The Foreigner on the Periphery

Hell of Disbelief (13)

Bremanhaven. In this port town in Germany facing the North Sea, strange things had begun happening one after another today. A number of people had begun to show emergency symptoms and fainted. 

This all started because of one person. They had been walking normally, but then suddenly collapsed with signs of vomiting and showed sudden bleeding. Even the witnesses were terrified as it began to occur frequently. The victims were all outsiders, and the citizens were afraid of what was going to happen. 

Wow! An ambulance arrived with a loud siren sounding in front of Minjun’s hotel. Paramedics transported a middle-aged woman who had fainted, bleeding from every hole in her body, before disappearing. In addition to this, there was a man who looked at him from afar. It was a half Elf. 

‘Another one is coming.’

Said person was also an agent and a prisoner. He was aiming for 400,000 Talents and followed him up to this point, but he was still observing from a certain distance because he had a more thorough and careful personality than most. 

‘But there’s been no progress in this way.’ 

It was still unclear as to whether there were really alien creatures here. This was because he, like the other prisoners, was following him due to the suspicion that Asif-666 had some information. 

“Doesn’t the situation look hopeless like this?” 

As soon as an uninvited voice was heard from behind, the half-Elf immediately summoned the spirit. 

Whoops! Residents of the spirit realm, who could not originally affect the physical realm, intervened in the laws of physics in exchange for the summoner’s mana. The air in the back alley simmered and danced transparently.

“What…?”

The summoned spirit was in the form of a half-Elf, whose body was engulfed in flames. The appearance was very similar to that of the Spirit Temple. The spirit’s form was an expression of erased memories and longing for the ego. 

“Hey, I don’t mean to fight.” At this, elemental being narrowed his eyes. Above the opponent’s head, the letters ‘Asif’ and a long series of numbers were floating around. 

A similar figure would then appear above his head as he continued to look on. The uninvited guest raised his hands as if he had no will to fight and said, “More fuss here would only be good for that monster. How does that sound? Inmates in similar circumstances are gathered over there, so why not go and talk with them there?” 

Were they here to recruit a colleague? The creature thought for a moment, then finally nodded in response. 

‘There are still more than ten people, aren’t there?’ 

The number had decreased slightly because of those who were forcibly sent off by Minjun, but the number would still continue to increase from there. There were some who had not yet entered Germany. Also, the prisoners based in this area were currently engaged in other missions, swallowing tears of blood because of the old dragon’s request, but it was obvious that they would join as soon as their work was completed.

“Come.” The agent sitting in the center spoke. The spirit sage looked at the recognition number above his head and admired it inwardly. 

‘Asif-1,319,552’ was the number one million. At that level, he was a veteran who could count as a helpful hand in any dimension. Of course, one couldn’t just compare it to the monster in that hotel, though. 

“It seems that all those who meet the conditions have been gathered. That is, except for those idiots who got caught too close too hastily.”

A man with an eerie flame burning with boredom in his eyes then began to look around the gathered prisoners. One prisoner questioned, “What is the condition?” 

“They have the intelligence and tracking ability to get here, but they don’t have a good relationship with ‘Asif-666’. At least, there is no prisoner who has no reason to do him any favors.” 

At this, everyone nodded in agreement. That part was the same for the spirits. He had never worked with Asif-666, he had only heard of him through his notorious deaf ears. Then the dark-skinned troll roared and shouted, “Favor?! If it wasn’t for the crime of property damage, that motherfucker would have already died at my hands!” 

No one listened to the troll. The spirits also snorted inwardly. ‘If he had the ability to kill, at least he wouldn’t have to suffer.’ 

The feud between that troll and Asif-666 was famous. The troll was tormented by the curse for a full week in return for trying to disrupt the work of the prisoner with the shortest identification number on Earth. The result was a deep, irreparable wound engraved in the heart. He would have been able to recover if one of his limbs had been cut off, but the trauma left in his mind was difficult to overcome. 

‘What was that curse?’ He had endured the shame by clenching my teeth every day. He honestly would have preferred to die, but in the end, he managed to survive the evil. 

“To regain freedom someday! And… His form of payment is to act like a child who slipped away, like a loach without being punished!” 

At this, Asif-1,319,552 reached out to stop the trembling troll. “Come on, calm down and listen to me.” 

His suggestion was simple. The convicts gathered here should work together to defeat Asif-666.

“I don’t know how much severance pay you all have, but 400,000 talents is quite a large amount even divided by the number of people here. Isn’t it?” 

Everyone nodded one by one. “Asif-666 is not driven by uncertain information. There must be ‘the head’ in this city. Did everyone guess so? That is why I’m guessing you’ve already scoured this place like me. But couldn’t you find anything?”

Amidst some discomfort and shame, the prisoners expressed their consent. “So, the most difficult thing is to leave it to that monster. The moment Asif-666 finds Jochaim and retrieves his head, we’ll all rush in and smack him in the back.” 

The troll then began to shout in an angry voice. “I agree! It doesn’t matter if 400,000 talents are blown away because things don’t go well! I’ve never seen that bastard succeed in her mission and fall in love with her huge sum!”

Except for the troll who declared that they would move toward the misfortune of Minjun rather than their own gain, the rest of the prisoners found the proposal enticing for their own reasons. 

“After that, there will be prisoners arriving in Bremanhaven, but they will not put them in. We will only proceed with the members gathered here. The more the number, the less the share goes to one person.” 

“I agree. But what’s the plan? Are you just going to keep following Asif-666 like this?”

“The surveillance must indeed continue. But I also plan to prepare an insurance for just in case.” 

“Which is?” 

The prisoner began to explain. “There is no need for pictures as you must have already seen them along the way. Asif-666 and two moving companions now.” 

The prisoner, who had not heard a word until now, suddenly raised a voice. “Hey, what is it? Do you want us to have a hostage play?” 

“It’s just insurance anyway.” 

If a prisoner killed another prisoner, the committee would punish him for property damage. But what about the prisoner’s companions? They would definitely not interfere unless the committee killed or conducted a genocide of persons important to them. Therefore, it was unlikely that the committee would pay any attention to the act of intimidating a colleague who was not a prisoner as an excuse. 

“If that’s the case, I’ll fall for it.” 

“I am very scared about this preposition.” 

The prisoner who first heard the word hostage shake shook his head. He had never worked with Asif-666, but an old colleague he has interacted with had such an experience, and he gently told them not to spread it to others. 

In the past, prisoners of that dimension chased and arrested the criminal Goryeong. It was said that, although he had lowered his strength by pouring sulfuric acid upon himself while evacuating, he was not an easy opponent nonetheless. Asif-666 was the one who showed the most dazzling performance among the prisoners who faced difficulties. He was so desperate and tenacious that he was like a demon . . . 

The creature then added, “It’s like you’ve never caught a dragon once or twice.” 

It was, of course, a metaphor. “He said… I’d rather touch the dragon’s egg, and never touch Asif-666.” 

The man who had called everyone together grinned. “You are exaggerating. If a prisoner had the ability to rival that of an old dragon, why would he have left him in such a small country on the outskirts? I’ll call you closer and the committee will serve you well.” 

Despite his promises, one or two people raise uneasy voices. “Even if you succeed, how will you handle that grudge?”

“Moreover, if we touch ‘one of his own,’ he will begin to act like a crazy dog. This is suicide.” 

“Hey, wait a minute. So, is there any other way other than this one? After all, since we started competing with each other on a mission, do you think we’re prepared to fight with Asif-666? Also, do you think that monster will be able to live well on Earth in the future by turning so many prisoners back into enemies?”

“…That’s right.” The prisoner who first expressed his will to leave, said as if to stop them. 

“Think about it. Asif-666 is the only one of us who has been on a mission with the Old Dragons.” 

This was the story of the Oslo School sweeping operation. “It means that he has that kind of ability. What would be the reason for bringing the agents deployed in Korea to Europe?” 

At this, the man in the center shook his head and said, “It’s obvious why prisoners intervene in dragon affairs. Goryeong, who made Korea his territory… Wasn’t his name Jenkinson? Asif-666 owes the dragon a huge debt. So, didn’t he come all the way here to pay off his debts even physically?” 

“To dismiss the matter like that…” The man tried to convince him more, but the mood had already shifted to hitting Asif-666, and he eventually gave up.