All of these men must have once fought against the enemy together before, and their leader was John Clark. The rest would be his subordinates. I saw the Brooklyn Bridge out the window.

“Gun.”

I reached out with an expectation that John would instantly hand me a pistol, and he did so by pulling it out from the back seat. I checked the safety device and the ammunition, then attached the silencer.

“I’ll tell you what you guys should do from now on. I’ll be the only one entering the building, which means I won’t let you be involved in this. Also, you’ll be immediately paid after this job is done, but if you want to make more money…” I said.

“What should we do?” John asked hastily.

“You and someone else will come with me, then the rest will wait around the building to ambush and prepare in case we fail,” I continued.

I couldn’t underestimate the First Evil as there were so many variables. There was no way to check his stats, skills, items and even insignias unless I encountered him in person. His powers had been famous from the Trial Tests, and his growth rate was faster than any other hunter. Therefore, I estimated his capabilities and class. I had to finish this before he became stronger, and today was the day.

“How much are we allowed to do?” John asked.

“Kill him,” I replied.

There was no ripple in emotion in any of the guys including John. They were checking their guns as if they had expected it.

“He was acquitted and released. If we have to go to court, we will need to memorize the same stories, something like justified self-defense. Also…” I said.

John was still looking over the window.

“If you haven’t found someone to go to court yet, we can provide you one,” John said.

His words felt more like a confession than a suggestion.

“Who is it?” I asked.

Then, a man said “It’s me” in the back seat. He was the one who would appear in court. They had prepared realistically for situations like this.

“What’s your name?” I questioned.

“Call me Tiboy.”

“Then, John, Tiboy and I’ll enter the building. Keep in mind that we should never underestimate him just because he’s young. If things go well, you’ll get rewards beyond your imagination for keeping all these secrets. However, the opposite scenario would be disastrous as well.”

I warned them with all my heart as this was like the contract I had given to Woo Yeon-Hee. It was like a fantasy story that people would laugh at but it actually existed in reality. No one would believe how dangerous the First Evil was, so I didn’t refuse their offer to help. In fact, I was about to suggest it first. The sound of firearms clicking filled the car, and their silent tension felt nice. They were focused more on the mission than themselves, and we were heading toward the war zone.

We soon entered the slums and parked near an alley in the dark. It seemed like John had already talked to his men on the site as a man approached the driver’s side window.

“The cat is at home,” he reported.

Then, he added after concentrating on his headphones.

“The cat is writing something in his bedroom.”

“Everyone, other than the observer, needs to wait to ambush the target around the building, and we’ll shoot the cat immediately if he runs away.”

John issued his order and handed me the headphones. We quietly got out of the car after putting on a mask and even threw away the license plate before arrival. No one had anything that identified themselves, but the intention was different from what John had been assuming. They would be thinking about getting caught by the authorities, but I was thinking about what would happen if we failed. If the First Evil escaped, he at least shouldn’t know who attacked him.

I took the lead as I had familiarized myself with the structure of the building. He had been staying on the third floor of an old place he had rented for a month. As previously reported, he was writing something. John and Tiboy followed me, and the First Evil’s atrocities he had committed in the previous life went across my mind. The faces of little boys who died at his hands and the horrors that he created on the battlefields were memories I never wanted to recall again.

I had a chance to end everything today. Even though he had not done anything so far, killing him was worth a million times more than keeping him alive.

I exchanged glances with the two veterans at the last minute before entering the third floor. They moved silently from side to side of the door as they had done during the Gulf War. John’s pistol had a silencer, and he aimed it at the doorknob while waiting for my instructions. Since we had to enter as quietly as possible to kill the First Evil, I shook my head at John. Even with the silencer, it would create noise.

I held the doorknob, and when I turned it carefully, I felt the lock attached to it. I began turning the knob with force very slowly. Although the lock broke down with a bit of sound, only we could hear it. John looked at me in surprise as I had turned the locked doorknob with my bare hand. I put my fingers into the hole, and it was easy to dismantle the rest.

Yes! We had successfully entered his nest. Even now, the First Evil couldn’t abide any mess as the old villa was neatly organized without any bottles rolling around.

<The cat went into the washroom. It’s impossible to visually check whether the washroom door is open. We can hear the water flow.>

The observer reported from the same floor across the villa, and John and Tiboy were listening to the same thing through the headphones. The master bedroom was open. Despite the chilly weather, there was no blanket on the bed. The documents and paper on the desk were the only things in his house. That was the only scene that grabbed my attention, but the sound of water running was loud to my ears.

He’s taking shower in the middle of writing something?

It was possible when considering his neat-freak tendencies, but the timing was too coincidental. He must have noticed there were intruders. Since the master bedroom was far away from the front door, it was impossible that he could have heard the sound of me dismantling the door lock. Nevertheless, his Sense class must’ve been high or he must’ve had an item that increased his Sense.

I signaled John and Tiboy to pull the trigger on sight until the pistols ran out of bullets. I was going to riddle him with bullets. When I turned around the corner to enter the washroom, I saw his small pupils staring at me.

The First Evil!

I pulled the trigger immediately, aiming at the spot between his eyes.

***

His head snapped back, and while I shot perfectly, he wasn’t dead. I saw a bright flash come out of his body, which I recognized as a damage absorption insignia of at least C class. Damn barrier.

“Shoot him! Destroy the barrier!”

I shouted at John and Tiboy who were in awe of the bizarre sight in front of them. I shot through the System notification window and kept pulling the trigger at the First Evil. The two men also shot behind me, but the First Evil didn’t go down. He constantly snapped his body around, but that was it. Only a piece of shirt or a badge attached to it fell off. Finally, all three guns were empty, and John had moved up next to me. I saw his shock through the mask.

Even after emptying our three guns, the First Evil’s barrier was still up. However, he was stumbling, and I couldn’t miss this opportunity. I dropped my pistol and sprinted at him. When the barrier flickered for a moment…

[You have used Devi’s Sword.]

My powerful attack crashed against the barrier, and the First Evil was thrown down like a fallen giant. He was still unconscious enough to ignore the tiles falling down on him, and this was the time to kill him.

[You have used the Earing of Vitality.]

[Your Health has increased.

Change: F → E]

I took out something from the coat and blue sparks flashed.

[You have activated Odin’s Wrath.]

[Target: A survival knife from a New York retail store]

Everything flashed by quickly. I entered the narrow washroom at the first step, blue sparks blazed off the dagger at my second step, and the falling ceiling tiles passed by on my third step. As soon as he bent his head, I thrust a dagger into his neck. I met his eyes for a moment, but he neither laughed nor suffered from the pain. He just stared into my eyes. I felt that my dagger was being blocked, and a force that I couldn’t bear with my E-class Strength came out from his body.

[The effect of Odin’s Wrath has been forcefully canceled.]

The blade melted, and only the handle in my fist remained. Then, I saw the two insignias visibly imprinted on his exposed skin. I instantly recognized them, the Teleport Insignia and Space Control Insignia!

[You have used the Medal of Restraint.]

[Target: First Evil]

I didn’t care about the message.

[You have failed to use the item.]

I didn’t panic since I was aware my items were in such low class that I couldn’t use them. I just punched him in the nose with all of my rage. His chin broke, and one of his eyes burst. He had used up his entire defense when my blade melted. Then, he blocked my second punch as his Strength was around my class. His Man Who Overcomes Adversity had been activated. It meant that he was near death!

However, he stared at me like a predator with his remaining eye and his head bent. He looked at me as if I was an interesting creature. It didn’t look like he was about to use the Teleport Insignia as he continued to observe me.

“I found you again,” was the first thing he said.