Alarms screamed through the underground chamber as glass and metal skidded across the floor.
The boy who had just torn his way out of the coffin stood in the center of the smoke, breathing slowly, staring at the black-red mission window hovering before him.
Hidden Mission Activated.
Survive.
Eliminate all hostile restraints.
Reward: Basic System Authorization / EXP / Weapon Manifestation
One of the masked guards snapped first.
"Kill him!"
Three created hunters rushed forward at once, their bodies wrapped in synthetic armor seals. The first swung a hooked blade toward the boy's throat. The second came low with twin knives. The third raised a compact cannon built into his forearm.
The boy moved without knowing how he knew to move.
He twisted past the blade.
The knives scraped sparks off a shattered restraint ring still hanging from his wrist.
Then the cannon fired.
The blast hit the steel coffin behind him and tore it apart.
The chamber shook.
The scientist in the blood-stained coat shouted, "Stop! His combat adaptation is still unfinished!"
Too late.
Something dark spread across the boy's right arm like living metal veins. Broken chains on the floor began sliding toward him, dragged by an invisible pull. Black fragments rose into the air. Crimson light leaked through them.
The system window changed.
Weapon Manifestation Authorized.
A sound like screaming iron filled the chamber.
The floating parts slammed together beside him, forming a monstrous crescent-shaped weapon nearly as tall as the room itself. Its edge burned crimson. Its frame looked demonic, segmented, ancient, wrong.
Everyone froze.
The scientist whispered, horrified, "Shikei no Tsuki…"
The boy caught the oversized moon-shaped scythe by instinct alone.
The weight should have crushed him.
Instead, it fit his hand perfectly.
The cannon-user fired again.
The boy swung.
The crescent edge carved a violent arc through the air. The blast split in half. The floor ruptured. The cannon-user and the two knife fighters were launched into the far wall in a spray of broken armor and blood.
The remaining guards backed away.
One of the overseers pointed at the boy with shaking hands. "He's not stable. He's a disposal-grade creation. Put him down now!"
The boy's dim eyes narrowed.
Something in those words landed.
Creation.
Disposal.
Not human.
The scientist stepped forward despite the panic around her. "Listen to me. If you can hear me, you need to run. They were never going to let you live after waking up."
The boy looked at her.
"Who am I?"
Before she could answer, the chamber ceiling split open.
A new figure dropped from above wearing black execution armor and a guild insignia over the chest. His presence alone crushed the room's air.
An official hunter.
A real one.
His gaze locked onto the boy and then onto the mission window.
His expression changed.
"…Impossible. He got a hidden-class activation on birth."
The boy's own screen flashed again.
New Objective Added:
Escape with your life.
Warning: Hunter-class enemy detected.
The official hunter drew a long execution spear and lowered into stance.
"Subject K-0," he said coldly. "Your existence is forbidden."
The boy tightened his grip on the giant scythe.
For the first time, his eyes ignited crimson.
And in the chaos of alarms, blood, and smoke, the unfinished hunter took his first step into the world.