The rain turned vicious just as the Great Ancestor faced the three hunters trembling before him. Red sirens bounced off the puddles, casting fractured shadows that wavered over the asphalt.
His younger sister, Hana, clutched the back of his shirt even tighter.
"B-Bro… are they going to catch us?"
The Great Ancestor lowered his head slightly. "No."
A simple word. But spoken by someone who once made the Immortal Mountains kneel… it echoed like a new law of nature.
The hunters scrambled to fix their formation. One of them black tactical jacket, Iron Banyan Guild emblem raised a small megaphone.
"Unidentified subject! You are releasing abnormal energy that threatens area stabili"
TUK.
The megaphone popped before he could finish. A tiny burst, like a short circuit. No visible cause.
The hunter jerked back, dropping the device now reduced to a coughing puff of smoke.
Hana stepped back half a pace, face pale. "B-Bro… that was you, wasn't it?"
The Great Ancestor glanced up at the sky. "I haven't even taken a deep breath."
The blue panel that had been floating around earlier flickered back into existence.
━━━━━━━━━━
[System Note:]
– Your spiritual pressure is damaging low-tier devices.
– Please… please lower your existence?
━━━━━━━━━━
He raised an eyebrow. "Lower… my existence?" His tone was flat, but the sarcasm cut deep. The panel seemed to tremble in fear.
The hunters, now desperate, drew their weapons not guns, but Aura Compressors, devices meant to siphon monster energy.
The rule of this world was simple:
If something emits abnormal energy → Capture.
If it can't be contained → Erase.
The lead hunter shouted, "Activate suppression mode!"
A heavy hum filled the air as the weapons projected bands of light meant to restrain the Great Ancestor.
What happened next was… pitiful.
The light bands shriveled, shook, then dissolved like sugar threads in boiling water.
Silence.
The third hunter cursed under his breath. "Damn it… the devices all fried!"
The Great Ancestor tilted his head. "If you want to try again, I'll wait."
It wasn't a threat. Just a neutral statement… which somehow terrified them more. They stepped back two paces.
Hana tugged at his sleeve. "B-Bro… don't fight them… we're just normal humans…"
At that moment, he froze.
Just normal humans.
The original owner of this body lived under those words. Mocked for them. Broken for them. Destroyed by them.
He looked down at his new hands thin, scarred, weak.
But the little sister staring up at him with fear and love…
…was the reason he kept this body instead of tearing this world apart and rebuilding a better one.
He patted Hana's head. "Don't worry. I won't fight… unless they force me."
Of course, the world wasn't that lucky.
From the main road came a deafening roar. The ground shook. Black smoke billowed upward.
People screamed.
Hunters spun around, panicking.
"A monster emerged from Portal C-17!"
"Class-B Titan! All hunters prepare!!"
A massive monster like a steel-skinned gorilla with three glowing red horns ripped the asphalt open as it crawled out of a widening portal.
It roared, tossing cars like toys.
Hana screamed and clung to him.
The hunters who'd been ready to arrest him switched focus instantly.
"Class-B! We need a main guild!"
"Keep it away from civilian zones!"
Their squad captain shot a glare at the Great Ancestor.
"You! You were near that portal earlier did you trigger this monster?!"
The Great Ancestor sighed. "Not every disaster is my fault."
The beast lifted a small building, ready to hurl it.
Hana cried harder.
And at that point… the Great Ancestor moved.
He walked forward. Calm. Slow. Yet every raindrop around him paused for a fraction of a second.
The hunters stared, wide-eyed.
"What… what is he doing…?"
The monster roared again, shattering nearby windows. It raised its fists.
The Great Ancestor lifted one finger.
One. Human. Finger.
And whispered,
"Be still."
No aura burst. No glow. No flashy effect.
But the space around the monster froze.
It wasn't a technique.
Wasn't a spell.
Wasn't an ability.
It was authority.
The kind only possessed by beings older than stars.
The monster collapsed, unconscious. That was it.
The hunters fell silent some nearly dropping their weapons.
The Great Ancestor turned around calmly.
"Done."
The captain stared at him like he was witnessing something that should not exist.
"Y-You… are you even human?!"
Hana ran to him, hugging him in trembling relief.
He stroked her hair.
"No need to be afraid."
His voice was gentle. Human. Fragile, yet firm.
The blue panel appeared again.
━━━━━━━━━━
[Your status has been updated.]
New Title: The System's Greatest Fear
━━━━━━━━━━
The Great Ancestor exhaled long and annoyed.
"A terrible title."
He lifted Hana into his arms.
"Let's go home."
Behind them, the hunters still trembled, staring at the back of someone who just put a Class-B monster to sleep…
…without the intention to fight at all.
This world… had just met its greatest threat.