The Foreigner on the Periphery

Shock and horror were evident. Actor Kwak Do-chul had been unable to sleep for several days. This was due to the anxiety that engulfed her head after hearing his wife’s swearing. “I looked at that woman so bluntly.” 

He found himself regretting and blaming himself over and over again. However, spilled water could simply not be picked up. She was arrogant and she thought, she was a bubbly woman with no charms and no pulpits. This time, she got down on her knees and prayed, thinking that if she pleaded with her, it would pass. 

However, this didn’t work. Kwak Do-chul felt fear and anger at the same time. 

‘I won’t talk much. I’ll give you one last chance. Stand in front of reporters with your feet and confess. How you’ve played with that half-elf bitch up until now, how ugly you are with your mouth. Then we’ll end up quietly getting a divorce,’ she said, clenching her teeth when she discovered the scene of an affair with his lover, whom he had been meeting up with these days.

However, not long ago, Kwak Do-chul, instead of severing her relationship, arranged a new dormitory complete with an exorcism talisman to prevent ghosts from spying. And there, he met his lover again, though he got caught again. He didn’t think that stupid woman would even use her private detective to pursue him. 

At this point, she said she was going to divorce him this time, and then proceeded to threaten him. However, she added an unacceptable condition for Kwak Do-chul – a confession press conference. 

“You’d better do what I say. Because I’m giving you one last chance to repent and reflect on what you’ve done. Otherwise, look forward to seeing all the photos of the bitches I caught while playing with them in the media.” The records he had accumulated over the years were dancing as a blade under his neck. 

‘Besides, your illegal gambling, drunk driving, drinking, and fanaticism… were covered up until now thanks to my dad, right? I’m going to blow it all up.’ 

That was the worst case, as an affair scandal alone was enough to end his acting career. However, his wife held several of his deadly tiles. ‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’ 

He bit his nails nervously. Even in the midst of this, he was glad that he had given himself an ‘opportunity to repent’ by reigning in his temper. After all, had she gone straight to the press, there would have been no way to think of an escape. 

‘What should I do?!’ 

Divorce was unavoidable. While his wife awaited his confession of conscience and she had not yet told her father-in-law the full story, it would only be a matter of time. He who was attributable would be kicked out of the house, and he would not be able to take a penny of property in the name of his father-in-law and his wife. 

There was also a calculation that the breath of a craftsman would help his career, and it actually had a big impact. He didn’t even love her in the first place. but he didn’t want a divorce either. 

With bloodshot eyes, Kwak Do-chul contemplated for a way out of this crisis. 

‘…’

With this, he came up with a plan. It was the most efficient way to throw away a few small things. For example, conscience and morality. This marriage was destined to break up. In short, it was inevitable. There was, however, a way to end the marital status in such a way as to protect his wife’s property and not be buried in the industry. 

A few days after making a decision, he sat in front of the computer. ‘Yeah, the craftsman doesn’t need to know this. The press doesn’t need to know.’ 

Now that his wife hadn’t filed the divorce papers, the timing was just right. With an anxious expression on his face, he accessed the Dark Web and entered an address. He had to spend a lot of money to figure out how to access this place. However, if the work was done, it would cost more money. 

He even took out a loan in his wife’s name for today. Kwak Do-chul then accessed a site with a single chat window on a white screen. She blinked her eyes in anxiety. 

– Agent: Hello. Thank you for contacting Helper Service. How can I serve you today

At this, he pondered for a while and simply entered Korean sentences. 

– Me: I want to put in a quest. 

The response that came was quick. 

– Agent: Great choice. 

The other party’s chat continued. 

– Agent: We will need a specific explanation. We always do. There are many services and options for you to choose from. What services do you need? 

Kwak Do-chul was feeling worried. He heard that traces on the Dark Web were difficult to trace. However, was it really okay to type in specific words? 

As if noticing the hesitation, the opponent hit the player. 

– Agent: We have an excellent operating system to meet the needs of our customers. Among them, our customers gave the most positive feedback on ‘Storage’ and ‘Cleaning’ services. Which of the two services do you want? 

The archiving service was probably referring to kidnapping. In that context, the service he would want was…

 – Me: Cleaning. 

– Agent: Excellent choice. We provide the best service in that field. 

– Agent: Before we go any further, we need your payment information. Please tell me the PayPal anonymous account associated with the virtual currency. 

Kwak Do-chul did what he was told. 

– Agent: Confirmed. From now on, you have to go through a few steps. First, we need information about the target. Please fill out the form below. If your race is a troll, you may incur a 150% surcharge. Remind yourself that your contract may be voided if you are not of the ethnic group subject to group immigration or are of this ability. 

From there, he uploaded the prepared file. The chat paused for a moment as if reviewing the contents. Kwak Do-chul had no choice but to wait. Finally. the answer came back. 

– Agent: No problem. Now let’s check the schedule and restrictions. These factors may affect fees. First, by when do you want to end this contract? 

Since the hour was urgent, Kwak Do-chul replied that he would like it to be done as soon as possible. The price would inevitably go up, but it simply couldn’t be helped. 

Then, the agent asked about the restrictions. Kwak Do-chul could not understand the meaning. The agent then started listing options. 

– Agent: Would you like to see the picture or video directly after cleaning? 

– Agent: Is it necessary to minimize collateral damage during the cleaning process? 

– Agent: Would you accept the use of explosives in the cleaning process? 

– Agent: Do you need ‘the body’ of the target? 

– Agent: Would you like to receive a tissue sample of the target? 

– Agent: Do you need medical confirmation documents after cleaning? 

– Agent: Do you need cleaning work in public places? Do you hope the media will cover information about targets and cleaning operations? 

– Agent: Is there anyone you want to frame instead of the real janitor? 

After answering all the options, the price charged was higher than expected. However, he really couldn’t help it. At the end of the day, he would be the prime suspect. Kwak Do-chul had simply contacted these instead because he heard rumors that the post-processing was neat. 

In the end, less than an hour after they had started chatting when all the coordination was finished, Kwak Do-chul had no choice but to admit. Commissioning his wife’s contract murder was much simpler and easier than expected.

*** 

Minjun was very uncomfortable these days. The cause was hypnosis during sleep with zero progress. What he wanted was a dream that would cover the days before he would begin his prison life. However, he seldom got there. 

Thanks to that, Minjun has only had a Dell dream 16 times so far. It was terribly terrifying. He also had several nightmares dealing with other incidents, although relatively recent events were more frequent. When he was not satisfied, Yuntus felt discouraged, but the result did not improve. 

‘The Patriarch touched the erased memory at once.’ 

However, he had killed Minjun with his hands. The reason the Patriarch was able to touch the deep realm was because his divine power was running rampant. And the reason why his divine power ran wild… 

Paah! A bright light flickered from Minjun’s hand alongside the most beautiful colors in the world. 

‘Should I run away with the divine power of Yuntus?’ 

Just before he died again, the Patriarch had about a million Talents in his soul. This obviously meant there were merits to doing so.

However, he couldn’t be sure. Was this the only ignorant way to do it? His deep unconscious shouted that this was not the case. There was an intuitive sort of rejection as if he didn’t like the way the Ellahu-Praga Church tried to awaken his people. 

To be more specific, it felt like something was missing, perhaps an important element for reclaiming memories and waking up our people. 

Tiriri-! 

Minjun, lost in thought, put the talent back in and picked up the receiver. 

– Brother, I’m folding. 

Jeongpal’s voice could be heard. 

– You say you are very busy these days? Sorry. Would you like to have a moment today? 

Minjun didn’t think about it. “Yeah, let’s see your face in a moment.”

 *** 

Jeongpal arrived a little early for work time. He hadn’t seen his face in a long time. An alien whose complexion had become haggard from frequent nightmares, and a pale Orc sat face to face. 

Jeongpal began to ask nervously, “Older brother! Actually, it would be rude to ask such a question, but…” 

“What is it?”

“Have you ever been cursed?” 

It was uttered without any context or explanation of the circumstances before and after. However, instead of asking for the reason, Minjun looked at him attentively and asserted, “No, I haven’t been.” 

Then, Jeongpal gave him a visibly relieved expression. “Whew! Fortunately, I asked just in case.” 

“What’s going on?” Then, Jeongpal confided the full story of the recent hanging incident. 

“Did you see the news? Kwak Do-chul is dead.” Minjun shook his head. He couldn’t even afford to turn on the TV these days. 

Then, Jeongpal explained. “Actually… I was protecting the gentleman.” 

However, it was said that Kwak Do-chul was murdered by his wife right before his eyes. He had also been decapitated using a single knife. 

“…” Minjun frowned because of the trauma. He never actually had his head cut off, but he could remember screaming and fighting for it to be cut off. He struggled to get it out of his head. 

“As soon as I killed that woman, Kwak Do-chul, the bones all over her body broke and she collapsed. It was carried away. Then the forensics team took it in their hands to collect the weapons left at the scene.”

However, it was said that the forensic team suddenly turned around and stabbed the wizard next to him. The police were suspecting a curse as the reason they suddenly went crazy. After all, a curse was triggered by contact with something, but sometimes it was also triggered just by certain people being together in the same place. Jeongpal was afraid of that possibility. 

“I wanted to see you right away, but I have been in a lot of trouble in the meantime.” 

After that incident, people lamented how much they were robbed internally. Minjun found out that the reason Jeongpal looked particularly tired was because he was afraid of curses, but fundamentally, he had not been able to sleep. 

In the last few days, some had slept too long, which they did not want, and others had suffered from lack of sleep. Seeing that the condition of his dear younger brother was so bad, he too, in turn, felt bad. 

Minjun then quietly sent a telepathic message towards the basement. Immediately, an intangible and colorless holy power filled the room. The Orc was so focused on the explanation that he suddenly felt no vitality in his body.

“Later, the inspector of the forensics team also interrogated me… And it was like this. The moment he grabbed the sword, he heard a voice in his head.” 

“Voice? Who? Maybe from that sword?” 

“I didn’t tell you this. The weapon found at the scene is like the Ego Sword. However, according to the forensics class, the voice that the sword uttered was so reverent, holy, and it felt like the voice of God. I felt like I had to do what I was told to do.” 

Minjun tilted his head. “That’s usually impossible with a curse. That thing looks like a high-performance Ego Sword that is rare to see on Earth.” 

“But the pierced wizard said there was no such thing as a curse on it. It doesn’t respond to spirit detection magic, so it’s a cheap knife…” 

“I can’t. Either it has an incredibly powerful curse, or it has an incredibly powerful soul. In my view, it’s most likely the latter. A soul with mind control ability must be sealed there.” 

Then, this time, Jeongpal made an expression that seemed to say that he did not understand. “I don’t know much about that world, but is finding a soul such a difficult spell? Perhaps you’re wrong?” 

“Well, it’s a bit strange to say that I was being confident. But I’m sure I’m right. It’s hard to dismiss it as artificial intelligence if you look at the remarks that he talked about while being possessed. The soul’s rank was so great that it couldn’t be detected. Maybe you can see it in my eyes…”

Minjun, who had been talking up to that point, closed his mouth for a moment. This was because he could feel a strange sense of dread. These were words that were difficult to dismiss as artificial intelligence. However, the soul within the ego sword could not even be detected. 

It was a strange combination, but somehow it was not unfamiliar. Minjun felt he was missing something important. He realized, vaguely, that he had forgotten something he should not have forgotten. The awakening was rather dull and slow. 

“Older brother?” Jeongpal asked a question, but Minjun did not answer. He tried desperately to recall what had been deleted from his mind. At that moment… 

“··········!” 

A streak of lightning struck his brain. At the same time, sparks flew from both eyes. Minjun thought of something that he couldn’t even fathom how long he had forgotten about. 

From there, he almost cried. “…That’s right, a frying pan!”