“Hmm, this is troublesome.”
I am standing on the roof of a building a short distance from Vasiliisa.
There is enough distance, and I have prepared delicate defenses just in case.
‘Besides, Geumchon dong is too filthy right now.’
The back alleys of Geumchon dong are usually disorderly and dirty, but now it is even more so in a serious sense.
Mana and malice are surging from all directions.
The rain that fell over Paju for days has corrupted everything in Paju, and the flooding waves have brought up the malice that had settled in its depths.
That is why as long as I stay here quietly, I am safe.
‘But staying still forever feels... off, doesn’t it?’
Why am I observing Vasiliisa from afar? The reason is simple.
“What is happening at Vasiliisa?”
Vasiliisa is a cafe so large and immaculate that it doesn’t belong in the dilapidated back alleys of old-town Geumchon dong.
While every surrounding building bears stains and damage from the flood, Vasiliisa’s walls remain spotless, standing clean and intact.
Countless currents of mana swirl around that grand, pristine building.
I approached, assuming it was simply a place frequented by many fixers... when suddenly this triggered.
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait activated.]
“Ugh, what?”
I reflexively infused mana into my skateboard and leapt away.
After several moves and hiding, I ended up on the roof of a three-story building housing a shrine and a gamjatang restaurant, which leads us to the present situation.
“Hmm—let’s see......”
I activate my mana to survey the area around Vasiliisa.
[Macrovision]
Though several buildings and obstacles block the view, my sight penetrates them and reaches near Vasiliisa.
“They’re certainly not cheerful, lively fixer types.”
Matched black suits and dark sunglasses like they were factory-produced, with uniformly imposing builds.
There are no obvious badges of status, yet only one group in Geumchon dong would dress and move with such precision.
“They’re the Management Agency.”
The Immigration and Foreigners Management Agency. Specifically, the Immigration and Foreigners Management Agency Special Unit.
Unlike the main agency that handles genuine immigrants, the Special Unit deals with aliens, other races, espers, and supernatural incidents.
About twenty of their agents are encircling Vasiliisa’s entrance.
“Ugh... I feel bad for Tudor.”
I can, of course, guess what brought them here.
Yang Seohu is tracking me. Despite ordering Park Gwangrim to tamper with the information, her tendrils still reached Vasiliisa.
“But if they were really here to arrest me, it wouldn’t feel like this.”
I expand my sensing to get a closer look at what’s happening inside Vasiliisa.
But the person I worry about is nowhere to be detected. Not even nearby.
It seems Yang Seohu didn’t come herself.
Perhaps my information manipulation wasn’t entirely useless. If I were certain, Yang Seohu would have come personally.
Instead, among the generic, mass-produced NPC agents of the Management Agency, one stands out.
The one speaking up front.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Unkempt mane like a lion, and height shorter than mine. Named NPC, Shin Woojin, Yang Seohu’s subordinate.
‘I don’t really want to remember someone like that.’
His name was forcibly pulled from my memory by my Intelligence stat. He’s not that important.
“I regret that I cannot offer more assistance.”
That’s Tudor’s voice. A bright smile and honeyed tone completely unlike usual.
Whether it’s a sales tactic or combat tactic I don’t know, but she seems very angry.
“No. This is more than enough. You’ve been a great help.”
Tudor stands about 190 cm tall, facing 160-cm Shin Woojin—it’s quite a sight.
“As a citizen, I only did what was natural. I feel ashamed. But I shouldn’t hold up those busy with official duties, right?”
She’s basically telling him to scram.
Shin Woojin seems to understand. He glances around to stall for time, then continues.
“This area has many run-down, eerie alleys. If a dangerous criminal broke into a store run by a lone woman, it could be disastrous.”
The phrase “lone woman” indicates she’s spirited Ob that somewhere.
Before Tudor can reply, Shin Woojin smiles triumphantly and goes on.
“Our agents will patrol around your cafe for a while to ensure you can operate safely.”
Basically, “We’ll sit here and block your business.”
“I’m truly grateful and relieved you’d say so. But the friendly locals and the merchants’ self-patrol already handle security, so you needn’t worry.”
In other words, “Get lost.”
“But since you’re from abroad, if you have any discomfort or complaints you find hard to voice to others, it would be far more convenient to tell us.”
“Shut your mouth, foreign witch. Don’t mess with our country.”
Tudor’s cheeks flush slightly.
“Oh, in that case......”
Tudor forces a shy-like smile—but her pupils snap into cat-like slits.
It’s dramatic.
I thought the situation might be calming down, but it isn’t.
“I’ll need something from you if I’m to keep seeing Tudor’s face.”
Opposing me are twenty combat agents from the Management Agency.
Including a high-level named NPC.
“And Shin Woojin too......”
[Scry]
I cast a spell to confirm Shin Woojin’s true power.
Giiiiiing......
Thanks to Red, my eyes aren’t in great shape for [Perceive].
With [Macrovision] plus [Scry], I feel like my eyeballs might burst. Ugh, a blood vessel might pop again.
I zoom in on the back of Shin Woojin’s head—only for him to flinch back in shock.
“What the—?!”
He shouts and looks around frantically.
A few large eyeballs swell like tumors amid his disheveled hair.
‘If I hadn’t cast it from this distance, I’d have been caught.’
Ugh, what a pain. Wait—what is that?
At that moment, my senses pick up something odd.
‘Huh? That is.......’
Something is near Vasiliisa. A familiar mana signature.
I don’t know why it’s there, but it seems I needn’t intervene.
Shin Woojin detected that mana too.
“Who’s there?!”
Shin Woojin shouts and hurls a stiletto toward the narrow gap between buildings.
A textbook scene.
“Team Leader? Surely not in there?”
The man who seems to be Shin Woojin’s aide questions him.
Because of unregulated development, some buildings are so close they’re only a handspan apart. No human can hide there.
Yet Shin Woojin throws his stiletto precisely into that tight crevice.
“You idiot, that’s an ‘illegal immigrant’!”
He must want to say “not human,” but public servants of the Management Agency don’t speak like that in public.
As Shin Woojin expects, a supernatural phenomenon begins.
“Bahahahaha—!”
Grrrrumble!!
The narrow gap between buildings dramatically widens.
“Uaaaah!”
A flash of brilliant light, smoke scattering, wind swirling.
A humanoid silhouette soars skyward.
“Seeing dozens of Mr. Kims oppressing a poor woman is intolerable!”
“You illegal intruder scum! What nonsense is this!”
“Capture him! Capture him!”
“What cheery, bright Mr. Kims you are! Now, let’s have a proper fight!”
A peculiar figure with a floppy cap, leopard-print pants, a sequined jacket, and a half-mask molded like an oni’s face. Not human.
Commander of Cheonggeumdang’s guards, Seocheonseul.
“Come forth, Diamond Staff!”
A gigantic golden staff sprouts from Seocheonseul’s hand.
Kraaaang!
The road collapses and buildings crumble.
“Uaaaah! Wh—what is that!”
“He’s only one man! Seize him!”
“Waaaah!”
Agents of the Management Agency crack open black three-section staffs and rush in.
“Oh my, cowardly Mr. Kims—you rely on numbers! Realize you’re actually outnumbered!”
It feels like an old cartoon.
Seocheonseul instantly creates dozens of clones, each rampaging to knock out the agents and smash nearby buildings.
“Don’t mock me! Such pathetic illusion magic!”
Shin Woojin’s hair whips about as dozens of eyeballs appear, and claw-like talons grow from his hands—an unmistakably inhuman visage.
When he slashes, Seocheonseul’s clones crumble like paper. Then, with a single breath, Shin Woojin appears before Seocheonseul.
“You call that illusion magic, you tiny Mr. Kim?”
“You calling me tiny right now!?”
“Aren’t you looking up at me? Keep staring up.”
“What did you say?”
Ugh, falling for such a trivial trick.
But he already is. Shin Woojin is gazing up at Seocheonseul—and the more he looks up, the taller Seocheonseul grows.
“Huh? Uh—uh?”
No matter how much he cranes his neck, it doesn’t end. Eventually Seocheonseul grows tall enough to touch the clouds.
From that lofty height, Seocheonseul’s voice thunders.
“I shall trample you, tiny Mr. Kim!”
Kurururung!
A massive foot descends from dizzying heights.
Kraaaang!!
The shockwave smashes every building in Geumchon dong.
“Uaaaah!”
And a witch’s laughter rings out beside me.
“Ahahaha! Heeheehee!”
There are no destroyed buildings, no clones of Seocheonseul, no giant Seocheonseul. No one is harmed.
The Management Agency officers and Shin Woojin, each clutching one another or utility poles, collapse exhausted—like a wrestling match.
Shin Woojin still has not recovered, but all of this was merely a hallucination to him and the agents.
Seocheonseul seems to have altered the direction of her illusion, and suddenly the agents begin new behavior.
“There he is! Kim Sinhwa!”
“Over there! Over there!”
They all leap up and thunder off in unison.
“Kim Sinhwa, you bastard! We caught you!”
“We caught Kim Sinhwa!”
The agents, shouting “Kim Sinhwa,” bind each other and vanish into an alley somewhere.
I scratch my head at the sight, then rise—glad I needn’t step in.
I pour mana into my skateboard and vault across several buildings.
My [Night Shroud Robe] billows like black wings.
Running along roof railings, leaping from building to building, then roof to roof, I land in front of Vasiliisa where Seocheonseul and Tudor stand.
“Oh, Mr. Kim. I wondered when you’d stop spectating and arrive.”
“What? Have you been watching this?”
Why start with that? Irritated, I reply to them.
“Normally you’d say ‘hello’ or ‘good to see you again,’ right?”
“Hmph, fine. Hello, you? I was cornered—yet you just watched?”
“Good to see you again, Mr. Kim. But since I’ve handled it, you will, like normal folks, say ‘thank you,’ correct?”
“...Let’s go inside first. We’ll talk once we’re in.”
From afar I can hear the wails of the Management Agency agents.
“Kim Sinhwa! Kim Sinhwa is multiplying into hundreds!”
“Uaaaah! Waves are surging in!”
“The mountains are collapsing!”
“The world is ending!”
