The voice was so bright and cheerful that one might wonder if the thing inside the carrier was a doll rather than a person.

The person inside the carrier was trembling violently in terror.

Had their mouth not been gagged, they would have screamed immediately.

Which was exactly why it was gagged, of course.

“How is it? I even put care into the packaging.”

Under normal circumstances, rope would have been used to bind the wrists and ankles, but this person was tied up with red ribbons.

The tape sealing their mouth was also designed in a colorful pattern.

It was a sick joke of a spectacle.

“So you’re telling me to kill this person and steal their Special Ability?”

“Yeah. I actually considered killing them and bringing the body, but I didn’t know what your activation conditions were.”

Shin Ara was explaining all this with perfect composure.

Looking at her, I felt contempt rather than fear.

I had known she had a cruel disposition, but encountering it in person was truly exasperating.

“Oh, if you’re worried about cleanup, don’t be. This is one of our organization’s shops, after all.”

She said that and reached her hand into a briefcase.

From amidst a pile of cash, she pulled something out and handed it to me.

It was a sharp dagger.

“I want to see it. You stealing an ability.”

At the sight of the dagger, the bound person’s eyes went wide.

They thrashed about trying to resist, but their movements were sluggish.

I silently took the dagger.

Shin Ara’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

A childlike expression, like someone watching a bug being dissected.

I brought the dagger to the person.

-Seogeok

The ribbons were snipped away one by one by the dagger.

The person looked at me with a bewildered expression, unsure of what was happening.

I peeled off the tape from their mouth and spoke.

“From here on, escape on your own.”

Shin Ara appeared somewhat disappointed by this.

She slowly rolled her eyes to gaze at me.

“Did you not like my gift?”

“Did you think I would?”

I had neither the hobby nor the reason to kill a completely unrelated person in broad daylight.

Even if I had such inclinations, did she really think I would commit murder with Shin Sooa standing right outside?

Well, if she thought five hundred million won would be enough to sway me, perhaps she could think that.

At my reaction, Shin Ara spoke with a tone of regret.

“I prepared so hard… Maybe I should have just killed them and brought the body after all?”

I had met my fair share of lunatics, but one this extreme was rare even by those standards.

When I had checked her Fortune Window, the accumulated karma was substantial, so I had some expectation of this…

But it was a waste of time regardless.

I stood up, grabbed the door handle, and pushed.

“Ah, you’re just leaving?”

Shin Ara was watching me with disappointed eyes.

Making that kind of face, and yet later she would send Yoon Bom to kill several people.

It seemed best not to get entangled with these people in any way.

-Chalkak

Without answering, I opened the door and stepped outside.

Shin Sooa was leaning against the wall, waiting for me.

When she saw me emerge, Shin Sooa straightened up.

“I’m sorry for putting you through unnecessary trouble, Mr. Kangrim. My sister went and said something strange again, didn’t she.”

It seemed she had been watching what happened inside.

Yet her demeanor was remarkably calm, suggesting she had been through such situations many times before.

Shin Sooa approached the room.

“Take that person from earlier and leave. If they stay here, my sister will definitely…”

The moment she said that, Shin Sooa clamped her mouth shut.

I could understand why she fell silent.

A sinister aura was emanating from behind us, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

I quietly turned around to see the karaoke room door opening, people filing out one by one.

“What a shame. I didn’t want to use violence, you know.”

Shin Ara’s voice came from behind.

The sound of a lock clicking into place could be heard, suggesting she had locked the door from inside the karaoke room.

She smiled faintly at me and Shin Sooa.

“You came all this way, I can’t just let you go. Won’t you come to me even now? I’ll even give you that gift from earlier, Kangrim.”

The people who had filled the corridor were clearly not ordinary civilians at a glance.

Their eyes held a killing intent and cruelty that even hunters rarely possessed.

Several of them were holding sharp blades.

They all appeared to be members of the Asura Faction.

“How about it? Feeling inclined to accept my gift now?”

“I’ve already returned it, and I won’t be joining the Asura Sect.”

“You’re choosing the hard path.”

Shin Ara let out a long sigh, then raised a microphone to her mouth and shouted.

“Everyone, capture them both! As for Seo Kangrim, um…”

She paused to think for a moment before continuing.

“It’s fine if you kill him, but keep him alive if possible. He pleases me.”

“Yes, Lady Sect Leader!”

“Unnie, what in the world…!”

“Or, Sooa, will you come to me? Then I’ll send Kangrim back safely.”

At those words, Shin Sooa bit her lip hard.

Shin Sooa appeared flustered by her sister’s actions, but I wasn’t particularly surprised.

Eliminating the people of Flying Tiger Sect was something Shin Ara had done since my past life.

the Asura Sect and Flying Tiger Sect had a bitter enmity, and that was solely because of Shin Ara.

She believed that if she brought down Flying Tiger Sect, Shin Sooa would come to her.

It was essentially a form of coercion.

Like the deity that had attempted a Divine Descent on me, she would harm those around anyone who refused to accept her.

“…I expected my sister to use aggressive methods, but I didn’t think it would be to this extent.”

“Still, it’s roughly what you anticipated, isn’t it?”

The reason Shin Sooa had asked me to come here with her was to prepare for exactly this kind of situation.

Given Shin Ara’s personality, things might not end with mere words.

She had asked me to come along in case combat became necessary.

“And I made a promise, didn’t I? That I would send Mr. Kangrim back safely no matter what.”

Shin Sooa said that and looked back.

The Asura Sect members were all brimming with killing intent, ready to attack.

Shin Sooa’s eyes flashed green.

“We’ll need to subdue them all at once and get out of here.”

[Special Ability ‘Tree Leaf Seed Technique’ is activating!]

In an instant, sprouts began forcing their way through the gaps in the building.

The lack of soil or plant life underground had weakened its power, but she could now activate it regardless of the environment.

Just as Shin Sooa was manipulating the vines to subdue the members, I grabbed her arm.

“Ms. Shin Sooa, stop.”

“What?”

Shin Sooa halted her attack at my words.

I glanced at the members.

Even as the vines grew toward them, ready to attack, they showed no sign of dodging.

If anything, they appeared to be waiting for the attack.

“These people aren’t Awakened.”

I summoned the Fortune Window to check, and confirmed that every one of them was an ordinary person who had not yet awakened their Fortune Window.

Shin Sooa looked at them with puzzlement, then her expression shifted to one of sudden realization.

“Are you saying they’re deliberately trying to get hit…?”

“Yes. It’s illegal for an Awakened to use Special Abilities or weapons against Unawakened Persons.”

It was one of the new laws enacted after the Day of Awakening.

Combat between Awakened using Special Abilities was given some leniency under the law.

However, severe penalties were imposed when an Awakened attacked an Unawakened Person with a Special Ability.

“Oh my, Seo Kangrim, you’re quick on the uptake.”

Shin Ara spoke from behind, sounding amused.

“I was planning to report you if you attacked with abilities. I was going to use the settlement as leverage to recruit you.”

“You’re a gangster and you’re using the law?”

“You use whatever’s at your disposal.”

Shin Ara smiled coyly.

She tapped on the door a few times, then addressed the members.

“The first plan failed. Move to the second plan.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the members shifted into full attack formation.

Sharply honed blades gleamed vividly even in the darkness.

“Subdue them both. Just keep them alive.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

At Shin Ara’s command, the thugs advanced toward us wielding their weapons.

Judging by their vicious grins, this was far from their first time.

Shin Sooa spoke with full vigilance.

“These people may be Unawakened, but they know their way around a fight. Don’t think of them as ordinary civilians.”

She was right—these were people who had been immersed in violence and blood long before the Day of Awakening arrived.

If we let our guard down, they would plunge their blades in without hesitation.

“There seem to be about thirty of them.”

“We can’t use Special Abilities, and we can’t use weapons either.”

We were at a numerical disadvantage, and penalties loomed over us.

One of the members who overheard our conversation grinned and spoke.

“Get it now? Then give up and come quiet—”

“Give up?”

-Kkwaang!

I immediately grabbed the man’s head and slammed it into the wall.

With the sound of crunching bone, the man’s body spasmed, then went limp.

I dusted off my hands and spoke.

“I can subdue you barehanded. What do you mean, give up?”

The thugs panicked and began to murmur among themselves.

From the looks of it, they had never fought a proper Awakened before.

Before the Day of Awakening, they must have believed they stood at the apex of the pyramid.

They had probably taken pleasure in using violence to force ordinary people into submission.

That was why they still labored under such delusions.

That even with Awakened around, they still held the upper hand.

But the world had changed now.

-Ppakak!

“Aaagh!”

I drove my fist into the face of a man charging at me, then kicked him squarely in the solar plexus, sending him flying.

I had felt this for a while, but beating someone to a pulp without killing them was actually harder than just killing them.

I dismantled the thugs rushing at me one by one.

“D-damn it! There’s thirty of us and we’re being pushed back?!”

“Hyung, but that guy is too strong!”

It seemed they were finally beginning to feel the gap in power.

They hesitated with their blades, then turned their attention toward Shin Sooa.

“Subdue Sooa Nunim first! She’s missing an arm!”

At those words, the thugs pivoted toward Shin Sooa.

From the atmosphere, it seemed they intended to subdue Shin Sooa even if it meant injuring her.

“Forgive us, Sooa Nunim! Please bear with us for a moment!”

The moment the hulking thugs charged toward her.

Shin Sooa raised her head.

“I am not your sister.”

-Kkwaang!

Three men were sent flying simultaneously by Shin Sooa’s kick.

Their massive frames went limp, seemingly unconscious from the impact.

While the remaining members stood flustered, not knowing what to do, Shin Sooa walked toward them.

Her eyes gleamed sharply.

“And missing an arm or two is no problem at all.”