Applying pressure is the best way to force someone to do something for you. Especially if they owe you. Since the pressured person has no choice, they end up doing anything, literally, no matter how grim it is, because that's how human survival instinct almost always works.

So, the words that should be kept in mind in this chapter are: Precocious and Pressure.

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"What are you waiting for, rookie?" Naomi asked. "Go!"

"Naomi, don't be like that," Rose tried to calm her down, but it was useless.

"I'm not making the same mistake twice by trusting my back to a fucking idiot who can't do shit. So..." She placed her gun on the table. "If you don't show what you're capable of, I'll send you back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

I swallowed hard, my hands trembling. Honestly, I never wanted to shoot anyone, but it was either that or spend eternity burning down below. So, I got up without saying a word and slowly walked to the restaurant counter, where the manager was talking to an employee.

"How can I help you, miss?" he asked calmly. "Want to place an order?"

"I... I... I'm sorry," I pulled out the gun and tried to aim right at his face, but he was faster and grabbed the barrel, making me shoot the ceiling. This act scared all the customers, who fled outside, leaving only the trio of hunters seated.

"Mr. Tawa, what—" one of the workers said, frightened, backing away slowly.

"Get out of here and evacuate all the employees. I'll keep her busy," the manager warned, and when his employee was far enough away, he looked at me. "So, you found me. But you'll never catch me."

In a quick movement, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side of the counter, slamming me violently against the wall. I hit the floor face-first, tried to get up, but couldn't.

"Come here, I'm not done with you yet, you little bitch," he grabbed my hair and dragged me to the kitchen, where everyone had already been evacuated. "Looks like we've got the place to ourselves."

He threw me against a table full of food, but I managed to land on my feet and tried to attack him with a knife, failing miserably. He caught the blade with one hand and grabbed my head with the other, slamming it against another table, then pressing one side of my face against a hot, oily griddle.

"Fuck!" I screamed in pain—it was intense, and I felt like I'd lost vision in my left eye. I couldn't believe this was happening, but the pain vanished with a snap of my fingers—was this a unique hunter ability?

"You fight like a rookie, so I'll give you a nice welcome gift," he pinned me against the table, pulled my hands behind my back as if handcuffing me, and then lifted my skirt. "Get ready. I won't be gentle."

When I realized what he was about to do, I quickly kicked him right between the legs, freeing my hands. I grabbed a frying pan and smashed it into his face, then flipped over the table and ran toward the kitchen exit where my gun was, lying on the floor.

I grabbed it and tried to shoot him, but he shielded himself with an incredibly sturdy pan. So, I aimed lower, hitting his leg, making him drop the pan and clutch his wound. I ran to him, driving the knife into his chin, knocking him to the ground.

"Now die, you bastard, die!" I straddled him, stabbing his face repeatedly until he was unrecognizable, and I only stopped when he stopped moving. I lay on my side, crying and taking deep, shaky breaths. "It's finally over."

With my last breath, I passed out due to my injuries. The next moment, I woke up in a bathtub filled with a strange blue liquid. I was naked, and my wounds were completely healed.

Even my lost eye was back as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, Naomi entered and sat on a stool to the left of the bathtub.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed. Not bad for a newbie," she chuckled softly. I was 100% sure she was forced to come here and apologize, but clearly, she sucked at it. "Well, it could be worse, don't you think?"

"Wait... is that all you have to say?" Her nonchalant attitude pissed me off even more. Curiously, my sword holster was on the right side of the tub, so I slowly grabbed one with my right hand, hoping she wouldn't notice. "Not even a 'sorry' from that proud mouth of yours?"

I swung the sword, trying to slash her neck, but she was too fast and dodged just in time.

"What the hell are you doing!?" she shouted, dodging two more attacks.

"I'm going to kill you, you fucking bitch!" I took advantage of her dodging the third attack and kicked her, slamming her into the wall. Then I pinned her down, pressing the sword to her neck. "Got you."

"Are you sure?" I heard a click—her gun was pressed against my stomach. "So, how do you want this to end?"

"What the hell is going on here?" Alfred asked, opening the door, with Rose covering his eyes for obvious reasons. "Behave like adults, despite Yin being only 17."

"Alright, boss," Naomi lowered her gun. As much as I didn't want to, I had to lower my sword too. She left the bathroom. "But if she tries anything like that again, I'll kill her with my own hands."

She looked at me, and I stuck my tongue out at her. I knew if Alfred weren't there, she'd pounce on me like a spider, but she just walked away, cursing.

"Hey, don't push your luck. You won't last a week here with her," Rose shook her head in agreement. "I want you in the dining room in 15 minutes. We need to talk."

Despite his youthful appearance, Alfred was over 200 years old, in his fifth reincarnation. Having the same appearance for too long became impractical. The truth was, hunters could live forever—depending on their choice, of course.

Since he had my respect from the first time I saw him, I didn't take long to get ready. Soon, the three of us were at the table, just exchanging glances for no reason until I broke the silence.

"What exactly are we waiting for, 'boss'?" I even did the air quotes with my fingers. I always acted like that when I was bored. "This is a drag."

"Patience is a virtue," Rose said with a generic smile. Right after that, Naomi came in with a pizza box. "There she is..."

"Downtown traffic's hell thanks to the restaurant incident," Naomi muttered, setting things down. "But here it is."

"Finally, we can start," Alfred said, cracking his knuckles. "And I'll explain everything you need to know."

Finally, we can begin," he said, cracking his knuckles before starting to explain, and I'll tell you what I understood.

Due to humanity's stubbornness in messing with "mystical" things (stuff left scattered by fallen angels "accidentally"), some individuals managed to cheat death. They came back into the world in reincarnated bodies with knowledge of their past lives, allowing them to live for many more years.

There were also those who found manuscripts with rituals and techniques used by fallen angels, enabling them to bring any spirit or creature from the underworld—or more bluntly, hell—to Earth in just a few seconds.

So, after his death, Pedro, who ended up becoming the almighty symbol of justice for all humanity, proposed something innovative, which his king and friend approved.

That's how the Hunters came to be. They are individuals responsible for capturing transgressors and sending them back to purgatory, as well as handling most matters involving abnormal spiritual activities.

The only thing that sets us apart from traditional humans is that our bodies have far greater resistance and a higher tolerance for pain. But that doesn't mean we're free from limitations.

Finally, there are several divisions around the world, but apparently, ours is one of the most active. Intentionally, we have the smallest number of members for better discretion; sometimes, we sacrifice quantity for quality.

"For now, that's all you need to know. If you have any questions, just ask," he said, opening the pizza box.

"Good, because I have one more. Do we always act together?"

"Most of the time, no. But depending on the threat level, it's pretty common to go in pairs."

"Got it. Now it's time to attack this beautiful pizza. My stomach's been screaming for food."

"You weren't the only one," he said, handing me a slice. "Come on, eat up and get to bed early because tomorrow morning, your training starts."

"Cool... wait, what?!"

End of Chapter.