Chapter 155: _Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Hunter Ji-Hoon’s Rented Villa

CRASH!

A tea cup shattered on the marble floor, cutting through the silence.

"I warned you!" Ji-Hoon snapped at her brother, her eyes glowing with a dangerous light.

She stood on her balcony, her black hair whipping into the night wind while her little brother stayed in her bedroom with his head lowered.

To Jae-won, there were only a few people who could snap his ego enough to make him quiet. His sister would be one of those people.

"Sister," he tried explaining again. "It... I know you’re upset. But I—"

"ONE thing, you idiot!" She sneered again, head snapping to him. "I told you to do one thing—do not try killing the C-Rank yet. Nothing more. Yet you couldn’t follow simple instructions and went ahead to do something rash."

"But... he isn’t dead." Jae-won tried defending himself. "He and the kid are safe and sound. At worst the explosion only rattled him."

"Insolent fool." She hissed, rubbing her forehead. After a few seconds of pause, she went on. "You don’t know how delicate the strands of fate are. This Guide is already unpredictable as it stands. Any slight push away from the path I’ve been trying so hard to create..."

A shaky exhale broke past her lips.

God... why did she ever involve her snivelling brother in this? Of course, he’d be too blinded by his pathetic hate to see the big picture.

Meanwhile, Han Jae-won, tangled his fingers in front of himself. He knew his sister was going to be mad at him—but he didn’t expect such an intense reaction.

The bloody Guide didn’t even get hurt. What could be so wrong with him nearly taking his life one time?

"Look what you made me do." Ji-Hoon gestured at her shattered teacup. "My time in this country is supposed to be limited yet I’m already wasting expensive jasmine tea due to your foolishness."

She walked over the cracked pieces, brushing past him as she headed into her room. A wave of her right hand revealed a glowing crimson thread.

Invisible to everyone else but herself.

It was Ambrose’s fate thread.

Her mind flashed back to the time it was fading away, almost like he was dying. She still never got an explanation for that. Han didn’t do anything then... and at first she’d brushed it aside.

Now she couldn’t help but fear that it was proof the C-Rank’s unusual fate was shifting completely out of her grasp once again.

"This goes beyond your petty feud, Jae-won." She stood before a cabinet, picking up a ceramic teapot alongside another cup. "I’m so close to understanding the anomaly behind this Guide. I can feel it. So..."

She swerved her head to him, the silence in that one look making Jae-won take a careful step back.

"... If you mess anything up again or do something that I didn’t give you a directive on," her lips thinned. "I’ll make you my next experiment."

Dread surged through the Guide’s chest.

He could already imagine all the chaos that would come with his sister messing with his already laughable luck.

"It won’t happen again." He bowed slightly, cheeks reddening as she went back to pouring her tea.

Just when he straightened his posture, his phone buzzed with a notification. He frowned, pulling it out and staring at the screen.

A beat passed. Then another.

The second his eyes skimmed past the letters—twice just in case he wasn’t seeing it right—his fingers trembled. Ji-Hoon dropped the teapot, noticing the shift in his mood instantly.

"What is it now?"

Jae-won’s jaw tightened.

"It’s a message from the Guild..."

★★★★★

Phoenix Flight HQ

"Attention all Hunters. An unidentified assailant has attacked Guild members inside headquarters."

Ambrose was already in his bedroom by the time the Guild alarms went off, the Guild master’s voice resounding through every hallway.

He stood shirtless before his bathroom mirror. His eyes pinned on his right shoulder — specifically on that scorching wound the energy whip Esper left behind.

Touching the burned spot made him wince in pain. "Fucking hell... that can’t be good."

He picked up a wet rag, pressing it against the charred edges to get rid of blood. Simultaneously, his eyes settled on a system screen in front of him.

[Hidden objective completed.]

[Host defeated a group of humans within his Rank—with two of them being A-Rank Espers.]

[REWARD: Mystery box.]

Ambrose’s eyes lit up.

A mystery box?

He’s only gotten one of those... and the reward within it happened to be the dimensional Black Key. A priceless artefact that’s helped him massively in levelling up.

’Maybe I’ll open it later.’ he sighed, putting the rag under the running tap after wiping away what he hoped was enough blood. ’Meanwhile, I’ll have to stay low until this thing heals. Probably get rid of that hoodie too.’

He didn’t stop to think for even a second about how much he’d hurt those men. No guilt, barely any remorse. If anything the experience had been exhilarating.

The only thing he truly regretted was Han’s absence. But he’ll handle him... in due time.

Ambrose grabbed the black hoodie from where he’d tossed it beside the sink earlier. The sleeve was singed slightly from one of the lightning attacks and there were faint specks of blood near the cuff.

"Yeah, this definitely needs to disappear," he muttered under his breath.

He pulled open one of the bathroom drawers, fishing out a large disposable storage bag before stuffing the hoodie inside. After sealing it tightly, he shoved it beneath the cabinet alongside a pile of unused towels.

Out of sight. Out of mind.

Well... hopefully.

The Guild alarm still echoed faintly outside as he walked back into the bedroom, fingers carding through his damp hair. He opened his closet, grabbing the first oversized shirt he could find.

Then—spatial awareness rippled sharply through his mind. Someone was approaching his suite.

The bedroom door swung open before he could react properly.

"Rose, did you hear the announc..." Devon’s words cut off abruptly.

Silence crashed between them.

The S-Rank’s gaze locked directly onto Ambrose’s exposed shoulder. Specifically the angry burn wound stretching across it.

For one suspended second neither moved.

Then Devon’s expression darkened. "What the hell happened to your shoulder?"