Hunter Association (1)
"Heh heh. The director said he'd send some support staff, but I never dreamed it'd be someone like you."
Hunter Association headquarters, basement level 1. Artifact incinerator.
A man quietly surveying the crime scene called out to the woman striding boldly past the perimeter tape.
"......The Special Ability Incident Squad?"
"That's right. Just call me Section Chief Park."
"I'll review the investigation progress. Hand over the report."
Her slate-gray suit and brooch marked her as Association staff. And the stark white mask concealing her face. Her limbs stretched long and model-like, her figure curved in all the right places—irresistibly alluring. Yet the sharp gaze peeking from beneath the mask sent chills straight down the spine. Like a rose sculpture carved from liquid nitrogen, lethally beautiful, not a drop of blood to spill even if stabbed.
Overwhelmed by her icy stare, the man—Section Chief Park Geum-ho of the Special Ability Incident Squad—let out a hearty laugh to break the tension.
"Heh heh heh... Yeah, I've heard the rumors. Our Association has this secret department not listed on any org chart, right? I thought it was just talk, but here you are for real. So you're one of them."
"......"
"For someone like you to show up like this... does that mean Kim Song-a's death is a major crisis for the Association?"
"I'll review the investigation progress. I won't say it a third time."
He was probing outright. But the masked woman betrayed no emotion whatsoever. She simply demanded the information she wanted. Like talking to a robot, he thought. Section Chief Park raised both hands in surrender at her dry tone and led her toward the "artifact incinerator" inside.
The incinerator room buzzed with staff in protective gear scurrying about. All members of the Special Ability Incident Squad. They glanced curiously at the masked woman with their boss but quickly realized her rank and returned to their tasks without a word.
"To be honest, there's nothing to report. The lack of findings is the finding. No unusual mana detected, no traces of skill use. Strictly by the investigation, it's just Kim Song-a walking into the incinerator on his own."
"Possibility of simple suicide?"
"If it were suicide, the Association wouldn't be in an uproar like this. No emergency summons for department heads."
"No chance of remote control by an outsider?"
"Nah, we'd have detected foreign mana in the body."
They traded empty words as they inspected the halted artifact incinerator. The faint smell of burning flesh still lingered, beside Kim Song-a's cloth-covered corpse. The gruesome scene from the incident flashed vividly before their eyes.
"No outside personnel?"
"Huh? Oh, right. None. It's an Association matter, and the higher-ups don't want it leaking out."
Flutter.
Without hesitation, the masked woman yanked back the cloth over the body. Kim Song-a's charred remains lay exposed—barely holding a human shape, like a lump of soot. The specialized incinerator for artifacts had ravaged the corpse beyond recognition.
"Tch. No autopsy possible like this. Thoroughly cooked inside and out—poison tests will be a nightmare."
"......Kim Song-a consumed no alcohol for at least 48 hours prior. No traces of psychotropics or poisons either."
"What?"
Park, clicking his tongue at the horrific state, turned in surprise at the woman's voice. Crackle. A yellow spark flickered at the corner of her eye. Whether a skill or not, her visible pupil had shifted to gleaming gold.
Her golden gaze scanned the burned body like a scanner, and she recited her observations as calmly as reading a neatly filed report.
"Core body temperature dropped to 25 degrees before entering the incinerator, then rapidly heated. Skin shows cracking from cold exposure, but no other anomalies."
"......How'd you figure that out? A skill?"
"I just see it."
"Heh heh..."
She didn't just assess the corpse's state—she precisely detailed the sequence leading to death. Park let out a hollow chuckle at her matter-of-fact delivery.
A "detection-type skill" that perceived what others couldn't. In the hunter world, where information meant survival, it was invaluable. Detection hunters were rare gems.
Take the victim, Kim Song-a. Just a delivery part-timer uploading bizarre everyday item hacks to the internet. Then one day, scouted by the Association solely for his "Item Appraisal" detection skill. An ordinary part-timer thrust into headquarters overnight.
Hunters had a saying: Combat types were commoners, detection types nobility, healers kings. The Association's panic stemmed largely from losing a detection hunter like Kim Song-a.
And this woman, dissecting the charred corpse at a glance, surely possessed a detection skill too. He'd begged HR for one—essential for his department—but they always cited shortages. Who knew she'd be hiding in some nameless secret division.
Park smacked his lips, imagining the face behind that white mask. She's a catch.
"......What are you looking at."
Caught in his greedy stare, she whipped her head toward him. Crushing pressure bore down; he swallowed dryly.
Crackle. Crackle.
Her piercing golden eyes began "observing" his every move. Scanning from head to toe like a probe splitting his skull to peer inside. The chilling sensation—his first—made Section Chief Park Geum-ho instinctively step back into a defensive stance.
Emotionless voice. Eyes like ice. Overwhelming intimidation choked the air.
No doubt. At minimum, an A-rank hunter. Not some desk jockey picked for skills, but the Association's real combat elite.
"I asked what you're looking at."
"Ah, n-no... Nothing at all..."
No trace of feeling from her, but her displeasure was plain. More machine than human. Is she even real? Had his long stint as section chief dulled his judgment? Park admitted his eyes had deceived him and caught his breath.
Lusting after her would get his gut ripped open.
Swish...
Only now did he notice: she made no sound. No footsteps, no rustle of clothes, not even a breath. Ghostly silence.
The Association's been raising a monster.
An A-rank with stealth like this, specialized in detection... Terrifying to imagine.
Vowing never to entertain foolish thoughts again, Park forcibly changed the subject.
"Ahem... So we need to uncover the source of that 'cold,' huh. Any leads?"
"......Possible with a freeze skill that evades mana detection."
"Like breathing without oxygen. Easier said..."
"......Have you reviewed the CCTV from the incident?"
"Heh heh heh, that one where the control room staff had panic attacks? Someone wiped it clean—don't know who."
For the first time, she showed interest in his words. Minutes ago, he'd have thrilled at a beauty's attention. Now, knowing she was a monster A-rank, it only scared him. Ignore me, please.
"......You're saying the footage was deleted."
"Came up in the meeting. No one volunteered to check it. When we heard it was gone, everyone was relieved."
"......"
"Even if we recover it somehow, just have the juniors summarize it in a report. No need to worry."
Avoiding her gaze, Park spat out what he knew and ended the talk. He turned away from her piercing stare.
......
"Ah, perfect—you're all gathered here. Find anything?"
"Gah...! Director!"
"......"
As the white-masked woman silently "observed" Park amid the tense air, with staff stealing glances, a sturdy middle-aged man strode in.
Neatly trimmed goatee, square horn-rimmed glasses. A build suited to dumbbells over desks. Spotting him, Park straightened up fast. The others froze mid-task, faces stiffening.
"Keep working, don't mind me. I just need a word with her... That okay, Section Chief Park Geum-ho?"
"Y-yes! Of course, Director!"
"......"
Casually waving them off, the man—Hunter Association Director Go Young-in—approached with a broad, easy smile. The woman, silently watching him, deactivated her skill; her eyes returned to black.
"......Director Go Young-in."
"They've restored the CCTV from the incident. Need those sharp eyes of yours—the sharpest in the Association. Come with?"
"Understood."
To his offhand invitation, the white-masked woman......
[Rare Hunter Protection-Extermination Squad] Team 1 Leader
A-rank Hunter Banharin
......nodded quietly.