“An unfinished performance is like the hollow cry of an echo. For the sake of this thirsty dream, I shall present the final finale. Please—enjoy the ‘Last Curtain.’”Phantom Thief Kill’s Ability, ‘The Last Curtain.’The wind that had carried the petals turned into blades. They were known as the ‘Blades of Tragedy.’ Even the lightest touch of that wind would separate flesh and head as though by guillotine, slicing bodies into fragments. While the Blades of Tragedy massacred the goblins, Phantom Thief Kill snatched the wooden box from the altar.Uichan ducked behind a tree, scanning the area. But no matter how hard he looked, Hyde was nowhere near Phantom Thief Kill.Then Hyde must be elsewhere.Mother Ship had said he was in the city, dragging men into the torture chamber—so it was more likely he was still there. That meant Phantom Thief Kill’s target was that object.As Uichan kept his eyes on the box in Kill’s hands, he suddenly sensed something off and turned around. Birds burst from the dense canopy, scattering into the sky. From far off, a swirling gale approached, and Uichan’s lips parted slightly.A gentle yet powerful wind tinged blue. As far as Uichan knew, that was Noatis’s wind.“Kill!”Uichan shouted without thinking. Phantom Thief Kill’s eyes widened for an instant as he swung his cane within the blade-storm. He turned sharply toward the tree where Uichan hid, and their gazes clashed in the air like blades.“Get away! Noatis is coming!”Uichan cried at the top of his lungs—but the gentle wind had already passed him, reaching Phantom Thief Kill in an instant. A moment later, Uichan realized the breeze that brushed his cheek carried death. His eyes flew wide.There, amid the roaring wind, stood a giant of a man. Recognizing the broad back before him, Uichan tried to run forward—but the storm winds ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) pushed him back.“It’s been a while, Uichan-hyung.”“Noa.”“But this isn’t really the place for catching up. You’d better stay right where you are.”Uichan’s brow furrowed as he raised his arm to block the gale. Noa didn’t even glance back when he spoke. His voice carried a quiet sorrow.“Because either way, I can’t catch you.”“……”A chill raced up Uichan’s neck. He remembered what Noa had said outside the Non-Hero office—that he knew Under Doom’s habits. That Uichan had the same ones.Especially since Noa had just seen him call out to Phantom Thief Kill, this was the worst possible moment. It would look like they were in league.“I’m sorry in advance, hyung. But I owe Phantom Thief Kill a debt.”“Noa, please—just talk to me first. I’ll explain everything, so—”“Stay where you are. If you get hurt, I’ll really kill the Thief this time.”The cutting wind turned savage, devouring the clearing in seconds. The gale was so fierce that no one could raise their head to look directly at it.The two winds collided, devouring each other like beasts—a clash worthy of dragon and tiger. None nearby could intervene. Severed goblin limbs flew through the air. A few survivors fled in panic.Phantom Thief Kill and Noatis had clashed before. What was certain was that their strength was nearly equal. But since the Seonghwa University assault incident, Noatis had surpassed his previous limits—reaching the ‘Extreme.’If the two collided now, Phantom Thief Kill could be overwhelmingly crushed.There was no telling how it would end, but if Noatis, who bore resentment toward the Thief, got the upper hand, he might execute him on the spot—or render him immobile before handing him over to the Association.KWA-KWAAANG—!The ground split beneath the raging wind; trees were uprooted and thrown. As expected, Phantom Thief Kill was being pushed back. Uichan pressed down the pounding of his heart and forced himself to think clearly.He had to get Phantom Thief Kill out of there.But how? His only Ability was ‘Pickpocket.’ While he wrestled with panic, something tumbling in the wind caught his eye—a box.“That’s…”It was the same wooden box Phantom Thief Kill had been holding—and identical to the one Podo had once stolen. Maybe he’d dropped it under Noa’s assault; now it dangled from a branch, swaying.Uichan sprinted toward it. Nearby, a goblin with severed legs was panting heavily. The moment the creature saw the box, it reached for it.“I have to take it to Aengak… I must take it!”Before the goblin’s fingers could touch it, Uichan snatched the box away. If this really was one of the ‘body parts’ of a Dongti, as Mother Ship had said, he couldn’t let them have it.“Wh–who are you! Give it back! Return it!”The goblin, robbed before its eyes, lunged forward with terrifying fury. As Uichan tried to dodge, the goblin seized his ankle and dragged him down.“Urgh! Let go before I bash your head in.”“Hand it over, human! You think you can even wield that?”“Oh? So there’s something incredible inside?”Uichan slammed his other foot down, trying to pry loose the goblin’s grip—but human strength barely hurt it. The goblin let out a grotesque laugh, eyes gleaming with eerie light.“Something incredible? You’ll see soon enough. The moment you touch it, the curse of Hancheon will eat your flesh until not even bones remain.”Pain shot up his leg as the grip tightened. Uichan grabbed a rock and smashed it into the goblin’s head. The goblin shrieked, clutching its bleeding eye.“Y-you bastard! My eye!”The instant his ankle was freed, Uichan bolted forward—straight into the battlefield where the winds clashed. Dust and torn flesh churned together into a crimson storm.“Kill! Where are you, Kill!”He splashed through blood, glancing frantically around. The stench was dizzying, metallic and raw. All around, the sound of slicing wind roared, but all Uichan could see was a red haze.He ran circles around stones jutting from the ground—again and again—only to find himself back where he started. That was when he realized it.He’d been caught in a spell.“Stay calm…”Clutching the box tight, Uichan studied the blood-soaked ground. Hyde had once explained how to break a seal. You needed a conduit—and the first thing to do—CRACK—!Was to strike beneath your own feet. Uichan slammed the box down hard on the ground. From the pool of blood rose a shriek of agony. Black hands erupted from the earth, reaching toward him one after another.“Give it back! Give it back! That relic belongs to Lord Aengak! A human can’t wield it!”Dozens of hands seized his body, dragging him downward, clutching at his torso to tear the box away. Struggling desperately, Uichan’s gaze flicked to the goblin crawling nearby.“Then let’s find out, shall we?”“What?”“Let’s see if I can wield it or not. Honestly, you don’t know either, do you?”“Wh–what madness are you—Stop! Don’t!”“Let’s test if a human can handle it.”The goblin, pale with horror, crawled faster, reaching out—but Uichan tore away the hands gripping his arm, raised the box high, and smashed it down. The wooden side splintered with a crack, a foul stench spilling out.“What have you done! Stop!”With a crash, the box shattered completely. From among the fragments rolled a long, twisted shape, blackened like burned flesh. The moment he saw it, Uichan knew—it was the same kind of sacrificial relic that Podo had once stolen.A long, twisted black finger.[Pickpocket]Before the goblin could reach him, Uichan wrapped the finger in cloth and seized it. Then he activated his Ability.His Ability allowed him to steal and copy the source of any power—so long as the target possessed a core of energy, whether dead or alive, even inanimate.Feeling something load into his slot, Uichan immediately triggered it.And at that instant, the world went black. A brief silence—dry air.Then came the explosion.KWA-AAAAANG—!Something deep within him dropped like a weight. His vision turned white, and he collapsed. The countless hands holding him, the goblin before him—all collapsed and vanished like sand.Shielding his face with his arms, Uichan endured the raging storm. When the world finally grew still, he realized—the air itself had changed.

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