The hulking mercenary tightened his rough grip upon Juna's slender arm, bursting into arrogant, booming laughter before the quiet tavern.
His yellowed teeth flashed with cruel mockery as he sneered at the slender young man standing calmly before his chest.
"Are you insane, boy...?" the mercenary barked, bursting into arrogant, booming laughter. "Threaten me in my own guild hall and I'll break your jaw!"
"Let her go right now," Hajin replied, his tone chillingly level as he took a half-step forward. "You won't get another warning from me."
"Hear that, boys?" the brute laughed, turning toward his drinking companions at the corner table. "The beggar thinks he can give orders in an adventurer hall!"
"Put the pup in the dirt, Brann!" one companion yelled, slamming his tankard down. "Show him what happens to insolent trash!"
"A wolf pet is wasted on a beggar," the brute sneered, flashing rotten yellow teeth as he jerked her arm closer. "Be glad I'm taking the burden off your hands!"
"I am nobody's pet!" Juna snarled, bearing her sharp fangs while digging her heels into the floorboards. "Touch me again and I rip your throat out!"
"Shut your mouth, dog," the brute snapped, raising a calloused fist to strike her cheek. "I'll teach you obedience once we leave!"
Juna felt her stomach twist violently at his words, remembering every cruel slaver who priced her like livestock in the frontier cages.
Her eyes dimmed with bitter resentment as the oppressive weight of mortal prejudice threatened to crush her spirit.
The comment feed at the edge of his vision shifted rapidly upward as excited Earth viewers flooded the chat.
Dozens of new messages flashed in vibrant green lettering, reacting to the escalating confrontation unfolding on their screens.
[ CringeSlayer91: nah this arrogant brute has way too much mouth on him ]
[ ShadowMage44: why is hajin just standing there taking this disrespect from a scrub ]
'I gave him a polite warning... now he gets the brutal language of the back-alley gutter.'
"What are you gonna do...?" the brute sneered with a cocky grin, giving her arm another rough tug. "We've got forty armed killers in here!"
The mercenary yanked her arm once more to flaunt his authority, but Hajin moved before the sentence concluded.
His right hand shot forward with blinding speed, cutting through the stagnant tavern air like a striking serpent.
A hand clamped over the mercenary's mouth mid-laugh, hoisting the two-hundred-pound warrior clean off the floorboards.
The brute flailed his armored legs in midair, clawing desperately at the single arm holding him aloft without strain.
A collective gasp echoed across the entire guild hall as forty veteran adventurers froze in absolute, disbelieving shock.
The casual ease with which he lifted an armored knight stunned every hardened sellsword watching from the benches.
A radiant golden Ring ignited around Hajin's right wrist a moment later, revolving smoothly with dazzling divine brilliance.
The luminous halo cast a warm beam across the suffocating mercenary's bulging eyes and terror-stricken, swollen face.
The manifestation displayed no jagged crystalline facets, lacking imperfect nodes or crude elemental mana impurities whatsoever.
Every trained fighter in the hall stared in stunned disbelief, unable to categorize the divine phenomenon revolving before them.
Several veteran warriors reached for their sword hilts on instinct, then froze as ancient pressure pressed upon their souls.
The radiant perfection of the rotating divine ring defied every established rule recorded in standard imperial magical texts.
The ancient authority emanating from the radiant circle reminded several elder mages of forgotten primordial relics from legend.
The quiet tavern air hummed with raw energy, vibrating the wooden flagons resting upon the nearby tavern tables.
[ CringeSlayer91: holy shit he picked up a two hundred pound knight with one hand ]
[ DarkBlade: that ring aura looks insanely god tier, the animations went crazy ]
Behind the exchange desk, the dismissive guild clerk pressed both trembling palms flat against the counter.
An unrecorded rank symbol suggested forbidden bloodlines, lost divine inheritances, or legendary awakenings that invited catastrophe from high nobles.
'What is that circle rotating around his wrist... where are his crystalline Shards?!'
The mercenary clawed frantically at the vise grip, his arrogant swagger evaporating into raw, primal terror under his gaze.
He kicked his feet frantically against empty air, unable to find leverage against the unyielding stone-like arm.
"I gave you fair warning," Hajin whispered, his voice dangerously smooth as his fingers tightened. "You chose to ignore it."
Two jagged earth Shards manifested around the mercenary's left wrist as the panicked warrior attempted to channel stone mana.
Hajin stepped forward with fluid momentum, smashing the thrashing warrior violently into the central load-bearing pillar of the hall.
The violent impact shattered the outer masonry, sending spiderweb cracks racing up the pillar toward the high ceiling.
Stone fragments and white plaster dust rained upon the floorboards, rattling the chandeliers suspended above.
A choked scream broke beneath his clamped palm as the mercenary's dented breastplate buckled against the cracked stone.
The concussive shockwave vibrated through the foundation of the tavern, spilling frothy ale across several nearby tables.
Juna stared with one ear perked forward and the other pinned flat against her hair in shock.
Her pupils dilated in disbelief as she witnessed the crushing physical dominance wielded by her quiet human summoner.
'He stood up for me... an actual human warrior stood against an entire guild hall for me.'
The profound confusion hurt more than the mercenary's violent grip, shattering the rigid cynicism that guarded her heart.
His ferocious wrath carried no greed or selfish desire, defending her dignity with pure, unyielding protective fury.
One of the mercenary's drunken companions mustered his courage, taking a hesitant step forward with an unsheathed shortsword.
His hand shook noticeably as he pointed the blade toward Hajin's back, trying to project false bravado.
"H-hey! Let him go...!" the companion stammered, his hand shaking violently on his drawn shortsword. "You can't just attack a guild member over some words!"
"Step forward if you want to join him against the stone," Hajin answered without turning his head, his voice ringing like an execution decree. "Take one more step!"
"He's crazy!" the second companion hissed, tugging at the swordsman's sleeve. "Look at that ring on his wrist, idiot! Back away!"
The swordsman sheathed his weapon with shaking hands, retreating swiftly into the safety of the watching crowd without speaking another word.
The watching adventurers shook their heads in silent contempt, leaving the trapped mercenary to face his harsh punishment without any aid.
None among them felt inclined to trade their limbs or broken bones for a loudmouthed sellsword who provoked an unknown powerhouse.
Hajin maintained his clamped right palm over the brute's mouth, shifting his stance to drag the hulking man downward until their faces stood level.
With his left hand, he gripped the man's throat just above the breastplate collar, locking his thumb against the windpipe to prevent any sudden thrashing.
He maintained the punishing hold with effortless leverage, keeping the struggling mercenary inches before Juna's eyes.
[ ShadowMage44: drag him down and force him to look her in the eyes ]
"Look at her," he commanded, his fingers digging into the brute's windpipe until the man wheezed in sheer panic.
The mercenary tried to wrench his head aside in shame, but fingers on his throat kept his face pointed forward.
The ruthless grip tightened slightly, forcing the bruised warrior to stare directly into her glowing eyes.
"I said look at her," he repeated, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper. "Keep your eyes on her before I snap your neck."
Juna stood frozen as the battered mercenary met her gaze, seeing raw, unfiltered terror in his bloodshot eyes.
Never in her mortal life did an arrogant human oppressor bow his head before her wolf heritage in public.
Hajin finally pulled his right palm back from the man's mouth, leaving only his left hand anchored firmly against the collar.
The mercenary wheezed loudly, coughing up flecks of blood and saliva onto the splintered floorboards as air rushed into his throat.
"Apologize," he instructed with chilling calm, easing his palm just enough for the man to breathe. "Choose your words carefully."
"Crazy... wolf freak-!" the brute spat, dragging air into his bruised lungs with a bloody snarl.
Hajin slammed the back of the mercenary's skull into the cracked pillar, eliciting loud gasps from the onlookers.
Plaster dust rained down upon their shoulders as the violent impact shook the ceiling beams a second time.
"Wrong answer," he murmured coldly, hauling the bleeding skull back from the shattered stone. "Try speaking like a civilized person."
[ LurkerNoMore: teach him another lesson, break his remaining pride until he speaks her name ]
The mercenary's head snapped forward as Hajin hauled him upright again, refusing to grant him unconsciousness or relief.
A crimson trickle ran down the brute's temple, mingling with stinging perspiration and tears of absolute humiliation and pain.
The surrounding mercenaries shifted uncomfortably against the railings, unwilling to step into the killing arc of a man with such dead eyes.
The sickening thud of the second impact reverberated through the floor joists, silencing any lingering whispers among the rear tables.
Juna watched a warm wave of emotion sweep through her chest, melting the guarded walls around her spirit.
He fought this battle exclusively for her sake, demanding absolute respect for her identity before forty silent human witnesses.
Hajin brought the shuddering warrior close once more, forcing the swollen face directly before the watching wolf girl.
"Her name is Juna," he said, holding the terrified man inches from her face. "Say her name... and apologize for putting your filthy hands on her."
The mercenary's lips trembled violently as he looked into Juna's glowing eyes, stripped of his arrogant bravado.
The last remnants of his stubborn defiance shattered beneath Hajin's suffocating killer intent and unyielding physical grip.
"S-sorry! I'm sorry...!" the brute sobbed in sheer terror, tears and blood leaking down his stubble. "I shouldn't have touched you... please spare me!"
"Hear that?" he asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder toward her. "Does that apology satisfy you, or should I break his fingers?"
"It... it is enough," Juna whispered softly, her chest tightening as she stared at the sobbing warrior. "Let him go."
The guild hall remained in breathless silence as the public apology echoed across the wide, ale-stained floorboards.
The mercenaries who laughed earlier stared at the floor in shame, realizing that true power answered to no one.
For the first time in her existence, the crushing shame of prejudice belonged to the oppressors rather than to her.
She felt her chest expand with an unfamiliar lightness, as if ancient shackles dissolved from her wounded spiritual form.
[ DarkBlade: this scene deserves the cover poster of the entire anime series ]
"Thank you, Hajin," Juna breathed softly, her fingers trembling against her chest as the warm lunar insignia thrummed with deep resonance.
Before Hajin could reply, the thick brass entrance doors swung open as someone pushed them open from the street.
A commanding presence entered the guild hall, casting long frost-rimmed shadows across the stunned crowd of silent adventurers.
Five pale azure frost Shards hovered in a slow, protective orbit around the woman's crystalline pauldrons, radiating concentrated fifth-circle chill.
The silver-stitched adjudicator mantle draped over her shoulder bore the polished bronze emblem of Guild Champion Number 412.
"What is the meaning of this disturbance in an official guild reception hall?" Lady Yenna demanded, her frost Shards flaring with glacial pressure.
"He destroyed the pillar!" the reception clerk shrieked from behind his desk, pointing a shaking finger at Hajin. "He attacked our members without an adventurer badge!"
"Silence, clerk," Lady Yenna snapped, her cold glare cutting through the man's frantic protests instantly. "I have two working eyes."
Her voice carried the sharp, ringing clarity of glacial ice fracturing under winter pressure, cutting through the stale tavern air.
Hajin did not lower the trembling mercenary, keeping his steel grip locked as he glanced casually toward the grand entrance.
"He was just leaving," he replied with a lazy half-smirk, adjusting his grip on the brute's throat. "You arrived at the perfect time."
"Drop that man before I freeze both of your hands to the stone," Lady Yenna warned, stepping forward with glacial authority. "Violence against licensed adventurers inside this hall carries immediate imprisonment."
"He put hands on my companion and tried to drag her into an alley," Hajin answered calmly, meeting her glare without a trace of fear. "I merely taught him basic manners."
"Is that true, clerk?" she demanded, turning her sharp profile toward the terrified man behind the counter. "Speak the truth before I inspect your memory coils."
"I... well, Brann did grab her coat first, Lady Yenna," the clerk stammered, sweating profusely under her gaze. "But the boy didn't have a badge!"
"Lack of a badge does not invite lawless assault," she stated coldly, looking back toward Hajin. "Release him, now."
The battered mercenary nodded frantically in his grasp, eager to escape the terrifying wrath of the ring-wielding youth.
The veteran mercenaries seated near the hearth scrambled backward from their benches, whispering her name with immediate deference and dread.
Lady Yenna of the North, the highest-ranking active champion assigned to inspect the capital's lower district guild houses, walked steadily forward.
Her eyes swept over the shattered masonry, the blood smeared across the pillar base, and the ring orbiting Hajin's wrist.
The frost mana clinging to her silver greaves froze the ale spills on the floorboards into glistening white crystals with every step.
Hajin met her frosty appraisal without flinching, releasing his grip so the whimpering brute tumbled onto the floorboards in a pathetic heap.
"Now that the trash is cleared, you owe the guild for a broken pillar," Lady Yenna declared, crossing her armored arms. "Unless you plan to run."
"I never run from an honest debt," he answered smoothly, wiping a stray fleck of dust from his sleeve. "Tell me your price."