Chapter 63
That ans That’s Your Answer
***
As I hurried into the president’s office, the traces of a fierce battle ca into view. A horrific scene that could not be described rely as a shambles.
From the iron door to the desk and even the chairs, the cross-sections of the severed objects were so smooth they looked like glass, clear enough to reflect my face.
As far as I knew, there was only one blade with such unprecedented destructive power.
‘Monomolecular blade.’
One look at the dead bodies was enough to tell that the one who wielded it was no ordinary fighter.
Despite the cramped space—so narrow that a few steps would bring one nose to nose—they had only managed to half-draw their pistols from their holsters.
Proof that they had been subdued in an instant.
From their perspective, it must have been nothing less than a sudden, aningless death, but I had no ti to mourn.
Not only was I not rciful enough to pray for the souls of n who had never lived upright lives, but I had co here for one reason only—to learn the source of Eden.
But the computer and the safe had been split clean in two, propped neatly back-to-back as if on display. Unfortunately, extracting any information from them seed unlikely.
“……!”
It was then that an indistinct shout rang out from outside the window.
Instinctively, I stepped onto the window fra and leapt, turning toward the source of the sound.
What ca into view as I landed on the rooftop was an unexpected sight.
A hologram helt.
A raincoat.
And protect gear.
Standing beneath the dark night sky was a fully ard assailant.
Perhaps that was why.
For a mont, I felt as though I had stepped not into the city, but onto a battlefield. I could not help but tense up. Moreover, Nakamachi Hiro was dangling from his grasp.
It was obvious who the culprit behind all this was.
“Hey.”
Of course, Hiro’s safety was not what mattered to .
“Even if you’re going to kill him, mind if I interrogate him for a mont first? I’ve got business with him.”
“…….”
As if uninterested, the assailant lowered his head and grabbed Hiro by the skull. With a crunch, bone and flesh were crushed like tofu, oozing through his fingers.
“That ans that’s your answer.”
The mont I finished speaking, I dashed forward and threw a punch.
Boom!
With a stamping step, I shifted the center of my entire body forward into the strike.
The monstrous strength that surpassed the realm of humans was enough to punch through a concrete wall, yet the assailant did not budge a single step.
The protect gear he wore was a premium model, carbon-fiber-reinforced polyr layered with tungsten alloy.
It could not compare to heavily armored powered armor, but it was still at a level that ordinary firearms could not even scratch.
And what about ?
Having entered as a guest, I had nothing that could be called a weapon. But when you lack teeth, you make do with your gums.
Having shoved the pistol I picked up downstairs into the joints of the assailant, I pulled the trigger in rapid succession.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
The muzzle flash flared and smoke rose in an instant.
The vibration traveling up through the grip made frown. It was not the kind of sensation one felt from a human body. If I had to compare it, it felt like a full-body prosthesis—
“You are….”
It was undoubtedly the android Owen had ntioned.
But I had no chance to confirm it.
Just as my vision flashed, a single trajectory carved through the air.
A sword strike that pierced through a split second.
Twisting my waist to slip out of its range, I smacked the guard with the back of my hand to deflect the trajectory. Then I pressed the muzzle against the flat of the blade and poured bullets into it.
I had already determined before coming up that the weapon he carried was a monomolecular blade. Naturally, the most dangerous weapon had to be destroyed first.
But regrettably, that ploy did not work. His movents in response were elusive beyond asure.
Crackle.
Each ti sparks burst from his feet, his position shifted from mont to mont. Three-dinsional maneuvers that seed to defy the laws of physics.
Trying to gauge distance against him was aningless. Just when he seed far away, he would arrive right before and swing his blade.
His rciless speed was enough to shatter even my sense of depth.
But I did not remain helpless. I swung both fists with enough force to shatter his protect gear.
Boom!
My relentless assault, circulating like a wheel, slamd into his chest and unleashed continuous explosions of sound—yet it was useless.
Dodging the flash that shot toward my head with the force to pierce it, I leapt between buildings. The assailant readily joined the chase, and the heat of the battle spiraled out of control.
Even while moving, the attacks we hurled at each other sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
The exchange, asured in milliseconds, was evenly matched.
Long ago, both of us had erased the background from our minds.
As for , I could no longer afford to let him go. The more we crossed hands, the more forgotten mories resurfaced.
Yes, from that unfamiliar swordsman, the aura of an old monk seeped out.
“You’re not an ordinary android.”
A remnant of the past that I had failed to find even during the Ice Age revealed itself only now. Even if restrictions had been lifted, there was no way such a dramatic reversal would occur.
In that case, the full-body prosthesis was rely a ans. The true entity lay elsewhere.
And sure enough—
“Heh heh. I have never once introduced myself in such a manner, so what misunderstanding are you under?”
A proper answer flowed from the assailant.
‘A cyborg?’
If so, it was no wonder Owen had misunderstood. On the surface, there was no difference.
“Why did you kill Hiro? Are you hostile to the Lucchesia Family? Or were you simply hired?”
“I tell you this because it is you, but seeking answers from others is hardly a desirable attitude. All truths hold aning only when one seeks them out oneself.”
“What kind of bullshit…….”
“However, as a courtesy to the one who has reminded of days long past, I shall do my utmost.”
Crackle.
A speed incomparable to before.
In the blink of an eye, the assailant closed the distance and bared his fangs.
His physical capabilities, far beyond the scope of humanity, surpassed mine in every respect.
It was the culmination of human technology.
In other words, history itself.
The power gained from battling nature and uncovering truth was not sothing a re human could withstand.
But within as well lay centuries of ti. Enough that I could no longer be dismissed as rely human.
Bang!
I struck the flat of the blade precisely with the back of my hand, only to grimace at the intense pain that followed.
The sword he wielded was on a completely different level from the one I had once used. Simply clashing against it tore my hand to shreds.
Even so, I chose to et it head-on, trusting in my regenerative ability.
As I endured and endured, I caught a fleeting opening. What I aid for was the monomolecular blade itself.
Yes, if I could just seize that, no matter how sturdy he was, I would be able to cut him down in an instant.
But as if anticipating that, he retreated, breaking the flow, and prepared his final offensive.
The two blades had already risen above his crown.
Realizing that there was one more shadow cast over my face than I had expected, I felt a chill run down my spine.
‘Dual swords?’
One line slashed horizontally,
One line slashed vertically.
The two trajectories intersected, drawing the shape of a cross.
A sword strike that claid up, down, left, and right all at once.
I abandoned an arm entirely to evade, but he did not stop, spinning in place like a top.
The mont the twin blades whirled and blossod like a flower in full bloom, my insides turned cold.
A technique I myself had once brought into being stood before my eyes.
Breaking it barehanded was out of the question.
The instant I resolved to break away, my remaining arm flew into the air.
Driven by centrifugal force, the two rampaging blades were no different from a natural disaster.
Like a vortex.
Once you stepped into it, survival was unlikely.
My severed limbs, cut away helplessly, were proof enough.
Falling backward, I looked up at the assailant.
“Farewell.”
I cannot stop this.
With that thought—
Slice.
A chilling slicing sound rang in my ears.
***
“……!”
With a silent scream, my consciousness resurfaced in an instant.
My eyes flew open as I retraced the battle from monts ago. I had no particular difficulty accepting that I had died once.
What mattered was the device.
‘It’s functioning normally.’
It seed that desperately shielding it until the very mont I closed my eyes had paid off. The hormone regulator was destroyed instead, but that was no major issue. I could simply have it reimplanted.
“Whew.”
Suppressing my body, which was trying to regenerate on its own, I steadied my breathing.
If it attempted to recklessly replace the missing parts, the situation could spiral into the worst possible outco. One wrong move and there would be two lumps of flesh instead of one.
It would be troubleso to deal with, and if discovered, there would be no excuse.
First priority: reattach the severed parts.
As an immortal who had witnessed every manner of death, I now found the aftermath harder to endure than the pain coursing through my entire body.
When one was sliced apart like this, the most troubleso matter was, as always, the clothing. My body, scattered like puzzle pieces, could be fitted back together sohow, but the clothes could not.
Both my top and bottom boasted despairingly minimal coverage.
I looked no different from a clown.
Fortunately, the bleeding was not heavy—light enough that I could cover the traces with snow.
After coming down from the rooftop, I imdiately obtained a few worn garnts from a clothing collection box.
I felt like a stray cat stealing scraps, but I had no choice.
I needed to return to Club 999 and find at least so clue.
After discarding what reeked and setting aside what did not fit, I managed to assemble a passable appearance.
I worried that I might not look like soone heading to a club and that the guards would stop , but it turned out to be unnecessary concern.
A police line had already been set up in front of Club 999.
A hologram implented through augnted reality even restricted passage.
Among the Public Enforcent Corps officers moving busily about, I spotted a familiar face.
A man whose narrow eyes suited him to a curious degree—Jin Geon.
“Mr. Ga-on? What brings you here?”
Even if I said, ‘I ca to carry out a request from the Mafia,’ it would do no good, so I gave a vague reply.
“It’s not that I ca with any special purpose. I happened to see you while passing by. Sothing must have happened?”
“It’s nothing much. It seems a conflict broke out between organizations. There are over twenty casualties.”
“You’re working hard at a late hour.”
Now that I had run into Jin Geon, snooping around was out of the question. Officially he was a Sheriff, but in truth he was a hunting dog dispatched by the municipal governnt.
‘This incident as well…….’
Just as I was about to turn away, I let out a quiet exclamation.
Right. Jin Geon, who had been pursuing ta-humans—no, Yang Hu—had appeared here at Club 999 of all places. It was likely related to the personnel who had been monitoring around my house being withdrawn.
I did not need to look far.
The people entangled in this incident were limited. If I had to na the most striking figure, it would be the assailant.
And he was a swordsman.
One who made use of the principles of rotation.
User Comments
0 comments from readers