Enraged by Feiz’s mocking tone, the man roared and swung his massive sword down with all his strength.
But—
BANG!
A sharp impact rang out.
"Guhk—!"
The man’s body lurched violently, his grip loosening as sothing invisible struck him square in the torso. Before he could even regain his balance—
Feiz moved.
In a single, fluid motion, he stepped in and drove a knife straight into the man’s chest.
THUD.
The blade sank deep.
"..."
The man’s eyes widened, his mouth opening as if to scream, but no sound ca out. His sword slipped from his fingers, clattering uselessly to the ground as his body collapsed forward.
Dead.
It should have ended there.
But Feiz didn’t stop.
Once.
Twice.
Three tis.
The knife plunged into the man’s chest again and again, wet sounds echoing through the space until there was nothing left but a lifeless corpse and a spreading pool of blood.
Only then did Feiz straighten up.
"...Boss!" soone called out, their voice trembling.
Feiz turned toward us, his face splattered with crimson.
And then—he smiled.
Brightly.
Cheerfully.
As if he’d just finished a pleasant conversation rather than brutally ending a life.
The contrast was unsettling enough to make my stomach twist.
With an almost casual motion, Feiz reached into the air and produced a neatly folded handkerchief from nowhere. He calmly wiped the blood from his face, his smile never fading, before tucking the cloth away.
Then he walked toward , boots stepping through the blood without hesitation.
"Sorry about the ss," he said lightly, as if apologizing for spilled tea. "He was louder than I expected."
His eyes flicked briefly toward the corpse behind him, utterly devoid of emotion.
Then back to .
"Oh my. We could’ve handled this ourselves. Why did you bother coming all the way here?"
"Handled it? My ass. You were a split second away from dying just now."
"Ah, co on. I could’ve dodged that," Feiz replied casually, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. "That attack was nothing."
...What utter nonsense.
The man’s strike had been fast, brutal, and lethal—there was no way Feiz could’ve avoided it. Anyone with eyes could tell. And yet, completely unaware of that fact, he stood there wearing a smug, self-satisfied grin, genuinely convinced he would’ve won on his own.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
So this is the limit of a second-in-command.
Feiz was capable—no denying that. He handled logistics well, kept the underlings in line, and had decent instincts in battle. But when it ca down to raw strength, true killing intent, or decisive power...
He always ca up short.
If he were actually exceptional in combat, there’s no way he would’ve stayed under an idiot like Kelkani for so long. Strong n don’t serve fools—they replace them.
"All the remaining n have surrendered!" soone shouted from the far end of the warehouse.
"Really?" Feiz brightened imdiately. He turned toward , clapping his hands together. "Boss! Then let’s head back. Looks like everything here’s wrapped up nicely."
I glanced around.
The gang mbers were kneeling on the floor, weapons discarded, faces pale with fear. The mont their leader fell, their will to fight vanished completely. No loyalty. No backbone. Just survival instinct kicking in.
Pathetic—but predictable.
And just like that, another criminal organization had been wiped off the map.
No one here felt even a shred of sympathy.
These n weren’t victims of circumstance or desperation.
They were traffickers. Extortionists. Murderers.
People who built their lives on the misery of others and slept soundly because they believed no one would ever touch them.
If anything, the city would breathe easier tonight.
Their main source of inco was human trafficking.
Kidnapping people in the shadows, branding them as property, and selling them like livestock.
There were no "ordinary people" among them.
Not a single one.
"How many are left?" I asked quietly.
"Um... I think about two more?" ca the hesitant reply.
After swallowing countless smaller criminal groups whole, only a few major organizations remained.
The ones entrenched deep enough to believe they were untouchable.
Once we seized control of those last remnants, everything would finally be in place.
All preparations—complete.
The thought made my chest tighten.
I was getting closer.
Closer to returning to my original position.
Closer to reclaiming what I had lost.
Twelve days.
That’s how long it had been since I beca a wanted man and arrived here.
Only twelve days—yet it felt like months.
So much had happened in that short span of ti.
I had fallen from the comfortable life of a noble straight into the filth at the bottom of the Empire.
Stripped of protection.
Stripped of status.
Forced to survive with nothing but my own judgnt and resolve.
And in the process, I’d learned more than I ever had at the Academy.
That vague dream I once had—
Graduate, then travel freely across the world.
How naïve it seed now.
Reckless, even.
I hadn’t understood anything back then.
Not the weight of power.
Not the cruelty lurking beneath polite smiles.
Not how easily people were crushed when no one was watching.
This world—this Empire—looked pristine on the surface.
Orderly. Prosperous. Civilized.
But underneath?
It was rotten to the core.
Corruption had seeped into every crack of society.
As long as their coffers were full, nobles looked the other way.
Officials pretended not to see anything—because the mont they did, responsibility would follow.
And in those blind spots, monsters were born.
Human trafficking.
Rape.
Murder.
Cris piled up one after another, and ordinary citizens were left defenseless.
Life in the capital was still relatively safe, thanks to the abundance of knights and constant patrols. But once you stepped outside, into the provincial cities, security fell apart completely. Law enforcent was inconsistent, underfunded, or outright corrupt.
In the end, the world I had once consud as a fantasy romance webtoon was nothing like reality.
It was darker.
ssier.
Crueler.
Of course, that didn’t an I’d abandoned my dream of traveling the world.
If anything, it only made want to see it with my own eyes—to understand it, instead of clinging to a prettied-up illusion.
That was when—
"Boss Feiz! We’ve got a big problem!"
The shout echoed through the warehouse, sharp and panicked.
Feiz, who had been calmly checking a ledger, frowned and looked up.
"What’s with all the shouting?"
"The Churpa gang and the Jinshipa gang—!"
The subordinate swallowed hard before finishing his sentence.
"They’re both heading here. Together."
The room fell silent.
"...What?" Feiz’s expression hardened instantly. "Don’t tell they’ve joined forces."
"That’s exactly it!"
"Tch—damn it."
Feiz slamd his fist against the table, the sound ringing sharply through the room. His jaw clenched as his eyes darkened with irritation—and sothing closer to concern.
What’s with that reaction?
Confused by the sudden shift in atmosphere, I tilted my head and spoke up.
"What’s going on?"
Feiz turned to , his face tense.
"Boss... the last two remaining gangs have allied."
I blinked.
...That’s it?
From the way everyone was reacting, I’d expected sothing far worse.
Two gangs teaming up hardly felt worthy of this much panic.
At least, that was what I thought.
When Feiz saw the look on my face, he let out a dry laugh—one completely devoid of humor.
"You really don’t get it," he said quietly. His voice was stiff, almost strained. "Those two groups hate each other more than anyone else in this district. They’ve been killing each other for years."
"So?"
Feiz ran a hand through his hair, agitation clear on his face. "That’s exactly why this is bad. They’ve been enemies for so long that I never once imagined they’d join hands. If they did... then this isn’t just a random clash anymore."
Before I could respond, the noise outside suddenly intensified.
Shouts. Footsteps. The unmistakable chaos of too many people moving at once.
"Kill all these bastards!"
"We’re screwed! Boss, let’s retreat for now and—boss...?"
A group burst into the warehouse, panic written all over their faces.
As Feiz had said, the numbers were overwhelming. Two organizations combined ant dozens—no, more—flooding in from every direction, weapons drawn, eyes burning with hostility.
They sward the building like ants.
And among that mass, two n stood out imdiately.
They didn’t shout.
They didn’t rush forward.
They simply watched.
n like that didn’t need to announce themselves. The way the others instinctively parted around them, the confidence in their posture, the vicious calm in their eyes—
Leaders.
I didn’t hesitate.
Before Feiz could even react, I pushed off the ground and sprinted straight toward them.
"What the—!?"
Too late.
SLASH!
My blade cut through the air in a clean arc.
"ARRRGH!!"
Both n scread as crimson lines tore across their chests. Blood sprayed forward, splattering the floor, the walls, the people closest to them.
They collapsed almost simultaneously, their bodies hitting the ground with dull, wet thuds.
"Huh...?"
The warehouse fell deathly silent.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The only thing left was the heavy stench of blood hanging thick in the air.
Dozens of eyes stared at —wide, stunned, unable to process what they had just seen. The leaders, cut down in a single exchange. No warning. No struggle.
I wiped the blade clean with a slow flick of my wrist.
Then, without sparing them another glance, I turned my back on the frozen crowd and walked calmly toward the exit.
Footsteps echoed behind , but no one dared follow.
By the ti I stepped outside, the noise was gone—replaced by silence and fear.
Sotis, chaos didn’t need a long fight to end.
Sotis, all it took was removing the head.
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