It’s him, right?
‘Exactly, my lord. It matches the information within the files checked back in the office.’
The copy was certain of it.
Yu Jitae searched his memories. Deadline for the investigation was just around the corner and as the information about the human trafficking group was revealed, all traces of Jo Hosik had vanished from Lair.
He had literally disappeared into thin air.
Since the case was bigger than expected, pressure given from the Haytling city and Lair was reduced but the atmosphere was replaced by hopelessness due to the case becoming more difficult to resolve.
‘I had actually been planning to go out and catch him myself sooner or later, but things do happen in interesting ways.’
It truly was a strange coincidence.
But thinking back, it did make sense. A human trafficking group targetting superhumans and the largest identity laundering place within Korea – the fact that Jo Hosik was in between those two parties, might even be considered natural.
In any case, it was a good thing.
Heaving out a deep breath, the Regressor crouched down in front of the man and looked directly into his eyes.
“P, please don’t kill me… p, please…”
“Do you want to live?”
He, who had been heavily trembling, widened his eyes when words escaped Yu Jitae’s lips for the first time and smacked his head down onto the ground. Perhaps he saw something similar to hope.
“Please, please let me live… I, I have a family waiting for me at home…”
“Family?”
“Ye, yes… I got married three months ago. My single mother is old, and I have a, a wife, and there’s a child inside her stomach…”
“And?”
“They only have me with them… if I’m not there, they’ll all have trouble living… p, please just let me live…”
He cried while shaking like a leaf.
Yu Jitae wasn’t interested in whether those words were true or not, and he also did not ask him a question along the lines of “If you have a family, how could you do something like human trafficking?”. Such words were meaningless.
He only waited with his mouth closed.
It was because right before he was about to crush the head of the other person, Yu Jitae had seen Jo Hosik place his hand on the watch. He must’ve sent an SOS or the likes, and currently, something must be approaching this way.
“Please, please…”
…And this guy was trying to buy time while acting his heart out.
That was a good thing.
Sure enough, soon, signs of life neared in from the other side of the dark alleyway. Just like how Jo Hosik was at a decent level in human standards, they were the same and their footsteps did not create noises while them unsheathing their swords did not break the silence.
“…”
Clack.
Without saying a word, they took out their respective cold weapons.
Compared to what he had gone through up until now, this was comparatively an insignificant thing. There were no injured dragons and it wasn’t important enough to have an impact on the Apocalypse.
He could have resolved it with words. If he wanted to, he also could have handed the situation away to others without saying a word. Such choices existed.
Even then, he deliberately induced a situation like this and remained standing.
The Regressor made a hazy smile.
A person’s mind was hard to please. While wandering around endless hell, dripping with blood, he had desired to escape it as quickly as possible but now that he was strolling around a flower garden, there was a sense of emptiness within.
Now, he even wanted to crush and kill a bug that approached the flower.
[Shapeless Sword (SS)]
Killing intent formed a shape on the Regressor’s hand.
Pat–
At almost the same time, they moved. Each cold weapon had their own rhythm depending on their lengths. Those perfectly attacked from the left, right, front, and back – all sides of Yu Jitae. Blades contained acute forms of mana and their jointed attack could instantly kill anyone with decent skills.
However, the next second, they all came to a stop.
The man moved his arm. It seemed to turn hazy for an instant but swords and spears were cut, and the heads of those nearing him fell.
That, was just one slash.
“…!”
There were those being baffled into a stop but those that were slower in terms of recognising the situation raised their swords yet again and ran in toward Yu Jitae. Once again, their heads were slashed and soared into the sky. Like an everyday event, Yu Jitae walked and killed anyone that approached him.
The Regressor’s killing intent was sharp – sharp enough to rip dragons’ leathers apart and crush the head of an archduke of the demon world. Since there is no shape or form, there is no limit. Because there is no limit in distance, it cannot be dodged.
They, who did not know that fact, quickly turned away and started running, but Yu Jitae wasn’t planning to let anyone escape.
“Kuk…!”
A person who had been gesturing like the leader collapsed on the ground mid-escape. Soon, his body divided into two and was torn apart.
Yu Jitae turned his gaze away. Between buildings, above certain villas, or between the trees in nearby parks, there were people running away. When he swung the sword like a whip, the killing intent extended off and chased after their backs.
If desired, the killing intent could reach over thousands of metres. The flying shapeless sword quickly neared their backs and pierced through their back bones, straight into their hearts.
An annihilation.
Standing in that place, devoid of all signs of life, Yu Jitae felt his senses becoming clearer, although faint. He closed his eyes and raised his head up. The light, shallow sense of pleasure revolved around his body a few times and numbed the tips of his fingers and toes.
Thanks to that, the suffocating feeling he had been feeling, seemed to have disappeared a little. Although enjoyable, it was a sensation he mustn’t become addicted to.
Heaving out a deep breath to chase the pleasure out, he clicked his fingers once.
[Eradication (S)]
It was a skill he earned after killing a black dragon he did not know the name of. Being one of the mightiest skills out of the powerful S-class skills that belonged under the destruction attribute, it could even go against the laws of physics to completely combust its target.
Enveloped in black flames, the corpses started firing up without leaving anything behind.
After taking care of the situation, Yu Jitae returned to where he had been and stared at Jo Hosik. As if he had gone insane, his eyes were hollow and pants were wetted. He frowned due to the odour before withdrawing into the inner alternate dimension.
Inside the [Shallows of the Abyss (S)], Yu Jitae ordered the hands to bring him a liquid potion. From the darkness, a small glass bottle was soon handed over.
When he returned back to reality, it had only been moments after he had entered. He grabbed the face of the trembling Jo Hosik and put force into the hand grabbing onto his chin.
“Uguk, ugu…”
His mouth was opened.
Yu Jitae placed the lid next to the teeth and removed it, before pouring the liquid into the mouth and making him swallow it. It was a potion that removed a day’s memory of the things that had happened recently. After a good sleep, the guy would have forgotten everything that had happened today.
‘How should I handle the after-measures?’
Do as you like.
***
That was how the day went.
The dragons, that did not know of what happened, greeted him as usual and he likewise spent another everyday life inside the house.
Due to the weather that got gradually colder, Yu Jitae bought winter clothes for the children. Kaeul, who was interested in clothes, liked it a lot, despite the fact that she had already bought dozens of clothes in the previous shopping round while saying those were the trending clothes.
That incident which happened in a certain daily life, quietly flowed away.
The admission into Lair was sailing smoothly. In order to submit an application for admission, lots of licences and certificates were needed but since they couldn’t go through all that, Yu Jitae used an expedient.
Next day, Bom, Yeorum and Kaeul’s identities fell under a famous overseas academy, ‘Pantheon School’. It was in fact a ghost academy that didn’t exist, but there wouldn’t be any problems, because the daughter of the prime minister of Syria, as well as the youngest grandchild in the ‘Tryton’ house of China’s large artifact company, and other tycoons were from the same academy.
While everything was advancing without a problem, there was one incident that happened.
“An award ceremony?”
“Yes, that is the case, my lord.”
It was that the police force would be conferring a certificate for the most excellent officer of the quarter.
“Is it because of Jo Hosik?”
“No. Jo Hosik was sent over to the team leader under an anonymous name. The team leader had it be the team’s credit, but since the guy was a rather bigshot, the chief would be personally praising the outstanding team and an outstanding member.”
And it meant that Yu Jitae had been recommended as the greatest contributor.
“It was a unanimous decision.”
Although he knew the copy was a good worker, he didn’t think it was up to that level. Yu Jitae was dumbfounded.
“However, as you are aware, my lord, my schedule is a bit packed today.”
Right, there were lots of things the copy had to take care of related to admission. Those were small yet tedious things.
“If you so order, I will make another copy.”
Yu Jitae shook his head. [Shadow of an Archduke (SS)] demanded a huge price to create a new copy and there was no need to waste things on it.
So for that day, he wore the uniform himself.
He left the officetel on his way to work when Bom came out to the veranda and stared at him. When their eyes met, she waved her hand.
“See you later, ahjussi–”
Yu Jitae slowly returned a wave, albeit awkward.
When he arrived at work, familiar faces greeted him – his colleagues at the police force whom he had seen through the memories of his copy. They were talking about the award ceremony that would be held on that day and when Yu Jitae entered the police station, they all stood up from their seats and congratulated him.
“Wah! Jitae-sunbae. Congratulations!”
“If it was from our team, I knew it had to be Jitae.”
“Me too!”
He awkwardly lowered his head, and let a word he wasn’t used to saying, “Thanks”, flow out of his mouth. When he did, one of the teammates grinned and shouted.
“Guys. Jitae-ssi will be shouting meat this weekend!”
“Ohh really?”
“Oi you… I heard it too! And it’s not just any meat, but Korean ribeye beef?”
“Aht… aha, I heard it as well!”
When did I say that?
The colleagues all grinned and laughed. They must have all suffered together and he was the only one receiving the spotlight and yet he did not see anyone facing him with jealousy.
After the work ended, right before the time to be dismissed, the award ceremony began. It wasn’t a large event and was just held at the parking lot at the entrance of the police station with only the award being given out.
The chief opened his mouth.
“Ace policeman of the third quarter of the year, Yu Jitae. Please walk up to the stage.”
With a salute, he received the award. Although he didn’t feel anything from the award itself, there was something he felt while looking at his teammates facing bright smiles at him. Congratulating the success of others and becoming happy together. He etched that scenery into his brain.
It was when the ceremony ended and Yu Jitae was about to go home. At the entrance, a group of police officers had gathered and were chattering. Seeing that they were people unrelated to himself, Yu Jitae walked to the side and was about to walk past them when a voice saying “Huh?” was heard.
A woman left the crowd and stopped his steps.
“Hello, dear Jitae?”
Yu Jitae tried remembering that face. It was someone that existed in his memories.
Lee Bosuk. She was the daughter of the chief, and was the same woman that made an advance on Yu Jitae recently. It was unclear where her uniform went, but she was wearing a one-piece with flowery patterns.
“Are you heading home already on a good day like this?”
“…Yes.”
“Aigo. Dear Jitae doesn’t know how to play!”
“Wahaha!” A laughter left the crowd of people next to them, that were all in the same team as Lee Bosuk, belonging under the headquarters.
“Well, that’s why I liked you though. But! What are your teammates doing, sending you home on a good day like this?”
They suggested drinking together since it was a commemorable day but Yu Jitae had postponed it to another day.
“…I will be on my way then.”
“Ah, ahh…! Wait. Are you going to disappoint this noona?”
“…Yes?”
“How many years has it been since you came in? It’s a good day; this noona will shout you once today. Come have a drink.”
The Regressor was distressed, because he couldn’t be bothered to.
“I have something on today… please buy me next time.”
“Uhuh! That ‘next time’ over and over again! Why does someone without a girlfriend have so many appointments?!”
“…”
“You, wake up before the bus leaves. I’m not that bad right?”
Someone from the crowd shouted “Aye, that’s a bit…!” as another noisy laughter escaped the crowd. When Lee Bosuk glared at them, the laughter died down and some of the female police officers responded by saying “You’re pretty, team leader!”.
Perhaps she had confidence in her own appearance, but she blinked her eyes before pushing her face forward.
“A girlfriend, you don’t have right?”
When Yu Jitae didn’t reply, Lee Bosuk squinted her eyes.
“Or what. Do you have a girlfriend?”
“…”
“See, you don’t right?”
Seeing that he was still silent, she came up and whispered.
“…Nn? Dear junior, you need to relax a bit. Who do you think recommended the top policeman spot to the chief? You know who my father is, yeah?”
She was saying that she had said some stuff to her father.
Whatever the case, the Regressor had to hold back his urge to twist her neck. From behind, her teammates were shouting “Accept her!”, and Lee Bosuk was sending him a weird gaze from the front. He was between a rock and a hard place.
“Let’s have one date with noona… why are you shirking all the time…?”
Her furtive hands reached out towards his buttocks. Instinctively, he gripped her wrist before it could, and she walked back with a gasp and a crumpled expression.
At the same time, voices going “Haa…” and “Uh?” were heard from the surroundings.
“What did you do just now?”
Lee Bosuk who became full of confidence opened her eyes wide like a feral cat and let words out in anger.
“Hul…”
“Wah…”
Hearing the constant gasps of admiration, Lee Bosuk made a frown. The reactions of her teammates were strange and when she looked carefully, their eyes were facing somewhere distant.
Why, is there something there? What’s happening?
She, who became offended, followed the eyes of her teammates and turned her head. At the entrance of the police station stood a girl with green hair. At the same time, her own chin could be felt dropping down.
It was enough to blow away all sorts of thoughts from her head in an instant. That was how pretty the girl was.
“Uh? Ahjussi–”
Yu Jitae turned towards her. He did find it strange that he was sensing an aura from nearby, but it seemed to have been from Bom.
“Why are you here.”
“Did the award ceremony end already? I came here to surprise you.”
A conversation between a mysterious girl and the male started naturally and when it did, the police officers all turned silent.
What was their relationship?
Lee Bosuk’s eyes twitched.
“It did.”
“Then let’s go quick. I’ll cook you a special dish as a commemoration today.”
Cook? The expressions of the surrounding people turned even stranger. They had been curious of their relationship the moment she appeared and those words added oil to the fire.
But it was then.
“Ohh, it’s here? Ahjussi!”
A clearer and brighter voice was heard. From the side of the green-haired girl, a blonde girl popped out. Unlike how Bom waited at the entrance of the parking lot, she smiled before immediately running into the police station.
“What are you doing ahjussi and why aren’t you coming out? We were waiting for ages!”
“Yeah… let’s go.”
“Nn?”
Around that time, Lee Bosuk’s face was almost rotting away. Right now, she was wearing a recently trending one-piece. Since it could be undone from the back in one go, she thought it would be enjoyable at night.
And yet the blonde-haired girl that walked in was wearing the same one-piece as her.
“Uwah. Ajumoni, your clothes are the same as mine!”
“…”
Those were the same clothes, but the atmosphere they gave off were completely different. Rolling her eyes to the sides, she took her time staring back and forth between the man and the girls. Her pride had been hurt by the word ‘ajumoni’ but that didn’t last long. Only then did she understand a little bit about why Yu Jitae hadn’t shown her any interest up until now.
“This is team leader Lee Bosuk. Say hello.”
“Yes? Ah, ah…! Hello!”
Hearing Yu Jitae’s words, Kaeul made a polite bow. From the teammates looking on from the side, there were a few that made dumb faces as if their hearts had been bombarded, regardless of gender and age.
“Ajumoni, is your name Bosuk?”
“Uh, uh…”
Kaeul who had been blankly staring at Lee Bosuk’s face tilted her head, before giving an innocent smile.
“It’s such a pretty name!”
Her smile seemed to be that of a goddess.