I'll Give You a Gift
Chief Butler Ju found himself at a disadvantage the moment the Captain activated his superpower.
Whoosh!
The Captain raised his hand and pointed a finger at the butler. A beam lanced from his fingertip.
Boom!
Chief Butler Ju canceled it out with his internal energy, yet the force still drove him skidding backward.
This was an attack of an entirely different caliber from the clumsy martial arts the man had been attempting earlier—the kind of power that made it clear why the Captain was SSS-class.
"Hahaha! Can't even handle the might of this body's Finger Beam Divine Art!"
Had Jeong-Hoon been present, he would have immediately called out the ridiculous name. The butler settled for a deep frown instead. He had no leisure to play along with the man's jokes.
If he went all out he might find a way through, but full power risked bringing Lumen itself down around them. Worse, the Captain understood his own ability perfectly. He never closed the distance, keeping just enough space while firing beams again and again.
This was nothing like the earlier performance, when the man had thrown around half-baked martial arts as though he had never seen real combat. Against an opponent of equal rank, a war of attrition to force him past his limits was impossible.
No other choice.
Chief Butler Ju steeled himself and drew up not martial arts, but his superpower.
Whoosh!
Seeing the butler gather power, the Captain fired again. This time Ju took the beam on his body rather than his energy and advanced one step at a time.
Sizzle!!!
Protected by his physical-enhancement ability, the butler's body glowed cherry-red. Smoke began to rise from the tailcoat that the family's techniques had rendered nearly unbreakable and fireproof.
"You bastard—don't tell me—!!!"
"I'm not young enough for a greenhorn like you to call me 'bastard'!"
In the Captain's startled pause the beam cut out for an instant. Chief Butler Ju stamped the floor.
Crack!
The floor shattered violently and the butler shot forward. The Captain sprayed beams in panic, but Ju had already converted his superpower into mana and wrapped himself in protective energy. Nothing stopped him.
Crunch!
He closed the gap and seized the Captain by the throat.
"Gaaahk!"
Still holding him, Ju charged straight through the walls. The SSS-class body smashed one partition after another as they barreled outward.
Crash-crash-crash!!! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In moments they had punched through multiple walls and were breaking free of Lumen. Midway through the casino, something suddenly cut across their path. Ju flung the Captain away.
"Hey, Captain! Why are you getting beaten up so bad?"
"...It's you? I nearly bought it just now. Thanks."
Another of the seven Awakened—the second SSS-class among them. While the Vice-Captain supported his leader, Chief Butler Ju reset his stance. Two against one. He could not charge in recklessly.
"Where do you think you're running, you insolent whelp!!!"
Rumble!!!
Walls exploded from an entirely different direction as Fernandez appeared. His gray suit hung in tatters; the hair he normally kept neatly bound was a wild mess. At the sight of him the Vice-Captain trembled as though he had seen a ghost.
"Captain! Switch with me! That old man's affinity is the absolute worst against me!"
The Vice-Captain, who had been fighting Fernandez until now, shouted in pure terror. The Captain only looked puzzled. By every visible measure the Vice-Captain—unwounded, hood still in place—held the upper hand. Yet the atmosphere made it clear that Fernandez was completely dominating the exchange.
"Is there some problem? You can't even handle one old man like that?"
"I don't know either! I cut his throat and he was fine! I stabbed through his heart and he just said 'Got you' and swung his fist! I seriously have no idea what's going on!"
The Captain glanced at Fernandez, wondering if the man was somehow immortal.
"Never heard of an immortality ability. Regeneration type, then?"
"...What does that matter? You dogs who dared bare your fangs at the Gaju will die right here!!!"
Fernandez charged. For the Vice-Captain, who had desperately wanted to switch opponents, it was perfect. The Captain had unintentionally drawn the aggro; now the Vice-Captain could run wild.
"Die, old man!"
The superpower that had landed blow after blow on Fernandez—shadow travel—carried the Vice-Captain behind Chief Butler Ju. A dagger flashed.
"Underestimating me would be unwise."
The butler caught the wrist as though it were nothing. The Vice-Captain immediately turned his entire body into shadow and melted into Ju's own shadow. This was no mere movement through darkness; he commanded the shadows themselves. With that power he was certain he could never lose.
"Quite an interesting ability."
Chief Butler Ju stomped the floor, mana flooding the strike. Cracks spider-webbed outward; the shadows themselves shook. The Vice-Captain was forcibly ejected.
"Kh!"
His hood had been knocked free. The face beneath was surprisingly close in age to the Captain's—sharper features, but no great difference in years.
"I assumed you were much younger, calling the Nova Captain 'old man.' This is a surprise."
"What are you talking about?! I'm five years younger, for your information! And we're not Nova!"
"As long as you belong to Nova, you are Nova."
Scowling, the Vice-Captain retreated and looked toward the Captain, who was locked with Fernandez. He had expected the butler to be manageable; this side was a monster too. He could only hope the Captain finished Fernandez quickly and joined him.
Instead—
"You thought you could kill me with a flashlight like that!!!"
Fernandez dismissed the beams as mere flashlights and charged with mindless, straight-line force, putting the Captain in real trouble. Heat beams that degraded regeneration were normally a regenerator's worst nightmare; the mana laced into them crippled healing. Against Fernandez, an SSS-class who also wielded mana, the effect simply failed. No matter how hard the Captain poured on the fire, Fernandez regenerated in an instant and came right back.
"...So we have to hold until they arrive?"
Cleaning up one opponent and then double-teaming the other no longer looked feasible. The Vice-Captain decided to buy time until the SS-class Awakened could reinforce them and slipped back into the shadows.
"Your intention is transparent, but it will do you no good."
Chief Butler Ju prepared another mana-charged stomp—
Boom—!
The casino ceiling collapsed. Three Awakened plummeted through. The Vice-Captain scrambled out of the shadows and caught them. These were the three SS-class he had been waiting for—fighters whose coordinated assault even he, an SSS-class, would struggle to handle. He had placed his trust in them.
"A fairly solid joint assault, though they still need further training."
A man in a black suit and crimson shirt descended after them, calmly evaluating the three. An Elder of the Elder Council, an SSS-class who had achieved Rejuvenation—Jeong Si-Min, strongest among the 12 Vassals.
Elsewhere, a battle between equals was unfolding, yet Min-Ha was fighting a desperate defensive struggle while Chief Butler Ju and Fernandez still had room to breathe.
The two S-class facing her had awakened earlier, polished their powers, and even mastered both magic and martial arts. For Min-Ha, who had only just broken through to S-class and was still adapting to the new strength, the matchup was brutal. The only reason she still stood was that her superpower—Sealing—excelled at defense. Her potential, revealed upon awakening, was also extraordinarily high, on par with Si-Eun, whom Head Maid Lee Yeong had tried to recruit as a vassal with manic enthusiasm.
"So the family's vassals aren't anything special after all!"
"Being S-class at your age is impressive, sure, but—!"
Those advantages only let her endure. The two S-class Awakened pressed her relentlessly, voices dripping with mockery.
"I'm not even a full vassal yet, okay?! I'm still a trainee!"
She snapped back and deployed Sealing. Their sword-energy and magic shattered the barriers without effort. Min-Ha instantly regretted not keeping the fight in a tighter space. In trying to draw them as far as possible from Gaju Jeong-Hoon, she had ended up battling in the wide lobby connected to the main entrance. Sealing grew stronger the narrower the area; for someone who could only stall, this was the worst possible battlefield. But the stage was already set.
"Looks like you're trying to buy time against us."
"You're already in a bad spot, you know?"
"Those old men will be cleaned up by the Captain and Vice-Captain!"
"...Will you shut up already?! There's no way the grandpas lose!"
Blocking every wave of sword-energy and magic, Min-Ha felt cold sweat slide down her back. At this rate she would fall before she bought any meaningful time, and she had no clever solution.
Then—
Static, crackle!
"Ah—ah. To all the Nova guests who have kindly visited the New York branch of Lumen Hotel today, greetings. I am Lee Jeong-Hoon, chairman of Lumen and the 248th head of the family."
"And standing here with me is Senator Richard Evans—your organization's founder!"
"H-Hello?"
"Let me state for the record that Senator Evans and I have safely reached the VIP panic room. This broadcast is coming to you from there."
"The reason I'm still on the air after evacuating is simple. I still remember the magnificent gift you all gave me last time."
"So I've decided to return the favor with an identical gift. Exactly five minutes from now, I will bring the Lumen New York branch down. And no, don't waste time wondering how. Lumen is thoroughly equipped with emergency escape routes, panic rooms, and self-destruct systems for just such occasions!"
Jeong-Hoon's calm, utterly unhurried voice filled every corner of Lumen, followed by Richard's startled greeting. The two Awakened attacking Min-Ha froze and stepped back.
Hearing that he had evacuated safely, Min-Ha let out a long breath of relief—then immediately sensed something off.
"Forgot already? You blew up the hotel he was staying in with a terrorist bombing."
Understanding Jeong-Hoon's gambit, Min-Ha poured everything into expanding Sealing around herself—not to pin the enemy, but to make survival her absolute priority. She had climbed aboard his bluff.
The two S-class finally grasped the meaning. They brushed past Min-Ha and bolted for the exits.
"Pwahahaha!!!!"
The moment they vanished, Min-Ha released the laughter she had been holding in.
"You really never can predict that man."
She laughed until tears came, then dropped her power and started walking. The entire broadcast had been a beautifully crafted lie. The panic rooms—VIP or otherwise—contained no broadcasting equipment, and Lumen possessed no self-destruct system. With a few convincing words Jeong-Hoon had simply forced the Awakened into retreat. That was why she laughed so hard.
"Whew. Time to go collect him, then."
There was no telling when the enemy would see through the bluff, but she had at least five minutes. She needed the counterattack ready inside that window. Her destination was not the VIP panic room—it was the broadcast studio.