The new members who had been fighting each other with their foreheads chipped now decided to form a solid alliance with determination to fight the growing common enemy. The spirit of solidarity is towering. Someone even attacked Ilay with the same weapon they had just used to wound their comrade right next to them now. The problem is that most of the people who are in high spirits are mostly members of the South American branch. Looking at those fearless prickly honey-tasting faces, it was easy to see that they were all newcomers to UNHRDO, still just young birds that were not feathered enough to have wings.

Although the battle formation looks very professional, even Taeui quickly sees that these are just dreamers who are not even used to real fighting skills.

If so, then Taeui could understand why they could be so confident and point their weapons at Ilay. Although Ilay’s ‘fragrance’ has been rumored throughout the branches, it seems that these sparrows are not yet aware of how scary the eagle is.

The members of the Asian branch, knowing the enemy at hand, only glanced at the stupid courage of the South American members and stuck their tongues.

“You guys should also try to find death once using this opportunity.”

It was obvious that these earthheads would risk their lives to fight Ilay, so they weren’t stupid enough to interfere in this just to get into the body, when the monster’s target could shift to them at any moment.

The one-on-nine fight began. No, it hadn’t even started when the ending music with credits on the names of the fallen had already played. < 😀 >

One two Three.

The moment the third person fell, the young birds also lost all their original burning courage. As time went on, Ilay struck more and more brutally, especially with a third person. At first, he just “lightened his hand” as if he were playing by using the handle of his axe to peg a powerful blow to the bridge of the nose of the first person to rush in, hearing somewhere the sound of bones shattering. However, the third person seemed to be a more capable person than the previous two, who tried to attack Ilay’s leg.

Unfortunately, the stronger the enemy, the more it evokes Ilay’s desire to crush his opponent. He initially succeeded in dodging Ilay’s axe handle and then took the tube to strike his belt. But Ilay immediately hit his wrist with his elbow, causing the tube to be thrown away. And then he laughed coldly, the hand holding the axe swung up, drawing a perfect curve from bottom to top.

It was as if he was just casually swinging his arms gently. But the moment the axe cut through the air in a semicircle, a loud shout sounded. Blood gushed from the man’s thigh like a stream and something white could even be seen hidden in the cut.

The other members looked at the third person who was screaming and blood pouring out like a waterfall in front of their eyes. The people who ran over then stopped in shock with stiff expressions on their faces.

“Damn it! You crazy bastard…, just training makes someone become like this—-!”

“The next one will be the arm. The arm is smaller than the leg so it will probably be easier to cut off.” – Ilay said frankly.

Even before he could finish his words, the face of the person who had just scolded him had already turned purple. There was a lot of blood on his body, but Ilay didn’t seem to care. The gloves that had just been changed not long ago were again stained in red blood.

At Ilay’s casual words, even the air was frozen, no one dared to say anything more. He laughed, swinging his axe between his fingers like he was just playing with a toy.

“And the next one will be the shoulder blades. If you’re lucky, you’ll probably survive.”

“….-.”

“Next one is the neck…”

Some would have thought that Ilay’s words were just a joke. But Jeong Taeui and the other Asian branch members know he’s not kidding. Is there a joke that makes people lie clutched clutching their bloodied legs in front of them?

Taeui thought that if it didn’t stop here, it would be a big trouble. Although the organization has always been nonchalant, it stated that it was ‘inevitable’ that someone would lose their lives during training. But in this case, if Ilay continues like this, there may be grounds for declaring that taking some lives now ‘inevitable’ will no longer be available.

Jeong Taeui grabs the man who tried to lunge at Ilay and grabs him by the neck. Before the third man’s leg was severed, he calmly said, “A man with an axe is easier to deal with. Because he wouldn’t be able to use it flexibly and recklessly. Such a bulky weapon only adds to the hindrance.”

In fact, this guy wasn’t wrong. Any normal person would tend to be cautious when swinging an axe for fear that it could cause serious injury if accidentally hit by someone. However, Ilay isn’t normal. And he hadn’t been aware of that sooner.

“You should be grateful that I saved your life today.” – Jeong Taeui muttered to himself when he saw the fourth man no longer trying to run towards Ilay.

If you have done so many good deeds, you will probably go to heaven when you die. Right now, the body may have accumulated a bunch of Śarīra.

“You know, according to the rules, Instructors will not compete with any members other than when they are on duty to teach.”

Jeong Taeui spoke softly from behind. Ilay turned back to look at him expressionlessly.

“Taei, I remember telling you not to interfere in things like this, have you forgotten?”

“Okay. But now it’s joint training time, wouldn’t it be better to have no mistakes?”

Jeong Taeui knew that there wasn’t really any fairness in the fights when it came to joint training, but he shrugged and said. Ilay’s eyebrows furrowed in displeasure and was about to open his mouth to say something, but finally swallowed the words back inside, like the usual vicious monster was suddenly more peaceful than usual. 

“Do whatever you like.”

Ilay grumbled and swung the ax with a frown. He looked straight at Jeong Taeui and finally threw the ax away.

A terrifying sound rose in the air. The ax passed close to the rim of his ear, sending a few strands of Taeui’s hair flying. And after a loud thud, it stopped right on the wall next to him.

The ax slammed hard into the stone pillar that seemed to pause for a moment and then fell to the floor with shattered patches of dirt and dust scattered. It rolled on the ground creating blinding reflections through the sharp ax blade, then stopped beside Jeong Taeui’s shoes.

Ilay must have decided to stop, but he threw the ax aside just as violently. Jeong Taeui sadly thinks that it is a little pitiful for him to be able to remain calm even in a situation like this, but he also has no choice.

While Jeong Taeui decisively picked up the ax and prepared to put it back in his pocket, the other members quickly left like bees breaking a nest. Meanwhile, he deliberately slowly wiped away the blood stains on his ax and when he looked up, the hallway was just himself and Ilay left.

If you think carefully, those bastards would have run away and left you alone with this cruel murderous monster.

Jeong Taeui brought his heart sunk with that haunting thought and sighed. He hoped that this damn joint training would end soon.

**************************

It can be said that this training went quite smoothly compared to the previous training with the European branch, when until now no one has died. In the previous training, there were several deaths and the number of injured was incalculable, and the medical team was overwhelmed with work every day. At this point when the joint training is coming to an end in the next 3 or 4 days, there are almost no more life-threatening situations. So it is predictable that the death toll is zero. Jeong Taeui, a Assistant Instructor in charge of his Instructor’s affairs, had to wake up earlier than his normal working days. It didn’t really matter because the main tasks had already been solved by Ilay, and he just had to do what he asked.

Ilay was indeed a competent Instructor. If it wasn’t for his personality problems, it would have been hard to take his place. Under Ilay, Taeui hardly had to do anything, at least not outside of his regular job. So he just needs to pay a little attention in the morning and sometimes even skip work. So when IIay called him in the morning to ask for documents, he was quite surprised, but he readily agreed anyway (seriously, it was actually a daily duty of a lieutenant, so he had no right to say yes or no.) Most of the documents adopted at this time are talking about the progress of general training in the branch. Sometimes he reads through the literature and can see that other branches are also completing the training without major problems. So did the Australian branch where his uncle had been.

“Perhaps you did a good job there and achieved your goal.”

Jeong Taeui looked at the statistics that showed that there have been no deaths so far. It’s also true that that monster-like killer has now become an Instructor and stopped killing. He guessed that the person who had promoted him to this position, whoever it was, should definitely receive the greatest reward. Although the training in the Asian branch last time still lost many lives due to simmering resentments.

Jeong Taeui had to live in such fatigue, he thought he should have been depressed a long time ago when he was in this situation for a long time. However, until now, he is not dead, and he is still here as a Assistant Instructor for Ilay Riegrow.

Thinking about it, he seemed to feel that he was also lucky. But naturally he also felt an unnamed sadness.

Taeui held the file Ilay needed in his hand, and waved as he walked and used it as a fan, arriving at the Instructor’s office whose clock had not yet struck 8 o’clock. When Jeong Taeui opened the door to the room, two Instructors were already seated inside. With the exception of two Instructors who led other members to the Australian branch and one who was rarely in the office because he was probably still hanging out in Eoryeong (the prison in UNHRDO), there was still one vacant seat. That empty chair must have been Ilay’s.

There were still traces of someone sitting in that chair earlier, probably because he had just left. Unfinished business is still sprawled on his desk.

The two Instructors – Grimson and McKeen – glanced over at Taeui for a moment and then resumed what they were doing. Grimson sat in the back seat next to Ilay’s empty seat, leisurely reading the newspaper and occasionally checking something in front of the computer. McKeen sat across from him.

“Is it a report? Can I take a look at it for a moment?”

McKeen gestured next to him.

“Where did this bastard go when he just called someone else?” – Jeong Taeui muttered while placing the paperwork neatly on Ilay’s desk. Although hidden by a partition, McKeen seemed to have noticed the pile of documents he was carrying.

Jeong Taeui replied: “Ah, yes”, then gave the documents to McKeen. Anyway, this is a public document for everyone and is not a secret document.

“Thanks” – McKeen said briefly then took the pile of papers.

Jeong Taeui waited beside him watching McKeen look at the document. He didn’t look out of the ordinary compared to the other Instructors at UNHTRO, and even when he took off his uniform, he looked more like a neighborhood uncle. His drooping eyebrows and round face may seem friendly at first glance, but in fact he is the most difficult of the Instructors here. McKeen is a little quiet, even with Uncle Changin, even though he is under Rudolph with his uncle. And I’ve never seen him smile freely at anyone.

****************************

[‘——Right now. Go to the Instructor’s office.’]

It’s past midnight. Just as Jeong Taeui was about to go to bed, the phone rang. He picked up the phone and recognized McKeen’s voice coming from the receiver. The clock was almost 1 o’clock at night. Jeong Taeui thought while looking: “Aha.”

His uncle told him to help McKeen when asked. In fact, when he says “Please help”, he means ‘Do what he tells you to do.’ From the moment he heard those words, Taeui reluctantly felt that something annoying and suspicious was about to happen. Late-night contact like this doesn’t seem to be any good. Although he had always wondered if McKeen had actually asked him to do anything, when it came, he didn’t feel amused at all. That’s because he had vaguely guessed what kind of job McKeen would give him. I’m not sure how it’s going to play out, but it must be something to do with vying for the still-vacant governor’s seat.

True to what Ilay said, sometimes when he went to the Instructor’s office, Taeui could feel invisible blades in the atmosphere. It’s the suffocating confrontational tension. Fortunately, now the number of Instructors has been halved as they have to go to other branches for training, so the stress is also reduced. But before the training begins when all the Instructors are still full, even if they are smiling, the smiles on their faces can turn into sharp blades that make the scalp of the other person ache.

The lust for power is everywhere in the world, but getting caught up in it is not comfortable at all.

No one was at the Instructor’s office after midnight. Except McKeen was sitting and waiting for Jeong Taeui.

Coming to the Instructor’s office when there was no one around also felt strange. As soon as he entered, Jeong Taeui looked around. Seeing that, McKeen said.

“You don’t need to be suspicious, there are no cameras or recorders in the Instructor’s office.”

Jeong Taeui understood that if McKeen had called him here at this hour, he would have been well prepared, so he sat down on the chair as he suggested.

The story didn’t last long, unlike what he thought on the way here, the job didn’t seem too harsh or dangerous at all. On the contrary, it sounds extremely simple and easy to implement.

Ridiculously simple and easy.

[‘ —The other day, no, it’s past midnight, so I have to say tomorrow, for 10 minutes from 4:30 a.m. to 4:40 A.M on the 27th. It had to be then. Please log in here and get the documents sent to. I have written down the necessary documents there but to be sure, please check their contents after receiving them. Maybe you won’t be able to understand the content just by looking at it, so you just need to look at the top three or four lines to see if it matches the bottom. It is imperative to match what is written here. Then send it to this bottom address.—’]

McKeen said as he handed him a note. Jeong Jaeui glanced at McKeen and opened the note. He scanned the contents of a few lines with addresses and passwords on them and then folded it.

Indeed.

Even though he was mentally prepared, McKeen’s words still seemed confusing. Although he is the nephew of Instructor Jeong Chang In, he is not an official member of UNHRDO anyway. So wouldn’t it be okay to let him get his hands on something that should be kept a secret like this? If Taeui helps with this, it will inevitably be necessary to pay attention to the contents of those documents. What does McKeen have to trust so much that he can entrust him with such an important task?

If it wasn’t for his uncle telling him in advance, Jeong Taeui might have thought, “Could it be that I will be murdered without anyone knowing as soon as this is over?”

But he understood as soon as he saw the note.

Surely this had to be kept strictly secret, so even Jeong Taeui couldn’t know what he was doing. No, he could only vaguely guess what he needed to do. The words on the other paper were not something he could immediately understand. And McKeen was still staring at him, so he could take a closer look now. But even if it was, even if he took it away now, he wouldn’t know what it was, so it became even more suspicious.

Jeong Taeui thought about it cautiously. He remembered five cases he had heard in a lecture on world security history, one of which was that someone had lost their life by throwing away something he didn’t know what it was.

He nodded and put the note away. McKeen stood up as soon as he put it in his pocket, as if he had no intention of staying any longer. After leaving behind the last words: “Don’t forget, be on time.”, McKeen disappeared down the hallway. Jeong Taeui waited for the footsteps to fade and then slowly walked out.

That’s what happened last night. In terms of time, only a few hours have passed.

McKeen was now sitting in the same place he had been sitting then, looking at the file that Jeong Taeui had given him.

“Hmm. Looks like Makadi was injured at the Australian branch.”

McKeen said casually and Grimson looked surprised.

“Makadi? Tskkkkkk give me that file.”

Joint training is held almost every season between the branches, and there is also a monthly general meeting of the UNHRDO. Although people are now in different branches, they may have been colleagues in the same branch before. So when there is news from another branch that someone has been injured, their reaction will be quite different for people they don’t know well or people they consider ‘close friends’. It’s not that they’re really worried, they just see it as an unfortunate incident. Usually they’ll just say something like: ‘Is he hurt? Is that okay?’, and that’s it.

But looking at Grimson’s reaction, it seemed like it was one of the people he knew. Jeong Taeui muttered to himself and took the file from McKeen’s hand and gave it to Grimson. Then he silently cursed the damn bastard who called him here and then left himself first.

Jeong Taeui looked up at the ceiling, wondering when Ilay would come back here.