Chapter 131
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Like a Snake or a Demon
The slanted rays of the rising sun washed the city in a shimmering golden light.
Kanghyeok sat in front of the safe house, rolling the scorched black lighter in his hand.
*Clink.*
Soot made the lid open with a dull sound.
Its original brilliant silver was gone, and soot smudged his fingers.
Kanghyeok rubbed the flint with his thumb.
It used to spin smoothly and spark a flame, but now it wouldn't budge.
It was dead.
The lighter, exposed to such high temperatures, looked as if it would never function again.
Kanghyeok pressed the hand holding the lighter to his forehead.
It was just a lighter, but the sense of loss he felt was likely because it had been such a familiar object.
Kanghyeok had lost much in this incident.
The lighter.
The safe house and his kukri.
The sports car and firearms could be repaired, but his greatest loss remained.
The peace of his daily life.
Iron Mask had come all the way to his residence.
He had attacked Kanghyeok in his bedroom, and many people in the city had died.
“Tsk.”
A bitter taste filled his mouth as a wave of complicated emotions washed over him.
It wasn't because he felt the people had died because he was in this city.
If Kanghyeok hadn't been here, the people of this city might have all died during the Nobody incident.
The people he thought he had saved had lost their lives in vain.
The feeling of complexity came from how something he thought was over had suddenly grabbed him by the ankle and held a knife to him.
‘Is a predetermined fate not so easily changed?’
The thought occurred to him that perhaps fate couldn't be easily changed, no matter how much one struggled.
But he soon dismissed the thought.
Because the scorched black lighter was in his hand.
This lighter, which should have been with him until his death twelve years from now, was now broken.
Ironically, the dead lighter gave him hope to live.
“Hoo—!”
Kanghyeok let out a deep breath as if to shake off his distracting thoughts.
He knew he needed to be as calm as possible.
‘The company will take care of the sports car and the safe house. I just need to handle the guns...’
But a person's heart doesn't always go as planned.
A strange sense of loss turned into loneliness, wrapping around him like the cool morning air.
The feeling of being suddenly left all alone in the world.
It was a feeling that intensified in a situation like this, where he didn't know when or where Iron Mask might reappear.
Just then, he sensed a presence and raised his gaze.
Leila and Santiago.
Behind them, a man in a suit and Yohan were approaching.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Kanghyeok watched Leila silently.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Perhaps his expression or his gaze was different from usual, because Leila flinched and then quickly approached.
“I’m fine.”
Kanghyeok said in a low voice, meeting Leila's eyes.
Her eyes said a lot.
That the situation was over.
That although there had been some issues with rescuing the citizens, it had ended well.
That everything was okay now.
That he could rest easy.
*Clink.*
Kanghyeok put the lighter in his pocket and, with a faint smile, shifted his gaze to Santiago.
“It’s been a while.”
“Stay seated.”
“I was planning to.”
Santiago chuckled deeply, walked over to Kanghyeok, and sat down beside him.
As it was a meeting between two team leaders, Leila stood a few steps away, while the deputy team leader and Yohan stood much farther back.
“I didn't expect you to come.”
“I didn't expect we'd meet over something like this.”
Santiago took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and pulled one out with his teeth.
Then he offered the pack to Kanghyeok.
“Everyone, step back for a moment. I'd like to speak with him alone.”
“Don't take too long.”
The deputy team leader glanced at his watch, then moved far back, showing his discomfort towards Kanghyeok.
As Leila also moved outside the safe house, Santiago took out his lighter and lit his cigarette.
“Could I borrow a light?”
Santiago, who was about to put his lighter away, gave him a surprised look but handed it over without protest.
*Click, fwoosh.*
After lighting his cigarette, Kanghyeok returned the lighter to Santiago and gazed at the line where the buildings met the sky.
The light of the morning glow was intense.
“Phew.”
Adding a plume of white smoke to the golden backdrop, he waited for Santiago to speak.
But Santiago simply sat next to Kanghyeok, smoking his cigarette, and didn't say a word.
So Kanghyeok also smoked in silence.
It happens sometimes.
Times when feelings are conveyed without words.
Under the same sky, in the same city, they had fired their guns at the same enemy.
Although he and Santiago only knew each other by face and name, the shared experience made him feel a connection without needing to speak.
“Hoo—!”
Exhaling a cloud of smoke, Santiago spoke, his gaze fixed on the sunrise.
“You're very different from what I've heard.”
Kanghyeok glanced at Santiago before shifting his gaze to the city, bathed in the morning glow.
“This city, you mean?”
“Everything, including you.”
Guessing what he meant, Kanghyeok silently shrugged and brought the cigarette to his lips.
“I know.”
Kanghyeok himself knew best what kind of person he had been before his regression.
A personality that kept people at a distance.
He was a man who didn't give affection.
“Mingle with people more. When things get tough, there's nothing more helpful than people.”
“If someone is by my side, I intend to.”
“Isn't there one already?”
It was clear he wasn't talking about Leila, so Kanghyeok narrowed his eyes.
“You mean Yohan?”
“Is his name Yohan?”
Santiago took the cigarette from his lips, looking outside the safe house where Yohan was.
“He's learned well. And he endures pain well for his age.”
“…”
“I'll keep it a secret from the company.”
Kanghyeok's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Santiago.
There were a few things that would violate company regulations.
Having an outsider like Yohan wear a suit and conduct a mission with him.
It was enough for the company to summon Yohan, and if that happened, Yohan could become a company intern.
If that happened, they would likely be separated forever.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because that kid seems to rely on you.”
Santiago said it as if it were nothing, using his shortened cigarette to light a new one.
Then, after a long silence, he spoke in a low voice.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
He didn't seem to be asking about cleaning up the city or restoring the safe house.
Kanghyeok, with the cigarette between his fingers, glanced at Santiago, who took a drag while looking at the city skyline.
His posture seemed to demand an answer.
Kanghyeok brought the stub of his cigarette to his lips and took one last drag.
“I'm planning to retaliate.”
“It won't be easy.”
“I'm the one in charge here. Isn't it something I must do?”
Since the safe house was attacked, Kanghyeok, as the person in charge, had more than enough justification to act.
*Click.*
Santiago took out an alligator leather business card case from his breast pocket, opened it, and took out a card.
On the pure white, high-quality card stock, only initials and a phone number were written in gold foil.
“This is my direct line.”
Kanghyeok took the card and shifted his gaze from it to Santiago's eyes.
“I'll call when I need it.”
“Only when you absolutely need it.”
Santiago placed a hand on his knee and stood up.
“Leaving already?”
“I was in the middle of a protection detail. I have to get back.”
Kanghyeok searched his memory for information related to Santiago and raised the corners of his lips in a faint smile.
“Is the client a woman, by any chance?”
“A good woman needs a good man.”
Kanghyeok also stood up and walked shoulder to shoulder with Santiago.
“Next time we meet, let's have a drink.”
Santiago answered by patting Kanghyeok's shoulder and then walked out of the safe house.
***
Iron Mask's office.
With the lights off and the curtains drawn, the room was dark despite the sun having risen.
Inside the room, Iron Mask held a wine glass, staring at the laptop on the table.
The camera installed on the MK2.
A higher-performance camera than the one installed on the MK1 had survived the intense heat of the fire and transmitted the video wirelessly.
*Clank.*
Having removed only the mouth part of his helmet, Iron Mask watched the laptop as he brought the glass to his lips.
Raging flames.
Kanghyeok, his suit on fire.
An ordinary human would be too busy screaming like the MK2 to even think about fighting.
But Kanghyeok was moving even within the hellish flames.
The more he watched, the more questions he had.
‘How on earth?’
How can you move?
A human can't do this.
‘Are you a god?’
He had never even heard of a human who could move while on fire, who could move and live within the flames.
And yet, this man had defeated the MK2 in this battle, emerged from the building alive, and even fired at Iron Mask.
‘Is he immortal?’
Iron Mask held his glass and watched the video again and again.
Then it occurred to him that he was fortunate to be the first one to see this video.
He didn't know why.
He just watched the Kanghyeok in the video with a strong obsession, as if engraving the image onto his retinas.
It was on the tenth replay of the video.
*Knock, knock.*
Someone knocked on the door, and Iron Mask turned an annoyed gaze in that direction before closing the laptop.
Then he downed the wine remaining in his glass.
“Come in.”
*Creeak.*
The door opened, and a subordinate entered with his head bowed.
He carefully raised his head and began to speak politely.
“The information has been organized. I'm here to report.”
Iron Mask looked at his subordinate and nodded.
Taking it as a sign to speak, the subordinate swallowed nervously and handed over the printed papers he was holding.
“These are photos taken by a drone. They were taken from a high altitude and enlarged, so the quality isn't great.”
*Flip.*
Iron Mask flipped through the pages one by one.
They showed people hunting the gangs he had incited to create chaos.
Their faces couldn't be identified.
But their attire was recognizable.
‘The ones in suits.’
These people, a mix of men and women, were wearing suits just like Kanghyeok.
This confirmed it.
That there were more like Kanghyeok.
It was a chilling thought, but at the same time, a strange sense of displeasure welled up inside him.
The displeasure of discovering that a being he had hoped was unique was one of many.
It even felt like looking at crude copies, and Iron Mask's brow furrowed.
“They all appear to be from the same faction.”
Iron Mask's eyes shifted to his subordinate.
“A total of three new individuals were identified this time, and all of them possess skills far surpassing those of U.S. Special Forces.”
That would be the case.
If they were affiliated with Kanghyeok, they would have to be.
“Their technological capabilities also seem considerable, possibly even superior to our own.”
It was a series of unwelcome news.
Kanghyeok alone was a handful.
But now there were several people in suits, and there was even an entity supporting them.
Iron Mask placed the photos on the desk.
“We're going to lie low for a while. Focus on identifying who these people are.”
“Yes, sir.”
Iron Mask glanced at the laptop.
It was then.
The subordinate, who thought he had finished his report, hesitated, watching Iron Mask's reaction.
He seemed to have something else to say.
When Iron Mask looked at him, the subordinate took a letter from his coat.
“I brought this because I thought it would be best for you to open it yourself.”
Iron Mask took the letter and examined the exterior.
The envelope itself didn't look special.
But a letter delivered to Iron Mask's personal residence could not be ordinary.
The fact that it was sealed with blood-red sealing wax, in particular, felt ominous.
‘This seal...’
A distinct symbol stamped into the wax like a seal.
Two snakes coiled around a leafy tree.
Iron Mask raised his eyes to the wall.
On the office wall, filled with various decorations his father had put up when he was alive, there was also a flag hanging.
It was a flag embroidered with the same symbol stamped on the sealing wax.
*Crack.*
He broke the sealing wax and took out the letter. The first sentence greeted him: ‘To the Second Iron Mask.’