The Blood Wolf Enigma
Blade Windmill Mountain Valley, Incheon Awakener Association Branch. Late-night emergency briefing room.
As the thick soundproof door sealed shut, the conference room plunged into a suffocating silence. The screen displayed gruesome photos of the devastated Baeksa Guild headquarters. Collapsed steel beams. Walls torn apart. Corpses mangled beyond human recognition. Several executives at the table unconsciously furrowed their brows.
"…Even seeing it again, it's insane."
Choi Cheolseung muttered lowly. Yuseorin, standing before him, stared silently at the screen. The images shifted to on-site forensics, mana residue analysis charts, photos of collected claw marks, and estimated combat paths.
"A total of twenty-three deaths confirmed inside the Baeksa Guild. All judged to be from external intervention. Low possibility of internal conflict or self-destruction."
The analyst's calm report only made the room's atmosphere heavier. The analyst pressed the remote once more.
"And… some CCTV in the outer hallway survived."
Several executives' faces hardened instantly at those words.
Static hiss. The screen flickered with a brief noise. Grainy black-and-white footage, riddled with glitches. But the scene it captured seized everyone's attention in an instant.
At the end of the dark hallway. Something emerged slowly. A figure in a deep black coat, hood pulled low, face completely obscured in shadow. Only the unwavering steps crossing blood-smeared floors were visible—no tremor, no hesitation.
"Freeze."
Choi Cheolseung's low voice halted the footage. The cloaked figure walked with head slightly bowed. Even over the bloodied floor, the steps were eerily silent. Like strolling a peaceful night street, not the aftermath of a massacre.
The analyst continued. "Facial recognition impossible. Poor CCTV quality, and overall dim internal lighting made identification difficult."
The analyst pressed the remote again.
Static hiss. The video resumed. As the black-coated figure passed the hallway's center, shadows on the left suddenly writhed. In the next instant, a massive wolf with a crimson glow materialized from the void.
The room's air froze solid. This wasn't a typical wolf-type monster. Its fur rippled like blood mist, eyes blazing scarlet in pitch-black sockets. Thick saliva dripped from its maw, low breaths escaping between exposed fangs. The colossal beast passed the cloaked figure naturally—as if guarding, or more precisely, following its master.
"…What the hell is that?"
One executive muttered in disbelief. In the footage, the blood wolf crouched low and shot off-screen. Screams followed immediately. Though the camera didn't capture the full fight, splattering blood and flying flesh on the distant wall painted a vivid picture.
"Build suggests male. Height around 180 cm. Combat style and monster handling point to summoner class."
"…A summoner?"
Choi Cheolseung's eyebrow twitched. His expression screamed impossibility. He knew well the disdain summoners faced in the Awakener world.
Summoners were rare classes, sure. But not respected. Most had weak personal combat prowess, and summons hit hard growth ceilings. Higher ranks saw them as impractical.
Yet a summoner with that level of power? Choi Cheolseung clicked his tongue.
"Ridiculous. A summoner with that destructive force? Only one comes to mind."
Tense glances exchanged among the executives. The same name on everyone's lips.
"Beast Lord…."
America's S-rank Awakener. The first—and only—S-rank summoner.
Choi Cheolseung shook his head immediately. "He's tied up in North America. All recent public schedules overseas, no entry records."
"Then the chance it's the same person—"
"Negligible."
Choi Cheolseung's voice chilled. "More importantly, it's not like any known summoner style."
His gaze returned to the screen's blood wolf. Normal summons followed orders. Spirits or beasts, usually. But this wolf? No mere puppet. It moved autonomously, attuned to its master's will—like a familiar.
The room fell silent. Then Yuseorin, who had listened quietly, spoke slowly.
"I learned this on-site. Faint residues lingered where the wolf passed and blood sprayed. An aura unlike any typical monster or summon."
Choi Cheolseung's face stiffened. "What kind?"
Yuseorin paused, then said coldly, "…Black Abyss."
The room's air iced over. Some eyes widened in shock; others scowled deeply. Choi Cheolseung asked lowly,
"Certain?"
"Not identical. But strikingly similar."
Yuseorin's eyes stayed on the blood wolf. "The otherworldliness I felt in the Black Abyss. Too ominous for mere mana, too unique for a simple monster… that texture."
She caught her breath. "I believe this figure cleared the Black Abyss and the Irregular."
"What?!"
The room erupted. Executives shifted in disbelief; some openly frowned. The Black Abyss—humanity's scourge, the impenetrable SSS-rank gate. Erased without trace by an unidentified powerhouse.
Choi Cheolseung's expression hardened. "Evidence?"
"Call it intuition."
"Hm…"
A flippant answer normally. But no one here dismissed Yuseorin's instincts. World rank 1. Monster who survived countless disaster gates. She never spoke on mere hunch. Her senses alone had decided countless lives, explanation or not.
Choi Cheolseung closed his eyes, pondering. If true, this mystery figure must be recruited at all costs.
He opened his eyes, speaking gravely. "Mobilize all Association personnel."
All eyes locked on him.
"Investigate everything tied to this figure. Identity, movements, contacts—every scrap of clue. And recruit them, by any means."
The hospital room was quiet. Only the steady beep of machines, faint city lights filtering through the window late at night.
Eugene gazed silently at Sua lying in bed. Her usual pallor. Shallow breaths. Fragile as glass, ready to shatter.
Today, she seemed even more precarious. Following Aria's instructions, Eugene slowly raised his hand to Sua's forehead. Just infuse mana, she'd said.
Slither. Shadows unspooled from his fingertips like threads, etching a faint pattern on her skin. Barely visible, vanishing in light—not even true black.
Shadow Mark. Invisible outwardly, but linked to Eugene's senses. An alarm for any threat to Sua.
"Hoo…"
Eugene glanced at the door. Shadows spread across the floor, slipping under the bed, crawling to ceiling corners, hiding behind curtains and vents.
Safety net in place. This incident drove it home. No guarantee scum like Baeksa wouldn't return.
So prepare thoroughly. Hide everything. Until he could open the dungeon door, conceal his identity to the end.
Fame was poison. A double-edged sword—potent weapon if wielded right, but prone to self-inflicted wounds.
What he needed now wasn't attention, but time. To protect Sua, grow stronger, seize the power to snap enemies' necks.
Eugene slowly clenched his fist.
.
.
.
E-rank gate: Blade Windmill Mountain Valley.
A cold gust brushed his cheek. Blinking awake, rugged mountain terrain unfolded. Sheer cliffs, barren rocks, gravel-strewn slopes. Floor littered with broken bones, torn hides, unidentified gray feathers. Strong winds whipped feathers skyward, only to slam them into crevices.
Far atop a cliff. Something streaked past. Slender humanoid shadow—but wings flapped on its back.
Kieeeek! A shrill cry echoed through the valley.
Eugene scowled instinctively. Harpies. Not just one or two.
Then, one harpy screeched and dove. Eugene's eyes darkened. The shadow at his feet compressed into a thin, sharp spike, surging up like a spear.
Since acquiring form change, no need for finger gestures. Shadows became spears, blades, fangs at his will.
Shwick! The black spear pierced under the harpy's wing. It shrieked, veering wildly mid-air, plummeting down the cliff.
The fastest path to strength was simple. Not swallowing mana stones, not grinding training.
Kill monsters. Level up.
Nothing surer for him now.