Chapter 18: Flame Hunters Cross the Line

(A Monster Designed Solely to Kill the Flame-less Appears)

A Flame Hunter was not a title.

It was a solution.

On the very day disturbances erupted within the Flame Prison,
the Flame Domain Council passed a resolution that had never been made public.

Activate the Flame Hunter Program.

This program was marked:
To be used only when the risk of Flame Order failure exceeds the threshold.

In other words—
The Flame Domain admitted it could no longer solve the problem with Flame Practitioners.

Flame Hunters did not cultivate Flame.

Even the Flame Sovereigns found that irony bitter.

Their Flame veins were stripped.
Their Flame perception sealed.

In their place—
The Flame Order directly engraved recognition directives.

They did not need to understand Flame.

They only needed to execute:

Find the Flame-less one → Eliminate.

The first Flame Hunter was awakened.

No name.

Only a designation—
H-01.

His body had been reshaped by the Flame Order.

Bones reinforced, yet not dependent on Flame.
Musculature adjusted for minimal reaction latency.
The nervous system bypassed consciousness, directly linked to the judgment layer.

He was not a cultivator.
Not even a living being.

But—
A mobile verdict.

The Flame Hunter crossed the boundary in the simplest way possible.

The Flame Domain opened a low-Flame passage for him.

Not teleportation.

But—
Forcing the world to temporarily accept his unreasonableness.

The moment H-01 stepped out of the passage,

Flame energy in the surroundings retreated automatically.

Not fear.

Recognition.

Flame knew him.

The Nameless One was resting on the edge of a ruined city.

He had just managed to stop the bleeding from his wounds.

His body remained fragile.

The price of the second transformation meant he could not endure prolonged combat.

The instant he closed his eyes—

A strange sense of pressure descended.

Not Flame.

Yet far more oppressive than Flame.

He opened his eyes.

And saw—
Someone who should not exist.

H-01 stood at the far end of the street.

No Flame aura.
No killing intent.
No emotion.

Yet the Nameless One judged instantly:

More dangerous than a Flame Sovereign.

Because the way this being existed—
Was designed for him.

The Flame Hunter moved.

No opening stance.
No probing.

A single punch, advancing in a straight line.

Not fast.

But inevitable.

The Nameless One twisted aside.

The fist passed by—

And his shoulder collapsed instantly.

Not from being struck.

But—
From space being compressed.

He let out a muffled groan and staggered back several steps.

His chest churned.

For the first time—

In a Flame-less state, he was being directly suppressed.

The Flame Hunter halted.

Recognition directives updated.

Target confirmed:
Flame-less response ✓
Existence stability: Abnormally high
Processing level: Elevated

In the next moment—

His movements changed.

No longer linear.

But—
Sealing.

The Nameless One realized it then.

Flame Hunters did not rely on strength.

They relied on—
Reverse adaptation to Flame-less existence.

Every step landed on the point where the Nameless One was hardest to stabilize.

Every strike forced him toward one outcome—
Either call upon Flame again, or collapse completely.

The battle lasted less than half a quarter-hour.

The Nameless One was already covered in wounds.

Without recovery abilities, the cost accumulated rapidly.

For the first time, he realized—

He might die.

Not be erased.

But processed.

At the instant the Flame Hunter was about to complete lock-on—

The Nameless One made an instinctive choice.

Not to counterattack.

But—
To completely contract his existence.

He gave up resistance.
Gave up escape.

Leaving only a single thought:

I am.

The world paused—just slightly.

The Flame Hunter’s recognition directive stalled for a fraction of a breath.

Negligible.

Yet enough—
For the Nameless One to fall into a shadowed passage that split open beneath him.

Not spatial movement.

But—
Existence slippage.

The Flame Hunter remained where he stood.

Recognition failed.
Directives refreshed.

Target status:
Not confirmed eliminated
State: Continuous pursuit

He turned.

His gaze locked onto the distance.

The Flame Domain Council received the report.

“The Flame Hunter has engaged the target.”

“And the result?”

“The target is not dead.”

A brief silence followed.

Then a Flame Sovereign spoke coldly:

“Mass-produce them.”

Those two words—

Declared that the Flame Domain had officially
crossed the line of humanity.

At the end of the shadows,

The Nameless One collapsed to the ground.

His consciousness blurred.
His body near its limit.

Yet he smiled faintly.

“So that’s how it is…”

“You really are afraid of me living.”