In the situation room on the third floor of the Fire Bird Guild headquarters.
Team Leader Seo Gyuhye was on duty there.
Night shifts were usually boring, but today was different.
He had a bottle of fine wine on his desk in the situation room.
Drinking during duty was forbidden by guild regulations, but he didn’t care.
All the CCTV cameras in the situation room had been turned off on the pretext of repairs, and the personnel present were all members of Seo Gyuhye’s team.
Moreover, today was a special day.
Because soon, his plan would be executed.
“The aroma is nice.”
Seo Gyuhye muttered to himself as he poured the wine.
The red liquid filled the glass, emitting a deep glow.
He raised the wine glass and held it up to the blue monitor light in the situation room.
“It seems things are going well.”
Sipping the wine, he gazed at the monitors installed on the wall.
One of the many screens showed Kanghyeon Lee’s residence.
It was a surveillance camera installed for bodyguard purposes.
‘I originally planned to deal with him in the Minotaurus Dungeon…’
Seo Gyuhye gently flicked the wine glass with his finger and smiled.
The original plan was to eliminate Kanghyeon Lee in the dungeon under the pretense of an accident.
However, the plan changed when Yerim Jeong decided to guard Kanghyeon Lee suddenly.
‘It was a golden opportunity instead.’
The corners of Seo Gyuhye’s lips turned up.
Under the guise of guardianship, he could place his team’s subordinates around Kanghyeon Lee.
It would be much better than dealing with him in the confined space of a dungeon.
‘Yerim Jeong, you’re too naive.’
Kanghyeon Lee is an F-Rank Hunter.
No matter how strong the familiar is, it’s useless if the master is weak.
Seo Gyuhye picked up the wine glass again.
He looked at his reflection on the monitor.
Sharp eyes and an upright posture.
His image, as the faithful subordinate of Vice Guild Leader Taeyoung Jeong, who had worked more loyally than anyone else in the Fire Bird Guild, was there.
‘Now Yerim Jeong is finished.’
He raised the wine glass to the air and made a hollow toast.
‘An F-Rank Hunter daring to… It will be different this time.’
An alert sound came from the communicator in the situation room.
“We’ve just confirmed that the lights in Kanghyeon Lee’s room have been turned off. Team Leader.”
“Finally.”
He put down the wine glass and picked up the radio.
“Take care of it right now.”
His voice was cold and firm.
“Understood, I will take care of it immediately.”
A voice replied from the other side of the radio.
Seo Gyuhye continued to watch the monitor while slowly savoring the wine.
On the screen, Hunters were ascending to Kanghyeon Lee’s residence like shadows.
He wanted to witness the moment Kanghyeon Lee died.
“Yerim Jeong, you are finished now.”
His eyes were filled with the anticipation of victory.
When Kanghyeon Lee dies, Yerim Jeong will be flustered.
Seo Gyuhye slowly drank the last glass of wine.
* * *
Six Hunters were quietly climbing the villa’s stairs.
They were all dressed in black, and each held a silenced pistol.
The two in front were even wearing night-vision goggles.
One might be surprised by the use of pistols to deal with Hunters, but based on what they knew, Kanghyeon Lee was an F-Rank.
Even as a Hunter, a low-ranked Hunter was just slightly stronger than an ordinary person.
They could be subdued with such modern weaponry.
Moreover, it was the middle of the night.
There was no need to make a big fuss by using skills.
It was a simple matter of taking care of him with a few gunshots.
No matter how strong a familiar one summoned, if the master was weak, it was the end. Targeting this, the Hunters silently climbed the stairs with pistols in hand.
In case of any resistance, they had also prepared sedatives.
While death was desired, it was a contingency for unforeseen situations.
Finally, they arrived at Kanghyeon Lee’s front door.
The leading Hunter whispered softly.
“Proceed.”
Then, the Hunter behind him took out a door lock hacking device and attached it to the door.
A few seconds later, a green light turned on, and the door lock was released.
The leading Hunter slowly opened the door.
And at that moment—
“Huh?”
That was his last word.
Something huge and stone-like extended from the darkness and struck his face.
His body flew backward and hit the wall.
The night-vision goggles shattered and fell to the floor.
“What the!”
Another Hunter shouted and raised his pistol, but it was too late.
A giant statue-like creature appeared at the entrance.
It was a 5-star Gargoyle.
It was a guardian monster that remained as a statue most of the time, but moved when an intruder appeared.
*Thwack- Thwack- Thwack-*
The panicked Hunters fired their guns, but naturally, the bullets could not penetrate the Gargoyle’s hard skin.
Initially, monsters that could be dealt with by modern weaponry were only F-Rank, i.e., 1-star.
However, the Gargoyle had become 5-star by absorbing powerful magic, so it was impossible to defeat it with mere pistols.
“R, run!”
The Hunters shouted, but their voices did not escape.
No, they couldn’t even hear the voices of their comrades next to them.
It was as if a transparent wall was trapping them.
Then, a soft female voice was heard.
“Oh my, guests have arrived so late at night.”
A slender woman appeared from the shadows next to the front door.
The problem was her ears.
“W, Elf?!”
It was an Elf, characterized by long ears.
Why was an Elf in Kanghyeon Lee’s house!
The Hunters were taken aback.
The Elf, Ciel, spoke naturally without stammering.
“Kanghyeon-nim is sleeping right now. Please be quiet.”
Ciel waved her fingers in the air and smiled.
The Hunters shivered at her gentle smile.
As her fingers moved, the air wrapped around and suppressed the Hunters’ screams.
“Oh my, didn’t you know I can control the wind? No matter how much you shout, it’s useless.”
Ciel tilted her head with an innocent expression.
Conversely, for the Hunters, it was chaotic.
No, how could they know that Elf could control wind?
They were astonished by her ability to control the wind and even suppress sound.
“Oh, no!!”
Ciel’s demeanor was different from usual.
However, the Gargoyle began to move skillfully as if it was familiar with her appearance.
Its massive body filled the narrow hallway.
Its silent movement was even more terrifying.
“Wait… wait a minute! We were just…”
The moment one Hunter was about to say something, the Gargoyle’s stone-like face began to crack.
At first, it was a small fissure, but soon the entire Gargoyle’s face split in half.
Inside, an endless, abyss-like darkness and sharp teeth were revealed.
“Aak!”
The Hunter’s scream echoed, but it was blocked by Ciel’s wind barrier and did not leak out of the hallway.
The Gargoyle, with its mouth wide open, lunged towards the Hunter.
In one movement, it swallowed the Hunter’s upper body into its mouth.
“S, save me-!”
*Crunch-*
The Hunter’s cry was cut off in the Gargoyle’s mouth.
With a heavy chewing sound, the Hunter’s body disappeared.
Red liquid dripped from the Gargoyle’s jaws.
Blood drained from the faces of the remaining Hunters.
‘I have to escape quickly!’
They ran desperately towards the end of the hallway, but it was useless.
As Ciel waved her fingers in the air, the air in the hallway became denser.
The Hunters’ movements slowed down as if running through water.
Eventually, the Hunters collapsed on the floor.
“No! Please!”
The Hunters frantically fired their pistols at the Gargoyle, but it was futile.
The Gargoyle slowly approached and opened its mouth again.
This time, it swallowed the Hunter headfirst.
The remaining Hunters were frozen with fear.
After that, only the silent screams of the Hunters echoed in the hallway.
The Gargoyle swallowed the last Hunter and wiped the red liquid from its mouth.
The front door slowly closed, and darkness descended again.
‘This place’ became quiet again.
As if nothing had happened.
* * *
“Haa, I slept well.”
I stretched and got out of bed.
My back felt wonderfully straightened.
The first thing I checked after waking up was my smartphone.
‘I wonder what alarms popped up last night?’
I picked up the smartphone placed on my bedside table.
Currently, the Sail Kingdom was at war with the Free City Alliance.
No, to be precise, it should be ‘had been at war.’
The reason it’s in the past tense is that the outcome of the war had already been decided.
The Sail Kingdom won the war.
It was a natural outcome, if one thought about it.
‘It’s natural when they deployed so many monsters.’
Among the 5-star or higher monsters limited to five, two were 6-star.
If they hadn’t considered Queen Irena, it would have been a war they won overwhelmingly.
Furthermore, during this war, with the monsters offering many sacrifices, I was able to grow to the point where I could be called an A-Rank Hunter.
I also acquired abilities from precious sacrifices like adventurers and half-elves, although there were strange sacrifices like gold coins and cakes.
“Still, there are no specific alarms?”
I checked if there were any new alarms, but there was nothing.
Moreover, the special mission had not yet been completed.
‘Well, it would take time to sort things out.’
Although they won the war, it would take time to completely clear out the leadership of the Free City Alliance and establish the ruling system of the Sail Kingdom.
Still, since they conquered territory, it was natural for the Sail Kingdom to become an empire.
‘So, does Queen Irena become an Empress?’
Well, it didn’t really affect me much right now.
“I guess I’ll have breakfast first.”
I got up and put on my slippers, then left the room.
As I headed to the living room, Ciel and Coco were busy.
Ciel was vacuuming, and Coco was wiping the floor with his bone-like hand.
“Y-you’re awake?”
Ciel spoke to me when she saw me.
She had become much better at speaking than when we first met, but she still had a stammering habit.
‘Well, it’s not easy for an Elf who lived a secluded life to adapt to life on Earth.’
Ciel pointed to the dining table and opened her mouth.
“Ah, breakfast is ready!”
A rich coffee aroma, along with toast, fried eggs, and bacon, was neatly prepared.
It was a more elaborate breakfast than usual.
“Oh, thanks.”
Then, I noticed the Gargoyle standing in a corner of the living room.
It was standing in its usual statue pose, but something looked different.
“Hmm?”
As I looked closely, it looked different from yesterday.
It felt as if the size of the statue had slightly increased.
Perhaps it was because my senses had become sharper, but not only the size, but the surface of the Gargoyle also seemed to have some gloss.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
As I approached for a closer look, I saw a reddish stain on the Gargoyle’s fingertips.
It looked like dried blood, or perhaps rust.
“Ciel, the Gargoyle looks a little different?”
“Ah, th-that’s… I think it’s because Gargoyle-ssi ate something last night.”
Ciel’s answer was puzzling.
“Ate what?”
“Yes… like rats. It sometimes eats mice that come in…”
Hoh, I didn’t know that. So the Gargoyle was better than I thought?
No wonder I haven’t seen any pests lately.
‘Well, it’s a good thing, in the end.’
I looked out the window. A clear sky stretched out.
For some reason, I had a feeling today would be a good day.
“Then I guess I’ll eat.”
As I sat down to eat, my smartphone rang.
It was a call from Yerim Jeong.
