The dungeon didn't collapse.
That was the first sign something had gone terribly wrong.
Boss dungeons collapsed when their core destabilized. Emergency spawns overloaded mana circuits. Recalibration failures caused spatial fractures.
But this one?
It stabilized.
Perfectly.
The kneeling Devourer remained motionless, its massive form radiating obedience. The wolves that had fled earlier peeked from the tunnel's edge, refusing to cross an invisible boundary around Jin Tae-Hyun.
No monster moved without his permission.
The hunters finally understood.
This wasn't fear.
It was authority.
"T-Tae-Hyun…" a hunter whispered, voice shaking. "What… are you?"
He didn't answer.
Because the system did.
The air tore open with crimson text—larger than anything seen before, pulsing violently as if resisting its own existence.
[FORCED DIRECTIVE ACTIVATED]
[TARGET: Jin Tae-Hyun]
[STATUS: UNAUTHORIZED EXISTENCE]
Every hunter's system window froze.
Skills locked.
Items disabled.
"What? I can't move my interface!"
"My inventory—it's gone!"
Tae-Hyun felt it too.
Pressure wrapped around him like invisible chains, trying to define him. Measure him. Compress him into something manageable.
His status window flickered wildly.
Level: 1
Rank: F
Authority: UNKNOWN
Note: CANNOT BE EVALUATED
"So that's your answer," Tae-Hyun said quietly.
The system wasn't observing anymore.
It was choosing.
A new message appeared, cold and absolute.
[GLOBAL RESTRICTION ISSUED]
[Jin Tae-Hyun classified as SYSTEM THREAT]
[All governing bodies authorized to intervene]
Outside the dungeon, alarms detonated across the city.
Hunter Association headquarters went into lockdown.
Red lights flashed. Emergency protocols screamed through speakers.
"This isn't a dungeon issue anymore," a director said, face pale. "It's a containment scenario."
"Dispatch strike teams."
"What rank?"
The room went silent.
"…All of them."
Back inside, the Devourer suddenly growled—low, furious.
It rose from its kneel, turning not toward Tae-Hyun, but toward the dungeon ceiling, sensing hostility from beyond.
Monsters weren't allowed to feel this.
But it did.
Tae-Hyun placed a hand against the creature's armored hide.
"Don't," he said calmly.
The Devourer froze instantly.
Obedience restored.
He turned to the hunters.
"Listen carefully," he said. "You have sixty seconds."
"To do what?" someone asked desperately.
"To leave," Tae-Hyun replied. "Before I'm forced to respond."
"Respond… to what?"
The dungeon shook.
Not from inside—
But from outside.
A violent distortion ripped through the air as multiple high-rank signatures forced entry.
Blue portals. Black portals. Gold.
Guild elites.
Association enforcers.
And something else.
Something that didn't use gates.
Tae-Hyun closed his eyes.
"…You shouldn't have come."
The system screamed one final warning.
[CONFLICT ESCALATION IMMINENT]
[SYSTEM AUTHORITY AT RISK]
When his eyes opened—
They weren't glowing.
They were empty.
And that terrified the dungeon more than anything else ever had