The spinning wheel of lightning beside Seung-hoo suddenly shot forward.
It launched off with a loud crack of electricity, tearing through the air like a bolt fired from a cannon.
A streak of bright lightning followed behind it, leaving a jagged glowing trail that briefly illuminated the shattered interior of the building.
The weapon spun faster and faster as it flew.
So fast that the individual spikes blurred together.
From a distance, it almost looked like a ball of lightning covered in sharp quills, like some strange glowing hedgehog tearing through the air.
Below, rubble scattered from the pressure of the passing energy.
Yet the gigantic monster didn't react.
Not at first.
It simply kept moving forward, its massive body pushing aside broken walls and beams as if they were nothing more than twigs.
Its enormous foot lifted slowly from the ground.
Then—
THUD.
The lightning wheel slammed directly into the creature's leg.
A burst of sparks exploded outward on impact as the spinning spikes dug deep into its thick armored flesh.
The monster's body jerked slightly.
A deep, painful groan rumbled from its chest, echoing through the hollow floors of the collapsed apartment building.
The creature paused.
Slowly, its massive head tilted downward.
Its glowing eyes focused on the object stuck in its leg.
The spiked wheel continued spinning where it had lodged itself, crackling violently as arcs of electricity crawled across the monster's skin.
For a moment, it looked like the creature might try to remove it.
But it didn't.
Instead, the monster simply stared at it for a second… almost confused.
Then it ignored it completely.
Its head lifted again.
Its massive body shifted as it began to step forward again, clearly deciding the small injury wasn't worth its attention.
Its target was still standing ahead.
Seung-hoo.
The monster's enormous leg began lifting again, preparing to crush the human who dared challenge it.
But just as its head tilted upward—
Something stopped it.
Right in front of its eye.
A long spear made entirely of lightning hovered there.
It was so close that the glowing tip almost touched the creature's pupil.
The spear crackled violently with power, arcs of electricity dancing along its length as the entire weapon hummed with contained energy.
And the spear wasn't small.
Not even close.
The shaft extended downward so far that it seemed to stretch from the monster's face all the way down to the ruined floor below.
Its base was enormous—long enough to tower over the remains of the apartment complex like a glowing pillar of lightning planted into the earth.
The monster froze.
Its glowing eye slowly crossed inward, focusing on the weapon hovering only inches away from it.
Below—
Standing at the base of the gigantic spear—
Was Seung-hoo.
He held the massive lightning construct with one hand.
His fingers were wrapped around the base of the spear as if its enormous size meant absolutely nothing to him.
His other hand rested casually inside his pocket.
Dust drifted around him from the earlier destruction, but he stood there calmly, like the entire situation was just mildly entertaining.
A crooked grin slowly spread across his face.
It wasn't a smile of relief.
It was a smile of mockery.
The kind of grin someone makes when they already know they've won.
The lightning from the spear illuminated his face from below, making the expression look even more confident—almost arrogant.
Behind him, several meters away, Zi Yue and Joon-seok watched the scene unfold.
Neither of them looked shocked anymore.
The fear from earlier had slowly been replaced with something else.
Admiration.
Joon-seok let out a quiet breath as he stared at Seung-hoo holding the massive lightning weapon.
"…That's why he's an S-rank," he muttered under his breath.
Zi Yue nodded slowly beside him, her eyes wide as she watched the lightning spear towering above them.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
"…couldn't agree more."
Above them, the monster's glowing eye remained fixed on the spear hovering inches from it. The electricity around the weapon crackled louder and louder, sharp blue arcs snapping through the air like tiny thunderclaps as Seung-hoo's grip tightened around the base.
For a brief moment, everything felt strangely still.
Dust drifted slowly through the ruined apartment complex.
Broken pipes hissed softly somewhere in the distance.
Even the monster seemed to pause, as if sensing the danger but not fully understanding it.
Then Seung-hoo's arm lit up.
The arm holding the spear suddenly burst into a blinding blue glow, lightning crawling across his skin like living veins of energy. The light was so bright that it painted the shattered walls around them in flashing shades of white and electric blue.
From a distance, it almost looked like his arm itself had turned into lightning.
Behind him, Zi Yue and Joon-seok didn't react the way they might have earlier.
Hours ago, something like this would have left them speechless.
But now…
They had already seen enough of Seung-hoo's abilities to know that whatever came next would probably be just as unbelievable.
Zi Yue blinked once, watching the light grow stronger.
"…There he goes again," she muttered quietly.
Joon-seok didn't even look surprised anymore. He simply crossed his arms and watched.
"Yeah."
The lightning that wrapped around Seung-hoo's arm didn't stay there for long.
It began traveling outward.
The energy flowed from his hand and spread across the massive spear he was holding, racing up the shaft like a river of glowing electricity.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The entire spear quickly became coated in a thick layer of bright blue lightning, arcs jumping wildly between the spikes of energy that formed the weapon.
The spear looked less like a weapon now and more like a towering bolt of lightning frozen in place.
The air around it vibrated with raw power.
Small pieces of rubble on the ground began to tremble from the energy.
Above, the gigantic monster remained strangely still.
Its glowing eye stared at the spear hovering just inches from it.
The creature didn't move.
Didn't attack.
Didn't even try to dodge.
For a brief moment, it looked like the monster didn't understand what was about to happen.
Then—
THUMP.
The sound that followed echoed violently throughout the ruined apartment complex.
It wasn't the sound of an explosion.
It wasn't lightning striking.
It was something much heavier.
A dull, sickening flesh impact that reverberated through the broken structure.
The glowing spear had moved.
So fast that even Joon-seok barely saw it happen.
The lightning weapon shot forward like a railgun blast, piercing directly through the monster's eye with terrifying precision.
For a split second, the creature's massive body stiffened.
Then everything went quiet.
Below, Seung-hoo slowly lowered his arm.
His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, the lightning around him slowly fading as the energy dissipated into the air.
Blood streaked across his face.
Not a little.
A thick smear of dark red ran across his cheek and jaw, splattered there by the violent impact when the spear pierced through the monster's head.
The bright blue glow reflected faintly off the blood on his skin.
Above him, the monster's enormous head revealed the damage.
Where its glowing eye once was, there was now a large, perfectly straight hole.
The spear had gone directly through the eye socket.
Through bone.
Through the brain.
And straight out the other side.
The edges of the wound were scorched black from the lightning that had followed the weapon through its skull.
For a moment, the monster remained standing.
Completely still.
Its glowing eyes—now only one remaining—flickered faintly as its massive body seemed to struggle to understand what had just happened.
Down below, Seung-hoo wiped a bit of the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, breathing steadily while the faint sparks of electricity still danced along his fingers.
On the other side of Korea, far away from the collapsing apartment complex and the chaos unfolding there, a very different scene was quietly unfolding.
A tall figure stood near a wide window inside a dimly lit room.
The early sunlight barely reached him. It slipped through the blinds in thin golden lines, painting long shadows across the concrete floor and the simple furniture inside.
The room itself was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
No televisions were on. No phones buzzed. No music played.
Only the faint sound of distant traffic drifting up from the streets below.
The man stood with his hands resting lightly on the windowsill, staring out toward the distant horizon where the morning sky slowly brightened.
His posture was relaxed, but there was a quiet strength in the way he carried himself. The kind of calm confidence that only came from years of discipline.
Anyone who knew him—even from far away—would recognize him immediately.
His name was Jimin.
Once, years ago, the entire world had known him for something very different.
Before the gates.
Before the monsters.
Before hunters existed.
Jimin had been a global superstar.
A vocalist whose voice could fill stadiums with tens of thousands of fans singing along. His performances had once lit up stages across the world—from Seoul to Los Angeles to London.
He had been a member of one of the most famous boy bands Korea had ever produced.
BTS.
Even now, posters and old albums still existed somewhere out there with his face on them. Millions of fans had once memorized his songs, followed his concerts, and waited for every new release.
But that life had changed the day the Rifts appeared.
When the world discovered that some people could awaken abilities powerful enough to fight the monsters emerging from those cracks in reality.
Jimin had been one of them.
Not just awakened.
But awakened powerfully.
Over time, the world learned another title for him.
The 14th S-Rank Hunter of Korea.
A title far heavier than "idol" or "vocalist."
Even after all these years, people across the globe still knew his name.
Some remembered the singer.
Others feared the hunter.
Standing there now, though, Jimin looked nothing like a celebrity.
He wore a simple black shirt and loose training pants. His hair was slightly messy, like he had been awake long before the sun had risen.
His expression was calm, thoughtful.
His eyes were fixed on the horizon as if he was listening to something far away—something only he could feel.
Then—
The silence broke.
The sound of a door suddenly opening echoed through the room.
The wooden door swung inward, its metal frame scraping slightly against the concrete floor with a harsh sound.
Footsteps followed quickly.
"Mr. Jimin!"