###
Kang Hyun, who even ignored a call from Chief Choi.
It really seemed like he was taking time off.
He even went back to the barbecue place he’d visited with Aden before.
And the next day.
This time, he actually went to work.
Of course, the moment he clocked in, Yoo Chae-young summoned him.
He was dragged into the executive conference room—a place equipped with perfect soundproofing and anti-eavesdropping measures.
“…”
“…”
Yoo Chae-young glared at him without saying a word.
“Taking personal leave freely is a worker’s right guaranteed by labor laws.”
“Goodness… You’re making jokes after causing such a massive incident? Truly, your mental fortitude is astonishing.”
She looked genuinely impressed.
“Wreck havoc…? You just said you’d stir up a bit of trouble… This is a ‘bit’ of trouble?”
“I didn’t plan to kill Park Cheol-woong, you know.”
“The issue isn’t whether you planned it. The question is, why did you kill him?”
“He hit me first.”
“…”
She didn’t respond.
It seemed like she’d decided not to let herself get drawn into his pace anymore.
“I won’t talk about responsibility.”
“Oh, really?”
“It’s already in the past, and more than that… I’m not even sure it was entirely the wrong thing to do.”
Exactly.
It was the right thing to do.
The only problem now was Chief Choi.
He’d taken out one of the country’s only two official S-rank combatants.
“More importantly… how on earth did you do it?”
Ah, of course this would come up.
“Park Cheol-woong. The undefeated legend, Park Cheol-woong! A man like an impregnable fortress, who never lost, not even against foreign S-rank elites!”
“He was annoyingly tough, I’ll give him that.”
To think he’d survive even a graze from the Sword of Avalon.
That man was wearing the heart of a demon.
“You said you weren’t S-rank! That you were weak and had to hide!”
“Yeah. I’m weak.”
“Then how did you do it?!”
“Fights aren’t just about stats.”
“What?”
“It was luck.”
It was true.
This time, luck was on his side.
I was lucky to escape Park Cheol-woong with 【Open】.
I was lucky he was an endurance type with weak attack power, so I survived one hit.
I was lucky the demon’s heart got countered by holy power.
I was lucky to have found the Providence Dungeon before the fight.
“You killed the toughest S-rank and say it was luck?”
“It’s the truth.”
“S-ranks don’t die from luck! Let alone Park Cheol-woong!”
Her expression was one of utter disbelief.
“War is like that.”
“Pardon?”
“You can’t win with just luck. Nor can you win with just skill.”
War is about desperately gathering everything you can, including luck, and turning it into skill.
In a fair duel, the more skilled fighter wins.
But war against demons is a fight to kill or be killed.
“The one who uses every tool to kill is the one who wins.”
Why was Kyle the strongest?
Not because he had the most power. Not because he was the toughest.
Le Morys was stronger than Kyle.
Detorion was tougher than Kyle.
But Kyle was the best at killing.
That’s why he was the strongest.
“How old are you?”
“You know that. Why?”
“According to your profile, you’re younger than me… but this doesn’t make sense.”
“Age is just a number. 【Open】.”
A portal opened in the ceiling, and Aden fell through.
“Wahh?! Ow!”
“Oh, my!”
With a thud, she landed hard, sitting on the floor.
Her chest heaved as she caught her breath.
“What are you doing outside the door? Someone might misunderstand.”
“Ouch, ouch…”
“W-What was that just now?”
“Keep that in mind when planning my movements from now on.”
Aden quickly stood up, her eyes sparkling.
“P-Please! Please tell me the story again!”
“You heard it all at the academy last night.”
“Tell me again, Master!”
It seemed she was particularly fond of stories, especially those involving Kyle.
“The story’s already over. Right?”
“I still have a lot to say, but you’re probably busy. After everything that’s happened.”
“Yeah. I’ve got to go pacify Chief Choi.”
“Good luck.”
Taking Aden with him, Kang Hyun left the room.
But just as he was about to open the door—
“Kang Hyun.”
“Yes.”
“Kang Hyun was the Ghost.”
“And?”
“Thank you for protecting Seonghwa.”
Kang Hyun frowned and waved his hand dismissively.
“Don’t say stuff like that to my face. It’s embarrassing.”
He left the room.
Yoo Chae-young laughed softly.
###
On the way to the Awakened Management Bureau, they stopped by a snack shop.
“One order of tteokbokki, fried snacks, and soondae, please!”
“Are you Aden, the Awakened? I’ll throw in some extras for you!”
“Wow, thank you!”
It seemed like making up for ignoring Chief Choi’s calls—twice—during the most critical moments was a good idea.
“There’s a 20% discount for cash payments!”
“Wow, in that case—”
“Hold on a second—!”
Someone sprinted over from a distance.
They rushed in, wedging their hand between the shop owner and Aden like a karate chop.
“Tax evasion! This damages the nation’s finances!”
“W-What the… Who are you?!”
The light gleamed off his glasses.
Where had this man even come from?
It was Chief Choi, flashing his government ID.
He spent a while lecturing the shop owner while Kang Hyun and Aden watched from a safe distance.
After finishing his sermon, Chief Choi approached them, smiling.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
“Chief Choi, is that person going to be arrested?”
“No. It’s currently 12:30 p.m., the legally guaranteed lunchtime for civil servants—this is outside of official working hours. No penalties, just an educational warning.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. I’d have felt bad otherwise.”
“I’ll be revisiting in the future to ensure the shop owner has made the necessary corrections.”
Choi Young-ho was unexpectedly flexible in his own way.
“I bought this to share with you, Chief Choi! Let’s eat together!”
They arrived at the Awakened Management Bureau and entered a private room.
The kind of place where important discussions happen, now filled with the aroma of snack shop food.
Aden was practically drooling.
“Haha! Once again, Kang Hyun, you’ve accomplished something remarkable!”
“It was something that needed to be done.”
“Exactly. Something someone had to do! As a citizen of this nation, I thank you!”
“You seem a little too pleased about it.”
It wasn’t surprising, though.
He’d been just as happy during the loan shark incident.
“You excised a cancer from this nation; how could I not be delighted?”
It reminded Kang Hyun of Charles, who used to call him “an interesting person”.
He wanted to introduce Charles to this truly interesting individual in front of him.
“When I first heard the news, I almost fainted. My goodness, Ghost defeating Park Cheol-woong!”
“I was shocked too. It wasn’t a planned fight.”
“Was that the case?”
“He’s an opponent with almost no chance of victory. I wouldn’t pick a fight like that willingly.”
Exactly—why did Park Cheol-woong start the fight?
“How did you win against an opponent with no chance of victory?”
“I don’t start fights like that, but once I’m in, I win.”
“Huh?”
“That’s always how it goes. Except for once—and I thought I’d win that one, too.”
“Someone actually beat Kang Hyun?!”
Well, not a someone.
“What’s the government’s reaction? Losing an S-rank combatant must be a tough pill to swallow.”
“On the surface, yes. But in the long run, it was necessary to remove the rot.”
“Really?”
“Yes. S-rank or not, especially as a Guild Master, Park Cheol-woong’s influence was overwhelming. The government couldn’t touch him despite the problems he caused.”
So, he had plenty of enemies.
“The government should be releasing a statement soon. Let’s watch the news.”
They turned on the TV on the wall.
But Choi Young-ho’s face darkened.
“Why… Why is the Prosecutor General making the announcement…?”
Aden’s eyes widened in surprise.
<Good afternoon, this is the Prosecutor General. Today, I address you regarding a matter of great importance.>
The introduction was long.
The atmosphere was tense, and then the main announcement came.
<The Ghost is a heinous criminal who has committed an inhumane and egregious act by taking the life of Park Cheol-woong, an invaluable asset to our society and an S-rank Awakened who was a national treasure. Such a grave criminal act can never be condoned.>
Well, it was more or less what Kang Hyun had expected.
If they couldn’t catch him, that would be the end of it.
But others seemed to think differently.
<To apprehend the perpetrator, the prosecution has decided to issue a reward of 20 billion won.>
Chief Choi jumped to his feet, his chair clattering loudly to the floor.
<Ghost was reportedly wearing a black full-body suit and wielding a black sword. If anyone has information about the Ghost’s whereabouts or related details, please report to the authorities immediately.>
The broadcast transitioned to a photograph: Ghost standing under a piercing beam of light, taken from above in the dead of night.
< The prosecution will resolve this case to ensure justice for the deceased and provide solace to their grieving family. This concludes our statement…>
“This is outrageous!”
Chief Choi’s voice boomed.
Kang Hyun remained indifferent.
“Well, the government has to respond like this.”
Still, the response was harsher than expected.
“No, this isn’t just a statement. Such an aggressive measure is entirely different!”
“R-right! A 20 billion won reward… that’s insane!”
Kang Hyun quickly pieced things together.
It seemed that the political world had made up its mind.
‘They’re worried about their own necks.’
It was almost certain now that the Ghost was being seen as a kind of folk hero.
In other words, the higher-ups were getting nervous.
“Shame, really.”
This meant that acting as the Ghost would be much harder from now on.
“They even exceeded the legal maximum bounty by five times! This will attract S-rank Awakened from abroad like vultures. How can this happen in a country governed by the rule of law?!”
“I mean, I’m the one who killed someone in this country governed by the rule of law.”
“And the one you killed made a pact with demons and committed mass murder. He deserved to die!”
Wow, he’s really worked up. Kind of touching, actually.
“Besides, it’s been just one day since the incident. There’s no way a proper investigation could’ve been conducted!”
“True.”
The political motives behind this were too obvious.
That’s how desperate they were.
“Park Cheol-woong was a treasonous criminal who committed mass murder of both citizens and Awakened! He’s one of the worst in history!”
“That’s true.”
“This is absurd. The citizens won’t stand for it!”
That, he wasn’t so sure about.
After all, Ghost was still a murderer, at least in name.
Kang Hyun glanced at Choi Young-ho.
He was so furious that his neck was trembling with rage.
Tsk, now I feel bad for him.
Kang Hyun decided to lighten the mood with a trivial suggestion.
“Want to make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Who will the citizens side with—the Ghost or the government?”
“Ha! That’s obvious…”
The next day, Kang Hyun lost the bet completely.
“What the hell is this…?”
The streets were flooded with people dressed in black.
Awakened individuals, in particular, were carrying black swords—where they got them was a mystery.
And on that same day, police stations nationwide were inundated with calls.
‘I’m Ghost.’
