As they arrived at the Association's massive subterranean training dome, the sound of crashing metal and mana explosions echoed through the reinforced walls. Inside, 'Master Ma Dong-Wook and Baek Yoon-Ho' were engaged in a fierce spar. Ma was a literal wall of muscle, while Baek moved with a sharp, beast-like agility.
Watching them trade blows, the Chairman gestured toward the arena. "The wave of power you felt earlier was most likely these two testing each other's limits."
Jinwoo watched them for a moment, his eyes tracking their movements with ease. "Hunter Baek is being pushed back, isn't he?" he remarked. But internally, he was shaking his head. 'Hmmm. No. That wave of power from before… it couldn't have been these two. Their mana is impressive, yes but it's not "crushing." It's not what I felt.'
"That's because Hunter Baek is holding back," a smooth, refined voice interrupted.
Jinwoo turned to see Choi Jong-In, the "Ultimate Soldier," dressed in a sharp red suit. He adjusted his glasses, watching the spar with a calm intensity.
"I wasn't expecting Hunter Baek to hold back against a hunter of Master Ma's caliber," Jinwoo noted.
"Hunter Baek rarely fights with his full strength against humans," Choi explained. "If he unleashed his true power, he would lose his humanity and turn into a literal monster. He prefers to keep the beast on a leash during friendly matches."
'I've heard rumors he transforms during battle,' Jinwoo thought. 'But even then…'
Suddenly, Jinwoo's whole body seized. Every muscle in his back locked up as his head snapped toward a side section of the dome.
'Something is coming.'
The pressure returned again, the same suffocating weight he had felt in the Chairman's office, but now it was raw and unfiltered. He didn't hear a word Choi was saying. His focus was entirely on the large sliding doors at the far end of the facility.
The doors hissed open.
Thirteen people walked out. At the front was Goto Ryuji, walking with a casual stride, followed by the rest of the Draw Sword Guild's S-Ranks. But Jinwoo's eyes didn't linger on Goto or his group. They bypassed the famous hunters entirely and locked onto the last two individuals.
The two walked with their hands tucked casually into their pockets, one with messy dark hair and hollow, emerald eyes, the other with vibrant blue hair and a bored expression.
'Now, this is absurd.'
To Jinwoo's enhanced perception, they weren't just men. He could almost see the mana around them but it felt slightly different from the normal thing. He could see the cold, emerald void and a jagged, electric blue fire that bathed their forms. It radiated out of them silently, yet with such oppressive force that the rest of the S-Ranks in the room seemed to dim in comparison.
"Hunter Sung? Hunter Jinwoo, are you alright?"
Jinwoo blinked and the world came rushing back into focus. He looked over to see Choi Jong-In staring at him with a look of concern.
"Huh?" Jinwoo muttered.
"You spaced out for a second," Choi said, tilting his head. "I've been trying to get your attention. Is something wrong?"
Jinwoo didn't answer immediately. He looked back at the two strangers in white, his hand instinctively hovering near the space where he would summon his daggers.
"Nothing," Jinwoo lied in a low and controlled manner. "I was just... looking at the guests."
Chairman Go Gun-hee, noticing the way Jinwoo's had reacted, sighed softly. "You can feel it too, huh? It seems they've stopped trying to hide it."
It wasn't just Jinwoo. All the Korean S-Rankers, Baek Yoon-Ho, Choi Jong-In, and even the massive Ma Dong-Wook had stopped what they were doing. Their instincts, honed by countless life-and-death battles, were screaming at them. The subtle but oppressive force radiating from the two brothers was like a physical hand pressing against their chests.
Jinwoo narrowed his eyes as the two brothers both stopped and tilted their heads upward, looking directly at the observation balcony where he stood. Their eyes locked onto his. The dark-haired one, Ulquiorra, remained a mask of cold indifference, but the blue-haired one, Grimmjow, let a slow, wild smirk spread across his face.
The tension was so thick it felt like the air might shatter, until a loud, arrogant voice echoed from the side of the training floor.
"Hey! Miss Interpreter Lady!"
Grimmjow's smirk twitched into a scowl as he turned his head. Two men in expensive suits were swaggering toward Hanakawa. The one in front had a cocky air, "I ain't entirely sure what you said back there," the man said, his voice dripping with bravado, "but I caught your disgusted tone. Sounded like you were mocking us Korean hunters."
The man behind him, a sycophant with a wide grin, nodded eagerly. "You're amazing, Mr. Park! Putting these tourists in their place!"
Hanakawa blinked, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "And you are?"
"You're looking at the reputable Guild Master of the Knights Guild himself!" the man at the back shouted, puffing out his chest. "Mr. Park Heesung is—"
He never finished the sentence.
A sudden, violent wave of mana filled with nothing but malice hammered into them like a physical wall.
CRACK!
The floor tiles beneath the two "Knights" shattered as they were slammed face-first into the ground by the sheer pressure. The sycophant didn't even have time to scream before his forehead hit the synthetic floor.
The Korean hunters moved instinctively, their mana flaring as they prepared to intervene, but the Japanese S-Rankers stayed perfectly still, their eyes fixed Grimmjow with a questioning look.
Grimmjow didn't even take his hands out of his pockets as he looked down at the two men groveling on the floor, his blue eyes glowing with a cold, blue light.
"Huh?" Grimmjow's voice was a low, dangerous rasp. "Who gave you the permission to approach us, simpletons?"
He stepped closer and the pressure intensified until the air around the two fallen men began to distort. "I'm in a good mood because I'm about to kill something big. Don't ruin it by barking in my ear."
"Grimmjow. Enough."
The Koreans heard the soft voice that interrupted him, Ulquiorra stepped forward, his emerald gaze resting on his brother.
"What?" Grimmjow spat, glancing back. "I was just teaching the local trash some manners. They were interrupting the grownups."
Ulquiorra didn't say a word. He simply stared at Grimmjow with those hollow, unblinking eyes and a silent command that brooked no argument.
Grimmjow held the gaze for a few seconds before clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Urgh. Fine. Whatever."
He released the pressure and the sudden vacuum of force caused the two men on the floor to gasp for air, their bodies trembling uncontrollably before their eyes rolled back and they both fainted from the sheer psychological trauma.
In the observation booth, Jinwoo watched the entire exchange without blinking. He saw the way the blue-haired man had suppressed two A-Rank-tier individuals without moving a muscle.
'That wasn't a skill. That was just... him. If that's what they can do while 'behaving,' what happens when they actually draw their weapons?'
The air in the dome, already brittle from Grimmjow's outburst, grew even more electric as Goto Ryuji spoke up to cool the situation.
"This is a rare opportunity," Goto said, his voice smooth and commanding as Hanakawa began to translate. "We have the finest hunters of two nations gathered in one place. Briefings and spreadsheets can only tell us so much. How about we have a spar instead?"
Hanakawa's voice echoed his words, and Goto continued. "Feel free to set the rules, but let's keep it friendly. We have a raid to conduct in four days, after all."
Grimmjow let out a sharp, barking laugh that drew every eye in the room. "Now that is a splendid idea!" He looked directly at Baek Yoon-Ho, his predatory smile widening as he sensed the beast lurking within the Korean hunter. He held the gaze for a heartbeat before looking away toward Chairman Go Gun-hee, who was approaching with Jinwoo and Choi Jong-In.
"Well," the Chairman said, his eyes scanning the eager faces of the hunters, "I'm on board. It would be good to see the synergy between our forces."
"But," the Chairman added, "let's exclude the mage types and non-combatants. It's difficult for them to compete alone in a high-speed melee."
"Fine by me," Goto said as Baek Yoon-Ho then stepped forward. "Let's keep the rules simple: if someone grabs your wrist, tags you on the back, or if anything besides your feet hits the floor, you're done. You automatically lose. And instead of one-on-one matches, let's make it a free-for-all. It'll simulate the chaos of the nest better."
Goto nodded. "Sounds fair enough. Let's go with that."
A few minutes later, the two teams stood on the matte-white floor of the arena. On the Korean side stood a formidable line-up: Hunter Cha Hae-In', Master Ma Dong-Wook, looking like a mountain; Baek Yoon-Ho; and Lim Tae-Gyu, the master archer who was stretching his limbs.
On the Japanese side, the formation was equally imposing: Hunters Tawata, Kumamoto, and Tanaka took their stances. Then, stepping up to the final spot, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez sauntered forward. He didn't take his hands out of his pockets but his grin was on full display,"Try not to blink," Grimmjow whispered.
From the sidelines, Ulquiorra stood perfectly still. He didn't look at the arena; instead, he tilted his head slightly to the side. He could feel a gaze boring into him. He shifted his emerald eyes to meet the stare of Sung Jinwoo.
The two stood in silence, separated by the width of the training hall, 'I wonder if he can fully comprehend us.' The buzzer for the start of the match let out a sharp, high-pitched ring.
"Go!"