Chapter 82 – Agency Occupation (3)

‘If my predictions were right, he should have been at least thirty minutes later.’

Kei let out a low groan.

Everyone already knew the news that the agency had been taken over.

It was clear that the hunters who had finished their operations would come as reinforcements.

No matter how well-armed the villains were, they couldn’t last long against elite hunters.

Kei checked their routes.

He paid special attention to the Hero’s route.

Right now, the other hunters were preoccupied with the monsters his comrades had released.

‘He just broke right through.’

The Hero had ignored all the traps Kei had prepared and broken through alone.

Leaving the rest to his team members.

The future had changed.

Kei rolled his tongue inside his mouth.

It was thrilling.

There was something that shattered his predictions. The Hero was the first opponent like this.

“Yeo-jin, take the team members and…”

At that moment, Kei once again felt the future.

‘Annihilation?’

Kei had intended to use Kim Yeo-jin, the strongest of his crew, to buy time against the Hero.

But his foresight showed him the outcome of that course of action.

They would be annihilated by the Hero.

‘Is he that strong?’

By this world’s standards, Kim Yeo-jin was S++-rank.

Her somewhat lackadaisical attitude was a flaw, but once she got serious, a single S-rank hunter couldn’t stop her.

His comrades around him had all been granted power by ‘Him’ as well.

And yet, they were no match for the Hero alone.

-Oppa?

Kim Yeo-jin called out to Kei when he suddenly stopped talking.

Kei came back to his senses and issued a new order.

“Hmm, avoid a direct confrontation. I’ll send Jay soon, so just hold out until then. Do not fight him head-on.”

The moment he spoke, the future changed again.

Foresight was by no means an omnipotent power. Once he chose one option, new, more detailed choices would appear.

Kei gave a bitter smile. Even though he was already playing his strongest card, the options were grim.

This was probably the best he could do.

‘But it avoids the worst-case scenario.’

If he gave the Hero even a sliver of time, all his plans would turn to dust in an instant.

The foresight he possessed was constantly warning him.

Kim Yeo-jin and the villains were somewhat bewildered by Kei’s passive instructions.

They had just captured Kaldoma, an S-rank hunter. So they thought it was worth taking on Lee Hyunbin, another S-rank hunter.

None of the villains listened to the order to retreat. Instead, they were snickering.

Like children preparing to rip the wings off a dragonfly.

The future moves without a single deviation.

Except for the Hero.

“Jay, I need backup.”

There was no answer.

Kei spoke again.

“The Hero is here.”

-The Hero?

Only then did Jay respond.

As if it were a magic word.

“Stop the Hero.”

-You want me to stop the Hero?

A voice that seemed to be laughing softly.

Of course, Jay wouldn’t move. He wasn’t a villain to begin with, nor did he ever want to be one.

He was too noble, too powerful a knight for that.

“Doing just that will end your cursed pact.”

-…I’ll be there in five minutes.

“No, that’ll be too late. You need to arrive within three minutes and twenty-five seconds.”

-Fine.

How must it feel to reunite with one’s former master? Especially when he had to raise his sword against that master, with no right to refuse.

A knight who had lived for the Hero now had to move to block his path. It was almost like a comedy.

It was a waste to use the ‘Jay’ card here, but he had no choice.

Even a slight delay would mean annihilation by the Hero.

If that happened, everything he had prepared while living quietly in this disgusting modern society would crumble.

“Don’t worry so much. Kaldoma was taken down, so one measly porter shouldn’t be a problem.”

Hearing his comrade’s relaxed words, Kei’s eyes filled with irritation.

“Hmm. Do you think I’m making a fuss over a mere porter?”

“Honestly? A little.”

“He beat down the Company Man on his first day of awakening.”

“The Company Man must have been a fool.”

It was a famous anecdote about the ‘Delivery Man’. The story of how he fought and captured the Company Man in a one-on-one fight he happened upon on his first day of awakening.

“What do you think about him catching the Earth Dragon?”

“There were hunters and the army, so wouldn’t it be possible if they all ganged up on it?”

“He caught it alone.”

“…!”

“Right now, the only warrior who can match the Earth Dragon is Jay.”

“You worry too much.”

At his comrade’s words, Kei scratched his head.

“Is that so.”

“Yeah.”

Without hesitation, Kei shot his comrade in the head with a pistol.

The hostages who witnessed the scene screamed.

Kei raised a hand to the hostages as if to apologize, then spoke to his other comrades.

“Get rid of the body. And clean up a bit.”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

The other comrades moved faster.

It couldn’t be helped.

There was no point in keeping someone alive who so openly harbored animosity toward him.

“And send ten of the children outside.”

He knew instinctively. His opponent…

No one in this land knew of the existence of a villain organization like theirs.

That secrecy was their greatest asset.

Thanks to it, they had been able to land a heavy blow on the defenseless agency.

But there would be no next time.

This was their only chance, and they could not afford to fail.

Through the camera, Kei watched his comrades being cut down.

***

The villains blocked the path leading to the agency.

The bodies of fallen police officers and hunters lay on the ground.

Through the damp, spreading mist, a camera-equipped drone was filming the current situation.

“They’re usually so hard to find.”

The guys who were never around when I was out looking for them.

“Now they’re all gathered here like cockroaches?”

“Wow, Oppa. That’s harsh. Have you ever seen such a pretty cockroach?”

“You think painting a cockroach makes it a butterfly?”

“Wahahaha, Oppa, your dad jokes are so lame.”

“The only thing that’s about to be lame is your face.”

“Wow, Oppa, you’ve got a sharp tongue.”

“Yep, and now I’m gonna wreck your face.”

The woman in the blood-splattered dress was wringing her long hair like laundry, smiling brightly.

There were ten villains here now.

“Today’s off to a good start, huh? Capturing two S-ranks right at our organization’s debut.”

“Organization? Ah, you guys made an organization?”

I drew my number 1 sword, the longsword.

“Alright, first one to land a hit gets him!”

The villains rushed at me as if it were some fun game.

I gently closed my eyes.

Focusing my body to the absolute maximum.

These guys treat human lives like insects.

If I go easy on them, they’ll only press harder.

I opened my eyes.

As Phantom Step activated, the movement paths and attack trajectories of the charging villains began to appear as arrows.

The density of my concentration increased.

Everything in the world slowed for a moment. With only my consciousness accelerated, the longsword in my hand slowly began to be coated with the energy of Aether.

“I’m first!”

The one leading the charge tried to bring his weapon down vertically.

I kicked him in the stomach.

Caught off guard, he flew back and tangled with the comrade right behind him, both of them tumbling to the ground.

“This bastard!”

While the two comrades were eating dirt, one with a knife activated a skill and rushed me.

I took half a step to the side and swung the longsword down.

*Swish!*

One of the knife-wielding villain’s arms was severed.

*Aaargh!*

As the villain screamed, I threw a dagger to shut him up.

Without checking the result of the dagger, I swung my sword at the next villain who charged.

He actually managed to parry my sword. He twitched his nose and tried to push forward in a blade lock, so I simply let my sword slide to the side and plunged it into his neck.

*Shunk.*

Dark blood poured from the gap in the flesh created by the longsword.

He tried to clutch his neck, but soon the whites of his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

“What the hell is this guy!”

To the villain trying to ambush me from the side with an axe, I threw the sword I’d taken from his friend.

*Thud!*

The villain stared at the sword embedded in his chest, blinking in disbelief.

He probably thought his HP Shield would block it.

Watching the enemies rush in, I walked forward.

*Swish, Thud!*

Each time the Aether-infused energy from my swing traced an arc through the air, villains coughed up blood and fell.

“You crazy bastards, stop charging in recklessly!”

The biggest one, a giant who looked to be at least two meters tall, shouted at his comrades.

Had he finally felt a sense of alarm seeing his comrades twitching and bleeding out intermittently?

Here, the police officers who had rushed in to prevent civilian casualties, overcoming their fear to aim their guns at the villains, had been turned into chunks of meat.

They treated those lives like insects; I wonder how they valued their own.

“Get in formation!”

The big guy came at me from the front, holding a sledgehammer.

His HP Shield, visibly tough, shimmered.

He was flanked by villains with a spear and a sword, and behind them was another villain firing a bow.

*Whoosh!*

A mana-infused arrow flew toward me.

I deflected it lightly with my sword. At the same time, I pulled a dagger from my coat and threw it.

*Clang!*

The tanker in front parried the dagger I threw, sending it flying.

Here they come.

“Hyaaaah!”

A threatening swing of the hammer, accompanied by a yell.

Of course, they didn’t expect to kill me or even hit me with this one blow.

It was just a feint. In that opening, the spear and sword attacked from both sides in perfect sync.

One step back.

My opponents took another step forward and attacked again.

When facing multiple attacks at once, the solution is simple.

Get in close.

“!”

Instead of taking the tanker’s hammer head-on, I deflected it with my sword.

At the same time, I let the blade slide along his weapon and slashed his wrist.

“Gaaah!”

This wasn’t just any sword; it was infused with Aether.

It cut through an HP Shield with ease.

But he wasn’t a tanker for nothing.

He was so tough that even with a slashed wrist, he charged at me with a body slam. I thought only Pikachu did that.

“Gah!”

I spun halfway around and stabbed the sword into his torso.

The tanker collapsed, coughing up blood. His body became a shield, preventing the other villains from attacking me.

“The bastard has no weapon, so…!”

Wow, he really is a tanker. So tough. He’s still holding on after that?

I couldn’t forgive the tanker for spreading the secret that I was unarmed, so I slammed my palm into his jaw.

At the same time, I picked up the tanker’s sledgehammer for a test drive.

*Crack!*

With a crisp sound, a villain was sent flying as if I’d hit a home run.

The sword-wielding villain beside me used a skill.

I kicked up the spear lying on the ground. Catching it at chest height, I proposed a weapon trade to the swordsman.

*Thwack!*

Of course, I didn’t suggest we trade hand-to-hand.

I was more familiar with a sword than a spear, so I left the spear embedded in his chest and took the sword from his hand.

He wouldn’t be using it anymore anyway, so it didn’t matter, right?

“N-no way…!”

In an instant, only two villains remained.

The archer and the long-haired villain.

“Wow, Oppa. You’re seriously strong, aren’t you?”

“I told you, I was gonna wreck you.”

The woman in the red dress stepped forward.

“Yeo-jin, Kei said to just hold out…”

“Oppa, all our comrades are dead. Are you really going to say that now?”

The woman in the red dress, called Yeo-jin, tied her long hair back.

“I’ve got my pride!”

I thought she was just tying her hair, but she suddenly shot her arm out.

Her arm stretched like rubber, like a man who dreams of being a pirate. And her hand was massive, like the claw on a crane.

I dodged to the side and swung my sword at the same time.

*Thunk!*

The woman’s arm wasn’t severed by the sword. Instead, it used the impact to bend at a bizarre angle and aim for my neck.

Obviously, I had no intention of letting it hit me.

I dropped the shattered sword and reached into my inventory.

“A sword won’t work on me!”

The woman’s arm, full of confidence, moved like a whip.

“Huh?”

The woman’s pupils dilated.

The awl-like sword in my hand emitted a white light as its blade expanded.

A monomolecular blade. Dragon Slayer.

Let’s try slaying something other than a dragon today.

*Slice.*

With a clean cutting sensation, the woman’s arm was neatly severed.

She clutched her severed arm and let out a piercing scream.

“I liked you, you bastard!”

Is there something wrong with her head?

No, if she were sane, she wouldn’t be committing mass murder in the first place.

“Damn it!”

The villain with the bow shot an arrow.

I cleanly sliced the arrow with the monomolecular blade and charged.

The villain, startled, nocked another arrow and fired.

He’s aiming right between my eyes. I tilted my head slightly to the side.

*Shhhk*, I felt the arrow graze past.

The villain’s pupils widened, as if he hadn’t expected me to dodge.

Just like that, I cut the villain down.

A death cry rang out.

One villain left.

“Ah, fuck… This guy’s so damn strong…!”

The woman with the severed arm sobbed, on the verge of tears.

Should I let her live? No, there are probably other villains inside the agency anyway.

Just as I was about to slice her neck with the monomolecular blade.

A sound tore through the air.

*Clang!*

The resonating sound of sword meeting sword.

I clashed swords with a man who had charged me in a surprise attack.

Huh?

My monomolecular blade broke.

“Ugh, Jay. That Oppa cut off Yeo-jin’s arm.”

The woman whimpered, holding up her own severed arm.

A man wearing a mask with an expressionless emoticon. The one called Jay was blocking my path, holding a two-handed sword.

What’s this?

No matter how crappy the durability of a monomolecular blade is, he shattered it in one go?

I reached into my inventory and pulled out my number 2 sword, the two-handed sword.

To avenge my monomolecular blade, I swung my sword.

My opponent met my blade with his own.

*Screeeech!*

I twisted my sword, sliding it along the flat of his blade as I slashed.

His sword also moved fluidly, deflecting mine before he took a couple of steps back to re-establish the distance between us.

This guy. He uses the Northern style of swordsmanship.

The same as me.

Let’s test it out.

I readjusted my grip on the sword. The tip of the blade pulled up above my head.

I looked at my opponent.

The same stance.

I was the first to attack.

I moved the tip of my sword as if to thrust, then twisted it in an arc to slash at his neck.

Then, my opponent disappeared.

I glanced to the side just as an elbow, coming in with a half-spin, struck me in the face.

*Thwack!*

I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been hit like that.

The inside of my mouth burst, and I tasted the metallic tang of blood.

My opponent was on one knee, clutching his stomach.

I’d kicked him the moment he hit me, and it seems I got a lucky shot in.

“Alright, Jay. I’ll help you!”

“Did you not hear Kei’s order? Retreat.”

“…?”

“I can’t hold out for long. Retreat.”

Hearing Jay’s words, the woman’s face filled with bewilderment.

Did she trust in Jay’s strength that much?

I could instinctively sense his position among the villains.

But, this guy’s voice sounds familiar for some reason.

“Are you Sieg?”