Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Michelle Portren
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“Tch, do we really have to do this?”
A man grumbled with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The bearded guy next to him scowled in irritation.
“If this hotel gets exposed, it’ll bring trouble to the Bloodhounds too, so of course we do. Michael’s always meticulous about this stuff, that’s why he called us in.”
“Making us get up at the crack of dawn for nothing.”
He was complaining, but he understood well enough—his footsteps didn’t falter.
It was the dead of night, but torching a three-story building required stealth and skill.
Michael had asked two Bloodhounds residing in Bethel to burn down the murder hotel.
“Hard to find a place with materials as easy to source as this hotel.”
“Well, Michael’ll whip up something similar in no time. No choice with the inspectors stirring up a fuss right now.”
“He said to burn it clean, no traces left, right?”
“Especially the basement.”
“Tch, where the hell did that old hag run off to?”
“She bolted when she sensed we were onto her. Gotta give her credit for the Death Spider’s stealth skills.”
“She watching us right now from somewhere?”
The two chuckled as they stepped inside the hotel.
The first floor was pitch black except for the glow of the man’s cigarette, so they lit the lanterns they’d brought.
There sat a black-haired girl in a chair.
“Wh-what the hell!”
“Jeez, you scared me.”
Even hardened Bloodhounds like them couldn’t help jumping at the sight of the girl sitting silently in the dark lobby.
Like a scene from a ghost story.
But her beauty clashed with the eerie vibe, so the bearded man stroked his chin and muttered.
“Should we take her with us?”
“You’re insane. She looks like a student.”
“Hm, but with a face like that?”
“......”
The cig-smoking man exhaled a puff of smoke, scratching the back of his head.
“Yeah, she’s a real looker.”
They treated the black-haired girl like merchandise with practiced ease. They didn’t care why she was there or what powers she had.
It was natural for them.
They were no small fries, after all.
“You’re here to burn the hotel, right?”
“What, you knew? Who spilled?”
“Michael must’ve let it slip.”
The pair clicked their tongues but moved to subdue Rin anyway.
The floor was sticky.
Not just the floor.
Their lanterns lit the lobby, but shadows lingered in the unlit corners, rippling unsettlingly.
Panicking, they pegged Rin as the culprit and charged with daggers drawn.
Krunch. Krunch.
Darkness devoured their hands.
“Ah... Aaaah!”
“Sh-shit! What is this?!”
They tried to flee, but the door was blocked by darkness gaping wide, drooling hungrily at them.
Rin, carefully shielding the faint gray glow from her chest, whispered softly as the darkness swallowed them.
“Good night.”
While Bloodhounds invaded the murder hotel, the opposite happened at Michael Portren’s mansion.
“Gahk!”
“Urk!”
As Michael and his minions stepped outside, white-masked assassins struck.
They slit the throats of everyone in the mansion without mercy, finally reaching their target: the girl’s room.
The door creaked open.
Despite the late hour, the girl hadn’t slept. She trembled on the bed, clutching a pillow—likely from hearing the screams outside.
“Wh-who are you people?!”
“......”
The three assassins didn’t answer.
But the fact they hadn’t slit her throat on sight meant they weren’t there to kill.
Their goal: abduction.
The reason: she was Michael Portren’s weakness.
As the trio moved, a white-haired girl smashed through the large window, expression blank.
Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of them, but she calmly drew two daggers from her back and gripped them in reverse grip.
“Sending you off here?”
“Sen...”
“Why are you here?”
“......”
They were people Sen knew.
Senior Extermination Squad members, older than her.
Newly official, they wore the squad’s signature white hoods and wielded custom daggers.
“Here to kidnap this kid? Michael’s daughter, tied to the Bloodhounds.”
“You knew that much?”
“Did some solo digging on the Bloodhounds, huh.”
“Your sentences are shorter now.”
The assassins dropped their menacing air, smiling brightly as they chatted with Sen.
But Sen refused.
“Enough. I’m protecting this kid. You wanna come at me?”
“......”
The squad members stared silently, faces perplexed, then asked.
“This is a squad decision—to kidnap her. It’s the only way to hurt the Bloodhounds. You’re defying the squad?”
“You already ditched me. What bullshit is this?”
“You weren’t ditched, Sen.”
“......”
The eldest, standing at the front, spoke.
“We couldn’t contact you amid the Bloodhound fights. Don’t misunderstand— just keep living as an Extermination Squad member.”
As he passed her, he drew his dagger to strike her throat.
But Sen had already ducked, hand on the floor, heel smashing his jaw.
“Gurk!”
The man tumbled back from the solid impact.
The other squad members readied themselves, glaring.
“Ungrateful wretch.”
“We steal when told to steal, kill when told to kill, die when told to die. That’s us. Don’t forget your place, Sen.”
“Sorry, but this is out of my hands.”
Moonlight filtered through the shattered window. Sen turned to Michelle, gently stroking the trembling girl’s hair.
“She said I owe you. So I’m paying it back.”
“A-a debt?”
“Yeah, something like that. You don’t know the details? Neither do I.”
“......What does that mean?”
To Michelle’s question, Sen recalled a mischievous smile and replied.
“Dunno. He said life’s like that.”
She didn’t know what it meant, or why she was risking her life against the squad.
Everything was vague, incomprehensible to her mind.
But for the first time, Sen felt truly alive, making her own choice—her head clear and refreshed.
“You serious, Sen? Making enemies of us here? Think the squad’ll let that slide?”
The man rubbed his bruised jaw, glaring, but Sen replied wearily.
“Told you, it’s not up to me.”
“......Wait, you took a commission? From who? Why?”
Squad ops were always commissions.
So they assumed Sen had taken a private job.
Sen smiled faintly, raising her daggers.
“Not a commission. A mission. Not to the squad... but to me, Sen.”
To protect the girl she’d killed in her past life, Sen charged forward.
“Impressive.”
Michael Portren had to applaud sincerely.
Five of his minions already down.
To a mere 18-year-old academy boy.
“Daniel McKlein, what are you really? Can’t call you a normal student anymore.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I let out a hollow laugh, flicking blood from my sword.
Figuring more minions were pointless, Michael stepped forward himself.
“I salute you. You fight for your own justice, and that’s commendable.”
“......”
“But I, Michael Portren, am a father. For my daughter, I’d become a monster.”
He was literally a werewolf saying it— the words hit viscerally.
His voice reverberated through my skin. He kicked off, cratering the ground.
“Fine swordsman you are, but can your schoolyard justice beat me—a human who shed that shell for monstrosity?!”
Krunch!
Michael’s strikes were twice as heavy as other werewolves.
Not just physical— the weight of his love for the girl made it harder to parry.
I twisted away, slashing at his waist.
A wound opened, but healed instantly as he attacked ferociously again.
Betting on werewolf regen, he abandoned defense for pure offense.
‘I could kill him if I wanted...’
But my goal wasn’t death— I needed him alive for Haini to arrest.
Subduing a werewolf was daunting, but I kept dodging and swinging.
“Huff... huff...”
Bloodied from endless cuts, Michael checked his body while catching his breath.
Too many wounds— even werewolf stamina had limits.
He gnashed his teeth, clenched his fists, glaring.
“Why block me?! Why go after my daughter?! Without me, she can’t survive!”
His anguished roar filled Bethel.
His servants behind him teared up in empathy.
We slashed at each other with blades and claws, seeking kill or capture.
Paradoxically, we all fought for Michelle Portren.
It was absurd, but one thing needed correcting.
“Don’t judge her so lightly.”
“......What?”
“She’s stronger than you think, Michelle.”
Michael looked bewildered— as if he never expected me to say that.
“True... She’s my daughter, but also that woman’s.”
His eyes reflected his late wife, perhaps.
I told him, head bowed.
“I’ll get the medicine too. You’ve seen it now— I’m stronger than I look.”
“Yes, I felt it. You’re holding back to subdue, not kill. But...”
His eyes welled with tears as he pleaded.
“The Bloodhounds won’t leave her be. And the Extermination Squad might move too! Even if she survives here, it’s only temporary!”
“I’ll handle that. I’ll protect her in the safest place in Phrygia Kingdom.”
“......”
“You’re at your final crossroads now.”
I hoped he’d realize.
“I don’t know your sentence— death, or maybe just life in prison if you’re lucky.”
“......”
“Whatever comes, at least say goodbye as her father.”
“......Cruel.”
Drained of fight, Michael shrank, fur receding to human form.
“Can she... really make it on her own?”
A pitiful father’s plea.
Recalling her proud, strong life, I smiled faintly.
“She’ll endure. She’ll live beautifully. Your daughter, Michelle Portren, is never weak.”