The smell of blood and ash still clung to Minwoo's coat as he sat on the stone steps outside the guild hall, staring out at the early dawn. The city was just waking up—vendors setting up stalls, low-level adventurers jogging past in groups, their chatter light and hopeful.
He didn't feel light. He felt changed.
Kinro curled beside him, tail wrapped neatly over clawed feet, eyes half-lidded but alert. Every so often, the dragon glanced at Minwoo with concern. There was something unspoken between them. Minwoo wasn't just tired—he was drained.
That last mission had pushed him to the edge. And beyond.
The Bakura Dagger now felt heavier on his hip, as if it had fed well that night. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he could hear something inside it whispering—soft, hungry, promising power in exchange for just a little more.
Footsteps approached from behind. He didn't need to look.
"Jin," he said.
The swordsman dropped onto the step beside him with a groan. His arm was still bandaged, and a half-eaten skewer of meat hung from his mouth.
"You ever not brood?" Jin asked, biting off a chunk.
"I'm not brooding."
"You're sitting in the cold, staring into nothing, with the aura of someone who just punched a ghost and didn't win."
Minwoo exhaled through his nose. "I'm thinking."
"Dangerous habit."
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Minwoo spoke again, voice low. "That necromancer… he was exiled from the upper guilds. Did you notice the badge on his robes?"
Jin nodded, chewing slower now. "Yeah. Used to be A-rank. Guildless now."
"He wasn't just gathering cursed relics. He was experimenting—trying to convert adventurers into mana cores. Like the golem."
"That's not just a power grab," Jin muttered. "That's war prep."
Minwoo nodded grimly. "I think we're on the edge of something big. And someone wants to keep it quiet."
Behind them, the heavy wooden door of the guild hall creaked open. Rin stepped out, a satchel over her shoulder and her usual calm expression replaced with concern.
"You two need to see this," she said, handing Minwoo a sealed envelope marked with the Elder Guild's wax sigil. "It came by courier. Urgent."
Minwoo cracked it open. His eyes skimmed the contents. His grip on the paper tightened.
"What is it?" Jin asked.
Minwoo handed the letter over silently. Jin read it—and cursed.
To: Minwoo of the Shadow Fang
You are hereby summoned to the Central Guild Tower for questioning regarding unauthorized engagement with a restricted relic-class entity and suspected activation of a Class-S Forbidden Domain.
Failure to comply will result in formal investigation, suspension of all ranked missions, and potential blacklisting.
Report by nightfall.
—Councilor Hanzo, Guild Elder
Minwoo stood, the letter crumpling in his fist. "They're trying to shut us down before we even rise."
Rin crossed her arms. "Then don't let them. Go, tell them the truth. Show them the reports. You completed the mission clean."
"They won't care about the mission," Jin said darkly. "They care about power—and Minwoo's domain just made him very inconvenient."
Kinro growled softly, sensing his tension.
Minwoo turned toward the rising sun. "Then we don't give them an excuse. We go. Together."
The Central Guild Tower loomed over Tokyo's core like a spear of white steel, its spire vanishing into the clouds. Inside, everything was polished—perfect—too clean. Like a place that had forgotten what real fighting looked like.
Minwoo, Jin, and Lira stood before a curved bench of five guild elders, each cloaked in robes of rank and riddles. Councilor Hanzo sat in the center—an older man with sunken eyes and fingers that tapped endlessly on the table.
"You trespassed into restricted territory," Hanzo began. "You engaged with unstable relics. You activated a Forbidden Domain."
"We stopped a rogue necromancer," Lira interrupted calmly. "And prevented a mass resurrection using corrupted adventurer cores. The report was filed."
"Your actions drew attention," Hanzo said, ignoring her. "And raised questions. Questions about what you're building."
Minwoo stepped forward. "We're building something new. Something better. A guild for people like us. The ones your system left behind."
The other elders murmured.
Hanzo leaned forward. "And what will you do when your 'people' grow too powerful? When you grow too powerful, Minwoo? What stops you from becoming the next necromancer? Or worse?"
Minwoo met his gaze without blinking. "Because I remember what it's like to be powerless. I'm not here to dominate. I'm here to give people a place to fight for. You think that's dangerous?"
Hanzo said nothing.
One of the other elders finally spoke. A woman with white hair and a voice like cold water. "Let him prove it. Trial by Hunt."
The chamber fell silent.
Hanzo scowled. "That tradition is obsolete."
"It's law," she replied.
Minwoo's voice was steady. "What's the trial?"
The woman smiled faintly. "One target. One week. No reinforcements. If you succeed, your guild is officially recognized. If not… your members are dispersed, and the Shadow Fang is disbanded."
"Who's the target?" Jin asked sharply.
The woman placed a crystal orb on the table. It glowed with a shifting image—a rogue A-rank adventurer, known only as Veyl. Masked. Deadly. Accused of assassinating two guild leaders and vanishing into the underground ruins outside Tokyo.
"Happy hunting," the elder said.
That night, back at the Shadow Fang's temporary base, the air was heavy.
Minwoo stood in the training room, swinging the Bakura Dagger in slow arcs. His body was healed—but inside, he still felt that same sharp edge. Like something inside him had woken during the fight. Something that wanted more.
Lira entered, leaning against the doorway. "You don't have to do this alone."
"I do," he said without turning. "That's the rule."
"You're walking into a trap," she said flatly. "They're betting you'll die."
He stopped.
"Then I make them lose the bet."
As dawn approached, Minwoo stood at the edge of Tokyo's outer ruins. Kinro rested nearby, wings folded, unwilling to leave but understanding the choice.
Minwoo looked down at his dragon companion and smiled faintly.
"Wait for me."
He turned—and vanished into the ruins.
Alone.
The Hunt had begun.