Hogan shrugged his shoulders in worry, and Ilrey slowly nodded, a twisted smile playing at his lips.“True enough. I should bring you some sleeping pills later—something strong, so you don’t wake up halfway through.”Hogan froze, his impatient fingers tapping beside the almost-complete progress bar on the screen. For a moment, the smile vanished from his face. Something in Ilrey’s tone had carried a subtly eerie slowness. A few days ago, Hogan had dosed that irritating First Lieutenant who never stopped tailing him—he hadn’t been able to get proper ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) sedatives, so he’d improvised—and the man had woken far sooner than expected, spoiling Hogan’s plan. He’d even thought it might be better to give him something with worse side effects, even if it scrambled his mind.Hogan clicked his tongue. Yet an inexplicable chill lingered, and he turned his eyes slowly back to Ilrey. But it must have been his imagination—Ilrey simply flipped another page in the book, expressionless.“Yeah, yes, that’ll do fine.” Hogan replied as nonchalantly as he could.At that moment, a small beep rang and a “task complete” message appeared. The window closed on its own. It was done.Suppressing his racing heart, Hogan returned his hand to the keyboard. As he began to type, he heard Ilrey’s voice drift from behind the book he was reading.“It’s about time Mike showed up—he must be running late. Say, Hogan, did you get all the files?”“Ah, yes. Just now. It’s almost finished.” Hogan said, clicking the disconnect button. Ilrey murmured “Good,” and closed the book.“Well done, Hogan.” Ilrey slid the book back onto the shelf and stood, a faint smile revealing bright white teeth. “Uh…?”When Taeui burst in, he found Hogan dazed, standing blankly as Ilrey strode forward. Taeui flung the door open with a crash as though to smash it in. Behind Hogan’s stunned face, Ilrey clicked his tongue and twisted his lips into a mocking grin—but as he took a step closer, Taeui suddenly shouted,“Hogan! Get back!”Just as Taeui launched himself toward them, Ilrey’s fist smashed into the back of Hogan’s head with a sickening crack. The blow landed exactly at the juncture of neck and skull; Hogan’s eyes bulged, no proper scream escaping his lips—only a strangled gasp.Hogan crumpled into the computer behind him, toppling it as he fell, his body collapsing to the floor. He lay like a broken doll, his fingers and one shoulder twitching intermittently but utterly immobile.“You’re early, Taeui,” Ilrey said calmly. “I would’ve preferred if you’d stayed five minutes longer—just enough time for me to finish him off.”“—You should’ve come five minutes earlier.” Taeui ground out, glaring at Ilrey. Ilrey’s cold gaze flicked to Hogan’s prone form.“Stop whining and get up, Hogan. I spared you a killing blow—see, I hit you lightly on purpose.”“That wasn’t light! I saw it with my own eyes!”“I told you I’d kill him. Hitting non-vital spots to kill someone takes more time than you’d think. Still wouldn’t have taken five minutes.”At Ilrey’s words, he kicked Hogan’s side forcefully, rolling him onto his back. Hogan finally let out a proper scream, curling his body and flailing across the floor.Taeui leapt to block Hogan’s path. He was only a few paces from Ilrey, but he couldn’t think of what to do next. Damn it—he’d wasted too much time searching. This bloody base might have a hundred people at most, yet it sprawled endlessly. He was drenched in sweat, his spine chilled.Thanks for cooling me down, hotshot, Taeui cursed inwardly, facing Ilrey head-on.Ilrey stared at Taeui, as if pondering a problem. Then he cracked a rueful smile.“It’s awkward. With a meddler in the way, I can’t finish him off… maybe I should use my knife.”“You said you’d kill him by beating—so do it!” Taeui snapped. If Ilrey drew a weapon, game over—knife or gun, it would be swift, and Taeui would have no chance to intervene… though this wasn’t exactly an ideal situation for Taeui either.Ilrey patted his chest pocket, then his back pocket—both empty. He clicked his tongue softly.“I would’ve done that. Lately I’ve been in a sour mood—was thinking of pulling out each joint one by one, crushing them until he confessed. I was confident I could finish within five minutes, but… you showed up. What a bother.”He gave a mock-pained laugh. It was obnoxious, pretending to be inconvenienced. Unaware or uncaring of Taeui’s anger, Ilrey spread his hands in mock helplessness.“You’d rush me without a thought, but I don’t plan to kill you. That’s a handicap—plus, if you’re still chasing me with that hand of yours injured, you’re one stubborn bastard.”His gaze flicked to Taeui’s left hand. The thumb was swollen and hot, wrapped haphazardly in a handkerchief. Taeui felt exposed, so he reflexively slid his hand behind his back—no use, but he couldn’t help it—and glanced at Ilrey’s hand in turn. The hand that had once gripped Taeui’s throat around a knife hilt must be injured too, though concealed by his glove. Taeui could still smell blood from that long-ago wound.A flicker of disgust crossed Taeui’s face. Damn it. Why am I here facing off against you?He’d known this would happen, but being up close made his stomach turn. It wasn’t just that he was outmatched—it was that he hated being adversarial with Ilrey.At that moment, Hogan, still moaning in a mixture of blood and spit, trembled and shouted in a cracked voice,“Y-you helped—y-you unlocked the code! I’m reporting this!”Hogan’s shaking finger jabbed at Ilrey. Ilrey raised an eyebrow and snorted, a thin smile spreading.“Report it? Go ahead. All you’ll get is fired—just as you were planning to quit anyway. Isn’t that right, Hogan?”Those slow, loaded words struck Hogan like a thunderbolt. He froze, eyes wide, as if hearing the very thoughts in his own head. Then he glared at Taeui, ice in his blue, glassy stare.“So you two were in cahoots… plotting against me…!”Taeui scowled and looked away. He had no patience for Hogan’s accusations. He hated that he was forced to stand against Ilrey for such a petty schemer, but the moment he faltered, Ilrey would crush Hogan without hesitation—and Taeui had to stop him. That was the brutal reality.Too harsh, Uncle. I knew this might happen, but in this moment I resent you. If you make me fight, at least give me a real opponent.Inside, Taeui berated himself as he watched Ilrey calmly scrutinize them both. Ilrey’s faint smile belied the ice in his eyes as he looked at Hogan like a bug.“Hogan, you should’ve listened to Taeui from the start. He’s been following the rule to ‘protect the instructor’ to the letter—even now, he’s got me in a bind. So now… what will you do?”Ilrey tilted his head to Taeui, considering several options. Taeui’s shoulders twitched with tension.“You should stop him, Taeui. That’s what a First Lieutenant is for. If you two didn’t plot this together, then step in and stop it!”Hogan’s trembling voice came from behind them, as if wanting to pass off the threat on someone else. Taeui only curled his lip, refusing to look back. It was ridiculous to defend even someone like Hogan here, but he concealed his thoughts.He heard Hogan sliding backward, dragging himself away toward the exit. Ilrey glanced over Taeui’s shoulder at the fleeing man and let out a cold chuckle. In that moment, Taeui realized the time had come. His clenched fists tightened.“Taeui, step aside.” Ilrey’s lips curved into a smile. Taeui shook his head.“No.”“Taeui. Look behind you—look at that wretched, pitiful creature. Why should you stand up for him? For Jung Chang-in? He always expected you to fail. There’s nothing more foolish than worrying about a black-hearted man.”“—True enough. But if I’d refused, I should’ve done it the first day I arrived. I missed that chance. So I can’t step aside now.”Taeui’s expression turned bitter. He knew how absurd it was. Yet with this responsibility—and knowing that if he yielded, someone would die—he refused to stand down. He didn’t want to grow accustomed to passively watching a man die. Especially since he’d chosen to stand with Ilrey. It was the last line he would protect for himself.Ilrey studied Taeui in silence a moment, then his voice dropped.“I’ll say it once more. Step aside.”Taeui blinked once, twice, then laughed. This was truly a kindness—Ilrey could have told him to step aside from the start. He’d never mention feeling gratitude for such mercy. He’d only get pitying looks if he did.Taeui shook his head and readied himself for the attack. Or tried to—At that exact moment, the second Taeui shook his head, everything stopped. He couldn’t breathe. He didn’t even know what happened—only that he couldn’t inhale. Then he realized Ilrey’s fist had struck him square in the solar plexus.He couldn’t avoid it. He didn’t even notice the strike until its force hammered through him. Without any chance to dodge or block, he took the blow bare-chested.It was strong—just short of lethal.Taeui’s jaw hung open, frozen, as Ilrey’s relentless hammerfists cut through the air above him. Each rising blow to the nape landed so cleanly that he felt no pain at all—just the shock of impact.His vision went black in an instant. That was Ilrey’s aim. As Taeui’s consciousness dimmed, he collapsed to the floor.It happened in a heartbeat—from the moment he refused to step aside to when he fell unconscious was mere seconds.Ilrey’s steps carried him past Taeui’s fallen form, then he approached Hogan—his footfalls echoing in Taeui’s blurry awareness. Closer, farther, like someone turning the volume on a speaker.I can’t lose consciousness. I can’t.Ilrey hadn’t even used full force—perhaps his strength waned just before the strike.Taeui fought to hold onto his scattered senses, but his body wouldn’t obey.Behind him came a grotesque groan as Hogan backed away in fearful retreat, as if terrified of some approaching demon.—…Taeui tried to call Ilrey’s name, but his tongue was numb. He stared at his own hand, splayed on the floor. One finger twitched. Then his arm moved slightly. Yes—he could still move. As long as he regained his wits…If I pull myself together… can I stand against him?It was like hitting a rock with an egg. He was utterly outmatched.

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