Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Face Collector
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A bold roar was followed by groans of agony.
“Urghhh...”
Jin staggered violently.
His vision had spun dizzily for a moment.
He wiped the damp feeling from his jaw—his palm came away bright red. His middle finger was still missing amid it all.
It had flown off more than two knuckles' worth, abruptly shortened. Even the ragged cross-section was visible, exposing shattered bone and pale nerves.
Ah, shouldn't have looked.
Humans tend to feel even greater pain from wounds they've observed.
Ignorance is bliss, after all.
Now that he'd confirmed it with his own eyes, the discomfort, pain, and irritation were only natural—and would linger.
“Shit...”
Resigned to tears, Jin began assessing his body's condition.
Somehow, from head to toe, there wasn't a single spot left intact.
His scalp dangled loosely at the back of his head.
Both arms barely moved half their normal range.
And his left ankle had twisted wildly on its own.
He didn't bother lifting his clothes to check underneath.
The exposed damage alone made him a walking general hospital.
Even worse, recovery wasn't going well at all.
Not even the bleeding had properly stopped.
It was only natural.
An Irregular's reconstruction was top-tier healing ability worthy of the superpower label, but it wasn't omnipotent.
Rebuilding body parts that couldn't recover on their own.
Easy to say.
But it was a process that consumed an enormous amount of energy.
Constant maintenance was, naturally, impossible.
On top of that, he'd pushed the regeneration speed to the limit to continue fighting.
That was why his milky, cooked eyeball and nerves had regenerated so quickly.
Having put out the urgent fires, his body was now declaring a work stoppage to save itself.
Of course, Jin had no idea about any of this.
He just figured the pain would drag on a bit.
With that simple conclusion, he staggered down from dead Taha's back.
The surrounding environment naturally came into view.
“...Does this even make sense?”
Jin muttered in disbelief.
Anyone would react the same.
If they witnessed the horror unfolding beneath the hazy moonlight.
Hundreds of corpses torn to shreds.
No civilians among them.
All were battle-hardened mercenaries stuffed to the brim with combat experience.
Did any of them ever imagine their final moments would be mutual destruction with the boss they trusted and followed?
Of course not.
Not even the very perpetrator who orchestrated this massacre.
Jin's gaze fell on the fallen Taha.
Even charred black, the dignified, mane-adorned head was etched into his gray pupils.
If this were a worldline where he hadn't been gripped by madness, he never would have met this end.
Of course, it was a meaningless thought.
Jin turned his head.
He'd seen enough. Time to hurry back to the others.
And so, as he dragged his aching leg and limped along...
Thud.
Something hit the ground.
From behind him.
Just that sound alone sent chills racing up his nape.
“......”
In the suddenly chilled air, Jin's head tilted slowly backward.
A large figure cloaked in an oversized coat stood where his gaze landed.
Its body was excessively bloated, bulging unevenly.
Protrusions like humps strained against the fabric, as if about to burst through—each bearing facial features.
Faces. Faces.
A being that harbored countless faces, yet hid its own within the deep shadows of its hood, bent one knee.
A dry hand then slowly grasped the dead lion's face.
Crack, crack...
An eerie sound of skin tearing.
The next moment, the figure rose, clutching Taha's face—no, lion mask—perfectly severed from the bone in a way hard to believe.
It lifted the limp skin to face height and cocked its head.
From the pitch-black, circular shadow where nothing was visible came a voice like scraping steel.
“Strange? You weren't supposed to die here... Hey, hey?”
The dead head, naturally, didn't answer.
The one-sided mutter continued.
“You were supposed to become the vessel. The wall-breaking couldn't come soon enough, so why end up barbecued? Hm?”
Its head tilted right, then left.
Leaving a gesture of utter confusion, the face turned sideways.
“Was it you?”
Jin scowled fiercely in response.
“Why, got a problem?”
He shot back boldly, but alarms were blaring wildly in his head.
That's the guy.
Face appraiser?
Face hunter?
Whatever—that one!
The high-risk criminal Colonel John Harrison was pursuing. The shadowy figure suspected of aiding Taha in this civil war.
Jin swallowed his saliva carefully, in bits.
Gulping it all at once might make his bobbing Adam's apple scream, “He's tense!”
Not scared, absolutely.
Just couldn't fight in this state.
Mana depleted, limbs unresponsive.
So Jin racked his brain for a way out.
What to do? Claim I'm buddies with Zahard family head?
Tch. Too ridiculous?
Sell out Rocan then?
Wait, is he even famous?
What if the name value flops.
As Jin frantically spun his thoughts without changing expression...
“A problem? A bit. The plan's gone awry.”
“What plan?”
Jin tossed the question casually, despite not really caring.
Just buying time.
He hadn't expected an answer.
But the other kept talking.
“Collecting the heads of Kasdruba'el.”
“Kas... Kas. Hold on, slow down a sec.”
“Kasdruba'el.”
“...Anyway, what's that?”
Jin furrowed his brows.
This time, genuine curiosity—not a stall tactic.
Kasdruba'el.
The hard-to-pronounce word Taha, in the throes of madness, had wailed to his very last breath.
The answer came swiftly.
“The King of Beasts who ruled the Age of Light and Roses. How magnificent. The pinnacle of an extinct ancient race, the first existence, father of all beastmen...!!”
The tone rose with each word.
No expression visible, but it was clearly excited.
An utterly repulsive sight to Jin.
“Age of Light and Roses? Why hunt beastmen from back then now? That guy's name is Taha. Taha.”
He jabbed a finger at the wrinkled lion skin.
But the face collector ignored him, too busy gesticulating wildly with an inflamed voice to continue.
“I need rare faces. Legendary faces etched in history. Imagine the thrill of wearing one. Ah. Aaaah!”
It shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning.
In that parched climax, Jin stepped back with a shit-faced grimace.
Crazy fucker?
Never guessed the hobby was flipping peeled face skins over his head.
Criminals stay criminals for a reason.
Disgust welled up faintly, along with a flashing doubt in his mind.
...But shouldn't backup show by now?
As Jin flicked his eyes side to side...
The face collector muttered, excitement fading.
“Madness-gripped beastmen rank 3 or higher...... Not easy. Thought this one would work for sure.”
It slowly raised its head.
“No helping it. Guess I'll settle for your face.”
Then it spread its bony palm wide.
“Urk!”
A bizarre suction yanked his body forward. Jin leaned back with all his might to resist.
“Wait! I still! Have questions! Let's talk more!”
His heels naturally lifted, scraping the ground with a screech.
As he was helplessly dragged, Jin raised his veins toward the sky.
“Civil servant, earn your damn tax money!”
That was when it happened.
The air rippled massively in an instant.
A low voice pierced his ear right after.
Strange attracting force pulled his body. Jin arched his upper body back desperately to fight it.
His soles naturally lifted, heels grinding against the ground with a long screech.
Helplessly dragged along, Jin thrust his finger skyward, bulging veins.
“If you're a civil servant, earn your tax dollars!”
Right then.
The air trembled sharply for a split second.
Immediately after, a low voice drilled into his ear.
[Gravity]
Boom!!
The space beneath the face collector's feet caved in roundly.
At the same time, projectiles flew in from all directions, embedding around him in a perfect square with sharp cracks!
They weren't misses.
Cross-shaped seams appeared on the slender cylindrical surfaces, and the split shells clicked down against the ground. From within, lightning rod-like spikes unleashed blinding white bolts without restraint.
Crackle-crackle-crack!!
The face collector was instantly trapped in a box of crackling electricity.
But that wasn't the end.
Snap!
The finger snap warped the air currents.
The wind began spinning clockwise in a whirl, soon becoming a visible vortex that swallowed the face collector whole.
Finally freed from the pull, Jin fell flat on his ass.
“Oof!”
A voice came from behind his shoulder.
“Tax-dodging loudmouth.”
He spotted military boots halting beside him. Looking up, Jin let out a hollow chuckle.
“Booze even in this mess?”
“A man's gotta stay consistent.”
Colonel John Harrison smirked, blowing a tune on the bottle in his hand.
Q had appeared at his side before he knew it.
“All Law Enforcers assembled. Target 'Face Collector' secured.”
“Finally crossed paths again, you damn multiface freak. Let's end this today.”
As the colonel spoke...
Jin glanced toward where the projectiles had come from.
Harbor-side building rooftops came into view one by one.
Sniper positions held somewhere out of sight.
Not a timely rescue, but right on schedule. At that meticulous timing, Jin shook his head.
“Kuhahahaang!!!”
A familiar roar echoed from within the vortex. Jin flinched.
Phase 4 already?
That instant, a boom!!! rocked the ground as the lightning rods shattered in unison.
Simultaneously, something massive burst through the gale into the sky.
The Face Collector.
Jin wasn't too shocked yet, but when the face in the hood looked down at the ground and revealed itself as a white lion, his eyes went wide.
But the colonel and Q remained unfazed, as if fully anticipated.
“Puts it to use right away.”
“Sure does.”
Meanwhile, the Face Collector—hands clasped behind its head—plummeted straight down, swinging its arms.
Boom!!!
The ground flipped like a bomb had detonated.
But the colonel and Q had already relocated. Q released Jin's collar.
“Skip the thanks.”
Jin coughed, wearing an incredulous look as his throat was freed.
The Face Collector, now wearing Taha's face, raised its head.
“Don't you ever get tired? About time to give up.”
Even its voice had changed to match. At the grotesque sight, Jin's eyebrow twitched.
Meanwhile, he forcibly straightened his fractured left ankle.
Pain enough to make his hair stand on end, but this sped recovery.
Emergency fix done, he snapped to face front!
Another face awaited there.
Q spoke at the sight of the stern-jawed man.
“No. 22 Sandman. Attribute rounds ready.”
Sniper fire poured in from all sides right on cue.
Pierced sections of the Face Collector's body crumbled wetly like a sandcastle swept by waves. It laughed in amusement.
“Hahaha! You know everything.”
“Damn right. Been years.”
The colonel tossed his bottle aside.
Crash! The shards rode an incoming gust skyward and vanished far away.
The colonel's foot lifted from the ground, gale swirling around it. The Face Collector twisted its lips.
“Aerokinesis. An ability I've always wanted.”
“Try and take it.”
The next moment.
Without warning who struck first, the two charged, unleashing a massive shockwave.
Q dashed straight in, while unseen support fire rained nonstop.
Jin, meanwhile, was utterly lost.
Hold up—I'm the patient!
Body already wrecked, stuck in the epicenter of shrieking air combat—nausea threatened to overwhelm him.
Another shockwave bang!
Rolling this way.
That way.
In the total chaos, as Jin desperately clung to a dead Beast soldier's pant leg...
「(Sudden!) (???) Face Collector」
???? Multiface (多面者) ?????
Defeat the Face Collector alongside the Law Enforcers.
??? ??? ?????
🎁 Reward: Perk XP 150,000 / ???
Jin flipped off the window with his mangled middle finger.
Yeah, hard pass.