The headquarters of Eclipse Dominion stood quietly in the center of the city.
Compared to the flashy towers of the top guilds, the building looked… ordinary.
Inside the top floor office, the Guild Master sat behind a large wooden desk.
Stacks of paperwork surrounded him.
Kaizen Arcturus leaned back in his chair, lazily spinning a pen between his fingers.
"Dungeon reports… financial reports… hunter complaints…"
He sighed.
"…Being a guild master is more tiring than fighting dragons."
Sunlight passed through the window behind him, casting long shadows across the room. His silver eyes moved slowly across the page as he signed another document.
Outside the office, the guild hall was calm.
Too calm.
Then—
BOOM
The door to his office exploded inward.
Wood shattered across the floor.
A body rolled across the ground.
Kaizen's pen stopped spinning.
His eyes slowly lifted.
One of his guild members crawled across the floor.
His clothes were burned.
Deep cuts covered his body.
Blood soaked the carpet beneath him.
Small flames crawled along his shoulder armor.
"Guild… master…"
The hunter collapsed, coughing blood.
Kaizen stood up slowly.
His chair slid back quietly.
"…Who did this to you?"
The injured hunter tried to speak—
But suddenly—
BOOM
Another explosion.
Fire blasted through the broken doorway.
Five figures stepped through the smoke.
They wore the insignia of a rival guild.
Their expressions were smug.
One of them cracked his neck.
"Well well… this place is even worse than we thought."
Another kicked aside a piece of the broken door.
"So this is Eclipse Dominion? What a joke."
The injured hunter weakly lifted his arm and pointed toward them.
Kaizen's eyes shifted.
For a moment… the room became silent.
He knelt beside the injured man.
A faint glow appeared in his hand.
Soft golden light spread through the hunter's body.
The burns faded.
The cuts closed.
The bleeding stopped.
Within seconds the man's breathing stabilized.
The hunter looked up in shock.
"Guild master…?"
Kaizen gently helped him sit against the wall.
Then he stood up.
His calm gaze moved to the five intruders.
"…Why did you attack my guild member?"
The thugs ignored him.
One of them laughed.
Another walked around the office looking at the shelves.
"Wow look at this place. Even the furniture is cheap."
"Hey boss, maybe this guild master sells paper instead of fighting monsters."
They all laughed.
Kaizen waited.
His expression didn't change.
"…I asked a question."
One of the men walked right up to him.
He was taller and heavily built.
He looked Kaizen up and down.
"You're the guild master?"
He smirked.
"Wow… you look weak."
Without warning—
BAM
The thug punched Kaizen directly in the face.
Kaizen's head tilted slightly.
But he didn't fall.
The thug frowned.
"…What?"
Then another punch landed.
Then another.
Soon all five of them joined.
Punches.
Kicks.
They slammed him against the desk.
Papers flew everywhere.
The injured hunter tried to stand.
"STOP—!"
One of the thugs kicked him back to the ground.
They continued beating Kaizen.
But strangely…
He never fought back.
Not once.
After a minute they finally stopped.
One thug wiped sweat from his forehead.
"That's your guild master?"
He spit on the floor.
Another spat directly at Kaizen's feet.
"Pathetic."
They laughed and walked out through the broken doorway.
Their footsteps echoed down the hallway until the building was silent again.
The injured hunter stared in disbelief.
"…Master…"
Kaizen quietly adjusted his coat.
He picked up a few papers from the floor.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
The hunter clenched his fists.
"Why didn't you fight back?!"
"Those guys were only B-rank hunters!"
"Guild Master… why are you so weak?"
Kaizen paused.
Then he gave a small, tired smile.
"…Sorry."
The hunter looked down, ashamed.
Outside the window, the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon.
Night came.
Hours passed.
The guild building became quiet.
Most of the hunters went home.
Only the dim hallway lights remained.
Kaizen stepped out of his office.
His coat was now clean.
Not a single injury remained on his body.
His eyes had lost the tired look from earlier.
Instead…
They were cold.
He walked down the empty street alone.
Across the city.
Through dark alleys.
Until he stopped in front of a rundown bar.
Inside…
Five familiar voices laughed loudly.
"Did you see that guild master's face?"
"He looked like he was gonna cry!"
"Haha! Weakest guild in the city!"
Kaizen pushed the door open.
The bar grew quiet.
The five thugs turned around.
Their expressions immediately changed.
"…You?"
Kaizen stepped inside calmly.
The door closed behind him.
His silver eyes looked at each of them.
For a moment… the air felt heavy.
He spoke quietly.
"…I finally finished my paperwork."
One of the thugs scoffed.
"What, you came for round two?"
Kaizen slowly rolled up his sleeve.
A faint golden light flickered in his eyes.
"…No."
His voice became colder.
"I came to ask the question again."
The room lights flickered.
The air trembled.
Outside the bar…
The sky suddenly grew brighter.
Even though it was night.
Kaizen looked at them one last time.
"…Why did you attack my guild member?"