The Ultimate Offering
The massive wall-mounted TV in the conference room kept looping the same footage. Just before the gate break, Taesan Guild's rising star Seo Ijun clashing with the black monster—and getting sent flying by a single strike. It was shocking no matter how many times he watched it. That had to be Eugene's summon.
"Insane..."
Seo Ijun wasn't some weak Awakener. He might lack a bit of experience, but his talent was undeniable. His actual combat metrics put him at the top tier not just among his peers, but even among fellow A-rank Awakeners. Taesan Guild wasn't hyping him as their next big thing for nothing.
Not all A-ranks were created equal. There were clear gaps even within the rank, and Seo Ijun was rated at the pinnacle. At least by domestic standards, he was upper A-rank—one of the few elite talents worth counting on one hand. Known as the "Flame Seo Ijun," his name carried weight, and his potential was said to brush S-rank.
And yet.
"One shot."
The staffer standing beside him muttered with a stiff expression. Choi Cheolseung didn't respond. The colossal blood-red demon. An overwhelming magical beast. It had been ages since chills like this ran down his spine. When was the last time he'd felt this?
"......"
Choi Cheolseung silently watched the video play out to the end.
"The footage is spreading across every platform right now. YouTube, Shorts, communities, SNS—all of it."
Instead of replying, Choi Cheolseung held out his hand. The staffer hurriedly passed him the tablet. Below the skyrocketing view count, the comments were flooding in like mad.
Choi Cheolseung's brow furrowed. Maybe, just maybe, Eugene's choice back then had been wise after all. If he'd climbed to S-rank, the world's eyes would have locked onto him in an instant. Guilds, the Association, foreign powers—they'd all come calling with offers. Some dangling massive sums to recruit him, others binding him under the guise of protection. Hell, nations might even step in to box him into a manageable framework.
There are precedents.
Back when Yuseorin was officially classed as S-rank. The chaos had been similar. No—more blatant than now. At first, the media frenzy was nonstop. News of a Korean-born S-rank operating overseas blanketed broadcasts for days, with TV vans and reporters clogging the Association entrance. Headlines screamed sensationalism.
-Monster Prodigy.
-Korea's New Sword.
-Next-Gen Calamity Counter.
But the real trouble came after. Domestic mega-guilds moved first, showering her with unimaginable signing bonuses and outrageous terms. It looked like recruitment competition on the surface, but it was a fight over who got their hands on her first. Overseas was no different—foreign Associations, megaguilds, even government-tied figures approached through back channels nonstop. And amid it all, factions tried to eliminate her outright instead of recruiting.
S-rank glory was a chain as much as a crown. That's why they had to keep hiding him. Eugene, their ace in the hole. They couldn't afford to lose him.
Choi Cheolseung closed his eyes, then opened them again.
A subterranean chamber thick with darkness. Crimson-black flesh veined the walls, ceiling, and floor, writhing like living tissue. On the metal lab table lay chunks of mangled beast corpses, human bones, and congealed black blood strewn about haphazardly. At the center, a gloved hand in pristine white slowly swept across the monitor screen.
The screen replayed the very footage blaring on the news: Seo Ijun colliding with the black monster and flying back, followed by the blood-red demon ripping the black entity apart in midair.
In the silence, someone chuckled lowly.
"...Haha."
Long, disheveled gray hair. A bloodless face. Clothes that could pass for a lab coat or priestly robes. The man stared at the red demon onscreen, then twisted his lips into a smirk.
"What a shame."
At his feet rolled a shattered glass tank, black slime inside still twitching faintly. The black monster. It wasn't complete. Closer to a failure, really. Regeneration was top-notch, but balance was a mess—too aggressive, no intellect, short duration. Just a prototype to test potential.
So he'd released it into a suitable gate. And the results? Beyond expectations.
"Way more entertaining than I anticipated."
The man's gaze fixed on the screen's red demon. His failed experiment born of human-beast fusion. Designed to overwhelm any ordinary human. Even Taesan Guild's golden boy went down in one hit—performance proven.
But that red one was different. No hesitation in shredding the test subject, ignored humans entirely.
"Exciting."
His eyes darkened deeply. He turned to the long tank behind him. Inside floated amorphous flesh lumps: arm-like human bits, beast-jaw shapes, eyeball orbs. All quivering faintly in black fluid.
The man tapped the tank glass with a gloved finger.
Tap. Tap.
The flesh beyond writhed in response.
"Those so-called apostles of His, content with mere mortal offerings? Pathetic mockery. An insult to Him."
He glanced back at the screen. Slo-mo replay of the red demon tearing out the black monster's throat.
"Look. I've found it at last. The ultimate offering!!!"
A grin spread across his face. As he muttered softly, something crouched in the shadows lifted its head. A grotesque hybrid—human torso atop beast lower body. The woman with half her face melted rasped in a trembling voice.
"M...Master......"
Without turning, the man said, "Quiet."
Her body convulsed, mouth slamming shut. Vertebrae cracked as she collapsed back to the floor.
As if nothing happened, he murmured, "Don't interrupt now that I've glimpsed the final piece for my masterpiece."
His fingertip traced his chest slowly. Beneath his clothes pulsed a dark crimson sigil shaped like an eerie eye, throbbing like a living heart. Each beat made the surrounding black flesh quiver faintly.
He closed his eyes, savoring the ominous rhythm. Then smirked.
No doubt. The summoner of that blood-red demon. The one who killed Ragiel. Not just strong—obliterated Ragiel's soul, shredded his creation without pause.
Yes... that's it.
Surpassing every failed combo so far, he could finally craft his dreamed ultimate offering.
Use him as the final ingredient, and perfection is mine.
A sinister smile curled his lips.
"No A-ranks..."
Eugene slowly scrolled through the gate list on the Awakener-exclusive app. Public listings topped out at B-rank. Not surprising. A-ranks were basically classified as disaster gates—threats to humanity as a whole. They weren't advertised publicly but managed under strict surveillance and control.
Still, for quick leveling, he needed higher ranks. This B-rank run proved it: he could handle A-rank now. No guarantees, just a gut feeling. But the real issue was access.
He swiped down once more. Still capped at B-rank.
A-ranks are separate, huh.
-Choi Cheolseung
To snag A-rank gate info, the Association President was the only route. Eugene let out a short breath, then tapped the contact without hesitation.