Instant Kill, Time-Stop Spellcaster

Kang Hyun, who even ignored a call from Chief Choi.

He really took time off.

Went to the barbecue place he had visited with Aden before.

And the next day.

This time, he actually showed up to work.

Of course, as soon as he arrived—Yoo Chae-young summoned him.

Dragged into the executive meeting room.

A perfectly soundproofed place, with constant anti-eavesdropping measures.

“….”

“….”

Yoo Chae-young stared at him in silence.

“I believe freely using one’s paid leave is a right guaranteed by labor laws.”

“My god… After causing such a massive incident, you still have the audacity to joke? Your mental fortitude is truly remarkable.”

She looked genuinely impressed.

“Rampage…? You said you’d go cause ‘a bit’ of trouble? This is just ‘a bit’ to you?”

“I didn’t plan on killing Park Chul-woong.”

“The problem isn’t the intent to kill, but the fact that you had the ability to do so… Sigh, never mind. So, why did you kill him?”

“He hit me first.”

“….”

She didn’t respond.

It seemed she had decided not to get caught up in his pace any further.

“I won’t speak about responsibility.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s already done, and more importantly… I’m not even sure it was the wrong thing to do.”

Exactly.

It was something that had to be done.

The only concern now was Chief Choi.

After all, he’d just cut the nation’s ‘officially recognized’ S-rank fighting force in half.

“More importantly… how did you do it!?”

Yeah, that question was bound to come up.

“That was Park Chul-woong. The undefeated legend. A man like an iron fortress, who had never lost—not even to the strongest S-ranks from abroad!”

“He really was annoyingly tough.”

The bastard had survived getting grazed by Avalon’s Blade.

Even though he had a demon’s heart.

“You said you weren’t S-rank! That you were too weak and had to hide!”

“I’m weak.”

“Then how!?”

“Fights aren’t won with just raw stats.”

“Excuse me?”

“I got lucky.”

It was true.

This time, luck was absolutely on his side.

He had luckily escaped from Park Chul-woong using 【Open】.

He had luckily been a durability type, so he survived the first hit.

He had luckily had divine energy that worked against a demon’s heart.

And luckily, he had discovered the Providence Dungeon before the fight.

“Killing the toughest S-rank, and all you have to say is ‘I got lucky’…?”

“It’s the truth.”

“You cannot kill an S-rank with luck alone! And Park Chul-woong, of all people!”

She looked completely dumbfounded.

“That’s how war works.”

“What?”

“Luck alone doesn’t win wars. Neither does skill alone.”

Gathering everything—including luck—and turning it into skill.

That’s war.

If it had been a flashy, honorable duel, the more skilled fighter would have won.

But a war against demons was just a brutal, kill-or-be-killed brawl.

“The one who uses every means necessary to kill, and does it best—wins.”

Why was Kyle the strongest?

It wasn’t because he had the most raw power, or the greatest endurance.

Le Meurice was stronger than Kyle.

Detorion was tougher than Kyle.

But Kyle killed better than anyone else.

That’s why he was the strongest.

“…How old are you?”

“You already know. Why?”

“The age listed on your profile was younger than mine… but something feels off.”

“Age is just a number. 【Open】.”

A portal opened in the ceiling.

Aden fell through.

“Waaah!?”

“O-oh my!”

Thud—she landed hard on her butt.

Her chest bounced wildly.

“What are you doing outside the door? People will talk.”

“Owww….”

“W-what was that!?”

“From now on, factor that into my movement routes.”

Aden scrambled to her feet, eyes shining.

“I-I want to hear too! Tell me the story!”

“You already heard everything last night at the academy.”

“I want to hear it again!”

Falling for Kyle aside, she just really liked stories.

“The conversation is over anyway. Right?”

“There’s still a lot to say, but… Kang Hyun, you must be the busiest of all, given everything that’s happened.”

“Yeah. Gotta go calm down Chief Choi.”

“Good luck.”

He left the room, dragging Aden along.

But just before opening the meeting room door—

“Kang Hyun.”

“Yeah?”

“You really are a Phantom, huh.”

“And?”

“…Thanks. For protecting seonghwa.”

Kang Hyun scowled and waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t say that kind of thing to my face. It’s cringey.”

Then, he left.

Yoo Chae-young chuckled.

###

On the way to the Awakening Headquarters, I stopped by a snack shop.

“Tteokbokki, tempura, and sundae, please!”

“You’re Awakener Aden, right? I’ll give you some extra for free!”

“Wow, thank you!”

I figured he might have been upset.

After all, I ignored Chief Choi’s calls twice.

And at the worst possible timing, too.

“If you pay in cash, you get a 20% discount!”

“Wow, then—”

“Hold on a second—!”

Someone came running from afar.

In an instant, they inserted a hand blade between the shop owner and me.

“Tax evasion! This is a crime that sickens our nation’s finances!”

“What, what the—who are you?!”

His glasses gleamed.

Where did this guy even come from?

Chief Choi flashed his government ID.

Then, he gave the shop owner a lengthy lecture.

I stood back and watched from a distance.

After a while…

Chief Choi finished his sermon and approached me.

“Haha, fancy meeting you here.”

“Chief Choi, is that person getting arrested?”

“No. It is currently 12:30 PM—legally designated as a government worker’s lunch break, meaning this is outside of official duty. No formal report was made. I simply issued a warning.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. I almost felt bad.”

“In due time, I will revisit and ensure that the shop owner has corrected their actions.”

I’ve noticed from time to time—he’s more flexible than he seems.

“I bought extra so we could eat together, Chief Choi! Let’s dig in!”

We arrived at the Awakening Headquarters.

Inside a private meeting room.

A place meant for serious discussions among high-ranking officials, now filled with the smell of street food.

Aden was drooling.

“Haha! Once again, Kang Hyun has accomplished something truly great!”

“It was something that had to be done.”

“Indeed. Someone had to do it! As a citizen of this nation, I sincerely thank you!”

“You’re really happy about this, huh?”

Well, not that it’s surprising.

He was just as pleased when we dealt with that loan shark before.

“You cut out the cancer of this nation—how could I not be happy?”

Charles came to mind.

He always called me ‘an interesting guy.’

I’d love to introduce him to the real ‘interesting guy’ sitting in front of me.

“When I first heard the news, I almost fainted from shock. My God, a Phantom defeating Park Cheol-woong?!”

“I was surprised too. It wasn’t a planned fight.”

“Is that so?”

“He was an opponent with almost no chance of winning. I don’t start fights like that.”

Yeah, seriously, why did I throw the first punch?

“How did you win a fight with no odds of victory?”

“I don’t start them, but once I’m in one—I win.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s just how it’s always been. Except for one time. And that was a fight I thought I’d win.”

“You’re saying someone actually defeated you, Kang Hyun?!”

Well, not a person, but…

“How’s the government reacting? Losing an S-rank combatant must sting.”

“On the surface, yes. But in the long run, it was a festering wound that needed to be cut away.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. S-rank Awakeners—especially a guild leader like Park Cheol-woong—held too much power to be touched. Even the government found him to be a major headache.”

Park Cheol-woong was basically a warlord.

A guy with a lot of enemies, huh?

“They should be making an official statement soon. Let’s check the news.”

He turned on the TV on the wall.

But then, Chief Choi’s face stiffened.

“No… why is the Prosecutor General making the announcement…?”

Aden’s eyes widened too.

『Greetings, I am the Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Today, I am here to address a matter of great significance.』

The introduction was long.

The atmosphere felt ominous.

Then came the main point.

『The entity known as “The Phantom” has committed an extremely inhumane and heinous crime by taking the life of Park Cheol-woong—an esteemed S-rank Awakener, a national treasure, and a cherished member of our society. Such a grave offense cannot be tolerated.』

Well, that was more or less expected.

Not getting caught was all that mattered.

But the others clearly thought differently.

『As such, the prosecution has decided to issue a bounty of 20 billion won for the capture of the criminal.』

Chief Choi shot up from his seat.

The chair clattered to the floor.

『The Phantom is identified as wearing a black full-body suit and wielding a black sword. If anyone has any information regarding their whereabouts, please report it to the authorities immediately.』

A picture appeared on the screen.

A bright spotlight shining into a deep pit in the darkness of night.

The Phantom viewed from above.

‘Wow, that’s a hell of a shot.’

『The prosecution is fully committed to solving this case, ensuring justice for the deceased, and alleviating the grief of the bereaved. This concludes our statement.』

“This is unacceptable!”

Chief Choi exploded.

Kang Hyun remained indifferent.

“Well, the government has no choice but to react that way.”

Though, it was a bit harsher than expected.

“No! There’s a huge difference between making a statement and taking such extreme measures!”

“R-right! A 20-billion-won bounty…!”

I got the gist of it.

It seemed the political sphere had made up its mind.

‘They’re worried about their own necks.’

The fact that The Phantom was seen as a vigilante was all but confirmed.

Which meant the higher-ups were feeling the pressure.

“Shame, really.”

This would make it difficult to operate as The Phantom from now on.

“They even exceeded the legal maximum bounty by five times! S-rank Awakeners from abroad will be all over this. In a country that upholds the rule of law, this is outrageous!”

“In a country that upholds the rule of law, I was the one who killed someone.”

“In a world governed by laws—or in any civilized society—Park Cheol-woong made deals with demons and committed mass murder! He deserved to die!”

Oh, I didn’t expect him to get this worked up.

Kinda touching, actually.

“Not to mention, the incident only happened a day ago. There’s no way a proper investigation was conducted!”

“That’s true.”

The political interference was too blatant.

That just showed how desperate they were.

“Park Cheol-woong was a mass murderer of civilians and Awakeners alike—a historical traitor of the worst kind!”

“That’s true.”

“This is absurd. The people won’t stand for it!”

Well…

I wasn’t so sure.

The Phantom was, after all, a murderer.

I glanced at Chief Choi.

He was trembling with anger.

‘Tsk, now I feel bad.’

I decided to lighten the mood with a dumb joke.

“Wanna bet?”

“…A bet?”

“Who do you think the people will support? The Phantom or the government?”

“Hah! That’s obvious—”

And the next day.

Kang Hyun lost the bet. Completely.

“What the hell…?”

The streets were filled with people dressed in black.

Especially the Awakeners—somehow, every single one of them carried a black sword.

And that day, police stations nationwide were flooded with calls.

‘I am The Phantom,’ they said.