The Foreigner on the Periphery

The elf who was spying on the roof found that he could not even escape, eventually becoming unconscious. The spell he wrote was a magic that went quite close to primitive magic, connecting the magician’s ear to the target’s body.  

The moment Minjun lowered the ritual dagger to the back of Christoph’s hand, the wizard’s ear could also be seen injured. The curse of feeling terrible pain had been transferred.  

Standing in front of the stunned elf, Minjun stomped one of his feet and took a picture. Then, a shadow ran down the floor like a vine and tied him up.  

Slap! He then woke up by getting hit with the slap with his shadow whip.  

“What are you?”  

All he had to do before he wet the tip of his sword was to do it… To see who was behind him. He thought that perhaps it was the banter of another prisoner, but… The elf noticed the situation and began to tremble.

“I, please… Save me…!”  

There was a clear trace of the vaccination on the neck. Minjun frowned as he took the cell phone he was holding tightly in his hand.  

“Well?!” A specific part of the conversation with the information merchant was organized into messages before it was sent.  

It was impossible to make out the conversation between the two prisoners because the elves began to speak in a language they did not know, but the conversation with Liam in German was shared.  

– Discovery. Evacuate immediately.  

It was not difficult to guess who was discovered and who was receiving this message. The message was sent at the same time Liam shared the position of Jochaim.  

The prediction turned out to be wrong. This bastard wasn’t sent by a prisoner… "Did you go to Dreamland?!"  

He thought that there would be no more business today, but Minjun eventually had to drag the elf back down to the bar.  

"What? Are you back?" Liam, who was staring at the laptop, asked shyly.  

Christoph was still stunned. The intelligence trader was busy with other work, all without even thinking of cleaning up the blood that soaked the floor. The smartphone, familiar to Christoph’s fiddling with the bank transfer, was connected to Liam’s laptop.  

Even if one was not a prisoner, information from a German immigration agent was considered money. "I'm going to talk to that stupid bastard, so do one more thing. Relocate Jochaim. I guess I’m out of luck.”  

Liam heard about the situation and found himself bewildered, and then he went back into the closet. In addition to this, a few minutes later, he came out and said: "The smell is gone."  

“Damn it!”  

He noticed that the location had been grasped and immediately erased the traces. Moreover, in the message of the elf, there was a content that ‘the identity was confirmed by the smell.'  

One may not have thought of it until now, but unless they knew how to track it, there were many ways to get rid of body odor. Minjun stared at the fainted prisoner. "How the hell do you look so shallow… are you being followed by a pseudo-religion?"  

What was even more pitiful was that he didn't get to notice the eavesdropping magic. Not all prisoners needed to be well versed in magic, but he thought this was a bit harsh.  

With that, Minjun shot the elf this time. He had to do something before stealing information. "What are you going to do when this Christoph moves again? Are you going to keep following me?"  

The opponent did not yet know that the elf had been captured. Hearing the clamor of the trembling wizard, Minjun sent a message pretending to be written by him. Christoph was returning to his residence after making a deal with the information merchant and was tracking him.  

Then, he threw his phone at Liam. "Look at the back of this number. Maybe a tin can."  

Only then did the interrogation begin. “What are you? Are you a Dreamland follower?"  

Looking from a bright place, many things caught his eye other than the injection marks on the neck. Thin skin with veins were exposed. There were red rashes and scars from scratching, as well as a puffy snowball and a torn chin.  

‘A drug addict.'  

Among the first-generation elves, those who married humans or provided seeds had a high probability of being addicted to cocaine and heroin. This was because drugs were used to forcefully stimulate those who did not harbor any sexual desires in the first place.

“I… I… please save me…!”  

With that, he wondered if he should use Happy Bug if the time came wherein he would have to, but the elves started blowing one after another.

The elf didn’t even know that Christoph was an alien, and his client didn’t mention it, either. It was just that he was an immigration agent hired by the German government, and the main content of the order was that he was going to follow up and find out who he was meeting with, and what he was talking about.  

Moreover, the Dreamland Church said that they knew that Christoph was pursuing Jochaim. As soon as he heard that passage, Minjun had to look back at the fainted inmate with a shocked expression on his face.  

"You bastard, how the hell do you usually behave?"  

On the other hand, there was no feeling of loyalty to the Order in the attitude of the elves who spit out one after another. As he listened to what he said, he could see the reason why.  

‘You didn't have a religion because you believed in a real God, but you became a believer in order to get medicine.'  

The stock of various drugs essential for Dreamland worship would always be sufficient for the denomination. At least, it would be enough to pay the drug dealer to work. If one was to think about it, it was an effective control tool. Even a wizard who revealed money would refuse a request to follow an immigration agent, but this elf took the risk just for the drug.  

Minjun, who had heard it up to that point, took on an absurd expression and asked, "Can I ask you to cure your addiction with divine power instead of medicine?"  

"I said that I couldn’t do it for free because my body and soul were not clean. But the price is too high…"  

‘Maybe I didn’t intentionally treat you in order to keep pampering you.'

Minjun, who was convinced that there was no more information to disclose, confirmed one last thing. "Are you going to reconnect with the church soon?"  

"No, because of this assignment, for the time being, I am not allowed to enter the church…"  

When Minjun snapped his finger, the elf ended up passing out. "Isn't the headquarters of the Dreamland Diocese in Frankfurt?"  

Liam replied in an embarrassed tone. "Our kids can't go in there! How thorough… the sewers and everything have been sealed.”  

“Okay…” Minjun thought for a moment before speaking once more. "I'll call you back soon."  

With that, Liam glanced at the elf and asked. "If you don't need that…"  

"Don't touch it and let Christoph solve it. You must have the brains to trace back how the information leaked and solve it."  

Meanwhile, Minjun was thinking of focusing on other things. By the way · · ·

‘It’s too fast. After half a day after Christoph's mission, the cults sniffed? With what ability?'  

With that, Minjun's face hardened even more as he climbed the stairs.  

***    

“We've arrived.” Cathy said as she stopped her car. Today, Minjun was headed to the main parish of the Dream Land Parish outside Frankfurt.  

It looked like an ordinary 10-story building, but unlike the current trend where one could see the inside of the lobby from the outside, the iron doors were tightly closed and the windows were also closed because of the curtains.  

"Wait here for a second."  

Unlike yesterday, Minjun went out with the car whilst waiting. "Hey!"  

Ha Eun-seong, who was sitting in the back seat and staring freely out the window, shouted in surprise. Cathy then began to ask while looking in her rearview mirror. “Why?”  

"No, just now another dog the size of a mouse passed by…"

A large rodent called the "German giant rat" could be seen everywhere in this city. German citizens did not pay much attention to whether they were already used to living with them, but Ha Eun-seong, a foreigner, was startled whenever they saw it.  

He looked disgusted at the rats biting the garbage bags on the street without being wary of passersby, but Cathy suddenly said: "By the way, aren't you? It actually looks like a rat, but technically it’s not a rat?”  

"What do you mean?"  

The alien species that began the interdimensional exchange and moved to Earth were not necessarily limited to intelligent beings. "People don't even know how they got into it. Perhaps it was mixed in with the cargo loaded on the jump ship. They are originally alien creatures."  

Although they were called rats for convenience, their DNA structure was far different from those of earth rodents, and they were very intelligent. "Some studies show that they are smarter than dolphins."  

"Really?"  

“Yes. Look it up on the internet. They use food waste as bait to lure a stray cat to a sparsely populated area, and then attack them in groups and eat them?"  

"Ugh…" Ha Eun-seong, who was grimacing at her imagination, soon found a strange part in her words.  

"No, why are you luring me outside?"  

"There is a saying that if you do that in a crowded place, it is because you know that people who have pity on cats are disturbing you."  

"Hey, maybe…"  

Believe it or not, it was true that the brains were amazingly good, so after the alien creature spread, the normal rats that used to live in German cities went extinct, Cathy added, "Actually, the German government seems to have given up on eradication. They are so clever that they don't use rodent poison or mousetraps at all, either spraying noxious gas or using seawater hunters to catch and kill them one by one… The former is too dangerous and the latter is too expensive."  

From Ha Eun-seong’s point of view, an unbelievable story continued. "And, oddly enough, every time they attempted a large-scale extermination, they disappeared from the city and hid in the mountains. Then, are there reports of them returning to the city when it calms down?"  

"Would you be that smart? Yes, it is a mouse." Cathy was about to say something more, but she changed the subject.  

“Huh? Minjun is coming back."  

When he came back and sat in the passenger seat, he grumbled, "The barrier is much stronger than I thought. I cannot sneak in."  

There was a way to prepare for an all-out war and tear off the door, but the Dreamland Church was not a criminal group designated by the state. If a Korean agent in a foreign country recklessly riot, not only would it become a diplomatic issue, but the old dragon Callieter, who appeared to be maintaining sponsorship with the denomination, may come forward.  

Minjun, having hardened his thoughts, turned his head to his back seat and asked, "So, by the way, are you able to evacuate?"  

Ha Eun-seong, who was suddenly addressed, hesitated. “Yes. I don’t think I’ll die even if I empty my body for about an hour… But why?"  

Minjun held out a picture. "Check to see if this gentleman is over there."  

What he brought out was a picture of the bishop who succeeded Jochaim and was in charge of the Diocese of Dreamland. The diocese had been cut off from the Council for decades, and this time, it seemed that for some reason they had decided not to follow their orders.  

Something similar to the independence of local churches and denominations under the leadership of the Holy Sector on Earth in the past would happen. As a result, if they were supporting Jochaim's escape against the will of the Council, the bishop in the picture would have intervened.  

"But… what if I get caught walking around in a spirit state and get a Holy Buddha?"

"You are like a dragon in terms of your soul now. It takes more than 12 hours to make a dragon ghost come true, how do you touch a ghost? Be careful not to get caught, and if you do, get me out right away."  

Ha Eun-seong, who received Minjun’s instructions, got out of the body while worried.  

After about 10 minutes… "Hey! Cool!"  

The polymorphic body of Ha Eun-seong moved again. However, when he returned, his complexion was not very good. "Ugh! Can I vomit?"  

"Do it later. how is it? Are you inside?"  

"Yes, there is something like a big chapel in the basement, and there are other believers there, and there is that person in the picture. By the way · · ·”  

It seemed that there was a bizarre worship service that Minjun also witnessed. ‘Now that we have confirmed that there is a target, we just have to sneak in and take it out somehow.'

The bishop had his own house, but it had been empty for several days. He continued to seem to settle for a stay in this building. Because of this, he had no reason or time to wait patiently to get out. After thinking about it for a while, Minjun then came up with an idea. ‘Anyway, you mean it's a legitimate religious foundation, right?'  

"Wait a minute."  

Minjun left the car door open and went outside. Then, he glanced around the street. "Here you are."  

He then began to walk towards the newsstand. There, giant rats that surprised Ha Eun-seong were burying their heads in garbage bags. As was the case with the central station entertainment district, the small animal did not run away despite the close proximity of the ritual dagger.  

With that, he took his head out of the trash can and looked at Minjun with red eyes. "What are you trying to do over there?"  

Ha Eun-seong then began to ask Cathy if she suppressed the earthenware. “I do not know.”  

At that moment, an unexpected voice was heard in the ears of the two remaining in the car.

"Hey, connect Liam."  

"?!"  

"?!"  

Cathy and Ha Eun-seong were perplexed. No matter how one was to look at it, that scene… It looked like it was talking to a mouse. After the name ‘Liam' came up, Minjun explained it to the mouse at length.  

Because of the distance, Cathy only knew that he was asking for something. Ha Eun-seong blinked for a while before asking, "Agent-sama, can you talk to such a creature?"  

Cathy was also taken aback. "I said I don't have druid abilities," she said.  

Were there any such spells in black magic?"  

It was then…

"Shoot!"

"…"

"…"  

With that, the ‘German giant rat’ then looked up at Minjun and made a long squeak as if protesting something. Cathy and Ha Eun-seong just stared blankly at the scene.  

They did not know it, but it was a kind of ciphertext similar in principle to Earth’s Morse code. – danger. suspicion. media exposure. Seawater eradication petition.  

What an annoying situation… Minjun spoke bluntly. "Everyone knows that the stars do crazy things in Dreamland. You’d think we’d sprayed some sort of weird drug in that building again.”  

Minjun returned to the car to see if the conversation was over. There was a strange silence inside the car. Instead of explaining at length, Minjun said this. “I’ll stay here, you two go back to the hotel. No, not now, but we should leave in about five minutes."  

With that, he closed the car door and disappeared from view. Even as she was distracted by the sight she had just seen, she began to harbor some doubts. However, doubts were immediately resolved through the following circumstances.  

"Ahhhh!"

"What, what is that!"  

"The mice… the mice are crazy!"  

The screams of passersby soon filled the streets. "Wow! What else is that!"  

Ha Eun-seong covered her mouth with her hand as the earthenware that had barely been suppressed rose again.  

Take it! Cheeky! Squeak! Gray waves swept over the ground around the pavement blocks and asphalt. Rats were gathering from all sides.  

It seemed that all the rats in this city were flocking together. Like a flock of mice possessed by a piped man in Hameln, gigantic rodents march and rush in. The destination was the Dreamland main building.  

Take it! Cheeky! Squeak!  

Moving vehicles soon stopped. Cathy didn’t even think to start the engine, just staring at the scene out the window. Unfortunately, passersby began to run into any building to avoid the flock of rats.  

There were some elderly people who could not evacuate and fell unconscious. With that, the rats split like a sea and ran towards one place to avoid people. He didn't seem to care about anything other than that.  

The rats then rushed to the targeted building and climbed up the wall as if climbing a cliff. It was impossible for an ordinary mouse.  

Soon, the Dreamland Building wore gray fur. A fur coat that wobbled and wobbled incessantly. People in the building next door took their cell phones out of their windows and began to take pictures and videos.  

It was not long before the current situation was broadcast nationwide. "What the hell are these crazy cults doing inside?!"  

“I do not know. I must have sprayed some rat poisoning drugs. Or something like rodent estrus."  

"Call the police! Hurry!”  

"I already reported it."  

After a while, a siren began to resound in the air. After the police car was parked far away, officers in uniform approached and stood in front of the Dreamland Building.  

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!  

"It's the police! Open the door!"  

The iron gate of the church, which had not been opened even during this riot outside, finally opened slowly. The rat, which covered the walls and windows of the building, was cleverly moving while avoiding the door.  

"What's going on?"  

The policeman then began to point with a finger as if the whole situation was simply ridiculous.

"Can't you see that now? Calls to report are on the verge of paralysis. I’ll have to check out what’s going on in here right now.”  

The priest who opened the door then spoke while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "It's Mabini. What is that…"  

While looking outside, his expression hardened. "…That has nothing to do with us."  

"You'll find out when you go in!"  

In the end, he could not defeat the torch of the police. "Wait a minute here. There is a barrier that deflects people who are not registered in advance… I will contact the facility management team now."  

After a while, Minjun, who was observing the situation in hiding, confirmed that the barrier surrounding the building had disappeared. "Come in. Again, you are in vain."  

With that, police began to through an open door. In addition to this, none of them noticed that an uninvited sorcerer had been hiding in the midst of it.