The Foreigner on the Periphery - Chapter 119

Ha Eun-seong was feeling depressed these days. 

There were several reasons for this. First of all, there was no promise as to when the debt of 180,000 talents would be fully repaid. Although he had no major dissatisfaction with his current life, uncertainty had become anxiety and weighed heavily down on his chest. And when this dragon that borrowed his body woke up, he was also worried about what would happen to him. 

Would Minjun leave him as a free ghost? The agent usually looked like a normal person, but in the face of the talent problem, he would become a monster that shed neither blood nor tears. Lastly, the factor that made him depressed was a shocking fact that he had not seen recently. 

‘I’ve been brainwashed all this time!’ 

The euphoria, joy, and thrill of eating that food had all been mental manipulations. While Ha Eun-seong felt absurd about being tricked in this manner, he also felt both fear and disappointment. It was such an unexpected great loss.

‘Is that all fake?’ 

In fact, Cathy’s dishes he had eaten so far had not been very good. No, to be honest, it was terrifying. After the frying pan had been retrieved, Ha Eun-seong cried as he tasted Cathy’s real skills. He couldn’t understand. How on earth could scrambled eggs have such a stinky taste?

Ha Eun-seong had continued to eat such food until now. It was only transformed into an amazing taste because of the playfulness in his brain. ‘What, it’s not even worth the taste of water…’ 

The sense of deprivation that suddenly fell into the abyss of reality after tasting the finest cuisine that exceeded the sensory limit proved to be greater than he had initially expected. Cathy and Ha Eun-seong were already suffering from withdrawal symptoms. He missed the frying pan. He now seemed to understand why people were addicted to drugs. 

Ha Eun-seong thought about the matter seriously with empty eyes, looking at the shelves of the mart. “What is happiness?” 

If one could feel happiness through mental manipulation, maybe living in that state for ever was not a bad thing. Erasing all suffering and anxiety, depression and worries… Wouldn’t it be great if one could live immersed in it, even if it was false happiness?

The moment he was thinking about it, someone came into his sight. “Why is it so obtrusive?” 

He was at the supermarket with Cathy now. It was time for the next lunch meeting. Cathy’s desire to become independent from the frying pan and serve the right food was burning with enthusiasm, and Ha Eun-seong felt fear, but dared not display it. At the mart they arrived in, the two moved separately. However, a certain man kept getting caught by Ha Eun-seong’s senses. Even while wearing polymorph, the dragon’s sharp sixth sense did not die. Ha Eun-seong felt a suspicious presence from him. The man was hovering around Cathy. 

“··········!” Ha Eun-seong quietly followed him. He hid between the shelves and looked over the other. ‘What?’ 

Cathy then raised her head. She looked around her and found Ha Eun-seong behind a showcase. She made as if to come after him. At that moment, the man followed Cathy’s path, causing her to turn her head. Ha Eun-seong hurriedly lowered his head so as not to make eye contact with the man. Then, he reached out to the nearby shelf, picked a package up, and pretended to look at the wrapping paper.

“…Are you going to buy it?” Cathy’s voice was full of doubts as she approached. Only then did Ha Eun-seong see what he had caught. When he hurriedly put the nipple cream for oak (350ml large capacity, 1 + 1 event product) back into place and turned his head, he found that the man was already there. “Sister, did you feel anything strange?” 

At this, Cathy shook her head. “No? why…” 

“Let’s go for a walk.” Ha Eun-seong pushed the cart. She walked side by beside him and described what she saw. “It may be nothing, but…” 

Cathy shook her head. “No, I believe that body belongs to a dragon. I’m just afraid to pass it on. I need to talk to Minjun.” 

The moment Cathy pulled out her phone, the ground beneath them began to shake violently. “Ah!”

“It’s an earthquake!” The vibration was so intense that some shelves collapsed and products spilled over. Everything shook up and down and side to side. Ha Eun-seong grabbed Cathy and moved to a safer place. While the others couldn’t move properly, in comparison only Ha Eun-seong could run fast. He walked effortlessly with a dragon’s sense of balance and motor nerves. 

After a while, the earthquake finally stopped. Only then did Ha Eun-seong put down the woman he was holding with both hands. Cries, sighs, and screams resonated among the people. Minor injuries could be found everywhere. 

“No, what the hell is the Meteorological Agency doing? There was nothing like this in today’s prophecy!” Soon, the complaints erupted. The weather forecast also included the disaster situation for that day. Large events such as earthquakes tended to be predicted and announced at the exact time, but sometimes errors like this occurred. Complaints arose that the Korean weather forecasters were not good enough and that they had to scout from other countries. 

At this point, Ha Eun-seong realized that he could not find any traces of the man at all. Meanwhile, Cathy was looking down at her phone with a serious expression. “Sister, why are you doing this? Get out at once.” 

After a moment of silence, she spoke. “The earthquake just didn’t seem natural.” 

“Are you sure?” Cathy was looking at a message that the immigration computer automatically generated and sent. 

-(Press dissemination to the media is prohibited) A seismic earthquake occurred near Jagok-dong, Seoul at 17:36 on X/X/2020. Guessing as a magical phenomenon. Agents near the area should check whether this incident is related to aliens and report it to the immigration office… 

At that, Cathy’s eyes deepened. In that place… that was where Minjun was now. ”

*** 

Minjun was not a bit bewildered. He saw the scene unfolding before his eyes. The inner part of Jagokdong was adjacent to the green belt, and the land that had just been covered with trees and grass was full of dust. As the dust subsided little by little, the scenery that appeared was overwhelming.

It was as if a giant creature had writhed on the ground began to push against it. As if it had been a barren land without a single tree from the beginning, the flat plains were connected in a fan shape. It looked like a bomb exploded. 

‘Fortunately, no one seems to have died.’ It was thanks to the clever deviation of the angle and direction. The cops were frozen, and their mouths were buzzing. No one dared to speak or move. ‘This is a bit harsh. What did I do?’ 

To prevent Blade’s attack, he raised the Orihalcon frying pan that his ex-wife had given him. He then faced up like a shield to protect his body. That was how he got a little bit of time to memorize the spell. Since the material and the technology of Endelion were included, he decided that it would be able to block at least one attack. 

However, this time it was too much. The things that Endelion and Gucci were making originally had that aspect… but it was only due to the result of adding Dell’s persistence to that. 

Whoa! Whoa! The sword that fell on the floor began to cry. Meanwhile, the host was nowhere to be found. Perhaps it had broken down into small pieces and scattered in the air. The moment the sword and the frying pan collided just before, a roar as if the world was about to collapse resonated, and the ground shook like crazy. The repulsive force that was originally directed toward Minjun was spilled on the earth like a lightning rod. His body would have been beaten, but he did not take any damage. 

However, what about such a big earthquake? There was no way Blade’s stab was that powerful. The frying pan had simply amplified it and returned it to the sword. The strange wave that surrounded it must have wrapped and strengthened the attack and deflected it, all without transmitting any recoil to the agent. As a result, the acid was shaved off, and the host evaporated.

Whoa! No matter how good the ego sword was, it would not be able to move, even if there was no one to hold it. This fight was Minjun’s victory. However, the way he took the victory was very different from what he expected. 

‘Dell…’ He blankly looked down at the silver frying pan, repeating the words that were difficult to even count. ‘Dell, you have always been… too exaggerated.’ 

The philosophy of the manufacturer was clearly felt. The intention is to grind the bones in a molecular unit so that if one were to touch the person holding it, the goal would be to protect the owner from even a single hair on the contrary. 

“…” However, it cannot be denied that it was easily finished thanks to it. Minjun approached the sword that had fallen to the ground. It was fortunate that the host was not so talented. It was difficult to predict how strong he would have become if he had been a well-known Tier 1 weapon master. 

He put the silver pan in and then pulled out the black pan. He was desperately avoiding holding both types of fans in both hands at the same time, either unconsciously or consciously. This was because it felt like such a strange feeling.

He then asked the ego frying pan. ‘What do you think? Can you feel it?’ 

After a while, Minjun was surprised once more. This was because the chatty ego frying pan showed the virtue of silence. Instead of answering right away, it waited for some time as if contemplating, then deemed to answer. =Um, can you come a little closer to it?= 

Minjun had no intention of holding that sword himself just in case. Whoa! Whoa! 

Meanwhile, the ego sword felt frustrated as he saw the agent approaching him. The opponent must have known his identity. Choi Seon-ah had been so foreseen. So, the chance of that agent grabbing his handle was very low. 

The sword, unable to move alone, lamented. The pitiful situation he was in now was the limit of his self as an object, not a living thing. Was he going to be detained and left unattended? Did he have to repeat the dark years of the past in the evidence warehouse of the Mexican police station…? A sense of utter despair crept up. 

‘Did Choi Seon-ah even foresee this situation?’

The spirit of the ego sword then turned to the past. 

*** 

After concluding that a prophet was necessary, Blade tried various experiments by possessing various prophets. However, no one met his standards. At the moment of brainwashing, the ability to foreknowledge was almost useless and looking at the memory, not everyone was very talented.

It was quite the unsatisfactory result. And so, Blade broadened the standard. He didn’t make any public announcements, but he even made a list of those who he believed were either foresight or seeking help from such a person. It was decided that there must be some hidden talents for various reasons. When Choi Pan-seok accepted the counter offer, Blade went out because the lawmaker had begun to suspect such a person. 

He was deeply interested in this orc senator. When he analyzed his steps, he found that he had repeatedly made drastic choices that would be difficult for him to make if he did not know the future, and thanks to this, he was a man who had reached where he was today. Surprisingly, there were quite a few candidates who met such conditions around the world, so he was a member of the National Assembly who had also been pushed out of the priorities. After his entry, he manipulated the host and headed to Choi Pan-seok’s office. 

The moment it detected a target beyond the wall… “··········!” 

An unexpected voice was heard in the closed room.

“Come on in. I waited.” 

At this, the Orcs welcomed the assassin. He wasn’t even alone. The woman sitting next to him was Kwak Do-chul’s wife… Choi Seon-ah. Blade raised a grim expression on the skin of the host’s face. He then looked at them both. 

“There is no way the information could be leaked. But you knew I was coming here.” The head office did not dare disclose the identity of the contractor to the client. In fact, it was impossible for Salsu to personally visit the client. However, if one were to foresee all this… 

“Are you the one with foresight? If not…” Turning his head, he looked at his daughter sitting next to him. He couldn’t find any other reason for her to accompany him here. “Are you the one?” 

Choi Seon-ah quietly nodded. “It’s me. So, instead of cutting at once, listen to the story.” 

Of course, she had no intention of killing anyone who wasn’t judged to be a villain.

However, instead of saying that, she smirked. “Why should I do that?” 

At this, Choi Seon-ah laughed. “You are looking for visionaries. Because of this, I’d rather be alive. If you listen to me and help me, you can save me. Even if you brainwash me, your foresight won’t work. So we have to hold hands.” 

At this, Blade stared into the face of the woman who said that. Even the killer knew that her health was so bad that she ended up spending half of the year in the hospital. Outside of her, it was known that she was just weak, but… Blade shared the host’s sense of being brought closer to a superman. A strange scent emanated from her body. “Are you addicted?” 

Blade then recalled information that she was facing an unprecedented terrorist threat. She nodded and said, “Yes, it is magic poison. If this continues, it is doomed to not last more than a year.” 

Unless there was a high-level priest who said that it had to be a dragon to be able to face-to-face, she almost added.