Chapter 57 #21 The Monster of the Red Death Society (2)
“Suo Haozhu’s coming to take down the Silver Moon Society tonight.”
Han Seohyun shot me a question at my words.
“Can we stop her?”
“Nope.”
If she’d decided to hit this place, there was nothing we could do.
“I told you, going head-on with them is straight-up suicide.”
The reason the Silver Moon Society wasn’t preparing at all for a Red Death Society raid was simple.
Because the Red Death Society only sent one person. And that one person was ridiculously strong.
If they’d come charging in with numbers, we might’ve had some countermeasures, but a lone powerhouse like that was impossible to handle without someone equally strong on your side.
So all I could say was this.
“We tell everyone to get the hell out.”
The Silver Moon Society didn’t exactly welcome my warning. But they didn’t ignore it either.
They knew damn well that tangling with the Red Death Society’s monster was suicide.
I watched her from afar.
Between the flickering streetlights, I spotted a small figure hopping along like a bouncing ball.
It was Suo Haozhu, her hair in twin tails, wearing an oversized black leather jacket that drowned her frame.
She glanced around the eerily quiet street, as if sensing something off.
But no matter how hard she looked, there were no signs of life. Of course not. I’d tipped off the Silver Moon Society and gotten everyone evacuated.
She stopped in place, bounced lightly on her toes, then thrust her fist forward.
And then the unbelievable happened.
Her single punch made the building vanish as if it had been sliced clean out of existence. Even the air currents were gone. She’d pulverized the very air in the area.
The Red Death Society’s Anaconda.
That’s why they called her that.
—What an absurd punch.
She layered mana over and over to form a conduit, then crammed pure physical force into it.
Her talent was a compound physical type, you could say. That extreme physical power acted like magic, smashing and erasing everything in its path.
Not a speck of dust left behind, Suo Haozhu had perfectly obliterated her target building.
But that kind of strength came at a cost—one that would eventually devour her.
How do I convince her to call off the deal?
I was mulling that over when a prickling gaze hit me. I rolled out of the way fast. The spot I’d been standing exploded.
“Hngh.”
I nearly died. Goosebumps raced down my back.
I looked up, and there she was—Suo Haozhu, crouched right in front of me, staring.
“I told you not to come around here.”
I flashed a desperate smile.
“Haha, I missed you.”
She squinted at that.
“Missed me?”
“Yeah.”
—Seriously, you say crap like that even now?
Ray snarked, but Suo Haozhu was weak to straightforward stuff like this. See? She was just staring at me now. That meant she was flustered, in her own way.
She’d never met anyone like me in her life, so she froze up, not knowing how to respond. Then, without a flicker of expression, she spat out something pretty cold.
“Keep hanging around, and I’ll erase you too.”
“For real? But we’re supposed to hit the baduk parlor tomorrow, remember?”
“I can go without you.”
“Only I know how to play al-kagi.”
Her lips puffed out at that.
“Not even sure if I’m going yet.”
There was only one reason she’d say that. She had to wipe her memories tonight.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Once again, Suo Haozhu vanished without a firm yes. Gone in an instant, like she’d evaporated—no clue where.
I brushed the dirt off and stood.
—Think she’ll show?
“Probably.”
—And if not?
“We repeat tonight until she does.”
If she forgets, I just remind her until it sticks. I’ve got endless patience for stuff like that.
Back at the hotel room, Han Seohyun freaked out.
“Hweeeek! What the hell was that monster? Th-the space got sliced!”
Weird. I’d told Kim Jaeho and Han Seohyun to stay put in here.
Oh, right—Rat Guy must’ve watched. I hung my jacket on the rack and explained.
“She doesn’t manipulate space. Just compresses it with insane force.”
“Same difference! Ugh, how’d you survive that mess?”
“My natural charm.”
Han Seohyun’s face went icy. Oops—two jokes in, and he’d probably try to kill me. I came clean.
“She’s not the type to slaughter indiscriminately if you’re not the target.”
“That’s your reasoning? One graze and you’re dead! You’re insane!”
—Exactly what I’ve been saying.
Ray and Han Seohyun tag-teamed me.
“Please be careful, Boss. Your life isn’t just yours!”
I was dead certain Suo Haozhu wouldn’t kill me, but that certainty came from future experiences with her. Hard to convince one kid and one artifact with that.
No defense.
Just take the beating.
Bowing my head like a criminal, I endured minutes of Han Seohyun’s scolding.
I listened to every word because his face was all scrunched up like he was about to cry.
His hands were shaking so bad, I couldn’t tell who nearly died—me or him.
“Stop acting like you’ve got two lives. And quit rushing in alone.”
Hm. That sparked an idea—maybe I could use the mana circuits under my skin to split my life into two?
—Give it up. A talent like that would take way more strokes. With your measly two, impossible.
Yeah, total pipe dream.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue in regret.
Han Seohyun caught me zoning out, his glare turning sharp again.
“Anyway, it wasn’t even worth risking your neck. No gains, just danger.”
“Nah, there was a gain.”
“What?”
“Reminded her about tomorrow’s promise.”
“Pfft.”
Han Seohyun tsked in disbelief, but I was dead serious. To fix this, Suo Haozhu’s own will was key.
She stops the deal voluntarily and cuts ties with her leech of a “Papa.” That saves her and crumbles the Red Death Society.
First step: She shows for tomorrow.
Even after my explanation, Han Seohyun looked like he couldn’t comprehend me.
“Whatever, forget it.”
He huffed, yanked the blanket over his head, and flopped into bed. Kim Jaeho glanced between us, shrugged, and headed out the window.
Man, raise these kids and not one’s on my side.
Tsk. I sat at the desk.
Time for training.
No progress on increasing strokes. Couldn’t even grasp it. Boosting my body’s computation power was a new concept from Ray, and unlike visible mana, this was invisible.
Still, I’d figured some stuff out.
“Know how talents of similar attributes are easier to activate together?”
—Meaning?
“Like, fire and water are tough together, but water and ice? Easy.”
A bit of breathing room, you know?
I’d discovered that testing combos.
“Telekinesis and gravity feel similar too.”
Opposites like two—no, three at once? Nah. But with smart combos, maybe three similars simultaneously.
“That’s how I bump up my effective strokes. One plus one plus one equals three.”
Direct stroke gains weren’t clicking, so I pivoted: Use three one-stroke talents.
Same as three strokes, result-wise.
And I could feel progress here.
For that, I started practicing fine mana control.
I floated ice on my fingertip. It shattered into snowflakes. Ray commented.
—Gotta admit, your fine mana control’s pretty top-tier.
“Be honest. I’m the best.”
—Don’t get cocky.
“Yessir, yessir.”
I pulled up mana again. Night was young, and I planned to make good use of it.
Outside, Kim Jaeho tailed a woman.
Thuk.
A dagger stabbed into the ground at his feet.
“Why not stay holed up in there?”
Kim Jaeho glared at her face.
He didn’t like her. Enough to kill? He pondered. Kill her or not?
She’d been lurking near us first. Threw the dagger at Boss too.
Yeah! Kill her!
As he clenched his fist, a voice echoed in his head.
‘Don’t just kill random people.’
Yeah, Boss wouldn’t like it. Kim Jaeho eased his grip.
“Go.”
Instead, he told her. Her lurking bugged him. Sensitive to presences, he couldn’t even sleep right.
“I don’t take orders from you.”
“Then tell your boss to quit watching us.”
Kim Jaeho growled.
“Show up again, I kill you.”
Boss likes it or not.
“Your breathing’s too damn loud. Keeps me up.”
She glared, then vanished. Watching her go, Kim Jaeho sighed.
Couldn’t do what he wanted because of someone. Frustrating.
“Boss does whatever.”
Recalling the guy who nearly died multiple times today, Kim Jaeho scowled, heat rising.
Suo Haozhu glared at the window floating before her. One only she could see in this world.
Trade today's memory as payment?
She’d always followed Papa’s orders and made these deals with this god.
Didn’t matter—Papa told her everything important anyway. As long as locking away these memories made her stronger, even if the god demanded more, it was fine.
As long as Papa stayed by her side, as long as he was with her, memories were whatever.
But Papa, who’d promised to tell her everything important, said nothing about that guy.
We had fun, but I remember zilch.
Why wasn’t that guy important?
He didn’t fear me like Papa?
Suo Haozhu puffed her cheeks.
That’s why she hesitated before the window she’d normally nod at instantly.
Handing over today’s memories meant forgetting him.
She could tell Papa and have him remind her… but…
‘Papa won’t talk about that guy.’
Trade today's memory as payment?
Suo Haozhu glared at the window for a long time.
Finally, her hand moved.