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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Hestia]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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Chapter 19: The King of Instigation
Three drunken, third-rate thugs exchanged bewildered glances. I seized the moment, activating two of my circles.
Whir—
“Emerging ice, Chilling Thorns.”
Sharp ice crystals sprouted like thorns from my blue gloves.
With a swing, I landed an ice-cold punch on the face of the thug named Garlic.
Crack—
“Gah!”
Garlic’s left cheek was torn open, his head snapping back.
I kicked Grid, who was rolling on the floor, sending him flying into the groin of another thug.
“Urgh!”
Grid clutched his crotch, writhing in pain.
Finally grasping the situation, the old thug lunged at me with a spear.
“You bastard! You’re Bayern’s dog!”
I flicked a glass from the table, striking the old thug’s forehead.
Crack— His head jerked back. I seized the opportunity, chanting another water spell.
“Pouring waves, Water Shower.”
Swoosh—
A torrent of water cascaded down, washing over the old thug’s face.
He looked dazed, as if slapped awake from years of drunkenness.
“Ugh, are you alright, boss?”
Garlic and Grid, having regained their senses, thrust their spears at my face.
I was suddenly reminded of a subordinate from my past life, a demon who loved to show off.
I never understood why he acted so foolishly, but now I felt an urge to imitate his mannerisms.
“Too slow.”
I parried Grid’s spear and dodged Garlic’s.
With an ice-infused fist, I uppercut Grid while slamming the spearhead in my other hand onto Garlic’s foot.
“Aaaagh!”
Blood erupted from his foot.
The old thug, having finally come to his senses, shouted at me.
“How dare Bayern set foot here! Are you declaring war?”
As expected, they mistook me for Bayern.
After all, Bayern’s signature magic was water-based. What more proof did they need?
I grinned.
“You got it.”
“You snake!”
The three thugs raised their spears in unison.
As they leaped, I activated all three of my circles. What was the flashiest 3-circle water spell again?
“Condensed… Exploding Water Pressure, Water Bomb.”
Fizzle.
…Wasn’t it something like that? I thought it was simpler.
I wasn’t familiar with the formal incantations of water magic.
The thugs were already upon me.
“Exploding…”
“Die, you bastard!”
“…Water Pressure, Water Bomb.”
Fwoosh—!
The 3-circle water spell, Water Bomb.
Immense water pressure engulfed the three thugs, blasting them in all directions.
The door exploded instantly, the torrent of water ripping through the hallway.
Gush—
In the chaos, I discreetly picked up a black spear lying at my feet and hid it behind my back.
It was Bravo Khan’s spear.
“What the—?”
“Who’s causing this ruckus?”
Men in black uniforms appeared from all sides.
They saw a flooded hallway, three unconscious brothers with broken limbs… and me.
“Hey, was this you?”
Before their expressions could turn any uglier, I flashed a grin.
I smiled even wider, making sure they’d remember my face.
Now for the grand finale.
.
.
.
Run.
I smashed the opposite window and jumped out, sprinting eastwards.
* * *
My rigorous physical training paid off.
After 30 minutes of non-stop running, my pursuers were nowhere to be seen.
As expected, the thugs at the tavern were small-fries.
Real gangsters wouldn’t be hanging around a place like that at this hour.
If I were the boss of Dark Soul, I would have knocked those guys out with a mace.
As my adrenaline subsided, the main street to the east came into view.
A red-light district, flickering with crimson and orange lights.
The air was thick with a pungent aroma.
It was a far cry from Dark Soul’s territory.
To think that the Khaoto I knew had changed so much… Life is full of surprises.
I saw drunken men stumbling around, a young punk flirting with two scantily clad women, a man passed out in a corner while a large figure picked his pockets.
The men were all dressed in expensive clothes, likely wealthy out-of-towners.
Those were the easiest targets. I could smell their gullibility.
Especially that chubby guy with flushed cheeks, clinging to a hostess… Was he trying to sell something? The idiot.
‘Ah, no.’
He was just fat.
It was a typical red-light district scene, but the closer I got to the center, the more my mood soured.
Even during my gangster days, I despised those who operated in red-light districts.
There were levels to the underworld.
A true gangster looked out for his own.
Third-rate thugs disguised it as loyalty or brotherhood, but it was all nonsense.
The real reason was survival.
The lower you were on the ladder, the more you needed to stick together to stay alive.
And the gangsters in the red-light district, blinded by money, don’t care about their own.
They treat women and children as mere tools.
I was born in the red-light district, abandoned in the red-light district, and beaten like a dog every day in the red-light district.
As if to prove my point, as soon as I turned the corner, I saw a child being beaten like a dog.
A large man was slapping a snot-nosed kid.
I saw my past self in him.
“Please… I’m sorry. I won’t make the same mistake again!”
“This little brat, how many times do I have to… Cough!”
I crept up behind the man and slit his throat with the spear.
Blood spurted into the air, mingling strangely with the streetlights.
Life is indeed unpredictable. Did this gangster know he was going to die today?
Thud— The thug’s eyes looked resentful as he fell, but not as resentful as the snot-nosed kid.
I returned to the main street and walked until I reached my destination.
[Night Dew Pub]
A three-story pub radiating colorful lights.
It was one of Bayern’s main businesses.
As soon as I entered, loud music assaulted my ears.
Several men were posturing at the bar with hostesses.
It was a stark contrast to the quiet atmosphere of the [Red Sunset Tavern].
As I slowly looked around, one of the bouncers at the door spoke to me.
“Why are you back, Krak? You just left.”
“Me?”
“The fuck do you mean by ‘me’? You were just fooling around like an idiot when the shift ended. By the way, when did you change clothes again? What’s with those ragged clothes?”
“You wanna die, you son of a bitch?”
“Khahaha. That’s some colorful language.”
The bouncer suddenly chuckled. It seemed he liked the way I used the typical slang of third-rate gangsters.
“Where did you say I went?”
“You got a hole in your head? Where else would you go, you hallucination-weed addict?”
“I see.”
I had a rough idea of where he might have gone. I considered going after Krak right away but changed my mind.
I started climbing the stairs next to me to the second floor.
“Where are you going, Krak?”
“I’m going to have a drink.”
“That’s a first. You usually hate plain alcohol, saying it’s bland. Anyway, do whatever you want. But don’t go to the third floor, there’s a VIP there.”
“A VIP?”
“I just got orders from upstairs not to let anyone in.”
“Thanks. As a token of my gratitude, let me tell you something.”
“What?”
“The sun always rises in the east, you idiot.”
“Damn you, you son of a bitch. Hahaha.”
* * *
Slam—
I emptied a glass of strong rum in one gulp.
“The alcohol tastes good today.”
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“It couldn’t be helped. Their expressions must have been priceless, don’t you think?”
“Indeed. They were completely dumbfounded. It’s a shame the Patriarch couldn’t have seen it himself.”
“It wouldn’t be fitting for me to go there myself. But I can imagine their faces. They never would have dreamed we’d bring up Hamad.”
“And when we mentioned Urgon, even the old men were shocked.”
Bayern’s captain of the guard, Snake, gave a sly grin.
The middle-aged man sitting across from him wore the same grin.
Glug glug— A glass was filled with rum and emptied in one gulp.
“Ah, this is finally clearing my head.”
“If it weren’t for the Red Magic Tower, we would have finished this long ago. Why were they protecting Samael anyway?”
The middle-aged man frowned slightly. The Red Magic Tower had been secretly backing Samael, which had been a hindrance.
“But that only served to provoke Urgon even more. Even the Red Magic Tower can’t do anything now. They can’t intervene without a good reason.”
“I’m curious, though, Patriarch.”
“About what?”
“Why go to such lengths? Why does the great Urgon care so much about a declining family in the backwaters?”
“Well…”
A mysterious smile appeared on the middle-aged man’s face.
“The reason doesn’t matter. What matters is that this has given us an opportunity. If this goes well, Urgon will spare no expense in supporting us.”
“You’re right. Khaoto will fall completely into our hands.”
“And that’s not all. If we play our cards right, we might even be able to connect with the Blue Magic Tower. We’ll have a chance to become a proper magic family.”
“Indeed.”
The middle-aged man smiled and emptied another glass of rum. Both of their faces were flushed with alcohol.
‘It’s about time to come out of the shadows… Hm?’
“Who’s there!”
Suddenly, the middle-aged man threw his glass at the door with lightning speed.
With a crash, the doorknob broke off, revealing the scene outside.
A tray of food was placed in front of the door, and at the same time, the sound of footsteps running downstairs could be heard.
“I must be drunk.”
“It seems they sent up food because they knew we were running low. They left the food even though they were told not to let anyone in.”
Snake said as he brought the food inside.
“Please eat, Patriarch. I was getting hungry anyway.”
“Very well.”
The middle-aged man picked up a lamb chop dripping with red juice and started gnawing on the bone.
Snake followed suit.
Blood stained their mouths, creating a chilling sight.
“…”
A moment later.
“Ugh!”
“Ptoo!”
Both men spat out the meat they were chewing.
“Damn it. This meat tastes like shit.”
“Damn. Mine too.”
* * *
I must have gotten too close to the door while eavesdropping on their conversation.
I never expected Bayern’s Head to be here.
But I’m not just anyone. I’ve calculated everything and prepared for this.
The moment they noticed my presence, I moved on to the next phase of my plan. The veal soaked in kitchen waste came in handy.
“…”
The memory of their conversation made my teeth clench.
Even to these guys, Samael was nothing more than a punching bag.
I slowly descended the stairs, taking out the thinner of the two spears I had hidden behind my back.
Then I touched the artifact in my pocket.
A moment later.
“Hey, who’s there?”
“Hm?”
“I don’t remember sending an old man like you upstairs.”
The bouncer I saw earlier looked at me suspiciously as I descended the second-floor stairs.
I mimicked Bravo Khan’s tone and glared at him.
“Who do you think I am, you idiot?”
“Are you messing with me? Who let you in here?”
“Hey, what do you think life is?”
“Is this old man crazy?”
“You catch on quick.”
“I’ll ask you one more time. Where are you from?”
“…Since you don’t seem to know, I guess I’ll have to tell you. Life, you see, is not knowing when you’ll kick the bucket while acting cocky like you. But I won’t kill you.”
“Bullshit.”
The bouncer pulled out a blue knife from his pocket and approached me menacingly.
“You’re talking nonsense. How dare you say that in front of me? You must be itching to die. I may not know when I’ll die, but you’re dying today. I’ll cut your face open.”
“That’s why you’re dying, you son of a bitch.”
“Haha, that’s some colorful… This bastard!”
I suddenly swung my black spear.
As the bouncer quickly backed away, I held the spear horizontally, infused it with wind, and threw it like a javelin.
Whoosh—
“Gah!”
The sharp spearhead pierced deep into the bouncer’s right shoulder, blood gushing out.
Thud—
Humans experience a wide range of emotions in a split second.
In less than a second, the bouncer went from chuckling to cursing, backing away, and then fainting as his arm was skewered.
I thought he’d scream, but he was weaker than I expected.
A brief silence followed…
Then the screams of the onlookers and hostesses erupted.
“Aaaagh!”
“H-he cut off Gerk’s arm, his arm!”
.
.
.
Time to run.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Hestia]
[Proofreader – Prøks]
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