A week had passed since Shin's encounter with Alex and Ryan.

And now, he was regretting it. Every day, his backyard became a battleground for training. Although Shin greatly benefited from training with other demon hunters—his senses sharpening, his control over his aura improving, and his techniques refining—the people who fought there were the problem.

*Crash!*

Another huge argument broke out. Shin was on his way to make breakfast, but the gentlemen and gentlewoman in his backyard wouldn’t stop their banter. It was becoming a habit for him to wear earphones, but even then, the noise was still audible.

“Fuck you! Next time, I’ll kill you!”

“You can’t even kill a worm with that level of swordsmanship.”

“You aren’t even a swordsman, you blockhead!”

“Still, I know more about swordsmanship than you. Throw that sword away already!”

**Are they really allies?** Shin thought, sipping his morning coffee. Two weeks had passed, and he had never been this anxious before. Shin wasn’t emotional towards anyone, but when it came to his daughter, it was different. The feeling of holding someone so dear would have been alien to Shin if not for Evelyn and his daughter.

But as much as he cared, the world didn’t move based on emotions. Cold, ruthless, and calculating—the world didn’t value feelings. Shin might have reflected further if Fiona hadn’t started shouting every profanity imaginable at her own allies.

“Can’t you keep it down? If not, I suggest you all take your asses to a place where you can fight without ruining a man’s morning.”

A silence fell for a moment.

“See? You’ve been so loud that even Shin is bothered!” Fiona grunted.

“Loud? Me?!” Alex’s face turned red.

Another argument erupted between them, and Shin gave up all hope of a peaceful morning while working with these uncultured idiots.

Finally, there was some silence, signaling the start of their battle inside the Angelic Void Distortion.

Shin walked toward his backyard, where Ryan was sitting and polishing his spear. When he noticed Shin, he spoke up.

“I have to say, you don’t really seem blind in any way. Your navigation in your house is so perfect,” Ryan said, admiring Shin's flawless senses and intuition.

“Thanks, but it would help me more if you didn’t continuously destroy my hearing with your endless banter,”

“Ah, sorry about that. You see, we’re meeting each other after a long time. You could say we’re just too happy to see each other,” Ryan said, smiling wide.

**Happy to see each other? Is he being sarcastic, or just too dumb to understand the situation?**

Ryan, still polishing his spear, glanced at Shin, who seemed lost in thought. Noticing Shin’s blank expression, Ryan spoke again.

“Don’t mind them. It’s common for them to talk like they’re waging a world war against each other. They might seem like that from the outside, but deep down, they respect one another. Think of it as a sense of rivalry. After all, they’re executives in the Holy Hands,” Ryan explained.

“Executives?” Shin muttered.

“In the Holy Hands, the hierarchy is divided into five levels. At the top is the President, the supreme force of the group, followed by the Vice President. After them are the executives, whose job is to teach demon-hunting techniques to new recruits. Then we have regular members and freelancers who work with our group occasionally. There are five factions in the Holy Hands. My master is the leader of the Spear Faction, and I’m the vice leader. Fiona is the vice leader of the Sword Faction, led by the President himself.”

“How many are there, anyway?”

“Not a lot—sixty, maybe. Many are always out, and some don’t make it back from missions. It’s hard to keep a count.”

It was a dangerous job to be a demon hunter. You never know what would happen until you were in the fight. Shin remembered the days when he fought against demon hunters—how many of them belonged to such groups? How many lives had he taken in his rage and anger, never considering the families left behind to mourn them? The weight of those lives haunted him, and now it would only pile up further to protect his daughter.

The same applied to demon hunters. How many times had they ignored innocent people begging for help because their focus was on killing the demon? And even if it was a demon, what fault lay with the host? Not everyone who contracted with demons was evil. In fact, demons often preyed on the weak and suffering. “Focus on the bigger picture.” “It’s for justice.” Justice? What about justice for those who died unjustly, just because they were caught in an unjust situation.

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The worlds of both demons and their hunters were full of senseless killings. Demons justified it as the strong thriving by trampling the weak, while divine beings excused it as the path of justice. But at their core, both sides were protecting something—ideologies, power, positions, or someone precious to them. Would the world have been a safer place if none of these things existed? Nobody knew the limits of reasons concious beings gave to fight each other.

Shin’s coffee had long gone cold. Fiona and Alex reappeared from the Void Distortion. Time inside the distortion moved differently—one minute in the outside world equaled ten minutes inside. For demon hunters, it was an effective way to trap opponents in a separate space when fighting in public. However, only those contracted with demons or angels could use it.

Shin always thought of himself as a peculiar case. He wasn’t contracted with a demon, but he was the son of one. He wasn’t the only child of a demon, but he was the one who most resembled a demon. He often thought of himself as a demon born in human form. What he really was, he didn’t know. And at the end of his unending questions, he would always mutter one thing:

“I am... I am a monster.”

“What are you muttering about, Shin?” Fiona’s voice startled him, and the cup almost slipped from his hand. He quickly caught it.

“Nothing,” Shin replied.

“Hey, Shin! Want to spar with me? Or is your back sore already?” Alex said, grinning.

“Can you issue an invitation to spar without cheap provocations?”

“No.”

Shin sighed. “This time, we should fight in my Void Distortion. You need to get more familiar with how it works.”

“No need. I’ve fought many strong demons. I’ve got plenty of experience with Void Distortions, whether cast by angels or demons.”

“I can tell by your receding hairline. But don’t get too cocky—you’ll see unexpected things before you go bald,” Shin said, smirking.

“Tch. Where’s your contempt for cheap provocations gone now?” Alex lunged toward Shin, and with that, they both disappeared into the Void Distortion.

Their training went on until noon, after which they finally had lunch together. For many years, it had been just Shin and Talia eating at the table. Now, instead of Talia, these people sat around him. He glanced at his left, where Talia would have been, but Ryan was sitting there instead. Disheartened, Shin quietly finished his meal.

It was already 4 p.m. Time had flown by—almost two weeks had passed since Talia's kidnapping, and in a few months, a ritual would summon the Supreme General to Earth. Time was ticking, and the best thing Shin could do now was go get some groceries so he wouldn’t starve before that time came.

Two weeks had passed, and some of his editors had called to offer their condolences and grant him a leave of absence. It was fortunate for Shin that he didn’t have financial troubles; four of his novels had sold millions of copies, and he received thousands of fan letters every day. He remembered Talia reading some of them to him.

Shin stepped out of his room. The rest of his allies were discussing the various things they had uncovered while surveilling Jinnestein Forest. Ryan and Shin were the only ones who hadn’t gone there yet. Fiona had already scouted the area multiple times, and even Alex had gone there for a while to assess the situation on his own.

Shin decided to slip outside quietly while the others were deep in conversation. He walked past them unnoticed as they were too absorbed in their discussion.

Walking along the sidewalk with a cane in hand, Shin suddenly heard someone calling his name. It was Ryan.

“Mind if I join you?” Ryan asked.

“No, it’s okay,” Shin replied.

They walked together for a few minutes in silence. A few people walking beside them, the streets were usually empty at this hour.

"You’re really young. Why did you join such a dangerous line of work?" Shin asked, navigating his way carefully with his stick.

"Don’t worry. Master has got my back," Ryan said, smiling widely.

"What about your relatives?" Shin didn’t know why he asked, but he was curious about what had led Ryan to take on such a dangerous job.

"There’s an aunt who lives in Bartha City. As for my parents..." Ryan paused, his voice dropping. His wide smile and optimistic expression from a moment ago shifted into a look of disappointment and grief.

"I’m sorry," Shin said, sensing the sorrow in Ryan’s voice.

"It’s okay," Ryan replied in his usual tone. "I’ve already moved on from it."

"It’s okay. Grieving is also part of moving on," Shin reassured him.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ryan said with a sigh.

Shin had read many novels where the protagonist’s parents were killed by demons, prompting them to join an organization to exact their revenge. To think that someone like that was now walking by his side was surreal. But what were Ryan’s motives? Was it revenge, or something else? Shin couldn’t decide.

"What kind of music do you like?" Shin asked, changing the subject.

"I like to listen to rap music," Ryan replied.

"Oh, that’s great." Shin had absolutely no idea about rap music. The only music he liked was classical.

"It’s great, right? I’m glad someone agrees! Master always ridicules me for listening to it and says it’s satanic, but I don’t think so. Art is art, right? I hope you understand as a writer since both require creativity."

"Ye-yeah," Shin said, nodding. **A lie is nothing for a demon,** he thought.

"I’m so glad somebody shares my taste!" Ryan said enthusiastically.

He walked happily alongside Shin to the shopping mall, mumbling the lyrics to some rap songs he knew. Shin, meanwhile, was amazed by the sheer amount of profanities crammed into a single modern rap song. A certain person also seemed to be intrested in listening to it from far away.

Finally, they entered the shopping mall to buy groceries. Shin went directly to the grains section to find some good-quality rice, while Ryan skimmed through the snacks section.

A while later, another person entered the mall. He wore a cream-colored hoodie with purple jeans, a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a black cloth mask that concealed most of his face. He wandered through the clothing section, which was near the snacks aisle.

Shin had already selected his rice and moved on to other food items. It was a Tuesday sale, so everything was 20% off. He busied himself picking out the best items.

Ryan was already done shopping. He put all the snacks in his basket and headed toward the cashier counter. The mysterious person also picked up four new shirts and walked toward the checkout counter.

Seeing Ryan approaching the cashier, the mysterious man suddenly appeared nervous. He turned around and headed back into the clothing section, but Ryan had already noticed something.

Ryan ran toward him and got close, but his leg suddenly slipped, and he fell into the man.

*Thud!*

They both fell to the floor, landing side by side. Ryan looked at the man, who seemed to be around his age. The man’s baseball cap and sunglasses had fallen off, revealing green hair and piercing dark brown eyes. A silver piercing gleamed on his ear.

"Sorry about that," Ryan said, apologizing as he helped the man up.

The man seemed eager to leave, but Ryan grabbed his hand firmly and said,

"Where are you going? I know who you are."