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“Vigilante…”

“Hmm? Are you talking about me?”

At Kwon Tae-ho’s question, the man tilts his head. After all, that name is merely a pseudonym used by Kwon Tae-ho’s office staff. There’s no way he could recognize it.

The man briefly contemplates before deciding to abandon the thought. This place is a garbage dump. And he has come to clean up that garbage. Raising his sword instead of answering is more than enough.

However, at that moment.

The person he thought was just garbage utters words that cannot be ignored.

“The nine serial murders that occurred in the metropolitan area.”

– Stiff.

The man’s eyes tremble. Kwon Tae-ho senses his reaction instantly.

“Nine criminals who were returnees were attacked and killed by an unidentified assailant after being released from prison. The suspect is described as approximately 180 cm tall, of a sturdy build, likely male, and wielding two swords, a psychokinetic user.”

“…”

“Do you have any clues?”

At this point, trying to backpedal is futile. Kwon Tae-ho has merely posed a question; in reality, he is already convinced that this man is the vigilante.

‘If the person here were someone else, I might not have been able to tell. But I can know for certain.’

Kwon Tae-ho studied all abilities related to the executioner’s work. That way, when facing an enemy, he could understand the source of their power.

To Kwon Tae-ho’s eyes, it was clear. A faint, formless energy swaying around the man holding the two swords.

It was neither the martial arts of the martial world nor the mana of a magician. It was a psychic energy, typically emitted only by those with psychic powers.

Moreover, the fact that such a high-density psychic energy is constantly flowing out? The answer is simple.

“Your words have dried up. Did I hit the nail on the head?”

The man before him is an avatar, not the original.

“….”

Seeing the man’s silence, Kwon Tae-ho discreetly activates a device he kept tucked inside his coat.

It is an analyzer that examines the psychic energy patterns of nearby psychics. Every psychic possesses a unique psychic pattern. Once identified, it becomes possible to track the original through a tracker. Of course, the range is limited to about 1 km at most.

‘Pattern analysis will take at least 5 minutes. If the guy cancels the avatar before then, it’ll all be for nothing. I need to stall for time one way or another.’

Without such a reason, there would have been no need for him to engage in a leisurely conversation with a criminal.

“I’ll ask one last time. Are you related to the returnee serial murders? If you don’t answer, I’ll take it as a yes and subdue you. Or do you think it doesn’t matter since that body is just an avatar?”

At the repeated questioning, the man shuts his eyes. After a moment of thought, he opens his eyes and speaks in a deep voice.

“…Are you the executioner Kwon Tae-ho?”

To respond to a question with a question shows a lack of manners. However, the fact that they can communicate is a positive sign. Kwon Tae-ho shrugs.

“Do you know me?”

“I do. I’ve seen your name in newspapers and news reports. The strongest force, yet with a personality that doesn’t match.”

“You know well. Then you should also understand what will happen if you refuse to cooperate with me.”

“At least I know the reporter didn’t write anything false.”

With that, the man lowers the sword he had been holding up slightly and adds,

“…I don’t want to fight you. My aim is solely that man behind you. So, can’t you please just pretend you didn’t see me here?”

“What?”

“Even if he’s a controversial figure, I know you walk the straight path. I don’t want to cut down such a person. I’m sorry for the injury to your arm, but I believe we can just ignore each other here.”

“….You want me to ignore a criminal blatantly in front of me?”

Kwon Tae-ho furrows his brow and asks, but the man shakes his head.

“And what I’m saying is, there’s no need for pointless fighting. You know this too, right? I’ve only cut down those who are a blight on society. For us, making criminals pay for their crimes is practically the same thing. Isn’t that so?”

– Snap.

The man’s words hit the exact nerve of Kwon Tae-ho. The frustration he had allowed to slip out, the air in the entire area instantly froze.

“…You think we’re the same? In what way?”

“A sinner should naturally pay for their sins, and I’m capable of making that happen. Moreover, I do so with conviction. The fallen members of the organization on my way here are testament to that. Isn’t that right?”

“No, we’re different. Even if they are criminals, I won’t kill them.”

To criminals, a beating is a quick remedy.

Kwon Tae-ho always says such things to uphold his beliefs, but still, there is a line he maintains. His violence is merely a means to enable rehabilitation, not a private punishment to replace judicial enforcement.

“…Do you think you can fix humans? Do you honestly think those trash will feel remorse just by going to prison?”

“If they don’t feel remorse and keep repeating their mistakes, I’ll just catch them and throw them back in.”

“Do you ignore the tears of the innocent suffering because those trash are alive? If someone in your position can’t see the whole picture, the executioner—”

“Enough.”

As if to say there’s no need to continue the conversation, Kwon Tae-ho shakes his head.

“I’m not here to debate with you. No matter how noble your intentions may be, all I see is a fool thinking he’s a champion of justice.”

“…I am.”

“Why? Do you think you’ve got some tragic backstory worth mentioning after killing nine people?”

“…”

If the man had previously touched on Kwon Tae-ho’s rage, now Kwon Tae-ho strikes at his. The man, with eyes blazing, quietly returns the stare.

“…I’ve already surpassed nine. I came here to finish off those pieces of trash you left behind without tying up loose ends. Once I kill that man behind you, it’ll be over.”

At those words, all hesitation vanished from Kwon Tae-ho’s face.

“You really are a crazy bastard.”

From that moment, both men instinctively realized. They would never understand each other. Their values were just too different.

“Still, I’ll apologize. I cut you because I had to, but I hold no ill will.”

“I feel the same.”

The situation is tense. The murderous intent emanating from both men clashes in the air.

The branch manager, Tang Gangfu, observing the scene, found it so suffocating that he could hardly breathe.

‘Shit, I’m begging you, executioner…! My life depends on you…!’

If Kwon Tae-ho wins, at least his life will be saved.

Perhaps sensing Tang Gangfu’s desperate wish, it was Kwon Tae-ho who moved first to break the standstill.

– Bam!!

A low lunge brushing against the ground. Immediately following, a fist rising sharply like a dragon.

Kwon Tae-ho’s martial art is a combination of various existing martial arts, primarily specialized in disarming and quickly subduing opponents.

Thus, not a single lethal maneuver exists among the techniques he wields. However, conversely, it means every move possesses a sharpness that is almost as lethal as a killing blow.

An average skill level would find it impossible to even comprehend the attack.

However.

The man recognizes the split second between Kwon Tae-ho’s lunge and his punch and accurately capitalizes on it.

– Zing!!

A glistening sword strike. Aimed at Kwon Tae-ho’s punch. Perceiving it, Kwon Tae-ho immediately withdraws his fist, and the man’s sword slices through empty air.

‘Quick and precise. He’s indeed quite skilled.’

Yet, once an attack fails, a gap inevitably appears.

Kwon Tae-ho quickly throws his fist at the man’s exposed side, an unavoidable strike.

– Zing!!

But once again, the man reads the movement and finds another gap. Kwon Tae-ho feels a sense of unease creeping into his mind at the repeated failures.

‘What is this sensation?’

The man was strong. He combined speed and sharpness with excellent swordsmanship. He must have been a well-known expert during his time in this world.

However, that prowess was limited to swordsmanship. The man’s speed could not hold a candle to Kwon Tae-ho. If purely evaluated on physical abilities, he was likely far inferior to Seong Jin-hong, who had previously claimed to be a Celestial Horse.

But.

For some reason, the man’s attacks were consistently half a step ahead of Kwon Tae-ho.

The attacks seemed slow, yet the outcomes were swift. There’s only one explanation for this strange phenomenon.

‘Is he reading all my movements?’

That can’t be.

Unless he somehow predicted the famous martial arts techniques and found ways to counter them. Kwon Tae-ho’s martial art is a synthesis of numerous martial arts and is, in essence, practically original to him. How could he possibly decipher the counter before even seeing the first move?

It’s likely impossible.

Yet the man before his eyes was indeed doing that.

‘If that’s the case…!’

– Kreeeee!!

The mana expelled from Kwon Tae-ho’s heart surged through his body’s mana circuits. Numerous enhancement spells, cast at the speed of light, elevated his physical condition beyond 100%.

– Whack!!

“Kugh?!”

The man’s body was propelled backward after receiving a blow to his side. He couldn’t keep up with the suddenly faster attack. It seemed Kwon Tae-ho’s tactic had succeeded.

“Hah.”

But Kwon Tae-ho witnesses an unbelievable sight.

– Drip.

Crimson blood dripped down. A shallow cut etched itself onto the arm that had thrown the punch. Just as it struck, he had been slashed by the man like a ghost.

‘The attack was clearly in sight. Yet, I couldn’t evade it. He precisely exploited the gap right after my strike. Truly remarkable.’

Even more unbelievable was the trajectory of the man’s sword.

‘The moment my punch hit his side, he managed an immediate counter without the slightest waste. It was as if he had envisioned the situation and practiced that exact movement thousands, if not millions, of times in advance.’

Kwon Tae-ho knew no martial arts would force such an inefficient and insane practice onto a practitioner.

Nevertheless, the sheer perfection of it gave him no explanation other than this.

‘…It means this man is a goddamn genius.’

Drawing a perfect sword path as if he had trained it for thousands of repetitions without being bound by any formal techniques.

Even with significantly lesser physical capabilities, he could strike first.

A talent Kwon Tae-ho had encountered countless times, envied immensely, and yet somehow managed to overcome.

A god-given talent and an absurd bundle of abilities.

“…He’s strong.”

Kwon Tae-ho willingly acknowledged his opponent, just as he had with every other genius he had faced until now.

However, this acknowledgment did not mean Kwon Tae-ho had given up. There was no need to concede at all.

That is.

“Then let’s wrap up this probing session.”

Using every means possible to bring geniuses crashing down from the heavens.

That was Kwon Tae-ho’s specialty.

– Boom!!

Kwon Tae-ho stomped the ground with all his might, and mana surged forth in all directions from his foot.

‘Magic…! I thought he was just a martial artist; could he be a magician?!’

The man quickly retreated. He understood well how troublesome magic could be.

‘The enemy’s strengths are his ghostly reflexes and judgment. Plus, his extreme swordsmanship skill.’

To counter that, Kwon Tae-ho swiftly devised a tactic.

‘Then I’ll have to confuse his line of sight.’

– Woosh!!

Eventually, the released mana conjured magical symbols throughout the office. The symbols condensed the surrounding mana into baseball-sized projectiles.

Mana bullets.

Just throwing condensed mana is one of the basic spells taught during the executioner training process. Its power is merely at a control level, and the trajectory is painfully obvious. Only someone with a modicum of skill would be impossible to hit by such a technique.

“This is…!”

However, what if nearly a hundred mana bullets simultaneously erupted in this confined space?

– Kiiing! Pang! Bang! Kababababam!!

The man hastily dodged as the blue projectiles rained down all around him.

– Whack!!

His reflexes might be razor-sharp, but even he could not evade all the oncoming mana bullets.

‘Their power is nothing impressive. That executioner probably doesn’t think he could catch me with just this technique!’

Thus, the enemy’s real aim is to strike from the shadows.

– Fwoosh!!

As if to prove that point, Kwon Tae-ho rapidly dashed through the chaotic onslaught of mana bullets.

A low lunge brushing the ground. And immediately, a fist poised to launch upward.

‘I saw it!’

Kwon Tae-ho’s movement was identical to the first strike of this battle. The man mirrored that same trajectory with his sword to counter the attack.

– Slash…!

But unlike before, Kwon Tae-ho feints his attack, stopping just short of the man’s strike. The man’s sword cuts through the air aimlessly.

‘His sword technique reads my moves and exploits the gaps. If I show the same move, he’ll surely swing!’

He readied himself for the incoming strike that was so predictable.

Kwon Tae-ho perfectly deceived the man and lunged into the opening laid bare before him.

– Crack!!

“Kuh?!”

Kwon Tae-ho’s palm struck the man right at the tender spot between his collarbone and neck. The sharp edge of his hand sliced nearly five centimeters into the space between bone and muscle.

“Choke! Cough!”

There’s no bleeding. An avatar made from psychic energy doesn’t bleed.

Yet the sensations remained intact.

The strike digs through the neck muscles, tearing the windpipe.

The agony feedback received by the original body causes real muscles and nerves to react involuntarily against their will.

Thus, he momentarily cannot breathe, and nausea surges within him. A person would instinctively clutch their throat in reflex.

– Clang!

That reflexive action fed back into the avatar.

The man’s avatar dropped the sword and clutched its throat. To drop one’s weapon before an enemy is something one would never do in the original body. Hence, it was unpredictable, and his expression turned to one of shock.

And then.

– Whoosh!!

Kwon Tae-ho’s spinning kick detonated against the man’s temple.

– Boom!!!

A kick capable of shattering skulls and pulverizing brains.

The pain fed back into the original body causes an instantaneous shutdown of the brain. With his consciousness fading, he can naturally no longer maintain the focus required for the avatar.

– Drip, drip…

The man’s avatar melted away like a snowman meeting spring. With a look of regret, Kwon Tae-ho confidently addressed the now fading avatar.

“If you want to kill me, next time, come as the original, Vigilante.”

With those words, the man curled his brows and muttered softly just before disappearing entirely.

“…If you’re going to call me by a nickname, call me Ghost Blade.”

With that final line, the man’s avatar completely vanished.

A ghost-like swordsmanship skill. A sword ghost, hence the name Ghost Blade.

“How ridiculous is it to call yourself a nickname like that?”

After the battle, Kwon Tae-ho sat down, seemingly relieved of tension. A bead of cold sweat streamed down his bowed head.

‘If he had been the original, the same technique wouldn’t have worked this time.’

What had started as a light-hearted job to make some money through cooperative investigation turned out to be an enemy far stronger than expected. The five million suggested by Yoo Seol for the Seoul Metropolitan Police felt insufficient.

‘But I still have to do it, what choice do I have? I can’t leave a lunatic like that murderer running loose.’

As he wiped the sweat from his brow, Kwon Tae-ho recalled what Ghost Blade had said just moments ago.

‘I’ve only cut down those who are a blight on society. For us, making criminals pay for their crimes is practically the same thing. Isn’t that so?’

“Similar? Not a chance.”

Kwon Tae-ho could never accept that.

“…”

He definitely did not want to acknowledge it.