"This is Reiko Ochako, reporting live for T.J.N News," the reporter announced, her tone composed despite the electric tension crackling through the air. "The Guild that's on everyone's lips right now, Maple Tree."
Behind her stood the towering headquarters of the Maple Tree Guild, its sleek glass façade reflecting the swarm of reporters and flashing cameras gathered outside. Dozens of journalists, photographers, and news crews filled the plaza, all competing for a single comment from any guild member who might appear.
Reiko's practiced smile didn't falter as she continued. "In a stunning display of strength, Maple Tree cleared its fourth S-Rank Gate just yesterday, and remarkably, with only two Hunters."
She paused as the camera panned upward to capture the full scale of the building before returning to her face. "Kaede Tawata, the guild's enigmatic Master, and Vivi Hachibana, a former C-Rank Hunter who recently reawakened, are the names dominating the headlines."
Her expression brightened slightly as she added, "Sources close to the Guild Association report that several other guilds are now in talks to join the rapidly rising Maple Tree Guild, marking what could be a major power shift in Japan's Hunter community."
The camera zoomed in on the guild's emblem emblazoned across the building, gleaming like a silent declaration to the world.
---
"So that's what happened," Iz said slowly, her brow furrowing as she processed everything Kaede had just told her. "The two of you are now Monarchs."
Kaede nodded from where she sat cross-legged on the floor. Beside her, Vivi leaned casually against her shoulder, arms folded and eyes half-lidded as if she were still mulling things over.
The three of them had made a habit of holding their private meetings inside the training chamber, a quiet, soundproofed space where no one could interrupt them. The air carried a faint hum from the mana field generators in the walls, a constant reminder of the room's purpose.
Iz stood in front of them, arms crossed, her expression caught somewhere between disbelief and concern. "Well," she began, "do either of you feel any different now that you're Monarchs?"
Kaede tilted her head, thinking. "Not really. I don't feel much different. I'm still Kaede… and Maple. Weird as that sounds."
Vivi sat up, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. "I guess I've been feeling a little more reckless lately. Overconfident, maybe?"
"Yeah, that's a problem," Kaede replied flatly.
Vivi shot her a glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You died," Kaede said, tone deadpan.
Iz's eyes widened. "She what now?"
Vivi groaned, turning away. "You said you wouldn't say anything!"
"I'm not hiding anything from Iz," Kaede said, her voice carrying a quiet but unmistakable finality.
Then she looked back at Iz. "She got cocky and took a black hole to the face. Well, brain, technically. It was gross. And terrifying."
Vivi exhaled, shoulders slumping. "I messed up, okay? I get it." Her voice softened as she looked down at her trembling hand. "This isn't a game. I… I know that. It's just been a weird time for me."
A heavy silence settled over the chamber, the soft hum of the walls the only sound that filled the space as the weight of her words lingered.
"The transition isn't something anyone can just deal with," Iz explained, folding her arms across her chest. "Kaede-san here still hasn't gotten over the feeling completely. She still sees herself and Maple as two separate people."
Her tone softened a little as she glanced at Kaede. "I've had more time to acclimate to these memories, so trust me when I say, it gets better. Just take it one step at a time."
Vivi let out a slow exhale, her shoulders sagging. "Yeah… Sometimes I think about what things would be like if I'd never gone into that dungeon. Never ran into Gin."
Kaede's gaze turned distant, a faint, nostalgic smile touching her lips. "That day is still special to me," she said quietly. "It was the day my eyes were opened, the day my fate became my own."
"But was it though?" Vivi asked, her tone thoughtful. "Who's to say all of this isn't part of someone else's plan, and we're not just pawns in their game?"
A brief silence settled between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts. Then Iz grinned.
"Whoever that person is, I already feel sorry for them," she said. "Imagine trying to manipulate Maple, when even she doesn't know what she'll do next. They'd probably run themselves ragged just trying to anticipate her nonsense."
"Hey!" Kaede protested, puffing her cheeks slightly as Vivi burst into laughter.
"You guys have given me a lot to think about," Iz admitted after a moment, smiling faintly. "I'll have to sleep on it."
Ding!
A soft chime drew Iz's attention to the screen pad on her wrist. She glanced down, tapping the notification. "Hmm… looks like someone's requesting a meeting with you, Kaede-san. Are you free?"
Kaede blinked, then shrugged lightly. "Sure, I guess. The absorption of Draw Sword went smoother than I expected, and there's not much left for me to do anyway."
"Perfect." Iz scrolled through the details, her eyes narrowing slightly in curiosity. "It's an official from the Federal Bureau of Hunters. His name is Adam White."
---
Iz frowned where she stood just behind Kaede, her arms crossed as her sharp gaze lingered on the man before them.
"We were told that an 'official' from the Federal Bureau of Hunters requested this meeting," she said evenly. "So why is the Deputy Director himself here?"
The tall man with slicked-back brown hair smiled disarmingly. "It was a bit of a rush, so please forgive us," he said. "I'll be your interpreter..."
"That won't be necessary," Iz interrupted, her tone polite but clipped. "I'll interpret."
Kaede blinked and turned slightly toward her vice guild master. "Oh, you know English?"
Iz nodded once, eyes still on the man. "Yeah. Focus, Kaede-san."
Kaede giggled softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face before turning her attention back to the group before her. Four people sat, or stood, on the opposite side of the polished table.
Adam White, the man who had spoken, stood to the left of a well-dressed blond man seated at the center. The blond, likely in his forties, had the calm composure of someone accustomed to authority.
Beside him sat a dark-skinned woman with a head of tight curls, her expression unreadable but her posture calm.
Standing a step behind them on the right was another man, tall, broad-shouldered, and silent, his black-framed glasses giving him the unmistakable air of security personnel.
"My name is Michael Connor," the blond man said, rising slightly and extending his hand. "Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Hunters."
Kaede rose to meet his handshake. "I'm Kaede Tawata," she replied, offering a polite smile.
Michael gestured toward the woman seated beside him. "This is Ms. Norma Selner."
The woman gave a quiet nod in greeting, her dark eyes studying Kaede with quiet curiosity.
Michael continued, his voice steady. "Ms. Selner is the only person in the world capable of enhancing an awakened being's abilities."
Iz's eyes widened slightly. She leaned forward, studying the woman more carefully now. "An Upgrader…" she murmured under her breath.
Michael nodded. Then, after a brief pause, his next words carried a subtle weight.
"Or rather," he said quietly, "she 'was' the only one."
Iz didn't like where this conversation was heading.
Even Kaede, who usually wore that calm, unbothered smile, had grown completely still, her expression hardening in an instant. The air in the room shifted, heavy with unspoken tension.
"Maple Tree is becoming famous for the unusual number of reawakened beings under its banner," Michael said evenly, folding his hands on the table. "It's safe to assume that you're in possession of an Upgrader, as well."
Kaede's gaze lifted, her golden eyes narrowing just slightly. Then, with a small, almost dismissive tilt of her head, she leaned back in her chair. A chill of indifference rolled off her, quiet but unmistakable.
Before Iz could interject, the dark-skinned woman seated beside Michael, Norma Selner, smiled softly and closed her eyes. "No," she said calmly, her voice carrying a strange, echoing timbre. "She isn't in possession of an Upgrader, Mr. Michael."
When her eyes reopened, they glowed with a pale neon-green light that shimmered faintly across the conference room walls.
"Ms. Kaede here," Norma continued, her voice almost reverent, "is the Upgrader."
Michael blinked, taken aback despite himself. "She is?" he asked, his tone betraying a trace of disbelief.
Kaede said nothing, only smiled faintly, the kind of smile that revealed nothing yet made everyone in the room uneasy.
Michael nodded slowly, his hands folded neatly on the table. "I see. We initially assumed your reawakening was due to Maple Tree possessing an Upgrader capable of enhancing multiple individuals. But this…" he exhaled, a faint hint of intrigue flashing in his eyes, "answers a few questions, while raising a few more."
Kaede leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable. "Why are you here, Mr. Michael?" she asked flatly. Her tone carried no hostility, only a quiet, measured indifference that made the air between them feel heavier. Whether it was disinterest or quiet calculation, it was hard to tell.
Michael smiled faintly, maintaining his calm composure. "Seeing as your guild already has a solid foundation here in Japan, I assume you have no intention of relocating to America or accepting citizenship under our banner."
"You assume correctly, Mr. Michael," Kaede replied, her voice cool and steady.
Michael gave a slow, knowing nod, as though he had expected that answer all along. "Then our second reason for visiting is much simpler," he said, his smile widening slightly. "We've come to propose an exchange."
Kaede's brow arched faintly, her interest piqued for the first time since the meeting began.
"An exchange?" she repeated, her tone calm, curious, but guarded. Kaede leaned forward slightly, her golden eyes gleaming with faint amusement. "You want me to see if I can upgrade her."
Michael met her gaze. "And for her to attempt the same, on you."
The silence that followed was tangible. Even the hum of the room's air filtration seemed to fade as Kaede regarded him.
Iz spoke first, her voice sharp. "That's reckless. You don't even understand how her power works, do you? You just want to see what happens."
The man with the glasses, clearly security, took a subtle step forward, but Michael raised a hand, gesturing for calm. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't understand the risks, Ms. Iz. This proposal isn't made lightly. If the two of them are truly compatible… we might be able to stabilize reawakening events entirely."
"That's a lie." Kaede said instantly. "You're taking a massive risk here. I refuse to believe that this is just for the reason you claim."
Norma didn't flinch. Instead, she smiled, a quiet, serene smile that didn't belong to someone afraid of dying. "You're right that there is another reason."
For the first time, Kaede looked genuinely surprised.
"Then why are you risking this much?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Because," Norma said, her green eyes glowing faintly again, "if I can't grow stronger… I'll never understand what's coming."
Kaede frowned. "What do you mean?"
Norma's gaze shifted toward the window. "Lately… my dreams have been showing me things. Beings without shadows. Hunting and eliminating hunters that have been inconsequential to humanity's survival."
As she spoke, Adam White slid a tablet across the table between them.
Iz picked it up, her expression tightening as she tapped play. The holographic display flickered to life, showing a familiar interview feed.
"I tried to warn him," Ms. Selner said in the video, her voice trembling with restrained fear. "I told him of the coming disaster, but he didn't believe me. My dreams have always come true."
Kaede's brows furrowed as she watched. "Christopher Reeds. A national-level Hunter. Killed in his own home."
Mr. Michael leaned forward, his hands folded tightly on the table. "We already have a suspected culprit," he said grimly, "but Ms. Selner believes there's something else at play."
Kaede turned her sharp gaze toward the woman seated across from her. "You saw something else," she said evenly. "What did you see?"
Norma Selner hesitated for only a moment before nodding once. "The black sun… pillars of fire… and the red crown."
The room fell silent. Even the low hum of the air vents seemed to fade as her words lingered in the air.
'Hopefully this works,' Norma thought, her fingers tightening around the hem of her coat. 'I have to understand what it is I'm seeing… and what I saw when I looked into Sung Jin-Woo... the thing that stared back at me.'
Her gaze flickered toward the young woman sitting calmly across from her. 'And her… could she be the same? Another king without limits?'
Kaede broke the silence with a steady voice. "Alright then," she said. "What do you want me to do?"
Norma rose to her feet, masking the tremor in her hands. "Just hold my hand," she instructed softly, "and look into my eyes."
Kaede obeyed without hesitation. Her gloved fingers wrapped around Ms. Selner's trembling right hand, and her crimson eyes met the woman's pale, glowing irises.
A pulse of energy rippled through the room.
Selner's pupils dilated as her ability activated, and then, the world vanished. Darkness swallowed everything, heavy and absolute.
'Just like with Sung Jin-Woo,' she realized, her breath catching. 'At least now I know what to prepare for...'
A shattering sound rang through the void. Cracks of light spiderwebbed across the darkness until it splintered apart like glass.
When the last fragment fell away, Selner found herself standing barefoot on scorched sand, beneath a burning red sky.
She was in a desert.