---
He had no name.
Not anymore.
No license.
No Guild.
No face in the public eye.
And yet, every corrupt tower began to fear him.
They called him by many names:
Ghostblade
The Whisper
Ash Walker
But one name echoed more than the rest—
"The Monarch of Silence."
---
[Busan – Five Days Later]
A tall Guild tower stood by the harbor, blue banners fluttering in the sea wind.
"Ocean Claw Guild"
Classified as "clean." Profitable. No major violations.
But that was just surface.
Below, far beneath the building—hidden under a water-locked floor—Hunters were chained, unconscious, glowing faintly.
Essence cores were harvested daily.
"Voluntarily," the Guild claimed.
"Debt contracts," they said.
Until one night—
The power failed.
Only for 2.4 seconds.
Enough to disable their surveillance.
Enough to let him in.
---
[System: Shadow Entry Complete]
Jin-Soo stepped into the lowest floor's darkness without a single sound.
> [Stillborn Realm: 15% Activated – Wide Zone Cloaking Initiated]
[Enemy Detection: Disabled]
[Exit Routes: Secured]
[Personal Status: Phantom – Trace Level: 0]
In one hand, he carried a black crystal—a marker stone, encoded with evidence.
In the other?
A single injection device, filled with re-energizing liquid mana.
He moved cell to cell, injecting the freed Hunters.
None of them saw his face.
One girl stirred as her mana returned.
She blinked at the dark figure crouched beside her.
"W-Who are you…?"
Jin-Soo didn't speak.
He simply laid the crystal beside her hand.
Then melted into the shadows again.
---
[Next Morning – News Broadcast in Busan]
> "Ocean Claw's Sub-Level Facility Raided Overnight!"
"Unknown vigilante exposes illegal mana contracts—15 captive Hunters rescued"
"Authorities find no footage. No audio.
Only a calling card left at the scene."
The anchor held up the item on camera:
A black card. No logo. No name.
Just a line, burned into its surface:
> "You will not hear me.
But you will feel the silence I bring."
---
[Meanwhile – Red Spiral Expansion Base, Daejeon]
Kang Mi-Ra now led a team of 47 active Hunters—all survivors or volunteers.
She stood over a table with red-pinned maps.
Each pin marked a Guild under quiet investigation.
One member approached.
"Another one… happened last night."
She didn't need to ask who.
Mi-Ra allowed a small smile.
"He's moving faster."
"He's also drawing attention."
The member pulled out a folder marked 'Retribution Cells'—the secret remnants of the fallen Guild elite. Hidden factions loyal to the old order.
"They've placed a bounty. Not on his life—but on his identity."
Mi-Ra's smile vanished.
"They still think they can control fear."
---
[Elsewhere – A Train, Moving South]
Jin-Soo sat alone in the last car of a near-empty night train.
The world sped by outside in silence.
He held a child's drawing in his hand—a crumpled, torn sketch found in the Busan facility.
It was of a girl holding hands with someone in armor.
Above the picture, scrawled in shaky Hangul:
> "Someday my oppa will come save me."
He folded the paper carefully.
Slipped it inside his jacket.
Then closed his eyes.
And whispered—not aloud, but deep within:
> "I will be that brother.
For every one they took."
---
[Midnight – Jeonju: Target Acquired]
The next target was already marked.
"Wyrmstone Guild"—disguised as a training academy.
In reality, it sold rookie Hunters to corporations for dangerous mana testing. Contracts sealed in magic, truth buried in gold.
And yet—
Even in this hidden fortress—
A guard paused while patrolling.
He felt… cold.
Unseen.
As if someone had just walked past his soul.
---
[Final Scene – Whisper Across the Net]
On a private Hunter forum, a new thread appeared.
Titled:
> "Does the Monarch Choose or Punish?"
The post read:
> My name is Kwon Tae-Il. I was one of the Hunters trapped under Ocean Claw.
He saved me. He didn't speak.
But when I looked in his eyes—I didn't see power.
I saw someone who had died already. But stayed anyway.
To make sure we lived.
He left before I could say thank you. So I'll say it here.
If you're reading this, Monarch—thank you for choosing silence over applause.
I owe you my life.
---