Without another word, Director Ferris turned and led the two of them out of his office. The hallway remained as quiet as ever as the three stepped into the elevator once more. This time, however, Ferris didn’t press any of the visible floor buttons. Instead, he placed his palm against the scanner before entering a lengthy clearance code into the concealed control panel.
A soft chime echoed inside the elevator followed by a mechanical voice.
[Authorization Accepted.]
Almost immediately, the elevator lurched before beginning its descent.
Downward.
Far below the publicly accessible floors.
Kael quietly watched the display panel. The numbers had long since disappeared, replaced instead by a simple blinking symbol indicating a restricted route.
’An underground level...’
He had visited this branch countless times in his previous life, yet even then he had never heard anyone mention such a place.
Several moments later, the elevator gradually slowed before finally coming to a stop.
Ding.
The doors slid open.
A brightly illuminated passage stretched out before them.
The corridor was surprisingly wide, its walls, ceiling, and even the floor covered entirely with a silver alloy that gave off a faint metallic sheen beneath the white lights overhead. The material looked ordinary at first glance, yet Kael could immediately tell it wasn’t.
The alloy itself carried an unusual Mana signature.
It wasn’t meant for decoration.
It was designed to absorb impact.
High-level impact.
Lining both sides of the hallway stood armed guards dressed in black tactical uniforms. Every single one of them stood perfectly still with expressions devoid of emotion, yet the pressure emanating from their bodies made it clear that none of them were weak.
Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’Interesting...’
’A place this heavily guarded...’
’Perhaps the association’s treasury is somewhere down here.’
Or perhaps classified records.
Ancient relics.
Captured monsters.
There were countless possibilities.
Still, it wasn’t his concern.
Without asking any questions, he simply followed Ferris deeper into the underground facility.
After walking for nearly a minute, the group finally stopped before an enormous metal door.
Unlike ordinary security doors, this one was over half a meter thick, its surface covered with countless locking mechanisms.
Ferris once again entered his authorization code.
Mechanical sounds immediately echoed from within the walls.
One lock disengaged.
Then another.
And another.
A low metallic rumble spread throughout the corridor before the massive door slowly slid aside with a long hissing sound.
Beyond it lay an enormous chamber.
The room was almost perfectly square, spanning several dozen meters in every direction.
Bright white lights illuminated every corner without leaving a single shadow.
The walls.
The ceiling.
The floor.
Everything was constructed from the same reinforced alloy they had seen outside.
Scarlet Fist stepped inside first.
She slowly walked toward one of the walls before casually knocking her knuckles against it.
Bonk.
A dull metallic sound echoed throughout the chamber.
She smiled.
"This’ll do."
Ferris nodded.
"Naturally."
"The entire room was constructed using one of the strongest reinforced alloys available to the Hunter Association."
"It was specifically designed to withstand battles between S-rank hunters."
Scarlet Fist’s smile widened.
"Perfect."
She slowly turned her attention toward Kael.
"So..."
"Are you ready?"
Kael calmly stepped forward.
"Anytime."
The two walked toward the center of the chamber, stopping several meters apart as they silently faced one another.
The battle was about to begin.
...
Thousands of kilometers away.
Inside the Hunter Association Headquarters.
A spacious office overlooked the sprawling city skyline through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Behind a massive desk sat a bald, middle-aged man whose mere presence carried an invisible pressure.
Jonas Grieg.
Vice President of the Hunter Association.
Standing before him was a young employee whose body trembled ever so slightly.
The silence inside the office lasted only a second.
Then...
Jonas’ voice exploded throughout the room.
"You sent who?"
The employee visibly flinched.
"S-Sorry, sir."
"But..."
"She insisted on going herself after hearing it was him."
Jonas’ brows twitched.
"And you couldn’t stop her?"
The young man nearly cried.
Stop her?
How?
He was nothing more than a logistics officer whose Awakener class wasn’t even combat-oriented.
How exactly was someone like him supposed to stop one of humanity’s strongest S-rank hunters from doing whatever she pleased?
Unless he had suddenly developed a death wish... That was never happening.
Naturally, he wisely kept those thoughts inside his head.
Before he could answer, Jonas spoke again.
"More importantly..."
"Why wasn’t I informed immediately?"
His sharp gaze locked onto the employee.
"I distinctly remember instructing you that the moment that boy appeared at any Association branch, I was to be notified immediately."
The employee hurriedly nodded.
"I remembered, sir."
"But..."
"You were in an important meeting when the report arrived."
"I was waiting for the meeting to finish before informing you."
Jonas clicked his tongue.
"You could’ve interrupted me anyway."
The young man lowered his head even further.
He wanted to explain.
He truly did.
But before he could speak, Jonas sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You know what..."
"Forget it."
He stood from his chair.
"Go prepare the jet."
"I’m heading there personally."
The employee immediately nodded.
"Right away, sir."
Without wasting another second, he practically fled the office.
The moment he stepped outside, he let out a long breath.
’I should quit...’
’Forget the Association.’
’Maybe opening a flower shop somewhere would be better.’
’At least flowers don’t yell at you.’
He had barely taken a few steps when a furious voice thundered from inside the office.
"Hurry your ass up!"
The young man nearly jumped.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
He bolted down the hallway at full speed.
Inside the office, Jonas watched the closed door for several moments before slowly exhaling.
"I just hope that freak doesn’t ruin everything before I get there."
Shaking his head, he grabbed the jacket hanging beside his chair before striding toward the exit.
...
Back beneath the Hunter Association branch.
Inside the reinforced combat chamber.
Kael and the Scarlet Fist moved simultaneously.
BOOM!!
Two fists collided in the exact center of the room with a deafening explosion that violently shook the entire chamber. The air burst outward in every direction as an invisible shockwave swept across the reinforced room before crashing into the alloy walls with enough force to make the entire structure tremble.
There were no flashy skills.
No abilities.
Only raw physical strength.
Even Kael hadn’t reinforced himself with Earth Energy.
This was nothing more than a direct comparison of their physical bodies.
The force of the collision pushed both of them backward.
Scarlet Fist slid several steps before effortlessly stabilizing herself.
Kael, on the other hand, was forced back over a dozen steps before finally digging his feet into the alloy floor to halt his momentum.
The difference between the two was immediately obvious.
In terms of pure physical power...
Scarlet Fist held the advantage.
Yet Kael’s expression remained completely calm.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of disappointment on his face.
He had already expected this outcome.
His current physical attributes alone weren’t enough to rival a genuine S-rank Hunter yet.
But, that was merely his base strength.
And fight was only the beginning.
# #
Guys, don’t forget the mission for next month’s mass release is still ongoing.