The A-Rank Sonic Wave launched by the Siren, Kim Yoo-jin, slammed into Han Tae-oh. The sound wasn't loud; it was a focused vibration designed to collapse the fluid in his inner ear, turning his body into a limp, paralyzed vessel.
Tae-oh screamed, collapsing, the A-Rank attack tearing at his core.
Analyze the threat! his mind screamed, fighting the paralysis. Hyper-Regeneration is active, but I can't out-heal this damage rate.
[Flaw Replication Activated! Target: A-Rank Sonic Wave (Kim Yoo-jin).]
[Flaw Identified: Single-Frequency Focus (Predictable Resonance).]
Tae-oh didn't try to steal the power of the attack. Instead, he replicated the frequency of the sonic wave and inverted it, channeling a minute amount of his shadow mana into his ear canal to create perfect counter-resonance.
The debilitating sound wave hit him again, but the damage was instantly canceled by his reversed frequency. Tae-oh coughed, his vision clearing, and he sprung to his feet, astonishing the Siren.
"Impossible," Kim Yoo-jin hissed, her melodic voice laced with fury. "My [Siren's Lament] paralyzes Elite Hunters!"
"You relied on a single frequency," Tae-oh said, his voice flat and managerial, despite the blood trickling from his mouth. "Predictable, and therefore, inefficient."
Yoo-jin attacked again, weaving her A-Rank mana into a rapid series of razor-sharp sonic blades.
Tae-oh activated Shadow Glide, blinking out of existence just as the blades passed through the space he occupied. He reappeared behind a stack of shipping crates.
He wasn't strong enough to steal her core power yet, but he had a different target. He focused on the energy radiating from the Siren's body—her ability to shape the sound.
[Flaw Replication Activated! Target: Kim Yoo-jin (A-Rank Vocal Mana Projection).]
[Flaw Identified: Reliance on Vocal Cords (Requires external air). Replication Initiated.]
Tae-oh did not try to replicate the sound magic. Instead, he channeled the structure of her mana projection and directed his black mana into the air directly in front of her mouth and nose, using a minimal Gravity Field to create a momentary vacuum seal.
Kim Yoo-jin gasped, choking as the air was sucked away. Her A-Rank power instantly failed, leaving her momentarily vulnerable.
Tae-oh moved, not to kill, but to acquire. He slammed the back of his hand—charged with a replicated Raw Strength—onto her forearm, directly over the pulsating blue vein that held her main mana circulation.
A digital chime rang.
[A-Rank Skill Signature Acquired: Siren's Lament (Sonic Control)! Skill not permanently replicated (Core Strain Too High). Data stored for future synthesis.]
Yoo-jin shrieked—a sound of pure terror, not power. She had been robbed of her data. She immediately created a smokescreen of sound and retreated, leaving the A-Rank crystal behind.
Tae-oh, exhausted but victorious, picked up the crystal and vanished.