The Silence Spirit, a Product of Mystery
Magic is the act of posing questions to reality through mana, but spirits are utterly natural beings born from nature itself, wielding powers akin to magic. The ancient mages learned how to converse with these spirits and borrowed their mysteries to cast spells. Later, they came to be known as druids or spirit callers, but no one can deny that they were the first mages.
Mages spent ages trying to interpret these spirits, but they ultimately failed to fully comprehend them. They were nature itself. How could humanity, which has yet to explore the ocean depths, claim to perfectly understand nature? Spirits were much the same as those abyssal depths.
"So, what do I gotta do?"
"I'm going to borrow your mystery."
Deer have long been animals laden with symbolism. Even on Earth, they were revered as sacred beings since ancient times—and the same held true in that other world. In Taoism, they were one of the Ten Longevity Symbols, representing immortality. In Korea, they symbolized the king. In Europe, people saw the periodically shedding and regrowing antlers of stags as akin to the Tree of Life, deeming them supernatural entities. Guides and guardians of the forest. Messengers of the gods. Harbingers of spring. Symbols of fortune, light, and the sun. Gatherings of human faith that no theory could explain.
That was what Nok appeared as to Cheon Ji-hoo. By tapping into the mystery of the "guide," he figured he could track down traces of the Demon King.
Hopping onto Nok's back in the living room, he sat cross-legged and unfurled . "Don't panic this time," he added, not forgetting to warn the spirit.
And with that, their view flipped.
They were high in the night sky. Hunter Way's glittering cityscape sprawled below at a glance, the Han River threading through Seoul filling their vision. A fierce wind whipped Cheon Ji-hoo's hair and ruffled Nok's fluffy fur.
Cheon Ji-hoo blinked at the modern nightscape that nearly took his breath away.
-Sparkle sparkle!
"But there's no forest!"
Nok was thrilled regardless. True to the warning, it didn't thrash about this time.
What a beautiful world. Even after the Great Rift had dimmed so many lights, the sparkling panorama from the heavens was undeniably gorgeous, a unique beauty born of Earth's teeming life.
Cheon Ji-hoo drew a deep breath and stroked Nok's nape. "You're the guide. The forest guide."
-Yeah!
Nok seemed to grasp its role, responding vigorously to his gentle voice.
"Lead me to where my enemies lurk."
-Ji-hoo's enemies are my enemies! I'm the guide and the guardian! The nice human said to take good care of the forest while he was gone. It's my forest anyway.
"He probably said that out of worry."
-Really? Whatever, hurry up and find the Demon King.
The stag's mystery began to manifest. Nok's already massive antlers, draped in vines, grew even larger, branching out in all directions like trees. They filled the dark sky. The tips of the extending, ever-extending antlers shimmered like ripening fruit, and those lights spread outward, saturating the heavens. It was as if golden threads were fluttering and weaving across the sky.
Cheon Ji-hoo watched quietly before asking, "How long will it take?"
-Dunno?
"Guess I'll have to chop off those antlers and figure out how much they'll fetch."
Hurry it up—that was the message. But Nok just tilted its head, clueless.
-So, where should I guide you?
"To the ones brimming with malice. Y'know, like that human you met before you fell asleep."
-Yeah!
"Make a path to the ones like him."
-Got it!
Truly, what a obedient navigator. Top-tier performance, too.
Intense light flowed from the base of the antlers, tracing along the branches to etch lines across the sky. It was a path so mystical it could be called a "sky road."
As an enigma unfolded before him that human minds couldn't approach, even Cheon Ji-hoo watched with sparkling eyes. "But there sure are a lot of paths."
-Means there are that many!
"The world's gotten real cozy for living, huh."
So many demons lurking about. Just the lines etched in the sky numbered over a dozen. Each one likely represented a demon hiding in Korea—they'd all have to be rounded up and dealt with.
-Where to first?
"The closest one."
Cheon Ji-hoo cast and , then patted Nok's flank. The spirit took off along the line with eager strides. As its hooves left the ground, the massive antlers began shrinking, leaving only long trails of light in the sky.
The deer ran. It galloped powerfully along the luminous lines in the heavens. If anyone below happened to spot it—unlikely as that was—they might mistake it for an off-season Santa. Cheon Ji-hoo chuckled at the stray thought, and Nok bounded even more vigorously through the air.
* * *
"This power... yes, with this power alone..."
Vice Chairman Lee Joo-cheol couldn't hide his excitement at the overwhelming power surging through him. Ermo of Silence had bestowed the baptism of the Silence Demon King. Immense power. If he'd known he could seize such strength, he should've ditched those pathetic humans ages ago. It dwarfed any hunter. Right now, with this force coursing through him, he felt he could rip apart S-rank hunters or whatever without a second thought. Nothing scared him.
Idiots.
Lee Joo-cheol didn't know the full story of the Monster Wave. All he'd heard was that some demon named Tol of Dark Clouds had gathered a horde of monsters—only to get utterly crushed. That fueled his arrogance even more.
Died with this kind of power? Must've been extremely careless.
With a demon's power now, he was convinced he could tear Cheon Ji-hoo—the bastard who'd ruined all his plans—to shreds. Sure, they hyped the guy as SS-rank, but he was just a bit stronger than S-rank. Demon power, this boiling strength surging through every limb—he could rip off the arms and legs, gut the organs.
And that chance came sooner than expected.
Crash!
With a deafening roar, the floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference room—where Lee Joo-cheol had been leaning—shattered entirely. Startled by the sudden noise, he whipped around to see wind gusting through the gaping hole.
And there, he beheld it: a massive stag with a greenish glow, and atop its back, a man with flowing white hair.
The man fixed his blue eyes on Lee Joo-cheol and said, "There's a demon in the Hunter Association?"
"Cheon Ji-hoo!"
Spotting the face, Lee Joo-cheol snarled without a moment's pause to wonder how he'd gotten there. That bastard had botched everything. He'd reached the goal of gaining "demon" power, but the process was a total mess. Things hadn't gone his way, and rage bubbled in his chest.
Fury—pure, unadulterated fury. It hammered his skull, blood racing through his veins. The intense emotion amplified his demonic energy, spewing thick killing intent.
Cheon Ji-hoo frowned at the sight. "Damn, another small fry."
"Let's see if you keep talking like that!"
Lee Joo-cheol exploded with energy and kicked off the floor. Boom! The ground shattered, vibrations rippling through the entire building. Drunk on the destruction, he clenched his fist and thrust it forward. A sharp whoosh cut the air—heavy, blindingly fast, the power embedded in that punch evident even from afar.
But Cheon Ji-hoo merely watched, then flicked a finger.
And whoosh.
Lee Joo-cheol vanished into an S-rank rift.
Cheon Ji-hoo tapped Nok's side with his foot. "Alright, next."
-What about that guy?
"Let him reflect in there alone. I'll deal with 'em all at once once I've gathered them."
-Ji-hoo, you're a genius!
"Yeah, yeah."
Fluff fluff. Cheon Ji-hoo stroked Nok's nape and urged it onward. The deer once more cleaved through the night sky.
* * *
Sucked into the rift, Lee Joo-cheol pounded a nearby tree in frustration.
Thud!
The trunk caved in with a boom, but the tree held—his fist cracking from the recoil instead. "Aaargh!"
The demon's power healed it quickly, but the pain lingered. Gritting his teeth through the agony in his right hand, he scanned his surroundings. He was in a forest. Hadn't he just been in the Hunter Association building, overlooking the skyline of towers? Now it was all lush greenery instead. A bit wrecked, sure.
"Fuck! Where the hell is this?!"
Boom!
He slammed another fist into a tree and roared. He remembered his vision going white mid-swing. Then he'd dropped here, wherever "here" was.
"Cheon Ji-hoo—that fucker did this, no doubt."
Who else? No one had been around.
But he had no clue where he was or how to escape. The trees felt off, too. With his power, they should've snapped like twigs, but they only dented. And their size was absurd. No way this was Earth.
As he stood there dazed, trying to think, a bluish rift tore open nearby. A man tumbled out, and it snapped shut—too fast to even attempt escape.
"What the fuck! Where are we?!"
The newcomer quickly scanned around, eyes glazing over in shock. Same reaction as Lee Joo-cheol. The "senior" arrival approached and asked, "You ran into Cheon Ji-hoo too, right?"
"Cheon Ji-hoo? Who's that?"
"Y'know, the lunatic riding a deer."
"That fucker's name is Cheon Ji-hoo?! That shit-eating—"
And another rift opened. They lunged for it, but a new person flew in, smashing into a tree as it closed.
The third was a woman. She lay crumpled against the trunk for a while before coming to, unleashing a torrent of irritation. "Goddamn it..."
More kept pouring in. By the time fourteen had gathered, no more rifts appeared. They tried timing an escape, but the rifts popped up unpredictably, hurling people in and vanishing instantly.
Fourteen demons trapped in a rift. Confirming each other's nature, they turned their rage toward one name.
Cheon Ji-hoo. Right now, he was plucking out demons one by one and stuffing them into rifts.
"We gotta kill that fucking bastard to get out!" Lee Joo-cheol bellowed, with zero evidence or certainty. In their heated state, incitement was effortless—the others chimed in agreement. To them, Cheon Ji-hoo was the common enemy who'd dumped them here.
Rage coalesced into a blaze. They filled the forest with curses, thick with killing intent and demonic energy.
But the Cheon Ji-hoo they craved didn't show for a full day. Even demons couldn't vent for 24 straight hours. Exhausted, Lee Joo-cheol muttered, "That fucker... why hasn't he come?"