A rare, genuine smile touched Minho's lips as he walked. The weight was gone. The constant pressure of his mother's debt, the shadow of that man looming over their lives - all gone. It was a different kind of annihilation, sweeter than any monster's core.
He pulled up the system screen. The familiar crimson screen materialized in his vision.
[Name: Lee Minho
• Title: Herald of Annihilation
• Level: 86
• EXP: 980/1500
• Attributes: Strength 350, Stamina 300, Agility 300, Intelligence 370, Perception 300, Destructive Potential: 2000.]
He was stronger than he could have ever dreamed. Each dungeon was less a battle and more a… process. A simple conversion of matter and mana into pure, destructive potential. Each dungeon raid was easier than the last.
A notification flickered at the edge of the screen, pulling him from his thoughts.
[Notification: Egg of a General is starting to hatch!]
Finally. He'd almost forgotten about that particular reward. He dismissed the screen, his smile returning. He had just completed a mission greater than any the system had ever handed to him.
He pushed through the glass doors of a high-end department store, the cool air and sterile light a huge contrast to the dungeons he now called his office.
Korean Hunters Association HQ.
Chairman, Go Gun-Hee's Office.
"Close the door, Jinchul."
Chairman Go Gun-Hee's voice went across, mixed with a little fatigue. Woo Jinchul - Go Gun-Hee's Right-hand man and Chief Inspector of the Surveillance Team - in his crisp suit, did as instructed, standing at attention before the massive desk.
"Sir."
"The Breaker," Go Gun-Hee began, steepling his fingers. "The time for observation is over. I want a meeting. Arrange it. You and Ah-Ra will accompany me. No one else. This requires… delicacy."
"Meeting?" Jinchul asked, a little surprised.
"He's a powerful S-rank, Jinchul. If we don't try to understand and communicate with him now, we might lose him just like Hunter Hwang." Go Gun-Hee said.
"That could be the case. But he's been killing hunters sent after him. Even the ones from overseas." Jinchul added.
Go Gun-Hee sighed, now that it was true. The Breaker wasn't ready to communicate with anyone from the wider hunter community. "But, according to Ah-Ra's information, he has opened up on his identity. Doesn't that sound like an invite?"
"Could be a challenge as well, sir."
"Then we'll take it."
Jinchul nodded. "Understood, Chairman. I will make the necessary discreet inquiries." He hesitated, a slight frown crawling in.
"There is something else, sir. While coordinating the surveillance sweeps for The Breaker, I felt… something else. A powerful, controlled mana signature emanating from an abandoned underground subway line in the Yongsan district. It was brief, but intense."
Go Gun-Hee's eyes sharpened. "The Breaker?"
"No, sir. The energy signature was different. By the time my team arrived, there was nothing. Only this." Jinchul placed his phone on the desk, displaying a photograph. It showed a patch of concrete floor where a small, puddle of pure blackness seemed to be dissolving into the air. In the background, the shattered remains of a training dummy were visible.
"A shadow?" the Chairman murmured.
"It dissolved before we could collect a sample. But the dummy… it was pulverized on a near molecular level at a few points. This wasn't The Breaker's work. His destruction is… flashier and most times leaves no trace. This was surgical. And the individual responsible is undoubtedly S-Rank. They are hiding their presence masterfully."
Go Gun-Hee leaned back, a new weight settling on his shoulders. One mysterious, uncontrollable S-Rank was a crisis. Two was a potential cataclysm. "Keep this to yourself, Jinchul. Prioritize The Breaker's meeting. But… look into this. Quietly."
"Yes, Chairman."
Back at Minho's Home.
Minho struggled with the key, his arms filled with glossy shopping bags. He finally managed to shove the door open. "Mom? I'm home!"
His mother emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. Her eyes went wide, wondering from the bags in his arms to his face. "Minho… what is all this? How… how did you…"
He dumped the bags on the living room floor with a grunt, a proud grin on his face. "I've been saving. For a really, really long time. And now It's all done, Mom. The debt. It's paid. All of it. No more loans. Ever."
"B-but—"
"It's all okay now, Mom." He muttered.
She stood frozen as he began pulling out items: fine silk scarves, a new coat, imported cooking ingredients, a box of her favorite tea. Then he pulled out a small, velvet box and handed it to her.
Her hands flew to her mouth. With trembling fingers, she took it and opened the lid. Nestled inside was a delicate silver necklace with a single pearl. A sob escaped her. It was the one she'd pointed out in a magazine window years ago, a lifetime ago, when Joon-ho had still pretended to be a husband. He had promised. And he never delivered.
Minho had remembered. He'd booked it the same day he got his first payout from the Black Market.
She didn't ask any questions. She just pulled him into a tight hug, her tears soaking his shirt. They were tears of relief, of joy, of a pain finally released. He held her, the Herald of Annihilation perfectly still, allowing this one, fragile thing to exist untouched by his destruction.
Far from the mortal plane, in a realm where space and time seemed still, four figures stood assembled. Their forms were vague, shimmering with immense, terrifying power.
"He has returned," a voice stated, the air around him seemed to freeze.
There was no need for names. They all knew.
"The vessel is stronger than anticipated. It accelerates," another voice added. A female one.
A gate opened, and a fifth presence walked out of it, striding into their midst.
"You are late, Rakkan," the icy voice of Siliad came in.
The Beast Monarch smiled. "The integration took. This body will serve its purpose. It can handle the pressure." His smile widened. "And most of all… it is perfect. His son, a constant disappointment… He is the vessel for our brother's will."
"I still don't understand how he survived, even after we absorbed his core." Yogumunt, the Monarch of Transfiguration, spoke.
"This shouldn't be a full transfer. As long as the vessel still acts on it's own, then we could take advantage of it." Tarnak added.
"Yes, we could use it once again, against that foolish Shadow Monarch." Queresha mused.
"Then let us begin with the preparations." Sillad smiled.