The office buzzed louder than usual.
A new supernatural recruit had joined the cybersecurity division—Karex, a shadow-walker from the lower realm. Sharp teeth, sharper ego, and a habit of sizing up humans like prey.
He'd already melted a keyboard with his touch and made an intern cry.
Now, his eyes settled on her.
Y/n.
Sitting in her usual spot, oversized hoodie covering half her face, sipping cold coffee through a steel straw like it was her last shred of sanity.
Headphones in. Focused. Untouchable.
Too untouchable, for Karex's liking.
He strolled over, all smug and shadowy, dark tendrils trailing behind him like snakes.
"Hey, mortal girl," he hissed, voice low and arrogant, "don't you get tired of pretending you belong here?"
Y/n didn't respond.
Not at first.
She finished typing a line of code. Took a slow sip. Removed one earbud.
Then she looked at him.
One. Single. Glare.
Not rage.
Not fear.
Not even annoyance.
Just a cold, sharp, emotionless stare.
Like her eyes said:
"Try it. Just once. And you'll see what happens."
Karex paused.
Something flickered in his shadows.
His smirk twitched.
And for the first time, the so-called soul-melting demon took a step back.
"...Tch. Whatever," he muttered, voice suddenly quieter.
And just like that, he turned around and walked away.
Pouting.
Back to his seat.
The others on the floor were dead silent.
No one spoke.
No one dared.
Because everyone had seen what just happened.
The girl with cold coffee and colder eyes?
She didn't need powers.
She was the warning.
Later that day, in the executive floor, Jeon Ares reviewed the report.
"Shadow-walker Karex neutralized?" he read aloud, amusement curling in his voice.
Lilith raised a brow. "She didn't even move."
"She didn't have to," Ares replied, glancing at the security cam still frozen on Y/n's glare.
There was something deeply unholy about how calm she stayed in a world full of chaos.
Or maybe it wasn't unholy.
Maybe it was human resilience.
The kind even demons feared.
And Ares?
He respected that.
No.
He admired it.