Chapter 1456
Chapter 1456
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1456
Chapter Title: Dark Moon
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Suddenly, violent sprays of pressurized water erupted around the trembling Invisible Blade, catching me completely off guard as I stood over her.
I was pushed back forcefully by the surging spray and fell hard on my ass, the wet floor offering no traction against the sudden blast of magic.
I jumped right back up to my feet in a defensive stance, but she had already used that brief window to put significant distance between us.
She wrapped herself in the heavy waterproof cloth covering a nearby machine, preparing to climb over the high windowsill to make her escape.
In her trembling hands, she clutched her ninja sword and her fox mask, her eyes burning with a mix of shame and murderous intent.
It was my mistake, a complete and humiliating lapse in vigilance that I hadn't expected from myself after so many years of combat.
Both her hands were clearly in my sight, and she'd been so compliant up until now that I thought she'd fully submitted to my will.
Was she just pretending to be broken while waiting for her body to recover its mana? It was a masterful act if that was the case.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance, preparing myself for a final battle. The current situation... wasn't good for me at all.
Unlike her, who'd focused entirely on physical recovery during the violation, I'd been constantly draining my mana to create and move the tentacles.
On top of that, I'd ejaculated so many times that my dick was physically sore, leaving my entire body exhausted and my legs feeling heavy.
My physical and magical condition was currently at its worst since entering this world, but I couldn't afford to show any weakness in front of an enemy.
Invisible Blade glared at me with a look that said she wanted to kill me slowly. Her serious, lethal gaze contrasted comically with her exposed lower body.
She was still shaking visibly as residual pussy juices squirted out of her, staining the waterproof cloth she was using as a makeshift cloak.
"You'll pay for every second of this, Eugene. I swear on my life that I'll make you regret ever laying a hand on me."
Leaving behind those parting words like some third-rate villain, the ninja vaulted over the window frame and fled into the dark night.
Her figure, wrapped in the dark cloth, receded into the distance in an instant and vanished among the rooftops before I could even cast a spell.
I slowly approached the open window, feeling the cool air on my face. In my current state of exhaustion, I simply couldn't pursue a fresh ninja.
The windowsill was still slick with the various fluids she'd left behind in her haste, a messy reminder of our long hours together.
I noticed that she used high-level ninjutsu without forming any hand seals again right before she jumped.
Ninjas don't have access to something like a mage's Astral plane, so it wasn't a case of ninjutsu centered around a mental Astral structure.
If it were just a simple case of silent casting, there's no way I wouldn't have sensed the mana buildup in the air around her.
Ninjas form seals precisely for secrecy and to stabilize their spells in the first place, so doing away with them is an anomaly.
I flexed my fingers this way and that, thinking about the mechanics of seal-casting that I had read about in the archives.
The basic concept of hand seals is that they act as physical rune letters. You form specific runes with your hands and fingers to shortcut complex spells.
It has very clear pros and cons. The primary advantage is concealing mana waves for stealthy, untraceable spellcasting in the field.
The main drawback is the limited flexibility one has when activating magic via pre-set seals compared to free-form chanting.
Another significant downside is that hand seals require years of muscle-memory practice to perform at combat speeds.
My fingers currently won't move as precisely as I want them to. Even a simple Rank 1 utility spell would take me too much time to cast with seals.
I knew theoretically in my head exactly how to form them, but damn it, my fingers simply wouldn't obey my mental commands fast enough.
How exactly does Invisible Blade pull off high-speed ninjutsu without them...? Oh, wait.
A bit of analytical thought finally brought the realization to the forefront of my mind. It was her tongue.
Invisible Blade's tongue was much longer and far more flexible than a normal person's, as I had experienced during our kiss.
Is it possible she forms the seals with her tongue inside her mouth? If you can express the spell formula that way, it's not technically impossible.
But while it might work for her, it was physically impossible for me to replicate. My tongue wasn't nearly as long or as flexible as hers.
I could potentially borrow cybernetic tech and attach a mechanical tongue... but that defeats the whole purpose of organic spellcasting.
Most machines lack the necessary mana responsiveness for high-level casting anyway. Even if they had it, machines have clear processing limits.
I'll have to give up on that specific method for now. Seals... I might need them someday, so maybe I should practice the hand versions when I have time.
I felt a sense of relief now that I'd uncovered Invisible Blade's secret. As satisfaction washed over me, another worry hit me late: her promise of revenge.
...She's too professional to come charging in blindly for payback... but I can't predict when she'll decide to strike at me from the shadows.
First things first, half the money I earn from this job goes directly into upgrading my home security.
I'd have to tell Yuria about the whole situation too. Since she's living with me, she could easily become Invisible Blade's next target for leverage.
If she decided to leave me over this danger... I'd have to respect her choice as a free woman. But when push comes to shove...
...could I really let her go without feeling a deep sense of regret? I wasn't entirely sure of the answer.
I gathered my scattered clothes from the floor, dressed myself, and left the factory and all the fluids she'd leaked behind me.
After resting at home until the afternoon of the next day, I headed back to the X Agency. The job had gone off without any major hitches.
Because the main objective was achieved, my steps were leisurely as I walked through the sector. Rose sat at her desk as always, glaring at her monitor.
But I noticed immediately that her right arm had changed since our last meeting. The previous mechanical arm—no, it was a crude prosthetic—was gone.
That old model was so basic it practically reeked of industrial oil and cheap gears. Now, her right arm was sleek silver and futuristic in its design.
"You're finally here? How is your body holding up after that mess in the basement?" she asked without looking up.
"It's not doing bad at all, considering everything," I replied, leaning against the doorframe.
"Did you check your balance? You got the pay?" "It hit my account right after the job wrapped last night."
"The client is loaded, Eugene. And more importantly, they're satisfied with your work. It wasn't a perfect execution, but they suffered no losses."
"I noticed I got an extra 30 million credits on top of the agreed amount."
"That's a bonus from the client. Think of it as a very generous tip for your extra effort. It's rare in this business, but it does happen."
"Is it because of what happened with Invisible Blade?" I asked curiously.
"Spot on. Her betrayal actually freed up some of the contingency funds... and they liked that you tracked her, even if you didn't catch her."
I sat down and listened as I heard the rest of the operational details from Rose. While I'd been chasing the kunoichi, a separate group had raided the casino.
They'd trashed the building's infrastructure and vanished into the night. "Black mages, probably. Everyone found underground was already dead."
"Turns out they had small machines implanted in their hearts from the very start. They detonated remotely... Just so you know, that's not your fault."
"I never for a second thought that it was my fault," I replied flatly.
"Anyway, the job is officially done. You should just forget about it and move on to the next thing." "Done, huh..." I muttered.
I knew it wasn't actually over for me. Invisible Blade was still out there, likely gunning for my neck after what I did to her.
"Are you still worried about Invisible Blade's threat?" Rose asked, picking up on my mood.
"...The final cleanup was messy. I made a permanent enemy out of a very skilled assassin. My nights will have me watching my back for a while."
I'd already told Yuria about the situation when I got home. She didn't seem fazed by the danger at all, showing her usual calm demeanor.
If anything, she seemed to worry more about my physical stamina than any assassin. That day, she made sure I ate nothing but foods good for vigor.
When night came, she didn't show me any mercy and wrung me dry again. "Ah, Eugene, don't sweat the ninja situation too much," Rose said.
"Hm? Did something specifically happen to Invisible Blade?" I asked, leaning in. I thought a pissed-off client might have hired a hit on her.
"Yeah. The broker who originally lined up her part of the job cut her loose immediately after the mission. They had no choice."
"Backing a betrayer like her would've tanked their professional reputation forever. She's a newbie; they had no reason to stick their neck out for her."
"...So she burned all her bridges with her primary broker. And then what happened?"
"Acrotech stepped in and cleaned up the mess for her. You know who they are, right?"
"Who doesn't know them? They're a massive name in Neo London. They specialize in magitech engineering and high-end cybernetics."
"They supply the military and the elite guilds too," I added, recalling what I'd learned while diving into my own magitech research.
"Turns out Invisible Blade is closely tied to Acrotech. They provide her with all her gear; in exchange, she feeds them all her combat data."
"It sounds like a win-win for both parties, but it looks deeper to me. The details are still a bit fuzzy." "..." I went silent, processing this.
My eyes drifted back to her new silver right arm. The futuristic mechanical prosthetic looked like a piece of high-art engineering.
I'm no expert eye, but even I could tell it was top-shelf equipment. "Heh heh. This is an Acrotech make. It has tons of hidden functions."
"Watch this." Rose grinned like an idiot and spread her mechanical hand toward some papers on a nearby table. The documents were over two meters away.
They suddenly floated up on their own and flew directly to her waiting hand. It was a perfect display of mechanical telekinesis.
"It has loads of features, but this one is a total game-changer for my daily work. No more getting up for lost papers."
"The built-in computer handles the basic TK calculations, so I suffer zero mental fatigue." She was clearly thrilled with the new toy.
I knew if I let her be, she'd gush about the arm for hours. "Acrotech hooked you up with that. What's the catch for the agency?"
"...The catch is that I'm the one managing Invisible Blade's contracts now."
"So you actually took on that troublemaker as a client," I noted, surprised.
"She's a bit of a handful, sure, but her combat skills are absolute gold. It was a newbie mistake—who hasn't made one? Plus, the ties to Acrotech are good."
"It's a very valuable connection to a megacorp for me. What if she pulls another double-job under your watch, though?"
"Then it's over for her. No mercy next time." Rose flashed a chilling smile that reminded me why she was a successful broker.
She wasn't someone to ever underestimate. Her personal network even nudged the lower parliament on occasion. Acrotech might've guessed her background.
They likely offloaded the risk of Invisible Blade onto her for that reason. "She really hates your guts, Eugene. Like, badly. What exactly did you do to her?"
"..." I remained silent, not wanting to share the details of the factory session.
"Don't wanna say? Fine by me. But she won't go for the kill now that I'm her broker. She might try to prank you though... handle it yourself."
"Got it. I can live with that." Knowing there was no active death sentence on my head lifted a significant weight off my shoulders.
"So, the 130 million you made this time. What are your plans? This is your first truly big score."
"I've already spent the bulk of it. I bought a second factory building yesterday. I'm down to under 10 million now."
"What kind of factory did you buy this time?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a food processing plant. I'm moving into instant Korean food production and sales. Fried chicken has its market limits after all."
"Korean food? You mean from that ancient Great Korea you mentioned before?"
"Nailed it. That's exactly the plan." I replied with a confident nod.
"...Eh. Good luck with that." Rose waved her hand dismissively, her face practically screaming that she thought I was making a failure of a move.
I gave her a quick goodbye and left the office. I know that most Neo Londoners find the concept of Great Korea too alien and strange for their tastes.
But they can just wait and see. I'll make it work through sheer quality and marketing, just like I did with the shop.
...The only real problem is that I'm going to need significantly more cash than I thought.
Maintaining a factory of that size costs a fortune. Remodeling it for food safety costs even more. Then there are the taxes and the specific permits.
Neo London's bureaucrats are notoriously crooked and greedy. I'll have to grease many palms to be able to produce and sell within a year.
That meant I would need hundreds of millions more in credits very soon. Yuyu Chicken's current profits won't cut it for that kind of expansion—that's years away.
Luckily, I had my combat skills and my rising reputation. This job's success meant high-paying, named gigs would be incoming soon.
I need more money. My magic research eats through funds like a fire; my business expansion is even worse.
I have to earn and invest. In myself. In the business. In my future power. If I grow like that, I'll eventually be a Neo London heavyweight.
No— I will be one of the twelve. I clenched my fist as I walked.
The Battle Mage Project that created me was officially over. Its head, the Venus Instructor, had been beheaded and his remains frozen in a vault.
But my personal revenge wasn't done yet. I wanted every single person above him in that chain of command dead by my hand.
There's no way a man like Venus ran a project of that scale alone. The real bosses are much higher up in the hierarchy.
And there was another culprit I hadn't forgotten about. Alpha Tear Pharmaceuticals.
They were a combined Frisell Kingdom military contractor and a global megacorp. I was far too small to take them on right now.
But they deserve to feel the exact same agony and pain I endured during the experiments. My revenge continued in my heart.
As I wandered through X District's winding alleys, dreaming of my vengeance, someone suddenly stood before me, blocking my path.
She was wearing a sleek silver cyber suit that hugged her every curve. I saw those voluptuous breasts and the seductive line of her hips and thighs.
She had her blackish-brown hair in a ponytail and was wearing that Japanese fox mask. It was Invisible Blade.
I checked to make sure my barrier was currently down to appear non-hostile and asked, "I heard from Rose that our business is officially done... What's up?"
"Are you really going to play dumb with me? Remove that cursed thing you shoved up my ass. Now."
"Ah. I forgot about that."