The wind slowly swept through the ruins.
The morning light had already begun to cover the streets.
Vehicles that had been burning since last night continued to release black smoke.
Broken rebar protruded from the collapsed structures.
The air was filled with the pungent mixture of gunpowder and dust.
Distant gunfire could still be heard intermittently.
But this area
seemed to have temporarily separated itself from the battlefield.
The escort unit members did not approach.
They simply maintained their defensive positions.
Scope remained at a high position in the rear.
His rifle slowly moved.
Continuously checking for movement around the perimeter.
And in the center of the street,
only two people remained.
Lucian stood there quietly.
The azure light in his eyes was still shining.
The short blade in his right hand emitted a faint blue glow.
Traces left behind by his previous high-speed movements remained beneath his feet.
On the other side,
Dawolf was slowly catching his breath.
Blood continued dripping from his body.
The injuries to his right thigh and left arm were already noticeably affecting his movements.
Structural Lock was still active,
but it was no longer as stable as it had been at the beginning.
Occasionally, slight vibrations appeared across the surface of his skin.
As if his body were constantly correcting its own structure.
The wind swept through the ruins.
Neither of them continued attacking.
Because both of them could already feel it.
This battle
was entering another stage.
Dawolf slowly raised his head.
He looked at Lucian.
"You're annoying."
His voice was low.
There was no anger.
It sounded more like irritation from being constantly pushed closer and closer to his limit.
Lucian did not respond.
He simply looked at him calmly.
Those eyes filled with azure light
continued to observe something.
Not an enemy.
But a person.
The ruins remained silent for several seconds.
Then,
Lucian slowly spoke.
"You used to be a police officer."
It was not a question.
It sounded like confirmation.
Dawolf's movements stopped for the first time.
The wind passed through the broken walls.
His normally steady eyes lowered slightly.
＿＿＿
Heavy riot armor.
A black shield.
Shrill alarms.
A blockade line.
Young Dawolf stood at the very front.
His entire body was covered in heavy protective equipment.
His helmet concealed most of his face.
Only a pair of eyes could be seen.
Behind him,
the other officers were rapidly changing magazines.
Gunfire continuously erupted from inside the building ahead.
"Prepare to breach!"
Someone growled.
The next second—
Boom!!!
The explosion tore through the building.
The assault team immediately rushed inside.
A storm of bullets erupted.
They repeatedly slammed into the riot shield at the front.
Metallic impacts exploded one after another.
But Dawolf did not take a single step back.
He pushed forward directly into the gunfire.
His shield smashed through the obstacle ahead.
The officers behind him quickly followed.
Someone growled:
"Leave the front to him!"
＿＿＿
Reality returned to the ruins.
Dawolf did not answer.
He simply slowly clenched his fist.
Structural Lock vibrated slightly.
Lucian continued speaking calmly.
"You hid your ability."
It was not a question.
It was confirmation.
Dawolf's gaze finally changed slightly.
＿＿＿
A dim apartment.
A woman sat beside him.
She lowered her head and removed his arm guard.
The heavy metal fell to the floor.
It landed with a dull thud.
"You're going to get yourself killed someday."
She frowned.
But her movements were gentle.
And Dawolf simply sat there in silence.
"You're always charging into the most dangerous places."
"Do you really think you can't die?"
He still did not answer.
He simply lowered his head
and watched her remove his equipment.
The woman sighed.
Then continued treating the bruises on his arm.
＿＿＿
Reality returned to the battlefield once again.
The wind slowly passed through the ruins.
A burning vehicle in the distance gave off a faint explosion.
Lucian continued looking at him.
"You didn't want to expose it."
"Because once an ability user is registered..."
"a lot of things begin to change."
Dawolf remained silent.
But his fist tightened increasingly.
Lucian continued.
"Formal management."
"Forced deployment."
"Surveillance."
"Losing your ordinary identity."
"So you kept it hidden."
The air gradually fell silent.
The escort unit members said nothing.
Because they had already realized
that Lucian was slowly taking this man apart.
Dawolf slowly exhaled.
Blood dripped from his arm.
The images in his mind surfaced once again.
＿＿＿
A breach operation.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Large numbers of ability-related criminals.
And the man wearing heavy equipment
always stood at the very front.
Bullets repeatedly slammed into his armor.
The impact caused the metal to shake violently.
But he continued advancing.
On many missions,
whenever there was somewhere others were unwilling to enter,
they would send him.
Because everyone knew—
as long as that man was still standing,
the line would not collapse.
"Riot Monster!"
Someone had once laughed and called him that after an operation.
Dawolf simply removed his helmet in silence.
He did not respond.
＿＿＿
In the present,
Dawolf slowly closed his eyes.
His breathing became noticeably heavier for the first time.
The wind swept through the ruins.
Lucian continued speaking.
"Later."
"You were betrayed."
This time,
Dawolf's pupils truly contracted.
＿＿＿
Police lights.
A blockade line.
A dim room.
Blood on the floor.
Countless officers were talking continuously.
But the man standing in the center
seemed unable to hear any of them.
His eyes remained fixed on the scene ahead.
The woman lay there.
Never to respond again.
People beside him continued speaking.
"Death has been confirmed."
"It was an act of retaliation."
"We're searching for the perpetrator."
But Dawolf remained completely motionless.
As if the entire world had suddenly lost its sound.
＿＿＿
Dawolf slowly opened his eyes in the present.
That face which had always remained hard
finally darkened for the first time.
Lucian continued watching him quietly.
There was no sympathy.
No consolation.
Only calm observation.
"So."
"You stopped believing in those things."
"Rules."
"Procedures."
"Justice."
The wind passed through the broken rebar.
Flames in the distance swayed continuously.
And Dawolf remained silent.
But the images in his mind continued turning.
＿＿＿
Night.
A training ground.
Dawolf repeatedly threw punches by himself.
His fists continuously slammed into a heavy training wall.
Bang!!
Bang!!!
The dull impacts echoed again and again.
Until cracks began appearing across the wall.
Until the edges of his armor were severely deformed.
But he still did not stop.
Sweat continued falling.
And his eyes grew increasingly heavy.
＿＿＿
Dawolf slowly lowered his head in the present.
Blood continued dripping from his body.
Lucian calmly spoke.
"Later."
"You crossed the line willingly."
The wind suddenly swept across the entire ruins.
＿＿＿
A dark building.
An underground organization's headquarters.
Large numbers of armed men.
And at the entrance,
there was only one person.
No riot armor.
No shield.
No equipment whatsoever.
Only Dawolf.
"Open fire!!"
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Countless bullets poured out.
But the man did not stop.
Bullets struck his body.
They deformed.
Then fell to the ground.
Structural Lock fully manifested for the first time.
Dawolf smashed directly through the wall ahead.
Boom!!!
The concrete shattered instantly.
Several men were violently thrown away.
Screams erupted.
Some desperately retreated.
"Monster!!"
"Stop him!!"
But it was already too late.
The man moved as if all restraints had been removed.
He crushed his way straight through the entire corridor.
Walls continuously collapsed.
Gunfire could not stop him.
And in the distance,
someone was holding a camera,
his entire body trembling as he recorded everything.
＿＿＿
Reality returned to the ruins.
Dawolf slowly clenched his fist.
Structural Lock even began to vibrate unstably.
Lucian continued speaking calmly.
"You won."
"But they began to fear you."
This time,
Dawolf finally spoke in a low voice.
"Once an ability user loses control even once..."
"people won't trust them again."
His voice was low,
yet exceptionally steady.
As if he were stating a fact he had accepted long ago.
The wind slowly passed through.
But the images in his mind had not stopped.
＿＿＿
A conference room.
Stacks of documents.
Review footage.
On the screen,
Dawolf, without wearing any equipment,
was seen smashing through an entire wall with his bare hands.
"Dangerous ability user tendency."
"Excessive use of force."
"Emotional instability."
"Recommend suspension pending investigation."
On the other side of the conference table,
people quietly discussed the matter.
Yet no one truly looked at him.
As if everyone had already decided the outcome.
＿＿＿
Dawolf slowly closed his eyes in the present.
"They weren't afraid that the criminals had died."
"They were afraid..."
"that someone couldn't be controlled."
The air gradually fell silent.
Only the sound of burning flames remained in the distance.
Lucian slowly looked at him.
"So now..."
"that's why you're risking your life for something."
Dawolf did not answer.
But his fist tightened increasingly.
Structural Lock vibrated slightly once again.
＿＿＿
Sunlight.
A street.
A small figure crouched on the ground.
She held a blood-covered stray cat in her arms.
"Dad!"
The girl's voice was filled with tears.
Dawolf was just about to approach
when his movements suddenly stopped.
Because—
the cat that had been on the verge of death
was slowly recovering.
The bleeding began to stop.
The torn flesh gradually healed.
But the girl had not noticed anything.
She simply held the cat in her arms.
＿＿＿
Dawolf's pupils finally contracted slightly in the present.
The wind suddenly swept across the entire ruins.
Lucian slowly spoke.
"You're protecting someone."
It was not a question.
It was confirmation.
The entire atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
Dawolf did not answer.
But another image surfaced in his mind.
＿＿＿
The border.
A chaotic region.
Constantly changing identities.
Old vehicles.
Dim hotels.
And the figure that always quietly followed behind him.
Finally,
the rooftop of a high-rise.
Crow looked down from above.
The wind blew against his long coat.
Dawolf had been marked as a threat.
＿＿＿
Dawolf slowly exhaled in the present.
Blood continued dripping from his body.
Lucian still stood there quietly.
The azure light in his eyes had not faded.
"So."
"That's why you stayed in a place like this."
Dawolf slowly raised his head.
He looked at Lucian.
The violence that had been on his face before was gone.
Only heaviness remained.
After a long silence,
he finally spoke in a low voice.
"Things from the past..."
"There's nothing worth talking about."
His voice was still low.
But this time,
it was no longer as hard as it had been at the beginning.