I moved.
And in that instant—
Time bent to my will.
Everything slowed to a crawl, the air thick like molasses as I stepped past the battlefield.
Alec was mid-swing, his fist about to collide with a monster's skull. Elaine's dagger was halfway through an enemy's throat. Derrick's grin was frozen in place, his fingers still wrapped around a creature's snapping jaw.
But I wasn't focused on them.
I was focused on the monsters.
They were already changing.
Their muscles were tightening. Their movements were becoming sharper. Their patterns were shifting.
They were learning.
Most people would've missed it.
But I had trained too long to miss something so obvious.
I needed to end this now.
The Hunt Begins
I let time resume.
And I vanished.
Not teleportation—just pure speed, enhanced by my ability.
One of the monsters turned its head too late.
My hand was already on its throat.
I twisted.
CRACK.
It collapsed before it even realized it was dead.
I spun, grabbing a fallen steel pipe from the wreckage. It would do.
A beast lunged at me.
I sidestepped, rammed the pipe through its eye socket, and wrenched it free.
Another came from behind—
I reversed time a second.
It was back where it started.
And now, I knew it was coming.
I turned as it lunged again, driving the pipe straight through its skull.
One.
Two.
Three.
Time skipped, jumped, rewound—each movement perfectly calculated.
To the others, I must have looked like a ghost.
A monster would leap—and suddenly fall dead.
A strike would land—only for me to be standing somewhere else entirely.
They had no time to react.
No chance to adapt.
I didn't give them the time to.
The Moment the Guilds Took Notice
The scouts had been watching Alec, Elaine, and Derrick with interest before.
Now?
They were staring at me.
Some in shock.
Some in disbelief.
And one in particular—
A woman from Vanguard—leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing.
"Who the hell is that?" she muttered.
No one had an answer.
Because to them, I didn't exist.
Until now.
The End of the Battle
The last monster fell, twitching as it bled out on the pavement.
The streets were silent.
Hunters—both new and experienced—stood frozen, staring at the scene before them.
Then, a voice cut through the silence.
"Who… are you?"
Alec.
His fists were still clenched, his chest heaving from exertion. He had been fighting like hell to keep up.
But in the end—
I had ended the fight before he even realized what was happening.
I looked at him.
Then at Elaine. Derrick. The others.
And I gave them the only answer that mattered.
"…Just another Hunter."
For now..