The Central Police Station, now serving as the headquarters of the Hunters Association, once boasted a legendary detective in its Violent Crimes Unit—a man known only as the “Phantom.”
His arrest rate was an astonishing two hundred percent, solving not only his own cases but also closing cold ones. Tales of his relentless pursuit painted him as someone who’d go to the depths of hell to bring criminals to justice. Hardened gangsters and notorious criminals were said to cower before him as meek as sheep.
When Lee Sehwan was a younger man and a rookie detective, he had applied to work in the Violent Crimes Unit at this very station. By a twist of fate, he ended up working under the Phantom himself.
To Sehwan, it had never felt like mere luck or misfortune. He believed it was destiny.
“Is this the new guy?”
“Yes.His name is Lee Sehwan.”
Even after all these years, Sehwan could never forget their first meeting. The Phantom’s presence had been overwhelming, his charisma nearly suffocating. Sehwan was of average height, and he had frozen before the towering figure.
“I’ll teach the rookie a few things.”
“Go on, then.”
Sehwan was soon led out by the Phantom himself.“S-sir!Where are we going?”
Despite Sehwan having to hurry to keep up, Jinwoo simply kept walking, answering with a question of his own.
“Why did you choose to join the police?”
“Oh, well…”
Sehwan hesitated, recalling the dream he had buried beneath the drudgery of handling drunks and petty crimes in the patrol unit.
“I wanted to catch the bad guys.”
The Phantom finally stopped short. He turned around, a smile on his lips. It was a smile that instantly put Sehwan at ease.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do right now. And I joined for the same reason.”
Those simple words changed Sehwan’s life entirely.
“You’re coming, aren’t you?”
“Of course!”
From that moment, Sehwan became the official partner of the Phantom, and they spent many years working together.
Sehwan’s rise to central director of the Hunters Association after the Great Cataclysm was not without reason. Woo Jinchul, the former police chief, had given him a glowing recommendation, and his past as Sung Jinwoo’s longtime partner silenced any opposition.
As an A-rank hunter who had honed his skills under the Phantom, Sehwan was widely respected. That reputation had carried him to where he was now.
And after all these years, standing before him was a young man who bore an uncanny resemblance to the younger Phantom.
“Huh…” Sehwan murmured, a disbelieving chuckle escaping him.
It was Sung Suho, Jinwoo’s son.
He looks just like him.
The resemblance was undeniable—the quiet strength, the understated confidence, even the small smile playing on Suho’s lips.
Seeing him, Sehwan couldn’t help but wonder, Did Jinwoo awaken far earlier than anyone realized? It would explain so much—like the uncanny way he always seemed to be one step ahead. Jinwoo’s speed and skill had always seemed unnatural.
No… No, that’s impossible. Sehwan felt uncertain. I’m an A-rank hunter now, but I still can’t claim I could match the way he was back then.But if he was an S-rank hunter, perhaps it would explain it…
Of course, pondering it further was pointless. With Jinwoo missing, there was no way to verify the truth.
Shaking off the speculation, Sehwan forced himself back to the present.
“In any case, Suho… Or should I say Mr. Sung, the head of the Woojin Guild. What brings you here, exactly?” Even though he was a close friend’s son, Suho deserved the respect due to a guild master.
Before he could reply, Sehwan added sharply, “Actually, I have a different question first. Are you the same Sung Suho everyone’s been talking about?”
The room seemed to hold its breath. Sehwan’s eyes, once welcoming, were now keen and calculating.
The name Sung Suho had been on everyone’s lips recently, affecting public opinion and international relations alike. What was more, Jinchul had even issued an urgent command from his base in North Korea.
—Confidential and Urgent: Investigate Sung Suho and gather everything you can!
The Hunters Association had been working tirelessly to uncover details.
The surname “Sung” and the first name “Suho” weren’t uncommon, and countless hunters named Sung Suho existed in South Korea. But photographs had narrowed the search, and they were able to identify this Sung Suho.
Yet anomalies remained—there were no flight records indicating that a hunter of his name had traveled to India. And here he was at the association, though he had not been flagged as entering Korea either. They were confused as to how this could be.
Suho met Sehwan’s gaze and nodded. “Yes, that’s right. That’s me.”
Gasps echoed throughout the room. The association employees nearby couldn’t mask their shock.
My god!
He’s the real thing!
Suho, the biggest news item in the world at the moment, had walked into the association building of his own volition.
But Sehwan had been the partner of the legendary detective Sung Jinwoo. Even at such a shocking moment, he remembered his duty.
“Ahem. In that case…”
He withdrew a pair of handcuffs, his sharp gaze unyielding.
“Illegal entry into India is a serious crime. Sung Suho, you’re under arrest for violating international law.”
“Uh…”
“Just kidding,” Lee Sehwan said with a smirk. “Still, be prepared. India might demand hefty fines from you later. Though considering public opinion, they might reward you more than they take away. If you’re the same Sung Suho who was in India, then I think I can guess why you are here.”
Suho grinned.
Sehwan glanced at one of his employees and gave a brief nod. They promptly brought over a mana measuring device.
Suho nodded. “Yes. I’m here to get myself measured again.”
Sehwan raised an eyebrow. “Makes sense. There’s no way a C-rank hunter could accomplish what you’ve done. We had a tough time investigating you because of that. Did you reawaken recently, Suho? Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t call you that.”
“You can if you’d like,” Suho replied with a small smile.
“No, I can’t.” Sehwan shook his head firmly, extending the device. “If you turn out to be an S-rank hunter, I must show proper respect. Here, kid, take it.”
Suho smirked inwardly at the contradiction—the director treating him like a kid and a guild master at the same time—but he said nothing and placed his hand on the device.
The black mana crystal within began to glow faintly, its light growing stronger by the second. The indicator needle climbed rapidly, and beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of the employees. Sehwan felt his own nerves begin to fray as he watched the device.
Then it happened—the crystal cracked. Then it shattered.
“What?!”
“I-impossible!”
“It broke apart!”
The room filled with stunned murmurs.
Even S-rank hunters, whose mana was beyond what most devices could measure, had never caused one to burst. In addition, the remnants of the device in Suho’s hand didn’t just fall away—they slowly melted, as if liquefied by extreme heat.
“I-it must’ve been defective. Bring another!” Sehwan barked, his voice shaky.
“Yes, sir!” An employee rushed to fetch a new device.
Suho calmly repeated the process, and the result was the same. Just like before, the crystal exploded, and the parts began to melt away.
Sehwan stared at Suho, his expression torn between awe and concern. “How are you containing such power in your body?”
It was common for mana to take on an elemental trait, such as fire or water. There were some hunters whose mana had no element at all, and some capable of handling multiple elements at once. But no hunter had ever held mana so potent it obliterated measuring devices.
What was more, the heat was immeasurable! It was inconceivable that someone with such raw, molten power could still be standing.
“Does this mean I’m officially an S-rank hunter now?”
Suho’s tone was casual, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
Sehwan sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. “Yes. From this moment, you are recognized as an S-rank hunter by the nation.”
A shadow of doubt still crossed his face. But honestly, I wonder if he’s truly comparable to other S-ranks.
***
The Vigilante killings were making headlines, but in truth, the press was purposely promoting the news.
The Vigilante had done nothing more than kill several hundred villains in the span of a few days. While that was no small feat, he was naturally overshadowed by a different South Korean who had single-handedly cleared out a massive field in India.
The Korean public’s pride was soaring.
—A South Korean hunter saved India!
—Woo!Barkeep!I’d like another shot of patriotic pride, please!
—Looks like the whole world has finally realized what our country is capable of.
Suho’s name had been all over the internet and the Korean press, but there was one curious detail.
—So who is this Sung Suho, exactly?How does nobody know?
—If he’s so powerful, how come no one knows him?
Despite his fame, personal details about Suho were scarce. Only a grainy photo linked to the Lee Minsung incident and a single mention in an old article existed.
Then as if by some unspoken agreement, the press had begun to focus only on the Vigilante killings. It was quite an effective distraction, as the bodies of the villains were cruelly mutilated, and the villains’ crimes were severe.
The pivot wasn’t random—it stemmed from a sudden urgent directive by Woo Jinchul, the chairman of the Korean Hunters Association who was stationed in North Korea.
—Classify all information on Sung Suho as top-secret.Let Suho himself decide when the information gets out.
In other words, under no circumstances were Suho’s personal details to be released to the public. Jinchul even silenced the major guilds that had worked alongside him.
The secrecy left many at the association puzzled.
“Why is he doing this, anyway?”
“What’s he waiting for?”
Jinchul’s motives were often inscrutable, but his actions always carried purpose, and this made them even more curious.
The mystery deepened when Suho circumvented all expectations, returning to South Korea using Shadow Swap, a move that not even Jinchul had foreseen. He had then walked straight into the Hunters Association of his own accord, and he revealed his purpose far sooner than Jinchul had expected.
“Now that I’m an S-rank hunter,” Suho announced, his tone unwavering, “I have a request.”
Sehwan’s brow furrowed. “What is it?”
“As an S-rank hunter, I request permission to enter North Korea.”
The room fell silent.
North Korea was a field even bigger than the one in Loktak. It was a vast, apocalyptic landscape, a cursed region that had been the starting point of the catastrophes affecting not just North Korea but China and Russia.
“I need the government’s approval,” Suho added firmly, his meaning clear. He had declared his intent to go north.
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