I Didn't Say My Debut Would Be This Flashy
S-rank villain 'Summoner'. An A-rank awakener from overseas with the special ability to summon monsters from rifts.
He'd originally been a hunter, but something must have snapped in his mind, turning him into a villain. He mainly appeared in urban areas, unleashing monsters and carrying out terrorist attacks across various countries. Just three such incidents had produced countless casualties, earning him an S-rank villain wanted status.
This time, he'd shown up in Hunter Way.
Abbreviated as HW, Hunter Way—built on the ruins of old Yeouido—was a district with a notorious reputation for danger, even though urban reclamation was nearly complete, thanks to the massive rift that had once torn it apart.
And today, all hell had broken loose.
"Kyahahahaha! Kill them all! My babies! Kill every last one and tear off their flesh!!"
The S-rank villain 'Summoner' had appeared out of nowhere in Hunter Way's bustling commercial district, unleashing his monsters. Screams filled the streets.
The cries of people fleeing the monsters blended with the wind. Blood sprayed, chunks of flesh scattered everywhere. No matter how quickly the HCU mobilized, they couldn't prevent the carnage in a crowded shopping area.
The hunters who happened to be in Hunter Way fought back against the monsters, but without proper gear, there was only so much they could do. The once-bright streets plunged into gloom in an instant.
From the rooftop of a building, the Summoner watched people dying with a sunny smile. This was exactly what he wanted. Death, death, and more death. Nothing beat the thrill of watching the monsters he'd summoned rip humans apart.
But his time to enjoy it was running out. The HCU would arrive in minutes, and if they caught him, his allies would abandon him without mercy. To savor this fun for as long as possible, he needed sharp instincts.
"Hmm, should I stick around to kill about twenty more?"
And as he moved to direct his monsters again, a knight in pure white descended from the sky.
In one hand, a sword of light; behind her, beautiful wings of light fluttering. Like an angel descending, the knight gripped her blade with both hands and swung, slicing through the monsters in a flash. Light spread like a wave.
As the headless monsters collapsed into heaps of meat, the Summoner clicked his tongue and turned away. Losing his beloved pets hurt, but this was an unfamiliar hunter. No telling how long it'd take to deal with her, so he decided on a quick retreat.
But the moment he turned, he froze.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Ha! Someone came out to greet me early. From the HCU?"
"What the hell are you babbling about, you psycho."
Cheon Ji-hoo spoke in Korean, the Summoner in English. His heavy accent meant Ji-hoo only caught "HCU."
To escape, the Summoner spread his arms and activated his power. Red circles appeared in the air, and blood-red wolves leaped out. Giant black crows followed, flapping their wings.
"Blood Hounds! Black Crows! Rip him apart!"
Even Ji-hoo understood that.
"Straightforward names."
The red wolves and crows charged with madness gleaming in their eyes. Cheon Ji-hoo exhaled slowly and raised a single finger.
Gravity Amplification, Reverse Gravity.
Two spells activated with a point of his finger. The wolves racing across the rooftop and the crows diving from the sky slammed into the ground and were crushed. The rooftop floor remained intact, the magic sandwiching them like a vice and squeezing.
Any other mage witnessing this would have screamed.
'You mad bastard!'
Ji-hoo's magic was a feat no ordinary caster could pull off.
The Summoner grimaced as his summons were brutally crushed. Realizing this wasn't an enemy he could handle easily, he ground his teeth and shouted.
"You fucking bastard! I'll kill you right now!"
If he weren't a villain—if he'd stayed a hunter—he might have been at the massive Hongdae rift and seen Ji-hoo's face. He'd never dare challenge someone whose power he knew.
Becoming a villain was the worst mistake of his life.
"Come on! I'll kill you for sure!"
Shouting, the Summoner pulled out his strongest summons from subspace. From the red circle slithered a massive green serpent, followed by a silverback gorilla of enormous bulk.
Monsters from an A-rank rift, enhanced further by his ability—equivalent to quasi-S-rank at least. They roared horrifically and charged at Cheon Ji-hoo.
Even one would be a nightmare for any hunter below A-rank.
Yet Ji-hoo regarded them with utter calm. The Summoner assumed he was frozen in terror. But he merely murmured low.
"Summoning... an interesting field."
Uncrossing his arms, he spread them wide. Stone arms erupted from the rooftop, seizing the serpent and gorilla by the scruffs of their necks and crushing them outright.
A summoning school's spell, Golem Creation, cast on the spot. Not just breaking their necks—he exploded their heads entirely. As he recrossed his arms, the stone arms retracted seamlessly, vanishing without a trace.
The Summoner, who had poured all his energy into those two beasts, stared in dumbfounded shock at the scene.
What the hell just happened? He'd unleashed his trump cards against an S-rank hunter, and they were gone... in ten seconds. It felt like an illusion.
But the corpses of his beloved monsters on the ground proved it real.
And then terror crept in. Fear. Despair. The figure before him was an unknown. Powers he'd never heard of, impossible to even guess at. The Summoner clamped his mouth shut.
No more taunts. His mind raced for an escape, sweat trickling down his spine—but no time to feel it.
Is it possible?
Impossible. That was the conclusion.
To survive, he'd have to kneel and beg. But his pride wouldn't allow it.
Honestly, right now, ditching his pride was the only way to avoid death. It filled his thoughts.
Glancing up slyly, he saw Ji-hoo looking down at the city below, head turned away. There, the white knight with wings of light was sweeping the battlefield, felling monsters.
Now's my chance?
...Definitely. He wasn't even watching this way. Time to bolt—
"Huh?"
Only a dumb noise escaped his lips. His legs wouldn't move, and then his body slowly crumbled.
In that instant, the Summoner realized: Ji-hoo hadn't let his guard down. There was simply no need to.
Falling, his eyes caught his own two legs, still standing firmly on the ground.
Wh-when did they get severed?
Agony surged. The pain of amputated legs left him voiceless, screaming in silence.
Even as he did, Cheon Ji-hoo—still watching below—kept an eye on whether Cheon Ji-yoon was faring well. He'd slipped her some unknown armor from subspace just in case, so she should be unscathed.
Turning, he glanced at the Summoner sprawled on the ground.
An S-rank villain like this? Hunter standards really are low.
Maybe because their power came from self-training, not just awakening. The pursuit of convenient awakenings led to this— a system where power-drunk lunatics popped up constantly.
"...Yeah."
This world was fundamentally broken somewhere. Probably the bastard who made the Awakening system. Whoever it was, he'd let it slide for now. It hadn't disrupted his peaceful life yet.
But the moment that balance shattered, he'd smash it with everything he had.
He snapped his fingers, finishing the Summoner.
The S-rank villain's head rolled across the rooftop.
Cheon Ji-hoo walked to the railing, planted a foot on it, and looked down at Cheon Ji-yoon wrapping up the last monster. The HCU squads were arriving now... time to pull back.
As he stepped forward off the rail, he dropped. Arms crossed, long white hair streaming, his fall slowed as he neared the ground, landing lightly.
He approached Ji-yoon, who was catching her breath.
"Time to head home."
"Uh, huh? Oh, yeah!"
A slender response came from within the white armor—hardly matching its imposing look—Ji-yoon still dazed.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Cheon Ji-hoo cast Teleportation. The two vanished cleanly, just as HCU agents stormed the scene.
They were speechless at the sight. Scattered human corpses. Far more monster bodies. Word of the S-rank villain Summoner's appearance had led them to brace for worse devastation.
Still, the lighter damage brought some relief.
"Over here!"
Lee Joo-hwan's Sonar had detected the monster corpses—and one human. Unmistakably the 'Summoner' every international agency had hunted. Shared intel meant they recognized the rolling head instantly.
"Who the hell did this...?"
From the battle's state, the Summoner hadn't stood a chance. Pondering which S-rank could dominate like this, Lee Joo-hwan squeezed his eyes shut.
Cheon Ji-hoo!
No doubt about it. No other S-rank nearby, and no one else could dispatch an S-rank villain this fast.
Grateful, sure—but!
He'd ignored their pleas again! They'd begged him not to!
Ji-hoo's actions deserved thanks, but at this rate, the whole HCU would end up dancing to his tune.
"Hoo..."
Lee Joo-hwan sighed deeply and joined his comrades in cleanup. Plenty of work ahead.
* * *
[A New S-rank Emerges?!]
[The White Knight! Who Is She?]
[HCU Silent as Ever.]
[S-rank Villain 'Summoner' Dead!]
The villain's appearance and defeat. Terrifying at first, but confirmed dead, he became mere tabloid fodder for reporters. They churned out articles, speculating on the "White Knight"—presumed new S-rank—based on nearby survivors' accounts.
The knight in white armor, wielding a sword of light with wings of light, had shocked everyone.
Cheon Ji-hoo, watching the news on TV from the sofa, said,
"Ji-yoon-ah, there you are."
It was cellphone footage, as he'd planned—only her captured. Nearby CCTV had been sabotaged by the villain, missing him entirely.
Ji-yoon gracefully swinging her light sword, severing monster necks. The one who'd made it all possible was still spaced out.
"Snap out of it already."
"Uh, yeah..."
He could guess why Cheon Ji-yoon was like this. Her first taste of a battlefield strewn with human dead.
Rookies in their first war always looked like that.
Gurgle.
"...I'm hungry. Oppa, what're we having for dinner?"
Or not?