Chapter 69: [A GENIUS]

Time bled fast, which Caelen was thankful for.

The moment Arman returned with paramedics, Midas stepped forward, his calm smile curving like a blade sheathed in silk.

With one hand raised, he cut through the frenzy of reporters as easily as parting water.

“Hunter Caelen is exhausted,” Midas announced, smooth and practiced. “The priority now is stabilizing him—and the unconscious hunter, Elione Noa Ahn.”

The crowd shifted, unsettled but silenced. Guards pushed the press back, paramedics surged in with gurneys, and Lion’s Fang’s elite clustered close, their worried faces forming a wall around Caelen.

But even as the medics moved in, Caelen felt it. Midas’ eyes. Cold. Focused. Never leaving him—not once.

Not even when he ordered, voice casual but commanding:

“Hunter Caelen, take the unconscious one with the medics. Your team will accompany you. Zacharias—stay.”

The words sealed like chains.

And so, Caelen found himself inside the ambulance.

Red lights strobed against steel walls. Sirens wailed low and distant. The bitter tang of antiseptic stung his throat.

He lay stretched on the narrow bed, molten cracks faintly glowing beneath hastily wrapped bandages, each pulse of heat reminding him of how close his body was to tearing apart.

Across from him sat Punzo, Jabby, and Arman. Silent.

Watching.

Not relief. Not joy.

Suspicion.

’How loyal of them.’ Caelen thought bitterly, forcing air through his teeth.

Their stares pinned him like blades, as though the weight of the dungeon still clung to his shoulders—and they weren’t sure if he’d carried it alone.

Finally, Caelen exhaled, rough and sharp. His lips curved into the familiar smirk, though this one carried no warmth. He didn’t even bother to look at them when he said:

“Out with it.”

The silence cracked.

Punzo leaned forward first, arms crossed, orange eyes narrowed. His usual grin was gone, replaced by something steady, almost grim.

“It’s not that I doubt your abilities, Captain,” Punzo said, voice lower than usual, careful but cutting. “But we know your limits. All of us do.”

Beside him, Jabby’s hands twisted in her lap, knuckles white, her eyes wide with something between worry and disbelief. Arman’s jaw was clenched tight, his sharp gaze locked on Caelen’s fissures, then flicking to Elione—strapped down and pale on the gurney beside him.

Punzo’s stare didn’t waver. His words cut sharper than any blade.”So tell us… why did you say you singlehandedly killed it?”

The words crashed louder than the sirens outside.

Punzo’s tone dropped, heavy as iron.”Because it wasn’t just you in there.”

Silence.

“Elione Noa Ahn helped. We’ve read his file—we know how much he supported Kairo against the ogre. And now… it’s unlike you to claim one hundred percent of the credit.”

The air in the ambulance thickened, pressing down on them like a dungeon’s killing intent. Even through his exhaustion, Caelen could feel the weight of it—the suspicion in their eyes.

They weren’t just worried.They wanted answers.

Caelen chuckled low, staring at the ambulance roof. The sound was dry, ragged. “I won’t deny it. He did help. Quite a lot, actually. Daresay, we both would’ve died if not for him.”

Jabby blinked, her lips parting. Arman’s eyes narrowed further.

“Then why discredit him?” Arman pressed, his voice tight, controlled. “The whole point of dragging him along was to test him—and to ’recruit’ him into the guild. It would’ve benefitted both of you if you said you cleared it together. Or…”

His words sharpened. “…is this still about Kairo?”

“Mhm.” Caelen hummed, eyes half-lidded, a tired smirk curving his mouth. “Elione did very well. Better than you think. And no, I didn’t do it out of spite for Kairo.”

He shifted, turning his gaze lazily toward them. “Because at the end of the day, even if I’d credited Elione, the public would still weigh my feats higher. They’d still see me as the one who carried the raid. Kairo needed his team. I only had… Elione.”

“Then?” Punzo pushed.

Caelen’s smirk deepened, sharp enough to cut. Slowly, deliberately, he turned his gaze onto the three of them.

“I want Elione to be mine.”

The words hit like a hammer.

The silence was absolute.

Jabby’s lips parted, her eyes wide, confusion raw. Arman stiffened, his shoulders rigid. Punzo tilted his head, brows knitting, his sharp stare unreadable.

None of them moved. None of them spoke.

It was obvious—they didn’t understand.

“D-Does that mean you… like him—” Jabby’s voice cracked, the words tumbling out in a nervous rush. Her wide orange eyes darted between Caelen and Elione’s unconscious body strapped to the gurney.

Caelen rolled his eyes, the motion sharp despite the exhaustion dragging at his cracks. His smirk tugged thin. “I don’t mean it that way, Jabby.”

The air in the ambulance stiffened. Sirens wailed faintly beyond the walls, but inside it was suffocating silence.

Punzo leaned forward, arms crossed, his stare razor-sharp. “Then what do you mean?”

Caelen’s gaze flicked over them one by one, deliberate, eyes glowing faintly beneath the dim ambulance lights.

He let the pause stretch, the weight of his words brewing before he finally exhaled, voice even but laced with intent.

“I want him on our team,” he said. “But not… our team.” His lips quirked faintly as if even he found the phrasing strange. “I don’t know what to call him yet. My assistant? My aide? My sidekick?” He tilted his head, smirk sharpening. “Someone who will assist me.”

The weight of the words dropped heavy, heavier than his tone suggested.

His gaze slid to Elione, unconscious but steady beside him.

“Unlike his file, he’s a genius.” Caelen’s voice was steady, but the molten cracks glowing faintly under his bandages pulsed in rhythm with every word.

“He uses his ability—which is supposed to be just a simple danger detection—in ways that can push a hunter beyond their limit. Unlock their potential.”

His gaze flicked to Elione’s unconscious body on the stretcher, lingering. “Kairo probably noticed it too. That’s why he’s after him.”

Arman crossed his arms tightly against his chest, his sharp eyes narrowing. “Then again, why discredit him? It’s not like Elione would reject you if you recruited him. Rejecting Lion’s Fang? That’d be insane.”

“Mhm.” Caelen hummed, smirking faintly, though fatigue dragged at the edges of it. “But think about it.

If I hadn’t discredited him—if I’d openly given him credit, when he’s already been acknowledged by Kairo—do you honestly believe other guilds and S-Class hunters would leave him alone?”

Jabby’s breath hitched softly. Arman’s eyes widened a fraction. Punzo’s brows furrowed.

“Oh.”

“I didn’t even think about that.”

Punzo leaned forward, voice quiet but heavy. “So you discredited him… to cut down competition. Since Kairo’s already circling him.”

Caelen nodded once, eyes sharpening. “Exactly. Elione is one in a million. A genius who doesn’t even realize what he is. He hasn’t even hit his full potential yet. Imagine if he worked for me.”

His lips curled into a smirk, sharp despite the exhaustion bleeding into his tone. “I could finally surpass Kairo. Become the only number one.”

The ambulance rattled on, but silence filled its walls.

They knew he was right.

And for the first time, they truly understood why Caelen had said what he said out there.

Elione Noa Ahn wasn’t just another hunter.

He was Caelen’s key.

His weapon.

His path to victory.

To the top.

To finally being the only best.

Arman raised a brow, breaking the silence. “Do you think he’ll appreciate being discredited, though?”

Caelen’s smirk returned, faint but unyielding. He shrugged, as if the weight of the answer didn’t matter. “That, we’ll see. Either way, it’s not like he’d reject my offer over it.”

“True,” Arman muttered, though his gaze lingered on Elione a beat longer than usual.

Again, silence. Thick. Heavy.

The air smelled faintly of antiseptic, but all Caelen could taste was the burn of his own exhaustion.

His body screamed, every muscle on the edge of collapse. The aftermath of overusing his ability gnawed at his bones, veins aching as if they might burst.

He just wanted to rest.

But then—

“Ah! Speaking of Kairo.” Jabby’s voice broke through, light but tinged with unease.

Caelen’s eyes snapped to her, narrowing. “What?”

Jabby fidgeted, fingers twisting together nervously. “Mel called me earlier.”

Caelen’s gaze hardened. “Mel?” Then it clicked. Her twin brother. The one from Twilight Guild. Kairo’s guild.

His jaw tightened. “What did he say?”

Jabby’s lips pressed together, hesitation flickering in her eyes. Then, quietly—

“Well…”

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