The hospital corridor felt like the inside of a pressurized chamber. The mana-circulator was a heap of slag, and the air shimmered with the residual violet light of Han Ling's awakening.
Han Jue stood by his sister's bed, his body a map of exhaustion, yet his eyes were as sharp as his Heart-Seeker dagger. He didn't look at the doctors rushing in. He looked at the man in the charcoal-grey suit standing in the doorway.
The man didn't wear a Hunter's badge. He wore a pin made of white platinum: a stylized set of scales.
[Target: Arthur Thorne] [Title: Senior Auditor of the World Audit Organization (WAO)] [Level: 65 (A-Rank - Specialized)] [Debt: LEGALISTIC (Target uses 'Law' to siphon mana from independent Hunters)]
"Mr. Han Jue," Thorne said, his voice as dry as a desert wind. "You've caused quite a stir. The Association might be willing to look the other way regarding your... 'aggressive' guild acquisition, but the WAO is not so easily swayed. We are here to seize the unauthorized artifact in your possession—the Crown of the Void—and place your sister under protective custody for 'Primordial Research'."
Thorne snapped his fingers. Two enforcers in anti-mana armor stepped forward, carrying a "Grey-Box"—a containment unit designed to nullify anything below S-Rank.
Han Jue felt the Dread Sovereign power in his blood begin to boil. "Seize? You're talking to the wrong person, Thorne. I don't give. I only collect."
"This isn't a negotiation," Thorne replied coldly. "You are a D-Rank scavenger who came into possession of an S-Rank artifact through a series of fortunate accidents. Under the Global Stabilization Act, that artifact is public property. And your sister..." He looked at Han Ling, his eyes showing a flicker of greed. "She is a biological anomaly. She belongs in a lab, not a hospital."
[Warning: Hostile Intent Detected.] [Proposed Solution: Execute a 'Contested Audit'.] [Requirement: Prove your 'Seniority' over the Target.]
Before Han Jue could move, a small, pale hand reached out from the bed and gripped Thorne's wrist.
The speed was impossible. Thorne, a Level 65 Awakener, didn't even see her move.
Han Ling was sitting up. Her violet eyes weren't just glowing; they were swirling like miniature galaxies. The air around her hand didn't just vibrate; it warped.
"You called me an anomaly," Ling-er said. Her voice didn't sound like a sixteen-year-old girl's. It sounded like the chime of a thousand crystal bells. "But all I see is a man who owes my brother for the air he's currently breathing."
Thorne gasped. He tried to pull away, but his feet left the floor. The "Grey-Box" enforcers rushed forward, but they hit an invisible wall five feet from the bed. A barrier of pure, condensed Void mana.
[Han Ling Skill Activated: 'Void Empathy'.] [Effect: The Target's mana is being synchronized with the Void. Thorne's Level 65 Mana is being 'Taxed' at a rate of 10,000 per second.]
"Ling-er, stop," Han Jue said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't waste your energy on a low-value debtor."
Ling-er looked at her brother, the violet in her eyes softening back to brown. She let go of Thorne, who hit the floor like a sack of stones, his face pale and covered in cold sweat. His mana reservoir had been half-drained in seconds.
"Get out," Han Jue told Thorne. "Tell your superiors that 'The Sovereign Audit' doesn't answer to the WAO. From now on, the WAO answers to me. If you want to talk about 'Global Stabilization,' you can book an appointment at my new office. Bring a checkbook."
Thorne scrambled to his feet, his dignity in tatters. He looked at the siblings—the predator and the goddess—and fled, his enforcers trailing behind him.
The Penhouse Boardroom: Face-Slapping 101
Three hours later, Han Jue stood in the penthouse of the former Golden Dawn HQ. The building was a wreck, but the board members—five men and two women who had grown fat off the labors of scavengers—were sitting around a mahogany table that had survived the blast.
They were flanked by their personal bodyguards, all B-Rankers.
"This is a joke," one board member, a man with a gold-plated watch and a triple chin, spat. "You think a piece of paper and a dead man's badge makes you our boss? We built this guild! We have the offshore accounts! We have the—"
Han Jue walked to the head of the table. He didn't sit. He slammed the Crown of the Void onto the wood.
CRACK.
The table split down the middle.
"Let's look at those offshore accounts," Han Jue said.
[Skill Activated: Mass Audit.] [Connecting to the Global Financial Ledger via System Authority...]
A massive holographic screen appeared in the center of the room. It didn't show monster stats. It showed bank account numbers, transaction histories, and encrypted files.
"Director Miller," Han Jue looked at the fat man. "You've been siphoning 12% of the 'Scavenger Safety Fund' into a Cayman Island shell company for six years. Total debt: 450 Million Credits."
Miller's face turned gray. "How... how did you get those files?"
"Director Sarah," Han Jue turned to a woman in a Chanel suit. "You sold the coordinates of the Tier-C rift last month to a rival guild, leading to the deaths of twelve support staff. Total debt: 12 Souls."
The room went deathly silent. These weren't just secrets; they were the foundations of their power. And this scavenger was reading them like a grocery list.
"The Golden Dawn didn't have a CEO," Han Jue said, leaning over the table. "It had a group of parasites. As of this moment, every credit in those accounts has been seized by 'The Sovereign Audit' as interest on the debt you owe the city."
"You can't do that!" Sarah shrieked. "That's illegal!"
"I am the law of this building," Han Jue replied. He activated Dread Sovereign's Pressure at 50% capacity. The bodyguards in the room fell to their knees, their mana-veins screaming. "If you want to live, you will sign over your remaining shares and leave this building with nothing but the clothes on your backs. If you stay... I'll start collecting the 'Soul Debt'."
He pointed to the screen where Sarah's "12 Souls" was blinking in a deep, blood-red font.
"I wonder," Han Jue mused, "how much a Director's soul is worth on the open market? 100 points? 200?"
Within ten minutes, the pens were scratching against paper. The "Old Guard" of the Golden Dawn fled the building, ruined and terrified.
The New Throne
Han Jue stood alone on the balcony of the penthouse, looking out over the city. The sun was setting, casting long, golden shadows over District 7.
[New Status: Guild Master of 'The Sovereign Audit'.] [Monthly Revenue (Estimated): 5,000,000 Soul Points (from siphoned taxes).] [New Mission: The Global Ledger.] [Objective: There are seven 'Sovereign' Class artifacts in the world. Collect them all to unlock the 'Final Audit'.]
A soft footstep sounded behind him. Elena Sol walked onto the balcony, her white coat catching the evening breeze.
"You've been busy," she said. "The WAO is calling for your head, the Association is terrified of your sister, and you just bankrupted the richest board of directors in the country."
"Just a normal Tuesday," Han Jue said, not turning around.
"The High Council has made a decision," Elena continued. "They're giving you a 'Conditional S-Rank' license. You have the rights to District 7, but you're responsible for the next rift. And Han Jue..." She stepped closer. "The next one isn't a projection. The sensors are picking up a 'True Gate' opening in the Pacific."
Han Jue looked at his screen.
Current Balance: +50,250 Soul Points. Next Loan Available: 'The Armor of the Damned' (1,000,000 Points).
"Let it come," Han Jue said, his eyes glowing with the fierce, unyielding light of a man who finally had something to protect. "The Pacific has a lot of monsters. And I've got a lot of debt to clear."
He looked at the Crown in his hand. The Sovereign Audit was no longer just a guild. It was a warning to the world.
The age of the Hero was over. The age of the Auditor had begun.