#25 Night of the Great Battle
#25 Night of the Great Battle
"Satisfied?"
At the team leader's question, Tail Hair tilted her head.
"With what?"
"The payment. I'll consider this settled."
"Whoa, trying to freeload, are we? You think a pittance like this covers me digging into Gowon's secrets? Does that math work in your head?"
The team leader brushed off his hands, his expression sour.
"I would never have entertained this request if you weren't Square-affiliated."
"Oh my? It's deadwood you'd have to prune sooner or later anyway."
"......."
"The scales are still tipped, you see? The night is long — if you'd keep me company a while longer... well?"
"Hoo."
The team leader thought back to his first meeting with Tail Hair.
***
When no answer came to her question — who did they think she was, where did she hail from — Tail Hair wore a pained smile.
"I was going for a mystique concept. Didn't land?"
"......."
"Oh, honestly. I'm a mage. A ma-a-age! Do you know how expensive I am?"
"A mage...?"
"A mage! The genuine article! Here, look."
The purple cuffs stitched onto her robe sleeves were unmistakable.
"...Purple Square? Are you telling me you're Square?"
"Oh my. Still not convinced? How about now?"
A hexagram bloomed at her fingertips. It was a manifestation of mana, not a spell — but crafting a shape that precise was proof enough she was a mage.
The team leader stared at Tail Hair, stupefied.
"What is a Square mage doing in a place like this?"
"Well, thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking."
She was not someone who ought to be running a middling information brokerage. At the unspoken question, Tail Hair smiled brightly.
"We're hunting something too. Not monsters, like Dawn — but still."
"Hunting what?"
"Blind Spot. That's the name of the organization — no, the traitors — we've been chasing. Things were going smoothly until they weren't. Blind Spot found partners."
"......."
"You've heard about what happened in Busan recently, I assume? The sewers."
Of course he knew. Hong Yuri was the one who discovered the sewer laboratory. Chimera production, according to the reports. Though neither alchemist nor chimera had actually been found.
"We suspect the organization cooperating with Blind Spot was running operations in those sewers."
"So you're pursuing Blind Spot — or this partner organization...?"
"Oh, clever you. Exactly that. More precisely, I'm after the one they call the partner organization's 'tail.'"
"......."
"Ah~ that face is saying 'Don't tell me that's why you call yourself Tail Hair,' isn't it?"
She dropped her voice, mimicking him. The team leader gave her a look of pure incredulity.
"Bingo. Though I wasn't Tail Hair from the start, you know. How long do you think I've been rotting here? Aha-ha! Three whole years."
She was laughing, but the veins bulging on her forehead said otherwise.
"Yes, I know it's pathetic! But I'm frustrated, all right? They're holed up so tight I can't even spot the tip of their nose!"
"......."
"Staying like this won't change anything. And they already know we've caught on."
What began as an excuse slipped into something closer to a grievance.
"Square is the problem anyway! The Master is too much — sticking me in a dump like this!"
"I don't care about your circumstances. Nor am I curious."
The team leader cut her off coldly.
"More to the point — is this a trade? Is that why you're telling me all this?"
"Oh my, I've been prattling, haven't I... Yes. Exactly that. I dig up information on Gowon, and you lend me a hand with my work. A win-win, no?"
"...I'll accept that Square backs you. Getting behind Gowon — that's not impossible."
A preposterous 100% fulfillment rate. Square was the hidden colossus behind that information broker.
"But haven't you failed to get a single lead on this partner organization in three years?"
Tail Hair shook her head.
"This time is different. The Busan sewers. I went there — and found something."
"......."
"It was absurd, honestly. I always thought 'the darkest place is under the candlestick' was a saying for fools..."
The Busan sewers.
She must have picked up the trail when people were being supplied for the chimera experiments.
"I know where they're hiding. But alone... honestly, I don't trust my odds."
"You don't trust your odds. I find that hard to believe."
"It's the truth. That's why I've been waiting for you to show up."
Tail Hair extended her hand with an exaggerated flourish.
"O Romeo. I have waited for thee. Wilt thou aid this wretched Juliet?"
"......."
"Ah~ so embarrassing."
Tail Hair snickered under the team leader's frigid stare. Her expressions and demeanor flipped like changing masks. She honestly seemed insane.
Hong Yuri might actually be preferable.
He was well aware that mages, as a breed, were never quite right. This woman was a severe case. But he also knew that without her, getting behind Gowon would be nearly impossible.
"I'll trust you to maintain the bare minimum of an information broker's integrity."
"Don't worry. I told you — I don't want to die."
The team leader gave a small nod. Their hands clasped.
"By the way — any thoughts on a name change? To Romeo."
"......."
"It was a joke — do you have to react that hard?"
"Hah. Let's just work."
"Ugh, fine. I'm sorry. I said I'm sorry, okay?"
***
The dusk had fully settled, and in the heavy silence a sliver of moon rose.
The plan was the same as infiltrating the temple — slip into the Hermit's Forest the same way.
'...Not a keypad here?'
Password and fingerprint scanner. Looked like solving either one would open it. I studied the gap under the door for a moment. A slit barely a centimeter wide.
'Is this doable?'
Not long ago, maybe. At my current size, squeezing through that tiny gap — wasn't that pushing it? I was still debating whether to try when footsteps rang out. I hid fast.
'......!'
The man stopped in front of the door. Beep-beep — the lock whirred open.
'411202, and 4.'
Dark Vision and Weak Sight got me the code.
'Luck's on my side for once.'
If he'd used the fingerprint scanner, I'd have had to slip through the gap.
'Careful.'
I confirmed the presence was receding, then covered the door and its gap with my tentacles. Block out any sound. Then I keyed in the password. Beep-beep — whirrr.
'Good.'
I shut the door behind me and surveyed the interior. Spartan restraint — it reflected the clan's character.
'...Hermit's Forest.'
No need to search for an office this time. Unlike Gu Ma-jun, whose location I hadn't even known for certain, Lee Baek-seom was different. I knew exactly who he was — and exactly where to go.
'Third floor.'
Three presences. Four floors total. The presence on the fourth was obviously the Clan Leader, and the man who'd opened the door wasn't Lee Baek-seom.
'So third floor it is.'
I could be confident about that because Lee Baek-seom's residence was the clan building itself.
'That's why he was so hard to find.'
In the novel, the protagonist learns from Gu Ma-jun that one of Daejeon's representative clans has a tail. But Gu Ma-jun didn't know who it was, so from there it was all legwork.
'Had a rough time of it.'
Room and board. Who would suspect Lee Baek-seom, who ate and slept in his own clan hall, of being the culprit?
'If I kill Lee Baek-seom and slip out quietly...'
First, I needed to confirm it was really him. I was nearly a hundred percent certain, but I hadn't verified Lee Baek-seom in person. I had to account for the slim chance of error. I reached the third floor without trouble, crept up to the room with a presence inside, and triggered Detection.
'Asleep?'
No movement. But there was a small noise. Something faint.
'Doesn't seem to be sleeping.'
I considered for a moment, then used Detection once more.
'No movement on the fourth floor either. Same for the man who just came in.'
But they were hunters. The slightest disturbance and they would wake.
'Is there a better way?'
I spotted an indoor fire alarm.
'Oh?'
The thought sparked. I slammed the alarm hard.
The dead-quiet dawn shattered — Brrrrrring!
'No one can ignore this.'
A jolt of motion. Someone startled awake, scrambled upright, flung open the door and burst out.
[Lee Baek-seom (Human)]
'It's him.'
A face that looked like a spiteful toad, packed with petty malice.
Lee Baek-seom was gawking at the alarm, still reeling. I slipped into his room and hid.
"Ugh. What a racket. What's going on?"
"No idea. The alarm just went off all of a sudden..."
Another clan member approached from the far end. Lee Baek-seom scratched the back of his head.
"Ah. You think someone hit it by accident?"
"No. I was in my room and it just started blaring."
"Weird. Maybe a malfunction? Let's shut it off first... yeah, yeah. Those two bells, plus the buzzer on the side."
The alarm died. Both men let out deep sighs.
"Hoo... I'm wide awake now."
"Same."
"The Clan Leader's probably awake too..."
"I'll go tell him it was a malfunction. You head back first."
The clan member nodded. Lee Baek-seom's footsteps sounded up the stairs. Lucky. If the other hunter's room had been closer to the alarm, he would have been the one headed upstairs to smooth things over — not Lee Baek-seom.
'Now.'
I took a quick look around. Lee Baek-seom's room was strikingly barren.
A desk, a chair, a bed — hardly any clothes. A sword hung on one wall, but no hunter kept a room without at least one weapon.
'Quietly enough not to stir up a commotion.'
Nothing could tip him off. It had to be trivial enough for Lee Baek-seom to rationalize — and just plausible enough to coax him outside.
'...Was it the noise?'
His phone lay discarded on the bed. Locked, so I couldn't unlock it, but the screen was still on — he'd been using it moments ago.
'00:44. Battery 28%.'
I tracked Lee Baek-seom through Presence Detection as he reached the Clan Leader's room. Probably reporting what had caused the commotion.
'This'll work.'
I grabbed the charger and slipped out of the room. Hidden in Stealth, I waited. Before long, Lee Baek-seom returned.
'If he comes out, I follow. If he doesn't...'
Once I was sure he was asleep, I'd go in and kill him. He hadn't noticed my Stealth. If I moved carefully, it was possible.
Thirty more minutes passed. The presence inside the room stirred.
'.......'
I held my breath. Lee Baek-seom stepped out.
'Good.'
He started down the stairs. Three floors below, there was nobody around — I could be reasonably certain he had business outside the clan building.
'Probably the convenience store.'
He was going to buy a charger.
He could have borrowed one, but it was past one in the morning. He must have figured it'd be rude.
'Just a little farther.'
Once he was outside, I tailed him carefully. He made a call.
"Ah. Shit."
But his battery must have died — a thick curse and the phone went straight back into his pocket.
'Far enough now, right?'
I glanced back. The clan was a good distance away, a solid five-minute walk. If he used mana, he'd notice — but if I finished him fast and ran, that was that.
'Without being seen, if possible.'
I hardened my tentacles with Hardening and mana, shaped them as menacing as I could make them, and drove them through Lee Baek-seom.
'A little disappointing.'
I'd meant to kill him in one strike. But he was still the Tail, and he reacted at the last instant. I'd aimed for the heart — he twisted, and I pierced his shoulder instead.
"......!"
His eyes snapped around and met mine.
'What's this?'
The look in his eyes was confusion, but it wasn't deep. More like something he'd half-expected had actually happened.
"I thought maybe..."
'Did he notice my Stealth?'
Or had he been expecting me? No, thinking back, it had been a little too convenient.
'The alarm, sure, but the charger was missing too.'
He must have sensed something was off.
Probably just a hunch. Lee Baek-seom pulled a dagger from his sleeve and, in the same instant, sliced through my tentacle. A quick retreat — and there I was under a street lamp.
"The hell? A monster?"
The surprise was plain on his face. But he steadied himself fast.
'Impressive.'
If it were me, I'd have been too dumbfounded to recover that quickly.
He hadn't been able to grab the sword in his room, but he'd brought a dagger at least. I remembered his stats from when I'd checked in front of the fire hydrant.
[Lee Baek-seom (Human)]
[HT 169.4 cm] [WT 66.1 kg]
[STR 341] [AGI 386] [VIT 374] [MP 319]
[Skill List]
[Monstrous Strength (D)] [Acceleration (D)] [Weak Sight (E)]
'Right. He had Monstrous Strength.'
He'd cut the tentacle, but his left shoulder was already torn open. He wasn't using that arm. When I lunged, he shifted to evade.
'Backing off?'
He'd gotten faster, suddenly. Acceleration was how he'd managed to twist away from that first ambush.
'I need to end this fast.'
He'd known I was coming. Roughly, at least. But if he'd left the building anyway, that meant this was a trap.
"Ngh..."
Lee Baek-seom glanced around, anxious. Stalling. Waiting for something — which meant the lure had been real. It seemed almost too cautious, but that was probably exactly how the Prodigal Sons had stayed under the surface all this time.
'Meticulous bastards.'
They didn't let the smallest possibility go unaccounted for — this whole thing was a trap. I had to admire the thoroughness. He pulled something from inside his coat and threw it at the floor. Smoke billowed.
'Is he a ninja?'
I almost laughed. Was that supposed to work on me?
'Yeah, no.'
The acrid smoke stung my eyes and nose, but Detection had his position locked. He was running without looking back.
'Wait, wasn't this a trap?'
Was the ambush set somewhere else? That threw me, but I chased him anyway. His Agility neared 400, and with Acceleration, he wasn't easy to catch once he bolted.
'Faster than I expected.'
Almost twenty seconds of pursuit. Finally he ducked into a building and showed a twisted little smile.
"You actually followed me here."
He looked confident. As if, here of all places, nothing could touch him.
'Is this a hideout?'
"Stupid monster bastard..."
Then his eyes went wide. Honestly, I felt the same way.
'...What was he even counting on?'
I'd assumed he had something prepared — his attitude all but screamed that he knew I was there.
'To be honest, I came because I was confident too.'
If the Tail, Lee Baek-seom, was at this level, a few more low-rank members wouldn't scare me.
But when I actually reached the place he'd lured me to, Detection picked up no presences and nothing looked out of the ordinary.
'Then why the hell did he come here?'
While I was tilting my head in confusion, Lee Baek-seom fumbled for his phone.
"F-fuck. This can't be happening?!"
He muttered like something had gone very wrong and tried to work the phone. But that wasn't going to happen.
'Hey. Your battery's dead.'
The realization seemed to hit him. He barely dodged a tentacle, flinched hard, and dropped the phone. It was hard not to sigh.
'Hah. This guy is the Tail...?'
Meticulous? Meticulous my ass. Gu Ma-jun might've actually been more competent. Now I felt like an idiot for being so tense.
"Grrrr—!"
Lee Baek-seom hurled his dagger. Throwing your only weapon was the kind of move you made at the very end. I devoured it with Evil Devouring. In that window, he poured mana into his legs and bolted up the stairs.
'.......'
I could have followed up the stairs, but this body's bulk made it cramped. I kept his position locked and forced open the elevator doors. No — tore them off. Then tore through the ceiling too.
"Grrr!"
Elasticity launched me up over a dozen meters. Tentacles latched onto the wall, and I ripped open the closed doors on the sixth floor just as he was coming up the stairs.
"F-fucking insane!"
In just over ten seconds he'd made it this far, so he was impressive, I'd give him that. The moment he saw me, he spun to run — and a sharp tentacle brought him down.
"Krrghh!"
Gritting through it, he seized the tentacle and twisted. Bloodshot eyes flared red. Monstrous Strength, a D-rank skill, wasn't for show — tendons bulged in his arm as he ripped through the hardened tentacle by force.
'Not bad.'
The overlap of 341 Strength and Monstrous Strength. He scrambled upright, seizing the moment.
A massive fist powered by both Monstrous Strength and Acceleration — but I'd already hunted a Cave Predator that used Acceleration with 420 Agility.
[Perception (E) Lv.7 proficiency at maximum. Perception (E) Lv.7 → Perception (E) Lv.8]
I turned my head, slipped the punch, and drove a forepaw down on him.
"......!"
Crash! The back of his skull slammed into the floor of the stair landing, broke straight through, and he dropped to the next level down.
It was a miracle he was still breathing. Not for long.
"Gahk... fuckin'... bastards. Where the hell did you go?"
So he had prepared something, but it went wrong. I glanced outside — lights were coming on in the neighboring buildings.
'I made too much noise.'
I'd shattered a staircase and carried out a chase at one in the morning. I had to get out fast.
'I can't eat him either.'
In a sealed room with no way for the smoke to escape, I cremated the corpse with Ember.
'That takes care of it.'
The tail was cut off. As careful as I'd been, by now the Prodigal Sons had to know someone was interfering. Lying low for a while seemed smart.
'I've disrupted them plenty.'
There was still time — years until the destruction. I needed to grow strong enough before the novel's starting point. Much stronger than now. At bare minimum, as strong as Kang Tae-ho.
'.......'
I'd grown pretty fast once I learned to tell day from night. Two months, maybe less.
'A little under two years left.'
After that, I wouldn't have a moment to breathe.
'I'll head to the Academy.'
The protagonist — the one who'd gobble up every fortuitous opportunity I delivered, grow explosively, and stop the apocalypse. Just imagining it made me grin.
'Because I'm not doing it all on my own.'
If I could set myself up as a capable supporter, I'd dump every brutal job onto him. I reached the ground floor still thinking about it.
'...First, run. Think later.'
No presences yet, but the Hermit's Forest Clan Leader had definitely noticed. Maybe they were already in pursuit.
I was about to step outside when something caught my eye and stopped me.
'Huh?'
The phone he'd dropped... could I make use of that?