January 5th, 2026, Corporation Hospital, Seoul, South Korea, 10 A.M.
Natsuya wakes up from the incident a few days ago, looking around. He is in a hospital built by the Corporation. He sees Kazuto, Gyu, and the other Hunters involved in the Temple Incident.
Natsuya: "*Confused* Kazuto? Gyu? You're alive?"
Kazuto: "Yeah! We joined Sang-guk's Guild!"
Gyu: "He's a strong hunter! You should join him!"
Natsuya: "He betrayed and deceived you! Are you out of your mind??"
Kazuto: "Who says betrayal?? He left you to die!"
Gyu: "He tried killing you with his bow and arrow! Why did you dodge that?"
Sang-guk walks into the room, saying, "Join me. I will give you billhooks, scythes, anvils, clocks-"
Natsuya: "*Yelling in fear* Why those weapons... WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE STATUES????"
Sang-guk: "What statues? I will give you credit every realm you walk into!"
Gyu and Kazuto: "*Weirdly* We need your blades first!"
Other Hunters: "No coming back!"
Natsuya whimpers, trying to think that Gyu, Kazuto, and the other hunters are not alive.
All: "*Chanting, turning off the lights, closing the curtains, closing the doors* JOIN SANG-GUK! LIGHT THE FIRES! JOIN SANG-GUK! LIGHT THE FIRES! JOIN SANG-GUK! LIGHT THE FIRES!"
Natsuya: "Stop.... STOP!!!!"
He wakes up, arising from his bed rapidly, finding himself in the hospital, and no limbs remain severed, as if the incident never happened.
Natsuya: "Was it all a dream?"
Seconds later, administrator Lee, from the hunter announcement, or where I was rejected, and another individual walked into the room.
Lee: "Myurei Natsuya.. Yesterday was very disastrous for you. You managed to wipe out an entire realm even though you were never given the job."
Natsuya: "Did I... commit a crime?"
Lee: "Crime? *Laughs with joy*."
The individual laughs hardly with administrator Lee, before coughing after the intense joy."
Natsuya: "*Sitting upright from the bed* Was it? Geez. To be honest, I did nothing in that realm. I just faced a tragedy in a temple inside it."
Individual: "According to the realm's data, statistics show an S-Grade realm, you were the only survivor."
Natsuya: "*Thinking inside his head* Did Sang-guk die? Is that why I was called the only survivor?"
Lee: "I don't believe there was a temple, just like your viewpoint, but I did see a large, hollow space inside the caves of the realm. It was very tall and wide. Was it a hallucination or are you deceiving us?"
Natsuya: "The temple had five gates, next to each, left and right, were statues with specific items or weapons. I forgot what they look like, and it's impossible for me to describe them. It is like my memory is getting foggy since the incident."
Individual: "Do you recognize what the statues look like? How would you think of it?"
Natsuya recalls his past, remembering the pain and suffering he had to go through. Once he thought about him lighting the torches, he crept out, covering his face with the bed's pillow.
Natsuya: "NO!!! THE STATUES HAUNT ME!"
Lee: "Calm down, Natsuya. We're here to help. Take your time as we jot down what you saw. *Brings his small notebook from his pocket* What you described sounded unusual."
Natsuya: "*Calming down* Yellow, Green, Red, Orange, Purple, and Blue."
Lee: "Rainbow colors? Each color on the statues?"
Natsuya: "The torches around the temple lit their fire; their color corresponds to the statue's color, killing someone. The corpses left out fire, the same colors as their murderer's color on their eyes."
Lee: "It is a cosmic realm. The reason why we named our corporation "Cosmic Power Restoration" is that many hunters encountered realms similar and whatever spawned the portals everywhere must be advanced beings, possibly related to the cosmos. The more we encounter, the more we are concerned. Yesterday's incident spotlights you."
Individual: "The information that you gave us was barely vague. We understand the possible details, but you have to convince us. What is it something you can show us?
Natsuya: "*Thinking*..."
Individual: "What is from the realm that you can show?"
Natsuya: "I... have nothing. Everything involving the temple disappeared as soon I realized."
Lee: "We can assure you, if we get to see your last evidence, which is the temple itself or anything involving it, you are officially in the program. The temple's uniqueness gives me the confidence to state it is one of the unusual encounters ever since this corporation was founded."
Natsuya contemplates for a moment, thinking about whether he could join the corporation, worried about betrayals happening again, just like the incident earlier.
Lee: "I had noticed tragedy on the news. After the Temple Incident, all demons are cautious of the hunters fighting them, as they know the hunter's system. A lot lost lives were lost, but barely wiped the realms out."
Natsuya thinks back at the time when he saw a D-Grade in the temple using the hunter system, then the statue using its laser eyes pulverized the hunter system and its owner.
Individual: "We are at a state of looking for more recruits. Since you survived a cosmic encounter, you're hired. Welcome to the corporation, but as long as you show us what it looked like, you'll be officially declared as a hunter, giving your official grade."
Natsuya: "So I wasn't rejected the whole time?"
Lee: "There were no rejections. It was pure luck; we had to shuffle up the people who applied."
Natsuya: "I hate it when skill doesn't mean everything. I should not overthink too much, or I end up blundering, just like last week."
Lee: "I sense your potential, you have a profound foundation of skill, and yet... curious."
Individual: "Just like the other hunters." he forgets to ask, "Oh, my name is Chung Jin-Dae. Former S-Grade Hunter, Business Economist of The Corporation. I had participated in the Siege of Suwon, and I met-"
Lee: "*Pats his back* Shh, shh, don't talk about that. It's considered a very tragic moment in history."
Chung: "*Whispering to Lee* Fine... I just want to surprise him."
Natsuya hears whispering, unable to clearly hear the two. The whispering continued until Lee was surprised and nodded his head.
Natsuya: "What was it you were talking about?"
Chung: "It's highly confidential. The history of the event shouldn't be heard among hunters."
Natsuya stepped out of the bed, walking to open the curtain on his right, seeing the landscape uncovered. He doesn't see the demonic portals and is wondering about where his friends are.
Natsuya: "*Looks back at the two* One question, do you know who Akira Kitamura and Arayuki Morikasu are? Is my family okay?"
Lee: "I know Arayuki, a C-Grade hunter, who eliminated Six Demon Giants on the streets a few days ago, and I remember yelling out Akira's name on the recruitment day. He should be an E or D Grade by now. Your family is alright, they were very relieved when they realized that you are alive."
Chung: "Speaking of them, come on, let's lead you to your room."
Natsuya: "Where can you rest after hunting?"
Lee: "It is for E to A-Grades, located under the base. When you have a mission, you rest here for nearby support and rest. For S-Grades, more luxurious rooms or a penthouse. Grades are like a hierarchy; don't blame us for being too unfair. Take off your gown and get dressed. We're going pretty soon."
Natsuya changed into his new clothes, and the three of them walked toward his assigned room. They left the hospital wing and took an elevator down into the lower levels of the base. When the doors opened on Negative First Floor, the area resembled a hotel—wide hallways, clean walls, but no carpets. Hunters filled the space: some talking, some training, others resting wherever they could.