Inside one of the most prestigious guild halls in South Korea, a tense meeting was underway.
The air was heavy with unease as hunters of different ranks sat around a long polished table, their voices overlapping, filled with rumors and speculation.
They weren't talking about monsters, nor about portals.
They were talking about a man.
A single hunter who had begun stirring chaos in the streets, chasing down anyone with ties to an old name—one that many in the underworld preferred to keep buried.
"Have you heard?" one hunter muttered, his voice low but urgent. "There's this man—Jin. He's been attacking anyone he suspects of belonging to the Fire Dragons."
Another scoffed, shaking his head. "The Fire Dragons? That gang's been quiet for years. Why would anyone waste their time with them?"
"Because," a third interrupted grimly, "they killed his family. Wife. Daughter. He wants revenge. And he doesn't care what gets in his way."
The murmurs spread like wildfire, filling the room with unease. Even those who had never heard the name before now felt a coldness settle in their chests. There was something unnerving about a man with nothing left to lose.
At the head of the table sat the guild leader, a man with sharp eyes and a calm but commanding aura. He leaned back in his chair, observing the restless hunters before turning his attention to the far corner of the room.
A single figure sat there quietly, his posture relaxed, as if the storm of conversation around him meant nothing.
"Min-ho," the guild leader finally said, his voice echoing through the chamber. "What do you make of this… Jin?"
The room fell silent. Every pair of eyes turned toward the man called Min-ho.
He was young—no older than twenty-five. Yet the moment his name was spoken, a heavy weight seemed to press down on everyone present.
Min-ho was no ordinary hunter.
He was one of the top powers of the nation.
The Fifth S-Rank of Korea.
His expression was unreadable, a faint smile curving his lips as he finally rose from his seat. His sharp gaze swept across the hunters before landing on the guild leader.
"What do I make of it?" he asked softly, almost amused.
He paused for a moment, then chuckled under his breath, his tone calm yet carrying a strange sharpness that made the others uneasy.
"I think it's a waste of time," Min-ho said bluntly. "Vengeance… only breeds more vengeance. The world doesn't change because one man cries out for blood. Life goes on."
The hunters exchanged nervous glances. His words made sense, but there was something in the way he said them—like a man who had seen too much blood himself.
The guild leader's expression hardened. "And yet, this Jin has already caused unrest. His actions are reckless. If he continues, he could destabilize entire districts. Innocent lives might be caught up in his madness. That is something we cannot ignore."
Min-ho's smirk widened ever so slightly. His eyes glimmered with something dark, something almost… excited.
"So," he said, his voice a low murmur that sent chills down the spines of those who heard it, "you want me to stop him?"
The guild leader didn't hesitate. "Yes. I want you to put an end to Jin before his path of vengeance turns into something far more dangerous."
For a moment, silence ruled the chamber. Then Min-ho laughed—a quiet, unsettling laugh that carried both amusement and menace.
"Interesting," he finally said. "Very interesting."
He tilted his head, his smile twisted into something that was neither friendly nor sane.
"If Jin truly is that desperate… then I want to see him with my own eyes."
And with that, the meeting ended not with resolution, but with the chilling certainty that the hunt for Jin had just taken a darker turn.