Only Silhouettes in the Moonlight
Deep in the forest, where moonlight barely outlined faint silhouettes, someone was desperately scrambling down a slope, wounded and weary.
“Damn it! How far are they going to chase me...!”
With no time to recover from the accumulated damage, he bolted through the woods. Behind him thundered a pack of massive red wolves.
— Woo woo—!
The wolves' signal upon spotting prey. Gritting his teeth against the pain surging through his body, Amyak gripped the dagger in his left hand tighter and picked up speed.
— Yap yap!
A wolf's growl erupted from the side. He spun around, swinging his arm.
— Yelp!
His dagger plunged into the lunging wolf's throat, but the beast's momentum overpowered him, sending him crashing to the ground.
“Huff... huff... just how many unknown abilities do you have...!”
Amjak had always obsessively investigated his clients and targets. Eugene Han Calione, the true owner of the cafe Cielo Notturno, was no exception.
The heir to the Calione family, hiding his identity while attending the academy.
When he first uncovered it, even the shadowy Amjak had been stunned. Everything Eugene had done at the academy while concealing his background was beyond imagination.
But he'd also assumed that was the extent of it. At best, the level of an academy cadet. Some feats even seemed inflated by the Calione family's power.
He'd scored points on entrance exams via his organization's sniping, and midterm achievements suspiciously reeked of Calione capital. Naturally, it felt like his record had been embellished.
And the guy was just a first-year. Unless he was living a second life, no genius could surpass those limits.
But...
That wasn't it!
Something had felt off. Sure, he attended the academy, but as Calione's heir, he should've had intel from family operations. Yet there was zero trace of Calione activity in his records.
Amjak had chalked it up to basic heir training back then. Now he knew why.
Because he'd seen it with his own eyes.
He was hiding it on purpose! Deliberately!
If Calione had gone all out to bury the info, it made sense why Amjak couldn't dig it up.
To think they'd secretly raise a monster like that heir—
Boom—!
The tree he'd just passed exploded, shards flying everywhere.
“Urk!”
Amjak threw up his hand to shield his face. Instinctively, he thrust his palm toward the falling tree.
“Dark Hole.”
A black mass shot from his fingertips, cratering the spot on impact. The tree and soil got sucked downward.
But—!
“Urk!”
A barrage of bullets rained from unseen directions. Each felt like a heavy-caliber round slamming into him. As he dashed through the darkness, freshly healed wounds tore open again. Amjak activated Shadow Step once more, scanning his surroundings.
Stay calm. The darkness is my domain. Pinpoint his location, and I'm the one with the advantage.
Realizing his panic from the surprise assault and firepower, he refocused. Seven presences in the dark. One had to be Eugene.
He's personally chasing me? That's lucky for me.
Unlike the cramped cabin, this place overflowed with cover and shadows—his perfect field.
Gotcha!
His radar net snagged Eugene via ripples in the spread darkness. A feat only possible for a true spirit of shadow.
Amjak melted into the shadows and erupted right behind Eugene.
His dagger slashed down.
No pointless shouts like “Die!” for a true ambush.
But—
“Falling for it again?”
Eugene, as if expecting it, whirled and pulled the trigger.
─────Boom!!
A cannon-like roar hurled Amjak airborne, smashing him into a tree. Unlike before, the bullet hadn't just shocked him—it punched a massive hole clean through his body.
“Guh... guhuh...”
His body sagged like a deflating balloon, air hissing out.
A short whistle—wheek—sealed the brief chase's outcome.
* * *
“Kahuk! Cough!”
Amjak, finally mauled and dragged by the wolves, hit the ground and writhed, flipping over.
“What... what the hell are you...?”
“Oh, you're still conscious.”
Under the tattered black cloth, his face wasn't human—more like a doll sculpted from congealed darkness.
“You already know, right? Eugene Han Calione. Heir to Calione, and the target your client is after.”
Eugene dragged a nearby chair over and sat, ignoring the prone figure.
“Don't bullshit me...! Tossing bombs like toys, breaching traps no one knew about—that's Calione?”
Ah, he meant that stuff.
From Amjak's view, it was full of mysteries. The guy never left traces of his hideouts or personal info.
To him, Eugene was a ghost—utterly incomprehensible.
“I could show you even more amazing things.”
He'd probably freak.
“Dark Spirit Jin. I demand Spirit Interrogation of you.”
Amjak's body rippled violently.
“What? H-how?! How do you know my True Name!”
His voice hit a new pitch of shock, his humanoid form wavering uncontrollably.
“Shut up. The point is, I've invoked Spirit Interrogation with your True Name.”
Spirit Interrogation. A tradition for bonding with contracted spirits via trust. A forced confession where names were staked.
But...
If I demand it without giving my name, he can only answer—can't question back.
That's why spirits only reveal True Names to contractors.
Too bad—I already knew yours.
“What the hell are you? Some dragon toying with mortals?!”
“I ask the questions. You just answer.”
That's why he wasn't fully dead yet.
“First: Who sent the hit on the cafe?”
Amjak's body rippled again.
Resisting speech overloaded him.
“You know refusing mid-Interrogation dooms you, immortal or not, right?”
Eugene smirked. Amjak finally rasped,
“...Seoul Hero Academy Chairman. Ray Pendragon. He's... the client!”
“Figures. As expected.”
Who else at the academy hated him that much? Top of the list: one of the big shots. He'd suspected as much.
But asking confirmed it—solid testimony. Suspicion to certainty.
“Next: Besides me, does anyone know your true nature?”
Amjak shook his head.
“...No. I swear, I've left no trace in this world.”
“Good to know.”
That simplified things.
“...Calione brat. What're you planning?”
“Hm?”
Amjak looked up with a sly grin.
“You gonna contract me now that I'm exposed as a spirit? That it?”
“What?”
“Fine, I admit it. I'm an upper-tier dark spirit—one of the absolute top in the human realm. I get why you're greedy. Show some goodwill now, and—”
“Delusional spirit's scripting his own fanfic.”
—Click.
Eugene drew his pistol, aiming at the head.
Amjak just chuckled, convinced it was contract bait.
“Forgot? I'm a spirit. Kill this body—my essence survives—”
“A lizard punk said something similar recently. Fafnir, ring a bell?”
“...What?”
Amjak shuddered.
“Your reaction says yes. Top-tier evil dragon—figures you'd know. But get this?”
Eugene slowly cocked the hammer—click.
“That punk lost to me too—”
His dragon-marked arm burned hot. Words etched into the air like divine script.
Got it. Another dragon engraving trigger: holding an immortal's life in your grasp.
Even eye contact had been too much; now Amjak hung his head, trembling like hypothermia victim.
“Remember—you're breathing solely by my mercy... Got it?”
The engraving amplified his aura. Semi-tangible, it enveloped and slowly crushed Amjak.
He nodded frantically, fear radiating off him.
“...Last question. Plague. Where is he?”
“V-Venice! He said he's stockpiling new power there. That's everything I know!”
His desperate plea drew a snort. The lofty spirit was gone—replaced by terror incarnate.
“Good. You answered honestly, so I'll give a gift.”
Eugene sneered.
“One time only. You'll answer any question you ask with pure truth. Choose wisely.”
“Ha... haha...”
Amjak's hollow laugh swelled into madness.
“Ha. Haha. Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!”
Then—abrupt stop. His body froze.
“Fine. My question, Eugene Han Calione. What is your true identity?”
Dying wish tone—gotta know before the end.
“That? Nothing special.”
“...What?”
Last wish deserved sincerity.
“Returner.”
“What? What does that—”
“Just your run-of-the-mill returner with a grudge against you.”
──Bang!