of the Rulers' will, the responsibility, the danger, the terrible burden of that Will and the power he held now—Il-Hwan understand it all.
His son, Jin-Woo, had become the vessel of the Shadow Monarch. Il-Hwan had been ordered to kill him, but instead, he intended to slowly sway the Rulers' opinion—turning Jin-Woo from a target into an ally against them.
While fighting in the war, he had expected to die a soldier's death, far from the warmth of a dinner table.
But everything had changed with the appearance of Ethan Carter.
'Two Monarchs,' Il-Hwan reflected while still struggling to fully process what he'd witnessed. 'He killed two Monarchs in a single night. Not just defeated—killed. And he made it look easy. Almost boring.'
The sheer power Ethan possessed was terrifying to contemplate. Il-Hwan had fought some of the strongest mana beasts in existence and crossed paths with National Rank Hunters during his time as a hunter, yet none of them came close to what he had witnessed from that young man.
No—comparing them to Ethan felt like an insult to the young man.
'Even the Rulers are wary of him,' Il-Hwan thought while remembering his communication with one of the Rulers just last night.
They'd been unusually direct: watch Ethan Carter until all the Monarchs are eliminated. They had plans for him afterward—plans they hadn't shared, which was never a good sign.
But that was a problem for the future. Right now, Il-Hwan had more immediate concerns.
Thanks to the deal he'd made with Ethan, the burden of fighting the Monarchs had been lifted from his shoulders. Which meant, for the first time in years, he could focus on what truly mattered.
His family.
He'd given Ethan's words considerable thought over the past few days. The younger man had been right—family was worth more than any cosmic war, more than duty or responsibility or the weight of the world.
'I've decided,' Il-Hwan affirmed to himself. 'I'll meet my family. Live with them. Be a father again, a husband again. For however long I have left.'
He'd come here specifically because he knew the apartment would be empty. Jinwoo would be out on a raid or training. Jinah would be at school or with friends. And his wife, Kyung-Hye...
Il-Hwan's expression darkened with pain. She remained in the hospital, trapped in Eternal Slumber—a mysterious condition that put victims into a deep, unresponsive sleep from which they rarely woke.
He'd visited her multiple times without anyone knowing, slipping in and out of her room like a ghost, just to see her face, to hold her hand while she couldn't feel it.
'Jinwoo's been taking care of everything,' Il-Hwan thought with fierce pride. 'The hospital bills, Jinah's school fees, all of it—paid for with his earnings as a hunter. Even when he was just an E-rank, the weakest of the weak, he never gave up. Never stopped trying to protect his family.'
His son had grown into an incredible man. Il-Hwan desperately wanted to tell him that, to share in his pride, to rebuild the bond they'd lost.
But it had been so long. The gap felt insurmountable.
'I need more time,' he decided before exhaling slowly and closing his eyes. 'Tomorrow. I'll approach them tomorrow. Give myself one more day to build up the courage.'
It was almost funny, in a painful way. He'd faced mana beasts and was ready to face Monarchs without flinching, had fought battles that would have driven normal humans mad with terror. Yet the thought of knocking on his own door, of facing his family after years of absence, required more courage than any of that.
'Reunion takes more strength than war,' he realized. 'Who knew?'
He was preparing to leave, to come back the next day with better preparation and a speech rehearsed, when a voice called out behind him.
"Il-Hwan?"
The voice was soft, almost disbelieving, but achingly familiar.
Il-Hwan's eyes snapped open, widening in shock. He spun around, his heart suddenly racing for an entirely different reason.
Standing at the edge of the walkway leading to their apartment building were three figures.
Park Kyung-Hye—his wife, who was supposed to be in Eternal Slumber in a hospital bed—stood at the front. She was thinner than he remembered, almost fragile-looking, clearly still recovering from whatever had afflicted her. But her eyes were open, alert, and locked directly onto him with an intensity that made his breath catch.
Beside her stood Sung Jinah, his daughter. She'd grown so much—no longer the little girl he remembered, but a young woman with her mother's features and her own quiet strength.
And behind them both was Sung Jinwoo, his son. Taller, broader, with an air of power around him that Il-Hwan could sense even without trying.
The Shadow Monarch's vessel, yes—but more than that, still recognizably the boy who'd once asked his father to teach him how to throw a baseball.
All three of them had frozen mid-step while staring at him like he was a ghost.
"Is that really you?" Kyung-Hye whispered with her voice breaking slightly.
Before Il-Hwan could respond, his wife suddenly moved—trying to run toward him despite her obvious weakness. Her legs buckled almost immediately, her body too frail from her long sleep to support such sudden movement.
"Kyung-Hye!" Il-Hwan shouted.
Jinwoo moved instinctively, reaching out to catch his mother, but Il-Hwan was faster. Years of combat training and supernatural enhancement meant he crossed the distance in a blur, materializing in front of his wife and catching her before she could fall.
His arms wrapped around her gently but securely, supporting her weight as if she weighed nothing. Their faces were suddenly inches apart, and Il-Hwan felt his heart clench at the sight of tears forming in her eyes.
"Be careful, Kyung-Hye," he said softly with his own voice thick with emotion.
She looked up at him with slightly tearful eyes before her hand reaching up to touch his face as if confirming he was real. "Is it truly you?" she asked while searching his features. "This isn't a dream, right?"
"It's me," Il-Hwan confirmed with his voice breaking slightly. "It's really me. Not a dream."
Her expression transformed—pain and confusion giving way to pure, radiant joy. "I knew," she said while smiling through her tears. "I knew you'd come if we stayed at our home. I knew you'd find us. Find me."
Il-Hwan felt something break inside him—a wall he'd built to protect himself from the pain of separation. He pulled her closer, hugging her tightly but carefully, mindful of her fragility.
"I'm here now," he whispered into her hair. "I'm here, and I'm not leaving again."
Then he looked up at his children, both still frozen in shock, and smiled—a real, genuine smile that felt like the first one in years.
"You two have grown up wonderfully," he said, his voice filled with pride and barely restrained emotion.
Jinah was the first to move. With a small cry, she rushed forward and threw herself into the hug, wrapping her arms around both her parents. Her tears came freely, years of hoping and waiting and wondering finally releasing all at once.
"Dad!" she sobbed. "Where were you? We thought... we didn't know if you were alive or..."
"I'm here," Il-Hwan repeated with one arm still supporting his wife while the other wrapped around his daughter. "I'm so sorry I couldn't come back sooner. But I'm here now."
But Jinwoo remained where he was, his expression unreadable.
Il-Hwan could see the conflict in his son's eyes—the war between hope and caution, between the desire to believe and the fear of being hurt again. And underneath it all, something else.
Suspicion.
Jinwoo stood apart with his fists clenched at his sides. 'He's alive... after all this time?' Last night, after conquering the Demon Castle, he'd claimed the Holy Water of Life and cured his mother in a miracle of light.
As an S-rank hunter, he'd fast-tracked her discharge, racing home—only to find their long-lost father. But the aura radiating from Il-Hwan was immense, rivaling—or surpassing—his own power. A flicker of doubt gnawed at him. 'Is this truly my father... or something wearing his face?'
'He senses it,' Il-Hwan realized. 'The power. He's wondering if I'm really his father or something pretending to be me.'
Jinwoo could sense power levels with frightening accuracy. And what he was sensing from his father was comparable to—or perhaps even greater than—his current strength.
Il-Hwan gently released Kyung-Hye and Jinah, making sure his wife was steady on her feet before he stepped toward his son.
Jinwoo tensed slightly, his body language shifting into something more defensive despite his neutral expression.
Il-Hwan stopped an arm's length away and looked directly into Jinwoo's eyes—gray eyes that mirrored his own.
"Taking care of both your mother and sister at such a young age must have been incredibly hard, Jinwoo," Il-Hwan said quietly, his voice filled with genuine emotion. "The burden you carried, the sacrifices you made—I know what that cost you. What it still costs you."
He reached out slowly, giving Jinwoo time to pull away if he wanted, and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. The contact was warm, solid, undeniably real.
"But you did it," Il-Hwan continued, his voice cracking slightly. "You protected them when I couldn't. You became the man of the family when you were barely more than a boy. You've grown into a wonderful young man, and I'm..." He had to pause before swallowing against the lump in his throat. "I'm so incredibly proud of you, son."
For a moment, nothing happened. Jinwoo's expression remained carefully neutral, his eyes searching his father's face for any sign of deception.
Then, slowly, his expression began to soften. The suspicion faded, replaced by something that looked almost like relief.
'It's really him,' Jinwoo thought, feeling something ease in his chest that he hadn't realized was wound so tight. 'Not an impostor. It is really... Dad.'
For the first time since his father's appearance, Sung Jinwoo smiled. It was a small smile, uncertain and fragile, but genuine.
"Thanks, Dad," he said quietly. "It's good to have you back."
Il-Hwan's own smile widened, and before he could stop himself, he pulled his son into a tight hug. Jinwoo stiffened for half a second, then relaxed and returned the embrace.
Behind them, Kyung-Hye and Jinah were both crying openly, but smiling through their tears.
"Dad," Jinah said with her voice still shaky, "where were you all these years? What happened to you?"
Kyung-Hye reached out and took her daughter's hand before squeezing gently. "Let's go home," she said with a warm smile. "We can talk as much as we want inside. I imagine we all have quite a lot to catch up on."
Il-Hwan released Jinwoo and nodded, looking at his family—his whole family, together again—with an expression of profound contentment.
"We have a lot of catching up to do," he agreed.
Everyone smiled, and together, they walked toward the apartment building. Il-Hwan supported his wife on one side while Jinah held her other arm. Jinwoo walked beside his father, and for the first time in years, the Sung family was complete.
As they climbed the stairs to their apartment, Il-Hwan sent a silent thought of gratitude toward Ethan Carter.
'You were right, kid. This was worth more than any war. Thank you.'
.
.
.
**Meanwhile - The Beast Monarch's Domain**
The dimensional portal tore open and three figures stepped through into a world of primal violence.
Rakan's domain was everything you'd expect from the Beast Monarch—a savage paradise of endless wilderness under a blood-red sky. Massive mountains of jagged stone jutted toward the heavens like the fangs of some buried titan. Dense forests of twisted trees with bark like iron and leaves sharp as blades covered the valleys between peaks.
The air itself felt thick with the scent of blood and wild musk—the accumulated essence of countless hunts spanning millennia.
Rivers of what might have been water—or might have been something far less pleasant—carved through the landscape. In the distance, impossibly large creatures moved through the forests: beasts the size of buildings, predators that would make any Earth dinosaur look like a house pet.
This was a world where only the strong survived, where the law of the hunt reigned supreme.
And into this savage domain walked Ethan Carter, Jean Grey, and Anna Marie, looking completely unbothered by the oppressive atmosphere.
Ethan immediately flew upward, rising several hundred meters into the blood-red sky. His hands moved in practiced patterns, and four massive red runes materialized at cardinal points around the domain—north, south, east, and west.
The seals blazed into life, creating an invisible barrier that sealed the entire dimension. No communication in or out and no escape. Nothing would leave this domain until Ethan allowed it.
He descended back to where Jean and Anna waited, landing with a smile on his face.
"Setting is done," he announced cheerfully. "Anna, you're free to go wild. No one will interfere, and Rakan can't call for backup or run away."
Anna's expression lit up with excitement. She stepped close to Ethan before grabbed the front of his suit, and pulled him down into a deep, passionate kiss.
When they separated, she was grinning like a cat about to pounce on a particularly interesting mouse.
"Wish me luck, sugar," she said.
Ethan kissed her back while pulling her into a tight embrace. "It's Rakan who needs luck if you ask me," he replied with complete confidence. "You're going to tear him apart."
Jean sighed from beside them, though her smile betrayed her amusement. "Get a room, you two. We're supposed to be hunting Monarchs, not having a honeymoon moment."
Anna pulled away from Ethan with a laugh, her eyes still glowing with affection and battle-lust. "Why not both?" she asked rhetorically. Then her expression turned more predatory. "So, how am I going to announce myself to our Beast King?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, then grinned. "I know—I'm going to knock on his door. Loudly."
"His location?" she asked Ethan.
Ethan pointed toward a distant mountain range where the largest peak stood crowned with what appeared to be a massive structure. "Castle at the center of the domain. Big ugly thing made out of the mountain itself, covered in trees. You can't miss it."
"Perfect." Anna cracked her knuckles, "See you guys on the other side."
With that, she launched herself into the air, flying toward Rakan's castle at tremendous speed.
Ethan and Jean took off as well, following at a more leisurely pace and maintaining a safe distance. This was Anna's show—they were just here to watch and intervene only if something went catastrophically wrong.
.
.
.
Anna stopped about a kilometer from her target, hovering in the air as she studied Rakan's fortress.
It was massive—a castle carved directly from the mountain itself, with towers that looked like they'd been grown rather than built. Trees with trunks the size of buildings covered much of the structure, their roots digging into the stone like claws. The entire thing radiated savage power and ancient violence.
'Knock on the door, huh?' Anna thought before her grin widened. 'Well, let's make sure he hears it.'
She raised both hands in front of her chest with fingers forming intricate patterns as golden energy began to accumulate between her palms.
A magic circle materialized—brilliant yellow-gold, spinning rapidly as it gathered power.
This was one of Ethan's custom spell creations, inspired by an ability from one of his favorite anime series.
He had taken inspiration from Escanor's "Cruel Sun" spell from The Seven Deadly Sins, finding it cool enough to recreate within his own magical framework—using the Seven Suns of Cinnibus spell as its foundation.
The spell was called "Solar Genesis: Cruel Sun."
A sphere of condensed solar energy materialized above the magic circle—a miniature sun larger than a beach ball and radiating heat that would put most stars to shame.
The temperature in the surrounding area spiked dramatically, the air itself beginning to ignite.
Anna's eyes gleamed with excitement as she spoke the technique's name, "Cruel Sun!"
She threw the miniature star forward with both hands.
The sphere of solar fury streaked toward Rakan's castle like a meteor of pure destruction. It crossed the distance in seconds, and when it made contact with the fortress...
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion was apocalyptic.
The entire castle—centuries of construction, countless battles survived, the very symbol of the Beast Monarch's power—simply ceased to exist.
The miniature sun detonated with the force of a tactical nuclear weapon, releasing temperatures hot enough to vaporize stone and metal alike.
A mushroom cloud of superheated air and pulverized rock rose into the blood-red sky. The shockwave flattened the surrounding forest for miles in every direction.
The trees, already dry from the domain's harsh environment, immediately caught fire, creating an expanding wave of flame that spread across the landscape.
Within seconds, the entire area around where the castle had stood was transformed into an inferno.
Anna hovered in the air while admiring her handiwork with obvious satisfaction. "Now that's what I call knocking," she muttered.
In the distance, Ethan and Jean watched with matching smiles.
"She's enjoying herself," Jean observed.
"As she should be," Ethan replied as his eyes tracking something moving through the flames below. "And she's about to enjoy herself even more. Here he comes."
He slowly took the camera from his inventory spell and hung it around his neck. He had no intention of missing the chance to capture Anna in action—especially when she looked that breathtaking while fighting.
A figure erupted from the inferno below, moving at a speed that should have been impossible for something so large.
Rakan, the Beast Monarch and King of Fangs.
He was massive—easily three meters tall, his body a perfect fusion of humanoid intelligence and predatory savagery. His form was covered in fur-like armor that gleamed like polished obsidian, muscles rippling beneath with each movement.
His face was bestial, amber eyes blazing with fury and vertical slits that tracked Anna with predatory precision.
Massive claws extended from his hands—each one the length of a small sword, capable of tearing through steel. A mane of wild black hair framed his face.
He'd escaped the Cruel Sun at the last possible moment, his instincts warning him just in time to avoid being at ground zero.
But the fact that someone had invaded his territory and just obliterated his castle—his HOME—with a single attack had triggered every aggressive instinct in his ancient, predatory soul.
Rakan roared—a sound that combined the fury of a lion, the menace of a wolf, and something far more terrifying and alien. The roar carried across the entire domain, announcing to anything living that the apex predator had been challenged.
He launched himself directly at Anna, crossing the distance between them in a fraction of a second.
Anna saw him coming and grinned, she drew back her fist and met his charge head-on.
CRASH!
Their fists collided in mid-air with the force of colliding meteors.
The shockwave that erupted from the impact was visible—a sphere of compressed air that expanded outward at supersonic speed.
The force was so great that it actually extinguished the forest fires below, snuffing out thousands of burning trees in an instant through pure concussive force.