RG 116

The dark shadow that had been churning within slowly shrank and slipped beneath the feet of the skill’s owner. The man who had deactivated the skill looked around with emotionless eyes.

All the furniture was destroyed beyond recognition, and massive claw marks—like those left by a giant beast—remained etched into the walls. Amidst the chaos, the only thing left intact was the window.

As he lowered his gaze, he saw a boy collapsed in front of him. His face was flushed red with fever, and the traces of a recent fight were still visible. Despite the bleeding wounds scattered across his body and his complete exhaustion—so drained he couldn’t even lift a finger—the boy continued to glare at him with unwavering focus.

He had expected this. After all, Cha Sahyeon had managed to stay sane while harboring “that” for an incomprehensibly long time.

Just as the man was looking down at Cha Sahyeon, another voice cut in.

“Is it over?”

It was the Hunter who had been dispatched with the man to retrieve Cha Sahyeon. His dark gray hair was loosely tied back in a haphazard bun. A craftsman who specialized in handling items.

“Whoa, looks like a hell of a fight.”

The craftsman whistled as he looked around the office, then took off the guitar case slung over his shoulder. Without hesitation, he picked up the collapsed Cha Sahyeon and stuffed him into the bag like an object.

Although the guitar case was smaller than the boy’s body, it contained a spatial expansion artifact, allowing him to fit inside with no issue.

“But what’s that?”

The craftsman, now done moving Cha Sahyeon, pointed toward one side of the room with a puzzled expression. There lay the owner of the office, unconscious and bleeding. He glanced at the man in confusion, but then suddenly seemed to understand and let out an impressed sound. 

“Is that the guy? The Hunter who was hiding ‘this’?”

“…”

“Is he dead? If we don’t clean up properly, it’ll be a pain later.”

At the casual suggestion, the man looked down at Cha Sahyeon, still lying in the bag.

Cha Sahyeon stared back at him with open hostility, unable to hide his anxiety. Breathing raggedly, His green eyes were locked on him. The man stared at him in silence for a long time before speaking. “…He’s already dead.”

The craftsman, who had an ordinary human body, likely couldn’t tell, but the man could clearly hear Cha Seohu’s heartbeat. Still, he didn’t change his answer.

“Well, fine.” The craftsman didn’t seem to care in the first place. He just shrugged and went about his business.

With Cha Sahyeon zipped up inside, the guitar case looked perfectly ordinary. No one would ever guess there was a boy hidden inside.

Wearing strength-enhancing item gloves, the craftsman easily slung the guitar case over his shoulder and looked back at the man. “Let’s go.”

The man nodded and started to follow the craftsman out of the office.

Bzzzt!

Suddenly, a vibration rang out from somewhere. Turning toward the sound, they spotted a cellphone lying amidst the furniture debris.

The man silently watched the phone’s screen as a call came in. Just as the call went to voicemail and disconnected, he crushed the phone without hesitation.

Crack!

Not only the screen, but every internal component was completely destroyed. Leaving the wrecked phone behind, the man walked out of the office without a second thought.

As he emerged, the craftsman—who had been waiting by the broken front door—removed a square device attached to the hallway wall. It was an item that suppressed sound and vibration.

“Easy. Too easy.”

Grinning, the craftsman pocketed the item and walked out of the building with the man.

***

The call ended with a long, continuous tone—no one had picked up. Kwon Taehyeok lowered the phone from his ear.

“Guildmaster.”

Just then, the secretary who had stepped out of the executive office returned.

“I contacted the security team to look into it, but they say nothing suspicious was found.”

“Hm.”

“Several people came and went from the building, but all of them were visitors to different floors.”

Kwon Taehyeok stroked the corner of his mouth thoughtfully, then gave a small nod.

The building that housed Cha Seohu’s office was a typical commercial building. It had everything from a side dish shop to a study room, so a lot of foot traffic was inevitable.

“What about Hunter Cha Seohu?”

“There have been no sightings. It’s reported that he hasn’t gone out and is still in the office with his brother.”

Then why isn’t he answering the phone? Kwon Taehyeok felt his unease deepen.

Noticing the look of concern and frustration on Kwon Taehyeok’s face as he stared at his phone, the secretary asked with a hint of hesitation, “Sir, did you call Hunter Cha Seohu?”

“…He didn’t pick up.”

So he did call. Sighing internally, the secretary gave a faint, awkward smile. “He’s probably just busy. From Hunter Cha Seohu’s perspective, the move was sudden. He’s likely packing or organizing things.”

“That’s why I called—to help.”

“Well… that might feel burdensome. Helping someone pack isn’t just about tidying up a space—it involves revealing personal belongings too.”

At the secretary’s reasoning, Kwon Taehyeok’s eyes wavered slightly.

‘Is it… too much for him?’

Come to think of it, Cha Seohu hadn’t exactly been thrilled about the offer to move into the Yesung Guild building in the first place. He only changed his mind later on, likely for safety reasons.

While Kwon Taehyeok stood there in silent confusion, the secretary continued speaking, “I don’t know him very well, having only seen him a few times, but isn’t Hunter Cha Seohu the type to be kind and gentle, but also a bit shy and cautious?”

Raising a younger brother all on his own—it was only natural, the secretary added. Kwon Taehyeok nodded at that.

“That’s why when people try to help too much, it might actually overwhelm him. Since he said he’d come tomorrow, it might be best to give Hunter Cha Seohu some space to sort things out today.”

At the calm suggestion, Kwon Taehyeok quietly slipped his phone into the pocket of his suit jacket, a hint of deflation in his posture.

Watching this, the secretary was struck by how unusual it all felt. Had there ever been someone Kwon Taehyeok cared about this much? Considering Hunter Cha Seohu was just a fairly ordinary B-class Support, it was quite surprising. Especially since he had unexpectedly canceled all appointments yesterday to go to an amusement park, a backlog of tasks had piled up.

“I’ll go over today’s schedule.”

Hoping that Kwon Taehyeok would focus on work today, the secretary began the briefing.

***

Time passed slowly, but steadily.

The sun, once high in the sky, gradually dipped toward the horizon. The sky, once painted in the red hues of sunset, darkened into a deep indigo. A chilly wind blew from afar, swaying the bare branches of trees.

In the sun’s place, a pale yellow moon rose. Its unusually bright light spilled through the window, casting a glow across the office.

A white hand, bathed in the moonlight, trembled slightly. Then, a small voice whispered—

“…Activate.”

Crackle!

Lightning sparked as the collapsed body began to change. Jet-black hair turned into a light, pale blond, and the hands grew slightly larger.

Only then did Cha Seohu push himself upright, still drenched in blood. The unrelenting pain, like being struck in the head with a hammer, finally dulled to something bearable.

Even as an S-class now, moving in this state was a struggle.

His consciousness kept flickering, his body felt numb—something was clearly wrong with his brain. Sitting back down, Cha Seohu had no choice but to retrieve an item from his inventory.

It was a healing potion he had bought from the item shop—the very last one. It felt like a waste, but this wasn’t the time to think about that. He downed the potion in one gulp and, once the pain faded cleanly, rose to his feet. He walked toward the shattered phone on the ground.

With trembling hands, he picked up the wreckage and looked for the chip he had inserted long ago. As long as the chip was intact, he could use the tracking function in Cha Sahyeon’s earring to locate him. But…

“Ah…”

The chip was broken, destroyed along with the phone. Cracked and shattered—there was no way it could function even if inserted into another device.

His last shred of hope crumbled to dust.

Staring down at the broken phone with a hollow expression, Cha Seohu clenched his lips shut. He struggled to hold down the bubbling fury inside him.

‘If I had just accepted Kwon Taehyeok’s offer right away… No, even if I had just gone to the hospital on time, none of this would’ve happened.’

What the hell was I thinking, living with the kid in such a poorly protected place? I knew it was dangerous, and still—I was stupid. Fuck…

Blood-mixed sweat rolled down his temple. His heart throbbed painfully. He pressed a hand firmly against his chest and shut his eyes.

‘…Calm down. Now’s not the time to sit around regretting things.’

The tracker was only ever a backup anyway. Even if the chip had survived, there was a good chance the bastards who took Cha Sahyeon would have tampered with the earring.

‘So what now?’

There was no mystery about why the lab took Cha Sahyeon—they wanted to resume the torture that had been interrupted by the attack.

Saving Cha Sahyeon from those bastards wasn’t just about the boy’s safety—it was about the safety of the world. To do that, Cha Seohu first had to find out where Cha Sahyeon was. Once morning came, he wouldn’t be able to use his hidden skill anymore, so it had to be fast and certain.

‘Could I ask Hyeon Dowun? Or Kwon Taehyeok?’

Both of them were already digging into information about the lab, but neither had come up with anything useful. Finding Cha Sahyeon through them seemed unlikely.

‘Is there anyone else I could ask for help…?’

At that moment, Cha Seohu’s eyes shot open as a name flashed through his mind like lightning.

Eun Woojeong.

The paper card he found in the hallway, right before going to the amusement park. He was sure he had set it aside separately…

Cha Seohu hurried into the bedroom and grabbed the wallet he had tossed onto the nightstand. The card with the address was neatly tucked inside.

‘The Spider’s Web is always watching us. So they must’ve noticed those suspicious guys who came by earlier.’

It wasn’t that he trusted Eun Woojeong or the Spider’s Web in general. But right now, even a frayed rope was worth grabbing. The remaining issue was getting in touch with Eun Woojeong, the leader of the Spider’s Web.

‘I’ll have to go to the address written on the card.’

He had received the card yesterday, so it was very late to act on it—but there was no helping it. It was the only way to meet Eun Woojeong. Now that the plan was set, all that was left was to move quickly.

Cha Seohu hastily wiped the blood from his face and changed clothes. Just before leaving, he put on a cap and a mask.

All of it took less than five minutes. Fully prepared, he didn’t leave through the front door—whose frame had been blown out—but instead jumped out the window.

There was a chance the lab would send another Hunter to clean up the scene, so he had to stay cautious. Just as he stepped into a back alley—

“This way, Hunter Cover.”

A stranger’s voice called from deeper within the alley. A Hunter stepped out of the darkness, wearing a mask over his face. He bowed politely to Cha Seohu.

“We’ve been expecting you. Please, follow me.”