Chapter 83 – Agency Occupation (4)

Swords clashed several times.

The guy blocking my path right now has no intention of overpowering me.

He’s just stalling, blocking me as defensively as possible.

This guy, Sieg, is definitely strong. Though I’m stronger, of course.

Still, the reason I can’t easily shake him is simple.

His defensive stance is part of it, but the main reason is that he knows me too well.

He knows how I’ll attack, how I’ll try to lure him in.

He just keeps clinging to me, and time just keeps ticking by.

Crack!

I initiated a sword lock and managed to land a blow to his face, cracking his mask.

Startled, he jumps back, his hand flying up to keep the mask from falling.

“I won’t make fun of you for being ugly, so take your hand away.”

Surely you don’t think you can face me with one hand?

At that, he laughs.

As if he understood me, he removes his hand from the mask.

Clink, clatter.

The cracked mask falls to the floor.

“To think you’re this strong even without the Holy Sword.”

Behind the mask, the villain’s face was revealed.

A handsome face with blond hair and blue eyes.

He looked just like a prince from a fairy tale.

Ugh, how disgusting.

A real man should look… you know? Like me. Right?

“It’s truly unfair.”

“So, your new employer is ‘Villain Inc.’? Do they offer benefits? A good health plan? What about a 401k?”

“Who knows.”

Just as I thought. It’s Sieg.

He was once in my knightly order, like one of my own limbs.

“Sorry, but I’m short on time.”

It was nice to see a subordinate I thought was long dead.

Now it’s time to split him in two.

“I’m short on time as well.”

Despite his words, Sieg backs away.

Did that one hit scare him? No, that can’t be it.

Behind him, children are walking forward.

Seeing the children’s vacant eyes, I furrowed my brow.

“I hear you’ve learned some interesting tricks since coming to this world.”

Something was wrong with the children.

Cracks spread across their bodies as they began to glow.

I immediately opened my inventory.

Light rose from the floor around me as the hexagonal blocks of my inventory spread out.

I began the extraction process to pull everything nearby into my inventory.

“Store!”

KABOOM!

An earth-shattering explosion instantly blew away all the fog.

Ptui.

Spitting out the dirt and dust that had gotten into my mouth, I checked my inventory.

Thank god.

Was it because the children held no hostility toward me? I could see them, stored safely inside.

But.

“…!”

A child’s severed arm was also in there.

I couldn’t save one of them.

Dammit.

“Is that… your new power, Hero?”

Sieg’s lips twitched as if in condemnation.

I charged straight at Sieg and brought my sword down.

Sieg, as if he had expected it, parried the blow and took a step back.

I grabbed the flat of Sieg’s blade.

I felt Sieg flinch for a moment.

At this close range, I initiated a sword lock.

I stomped on his foot, preventing him from retreating, and caught him in the face with an elbow.

As he stumbled back, trying to regain his balance, I threw a low kick.

Sieg lost his balance and fell.

I brought my two-handed sword down, but he dodged the attack and simultaneously got back on his feet, steadying his stance.

“That was quite a surprise.”

Sieg said with composure. He was called the Sword Emperor for a reason; he wouldn’t go down easily.

“You’ve crossed a line.”

* * *

“Consider the me you knew to be dead. It’ll be easier for both of us that way.”

Wooo, woooong!

Where the child had exploded, a spatial rift began to form.

Crackle.

With a shattering sound, a gate opened.

“I cannot understand you.”

Sieg said, his eyes filled with sorrow.

“With all that power, all those abilities… did you abandon everything just to come back to *this*?”

He could not understand the Hero.

He had devoted his loyalty to him. He had given him his all.

All to make him a king.

He had wanted to rule the continent alongside him.

But the Hero chose the path of peace instead of the path of a conqueror.

All these tragedies happened because he was gone.

If he hadn’t brought about that false peace, none of this would have ever happened.

Monsters began to pour out of the gate.

Roaring monsters.

Goblins, orcs, kobolds. A whole variety of them.

Besides them, mutated monsters also came through the gate, side by side.

“This is the power that those who lost you have learned. Take a look.”

Dozens of monsters poured out in an instant.

The monsters charged, intending to overwhelm the Hero.

The Hero coated his two-handed sword with ether and swung it horizontally.

Swish—

The charging monsters were all sliced apart, unable to even scream.

Indeed, even without the Holy Sword, the Hero was absurdly strong.

“What’s with these things? Why aren’t they attacking you?”

At the Hero’s question, Sieg smirked.

Monsters like these couldn’t kill the Hero.

But it would be good if they could drain his stamina. A Hero without his Holy Sword was not an unbeatable opponent.

Sieg gathered his mana, ready to launch a surprise attack on the Hero at any moment.

To meet the Hero again.

With that single-minded purpose, he had overcome death and now stood here.

At the very least, he wanted to open the Hero’s eyes.

The monsters roared and rampaged, seeking to destroy everything around them.

Hyunbin swung his ether-filled two-handed sword at the monsters.

Splat! Splatter!

With each swing of Hyunbin’s sword, hot blood and flesh flew into the air before raining down on the ground.

Dozens of monsters had already fallen to Hyunbin’s blade.

There was so much blood it looked like a river.

“How much can you do… all by yourself?”

At Sieg’s words, Hyunbin’s lips curled into a smirk.

“By myself?”

I’m not alone.

I just needed some time.

-Alpha Team, Beta Team, ready.

-Alpha to Bravo. Requesting handover.

Hyunbin heard the voice he’d been waiting for.

“Proceed with the handover.”

-Roger that. Commencing cleanup.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

The loud thrum of helicopter propellers cut through the thick fog.

Visibility was poor due to the unidentified fog, but the heat source from the gate was visible.

Sieg frowned at the sudden appearance of the attack helicopters.

To think the great Hero would rely on modern civilization.

“You use everything at your disposal. Are you an idiot?”

No sooner had Hyunbin spoken than rockets and machine-gun fire began to pour from the attack helicopters.

BOOM! BANG!

Orcs that had just stepped out of the gate were blown to bits.

Despite the tragedy that had just unfolded, monsters continued to pour from the gate.

Orcs, goblins, and kobolds.

A wide variety of them.

Their numbers were formidable. But fortunately, our side was also prepared.

Rat-a-tat-tat! Whirrrr!

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

The waiting military forces took their positions to concentrate their firepower.

The entire area was now surrounded, preventing any monsters from escaping.

A massive monster, an ogre, had just emerged from the gate and roared, showing off its colossal frame.

The appearance of the monster, a giant possessing overwhelming martial prowess, seemed to dramatically boost the morale of the monsters pouring from the gate.

Fwoooosh— KABOOM!

Just then, a Cobra attack helicopter fired a domestically produced Hellfire missile, a Cheongum.

The creature must have underestimated the anti-tank missile, as it didn’t even put up a shield before it was blown to smithereens, scattering chunks of flesh everywhere.

The other monsters looked on, clearly bewildered.

Their highest-ranking monster had been killed in an instant.

The well-prepared military watched the tide of monsters rushing toward them and gave the order.

A web of fire from the automated turrets of the armored vehicle unit instantly kicked up a cloud of dust and massacred the approaching monsters.

Low-level monsters like goblins were instantly turned into pulp and splattered across the ground. But higher-level species managed to break through.

“Kuaaargh!”

A monster with a sturdy, muscular build ignored the bullets flying at it and charged forward.

As they took hits, their HP shields were damaged and some fell, but others endured and managed to reach the encirclement.

A soldier’s pupils dilated in terror as he saw an orc about to bring its axe down on him.

Swoosh!

Just then, a greatsword sliced through the orc’s body.

The ether-infused greatsword was a weapon only a hunter could wield.

“Damn, what is all this?”

“Track any monster that breaks the perimeter immediately!”

To prevent a major crisis, the military and hunters stood united, beginning the battle.

“This is usually when the villain disappears, vowing revenge for next time.”

“Are you hoping I’ll run away?”

At Hyunbin’s words, Sieg smiled and raised his sword.

“To think the great Hero was so desperate as to stall for time.”

The number of monsters pouring from the gate was large, but the firepower of modern humans held the upper hand.

Unless a large monster like an earth dragon appeared, there was no reason they’d be pushed back with armed turrets firing and attack helicopters providing rocket support.

“Was it all a smokescreen?”

Of course.

Sieg knew the Hero didn’t fight reckless battles.

He was someone who knew better than anyone what sacrifices such battles brought.

If he fights, he fights to win for certain.

That is the Hero.

While the Hero was creating a flashy distraction out here, a rescue team had already infiltrated the agency building.

“That’s all well and good.”

Sieg now began to draw out his full power, raising his mana as high as he could.

A Hero without his Holy Sword, who hadn’t fully recovered his strength.

He was still a wall Sieg could not overcome. However, now that he was exhausted, it might be possible to take his head.

“Hero, hasn’t your stamina been greatly depleted?”

Sieg felt his heart pound.

Perhaps. If it’s now.

He might be able to defeat the Hero he’d never once beaten.

He took a new sword stance, gathering his mana and preparing to attack the Hero.

There was no need for a long breath.

A single clash.

He would pour everything into one attack.

A powerful aura of mana began to swirl around Sieg’s sword.

Just then, the Hero raised his hand.

Fzzt, fzzt!

Startled by the sharp sound of something cutting through the air, Sieg dodged to the side.

The ground where he had been standing was struck by something, leaving a deep gouge.

‘An invisible attack?’

As far as Sieg knew, he didn’t have a skill like this.

This time, the Hero swung his sword first.

He might have been tired, but the blow was still heavy.

In that moment, Sieg felt another piercing sound and hastily dodged.

Fzzt!

Something grazed his cheek.

Only then did Sieg realize the previous attack hadn’t been a coincidence.

‘Shadowless Arrow?’

It was Shadowless Arrow, the ability of the S-rank hunter who had fallen earlier.

Sieg’s lips curved upward.

He had heard the stories.

They said that in place of his lost power, the Hero had found a new one.

The inventory ability of a mere porter.

The great Hero, with a porter’s ability.

It was a story that bordered on comedy.

But seeing it now, Sieg was certain.

It wasn’t a simple inventory ability.

It stores people and extracts their abilities for his own use.

An ordinary person wouldn’t be able to properly utilize someone else’s abilities.

Just because you hear an explanation from a master doesn’t mean you can perfectly replicate their technique.

But the Hero could.

Whoosh! Pow!

The formless arrows flying with a sharp whoosh became increasingly precise.

It was as if he was getting more accustomed to it by the second.

‘Such insane talent.’

It seemed the S-rank hunter was stored when he opened his inventory earlier.

He never imagined that in such a short time, the Hero could use another’s skill as if it were his own.

The Hero swung his sword.

Sieg barely blocked it, feeling its heavy impact.

In that instant, he saw the Hero extend a single finger.

‘No way.’

The impossible happened.

Thwack!

A heavy blow struck his face.

Wham!

Another hit landed on his abdomen.

Crack!

A formless arrow shattered his ankle, forcing Sieg down onto one knee.

“You’re terrifyingly fearsome as an enemy.”

Smack!

Taking a knee to the face, Sieg’s body crumbled like a sandcastle.

“You’re only just figuring that out?”

Hyunbin dusted off his hands and surveyed his surroundings.

The joint formation of the military and the hunters was effective.

The monsters were being swiftly exterminated.

Hyunbin stored the fallen Sieg in his inventory. There was a lot he needed to ask him.

‘Just this place left, then.’

Hyunbin turned his head to look at the agency building.

He could feel Karin inside, holding out with a defensive barrier.

Hyunbin and Karin were in communion with each other.

If they just focused on each other for a moment.

Perhaps it was because of their former relationship as lord and subject, or maybe it was because they had spent so much time together.

He could feel Karin’s emotions in great turmoil.

Just as Hyunbin was about to take a step.

Wheeeeeeeng!

The entire agency building flashed with light.

Hyunbin knew what that light meant.

KABOOOOOM!

A mana stone explosion.