PLAGUED SHADOWS

Prologue: A Chance Encounter

Baracs walked through the streets, her hood tightening in as she strolled past several humans. She hated wearing this coat, as it squeezed her black hair against her back. But, if they saw her face, there would be questions and, while she wasn't above just removing them, it would feel insulting to do so.

She took a seat on a bench, needing to rest her eyes. She didn't know how long she sat there, recalling the day she decided to come here. It fealt like decades since she came to this backwater place. But she remembers the words her…friend(?) spoke.

"We've faced death more times than we can count. If you want to talk, you need only ask."

"How very kind of you," she replied sarcastically, "But this is something I need to figure out for myself."

She was honestly amazed that the Mo-

"Hello, Ma'am."

Red pinkish-red eyes snapped open, and she glared at the offending party. A tall man, not bulky but not thin, had approached her. Based on the pheromones she smelt, the man was clearly infatuated with her.

"What?" She growled.

"I noticed that you were all alone-"

"Perhaps I wanted to be alone." A green Aura glowed off of her, startling the man.

"I-I didn't realize you were a Hunter."

Ah, yes, Hunters. Those foolish humans who go around, killing the 'monsters' that come out of the 'dungeons'. She nearly chuckled. 'If only they knew what real monsters are.'

"And now you do. Do you intend to stay here?"

Truth be told, she could easily just kill this man, but there were too many witnesses. And she wanted to take a break from her usual duties. And she wasn't in the mood to seduce and lure him to a quiet area.

Luckily for him, the man clearly knew when to take a hint, and walked away, nearly breaking into a run. She smirked. Humans were so easy to break.

As she returned to her thoughts, a familiar scent caught her attention. The scent of a dungeon. It would seem there's one nearby. Curiosity got the better of her, and she decided she'd see what kind of entertainment there was.

Entertainment…and these humans surely did provide that.

After an hour of walking (truth be told, she could've gotten there much faster, but she was in no hurry), she found a cordoned off area, in the middle of a construction yard. She could see the humans, several of them were exhausted, and clearly traumatized. Baracs smirked, as the scent of this dungeon is weak, so these humans were just pathetic. One girl, lying on the ground, shot up with a cry.

"Sung Jin-woo!" She cried out, when a one armed man put his remaining hand on her.

"Joohee," he exclaimed, "Calm down. The Hunters Association will be here soon."

"Wait, Mr. Song, where's Jin-woo?"

The man, Song, closed his eyes in shame. "You weren't willing to leave, so I had to knock you out."

Joohee's eyes widened in shock and horror. "So he's still in there?! We have to go back!"

"He's as good as dead." Another woman cried out.

"If you had just listened to him, then we all could've gotten out!"

"There's no guarantee of that," a man with a blue jacket retorted, "Yeah, we might've survived or that timer could've triggered some trap that would've killed us. I'm sorry…but I have a family, so I can't risk dying."

Joohee's eyes were shaking in horror, making Baracs lick her lips. However, she did hate the incesent whining of humans. They always grated her ears. Cries of sorrow she licked, but not whining. She turned her gaze to the Gate…and began walking towards it. It was at this moment that the Hunters finally noticed her presence.

"Hey, wait, Miss, where are you going?"

"Into the Gate."

Song narrowed his eyes, a feeling growing inside him. The tone of this woman. It wasn't an air of confidence or arrogance. It was a tone of finality. The kind you get when the moment you step into a battle, you've already won, and your opponent knows it.

"What rank are you?"

She tilted her head, her gaze piercing Song, not once stopping. The force of her mere presence nearly made him pass out.

"Nevermind."

Baracs turned her gaze back as she stepped through. Inside were towering pillars that connected to the roof, marble ground clicking her heels. The pillars would be more opulent if they didn't have scorch or broken parts, likely the result of the 'Hunters'. She reached a tunnel that stretched on forever, likely the path to the 'boss' as the humans called them. Strolling through, she fealt a…familiar scent. She couldn't remember where she fealt it, but it nearly made her pause in her stride. She shook her head.

'What could possibly frighten me?!' She growled. She'd find the source of this feeling, and she'll make it suffer.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, she found a round, stone table…with a young boy lying motionless on the table. He had a blue jacket and jeans on, and his facial expression…It was clear he was in a lot of pain before passing out. Approaching the boy, she concluded that this was this Sung Jin-woo the girl spoke of. He had no injuries on him, even his clothes were barely damaged (aside from a small cut, revealing the black shirt underneath the jacket. He looked so pitiful, so helpless, so…

Baracs licked her lips, her eyes hungering.

"It would be so easy…" she muttered to herself, "Your friends think you're already dead. And what a tragedy it would be."

She reached her hand out, her fingers sharpening into claws.

"Imagine the feeling they'll get when they learn that they truly left you to die."

Her eyes glows as she smirked, revealing sharpened fangs. Her narrowed her fingers, intent on plunging her hand through his chest…when she fealt it. The familiar scent. She was at the epicenter.

It was coming from this boy.

"Why…why do you have-?"

"IN HERE!"

Her eyes widened, as the cave started to be illuminated. She slightly turned her head, seeing over a dozen Hunters. It seems reinforcements had arrived.

'Damn…it seems like I missed my chance.' She scolded herself. Sure, she could kill all of them easily. Just a wave of her hand, and they'd be swarmed, literally. But she still needed to figure herself out. She retracted her claws and turned around, heading the opposite way.

"Ma'am," one of the Hunters questioned her, "You got here before we did. Did you find anything?"

She whipped her head to him, making him flinch. "I only got here a minute before you. I doubt much would change since then. Don't ask stupid questions."

Without another word, she walked past them, snarling. The scent, off of the boy. Why did it bother her so much? She had to find out, in a way that wouldn't detract from her own personal mission.

But she was Querehsha, a Monarch. Something as simple as this wouldn't slow her down.

Author's Notes: This might come as a bit of a surprise. However, I very much love Solo Leveling (and I'm slowly getting into the sequel, SL: Ragnarok).

However, I originally had no intention of writing this story. Why? Because of friend of mine was going to do it, and it was going to be her first fanfic. She was a much faster writer than I could ever be, and I even tried to emulate how fast she wrote (my original supporters will remember my early months, pumping out chapter week after week). We had longed talked about the concept of this story, detailing each arc, how different things could be.

But then tragedy struck. She got into a terrible pile up that ruined her hands. While her left hand could be salvaged, her right hand (her dominate hand) couldn't be so easily saved. She can still use it, but her writing is SEVERELY hampered. She doesn't know if she'll be able to write this story, so I offered to do it for her. In essence, she gives the plotbeats, and I write them down, and then type them out.

As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.