The following morning, all of Seoul was shrouded in tension and fear. No one dared to venture outside. Every news station broadcasted the same report—the SS-rank Gate would open within hours. Traffic was paralyzed as thousands desperately tried to flee the city.
On the rooftop of the Hunter Association's main headquarters, the strongest Hunters in the nation—SSS-rank elites and high-ranking officials—waited anxiously for the moment of disaster.
"The Gate's life signal is rising rapidly," one staff member reported, his voice trembling. "It'll open in less than ten minutes…"
Kim Hyun-woo, one of the mightiest SSS-rank Hunters, stared grimly at the skyline. "All units, stand by! The moment it opens, we'll strike it down!"
But everyone knew the truth. An SS-rank Gate was nearly indestructible. Even with multiple SSS-rank Hunters attacking together, they had only ever managed to scratch its surface. The odds of success were slim to none.
While despair loomed over the command center, Asher sat comfortably in the living room of his new home, watching the news with a faint smile.
"Everyone's far too pessimistic," he mused. "It's just a Gate…"
Whoosh!
In an instant, his casual clothes shifted into a school uniform. He had decided to head to school—not to study, of course, but for entertainment.
"Seola, I'm going now," he called out to his younger sister, who was busy playing with her teddy bear.
She looked at him with suspicion, but said nothing.
Meanwhile, in central Seoul, silence fell like a suffocating fog. The once-chaotic streets froze as if bewitched. Above, a massive black Gate slowly formed in the sky.
"It's here…" Kim Hyun-woo muttered, dread thick in his voice.
The Gate pulled everything into itself—cars, trees, even nearby buildings warped and collapsed into its darkness. The air itself twisted as cracks spread violently across its surface.
"It's… it's about to break!" a staff member shouted in panic.
A horrifying black light burst outward, accompanied by an earth-shaking roar. The sheer pressure caused skyscrapers to tremble, glass to shatter, and concrete to fracture. The Gate's shell splintered further, on the verge of eruption.
"Prepare to attack! Move in!" Kim Hyun-woo barked.
Hunters tensed, ready to charge… but then froze in disbelief. A boy in a school uniform strolled casually into the danger zone, hands in his pockets, wearing a calm smile.
"This is dangerous! Get out of here!" an officer shouted.
Asher only smiled serenely. "Don't worry… I'm here to help."
Before anyone could stop him, he raised his hand and spoke softly, almost like a whisper.
"Silent… Killing… Wind."
The words were quiet—yet to the Gate, they thundered like divine judgment.
Fwoosh!
There was no explosion, no blinding light, no display of power. Only a faint breeze brushed past Asher's body.
And in the blink of an eye—
The SS-rank Gate, on the verge of bursting, vanished completely. Gone. As though it had never existed.
Ding!
[Silent Killing Wind – Success]
Every Hunter stood frozen in shock, eyes wide and mouths agape. They stared at the clear sky where the Gate had been, utterly incapable of understanding what had just happened.
And all the while, the boy in the school uniform stood calmly before them.
Who was he?