Kai Ren was never meant to survive.
He was a D-rank weakling, discarded and left to die.
And yet, he stood.
The Hunter Association wanted him contained.
The system had labeled him a threat.
The world had already decided he shouldn't exist.
But something had changed.
Because when Kai spoke—
The dead listened.
And tonight, the hunters would become the hunted.
Seoul – The Ruins of the Red Gate
The storm had worsened.
Heavy rain poured from the sky, hammering against the shattered pavement. The wind howled through the destroyed city district, sending debris scattering like restless spirits.
The remnants of the Red Gate's collapse were everywhere—twisted steel beams, ruined buildings, scorch marks from mana explosions.
Emergency sirens blared in the distance.
Association drones hovered overhead, scanning the area with glowing blue sensors as they mapped the battlefield.
It had been less than an hour since the Red Gate had collapsed.
And yet, the entire district had already been locked down.
The Hunter Association wasn't taking chances.
Because what happened inside that dungeon was unnatural.
And at the center of it all—
Kai Ren stood.
Soaked in rain. Covered in blood. Alive—when he shouldn't be.
A Gathering of Enforcers – The Verdict is Decided
Across the ruined street, at least thirty Association Enforcers stood in a tight formation, their mana rifles primed and glowing, locked onto him.
Each one wore black combat armor, their helmets reflecting the flickering neon lights of a nearby ruined billboard.
Among them, a single figure stepped forward.
Seo Joon-Hee.
S-Rank.
Deputy Director of the Hunter Association.
One of the strongest hunters in Korea.
Her piercing golden eyes locked onto Kai, scanning him like he was an insect under a microscope.
Her voice was cold. Unforgiving.
"Surrender. Now."
There was no room for argument.
This wasn't a request.
It was a death sentence.
Min-Jae's Betrayal – The Words That Changed Everything
For a moment, the only sound was the falling rain.
Then—
Min-Jae stepped forward.
He was still shaking, his breath unsteady. His hair was disheveled, his bloodied cloak torn from the battle inside the Red Gate.
But his eyes—
His eyes were filled with hatred.
"He's not human," Min-Jae whispered.
The tension thickened.
Joon-Hee's gaze flickered to him. "Explain."
Min-Jae swallowed hard.
"I saw it." His voice was barely above a whisper.
He pointed at Kai, his hands trembling.
"H-He came back from the dead."
The enforcers stiffened.
Even Joon-Hee's expression darkened.
Min-Jae continued, his voice growing stronger, angrier.
"And that's not all. The Red King knelt before him. A dungeon boss!"
Silence.
The words hung in the air like a noose.
Even the storm seemed to pause.
And in that moment—
Kai knew.
It didn't matter what he said.
It didn't matter how he explained it.
Min-Jae had already decided what he was.
A monster.
And the Hunter Association had already decided what to do with monsters.
The System Responds – Kai's Moment of Choice
Then—
🔹 [SYSTEM ALERT: HIGH-RISK ENTITY IDENTIFIED.]
🔹 [A Decision Must Be Made.]
🔹 [Will You Submit?]
🔹 [Or Will You Resist?]
Kai's heart pounded.
"Submit?"
"Go with them?"
The old Kai—the weak, powerless fool who had spent his life bowing to those stronger than him—would have accepted.
But that Kai was dead.
Murdered inside the Red Gate.
What stood here now—
Was something else.
His hands clenched into fists.
His pulse slowed.
And then, for the first time—
He defied fate.
"No."
The First Awakening – When the Dead Obeyed
The instant he spoke, the air shuddered.
A wave of unnatural pressure rippled across the battlefield, sending loose rubble tumbling down the ruined streets.
And then—
The corpses twitched.
Kai's breath hitched.
All around him, bodies lay scattered—hunters who had died inside the Red Gate, their corpses expelled back into the real world when the dungeon collapsed.
They had perished alongside him.
Discarded by the system.
Left behind, just like he had been.
But now—
They moved.
Fingers jerked.
Armor creaked.
Lifeless eyes snapped open.
Hana staggered backward.
"Kai…?"
But Kai wasn't sure what was happening.
Because the dead—
Were listening to him.
🔹 [The fallen do not rest.]
🔹 [They only wait for a Harbinger to call them.]
And when he spoke—
They answered.
Joon-Hee's voice was sharp.
"Take him down. Now."
Mana barriers ignited.
Weapons primed.
The Hunter Association moved.
And Kai—
Commanded the dead for the first time.