The Hunter Monarch

The Gilded Wyvern was not a place one simply stumbled into. Tucked away in a deep, soundproofed sub-basement in the city's opulent merchant sector, it was a tavern that didn't exist on any public map. There was no sign, only a reinforced obsidian door guarded by a man who was built like a siege golem. Entry was by reputation and invitation only. It was a place for the powerful to speak freely, for dark deals to be struck, and for conspiracies to be born in the amber glow of expensive liquor.

Tonight, Zhao Hu occupied the most secluded booth, a high-backed alcove shrouded in shadow. The polished black steel of his armor seemed to drink the light, making him a void of darkness in the dimly lit room. On the table before him sat a glass of fiery, imported spirits that remained untouched. He wasn't here to drink. He was here to plot.

His two most trusted lieutenants, the hulking Bao and the wiry Jin-ho, sat with him. They were nursing their own drinks, their usual boisterous energy replaced by a tense, watchful silence. They knew their leader's moods, and for the past few weeks, his mood had been a cold, simmering poison.

"She did it again today," Zhao Hu said, his voice a low, dangerous growl. He stared into the depths of his glass, but his mind's eye was seeing the scene from the market plaza. "Publicly. In front of my own men. She chose that… thing… over the honor of Tiger's Fury."

Bao shifted his massive frame, the leather of the booth creaking in protest. "Boss, Su Wan is just stubborn. She'll come around. She can't keep wasting her talent protecting a useless Zero forever."

"Forever?" Zhao Hu's head snapped up, his eyes locking onto his lieutenant with a terrifying intensity. "I don't have forever. Every day she stands by his side is another day the entire city whispers about the great Zhao Hu being snubbed for a piece of trash. He is an eyesore. A walking, breathing monument to my humiliation. I want him gone."

The finality in his tone sent a chill through the booth. This was no longer just about pride or rivalry. This had become an obsession.

"We can arrange another 'accident'," Jin-ho suggested, leaning forward eagerly. "A loose rock during a cave-in Layer. A stray arrow in a chaotic fight. It wouldn't be hard. He's weak. Fragile."

Zhao Hu waved a dismissive hand, the gesture sharp and impatient. "Too clumsy. Too risky. Su Wan watches him like a hawk. If she suspected anything, her wrath would be… inconvenient." He fell silent for a moment, tapping a single, armored finger on the table. The rhythmic tink, tink, tink was the only sound.

"No," he said finally, his voice dropping even lower. "It has to be clean. Untraceable. It needs to look like the Zero's own incompetence was his undoing. It needs to happen in a place where no one can help him, where Su Wan's protection is meaningless."

He leaned back into the shadows, his eyes narrowing in thought. "A separation during transit. It's the perfect opportunity. But just being separated isn't enough. A D-Rank Layer is survivable, even for an idiot. He might just get lucky and find his way to an Exit Gate."

This was the crux of his problem, the puzzle he had been turning over and over in his mind. He needed a guarantee. He needed something more absolute than a simple accident.

It was Jin-ho who broke the silence, his voice barely a whisper, as if speaking the words themselves was a transgression.

"Boss," he began hesitantly, "there are… rumors. Old stories from the black-market information brokers."

Zhao Hu's gaze sharpened, fixing on him. "What rumors?"

"About forbidden items. Cursed scrolls from the 'Old World,' before the System was fully stabilized. Things the Association has banned. They say there's one… they call it a 'Transit Hex'."

Bao snorted. "Fairy tales. Bogeyman stories to scare rookies."

"No," Jin-ho insisted, his eyes wide. "I heard it from a Broker who swore he saw one. He said it's a single-use scroll. You activate it and slap it on someone as they cross the threshold of a Door. It doesn't just separate them from their party… it corrupts the very fabric of their transit. It hijacks the dimensional path, shunting them to a random, high-energy destination. A-Rank. Maybe even S-Rank." He swallowed hard. "It's a death sentence. A one-way ticket to a slaughterhouse, with no one around to ever know what really happened. To everyone else, it would just look like the Zero got lost."

A predatory stillness fell over Zhao Hu. The air grew thick and cold. He stared at Jin-ho, a slow, terrible smile spreading across his face. It was the smile of a man who had just been handed the perfect, venom-tipped dagger he had been searching for.

A fairy tale. A rumor. A death sentence.

"Find this broker," Zhao Hu commanded, his voice a sibilant whisper that was more menacing than any shout. "I don't care what it costs. I don't care who you have to threaten. Get me this 'fairy tale'."

He finally picked up his glass of spirits, the first time he had touched it all night. He swirled the amber liquid, watching the light dance within it. In his mind, he could already see it: the chaos at a Door's entrance, the fleeting moment of contact, the look of horror on Lin Yu's face as he was torn away from Su Wan's protection forever. It was a beautiful, intoxicating image.

"I want that scroll," he said, taking a long, slow sip. "The eyesore has been bothering me for far too long. It's time to take out the trash."