### Seoul, South Korea - Sung Jin-Woo's Headquarters, 3 Days After the Warehouse Incident
Jin-Woo sat in his private office, staring at the after-action report that covered his desk. The official version described a "productive diplomatic meeting" between two National Rank hunters that had resulted in "enhanced cooperation protocols." The reality was far more disturbing.
Beru materialized from the shadows, his insectoid form radiating concern. "My King, you have been unusually quiet since the encounter with that Armenian guy."
"He stopped me, Beru," Jin-Woo said quietly. "Not just countered my attacks—he made my own power work against me. In twenty years of hunting, that's never happened.its concerning"
"But you are unharmed, and he claimed no hostile intent."
Jin-Woo's dark eyes fixed on his most trusted shadow. "That's what worries me. Eugene Sushiyanse look was like he could kill me in that warehouse,and he chose not to. But not because he's benevolent—because he's calculating.Those eyes...were not the eyes of a human., He let me live because my death would have been... suboptimal for his equations.im sure of it."
The shadow ant shifted uncomfortably. "You believe that he sees you as a resource rather than a rival?"
"I believe he sees everything as variables in an equation only he can solve. And that makes him the most dangerous person on Earth." Jin-Woo stood and walked to the window overlooking Seoul. "His power isn't just about correcting dimensional anomalies—it's about correcting anything he perceives as mathematically_Scientifically inefficient. Including people."
"What will you do, my King?"
Jin-Woo was quiet for a long moment. The best thing is doing nothing Right now, any move can be brings trouble. so " I Watch. I Wait. And prepare for the possibility that Eugene's definition of 'optimal' might not include the continued existence of anyone who can't be solved."
### Moscow, Russia - Kremlin, Same Day
President Volkov reviewed the intelligence report with growing unease. The Seoul incident had been monitored by satellites from six different nations, but the energy readings made no sense. For seventeen minutes, the laws of physics had become... optional in a two-block radius around the warehouse.
"Director Petrov," the President said into his secure phone, "I need you to accelerate our timeline with the Armenian situation."
"Sir, our initial contact protocols suggest—"
"Forget the protocols. If Eugene Sushiyanse can make Sung Jin-Woo's power malfunction, what could he do to our nuclear arsenal? Our defense systems? Our hunters?"
"You want me to send Yuri?"
"I want you to send Yuri with a very specific message. Russia would like to be Eugene's friend. Emphasis on 'would like.'"
### Siberian Wilderness - Yuri Orlov's Training Ground, 48 Hours Later
The notification had come through official channels, but Yuri Orlov knew better than to trust official channels when it came to assignments involving other National Rank hunters. He sat in his reinforced bunker, surrounded by weapons that could level cities, and wondered why the Kremlin wanted him to befriend someone who apparently treated reality like a mathematical error to be corrected.
The flight to Armenia would take four hours. The conversation with Eugene Sushiyanse could last four minutes or four days, depending on whether the Armenian saw him as a useful ally or a problem requiring correction.
Yuri checked his gear one more time. If Eugene turned out to be as dangerous as the reports suggested, this might be the most important conversation of his career.
Or the last one.
### Yerevan, Armenia - Neutral Meeting Location, 72 Hours After Seoul Incident
Eugene had chosen the location carefully—a coffee shop in Yerevan's Republic Square that had excellent sight lines, multiple exit routes, and most importantly, a completely stable dimensional framework. Whatever happened during this meeting, he wanted it to occur in normal reality.
Yuri Orlov arrived exactly on time, his presence immediately recognizable even in civilian clothes. The Russian hunter moved with the casual confidence of someone who had never met a problem that couldn't be solved with sufficient firepower, but Eugene could see the subtle tension in his posture. Yuri was prepared for violence, but hoping for conversation.
"Mr. Orlov," Eugene said, standing to shake hands. "Thank you for coming."
"A..You must be Eugene Sushiyanse," Yuri replied, his Russian accent thick but his English precise. "I have heard... interesting things about you."
They sat across from each other at a small table, two of the most dangerous people on Earth discussing the weather like ordinary citizens. Eugene ordered coffee; Yuri ordered vodka.
"I assume Moscow sent you here for a reason," Eugene said after the waitress left.
"Moscow is concerned," Yuri replied bluntly. "Reports from Seoul suggest you have abilities that could destabilize more than just dimensional anomalies."
Eugene's amaranth eyes studied the Russian hunter with clinical interest. Yuri Orlov was everything the intelligence reports had described—a walking arsenal of supernatural weapons, a man who approached problems with overwhelming destructive force. But there was something else, something the reports had missed.
**[ANALYSIS: YURI ORLOV PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE]**
**[COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS: MAXIMUM]**
**[POLITICAL SOPHISTICATION: MODERATE]**
**[HIDDEN VARIABLE: PROTECTIVE INSTINCTS]**
**[ASSESSMENT: MOTIVATED BY DUTY RATHER THAN AMBITION]**
"Moscow is right to be concerned," Eugene said. "My abilities could destabilize quite a lot of things. The question is whether Russia sees me as a solution to stability problems or a stability problem that needs solving."
Yuri leaned back in his chair. "That depends on what you want."
"I want the dimensional crises to stop. I want reality to be stable and predictable. I want the mathematical framework that governs our universe to function properly instead of being constantly corrupted by magical conflicts and dimensional breaches."
"And if achieving those goals requires... changes to existing power structures?"
Eugene's smile was cold and precise. "Then existing power structures will need to adapt or be optimized."
This was the moment Yuri had been dreading. Eugene wasn't just powerful—he was ideologically committed to reshaping the world according to his own mathematical vision. From Russia's perspective, that made him either the most valuable ally or the most dangerous enemy they'd ever encountered.
"What would you need from Russia?" Yuri asked carefully.
"Access to your dimensional research facilities. Complete data on all magical anomalies within Russian territory. And most importantly, cooperation rather than interference when I need to implement correction protocols."
"And in exchange?"
Eugene gestured, and the Nihilizer manifested briefly, its reality-warping energies carefully contained. "I solve problems that nuclear weapons can't solve. I fix dimensional breaches that threaten Russian territory. I eliminate magical threats that conventional hunters can't handle. And I do it all with permanent results."
Yuri studied the dissipating energy patterns where the Nihilizer had appeared. "You could destabilize our entire defense network if you wanted to."
"Yes."
"You could crash our economy by glitching financial systems."
"Yes."
"You could make our hunters' powers malfunction, leaving us defenseless."
"Yes." Eugene's expression didn't change. "But I could also make Russia the most dimensionally stable nation on Earth. Your choice."
**[GLITCH MANIPULATION READY]**
**[TARGET: YURI ORLOV]**
**[RECOMMENDED APPLICATION: TRUST PROTOCOL ENHANCEMENT]**
**[WARNING: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS DETECTED]**
Eugene paused, his finger hovering over the metaphorical trigger that would make Yuri more amenable to his proposals. The system was offering him a way to guarantee Russian cooperation, but using it would cross a line from persuasion into mental manipulation.
He made a decision that surprised even himself.
"Yuri," he said quietly, "I could make you trust me. Right now. One small application of my glitch abilities, and you'd see cooperation with me as the obvious choice. But I'm not going to do that."
Yuri's hand moved instinctively toward his weapon. "Why not?"
"Because trust that's manufactured isn't trust—it's programming. And I need allies who choose to work with me, not allies who've been optimized to work with me."
The Russian hunter studied Eugene's face for several long seconds. "You're asking me to believe that you'll voluntarily limit your own power for ethical reasons."
"I'm asking you to believe that unlimited power without ethical constraints is mathematically unstable in the long term. Systems that optimize for short-term gains at the expense of systemic integrity inevitably collapse."
Yuri was quiet for a moment, processing this unexpected philosophical depth from someone who had been described as a human weapon. "And if I report back to Moscow that you can't be trusted?"
"Then Russia will attempt to eliminate me, fail catastrophically, and destabilize the entire region in the process. Which would be suboptimal for everyone involved."
"Including you?"
Eugene's smile was genuinely amused this time. "Yuri, I can glitch the laws of physics. Do you really think conventional weapons pose a significant threat to me?"
"No," Yuri admitted. "But isolation does. You need international cooperation to achieve your goals, which means you need allies who trust you voluntarily. Hence this conversation."
"Exactly." Eugene leaned forward. "So here's my offer. I'll provide a demonstration of my abilities—something that benefits Russia directly and proves I can deliver on my promises. In exchange, you give me an honest assessment of whether cooperation is possible."
"What kind of demonstration?"
Eugene's amaranth eyes glowed briefly as he accessed real-time data. "There's a Class-A dimensional breach forming in the Ural Mountains. It'll reach crisis level within 72 hours. Your hunters are already mobilizing, but they'll need at least a week to contain it properly. I can solve it in under an hour."
Yuri's expression became serious. "How do you know about the Ural breach? That's classified information."
"I know about every dimensional instability on Earth. It's part of my mathematical perception. The question is whether you want me to solve your problem or leave it for your hunters to handle."
The Russian hunter was quiet for a long moment, weighing options and implications. Finally, he nodded. "If you can resolve the Ural situation as quickly as you claim, Russia will consider formal cooperation."
"And if I can't?"
"Then we'll proceed under the assumption that you're dangerous but not reliable. Which would be... problematic for everyone."
Eugene stood, extending his hand. "Fair enough. I'll need transportation to the Urals and official clearance to operate in Russian airspace."
Yuri shook his hand, noting the way Eugene's grip felt like touching controlled lightning. "Done. But Eugene?"
"Yes?"
"If you're lying about limiting your power for ethical reasons, if this is all just manipulation to gain my trust..."
Eugene's smile was cold and mathematical. "Then you'll be the first to know, won't you? Because I'll have optimized you right out of existence."
As they left the coffee shop, neither man noticed the small dimensional distortions that Eugene's emotional state had created in the local reality. His internal conflict about using his powers ethically was creating actual mathematical inconsistencies in the space around him.
The system, for its part, was learning that its host was far more complex than initial calculations had suggested. Eugene Sushiyanse wasn't just a solution to dimensional problems—he was becoming a problem that would require careful management.
**[PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: UPDATING]**
**[ETHICAL CONSTRAINTS: STRONGER THAN PROJECTED]**
**[LONG-TERM STABILITY: UNCERTAIN]**
**[RECOMMENDATION: MONITOR FOR OPTIMIZATION TARGETS]**
The flight to the Urals would give Eugene time to consider whether his ethical limitations were a strength or a weakness. Yuri would spend the same time wondering whether he'd just made a deal with humanity's savior or its most sophisticated threat.
Both men understood that the next few hours would determine whether Russia became Eugene's ally or his first example of what happened to nations that chose poorly.
The dimensional breach in the Urals was about to become a test case for whether mathematical precision could coexist with human unpredictability.