Inside the quiet office, the only sound that could be heard was the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Scarlet Fist sat comfortably behind the desk, one leg crossed over the other as a tablet rested in her hands. Displayed upon its screen was a recording of the battle that had taken place outside the Verdant World’s fortress city.
More specifically...
The battle between Kael and the giant ape.
The footage had clearly been captured by a surveillance drone positioned thousands of metres away from the battlefield so the recording was far from perfect. During the actual fight, both Kael and the giant ape had moved with such frightening speed that the original footage was nothing more than a blur of motion.
Fortunately, the Hunter Association possessed software specifically designed for situations like this.
The video had been slowed down frame by frame until every movement became visible.
The Scarlet Fist watched without blinking.
Her eyes carefully followed every exchange.
Kael’s earth-shattering punches.
His movements.
His reactions.
The explosive force behind every collision.
The terrifying physical strength he displayed without relying on flashy elemental abilities.
The more she watched...
The brighter her eyes became.
Victor Smith stood quietly nearby, not daring to interrupt.
After several minutes, the Scarlet Fist finally reached forward and paused the recording. The frozen image showed Kael’s fist colliding head-on with the giant ape’s enormous arm, the instant before Echo Strike detonated and shattered it completely.
She stared at that frame for several long seconds.
Then...
A slow smile spread across her face.
"Yes..."
"That’s undoubtedly the strength of an S-rank hunter."
She rested her chin against one hand while continuing to admire the paused image.
"And quite a powerful one at that."
There was unmistakable excitement in her voice.
Her eyes practically sparkled.
Victor, standing opposite her, suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine.
He knew that look.
Too well.
’...She’s definitely going to look for him.’
That thought appeared in his mind almost instantly.
After all...
The Scarlet Fist wasn’t merely famous because of her strength.
She was infamous for something else.
She loved fighting.
No...
Loved wasn’t even the right word.
She lived for it.
Whenever a new S-rank hunter appeared, it had practically become an unspoken tradition for her to seek them out and challenge them to a duel.
At this point...
It was less of a habit and more of a ritual.
Looking at the excitement filling her face, Victor could already imagine exactly what she was thinking.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Fist remained completely absorbed in the paused image.
The sheer devastation behind every one of Kael’s attacks made her blood boil with anticipation.
Each punch carried overwhelming force.
Each movement was clean and direct.
Most importantly...
He seemed to rely almost entirely on hand-to-hand combat.
Her favourite.
Unlike elemental specialists or long-range ability users, Kael appeared to be someone who settled everything with his fists.
Just like her.
That alone made her fingers itch.
’Interesting...’
’Very interesting.’
It took considerable effort before she finally suppressed the urge to immediately leave and search for this mysterious S-rank hunter.
She wasn’t here to satisfy her battle addiction.
She had official business from the Hunter Association.
Duty came first.
Reluctantly calming herself down, she looked toward Victor.
"According to your report..."
"You said this mysterious hunter entered the rift using a false identity."
Victor awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"...Something like that."
"I checked every recorded hunter who entered the Verdant World before the beast horde appeared."
"There wasn’t a single registered S-rank hunter."
The Scarlet Fist nodded.
That much matched the report she had received.
Victor continued.
"However..."
"I did discover something strange."
Her brows immediately furrowed.
"What strange thing?"
Victor hesitated for a moment.
Instead of answering immediately, he reached toward the stack of documents resting on his desk before pulling out a single printed profile.
"I think..."
"...it’s better if you see it yourself."
He handed the document across the desk.
The Scarlet Fist accepted it without much thought.
Her eyes casually swept across the page.
Then she frowned.
A second later...
The frown deepened into visible irritation.
She slowly lowered the paper before looking directly at Victor.
"...Are you playing with me?"
Victor instantly stiffened.
She lightly waved the document in her hand.
"Why are you showing me the file of an F-rank hunter?"
"What exactly does this have to do with our current conversation?"
Although her tone remained calm...
Victor immediately felt the pressure inside the room increase.
He hurriedly raised both hands.
"Please don’t misunderstand."
"I’m not joking."
"Just hear me out first."
For several silent seconds, the Scarlet Fist simply stared at him.
Eventually, she leaned back into her chair.
"...Go on."
Victor secretly let out a sigh of relief.
He wasn’t eager to find out whether the nickname Scarlet Fist also applied when she punched fellow Hunters Association officers.
He quickly began explaining.
"The footage you just watched was recorded from far away."
"But before the battle started..."
"I actually met that mysterious hunter face-to-face."
He paused briefly.
His expression became increasingly complicated.
"He bears an astonishing resemblance to the hunter in that file."
Another pause.
Then he corrected himself.
"No."
"Not resemblance."
"He looks exactly the same."
"Like identical twins."
The Scarlet Fist’s expression finally changed.
Her eyes dropped toward the document once more.
Then back toward Victor.
"Are you saying..."
"...the S-rank hunter who defeated the beast horde is this F-rank hunter?"
Victor immediately shook his head.
"No."
"At least..."
"I don’t think so."
"When I first saw the file, I also assumed the information had been falsified."
"So I personally verified it through the Association’s database."
"The results came back authentic."
He pointed toward the profile.
"Everything here is real."
"He only obtained his hunter licence a few days ago."
"His awakening rank is genuinely recorded as F-rank."
Victor slowly exhaled.
"Which is exactly why this doesn’t make any sense."
"Someone who awakened only a few days ago simply cannot become an S-rank hunter."
"So they can’t possibly be the same person."
"...And yet."
"They share the exact same face."
Silence settled over the office.
The Scarlet Fist lowered her eyes toward the profile again.
She accepted Victor’s reasoning.
There was no need for him to fabricate something this absurd.
Besides...
He wasn’t foolish enough to lie directly to her.
That left only one problem.
If the information regarding this F-rank hunter was genuine...
Then it was impossible for him to be the mysterious S-rank powerhouse.
Yet Victor insisted they looked exactly alike.
After pondering the matter for nearly a minute, the Scarlet Fist finally placed the file back onto the table.
She slowly leaned back in her chair.
"This is outside my expertise."
Combat...
That was where her talents lay.
Investigations, hidden identities, conspiracies and intelligence work were matters better left to others.
She rose from her seat.
"I’ll submit everything you’ve gathered to headquarters."
"They have people whose entire job is dealing with mysteries like this."
"As for me..."
A faint smile slowly crept onto her lips as she glanced once more at the paused image of Kael on the tablet.
"I’ll worry about meeting this mysterious S-rank hunter another time."
# #
[AN_ Alright guys, bonus Chapter is posted. Gonna rest up now and drop the usual 2 Chapters later today.]