CH 152

When the Korean soccer team scored the equalizer a few minutes before the end of the match, my view became hazy as everyone jumped up at once and dust rose. The crowds went wild when a Korean player made a header goal during overtime, making it confirmed that they would advance to the quarterfinals. Woo Yeon-Hee grabbed me by the collar and didn’t seem to know what to do.

“Waaaah!”

Of course, I wasn’t as enthusiastic as I was in the past. Knowing the future wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The people in broadcasting station vehicles also forgot about their work for a while. The reporters and staff who came to cover the excitement of Korean residents in New York were busy hugging each other.

On the way back to the hotel, a reporter shoved her microphone towards Woo Yeon-Hee. There were other slim beauties, but she specifically chose her.

We arrived at the hotel room.

“You’re coming out.”

Woo Yeon-Hee was on the TV answering an interview question with a flushed face as if she was still feeling excited.

“I’m so proud of Korea’s players and hope they do their best like today in the quarterfinals without pressure. You guys are already winners. Go, Korea! Go!”

She became frozen while looking at herself on the screen.

“Did you not know this would happen?” I asked.

She frowned. “Oh, gosh… I look like a fool.”

“Your clip will be broadcasted a few more times until the next game. Tsk.”

She covered her face with both hands, then my phone rang.

The person calling was from the world’s largest sports betting company in Europe, and they had processed my bet on the round of sixteen. The money a person won was usually calculated on the website, but they had called me because my profit was considerable. The betting categories included whether the team would advance or not, the victory or defeat, the difference in points, number of fouls, corner kicks and penalties, number of dismissals, and even the number of coaches objecting to an umpire’s decision.

I had only bet on two categories: whether or not Korea would advance to the round of sixteen and the final score. Although the entire betting market scale exceeded a little over three billion dollars and this company was the largest company in the industry, there was a limit to the amount of payments a person could get. Moreover, anyone who got huge profits had that information sent to the government, so I intentionally only bet a hundred thousand dollars. Thus, I got ten million back from winning. That was the amount I could gain without receiving public attention.

Woo Yeon-Hee was astonished when she overheard my phone call and stared blankly at me with eyes so wide that they looked like they could swallow up the entire world.

“I should at least make some money to cover the costs of this hotel in my spare time. This place is expensive,” I said casually while getting up from the couch.

She asked, “Where are you going?”

“Jonathan Investment Group. You should calm down and come back to reality first.”

Right after I responded to her, my phone rang again, so I thought it was from the betting company. Instead, it was John Clark. His voice sounded excited.

<John: We captured the baby cat.>

That was the code name I had given the First Evil.

***

The guy in a shabby container box wasn’t the First Evil I had remembered from my past. He was just a beggar who had been chased by an unidentified organization for years. He was unconscious and barely breathing with multiple bullets in his body. His blood had spread all over his clothes.

“Things went quickly, so I was about to call you after we dealt with this…”

John Clark couldn’t finish his sentence as he didn’t expect I would take action as soon as I saw the First Evil. I sliced the First Evil’s neck with Devi’s Sword, and John Clark became silent as the head rolled over to his side. He stared at the severed head, seemingly in shock. It was probably because it was his first time seeing my ability. His eyes were shaking, and he seemed to have a lot on his mind.

“You took a long time,” I commented.

Three and a half years had passed since we lost him in the winter of 1998. I finally eliminated him, but I wasn’t very happy.

I got the worst villain ever, but why does it feel hollow? Because he’s not the First Evil in this era?

No, it wasn’t because of that sentiment. When I looked at his severed head, his malicious acts in the past popped up in my mind.

This feeling was the same as when I watched the round of sixteen soccer match between Korea and Italy today. Since I already knew how Korea took the lead and victory, the confirmed future wasn’t exciting. The First Evil was absolutely dangerous, but that was three and a half years ago. In the meantime, the gap between his and my abilities had widened to a great extent. The agents had missed him repeatedly, but he couldn’t do anything about it except run away. That was why I knew I could kill him whenever I found him and that his fate had changed into a loser.

“It must’ve been tough at the end. Did the agents get hurt?” I asked.

“Pardon me? Could you please repeat that?”

John Clark was still looking at the neatly cut surface of the neck and the blood pouring out from it.

“I asked if he resisted fiercely in the end,” I said.

John Clark studied me as he said, “Yes, but he couldn’t do much with bullets in him. The agents did their best not to miss him again this time.”

“Are they okay?” I questioned.

“No one died.”

John Clark must have considered the First Evil’s last resistance as a war to be won.

“I’ll pay you the one billion dollars as promised in any way you want,” I said.

Then, John Clark became silent, and we came out of the container box.

He finally asked, “If I take it, do you guarantee my safety?”

I laughed inwardly. From the moment I arrived, I knew that there were snipers nearby. Even now, I could hear them discreetly talking amongst themselves, but their conversation was completely absurd given John Clark’s intentions.

<Ethan’s here. I can’t. I’m not going to follow the boss’s signal.>

<Me too. We can’t test him. I’m not crazy.>

<Same. Removing Ethan won’t solve the problem. Aside from whether that’s even possible or not, what about Mary? How are we going to get rid of Mary? We don’t know how many more cats there are. Only the boss thinks there won’t be any, but I don’t think so. >

<What the hell is the boss thinking? We’re going to be involved in this.>

They had never even stepped near the dungeon entrance. There was a rumor about Woo Yeon-Hee and me in the organization. Some would think that it was overly exaggerated, but I thought the opposite as just the rumor alone was enough to spook the agents.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and it was a text from Mick.

「One of the cat hunting team’s whereabouts is unknown. Watch out for John Clark. His recent actions have been suspicious.」

“Ethan, do you guarantee my safety?” John Clark asked again. His expression didn’t look like someone who was planning on betrayal.

“I guarantee you. Of course, with a billion dollars,” I responded.

“What happens next?”

“Nothing changes, John. You look very worried. I understand why you feel intimidated. Yes, what we do is secret, but there are many others involved in this besides you. I promise that nothing that you are concerned about will happen. We won’t change.”

“...That’s where it began.”

John Clark’s gaze turned toward the container box. Well, he was actually pointing at the First Evil’s corpse. He might have thought he became useless now, but my choice to keep him there wasn’t made for one reason alone. I had to consider the money I poured into his organization, the real estate of the land where his office was, and the value of a private military company in Whitewater which was the gem of the military industry that exceeded the value of the one billion dollars I promised to him.

Perhaps John Clark had come to a conclusion that he could monopolize all the wealth in the group if he removed Woo Yeon-Hee and me. Also, he might have gained some confidence after capturing the First Evil.

“That’s where things began, but there are so many businesses derived from there. This is our start, John.”

I stretched my hand out to him, but he suddenly asked a question instead of holding my hand, “Do you smoke?”

What an idiot.

John Clark put a cigarette in his mouth, and it must have been a signal for the snipers. He had crossed the river, and there was no turning back now.

<He’s ordering us.>

<Shit. He should die alone.>

I heard them communicating when John Clark lit the cigarette. When nothing happened, the tip of his cigarette began to slightly tremble. He couldn’t take a puff from it.

Zzzing.

That was because the lightning streaks from my body had surrounded him.

“Argh!”

A short scream filled the space, and I pointed to each villa’s roof where the snipers were hiding one by one.

<I… I knew this would happen…>

I gestured toward the man who said that.

<He’s pointing at me. He’s looking at me. He’s looking at me!>

I beckoned the other guys too. They were wise at least. They came out as I ordered and became pale by the horrifying sight. The gore was inevitable because Odin’s Wrath exploded everything, even monsters. It took the target’s life so quickly that one couldn’t feel pain, and it stopped a civilian’s heart as soon as it touched the person. That was my last gift for John Clark as he had done a considerable amount of work for this mission.

“Clean up.”

I walked away after ordering the agents who were shivering.

<Seon-Hu: Mick.>

<Mick: Did you get my text?>

<Seon-Hu: You were right. John Clark betrayed the group. Can you handle his old colleagues? I’m talking about the current executives.>

<Mick: Yeah, sure. What about the one in Whitewater[1]?>

Whitewater used to focus on training police officers and soldiers. However, after 8.11, it had expanded its business to wars against terrorism and had emerged as the world’s top civilian military firm. He had become a tycoon, so he had been on the media multiple times. He must have been close to business and political figures, but that wouldn’t stop me from getting rid of him as I remembered his arrogant face after he turned into an entrepreneur.

<Seon-Hu: We’ll keep an eye on him for now. Place an agent to watch him at all times.>

<Mick: Okay.>

Today, the Korean soccer team was confirmed to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. However, I wasn't as happy as I had expected. I felt rather bitter, and my steps were heavy.