Chapter 80
Chapter 80
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Yuria Repays a Debt (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
An abandoned building on the outskirts of Belmond.
The place was so desolate it was impossible to tell when it had last seen a human touch.
It couldn't be helped.
Belmond was a city in decline, its younger generation leaving day by day.
Naturally, the outskirts were littered with the remnants they left behind.
But there are two sides to every coin.
Just as a poison that can easily take a life in large doses can become medicine in small ones.
A place like this, forgotten by prying eyes and wandering minds, was a perfectly comfortable safe house for unwelcome guests.
With a soft rustle.
A woman with eyes narrowed to slits carefully peered through the curtains at the darkness outside.
“I don’t think… there are any signs of anyone approaching yet.”
“Hoo, in that case… we can breathe for a moment.”
Thankfully, there was still no sign of an enemy nearby.
After confirming this again, she meticulously drew the curtains, ensuring not even the slightest gap remained.
Then, the woman placed a portable lamp, set to its dimmest light, on a moderately high shelf.
As her eyes scanned the faintly lit interior, they fell upon a green-skinned man.
The man's appearance was nothing short of extraordinary.
His upper body was wrapped in bandages, as if he were wearing them instead of clothes.
But the blood-soaked bandages made it clear this was no empty gesture.
He looked so ravaged that even sitting upright seemed a miracle.
The woman bit her lip at the sight of him and repeated the words she had spoken countless times before.
“I’m sorry, Greg. Because of me…”
“…Karen, didn’t we agree not to talk about this anymore?”
“But…!”
“Enough. If I hear it two more times, it’ll be a hundred.”
The bandaged orc, Greg, waved his arm dismissively, as if he were tired of the apologies.
He had heard it dozens of times over the past two weeks, and his ears were ringing with it.
But even with Greg's words, the shadow on her face did not disappear.
After all, the fact that he, who had nothing to do with it, had been dragged into this incident remained unchanged.
Karen, her face etched with exhaustion, slumped to the floor near Greg, curled up, and muttered.
“Maybe… I should have just done what they asked…”
For over two weeks, she and Greg had been on the run, endlessly crossing countries and cities.
The reason was none other than a tenacious and troublesome pursuer.
The pursuer’s name was none other than the Metahuman Liberation Army.
They sought to recruit Karen, an unrivaled genius even among the Arachne, who were known for their exceptional mana control.
However, Karen disagreed with the Liberation Army's policy of enslaving all of humanity.
She was already living a perfectly satisfying life and had no reason to harbor enough hostility to hate humanity.
But the Liberation Army tried to abduct her by force when she refused their demands, and as fate would have it, Greg was there to drop something off.
This was the simple reason he got involved, and the source of Karen's deep guilt.
“A trivial concern.”
“Ugh, trivial? You know how sorry I am because of what happened to you…!”
Greg shot back a sharp remark, seemingly unfazed and unsympathetic to Karen's distress.
She bristled like a wriggling caterpillar, but he continued speaking.
“Hmph, I don’t like people who try to throw their weight around without considering others. I simply intervened to disrupt someone I disliked. What you think doesn't matter to me.”
“Even if you say that…”
“Besides, for an orc, wounds like these heal quickly. What you’re doing is like trying to send a human with a scraped knee to the emergency room. It’s called needless worrying.”
“…”
Karen couldn't respond.
She didn't know if he was being sincere or just bluffing when he called his injuries mere scrapes.
But one thing was certain: Greg was much weaker now than he was two weeks ago.
The pursuit team, chasing them relentlessly like a wolf hunting its prey, gave him no time to properly recover from his injuries.
No matter how strong someone was, they couldn't fight at full strength if they were forced into a war of attrition without being able to recover their stamina.
Moreover, the fact that time was on their pursuers' side, not theirs, steadily wore down their spirits.
‘Greg is still holding on, but at this rate… there’s no hope…’
Karen felt like she was trapped on a dark, vast ocean, with no idea which way to go.
If only she could see a light beyond the thick darkness.
The fear that she would sink if she stood still slowly tightened its grip around her neck.
Perhaps he had seen through the fear in her heart.
Greg, who had been breathing as deeply and quietly as if asleep, suddenly spoke to Karen.
“Don’t worry too much. We still have a chance.”
“But you said today could be the turning point. That means… we could all be captured here…”
“No, I meant this tiresome escape could end today. Whether that’s for the better or for the worse.”
For the better? As if that’s possible.
Karen suppressed the urge to say that and quietly calmed herself.
Frankly, even to her, a layman in combat, their chances didn't look good.
Among their pursuers were enemies who were Greg’s equals, or even stronger.
Greg himself was a monster who could crush steel with his bare hands and lift cars with ease.
Yet they were in a desperate situation with two powerful foes whom even he couldn't guarantee victory against in a head-on fight.
Even though Greg had managed to find an opportunity to call for outside help, it was difficult to expect any to arrive tonight.
And even if help did arrive in time…
The sheer numbers of the Liberation Army and the presence of such powerful enemies were enough to break anyone’s will to fight.
‘I’m so sorry, Greg. For getting you involved…’
Karen just felt sorry for Greg.
He talked tough, but he was an incredibly good person.
The fact that he was caught up in this because of her was heart-wrenching.
Awooo—
A wolf’s howl echoed from not too far away.
It seemed another grueling night was about to begin for them.
***
Draped in a cloth I'd hastily dusted off, I raced through the dark streets of Belmond.
The streets were completely unfamiliar to me.
I had no idea whether to turn left or right.
But it was fine. Echo, having acquired the information, was guiding me like a GPS.
[ Master, turn right here, and when you see a tilted sign, turn left. That should be the way! ]
Looks like I won't get lost, thanks to you. Thank you.
I thought to myself, using my psychokinesis to propel my body forward, cutting swiftly through the wind.
My psychokinesis was in top form, as if a limiter on my mind had been released.
[ Ehehe, thank you. ]
[ Not fair. I want praise from Mama too! ]
‘Thank you too, Tesseract. You’ve been a great comfort.’
[ Hehe. Really? ]
These cute little things.
I couldn't help but chuckle at how overjoyed Echo and Tesseract were just from a little praise.
What on earth was I to them that they'd be so happy over a simple compliment?
The burden that had been weighing on my chest like a heavy rock felt a little lighter.
Then, I suddenly sensed something unusual up ahead.
A gut feeling that something would go terribly wrong if I continued this way.
I immediately slowed down, pressed myself against the side of a building, and perked up my ears to focus on the sounds.
Faintly, I could hear human voices. I couldn't make out the words, though.
‘Echo, do you sense any terminals nearby?’
[ Yes. There are two. ]
‘Could you maybe hack those terminals and eavesdrop on their conversation?’
[ I will attempt it. ]
Echo replied with a hint of uncertainty, as if it had never done something like that before.
But I trusted in Echo's abilities.
Since it was a terminal with the power to access the internet or make calls without a number.
I figured hacking other nearby terminals should be well within its capabilities.
And as if to meet my expectations, a reply came back from Echo right away.
[ Success! Shall I reconstruct the audio and play it for you? ]
‘No, that’s too much trouble. Can you just summarize the key points?’
[ Yes. …It seems they are werewolves, and they are pursuing a certain target. And it appears they are very close to that target. ]
I instinctively knew that this target included Greg.
If so, there was no time to hesitate.
With that thought, I used my psychokinesis as a foothold and leaped high, very high into the air.
And when I was positioned directly above the two werewolves.
I accelerated downward, adding gravity to my fall like a meteor, and plummeted to the ground in an instant.
“So, like I was saying… Huh? Gack!”
“An, en…! Ugh!”
*CRUSH!*
Before they could even react, I used my psychokinesis to clamp their mouths shut, grab them by the neck, and lift them into the air.
A werewolf's strengths are its immense power, sharp claws, and tenacious life force that allows it to recover quickly even from stab wounds.
Conversely, this meant they were little more than sturdy scarecrows, helpless against a greater force.
Thus, the werewolves struggled violently, resisting with all their might.
But it was a meaningless struggle, as they were already caught.
“Kuh, ghh…”
“Gurgle…”
Thud.
The two unconscious werewolves collapsed limply to the ground.
Their lives weren't in danger; they had merely lost consciousness.
I tied their arms and legs tightly with the durable carbon fiber rope I had brought, immobilizing them.
Then I hid them in a dark corner and continued toward the coordinates from the message.
It seemed tonight was going to be a long one.
