6:45 A.M.
Azure Blade Tower stood tall, proud, and gleaming in the golden light of morning.
From the outside, nothing had changed.
But inside, gears had begun to turn—quiet, deadly, and irreversible.
---
[Association HQ – Final Mobilization]
President Choi In-Sun stood beside four armed investigators and fifteen legal officers. All were dressed in formal black suits—not a single weapon in sight.
They weren't here to fight.
They were here to expose.
Each officer wore a silver badge containing the Association's Divine Authority Seal—a symbol of law above Guild contracts, signed by the World Hunter Accord.
"Do not draw unless they do," In-Sun said softly.
"If we become the aggressors, they win the headlines."
---
[7:00 A.M. – Azure Blade Lobby]
Receptionists smiled politely as the doors slid open.
Then froze.
Choi In-Sun entered with her entourage.
An officer behind her handed over a document.
> "This is an official warrant under the Hunter Ethics Act.
We're here to conduct a full sweep of your lower divisions."
The receptionist stammered. "T-The Commander is not in yet—"
"Then page him."
They waited.
Stillness stretched.
Above them, unseen to most, mana detectors began to hum, scanning the intruders.
> [System: Alert – Mana interference detected.]
[Guild surveillance protocols intensifying.]
In-Sun remained calm.
> "Let them try to hide it.
Every second they scramble, another truth dies harder."
---
[Meanwhile – Jin-Soo's Infiltration Begins]
Floor 29.
Jin-Soo walked down the hallway, dressed in the simple blue uniform of an internal logistics courier.
A forged badge hung from his neck.
The guards at the checkpoint barely looked at him.
He passed through unchallenged.
> [System: Illusion field stable. Identity confirmed. Proximity to core vault: 78 meters.]
He adjusted the small pouch inside his coat—the one containing the encrypted data drive, stolen blueprints, and a copy of every sick experiment he'd recorded from the vault.
This was his payload.
This was his weapon.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A guard turned. Looked directly at him.
"…Haven't seen you before," the guard muttered.
Jin-Soo smiled. "Transferred from the Yongsan branch. Just today."
The guard frowned, stepping forward—
Then froze.
Because a sudden explosion shook the floor beneath them.
BOOM.
---
[Floor -2 – Red Spiral Strike Team]
Kang Mi-Ra and her two partners burst through the emergency hatch into the secured floor below. Smoke billowed behind them.
Sirens screamed.
They sprinted down the corridor toward the mana prison cells.
Red lights flashed.
The first guard turned the corner—and Mi-Ra's blade pierced his shoulder before he could shout.
"No more waiting," she growled.
"No more names in cages."
They slammed a breaching rune onto the stasis chamber gates.
Glass shattered.
The prisoners inside—pale, drained Hunters—gasped as mana returned to their veins.
"W-What… who are you—"
Mi-Ra shouted, "You're free! Run to the surface and tell the Association everything!"
One man stood up shakily.
"No. I'll fight."
Mi-Ra looked him in the eyes.
And handed him a blade.
---
[Back to Jin-Soo – Vault Room Access]
The explosion below had caused just enough confusion.
Jin-Soo moved while the guard turned.
His knife slipped silently across the man's neck before the second word could escape.
> [System: Life signature erased.]
[Door access granted – Secondary lock overridden.]
The vault door hissed open.
Rows of essence cores floated in containment chambers.
Each pulsed with a faint, desperate light—living energy.
Jin-Soo's face twisted.
He grabbed two.
Shoved them into the secured case.
And then—
He stopped.
One core in the back wasn't glowing.
It was shaking.
Pulsating like a dying heart.
He touched it.
> [System: Unique Condition Detected. Essence Core – unstable fusion.
Soul fragments: 14.
Pain Level: MAX.]
[Warning: This core is alive. Still conscious.]
Jin-Soo's eyes widened.
"…You're awake," he whispered.
And in that moment, something in him broke.
Something cold.
---
[Guild Command Tower – Ryu Jae-Ho Reacts]
Sirens blared. Security panels flickered. Reports flooded in.
"Explosion on -2!"
"Containment breach!"
"Unknown intruders—"
Ryu Jae-Ho stood without a word.
He walked to the center of the room.
And said, calmly—
> "Seal the floors. All of them. Anyone caught inside dies."
The aides hesitated.
"But sir—"
> "Seal it."
---
[Final Sequence – Jin-Soo Unlocks the Title]
As steel gates slammed shut and alarms blared, Jin-Soo stared at the core in his hand—the one still alive, still screaming.
And he whispered:
"I hear you."
> [System: Title Evolution Available.]
[Suppressed Title 'Monarch of Silence' – Ready to Awaken.]
[Do you wish to activate?]
Jin-Soo looked up at the red-lit vault, the ringing chaos outside, the blood in his heart.
"Yes."
> [Activating — MONARCH OF SILENCE]
[All shadows obey. All sounds die before you. All fear begins in silence.]
Jin-Soo vanished.
Completely.
Not just to eyes.
Not just to sound.
To existence.
And when he moved—
Every core in the vault flickered with awakened resonance.
Because now the silence had a King.
---