Seo-woo was looking for Park Yeon, who was currently in Myeongdong.

‘It really is amazing.’

Even the rundown appearance of District 12 had impressed Park Yeon. The lively and bustling atmosphere of Myeongdong, however, left him in awe.

‘I’ll have to be careful.’

Park Yeon tightly clenched the money in his pocket.

He had once seen it in a TV drama. They said that in Seoul, you could have your nose stolen right from under your eyes.

That meant there were plenty of people who preyed on the naive with scams.

Wearing a wary expression, Park Yeon approached a relatively mild-looking young man.

“Excuse me. May I ask you something?”

“Huh?”

“Do you know where I can buy an face guard?”

“face guard…?”

“Yes, face guard.”

“What’s that? Do you know?”

“Isn’t it a mask? Are you talking about a mask?”

face guard was indeed a type of mask.

Park Yeon nodded.

“That’s right. Do you know where I can buy one?”

“They’re selling them over there too.”

The young man pointed past Park Yeon’s shoulder.

It was a street vendor with a pushcart.

Various trinkets were displayed on the stand, and among them were masks.

“Thank you. May the blessings of the divine be with you.”

Is he a little slow?

A returnee?

Forget it, let’s just head to cram school.

Ignoring the murmurs behind him, Park Yeon approached the pushcart vendor.

“Welcome! Looking for something in particular?”

“I’d like to buy an face guar—no, I mean a mask.”

“Take a look and let me know which one you like.”

Park Yeon carefully examined the masks. One in particular caught his eye.

“This one is quite nice.”

The mask had large, crescent-shaped eyes and eyebrows. The nose was big, like that of an orc, and the mouth was twisted into a bizarre grin.

This would definitely serve its purpose as an face guard.

After selecting the mask, another item caught his attention.

A hairpin.

Thinking that it would suit Lee Ra-hee well, he picked it up too.

“How much for everything?”

“Just give me 100,000 won.”

“These cost 100,000 won?”

“Maybe not the hairpin, but this mask was handcrafted by an artisan. Honestly, 100,000 won is a bargain.”

“Is that so?”

“You wouldn’t find it at this price even online.”

“Hmm… But I only have 80,000 won. What should I do?”

The vendor quickly sized up Park Yeon.

Having worked in Myeongdong for over ten years, he could tell whether a customer was lying just by looking at their face.

Judging by the troubled expression, it seemed to be true.

“Alright, fine. Just give me 80,000 won.”

“Really? Is that okay?”

“You have such an honest face. I’ll give you a discount.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

They said Seoul was a place where you could get scammed in broad daylight, but that didn’t seem true. Such generosity!

Fearing the vendor might change his mind, Park Yeon quickly pulled out 80,000 won, paid, and left with a grin.

“Hey, Kim. I know the customer looked clueless, but selling something worth 10,000 won for 80,000 is a bit much, don’t you think?”

The Central Administration Office’s organizational structure was quite complex.

The Surveillance and Control Bureau, Security Bureau, Intelligence Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau, Human Resources Bureau, Trade Bureau… and many more.

This alone was proof of the Central Administration Office’s overwhelming influence.

Aside from these publicly known bureaus, there were also secret departments.

The Hongbang (Red Gang) was one such organization.

Composed of Awakener operatives ranked A-class or higher, Hongbang handled the nation’s legally dubious operations.

Assassinations and recruitments of key figures, facility bombings and document theft, covert operations and espionage.

The mission assigned to Gui Xuan this time was assassination.

Though the directive included an order to attempt recruitment if possible, that wasn’t an option.

The risk of exposure was too high.

That didn’t mean assassination was any easier than recruitment.

Among all of Hongbang’s assignments, assassinations were one of the most difficult.

The risks were also great.

But this was the best course of action.

Once a decision was made, the mission would proceed without delay.

With no room for error—only for the sake of the motherland!

The target’s identity and movements had long since been analyzed. All that remained was the final order.

Then, the awaited command arrived.

“It’s today.”

At Gui Xuan’s words, his subordinates stood at attention and gave a palm-facing salute—a traditional Chinese-style salute.

Turning to the five-star red flag hanging on the wall, Gui Xuan saluted it as well. Then, he turned back to his subordinates and handed each of them a pill.

It was a poison developed by the Science and Technology Bureau.

Harmless to ordinary people, but if an Awakener ingested it, their ether would run rampant, killing them within ten seconds.

“Commence the operation.”

At his command, the team sprang into action.

The intelligence unit reviewed the target’s details, while the tracking unit double-checked their movements.

Then, they selected the optimal location.

A while later, Gui Xuan concealed himself in an alleyway near the entrance to 12-Q Dungeon.

It was a sparsely populated area with no escape routes—perfect for an assassination.

After some time, the target appeared.

‘Stay alert. The target is an S-class Awakener who has also acquired a tamer-type skill.’

All his subordinates already knew this.

By reminding them again, he was urging them to exercise the utmost caution.

‘Yuan Cui.’

At his signal, one of his subordinates nodded.

The man had the ability to suppress surrounding noise.

Tssssss—!

The area was engulfed in silence.

“……”

The target hesitated.

They seemed to have detected the unfamiliar energy released when Yuan Cui activated his skill—but it was already too late.

Gui Xuan cast a curse-type buff on the target.

Ting!

The target effortlessly deflected it.

For them to perceive and repel an invisible buff with just their reflexes—this was no ordinary opponent.

But that much had been expected.

The buff was never meant to succeed in the first place.

Its purpose was to create an opening.

“Now!”

At Gui Xuan’s command, some of his subordinates kicked off the ground and hurled daggers.

Surprisingly, the daggers were imbued with aura. Even a graze would tear through flesh.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-tat!

Not bad.

The target barely managed to evade the incoming daggers.

Then, he shouted something.

Not knowing Korean, Guishuan couldn't understand the meaning, but it seemed like he was asking about their identity.

Guishuan smirked and spoke.

“Daguo (大國).”

With those words, Guishuan and his subordinates vanished. It was their specialty—shadow concealment.

The target looked visibly confused.

Even if he focused all his senses, finding them while they were merged with the darkness was impossible.

Especially if they kept aiming for openings!

Shlaaaang!

Guishuan, spotting an opening, thrust his spear.

The target flinched and deflected the spear that suddenly emerged from the darkness.

Chaaang—!

But that wasn’t the end.

The brief moment created when he retrieved his sword—

That was the opening Guishuan’s subordinates had been waiting for, and they unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Shlaaaang!

Daggers flew. Swords lunged. Spears thrust forward.

Blade marks, invisible to the ordinary eye, fluttered like plum blossoms in the wind.

Slowly, the target began to show signs of exhaustion.

Noticing this, Guishuan shouted.

“Wuyi Net (五儀網)!”

In an instant, a semi-transparent net materialized in midair and enveloped the target.

The target struggled, but it was futile.

His ether was already depleted, and cutting the Wuyi Net with mere physical strength was—

“......!”

—something Guishuan thought impossible, yet the net was effortlessly sliced apart.

Impressive, but…

The surprise lasted only for a moment.

Guishuan’s eyes grew cold.

The opponent was already exhausted.

His breathing was unsteady.

He had reached his limit.

Though it was surprising that he had cut through the Wuyi Net, in his weakened state, he wouldn’t be able to withstand this next attack.

“Tianluo Eight Swords (天羅八劍)!”

At his command, his subordinates raised their swords in unison. Immediately, their blades surged with aura.

“Release!”

That was the signal.

With just that one word, Guishuan and the seven others struck from eight directions at once.

There was no way he could block this.

Blame your fate for being born in a weak nation.

The target's name was Kim Chul-jun, wasn’t it?

Guishuan held no personal grudge against him.

But Kim Chul-jun had committed a crime.

The crime of possessing great power despite coming from a weak nation.

Swish—!

Feeling the sensation transmitted through his fingertips, Guishuan was certain that the Tianluo Eight Swords had torn through the target’s internal organs.

That is—until he heard a cold voice from somewhere.

“Is this not an unfair battle?”

Park Yeon had stumbled upon Chul-jun in danger purely by accident.

In fact, it was less of an accident and more of a comedy of errors.

He had intended to head to Channel 12-M43 to give the face mask he bought in Myeong-dong as a gift to Doo-shik.

How should I give it to him?

But as he pondered while walking, his feet unknowingly led him to the familiar 12-Q Dungeon.

Hmm?

Just as he was about to turn back—

He sensed an overwhelming surge of malice and killing intent.

Curious, he checked the scene and found Kim Chul-jun.

Wasn’t there a saying about fools who challenge the impossible?

Suddenly, he recalled the Demon King’s answer when asked why he had removed the barrier.

Park Yeon believed that if someone were to be a fool, then they should at least be this kind of fool.

From an outsider’s perspective, persistently challenging the impossible might seem foolish, but for the one attempting it, it required immense courage and time.

And now, that fool was in danger.

Park Yeon didn’t want his challenge to end here.

“Is this not an unfair battle?”

And so, he stepped in.

Guishuan and his subordinates turned their heads toward the source of the mysterious voice.

But no one was there.

“Yuan Cui, do you sense anything?”

This place was a kind of barrier formed by Yuan Cui. If an intruder entered, he would be the first to notice.

However—

“I don’t sense anything.”

At that moment—

“You, who have shown the fruits of persistence and effort, may rest for now.”

The mysterious voice echoed once more.

With those words, Kim Chul-jun collapsed to the ground.

And then—

Ssssss—.

Something flickered in front of Guishuan.

Before them, a human figure took shape.

Startled, Yuan Cui, who was at the front, shouted.

“Reveal yourself!”

“You who do not recognize evil as evil—I shall borrow the name of the divine to judge you.”

“What nonsense—”

Suddenly, the figure blurred.

And in the next moment—

It was right beside Yuan Cui.

“Kyaaaaagh!”

With a bone-chilling scream, Yuan Cui’s arm twisted grotesquely.

It was undoubtedly the figure’s doing.

Expressionless, he gazed down at the writhing Yuan Cui.

...?

No, upon closer look, it wasn’t just gazing.

Something invisible was seeping out from Yuan Cui and flowing into the figure.

Energy Absorption Technique!

Guishuan’s eyes widened.

It was the rumored Energy Absorption Technique.

The ability to drain ether from another.

Of course, that was only half true.

Park Yeon wasn’t absorbing Yuan Cui’s ether.

He was returning it to nature.

But Guishuan, unaware of this, bit his lower lip.

It didn’t matter if the opponent was a master of the technique or not.

If they interfered with Hongbang’s mission, they would be eliminated.

And those who did not kneel before the Five-Star Red Flag would also be eliminated.

“Wuyi Net!”

With Guishuan’s determined shout, another net materialized in the air and rushed toward Park Yeon.

However—

Swish!

It was effortlessly sliced apart.

Guishuan and his subordinates hesitated.

“H-how…?”

Kim Chul-jun had also cut through the Wuyi Net earlier, but he had used a sword.

But the opponent—no, this monster—had cut it with his bare hands.

For the first time, Guishuan, who had only felt awe before, now felt fear.

This man was a monster.

Pa-pat—!

And with that realization, Guishuan lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, Park Yeon released the ether that had been used for wrongdoing back into nature.

These men would likely never be able to use ether again.

Turning his gaze to the snoring Kim Chul-jun, Park Yeon muttered.

“May your foolish persistence and effort bear fruit.”