Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The war is finally over. But he cannot go home. Not now.

He is going to change his mind the moment he see their faces, and he cannot afford to do that. Too many lives have been lost and only he can fix it. Even if it meant he will have to go through everything again, at least he will be stronger this time. Even if he will be forgotten, it is a price worth paying. 

Sung Jinwoo take one last look at the ruin world in front off him. He can feel his peer smiling at him from behind, though, he did not look back. He give the Rulers a confirmation of his request to use the cup of reincarnation, and everything went black. 

Rest assure, friend. I will make sure to keep my promise.

,

The moment Sung Jinwoo open his eyes and look around, the sight in front of him was somewhere he was unfamiliar with, deserted, surrounding by monsters. But through the memories of ashborne, the unusually intense mana of this place told him that he was somewhere inside the dimensional crack, where the other monarch use to resided in. 

...Right, He is back in time, so are they. 

The eyes glow, deep and intense. Time is on his side, no matter how long it will take, he will hunt them all down over again.

Chapter Text

Slick

Blood dripped down as it was shaken away from a dagger. As his other hand was holding a group of a once luscious rogue hair, attached to a decapitated head, no, half a head of a man, brains exposed, Barely conscious, but still alive. Maybe the fact that he was the monarch of destruction made him able to hold out for this long.

The executioner holds the head up to his level, just enough for him to be able to look at the head without having to lower his head down, but not as high as his eye level.

"Monarch of destruction, I bid my final farewell."

Said the shadow monarch. And before the head could disappear, the raven haired man's jaw unhinge itself terrifyingly, just wide enough for the head to fit entirely. The head was being lifted up high, dropped down and swallowed whole, forcing the once mighty monarch of destruction to rest in its final place.

The late monarch's head dissolved away after a while. The monarch of shadow was satisfied with his new found skill. One in which will absorbs an ability of things he consumes to enchant his pre existing ones.

He obtained, or at least discovered this power through the fight with the monarch of plague, the first one he decided to eliminate. Its insects cause him way too much annoyance for its own good. As he got the monarch of plague to stay fixed in place, maybe it was out of curiosity, or from the heat of the moment, he started to savor it, starting from the limbs up. The more he eats, the more he can feel his longevity skill evolving more and more and more. It kept changing until the last piece of the monarch was gone. Though it still retained its ability to recover him, the skill had gained a new ability to heal others. It sure was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome. 

He wonders what new abilities he will gain from the strongest monarch. 

.

The massacre has finally come to an end. Standing at a cliff, as high as it gets, was an emblem of shadow. Long noiret hair flustered along with the wind, presenting the view of the battlefield for the king to see, countless shadow soldiers kneeling before him. The sight deserving for the sole winner.

He has had the fault of the cup of reincarnation figured out for sometime now. It seems like due to the worn of the cup itself, resulting in his arrival in the dimensional crack instead of properly arriving on earth like supposed. He’s been here for almost six decades. Four years cut away from a decade on earth the cup promised.

He commanded the army to march back to the shadow castle. Yes, castle. It was his mistake leaving the Grand Marshal with access to his mana pool. He left them unattended for half a day and came back to an enormous palace with ornate decorations, made purely from his mana, with a flag on top, again, but he didn’t have the heart to take down the castle with those puppy eyes looking at him, so all he did was make the two masterminds stand on their heads for a bit and that’s all.

Those kids, he is so done with them sometimes. 

.

With a snap of a finger he summons a gate with his power. The man stepped in and resurfaced. He appeared inside of a familiar place, a room. It was back in his family’s little run down apartment. Jinwoo took a glance at the calendar. Just as expected, he was back six years ago. Six years before it all started. 

He altered his body to fit his eighteen years old self as he remembered, not to be suspicious. 

.

When he walked out of his room, he saw his mother in the kitchen and his little sister, now eleven years old Jinah, taking a nap on the couch in the living room which was connected to the kitchen. His mom was preparing kimchi jjigae for dinner. When she turns around to look at him, he can see her eyes shook, frightened. She seems to space out as she drops the knife in her hand. Only when the sound of the knife hit the floor did she regain herself.

“..You seem a bit..different. Ah, what am i saying, the fever must have caught up with me again haha”

She smiled as she picked the knife up from the floor and ran it through the water from the faucet to clean it.

“Mother…Jinah...”

Jinwoo’s longing gaze showed itself when his mother looked away. He walked toward his mother. His arms open up and give his mother a tight embrace, he buried his face in his mom’s shoulder. 

“Dear…?”

…His mother, his mom, his sister, Jinah. His family, his home. He is back…

“Mom, Jinah, I'm home…”

Like she can sense how he feels, No more questions from her. She hugged him back, her hand around her baby. With a gentle pat, she smiled.

“Welcome home, Jinwoo.”

Chapter Text

,Their hug didn’t last too long, but the feeling it gave will still linger on for a good while. His mother decided not to ask anything further as she felt like he didn’t want her too.

“Thanks, mom.”

Jinwoo looked over to the unprepared food on the counter.

“Let me help you”

“Alright, then. Can you chop the onions?”

“Sure thing”

.

Not long after, they finish preparing the soup. Jinwoo helped his mother bring it to the dining table; The little girl who was napping on the couch has woken up from the aroma of the stew. She got up and ran to the dinner table.

“Aigoo, Jinah, don’t run inside the house. You might trip”

Said Jinwoo. Jinah pouted slightly.

“I’ll be fine, oppa!”

Jinwoo sighs. He reached his hand toward her and gently pinched her adorable cheeks.

“If you’re gonna keep running, you better be very careful then.”

“Ya ya.”

Their mom smiles at the scene in front of her.

“Alright, alright. Lets eat before the food gets cold”

“Okie!” Jinah replies. Jinwoo took his hand off of her cheek and she went to sit beside her mother.

Jinwoo poured portions of the stew into three bowls and gave them to his mother, Jinah, and then himself and they started eating.

He didn’t mind that he couldn't taste the food anymore; he just missed this atmosphere more than anything.

.

Soon, they finish their dinner. Jinwoo went back inside of his room and sat down on the bed. He let silence fill the room, until he finally called upon his shadow.

“Igris, Beru”

Two shadow bodies materialize themselves, kneeling down before their king.

“Igris, I assign you and two thousand common soldiers. Reside in my mother’s shadow, watch over and protect her if needed. Beru, resides in Jinah’s shadow alongside Tank and a thousand common soldiers and do not let them find out. You can go”

“Understood, your majesty”

“Yes, my king,” Said the two, before disappearing into the shadows.

Jinwoo started to contemplate himself as he was now alone again. He still has some time to savor a normal life with his family before everything will start, but the faster he becomes a hunter, in which no doubt would be an S-rank; he will have enough power and social stance to do anything he has to.

He had already sneaked a bottle of holy water of life into his mother’s portion of dinner. He was sure it’ll work but It’s still better to keep an eye on her if anything. 

He already has no choice but to become a hunter in this life once again anyways. Let’s just enjoy it a little more.

.

.

.

.

It’s been a year. A lot of things have already been going well and set in place. His mother’s symptoms really got better. Jinah is preparing to enter middle school. And,

“My lord. We located the whereabouts of Thomas Andre’s secretary.”

It’s time his peace comes to an end.

“ Exchange ”

The shadow surrounds its monarch, exchanging his position with a soldier.

.

Jinwoo reappeared at an abandoned warehouse. 

Tied to a rope, beaten up and bruised, her clothes torn apart; a blond woman was surrounded by a group of men, about six or seven people. Most of them are about a B or C rank hunters, though only one of them has more mana than other; he seems to be an A-Rank. 

The A-Rank leaned toward the unconscious woman.

“I wonder how that oh-so almighty scavenger guild would react, seeing their guild master’s precious secretary like this. ”

But before the A-Rank whose hand was on the woman’s chest got the chance to do anything more, in an instant his hand was cut, so clean and fast there was no time to react. 

The separated hand fell to the floor. The A-rank hunter froze for a moment, but tried to keep his mind intact. The other members started to panic, some thought the scavenger guild had already found them, some tried to run away, but to no avail, the whole warehouse was surrounded by shadow with nowhere to escape.

A silhouette of a man appeared before the panicked. Beneath them, hands made out of shadow crawl up, wrapping themselves around the group of hunters. They slowly dragged the hunters down, one by one being swallowed by the ground.

The A-rank whose sanity started to give up on staying, his breath started to get heavier and heavier as panic sets in, unable to move.

“ You know, Thomas despises his people being touched more than anything. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it even more if he gets to deal with you himself.”

That would be the last thing the A-rank heard before his consciousness gave up on him and he fell into the bottomless pit of the void that was underneath him.

The moment that the sight of the hunter was all gone, the shadow surrounding the warehouse also reduced itself into an ordinary one alongside its monarch.

The monarch walked toward the unconscious woman. He creates simple clothes replicating the woman’s original one with his mana.

He picked her up, before shadow exchange away from the place.

.

.

.

Thomas Andre had made a mistake; and he was absolutely furious about it. Whoever dares to touch his possessions, whoever those people are; they will pay a deserving price for it. 

He should have given Laura more competent bodyguards. No, maybe he should have her stay by his side all the time. She might be the best secretary he’s ever known, but she is not an awakened. He really should have been more careful.

“Have you found her?”

His voice on the phone was as calm as the sea before a storm. It was a good thing for him to be alone in his office; otherwise he might crush a man or two to death just from his bloodlust alone.

“ They haven’t, but i have”

“Who-”

A mysterious voice spoke from behind him. He didn’t even notice the presence of whatever this creature is, until it spoke up. He turns around to meet with the most captivating pair of eyes he has ever seen in his entire life looking down at him, high and mighty, like a king.

 Behind those amethyst pairs seems to be a bottomless pit of mana; they float around like countless stars in the sky, complimenting the creature's long and luscious hair, as dark as the void itself. He was awestruck.

 Moreover, he felt so, so familiar. He feels like he has met this creature before, but no matter how much he tries to remember, he’s unable to. 

Upon seeing him speechless; the tantalizing creature spoke up. 

“Do you want her back or not, Thomas Andre.”

He finally noticed his unconscious secretary sleeping in the creature ’s embrace. The clothes on her were impressively made from pure mana; the mana that the creature before him allowed him to feel it.

He received his secretary from the creature . He took a closer look at her and analyzed her injuries. 

Upon seeing him take notes of her injuries; the creature give his secretary a bottle of high grade healing potion. Thomas can see his secretary healed instantly.

Is this its way of telling him it ’s trustable?

“Who are you? And what do you need from me to save her?”

Thomas can finally ask, but instead of an answer he was hoping for; the creature cupped its deadly cold hand around his cheek. 

.

At that moment, an intense feeling hit him. The feeling that he never experienced before; the feeling of memories flowing into him like countless waves hitting the shore. 

The memories… his memories have returned to him. His sight met with the face of the man before him. This man was not just a distant memory anymore; the man's face finally became clear to him. He was Sung Jinwoo, Jinwoo, his dear friend .

“Remember me yet?”

As nonchalant as Jinwoo’s voice is, Thomas can see his gaze soften down with a hint of longing in it.

“You really kept your promise, Jinwoo.” Thomas laughed out loud. He wrapped his own hand around the hand that was on his cheek.

“I’m a man of my word after all; what do you expect?” Jinwoo didn’t mind nor take his hand away.

Thomas smiled; he took off his sunglasses and placed them on his table.

“Now that I got a clearer look of you, did you get prettier?” Thomas reaches for Jinwoo’s hair and starts to play with it. “Long hair also suits you very well.” 

The corner of the man’s lips lift up slightly,

“It’s practical as well.” Said Jinwoo, as he controlled his hair to wrap around Thomas's wrist that was fidgeting with it.

Laughed Thomas. He took his Hair-wrapped wrist closer, and placed a gentle kiss on the hair.

Jinwoo took his hair back after a while. As Thomas noticed the man getting a bit more serious, he let Jinwoo's hand that was on his cheek go and gained his business posture as well. 

Thomas uses his telekinesis to take Laura to rest on the couch. 

“What do you need in return?” asked Thomas. He does not like owing anyone a favor, and Jinwoo knew that very well. To help him without his request, it’s not hard to know Jinwoo wants something from him.

“Hwang Dongsoo. Give him to me ”

Thomas did not immediately respond. His gaze sharpened up dangerously.

“You may be my friend, but I can't give my possession to you just like this.” Thomas stood up, “Defeat me; That’ll be the only way I'll let you have him.” Golden mana radiated around the goliath. It was just what Jinwoo expected. 

Thomas was sure he wouldn't be able to defeat the monarch no matter what. But at least it counts as him taking a chance to protect his guild member and not just give Mister Hwang away as a favor. 

.

In a flash, Jinwoo creates a gate and teleports them both to the dimensional crack. With the amount of power they both possessed, fighting in the overworld would cause a ton of damage; this place seems like the best battlefield for them. 

Thomas was a little wary of this new environment as it was surrounded by monsters, though it seems like they scattered away the moment they could feel their bloodlust; he did not let the feeling get in the way. The blond land a punch onto the floor, blasting everything in the radius to pieces.

“ Capture”

A golden void of mana appeared in the air, pulling inward the surrounding debris and the shattered floor pieces. 

The goliath activates body reinforcement, covering his body with shining golden armors, before charging toward the monarch with immense speed. He breaks the debris into pieces that accelerate toward his opponent in quite unpredictable ways. 

The goliath appeared again behind Jinwoo’s back, followed by a series of punches as fast as they left after images.

Just a single swipe, The shadow monarch blocks the punches and debris with ease. The noiret twisted his body in a swift movement, and like a whip, his leg landed a kick onto the goliath’s back, throwing the blond  to the floor below. 

The monarch followed, aiming at the stomach, he knee’d the lying goliath from above, cracking a piece out of the golden armor plate and a chunk of flesh ripped apart; a sight of guts showing and forcing blood to spill out of the blond’s mouth. 

Not giving up, The goliath drew back his head and tried to charge for a head butt. 

The monarch did not wait as he counterpunched the goliath. Just a single punch easily cracks and breaks the golden helmet into pieces. 

“Satisfied?” Asked the raven haired. He sat on top of the beaten-half-to-death man. “A little more and you would actually die for sure, Thomas” Jinwoo looked down at him. The monarch still held the same calm and collected posture; no blood or even a single drop of sweat appeared on his face, so dignified and charming as ever.

.

Thomas cracks out a loud laughter. 

“Ah, the feeling of being defeated by you still leaves my blood rushing, all excited over and over again.”

“Masochist” Jinwoo scoffed, which ended up with Thomas’s laughter erupting once again. 

Jinwoo placed a hand on Thomas's stomach where the flesh was ripped. Dark purple mana appeared over the spot and healed it. 

Unlike ordinary healing spells, which use the healer’s mana to replenish the missing person’s flesh piece if it was cut off; the monarch’s ability forces the injured body to regenerate. It is a lot faster, as it need not to have time for the body to adjust to the mana, since the skill itself derived from Jinwoo’s self healing ability, but at the same time,

“Ugh!” Thomas’s breath hitches.

-the process hurts like hell.

“Urghh! What kind of healing magic is this!” The blond groaned out painfully. Oh well, at least the healing is done. 

“Come on, it’s not even that painful; don’t be dramatic.”

“You’re so mean,” Thomas said sarcastically.

“Yeah, no shit” Jinwoo scoffed.

The noiret stood up from the spot and gave the other a helping hand. 

“I defeated you. So? The deal? I will give him back his memory if that’ll make you feel any better.”

“Right,” Thomas scratched the back of his head, partly out of frustration and sigh. “If you are gonna kill him, at least just let me give him a proper funeral, deal?” 

“Sure. Though, I’ll come to take him another time, I still have things to take care of for now.”

As Jinwoo was about to open the gate to take both of them back,

“Oh, right, almost forgot.” The man snapped a finger, forming a lump of shadow that revealed a group of hunters that was tied together. “These humans kidnapped Miss Laura. I’m sure you have a lot of things to say to them.”

Thomas’s eyes were filled with fiery rage once again. A furious grin form on the blond’s face “Ah, i have a lot of things for them”

“Good for you, see you later then, we will meet again, very soon” He summons a gate door below Thomas and the captives' feet; taking them to the scavenger guild’s headquarter, then he summons one for his own to send him back to his home.

Chapter Text

He reappeared back in his room. Jinah is not yet back from school. He walks out into the living room where his mom is. He sat down beside her.

They stay in a comfortable silence for a while as they let the television play. 

“Mother, can we talk?”

“Yes, Jinwoo?”

“I’m going to become a hunter”

His mother pauses peeling the apple in her hand and looks at her son. She stared into his eyes and just smiled softly at him.

“You are just like your father,” She closes her eyes to reminisce about the old scene “He had the same gaze you have, back then when he told me he would become a hunter. If that is what you chose to do, I won't disapprove of it, but promise me one thing”

Jinwoo turns to look at her.

“Please, don’t leave me and Jinah.” again

A sudden pang erupts in his heart. It’s been so long since he last felt this. The memories of them from the past. His family that he had left behind appeared in his mind. It took him a moment but he shook it away. He forces himself to take a deep breathe,

“I won’t. I never will, not again. I will not let anything take me away from you, ever”

“I know. I trust you”

.

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.

The next day came by, Jinwoo was getting ready to go to the hunter association. Jinah was already on her way to school and his mother went grocery shopping today. 

After making sure the house was locked, Jinwoo teleports himself to a dark corner near the association.

He walked to the receptionist in one of the association’s buildings. 

“I’m here to have my rank evaluated and get a hunter license”

.

He was led to the hallway in front of a room. He sat down on a chair, crossing his legs. 

This place was still the same as he remembered.

There was a middle aged man sitting beside him.

“You don’t look very excited, boy. You know, a person’s life could get turned upside down from the result.”

The guy talked to him. He turn to the guy slightly,

“I already know what rank I will get, there is no reason for me to be.”

The guy laughed when he heard him.

“Boy, you talk like you’re gonna get an S-Rank or something”

Jinwoo didn’t reply back. In that moment, 

“Next person, please come in!”

The staff call out from the door. The man next to Jinwoo talk to him again

“You can go first, i’m curious what your rank will actually be”

He said smugly. Jinwoo paid him no mind and just walked into the room.

.

Jinwoo stood in front of the black orb in the room.

“Full name, please”

“Sung Jinwoo.”

“Alright, now please place your hand on the crystal and wait.”

He did as the staff told him. When the result that was supposed to came out only showed

‘ERROR’

The staff was shocked with the result and started to cause a fuss. A guy who was probably the supervisor left the room in a rush, seemingly to get the higher up to come.

The hallway was also filled with chaos as the rumor quickly spread. He also received a dumbfounded look from the man that talked to him before.

Aigoo, What a fuzz; he’ll surely have to take care of these people first. They’ll for sure learn that memories are not always reliable after this.

The other staff approach him,

“Uh, Sung-nim, I'm afraid that with our current detector, your mana is immeasurable. Could you visit us again after three days-”

“ No need .”

A new voice came in.

“C-chairman Go Gunhee!”

The staff bow down to the newcomer as a greeting. Beside the chairman was a man wearing sunglasses, Chief of the monitoring division, Woo Jinchul.

Jinwoo turns to look at the two.

They seemed to be a bit surprised when looking at Jinwoo, but shook it off.

The older man reaches his hand out to give Jinwoo a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Sung-ssi. I’m Go Gunhee, chairman of the hunter association.” 

Following the chairman’s introduction was chief Woo Jinchul’s. Ah, look at him, still as overworked as ever. Maybe he should put the little chief into his hoard. He’ll make sure to take great care of him. 

Now that he thinks about it, he never actually gets to use his S-rank privilege to its fullest the last time. Maybe he’ll just use it to kidnap requested the man and force him to rest. Hmm, good idea.

Jinwoo seems to get a bit lost in thought as his gaze at the chief inspector gets more and more intense, though it wasn’t an uncomfortable one, it was still weird to receive a literal unblinking glare from a potential S-rank. When the Chairman Go Gunhee see that, he interrupt

“If you wouldn't mind sparing some time,i’d like to have a conversation with you”

Jinwoo snaps back to reality. He looked at the chairman and nodded. Acting like he didn’t notice a slight blush appearing on the chief’s cheeks and the man who seems to be confused with his own feelings to the man that he supposedly only met for the first time, but still tries to keep up his professional demeanor.

“Of course” The noiret nods.

.

Jinwoo sat down on a couch inside of the chairman’s office as chief Woo served them both a cup of tea.

“Firstly, Sung-ssi. I would like to congratulate you on becoming Korea’s 9th S-Rank.”

“To tell you the truth, re-examination is not really a necessity. Even with our precise detector, it will only help us to be able to divide hunters into each group, it is unable to measure the amount of mana outside the limits.” 

“With that being said, We will have your hunter license done as soon as possible. Please come by tomorrow for us to give you a class assessment.”

“Thank you, I’ll be here at ten tomorrow.” He pauses and stares at the chairman. “I assume that is not all you want to talk to me about, is it?”

The chairman smiled.

“You are very sharp, Sung-ssi. Frankly, I was here to propose to you a position in the association, as we are in dire need of powerful awakeners. But by the moment I meet you, maybe it’s my instinct, but something told me you would not accept it.” You are not meant to serve and will not bow to anyone.

The last sentence was left unsaid

The chief who was standing behind the chairman looked stunned by the honesty of his speech. It seems like the older man changed his mind right at the moment he met Jinwoo.

“Now that I told my side of the story, Sung-ssi, Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” 

A tick of silence took over the room.

“Have we met before?”

The monarch did not answer immediately. He stares at them, unblinkingly. There is no need to, right here. For the first time, The lord of shadow smiles. It’s a smile unsuitable for humans, but it was assuring. Like a deity looking over them.

“It is a very rewarding sight to see you still alive and well in front of me again , Chairman Go.” It is indeed very rewarding. The man in front of him was the first one that he will never be able to talk to ever again if he decided otherwise and never used the cup of reincarnation. 

The chairman’s eyes widened, the flash of familiarity came over him. He clutches on his chest where his heart is located. It was beating so fast with excitement, just like the last time they met . He smiled; the answer was more than enough to bring the light to his question. 

“I see,” said Go Gunhee. In a heartbeat, The noiret has morphed back to look like a human once again. He took something out of his spatial pocket dimension. A prestige bottle with a lick of silver, in which containing ruby liquid inside. It continuously radiates an overwhelming essence of vitality.

Jinwoo placed the bottle on the table in front of them. 

“This is..?” asked the elder.

“I believed this might be the thing you sought after, Chairman go.” Jinwoo pushes the bottle in front of the Chairman.

“Sung-ssi,  I don't think I can accept something this valuable” In all the years he has been alive, he has never seen, never knows anything that even comes close to how esteem this bottle of potion in front of him is. He doesn't know where the man in front of him got it from, But sometimes it’s better to not ask any question. 

“I am not taking no for an answer, Chairman.” I, too, am not ready to have you take a step inside of my domain . “If you do not want it as a gift, then for an exchange, I also have a request for you.”

It took the elder a moment; He sighed. “If you said so, Sung-ssi. Please proceed with the request. We will make sure to assist you as much as we have the power for.”

“Please keep my identity- no, existence a secret if possible. The world shall not know the existence of Korea's 9th S-Rank hunter just yet, or at least, Until Korea's next S-Rank appears. And even so, Please still keep my identity a secret. Preferably, to other S-Ranks too, until I am ready to step out myself.”

The Chairman, looking at the bottle in front of him, cogitated.

“You have my agreement, Sung-ssi. But since this is quite a major request, I’m afraid we might not be able to execute it properly all by ourselves. It would be a very great help if you’d accommodate us too. I’d recommend against showing yourself under the public’s eyes. Both in terms of accomplishment and appearance”

“Consider it done. But a disguise is fine, right?” 

“Pardon?”

“If I'm appearing in the public’s eyes, as long as I perfectly disguise myself, it’ll be fine, right?”

Oh no, the smell of trouble is coming from miles away. Cold sweat appeared on the two officials' backs.

“I… suppose that is fine…?”

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Jinwoo teleports away after finishing up the conversation. When he arrived home, his mom had just come back from the grocery store and was taking a nap on the couch. He went over and gently put a blanket over her and walked over to the kitchen. He opened the cabinet and saw a full jar of gochujang. They ran out of it earlier, it seems like his mom went to buy some to restock. Maybe he should make some homemade gochujang instead of having to constantly buy one like this. 

But anyways, he felt like cooking today. He was thinking of whipping up a feast for the occasion. But what should he make? Looking over to the jar of gochujang, maybe he’ll make some korean fried chicken, Jinah’s favorite. Yeah, he should totally spoil her more.

.

Jinah came back home from school to a sweet aroma filling their entire apartment. She immediately went over to the kitchen to find her oppa and eomma making korean fried chicken. Oppa was simmering the sauce in a pan and eomma was wrapping Kimbaps, leaving a pile of already made fried chicken on the counter behind them.

Jinah ‘sneakily’ went to the pile of chicken and stole one for herself and walked toward her guardians like she didn’t commit an atrocious sin of stealing a piece a while ago and ask them what’s for dinner.

.

Jinwoo teasingly elbows his mom when she giggles out after Jinah comes to them like they didn’t know she took a piece of chicken. How adorable.

Jinwoo had made sure he fried some extra pieces today since he decided all by himself he now had an extra mouth of a workaholic to feed. 

Back in the past, sharing his godly delicious cooking to people around him has always brought him a little bit of joy in his life, though he wasn’t able to afford much due to a very tight financial situation back then, but now he has the money to. He may be unable to taste human food or feel that little joy that likes to spark up now, but seeing their faces lift up from his cooking still brings him some sort of pride.

.

Picking up a piece, he wonders, If he can still taste the mortal flesh of the monarchs he killed as long as there is mana infused in it, would he be able to taste human meat, especially the hunters? Will they still taste the same when cooked? Or will the taste of them vary depending on how they were prepared, just like this piece of fried chicken?

A picture of a certain blond popped into his mind. Would he let me have a taste of him? A man as durable as that man having a couple of pieces getting bit away before getting healed shouldn’t be much trouble at all, right?

.

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It’s officially the next day. He teleports to the same corner in a dark alley behind the association. When he walked toward the building, he saw chief Woo Jinchul waiting for him in front of the building. 

Before revealing himself to them, he takes a quick scan at the chief from afar. The shadow soldiers he put inside of the man’s shadow reported to him about the lack of nutritious meals and sleep this man got yesterday due to the reports paperworks he had to do. He swears the moment he gets his license, he will make it the end of this man’s recklessness. 

Jinwoo reappeared again behind the standing man. “Good to see you, Chief Woo. Have you eaten anything yet?”

He saw the man in front of him shudder and immediately turn around. The chief was about to berate the person behind him, but the sudden realization of who it is stopped him from doing so.

“Sung-nim, I’d really appreciate it if you do not scare me like that again.”

“You haven’t answered my question. Have you eaten anything this morning?” Jinwoo asked with an unreadable expression and an unknown motivation to the chief. 

“Uhm. I guess..?”

“A protein bar and three cups of caffeine liquid don’t count.” said the noiret who took out a mysterious bag of something from his spatial pocket magic and handed it to the man.

Inside of it was a roll of kimbap and what seems to be a lunch box. “For you,” The gaze Jinwoo gives Jinchul gets weirdly intense, contrary to the former’s pretty much emotionless face. “ Do make sure to eat properly.” 

Jinchul really does not know why a man who he only met yesterday would care about his life so much, (or how did the man even know what he ate for breakfast) but for some reason, he just accepted it without even questioning it.

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The chairman came to the two men at the front door after he heard about Jinwoo’s arrival from the chief inspector. The chairman dismissed the chief and decided to lead Jinwoo to the examination arena himself. 

There was a middle aged man waiting for them in the arena with a clipboard in hand. The man seems to be confused looking at Jinwoo as he walks over to the chairman. “Uhm, sir, he is the one we’re examining today, right?”

The chairman laughed. “Unmistakably,” still, the man looked at him with a hint of doubt, though subdued by the chairman’s words.

Noone can really blame the man here. With absolute control over his power, the monarch kept all of his power tucked away, not even a single threatening presence or mana leaked out like other hunters. If he was found randomly amongst civilians, you could certainly always expect him to get mistaken for one. 

A sigh came out of Jinwoo. And at that moment, the whole area is filled with the scent of mana that came from one creature , so raw and intense, cease of any worldly impurity.

The sight sent a shiver down the bystander’s spine. The middle aged man was shaken by the atmosphere created. 

“Is this enough? Let’s just start the examination.” 

“R-Right uh, Sung-nim, so, what kind of abilities do you have?”

”Something like,” the monarch’s shadow starts to distort itself. It separates into a number of piles of black void on the floor that twist and change its shape into the one of beasts. “this.”

Appeared an army of beasts, containing what seems to be a naga, a high orc, and about five giants, and a small army of undead knights, though their bodies look smaller, a bit distorted like a shadow came to life, but it was clear what they are.

“A-are these your summons!? You can control them!?” The examiner couldn’t believe it. The most he ever saw summons from someone was three summons, and that was an S-rank summoner from another country. The amount of mana put into them must be unimaginable!

“If you don’t mind me asking, Sung-ssi. I do not believe these are every summons you have, aren’t they? How many can you summon?” Cold sweats appeared on the chairman’s face. He looked toward the high orc. This summon alone feels like it could defeat an S-Ranker or two. Even the naga and the giants can rival an S-Rank in strength. And an army of possibly A-rank soldiers.

Nonchalantly, Jin-woo answered, as long as they weren’t too strong, he had no reason to hide anyway. “A lot.” He didn't give the exact numbers to them. “Well, most of them have the same level as these guys,” Jin-woo pointed at a group of his common soldiers. 

To back up his claim, Jinwoo summoned more soldiers, filling up almost the entire gymnasium. The other two looked around in awe with the middle aged man possibly starting to black out in shock.

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