"Why bring up the past now?"
Red Mask asked in a calm, low voice. His crimson eyes remained fixed on his target.
"It's just… it's already been ten years. Time flies, doesn't it?"
Spark shrugged with her signature teasing smile.
"It hasn't even been ten years, you idiot,"
Red Mask said, quickly counting on his fingers.
"It's been eight."
"Same difference."
Spark waved her hand dismissively, uninterested.
The two chuckled lightly as they arrived at their destination. The moment they sensed their target's presence, their demeanor shifted. They moved into battle stances, their faces growing serious.
"Just like we always do,"
Red Mask said, his voice laced with cold precision.
"That's our style,"
Spark replied with a wink, sparks of electricity dancing at her fingertips.
Red Mask pushed open the door to the Tigers' loan office.
Standing silently in the middle of the office was a figure wearing a black mask—the Executioner.
Behind his metal mask, Red Mask steadied his breathing as he locked eyes with his opponent.
The Executioner.
Though his face was hidden by a black mask, his simple outfit—a neat shirt and jeans—gave him a surprisingly ordinary appearance.
Red Mask moved first. As he raised his right hand, the air around it shimmered with heat, forming a fiery blade of pure energy. Formalities like greetings were unnecessary; he was fully committed to ending this.
"Flame Blade!"
The crimson blade merged with his hand as he swung it through the air, aiming directly at the Executioner.
But just as the blade was about to strike, the Executioner vanished.
"What the hell? Where did he go?"
"I don't know!"
Even Spark, caught off guard at first, couldn't hide her initial surprise. But soon, a sharp smile spread across her face.
"Don't worry! I'll find him."
Spark spread her hands wide.
"Bolt Strike!"
Intense electric energy rippled through the room, crackling loudly. Sparks formed a human-like silhouette in the air.
"Gotcha!"
Spark shouted triumphantly.
"Come out, you bastard!"
Red Mask yelled at the figure shaped by electricity.
The Executioner reappeared, emerging from the shadows.
Not wasting the opportunity, Red Mask swung his Flame Blade again.
"Spark, now's your chance!"
Red Mask called out.
Spark laughed and conjured a spear of lightning, hurling it with precision. The electric spear sliced through the air, illuminating the office in a flash of blue light.
Yet the Executioner didn't dodge. As the spear connected with his outstretched palm, a dark aura swirled around his hand, absorbing the lightning effortlessly.
"What… what is he?"
Spark stammered, visibly shaken. Her attack had landed, but it had no effect.
Red Mask realized the truth in that moment.
This man… he's on a completely different level.
The overwhelming aura emanating from the Executioner pressed down on the air in the room, suffocating everyone present.
"You idiot! Don't just stand there!"
Red Mask lunged forward, intercepting the Executioner's incoming punch aimed at Spark.
Seizing the opportunity, Red Mask unleashed his full power. Heat radiated from the ground beneath him, expanding rapidly to engulf the entire room.
"Infernal Storm!"
Determined to incinerate everything in his path, Red Mask unleashed a storm of searing flames toward his foe.
But even within the blazing inferno, the Executioner remained unfazed.
"I think I'm stronger than you,"
he said calmly, his voice cutting through the crackling flames.
Spark gritted her teeth.
Can we even win this? No… survive this?
Her hands trembled ever so slightly, betraying the storm of fear brewing inside her.
Even with her electric surge disabling all electronic devices in the vicinity and buying Red Mask time to recover, their carefully laid plans crumbled before the Executioner's might. Everything fell apart in an instant.
"Now it's my turn to attack."
With those words, the Executioner vanished again. Red Mask strained his enhanced vision to track him, but the Executioner moved beyond his capabilities. All he could see was empty air and residual heat.
Suddenly, the Executioner's masked face appeared right in front of him. Before he could react, a powerful fist struck him square in the face.
Thwack!
Red Mask's head exploded like a watermelon, and his body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"You bastard!"
Spark screamed.
Squish.
She felt a hot, wet sensation trickling down her neck. Looking up at the Executioner, she couldn't comprehend how he had struck her from such a distance. Her vision blurred as her strength drained away.
"How did you know?"
The Executioner's voice sliced through the air, calm yet menacing. His gaze shifted behind Spark, as if sensing another presence.
"Perfect timing,"
he said with an air of confidence.
Behind Spark, a woman's voice rang out, unfamiliar yet commanding.
Spark realized her body wouldn't respond. As her vision darkened and her body collapsed, memories from the past flashed vividly in her mind—Taemin's radiant smile and the dream he had never spoken aloud.
"Taemin… what's your dream?"
The question echoed in her fading consciousness like a final farewell.
"Why bring that up now?"
Taemin asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"I'm just curious! Tell me!"
After a moment's thought, Taemin had smiled brightly. That smile was something Ji-yoon—or Spark—had cherished her entire life.
"I want a home. A peaceful one."
With her dimming sight, Spark saw Taemin's hand growing further away. Her lips moved in a whisper.
"Was the home you dreamed of… peaceful?"
Her hand reached out toward the void, then fell still. In her heart, Taemin's smile remained, shining brightly until the very end.
***
[The absorption of the deceased's soul has been completed.]
[The purification of the deceased's soul has been completed.]
[The memories of the deceased's life are now stored.]
Having finished absorbing the memories, Cheol-su felt like he had finally found his ultimate destination. The mixture of exhilaration from nearing revenge and the burning anger at discovering the one who killed his parents overwhelmed him.
"I'll kill him right now!"
Cheol-su's shout echoed through the Tiger loan office. Just as he was about to move, Saeya grabbed his arm firmly.
"Calm down. Today's not the day."
"Let go! I'm killing that bastard now."
Cheol-su's voice was filled with rage.
"Get a grip! If you act recklessly, what happens to your sister? Don't you remember the pain of losing your parents?"
Saeya's words struck him deeply. Cheol-su froze momentarily, his mind replaying the pain and anguish of that day. Her words forced him to reflect, the fire in his eyes dimming ever so slightly.
Not missing the opportunity, Saeya continued,
"Your sister only has you now. You know better than anyone how hard it is to lose family. Right? If you charge in recklessly, she'll be left all alone again."
Saeya's voice was firm, but the compassion laced within her tone weighed heavily on Cheol-su's heart.
I'll finish this soon,
he resolved silently.
***
"The call cannot be connected. Please leave a message after the beep—"
In the darkness, Flame slowly lowered the phone. His face was a mask of cold stillness, betraying no emotion. Beneath that façade, however, simmered a concealed fury and resolute determination.
"It seems purification is in order," he muttered.
Flame curled and extended his fingers, summoning fire with a measured movement. A faint flicker ignited in his palm, swelling into a blazing crimson inferno that devoured the darkness around him. This was no ordinary heat; it pulsed with his simmering rage and unyielding thirst for vengeance, alive with feral intensity.
The vivid glow of the fire etched his silhouette into the walls, while jagged shadows twisted and writhed in a macabre dance to the rhythm of the flames. Flame raised his hand slowly, his gaze locked on the fire's core. His voice, low and unwavering, echoed in the room's oppressive silence.
"Now, everything shall burn to ash."