In that instant, I immediately activated my spatial displacement technique and took position behind Ha Seung-woo.
My perspective shifted in a flash. Before me appeared the desk where I had just been sitting, my hand resting on the hilt of my knife. That image soon dissolved into thin air. I then angled the blade toward the nape of Ha Seung-woo’s neck, but changed direction at the last moment, pressing the tip gently into the center of his back—just enough to pierce the skin.
Having secured complete control of his rear, I spoke quietly.
“I’m warning you in advance. Don’t open your mouth or move until I say so. I don’t care what you’re thinking or what your reasons are. All you have to do here is answer my questions. If you step out of line even once, you can expect the worst. If you understand, nod your head once.”
I looked directly at him, but Ha Seung-woo’s face remained expressionless. He sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the desk. He seemed either lost in thought or completely detached. Suddenly, the shadow cast beneath him flickered faintly. Everything else was frozen in place—only the darkness settled over the quiet night.
After a long moment, Ha Seung-woo slowly nodded.
“So, you knew all along…”
Hearing his cautious words, I raised my foot and slammed it down hard on the hand he had placed on the sofa.
“Still, I never thought you’d… ugh!”
Thud!
The sofa shattered as Ha Seung-woo’s body lurched, a sharp scream escaping his lips.
Kicking aside the broken sofa, I looked down. My right hand was completely crushed—blood gushed out, and white bone was visible through the mangled flesh. Ha Seung-woo slumped to the floor, his right shoulder hanging slightly, his face twisted in pain. But now, clearly understanding the situation, he shut his mouth tight and stared straight ahead.
At last, Ha Seung-woo had acknowledged the truth. It was a little strange how he spoke as if he already knew.
“Good. You’d better stay still.”
I whispered, then began stripping him piece by piece. I pulled back his robe and tore off his shirt. Not knowing what he might be hiding, I even cut through his undergarments and peeled them aside. As I did, a small, shimmering blue orb dropped to the floor.
“That’s… the Crystal of Truth.”
I glanced at it as I spoke, but Ha Seung-woo remained silent. I felt a twinge of disappointment. If he’d said one more word, I was ready to crush his left hand too.
Well, this worked out.
I stared at the orb glowing alone in the darkness, then nudged it with my foot. The Crystal of Truth rolled precisely to rest in front of Ha Seung-woo.
“You know what to do, right?”
He hesitated briefly, then obediently placed his left hand on the orb.
After a moment, a brilliant light ignited inside the crystal. The Crystal of Truth had been activated.
But its effect wouldn’t last long, so I had to make the most of the time.
I started questioning immediately. No need to waste time on identities I already knew.
“What was your purpose in joining the Mercenary Clan after the conquest of the Steel Mountain Range in the Northern Continent?”
The Crystal of Truth isn’t all-powerful. Its weakness is that it only reveals ‘truth’—nothing more. I’d used that flaw to dodge questions from Jeong Ha-yeon before. So to minimize that weakness, I had to ask as detailed questions as possible.
“To escape and seek protection. And to exploit.”
Ha Seung-woo’s low voice answered. Escape and protection, and exploitation. It sounded like he was parroting what I had said earlier.
“Tell me everything, in detail.”
I tightened my grip and growled, my voice rising naturally.
“Exactly as I said. One reason was to place Seung-yoon under the Mercenary Clan’s protection. The other was to use the Mercenary Clan to wipe out the remaining vagrants.”
At that moment, I felt my eyes sharpen. Even putting aside the first reason, I couldn’t believe the second.
Vagrants trying to wipe out other vagrants?
And the leader of the vagrants at that?
I quickly checked the Crystal of Truth, but the light inside remained steady—bright as when it first lit up.
“Was there a split within your group?”
“A split? Ha ha ha.”
Suddenly, Ha Seung-woo let out a laugh of disbelief. Still staring straight ahead, he continued.
“You really don’t know anything about the vagrants. There’s no room for internal conflict in our group. Why? Because we only gather when necessary. Sure, we have a command structure, but it’s not a strict hierarchy like yours.”
Now a bit more composed, Ha Seung-woo spoke at length, his voice steady from start to finish.
“…Then why?”
“I told you. Because it was necessary. More precisely, the biggest reason was that Seung-yoon being my biological younger brother was accidentally discovered.”
“Is User Seung-yoon also a vagrant?”
“No, no. Seung-yoon is just a user. A normal user who hates vagrants.”
Ha Seung-woo seemed determined to make that clear, glancing downward briefly. The light inside the orb remained unchanged.
Then, just as I was gathering my thoughts, Ha Seung-woo suddenly turned his head to look at me. Tensed, I reflexively slid my blade in and injected the magic I had already gathered.
Thud.
The blade pierced his back and stabbed through his abdomen without resistance. If I unleashed the magic now, it would surely kill him.
But Ha Seung-woo only flinched briefly, then quietly met my gaze. Blood seeped from his back, trailing down to stain the floor.
He let out a faint sigh and spoke softly.
“And with the Steel Mountain Range conquered, I thought there was no future left.”
“No future?”
“…Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
“…”
No, that wasn’t it. Unlike the first time, the vagrants had shown no significant activity after the war.
Or rather, they couldn’t.
Because I made sure of it.
“As long as the users control the city, the vagrants will only become more disadvantaged over time. And now that the Steel Mountain Range has been taken, the gap will only widen.”
“But you…”
“Ah. Of course, the vagrants didn’t just sit still. We sent many people into the city to act as spies, stirring conflict among the users. We even had some success. But…”
“Hmm.”
Ha Seung-woo trailed off, then fixed me with a steady gaze. I nodded slightly, urging him to continue.
“The plan to annihilate the vagrants, the hunt for spies, the defeat in war… Even up to that point, we were already crippled. Then came the ongoing extermination efforts. Our numbers dwindled exponentially. What could we do? What would you have done?”
“So that’s why you tried to start fresh as a user?”
“It wasn’t a sudden decision. I thought about it for a long time after the war, preparing in secret. After the conquest of the Steel Mountain Range, I made up my mind. I was waiting for the right moment, and then suddenly, the opportunity came.”
“Opportunity?”
“Yes. When you disappeared just before the conquest, it gave me a chance. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“…?”
I frowned in confusion at his cryptic words. Suddenly, Ha Seung-woo’s face began to warp and shift. As the transformation completed, my heart pounded fiercely.
There was another me. Ha Seung-woo’s face had changed into mine.
But before my heart could settle, his features melted again, reshaping into a different face. At first glance, it resembled the first, but on closer inspection, it was distinctly different. The third face belonged to a man with sleek silver hair and sharp eyes, radiating a dignified yet piercing aura.
Meeting those cold, clear eyes sent a chill down my spine. Ha Seung-woo was exuding an intense charisma.
I instinctively knew—this was Ha Seung-woo’s true face.
At the same time, a thought struck me.
“So you were the one impersonating me.”
“That’s right. The fastest and best way was to take over the Mercenary Clan. Though I failed spectacularly.”
Ha Seung-woo admitted it without resistance. Now I understood the whole story.
It was simple. Ha Seung-woo had impersonated me to seize control of the Mercenary Clan. By doing so, he aimed to protect Ha Seung-yoon and thoroughly eliminate the vagrants. Then, under the name Mercenary Lord, he planned a fresh start. When that plan fell apart, he settled for joining the Mercenary Clan as a second option.
That raised another question.
“But if you impersonated me, what happens to you? Wouldn’t Ha Seung-yoon find it suspicious?”
“Ah…”
Ha Seung-woo smiled slyly.
“I’m confident in playing two roles. Using my abilities, it’s not impossible.”
“Hmm…”
Some doubts were cleared. Meanwhile, the light inside the orb had dimmed considerably. The Crystal of Truth’s effect was nearly over. Realizing it was time to wrap up, I spoke quietly.
“Alright. If what you say is true, tell me where the vagrants are.”
Ha Seung-woo smiled and confessed the location of the vagrants. Generously, he even explained how to approach them to wipe them out completely.
Honestly, it felt a little strange to be spilling everything so easily just because of a little sister. But I didn’t say it out loud. Putting myself in their shoes—if I were Ha Seung-yoon and he were Ha Seung-woo—I figured he’d do the exact same thing. That must be how much he cares about his sister. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but relate to the part about vagrants having no future.
“What about the others?”
“I don’t know. There might be some, but they’re just low-level riffraff. No need to worry too much. Or, you could start by catching the vagrants at the spot I told you about, then interrogate one of the higher-ups. They’ll probably spill everything.”
With that, the light went out, and the crystal of truth shattered into pieces.
The questions were answered, and the facts uncovered. Of course, I still had some personal curiosities, but this was enough.
I took a deep breath and carefully pulled the silent blade out from my back.
A flicker of surprise crossed Ha Seung-woo’s eyes.
“Are you going to spare me?”
“Are you crazy? You want to live?”
I scoffed and raised the blade high.
“Originally, I planned to kill you in the most painful way possible—blowing you up from the inside with a magic explosion…”
“But?”
“To be honest, I was a bit surprised. You didn’t resist or cause trouble, and you answered pretty honestly. So as a reward, I’ll make it quick and painless.”
“Wait a minute. I don’t mind dying painfully, but can you just tell me one thing?”
Had he already accepted death? His calm, silvery eyes stared at me quietly.
“…You want to know how I found out?”
Ha Seung-woo shook his head.
“What about Seung-yoon? Are you going to kill him? He’s just a regular user, right?”
“Huh?”
“I’m not saying this because he’s my brother. Seung-yoon’s a genius. If you let him live, he’ll definitely…”
“No. I know. Unless he’s a vagrant, why kill him? With his mercenary class, he’s got plenty of uses.”
“Uses, huh… Anyway, you’re saying you’ll spare him?”
“Yeah. Your plan will go off without a hitch. Ha Seung-yoon will work as a mercenary clan member from now on, and all the vagrants will be wiped out.”
…If only I could accept that.
I kept the rest to myself.
“That’s a relief.”
Ha Seung-woo gave a bitter smile.
Maybe he knew how hard this was for him too. But right now, there was no other choice.
Anyway, I’d accepted the chaos and moved forward. I’d think about what comes next later. I aimed the silent blade at the spot to strike. Ha Seung-woo, probably thinking it was over, closed his eyes gently.
Once I’d decided to kill him, there was no hesitation.
Just like when I sent off the “Holy Queen,” I just had to do the same.
“Well then, goodbye.”
Saying goodbye, I brought the blade down.
That’s when—
“…Wait!”
Thud!
Suddenly, someone shouted, and at the same time, a burst of magic exploded right by my ear.
And then—
Clang!
The silent blade, which had been falling smoothly, was violently stopped by something.
In the blink of an eye, a white veil filled my vision.
When I looked ahead, I was momentarily speechless.
“You guys…”
Had they used teleportation?
Before me stood Ansol and Jegal Haesol.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Ah, today’s been such a gloomy day.
Maybe from reserve forces training, I caught a cold.
While I was struggling with it, I got a call to visit a friend who’s hospitalized. I said I couldn’t make it today because I was too tired, and suddenly they said they felt hurt. At first, I tried to brush it off, but they kept being annoying, so we ended up arguing.
Feeling unsettled, I lay down to sleep, but then a mosquito appeared. After an hour-long battle, I finally caught it.
Trying to calm down and write something, I sat at my desk, only to find it a bit messy. While cleaning, I accidentally knocked over a cup sitting on a small booklet to my left. Cold coffee spilled everywhere—on my monitor, keyboard, books, the floor, and even a small notebook my brother gave me as a precious gift that I’d been saving and never used. Now it’s all soaked brown.
Aaaaargh!
Looks like nothing’s going right today. ㅜ.ㅠ