Iron Hand (4)

"Noona."

"Hmm?"

"Do you happen to know what Iron Hand is?"

Seo Hwarang tilted his head, and Yoo Seon-ah frowned.

"...Iron Hand? What's that. Iron hand? Or is it a guy named Cheol-su?"

"Oh, Iron Hand? I know about that one...!"

Park Juhee raised her hand slightly, and both of their gazes snapped to her.

"It's the username of a seller who's pretty well known on the black market. Their listings are incredibly abundant and varied, and they're famous for putting everything out at absurdly low prices. Why do you ask?"

Hmm.

Because it showed up in my quest window.

Not that he could say that.

"That woman just now claimed to be part of the criminal organization Iron Hand."

"Excuse me...?"

A criminal organization?

"Ah, so that's it!"

Park Juhee's eyes went wide. It all made sense now — why they had been targeting Yoo Seon-ah. Quick as she was, she caught on in an instant.

"So they're kidnapping artisans and forcing them to craft items with the materials they supply, huh."

"Yeah, that seems to be the case."

Seo Hwarang nodded. He'd more or pieced it together himself when he heard the name was famous on the black market.

"We need to move fast."

"Huh? Why? Weren't you the one saying we should wait for the Management Bureau?"

"A reason came up. Follow me."

Tap!

Seo Hwarang kicked off the ground and sprinted away. It had appeared in the quest window — kill those three. Which meant...?

'By my own hand.'

He had to end their lives himself. And yet he felt no particular discomfort about it. It was the same feeling as when he'd dealt with the bandits back then — like a simple extension of the Etherion Continent. He'd killed before; the situation was familiar.

'They're going to die anyway.'

Might as well collect the reward first.

The moment he cleared the wall, flickers of light came into view, and shipping containers stood stacked everywhere he looked. And then—

Clang! Clang!

The sharp ring of hammers on metal rang out from within.

"Hnnnngh..."

"Sob, sob."

Crying could be heard too. And even the sight of a man who appeared to be an organization underling driving the workers on.

"What the hell do you miserable bastards have to cry about! Quiet down, or you're skipping meals tomorrow!"

'Ha. These bastards.'

Seo Hwarang clicked his tongue. He'd hoped he was wrong, but it was real. The people locked inside each of those containers had to be the production-class Awakeners.

'They deserved every ounce of public hatred, didn't they.'

What era did these people think they were living in, working slaves?

First things first.

1st Circle.

Master Veil of Deception.

Seo Hwarang cast illusion magic over every criminal in sight.

"Huh? What the—"

Their vision flipped upside down. The uncooperative workers vanished without a trace, and the ground was suddenly carpeted with crisp fifty-thousand-won bills.

"Wha— is this a windfall?!"

Whoosh.

And sure enough, one of them dove straight for the money.

"This is real? Holy crap, I knew I had a good dream last night!"

One, two. He fed their illusions, making them believe they'd stumbled upon a fabulous treasure hoard, and lured them one by one into a container. Once every criminal in sight had clustered into that single spot—

BOOM!

—he slammed the door shut and jammed a length of iron lying on the ground through the latch.

"Noona, Juhee-ssi, please guard this place. It'll take a while for their illusions to wear off."

"...And you?"

"I'm going to sweep up the rest of them before the Bureau arrives."

"You're going to?"

"Don't forget — you're the one who killed those guys, noona."

"Ah."

Yoo Seon-ah nodded reflexively. As always, she was Seo Hwarang's stand-in.

'Off I go.'

Whoosh.

Master Detect Magic was still active. Exactly where that criminal woman had gone showed with perfect clarity. Seo Hwarang no longer bothered to hide. He straightened his back and began walking out into the open, bold and unafraid.

"Boss!"

Song Mi-young came hurrying over, panting.

Tick, tock!

Amid the crackle of the fire, Park Cheol-min, who had been feeding logs into the flames, answered without even turning around.

"Not 'boss.' Representative. How many times do I have to say it?"

"That's not the point — why didn't you tell me there was someone with real skill next to Yoo Seon-ah?!"

"Real skill?"

"That F-rank magician from the intel! She's not F-rank!"

"Is that so."

"What do you mean, 'is that so'?! I seriously thought I was crossing into the afterlife today!"

"Skilled enough to rattle you, huh... Yeah, she did feel a bit off. You got away clean, though, right?"

"Obviously. If I'd run, I wouldn't be Song Mi-young, would I? Popped Shadow Fade the second things went south."

"Hmph."

Park Cheol-min let out a disappointed sigh and shoved the remaining logs into the fire. The flames roared up violently.

"If we'd snatched Yoo Seon-ah this time it would've been a jackpot. I'm worried we just stoked her caution for nothing... So, think there's room to try again next time?"

"Next time?"

Song Mi-young made a scandalized face.

"Is that really something to say to someone who just came back from the dead—"

The very instant she opened her mouth to shout it—

"Right. There won't be a next time."

a low, calm voice drifted in from behind them.

"Huh?"

"Hm?"

Song Mi-young and Park Cheol-min whipped their heads around at the same moment. Park Do-young? No. It wasn't his voice either, and besides, he was fast asleep in the neighboring container on dawn watch duty. The man was a heavy sleeper at the best of times; there was little chance of him waking.

Step, step.

The owner of the voice emerged slowly from the darkness.

Seo Hwarang.

"Th-that guy!"

Song Mi-young gasped and pointed a shaking finger.

"It's him! That magician!"

Yet even as she shouted, her face was frozen in sheer disbelief.

How on earth—!

When did he get behind me?!

"...!"

Shing!

Park Cheol-min drew the sword at his waist in a flash. But Seo Hwarang's cold eyes didn't waver in the slightest. He'd already resolved to kill them; he simply clamped down hard on the blood threatening to boil with excitement.

Seo Hwarang spoke.

"That woman already admitted she's Song Mi-young."

Shff!

At the same moment, a Wind Cutter lifted into the air between them.

"So are you Park Cheol-min? Or Park Do-young?"

Park Cheol-min was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dumbfounded.

"...How do you know our names?"

"A man about to die doesn't need to know. Just tell me which of the two you are, and I'll send you off without pain."

"You little—!"

Park Cheol-min was a C-rank swordsman Awakener! The instant he raised his sword with a curse on his lips—

"Actually, no need to bother asking."

Swish!

a wind blade, prepared long ago, swept lightly across his throat. He might have been up against mere 1st Circle magic — but he'd layered the spell on himself every time its cooldown refreshed on the way over. There was no telling how many copies were waiting.

Thud!

Head separated from shoulders, Park Cheol-min collapsed without even a scream.

The objective window updated.

"Ahh, so you were Park Cheol-min."

"Y-you're insane."

Song Mi-young went white with terror. Park Cheol-min had been a powerhouse she couldn't hope to overcome on skill alone — and the moment she'd watched him get cut down in a single stroke, every ounce of her will to fight evaporated.

Worse still, she couldn't even use Shadow Fade now. Its cooldown was ten hours.

Which left exactly one option.

Begging.

"P-please, spare me!"

"Spare you?"

"Yes! I know I did wrong! If you let me go, I swear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll never show my face — I'll bury myself in the countryside and live a perfectly normal life!"

"Then tell me where Park Do-young is."

"Park Do-young! Over there! He's sleeping in that container over there!"

Figures.

Criminals weren't exactly famous for loyalty to each other.

"So that's where he was."

Not stirring even with all this commotion... the man really was a hibernating Snorlax.

FWOOSH!

Seo Hwarang floated four Fire Bolts into the air. Then, as casually as a striker lofting a handball into an open goal, he lobbed them one by one, unhurried.

KWAAAAAANG!

Four explosions thundered out in succession.

'Nice.'

The spell's performance was reliable, at least.

"Hnn... hnnnngh..."

Faced with Seo Hwarang's eerily casual slaughter, Song Mi-young's legs gave out completely.

"One thing I'm curious about, though."

"Y-yes! Anything, just say the word!"

"Just how many terrible things have you people done that the System orders you dead?"

"Wh-what kind of nonsense is that?"

"You don't know what I mean?"

"No."

"Fair enough. Doesn't matter. Why would a dead woman bother learning anything?"

"W-wait! You said you'd spare me—"

"When did I ever say that?"

Swish!

This time, too, the Wind Cutter swept lightly across her throat.

"I never said any such thing."

Sorry, but Song Mi-young, of all people, could not be allowed to live. System or no system.

'She saw me use my power with her own two eyes, after all.'

In any case—

With the quest message popping up, all of them were confirmed dealt with.

'It does leave a slightly bitter taste.'

But beyond that, nothing. Only the simple thought that some bastards who had it coming had died, as they rightly should.

Step, step.

He walked back toward Yoo Seon-ah.

The responder who showed up was Team Leader Ha Taemin. With the police joining forces for a joint operation, the situation wrapped up in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no time.

"We meet again."

Ha Taemin gave Yoo Seon-ah a light bow and a brisk briefing of the scene.

"We ran the investigation, and honestly, trash of this caliber is a rare find. Fifty workers exploited here so far, twenty of them found dead. The boss and executives were taken care of by Awakener Yoo Seon-ah, correct?"

"Yes."

When Yoo Seon-ah nodded, Ha Taemin smiled faintly.

"There's no need to worry at all. They were criminals beyond any doubt — they were shoot-on-sight targets the moment you arrived. Plenty of witnesses, too."

"Thank you. Ah, and one more thing."

"Speak freely."

"You remember the Horned Bat case? Just like we accommodated each other back then, we'd appreciate it if our names stayed out of the rumors this time as well."

"Ah."

Ha Taemin nodded. And at the same time, he thought: 'As expected.' The habit of hiding their true strength, still unchanged. Then it was best not to poke at it. Especially looking at Yoo Seon-ah — not a single wound, not even one drop of sweat. Which meant what, exactly? A powerhouse capable of handling three C-rank Awakeners on her own. She could be upgraded to A-rank or higher soon. Or perhaps she was concealing her real abilities even now — if she were an artisan capable of crafting Unique items, a Veil of Deception scroll would be well within easy reach.

"Understood. Yoo Seon-ah will be recorded as uninvolved in this incident. We'll log the takedowns as Bureau work. That does mean no reward money... Will that be alright?"

"Yes, reward money's nothing."

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pocket change to her now. Ha Taemin had no reason to refuse — if anything, building goodwill only worked in his favor.

"Oh, and one more thing."

Whoosh.

Ha Taemin held out a business card to Yoo Seon-ah.

"If anything urgent comes up in the future, call this number directly. We'll be able to handle it far faster that way."

"Oh."

Yoo Seon-ah looked at him with surprise. She'd always taken him for a prickly, standoffish man, but he was treating them pretty well these days. Well, it didn't hurt to have connections inside the Management Bureau either.

"Understood. Thank you."

The case was closed. It generated quite a buzz — articles ran, memorial services were held for the victims. The items stacked inside the containers went to the workers themselves, and in the case of the deceased, to their grieving families.

Meanwhile, at that very moment, Seo Hwarang was deep in serious thought.

'It's really time now.'

A neighborhood of their own. At the very least, a stronghold that could keep his family safe. And for that...

He needed to pile up an obscene amount of money. If he was going to build it, he'd build it right.

'First of all—'

Shall we check out the rewards he'd just received?