# The Annihilation Squad
## Episode 4: These Orphans Need a Director
This is a story from my days serving in the Annihilation Squad.
The Demon King's army had seven dragon generals, each representing the fate of their race. They were essentially the "heroes" of their respective species.
Before the Hero Party appeared, the Allied Kingdoms were swept away with embarrassing ease.
After all, there was no way to withstand demons who were physically superior to humans swarming in to conquer the world as entire races.
The war against the Demon King's army could be described as a war between humans and all other species.
The strategists of the Allied Kingdoms, pushed into a defensive position, came up with an ingenious plan to solve this crisis.
"To break the demons' unity, we need assassination operations rather than full-scale warfare."
The Allied Kingdom's soldiers would somehow hold the front line while they deployed "assassins" to eliminate the seven dragon generals and dismantle the enemy's unity.
Since the demon race was merely a loose collection of strength-based tribal nations, once the seven dragon generals were taken out, their subordinate commanders would start internal conflicts competing for the vacant leadership positions.
This was correct.
The Hero Party was, from a grand perspective, nothing more than an assassination squad.
Thrown into deadly situations, yet always returning alive. The kind that even the kings of various kingdoms dared not touch.
That's why Ivan disliked the Hero Party.
It closely resembled the reason why the Krasilov royal family decided to disband the Annihilation Squad.
We were blades too sharp to be wielded in peaceful times.
After receiving intelligence about the enrollment schedule for the Hero Party's children, Ivan was enjoying some pleasant leisure time.
His timeline was perfect.
First, Asidis, whom he had rescued a few days ago.
Then shortly after, Oskar, son of Knight Gilbert. Also departing from Tilles Kingdom.
These two weren't a concern. Tilles and Krasilov had decent diplomatic relations even before the war, and the distance was close enough that there was plenty of time to respond to any train attacks.
As for Elfihera, daughter of the mage Beolgrin, she wouldn't even be taking the train.
Beolgrin's homeland was an island floating beyond the Black Sea—the Kalion Archipelago. She would be arriving by warship, making her even safer than all the others.
Though she would likely pass through Tilles since Krasilov had no ice-free port, someone arriving by warship wouldn't come without an escort.
Finally, Lucia, Enrique's disciple.
She belonged to the Krasilov Kingdom, meaning she had already arrived somewhere in the capital.
He could check on her briefly at the end without any problems, and he didn't even feel particularly eager to meet her soon.
In other words, if he could just handle the train terrorism targeting the two new students in February, the rest would resolve itself without his direct intervention.
The train attack itself was just a tutorial phase.
Having gained complete confidence through Asidis, he had no reason to take direct action until their enrollment.
Therefore...
"I want kimchi stew."
He was now jotting down a list of "foods to eat when I return to Earth" to pass the time.
This time in the director's office, sipping coffee by a warm fireplace, was precious leisure time he wouldn't trade with anyone.
Tteokbokki. Not the rose sauce kind. Nor the franchise delivery style with excessive broth.
The tteokbokki he wanted was the street-style hipster tteokbokki sold at school snack bars. He remembered the places that sprinkled curry powder were the most popular.
"I want to go home..."
"Are you going to abandon us again?"
"..."
Ivan's relaxed eyes sharpened. His inner Kim Seon-woo was suppressed by Ivan's consciousness, leaving only Ivan as he turned around.
A small child was clinging to the window.
"How long have you been there...?"
"Since the director was mumbling about what he wanted to eat!"
"This is the third floor."
"I'm famous for paying attention in class, you know!"
"...Is wall climbing part of our curriculum...?"
Ivan walked straight to the window and opened it wide. He lifted the mischievously grinning child and carefully set them down inside the room.
"I won! You know that, right?"
"Don't compete over such things. Next time, use the hallway. It's dangerous."
St. Vasilisha Orphanage had a time-honored game: approaching the orphanage director without being noticed.
This game was wildly popular among the children. Ivan was a mysterious man who could catch a ball flying from behind without even looking back.
Moreover, no matter how stealthily one moved, it was impossible to hide from Ivan's awareness.
This stern and sharp-looking man was, contrary to his appearance, quite harmless, making him one of the best playmates for children who judged people by actions rather than appearances.
"I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate, drink it and then leave."
"Yes, sir!!"
Ivan didn't stop this behavior. After all, the orphans would need to make a living after graduating.
If they could deceive his senses, they wouldn't starve no matter where they ended up.
Ivan sent the brightly smiling child away and reclaimed his peaceful leisure time.
There were about two weeks left until Isabelle boarded the train.
Until then, he was free.
That's what he thought, at least—until one of the orphans was unexpectedly kidnapped.
"Hey, who do you work for?"
"Look, gentlemen, you don't seem to understand. If our director finds out about this, you're in serious trouble!"
"Wow, look at this kid! Anyone listening would think we're the ones who got captured!"
Pritzenkaya, the capital of Krasilov, is one of the continent's leading metropolises. Naturally, every city has shadowy spaces commonly referred to as "back alleys," and Pritzenkaya has several "slum areas."
Among the gangs and outlaws of the back alleys, there are those who stand out—the groups of desperate individuals classified as "assassination organizations."
When someone stabs another person, they naturally face legal judgment. The higher the status of the victim, the more severe the law tends to be, but the compensation also skyrockets.
Therefore, assassination organizations consist of people who are willing to swing a knife once at the risk of their lives and disappear to the execution grounds as long as they get paid.
There are no Leon-style assassins in reality who elegantly emerge from darkness, cleanly cut down their targets, and vanish.
"So who exactly is this director of yours?"
"I-Ivan Petrovich! Y-you've heard of him, right? Haven't you?"
"What? Hahahahaha!!"
These guys had certainly heard the name Ivan.
They'd heard the surname Petrovich too.
Isn't Ivan the most common name in Krasilov, and Petrovich the most common surname?
Even the previous king, renowned as a wise ruler, was named Ivan.
It was like saying, "Do you know my boss Kim Chul-soo?" The low-ranking members of the assassination organization in Pritzenkaya's back alleys cackled.
Then, from between the shadows of the alley, a low voice resonated.
"Wait."
The organization members jumped in surprise, lowered their weapons, and stepped back cautiously. Following the path they cleared, thump, thump, a person walked forward.
"Who did you say?"
"I-Ivan Petro, Petrovich... Director... sir...!"
The person briefly looked the captive up and down, then smiled broadly.
"So that audacious fellow retired only to secretly form an assassination group?"
The students of St. Vasilisha Orphanage, where sneaking up on Ivan and surprising him was treated as a traditional game, could certainly appear that way to someone else's eyes.
Especially to an expert among experts—to the eyes of Enrique "The Shadow Sword," the most knowledgeable person in this field, they could only appear that way.
So he spread false rumors about his death and retired cleanly to live a new life, huh?
Ha, right. A dog doesn't change its habits. How could the Annihilation Squad change its ways?
Enrique nodded with a smirk.
Ivan Petrovich, identified as the leader of an evil organization training orphans for assassination!
"An orphan has been kidnapped?"
"Yes, Director! Do you remember... Priscilla?"
"Of course."
Ivan had memorized all the personal information of his 300 orphans, including graduates.
Priscilla. No surname. 17 years old. War orphan.
Parents unknown. He remembered picking her up when she was begging near a military base after being abandoned during the war.
Though a bit mischievous, she was basically a spirited and talented child, so Ivan wasn't particularly worried about her despite her approaching graduation age.
Lately, she had been going around looking for employment opportunities...
"Who, where, when?"
"I'm not sure exactly, but only Priscilla's coat came back... This is a threat, isn't it?"
"Probably."
Ivan carefully examined the coat handed to him by the teacher.
Frayed marks on the sleeves, a badly worn collar. One button barely hanging on.
As he flipped through it without finding any special information, his hand suddenly stopped.
There was an ordinary handprint. A muddy one, barely visible unless you looked closely.
The palm position of the hand had a faint scar pattern covered by the mud stain.
People who carve cross-shaped scars into their palms.
"Enrique."
It was the mark of that ill-tempered person's organization members.
Since no fool would kidnap an orphan for money, this was either a provocation or a warning.
Or... a summons.
Ivan felt the need to adjust the schedule he had pushed to the back because he didn't want to meet her.
The Shadow Sword Enrique. In other words...
It was a summons from the Great Teacher.
After all, the Annihilation Squad was Enrique's creation.