Emergency Mission (4)
Emergency Mission (4)
"The Task Force member is already dead. They used the ID card the task force member had to lure us in."
The new captain of Magnes.
Terry the Poison Toad.
He was a Task Force member before he became the Chief of Operations, and some of the people who came along with him were also Task Force members.
IDs that would have been useless to mere criminals have fallen into their hands and been used against them.
A time when a security system was not established.
As these mistakes and experiences accumulate, they will create more perfect specialized organizations. It's best not to get caught.
They need to be more vigilant.
"Were you followed by any enemies?", Redin asked Harris
"I've taken care of it, but... it's no longer safe here, they'll be here soon."
Harris said, with a grunt.
"We need to get out of here right now and let headquarters know about this."
It's not hard to get out of the area as it is.
With Rebecca covering Harris and him covering their tracks, He's confident they won't get caught.
If they choose to do so.
The lives of the men in the captivity are not guaranteed. Some may be lucky enough to survive.
Or they could all die.
'Phew'
He looked at the situation soberly: Harris, with his years of experience as a task force member, was in critical condition.
There's no question about that.
And if anyone asks Redin if the risks are worth the rewards, he'll nod his head in the affirmative.
The power of the shadows that Seria possesses.
The Brassell organization that will later follow her.
And Heather, with his insane magical talents. If he's in charge of developing the super-magic bombs, perhaps he can use them at an earlier stage.
That alone is worth saving the captured group.
"Let me move alone."
Harris cut him off firmly.
"I know you're in the throes of your sense of justice, but this time there's real danger, so listen to me."
"I can do it."
"It's an order."
From the look in Harris's eyes, it looked like he wasn't going to back down, so Redin pulled out the folded piece of paper in his pocket.
Data obtained from Marek.
It was a paper that described the internal layout of Magnes' hideout and the secret passageways that only the top executives knew about.
He handed it to Harris.
Harris's eyes narrowed as he read the contents of the paper. Sensing the change in demeanor, Redin spoke.
“This is information I got from Burning Hell.”
“Burning Hell?”
"I got it from a guy who used to work for Magnes. It shouldn't be too hard to extract the captured group if we utilize the secret passage."
"Wait."
Harris held up his hand.
"When you said Burning Hell, does that mean you got the information from an inmate?"
"That's right."
"How can we prove that this information is not false?"
There wasn't much time to explain everything. Magnes must have started moving to find them.
"The information is authentic."
"......."
"I'll explain later, when it's all over, but right now our priority is to get the captives, sir."
"Huuuu......"
Harris's eyes snapped to his own.
"What's your plan?"
"I'm going to be the decoy. I'm going to draw the attention of the Magnes organization, and then head into the hideout via the secret passageway to get the captured team."
"Me and Rebecca will be the decoys."
Redin didn't say anything like, "It's going to be dangerous," or "It's too much for your body.
Harris is well aware of the situation, and there's no more obvious decoy than someone who's already been marked.
Above all.
With Rebecca by his side, he won't be easy to catch. If she unleashes her true power, there won't be anyone to match her skills.
"All right."
"Okay. It's still going to take a while for them to discover this place, but in the meantime, I'm going to teach you the ghost walk. Learning it will help you on your mission."
* * *
The night has set in.
"This actually works, huh?"
Harris moved his limbs and looked at Redin in surprise.
"A simple trick."
To speed his recovery, Redin activated Harris's blood channels, and he was sufficiently recovered to move his body.
His condition was still not optimal.
If they had more time, he would be in much better condition, but they didn't have that luxury right now.
"Let's move."
Harris and Rebecca moved through the darkness, and when he saw them disappear, he moved in the opposite direction.
He sped along the rooftops.
He made himself as light as possible with mana, spreading a small patch of mana on the soles of his feet to muffle the noise. Despite his body moving quickly, the world around him was calm.
Redin learned how to perform Ghost Walk from Harris.
With a few explanations and practice, he got pretty good at it. This was thanks to Harungel's insight.¹
His experience and mana control.
They allowed him to quickly acquire the necessary tools to advance his understanding and reach a higher level.
Even Harris, who taught him, was impressed.
"Damn, this late at night... it's a hassle."
"Ha, ha. Let's kill him and be done with it."
The green house was visible through the mask of the dead.
Several people walked out of it. Each of them covered their faces with a cloak and marched in the direction of the Bothaman Estate.
"But there's not one, but two?"
"Then we kill them both."
Harris and Rebecca must have made their appearance and started to move.
After seeing them disappear completely.
Using the masks of the dead, he transformed himself into one of the members of the organization that had come to Brule Port.
[Using the Mask of the Dead].
[Transforms into Gairo].
Redin descended from the roof and stood in front of the green door.
A musty odor wafted from inside the door: a dilapidated house with bottles of liquor strewn about.
There was mold everywhere.
He rummaged through his memories and went inside. Heightening his senses, he scanned for signs of life and made his way down the secret passageway.
He walked briskly.
In the small space, he could see the figure of a member of the Magnes organization. Sitting in a wooden chair, he approached and removed his cloak.
Then a member of the organization said something innocuous.
"Is it Gairo? Good timing."
Seeing that he didn't look suspicious, he asked back.
"What's going on?"
"Looks like the guys from Burning Hell are here, and they just hauled a bunch of us out to get them."
"Sounds like crap."
"By the way, what about that job Terry had you do?"
"I made sure to wrap it up. What about you, any of the remaining ones want to join the organization?"
The member shook his head, his lip pursed.
"These guys are no good."
"Then what do we do?"
"We'll keep the girl alive because she's pretty, and we'll kill the other two, but where's your partner?"
"You'll meet him soon."
He pulled out his sword and slit the gang member's throat.
[Target killed].
[Harvested a damned soul].
Leaving the limp body on the floor, he went inside. It had been a while, but the layout was still as Marek remembered it from before.
The torture chamber is where the captured group is being held.
With each step, he took in his surroundings. For a hideout belonging to the Toad, the place was surprisingly deserted.
The third captain of Magnes.
His followers must number in the thousands, if not more. And yet it's quiet, which means this is a temporary shelter.
The actual one is probably out there.
If that's the case, it makes it even easier to move. The powerful individuals who follow the Toad will be in their true hideout, not here.
He quickened his stride.
An old iron gate labeled Torture Chamber appeared, and Redin approached it with a steady step. Through a small crack, he peered inside.
Swoosh!
Within the room were some familiar faces.
Seria, leaning against the stone wall, her eyes closed in silence, and Heather, his head buried in his arms, hugging his leg.
And a frightened middle-aged man.
Once he was sure all three were alive, he drew Cairo. He infused the pure white blade with mana and slashed through the iron gate.
Swoop!
The iron door, sliced open like a piece of tofu, fell to the floor, and the three eyes within darted towards him.
Redin lifted the Mask of the Dead and flipped the cloak back.
"I'm here to save the day."
"Redin...?"
Heather's expression brightened.
"Don't be fooled, step back."
A middle-aged man trembled as he stood before Seria and Heather. He showed them his Special Task Force identification card and activated it.
"I'm Redin, Task Force 7th Division."
"...Really?"
"We'll talk more about that later, but first I'm going to remove the handcuffs, so put your hands in front of you."
All three were wearing handcuffs that suppressed their mana. They looked different from the ones used in Burning Hell.
"You need a key."
At Seria's words, he pulled out the key I'd taken from the entrance. Redin reached over to unlock Seria's handcuffs first.
Whoosh!
When he grabbed the handcuffs, he couldn't feel the mana in his body. Those handcuffs deprive everyone who touches them of mana...
Redin naturally thought of the character Terry the Toad.
A mage engineer who had gone mad.
This must have been made by him.
Clank!
The handcuffs of the remaining two people were also removed. Then he gestured with his hand and walked out of the torture room with them.
And just as he was about to take a step, the world was bathed in red by the sight of Arrakis' eyes.
The sense of dysphoria² is heightened.
It hadn't been nearby. He looked around again. Judging by the depth of the red, there was still plenty of time.
A blue thread was visible between them.
The pulsating blue thread pointed to a basement that could only be reached by using the hidden passageway, not the entrance where he had come from.
He didn't have to think about it.
"We're going to move fast from here on out."
He propelled himself forward.
He quickly followed the blue trail downward, and along the way, he saw a number of magic bombs that had been planted everywhere.
There were so many of them.
And they were massive.
A red glow flashed and a crackling sound echoed from the magic bombs in the basement. It was about to explode.
"T-This is suicidal!"
The middle-aged man screamed.
"I don't want to die!"
"If you want to live, then you need to move."
Then he started to run again.
Seria and Heather followed without a word, and the middle-aged man hesitated, then sped upward.
It didn't catch up with them.
"This way."
At the end of the blue thread was a barred wall. The thread snaked through the walls. Beyond was the passage.
He pulled out his sword and nudged Heather and Ceria backwards.
He imbued his sword with mana and unleashed Storm Slash. The sword moved quickly, and a massive storm erupted, devouring the wall.
Cra-cra-crack!
Crumbling walls and dust.
And beyond it, a pitch black portal.
A blue thread was leading to it. At the same time, the world turned a brilliant red.
"Run!"
Booooooooooom!
* * *
Viscount Bothaman stared at the massive explosion beyond his window. Black smoke billowed and the window rattled in the aftermath of the explosion.
"They blew it wide open."
Terry chuckled from the couch behind him.
"You can't grow a good crop if there are weeds, so we ripped them out before they had a chance to grow."
"Is it worth it?"
"'Course it is."
"So what are we going to do now?"
Terry took a long swig of the fine wine in his hand and ran his tongue over his lips.
"If we don't want our patrons to be anxious, we need to eliminate the source."
"What do you mean?"
Terry raised the corners of his mouth.
"I'm thinking of destroying Burning Hell."
** ** **
TL/N:
1. After Redin obtained the last piece of Harungel's Heart near the cliff, he gained a movement skill which is quite similar with Ghost Walk, since the two movement skills need the user to utilize mana to their feet.
2. A state of unease(Did I just use a word that could be simplified as unease? Yes, I did)