As always, the city streets were packed due to the crowds. Among all those people, someone displayed killing intent, even if only for a brief moment..but no one noticed it.
A few streets away, a young man seemed to sense that killing intent. He bit his lip and thought.
"Damn it… a crowded area."
He stomped one foot on the ground, and blue light enveloped his body. Within seconds, his form turned translucent and vanished, leaving behind nothing but residual spiritual energy.
The young man teleported to a spot a few meters away from the one who had emitted the killing intent. The people on the street stared in shock at the man who appeared after the sudden flash of light, but he didn't care. From under his arm, he pulled out a thin-bladed knife. With a few swings, the blade shone and transformed into a long, curved spear with a shaft.
The one who had noticed the young man immediately grabbed a woman beside him and pulled her close.
"Kyaaaa!"
A loud scream rose from the crowd, but the man holding the woman paid it no mind. He spread his hands; his short nails elongated into sharp claws and clamped around the woman's throat.
"Stop right there!"
The young man shouted. He was clearly furious at having been noticed, but he couldn't make a careless move.
"If you come any closer, I'll kill this woman!"
The demon holding the woman shouted, threatening to kill her. Confident that a hunter wouldn't act recklessly with a hostage involved, the demon sneered.
"Try it, if you dare."
The hunter vanished from where he stood. Before the demon could even understand what was happening, both arms holding the woman were severed cleanly in half.
"Wha..!"
The demon collapsed to the ground and tried to crawl backward. The hunter quickly set the woman in his arms down and lunged forward, spreading his hands.
"Oath of Light."
Brilliant golden chains wrapped around the demon, binding it tightly. The more the demon struggled, the more its body burned, and its mana was sealed along with its movements.
The young hunter approached the demon with slow yet heavy steps and stopped in front of it.
"What's with this pitiful state? Just moments ago, you were threatening to kill the woman you held… so why do you look so pathetic now?"
The hunter sneered arrogantly and looked down on the demon.
"Damn you all!"
The demon roared with hatred, but the hunter didn't care and asked a strange question.
"Have you ever killed a family of three.. a mother and a father?"
"What kind of question is tha.. aghhh!"
A sudden bolt of lightning struck, making the demon cry out. The hunter remained indifferent.
"Answer me."
"No… the woman just now was my first prey."
The demon replied obediently. Having failed to get the answer he wanted, the hunter turned his back without hesitation. Low-level hunters had already flooded the scene to assist and were waiting to prepare their report.
"I'm leaving this demon to you. Take care of the rest."
"Uh… o-okay."
The low-level hunter was on his very first assignment, and after witnessing the skill of a high-level hunter firsthand, he was deeply impressed.
Hearing rumors was one thing seeing it in person was far better.
Just as the young hunter was about to leave, someone tugged at his arm.
"Um…"
"What is it?"
The young hunter looked at the woman holding him it was the woman he had just saved. The marks of claws were still visible on her neck.
"Thank you for saving me…"
"It was nothing."
As the hunter turned to leave again, the woman tugged at his arm once more.
"If it's not too much trouble… may I ask your name?"
The young hunter let out a sigh and whispered as he walked away,
"High-level Hunter… Michael Crimson."