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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 161: Two entry permits
Smack—
Porter, unexpectedly slapped, let out a deflated sound.
“Huh, huh.”
His head turned, he caressed his cheek for a long time.
He kept moving his lips, trying to make sense of the situation.
Then he looked at me with a face that couldn't understand.
“You crazy bastard, what are you doing...”
As I tried to slap him again with my right hand, Porter grabbed my wrist.
“You crazy bastard, how dare you lay a hand on an Alliance manager?”
“Well, why did you interrupt me?”
Porter let go of my wrist and immediately opened his mana core.
5-star mana core.
Porter threw the glass on the table at me and drew a hand sign.
The moment I dodged the glass with a nod, flames condensed in Porter's right hand.
Porter's right hand and my left hand clashed.
Fwhoosh—!
Just before the exploding shockwave hit the office wall, I waved my right hand and dispersed it.
The moment Porter, sprawled on the floor along with his chair, tried to get up...
...I wrapped flames around my entire left hand and struck Porter's face.
Porter hurriedly rolled on the floor to dodge, but the office itself was too small.
Within seconds, I grabbed Porter's thick nape and slapped his face again with a flaming hand.
Smack—!
“Ugh! You son of a bitch, how dare you!”
Porter, with a bright red burn mark on his face, yelled.
His hands were already restrained, making it difficult for him to draw hand signs anymore, but...
...the barrier embedded in the office ceiling detected Porter's voice and vibrated.
Wiiiiiiiing—
Following that, an alarm went off along with the vibration throughout the second floor.
“You bastard, you made a mistake. The alarm just went off throughout the entire branch.”
Even then, I didn't stop slapping Porter's cheeks.
Smack—! Smack—! Smack—!
“I told you not to interrupt. Why did you order the cleaner to kill me?”
“Ugh! You crazy bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?”
“Answer me. There shouldn't have been a reason.”
“Shut up!”
“Why did you tell the Sahwa Party to assassinate me?”
“Stop with the bullshit!”
After about twenty slaps, fear appeared in Porter's eyes, and at the same time, noises came from outside.
Bang— Bang—!
The sound of the locked door latch rattling.
Sensing the presence outside, Porter screamed with all his might, and the murmuring outside grew louder.
Fwhooosh—
The door shattered, and guards and dispatched warriors stormed into the office.
“Seize the intruder!”
Just as the captain of the guards, who had assessed the chaotic scene and Porter's condition, was about to give a hasty order, I quickly raised my hand and looked around.
"Wait!"
The captain of the guards, recognizing my face, hesitated for a moment.
"...But, Crazy Mage Squad Commander?"
I briefly looked around.
The guards and the dispatched warriors seemed to have stronger energy than Porter.
Porter yelled at the captain of the guards.
"He's an intruder. This bastard dared to attack an Alliance manager. Arrest him now!"
I slapped Porter again and looked around.
"This man is unfit to be an manager. You all know his reputation, right? Not only did he privately hire a cleaner, but he even requested my assassination."
"How dare you make false accusations!"
Of course, I had expected the guards to attack. I had already planned to subdue them all before I started this.
But why were they hesitating now?
I said to the captain of the guards,
"Bring your superior."
Porter shouted,
"What superior? I am the manager. Arrest this man now!"
As the guards reluctantly approached me, the lights on the entire second floor suddenly brightened.
I suddenly fixed my gaze beyond the office.
Thud—
At the same time, the guards stopped in their tracks.
The captain of the guards, recognizing someone approaching from outside the office, stiffened and stood at attention.
"What's going on?"
"Well, that is..."
I also stepped out of the office.
I faced the man slowly approaching.
A middle-aged man with a red beard.
The energy I felt from him was similar to Parin's level.
A seasoned mage.
"I asked what's going on."
Porter, who had gotten up, stumbled out and bowed to the middle-aged man.
"...An intruder, sir. Branch manager."
"Intruder?"
The branch manager, seeing Porter's condition, frowned.
I spoke to the branch manager.
"You need to manage your subordinates properly. Did you know that this man created the 'cleaner' position and extorted money from those entering the demon realm?"
The branch manager finally looked at me directly.
"Not only did he extort money, but he also tried to have me killed. Does such a man deserve to be an manager?"
Porter shouted,
"Slander! He's spouting nonsense without any evidence."
I immediately presented the ledger I had found in the Sahwa Party's safe.
The captain of the guards received the ledger and handed it to the branch manager. In the meantime, Porter's eyes trembled slightly with anxiety.
The branch manager looked at the ledger for a moment and said in a low voice,
"Kalma Group, Sahwa Party. 30% tribute? ...You."
The branch manager looked at Porter.
"You were disrupting the order."
Porter suddenly began to tremble like an aspen leaf.
"...Matis-nim, it's..."
"How dare you address me by name?"
"I-I apologize."
"Don't try to hold onto a broken connection. No matter how recently I was appointed, this is serious. I was planning to focus on the lower level later, but..."
Porter's face turned pale as if he had received a death sentence.
Then, the branch manager gestured to the captain of the guards and pointed at me.
"Detain him."
"Pardon?"
"No matter how clear the evidence is, the procedure was wrong. Laying hands on an Alliance manager is a serious offense."
As if the judgment was final, the branch manager turned around and walked away.
Unlike the captain of the guards, who hesitated for a moment, the dispatched warriors simultaneously surrounded me.
I watched the branch manager's retreating figure.
"The judgment is wrong."
"..."
"I corrected the mistake of your incompetent subordinate. I deserve to be praised."
I continued to stare at the branch manager's back as he remained silent, and suddenly opened the circle of my heart.
Wiiiiing—
One, two, three, four.
The surging waves of mana swirled around me, pulsating through the circle of my heart and flowing back out.
Just before the fifth and final circle opened...
Thud—
The branch manager abruptly stopped and turned around.
I kept rotating the circles and said,
"If you've changed your mind, say it now."
The branch manager, sensing the fluctuating flow of mana, tilted his head.
He slowly scanned me from head to toe.
"Who are you?"
The captain of the guards, who had been watching, quickly answered,
"He's Samael's Crazy Mage Squad Commander. He's not someone who would act rashly. He saved many people in the lower demon realm this time. He has a very good reputation..."
"Stop."
The branch manager's eyes changed.
The corners of his tightly closed lips rose slightly, and then he nodded as if he finally understood.
"You're Ruin."
"..."
I had never revealed my name.
But the expression on the branch manager's face as he stroked his red beard suggested he knew me somehow.
I also scanned the branch manager's appearance from head to toe.
Unlike Porter, I could see red patterns here and there between the Alliance's standard uniform.
"I see. That's enough. You may go back now, Crazy Mage Squad Commander."
With those words, the branch manager turned around again and disappeared into the darkness.
***
As I came out of the regular branch office, I turned my head to the left.
Someone's shadow, reflected in the moonlight, briefly stretched and then disappeared.
I leaned against the corner of the main street for a moment, organizing my thoughts.
'It's not Porter.'
I was wrong.
As I slapped Porter, I became certain.
It couldn't have been Porter who ordered my assassination in Section 1 demon realm.
He was nothing more than a guy who hired a cleaner and extorted money.
The one who tried to kill me had disappeared, and the one who ordered it was nowhere to be found. A complete mystery.
But I had a strong suspicion.
The blade that appeared behind Chano's back was aimed at me from the start.
When I sensed the presence, the attacker deliberately pretended to target Chano and hid himself.
Definitely one of the Sahwa Party members.
Most likely the Red Lion Mask I first made eye contact with.
I entered a nearby inn and settled on the top floor.
By the window, I had a clear view of the regular branch office.
From dawn till dusk, I kept an eye on those coming and going from the office.
I ate my meals at the inn and only closed my eyes for a short time at dawn.
On the evening of the third day, I went out and positioned myself in an alley where I could see the main gate of the regular branch office.
As the night deepened, the number of passersby dwindled, and the lights in the regular branch office began to go out one by one.
I stared intently at the main gate in the darkness.
In the late hours of the night, someone emerged from the entrance of the regular branch office, looked around, and started walking towards me.
I also slipped out of the alley and approached the man.
As we passed each other in the darkness, the man glanced at me, and I looked at him.
When I took a few steps and looked back, the man had also stopped and was staring at me.
The man asked,
"How did you know?"
The corners of the man's mouth were stretched in a smile.
Before I could answer, with a whoosh— the man disappeared to the end of the alley.
His steps were so silent that I couldn't even hear his footsteps.
I also propelled myself with wind pressure at my feet and chased after him.
After turning two corners in the alley, the man's presence suddenly disappeared.
As I ran with my senses open, a blade flashed out from the right like lightning.
Aimed precisely at my neck, the blade came hurtling towards me.
The moment I dodged it with a nod, the opponent's presence vanished.
No doubt about it.
A professional assassin trained in stealth techniques.
His swordsmanship itself wasn't anything special.
He specialized in enduring until the very end, taking his opponent's life with a single thrust.
'Hmm.'
I fell into thought for a moment.
As soon as I thought about how to deal with this kind of opponent, dozens of methods came to mind.
I chose the one I liked the most.
Fwoosh—
I kicked off the ground and started running recklessly as if fleeing. This, in turn, revealed the presence of my pursuer behind me.
"Running away is useless!"
I turned two corners, then instantly used the Grass Serpent footwork to silence my steps.
Hiding in a gap between buildings and opening my energy flow, I sensed the opponent's confusion in the path.
It seemed he couldn't figure out where I had disappeared to.
I held my breath and waited for him.
Peering only through the small gap between the buildings, I waited for the opponent to appear.
Step— Step—
The footsteps gradually grew closer.
3 seconds. 2 seconds. 1 second.
Step—!
The moment the side of his face came into view,
I shot out like lightning and pierced his waist with the Red Dagger.
The man twisted his waist, but the sensation of the blade piercing his flesh came first.
Fwoooosh—!
A fountain of blood erupted.
I threw the Red Dagger again at the man who was clutching his waist and trying to flee.
Thud—!
"Gah!"
The man, his thigh pierced, collapsed and turned his head to glare at me.
"Ugh, you were an assassin too?"
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an assassination for an assassination.
This was a common weakness of those trained in assassination.
They only knew how to assassinate, not how to defend against it.
I approached the man who hadn't expected to fall victim to the same tactic. As I pulled out the Red Dagger embedded in his thigh, another fountain of blood gushed out.
"Hey."
I looked at the man.
Red light emanated from his bloodshot eyes.
"Who ordered you to kill me?"
"...Keuk."
The man smirked, and a grotesque, torn scar was revealed around his mouth.
Letting out a hollow laugh, the man muttered self-deprecatingly,
"Damn it, this is too big of a loss."
"You find this funny?"
"Keuk, keuk."
"Who ordered it? Tell me."
"Porter."
The man looked at me, laughing.
I looked back at him and laughed too.
In the midst of our laughter, I suddenly traced the man's lips with the Red Dagger.
"Aaaargh!"
"I'm asking one last time. Who ordered it?"
When the man with the torn lips laughed again, I struck the back of his neck.
With a thwack—, the man's forehead slammed against the stone floor, and he fainted.
I started searching the man's pockets.
And the moment I saw the entry permit I pulled out from his breast pocket...
...I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"This guy had two entry permits."
One was a regular entry permit.
And the other was a pink recommendation permit.
On the back was clearly stamped the seal of the Blue Magic Tower.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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