---
Mark had reached stage three of paperwork suffering.
Stage one had been denial.
Stage two had been escape attempts.
Stage three was silent despair.
He signed another document.
Scratch.
Another.
Scratch.
Another.
Scratch.
The stack still looked the same.
Kai leaned over the desk again.
"You've passed one hundred."
Mark didn't look up.
"Celebrate without me."
Leon checked the papers.
"One hundred and twelve, actually."
Darius calmly added,
"Only six hundred thirty remaining."
Mark whispered quietly,
"…I hate mathematics."
Joy placed a cup of coffee beside him.
Mark stared at it.
"…Is this mercy?"
"No."
"What is it?"
"You'll sign faster."
Mark sighed and drank it.
---
Thirty minutes later—
Mark had signed almost two hundred papers.
His signature now looked like a lightning strike.
Kai watched with admiration.
"He's actually doing it."
Leon nodded.
"Remarkable persistence."
Darius flipped through a new folder.
"This may be the fastest administrative progress in guild history."
Then—
A loud knock echoed through the office.
Everyone looked at the door.
Joy opened it.
A government official stood outside.
Suit.
Tie.
Briefcase.
Serious expression.
The man bowed slightly.
"Good afternoon."
Joy stepped aside.
"Come in."
The official walked inside and looked around.
Then his eyes landed on Mark.
"The Sword Saint."
Mark didn't look up.
"Busy."
The official cleared his throat.
"I'm from the National Hunter Administration."
Mark stopped signing.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He lifted his head.
"…Why."
The official opened the briefcase.
Pulled out a folder.
A thick folder.
Then another.
Then another.
Mark's eye twitched.
"…What is that."
"Government compliance forms."
Mark leaned back in his chair.
"…No."
The official smiled politely.
"Yes."
Joy took the folders and placed them on the desk.
Right on top of the mountain.
The stack became slightly taller.
Mark stared at it.
Then at Joy.
Then at the official.
"…How many."
The official checked his notes.
"Only about three hundred."
Mark stood up.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Kai whispered,
"…This is bad."
Leon nodded.
"He's reached critical stress."
Darius calmly stepped back.
"Everyone stand clear."
Mark walked toward the window again.
Joy immediately noticed.
"…Don't."
Mark pointed at the papers.
"That is not paperwork."
"Yes it is."
"That is terrorism."
The official blinked.
"Sir?"
Mark turned toward him dramatically.
"You brought three hundred forms to a man already signing six hundred."
"Yes."
"Why."
"Regulations."
Mark looked at Joy.
"…If I destroy the government, do the forms disappear?"
Joy lifted the belt.
Mark sighed.
Then sat back down.
The official looked confused.
"…What just happened?"
Kai patted his shoulder.
"You survived."
Leon nodded.
"Barely."
Darius added calmly,
"You should leave before phase four begins."
The official looked nervous.
"…What's phase four?"
Mark picked up the pen again.
His eyes were completely empty now.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Kai whispered,
"…Acceptance."
Leon corrected him.
"…Madness."
Darius nodded.
"…The calm before catastrophe."
Mark signed another form.
Then another.
Then another.
And quietly muttered to himself.
"…One day."
Scratch.
"…One day I will burn the whole country."
Joy raised the belt.
Mark kept signing.
Scratch.
But somewhere deep in the building…
A printer suddenly started working.
And no one had turned it on.