Hunting Dog
It was a cozy-feeling home. Handmade items that looked personally crafted—carpets, sofa covers, tablecloths—created a charming atmosphere.
In a creaking rocking chair, an old woman was dozing off with thread strung through a crochet hook. She had been crocheting lace, an unfinished piece with intricate patterns like spider webs dangling from the needle’s tip.
However, even in a room filled with such a warm and gentle atmosphere, darkness was not absent.
The old woman was not alone.
As if it had been there from the beginning, a deep shadow stood by the door.
The shadow that had been stretched long began to move slowly.
And the owner of the shadow that was finally revealed was a man with brilliant platinum-blond hair, making it hard to believe he had been hiding so seamlessly.
The eyes visible between his hair were an impressive pale blue resembling a wolf’s. His slow yet soundless footsteps were reminiscent of a beast of prey before its quarry.
What he wore was not so much dignity as savagery, and infinitely closer to strength than intellect.
The man raised his hand while gripping something in his chest. A gun barrel with a black, heavy luster revealed its sleek form.
It felt completely out of place with the utterly peaceful surroundings, making everything seem like a terrible nightmare.
The man’s finger hooked onto the trigger without hesitation. And soon the muzzle pointed toward the old woman’s head.
The one who had been dozing opened both eyes at the cold sensation felt at her temple.
“Anastasia.”
Though his face was half-submerged in the darkness he seemed to wear, making his expression unreadable, the reaction of one with a gun muzzle aimed at their head was all but predetermined.
“How long did you think you could hide?”
What flowed from his lips was a chilling low voice that made the listener’s ears tingle. The strange harmony of whispering a devil’s lullaby with an angel’s lips made the man feel unreal once again.
“Chris—”
Her wrinkled lips moved. As if about to recite some excuse. But almost simultaneously, she tried to grip her knitting needle properly. To counterattack. However, her hand didn’t move an inch, as if held by some invisible, intangible force.
“I told you, didn’t I? I don’t have much time.”
What visited Anastasia was an utterly merciless man.
Bang!
The old woman’s hand dropped. The lace she had been holding became speckled with red.
The next day, Anastasia, the notorious drug dealer of the November Continent, was found dead.
## Chapter 1. The Esper Union’s Rising Star
In the heart of Joon, the central city of the June Continent, there was a building that everyone looked up to. It was the Esper Union’s headquarters, Northern Light.
On the surface, it appeared to be an ordinary company, but those who passed through its doors were all extraordinary.
Elemental ability users who could create fire or water from thin air, mental ability users who could read minds or transmit their desires, physical enhancement ability users who could strengthen their bodies or freely control their strength, and special ability users who didn’t belong to any of these categories.
The world collectively called them ‘Espers.’
A little past the usual commute time, a platinum-haired man opened Northern Light’s door and entered.
“Good morning.”
At the low voice quietly offered, two employees at the desk greeted him. Wondering why he didn’t just pass through, they realized he was handing over a temporary ID card. Due to strict security procedures, it seemed he hadn’t yet received his Esper registration card and needed manual approval.
‘Chris?’
After confirming this and opening the door for him, the platinum-haired man passed by the two people.
The junior employee blinked briefly at the sensation of a shimmering platinum-haired afterimage remaining.
“Wow, that’s the new Esper recruit, right? He’s on the younger side but doesn’t look that young—where’s he been hiding until now?”
A striking beauty always makes for good conversation anywhere, anytime. Moreover, at such a quiet time with no one barging in, isn’t it human instinct to have an itchy mouth?
“Don’t know. Late twenties, was it? Well, there are cases of awakening after aging.”
“When I first saw him, he looked totally scary and I was frightened, but looking at him now, he’s just like a big dog.”
“Right. He smiled while softening his fierce eyes and for a moment it felt unfamiliar, like looking at a different person. But his ability is also beast transformation.”
The junior nodded at the senior’s substantial information.
“Beast transformation means physical enhancement type, right? That’s impressive.”
“Impressive, huh.”
At the junior’s words, the senior employee muttered.
“What’s so impressive about a life where you can’t even breathe without a guide?”
At the somewhat self-deprecating mutter, his junior shut his mouth tight. Come to think of it, this senior had a younger sibling who was an Esper but couldn’t find a matching guide and was forcibly put into induced sleep.
‘My mouth ran off. My mouth ran off.’
The junior, breaking into a cold sweat, straightened his posture and stared straight ahead as the main entrance opened just in time. It was time to work again.
***
“Here, your Esper registration card.”
The platinum-haired man, Chris, bowed his head in greeting while receiving the ID card extended to him.
“Thank you.”
“I set your age roughly similar to your appearance, twenty-nine years old. Beast transformation belongs somewhat to the special category, but since it’s primarily physical enhancement type, I marked it as enhancement type.”
“Yes.”
“Your training performance was excellent, and your first achievement was also good, so there are quite a few teams wanting to take you.”
Watching his instructor laugh heartily, Chris fidgeted with his ID card. It seemed his recognition came from finding the fleeing drug distributor during the practical training deployed near the end of his education.
He couldn’t believe that he, who had been an ordinary person just three months ago, was now officially affiliated with the Esper Union.
“That’s fortunate.”
Chris answered curtly and tucked away his Esper registration card.
Normally, he should have received it when he started work after registration, but the issuance was delayed because his manifestation came late. Espers who gained abilities after becoming adults were considered to stabilize more slowly. But even considering that, Chris, who was capable of complete beast transformation, was an incredible B-rank Esper.
From the moment he entered the Union, he was provided with personal quarters, and he could receive systematic education on how to control his abilities just like official Espers. Although it was only once a week, guiding was guaranteed, so compared to unregistered Espers who prowled back alleys carrying the risk of rampage, he was lucky.
“Will you go meet the team leader right away?”
“I have a guiding appointment today, so I don’t think I can.”
“Then contact me after it’s done.”
Answering “Yes,” Chris moved to the Guide Center to receive guiding.
The Esper Union building had a unique structure. On the surface, it was just one building, but inside, a second building existed.
There was only one connecting passage on the third floor, and the procedure for entering the inner building through it was quite complicated. You had to go through ID card scanning, iris and fingerprint recognition, and transmit a unique code assigned to each individual via terminal. Chris, who had been carrying a temporary ID card until now, had to be accompanied by a protector Esper called a ‘Chaperone’ every time he entered Northern Light’s inner building.
The reason for this complex entry process being essential was because this inner building served as the guides’ residence.
The outer building full of Espers—that is, Northern Light headquarters—was nothing less than a fortress protecting the guides.
After going through the complex procedure of confirming identity and affiliation, he passed through a white corridor that looked purifying just to see and entered inside, where a garden-like space was bathed in sunlight from solar lamps. Thinking it really felt like walking through a forest, Chris was waiting for a guide when it happened.
As the trees pulled back their branches to open a path, a woman in an emerald suit revealed herself.
“Chris.”
At the appearance of Anong, an elemental ability user who handled the plants at the ‘entrance,’ Chris bowed his head in greeting.
“Anong-nim.”
“No need to be so polite. Is today’s visit for guiding?”
“That’s correct.”
“Another Esper just went up, so the guide is absent. Wait just a bit.”
Anong was a kind of gatekeeper. If an unauthorized person entered, she would grow the plants on the third floor to block the door.
Her rank was an incredible S-rank, one of the handful of top ability users even in Northern Light.
Since they were using precious Esper manpower as a gatekeeper, someone might call it wasteful. But guides were always exposed to the risk of kidnapping, so no amount of caution was excessive.
