Steam curls from the lip of Ryusei's untouched coffee as she sits across from Kenta.
Kenta leans forward, both hands gripping the edge of the table like he's clinging to a lifeline.
"I meant it, Ryusei. If you hadn't stepped in that day… I wouldn't be here."
Ryusei leans back, arms crossed, expression unreadable. "I didn't do it for you, Kenta. I did it because it was killed or be killed."
Still, Kenta persists. "Join my strike team. With your skills—and your... potential—we'd be unstoppable. I'm building something real."
Ryusei snorts. "You're a trust fund kid playing Hunter. I don't have time to humor you."
"What about Todo?" she adds. "Knucklehead like him? He'd probably say yes."
Kenta lowers his eyes. "He said no."
A flicker of surprise dances in Ryusei's gaze, but she hides it well behind another sip of coffee.
"Figures. He has more spine than I thought."
Still undeterred, Kenta presses on. "I want to become a Guild Master. I've already completed one raid. I need 19 more. My father's ready to fund the entire operation—he's already bringing in my brother Shingo to manage the ranks. All I need is legitimacy."
Ryusei raises an eyebrow. "You mean an S-Rank to put their name on the banner."
Kenta nods. "Junya Enoki is the only unaffiliated S-Rank left, but he retired. No one else's free."
He slides a form across the table. It's the official documentation for guild registration, already signed by Morobishi Construction. "Thirty billion minimum. You'd be part of something big. Something permanent."
Ryusei doesn't even glance at the form.
"I don't work well with others."
"I can keep your secret," Kenta blurts. "But only if you join me. If not…" He lets the implication hang in the air.
The café grows still.
Slowly, Ryusei's eyes narrow.
She leans forward, her voice cold as steel.
"You threatening me?"
Kenta opens his mouth, then closes it as Ryusei's death stare locks him in place like a vice.
She grabs the form.
"Double the money," she says, folding it neatly into her coat. "And we can start right now."
{United States – Scavenger Guild HQ}
"Hayato Ukyo is dead."
Masato's grip on his phone tightens. The device crumples like tinfoil in his palm.
"How?"
"Died in the Insect Dungeon. Six out of nine killed. Survivors were a D-Rank, a C-Rank, and an E-Rank named... Ryusei Okkotsu."
That last name makes Masato pause.
He turns slightly. "You think they murdered him?"
Laura's breath hitches. "I don't know, but… he wasn't supposed to die. Not him."
Masato says nothing. His eyes are locked on a trio of digital profiles projected before him: Kenta Morobushi. Todo Aoi. Ryusei Okkotsu.
He crushes the paper notepad in his other hand, voice low and dangerous.
"If one of them killed Hayato… I'll return the favor."
"But Masato—" Laura steps in, alarmed. "You're due in Argentina next week. Scavenger's elite team is already en route."
"I won't act yet." He exhales sharply, like a lion forced back into its cage. "But the moment I'm free... I'm going back."
He turns away from the screen, the image of Ryusei still glowing in cold blue light.
"I'll just have to hope you survive until I've got time for you."
{Kenta's Raid Staging Area}
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[Quest Received: Elixir of Life]
You have unlocked the recipe for the Elixir of Life.
[Ingredients Required:]
World Tree fragment (1x)
Spring water from Echo Forest (1x)
Purified blood of the Demon Monarch (1x)
All components are located within the Demon King's Castle, sealed beyond the first floor where you previously encountered Cerberus.
———————————————————
Ryusei stares at the message, her fingers hovering over the notification.
"...The Demon King's Castle again?"
Her memory flashes back—Cerberus towering over her, that oppressive pressure, and the overwhelming strength just behind the gate. Back then, she barely survived.
Kenta leans against a matte-black SUV, arms crossed, wearing a brand-new reinforced mana-weave jacket. Beside him stands a group of hired low ranked hunters, mostly D and E-Ranks.
"You ready?" he asks, tossing Ryusei a water bottle.
Ryusei catches it one-handed, her expression unreadable. "Just don't get in my way."
She glances back briefly at the quest notification hovering silently in her periphery, then to the mountains beyond the raid site.