The sky was painted in dull greys. Clouds hung heavy, as if mourning the place Beno once called his second ho.
He stood before the broken silhouette of the five-story building, its skeleton half-consud by the Gate incident. Walls peeled, windows shattered, tal twisted like dried veins. Ti hadn't been kind to this place. Neither had the monsters.
Beno didn't say a word.
He just stared.
At the bent gate.
At the sign that barely clung to the rusted fra.
"Yura Corp Logistics" — his first job in Veno City.
Now, it was nothing but a charred husk.
Each step he took toward it echoed in his mind like mories scraping open old wounds. The scent of iron dust. The eeriness of familiarity.
So much had changed—he had changed.
But the place still mocked him.
They made their way to the structure beside it—an old, half-collapsed building near the restaurant ruins. Vines clawed at the lower walls. Broken glass crackled under their boots.
But—
Charles paused. His eyes narrowed.
"The third floor... it's clean."
The others looked up.
He was right.
The windows weren't broken. The walls weren't decayed.
It looked... maintained.
Sam adjusted his goggles.
"No dust. No rubble. That's not natural."
Beno took a slow breath.
"Soone's living there."
Sam turned, reaching into his bag.
"Let's confirm. I've got sothing for this."
He knelt beside his van and pulled out a small, matte-black device the size of a fist. It unfolded with chanical grace—tiny rotor arms clicking into place. Lights flickered to life. A whirr filled the air.
Charles watched in quiet awe.
"Your toys are getting fancier, Sam."
Sam smirked.
"I make magic with scrap tal and spite."
The drone rose into the air, hovering silently like a phantom. Its lens scanned the building, floating higher and higher until it reached the third floor. They watched its feed on a tablet—shadows flickered inside the window. Curtains swayed unnaturally. Sothing was off.
Then—
SHNK!
A glint. A flash.
THWACK.
The screen went black.
BANG!
The drone exploded mid-air, bits of rotor blades spiraling down like tal feathers.
Sam's jaw clenched.
"They just cut my drone in half."
Beno's heartbeat quickened.
"They knew we were watching..."
Charles stepped forward, cracking his neck.
"Well, they've saved us the trouble of knocking."
Suddenly—
Voices above.
Boots thudded on cracked concrete.
A shadow lood over the edge of the rooftop.
Six figures.
Ard. Grinning.
Like wolves circling a wounded animal.
One of them stepped forward.
Massive. Shirtless. Muscles thick like stone. A grotesque hamr rested on his shoulder. His face was twisted—like cruelty had carved it.
Hamr Guy (grinning):
"Boss told us to kill you. Honestly, I thought this'd be boring. But seeing you up close..."
He spat off the edge.
"You're not even real Hunters, are you?"
Beno stepped forward, jaw tense.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Hamr Guy laughed, cruel and deep.
"I an, co on. Look at you. So E and D-rank rats thinking they can play hero? Trying to poke your nose into things bigger than you? That's suicide, kid."
Beno clenched his fists.
"So it was you. The kidnappings. The experints. The children..."
Hamr Guy smirked.
"Not exactly. We're not the scientists. We're just the cleanup crew. Kill the nosy ones. Tie up the loose ends."
Luna's voice cut in, sharp and ice-cold.
"You're monsters."
Hamr Guy's eyes lit up at her. His tone turned sickening.
"And you, sweetheart... You've got fire. I like that. How about this—co with , be my personal pet, and I'll give you a life of luxury and endless pleasure."
He licked his lips.
"Deal?"
Luna's face twisted in disgust.
She tilted her head slightly.
Then—
Luna (dryly):
"Have you seen your own face?
You look like soone deep-fried a bulldog and taught it to speak."
Silence.
Even Sam snorted. Charles burst into laughter. Beno cracked a grin.
Sam (whispering):
"She cooked him."
Hamr Guy's face turned red with rage.
"You little—!"
Luna drew her blade, smile gone.
"Try it. I dare you."
Without warning, the massive man holding the hamr stepped off the rooftop.
Beno's eyes widened.
His body tensed instinctively as he saw the hamr man plumt through the air like a living missile.
But—
He vanished.
Just like that. Midair. Gone.
A second later—
CRASH!!
The sickening crunch of tal and concrete erupted behind the building.
Beno spun around—just in ti to see Charles—
—slamd into a wall.
His body hung limp, half-buried in shattered bricks, like a ragdoll pinned to a canvas. Blood stread down his forehead. His limbs twitched uncontrollably, as if still trying to register what had just happened.
"CHARLES!!"
Luna gasped and rushed toward him, horror overtaking her face.
Charles coughed—red mist sprayed from his lips.
His eyes flickered with terror—not from pain, but from recognition.
Charles (weakly):
"T-They're... C-rank... High C-rank at least..."
His voice trembled.
"Sam—contact the Noak Guild. We can't win this...!"
Sam didn't hesitate. He bolted toward the van parked a few ters away, his hand already reaching for the ergency comms.
But—
FWISH!
A sharp shadow sliced past him.
CLANG!
Sam barely flinched in ti, a blade missing his spine by inches—only because Luna had intercepted it.
She clashed swords with the attacker—a pale, sickly man with dead eyes and ghost-pale skin, yet his movents were crisp and deadly. Each strike had the precision of a trained killer.
Luna gritted her teeth.
"Dammit... These guys... I can barely keep up..."
She deflected another blow, her feet skidding back across the gravel. Her arms shook—not from fear, but from effort.
anwhile—Beno's blood boiled.
He clenched his jaw, his eyes fixed on the hamr man who now stood grinning in the distance.
Beno summoned his lightning step.
With a crackle of energy beneath his feet, he shot forward—sword drawn—aiming straight for the enemy's heart.
But—the hamr man moved like a ghost.
He twisted effortlessly, dodging the strike with mocking ease.
"That's it?"
His deep voice rumbled with laughter.
"You move like a toddler with a toy."
Beno growled.
"We're not amateurs!"
But even as he struck again—slash after slash—each one missed by miles. It was like trying to hit mist.
The hamr man burst into laughter.
"Listen here, black-head," he sneered, casually sidestepping Beno's latest swing.
"You're not strong. You're just loud."
With one brutal motion, he slamd his boot into Beno's back.
BOOM!
Beno flew through the air—crashing through the restaurant's broken windows and tumbling across splintered tables.
Groaning, Beno pushed himself up.
His sword shook in his grip.
His ribs burned.
Pathetic, he thought. *I didn't even see it coming...
But sothing sparked in him.
"No."
Not yet.
He stood—blood dripping from his mouth—and raised his sword again.
He focused.
He activated his skill—Lightning Shadow Strike—a slash that sent a phantom trail toward the hamr man.
This ti, it hit.
A shockwave burst around the villain as the shadow slash struck ho.
Smoke clouded the rooftop.
For a mont, Beno's heart flickered with hope.
But then—
Laughter.
Low, amused, unhurt.
The hamr man stepped forward—dusting ash from his shoulder.
"Nice massage, kid."
He grinned, cracking his neck.
"Now it's my turn."
In a blink—he was gone.
Behind Beno.
WHAM!
A single, monstrous kick crashed into Beno's spine.
The force bent him in half—his body flung across the floor like a sack of flesh.
CRACK!
He hit the wall hard—but didn't lose consciousness, thanks only to the reinforced guild uniform acting like weak armor.
Still, his limbs refused to move.
Beno gasped, staring at the cracked tile beneath him.
Is this it...?
Is this what I've co to?
Weak. Useless. Powerless—again.
But—
From sowhere behind, a voice pierced through the ringing in his ears.
"Beno!"
It was Sam.
Crouched behind the van, panting, his communicator in hand.
"I reached them—Noak Guild is on their way!"
The relief in his voice was real—but fear still clung to it.
"They said to hold on until backup arrives!"
Beno clenched his jaw.
Hold on...?
That was all they could do?
Bleeding. Broken. Outmatched.
And they were supposed to just hold on?
Hamr Head landed with a thud, cracking the concrete beneath him. His team—four other shadows, each carrying blades, clubs, or whips—dropped down from the third-floor ledge, smirking as if this whole fight were just a lazy after-dinner walk.
The towering brute stretched his neck with a crack.
Hamr Head:
"Huh... so the little rat still managed to call the officials?"
He turned toward the van, where Sam had been frantically typing on a small device, sweat pouring down his face.
"You really think anyone's coming to save you?" he chuckled.
And then—he moved.
A blur.
Before Sam could react, a massive hand ripped him out of the van, lifting him like a ragdoll. In one smooth motion, Hamr Head hurled him into the air.
Beno's eyes widened, heart skipping a beat.
"Nooooo! Leave him alone!"
But the brute loved that reaction. The fear. The desperation.
He leapt.
WHAM!!
A brutal kick struck Sam midair, sending him flying—crashing beside Beno. Blood spattered across the cracked pavent. His goggles shattered. Head split. One arm twisted unnaturally. He gasped, choking on blood and pain.
"Sam!" Beno crawled to him, hands trembling.
He could barely speak. Sam's eyes were rolling back.
"Please... not like this... not again...!"
His hands gripped the bloody ground. He could barely breathe.
The world was shaking.
Sothing inside Beno cracked.
"Stop it... please, I'm begging you," he muttered, eyes red. "Don't hurt him anymore..."
His voice wasn't commanding anymore. It was shattered. Vulnerable. Small.
Hamr Head tilted his neck.
He hadn't even used his weapon yet.
This wasn't a battle.
It was a slaughter.
From behind his back, he reached over and slowly pulled out his monstrous hamr. The weapon was nearly as big as Sam himself—its talhead stained, edges jagged from past kills.
He raised it above his head—grinning.
"Let's squash this bug properly."
Sam blinked once—barely conscious.
Beno scread—"NO!"
And then—
A flicker.
A sudden pressure.
Like the air had shifted—cracked.
the hamr fall— and....
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