Chapter 16: The King's Judgment

---

Silence.

It wasn't quiet.

It was the absence of presence.

The hollow void left behind when light, sound, breath, and even fear are swallowed into stillness.

That was what the world became… when Jin-Soo awakened.

---

[System Notification – Title Unlocked]

> Title: Monarch of Silence

• All hostile detection fails within 10 meters

• You erase your mana signature and physical presence

• Shadows obey instinctively

• You gain dominion over silence:

  → Block communication

  → Cripple coordination

  → Paralyze fear-driven targets

  → Silence death itself

> [New Skill Unlocked: Stillborn Realm]

"Create a temporary space where all sound, skill-casting, and mana flow are suspended. All who enter forget the feeling of speech, light, and time."

---

[Floor -3 – Essence Core Vault]

A guard sprinted around the corner, breath ragged, shouting—

> "I heard he went this way—"

His words stopped in his throat.

Because the hallway ahead of him had gone black.

Not dark. Not dim.

Black.

As if the air itself had been swallowed.

Then he felt it:

A hand on his shoulder.

His body froze.

He tried to scream—but no voice came. No breath. No beat.

His last thought was:

"This isn't magic. This is something worse."

Then the shadows claimed him.

---

[Meanwhile – Red Spiral Advance]

Kang Mi-Ra led the now-freed prisoners and Red Spiral members upward—fighting their way to the emergency hatch.

One former A-rank, still limping, held off two elite guards with borrowed daggers.

Mi-Ra looked back, blood on her armor.

> "Jin-Soo should've reached the core vault by now."

Another Hunter asked, "What if he didn't make it?"

Mi-Ra's eyes glinted.

> "He made it.

If you hear nothing from below—

it means he's already won."

---

[Back at the Vault]

Jin-Soo stood alone amid flickering glass chambers and dead security spells.

He raised his hand.

The Stillborn Realm activated—expanding out like breath in cold air.

Everything within thirty meters fell into that perfect silence.

Guards came running.

They stopped.

Blinking.

Opening their mouths.

Trying to shout.

Trying to scream for backup.

But nothing came.

Jin-Soo moved through them like a whisper.

One step.

One slice.

One breathless death after another.

> [System: Six enemies neutralized. No detection triggered.]

[Fear Aura spreading: Passive resistance broken.]

A final guard collapsed to his knees, eyes wide with silent terror.

He mouthed the words:

> "W-Who… are you?"

Jin-Soo leaned down.

And whispered into the man's soul—

"I'm what you made."

---

[Floor 1 – Association Raid Engaged]

President Choi In-Sun stood at the Guild's public hall while her agents forced open access to the sealed floors.

Cries rose from staff.

Barricades were forming.

Defensive spells cast.

But Choi didn't flinch.

She raised her voice—not in fury, but in absolute law.

> "This is no longer a Guild facility.

This is a crime scene."

And behind her, Association Hunters stepped forward with golden seals, each one glowing with divine command.

---

[Ryu Jae-Ho – Commander's Office]

Ryu stared at the blinking warning panels.

> "Floor -3… all signals gone?"

"Mana sensors scrambled…?"

He stood slowly.

His reflection stared back at him from the office window.

"I should've killed him," he murmured.

> "No," said a voice behind him.

He turned.

And froze.

Jin-Soo stood in the corner of the room—his presence only now returning from the Stillborn Realm.

No footsteps.

No entrance.

Just appearing like a judgment long delayed.

Ryu's hand went for his blade—

Too late.

> [Skill Activated: Step Through Silence]

Jin-Soo moved without warning. A single step across the void.

He appeared behind the Commander.

> [Skill: Shadow Thread – Activated]

Black wires looped through the air—cutting through flesh, armor, and spell.

Ryu staggered.

Blood spilled from his side.

He grinned through the pain.

"Do you think you're the only one born of hell, boy?"

Then he raised a hand—

> [Emergency Rune: Spatial Overload – Activated]

The walls around them fractured. Mana surged.

But Jin-Soo simply lifted his palm—

> [Stillborn Realm: Condensed Cast – 1-meter field]

The spell died in Ryu's hand.

> "You talk too much," Jin-Soo whispered.

And then he struck.

---

[Final Moments – Ryu's Collapse]

The Commander crashed into his desk, blood pouring from a gash across his chest and face.

He tried to stand.

Failed.

Jin-Soo walked slowly to him.

Pulled out the essence core—the one that still whispered—and placed it gently beside Ryu's dying form.

"This is for the 47th soul you bled dry."

> [System: Essence Core Resonance Complete – Soul Fragment Avenged]

The core stopped pulsing.

Peacefully.

Ryu's eyes faded.

The tower above him began to crumble.

---

[End of Chapter Scene – Announcement from the Association]

Across the country, a live broadcast aired that night.

> "The Azure Blade Guild is under complete investigation.

We have secured evidence of illegal essence harvesting, murder, and corruption spanning over a decade.

Effective immediately, all operations are suspended.

Whistleblower protection has been extended to all participating Hunters."

> "This… is justice."

---