____A Few Minutes Earlier ____
BOOM!
A ten-meter-long container tanker crumpled like paper as a figure slammed into its side, the metal folding inward with a hideous screech. The ground itself fractured from the impact, spiderweb cracks racing outward beneath the force.
In the center of the wreckage, Hwang Dongsoo lay sprawled amid the twisted steel. Groaning, he pushed himself upright, muscles trembling, blood dripping from his brow. His jaw flexed in fury, veins bulging along his temple.
Tap.
A faint sound echoed beside him. His head snapped to the side, only to find Sung Jinwoo crouched casually atop the mangled tanker, one hand resting on his knee, his expression unreadable.
Rage overtook thought. Dongsoo roared and swung a massive fist toward him, his blow cracking the air.
BOOM!
The already-ruined tanker dented further as Jinwoo moved faster than sight, parrying the strike before driving Dongsoo's face back into the steel. The impact reverberated through the street, sending loose debris scattering.
Jinwoo's movements were calm, deliberate, almost casual, but his eyes burned with an icy menace that could freeze blood mid-flow. Without hesitation, he seized Dongsoo's head and slammed it down again.
BLAM!
And again.
BLAM!
And again.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Each hit echoed like thunder, the ground shaking with every impact until the once-proud Hunter beneath him was nothing more than a groaning heap.
"That's enough!"
The voice cracked through the air, heavy with power. A shockwave followed as another figure landed hard behind Jinwoo, the concrete beneath their feet fracturing on impact.
Thomas Andre rose from the cratered street, dust swirling around his massive frame with every breath. His expression was grim, voice low but carrying the weight of restrained fury.
"I specifically told him not to mess with you… Is Hwang Dongsoo still alive?"
Sung Jinwoo didn't immediately answer. He stood in eerie stillness, half-turned, his shadow stretching unnaturally behind him. When he finally spoke, his tone was flat, detached, cold enough to chill the air.
"For now."
Thomas blinked, caught off guard by the response. He hadn't expected the man to even acknowledge him.
"Oh? You're more responsive than I expected," he said, brushing the dust off his coat. "Then we can discuss this in a civil manner. Let him go. Do that, and I'll pretend this never happened."
Jinwoo tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing.
"And if I refuse?"
Thomas met his gaze, golden light beginning to flicker in his eyes. The air rippled faintly with power.
"Then my request," he said, voice deepening, "becomes an order."
Blood slid slowly down Jinwoo's cheek from the earlier struggle, crimson against pale skin. He stared into Thomas's glowing eyes, unfazed, before letting out a short exhale. Then he tossed Hwang Dongsoo's limp, broken body aside like garbage. "Fine by me."
He began walking forward, unhurried, one hand still in his pocket, each step heavy with intent.
Thomas loomed over him, expression hardening. "...Do you not know who I am?"
"It doesn't matter," Jinwoo replied. His violet eyes began to blaze, shadows rippling at his feet like smoke. "Who you are."
For the briefest moment, Thomas's eyes widened before narrowing again. His massive hand shot forward, engulfing Jinwoo's entire frame.
Boom!
The ground split beneath their feet as Thomas Andre was sent crashing backward, tearing through the skeletal remains of an unfinished building. He crossed his arms just in time, barely blocking Sung Jinwoo's devastating punch. Dust and concrete rained down as the building was nearly torn asunder.
By the time he realized it, Thomas Andre was already standing before the gathered members of the Scavenger Guild.
They had been ordered to regroup at Hwang Dongsoo's last known location, hoping to find the missing Hunter before Sung Jinwoo could intervene. Unfortunately, it seemed they were too late.
"Thomas!" one of the accompanying Association officials shouted, his voice tight with concern.
"Are you alright, sir?" another Hunter asked, visibly tense.
Thomas raised a hand, a simple gesture, but one that instantly snapped the entire Scavenger Guild into formation. The officials instinctively moved to the rear while the Hunters closed in behind their Guild Master, their presence radiating overwhelming pressure.
The full might of the Scavenger Guild stood assembled, a disciplined force built around the strongest Hunter in America.
Meanwhile, shadows rippled across the cracked ground before Sung Jinwoo. Two dark figures emerged from the abyss. Igris, the knight commander of the Shadow Army, his crimson eyes glowing through his helm, and Kaisel, the wyvern, wings unfurling with a low, resonant growl.
Sung Jinwoo gently placed his Vice Guild Master into Igris's arms. "Take him to a nearby hospital," Jinwoo ordered, his tone calm but absolute. "Make sure he gets treated, no matter what."
Without a sound, the knight and wyvern vanished into black mist.
Now, only Jinwoo remained, standing opposite Thomas Andre, his expression unreadable. The shadows behind him churned and expanded, spreading like a living storm across the earth.
From within that endless darkness, the Monarch of Shadows' immortal army began to rise.
---
____Present Time____
Thomas Andre's golden aura rolled off his body like thick mist, distorting the air around him. His long brown hair floated weightlessly under the pressure of his unleashed power, and the ground beneath his boots cracked like shattered glass.
"It's not too late," he said, his voice rumbling with restrained fury. "If you admit your mistakes and surrender, I'll spare your life."
Across from him, Sung Jin-Woo stood unmoving. His expression was calm, almost indifferent, but the deep violet energy swirling around him pulsed with a life of its own, cold, oppressive, and predatory. It spread across the battlefield like the breath of death itself.
Without saying a word, Jin-Woo slowly raised his hand and extended his middle finger.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Behind them, the two armies stood at the brink of chaos.
On Jin-Woo's side, the earth rippled as shadows twisted and rose into humanoid forms, knights, beasts, and monsters, all kneeling in eerie unison. Their hollow eyes glowed faintly within the gloom, awaiting their king's command.
Opposite them, the Scavenger Guild members tightened their grips on their weapons. Golden energy surged across their armor like wildfire, humming with divine intensity.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Thomas Andre growled, his voice deep and rumbling like distant thunder. His massive frame seemed to swell even further, muscles tensing beneath his shirt as an almost tangible pressure rolled off him. "You'll regret missing your last chance."
The slightest shift of his foot cracked the pavement beneath him, spiderwebs of fractured concrete spreading outward.
Across from him, Sung Jinwoo didn't flinch. His expression remained unreadable, his eyes sharp and cold as steel. "Go."
Thomas exhaled through his nose, a grin tugging at his lips. "Here they come."
The earth itself seemed to groan under the combined momentum of the two armies as they charged, shadows and hunters colliding in a storm of chaos...
Or at least that's what would have happened if everything hadn't stopped.
The roar of battle died mid-echo. The trembling ground stilled. Every moving figure froze, caught mid-stride as silence devoured the world.
Thomas' grin faded. "This feeling…" he muttered, scanning the still air. "It's familiar… from that girl."
Sung Jinwoo lifted his gaze skyward, eyes narrowing as realization struck. "It's you."
High above them, perched atop the skeletal frame of an unfinished building that somehow still stood, was Kaede Tawata, representative of the Maple Tree Guild, and Japan's youngest S-Rank Hunter.
Her crimson eyes glowed faintly, sweeping across the frozen battlefield with quiet disdain. Apart from Sung Jinwoo and Thomas Andre, every hunter, every shadow, every ripple of magic in the air, she held all of it effortlessly in her grasp.
"You fools," Kaede said, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade, "better have a damn good reason for ruining my evening."
"Maple Tree Guild," Thomas said finally, his voice steady but laced with wariness. "I didn't see you earlier in the gala. Don't try to interfere."
"Why are you guys fighting anyway?" Kaede asked as she dropped to the ground in between them.
Sung Jinwoo looked at her without showing a single emotion on his face. "Are you going to get in my way?"
"Like I care what you get up to in your free time. However..." Kaede shrugged. "You're causing a lot of traffic. People are scared for their lives out there. Don't you know the meaning of common sense?"
Thomas' massive hand rested firmly on Kaede's shoulder. The ground trembled faintly beneath the weight of his aura as he looked down at her, expression calm but eyes sharp as molten gold.
"While I understand where you're coming from," he began, his voice deep and even, "you better find your way out of here, if you don't want to die. This doesn't concern you."
Kaede turned to Thomas, her tone calm but edged with warning. "You're a very large man," she observed evenly. Her crimson eyes flicked down to his hand resting on her shoulder. "Your hand… kindly remove it."
Thomas gave her a smirk so condescending it could have curdled milk. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
Kaede's expression shifted in an instant. The warmth left her eyes, replaced by a glacial sharpness that made even the air around her feel heavier. "I don't care," she said flatly. Then, after a heartbeat, she added, "And neither does he."
Thomas blinked. "He?"
Before he could finish the thought, the light dimmed around him. A vast shadow loomed overhead, something massive breathing just behind him. He turned slowly, the low, rumbling growl vibrating through the floor.
"Don't kill him," Kaede said casually, glancing over to Sung Jin-Woo. A small, almost playful smile tugged at her lips. "…Cinnamon."
Thomas's eyes narrowed as his gaze followed the shadow upward. A colossal blue lion, its mane sparking faintly with energy, was staring him down, eyes glowing like twin sapphires in the dark.
"Tch. A monster?" Thomas scoffed, his aura flaring with raw power. "You dare insult me with a pet? I am Thomas Andr..."
CHOMP.
The sentence never finished. Cinnamon lunged, jaws closing around the man in a single blur of motion before leaping skyward. The resulting shockwave rippled through the clouds, scattering dust and loose debris.
Kaede tilted her head back slightly, a quiet laugh escaping her as the wind from Cinnamon's leap swept her hair across her face. "I really should let him out more often," she mused.
When she turned back, her gaze locked with Sung Jin-Woo's. "Well then," she said, voice soft but cutting. "That leaves you. I'll be honest. Something about you really pisses me off, Sung Jin-Woo."
If Jin-Woo was intimidated, he didn't show it. He took a deliberate step forward until only inches separated them, his shadow stretching like mist beneath his feet.
"I didn't start this fight," he said, his tone low and cold. "But no one messes with me. No one. Not even another Player."
At once, all of Sung Jinwoo's shadow soldiers dissolved into black mist, vanishing into the ground beneath his feet.
A heartbeat later, they surged back out, reforming behind him like a tidal wave of darkness. Whatever force had restrained them moments ago had been completely erased.
Jinwoo exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing. He no longer held anything back. Every instinct screamed that the woman before him wasn't just powerful.
Across from him, Kaede blinked, her expression a mix of surprise and dawning realization.
"A player?" she muttered under her breath. "You're a player? You're Player One?"
Jinwoo froze for an instant, her words echoing in his head. 'She didn't know?' he thought, his mind racing. 'But the System warned me about her the moment we met… or was that the Architect?' His jaw tightened, a dark glint flashing in his eyes. 'Wait. Is she working with him? Or is she just another one of his pawns? Damn it… so that bastard really isn't dead after all.'
"It doesn't matter," he decided, lowering his stance as his knees bent outward and his fist drew back, coiling like a spring about to release. His breath came out steady, focused. "What matters is right now. She came here looking for a fight, just like Thomas. Just like Hwang Dongsoo... just like me."
A violent pulse of violet aura surged from his arm, thick and heavy, distorting the air around his fist. The sheer density of it made the ground beneath him crack.
Kaede's eyes snapped toward him, the dark radiance pulling her from her thoughts.
[Authority of Reduction.]