Chapter 254
Chapter 254
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: ACT.50 Eagle Hunt (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Isn't it suspicious? Why Roberto is having a secret meeting with the Strategy King.”
“Why is that?”
Graham asked an abrupt question.
William retorted without blinking.
“What do you mean, sir?”
“William. What do you think of this picture?”
“...I've had it verified that the photo isn't doctored. It must be true that they have this kind of relationship.”
“But the two of them should be enemies.”
“The Strategy King himself claims he wasn't at that battle. We have no way of knowing the finer details of what's between them.”
Graham stroked his beard, lost in thought.
William was the person Graham trusted most within Pentagon Eagle.
And since it was Choi Yeon-soo who had used Polymorph after completely grasping William's personality, behavior, and even his habits, Graham didn't have the slightest suspicion that the William before him was a fake.
“I recall you always trusted L-Team.”
“I employed them because they were capable. There's no such thing as absolute trust in this business.”
William—Choi Yeon-soo—adjusted his glasses.
A habit William displayed when he was confident in his thoughts.
Only then did the corners of Graham's mouth twist up into a grotesque smile.
“Right. Those bastards were certainly skilled, but there was always something shady about them.”
Graham slammed the liquor bottle down with a thud.
“William. Right now...”
KABOOM!!
The two of them staggered.
An explosion powerful enough to shake the entire building.
Their expressions hardened instantly.
“Such a huge explosion... without any warning?”
Choi Yeon-soo muttered.
A mumble just loud enough to be noticed, as if meant for Graham to hear.
It worked very effectively on Graham.
“There's a special device here that prevents any kind of bomb from detonating. An explosion is impossible unless it's a player's power. Besides, any player capable of causing an explosion of this magnitude would be at least A-rank. And all of them, except for one, are currently on missions and not here. In other words, only one person could have done this.”
Graham stood up.
Graham, who usually slept and ate in his chair and rarely got up, had sobered up in an instant and showed his resolve for the first time in a long while.
“We're going to catch Roberto.”
“Yes, sir.”
Choi Yeon-soo bowed his head.
Unseen by Graham, a deep smile spread across his face.
***
“Quite something.”
I clicked my tongue as I examined the ledgers in the records department's secret vault.
I already knew how deeply Pentagon Eagle's backroom dealings were tied to various crimes, but this was even worse than in EOA.
It was enough to understand why L-Team and Graham's stats and skills were abnormally high.
They'd gotten so strong by scraping together coins like this.
‘Though, thanks to that, I was able to snatch some expensive elixirs.’
After grabbing the ledgers, I took out several stigmas from my inventory.
Low-grade ones with little utility that I rarely had a use for.
I'd brought them along specifically to use as makeshift bombs.
Clatter.
I dropped them all on the floor.
In Pentagon Eagle's basement, the records department and the warehouse were close to each other, separated by only a short distance.
In other words, it was a layout perfect for blowing up two of the organization's most important places at once.
Why they chose this layout might have been due to their faith in some item that 'guaranteed bombs would misfire,' but it could only be seen as complacent.
I took off the Dokkaebi Cape and mask.
There was no one else here right now.
Naturally, no one had seen me enter either.
I intended to reveal myself to only one person who would soon arrive.
“Waiting in front of the warehouse... who on earth...”
Someone approaching while muttering to themselves saw me and stopped in their tracks.
“You... are?”
“It's been a while, Roberto.”
“How did you get here... No, don't tell me!”
Seeing the stigmas scattered all over the floor, Roberto moved in alarm.
Too late.
KABOOOOM!!
The mass of stigmas exploded.
The documents and items in the records department and warehouse were instantly turned to ash and dust.
KABOOM!
Another explosion erupted.
An explosion using Roberto's ability, antimatter.
I smirked slightly.
Using his ability on his own. He's dug his own grave.
“A pity, but now's not the time to fight you.”
I quickly put on the Dokkaebi Cape and dodged Roberto's attack, heading up to the first floor.
“Stop right there!”
Roberto's eyes widened as he chased after me.
It would be one thing if he hadn't noticed me from the start, but he knows I was there.
The Dokkaebi Cape only hides one's appearance.
It can't do anything about being tracked by mana detection.
‘But others won't see it that way.’
Roberto was the only one who went into the basement.
Roberto was the only one who came out after the explosion.
And immediately after, he was seen 'fleeing' in a hurry.
The culprit behind the explosion is Roberto.
Making it look that way was the true purpose of this plan.
-Where's Roberto!
-He just left! He went down to the basement, and after a loud bang, he took off at incredible speed...
-Just as I thought. That damn bastard! After him! He's the traitor!
Various voices came through the communication device in my ear.
It seems Choi Yeon-soo did his part well.
But that wasn't the end of it.
“Take down Pentagon Eagle!”
“You filthy bastards! You've crossed the line one too many times!”
The anti-Pentagon Eagle forces, who had been waiting in various locations, seized the opportunity to launch an all-out attack.
The explosion was the signal to begin.
At the forefront were Onyx Gryphon and other anti-Salvatio factions, as well as other neutral forces that had existed in EOA.
Santiago's testimony had moved the neutral forces.
-Onyx Dragon...! I can understand them, but why have the others who were just watching us suddenly turned!?
-S-Sir Graham! A rumor is spreading! They say all our business dealings have been exposed...!
-What? How did that get out!? Don't tell me that bastard Roberto...!!
Everything is going smoothly.
From the explosion to the attack by the anti-Pentagon Eagle forces.
And even the revelation of Pentagon Eagle's 'business' dealings.
Everything pointed to Roberto as the culprit.
No, to be precise, it was made to look that way.
“You heard all that, right?”
After stopping a good distance from Pentagon Eagle's headquarters, I took out the communication device and held it out toward Roberto.
I even deliberately turned up the volume.
There was no way Roberto couldn't have heard the voices coming from the communication device.
“What is this...”
Realizing the situation, Roberto looked shocked, lowering his sword with a look of despair.
“To become a traitor overnight. How...”
“With his personality, there was no way Graham would ever truly trust you guys. He's the type who doesn't trust others from the get-go.”
In a way, it resembled my first impression of Hwang Chan-jin.
There's no one in this world to trust but myself.
That was Graham's fundamental mindset.
William may have seemed like an exception, but he was still within the category of 'others'.
Just someone he could trust 'a little more'.
“They won't look kindly on you within Salvatio either. You've essentially ruined their plan to swallow Pentagon Eagle and use it as a base to expand their influence. At best, you're a felon who ruined the plan; at worst, a traitor to Salvatio.”
“...Salvatio is hope.”
Screams rang out.
The sound of weapons clashing violently.
The chaotic sound of all sorts of abilities colliding assaulted my eardrums.
Roberto met my gaze with clear eyes.
“I can't give up. Salvatio must continue to move forward.”
“Are you serious? You say that even knowing Salvatio's goal? After preventing the apocalypse, they plan to use that power to rule the entire world and shape it to their liking. It's a simple dictatorship, an abuse of power. How is trading one crisis for another hope?”
“Do you really think people who have gained this power will willingly give up their authority? Not at all. If order can be maintained this way, if people can live without trembling in fear... if it creates a world where innocent people can live their lives fully, then I will gladly cooperate with Salvatio.”
Roberto's eyes didn't waver in the slightest.
It meant he truly believed it.
“...There's no getting through to you.”
I drew up the Black Flame.
The moment Roberto tensed and corrected his stance, as if recalling the memory of being defeated.
“Stop!!”
The gravity in the area distorted.
Graviton.
In this situation, there was only one person who would help Roberto and possessed the Graviton ability.
Grace of L-Team.
Her soft brown hair swayed as she blocked my path to Roberto.
With both arms wrapped around Roberto, she glared at me as if to kill.
“If you're both here, Pentagon Eagle's forces will be that much weaker.”
“...Jaeger is over there.”
Jaeger, huh.
The one Hwang Chan-jin had marked, who fired beams like a sniper rifle.
I let out a smirk.
Of the six L-Team members, two were captured alive, and one was killed by Jeon Do-jin.
I didn't start this operation without knowing who the remaining three were.
If I took on Roberto, that left Grace and Jaeger.
Grace had shown a particular tendency to look out for Roberto, so I had predicted this would happen. All I needed to do was prepare a plan to deal with Jaeger.
“You don't seriously think Jaeger can turn this situation around by himself, do you?”
“You...!”
“Stop it. Let's go, Grace.”
Roberto grabbed Grace's hand.
“But...!”
Grace, who was about to protest, looked into Roberto's eyes and bit her lip.
Just as I thought gravity was distorting again, the two of them vanished into the distance in an instant.
Grace didn't forget to give me one last glare.
‘...I'll let them go this time.’
I was about to move the darkness to catch them, but I changed my mind.
It's more important to finish off Pentagon Eagle for good than to catch those two here.
One way or another, Pentagon Eagle is America's strongest guild.
Even if other guilds formed an alliance to attack, they had enough power to defend themselves.
And most importantly.
‘Letting them live will only deepen the misunderstanding.’
I turned and headed toward the place where the battle was raging.
***
“Honestly, I don't know. Can we trust that man, Kim Se-hyeon?”
“That's right. I'm starting to think Lady Cimila trusted him too readily.”
A man and a woman voiced their complaints.
The others who followed Dread, the assault captain of Onyx Gryphon, nodded in agreement.
“He's the man who critically injured Roberto and forced L-Team to flee. Not only that, he subdued Dwayne and Ada and even wiped out A-Team.”
Dread scanned the room.
“Is there anyone here who can do that?”
“...”
No one spoke a word.
Roberto was a name that always came up when discussing the strongest in Pentagon Eagle.
If you were to pick the strongest team, it was unequivocally L-Team.
Everyone knew that.
Confirming their reaction, Dread nodded.
“Then shut up and follow. If he comes, the tide of battle will turn.”
“L-look over there!”
The moment Dread finished speaking, a woman pointed to a spot and shouted.
“Speak of the devil.”
Dread smirked.
There, a man was tearing through the battlefield, wielding a black sword wreathed in black flames.