Reluctantly inhaling the unpleasant stench of burning flesh, Jeong Taeui felt a brief moment of regret.

If he had simply obeyed and let himself be captured, they would have realized soon enough that he wasn’t the person they were after, and they would likely have let him go. Even if they had kept him as a tool to threaten Jeong Jaeui, it might not have been too dangerous for him.

But even if given another chance, Jeong Taeui would still make the same choice.

If he was lucky, they would release him. If unlucky……, they might quietly kill him to avoid any leaks. Anyone who had read a history book about war would know that such cases were all too common.

As an ordinary person without the extraordinary luck as Jeong Jaeui, Jeong Taeui would never entrust his fate to chance.

“…….”

Jeong Taeui winced slightly as he twisted the rope that bound his legs, holding it over the flame from the lighter.

It seemed his shoulder blade had been dislocated during the earlier beating. Every movement sent a sharp pain through it, and now that area was starting to swell.

Well, it wasn’t just his shoulder. If he looked in a mirror right now, his entire body would probably be covered in bruises.

Even so, Taeui kept working to free his legs. The ropes binding his wrists were so tight they were cutting into his flesh, making it difficult to break free. However, the rope around his ankles was easier to burn.

He wedged the lit lighter between the bedframe and held the rope around his ankles over the flame. He thought to himself that the smell of burning flesh was truly something humans couldn’t tolerate.

The stench of charred flesh and burnt metal was so strong that he worried someone might come to investigate. But fortunately, that didn’t happen.

In fact, it seemed like the area had become quieter. He hadn’t heard any footsteps or voices for a while, as if they were preoccupied elsewhere. The distant noise of people moving around indicated there was a lot of commotion in other parts of the building.

Though both his hands and legs were bound, Taeui wished his mouth could at least be free.

The gag stuffed deep into his mouth was uncomfortable, and he tried pulling at the now-charred rope around his ankles. Black soot from the leather rope fell to the ground in small flakes.

‘Alright……’

Taeui sighed in relief as he rubbed the rope against the edge of the bed. Before long, the rope, now weakened from the fire, broke apart.

His legs were finally free.

He wished his hands were also free so he could remove the gag, but people have to be grateful for small mercies.

Taeui contentedly brushed the soot off his ankles. Though his thighs and calves were still sore from the beatings, he could move without much trouble. His ankles hurt a little, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.

‘…… Even if I say that, it’s only true under the right conditions.’

He looked up at the window with its closed shutters. He couldn’t tell what time it was. It was probably still nighttime, but if he could see outside, at least he could guess the time.

He stared regretfully at the window, which was too high for him to reach, then turned away.

‘Now, what’s the next step……’

Jeong Taeui moved over to the wooden desk. He opened the outer cabinet door and gave it a hard shove. *Crack* – the door broke and dangled loosely.

‘Once my legs are free, everything becomes so much easier.’ – He thought, whistling cheerfully as he picked up the thin latch that had fallen from the broken hinge.

Luckily, the doors in this building seemed loosely structured, and just one latch would be enough to open them.

Taeui felt around the door lock with his fingers and tried to open it with his bound hands. This took quite a bit of time.

When the door had opened before, and from the layout of the hallway, Taeui had guessed that this building was likely a government office. If that was the case, escaping might not be too difficult.

Jeong Taeui continued to hum cheerfully. The door was almost open.

But just then……

He heard a sound.

There was no mistaking it – it was the sound of gunfire.

“……?!”

The gunshots echoed in the quiet night. At first, there were only a few single shots, but soon they became more frequent. Somewhere, the sound of machine gun fire also rang out.

Jeong Taeui tilted his head and listened carefully.

‘Did I hear that right?’

But no, even from a distance, the gunfire was unmistakable, though it sounded faint. Accompanying it were shouts and screams of chaos.

‘…… Something’s gone wrong.’

Of course, no one expects anything good to come after hearing gunshots. It gets even worse when the gunshots are followed by screams. That much is obvious to anyone.

Taeui’s fingers, which had been fumbling with the lock, moved more urgently.

However, despite the tension, Taeui didn’t make any mistakes. A moment later, he heard a *Click* as the lock opened.

‘Got it.’

Taeui stood still for a moment, listening to the sounds outside. There were no signs that anyone was nearby.

When he opened the door, the gunshots became clearer. The muffled sounds of shouting and gunfire outside the building could now be heard more distinctly. And even within the building, gunfire echoed from the lower floors. Although it wasn’t as intense as outside, shots rang out occasionally from somewhere below.

After listening more closely, Taeui determined that most of the gunfire was coming from two floors down, on the right side of the building.

“……”

‘No, perhaps this is a stroke of luck. Maybe everyone has been drawn to that area.’

Jeong Taeui carefully opened the door inch by inch, trying not to make a sound.

The hallway was dark. Some of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered intermittently, creating a gloomy atmosphere, but there was enough light to see the way.

‘This is actually good. The darker it is, the less likely I’ll be noticed.’ – Of course, if he moved too quickly or made noise, getting caught would be unavoidable.

Taeui quietly stepped into the hallway. As he had suspected, this building appeared to have once been used as a public facility.

Identical wooden doors faced each other along the winding hallway ahead. A large iron door stood open at one corner of the hallway, possibly leading to a stairwell down below.

There was no one in the hallway. Escaping safely depended on not being seen.

At any other time, even if caught, he might have had a chance to talk his way out of it. But in this situation with his hands still bound, Taeui was at a complete disadvantage if he encountered anyone.

‘So……, where to go next……’

Before he could finish his thought, hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell.

He should have turned back to his room immediately, but the footsteps were approaching too quickly for him to unlock the door again with his hands tied behind his back.

‘Damn it.’ – Taeui cursed inwardly, pressing himself flat against the wall next to the fire extinguisher. But the extinguisher box only jutted out from the wall by about a hand’s width, not enough to hide him. If the person on the stairs looked up, they would see him immediately.

‘Phew. I just got out of the room and already have to play tag? If this were hide and seek, it’d be better, but tag is no fun at all.’

Though he had moved quickly, having his hands tied certainly slowed him down.

But now, running was his only option. As soon as the person reached the top of the stairs and saw him, Taeui would have to kick them and run as fast as possible – that was the best plan for this situation. With that in mind, he stepped back and readied himself.

But.

As luck would have it, the man who came up the stairs turned his head and backed away down the hallway.

The man seemed worried that something was chasing him from behind. He not only looked back but also began slowly retreating, walking backward. Taeui didn’t miss the opportunity the man’s retreating figure presented.

Although confused by the situation, Taeui immediately leaped forward, delivering a strong kick to the man’s chin, aiming precisely at the vulnerable spot.

The powerful kick snapped the man’s head backward, stunning him. As the man staggered, Taeui landed a second kick, this time aiming at the base of the neck.

The man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, unconscious. Taeui stepped back cautiously, watching him.

“…….”

After confirming that the man was truly unconscious and not moving, Taeui let out a relieved sigh. He felt as if he had just narrowly escaped a dangerous situation.

…… But.

Even though he had taken advantage of the man’s retreat to knock him out, Jeong Taeui still felt something strange.

Why? Why had the man backed away as if something terrifying was chasing him from behind……?

While crouching and observing the unconscious man with suspicion, Taeui suddenly heard a noise from the floor below, prompting him to stand up.

No matter what, now wasn’t the time to waste.

Taeui held his breath, listened to the sounds from downstairs, and then began descending the stairs. The sign on the landing indicated that he was on the third floor. The stairwell continued upward, meaning the building had at least four floors. If this was a public facility, it could be five or six stories tall.

Jeong Taeui carefully descended to the second floor. He intended to keep going down, but the sound of people moving right below him made him change course into the second-floor hallway.

In such a large building, there had to be other stairwells somewhere.

Jeong Taeui listened for any signs of activity and quickly moved down the hallway.

But something wasn’t right.

As he searched for another stairwell, Jeong Taeui felt a strange sensation. The deeper he went into the hallway, the stronger that feeling became.

Something was off. There was no sign of life.

When he had been locked in the room earlier, he had still heard the sounds of people passing through the hallway. That had led him to believe the building was filled with people.

But now, everything was eerily quiet.

Occasional gunfire still rang out from the lower floors, but this part of the building felt like no one had ever been there – or if they had, they had all disappeared.

“……..?”

Taeui felt uneasy. He became more eager to escape the building as quickly as possible.

At the end of the hallway, another iron door came into view. It was likely another stairwell.

He pushed the door open with his shoulder. As expected, it was a stairwell. But as soon as he stepped inside, Taeui froze.

There, on the first step, was a body.

Another body lay at the base of the stairs below. Both were covered in blood.

“……!!”

Jeong Taeui’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the bodies, feeling momentarily breathless.

‘What the hell? Why are there dead bodies here?’

While Jeong Taeui stood frozen, staring at the bodies, he suddenly heard the metallic sound *Click* of a door opening from the floor below.

Jeong Taeui quickly hid behind the door, holding his breath.

Fortunately, it seemed the people who had entered from below weren’t planning to come upstairs…….Not just one person, but two.

For a moment, labored breathing filled the air, then one of the two men spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

“Damn it…… No amount of money was worth signing this contract…… What the hell is going on? I can’t even begin to understand what’s happening.”

The voice was filled with unease and fear.

After a moment, a second voice, calmer but still shaky, responded.

“What else? They launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night and started shooting everywhere. Damn it, even the people outside were riddled with bullets like swiss cheese. They’ve already got some of their men inside this building.”

“That first guy…… was he the leader? The one who smashed the glass and charged in first? Seems like they’re all following his orders. What was his name? Abid? Al Abid?”

“Al…… Saud……., I think so. Looks like they’re searching for someone……”

Jeong Taeui held his breath, hiding behind the door, listening to their conversation. And that’s when he realized what was going on.

Abid Al Saud. Raumaan had arrived.

It was hard to imagine that man as the one who had shattered glass and charged in, but after talking about possible punishments, he had apparently decided to launch a violent attack.

If that was the case, the person he was looking for had to be…… his brother, who hadn’t even arrived in Germany yet……

Jeong Taeui suddenly felt a little sorry for Raumaan.

The man must have calculated that he could impress Jeong Jaeui – or at least make him indebted – and persuade him to return to Saudi Arabia. But from the start, all of his calculations had been wrong.

If Taeui appeared before him, the disappointment would be enormous – in fact, the man might just capture him and use him as a bargaining tool. So the most important thing now was to escape without being noticed by Raumaan.

Just as Taeui made up his mind, he heard one of the men below speak again, this time with a hint of fear in his trembling voice.

“No…… but the problem isn’t him.”

The man’s voice was weak and full of dread.

“There’s a monster among them. A demon. You saw him too.”

“Yeah…… Is he one of the mercenaries they hired?”

The other man’s voice trembled and grew quieter.

“No, I don’t think so. When I was hiding and waiting for him to pass by, I saw him stabbing both their men and ours.”

“What? Does that mean we hired him?…………. NO WAY! BRETT WAS KILLED BY THAT BASTARD!”

The man’s voice wavered, as if he was about to cry.

“What the hell is going on? Who is that guy? Where did he come from?”

“He’s looking for someone. I didn’t hear everything clearly, but…… he kept asking where someone was. He’s searching for someone.”

“Damn it…… Who did that old man Rashid capture that’s causing all this chaos? Let’s just hand him over to them!”

“Wait…… Could he be the person we caught? THE ONE WE LOCKED UP ON THE TOP FLOOR?!”

Just as the man yelled in a near-scream.

Suddenly.

The lights went out.

“……?!”

“What? What happened to the lights?!”

Amidst the men’s panicked voices, Taeui also tensed up. The faint light shining through the iron door he was hiding behind had disappeared completely.

Everything was plunged into total darkness. It was so dark, it felt like his eyes had gone blind.

It seemed the entire building had lost power. Someone must have cut the electricity.

“Power outage? Why now?!”

“Damn it, I can’t see anything…… What the hell is going on? Did someone cut off the whole building’s power? Wait, earlier I saw the fuse box right next to this door—”

But at that moment, a voice interrupted their conversation.

“Aha……I turned off the lights for you on purpose, but it seems you don’t like that, huh? Who knows, maybe in the darkness, I won’t notice, and you might have a chance to sneak away~”

A deep voice, mixed with a soft laugh, echoed nearby.

In that instant, all the blood in Jeong Taeui’s body seemed to freeze.

He stood frozen in the pitch-black darkness. He didn’t dare move. There was no mistaking that voice.