Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Blood New Moon (6)
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After taking down Ilwol as well, the assassins' resistance finally came to a curtain call.
It wasn't some scenario where the leader died and they surrendered—no, Ilwol had truly been the very last one.
The assassins who had sneaked back to the conference room while Galen and Lilia patrolled the first floor had confirmed with their own eyes that the secret passage had genuinely collapsed.
Realizing they were utterly isolated, they had charged at the two with do-or-die ferocity.
All the remaining assassins—from the first floor, this floor, and even the final trap Ilwol had prepared—had been mobilized, leaving no one else behind.
"Well done, Lilia."
"You too, brother! Ah, it's really over now, right?"
"Unless there's an assassin better than this one."
Galen had always used the sensory range of Water Flow Manipulation like a radar net.
Whenever something moved, it naturally stirred the air, and the moisture in the air shifted along with it—that was the principle he exploited.
Now, the sensory range of Spiral Vortex was pitching in as well.
Spiral Vortex was a spell that generated wind rotating around a central axis.
A caster had to keep track of their own magic, so it came with an innate sense for detecting flows within its range.
In short, no matter how well an assassin hid, as a living being, they had to breathe.
The airflow from that breathing was picked up by Spiral Vortex, and the movement of moisture in the air by Water Flow Manipulation.
With two sensory ranges overlapping, it was like a dual radar—twice as precise as before.
Thanks to that, Galen had already sensed Ilwol's presence when he was hiding in the room. He hadn't known his identity, just that someone was lurking there.
Anyway, with the strongest and only Gold-rank leader caught, there was no way his ragtag underlings could still be hiding.
There were definitely no intact assassins left in the mansion.
Lilia nodded and picked up the mace rolling on the floor. She inspected the ugly thing, its head chipped in places here and there, and broke into a satisfied smile.
"Good thing it's still fine!"
"...Where?"
"The head was always meant to be replaceable parts anyway. As long as the shaft is intact!"
She had used rare metal cham-eun, lighter and tougher than steel, only for the shaft—precisely for situations like this.
Priests couldn't reinforce weapons, so when clashing with warriors, the striking parts wore out anyway. The mace head was disposable from the start.
Lilia was satisfied that the shaft hadn't bent. She said a normal mace would break head and shaft alike after a few uses.
"Glad you're putting it to good use."
Galen crouched beside Ilwol's headless corpse and chuckled.
"By the way, Lilia."
"Yes!"
"Remember that old man from earlier?"
"The assassin we chased?"
"Yeah."
"He was right next to this guy, so he must've been pretty high up in the assassin guild. He's down below—could you heal him up a bit?"
"You didn't kill him?"
"He should still be alive, unless he's come to his senses and offed himself by now."
"For interrogation?"
"Exactly."
"I'll patch him up just enough then!"
Lilia hopped down through the hole in the corridor floor.
Galen rummaged through Ilwol's pockets. Something eye-catching turned up among the items.
"Hm."
It was a reddish copper plate smaller than his palm. At the bottom was an embossed new moon symbol.
Not a simple crescent—the new moon had intricate patterns inside, embossed like veins.
Elisa had mentioned that the New Moon stamped these when they wanted to make their presence known.
He doubted they used it like a stamp, but it was more useful than a coin pouch. Of course, he took the pouch too.
"Up we go."
By then, Lilia had jumped back up to this floor, an assassin slung limply over her shoulder.
A spirit blasted a water cannon right into the barely-healed face of Samwol.
"Gah?! Gah-hah-hah!"
The near-slap of a water barrage forced Samwol awake.
His soaked face twisted into a demonic grimace as he dazedly looked around.
He grasped the situation instantly upon spotting Ilwol's rolling head—no explanation needed.
"Kill me!"
"Obviously."
Galen replied indifferently.
"But first, a few questions."
"You think I'll talk?"
"It'd be better if you did."
"...What?"
"You know how the Church handles demon collaborators, right? I guarantee they're the experts here."
"Eh, not really."
Lilia waved shyly with a smile.
She'd seen it done but never done it herself, so her words were fact, not humility.
Samwol had no way of knowing that. Cold sweat trickled down the old man's spine.
Assassins were torture pros by trade, but the Church reigned supreme in this field.
Unlike standard torture that maximized pain without killing, the Church inflicted maximum agony first, then kept you from dying.
Word was, they didn't even stop if you spilled everything right away. They'd torture on regardless, only accepting your words as truth after dozens of repeats.
Samwol had already given up on life after that one strike from Galen alongside Yukwol and Guwol downstairs.
Still, he had no desire to become a slab of meat endlessly torn apart and healed.
"W-what do you want to know?"
Samwol asked in a slightly trembling voice. Galen grinned.
"You guys background-check your clients too, right?"
"We never—"
"Cut the crap about not doing it. We just caught tails following us."
"Th-that was..."
"Do. You. Or not?"
"...We do."
Samwol answered grudgingly. Galen wagged a finger.
"You don't just memorize that intel in your heads. I want to see it."
"There's... no such thing."
"Impossible. You're not clean yourselves. You keep it to grab leverage."
An assassin guild ignoring the risk of clients double-crossing them? Unthinkable.
Of course, leaking it openly meant mutual destruction. The guild's rep would tank, and clients wouldn't sit idle.
But as insurance, it worked fine—like a nuke. Never detonated, but great for negotiations.
"Shall we verify if it really doesn't exist? Escort us to the Church basement?"
"You gutter trash..."
"Hey, it's all over anyway—what's with the zipped lips? Scared the remnants here will avenge you if you keep quiet?"
"......"
Samwol knew better than anyone that wouldn't happen.
The New Moon guild had formed by submitting to Ilwol's power.
If the survivors outside heard? They'd scatter to the winds—join other guilds or freelance.
To the silent Samwol, Galen persuaded.
"Even if you don't talk, we'll tear this place apart and find it eventually. Easier for both if you spill: no hassle for me, clean death for you."
Not even promising life—just a painless end. Absurd persuasion.
But Samwol, looking utterly defeated, spat it out in resignation.
"...The compiled files are with Ilwol."
"Ilwol?"
"The guild leader of the New Moon."
"Ah."
Galen glanced at the headless corpse.
"Doesn't seem like he carried it around. Probably stashed in a safe, since it's important."
"I don't know."
"You know where the bedroom is, right?"
Usually the bedroom or study. Assassins probably didn't fancy reading, so no elaborate library.
Samwol, resigned, led Galen and Lilia without protest.
The bedroom was on this floor—subtle luxury over gaudy flash.
"Shall we toss it?"
"Please do."
Lilia began smashing up the fine bedroom.
Crack!Cra-crack!
Walls crumbled like toys every time she swung the mace like a plaything.
Clang!
As every wall shattered, a metallic clang rang out. Only one reason for metal in a wall.
"Ah, is this it?!"
Lilia pulled back the mace and swept away the debris with sweeps of her hands.
Galen watched with interest.
Whoosh!
Seizing the moment both were fixated on the safe, Samwol launched his final ambush.
His compliant guidance had been a ploy to lower their guard.
Death was certain anyway—he'd thrash in his last moments. An assassin's venomous heart hadn't broken.
His chilling handblade targeted Galen's throat.
A Silver-rank warrior could rip a frail mage's neck barehanded.
Crunch!
But Earth Bind's defense could crush a Silver warrior's fist barehanded.
"Graaah?!"
No assassin had ever closed in successfully on the first floor—they'd all dropped from range.
Samwol, unaware why Galen had walked away unscathed from this floor, thought proximity would work. Grave mistake.
"Looks like we hit the safe!"
"Good work. Mind switching for a sec?"
"Sure!"
Galen swapped places with Lilia as if nothing happened. Lilia, however, didn't act like nothing had.
Thwack!
Samwol, clutching his shattered hand and wailing, went silent. A full-swing mace laden with emotion erased one man from the world.
"This is why assassins are no good."
"Why else wear masks? They know it's shameful."
Galen patted the grumpy Lilia and examined the safe closely, then reached into his pocket.
He fiddled with the copper plate from Ilwol and aligned it with the safe.
Creak-clunk!
It didn't look like a key, yet it worked like one.
"Oh."
Shining gold coins, jewels, bills—back burner stuff. Not much quantity, and even packed tight, it wasn't a fortune.
Galen's eyes locked on the thin booklets neatly stacked to one side.
He picked up the top one; a quick skim revealed the contents before reading deeply.
Without reading more, he pulled them all out, scanned the covers quickly, and grinned.
A familiar family name was on one cover.
"Found it."
"Worth the trip!"
Lilia beamed.
"Not great to linger and read here though..."
"Take the whole safe?"
"Not heavy?"
"Not at all!"
Galen repacked the books, locked the safe. Lilia, mace on back, hoisted it effortlessly.
Exiting the mansion into the courtyard, Galen lightly flicked his hand.
Whoooosh—
The still-active Spiral Vortex wall slowly sank.
Once the flow was set, it maintained with minimal attention—a handy spell.
It had drained most of his mana from prolonged use, but no more needed today.
Next, Territorial Surge's mana burrowed into the earth.
The nearly formless main gate and the straight line to their position erupted.
Crunch! Cra-crunch!
Cleverly hidden traps shattered entirely.
No matter how well dug, surging earth rendered them useless.
The two leisurely passed the exposed traps and crossed the gate.
"Wh-what in the world happened?"
Onlookers had already gathered outside the mansion, buzzing.
Even in a secluded spot, a brief fire wouldn't go unnoticed on a dark night.
People rushing in shock at the blaze, only to be shocked again by the surrounding storm—reports had reached the city hall.
Now the storm subsided and people emerged; attention was inevitable.
"Nothing to worry about!"
Lilia shouted.
"Absolutely do not enter the grounds! Traps everywhere!"
"T-traps?"
"The Church will handle it soon! Again, stay out—you could die!"
In the confusion, a priestess in white robes carried weight. People nodded, baffled but compliant.
"Please spread the word!"
"Uh, sure..."
The pair wove calmly through the crowd and vanished into the darkness.
For the feat accomplished, it was an utterly natural exit.