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The Phantom vs The Silver Cross
The air rippled faintly around Jae-min as a bright blue line of code traced across his vision.
> [Skill Activated: Ghost Mapping Transmission]
[Scanning the City of Seoul...]
[Area Detected — District 13: Paranormal Signal Detected]
[Would you like to teleport?]
He exhaled.
"Let's see what we've got this time."
Light engulfed him — and in a blink, he was gone.
When the light faded, Jae-min stood amidst a lonely stretch of woods on the outskirts of the city. The wind whispered through the trees, carrying the faint scent of damp soil.
He looked around.
No civilians. No traffic. No ghostly presence either.
He frowned beneath his hood.
"…That's strange."
He activated his scan again. Nothing. Not even a flicker of spiritual energy.
That only meant two things: a system error… or a setup.
His hand instinctively gripped the handle of his dagger.
Then—
> Clap… clap… clap…
A slow applause echoed through the forest.
"...So you're the bastard who's been taking all the jobs," a female voice called out, low and venomous. "Snatching them away from every other guild like you own the place."
Jae-min turned.
A woman stood atop a broken tree trunk in the distance. Long crimson hair danced in the breeze, her uniform marked with the unmistakable Silver Cross Union insignia — a silver cross wrapped in fire.
Her aura was suffocating.
She smiled down at him, the expression sharp enough to cut steel.
> Go Ji-min.
Rank: S.
Codename: The Mad Killer.
Jae-min muttered quietly under his breath, "...Silver Cross Union. The top guild in Korea. Of course."
He could almost hear the system chuckling.
> [System Note: Host's guts are commendable. 😶]
Go Ji-min leapt from the tree and landed gracefully a few meters away, her boots crushing the soil beneath her.
"I was told to bring you in," she said, tilting her head. "But honestly?" — her grin widened, dark and wild — "I'd rather bring you back in pieces."
Jae-min sighed, adjusting his hood. "Get out of my way. You're wasting my time."
Her eye twitched. "What did you just say?"
"Move," he repeated.
And that was it.
A twisted smile spread across her lips. "You really have no idea who you're talking to, do you?"
The air exploded with black and crimson energy as she raised her hand. A monstrous, shadowy figure erupted behind her — tall, distorted, dripping in red mist. Its hollow eyes glared directly at Jae-min.
> [Warning: Death Aura Detected]
"Die screaming," she hissed.
The figure blurred forward — faster than sound — and in that instant, Jae-min barely tilted his head aside.
The attack grazed him, cutting a few strands of his eyelashes as the shockwave shredded the trees behind him.
"Tch…"
He materialized his twin daggers in both hands, the spectral light of his Spirit Enhancement (Lv.5) igniting around his body.
The forest erupted into chaos.
Every strike from Go Ji-min's shadow was met with a flash of Jae-min's blades. Sparks of blue and red fire intertwined, their impacts sending waves of energy through the woods.
Go Ji-min joined the fray herself — her speed monstrous, her laughter echoing madly.
She landed a heavy kick that sent Jae-min crashing into a tree, splintering it in half.
"Still alive?" she taunted. "I might reconsider letting you live if you beg."
He wiped blood from his lip and smiled faintly beneath his mask.
"...Not happening."
Before she could blink, Jae-min vanished — teleporting.
She froze, eyes darting around. "What—"
He appeared right in front of her.
Her body barely reacted in time as he slashed down — she dodged, but his blade tore through the shoulder of her shadow spirit, splitting its chest open. The entity screamed.
"Damn it!"
Before it could recover, Jae-min extended his hand, ghostly blue chains bursting from his palm — Chain Control (Lv.4) — coiling around the figure, binding it tight.
Then he leapt high into the air, dark flames gathering around his dagger.
"Burn."
He descended like a meteor — the blade glowing with deep purple fire — and struck the bound shadow.
It howled before disintegrating into mist.
The ground trembled when Jae-min landed.
Go Ji-min's eyes widened slightly — a rare crack in her composure.
"…He destroyed it? That easily?"
Jae-min turned toward her, his aura burning cold.
She snarled, forming two crimson spears in her hands. "Don't get cocky!"
The air around her warped.
Both of them charged — explosions of flame, shadow, and lightning shaking the woods apart.
But as they clashed again, Jae-min extended his hand, summoning two glowing rifts in the air — one behind her, one in front of him.
She blinked. "Wait—"
A torrent of purple fire erupted from his portal and emerged from the one behind her, engulfing her entire back.
She screamed as the explosion sent her flying, slamming into a rock wall.
Smoke filled the air.
Even as she rose slowly, burns covering her body, she couldn't hide her shock.
"Who… the hell are you?" she whispered.
Her energy flared again, wild and murderous. But before she could rush him again—
> Step… Step…
A calm voice echoed through the smoke.
"Enough."
A tall man stepped forward, his golden coat brushing against the ash-filled wind. His eyes were cold but steady — the mark of another S-rank.
> Yun Lee, the "Seraph Blade."
Go Ji-min's expression twisted. "Yun Lee… stay out of this! Give me three more minutes, just three!"
He sighed. "You know the Guildmaster won't be pleased if you kill someone unsanctioned."
"I don't care! He insulted me—"
Yun Lee raised a hand. "I think we've seen enough."
His gaze turned to Jae-min, who stood silently amidst the smoke, mask hiding his face, eyes glowing faintly beneath his hood.
A small, curious smile formed on Yun Lee's lips.
"So… you're the Phantom everyone's been talking about."
Jae-min said nothing. His aura dimmed, and in a blink — he vanished, teleporting away through a flicker of blue light.
Go Ji-min punched the ground in frustration. "Damn it!!"
Yun Lee looked at the fading afterimage and muttered softly,
"…He's dangerous."
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Jae-min didn't wait around for pleasantries.
The moment Yun Lee appeared, his instincts screamed danger.
Without hesitation, he turned and bolted through the woods—his coat fluttering violently as he activated Ghost Mapping Transmission. In the blink of an eye, his figure blurred, vanishing like mist in the cold wind.
"Damn it! He's running!" Go Ji-min shouted, her eyes blazing red as she launched forward, her aura kicking up dust and gravel behind her.
Yun Lee followed closely, his movements sharp and measured, scanning for traces of energy.
But no matter how they turned—no matter how many times Go Ji-min's aura scanned the treeline—the Phantom was nowhere to be found.
"He used that teleportation ability again…" Yun Lee muttered, halting beside a broken log, his sharp gaze sweeping the area.
Go Ji-min clenched her fists, veins pulsing in her neck. "Tch! If you hadn't stopped me, I would've finished him right there!" she barked, kicking the dirt in frustration.
Yun Lee sighed lightly, brushing his hair back. "You would've also flattened half the forest. Calm down before the Captain scolds us again."
Meanwhile—
Jae-min reappeared in his house with a flicker of violet energy. His knees hit the floor as his breathing turned heavy. Sweat rolled down his forehead.
"I… used too much…" he muttered, glancing at the flashing notification hovering in front of him.
> [Warning: G.E. Level Critically Low – 12% Remaining.]
He slumped onto the couch, rubbing his temples. "I may be strong… but I can't take on two S-Ranks at once."
The memory of Go Ji-min's bloodlust and Yun Lee's calm killing intent sent a shiver down his spine. That kind of pressure wasn't something ordinary exorcists could even endure, let alone fight against.
Still, despite the exhaustion, there was a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He had survived. Again.
---
The next day, the city was calm. Seoul's skyline shimmered in the morning light as Jae-min adjusted his tie in the mirror.
A formal black suit. Sleeves slightly rolled. Sharp jawline.
Even he had to admit—he looked different now. More refined. More mature.
Today was about something else entirely—his sister, Quinn. She'd been accepted into a new school, and Jae-min wanted to make sure she settled in perfectly.
When they arrived at the school, Quinn noticed something strange.
Every girl they passed by stared—no, gawked—at Jae-min.
"Wait… that's your brother?" one whispered.
"Is he single?" another said, already typing on her phone.
Jae-min smiled faintly, pretending not to notice the whispers and stares. Quinn sighed and playfully nudged him.
"Oppa, I think you just became the school's new celebrity," she teased.
He chuckled softly. "That's not what I came here for."
---
Elsewhere, in the Silver Cross Union Headquarters, the air was tense.
A massive holographic table displayed city maps, energy readings, and mission reports.
Go Ji-min and Yun Lee stood before the towering figure of Kang Dae-hyun, the Guild Captain.
A man in his late twenties with black slicked-back hair, sharp eyes, and a calm yet unnerving presence.
"So," Kang Dae-hyun began, leaning back in his chair. "You're saying… one man single-handedly outpaced both of you?"
Go Ji-min's jaw tightened. Yun Lee, however, answered calmly.
"Yes, Captain. He's the one responsible for the rapid job completions across Seoul. He uses a teleportation-type skill that allows him to appear instantly at various locations. We couldn't trace him."
Kang Dae-hyun's eyes glinted with intrigue. "Teleportation… impressive. Not many in Korea can pull that off."
"And there's more," Yun Lee added. "He wasn't just fast. He fought on par with Ji-min—even forcing her into a defensive stance."
The room went silent.
Go Ji-min frowned but didn't deny it. Her pride stung, but the truth was the truth.
Then—Kang Dae-hyun suddenly laughed.
"Hahaha… fascinating! A rogue exorcist with skills like that?" His grin widened. "I like him already."
He rose from his seat, looking out at the wide windows that revealed Seoul's glowing skyline.
"Send out word," he commanded. "I want him found. The one they call… The Phantom."
He smirked. "If he's that good, then I'll recruit him myself."
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