A World That Had Stopped Moving
The battlefield was silent.
Kael stood, his body still trembling from the unbearable sensation coursing through him.
He didn't know what had happened.
One moment, he had been dying.
The next, he was here. Alive. Standing. Powerful.
But his body—it wasn't his own.
Something inside him had awakened.
Something wrong.
The Strongest Association's Hunters stood frozen. The battle had been raging moments ago, but now, even the monsters had stopped moving.
Everyone was staring at him.
At the impossible.
---
A Power That Should Not Exist
Kael could feel it—a force far beyond human comprehension surging inside him.
It wasn't just strength. It wasn't just speed.
This was something… unnatural.
His hands were shaking. The air around him rippled like reality itself was struggling to contain his existence.
And then—
BOOM.
A single step.
That was all it took for the ground beneath him to shatter.
The very world reacted to his presence.
What… is this?
He didn't understand.
And then—
The strongest Hunter on the battlefield moved.
---
A Legend Steps Forward
A man dressed in black armor walked toward him.
His aura was suffocating. He wasn't just any Hunter—he was someone on the level of the Five.
Cain Velcrow.
A warrior who stood at the very top of the world.
Even the myth-tier monster had stopped moving the moment Cain stepped forward.
He wasn't just strong. He was absolute.
But he wasn't looking at the monster.
He was looking at Kael.
His golden eyes narrowed.
Kael felt his heart pound. His instincts screamed at him—run.
Cain was a monster in human form. If he wanted, he could kill Kael before he could even react.
Kael wasn't prepared.
He didn't know how to fight. He didn't even know what kind of power had awakened inside him.
But then—
Cain smirked.
"Looks like we found something interesting."
---
The Fear of the Unknown
Kael's breath was unsteady.
Everyone was still staring at him.
Not with relief.
Not with admiration.
With fear.
The Strongest Hunters weren't relieved that he had survived.
They were terrified of what he had become.
He could see it in their eyes.
It was the same way humans looked at monsters.
Am I… something that shouldn't exist?
He clenched his fists. His head was spinning.
He needed to leave.
To get away.
To understand what had happened to him.
But Cain didn't let him move.
"Relax, kid," Cain said casually, stepping closer. "You're not going anywhere."
His presence was overwhelming. Kael's body refused to move under the sheer pressure of his aura.
And then—
Cain's eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"You don't even realize it, do you?" he muttered. "You don't know what you just did."
Kael gritted his teeth.
"I… I don't know anything," he admitted. His voice was shaking.
Cain's smirk widened.
"Then I'll teach you."
---
A Forced Decision
Before Kael could react, the entire battlefield erupted in chaos.
The myth-tier monster let out a deafening roar.
Hunters rushed forward to restrain it, but their efforts were meaningless.
The monster's golden eyes locked onto Kael.
And Kael felt it.
The overwhelming killing intent.
He didn't know how, but he could sense its hatred.
This thing… it feared him.
It wanted to erase him.
And for the first time, Kael's own body moved before his mind could process it.
A surge of instinct guided him.
He raised his hand—
And reality itself shattered.
---
A Glimpse of Power
A crack appeared in the air.
A gate.
One side was engulfed in blinding golden light.
The other side was swallowed by endless darkness.
Kael's breath hitched.
He didn't know what he had done.
But the moment the gate appeared—
The myth-tier monster turned and fled.
A creature that had overwhelmed the Strongest Association's Hunters with ease…
ran away.
The battlefield was silent again.
Cain let out a low chuckle.
"Yeah," he said, his voice filled with amusement.
"You're definitely coming with me."