How to Live as an Immortal Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Was He a Cockroach Spawn

***

That conjecture beca increasingly certain as I clashed with the man.

Face Up, which increased reaction speed.

Strength Plus, centered on enhancing physical strength.

Five ntal, which amplified the five senses.

There were already three confird slots alone.

Considering that his main profession was a ripperdoc, it went without saying that all of them were custom modifications.

The man who closed in at lightning speed brought his fingers together like an awl and swung in a single instant.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

Deep gashes were carved one after another into Ga-on’s back as he evaded the fierce assault.

The street had turned into a complete ss.

Not rely scratched, but severed clean through.

The bladed nails the man wore were no ordinary equipnt. They were a Unit that enhanced cutting power using ultrahigh-frequency vibration.

The Progressive Nail.

“You really are nothing but a beast.”

“Are those your last words?”

The man swung both arms as if determined to tear Ga-on apart. Anything caught by the bladed nails was sliced to pieces without exception, but Ga-on alone was different. He slipped precisely out of range and launched a counterattack.

Crunch.

That was the mont a hole opened in the man’s shoulder.

After targeting the sa spot repeatedly, there was no reason even Ublec elastic skin would not be pierced.

“Ghk.”

Of course, the man was not simply taking hits either.

Through the repeated exchanges, he had begun to learn Ga-on’s patterns. It was hardly surprising that the layered lenses within his glass-like pupils predicted the next move.

I can kill him.

Convinced, the man leapt without hesitation, etching five trajectories through the air.

“Oppa!”

Seeing how threatening it looked even to a third party, Sakuya shouted without realizing it. After all, despite the enemy right in front of him, Ga-on was calmly observing his emptied chamber.

But her concern remained only concern.

Ga-on struck the man’s wrist with Clock, nullifying the descending bladed nails, then grabbed him by the collar and slamd him into the ground.

As though brushing away an annoying fly.

Boom!

The ground split apart in a spiderweb pattern in an instant.

“Cough.”

His lungs shrank from the sudden shift in position, but that was all.

Thanks to the Ublec elastic skin, most of the impact was absorbed. The man tried to rise without delay, but Ga-on had no intention of allowing that.

As if to say don’t even try, Ga-on stomped on the man’s chest.

Crunch.

Though it was only once, it was more than enough to break his fighting spirit.

“Wh-what?”

Staring down at his chest, now caved in as if soone had scooped out a spoonful, the man let out a foolish sound, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Naturally, Ga-on could not have cared less.

“Miss Retro. See if there’s sothing nearby we can use to tie him up.”

“Leave that to .”

“Wait.”

I had intended to restrain the man with Sakuya’s help, but at an unexpected presence, I had to grab her again.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Get behind . Now.”

Though she wore a bewildered expression, Sakuya moved behind my back as instructed.

At that mont, from within the damp, clinging shadows, there ca the heavy tallic click of a chanism, and bullets poured out.

Spreading my coat and pulling Sakuya inside, I hunched down and waited for the shower to subside. At the gunshots hamring against her ears, Sakuya could not even part her lips; she rely clutched my sleeve.

Before long, the storm passed, and suppressing the fear that still lingered, Sakuya spoke.

“A-are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

A few rounds had hit , but since I did not die, all that remained was pain. As always.

But this ti was a little different.

An innocent Sakuya had almost been hurt.

“Hey, how about you stop fooling around and co out? Or should I co to you myself?”

“Oh? I thought we’d exploited a decent opening, yet you’re not dead. I suppose you do have enough skill to strut about like so naked savage?”

In response to my shout, a group of gangsters appeared. Their clothing was eclectic and even their weapons varied, but the hook-shaped tattoo slashing across their cheeks was identical.

It was a mark I had seen before.

“Pier Gang.”

This encounter had been inevitable.

Hadn’t Fernandez warned repeatedly? That a gang group was looking for in the back alleys. Now that I had entered District 39, it was only natural I would co onto their radar.

Though I had not expected to et them like this.

But the strange standoff did not last long. The man who had been lying as if dead suddenly sprang up and fled in the opposite direction.

Not about to let him escape, I lifted one of the gratings installed along the roadside and hurled it with all my strength.

Whoosh.

The iron plate spun fiercely like a propeller as it flew, and just before it could embed itself into the man, sothing unexpected happened.

He twisted his body sharply.

An utterly unnatural motion, as if soone had grabbed his shoulder and yanked him.

As a result, the grating devoured his arm rather than his back.

Did he implant a Balance Ball too?

It was a slot that allowed one to deliberately shift their center of gravity. Once accustod to it, one could land unscathed even after falling from a high-rise building.

The fact that his speed did not drop even after losing an arm was proof enough.

Before he could get any farther, I launched my folding knife.

After determining that his trajectory could shift in peculiar ways.

This ti, I aid directly for the device.

The result was obvious—a direct hit.

Crunch.

Even though the blade had pierced deep enough to shatter his cervical vertebrae and affect his central nervous system, the man calmly widened the distance. Judging by that, he must have overhauled his nervous system as well.

“Is he so kind of cockroach spawn?”

Even I could not help but let out a hollow laugh. His level of preparation was pathological. It made understand why the saying about a rabbit having three burrows existed.

I tried to pursue him belatedly, but as if to keep in check, bullets rained down. So of them even flew toward the innocent Sakuya.

Preparing for any contingency, I took off my coat and put it on Sakuya, then turned my back.

“I’ll play with you properly later, so how about we call it a day?”

“I happen to owe that doctor a debt. And besides, there’s a matter between us that needs settling, isn’t there?”

Among the gangsters, a skinhead who stood out conspicuously smiled. At the sa ti, the gold tooth flashing between his lips glead.

The leader of the Pier Gang.

According to what Fernandez had told —

“Your na was Caden, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I’m Caden, the older brother of Gesto—the one you killed.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been chasing .”

Instead of avoiding them out of annoyance, I should have stepped up and dealt with it sooner. Trash does not disappear; it rely rots and festers.

“More importantly, who’s that hiding behind you? Your lover? A whore?”

Caden shrugged exaggeratedly, then paused. Reflected in his eyes was soone even he had not expected.

“Sakuya?”

At his shout, the gangsters could not hide their agitation. Hearing her na echo like that, Sakuya shrank back.

“Wandering the back alleys and found yourself a new line of work? Well, that gives one more reason to beat you to death.”

As Caden snickered, the thugs following him laughed lewdly as well. It was obvious what they were imagining. They were probably picturing a grand feast.

“I’ve always thought this, but scum like you never seem to know when to keep your noses out of things.”

“Well, that’s just your subjective claim, isn’t it? Perhaps we’ll get to find out this ti. Who it is that really can’t tell the difference.”

After checking my equipnt, I spoke quietly toward Sakuya.

“Miss Retro. Hide sowhere suitable.”

“Y-yes.”

***

The situation was resolved one minute later.

“Wow.”

Forgetting even that she was in the back alleys, Sakuya blinked as she let out an exclamation of admiration.

I was the one who approached the street gang first. Anyone could see I was outnumbered, yet I did not care. More precisely, there was no need to.

Before they could even pull their triggers, I crushed their gun barrels; I dodged bullets without even looking. Though they closed in on from all sides, I moved leisurely through them as if strolling.

When it ca to the man called Caden, the word overwhelming would not have been an exaggeration. Not only did I snatch a dagger from between his fingers, I also toppled a hulking giant at least three tis my size.

What was astonishing was that I did all that without sustaining a single injury.

Had she only heard about it without seeing it herself, she would have dismissed it as a lie.

It had been the sa when I fought the ripperdoc, but I truly was no ordinary person.

“Were you in the Mars Defense Force, by any chance?”

“If I were, I wouldn’t be going through this trouble.”

Trouble.

Drawn to that word, Sakuya let out a soft exclamation.

“Co to think of it, you said you were looking for Handel. What for?”

At her bold question, I hesitated briefly.

Should I really tell Sakuya? The answer that echoed in my heart was, as expected, no.

I had already guessed it when she was being chased by the ripperdoc—what kind of decision she had made.

I did not want to dig into her wounds.

“It’s late. I’ll take you back to your place.”

“W-wait, at least tell your na. I really want to repay you. You never know what might happen in life, right? Who knows? Maybe there’s a future where I end up supporting you, oppa?”

“As long as I stay sane and alive, that future will never co.”

When I blatantly tried to brush her off, Sakuya grabbed onto my arm and clung to . But I was not soone who would be dragged along so easily.

Walking with Sakuya hanging onto like an accessory, I suddenly stopped.

Sothing had occurred to .

“Fine. If you really want to repay , guide to the clinic you visited.”

That was the best offer I could make.

***

The unlicensed clinic run by the man.

After going through all the records stored on the computer there, I clicked my tongue briefly. With basic hacking tools, I could not even get past the entrance. It seed I would have to take the whole thing and leave it to a specialist.

After tidying up roughly and stepping outside, Sakuya approached .

“Are you done?”

“Thanks to you.”

“So you’re still not going to tell your na?”

“There’s nothing good about getting involved with .”

The Pier Gang was a fine example. I had nearly ended up disposing of a walking corpse.

And yet, Sakuya followed along cheerfully, as if nothing could make her happier.

I could not help but sigh.

The cheers that had been echoing from afar gradually subsided. A sign that the long night was coming to an end. A bleak wind swept through the bluish alleyway.

Soone was approaching.

Judging that, I pulled Sakuya toward .

A beat later, the sound of wheels rolling reached my ears, out of place for the setting.

Inline?

Sure enough, from the other side, a boy appeared riding aggressive skates.

A neon coat that emitted its own light fluttered around him, and the chain hanging at his waist clinked loudly.

At a glance, he might have looked like one of the trend-sensitive younger generation.

But few would actually think so.

Strangely enough, the boy was wearing a gas mask.