The tension in the hall was thick and heavy.
Eduardo Silva's defense had created a crack in the unified front against Minho, and the accusers scrambled to regain control.
A new voice, sharp and precise, cut through the murmurs. It was the representative from India.
"Hunter Silva, your testimony addresses only one death. What of National Level Hunter Siddharth Bachchan? His body was found drained of all mana, a technique far beyond any known monster. Are we to believe this is a coincidence, happening so close to Reed's death?"
Before Silva could counter, the European representative added, "Do you really have to bring up baseless accusations? Name a dead hunter who still had mana after passing away? Our Jonas was found dead the same way. I have had my suspicions and I've made my inquiries, but the day the bodies were found, Hunter Minho was said to be in a red gate dungeon. An S-rank dungeon. There is a different entity behind this."
The American rep seized the momentum. "An entity whose presence coincides perfectly with Lee Minho's sudden, inexplicable rise to power and his violent tendencies."
Minho let out a soft, derisive snort that was picked up by his microphone. "So now I'm responsible for hunters dying on other continents? Find a better script. This one is boring."
"Your arrogance is not a defense, Hunter Minho!" the American snapped.
"It's not a defense. It's a fact," Minho retorted, his voice flat. "If I had killed them, you wouldn't be finding bodies. You'd be finding body parts, or perhaps ashes. I went soft on your 'Hunter with honor.'"
A stunned silence followed the chilling statement.
It was then that Liu Zhigang, finally spoke. He had been quiet, observing the spectacle with a calm, analytical gaze.
"This is becoming a farce," he stated, his voice calm but carrying immense authority. "You are building a case on coincidence and conjecture. I have witnessed Hunter Minho's power firsthand. If he were truly responsible for these deaths, he would not be sitting in this room politely enduring your insults. He would be standing on your podium."
From the other side of the room, Thomas Andre finally broke his silence, his voice a low growl. "Watch your tone, Liu. Just because you've shared a dungeon with him doesn't mean you know him. This 'polite' act is just that—an act. We all felt what he did in Brazil. That is not the power of a stable man."
Liu turned his cool gaze to Andre. "I never said we shared a dungeon. My tone is measured, Thomas. Yours is not. You are letting personal grievance cloud your judgment. Reed was your friend maybe, but that does not give you the right to ignore facts and fabricate connections."
"Fabricate?" Andre's fist clenched on the table, the metal groaning under his grip. "You're defending him because you're scared, Liu. You see what he is, and you're hoping if you're nice to the monster, it won't eat you first."
Liu's eyes narrowed. "I am defending reason. And I am not scared of him. But perhaps you should be. You are trying to corner a lion with words. It is a strategy destined to fail."
"Is that a threat?" Andre stood up, his massive frame towering.
"It is a warning," Liu replied, standing as well. "For all of us. You are not just targeting one man. Look around. You are starting a fight with two men you cannot hope to control."
His gaze flickered between Minho and the still-silent Sung Jinwoo. "The Korean Hunters Association may be new to this stage, but do not mistake that for weakness. This council should not start a war it knows it cannot finish."
Andre's face flushed with rage. The implication that he was weak, that Korea—a nation he'd long considered minor in the hunter hierarchy—was a threat, was the final straw.
"Finish?" Andre laughed, a harsh sound. "You think this little 'powerhouse' of a backwater country and its two pet monsters can stand against me or the combined might of the world? You've lost your mind, Liu! This isn't about a war; it's about putting a rabid dog down before it bites someone else!"
The insult to his country hung in the air, toxic and deliberate.
The room's atmosphere, already thick with hostility, suddenly… zipped.
A sudden pressure crushed the sound from the room and stole the breath from every hunter present.
It was dense and utterly terrifying. For a split second, everyone felt an instinctual, primal fear—the feeling of being prey.
In that absolute silence, two voices spoke at the exact same time. They came from opposite sides of the hall, calm, flat, and utterly bored, cutting through the silence like twin blades.
From Minho's microphone: "Would you all just shut up?"
From Jinwoo's microphone: "Would you all calm down?"
The pressure vanished as quickly as it came, leaving behind a room of pale, wide-eyed hunters gasping for air. Thomas Andre slowly sank back into his seat.
Director Selam, visibly shaken, cleared his throat, his hand trembling as he adjusted his papers. "This… this outburst is…," he stammered, failing to find the words.
It was then that a junior analyst, seizing the moment to break the tension, rushed to the podium and handed Selam a new file. The Director scanned it, his eyes widening.
"A-apologies for the interruption," Selam said, his voice unsteady. "But we have… a related urgent update. The magical signature analysis from the Jonas and Siddharth Bachchan crime scenes… we have a preliminary match."
The room was still reeling, but this new information grabbed their attention.
"There is this 'potential monster,'" Selam continued, reading from the file, "that bears a significant correlation to… to an energy signature last recorded over a decade ago during a series of unexplained high-level hunter disappearances. The profile is a near-perfect match for a hunter who was presumed dead. This 'monster' has already hospitalized some American hunters and is no longer considered a human."
He looked up, his expression hardened.
"Initial interrogations claim this 'monster'—as they call—identified itself by the name… Sung Il-Hwan."
A new, different kind of silence settled in. All eyes, filled with a fresh wave of shock and suspicion, now slowly turned from Minho to the other Korean National Level Hunter in the room—Sung Jinwoo.
Jinwoo, who had been a statue throughout the entire proceeding, finally moved.
He lifted his head, his dark, unreadable eyes meeting the gaze of the entire world, ready for his turn in the spotlight.