On the night when it first snowed that year, Harin gasped when she saw her parents covered in blood in the thin snow in her backyard. She saw a man with two red eyes wiping his lips, which were covered with blood, alongside two black and white wolves biting her mother's broken arm.
Harin was short of breath; she couldn't breathe the cold air, which made her chest tight. She fell when her vision blurred. Harin deeply remembered the man who killed her parents came closer.
Until the sound of a wolf made her gasp when a knock on the door opened, waking her from the nightmare that had always haunted her.
"Oh my god, what time is it, and you haven't woken up yet?" said Tara. Harin blinked slowly; she felt the glare from Tara as she opened the curtains of her apartment. This tight black uniform made of leather always makes Harin jealous. Tara joins a monster hunter organization.
The organization that has been established for two hundred years has become Harin's only target to enter and search for her parents' murderer. She has taken her fifth exam to enter an organization named Lexus.
Two hundred years ago, a portal opened in the city center, and monsters entered the human world for the first time. Lexus was created to repel attacks and destroy the monsters mercilessly.
They made weapons from the monsters that were successfully defeated. Each hunter receives one weapon after they reach level B. Hunters are categorized based on the number of monsters they deal with. Tara is at level A; she has contributed a lot to this country.
"After all, I have no other activities," said Harin. Tara issued a black letter and handed it to Harin, who was staring at the object lazily.
"You graduated."
"What?!" Harin immediately opened the letter from the Lexus organization. She read her sixth exam graduation notification letter until she almost cried. Harin looked at Tara, who had a cold expression; Tara's smile became more and more obvious until the two of them screamed together and hugged each other.
"Let's get ready; we will celebrate," invited Tara.
"Have you made a reservation for my party?"
"Yes, I'm the one who treats."
"You are really the best friend." Harin kissed Tara's cheek, and she immediately changed her clothes to start her new day. Tara waited for her friend by helping to clean up the woman's messy room.
"You said you would go back to your parents' house after entering Lexus. So when do you pack?" Tara asked.
"I said after killing that wolf man."
"You spent your youth looking for a killer; you even chose not to go to college so that you could focus on the Lexus exam, even though the results were not as good as your enthusiasm."
"At least I'm trying." Harin immediately went to the bathroom to wash her face.
"Yes, your wait is not in vain now." Harin also looked at her friend, who followed her to the bathroom door, and saw herself facing the sink.
"Tomorrow you will be divided into divisions. I have asked Brian to put you in his division; if you refuse, you can choose which division you want to be in as long as that division is still not full. Brian is in pursuit of someone with similar characteristics to the murderer of your parents."
"Did they find him?"
"I'm not sure if this is the same person or not." Tara took out a photo from her pocket and showed it to Harin; it was of a man who was caught by CCTV with red eyeballs and black hair.
"I'm not sure; my memory of my parents' killer is getting blurry. I only remember clearly the person who took me to the hospital."
"You were still a child at that time; trauma can indeed make your memory a little confused. Don't too long, me in the car." This shoulder-haired woman came out of Harin's apartment. she thinking about her life path.
***
"We still haven't found it, sir," Sylus said, noticing dozens of photos of women that his men had collected in their search for a woman who escaped from him, even though he had almost captured her a few dozen years ago.
"Is it all done?"
"Not yet, sir. We need extra time to find her."
"You have a week before we move to the next city."
"Alright, Mr. Sylus."
"Go away." The two nodded and left the place where Sylus had started his lunch. The seat that had not been empty for a minute was filled by a man in glasses who always wore a long coat in any condition.
"I'm not feeling well, Julian. There is no offer whatsoever. I reject everything," Sylus said.
"I didn't come to discuss you getting into Lexus," he replied, handing a photo of Harin to Sylus, who looked at the picture.
"She is the daughter of Cristian and Selena, the bloodstone key holder." Sylus looked at Julian, who provided information about the woman he had been searching for all this time. For two hundred years, Sylus had spent his time looking for a bloodstone holder—the key to the gate that separates the human world from the underworld where the monsters reside.
Sylus's father lost the Bloodstone taken by Jonathan, the person who opened the gate of the human world to dominate it by including many monsters. Sylus's father collaborated with Ran, and they managed to bring back the Bloodstone by infiltrating Jonathan's headquarters.
Only Ran managed to get out; Sylus's father was declared dead, and Ran, who did not know how to use the Bloodstone to lock the gate, finally hid it in his son's heart. The Bloodstone will move from generation to the descendants of the Bloodstone container before the old owner dies.
Finally, Sylus found it in the hearts of Cristian and Selena. However, Sylus was a little late because both of them had been torn to death, leaving his daughter to be taken by Sylus even though the Lexus team rushed, forcing Sylus to retreat. Julian played with his phone, and Sylus saw his own phone ringing; a message from Julian had been received.
"Register yourself through the link I sent. You will become a Ranker eleven and form your own team in Lexus. Come in tomorrow; there will be a new member placement. Old members who lost their divisions will be mixed to get new rankers."
"I don't want to waste time if I already know whom I'm looking for."
"She is only twenty-four years old, just one more year until she can use Bloodstone. You can take care of it until next year so that it does not escape from surveillance again."
"What does it have to do with Lexus?"
"This woman will be appointed as a new member of the Hunters tomorrow."
"You should have rejected it. It's the same as leaving Bloodstone in danger."
"But I think that by pulling it into the Lexus, you will also get involved, unless you want Bloodstone to return to the enemy's hands." Sylus looked at Julian with a triumphant smile. Sylus immediately stood up to leave his favorite place for breakfast.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Sylus." The owner of the name did not respond. He immediately exited until his steps halted when two women with sweet laughter entered the restaurant. Harin and Tara entered through Sylus, who saw a red aura around Harin. The little child, who is almost in his grasp, has become an adult woman.
"Oh my goodness?! Julian, are you here too?!" said Harin excitedly.
"How could I miss my girlfriend's best friend's victory?" Julian said. He reached out to Harin, who accepted it as a congratulation. At the same time, the bloodstone aura on Harin's body disappeared. Julian muffled it skillfully. He also invited both of them to immediately fill their reserved table. Julian looked at Sylus, who was still watching Harin.
Julian felt very sure that Sylus would enter Lexus to protect Harin. Sylus had been frustrated in the last few years because Harin was secured by Lexus when Sylus was about to take it. Julian already knew the whereabouts of Harin that Sylus had been looking for for years. It's just that he mentioned it now because Lexus started to lose control, and Julian couldn't keep an eye on him other than handing over Harin to Sylus.
'The person I'm looking for appears by itself,' Sylus muttered.
To Be Continued...