Chapter 20
I’m translating the chapter into polished HTML prose now, keeping the special in-universe effects in styled blocks and preserving the exact chapter formatting rules.CHAPTER_TITLE: Different (4)
An alley mouth stood blocked by a silver-haired woman.
Du-ho looked down at the fork embedded in the ground.
That had enough force to kill a person.
Then, just before he entered the Moru Workshop, he remembered the silver-haired woman humming a game of hide-and-seek as she chased after a man.
Chrrr.
Sensing danger, Du-ho had woven a mask from nanobots and covered his face.
He glanced sideways over his shoulder.
The man collapsed behind him was trembling.
-Du-ho nim! That woman’s no ordinary person, hamda!
Du-ho thought the same thing.
After all, the only thing he’d barely managed to deflect with nanobots was a fork.
Susan approached.
Click, click!
Her black boots struck the pavement with firm, deliberate steps.
“How amusing.”
Her voice was low and cold.
The corner of her mouth twisted upward.
Du-ho instinctively stepped back the same number of paces Susan advanced.
All the while, dragging the man with him.
Susan tilted her head slightly.
“Do you know that man?”
“No.”
Du-ho answered briefly.
“Then why are you wearing a mask and stopping me?”
“...Because you look dangerous in several ways.”
Susan smiled with her eyes.
“Are you pretending?”
“Pretending...? Pretending what?”
“To be good.”
She extended her hand.
Swoosh—.
The fork lying on the ground was sucked into her palm.
Du-ho’s eyes widened.
What the—?
Could she be using nanobots too?!
-Nope! That woman’s an psychokinesis-type awakened!
Psychokinesis?
That meant she could move any object she wanted.
Du-ho tucked everything in his arms into the Garage.
His unexpected move piqued Susan’s interest.
“That’s a first.”
Whirl, whirl—.
Susan spun the fork between her fingers.
Then she held out her hand again.
“You should have taken off the mask too.”
Nanobots were pulled toward Susan’s hand, stretching like mozzarella cheese.
But when Du-ho gave his head a slight twist, the nanobots flowed back to his face.
My, my.
“Are you a psychokinetic too?”
“......”
Du-ho shut his mouth.
Letting her misunderstand wasn’t so bad.
And...
Inside his head, Isto and Hoguai were making a complete racket.
-How dare she!
-She’s making moves on Du-ho nim!
-Humans really do need to be controlled!
-I’ll handle her, hamda!
-This Hoguai will put a hole clean through that woman’s head!
-Oi, Mr. Hoguai. The senpai’s saying he’ll finish this, imkka!
-You iron-head. Don’t go causing trouble.
-Agh!
“...Shut up!”
Du-ho’s abrupt shout rang out.
Susan shrugged and tightened her grip on the fork.
Ah-ha.
“So you want to talk with your bodies?”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
Just as Du-ho was rushing to explain himself, the man behind him bolted.
Huh?
Startled, Du-ho turned around...
Shwaaack—!
The fork came flying at him.
He reflexively sent nanobots to knock it aside.
Clang!
This time the fork sank into the wall.
Great.
So I’m blocking her attacks again, whether I mean to or not...
A smile spread across Susan’s lips.
“Fine. Let’s play.”
Click, click.
She came closer.
Swish, swish.
Du-ho stepped backward at the same time.
He thought he was simply retreating, but Susan’s expression changed when she watched his footwork.
“You... who are you?”
“I’m just someone uninvolved!”
“No, you’re involved enough.”
Susan pulled a small drone from her coat.
Then she sent several camera drones floating into the air.
Whoooom...
Using a hologram on her smart glasses, she generated a mask.
Her face now looked like that of a pretty cat.
What is she trying to do?
Wuuung... thunk—.
The fork lodged in the wall returned to Susan’s hand.
The cat-faced Susan spoke.
“Get into stance.”
“W-what stance!”
Snap!
With a flick of her wrist, her figure vanished, fork in hand.
Du-ho wrapped himself in nanobots from head to toe.
-Good call, hamda!
If Isto said that, then—
-Mechromancer-nim. Lower left!
Hoguai reported her position.
Du-ho backed away and concentrated the nanobots on his legs.
Susan’s fork drove toward Du-ho’s shin.
Clang!
Fortunately, his nanobots blocked it.
Swish.
Du-ho flowed into her reach like running water, trying to seize the hand that held the fork.
Susan slipped behind him in a blur and whispered into his ear.
“That’s interesting. You’re copying our family’s assassination art.”
What?!?
More startling than being taken from behind was what she said.
Our family’s assassination art?
No way...?
But there was no time to think.
Her assault had already begun to pour in.
Du-ho lowered his stance even further.
The basic assassination stance Isto had taught him.
At the same time, Susan took the same stance.
Hahaha~.
“It’s like we’re playing mirror games!”
Swoosh—!
The two moved at once.
Thud! Whack! Clang!
Fists and kicks crossed in rapid succession.
Because they were using the same assassination art, it was as if each could read the other’s next move.
When Du-ho aimed for her ribs, Susan had already left the space empty.
When she went for his throat, Du-ho had already ducked his head.
The exchange continued.
They climbed the wall, leapt from one building to another, dodged passing cars, and fought their way along the alley until eventually they returned to where they had started.
If there was one small mercy in all this...
If I hadn’t drunk the Elixir, I might have been dead already.
His nanobots had blocked most of her attacks.
But...
Du-ho was slowly being pushed back.
There was nothing for it. The difference in experience was too great.
That was when—
“You’re weaker than I expected.”
Susan said it as she used psychokinesis to seize Du-ho’s left leg.
At the very moment he thought he’d made a mistake, Du-ho wound his nanobots around the arm holding the fork.
Hahaha~.
For some reason she looked delighted, almost ecstatic.
“You, what are you, some hidden child of your father?”
“......”
That was a pretty lousy way to talk.
He was making his parents look bad.
Wham!
With one arm left to the nanobots, Susan stabbed the tip of her boot into Du-ho’s side.
The nanobots absorbed part of the impact, but—
Thud!
His back slammed into the wall, and she tore free of the nanobots.
She attacked again.
The fork thrust toward Du-ho’s eyes.
Wuuuuung—.
The nanobots burst out explosively.
Countless silver motes turned into spikes and rushed at Susan.
What───?!
Whirl, whirl, twirl—.
Susan twisted her body and retreated in a spinning step.
But—
Thuck—.
One sharp spike grazed her shoulder.
Blood welled up in a thin line.
“...That really is psychokinesis?!”
The attack had a bizarre trajectory, as though it carried its own will and could not be predicted.
She tucked the fork into a pocket and drew a dagger hidden at her thigh.
Her hostility sharpened.
Du-ho had already widened the distance between them.
...So she’d been taking it easy on me until now.
Susan reversed her grip on the dagger and began pressing him hard.
Clang! Whack! Clang!
The dagger and the nanobots collided ferociously.
Du-ho’s steps were driven steadily backward.
The air seemed to ripple, and Isto’s voice rang in his head.
-Du-ho nim! I’ll handle her, hamda!
Don’t come out!
-Huh?
If you came out...
That woman would almost certainly die too.
But that didn’t mean he intended to keep taking this lying down.
He’d just respond with the most suitable method.
Hoguai! Can you do suppressive fire?
At Du-ho’s question, the invisible Hoguai emerged from the Garage.
* * *
On the rooftop ledge.
Clack—.
Hoguai climbed the wall and took position on the roof.
The scope blinked as it swept below.
In the alley, the silver-haired woman was pressing Du-ho hard.
Her voice carried upward.
“If you don’t want to die, reveal who you are!”
Clang! Whack! Clang!
The dagger and the nanobot shield spinning violently around Du-ho’s body collided without pause.
Du-ho’s steps were being forced back.
Maximum pressure.
From the rooftop, Hoguai’s bow aimed downward.
Shhhhh.
Blue light gathered along the bowstring.
The scope locked precisely onto Susan’s head.
-Mechromancer-nim. I will neutralize the female target.
Du-ho flinched.
...Don’t shoot!
-But tactically, eliminating her would—
I said just threaten her!
-......
At Du-ho’s order, Hoguai fell silent.
Then—
-...I will switch to warning fire.
Shwaaaeeeek────.
Blue light flew from the bowstring.
The blue arrow missed Susan’s toes by a hair.
BOOM!
The pavement exploded, scattering debris.
In an instant, smoke billowed around them.
Huh?!
Startled, Susan leapt backward.
“A... a sniper?!”
She looked up at the rooftop.
But she couldn’t feel any presence.
Shwaaaeeek—!
Another shot came in.
Even brighter than the last.
Whack! BOOM!
Susan stumbled back even farther.
Crash!
Light struck the ground again.
To her surprise, the point of impact had shifted.
It was deliberate—an attempt to prevent her from pinning down the shooter’s location.
Susan stared at Du-ho.
That man...
What kind of person was he?
He’d brought a sniper with him?
More than anything else, the fact that she hadn’t sensed the sniper’s presence sent a chill down her spine for the first time.
He could have killed me whenever he wanted?
Susan withdrew her drones.
Then she looked at Du-ho again.
He was breathing hard.
A smile spread across Susan’s lips.
Hmm~.
“What’s your name?”
“......”
When Du-ho remained silent, Susan shrugged.
“Finding out little by little should be fun too.”
She slipped the dagger into her thigh holster.
“I’m heading back for today. Ah! And get a little stronger, okay? It’d be a pity if I could kill you too easily when we meet again.”
With that, she vanished.
Silence settled over the alley.
Du-ho stood frozen in place.
His muscles ached from being pushed to the limit.
Then he collapsed to the ground.
Ugh...
“Thank goodness.”
Hoguai climbed down the wall and stopped in front of Du-ho.
The scope blinked once.
“...You saved me. Thanks.”
-It was simply the execution of my duty.
That sounded dependable enough...
-It is only regrettable that a human was allowed to live.
Right.
That was so very Robot Liberation Front of him.
Du-ho let out a laugh through his nose.
Then Isto came out from the Garage.
-Du-ho nim! Why did you stop me, imkka!
Hoguai aimed his scope at Isto.
-Iron-head, if you had come out, you would have only added chaos to the battlefield. You are an annoying variable.
-What?! What’s this long-neck saying, hamda!
Watching the two bicker, Du-ho finally started to calm down.
Honestly, he’d been terrified.
...What do you mean Blood Soo, for heaven’s sake.
-Exactly, hamda. Who was she trying to assassinate?
“I don’t know. And I don’t want to know.”
The important thing was that he’d survived.
And...
The man got away safely, right?
As Du-ho got to his feet, Isto approached.
Without saying a word, Isto took Du-ho’s right arm.
“What are you doing?”
-It’ll hurt a little, hamda.
“...?”
Mana surged up Du-ho’s arm like electricity, racing through it from Isto’s hand.
Crackle!
A tiny spark popped, and something minuscule was forced out from his forearm before burning away.
Ow, that stings.
Staring at his arm, Du-ho’s eyes went round.
“What is this?”
How dare she!
-She planted a micro-tracker in Du-ho nim!
Ugh...
That woman.
When did she plant this?
In other words, she had been more than capable of killing him all along.
And yet why had she backed off so easily?
“...Because she planted a tracker.”
She could have found him at any time.
Wait a second...
Then what about that man from earlier?
* * *
Susan checked the map on her smart glasses.
Among the two markers, the red one was moving.
He didn’t get very far.
Some back alley.
Huff, huff.
The junkie panted for breath.
I lived... I’m alive!
Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, Susan came walking toward him, fork in hand.
“Hide and seek, hide and seek, or I’ll find you by your hair.”
Eek, eeek!
The junkie’s jaw trembled violently.
.
.
.
A little later.
Susan slipped into a less-traveled spot and pressed a hand to her shoulder.
Nanobot fragments had grazed her, and blood was seeping out through the rent in her coat.
“...Been a while since I got cut.”
She connected a call through her smart glasses.
-Hey, Susan. You haven’t gotten into trouble already, have you?
“There was trouble, yes. A junkie came up to me.”
-Oof. Then whoever that was is dead now, I’m sure.
Susan changed the subject.
“I met an interesting man. He used the exact same assassination art as I do.”
-What? What are you talking about—
Jacob’s startled voice crackled through the line.
She went on.
“Though once I fought him, it felt more like a variation of our family’s assassination art.”
-Not the same thing?
“No. He’s developed it further.”
-That makes no sense.
“It doesn’t make sense, but I experienced it myself.”
-What about him? What happened to the bastard?
“The difference in strength is still obvious, so I was going to catch him and ask how he did it...”
Susan trailed off and brushed her rumpled bangs back.
“But I had to retreat because of the sniper.”
For a moment, silence fell.
No, wait—
-Sniper? What are you talking about now?
“A professional sniper was escorting the man. Don’t worry. I planted a tracker on him, so I can go find him later and...”
As she said that, she looked at the map through her smart glasses.
The blue marker had gone dark.
“......!”
For a moment Susan looked stunned, then laughed weakly.
How did he notice?
Ha...
The Ghost of the Abyss.
What a crazy bastard, blocking his personal information.
And now that copycat from earlier too.
“Jacob.”
-Y-yeah?
“Yeouido is a surprisingly interesting city.”
Expectation bloomed in Susan’s amber eyes.