Chapter 147: Campfire
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 147: Campfire
“Haaah... I’m bored to death. How much longer do we have to do this?”
“Should’ve won at rock-paper-scissors if you don’t like it.”
“...Are you an idiot? You lost too, that’s why you’re here with me.”
“...”
The two men smoked their cigarettes, gazing at the distant mountains.
The chirping of crickets echoed from somewhere, as if screaming that it was still summer.
The noisy sound made the men frown.
Even though the peak of summer had passed, the temperature still climbed past 30 degrees Celsius [86 degrees Fahrenheit] during the day. The occasional mosquito only added to their growing irritation.
“Does it make any sense to post us on guard duty in a place like this and tell us not to even bring a bug-repellent lantern?”
“That thing runs on magic stones. If the enemy detects the magic from it, we’re the ones who’ll end up dead.”
“The enemy?”
The man scoffed.
“Realistically, now that the National Intelligence Service is involved, what kind of lunatic would be crazy enough to go after the Gyeonggi Province Governor?”
The NIS was incompetent, but they were also tenacious enough to never let go of their prey once they had it cornered.
That was one of the main reasons so many guilds avoided making an enemy of them.
“You think the guy who’s already killed a string of other high-ranking officials is just going to stop now?”
“Even a killer like that would want to save his own skin...”
Saaa—
As they chatted, a cold night breeze swept past them, carrying an unidentifiable, ominous feeling that brushed against their skin.
A sudden chill ran down their spines, and they fell silent, their eyes darting around to survey their surroundings.
Of course, in a place without a single streetlight, let alone any houses, they couldn't see a thing.
“...Why the hell would they build a villa in a place like this?”
“...It’s the perfect spot to sneak women in and party without reporters finding out.”
The men continued to talk without pause. It felt as though they couldn't let the silence settle in, not even for a moment.
“By the way, what’s the situation at headquarters? I heard the NIS raided them.”
“On paper, it’s ‘cooperation with an investigation.’”
The Heuksan Guild was currently in disarray due to the unexpected investigation by the NIS.
As a result, not only the Guild Master, Go Taebeom, but also everyone from his chief secretary to the elite guild members had their movements severely restricted.
They had no choice but to pull forces from their subordinate guilds to continue protecting the governor.
“I knew those NIS bastards were crazy, but I never thought they’d be more reckless than the Association.”
There was no clear evidence linking the Heuksan Guild to the recent serial murders of high-ranking officials.
They had simply made the Heuksan Guild their first target in order to investigate Guild Master Go Taebeom, solely because he was related to the deceased district mayor.
“Thanks to that, not only the Vice Guild Master but also several teams from headquarters can’t come for support...”
In the first place, Guild Master Go Taebeom was already under surveillance by the Association, so he couldn't make any rash moves.
Normally, the other A-rank, the Vice Guild Master, and a few team leaders would be guarding this place, but now, no one was here.
It was safe to say their security was at its most vulnerable.
“Well, all of the First Response Teams from headquarters are here, so it should be fine.”
The chief secretary, Yoo Jintae, who wasn't present, had already prepared countermeasures for this situation.
Knowing this, the man hadn't complained much when he was dispatched here.
Besides, he’d been told the extra pay would be generous.
“Ah, damn it.”
Normally, smoking was forbidden on guard duty, but this wasn't the army, and the rules weren't that strict.
“Ugh, what’s wrong with this thing? I just bought it the other day. Hey, let me borrow your lighter.”
Click, click. The man flicked his lighter a few times, his brow furrowed.
“What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me? I said let me borrow your... huh?”
Only then did the man realize he had been talking to himself.
The guild member assigned to duty with him was already a cold corpse, sprawled at his feet.
The sensation of blood soaking his shoe was all too vivid.
“First Response Team? Are they like the guys I ‘handled’ last time?”
An unknown man was sitting in a corner.
He hadn't sensed a single trace of his presence until he saw him with his own eyes.
In that instant, the guard knew.
This was the man behind the serial murders of the high-ranking officials.
“A-a-atta—”
“Shh.”
The shout he tried to force from his trembling lips was instantly suppressed by a thick killing intent that dominated the space.
Cold sweat poured down his face like rain.
“I have something to ask you. If you want to scream, you can do it after I’m done.”
Of course, the man never got the chance to scream again.
*
“Sixteen E-ranks, nine D-ranks, four C-ranks, and two B-ranks who are close to A-rank.”
That was the information I’d gotten from interrogating the guard.
A total of thirty-one. No, I just killed two, so twenty-nine. It seemed the E-ranks were forces pulled from the subordinate guilds, while those from D-rank and up were elites belonging to the headquarters' First Response Team.
The absence of any A-ranks was a bit of a letdown, but an easy fight wasn't a bad thing, so there was no need to dwell on it.
“There’s blood all over the floor. Is this really an assassination?”
Just then, Noel returned from the other area I’d sent her to.
She was dressed impressively in a tight, black outfit that covered her from head to toe.
“It’s an assassination if there are no witnesses.”
“...So it’s okay to leave a trail?”
“But there’s no proof.”
I flicked the blood off my dagger.
“What about the west side?”
“I took care of four men who looked like Hunters. Judging by their magic levels, they were probably E-ranks.”
“Then that leaves twenty-five...”
“That’s quite a few, isn’t it?”
Despite her words, Noel didn't seem particularly worried.
Then again, the only ones who could be considered real threats were the two B-ranks.
It would have been stranger to be nervous.
Leaving the guard post, Noel and I walked leisurely toward the villa's main building.
I had dispelled my invisibility magic, but there was no commotion. That was because we killed every Hunter we came across.
According to the information from the interrogation, there were no civilians here. They were all Black Hunters, every one of them with a history of murder.
There was no need to hold back.
“What are those things!”
“It’s an attack!”
“They’re attacking this place with just two people? Are they insane?!”
As more and more Hunters swarmed toward us, Noel glanced at me.
Her look seemed to say, ‘This is why I said we should sneak in.’
“It doesn’t matter.”
Like I said before, as long as there are no witnesses.
*
Ten E-ranks, nine D-ranks, and four C-ranks.
That was the number of Hunters I’d dealt with on the way to the governor's office.
All that remained were the two B-rank team leaders and the governor himself.
“Master, over there.”
Two men stood blocking the front of the office, exuding an aura completely different from the Hunters we had faced so far. They were already in a combat stance.
But something about them felt off.
I could feel a much more refined and intense magic power than the team leader I’d dealt with last time.
“...A-rank?”
My suspicion instantly turned to certainty.
They weren't B-ranks; they were A-ranks.
They seemed to have just reached A-rank, but that didn't mean they were to be taken lightly.
“Strange. The Chief Secretary said there would be at least four of them.”
“Well, maybe they were killed on their way up? Seems like all our guys are dead.”
“Is that so?”
Noel and I naturally heightened our senses and assumed combat stances.
A-rank was the level where one could wield an Aura Blade.
It was true that they would be tough opponents now that I couldn't use magic, but if they had only just reached A-rank, it wasn't an impossible fight.
“Master, I’ll take the one on the left.”
“You think you can handle it?”
“Are you really asking me that now?”
Noel laughed as if she found my question absurd.
“Have you already forgotten you made me fight that Minotaur last time?”
“...Sorry.”
To be honest, I wouldn't have pushed Noel that hard now.
“It’s fine. But in return, you have to grant me two favors when we get back, okay?”
Finally regaining her usual smile, Noel grinned and playfully slapped my shoulder.
“Alright, I’ll lure him outside, so...”
“No.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed Noel as she was about to charge the man holding the spear.
“Noel, do you know why criminals take hostages when they’re cornered?”
“That’s because... the police have to protect civilians, right...?”
“Correct.”
I pulled a scroll from my coat.
The eyes of the men widened in shock the moment they saw it.
“The governor you’re supposed to be protecting is behind you, right?”
The C-rank I’d dealt with on the floor below had coughed up some rather useful information.
The Heuksan Guild was originally after me for revenge for the district mayor, but the chief secretary planned to use this opportunity to put the Gyeonggi Province Governor in his debt, using it as a stepping stone for a comeback.
That meant, like it or not, these guys were bodyguards who had to protect the governor.
“You’d better protect him well. If you don’t want to be killed by that brilliant chief secretary of yours.”
“That crazy bastard!!”
“Don’t!!”
As I infused the scroll with magic, a familiar magic circle appeared in the air.
“Noel!”
At my signal, Noel immediately smashed through the glass window behind us and headed outside.
A 4th Circle flame magic.
[Pyroblast].
A massive fireball flew toward the office.
“Block it!!!”
“Aaargh!!!”
The two men charged forward, raising their Auras, but a spell that had already been cast wasn't going to just disappear.
KABOOOOM!!!!
The moment I threw myself through the shattered window, a tremendous storm of fire engulfed the villa.
*
“...Master.”
“Hm?”
“You said it was an assassination.”
“I did.”
Sprawled on the villa's lawn, Noel stared blankly at the burning building.
“But... you said you wouldn't use magic?”
“Scrolls are fine.”
It was a Simplified Public Scroll, a magic tool I got from Choi Hyena.
Conventional scrolls required a complex conversion process to be completed, but the Simplified Public Scroll overcame that drawback.
It could instantly convert any magic of the 4th Circle or lower.
However, because the material costs were completely unprofitable, almost no one ever looked for them.
“It’s burning well.”
The crackling sound was quite pleasant to hear.
It was like watching a giant campfire.
“...But won’t the governor burn to death like this?”
“If he does... well, it can’t be helped.”
At first, I had vowed to make him suffer all kinds of pain before killing him, but after spending time with Noel and Choi Hyena, the process of revenge no longer seemed that important.
The result—that he was dead—would be the same anyway.
“Besides, the fire will go out soon. The effects of elemental magic from a scroll don’t last long.”
“Oh, then I guess it’s fine.”
Finally relieved, Noel rested against me and watched the villa burn.
It seemed she had been worried about the fire spreading to the forest.
“It feels like summer.”
“It is summer.”