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BOOOM!
A blast of phantasmal flas hurled Joseph skyward. He crashed into a building, sending debris raining down and plunging the city into chaos.
"..."
Laura stared in stunned disbelief, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"F-Fran...?! What...! What did you do?! How did you do that?!" She rushed to her sister’s side. "Your appearance changed!"
Maria swiftly reverted to her normal form and offered a gentle smile.
"I won’t let any jerk harm you ever again," she said. "In the tower, I t those bastards from Olympus—real pieces of shit. I killed them all."
"...What?" Laura looked utterly confused. "What... what are you talking about?"
"When I fell into a coma, my soul was pulled into another world inside the tower," Maria explained. "I lived an entire life there... and traveled far beyond. When I finally returned, every power I gained ca back with . I’m what so call a Returnee, Laura."
"Returnee?!" Laura gasped. "But... okay, let’s say I believe your insane story—but that’s Joseph! He’s an S Rank Hunter!"
"Really? He felt more like an L Rank loser," Maria said with a smirk, crossing her arms.
"Holy shit, that was good, but he’s dangerous—Ahh! He’s coming back!" Laura panicked. "Maria, this is a world ruled by the strong! You can’t just defy them like this! The laws are beneath them!"
"Is that so?" Maria smiled, watching Joseph charge toward her. "Then I’ll beco the law and put them beneath ."
RUMBLE!
Maria leaped into the sky and collided with Joseph in midair!
A trendous shockwave rolled across New Jersey. People scread and fled in terror, cars screeched to halts, and every eye turned upward to the sudden clash between Hunters.
"You! Who the fuck are you?! You dare go against ?! I am an S Rank Hunter!" Joseph roared. "You just awakened! You think you can even stand against ?!"
His body erupted with blinding light, crackling thunder, and roaring flas—three divine blessings fusing into one overwhelming force.
"Learn your place, you damn bitch!"
He unleashed blazing punches, thunderous kicks, then gathered divine light in his palms and fired a devastating beam.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Yet...
Maria erged from the smoke completely unhard.
"Oh wow! You really had scared there, big shot!" she laughed. "What else you got? Co on, throw it at . Let’s see how trash you really are."
"Y-You fucking...! You fucking bitch!" Joseph’s face twisted with rage, veins bulging as his body transford.
His hair turned pure white and grew longer, shimring like light itself.
His eyes blazed with orange flas, divine runes glowing across his skin.
He unleashed a colossal beam straight from his chest.
BOOOMMM!!!
The explosion shattered windows across nearby buildings.
But Maria stood untouched, a floating mirror hovering before her.
"Moonlight Mirror... this one’s still as reliable as ever."
"Wha...?!"
TRUUUM!
The mirror fired the attack back—multiplied a dozen tis over.
The amplified beam of moonlight struck Joseph before he could react, detonating across his face.
"Nngaaaaahhhh!"
Joseph scread in agony as flas consud him and the blessings inside his body shattered into fragnts.
His charred, blackened body plumted to the ground.
He was dead.
Laura’s eyes widened in horror.
She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed.
Her entire world had flipped in an instant.
Fran—her beloved sister—was a true monster among monsters.
"Fran! You killed him?! Fran! That’s... wrong, you know? He was a jerk and a piece of shit I wanted to kill myself, but you shouldn’t kill!" Laura cried.
"He’s fine," Maria said calmly. "Look."
She reversed [Creation of Death] into [Creation of Life].
Vital energy poured into the fallen man. As long as his soul remained intact—rather than becoming an Undead...
He revived.
"AAAAHHH!"
Joseph scread in pure terror. Fully restored, he didn’t even glance at Maria. Instead, he shot into the sky and fled as fast as he could.
"Oh..."
Laura watched the scene in stunned silence for a long mont before finally turning away.
"Okay, there’s a lot we need to talk about, but first let’s register you with the Hunters Guild right away. If he reports you, you’ll get arrested!"
"Ugh, do we have to? I just want to go ho, Laura..."
"Yes, we have to! Co on, let’s go." Laura grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her through the streets of New Jersey.
As they walked, Maria noticed entire sections of the city cordoned off, buildings abandoned, streets sealed behind barriers and glowing magic artifacts.
"What’s wrong with these areas?" Maria asked.
"These are zones where Field Dungeons appeared recently," Laura explained. "The Guilds rush in, claim the territory, then leave it open. Monsters and resources keep spawning."
"Wait, they don’t close them?!" Maria asked, incredulous.
"Very rarely..." Laura said. "They prefer to keep them active. It’s steady money for them."
"But isn’t that dangerous?!" Maria pressed.
"I know it’s dangerous, Fran. A lot of people would agree with you. But the guilds have an iron grip on the country," Laura replied. "The governnt doesn’t want to upset them. You know there are already stories, whole states taken over by Hunters? They went mad, killed the politicians, and now they rule. So the governnt just... lets them have their way."
"So that’s why you said Hunters are above the law," Maria nodded. "Well, I can’t say I don’t understand wanting freedom... but they’re abusing their power!"
"Fran... since when have you been so idealistic?" Laura laughed softly. "You used to not even care about these things..."
"I told you already! I went through the tower and lived a whole life there! I changed a little..." Maria sighed.
"You weren’t joking?!" Laura asked. "How can that even be possible? You were alive—you can’t just reincarnate sowhere..."
"I know, right?! But it happened!" Maria insisted. "Ah, is this the place?"
After passing more sealed Field Dungeon zones, the sisters arrived at the Hunter Association of the United States of Arica—the governnt body that oversaw the guilds.
"Wait, if Hunters are above the law, then why do I even need to register?" Maria asked.
"Because other Hunters will co after you—either the ones who try to work with the governnt or the ones who don’t like anyone stepping on their turf," Laura explained. "Listen, Fran, I’m so happy you’re here and I love you more than anything, but you have to understand how things work here, okay?"
"...Okay," Maria nodded, deciding—for now—to go along with her sister’s wishes so as not to upset her further.
The two sisters stepped inside the bustling building. Maria marveled at the massive screens everywhere displaying Hunter Rankings, Missions, and Contribution tallies.
"Here, let through—I’m B Rank."
Laura flashed her Hunter Identity Card and cut straight through the crowd without hesitation, pulling her sister to the front desk where a receptionist greeted them.
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