Left in Rage

The morning light felt distant.

Cold. Muted. Unforgiving.

Akira hadn't gone anywhere the entire night.

He had wandered through empty streets, his mind lost in the echoes of old words and fading warmth.

The old man's story still lingered. It carved through his thoughts like an old wound reopening, bleeding something heavier than pain—understanding.A single call from Cha-Jong had come through at some point, but Akira hadn't answered.He didn't need to. Cha-jong, ever perceptive, must have understood and let him be.

But now, the sun had risen.

He stood at Cha-Jong's doorstep, the faintest trace of exhaustion visible beneath his sharp black eyes—dark shadows painting his skin beneath them.

Cha-Jong opened the door, eyes narrowing immediately.

"You look like hell."

Akira exhaled, ignoring the comment.

"I need to start raiding again."

Cha-Jong folded his arms.

"Already?"

"Yes."

His voice was firm.His friend studied him for a moment before nodding.

"C-Rank and higher?"

Akira gave a single nod.

"Alright."

Cha-Jong ran a hand through his hair.

"Let's go to the guild. We'll find something there."

The moment they arrived at the guild building, something felt off.A swarm of journalists crowded the entrance, their cameras flashing, their voices a chaotic mess of excitement and urgency. Reporters only showed up when something big happened.

When Akira and Cha-jong entered the building leaving the reporters behind.

Akira's sharp gaze flicked toward Grido, who was already approaching them, his expression tense.

"What's going on?"

Cha-Jong asked first.

Grido exhaled.

"An S-Rank has come to our guild."

Cha-Jong stiffened.

"…An S-Rank?"

His voice carried a rare note of shock.

"Why would someone like that come here?"

Akira's mind raced.

S-Rank.

The title itself carried weight.

There weren't many of them in the world—people who had crossed the threshold of human limitations.

One S-Rank could destroy a city alone.

"Yet, one of them is here? At their guild? And speaking personally with Sylara?"

"Why?"

Before he could dwell on it further, the air inside the guild shifted.

The tension in the room thickened. Like a storm preparing to break.

The S-Rank had stepped out of Sylara's office.A Presence That Shook the Room

He was tall, with short blond hair, green eyes, and pale skin. His white suit was pristine, untouchable—as if the filth of the world couldn't reach him. His presence was suffocating.Akira saw his aura.

A chill ran down his spine.It was terrifying.Even without doing anything, the sheer difference in power was immeasurable.

Akira gritted his teeth.

"Even if I went full power—if I caught him off guard—I wouldn't stand a chance."

The realization wasn't just humbling.

It was crushing.

"Should I try to scan him with the system to see his strength?"

"System scan him"

[Error: The request is denied. The system cannot scan someone several levels beyond the user.]"

"Tchh"

Beside the S-Rank, Sylara walked with an expression of clear frustration. Whatever discussion they had, it hadn't gone in her favor.

And then, it happened.

As the S-Rank stepped forward, every single STAR and normal human in the room lowered their heads.

Even Cha-Jong.

Even Grido.

A sign of respect. Of fear.

And then there was Akira.

His black eyes didn't lower for a moment.

Not for a second.He stood still, his gaze locked onto the man, unwavering.

Black met green.

The S-Rank paused mid-step. For the first time since walking out of that office, his gaze locked onto someone directly

And what he found wasn't submission.It was defiance.A slow, unbearable silence spread through the room.

No one dared breathe.

Sylara noticed immediately, her already frustrated expression darkening as she saw what was happening.

But Akira didn't move.

Didn't flinch.

Didn't bow.

The guild hall stood frozen in time.

The moment Akira's pitch-black eyes met those piercing green irises, something shifted in the air—an unspoken challenge, a defiance that no one dared to express in front of an S-Rank hunter.

A slow, measured step forward.

Then another.

The S-Rank approached, his presence crushing down like an unseen force, suffocating yet eerily composed. His white suit remained immaculate, unblemished, as if the weight of the world itself could not touch him.

Stopping just inches before Akira, he tilted his head slightly, eyes scanning the boy as if examining something that shouldn't exist.

Then, with a voice laced with quiet authority, he spoke:

"Haven't your parents taught you to show respect to your elders?"

Cha-Jong's heart stopped.

Because in that instant, the S-Rank had said the one thing he should never have said.

The one thing that should never be thrown at Akira.

The mention of his Parents.

The S-Rank wouldn't have known. But that didn't matter.

Grido's fingers twitched at his side.

Dead silent.

Everyone in the room felt it—a shift.

Akira's black eyes burned with something cold. Something lethal.And then—A faint glow erupted from within him.

A shimmer of white light flickered in his irises—just for a second.

The white color marking his unleashed power.Cha-Jong's breath hitched.He recognized that glow.

"Shit..." he whispered under his breath.

Because bowing?

He knew that wasn't meant for Akira.

But challenging an S-Rank?

Defying one openly?

That thought had never even crossed his mind.

Until now.

A heavy silence.

Then, Akira's expression hardened.His lips parted, his voice low—controlled. But with weight. With meaning.

"They have."

The S-Rank's eyes narrowed slightly.Akira didn't stop.His voice cut through the room like a blade.

"They told me to respect those who earn it."

A slight shift in the crowd.

Akira took a step forward.

"To respect those who deserve it, regardless of their age or status."

The S-Rank's expression didn't change. But his green eyes? They sharpened.

Akira's black gaze never wavered."And you?" - His voice grew colder.

"You've done nothing."

"Absolutely nothing to earn my respect."

A single breath passed—And then the entire guild lost its mind.

Gasps. Stifled exhales.Disbelieving stares.

Some STARS averted their gazes completely, as if pretending they had not heard what had just been said.

Others?

Their eyes widened in sheer disbelief.Because no one—NO ONE—spoke to an S-Rank like that.

Not a B-Rank.

Not an A-Rank.

And certainly not a boy who had yet to reach the pinnacle of power.

Cha-Jong's hand twitched slightly, his mind racing. "my god please have mercy—"

Grido swallowed thickly. "Is he insane?"

The S-Rank didn't move

He didn't flinch.

But the air around him became denser.Then—Akira continued.And this time, his words weren't just sharp.

They were final.

"To be more precise with what you said…"

He took one more step forward. His black eyes staring straight into those green ones.

"I think you can never earn mine."

BOOM

The pressure that followed was instant.The air in the guild thickened, crushing down like a falling sky.Some of the weaker hunters fell to their knees, gasping for breath.

Even the more experienced ones gritted their teeth, their bodies resisting the sheer weight of the S-Rank's aura.

"..."

But Akira?He didn't move.

Didn't react.

Didn't flinch.

His black eyes remained locked onto the man before him, his posture unshaken.

The S-Rank studied him.

Long.Unblinking.

A hunter—no, a boy—who should have broken under the weight of his presence…And yet, here he stood.Standing in the eye of the storm.Unshaken. Unbowed.A small smirk tugged at the edge of the S-Rank's lips.

It wasn't amusement.It wasn't approval.It was something else.

Something unreadable.

Then, he exhaled.

The crushing pressure vanished in an instant.Like it had never existed.Then, without another word, the S-Rank simply turned around.Walking past Akira like he was never there.

Sylara, who had been watching the entire thing unfold, didn't miss the way her jaw clenched.

And as the S-Rank reached the exit, he spoke—just loud enough for Akira to hear.

"Interesting."

Then, he was gone.No one spoke.No one moved.

Only silence remained—thick, suffocating, unresolved.

And in the center of it all, Akira stood, his black eyes unreadable.

The weight of the moment still lingered.

But one thing was clear.

This wasn't the last time they would meet.And when they did—It would not be like this.