The Reason the Shield Was Invited to the Promotion Banquet

The banquet hall was brighter than the hospital room. That made it even more uncomfortable. White tablecloths draped under the chandeliers, and each glass was half-filled with a golden beverage. The walls were lined with the Association logo and sponsor guild names. I stopped at the entrance. The bandages around my side tugged stiffly against the inside of my suit.

"Why the long face?" Han Mi-rae slipped her hand naturally around my arm.

"Hate it more than dungeons."

"If the attendees heard that, they'd cry."

"Doesn't look like anyone's the crying type."

"There are. If you cause a scene here, my secretary team will cry."

After the underground parking gate closed, I'd barely made it back to my lodging. Cha Yu-ri had directed me via video call on how to wrap the bandages, step by step. Baek Ha-rin had lingered at my doorstep for thirty minutes under the pretense of taking a witness statement. Then this invitation had arrived.

The name sounded plausible enough. But the line at the bottom of the roster was more honest.

I folded it up right away after seeing that. "They didn't invite me here to call me. They invited me to show me off."

Han Mi-rae didn't laugh. "That's why I'm here with you."

"Because of the contract?"

"Partly. And treating my investment like a sideshow is an insult to me."

"Don't call a person a commodity."

"Then protected asset."

"Not great either."

"Then my man?"

"Even worse."

Han Mi-rae laughed. Reporters' cameras swiveled toward the entrance. I tried to avoid their gazes, but it was too late. Thanks to the verification field live stream and the underground parking footage, my face had sold out overnight.

"Hunter Kang Tae-san?" A cold voice came from beside me. Yoon Seo-ah stood there, in a black dress topped with a white jacket. She held two invitations in her hand—one hers, the other blank.

Seo-ah glanced at Han Mi-rae's hand on my arm. Very briefly. Then back to my face. "If you need an escort today, I can do it."

Han Mi-rae's smile thinned. "You're late. He entered under my name today."

"The Association's announcement hall isn't personal lodging."

"Which is why we need to be extra careful. Who stands next to whom becomes the headline."

Seo-ah's fingertips crumpled the invitation. "A lot of those headlines got ruined because of me."

Han Mi-rae paused ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at that. I looked at Seo-ah too. Back then, she never would have said something like that in front of people. Pride came first, face even more so. Not today.

But before I could reply, I heard another sound. Heeled shoes tapping steadily against the floor. A tall woman blocked our path. Dark blue suit, Association inspector badge at her throat. Eyes that didn't smile.

"Hunter Kang Tae-san."

"Who're you?"

"Lee Na-kyung. Association inspector." She held out a thin file, then snapped it shut. "I'll keep this brief. You're experiencing repeated abnormal gate reactions. Starting today, I'm in charge of on-site monitoring."

Han Mi-rae shot back immediately. "Monitoring?"

"Not packaging it as protection."

Lee Na-kyung's gaze dropped to my side. "But if the monitoring target gets hurt again at the event, it's on me too."

"Then you'll stop it?"

"If I can."

She glanced toward the interior of the banquet hall. "For now, go inside. The three of you clustered together like that? Reporters will love it."

Three of us. Han Mi-rae on my right arm, Yoon Seo-ah half a step to my left, Lee Na-kyung blocking the rear. I sighed. A place with more cameras than monsters was exhausting.

A small dais stood in the center of the banquet hall. On it sat a transparent glass case. Inside floated a single black fragment. A remnant of the gate core. The piece from the low-grade gate I'd shattered with Muk-roe. The moment I saw it, a chill ran down my spine.

"Why the hell is that here?"

Lee Na-kyung moved first. "Registered as promotion announcement material. Says residual mana stabilization complete."

"It's not stabilized."

"Evidence?"

I gripped Muk-roe's handle instead of answering. It hummed low. Wung.

Yoon Seo-ah's expression changed. "Tae-san-ah."

Then a middle-aged man stepped onto the dais. Didn't know his name. But the way people parted for him marked him as someone from a hunter prestigious family.

He took the mic and smiled. "Allow me to introduce today's special guest. Low-grade gate survivor and defense-specialized hunter, Kang Tae-san."

Applause followed. It wasn't warm. He continued. "He's been the talk of recent footage, of course. Though there've been plenty of exaggerated interpretations. So today, in front of the Association and prestigious family representatives, we'll calmly verify just how far a defense hunter can go."

Verify. That's what calling it a sideshow sounded like when dressed up fancy.

Han Mi-rae's fingers tightened on my arm. Yoon Seo-ah took a step forward. I stopped both.

"It's fine."

"Doesn't look fine."

"Not yet."

The middle-aged man beckoned me. "Mr. Kang Tae-san. Come to the front of the dais, please. Just a short defense demonstration."

Lee Na-kyung murmured low. "You can refuse."

"That'd set the headline."

"Defense Hunter Dodges Public Verification."

"Predictable."

I walked to the front of the dais. Camera lenses tracked me. The core fragment in the glass case trembled once more. This time, everyone saw it. Glasses on the tables rang in unison. Ching. Ching.

Lee Na-kyung's face hardened. "Everyone, back away from the dais."

The middle-aged man frowned. "Inspector. This is the announcement."

"Evacuation comes first."

"Overreaction. It's certified stabilized."

He tapped the glass case with a finger. That was the last straw.

Crack. Black cracks spiderwebbed inside the case. The air sank. Chandeliers shook, and the carpet rolled up in a circle from the floor. The glass shattered. Residual mana surged into a mass as tall as a person. No face, no arms. Instead, dozens of claw-like shadows extended from within.

The banquet hall swallowed screams. Bodyguard hunters moved late. Too late. The mana entity's first tendril shot toward the nearest table. A woman in a dress had tripped and fallen there, hem caught underfoot.

I ran first. "Get back."

Muk-roe was still heavy. My side pulled. But I took position. The impact slammed frontally.

Thud!

My body shifted half a step. Carpet tore, shoe soles scraped the floor. The mana tendril climbed Muk-roe to my wrist. It burned hot.

Han Mi-rae herded people immediately. "Stick to the left wall! Ditch the tables and move!"

Yoon Seo-ah pulled the fallen woman up. Dress hem torn, but she ignored it. She shoved the woman behind me. "Over here. Behind Tae-san."

Lee Na-kyung thrust her inspector badge at the dais camera. "By Association inspector authority, event suspended. Open exits. Security, prioritize civilian evac over VIPs."

The middle-aged man paled then. "No, protect the VIP seats first..."

Lee Na-kyung cut him cold. "That's on record."

The camera was still live. His mouth shut.

The mana entity moved again. Three prongs this time. One to the ceiling, one to the exit, one to the people behind me. If Baek Ha-rin were here, she'd slice it with her sword. If Cha Yu-ri, a barrier. What was here was me.

I planted Muk-roe on the floor. "Don't move."

The people behind me held their breath. The three prongs hit me simultaneously.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Suit shoulder tore. Arm bandages reddened. But I didn't fall.

While the mana entity pushed me, Han Mi-rae extracted the last people from behind the tables. Yoon Seo-ah yanked a control-line pillar to brace the fallen chandelier. Lee Na-kyung activated the sprinklers to douse ceiling flames. None of them ran.

I saw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Then took one step forward.

The middle-aged man stammered. "Wait, that's the banquet hall floor..."

"I'll claim compensation."

I hefted Muk-roe. The mana entity split back like fleeing. Too late. Stored shocks converged on Muk-roe's black surface. I slammed down at the banquet hall center.

Kwaaaang!

The floor didn't cave. The impact burst upward, not down. The mana entity's body floated near the ceiling, cracked like glass. Then shattered to pieces. Black powder rained under the lights.

The banquet hall went silent for a while. I slung Muk-roe over my shoulder and eyed the middle-aged man. He was cowering under the dais. The man who'd tried to set me up as a demo shield had hidden behind VIP seats first. Cameras caught it perfectly.

Lee Na-kyung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glanced at the screen. "Good public material."

Han Mi-rae smiled. "Defense hunter potential, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠calmly verified."

Yoon Seo-ah eyed my torn sleeve. "Hurt again."

"It's nothing."

All three women looked at me. I changed tack. "I'll get treated."

Only then did Han Mi-rae smile faintly. Banquet hall speakers crackled. Someone rushed to cut the feed, but headlines were already shifting.

I glanced at those headlines. Then walked toward the fallen. "Check the injured first."

The moment I spoke, no one could call me a demo subject anymore. Han Mi-rae organized people from my right. Yoon Seo-ah supported the injured from my left. Lee Na-kyung folded her monitoring report behind me. Too close for mere surveillance.

I readjusted my grip on Muk-roe's handle. The banquet hall was still bright. But now, under those bright lights, the one on display wasn't me.