Renji woke up in the hospital in a daze, his body still reeling from the extreme strain it had suffered. After regaining his senses, he inspected himself, as if to assess the damage. But to his surprise, there were no injuries. Even his arm, which he remembered being torn off by the dragon's tail, was intact.
The only way he could have regained his arm was if an A-Rank healer had restored it—and even then, only within moments of the injury. He was confident that no rescue team could have arrived that quickly to reattach a severed limb.
He flexed his muscles, feeling a strange foreign power coursing through his veins. Small sparks of mana flickered across his fingertips before vanishing. His body collapsed back onto the bed, powerless. Looks like he was still too exhausted to control mana just yet.
Suddenly, the door to his room swung open, and a man in formal attire stepped inside. He had sharp features and looked like a model—clear skin, deep black eyes—but a serious expression rested on his face. The man stared at Renji for a few seconds, as if silently appraising him.
All at once, the man's eyes glowed gold. The room lit up with a bright white light emanating from him, and a deep, ethereal voice echoed out:
"We have taken care of the aftermath. All information about the descent of Antares's subject will be strictly restricted. We ask you to do the same."
Renji blinked, confused. He groaned, his voice weak and ragged. "What are you talking about? Who are you? And…"
He hesitated, afraid of the answer. "…what happened to me?"
The man stared solemnly before replying, "All your questions will be answered in due time. All you have to do now…"
He leaned forward, the golden glow in his eyes boring into Renji's black pupils. A flash of blue light flickered deep within the black eyes before vanishing.
"…is prove that you will not be a threat to humankind."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Renji retorted, frustration thick in his voice at the lack of answers.
The man straightened up, the glow gradually fading from his body. His expression seemed to say Renji already knew the answer. In fact, Renji could guess what it was.
"By doing what a Hunter does best. Fight."
Suddenly, the man's eyes rolled back, and his body wobbled, struggling to stay upright. He grabbed the wall for support, steadying himself. He looked around, confused—until he noticed Renji lying on the bed.
Recognizing him from the documents he'd read, the man stepped forward and bent slightly. "Hello. My name is Ichiro Watanabe, an official from the Japanese Hunter's Association. I'd like to sincerely apologize on behalf of the Association for the mistake in calculating the Gate's ranking. The B-Rank Gate has now been closed, thanks to your team and the Association's rescue squad. Appropriate compensation will be provided to you and the families of the deceased hunters. Again, we are truly sorry for this mishap."
Renji gave a slight nod. Perhaps this was what the being meant by 'taking care of the aftermath'.
A loud knock at the door drew their attention as two people entered. One was another official in attire similar to Ichiro's. The other was a tall woman. Her long black hair was tied into a high ponytail, and her vest barely concealed the large tattoos along the left side of her body. Anyone in Japan would recognize her immediately—one of the country's fifteen S-Ranks, and the newest among them. A Hunter in a league of her own in swordsmanship and combat.
Tawata Kanae.
The official accompanying her walked up to Ichiro and asked in a hushed voice, "What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be handling the investigation?"
Ichiro frowned, unable to remember how he'd ended up at the hospital. The words came from his mouth without thought. "T-the investigation has concluded. W-we were told to give our condolences to the victims?"
"Are you asking me, or telling me?" the official asked, confused.
"N-no. I-i'm sorry. I'm feeling a little under the weather, if you will please excuse me," Ichiro stammered after shaking his head, trying to clear the fog in his mind. He quickly handed Renji his business card and left the room, desperate to fill in the blanks in his memory.
Both the official and Kanae stared at the door for a moment. The official muttered, "Weird."
Only when Renji finally asked what they were doing here did the man return to his purpose. He opened a briefcase he'd been carrying and took out a small device with a mana meter on it.
"Please don't worry. This is standard procedure after major dungeon incidents—we just need to measure any changes in your mana."
He placed the device on Renji's arm and waited for a soft beep. He read the markings and compared them to the documents he'd reviewed. Renji's readings matched those of a high D-Rank Hunter, bordering on C-Rank.
But that wasn't the result they were hoping for.
The official glanced back at Kanae and shook his head. The S-Rank let out a disappointed grunt and strode out of the room without a word.
The official bid Renji farewell and followed after her.
Kanae stepped out of the hospital and slipped into a large black car before any fans or reporters could swarm her. Her mind kept replaying the events of that day.
She had been at a nearby A-Rank dungeon, preparing for the expedition, when she felt it. No one else seemed to notice, but her heightened senses as an S-Rank had- an overwhelming surge of mana. It crashed into her, far more sinister and potent than any monster she had ever faced. Her instincts screamed at her to run.
She canceled the expedition on the spot. Any protests were silenced with a single glare from her. She headed immediately for the source of the ominous energy, expecting to see an S-Rank Gate.
But when she arrived, the sinister energy was gone. In its place: a D-Rank dungeon.
She watched as the Association's team carried out corpse after corpse. Only one hunter survived.
Though she was suspicious of him, the feeble mana signature of a D-Rank didn't match what she had felt.
Now, with the Association labeling the event as a simple misclassification, her frustration deepened. Her last thread of reasoning—that perhaps the man had awakened as an S-Rank—was gone. And with it, her certainty.
.
Renji lay quietly in his bed.
He knew none of this was standard procedure—not the mana check, not the presence of an S-Ranker.
But he didn't say a word.
He especially didn't mention the fierce, foreign mana he felt arcing through his body. Some things were better left unsaid. He remembered what the being inside Ichiro had told him.
"Fight, huh?" he muttered softly, a smile playing on his lips.
Yes. Fighting was something he knew how to do.
Fighting… was something he revelled in.