Chapter 21: Stalker Found

“Becoming famous isn’t always a good thing, huh?”

Kitsunezawa sighed after hearing the full story.

Just when Si-woo had finally gotten rid of some of the pests, they were starting to crawl back again.

It was just like how shiny jewels attract thieves.

Now that Si-woo’s face and name were well-known across the Academy as one of its top prospects, it was only natural that new parasites would start flocking to him.

Taking a sip of the green tea Si-woo had prepared, Kitsunezawa casually glanced around the room.

‘Damn, she really layered these curses thick.’

They weren’t basic, brute-force curses, either.

This was high-level magic designed to scan through the world’s records for any disturbance.

Judging by its sheer level of completion, Saria’s technique might have even surpassed Kitsunezawa’s own.

More than just the complexity, what really impressed Kitsunezawa was how seamlessly hidden the curse was.

With this level of concealment, only a handful of exceptionally sensitive Awakened beings like Si-woo or herself could detect it.

For anyone B-rank or lower, this curse would be completely invisible to them.

‘Hell, if they were even weaker, they’d get cursed without even realizing it.’

Now it made sense why Si-woo brought her along.

“So, the stalker isn’t just an ordinary Hunter, huh?”

“Yeah… I really didn’t expect them to be this much of a monster.”

Si-woo shrugged, looking annoyed but unsurprised.

Still scanning the room, Kitsunezawa chuckled.

“Come to think of it… this is my third time coming over to your place, huh?”

“Yeah… sorry that all three times were because of some damn stalker.”

Si-woo’s voice carried a hint of guilt.

Those words stirred up old memories.

Kitsunezawa had been Si-woo’s very first client—and his first regular.

Back in the days when he was still an inexperienced host, Si-woo had shared a lot of emotions with her.

It had been a mistake—something he knew he shouldn’t have done.

As a host, he wasn’t supposed to open up to his clients. He was supposed to listen, to entertain, never to seek comfort himself.

But back then, he hadn’t been able to hold it in.

Even knowing it made him a failure as a host, Si-woo had leaned on Kitsunezawa Wakamo for support.

Before he met Baek Eun-seol and Jung Se-ah, she had been the only adult he could trust.

The only person he had been certain wouldn’t fall victim to his engraving’s charm.

“I actually liked it,” Kitsunezawa said, smirking.

“It made me feel like you were relying on me.”

“Haa… yeah, well, for me, it’s a cringeworthy memory.”

Si-woo sighed, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

Cringeworthy or not, it wasn’t something pleasant to reminisce about.

He had spent a full year as a host—from beginning to end, Kitsunezawa had been there to witness it all.

‘I gained a lot from that time… but I lost just as much.’

At its worst, he had even developed a fear of women.

He had hidden it well while working, but on his days off, he had been terrified to even hold a conversation with the opposite sex.

There were times when he had tried to speak but couldn’t force the words out—his lips just silently moving, as if he were a mute.

Thinking back to those moments made his chest ache all over again.

Stalking, theft, kidnapping, paparazzi—

Considering everything he had endured back then, it was a miracle he had even recovered as much as he had.

‘I’ve gotten better… but some scars never fully fade.’

The way Si-woo let people into his life had changed.

Unlike before, when he had left his doors wide open, he now only allowed people into a limited space—a space marked by “affection.”

And if anyone tried to push beyond that?

Si-woo would shut the door entirely.

Si-woo accepted others’ love—but he denied his own.

He never returned an “I love you” to anyone.

The idea of letting a relationship progress past a certain point genuinely terrified him.

‘Well… not that I plan on giving up.’

Kitsunezawa didn’t care if it was selfish.

If he was going to keep running away, then she had every right to keep chasing him.

“I’ll let it slide for now.”

That made them even.

With her trip down memory lane complete, Kitsunezawa finally got serious about tracking down the stalker.

“At this level… my usual abilities won’t cut it.”

Lowering her gaze, she pressed a hand against her engraving, which was marked over her left chest.

If they were hunting a regular Hunter, her White-Faced, Golden-Tailed Fox abilities would have been more than enough.

But this wasn’t just anyone.

Even Saria’s powerful curse had failed to detect them.

If standard skills weren’t enough… then she had no choice but to borrow a miracle.

‘Hah… this always feels a little gross.’

Her bones shifted.

Kitsunezawa activated her second engraving.

Just like White-Faced, Golden-Tailed Fox, it was based on a legendary beast—but this one reshaped her very body.

“Haaa…”

Her once long fox ears shrank into short, pointed cat ears.

Her soft, bushy fox tail split into two, darkening into an intense black hue.

Examining her reflection, Kitsunezawa let out a satisfied hum.

“Mmm. Came out nicely.”

Her eyes had also changed—her pupils now thin, vertical slits.

It was a minor price to pay.

“You don’t fully turn into a cat anymore, huh?” Si-woo remarked.

“Why? Would you prefer if I did?”

“I wouldn’t mind. If I had to choose, I like cats better than dogs.”

Si-woo’s dry humor made Kitsunezawa chuckle.

However, Saria couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

The two jet-black tails and feline-like features.

She recognized them immediately.

With a sinking feeling, she hesitantly voiced the name of the creature that came to mind.

“…Nekomata?”

Kitsunezawa’s lips curled into a sly grin.

“Correct~! I’m surprised. Most Koreans don’t know much about this yokai.”

Of course, they wouldn’t.

Unlike the White-Faced, Golden-Tailed Fox, which inspired the famous gumiho legend, Nekomata was a much lesser-known creature, appearing only in Japanese folklore.

Its significance paled in comparison.

“Anyone who knows about the S-rank Gate from last year would recognize it.”

That incident.

If someone had paid any attention at all to what happened a year ago, then they would know.

The sudden emergence of an S-rank Gate.

Its boss monster—a creature straight out of Japanese myth.

A shadowy beast with two tails.

The Black Cat, Nekomata.

“Hoh~ So the daughter of a Three Great Guild master really does have top-tier intel, huh?”

Kitsunezawa mused, clearly impressed.

“And I also know… that you participated in the raid to take that Gate down.”

Saria’s gaze sharpened.

“Did you obtain that engraving from the Nekomata during the raid?”

Kitsunezawa didn’t hesitate for a second before nodding.

‘Not like knowing changes anything.’

FWOOSH!

Flames ignited in Kitsunezawa’s palm.

But these were not her usual blue flames.

The fire burned black.

Just looking at them made Saria’s stomach churn.

Her face turned pale.

“…A curse?”

Saria’s engraving allowed her to evolve, to adapt, to continuously grow stronger over time.

A slow-burn, limitless potential type of engraving.

Kitsunezawa’s was the opposite.

Already perfected.

Not a skill born from human effort.

But a concentration of pure malice.

A true curse.

A fire that would never die.

‘The level… is completely different.’

The curses Saria had carefully laid throughout the room.

Vanished.

Kitsunezawa’s black flames erased them.

The pure malice overpowered and dismantled Saria’s spell formations, devouring the mana inside them as fuel.

Saria swallowed hard as she watched the scene unfold.

‘Of course… there’s no way she’d stop there.’

Kitsunezawa caught Saria’s expression and let out a soft chuckle.

She wasn’t shaken.

She was focused.

Observing.

Understanding.

Analyzing.

The black flames of the Nekomata, a manifestation of pure malice, were something that even Saria, with all her talent, couldn’t comprehend.

But she had her own kind of miracle.

The engraving on her wrist began to glow—

Her gift, the ability to amplify talent, flooded her mind with knowledge that should not exist.

She was deciphering it.

‘That should be enough.’

Satisfied, Kitsunezawa finally began her hunt.

Following the paths Saria had laid, she traced the unseen presence lurking in the room.

Her shadow wavered, reacting to the curse.

It shuddered, as if set ablaze.

And within mere seconds, the black flames found something.

Something that shouldn’t exist.

Kitsunezawa’s gaze snapped toward the target.

“Ha.”

Her eyes widened in genuine surprise.

Because the curse was pointing directly at.

Si-woo.

—?!

Kitsunezawa vanished.

A movement faster than the blink of an eye.

From the shadows—into the shadows.

The next moment.

She reappeared right in front of him, a twisted grin stretching across her lips.

The black flames coiled around her hand like a writhing serpent.

Her voice dripped with satisfaction.

“Found you.”

CRACK—!!