Rain hammered the roofs of Seoul like millions of steel spikes, relentlessly pounding the earth. Amidst the roar of the storm, a man stood on the edge of an old building—his black coat fluttering wildly, his face hidden in shadow.
From below, faint voices echoed. Not human voices, but the whispers of beings that should not exist in this world.
"It's him... He's returned..."
"That monster... the Black Reaper...!"
The man's face lifted slightly. In a flash of lightning, a thin smile formed on his lips.
"It's been a long time since I heard that name," he murmured softly.
Then, a final white flash struck—and the night swallowed everything.
Setting: Present Day - Ten Years Later
The autumn sky was bright and clear. In front of the large gate bearing the sign Shinryu Exorcist Academy, a teenage boy stood, staring at the iron plaque with a lazy expression.
"Hah... they said this school was cool. But why does it smell like incense mixed with sweaty feet?"
His name was Han Joon. He was only sixteen, a new student at the academy famous for producing the strongest demon-slayers in Korea.
However, he himself did not look like a future spiritual hero.
His uniform was crumpled, his hair messy, and his gaze seemed to say, 'I'd rather sleep than fight.'
As soon as he stepped onto the school grounds, something strange happened immediately.
A minor spirit, in the middle of scaring a group of new students, suddenly froze in mid-air—staring at Han Joon's face, and then instantly screaming.
"N-no... impossible... he... he's alive again?!"
And in a flash, the spirit evaporated, vanishing without a trace.
Han Joon just blinked, confused.
"Huh? Do I smell so bad that even ghosts run away?"
The Dream and the Revelation
That night, Han Joon dreamed.
He stood in the middle of a sea of fire, surrounded by terrifying shadows.
But it wasn't him who was afraid—they were terrified of him.
"Have mercy on us, Lord Reaper!"
"Don't erase our names from the world!"
In the dream, Han Joon wore a long black coat. His hand held a scythe of black light.
And the moment he smiled, the entire world instantly collapsed.
He woke up gasping for breath and drenched in cold sweat.
"Reaper...? Is that a game name?" he muttered, wiping his face. "Ugh, what a weird dream."
The Incident in Class
The next morning in Exorcism 101 class, the atmosphere was chaotic from the start.
Professor Nam—a middle-aged man with a scar on his face—stood in front of the whiteboard, tapping a talisman.
"Remember, one mistake when purifying a spirit, and you could lose your soul. Never play around with the spiritual world!"
Han Joon sat in the back row, half-asleep, his head tilted towards the window.
"...If an evil spirit comes, maybe I'll just pretend to be dead," he mumbled softly.
Suddenly, the classroom lights flickered. The temperature instantly dropped.
From the ceiling, the figure of a long-haired woman appeared, blood dripping from her eyes.
Screams echoed throughout the room.
"M-mid-level evil spirit!"
"Professor! This isn't part of the lesson, is it?!"
Professor Nam hastily raised a talisman, but a blue flame instantly burned it before he could use it.
The ghost stared at a female student in the front row—Ha Rin, a blonde girl from Japan—and floated rapidly towards her.
"Body... I want your body...!"
Ha Rin was paralyzed. Her hand trembled, her mouth opened but no sound came out.
Then, from the back of the class, a lazy but flat voice was heard.
"Can you be quiet? I'm trying to sleep."
Han Joon stood up, yawning, one hand casually raised.
The air around him suddenly vibrated.
A black symbol emerged from his palm, spinning like a vortex of living ink.
The ghost stopped.
Its red eyes widened, its body trembling violently.
"F-forgive me... I did not know Lord Reaper had reawakened..."
And instantly, the spirit vanished—completely disappearing.
The class fell silent.
All eyes were on Han Joon, who was still standing relaxed, scratching his head.
"Huh? What did I just do?"
Professor Nam was frozen. Ha Rin stared at him with a pale face.
And outside the window, a spirit hiding in the trees whispered to another shadow.
"He... has returned."
The Awakening Below
Meanwhile, deep beneath the academy, in a long-forgotten old spirit-sealing room, a pair of red eyes slowly opened.
A hoarse voice echoed in the darkness.
"The Shadow Hunter... is finally reborn in this world..."
On the surface, Han Joon sneezed loudly in the middle of the class.
"Ugh, who's talking about me in the middle of the night, anyway?"