Even beneath her altered face, the truth of who she was could not be hidden. The aura that flowed from her—refined yet vast, calm yet immense—was unmistakable. The silver shimmer of her hair caught the faintest light as she strode forward, and Lee Seong-jun immediately recognized her.
Anna.
Only he could see through the thin layer of disguise.
"...What?" Park Jun-hyung's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't expected someone to step in—least of all a woman whose poise radiated such quiet confidence. For an instant, his nerves flared. But upon closer inspection, he sensed no aura, no trace of hunter energy.
'Not a hunter. Probably a cop,' he reasoned, his confidence swelling again. Even if she was a hunter, she didn't look stronger than the man he'd been trying to drag off earlier.
His lips curled into a smirk. 'Two for one. The pumpkin rolls in with its vine.'
Lust replaced caution. His eyes trailed shamelessly along her figure as he put on a falsely charming smile.
"I was just helping this young man make new friends," he said smoothly. "But if you're feeling lonely, you're welcome to join us."
Anna's brow creased. Her tone, when she spoke, was sharp enough to slice through steel.
"So, you're saying you were about to introduce my contractor to another woman?"
The moment the word contractor left her lips, the temperature in the air plummeted. Lee Seong-jun didn't move, but his gaze darkened.
Park Jun-hyung, oblivious and drunk on his own arrogance, merely chuckled. "Don't be jealous. We could all have fun together."
His eyes flicked downward, hunger glinting in his pupils. "Yeah… I can't wait any longer."
He raised his hand toward her neck in a motion he had repeated hundreds of times—swift, practiced, cruel. Any ordinary person, even most hunters, wouldn't have been able to react.
But before Anna could even draw in mana to respond—
Crunch.
"Kwaaak—!"
The sound of bone snapping echoed through the street. Park Jun-hyung's scream tore through the crowd.
Lee Seong-jun stood between them, one hand gripping the man's twisted arm. His face was calm, but his eyes burned with icy fury.
"You've crossed the line," he said quietly.
Anna didn't intervene. She didn't need to. She could feel it—the fury that radiated from him was more than enough. This wasn't about protection. It was punishment.
"I'll make sure you never try something this filthy again."
The moment he spoke, a surge of blood energy rippled through Park Jun-hyung's wrist. Crimson qi slithered under his skin, rushing toward his head like a swarm of serpents.
"Urgh…!"
Park Jun-hyung's body convulsed as his vision warped. A wave of agony tore through his mind. He tried to speak, to scream—but his tongue felt like stone, his jaw frozen. His own body betrayed him.
Then, through the haze of terror, realization struck.
'This… this can't be…'
He could feel the energy difference now. It wasn't that Seong-jun had no aura—his power was so far beyond comprehension that it was invisible.
'A monster… I provoked a real monster.'
He tried to beg for forgiveness, but only a strangled breath escaped.
"Live your life in darkness," Seong-jun said, his tone final. "Remember this regret forever."
In the next instant, the blood in Park Jun-hyung's brain erupted like wildfire. Pain beyond reason consumed him as his senses collapsed into blackness. The world fell away.
The moment his scream rang out, the crowd gathered. People gasped, phones came up, and nearby officers rushed over. But by the time they arrived, Park Jun-hyung was already motionless—standing, silent, obedient.
A puppet whose strings were now controlled by blood.
The police investigation that followed was brief. An "amicable settlement" was quickly signed. The case should've ended there.
But trouble, as always, had a way of multiplying.
The woman from the luxury car—Yoon Ha-eun—burst into the scene, her voice shrill with anger.
"This doesn't make sense! Reinvestigate this right now!"
The officers hesitated. Though technically the case was resolved, her name carried weight—Taesung Enterprise's heiress. She stormed into the station, shouting until the chief himself appeared to placate her.
"Please, Miss Yoon, calm down," he said with a forced smile. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I told you already!" she snapped. "My chief of security started acting weird after talking to that man! He's not himself! You need to call the Hunter Association—now!"
It was a fair demand, but without proof, even she couldn't override the signed settlement. Still, the chief's deference to her was painfully clear.
"If you don't investigate," she hissed, "I'll tell my father."
The chief blanched. "U-understood, Miss Yoon. I'll request an Association inquiry immediately."
Her anger eased into smug satisfaction. "Good. I'll make sure my father knows you cooperated. Expect a donation in Taesung's name."
"Th-thank you, Miss."
The entire exchange took place behind a closed, soundproof door—yet Seong-jun heard every word as if they were standing beside him. His senses, honed beyond human limits, picked up every detail.
'Abusing power to get her way,' he thought grimly. 'So that's how it is.'
He sighed softly, took out his phone, and made a quiet call.
"Vice President Ko Tae-hyun? …Yes, it's Seong-jun. I just need a small favor."
A brief explanation later, he hung up.
Five minutes passed. Then, chaos erupted.
"Wh-what!? The President himself!?"
The station's atmosphere flipped in an instant. The chief, Heo Young-jae, was summoned to the phone, his expression pale.
"Y-yes, sir? This is Heo—"
A furious voice roared from the receiver. –You idiot! Do you realize who you've messed with!?
"Wh… what?"
–Sit tight! We're coming down ourselves!
The calls didn't stop there. One after another, high-ranking officials phoned in—each one more frantic than the last. Within minutes, the chief could barely stand. His career was finished, and everyone in the room knew it.
The mention of the Hunter Association vanished from discussion entirely.
Order was swiftly restored.
But for Anna, the matter wasn't over. Her eyes lingered coldly on the name that had come up earlier.
"…Taesung Enterprise," she murmured.
A chill settled in her tone. She dialed a number and spoke in rapid, curt sentences. Though Seong-jun couldn't understand every word, the fury in her voice was unmistakable.
When she hung up, she smiled sweetly at him.
"I just gave a little… pressure," she said lightly. "They'll learn not to meddle again."
"'A little,' huh?" Seong-jun chuckled. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
Her smile brightened, the earlier anger melting away. "Let's not waste the rest of the night on this. Come on—let's go home and eat."
He nodded. "That sounds perfect."
Meanwhile, far away in China—
"Are you refusing again, Julian?"
Dominic's cold voice echoed from the conference room screen of the World Returnees Association.
Julian sat stiffly, eyes downcast. "It's not refusal. I'm just… still recovering from my injuries."
Dominic's gaze sharpened. "That's your third excuse. You've refused three consecutive missions. Explain yourself."
Theodore, seated beside him, tried to intervene. "Sir, Julian's condition—"
"Enough, Theodore."
Murmurs spread through the virtual conference.
"Training, vacation, now injury? Suspicious."
"Agreed. His behavior's been strange lately."
Julian's throat tightened. He couldn't say the truth—that his contract with Yong-eon bound him from harming Korea. That crossing Lee Seong-jun's path again was something his instincts screamed against.
Dominic leaned forward, his tone low and dangerous.
"Julian. Theodore. What exactly happened in Korea?"