Sparks flew where metal met metal. The sound echoed wrong in the narrow space — too loud, too sharp, like the corridor itself was amplifying it.
They fought without technique. No room for it. Just brutal cuts. Repeated scenes of Slash, Block Thrust and Dodge
Yoo watched, his enhanced perception tracking movements his body couldn't replicate.
Han's stronger. Gold 43 versus 35. Should win.
But the operative's not trying to win. Just delay.
She's waiting for—
Another signature approached from behind. Gold 37. Moving fast.
"Behind," Yoo said.
Han cursed — and disengaged with a spinning slash that bought distance. She pivoted to face the second threat—
Too slow.
The attack came low — spatial blade aimed at her knees.
Han barely blocked. The impact knocked her off balance.
Opening.
The first operative lunged at Yoo.
Time didn't slow. His perception just accelerated. He saw the trajectory. The blade angle. The killing intent.
His body couldn't match Gold-rank speed. Not normally.
But Just after his encounter with the Illusionary being, ppAdaptive Evolution didn't care about normal.
His muscles compressed — BURN — storing kinetic energy like wound springs. Then released.
Yoo dropped under the blade and rolled past in one motion.
The operative spun. "What—"
Han's blade found the second operative's shoulder. Blood sprayed across walls — dark in the red emergency lighting.
"Retreat," the first operative snapped. "Need reinforcements."
They vanished — short-range teleport. Gone before Han could press the advantage.
"Move." Han grabbed Yoo again. "That Platinum's coming."
They ran faster.
The corridor opened into a chamber. At its center: a portal frame, glowing with active energy.
"Through!" Han pushed Yoo toward it—
BOOM.
The ceiling didn't collapse. It disappeared.
Someone had taken the whole structure out. A man descended through the gap.
CRASH.
He landed between Yoo and the portal.
"No further." The man's voice although clearly tampered with voice was calm. "This facility is now contained. The specimen is worth far too much to risk losing."
He reached out toward Yoo—
CLANG–CLANG–CLANG.
Three Gold-ranks dropped from hidden positions — defenders. Their coordinated strike forced the Platinum to block instead of grab.
"GO!" one of them shouted. "We'll buy—"
WHOOSH.
His counter was a wave of compressed space. All three defenders flew backward — CRASH–CRASH–CRASH — hitting walls with sounds like breaking pottery.
They didn't get up.
He turned back to Yoo.
"Annoying. But expected."
They stepped forward.
Yoo's mind accelerated. Can't fight. Can't outrun. Can't—
The portal.
Still active. Still generating spatial distortions around its frame — tiny reality-bends that most couldn't detect.
But Yoo's 53% integration gave him extraordinary sensitivity. He saw the distortions like currents in water.
And distortions meant interference.
He sprinted — not toward the Man with platinum rank, but in a wide arc around the chamber's edge.
The Man tracked him. "Running? From certainty?"
A spatial blade lashed out — WHOOSH — sharp enough to cut steel.
Yoo dove. CRACK. The attack vaporized a meter-wide section of wall.
He came up running. Different angle now. The Man had to rotate.
Another blade — WHOOSH.
Yoo dropped flat. Felt it pass overhead, close enough that his hair shifted with the pressure.
Five more meters.
The Man then realized. "Clever, using portal interference as defense, It's a pity you're still Iron-rank. I'm faster."
They moved — real speed — crossing the chamber in a heartbeat.
But Yoo had accounted for that.
Adaptive Evolution: Redirect all Gi to legs. Sacrifice upper body strength. Maximum sprint configuration.
His legs screamed — muscle fibers tearing and rebuilding in real-time. Tendons stretched past normal tolerance.
He threw himself forward —
— and crossed into the portal's distortion field.
His already locked in grab missed by a finger's width.
"No—!"
Yoo rolled, came up inside the protective bubble. The distortions swirled around him like living things.
The Man tried to follow—
CRACK–CRACK–CRACK.
The portal rejected them violently, throwing them back three meters.
"Impressive." They stood. "the intelligence never suggested, that you were really good at using your environment. You're Smart"
Yoo didn't respond. His legs trembled — Gi nearly gone.
"But ultimately futile. The portal will destabilize in seven minutes. Then you lose your shield."
Seven minutes.
Reinforcements in four.
The Man raised both hands.
The chamber began to change. Not breaking. Just… folding.
Walls bent inward like pressed cardboard. The ceiling drooped. Even the floor rippled.
"Local space manipulation," they said. "In thirty seconds, this entire chamber compresses. You, the portal, everything. Flattened."
Pressure built. Yoo's ears popped.
"Or surrender now. The Syndicate values you highly. Intact specimens receive excellent treatment."
Twenty seconds.
The portal frame groaned — metal screaming.
Ten seconds.
Yoo looked at the walls. At the Man, then at the portal struggling to hold.
Five seconds.
Then—
CRASH–CRASH–CRASH–CRASH–CRASH.
Five figures dropped through the deleted ceiling.
Not Syndicate.
Hunter Association.
One Diamond. Four Platinum.
The lead figure — an older man with a face like weathered stone — radiated power that made the air itself heavy.
"Syndicate operative." His voice was gravel. "Stand down or we engage."
The Man froze his technique. The walls stopped moving.
Five versus one.
Including a Diamond.
"Noted." They looked at Yoo. "This isn't finished."
POP.
Gone. Teleported away.
The chamber stabilized.
Yoo's legs gave out. He sat down hard, back against the portal frame.
The Diamond approached. "You're the seed recipient."
Not a question.
Yoo said nothing.
The man studied him for a long moment, expression unreadable. Then —
"Get him to medical. Secure the facility."
Two Platinums lifted Yoo. Their hands trembled slightly.
Medical Bay – 4:23 AM
Dr. Min was waiting. Her hands weren't quite steady.
"You were almost captured."
Yoo said nothing.
"People died defending this facility. Gold-ranks with families. Students who came for research." Her voice cracked. "And you—"
Did this woman really expect me to die
She stopped, took a deep breath.
Yoo watched her face — grief, guilt, anger all fighting for control.
"Their deaths delayed the Syndicate," he said finally. "Bought time for reinforcements. That's a successful defense."
Dr. Min stared.
"The casualties are unfortunate," Yoo continued. "But acceptable given the alternative."
She laughed — she wasn't happy with the outcome. Maybe someone close to her, or someone she knew died.
"You really…" she trailed off. "You really don't feel it, do you?"
Yoo thought. Maybe he did, Somewhere under the logic, But it was distant.
"It doesn't matter how I feel," he said. "It doesn't change what has already happened."
Dr. Min sighed and began diagnostics. Her expression hardened with each result.
"The muscle restructuring… it's healing, denser, stronger" She pulled up imaging. "Also less human."
"Percentage?"
"Sixty-two percent." She met his eyes. "You lost five percent in one engagement. At this rate…"
She didn't finish.
Didn't need to.
Five percent for one survival.
How many more survivals before there's nothing left?
"The Syndicate knew my exact integration percentage, that was a recent update" Yoo said quietly. "Who told them?"
"Director Kwan is investigating."
"Find them."
"We will."
"No." Yoo's voice dropped. "Find them and tell me their name."
Dr. Min hesitated. "…If we identify them, you'll be informed."
Silence filled the room. Machines hummed softly.
Eight billion credits. Multiple factions know I'm here now.
This must be a safe haven, Nine days until cooperation ends.
Nine days to reach his goal.
He looked at the city through the window — Seoul glittering under pre-dawn dark.
Starting tomorrow… I train harder.
The machines beeped.
The guards outside shifted.
And in the still space between heartbeats, Yoo was already planning.
Elsewhere – Seoul Undercity – Same Time
In a room with no windows and too many screens, someone watched the footage.
"The Syndicate failed," a low voice murmured. "But there are other ways."
They opened a file.
PROJECT ATELIER – CLASSIFIED
PRIMORDIAL SEED RECIPIENTS: 47 TOTAL
STATUS: 40 DECEASED, 7 ACTIVE
Yoo Seung-yoon's name sat at the bottom.
"The real players are moving," the figure whispered, fingers typed, screens flickered.
Three factions, Many hunters.
One outsider.
All converging.
And Yoo had no idea how many predators were watching him.