Part 3: Living Normally (1)

“What? Petty thieves? Do you have a death wish, you bastard?!”

Parris’s face turned beet red with fury at the insult.

The Kajin Gang was one of the top three gangs in Centum. Its leader, Kajin, was not only the gang boss but also a centurion in the infamous Crimson Mercenary Corps, renowned for their ferocity.

And now, what did he just hear? Someone dared to call them petty thieves?

“Then why would a ‘great’ gang member be resorting to pickpocketing?”

“Well… we owe some debts to another gang’s gambling den. We’re desperate for cash right now….”

“Boss, this is a waste of time. Let’s just stab the bastard and be done with it.”

One of Parris’s subordinates pulled out a dagger, licking the blade with a crazed grin.

“Hand over the money you stole,” Parris demanded.

“I refuse.”

“Do you think you’re in a position to refuse?”

“Have you ever returned the money you’ve taken from others?”

“Of course not.”

“Then I won’t either.”

The young man’s audacity was baffling. But such insolence would soon cost him his life.

Parris’s patience snapped entirely. The heat in his face surged to the crown of his head.

“Kill him. Make it as gruesome as possible.”

“Been waiting for that order.”

The gang members lunged at the young man, daggers drawn without hesitation. These weren’t ordinary lackeys—they were the Kajin Gang’s shock troopers, swift, ruthless, and utterly fearless.

The young man’s body should’ve been ripped apart…

“……”

But instead, Parris froze in place.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

The gang members were frantically slashing at empty air. The young man’s movements were so fast they were invisible. The only indication of his presence was the gusts of wind that followed his steps.

‘How fast does one have to be to move like that? And this wind… it’s unnatural.’

“Aaargh!”

“Kuugh!”

The fight ended in less than five seconds.

Each gust of wind was followed by a gang member’s scream as they were flung to the ground. In the end, they were left writhing like worms on the floor.

When Parris snapped out of his daze, he realized the young man was standing right in front of him.

‘He caught me off guard!’

Parris quickly drew his dagger and stabbed at the man’s chest. No matter how strong the man was, Parris wasn’t going down without a fight.

More importantly, Parris was far stronger than his subordinates. He wasn’t just any gang member—he was the leader of one of the five sub-divisions under the Kajin Gang’s command. His nickname, Dagger Danger, came from his unparalleled skill with a dagger.

‘Die, you bastard. Heh heh heh.’

A twisted grin spread across Parris’s face as he unleashed his ultimate attack, channeling mana into his dagger for a technique called Dagger Spear. The thrust’s power rivaled a spear’s, and it was aimed to pierce the young man’s skin, break through his ribs, and impale his heart.

Fate seemed sealed.

Or so Parris thought.

“Gaaah!”

Clang!

Parris’s dagger clattered to the ground.

The instant before it could land, the young man struck Parris’s wrist with the edge of his hand, bending it at an unnatural angle. The pain was unbearable, forcing Parris to his knees. If his subordinates weren’t watching, he would’ve screamed bloody murder.

‘M-Madman! He tracked my attack to the end… and precisely struck my wrist? Even Kajin himself praised my Dagger Spear!’

Shock was swallowed by pain, which in turn was consumed by fear.

Parris realized, too late, that he had picked the wrong target.

The young man wasn’t just some bookish pushover with a pretty face. He was a monster.

“I failed to recognize someone of your stature. Please, forgive me just this once,” Parris begged, hastily changing his tone.

“I don’t think you’ve committed any particular sin.”

“R-really?”

“The strong survive. The weak die. That’s the law of the world.”

The young man’s words sounded almost sympathetic, but upon closer inspection, they were chillingly cold.

Parris and his men were weaker than the young man. In other words, they deserved to die.

Parris’s face turned as white as a sheet.

“When you realized you were being lured here, you should’ve walked away.”

“Please, I beg you! I’ll do anything you want, just spare me!”

Parris pleaded desperately. He didn’t want to die such a meaningless death.

“Then die.”

With a cold slash, Parris’s head was severed from his body.

His head hit the ground first, followed by his lifeless body. As his consciousness faded, Parris stared up at the young man.

A faint blue aura of mana coated the man’s hand, the same hand that had just decapitated him.

No weapon.

The man had severed his head with just his hand.

‘He wielded mana like a blade, cutting with nothing but his bare hand… This man… is impossibly strong….’

Parris died with his eyes wide open, unable to close them even in death.

*  *  *

Aiden scanned the scene with a calm expression. One headless body lay before him. The rest of the gang members’ corpses had completely vanished.

He had used the Black Flame, which he gained after absorbing Astaroth’s death qi, on a person for the first time. Apparently, the flame was well-suited for assassination, as it incinerated its targets completely, leaving no trace behind.

Astaroth had once boasted that the Black Flame consumed even the soul. It seemed that wasn’t an exaggeration.

For those unworthy of even an afterlife, the Black Flame would be the perfect solution.

When dealing with problems outside his assigned missions, Aiden strictly adhered to a principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

If his attackers hadn’t intended to kill him, he wouldn’t have gone so far as to kill them.

Aiden reached out toward Parris’s corpse. A faint, ashen death qi, visible only to his eyes, flowed into his palm.

The man had been too weak to offer much in terms of talent, but every little bit counted.

“A reaper who slays gods and demons alike, reduced to killing petty gang members. Isn’t this a waste of your skills?” remarked the raven, Mugin, as it perched on Aiden’s shoulder.

“I’m not an assassin anymore. Did your protest end already?”

“Why bother with a protest when no one’s even paying attention?” Mugin replied, puffing out its chest indignantly.

“Aren’t you going to deal with the gang? Won’t it cause trouble later?”

“There are no witnesses. They’ll just assume another gang took them out.”

“……”

“Didn’t one of them say they owed money to another gang’s gambling den?”

Aiden shrugged. Mugin’s complaints were valid, but he saw no need for unnecessary action. In the past, he might have stormed the gang’s hideout and wiped them all out. But now, as someone retired, he found such theatrics excessive.

Local gangs posed no real threat to Aiden anyway. To truly challenge him, it would take the celestial gods or demon lords leading vast armies.

“Retirement has really mellowed you out.”

“Then why did I kill six of them right after retiring?”

“If you think about all the people who’ve died at your hands, that’s like tossing a cup of water into the ocean.”

Mugin rattled off his words like a rapid-fire gun.

“Anyway, can’t you do something about your face?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you’re too conspicuous. How do you think they found you?”

“You’re not wrong.”

Aiden nodded in agreement.

The dead gang member had only encountered Aiden once. Yet, after scouring the town, they managed to track him down.

If there was a reason that was possible…

It was because Aiden’s strikingly handsome face couldn’t be completely hidden, not even with a scarf.

If he didn’t resolve his appearance problem, similar incidents would keep happening.

‘Why on earth did Master…’

Aiden glanced up at the blue sky, silently cursing his master.

He still couldn’t understand.

The master’s command had been crystal clear: don’t hide your identity.

Use your real name and show your face openly.

It was baffling because his master should have known better than anyone what would happen if he wandered around as he was.

Could it be that his master simply wanted to make his life harder?

As Aiden pondered this, another person came to mind—Carl.

Though they hadn’t known each other long, Carl was a wise man.

Perhaps Carl had deciphered his master’s intentions.

Admittedly, revealing his full circumstances was risky, but it seemed worth discussing.

“Why not just wear a mask or something when you go out?”

“No. Orders are absolute.”

“It’s not like your master is going to check up on you, is it?”

Aiden rejected Mugin’s suggestion with silence.

Wrong was wrong.

Aiden had never disobeyed an order before—not even once.

“Are you not going to eat this guy’s mana heart?”

“Forget it. He’ll only ruin my appetite.”

“You’re so picky.”

Mugin, being a divine raven, didn’t need to consume food for sustenance. Eating mana hearts was merely a pastime for him.

Aiden opened his palm.

Blaze!

Black flames flickered to life, dancing in his hand.

The dark fire left his palm and clung to the head and torso of the last remaining gang member.

At first, the body showed no change. Then, it disintegrated into fine, coal-like dust in an instant.

The black powder scattered, swept away by the wind, leaving no trace.

It didn’t take long for a person to disappear from the world.

Life was long, but death was fleeting.

Flap. Flap.

Apparently done with their chatter, Mugin flapped his wings and soared into the sky.

Aiden left the slums behind and returned to Carl’s tavern.

The tavern looked entirely different from the day before.

A long line of customers stretched out the door.

Thanks to Mugin causing a stir that morning, the place was now packed.

Predicting this, Aiden had quickly sent Lucy back to the tavern earlier.

Jingle!

The doorbell chimed as Aiden stepped inside.

“Hey! Can’t you see the line? How can you just walk in like that?”

“I’m a lodging guest,” Aiden replied curtly as he entered.

The tavern was bustling with people.

Every table was full, and Carl and Lucy were rushing around, serving customers without a moment to breathe.

The kitchen, no doubt, was in a frenzy as well.

“Aiden! Perfect timing. Can you lend a hand?”

Carl’s pleading eyes locked onto Aiden.

*  *  *

Lyra had been swamped since morning.

After the divine raven appeared on the tavern’s roof, people had swarmed the place like bees.

They believed the raven’s sacred aura had blessed the tavern and were desperate to eat there.

Regardless of the reason, the raven’s arrival had been a stroke of good fortune.

Located on the outskirts of the town, the tavern usually struggled to attract customers. Now, they were pouring in of their own accord.

However, the number of visitors was overwhelming.

It was almost too much to handle.

Since opening in the morning, Lyra hadn’t had a single moment to rest.

They ran out of ingredients while cooking.

Dishes came out late.

The pile of dirty plates grew into a mountain.

Lucy’s early return had offered some relief, but they were still short-handed.

To make matters worse, Lyra’s stamina was fading fast.

At this rate, the next round of customers would likely leave with complaints instead of compliments.

After all, service quality was bound to decline.

“Honey, Aiden’s helping out in the kitchen. Just hang in there a little longer.”

“Alright.”

Lyra tossed another log into the fire and turned her head.

Aiden was walking into the kitchen.

She was glad reinforcements had arrived, but she couldn’t help worrying.

Could such a refined-looking young man handle kitchen work? She’d be lucky if he didn’t just get in the way.

“Aiden, wait just a moment. Let me check the fire, and I’ll tell you what to do.”

Lyra turned back to the hearth.

But then…

Chop-chop-chop.

The sound of chopping filled the air.

Lyra froze.

She realized Aiden, eager to help, must have started chopping vegetables without waiting for instructions.

What if he cut himself? What if the ingredients were mangled?

“Aiden, you should’ve waited just a little…”

When Lyra turned around after stoking the fire, her eyes widened in disbelief.

Potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage.

The vegetables needed for the soup were all finely and evenly diced.

Work that would have taken her several minutes had been done in mere seconds.

She blinked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, wondering if she was dreaming.

But it was real.

“I’ll finish the dishes and then head out to buy more ingredients.”

The miracle worker, Aiden, remained calm and unbothered.
 

To be continued

Join the GS Discord to stay updated on the latest chapter releases:

https://discord.gg/PRZEAJZE3J