Chapter 16: The First Kill of the Nameless One

(The Inevitability Under a Manhunt)

He did not know the words “manhunt.”

But he knew—
He could not be discovered.

Rain fell through the night.

Outside the hunter’s cabin, three Flame Envoys stood among the trees.

Their Flame Devices had recovered.

But their Flame perception still flickered in and out.

“Anomalous source… nearby,” one murmured.

“Not a Flame Disaster.”

“It’s… void.”

The word silenced them all for a moment.

Void—
The kind of target they least wanted to face.

Inside the cabin.

The Nameless One sat in a corner.

He did not remember who he was.

But he remembered how to use his body.

Breathing light.
Heartbeat slowed.
Presence contracted.

This was instinct left by Flame-less cultivation.

Not hiding.

But—
Not actively disturbing the world.

Outside, the intruders were closing in.

The first Flame Envoy pushed the door open.

The moment Flame ignited—

The Flame Device failed.

The Envoy froze.

The Nameless One was already in front of him.

No intent to kill.
No emotion.

He merely extended a hand, pressing against the side of the Envoy’s throat.

Extremely precise.

The next instant.

The Envoy’s body went soft.

Not blown apart.
Not burned.

But—
Carotid blocked, nerves disconnected.

First kill—complete.

He released his hand.

The body collapsed.

The Nameless One looked at his own hand, frowning slightly.

“Too fragile.”

Not contempt.

But confusion.

Outside, the second Envoy sensed something was wrong.

“Someone’s down!”

He immediately formed a seal.

Flame Technique incomplete—

The air grew heavy.

The Nameless One had already appeared to his side-rear.

An elbow strike.

Not force.

But structure.

The Envoy’s ribs could not withstand the intervention of stability.

Fractured.
Lungs collapsed.

He fell, still trying to emit a Flame signal.

But the Flame—
Did not respond.

Second kill.

The third Envoy finally panicked.

He turned to flee.

Instinct.
And a mistake.

The Nameless One closed the distance in two steps.

No explosive speed.

Simply—
The world did not impede him.

He grabbed the back of the Envoy’s neck.

Twisted gently.

Cervical vertebra dislocated.

Third kill.

The rain drowned everything.

Three bodies lay in the forest.

No traces of Flame.
No sign of struggle.

As if—
They had never encountered the Flame Domain’s enemy.

But had been lightly erased by the world itself.

The Nameless One stood in the rain.

Breathing slightly faster.

Not from fatigue.

But—
From psychological reaction.

This was the first time he had actively ended a life.

Even without memory,
His body remembered the weight of it.

He lowered his gaze to the corpses.

No pleasure.
No guilt.

Only a vague cognition:

“If I do not do this…”
“…I will disappear.”

Not an excuse.
A fact.

In the distance.

Flame Domain patrol arrays suddenly lit up red.

The Flame Order markers of the three Envoys—
Extinguished simultaneously.

At the Flame Domain center.

The Flame Sovereigns jolted upright.

“Confirm the method of death.”

The Flame Officer’s voice was tight.

“Flame-less reaction.”
“Flame-less killing.”
“Target confirmed—”

He swallowed.

“Already actively clearing trackers.”

For the first time, the Council felt real fear.

Not because of the dead.

But because—
They had created a killing logic unbound by any Flame constraint.

The rain stopped.

The Nameless One left the forest.

He did not know where to go.

But he knew—
He could not stop.

Behind him,
The manhunt level quietly escalated.