Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 043
Chapter Title: The Night Has Come. The Mafia... #3
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043 – The Night Has Come. The Mafia... #3
043 – The Night Has Come. The Mafia... #3
“Crushing Blow!”
Colonel Rose swung her massive hammer with all her might.
Claaang-!
The Erdarri's body reeled heavily from the impact.
“—You muscle-headed Lendo bitch!!!”
The Erdarri wench ground her teeth in fury.
Colonel Rose was a sturdy iron wall in her own right.
But I couldn't just sit back and relax.
“Hand over that satchel!”
A man clutching a massive anchor reached out for me.
Baturi yelled at the anchor-wielding man.
“Gillingham! Don't tell me you're in league with the Erdarri like Conse was?”
‘Conse’ was probably one of the patrolmen's names.
Kekeke—Gillingham laughed.
“If that idiot Conse had just done his job right, this would've been a hell of a lot easier. Patrolmen are fucking useless, every last one.”
“Why the hell would you side with filthy Erdarri scum?!”
The weasel fumed.
Gillingham sneered at him.
“You'd get it if you'd ever rolled around with an Erdarri wench yourselves. That skin texture... human women just can't compare anymore—.”
“Judgment upon this filthy demon adulterer!”
Old Mancha the knight aspirant gripped his spear and charged at Gillingham.
“Die, you fucker!”
Chaos erupted soon after, and in this mess where I couldn't trust anyone, I decided to protect this ‘Black Satchel’ as best I could.
‘I have no idea what's inside it.’
‘But since the Erdarri want it, it's gotta be some evil demon shit!’
It was an item that could turn this command post upside down.
And it was in my hands!
“Fuck! These annoying Lendo bastards!”
Then the Erdarri wench shrieked.
She must've been struggling against Instructor Rose.
“Suuuhaaa—.”
She heaved her shoulders and sucked in a deep breath.
“Kaaaaaaa—!”
It was a thunderous roar.
Everyone around had to clap their hands over their ears, and the next moment, something horrific happened.
“Ailey, struggling against a single Lendo?”
“How pathetic.”
Blood-smeared Erdarri converged on the collapsed barracks from all sides.
The demon bitch had cowardly called for reinforcements.
“Instructor, we'll fight alongside you!”
Mancha boldly shouted amid the dire situation.
But Instructor Rose thought differently.
“No, all of you, run!”
A grim resolve flickered in Instructor Rose's eyes.
“I'll hold them here.”
She looked just like Lieutenant General Raiden.
He'd worn the same expression right before charging at that massive dragon skeleton.
‘She's prepared to die.’
Instructor Rose was truly an exemplary soldier.
The problem was, if we stayed, she'd be chopped to pieces in no time, and then the Erdarri would rampage everywhere, killing us all.
Was there some clever way out?
Think, brain, think!
Flash—.
It hit me!
A great idea!
“Hey, you dumb Shando fuckers! Isn't this Black Satchel what you're after?”
If I could just draw off a few Erdarri, it'd lighten the load on Instructor Rose!
I hoisted the satchel and grabbed their attention.
“Ailey, what the hell are you doing?”
“Lost the satchel.”
“Deal with her later—kill the bitch in front of us first.”
The Erdarri clicked their tongues.
But not all their focus was on me.
Not even the satchel?
Fine, there's still a way.
“You lot! Don't you want this? It's the treasure Ballara had!”
The moment I pulled out the bone key, the air seemed to freeze.
Every Erdarri turned to stare at me.
“…….”
“…….”
“...”.
Their expressions were chilling.
‘Time to really bolt!’
My legs moved before my brain could catch up.
I could vividly hear the Erdarri's panting breaths chasing me from behind.
“Gotcha, you fucker!”
“Urk-!”
Someone grabbed my nape.
Fuck, already caught up to my speed?
The bastard, face red with rage, stabbed a knife into my gut.
“Hand over the Key to Ascension!”
“Urghaaack!”
Squelch—.
It felt like a burning lump of fire stabbing into my belly.
My senses sharpened instantly.
If I stayed like this, I might die!
With that thought, I opened the ‘Black Satchel’ right in front of the guy's eyes.
“Hehe, wonder what'll happen if I open this...!”
“You crazy bastard, what are you—.”
The Erdarri panicked hard.
But nothing happened.
Because the ‘Black Satchel’ I'd just opened was actually my own bag that I'd been carrying from the start.
Switched 'em out.
They look exactly the same, both black satchels.
“Don't believe your eyes—never heard that one?”
“Wha—.”
It was more than enough time to exploit the opening.
I seized the moment of his confusion and plunged my dagger into his gut.
“Die!”
“Gaaack—!?”
A fine golden pillar dagger it was.
It pierced straight through his armor and out his back.
“Guh, guhaa...!? You fucking dog...!”
The Erdarri dropped to his knees.
For a normal person, it would've been a killing blow, but he was still alive—impressive.
“Chase him!”
“Get back the Key to Ascension!”
“Fuck, no time to bask in the moment.”
I yanked the knife from my gut and bolted.
Where to?
No clue.
But I had to go somewhere.
Anywhere, as long as I dragged these Erdarri with me.
‘...What the hell am I even doing right now?’
My gut hurt, and my breath came in ragged gasps.
In my haze, deep regret washed over me for what I was doing.
Should've just withdrawn at the start.
Then I wouldn't be hurting like this.
But!
If I hadn't been here, the traitors starting with that patrolman would've used this ‘Black Satchel’ to wreck the command post.
And that could've put the Great Wall where I was in danger too.
‘Think positive.’
‘That stunt just now probably won a lot of hearts.’
‘I saved Instructor Rose too.’
Who knows? If this all ends well, maybe Instructor Rose will give me another kiss on the cheek.
‘Being a thief who steals hearts...’
‘It's fucking hard!’
From now on, no more showing off—take care of my body first.
“Blood trail!”
“After him!”
“This guy's got the same stench as that Shando!”
I dodged the pursuing Erdarri by weaving through narrow corners.
Then, as I navigated the tight alleys, an Erdarri wench appeared ahead.
‘Demons front and back!’
‘Is my luck tapped out?’
Maybe from the heavy bleeding, but my vision swam dizzily.
The Erdarri wench smirked at me.
“You, you've got some tough life in you. Finding me, your beacon, in this chaos.”
“Huh?”
A familiar voice.
Before I could place it, the Erdarri wench spoke.
“Get down.”
“Eek—.”
Some strange power in her voice buckled my legs.
Soon, flames erupted from the hand of the Erdarri wench holding the lantern.
“Burn.”
Whoosh, fwoosh—.
The flames lunged like wild beasts, engulfing the Erdarri behind me.
What the hell was going on?
The burning Erdarri seemed just as baffled.
“Nineveh!”
“Nineveh, why are you here—?!”
After that, only screams.
The flames burrowing into flesh made even demons wail.
“Better nip any climbing sprouts in the bud.”
...Do Erdarri hate each other too?
The intense heat made my vision spin.
I opened my eyes in bed.
Someone was slumped asleep beside me, and the sight of that lush red hair snapped me awake.
“Instructor Rose?”
“Mmm, wha? Oh! Pretty boy! You're awake!”
Her voice was as booming as ever.
As my head throbbed, Instructor Rose pulled me into a shoulder hug and planted a kiss on my cheek.
Mmwahhh—.
“Thanks to you, I survived! You're this class's lucky charm!”
Not even Mom ever kissed me like that.
Felt damn good!
“But Instructor, there's something weird between my legs.”
“Oh, that? The medic circumcised you.”
?????
Her explanation left my mind blank for a moment.
She patted my back.
“And pretty boy, I'm heading to the new Black Citadel starting today.”
“Black Citadel?”
“Yeah, to block the Erdarri—as Lieutenant General Raiden's successor.”
“I'll miss you for real, Instructor.”
“If you ever pass by the citadel, come to my quarters. Hmm... bringing a bottle of the strong stuff would be even better!”
Instructor Rose slapped my back—thwack.
“See ya later, Lieutenant Yor!”
Then she turned and walked away.
At that moment, a bell dinged in my head.
‘Come to her quarters with booze?’
‘First time a woman's ever invited me for drinks!’
This had to mean something big, right?
I got up, thrilled.
Outside the hospital, a crowd had gathered.
Familiar faces.
“Bro! You're alive! Hiya, tough as nails! I, the weasel, give you my full respect!”
The weasel rushed over, making a fuss.
Soon the rat held out something like a medal.
“This... commissioning ceremony, you were laid up, so I got it for you. Rat... Perry said to. Your rank insignia and the medal that came down.”
“What? Commissioning ceremony's already over?”
“Yeah, wrapped up yesterday! Lined us up for 10 hours of attention—at ease, ugh, you passed out so you skipped it—lucky bastard!”
The weasel joked around.
Baturi chimed in.
“Even after, the interrogators were a total pain. Would've been nice if I'd been laid up too.”
While I was out, all the annoying crap passed me by.
Lucky me.
Zuzuzuzu—the cicadas screamed in the sweltering summer heat.
Just thinking about standing in the blazing sun doing right face, left face made me nauseous.
“Hey, Yor!”
Then I spotted a familiar guy in the distance.
His slicked-back hair was a welcome sight.
“Felix! What brings you here?!”
“Came to fetch you. Gotta hurry back. Main base is in an uproar.”
“Uproar? What kind?”
“Can't say here.”
Felix glanced at Baturi, the rat, and the weasel.
Must be serious.
‘What the hell uproar is he talking about?’
I was curious.
But the news I really wanted was something else!
“So, guys, what rank did I graduate?”
Please be top 5!
Honestly, I had high hopes.
‘Cause my exploits were badass, right?’
‘Maybe even first place!’
Perfect chance to brag to Felix!
Whoosh—.
The breeze cooled my sweat.
It was summer.