Those Who Welcome, Those Who Do Not - 5

"This is the target."

The organization members nodded after examining the photograph the dark-clad man handed over. It was the man who had appeared on the news recently. His name was… right. Baek Seojin. A person who shared no grudge or connection with them whatsoever. He wasn’t an ability user who had thrown multiple villains behind bars, nor was he a figure respected by society. Even so, not a single one of them raised any questions.

Why kill people? Why toss sparks of chaos into the world? To villains, those were utterly idiotic questions. It might simply be entertaining to watch the world crumble further. Or perhaps the sight of someone suffering excited them. Whatever the case, for whatever reason, if they wanted to do it, they did it. A world unbound by law, ethics, or morality. A world where only strength and orders mattered. That was why they obeyed assassination commands like this without hesitation.

"After we finish the job, we’ll deliberately leave traces so the blame can be shifted elsewhere."

In the underworld, villains had far wider networks than ability users. Thanks to that, they already knew that several parties had recently tried to pull tricks on Baek Seojin. The villains planned to make good use of that fact. Since those foolish attempts had failed, the conclusion was simple: just kill him and be done with it. If they claimed that they—disguised as a murder-for-hire outfit—had carried out the request, it would be perfect.

So the organization members set out on the hunt once the appointed day arrived. But an unforeseen situation unfolded before them.

"There are bodyguards. And he’s with some woman."

"After checking, it’s Kang Minsung’s granddaughter—Academy first-year Kim Suhyun."

The dark-clad man felt the situation grow slightly complicated. He had assumed it would be only Baek Seojin, but now the number of people had increased. He considered withdrawing for now and waiting for the next opportunity. However, the one-eyed woman—his boss—smiled at his words.

The boss had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoken. The job had to be finished today. Then today it would be carried out. Bodyguards could be dealt with easily enough.

Afterward, the dark-clad man used magic to overturn the vehicle carrying the target. Once chaos had erupted, the organization members who had been hiding everywhere revealed themselves.

Before ability users could arrive, they had ten minutes at most. Within that window, they needed to inflict critical injuries and withdraw.

There’s nothing difficult about it.

Bodyguards were present, but the protection target’s safety naturally took priority. Even if a few of them helped Baek Seojin, the organization had numbers on its side. Although their boss—their greatest force—was absent, the dark-clad man himself was an A-rank expert. Even as a magic-type, his physical capabilities fell short of no one.

Drag him out quickly, finish him, and leave.

Even though he had already openly revealed himself as a magic-type, he stepped forward. In this position, the enemy would naturally prioritize dealing with him first. A magic-type casting from the rear would be extremely troublesome, but if his positioning was off or he came to the front for some other reason, he became far more manageable.

In the meantime, he secretly repositioned the organization members to get behind Baek Seojin. He didn’t know the opponent’s exact type, but he estimated the skill level at around B-rank. That should be something he and the coordinated assault from the organization members could handle comfortably.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

"Urk!"

But the opponent seemed to see through every single one of their moves. Each time an organization member tried to slip behind him, he knocked them down as if guided by a ghost. They had disguised themselves perfectly as civilians and moved with maximum stealth. Yet after glancing left and right a few times, he would single out only the organization members every single time.

Had he given them an opening? Absolutely not. The dark-clad man had continued checking Baek Seojin so the encirclement wouldn’t be noticed. Sometimes he launched magic, sometimes he deliberately closed the distance to create gaps. All of it was to draw attention to himself and give the organization members a chance to approach.

Yet Baek Seojin dismantled every move as if mocking the man. Even while fiercely pressuring him, the moment it seemed the organization members might get behind, he would slip away. Or he would suddenly pivot and attack the organization members instead.

…So that crazy woman wasn’t protecting him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for nothing.

He was no easy opponent. His combat instincts were outstanding. Even while focused on the fight in front of him, he always kept the rear in mind. No matter how skilled someone was, being surrounded usually cut their power in half. He understood that perfectly and exquisitely shattered the encirclement. It looked like the assessment of “B-rank ability user” would need a significant upgrade.

An opponent like this could grow into a major figure later. Cutting the sprout before it could bloom was a wise decision.

Now I understand why the boss ordered his elimination.

Thinking that, the man charged at Baek Seojin once more.

*

These bastards are cleverly aiming for Kim Suhyun.

His prediction had been correct. The task the Elder had failed to complete last time. The target: Kim Suhyun. This time these guys had stepped in to finish the job instead. Otherwise there would be no reason to divert my attention and try to get behind me.

Look at them right now. Their movements were so obvious it was almost insulting. Several bodyguards had slightly stepped out of the defensive line to cover my rear. On top of that, the bodyguard leader was busy fighting the one-eyed woman villain. It wasn’t as if no one remained beside Kim Suhyun, but the defense had certainly thinned. They seemed to be aiming for exactly that and kept sending organization members to the back.

Not a chance. I won’t give them any openings whatsoever.

My field of vision wasn’t completely blocked; I could see everything clearly. In a situation like this, only an idiot would expose the rear. If I couldn’t move to a better combat position, I simply needed to break their wings. They spread their wings? Then I’d snap those wings—what would they do next?

I didn’t focus on the body. I pretended to focus on it while aiming for the sides.

Now.

After blocking the man’s magic once, I snatched up one of the scattered fragments on the ground. Then I hurled it with full force at the head of the bastard trying to sneak behind me.

You idiot. If you’re going to disguise yourself as a civilian, at least do it properly. Who stays that relaxed when villains have already appeared?

Crack—!

"Urk!"

Whether it was a watermelon or a pumpkin, something smashed violently. I didn’t care whether the guy’s skull was intact. What mattered was whether he had been properly neutralized and the threat level toward Kim Suhyun had dropped.

Fortunately, it looked like I had cleanly broken their wing. The organization member who had been heading toward Kim Suhyun was definitely incapacitated. If he was only pretending to be dead… that was the bodyguards’ problem.

"You’re quite skilled."

As I checked the rear angle once more, the dark-clad man approached. Despite appearing to be a magic-type, he handled close combat surprisingly well. If a mage was also a gym rat, this was probably what he would look like. Like that white-haired grandfather from the ring movie who used his staff like a mace.

"We don’t have much time, so I’ll end this here."

A villain speaking in such a polite tone—it was almost laughable. More importantly, “end this.” Did he mean he would suppress me and then deal with Kim Suhyun?

Not a chance. If you can’t even get past the gatekeeper, how do you expect to reach Silver?

The opponent was clearly a villain who had caused quite a few incidents. He was no pushover. A B-rank was already considered an expert among ability users. But I was confident.

From the Elder Kwak Hyuk, through Ma Hakjun, to Lee Hyunwoo, Kim Suhyun, the other students, and even that elitist Jeong Yuhyeon I had sparred with. Every movement of everyone I had faced even once was stored inside my head. Every fighting style of everyone I had clashed with was engraved into my body.

Each time I faced an opponent, I absorbed all of their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strengths. At the same time, I learned their weaknesses and imprinted them so I would never repeat those mistakes. Perhaps this too was the hidden trait of the Silver Gatekeeper—the ability to extract pieces from every opponent I collided with and make them my own. Otherwise, there was no explaining my movements until now.

"Hup!"

The dark-clad man summoned another massive fireball. Then, just like before, he hurled the flaming orb toward me….

…He’s not throwing it. He’s running while holding it?

Was this bastard insane? Wasn’t the basics of magic-type combat long-range attacks? What magic user in the world casts a spell and then charges forward while carrying it? It was like loading a gun, switching it to full auto, and then suddenly rushing in for a bayonet charge.

Normally, dodging would be the correct choice. I no longer even had the car door I had been using as a shield. But if that was exactly what he wanted? If this was nothing more than a feint? If he waited for me to dodge and then used that gap to go straight for Kim Suhyun….

It would be like losing the king while trying to save the pawns.

I couldn’t dodge. I had to block it. I had to clash with it. I was worried whether my body would survive, but I didn’t think it was impossible. If it were, the body that had taken the Elder’s hit would never have remained intact.

I stared directly at the man’s movements. Even the glint lingering in his eyes as he charged at me—I took it all in. Even this very moment would clearly accumulate as experience.

Boom—!

To be honest, I don’t remember the next moment very well. The first thought that came after the flash was only one thing.

It’s hot!!

It felt like accidentally touching the hot water from a water dispenser and having it splash everywhere. My arm burned fiercely, then the stinging pain began to rise. Memories surfaced of always ending up with ugly burns and suffering for days.

I slightly raised my head to check the situation. The dark-clad man had been sent flying in the direction he came from and was now sitting on the ground. The villains who had been aiming for the rear seemed to have been stopped by the bodyguards in time.

For now, I was alive. That was the most important thing.

Normally I should have already suffered critical burns. But they say that when you awaken an ability, your physical capabilities improve as well. That setting was truly a blessing. Author-nim, you are a god!

Plus, the villains who had been targeting Kim Suhyun were gone now, so it was safe….

What the hell? What is this all of a sudden?

There was only one person who could trigger a message like this. I turned my head slightly and looked at Kim Suhyun, who was sitting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠behind me.

Fuck?