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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 26: Ground Zero (1)
Ground Zero.
Before the Great Cataclysm, it was known as Paju Outlet, but after several monster waves, it became a lawless land.
【This place hasn't recovered at all. It's the same as it was 35 years ago.】
“Are you happy to see Ground Zero?”
【Certainly not. I don't have such bad taste.】
Fafnir laughed dryly.
Amidst the half-collapsed buildings, intense gazes were felt.
If you were underestimated in Ground Zero, you wouldn't get away with just having your pockets emptied.
【But why have we come here?】
“There's someone I need to see.”
【It doesn't seem to be someone on the legal side.】
“You're not going to tell me that's also covered by the contract, are you?”
【Of course not. I'm not that virtuous.】
“I'm going to see the madam of the Milky Way Pub.”
[TL/N: Milky Way? Madam?? 🌚]
[PR/N: 🗿]
Wearing the Shadow Mask, Yoojin strode into the concrete ruins.
Madam Oh Hyunjeong.
She was someone he had interacted with quite a lot in his past life.
Although her main business was running a cocktail bar, she was like an octopus in the underworld, with her tentacles reaching into various fields such as brokerage, information dealing, and more.
He didn't know how far she had expanded her business at this point, but she would be doing what Yoojin needed.
'Information. And a ticket to enter the black market.'
The deeper he went, the more vigilant eyes he noticed.
【You might need my power.】
“No need. As long as we don't provoke anyone first, there won't be a problem.”
Unless a fight broke out.
There was no need to show off his strength before anyone bared their fangs.
There was even a saying:
-Don't boast about your strength in Ground Zero.
Finally…
A store with the word [Milky Way] on a cheap neon sign appeared before him.
【Master, is this the right place?】
“Yes.”
【You have quite a unique taste. To think you'd like a vintage bar.】
The door was torn off by an explosion.
The interior of the building, which was faintly visible, wasn't in good shape either.
“At this point, isn't it more 'ruined' than 'vintage'?”
【I agree.】
Fafnir immediately agreed with Yoojin.
The bar was so badly damaged that it was difficult to find any furniture intact.
Not only were the objects damaged…
A table neatly split in half was stained red with the blood of a gangster with a spider mark.
〔(Cackle). This is going to be troublesome.〕
[TL/N: Cracking his knuckles.]
'Even if you say that with a smile, it's not convincing.'
〔If things always go well, it's not fun to watch.〕
'I have no intention of catering to the tastes of an incompetent constellation.'
Yoojin and Fafnir looked around the pub.
【A battle took place here. It doesn't seem like it was too long ago.】
"Let's ask this guy."
Yoojin approached the gangster lying on the floor.
"Hey."
"Ugh, uh..."
"Where's the owner?"
"M-Madam... my buddies probably already got her... Cough."
"My friend, that's not what I just asked."
"Crazy bastard. I don't have any friends like y..."
"We can become friends now."
[Using Contaminated Skin.]
The curse used by the Masked Beast.
It was a Warlock-exclusive skill, but since it was engraved on the Shadow Mask, he could use it as long as he infused it with mana.
Sizzle—
"Aaaaagh!!"
"So, how about it? Don't you want to be friends with me now?"
Fafnir twitched his lips.
【That's quite a unique way to make friends.】
"I'm a bit of a social butterfly."
As he infused more mana, the curse expanded its range.
Part of the gangster's arm rotted away, and he screamed—
"Aaaaagh! I'll talk! I'll do it!"
"Good. My friend, would you happen to know when the attack on the Milky Way's madam took place?"
"30 minutes ago. They couldn't have gotten far."
"And you don't know where they went?"
"The Red Spider's guys chased after them to catch them. I was here, so I don't know."
Yoojin clicked his tongue.
'Was this around the time she had a conflict with the Red Spider?'
The woman who was called Moon Shadow in his past life.
Madam Oh Hyunjeong led a large organization that divided Ground Zero.
He didn't remember exactly how she expanded the [Milky Way Pub], but he heard it was triggered by a single incident.
The war with the Red Spider.
'Hmm. I didn't expect this to be around that time.'
Yoojin stroked his chin.
【It will be difficult to find any traces after 20 minutes.】
"It's okay. I have a way."
"Hmph. I don't know where Madam went. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"
The gangster raised his voice.
"Don't worry. I'm not asking you. I'm asking someone else."
As Yoojin raised his hand, Fafnir's hand rose and then descended.
A crashing sound echoed.
"Thud."
The gangster, struck on the crown of his head, fainted.
"Hey, he's not dead, is he?"
【I don't kill recklessly, even if they are evil.】
Fafnir replied with a hesitant look.
【More importantly, how do you plan to find this Madam?】
"I told you, I have someone to ask."
【But there's no one in this pub except the guy we just knocked out.】
"I didn't say it was a person."
Yoojin removed the Shadow Mask and erased one of the curse techniques.
[The Chaotic Frenzy curse has been removed.]
[Curses stored in the Shadow Mask - 4/5]
It was a curse that maximized regenerative abilities but shortened the user's lifespan.
Regeneration was meaningless for the undead.
And if he used it on himself, he would age quickly.
'It was a curse to be removed first.'
Sizzle!
He concentrated Spirit Power on his finger, slowly engraving a curse technique onto the Shadow Mask.
[The Soul Chase curse has been registered in the Shadow Mask.]
Soul Chase
Category: Curse
Rank: C
Tracks the traces of a soul that has dwelled in an object. The target's energy fades as time passes.
"It's a hassle to engrave every curse I need."
Grumbling, Yoojin put the Shadow Mask back on.
The pub was practically Madam Oh Hyunjeong's bedroom.
Finding the traces of her soul was...
A piece of cake.
[Using Soul Chase.]
A different color shimmered in his vision, as if he was seeing the world through an infrared camera.
"Let's go."
【My Master has many fascinating skills.】
Muttering in wonder, Fafnir followed Yoojin out of the building.
＊ ＊ ＊
The alleyways of Ground Zero were as intricate as a maze.
It was a slum that had continuously grown, with illegal extensions and expansions, accepting new settlers.
Even the residents would have trouble navigating if they stepped into an unfamiliar area.
"Huff... huff..."
A woman was running tirelessly through the narrow path with no landmarks.
Her bobbed hair, which almost reached her nape, fluttered in the wind, swaying up and down.
"Catch her!"
"Don't lose her!"
The pursuers' breathing seemed to graze her ears.
Even though her heart pounded as if it would burst, the woman didn't stop running.
'Why is the Red Spider targeting me?'
Oh Hyunjeong.
On the surface, she was the owner of the pub called [Milky Way], but...
In reality, she was a broker who mediated all sorts of backroom deals.
It had been 10 years since she jumped into Ground Zero.
During that time, she had expanded her business by treading a fine line, but she had never done anything to provoke a large organization like the Red Spider.
'I don't know why, but if I get caught, it won't just end there.'
Oh Hyunjeong gritted her teeth.
She couldn't die meaninglessly in a place like this.
She had a mountain of things left to do.
'I can't end it here...'
Beeeeep!
A whistle tore through the darkness.
Men wearing clothes embroidered with red spiders blocked both sides of the alley.
"Huh. To think we'd go through so much trouble for just one person."
The man with an impressive long scar on his arm glared at Oh Hyunjeong as he walked towards her.
Clang—
A dagger that sprang from his sleeve landed in Oh Hyunjeong's hand.
The blade was stained dark red.
It was covered in the blood of the Red Spider members she had taken down while being chased.
"I won't go down easily."
"You're already out of mana, and you're still bluffing."
"Whether it's a bluff or not, why don't you find out with your own body?"
Oh Hyunjeong held the dagger in a reverse grip.
The Red Spider gang surrounded her, slowly closing the distance.
'Of all times, Uncle Jinyeong had to be away...!'
She hid her fear with a defiant expression, but she couldn't stop the tip of the dagger from trembling.
Both her stamina and mana were depleted.
Large and small wounds all over her arms, legs, and abdomen were steadily oozing blood.
With the infamous Red Spider of Ground Zero lurking both in front and behind her...
'If only it were nighttime.'
Oh Hyunjeong's unique trait was deactivated when the sun was high in the sky.
It seemed difficult for her to escape the crisis on her own.
Just then.
"Hey guys, what's so interesting that you're all gathered here?"
The unfamiliar voice of a man broke the silence that had settled over the alley.
The eyes of the Red Spider gang and Oh Hyunjeong simultaneously turned to the stranger, Yoojin, who had disrupted the atmosphere.
〔So you came for this woman.〕
'Indeed. It seems I would have been in trouble if I had been even a little late.'
The man with the spider tattoo saw the unexpected intruder and gave a sinister smile.
"Outsider, get lost now. If you don't want to die."
"How kind of you. Giving me a warning and all."
"This bastard. How dare he mock the Red Spider!"
Despite the sincere threat, Yoojin merely shrugged with a troubled look.
【Hmm. It seems this isn't a situation that can be resolved through conversation.】
Fafnir followed shortly, stepping into the alley.
"If you're acting tough just because you have that summon, you’re going to regret it.”
"Fafnir, what do you think about that?”
【The only ones who’ll regret it will be you, not my master.】
Whoosh!
Fafnir leaped in front of the chattering Red Spider gang.
One of them instinctively tried to throw a punch, but Fafnir was much faster.
His fist landed squarely in the man's solar plexus.
"Oof!"
The one at the front of the Red Spider gang crumpled to the ground.
The man's eyes widened in shock.
He finally realized that Fafnir was no ordinary familiar and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Kill him!"
Wielding iron pipes, daggers, and other easily concealed weapons, they charged with crazed looks in their eyes.
"Keep them alive."
【Do you think I'm some kind of pleasure-seeking murderer? I have no such hobbies.】
Even though Ground Zero was a lawless zone beyond the reach of administrative power, he couldn't quietly get away with killing dozens of people.
On the other hand, the Red Spider members charged confidently, exuding unrestrained killing intent, as if they were certain they could bury a person or two without consequence.
'This explains why they attacked a pub in broad daylight.'
"Gah!"
"Agh!"
One by one, the Red Spider gang members fell.
Most of them were unawakened, unable to wield mana.
No matter how they swung their blades or blunt weapons, they couldn't even scratch the Dragonian's body, reinforced with Enhancement Circuits.
Occasionally, a 'Hunter' would appear among the thugs, aiming for Fafnir, but...
[Dark Aura]
He endured their attacks by reinforcing his scales with Spirit Power.
【Why? Don't you want to try poking me some more?】
"Ugh!"
A Hunter strained with a flushed face.
The scales enveloped in Dark Aura remained unscathed.
【How boring.】
Wham!
With a single blow, muscles were crushed, bones were broken, and the Hunter rolled across the floor.
The Red Spider gang was quickly being neutralized.
"Whoever you are, burn to death!"
Whoosh!
The man with the long scar on his arm spread his clasped hands.
A torrent of flames erupted from his palm, dyeing the narrow alley orange.
It was an attack with no regard for the safety of his subordinates.
"Ah, so that's how it was."
Yoojin let out a short exclamation as he watched the surging flames.
The woman who would be called Moon Shadow.
In his memory, Oh Hyunjeong had a large burn on her face.
It seemed that...
The culprit who had scarred the future Moon Shadow was a Hunter from the Red Spider.
"It's dangerous!"
Oh Hyunjeong's belated warning brushed past Yoojin's ears.
【Master, I'll be using some Spirit Power.】
A black aura enveloped Fafnir's entire body.
It was the ultimate manifestation of his Dark Aura.
Yoojin, staggering from a sudden dizziness, gritted his teeth.
"You should have warned me beforehand."
Due to the bond of their souls, and because Yoojin hadn't tightly controlled his mana pathways, Fafnir had drawn some of it and manifested it as Dark Aura.
The blazing flames in the alley quickly died down in the face of the Dark Aura.
"How did you... how did you do that to my flames?!"
"Are you feeling a bit better now?"
"Don't think this is over. We, the Red Spider, will—"
【You talk too much.】
Fafnir's fist smashed into the man's face, putting an end to the situation.
"One side is done."
Yoojin looked at the Red Spider gang members on the other side of the alley.
"D-Damn it! At least kidnap the Madam!"
"I'm afraid I can't allow that, young man."
A voice emerged from behind them. Jeong Jinyeong, the bartender of [Milky Way], lightly chopped the neck of the Red Spider member, subduing him.
"Mister!"
"I apologize for the delay, Miss."
Aha.
Yoojin finally understood how she had overcome the crisis.
Although he tried to hide his power...
He couldn't conceal the intense power of his soul that shimmered behind him.
'6 Star, huh?'
If an elderly man who looked to be in his 70s had joined the fight, a few dozen Red Spider members wouldn't have posed much of a threat.
It seemed that in his past life, Oh Hyunjeong's face was burned because he hadn't arrived in time.
'That won't happen now.'
History had changed due to Yoojin's intervention.
At least, she wouldn't have to bear the scar that would have haunted her for life.
Silence fell over the alley.
"Miss, who are these people?"
"I don't know. But they don't seem to have come with bad intentions."
The Madam smoothed down her windblown hair.
"Thanks to you, I was able to overcome the crisis. Thank you sincerely."
"I just came here for a drink, but I couldn't find the bartender or the owner, so I followed them."
Yoojin said nonchalantly.
The Madam carefully examined Yoojin. Her gaze was a complex mix of curiosity and wariness.
Yoojin approached her.
Both the old man and the Madam seemed tense, so he said—
"Stay still."
[Using Life Drain.]
He drained the life force from the sprawled Red Spider members and infused it into the Madam.
Her wounds quickly closed.
"Ah, are you a Priest?"
"Something like that."
In less than a minute, all her wounds were healed.
Even an hour of ordinary low-level healing spells wouldn't have achieved this.
As expected of a Saint-exclusive skill, its effects were tremendous.
〔(Cackle)! As expected of the spell bestowed by me!〕
'Hey, be quiet. Read the room.'
"This doesn't seem like a good place to exchange names."
"Oh, you're right. Shall we move?"
"A place where we can have a long talk would be even better."
Yoojin said with a smile.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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