Chapter 90
Chapter 90 - Enemy at the Gate(1)
"Ugh!"
"Argh!"
"Aaagh!"
Screams of three men echoed through the narrow, damp alley.
Thud. Three bodies soaked in blood and filth collapsed simultaneously. The black tentacles writhing above them quickly receded, returning to their original form as a cloak.
"Enough. I've gauged your level."
Of course, I was the one wearing the cloak.
The ones who got hit by my Fatal Thorns were the elite assassins of the Kern Performance Society.
I had hoped for better. But this is what happens when they ignore the password and try to contact Old man Hick directly.
"This is so boring it makes me want to die."
I immediately drew my sword. Crackle! 14 mana blades flickered around me, emitting a cold light.
The assassins, having lost half their strength to my Fatal Thorns, were clearly at a disadvantage. Old man Hick, who had been quietly observing me, nodded.
"That beautiful blue sword energy. I thought I'd seen it somewhere... Isn't that the secret technique of Halcenberg, the Tiger of the North?"
He delivered the exact same line as in my previous life.
I couldn't help but smirk at those words. The assassins seemed to take it as mockery and glared angrily.
But before they could act, Old man Hick stepped forward to stop them.
"Why don't you take a proper look at whether I'm right or wrong."
I swung Bestak threateningly.
Whoosh! The mana blades immediately spiraled towards Old man Hick.
"Like a meteor shower of mana blades. Smaller in scale, but unmistakable."
Clang!
Just like in my previous life, the mana blades scattered in mid-air. I glared at Old man Hick with lazy eyes.
Being the second time around, I wasn't particularly moved. I thought he might react differently since I came at a different time, but surprisingly, everything from the situation to the dialogue was identical.
"It's an honor to see you in person, Eldritch Slayer."
Old man Hick bowed to me just like before.
Even seeing it again, his greeting befitted his title as the master information bureau. Maybe I should learn that greeting style? It could be useful for putting on airs somewhere.
"I am Hick Tosior. information bureau ruling the back alleys, head of the Kern Performance Society."
Old man Hick introduced himself formally. Finally, time for dialogue. I scratched the back of my head as I spoke to him.
However... my words this time were slightly different from my previous life.
"I have information to report. I'd like to request cooperation with the Kern Performance Society."
"A VIP guest like yourself is always welcome."
Old man Hick responded with brief pleasantries and a meaningful smile.
* * *
"A tragedy will occur in Kern today."
Inside a dark shack. Old man Hick sitting with his assistant on one side, and me on the other. A pale lantern light illuminating both of us.
The setting was the same as before. But the atmosphere and conversation were completely different from my previous life.
Old man Hick's eyes widened at my sudden statement.
"A tragedy, you say. What kind of tragedy?"
"You already know about the Immortal Cult's infiltration of Kern, right?"
"...Yes. Not exactly, but I have a rough idea."
As expected. He had at least a general grasp of the Immortal Cult's movements.
I nodded and lowered my voice slightly.
"They'll make their move today. More precisely, early tomorrow morning."
I went on to explain exactly when and how they would attack the city.
Both Old man Hick and his assistant listening beside him widened their eyes and listened intently to my detailed explanation that sounded as if I had actually experienced it.
"Hmm... interesting."
A moment of silence passed between Old man Hick and me. He glanced at his assistant before taking out paper and pen and beginning to write something.
He did this before too. Perhaps because the speaker was the famous Eldritch Slayer, he's writing it down just in case.
Write if you want to. Anyway, I immediately presented my request to him.
"What I want is simple. Let's stop the Immortal Cult together. If we leave things as they are, everyone - you, me, and all citizens of Kern - will die at their hands."
Perhaps because it was such a grand statement, Old man Hick's eyes widened slightly. He studied my face carefully, trying to gauge my sincerity.
Soon, a look of surprise crossed his face. He must have concluded I wasn't lying.
"Is this truly real? Or the delusional belief of a madman..."
From what I hear, he's treating me like a lunatic. I decided to watch and see how far this would go.
Then Old man Hick nodded reluctantly, as if making a concession.
"Well, it's not entirely impossible. Then what evidence do you have that such an event will occur?"
"Shouldn't you know the evidence better than I do?"
"If you're just going to play word games, let's stop here."
Old man Hick immediately dismissed me with a cold look. As expected of the head information bureau. My amateur rhetoric won't work for probing him.
I clicked my tongue and finally confessed the truth.
"I cannot tell you my evidence."
Old man Hick's eyes flickered with bewilderment at my bold statement.
He stopped writing and tapped the end of his pen against the paper, saying,
"...You seek the Kern Performance Society's help without evidence? You must think little of us. You don't actually believe those assassins earlier represented our full strength, do you?"
"And you don't think that was my full strength either, right?"
"......"
Actually, it was my full strength.
I'm not a show-off - when I fight, I always start with my killing moves.
The only skills I haven't shown them are the Black Wings and the job skills I just got. None of them are attack skills anyway, so that's that.
'But it's going to be troublesome?'
Because. In this life, I haven't given you my information yet.
The image you have of me is 'Eldritch Slayer.' A person of interest who defeated Eldritch, the biggest nuisance in northern Mittelland, just a few months after being summoned.
It would be hard to think that someone like me wouldn't even know the concept of job advancement until just now. Even though I might look incompetent on the surface, they'll probably assume I have some amazing hidden ability.
Of course, I really am just incompetent as I appear.
"Hmm... Worst as a trading partner. But I'll praise your attitude of valuing secrets as an information bureau."
Old man Hick finally spoke after a long while. He handed the half-written paper to his assistant and crossed his arms. Then he leaned his upper body closer to me.
I raised my eyebrow and asked.
"So, are you going to cooperate?"
"Who decided that? I don't remember saying anything like that."
"..."
I held my forehead at the situation that was becoming more troublesome.
The situation went from bad to worse. Old man Hick raised his finger and started saying this.
"How about this. I've found what I think is the most reasonable explanation."
"What is it?"
"You're a member of the Immortal Cult. And for some reason, you're trying to draw us in."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's the most logical and coherent inference. Otherwise... How could you know the Immortal Cult's plans so thoroughly? The Immortal Cult of all organizations."
"..."
Right. Come to think of it, they asked about my relationship with the Immortal Cult in my previous life too. It seems that question was half mixed with suspicion about me.
Moreover, my detailed explanation of the Immortal Cult's plans became rather poisonous. The fact that I knew too much about the strictly veiled Immortal Cult fueled their suspicion.
It was a mistake. I bit my lips tightly.
"... The negotiation has failed."
"I suppose so."
Old man Hick agreed curtly. I watched him distastefully, then abruptly asked.
"Since we might meet again, why don't you tell me the password needed to contact you, Old man Hick?"
"The question is 'White Demon Lord'. The answer is 'Hero's Legacy' for affirmative. And 'Fall of Ashin' for negative."
"Wow. That's quite fancy."
I muttered while soothing my burning stomach. Then I stood up from my seat without hesitation.
And at that moment. With a sharp keeing sound, a blade came at my neck.
It was Old man Hick's assistant who had been silent until now.
"Who said we'd let you go just like that, Immortal Cult associate."
... Ah.
As if nothing's going my way and I'm already annoyed to death.
They're really getting under my skin. You senile old man.
"Try to block it if you can."
Simultaneously with my muttering, papapak! The cloak split into several pieces and flew instantly toward the assistant.
Pubuk! With a gruesome sound of flesh being torn, the thorns mercilessly pierced the assistant's body. The thorns penetrated the assistant's limbs and flew to the shanty wall, displaying the assistant on the wall like an exhibit.
It happened without warning. It might have taken about 1 second.
"Try blocking it if you can, you bastard. See what happens."
I met eyes with both the assistant and Old man Hick. Old man Hick flinched as if burned and avoided my gaze.
Srrrk. The thorns detached from the assistant and regathered into the cloak.
The assistant twitched and hurriedly started stopping the bleeding, and I clicked my tongue while roughly opening the shanty door to leave.
"Sorry for the trouble. I avoided the vital spots so treat it however you want."
"W-wait! The conversation isn't over yet!"
"I have nothing more to say."
As I was about to leave while grinding my teeth, I suddenly remembered the unchangeable fact that I was the one at a disadvantage.
So just before closing the door, I finally added with a sigh.
"... If you really doubt me, put a tail on me. And... gather your army with all your might right now. Don't forget. When the explosion occurs at the Promise Plains... that's when the tragedy begins."
This way, whether they doubt or trust me, they'll put a tail on me just to verify the truth of my words.
And after the ritual begins... they'll have no choice but to believe the reality before their eyes, whether they want to or not. By the time they realize 'that guy was right!' it will be too late though.
'Just need to hold out until then. Until then....'
It's impossible for me alone to stop all 300 Immortal Cult members. After all, there's no winning against a group attack.
This isn't good. Even working together to prepare for an ambush wouldn't be enough, yet we can't trust each other despite having the same enemy. I feel troubled as our chances of victory seem slim.
'... For now, I'll do my best. That's all.'
Just as I was thinking I should come up with a proper way to persuade Old man Hick in my next life...
I realized I was already thinking about defeat, and shook my head vigorously.
'What's wrong with you, Park Jeong-yong....'
An unpleasant feeling creeps up in my chest.
Come to think of it.
In this life, I shot thorns at the assistant and injured the assassins....
Wasn't I too unbothered by it?
I had such a belated realization.