"Son. It's good to have you home again."
"It is, Father. I suppose I should've visited more often."
At an upscale restaurant midway up the building, Shin GiDeok and Shin ManSu were having dinner and chatting like any ordinary father and son.
Then Shin ManSu asked,
"...Why don't you give up that lowly sanctioner work already and come home for good?"
Shin GiDeok simply laughed off the insult to his profession.
"Lowly? You misunderstand, Father!
Sanctioners perform an honorable profession that contributes greatly to Korean society.
More importantly, whenever I'm fully absorbed in the work, my heart grows warm. I feel truly alive."
"You feel warmth from butchering people for a living!? What the hell went wrong with you?!"
Unable to contain himself, Shin ManSu slammed his fist against the table.
Shin GiDeok's expression did not change in the slightest.
"If you're asking how I ended up this way...
I'd say the decisive moment was when you beat Mother to death when I was a child."
Shin ManSu raised his voice even further, trying to hide his unease.
"That was almost ten years ago!!
How long are you going to hold a grudge over something so trivial!?"
"Ha ha... A grudge? Quite the opposite. I'm grateful.
Mother was a shackle on me as well.
But the moment you killed her, Father, I felt catharsis!
And at last, I realized what I truly loved doing."
"You son of a bitch..."
"Ah, and today, I intend to euthanize another shackle—you.
No need to thank me. We're family, after all."
Shin GiDeok snapped his fingers.
The private soldiers guarding Shin ManSu immediately raised their weapons and aimed them at him.
Shin GiDeok had already contacted them in advance and bought them all off.
But Shin ManSu lowered his head and laughed.
Had he finally lost his mind?
Not at all.
"I'm sure you thought you were being clever... but you're still green!"
This time, Shin ManSu snapped his fingers.
The soldiers immediately turned their weapons toward Shin GiDeok instead.
Mockery and ridicule spread across their previously expressionless faces.
"Did that get your hopes up, son? No matter how much you pay them, all I have to do is pay more!"
"Oh, no. The men I bribed betrayed me.
I'm absolutely 'shocked.'"
At that moment, every soldier exploded at once.
Shin ManSu survived thanks to the energy barrier that automatically deployed around him, but he stared around in confusion.
"H-How did this happen!?"
"Nothing special. I thought they might change sides, so I mixed some nanobombs into their drinks.
Once they confirmed there was no poison, they let their guard down and drank without much hesitation."
"You insane psychopath!"
"Please don't misunderstand. If they hadn't betrayed me, I never would've detonated the bombs.
They only have themselves to blame."
Shin GiDeok drew his beam sword and tried to slice Shin ManSu in half, but the energy barrier protecting him stopped the blade.
"Damn it! Soldiers! Get in here and kill this lunatic!!"
The remaining troops poured into the restaurant and surrounded Shin GiDeok.
Taking advantage of the opening, Shin ManSu hurriedly fled toward the rooftop.
"Come now. Most of your heavy hitters died in that explosion. Do you really intend to continue?
If you're willing to work for me from now on, I might even let you live."
"You cocky little bastard...!"
The soldiers answered Shin GiDeok's offer with gunfire.
Shin GiDeok casually blocked the barrage with a mana barrier, then vanished in a flash.
An instant later, he was already behind one of the soldiers, severing his head.
"I hope the other three do their jobs properly...
In the meantime, I suppose I'll have myself a little fun!"
---
The ordinary employees on the first floor had no idea what was happening upstairs.
In fact, they never would.
"Ghk!? My body...!"
Their bodies suddenly convulsed.
They began frothing at the mouth, collapsed, and never got back up.
The private soldiers, who always wore gas masks on duty, were unaffected.
They immediately realized they were under attack.
"Shit, more hostiles on the first floor...!"
Before the soldier could finish speaking into his radio, a gunshot cracked through the room.
His body went limp and collapsed.
Kim YongSu stood there holding an assault rifle.
"D-Damn... They hired Seo-AnDang too...!"
"Don't forget me."
Carbon-coated blades flew through the air and buried themselves in the soldiers' vital spots with deadly precision.
Of course, it was YuHan.
"Hey, Poison Moth. Don't you have a spare gas mask?
What if I get poisoned too?"
"...Use magic.
Or just drop dead."
As the two bickered, Kim YongSu reminded them,
"You haven't forgotten, have you?
The client's instructions were clear: 'Leave no witnesses.'"
YuHan picked up the assault rifle carried by one of the dead soldiers.
"I love jobs where everything stays off the record.
Been a while since I got to fire a gun.
I was getting damn tired of swinging blades around like a caveman every day."
YuHan grinned and began channeling mana into the rifle.
---
Meanwhile, Shin ManSu was taking the elevator up to the rooftop.
Then the lights went out, and the elevator ground to a halt.
Apparently, someone below had cut the power.
"They can't even keep four people pinned down...!
Have the heavens truly forsaken me!?"
Shin ManSu blasted the elevator doors apart with magic and began climbing the stairs.
It had been nearly ten years since he'd had to climb this many stairs himself.
"Damn it... Why are my legs so heavy!?
Sure, I smoke and drink too much, barely exercise, and I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol...
But none of that should explain why my legs feel this heavy!"
Shin ManSu looked down at his ankle.
A hand was wrapped around it.
A pale woman was gripping him and trying to drag him downward.
And Shin ManSu knew exactly who she was.
His wife.
[Why did you kill me...!? My family made you into an Assemblyman!!]
"You gave me a kid and did everything a wife was supposed to! What more did you want from me!?"
[I'll never forgive you!!]
'Is this... black magic!?'
Shin ManSu was certain.
For reference, Korea had a very simple rule for deciding what counted as black magic:
If Koreans didn't like it and couldn't understand it, it was black magic.
In any case, Shin ManSu gathered his mana and resolved to beat the specter back with sheer willpower.
"I need more money and power!!
I'll live a secure, peaceful life, play golf, cruise around on my yacht, take a new wife, and enjoy every last bit of it!!
No mere specter can break my iron will!!"
Apparently, even the ghost could not withstand Shin ManSu's overwhelming determination.
Shin ManSu had just proven the old saying that people were scarier than ghosts.
'That took too much mana...
But once I reach the rooftop, there's a helicopter!'
Shin ManSu finally dragged himself onto the rooftop and opened the door of his autonomous helicopter.
The moment he sank into its plush seat, he became convinced of his victory.
'I can hire as many replacement soldiers as I want later!
To think they dared lay a hand on an Assemblyman... I'll bury all four of them!
And I'll make Kim JeHyeon and those Seo-AnDang bastards answer for this too!'
Carrying all his grand ambitions with him, the autonomous helicopter took off.
However...
There was one thing he had overlooked.
A fully autonomous helicopter could be hacked.
"!?"
The helicopter lurched violently in midair.
Then its engine shut down.
It began plunging toward the surrounding buildings.
Even with magic protecting him, an ordinary human wasn't likely to survive a crash like that.
"Goodbye, Father.
Don't worry. I'll take good care of your wealth and power from here on out..."
Shin GiDeok had already reached the rooftop.
Pretending to wipe away tears, he watched the shattered remains of the helicopter below.
The other three soon arrived as well.
"Oh, you've already taken care of every last one?
As expected, you're all remarkably skilled.
It was truly an honor working with you!"
"Save the praise. Pay me."
YuHan coldly dismissed Shin GiDeok's compliment.
The other two appeared to agree.
"I'll transfer your payment immediately!
More importantly, to celebrate, I'd like to personally prepare some fugu sashimi for everyone.
I'm even licensed to prepare fugu.
Anyone interested?"
"Pass."
All three answered in perfect unison before going their separate ways.
Watching them leave, Shin GiDeok sighed.
"I suppose they think a murder enthusiast like me might tamper with their food...
I do hope we can overcome such prejudice someday!
Perhaps then they'll understand the sincerity of my hospitality..."
---
That night, Alice remained awake, lost in thought.
YuHan was clearly off doing something he couldn't exactly be proud of.
But Alice had never believed he spent his time going around performing good deeds, so that alone was hardly what bothered her.
What she truly could not stand was the fact that she herself was benefiting from it.
"..."
Just then, the Center entrance opened.
YuHan walked inside.
Alice immediately hurried toward him.
"What now?"
"...Who did you kill this time?"
"Everyone in Shin ManSu's building. Employees and private soldiers alike.
Plenty of the employees were probably innocent civilians."
"So sanctioners really are just killers after all...
Me included."
YuHan answered coldly.
"Obviously.
Strip away the euphemisms, and this whole industry is basically contract killing."
Alice lowered her head.
Seeing her like that, YuHan added,
"You can still quit, you know.
You're a robot, so changing your face and hair color should be easy enough.
Get yourself a new identity and live however you want."
"Who said anything about quitting?"
There was no despair whatsoever in Alice's eyes.
"I'll get even stronger...
Strong enough that you won't have to do things like that anymore!"
"...You do realize you'll still have to kill people if you stay a sanctioner, right?"
"At the very least, I refuse to become like that bastard Shin GiDeok!"
YuHan stared at her, thoroughly deflated.
"I always thought I was the expert on talking nonsense.
Turns out you're even better at it than I am."
"Just wait and see whether it's nonsense!"
"Good grief. I shouldn't have bothered stopping by.
What a waste of time..."
Someone was quietly listening to YuHan and Alice's conversation from the shadows beyond the wall.
It was Kim GaEun.
'Alice C...
Why can't I help feeling that you're a better match for YuHan C than I am...?'
There was no anger in Kim GaEun's eyes.
Only sadness.
She quietly bit her lower lip.