Chapter 368
Chapter 368
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 368
Chapter Title: Gutter Rat (3)
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1.
Ruining the apprentice witch completely to vent his pent-up rage against witches.
And, as a bonus, satisfying his lust in the process.
If he had to name the operation that pierced the heart of this plan...
It would be the Water Ghost Operation.
Jack didn't rate the success of this operation highly.
No matter how weak Border Town was as a gathering place for minor witches, they were still witches.
Besides, no one knew how much the apprentice witch would resist or if she'd follow the plan.
So, when the targeted apprentice witch wandered alone near the sparsely populated hideout, Jack immediately sensed it was the perfect moment.
He had no doubt that heaven itself was aiding him in making this plan succeed today.
But just as he pinned down the apprentice witch and was about to pen the first page of his grand tale of revenge, the warehouse door suddenly swung open.
The moment he sighed in despair, everything turning to naught...
A voice rang out.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Jack inwardly cheered.
If that idiot had locked the door properly, it would've taken serious equipment to break the sturdy padlock.
Yet this guy had smashed it open effortlessly and forced his way through the warehouse door, which was tough even for one person to budge.
Naturally, Jack assumed he was a witch.
But no—a man.
And they had nine against one.
If he was just some clueless moron wandering in, they could kill him, no problem.
"Mmph...! Mmmph...!"
"Who's this guy? It's that eyepatch freak from before."
Jack turned and felt a vague sense of familiarity.
The decent-looking face wasn't memorable, but that eyepatch—he definitely remembered it.
They'd bumped shoulders once and gotten into it.
"What, came here alone to play hero in your own movie?"
Jack immediately signaled his underlings with his eyes.
From the previous clash, the guy hadn't flinched at all, so he must be confident in a fight.
Normally, Jack would've stomped him slowly until he knew his place, but right now, they needed to eliminate variables fast.
They already had a manual for sudden interruptions like this.
The three slaves who caught the signal each drew Beretta M9s fitted with suppressors from their pockets.
Hard-won gear originally used by mid-level overseers.
Useless against witches, but against humans, the perfect killing tool.
"Say bye, asshole."
-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The moment the triggers were pulled, 9mm Parabellum rounds would fly faster than sound, piercing fragile skin and organs.
Already well within engagement range.
Firing three or four shots each, even idiots should land at least one.
As the suppressed shots—not fully silenced—echoed through the warehouse, Diana's body twitched with each one.
"What now? Your knight in shining armor's fucked."
Jack sneered, and Diana's face drained of color even more.
Even if he was a male witch, could he block bullets drawn so suddenly?
He was a total newbie, freshly turned witch without even a stigma.
"Ah... aaaah...!"
As Diana let out a scream close to despair...
Something no one expected happened.
"What?"
"We shot him?"
"Did we miss...?"
The man who should've collapsed in a spray of blood was standing there unscathed.
No flashy dodges reading the gun barrels, no closing distance in a blink to disarm like in an action flick.
He just stood there, not twitching a finger, looking utterly unfazed—as if the bullets had passed right through.
"You fucking idiots can't hit at that range?"
"Shoot again!"
-Bang! Bang-bang! Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
The three hurriedly emptied their magazines, but the result was the same.
Like they'd been bewitched by a fox spirit.
Only Jack vaguely caught what happened.
A ribbon sprouting from the man's waist unnoticed.
Like seaweed swaying under the water's surface, the drifting ribbon batting away the bullets.
The slaves spotted the ribbon too late and panicked.
"Th-that's magic, right?"
"What the fuck? How's a guy using magic...!"
When the lazily fluttering black ribbon stiffened like a venomous snake rearing to strike...
Jack yelled.
"Dodge!"
"Wh-what... gahk...!"
The ribbon surged toward the one who'd drawn his gun.
At the same time, another slave shot into the air like a stuntman on wires...
-Crunch!
His waist folded backward over a solid iron pillar before he dropped limply.
"Guh... guhk... guh... "
Foamy blood bubbled from his mouth, limbs convulsing—he'd be lucky to walk again, even if he survived.
-Whoosh! Thwack!
-Whoosh! Thwack!
The same thing happened again.
Black ribbon whipping at eye-blurring speed, sending two more slaves flying.
"You guys need a beating."
As they tumbled like paper dolls, the man charged first this time.
"Huh? Wha?"
A ferocious low kick slammed into the piggish man fumbling for his knife against the wind-like rush.
"Gweeek!"
His knee joint snapped sideways, the 140kg brute spinning half-turn before face-planting.
"Grahk!"
A casual backhand with his knuckles shattered the buff bald guy's jaw, broken teeth scattering.
Jack couldn't believe it, even seeing it.
Since childhood, his post-meal routine was brawling.
Not petty fistfights, but brutal knife fights where you killed or were killed.
Guys bragging about martial arts or mafia enforcer creds were useless against Jack's blade.
But this kind of fight? First time.
How could a mere human unleash that power?
Well, deflecting bullets already marked him inhuman, but he'd vanish in a flash, reappear, and bam—another underling crippled.
Exactly eight screams later, the warehouse held only low groans.
"Let her go."
Siu glared at Jack, not a breath ragged as he sorted the twitching mess.
Jack snapped to, realizing he'd instinctively pressed a knife to the apprentice witch's throat.
Hostage, after sensing the man wanted to save her.
At the same time, a bottomless dread hit him.
If the guy's feats came from weapons, he could've bluffed disarmament, then gutted him.
But bare-handed? Hostage play only bought time.
"One twitch, and I carve her up."
"Hic... hiiik..."
"Miss Diana, it's okay. Nothing'll happen. Trust me."
Diana stilled her struggles at his calm voice, nodding meekly, seemingly swayed.
Jack burned with rage at the sight.
He'd finally gotten his revenge.
After being dragged to this shithole Gehenna and treated like a dog, payback was at hand.
One step away, foiled by this trash.
"F-fuck..."
"Drop the knife and let her go."
"Fuck off, you bitch."
Only one play left.
Last desperate thrash.
Couldn't pay back fully, but killing the witch finished half the revenge.
Jack didn't hesitate, thrusting the knife at Diana's throat.
He'd done it dozens of times.
Blind, he knew: straight through the carotid.
Ripping trachea and esophagus, shattering cervical vertebrae—a human kill spot.
But.
No hot blood flowed over his arm gripping her tight.
No foamy death rattle.
A thin membrane blocked the blade from her throat.
Jack panicked, looking at Siu.
His rage-twisted face.
"Thanks. For being even more of a piece of shit than I thought."
And.
The black ribbon shot out in a blink, curving around Diana to pierce Jack's chest effortlessly.
2.
"Urk...! Urgh...! Urgh...!"
"Are you okay? Sorry... I looked away for a second..."
From the moment Jack flew, Siu rushed to Diana, wrapping her in his arms.
Diana clung to him desperately, like a suckling young seeking milk.
Her body trembled like aspen leaves.
Stains from rolling on the filthy floor.
Siu ground his teeth again.
Good thing he'd secretly tied a single thread of the ribbon to her when she bolted; any later, and disaster.
"Hic... hu-hu-hic... hic..."
Diana, barely speaking, clutched his collar and wept as if the world had ended.
"It's okay now. I beat the shit out of those bastards."
Diana, shaking in his arms, regained some reason from his gentle voice and warmth.
Conviction she was safe.
"Sorry, it's all my fault..."
"Uu... uu..."
Diana shook her head, sniffling.
True, unimaginable horror nearly happened, but Siu had swooped in like the wind to save her.
Her head fogged like frost-covered glass, but no blame for him.
After soothing Diana awhile, Jack stirred before Siu, writhing.
Amazed he moved after vomiting a bowl's worth of blood.
"Y-you fuck... ing... prick..."
Even soft-hearted Siu wouldn't spare a death-row inmate trying to kidnap and rape an apprentice witch.
His accomplices? Crippled one limb each.
The ringleader skinhead? Ribbon through the chest.
But Jack twisted at the last second, dodging fatality.
Grazed underarm, brief blackout—that was it.
Escape and report to city hall? They'd all hang or fuel magic experiments.
Yet Siu eyed Jack mercilessly.
Contempt without a shred of pity.
"Filthy witch errand boy..."
He ignored the mutter.
Not worth the neurons.
Turning from the wriggling trash, he told Diana,
"I'll get you out first. I'll handle cleanup."
"......"
He scooped her into a princess carry with her slight nod.
"Cough...!"
Jack tracked their backs with bloodshot eyes.
Then clenched the round orb from his pocket.
Artifact from the Witch of Desire, along with that headband.
Smash as last resort, no usage details given.
Jack wasn't stupid.
No way a public enemy handed slaves powerful magic items for free.
Shattering this ominous black orb? Nothing good for him.
But.
Better last flail than die helpless.
"We all... go down... together..."
With a terrorist's resolve, Jack hurled the black glass orb to the floor with all his might.
-Shoooo!
Amid shattering glass, black smoke billowed mercilessly.
Like a ghost, it zipped around the warehouse, engulfing crippled underlings.
First, the pigman faking death—smoke seeped into nose and mouth.
"Wh-what...! Get away!"
His last words.
Like inhaling sarin gas, he vomited, convulsed—smoke leaked back out.
In a blink, it claimed all minions, then turned to Jack.
A acrid exhaust-like sensation as he inhaled.
His body shuddered violently.
Is this death?
No.
Jack realized he lived as time passed.
Wounds healed.
Blazing battle-lust filled his heart; inhuman overwhelming power wrapped his body.
His thug eyes turned red, new ones sprouting on arms—total 17.
Coincidentally matching the 'Drowned Witch' that once pushed Siu to death's door.
But now was different.
"Ho... homunculus..."
"Stay back, miss."
Siu shoved Diana behind him.
"Bloom."
⟨ Shadowweave Armor ⟩
With the incantation, black armor woven from shadows enveloped Siu's entire body.
