Iron Hand (3)

What in the world was that?

Look at those offensive spells, hovering and roiling in midair.

It was as if ten mages stood before her, pressing down with sheer intimidation.

Ten at the minimum. The minimum!

And then—

Shhh, shshshsh!

The moment five Ice Needles came hurtling toward her—

"Hwak!"

They're insanely fast.

Song Mi-young shrieked and threw herself into a desperate roll to the right.

Kwa-deudeudeuk!

Razor-sharp icicles buried themselves into the spot where she'd been standing.

They were so cold that the air around them was already frosting over at a mere touch.

Insane.

She gritted her teeth.

If one of those things hit her, it wouldn't just slow her down—she'd die of frostbite on the spot.

She'd never even seen magic of this kind before.

What Circle was it?

It looked like a 1st Circle Ice Needle, but the quantity and the power were absolutely not 1st Circle.

Okay.

Now was not the time to be sitting there stunned.

She'd dodged it—so the next move was to close the distance and slit her throat before······

"Huh?"

Her vision was swallowed by a black cloud.

This was no mere darkness.

Her sight was completely cut off.

Drip.

Cold sweat pouring, Song Mi-young swept a hand across her face and twisted her body to the left—and in that instant—

KWAAAGH!

"Kkeok!"

A monstrous impact slammed into her body, searing heat washing over her.

"Gyaaaaagh!"

Fire Bolt.

No—not a Fire Bolt. It was a ball of fire far too massive to be called one.

Only after taking a direct hit, and only after the explosion cleared her vision again, did she realize what it had been.

And that wasn't all.

Shuk, shushushuk!

A downpour of Light Arrows.

Whiiiing!

A Wind Cutter howling in.

Chwareureureuk!

And on top of it all, a colossal wave that looked like Aqua Splash.

Insane.

Song Mi-young's blood ran cold.

That bastard Park Cheol-min is dead meat!

How the hell is that an F-rank mage?!

That was at least A-rank. Nothing less could have unleashed that many spells at once.

I refuse to die a pointless death here.

The once-confident Song Mi-young lost every ounce of her will to fight.

She bit down hard on her lip and pulled out her trump card—the skill she'd used every time she'd met a stronger opponent across countless crime scenes!

Shadow Fade.

Swsssht!

In that moment, Song Mi-young sank into the ground.

KWAGAGAGAGA!

The first wave of skills Seo Hwarang had unleashed converged and exploded on the spot where she had stood.

The destructive force was staggering, yet the building didn't collapse.

Because he had carefully compressed the other spells to keep the Aqua Splash from spreading.

And Song Mi-young?

She had hidden herself in the shadows.

Run.

Shadow Fade's duration was thirty seconds.

The reason this skill was so broken was simple: when it came to escape, no one alive could match it.

Even with an S-rank sword saint standing right in front of her, she was confident she could get away.

Sswt, swssst!

The assassin, transformed into shadow, was invisible to the eye and undetectable even to an enemy's senses.

She could climb buildings and walls—could pass straight through them.

And on a night like this especially, she boasted such speed that thirty seconds was enough to cover several kilometers.

"Son of a bitch."

Once outside the building, Song Mi-young spat out a curse as she fled rapidly along the shadows.

No wonder.

There was no way someone with that kind of absurd power would go without a proper bodyguard.

The fifty-billion-won bonus could go to hell.

Vowing never to lay a finger on Yoo Seon-ah again, she vanished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into the night.

"What... what is this?"

Park Ju-hee, who had been trembling in shock for some time, finally gathered herself and spoke.

She had understood.

The truly powerful mage was never Yoo Seon-ah.

The great master—and that impossible magic—were all Seo Hwarang's.

She wasn't an Awakener herself, but she had eyes. Youtube, social media—was there ever just one Awakener eager to flaunt their rank and skill?

But Seo Hwarang was different from all of them.

He was real.

That brief, breathtaking symphony of magic that had unfolded moments ago······

Maybe someone like him doesn't belong in a shabby place like this?

Park Ju-hee pretended not to know anything, for now.

She understood perfectly well just how badly Seo Hwarang wanted to hide himself—how much he despised and dreaded the spotlight.

"What the hell is wrong with that woman?"

Yoo Seon-ah stared at the spot where Song Mi-young had vanished, her face a picture of disbelief.

"Who even does that? Struts around all high and mighty, then bails after a single cycle of spells."

"Either way."

Seo Hwarang's voice dropped low.

"We catch her. No matter what."

One brief conversation had told him everything he needed to know.

This was a criminal among criminals—someone who valued human lives less than flies.

If they let someone like that slip away and did nothing?

There was no telling when she'd come back with a blade.

If you want to survive in a world turned upside down, you have to harden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your heart.

When it came to this kind of thing, softness was fatal. You identified exactly who you were dealing with and ripped them out by the roots.

"You're going after her, right?"

Yoo Seon-ah asked, and Seo Hwarang nodded.

"Yes."

"Then I'm coming too. Juhee, you head home."

"No."

The one who shook his head was Seo Hwarang.

"Juhee, you come with us too."

Being left alone could turn her into a target. Kidnapping and hostage-taking were exactly the kind of tricks criminals like her relied on. The safest place right now was by his side.

"You'll come along, and call the Management Bureau while we move."

"Ah—got it!"

Swek.

Seo Hwarang raised his hand and spread Master Detect Magic wide.

At once, a dark trail appeared—the path the criminal woman had used to flee.

We follow that.

Plain Detect Magic would never have found her, but Master Detect Magic was different. It swept an enormous range for magical traces and pursued them relentlessly.

They stepped out the door.

As expected.

Her escape route was stamped across the walls and the floor.

The three of them sprinted along the trail.

A born S-rank.

Skill Book Collector.

On the off chance there was something out there about it, he had once combed through portals across the entire world. Nothing turned up. It came down to one of two possibilities.

Either I'm the only born S-rank in existence.

Or else—

Someone else out there is hiding it, just like me.

Was that why?

Even chasing a criminal like this, he felt no particular fear. When he'd met bandits on the Etherion Continent for the first time, when he'd faced a criminal organization in that inn, and even now—it was the same feeling, every time.

What is this feeling, exactly?

No matter how he turned it over, the closest answer seemed to be this:

Tigers and sheep.

Every Awakener in this world was a sheep. Some were bigger sheep, some were mutant sheep—but sheep all the same.

Seo Hwarang, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the other hand, was a tiger.

However large a sheep was, however strong—

It simply looked like good prey.

"Hoo."

Seo Hwarang exhaled and focused. Song Mi-young's trail led out onto the road.

Did she grab a car here?

Where the trail had been vivid until now, it thinned to something faint, barely there.

She'd almost certainly released the skill around here······

Hm?

A strange flicker of déjà vu made him snap his head around—and there, in the distance, a taxi was speeding away.

There!

A dark trail clung to the taxi's rear door.

Seo Hwarang scanned the license plate in an instant, then flagged down a nearby taxi. Yoo Seon-ah and Park Ju-hee scrambled in after him.

Haa.

Seriously.

What were they even doing in the middle of the night?

Strictly speaking, this wasn't the kind of work the Bureau was supposed to handle······ but when a Person of Interest asked, that was another story entirely.

Besides, the information floating over the phone said it all.

Yoo Seon-ah!

The artisan who was all the rage right now—a woman who might one day become a national VIP! And she was claiming she had just barely escaped being abducted by an unidentified criminal!

"I'm sorry—you're chasing them yourself? That's dangerous, ma'am! I'll report this up the chain immediately! Yes! Support should be dispatched shortly!"

That day, all hell broke loose at the Bureau.

They hailed a taxi and paid a million won up front.

"Drive as fast as you can wherever I point. If you get a speeding ticket, I'll cover it. We're tailing someone—if you catch up, I'll double it."

"You got it, sir!"

And just like that, the ahjussi transformed into a veteran street racer.

BUUAAANG!

They'd been lucky. They'd landed a driver who really knew how to handle a car.

Still, it could get dangerous—so he cast Magic Shield around the vehicle as well.

Following the trail, it didn't take long to find the car.

"From here on, slow down. Just tail that car gently."

At Seo Hwarang's words, the driver sensed something was very wrong and gripped the wheel, his face tense.

Late at night.

Incheon Port.

Long rows of cargo ships and the salt wind slowly emerged from the darkness.

The taxi carrying the criminal woman drifted slowly toward an isolated quarter of clustered, aging warehouses.

"Kill the lights, please."

The driver answered with his eyes alone and click—the headlights went dark. In the same breath, gliding as if melting into the night, they followed the taxi.

Some time passed.

The criminal stepped out in front of a warehouse bearing those words in bold letters. The three of them climbed out as well, sent the taxi off with another million won added to the fare—no sense dragging an innocent man into danger—and then stood in the dark.

Just in case the criminal noticed something, Seo Hwarang also scattered a generous veil of Master Dark Cloud around them.

Ssssswsssh······

It truly performed well at night. You simply couldn't see them at all.

Anyway.

The pieces were in place. This was the stronghold of the organization that criminal belonged to.

"Heyyy······"

Yoo Seon-ah whispered.

"Are we sure about this? These guys seem way more organized than I expected. Even for you, isn't this a little dangerous?"

"We reported properly, right?"

"Yeah, I even got the dispatch text. They're probably tracking our location as we speak."

"Then this should be enough on our end, shouldn't it?"

Storming in and handling it themselves? He had to admit, it felt excessive. The Bureau would take care of it—and he was already doing enough silly contortions hiding his strength. No need to complicate things further.

Either way.

People who dug themselves into a grimy den like this and treated human lives like dirt would almost certainly face summary execution on the spot. The law as it applied to Awakeners was enforced far more brutally.

Still.

He had to see it dealt with, thoroughly, before they left. They could not afford a lingering threat.

"Even so, we don't know where else she might bolt to, so let's approach slowly—"

He had been about to say those words when—

"Huh."

Seo Hwarang let out a breath before he could stop himself.

Good grief.

So there really was a criminal organization? Iron Hand?

And what was more—

Park Cheol-min, Park Do-young, Song Mi-young?

It had even kindly listed their names. Exactly the same as back on the Etherion Continent.

"What's wrong?"

Yoo Seon-ah wore a completely blank expression, which meant—

So this one's only visible to me.

Well, of course. The rewards alone made that obvious.

Skill Book Collect, 1st Awakening?

What could that possibly be?

His skull gave a sharp, stabbing throb.