Would words even reach him? Chairman Ko Gun-Hee's gaze was fixed on the uninvited guest.
"..."
The creature said nothing. Yet unlike other magic beasts, it didn't immediately show aggression. It simply sat there in silence, ignoring the room's owner. As a brief silence filled the chairman's office, Ko Gun-Hee gained time to observe his visitor.
'Appearance-wise, it resembles an Ice Elf.'
Ice Elves—commonly referred to as "white ghosts"—were magic beasts frequently encountered in high-rank Dungeons. Their distinctive appearance was well-known among Hunters. However, the uninvited guest before him, while possessing the general features of an Ice Elf, showed such distinct differences that one had to wonder whether it was even the same species.
'Almost as if...'
If ordinary Ice Elves were individual trees in a forest, then this uninvited guest was the lone ancient tree guarding a withered forest all on its own. Skin cracked like bark. Gaunt fingers. A tangled beard along the jaw and sunken, hollow eyes. It was an appearance one might imagine an Ice Elf would take after living not hundreds, but thousands of years. The strangeness wasn't limited to appearance alone. Gulping, Ko Gun-Hee swallowed dryly without realizing it.
'I can't... I can't sense its presence.'
Even though the uninvited guest had snuck in without anyone noticing and now sat squarely on the sofa, he hadn't picked up on the slightest trace of it until he saw it with his own two eyes. If it had been an ordinary magic beast, Ko Gun-Hee's sharp senses would never have missed it.
'...This is an opponent I can't handle.'
Having quickly reached that judgment, Ko Gun-Hee subtly flipped over the phone he had placed on his desk to check the screen, intending to call for help. Just then, the magic beast turned to look at him.
[This place has already been completely severed from contact with the outside world.]
Startled, Ko Gun-Hee put the phone back down. There was no signal, just as the beast had said.
"Am I dreaming right now?"
The magic beast had not only infiltrated the Hunter's Association headquarters right in the heart of Seoul—it was speaking to him in Korean. If this wasn't a dream, how could he possibly explain it? At that moment.
"Guh!"
Ko Gun-Hee clutched his left shoulder as a searing pain shot through it. It had happened the instant the magic beast's hand pointed at him. When he cautiously removed his grip, a wound like a clean slice from something sharp was revealed. What was strange was that despite the flesh being cleanly carved away, no blood flowed at all. The wound had frozen over, white with frost.
'How... How is this possible?'
Ko Gun-Hee, who had been staring down at the wound, raised his head. The magic beast still sat calmly in the same spot.
[Did you think that pain was part of the dream as well?]
Ko Gun-Hee nodded slowly.
"I understand now. That this is real. Then let me ask again—who are you?" [I had hoped you would recognize me on your own, but as expected, you're just a human.] "Just a human...?"
The magic beast slowly rose to its feet. At the same instant, every piece of furniture around it—the sofa, the tables, everything—was shoved to either side and slammed into the walls. Crack! The furniture had frozen in place, stuck to the walls and unable to fall.
'Good God...'
Ko Gun-Hee's eyes went wide. A bone-chilling cold began to slowly seep into the chairman's office.
[I have no hobby of preying on the weak. Show yourself, Fragment of Brilliance.]
Who could possibly call Chairman Ko Gun-Hee weak? Yet Ko Gun-Hee couldn't argue. The being standing before him carried an overwhelming majesty, and every time it opened its mouth, its voice boomed like thunder.
[Hurry!]
It was on an entirely different level from himself. Because his senses were sharper than anyone else's, he could grasp the gap between them in an instant. Cold sweat began to bead on Ko Gun-Hee's forehead.
[Are you worried your vessel will shatter? But even without you, your vessel is nearing the end of its life.]
If you're hiding out of fear. Having added that, the magic beast raised both palms upward. And from there, fierce cold began to condense.
[There's probably no longer any value in continuing to talk to you.] "...?"
At the moment Ko Gun-Hee was overwhelmed with extreme confusion over the other's incomprehensible words, cold erupted from one of the magic beast's hands. Whoom! The explosion swept through the spot where the chairman had been standing. The extreme cold created white vapor that blanketed the surroundings like fog, reducing visibility to nothing. But. From within that vapor, two lights leaked out. Golden eyes. Upon confirming the glow, the magic beast smiled and hurled the remaining blast of cold as well.
"Hmph!"
Chairman Ko Gun-Hee swung his arm and struck the cold away. The cold deflected off his hand and hit the wall. Boom! The cold exploded, and an entire wall blew apart savagely. Behind the collapsed wall was nothing but an endless black void. The vapor that had obscured his vision gradually cleared, and Chairman Ko Gun-Hee revealed his true form. His eyes—and indeed his entire body—were enveloped in a powerful aura shimmering gold.
"You isolated the chairman's office and sealed it within a rift in dimensions. Impressive."
A voice entirely different from his usual one flowed from Chairman Ko Gun-Hee's mouth. The magic beast spoke again.
[At last... at last we meet.The request was rejected because it was considered high risk