Some time later.

Celestial Assassin came out of the hospital and smiled at Ju Haemi. For some reason, the sunlight felt especially warm that day.

“The weather is nice.”

“……It is.”

Just because she could not see didn’t mean she couldn’t feel warmth.

Unlike Celestial Assassin, who turned his dazzling eyes away, Ju Haemi looked straight up at the sun high in the sky.

She felt it—the heat of life.

If even a bit of that heat could seep into her father’s body and become a spark of life, it would be wonderful.

Why did cruel fate toy with people’s lives at its whim? Wasn’t it far too heartless?

At that moment.

Celestial Assassin made a phone call somewhere. He pressed a speed dial number.

Number 1 was Ju Haemi’s number. Celestial Assassin pressed number 2. So, Master K?

“Yes, Master.”

It wasn’t. It was Kang-hoo.

The volume had been turned up, so even without speakerphone, Kang-hoo’s voice was clearly audible.

“You brat! Where are you?”

“I’m heading to Ganghwa Island right now. After finishing one task there, I plan to return to the training grounds.”

“I’ll give you one day! Make sure you return within the day. Got it?”

“Understood. Is something wrong…?”

“Shut it and come when your master calls! Why are you so talkative?”

“Yes, Master.”

“If you’re even one minute late, you’ll regret it. Twenty-four hours starting now!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

After ending the call with Kang-hoo, Celestial Assassin’s face regained color, and soon his breathing grew rough.

Ju Haemi worried that perhaps he was getting agitated or emotionally stirred…

“I’ll burn up my day, even my soul, to teach that boy more. Let’s go. There’s much to do.”

Contrary to her concern, Celestial Assassin was burning with passion.

It was the fervent desire of a teacher who wanted to leave behind his mark on his disciple without any regrets until the very end.

----------------------------------------

Kang-hoo met Kim Shin-ryeong about three hours later.

Due to several sporadic roadblocks along the way, he arrived later than expected.

The reason?

There had been reports that an infiltration team from The Abyss trying to sneak into Seoul had diverted toward Incheon and Ganghwa.

Though the justification sounded plausible, Kang-hoo viewed it as a deliberate scheme concocted by the Jeonghwa Guild and the Public Safety Bureau.

They needed to keep creating an uneasy atmosphere like this for The Abyss’s reputation to worsen.

In reality, if they wanted, it wasn’t even difficult for a hunter from The Abyss to openly enter Seoul Station.

There was no reason to take a detour, and it was inefficient. So in Kang-hoo’s eyes, it was absurd.

Anyway, when he arrived at Kim Shin-ryeong’s villa, as always, she was alone.

That day, she was in the garden—larger than most training grounds—handling her summoned beasts.

Kang-hoo silently observed.

There were definitely more summons than before, their movements were more precise, and there were no lapses in their flow.

Perhaps wanting to meet Kang-hoo’s expectations, Kim Shin-ryeong was showing off various tricks.

And then she casually spoke.

“Wanna test them?”

“As much as you like.”

Facing the summons Kim Shin-ryeong handled also helped Kang-hoo in terms of training.

The test began shortly after.

Kang-hoo aggressively pressured the summons at times, then suddenly retreated, switching between offense and defense.

For summoned beasts handled by a summoner, unconditional offense and defense weren’t everything.

How well one switched between offense and defense was also crucial. Favoring one side meant being unable to protect the master.

When he first met Kim Shin-ryeong, her summons had many unrefined aspects like wild beasts.

But now, perhaps thanks to constantly communicating and growing with her, they resembled well-trained predators.

Throughout the test, Kang-hoo couldn’t help but be impressed. Kim Shin-ryeong’s growth was faster than he could have imagined.

Of course, Kim Shin-ryeong was also surprised by Kang-hoo, who didn’t allow a single effective hit even against numerous summons.

She tried to hide behind the label of a “test” and launched a fierce barrage, but none of her attacks landed.

It felt like chasing the moon in the sky—seemingly within reach, yet somehow she couldn’t even graze his clothes.

The test soon ended.

Kim Shin-ryeong nodded in satisfaction and said.

“As expected… having a good partner helps summons grow even more. Today was very helpful too.”

“Your level has gone up a lot.”

“I have to level up! These days all I do is train my summons. If there’s no progress, I should just go die.”

“This is the first time I’ve sweated so much.”

“That’s your first time? For me, it’s the first time my summons never touched their target. Damn it.”

“That’s because my head was full of thoughts on how to evade them.”

“And me? My head was full of thoughts on at least grazing you somehow.”

“Since we’re both satisfied, let’s stop here.”

“Hoho, sure. Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”

“It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long since we last met…”

Before Kang-hoo could finish his sentence, Kim Shin-ryeong hugged him tightly.

It wasn’t a subtle embrace between a man and a woman but a hug of joy at reuniting.

Awkwardly, Kang-hoo reached out and hugged her back before following her into the villa.

This place was also large.

From the start, none of the villas she built here and there were small.

Thanks to that, even going from the garden into the house required quite a bit of walking.

The path wasn’t desolate though; the landscaping was well done, and the lighting was beautifully installed.

Perhaps feeling awkward about the brief silence during their walk, Kim Shin-ryeong brought up a new topic—about herself.

“These days, I’ve been swamped with a big crafting project. I’ll probably go abroad next week because of it.”

“A big crafting project?”

“Yeah. The client is a mystery guest, but they’re a big spender. An unlimited budget—can you believe it?”

“No.”

“But there really is such a client.”

“Don’t you know who they are?”

“No. I haven’t seen the requester. It’s a cuirass crafting project, and we’re working on a Grade 0 item.”

“That must involve quite a team.”

“Yeah, about seven people including me? We each received an initial down payment of 100 billion won.”

“A crafting project for a Grade 0 item with at least a 700 billion won investment…”

“Isn’t it fascinating?”

“I’m really curious who it is.”

Kang-hoo narrowed his eyes.

For someone to pull this off, it had to be someone like Jang Si-hwan—or someone even greater. A hunter whose name everyone would recognize.

But crafting a Grade 0 item, knowing its value could drop to zero if it was damaged during the process?

Only someone with nerves of steel could take on such a challenge.

If the item’s stability broke during crafting, it wouldn’t just get a scratch.

It would completely lose its function as an item—becoming an empty shell that only looked fine on the outside.

‘Could it be that other elite organization Master K mentioned before…?’

His thoughts grew complicated.

The starting point for any calculation Kang-hoo could make always lay in the original story. After all, the original story had become his world.

The problem was, among the hunters capable of pulling off such a massive undertaking, none came to mind except The Thirteen Stars.

In other words, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that someone not mentioned in the original was active.

‘It could also be one of the other four who haven’t yet joined The Thirteen Stars. Unlikely, but possible.’

Of course, it could be a hunter within the expected range.

Lars Abel had enough wealth to make such a request.

So did Ranbir Kumar from India, who was expected to join The Thirteen Stars soon, and Chen Yun-ha from Taiwan, who also had plenty of money.

‘Let’s not overcomplicate it. No, it’s not something I can solve by overthinking. Not until I hear the name directly.’

The world was wide, and there were many hunters.

Kang-hoo decided only to take note that Kim Shin-ryeong was engrossed in a crafting project for a mysterious client.

He would get the answer someday.

----------------------------------------

Adding the sharpness of Hatred’s Claw to Kang-hoo’s dagger again took only a few minutes.

The remaining claws numbered four.

If he needed more crafting done next time, he’d have to restock.

After finishing the crafting, Kim Shin-ryeong tested the dagger’s edge on several experimental dummies.

It was meticulously crafted—it cut cleanly no matter where she sliced. This was top-notch quality.

She said.

“The blade wasn’t supposed to wear down this quickly. Just how hard were you fighting? It’s so worn down.”

“To survive, I had no choice. Even the smallest attack required me to go all out.”

“I saw the Ishihara Yuji video too. It was impressive. More than anything, I loved seeing that psychopathic murderer bastard get killed.”

Her comments were all sincere. Her eyes even blazed with murderous intent.

She wasn’t alone—everyone who knew Ishihara Yuji shuddered at his notorious reputation.

All the related videos on social media were filled with praise for Kang-hoo. There were ‘absolutely’ no dissenting voices.

At least for this incident, influencers from both the Jeonghwa Guild and The Abyss alike praised him.

Perhaps because of that,

people lauded Kang-hoo for briefly achieving a grand unification between the Jeonghwa Guild and The Abyss.

“Um…”

Just as Kang-hoo was about to naturally bring up the topic of the suit in this ripe atmosphere—

“How’s training with Celestial Assassin going these days?”

Kim Shin-ryeong changed the subject.

Given the bad blood she had with Celestial Assassin, he hadn’t expected this topic to come up.

But since it was curiosity about his master, Kang-hoo didn’t intend to avoid it. He had plenty to say.

“It’s going well. I’m learning a lot, and I’ll continue learning, so every moment is precious. He’s created a major turning point for me.”

“That old man, if he likes someone, he takes off his underwear and helps them out generously.”

“That’s quite the colorful expression.”

Kang-hoo laughed.

It wasn’t wrong, though.

That expression really suited Celestial Assassin, who was wholeheartedly showing him everything.

“How does he look, health-wise?”

“He’s always healthy.”

“Really? That can’t be true.”

“…?”

Kang-hoo looked at her with a face full of question marks at her unexpected words.

What did she mean by “that can’t be true”? Was it just wishful thinking? A curse born of lingering resentment toward his master?

Kang-hoo asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You really don’t know?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you really don’t know.”

“I don’t know what you mean, but I’ve only spoken based on what I’ve seen of my master’s health.”

Fitting her ominous tone, Kim Shin-ryeong let out a hollow laugh. It was not a good sign by any means.

“That old man hides his illness even from his disciple? Is that consideration, stupidity, or pride?”

“…I truly know nothing. If you know something, please tell me.”

“That old man has cancer.”

Though her voice was calm, the content struck Kang-hoo like a bolt from the blue.