The Foreigner on the Periphery

The magician had reportedly refused all commissions since his discharge from the hospital. The police had assumed he was simply focusing on his recovery.

Until today, that is.

But Kim Cheol-su delivered bad news after searching the man's home.

"His primary residence in Hannam-dong was completely empty."

They had also requested Lakefield's help, but the spirits failed to locate anyone matching his description.

They weren't completely without clues, however.

"We tracked his cell phone signal. His last known location was a villa on the outskirts of Seoul. The owner is a shell corporation that exists only on paper."

Of course, he might just be resting. He could have headed out of the city and turned off his phone to recuperate in peace.

But...

Minjun thought of a far more compelling theory than a simple desire to disconnect from the world.

"He might be using that place as his new base of operations."

Minjun decided to raid the location.

He had initially planned to go alone, but Kim Cheol-su earnestly pleaded for a joint operation with the police.

"Mr. Ye! I can't let you go into a place like that alone, no matter what! Please let us assist you!"

In Kim Cheol-su's eyes, Minjun was still the soft-hearted teacher who couldn't even hurt a fly. Not even the explanation that he had been working for the Immigration Office for decades could break that stubborn preconception.

Ultimately, Minjun agreed under one condition.

"Then I will take the lead, and the police will strictly provide cover. If you can't accept that, I'll just go alone. You know full well that I can get my way with a single phone call."

Kim Cheol-su had no choice but to agree.

It was late into the night when Minjun arrived near the villa alongside the Magic Investigation Squad and police special forces. Police cruisers quietly pulled up to a spot far enough away that their engine noise wouldn't reach the building.

Cloaked in stealth Magic, Minjun approached the very front of the villa. Kim Cheol-su waited anxiously in the rear.

Feeling their gazes on his back, Minjun assessed the target.

'That is a meticulously crafted barrier.'

Honestly, it was the finest Non-Dragon Races barrier he had seen recently. Considering a dragon had no hand in its creation, it was practically a masterpiece.

It was so flawless that even Minjun couldn't sense anything inside.

'That magician didn't possess this level of skill.'

A barrier of this caliber wasn't something you could just buy from the Witch Cooperative, either.

'Could that Ego Sword actually be well-versed in Magic, too?'

Did the magician construct this barrier under the sword's control?

He would have his answer soon enough.

Minjun raised a hand. The barrier's quality was far too high to dismantle quietly. He had no choice but to smash it.

The agent gathered Magic in his hand.

   *

The assassin Eric was incredibly on edge.

He was a partner-level killer for Abrams Helper Service, a syndicate that had dominated the global contract killing market in recent years.

He was far beyond a simple contractor splitting commissions; he owned shares in the company and collected hefty dividends on top of his hit fees. But those privileges came with obligations. As both a shareholder and an executive, the sudden rampage of one of their own assassins was a massive headache to him.

'Blade murdered a colleague.'

Eric knew the man sometimes controlled others to execute targets rather than getting his own hands dirty.

He had often wondered what kind of Supernatural Ability it was, but the industry's unwritten rules kept him from prying. They had never had the chance for idle chatter, anyway. Having never even met face-to-face, they exchanged information strictly through encrypted documents.

Besides, as long as the job got done, it was standard practice not to poke into unnecessary details—and Blade was exceptionally good at his job.

So when Blade controlled and ultimately killed the troll—an assassin stationed at the Seoul branch who handled communications with headquarters—Eric had been deeply shocked.

'He must have gone insane. Or maybe he's just senile.'

No one knew exactly how old Blade was. But considering his name had been echoing through the underworld for decades, he might very well be an elderly man.

Had dementia finally set in? Unless he had lost his mind, he never would have used a syndicate killer as a sacrificial pawn.

'Blade must be eliminated.'

Leaving a traitor alive would inevitably shake the organization and fracture the trust of its members.

The partner-level killers exchanged opinions and voted unanimously to dispose of him.

To assassinate a living legend of the contract killing world, the partner-level killer Eric and a team of assassins under his command were dispatched. They soon picked up Blade's trail in Korea.

However, the trail quickly went cold.

'And the kidnapping of Choi Panseok's daughter was a failure.'

Choi Seona was the catalyst for Blade's irrational behavior. Even now, Eric couldn't understand why the master assassin had shown any interest in a mission involving such an ordinary woman.

Furthermore, after arriving in Korea, Blade had dragged his feet instead of killing Kwak Do-chul right away. What exactly had Blade been doing during those few days he spent off the grid, keeping headquarters entirely in the dark? Coincidentally, it was the exact same timeframe during which Choi Seona had gone missing.

'We've lost contact with the guy sent to kidnap Choi Seona, too. It'll be a relief if he successfully committed suicide, but what if he was captured?'

The only saving grace was that the operative was a low-level killer. He knew no critical intelligence, nor the location of the safehouse where Eric was currently holed up.

'We need to make a move soon. The longer we stay here, the higher the opportunity cost...'

He was deep in these thoughts when it happened.

Boom!

The entire secret safehouse violently shook. A deafening roar hammered his ears.

Instead of screaming in panic, the veteran killer immediately drew his weapon.

A blue aura coalesced around the Weapon Master's favored sword. The other assassins in the safehouse rushed down to the first floor, glaring at the entrance. Their faces were taut with murderous intent and tension.

'How did they breach that barrier?!'

He could only guess the intruder's identity.

'Could it be... Blade?! Did he realize we were hunting him and launch a counterattack?'

The night wind from the forest howled through the blasted-out doorway. A lone man standing in the rectangular void of darkness peered inside. Then, sounding completely dumbfounded, he muttered.

"...What the hell? Where's that magician bastard, and why are there so many random goons in here?"

   *

Minjun was utterly baffled as the barrier shattered.

He had cracked the place open expecting to find the hideout of a magician possessed by an Ego Sword, but what he found instead were... a bunch of men radiating a mix of astonishment and naked bloodlust.

He quickly memorized the locations of everyone present—both the men standing out in the open and the ones holding their breath, hopelessly trying to stay hidden in the corners of the villa.

Dash!

The enemy made the first move.

There was no signal. No battle cry.

Led by Eric lunging forward, the assassins unleashed a storm of attacks.

'It doesn't look like Blade is controlling all these bastards.'

Minjun thought as he evaded the violent storm of blades aiming for his life.

'They have the same vibe as that bastard I saw yesterday.'

Even when the goal—snapping the enemy's neck—is exactly the same, every killer's methodology carries distinct traits.

A thick stench of blood clung to their strikes. It was entirely different from the sickly-sweet rot of dark magicians. These men didn't trade blood for Magic. They traded blood for gold.

'Assassins.'

He had spent hundreds of years doing assassination work until he was sick of it. He had killed criminals, and he had killed special targets designated by the Committee. He couldn't even count the bodies.

They couldn't fool his refined senses. Every single one of them was a professional in that line of work. And right now, only one syndicate came to mind.

'Abrams?'

He silently relayed the situation to the police waiting outside. At the same time, he pondered.

Had these guys already eliminated the magician? Was that why his phone signal had vanished here?

After running through a few possibilities, Minjun wiped the theories from his mind entirely.

He didn't need to give himself a headache over this convoluted mess. His life was already complicated enough.

So Minjun decided to simplify the problem.

'I'll just beat the living daylights out of them, and the answers will spill out!'

Shadows began to boil up from the agent's back.

Kiyaaaaa!

Minjun put his long-held philosophy into practice: having too many tongues to wag isn't always a good thing.

He had no intention of leaving all these assassins alive. A black streak smashed into the face of a bloodshot-eyed killer lunging at him. It was the thick arm of the shadow monster.

Smack!

"Gah!"

Minjun clicked his tongue.

'Oh? He didn't die in one hit?'

The most suitable Supernatural Abilities for an assassin were either Magic or Weapon Mastery. Most of these thugs seemed to belong to the latter category. They possessed physiques that utterly transcended the limits of their species.

The monster hovering over Minjun's shoulder retracted its massive fist and immediately slammed it forward twice more.

Smash! Smash!

The second blow caved in his nose and cheekbones, and the third completely pulverized his face.

Having blown one man's head to pieces, Minjun took another step forward.

Swish!

The shadows lashed out in all directions like whips, cleaving through the assassins' flesh. Enemies collapsed to the floor, spilling blood and entrails. More hitmen vaulted over the corpses of their comrades. Aura blades danced through the air. The darkness seemed to weave around the glowing blades for a split second before mercilessly devouring them whole.

That was when the police finally poured in to provide cover. Kim Cheol-su, leading the charge, shouted.

"Everyone, protect Mr. Ye—Gasp?!"

He couldn't finish his command, barely managing to swallow a terrified scream.

'Dark Magic?!'

He couldn't believe his eyes.

Minjun was tearing through the assassins like a hurricane. But his fighting style was nothing like what Kim Cheol-su had expected.

Hovering over his revered teacher's shoulder was a grotesque shadow monster butchering everything in its path. The enemies were being helplessly blasted apart and slaughtered.

'Mr. Ye is using Dark Magic?!'

The shadow trailing behind Minjun formed into a massive tail and snatched up an assassin, coiling tightly around his throat. The killer violently thrashed, but soon went limp with a sickening crack!

Kim Cheol-su felt goosebumps erupt all over his body. Such a respectable, honorable man was using Dark Magic? Was that ruthless figure commanding a monster to snap a man's neck really his old teacher?

But his shock was only brief. The elderly magician directed his subordinates and chanted a spell. Flames whipped from his hands like serpentine tails, completely cutting off the assassins' escape routes.

Ambushed in the dead of night, the assassins couldn't make any sense of the situation.

'Why the hell are they here?!'

'The Korean police? How did they find us?'

'And who is that monstrous dark magician?!'

The situation was completely hopeless. Eric finally made a decision.

"Fall back! Everyone, fall back!"

Minjun sneered.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Rampaging like an evil spirit, Minjun's movements grew even more savage. A horrific slaughter ensued. The assassins' safehouse was instantly transformed into a hellscape littered with blood, chunks of flesh, and severed limbs.

Eric stepped up to block his path.

"Stop right there, you demon!"

The longsword in his hand blazed with a brilliant aura. Eric violently channeled every last drop of his strength in a desperate last stand. Deflecting the blade with his shadow, Minjun thought.

'This guy is the strongest of the bunch. Must be the boss. Better keep him alive.'

He had originally intended to lop off one of his limbs, but the man was surprisingly nimble. Minjun shifted his target.

'I'll just knock him out.'

A Weapon Master of this caliber would possess a physical toughness closer to a stone golem than a living creature. In order to neutralize a freak like this without killing him...

'Ah, right.'

A sudden thought crossed Minjun's mind.

'Why don't I test its performance before I sell it?'

It was a very casual thought.

While Minjun had left the attacking entirely to the half-merged shadow monster, his own two hands were completely free. He reached his right hand into the empty air and pulled something out of nowhere.

"...?!"

Seeing the weapon, Eric desperately tried to twist his body away. But the monster's relentless assault kept him pinned, leaving him entirely defenseless.

That brief opening was exactly what Minjun had been waiting for.

At this moment, it was as if Minjun had four arms. In his empty right hand, he now gripped his newly acquired weapon. It was a blunt instrument glowing with a brilliant silver luster. The heavy lump of metal was perfectly reflected in Eric's horrified eyes.

'A frying...?'

That was Eric's final thought.

Crunch!

Minjun swung with all his might. He only meant to strike Eric's temple and knock him unconscious.

But it didn't quite work out that way.

"...?!"

Minjun had expected the Frying Pan to deliver a moderate shock to the enemy's skull and then bounce off.

That expectation was spectacularly shattered. His right hand swept clean through in a wide horizontal arc. It was a flawlessly smooth swing.

And when it was over, absolutely nothing remained above Eric's neck.

Thump!

Minjun slowly turned his head. Splattered against the living room wall was something resembling a crushed grape. It was Eric's head.

He hadn't meant to do that...

It was true that a summoner's physical strength massively increased while partially fused with a summoned shadow monster.

But Minjun was a master at controlling his own strength. He had explicitly aimed to just knock the man out, yet the head had gone flying off. Like a bottle cap flicked away with a finger.

He stared down at the Orichalcum Frying Pan. Clumps of bone and blood clung to the edge as it pulsed with a bizarre energy. It was a resonance that Minjun had never intended to trigger.

'Dell... just what the hell did you do to this thing?'

Meanwhile, the remaining assassins were quickly dealt with. From that point on, Minjun was extremely careful not to accidentally kill anyone. Now that the leader was dead, there was no telling who might hold the most valuable intelligence.

Eventually, four survivors were subdued and forced to their knees. Minjun immediately took measures to ensure they couldn't bite their own tongues or commit suicide.

"M-Mr. Ye?"

Kim Cheol-su approached with a dizzy expression. His eyes were swirling with anguish, his face showing that he didn't even know where to begin asking questions.

Minjun held up a hand.

"Hold on, let's interrogate these scumbags first."

"What? You mean right here?"

Rather than answering, Minjun tossed the silver Frying Pan into his subspace inventory. He reached into the empty air once again. This time, he pulled out a pitch-black Frying Pan that completely contrasted with the silver one.

Gripping the black handle, he stepped up to one of the assassins. Kim Cheol-su freaked out and desperately tried to hold him back.

"M-Mr. Ye! If you blow their heads off again...!"

"Don't worry, Cheol-su."

Contrary to the elderly magician's fears, Minjun didn't repeat his previous mistake.

Instead.

Crunch!

He shattered the assassin's jawbone. Then, flipping the black Frying Pan around, he violently shoved the long handle deep into the man's mouth.

"..."

Kim Cheol-su and everyone else present were completely at a loss for words.

None of them could begin to comprehend the purpose of such a bizarre act, and they were entirely too terrified to ask.

The old magician was consumed by sorrow. How had Mr. Ye ended up like this? Just how cruel had the passing years been to twist that once gentle soul into such a ruthless killer?

"Mr. Ye..."

Kim Cheol-su's voice trembled.

"Just what on earth have you been through all these years?"

Minjun honestly couldn't even be bothered to come up with a plausible lie. It would be better to just vaguely brush the question aside. So, rather than giving a detailed explanation, he simply stared off into the distance with the weary eyes of a man burdened by countless tragedies, and softly replied.

"...Please, Cheol-su. Don't ask."

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