Night had settled across the quiet neighborhood, the streetlights humming faintly.
Inside the small house, laughter lingered like the scent of warm food, but Mi-sook gave her son a small, knowing glance.
Escort her.
Joon-seok nodded, rising without a word.
Outside, Soo-yeon walked toward her little red car, hands in her coat pockets, feeling more full than she'd been in weeks.
"You know… your mom's food was amazing," she said, smiling.
"I think that was the first meal in a while I didn't have to worry about."
Joon-seok nodded beside her, quiet and thoughtful.
"More importantly," she added, "with that money from the guild, you should rent your mom a proper apartment. That place is too small for both of you."
He paused mid-step.
Then gave a small smile.
"You're right. She'd like that."
But then—
He stopped.
Turned his head.
Eyes sharp.
"There are two rats following us."
Soo-yeon blinked. "Rats?"
She instinctively pulled up her system window—a blue HUD flickering softly in her vision—but saw no warnings. No mana spikes. No red dots.
She was an A-rank awakener and felt nothing.
"Wait—what? I don't sense anything!"
Joon-seok tilted his head.
"Exactly."
And before she could ask more—
He was gone.
"Wait—HEY!"
Soo-yeon ran after him.
"You're just gonna leave me here?! On these streets?!"
The area wasn't the safest after dark. Men lingered near corners, half-drunk, half-trouble.
Still, she chased him down the narrow sidewalk, her heart pounding.
But he was too fast.
Far ahead, she watched in disbelief as Joon-seok leapt from the edge of an 11-story building—
And landed gracefully on the rooftop of a 7-story one across the street.
Like it was nothing.
"What the—he's really not an F-rank," she muttered, wide-eyed.
"He must be a returnee… or…"
She didn't finish the thought.
Gritting her teeth, she darted into a stairwell to catch up, pushing her limits.
But halfway up the first flight, she stumbled.
A group of men stood outside the stair entrance, smoking, leering.
One turned and grinned.
"Huh? A pretty girl?"
"No way—what's a chick like you doing out here alone?"
"Hey, wait up, sweetheart!"
Panic gripped her gut.
Of course. Of course this happens now!
Without a word, she bolted, darting past them and up the concrete stairs.
Footsteps followed.
"She's fast!"
"Get her!"
She ran faster, pulse thundering.
Joon-seok, you better not let me die out here!
Meanwhile—High above the city, on the cold rooftop of a forgotten building, the two Serpent Guild assassins crouched low in the shadows.
They were still.
Silent.
Waiting.
Until—
Footsteps.
The man gave a quick hand signal.
They weren't alone anymore.
"Didn't I tell you he's weird?" the white-haired woman hissed under her breath. "An F-rank shouldn't be able to sense us—especially not from that distance."
"Shhh. You talk too much," the man muttered, not taking his eyes off the darkness ahead. "He probably swiped an artifact. Some tower-grade sensor."
But their words stopped cold—
Because Joon-seok was already there.Standing calmly between them.Exactly in the center of their ambush.
The assassins froze.
Both leapt back instinctively, weapons raised.
Eyes wide.
Breathing sharp.
"How…?!" the woman gasped. "I didn't even feel him appear! Nothing triggered on the system window!"
The man gritted his teeth, stepping forward with forced confidence.
"Whatever. Doesn't matter."
"Kid—don't take it personal," he said, drawing twin daggers.
"It's just orders. You understand, right?"
He lunged.
Fast.
Precise.
But Joon-seok wasn't there.
He'd stepped to the side without blinking.
Then again.
And again.
Every strike missed by inches.
The assassin's movements grew frantic. Wild.
Why can't I hit him?
He flipped backward, sliding to a stop.
"Alright. You wanna be like that?"
His aura ignited—serpentine energy coiling around his arms, hissing with green venom.
"Don't blame me!"
"Snake Bite!"
He launched forward, aura fangs extended like spectral blades—
But the energy dispersed.
Mid-air.
Gone.
The instant it neared Joon-seok, it flickered like mist and vanished into nothing.
The woman's blood ran cold.
Every instinct in her body screamed run.
"Abort. We're aborting—NOW!" she shouted, backing away.
"This isn't a kid. This isn't anything human."
But her partner snapped back, furious.
"No! He's just mocking me!"
"You go! I'll finish this freak!"
He charged again, his pride breaking through his fear.
But this time…Joon-seok didn't dodge.He stood still.
"Stop let's abandone the mission !."
" No!."
The male assassin turned to Joon-seok, rage burning in his eyes.
But what he saw stopped him cold.
Where the boy once stood was now something else entirely—
A mouth.
A monstrous, cosmic maw with thousands of teeth, wide enough to swallow a car, dripping black liquid that hissed as it hit the concrete.
Where… where is he?
Where's my target?
What is this?!
Then he realized—
He wasn't seeing Joon-seok at all.
He was seeing death.
"NO!" the woman screamed, lunging forward.
But it was too late.
The mouth snapped shut.
Silence.
Only the assassin's legs remained, twitching once before collapsing in a pool of blood.
She dropped to her knees, heart pounding in her ears, hands trembling.
"Wh… what the hell are you…?" she choked out "You're not even human…"
Joon-seok sighed.
His body slowly stitched itself back into the shape of a boy.
He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth like someone dabbing sauce off their lips after a messy snack.
"Damn it… I promised myself I wouldn't eat a human."
The woman was shaking, frozen in disbelief.
"Who the fuck are you?!"
Joon-seok looked at her calmly.
"I saw you staring from the rooftop. You and your partner."
"That means you were after me. And probably my mother too."
"The Serpent Guild sent you."
She laughed—half-crazy, half-broken.
"You think it ends here? You think killing us changes anything?"
"They'll keep coming. More assassins. More teams. More blood. You'll get tired eventually, monster."
Joon-seok scratched his head.
He didn't feel tired.
He felt… stupid.
I thought I could live a quiet life.
But a guild like this… one that made my mother suffer…
His eyes darkened.
"Then I'll erase the guild."
The woman's grin faltered.
"You—what?"
Joon-seok smiled faintly, eyes glowing.
"I command thee… return to nothing."
She looked down just in time to see her arms crumbling into light.
Then her torso.
Then—
Gone.
Behind him, a soft gasp.
Joon-seok turned sharply.
Soo-yeon stood at the stairwell entrance, eyes wide, hand trembling against the railing.
Behind her, six unconscious men—bruised and broken. She must've fought them off while chasing him.
But now—
She wasn't looking at the goons.
She was staring at him.
"Don't tell me…"
She took a step back.
"You're… not human."
Joon-seok opened his mouth to explain.
"I can expl—"
"No. Don't. Say anything."
Her voice cracked as she turned and stumbled down the stairs, boots hitting each step like a countdown.
Joon-seok didn't move.
Didn't follow.
He just stood there, watching the empty spot where she'd been.
So… it's over.
Just like always.