The Child with the Frenzied Gaze
C-rank hunter Kim Na-yeon walked down the hospital corridor, her face glowing with a bright, carefree smile.
It was because she had just checked the balance in her account and felt an overwhelming sense of joy.
She had officially promoted to a full-fledged hunter after turning eighteen, and this was her very first real mission in the field.
It was combat outside the city barriers.
The pay far exceeded the pocket money she had received from the D-rank and lower gates during her internship at the Hunter Academy.
This was the true income of a professional hunter.
If she could earn money like this at all, she could eat all the delicious foods she wanted.
She would no longer need to beg her brother for allowance or worry about his reactions.
Smiling brightly as she scrolled through the account app on her smartphone, Na-yeon suddenly spotted a man approaching from the opposite end of the corridor.
His features were strikingly handsome, with a refined line to his face that belonged to a man.
His body was far slimmer and weaker than her own, which she trained every single day, giving him a somewhat feeble appearance.
And he had blue hair.
Yet the power radiating from that body placed it in a realm completely beyond what a C-rank hunter like Na-yeon could ever approach.
He was none other than Kim Do-yoon, the rare A-rank hunter who had only a handful of personnel in the entire great city.
He was also her older brother, Kim Do-yoon.
With a playful grin, Do-yoon approached Na-yeon and jumped straight to the point.
"Money came in, right?"
"Yeah. It's no joke, is it? It really is the Jeokpung Guild."
"That includes living expenses. All magic stones and items obtained from the gates are also settled there. In fact, it's not an exaggeration to say that the Jeokpung Guild handles the overall administration of Seoul's hunter sector... ...That said..."
The smile vanished from the corners of Do-yoon's lips. He looked at Na-yeon with a slightly concerned expression.
"I saw you look pretty rough from the very first real mission. Are you feeling okay?"
"...What kind of concern is that from an older brother who has about as much aura as a speck of dust?"
"I was hoping you'd gain some field experience outside the city barriers first."
"I'm fine. I was the one who insisted you take me along."
"Hehe, it wasn't that bad. Of course, since I'm your mentor, you could go as a C-rank."
Though he spoke lightly, Na-yeon's expression turned gloomy.
A gate break had occurred in the remote northern region of Seoul. An uncontrolled gate had rampaged, and monsters had poured out into the outside world.
This time, it was a gate break of A+ rank danger.
Many hunters had lost their lives during this mission.
Na-yeon herself had almost died.
Of course, expeditions outside the city barriers were rare.
Usually, they were left alone. Once the monsters spread and the density thinned, they would be picked off one by one.
The hunter workforce simply wasn't enough to manage gate incidents across the entire vast territory of South Korea.
"Which is why humans are now living safely inside the city barriers made using magic stones."
"Back before the Great Calamity a hundred years ago, Korea had so many people it was overcrowded, right?"
"That was when the urban population concentration was still the same? People rushed into Seoul despite the skyrocketing housing prices."
"How did you, who wasn't even born back then, know that?"
"Sister, sister. Study a bit. Don't they teach history at the Hunter Academy these days? How did you even graduate?"
"Oof...! What a surprise you are..."
"Aigoo. I'm about to die."
Na-yeon puffed out her cheeks and poked her brother's side.
Do-yoon clutched his waist and let out a pained groan.
The two siblings smiled at each other.
Even Na-yeon, who had just become an adult, had grown enough to understand that this was Do-yoon's way of comforting her.
"So, why did you secretly bring her to So-rim unnie's guild medical center? I followed what you said, but..."
"How is she?"
"She's fine. Just a bit malnourished. I was told to rest absolutely for a while."
"I see."
"...What? And Jeokpung Guild has a facility with excellent medical centers. All the injured from this expedition are supposed to be treated there."
Do-yoon gave a meaningful look.
"Sister. This northern gate break operation has a pretty rotten smell to me."
"...That underground laboratory story where we almost got buried? We ran in panic after encountering a colossal A-rank monster, then suddenly the ground collapsed from a huge vibration. Was it the influence of the gate break? ...Anyway, there were monsters everywhere there... and bodies of researchers too... Uuuuh...!"
Recalling the panic and horror of that day, Na-yeon's body trembled.
"Do you know where we went on this expedition? Near the Ancient Species Sanctuary, right? That's basically a forbidden zone for humanity."
Na-yeon nodded at Do-yoon's words.
The Great Calamity a hundred years ago, when humanity nearly went extinct. Gates appearing across the globe. Powerful monsters that no conventional weapon could harm. And the emergence of awakened beings.
Humanity mounted a counterattack centered on those awakened beings, but the newly appeared Ancient Species were so formidable that even the strongest awakened could not easily fight them.
Ancient Species.
Huge monsters, or powerful single humanoid entities.
Some even commanded swarms of powerful monsters.
But suddenly they all stopped moving and fell into a deep sleep.
Then, as if merging with nature itself, they dissolved into parts of the ground, mountains, or sea.
If the Ancient Species had not ceased their activities, humanity would not have survived.
"Of course, humans also built up our strength during that time. We restored our homes and honed new powers to resist them. South Korea established a proper system centered on the great hunter guilds in each city and even built proper educational institutions. So we won't fall so easily even if the Ancient Species wake up again. ...But..."
Where there is light, there is shadow.
The awakened crimes that began to appear frequently after the Calamity had become a serious social issue.
The acts of the powerful or the primal desire of the weak to wield that power.
"The underground laboratory near the Ancient Species Sanctuary. Isn't that a pretty big deal?"
"Meaning it's a secret place that can't be discovered by others, right?"
"Yeah. And the girl we found in the test tube there... I got a bad feeling about the inhuman experiments."
"Then why don't you tell the Jeokpung Guild? It's clearly a serious crime by an awakened group. It would be perfectly fine to put a bounty and extermination order on them across Seoul right now. Don't you have to report it immediately?"
Do-yoon looked at Na-yeon with an exasperated expression.
"Sister, you still think like a child."
"Wha— I'm all grown up now?"
"Think about it yourself."
After finishing their conversation, the siblings arrived at their destination.
The door opened, and the scene of a private treatment room unfolded before them.
"Eh? She's awake..."
"......"
Do-yoon trailed off. Na-yeon fell silent.
There was a reason. The beauty of the girl sitting on the bed was so overwhelming that no words could describe it.
Her slender limbs.
A body that seemed endlessly delicate and fragile.
Yet within that softness, something foreign and mysterious had taken root, as if it did not belong in this world.
On the bed, with her upper body raised and eyes closed, the girl's long black hair cascaded like a wave over the sheets.
Deeper than jet black, more brilliantly dark than a crow.
Between the long hair spread across the bed, her pale face appeared as if carved and refined.
Her face with lowered eyelids looked like a dreaming fairy.
Long, jet-black eyelashes. Cheeks as smooth and white as fine porcelain.
Her breathing was faint and shallow, yet somewhere it was unnaturally still.
Do-yoon whispered in Na-yeon's ear.
"...She's awake, right?"
"Ye, yeah. She seems to be..."
Na-yeon swallowed hard.
While the two were still fumbling in this strange atmosphere...
Whoosh.
The girl's eyes opened.
Beautiful, large red eyes with a faint crimson glow.
Then the girl turned her head slightly, and her sparkling pupils looked straight at them.
"Kyah!"
Completely caught off guard by the innocent gaze, Na-yeon's mind went completely blank.
Enticed by those pure eyes, she stepped forward toward the bed with both arms outstretched as if ready to hug the girl at any moment.
At that moment, a flash of light erupted from the girl's pupils.
"Huh...!?"
Feeling a strange sense of dread, Na-yeon stopped in her tracks.
She even took a step back.
The overwhelming sensation that an unknown power was gazing straight through her bones.
The girl's eyes, carrying a frenzied intensity that even felt dangerous.
Was this what it felt like to become prey in front of a predator?
"......"
The girl's pupils quietly gazed at Na-yeon, then swept over the awkwardly standing Do-yoon as well.
Na-yeon glanced at her older brother.
Do-yoon's face was tense enough to break out in cold sweat, a rare sight.
Sparks seemed to be about to fly from his ability.
But Na-yeon couldn't fully understand.
Of course the girl's eyes were eerie for a child, but why was A-rank Do-yoon so tense?
The air grew heavy with tension for a moment.
Then...
The girl's head turned forward casually, and the overwhelming pressure that had crushed the two vanished like mist.
Only then did the breath Do-yoon had been holding explode out.
"Phew...! What kind of kid's eyes are those..."
"A-Are you okay? Did we scare you? ...If you need to use the bathroom, just say so! I'll be nearby! S-Shall we feed you first? Yeah! I'll go get some food!"
"W-Wait!"
Unleashing words like a machine gun, Na-yeon immediately grabbed Do-yoon's hand and dragged him out of the treatment room.
"It's all because of you! She was clearly warning you! I wanted to hear her voice again!"
"...Was that just simple caution?"
"Anyway, I'll get to know her. You go do your work. You said you were busy, right?"
Do-yoon's expression turned strange.
"You... didn't feel anything at all just now?"
"Ye-Yeah? I was a little scared because of those puppy eyes, but she still looks super cute?"
"Is it false bravado, or are you just numb because you're C-rank?"
Do-yeon shook his head side to side. He was still sweating cold sweat.
"What kind of monster did they make in that laboratory...? Even when standing in front of the Jeokpung Guild Master, S-rank Lee Myeong-won, I didn't feel this pressure."
"Sorim unnie checked her. No awakened reaction. No mana. She said she's just a normal person."
"The more it gets, the more mysterious it becomes."
Do-yeon gave a headache expression and hurried out of the medical center.
"More leads have appeared. I'll be busy for a while. I might not be able to come in for a bit. Instead, take care of the office management for me."
"Bro! What about that girl?"
"First, we have to take her with us. Keep a close eye on her. Since I can't stay indebted to So-rim's guild forever, if she has to be discharged, give her a room in the office."
Watching Do-yoon stagger away with a sullen face, Na-yeon suddenly clapped her hands.
"Ah, I was supposed to bring her food."