Negotiation

“Here. Take this.”

I handed the dagger to Lee Yu-hyeon.

“You remember, right? The moment they send any kind of suspicious signal, you stab the people around you.”

“…I remember.”

The day of the negotiation with the Swallow Faction had arrived.

It was a small relief that I’d managed to get some Essense from Yu-hyeon yesterday. I’d only taken a little of his Innate Vital Energy, though. He needed to be strong enough to pull off the surprise attack.

“They might have changed their signals, assuming you’d spill the beans, but that doesn’t matter. Got it? Whether they attack from the left or the right, an attack is an attack.”

The plan was this:

First, I would send Lee Yu-hyeon, one of the two prisoners, over to their side. The other prisoner, the telepath named Chae-un, would be sent later, after the negotiations proceeded smoothly.

The Swallow Faction had asked for Chae-un first, but I refused.

They might only care about the telepath. If I sent her over first, they could just attack without a second thought for Yu-hyeon.

I’d hand Yu-hyeon over like a down payment and use Chae-un as a hostage for a while longer, releasing her only when the deal was done.

This was also a way to prevent Chae-un from being used as a ‘relay’ with her trait. If the Swallow Faction could communicate silently through her, it would be a massive disadvantage for us, negotiation or not.

So, once Yu-hyeon was sent to their side, he would watch for their signals and make a judgment call.

Would the negotiations end peacefully, or would they end in disaster?

A peaceful end would be great, but if things went south, we had to be the ones to hold the initiative. Yu-hyeon would read their signals and kick off the catastrophe himself.

“If you can, go for the healers or support types first. Understood?”

“Yeah. After I’m ‘freed,’ I can ask for healing to get closer to them.”

“Good. Then—”

At my gesture, Park Se-hyuk came over and bound Yu-hyeon’s hands, keeping the ropes moderately loose. It looked tight on the surface, but a little bit of force was all it would take to slip free.

For the record, the moment Park Se-hyuk heard about the situation, he came rushing into the gate.

…I was actually kind of touched. You owe me some Essense for this.

“Se-hyuk.”

“Hm?”

“You remember everything I told you, right? The skills of their executives and all that.”

“I’ve memorized it. That’s literally a matter of life and death.”

“Good. Let’s get going, then.”

The meeting spot was a wide, open space inside the gate.

They’d refused to meet in a tent or a cave, saying they didn’t know what kind of traps we might have set. I didn’t quote them directly, but that was the gist. It was funny, really. Weren’t they the ones who were better at pulling such stunts? Was their conscience pricking them?

For the same reason, they’d vaguely refused to limit the number of people. The number they were bringing was suspicious for a simple negotiation.

Of course, since we had seven people, they agreed to bring seven as well, but their initial proposal was fifteen. That was far too many just to discuss reparations.

For reference, our seven were me, Park Se-hyuk, Kim Hee-an, Bae Yeon-woo, Park Eun-su, Namgung Yoon, and Song Gi-woo.

We went to the designated spot and waited. Before long, a group appeared in the distance.

Leading them was a man who looked like an alpha wolf. Na Seung-hyun.

“It’s been a while.”

“It has. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to see each other again like this.”

“…Indeed. It seems one of them is here… but where is the other?”

“Reparations come first, don’t they? I just brought him out to show you his condition. You can tell how the other one is doing through telepathy, can’t you?”

“…”

“Alright. For now, this one—”

I gave the bound Lee Yu-hyeon a pat on the back.

“I’ll send him over first. The telepath comes later. Telepathy is useful, isn’t it? I have a feeling she’s your real objective, anyway.”

Yu-hyeon trudged over to their side. As he approached, someone in their group shook a small handbell.

“What are they doing?” I whispered to Park Se-hyuk beside me.

“Probably… dispelling a mental-type skill.”

“There’s something like that?”

“…It’s quite expensive, but for a group the size of the Swallow Faction…”

Yu-hyeon seemed to exchange a few words with one of the members before walking to the back of their group, still bound.

“They’re not untying him.”

“They might be worried the mental skill hasn’t been fully dispelled.”

Na Seung-hyun walked forward.

“What do you want?”

“How about we talk from over there?”

According to Yu-hyeon, the most important thing when dealing with Na Seung-hyun was distance. It would be a disaster if I let him get close enough for a surprise attack.

Na Seung-hyun stopped in his tracks.

“…One billion?”

“Excuse me?”

“I think one billion should be enough.”

He must be rich, tossing around a number like one billion so casually.

“One billion?”

When I repeated it, Na Seung-hyun glanced back. One of his men opened a bag, revealing large magic stones inside.

“Magic stones worth one billion won. At 500 million per head, that’s a pretty high price. It includes compensation for the disrespect shown.”

…Damn, one billion is a sweet deal.

“Alright. 100 million per head, and 800 million for the disrespect. Hand it over first.”

Park Eun-su started to walk forward, but Na Seung-hyun stopped him.

“Hand over the hostage first.”

He froze.

“The hostage first? No way. What if you just take the hostage and run? You hand over the payment first. You don’t seriously think we’d take the money and not give you the hostage, do you?”

“…Is that how you’re going to play this?”

“What do you mean, ‘how’? It’s only right that we receive compensation before handing her over.”

“…Then let’s do it at the same time. One of your people brings her out, and I’ll give this bag to that person. We’ll meet in the middle.”

“Hmm…”

I couldn’t do that.

To a third party, it might seem like a reasonable compromise, but it was a no-go.

Their telepathy might work in that central spot. Not a one-on-one, unlimited-range telepathy, but the kind that could broadcast to multiple people. Yu-hyeon had said the range was about five meters, but who knew for sure?

What if I brought her to the center, they exchanged information behind our backs via telepathy, and then launched a sudden attack?

I might look like a paranoid lunatic, but in a place like this, this was how you survived.

I didn’t have to look far for proof. Just look at them.

We don’t like tents, we don’t like caves, we’re afraid of traps, do we really need to limit our numbers, are you sure, what if there’s something there and we need more people—

They were exasperatingly difficult.

If they didn’t like it, they shouldn’t have acted like parasites in the first place. Why were they being so difficult when they were the ones who started it and got their people taken hostage?

I had gone along with it because it was best to resolve things peacefully if possible, and if things went wrong, I could just undo my transformation and turn this place into a sea of fire. But still, it was a pain in the ass.

By the way, you might ask if it’s okay to undo my transformation in front of so many people.

My Flame Spirit wasn’t fully grown yet, but I had come up with a solution for that.

Anyway—

“No. Hand it over first.”

There was no reason for us to take the risk of allowing their telepathy to work. They were the ones in the wrong, so why should we be the ones to compromise?

For a fleeting moment, I saw Na Seung-hyun clench his jaw.

But his face quickly returned to a mask of indifference. He swept his hair back and spoke.

“Then what do you suggest?”

Right. What should I do? What should I—

“Gahk!”

Lee Yu-hyeon tore his ropes off and slit the throat of the person next to him with the dagger.

…It’s starting?

Na Seung-hyun spun around at the shout that erupted from behind him.

Taking advantage of the moment he was turned away, I signaled to Namgung Yoon. He unleashed a torrent of flames toward the enemy.

“You bastards!”

When Na Seung-hyun turned back to face me, his face was a mask of pure, murderous fury.

He charged at me.

As I fell back, the members of Narak swerved around Na Seung-hyun and rushed toward the Swallow Faction.

“Just because you have a pretty face—”

Two daggers appeared in Na Seung-hyun’s hands, glowing with a bluish light.

Swish—! Shhhk—!

The daggers moved through space with violent force, leaving shimmering blue trails in their wake.

Yeah, not gonna let you hit me.

Maintaining distance was life. If I so much as touched one of those blue trails, I’d be sliced to pieces.

A large explosion went off behind Na Seung-hyun. It seemed Kim Hee-an’s explosive potions were doing their job.

“Stop running!”

Whoosh—!

I dodged another powerful, heavy attack by increasing the distance, leading to a brief standoff.

“That bastard must have told you everything.”

Far in the distance, Park Se-hyuk roared as he tore out someone’s throat with his teeth.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just have to cut you down here, then deal with that ungrateful dog.”

“Go on, try it.”

Keeping my distance, I threw a punch wreathed in flames.

The fire shot forward at high speed, but it wasn’t enough to beat him.

A blue light flashed, and the flames instantly died out.

“Hmph. Cheap tricks.”

Shhhk—!

He feigned talking to close the distance and swung his daggers, but I had already seen through such a simple ploy.

Na Seung-hyun’s technique.

When his weapons glowed blue, they would move through space as if teleporting, and anything in their path would be cut down. It wasn’t that the daggers were moving fast; they were literally jumping through space, making them impossible to block.

The solution was to simply keep my distance.

The problem was, that meant I couldn’t attack either.

I had several mental-type skills, but my main attacks were enhancement-based. Not that I thought my mental skills would work on him anyway.

In that case—

Flames erupted and wrapped around my body. Seeing this, Na Seung-hyun paused.

‘Now.’

‘Got it.’

The Flame Spirit, which had appeared out of nowhere, covered my body like a form-fitting suit.

And then—

Transformation, release.

My transformation was undone, but my outward appearance was that of the Flame Spirit. The spirit enveloping me took on the form of Seo A-gyeol.

It was as if I was wearing a ‘Seo A-gyeol suit.’

As Na Seung-hyun snapped out of it and charged, I fired a flame arrow at him.

“You think that’ll stop me?!”

He deflected it mid-air, but I used that opening to deploy my horns and wings. A feeling of omnipotence filled my body.

Just as his daggers began to glow blue, a bolt of lightning shot out from each of the five fingers on my left hand.

Na Seung-hyun spun his daggers, creating a blue arc to block them, but one bolt slipped through.

He flinched back from the jolt.

Good, that’s it.

Right now, I was Lee Han-gyeol, not Seo A-gyeol.

I had ‘Body Enhancement’ from ‘One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies,’ but it wasn’t as good as Seo A-gyeol’s. That meant if Na Seung-hyun charged at me, I’d have to give him space, and if I did that, I’d really die.

Therefore, every time he tried to approach, I had to hammer him with fire and lightning.

“You’re full of tricks.”

Na Seung-hyun said, shaking his left hand where the lightning had struck.

“I’ll ask one last time. How about joining us?”

“…”

If I spoke now, he’d notice my voice was different.

Na Seung-hyun’s eyes narrowed as he watched my silent form.

“Well, fine.”

The moment he said that—

‘Behind you!’

‘Look behind you!’

The two spirits cried out in unison.

I spun around quickly, but a hot, yet cold sensation grazed my side.

‘How dare you touch my contractor!’

As the Lightning Spirit, Nashan, flew into a rage, lightning rained down on the area.

Thump.

The sound of a soft landing came from behind me.

I turned to see a woman with short hair standing there, holding a dagger.

“Not bad.”

“Did you get him?” Na Seung-hyun asked.

“A shallow cut. But how did he notice?”

“Do your job properly.”

“Whatever. I cut him once. His mana will start leaking out now.”

Na Seung-hyun’s daggers began to glow blue again, and the short-haired woman started to fade away—

Before she could disappear,

“Die.”

A Death Beam shot from the tip of my index finger and struck her.

I felt the current spread through her body in a fine web, and at the same time—

‘Die!’

—with the spirit’s cry, I converted that current into flame.

“Kyaaaaaah—!”