Chapter 125
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: For Now, Let's Bolt!
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Poof, poof, poof.
[Uwaaaah! I must be crazy, seriously!]
In Leviathan's vast underground facility, the Subterranean Dragon Palace.
Riding atop a single box and teleporting like mad through the labyrinthine underground corridors, Yuna Kyung screamed her head off.
To steal that target right in front of the Liberation Brigade's specters.
It was the kind of reckless stunt that only someone sick of living would pull—diving headfirst into a vat of boiling oil like some suicidal chicken.
Of course, Yuna Kyung had her excuses.
Instinct took over.
She hadn't thought it through.
It just sort of happened.
...No matter how you sliced it, those sounded less like excuses and more like proof she was a brainless chicken, but for Yuna Kyung, it had been unavoidable.
[If it weren't for the team leader, I wouldn't have to do this!]
Rimon often said it.
This Violin of Abyssal Darkness was the best tool for melting away the constellation's power that had hardened inside his body.
Unless they found some replacement tool or method later, it was pretty much the only solution right now.
What exactly that meant...
Yuna Kyung didn't know the details.
But she did know one thing: without this violin, Rimon would be in serious trouble.
So the moment she thought the Liberation Brigade's specters might snatch the Violin of Abyssal Darkness, her body had moved on reflex.
[Argh, damn it! Why do those Liberation Brigade psychos have to go after this of all things...!]
If they'd just cleaned out the entire vault, she might've been impressed by their boldness.
But for a fleeting moment, as she cursed the Liberation Brigade's pettiness in risking all this for just one violin—
Yuna Kyung suddenly grew puzzled.
'Wait, hold on? Now that I think about it, why did they target this thing?'
Objectively speaking.
The Violin of Abyssal Darkness wasn't some incredible treasure.
It was a magical violin that let the user play it automatically, but if you couldn't handle the performance, it was just a cursed item, like Rimon said.
In this Iron Age overflowing with rare items, it'd be treated like trash without batting an eye.
If there was one unique thing about it...
It melted away the constellation power absorbed by the player.
'No way they know about that? Does this violin really have some secret?'
What was the true nature of this violin that rising stars of the criminal underworld like the Liberation Brigade's specters wanted so badly they attacked the Seven Dragon Society turf bosses?
She racked her brains for a moment.
But Yuna Kyung soon shook her head.
'Nah, I can worry about that later! Right now, priority one is getting the hell out!'
Poof, poof, poof.
Her slightly slowed teleport speed revved up again, like a writer's typing right before deadline.
The max distance per jump was only about 10 meters.
But chaining them let her zip through dozens of floors in seconds.
As a former high-level player skilled in spatial movement—and someone who'd wandered Leviathan's halls out of boredom whenever she had time—this high-speed escape was possible only for her.
'Nice, at this rate...!'
No matter how elite the Liberation Brigade's specters were, without spatial skills, they couldn't catch her.
Yuna Kyung was grinning to herself at that assessment when—
"You're escaping awfully quickly."
A voice echoed through the air.
And as she finished a teleport, a hand reached out toward her.
[Eek?!]
Poof!
Thanks to her animal instincts chaining short-range teleports, she barely dodged the hand and freaked out.
And the man with the braided hair who'd just whiffed—
Bellos let out a hollow chuckle.
"Ha, well this is embarrassing. Me, missing not once but twice. If my comrades found out, it'd be teasing fodder for life."
Was he incredulous?
Or did he find this amusing?
Yuna Kyung's eyes widened in shock as she watched Bellos mutter with a smile.
[Wh-what, how are you already here?!]
"That's what I'd like to know."
Bellos narrowed his eyes.
Then he continued, eyeing the still-fuzzy Yuna Kyung.
"A psychic bioweapon using both teleportation and telepathy—what the hell did the Seven Dragon Society use to create something like you?"
[I'm not a bioweapon, you know?!]
"Hm? Then are you a transformed player, perhaps?"
[...Well, not exactly that either.]
"Then you are a bioweapon."
[Nooo? I'm just a cute, talented pet, that's all?]
"Got it. A cute and talented bioweapon, then."
[You bastard, seriously!]
Whether Yuna Kyung got mad or not.
Bellos ignored it.
He just kept talking with that smile.
"To be honest, I don't care if you're a bioweapon or a prospective chicken ingredient birdling."
[Calling a cute baby bird like me a prospective chicken ingredient?! You wanna get lynched by animal lovers worldwide...!]
"So how about you stop trying to time your teleports while we chat?"
Yuna Kyung froze solid.
Cold sweat dripped down her.
[...You're sharp, huh?]
"One of my comrades is an idiot who loves chattering away to exploit gaps, you see."
[Ahaha, I see. Yap!]
Poof!
Yuna Kyung teleported instantly.
Her nonstop chatter had been a ploy to buy time until she could teleport again, after all.
But the moment she crossed space, Yuna Kyung could only gasp in horror.
"What a piss-poor attitude. Running off mid-conversation—karma's gonna bite you for that."
[Hngh?!]
She'd clearly fled upward.
Yet Bellos popped out before even a second passed, hitting Yuna Kyung with heart-stopping shock.
Because she'd realized how he'd caught up so fast.
'T-teleport? This guy's a spatial player?!'
Yuna Kyung's vision went dark.
Her sole advantage as a baby bird—teleport escape—was gone.
"Normally, I'd punish you for interfering... but I do like birds, you see."
[Appreciate the sentiment, but you're not my type?]
"...I meant as an animal lover, not romantically."
[Oh, really? So what now?]
Yuna Kyung shot back snappily.
She was a former PAB agent, after all.
No matter how cornered, she wasn't some rookie who'd cower before a mere criminal.
At her prickly attitude, Bellos said admiringly,
"Hand over that box willingly. For your guts, I'll let you go unharmed."
[Yeah, right. You expect me to buy that?]
"Doesn't matter if you believe me. If not, I'll just kill you and take it."
That instant.
Yuna Kyung narrowed her eyes.
Was she weighing his offer?
Not even close.
If she were that type, she couldn't have lasted years under a mad dog like Rimon.
That's why she noticed it.
[Is that so? Then why not just kill me and take it?]
"I told you, I like birds."
[A murderer who slaughters people doesn't get a pass just 'cause he likes birds—that's insane.]
"Seeing my goodwill as madness—such a shame."
Yuna Kyung ignored Bellos's nonsense and thought hard.
A vicious criminal, a Liberation Brigade specter no less, wouldn't show mercy.
So there had to be a reason he was trying to persuade her.
And the obvious one: to stop her chaining teleports and escaping.
'Why?'
The problem was, there was no reason for that.
'Why can't I escape?'
''Cause it'd be hard to catch me?'
'A spatial player should handle that easy.'
'Hell, even just killing me like those ronin bros would be faster...'
That instant.
Yuna Kyung's eyes flashed.
[You're not a spatial player, are you?!]
"What are you talking about?"
[Don't play dumb!]
Considering how he'd just leaped through space, it sounded ridiculous.
But Yuna Kyung was certain.
Bellos might use teleport, but he wasn't a spatial player.
That's why chasing her took time.
He lacked the confidence for a teleport tag game, so he was pretending to be merciful to lure her in.
And if her guess held, another oddity clicked too.
[Plus, you can't use that skill you hit the ronin bros with on me, right? That's why you won't kill me!]
If he couldn't catch her, kill her.
But he wasn't.
Wasn't unwilling—he couldn't!
If he could insta-kill like the ronin, he'd have squashed her already.
Hearing her logic-leap-filled deduction—which she herself fully believed—Bellos's eyes chilled.
"Not bad instincts for prospective chicken material."
[Heh, I'm an elite bluebird, you know.]
Yuna Kyung spun her brain into overdrive.
If her hunch was right, chaining teleports could keep her on the run.
Of course, it was life-or-death tag.
A gamble where one slip meant death.
Especially hauling this big box with the Violin of Abyssal Darkness—her stamina drain was brutal.
'Screw it, grit my teeth and endure!'
But she didn't hesitate.
She just had to hold out until Rimon figured things out and came to help.
"I didn't want to use this, even for future considerations, but..."
Feeling her resolve to run till she dropped, perhaps.
Bellos clicked his tongue once.
Then he opened the book in his hand.
He flipped to a blank page and ran his finger across it, speaking.
"『Spatial Movement Prohibition Act, Enacted』."
That moment, Yuna Kyung flinched.
Not just from his random words.
Now she could finally inspect that book up close.
It had lost its original heft and thickness, miniaturized massively, but it was familiar to her.
Something she'd studied to death to join PAB as a civil servant.
'A law codex?'
Why would a Liberation Brigade specter—from a world farthest from law—carry something like that?
Her confusion lasted a second.
Then Yuna Kyung paled blue.
'Wait, a skill that uses a law codex—don't tell me...!?'
Remembering something, she tried to teleport away instantly.
But it was futile.
Staring at her unmoving self, Yuna Kyung gasped.
Not because her teleport was sealed, but because she'd finally twigged the skill's true nature.
[Oh my god...!]
A few years back.
This level 99 player was poised to become the next monarch.
But then he vanished, spawning rumors from retirement to assassination.
A grand-rank player's unique skill.
No, practically an absolute skill.
Yuna Kyung screamed it out.
[Lord Court Archduke's 『Rule of Law』?!]
Facing the skill of the legendary player who'd drawn with a summon monarch despite not being one herself, Yuna Kyung could only freak out.