Chapter 266
“……”
Silenced by the ferocity of the blue spear, Lennok silently reached into his coat.
The woman watching intently clenched her feet with force.
[Hold on, hold on, hold on!! At least my head shouldn’t get damaged…!]
Boom!
The spear’s foot struck past Manson’s head, hitting the ground hard.
But the spearwoman, realizing that there were no metal fragments left, blinked in surprise,
“It’s a good thing it’s not alive.”
“……!!”
Lennok said this while lightly shaking Manson’s head he held in his hand.
“But it’s quite… heavy.”
Boom!!
[Handle it gently…]
The spearwoman slightly frowned, realizing that Manson’s head had been lifted by Lennok across the space.
“Teleportation… Is it transference?”
“Not the wrong word.”
An artifact gained from a battle with the Arasha expedition team, the Compassion of the Archangel.
It allowed the transference of inanimate objects within a limited distance, enabling the removal of Manson’s head.
This was possible because Manson’s head was entirely made of metal.
“We didn’t come to fight you. You would have noticed if you were watching?”
As Lennok reattached Manson’s head to his body using magic, he spoke to the spearwoman.
“There’s someone in the Oryun family I need to see. Guide me.”
The spearwoman reacted to the direct mention of the family head.
She looked back at Lennok with slightly opened eyes and then shrugged her shoulders without a word.
Her tightly closed lips twitched.
“……To come with the agent of the Yookryeong and still talk so much.”
Click!
The woman, having taken a stance with her moon-blade drawn towards Lennok, readied herself again.
“Even if there are two of you, it’s no problem. I can handle you.”
“……Communication is not working.”
The problem was not only bringing Manson, but also her recognition of him as the agent of the Yookryeong.
Just as Lennok was about to pull out a ticket from inside his coat,
Mistaking it for drawing a weapon, the spearwoman lunged forward like an arrow.
Ssshhhk!!
Immediately after, Manson, having regained his head, quickly stood in front of Lennok to block her.
[This woman can’t even recognize a real guest…!]
As Manson drew his sword from his waist, the two superhumans began to clash in earnest.
Manson and the spearwoman twisted their upper bodies in opposite directions, and the sound of their collision echoed repeatedly in the air as sparks flew dozens of times.
Tatatatatat!!
With every swing of their blades, they drew intricate trajectories, spinning and bending.
Rather than aiming directly for vital points, they aimed to dominate the space, focusing on gaining the upper hand in the fight rather than seeking a quick kill.
Manson was the first to move.
[Huuuh…!!]
With a heavy breath, Manson lowered his stance, dodged the horizontal spear strike, and regripped his sword.
In the blink of an eye, the blade that had been sheathed at his waist poured out like a torrent, drawing a wave-like, blurry, and smooth sword trajectory.
The sword strike that burrowed inside, following the trajectory of the spear blade, sharply cut through the spearwoman’s close proximity as it regained its momentum.
In response, the spearwoman also rotated the spear she held in a counterclockwise direction.
Whirrrr…!!
The clash was mixed with a blurry magical light within the blade and spear strike.
Boom!!!
The yard, which had been a mess, turned into a devastated field with an explosion-like impact.
In the brief moment both stepped back due to the recoil,
A giant ice mirror appeared in the air and plunged down between them.
Koooom!!
“……!!”
“Let’s stop it there.”
The two warriors flinched as they suddenly faced their own reflections instead of each other’s, and Lennok stepped forward.
“I’ll say it again, I don’t intend to fight. In fact, I have something I want to do with you.”
“……I’ve said several times there will be no appointment of an agent.”
The spearwoman brought up a completely unrelated matter.
“How much longer do you plan to wield our family? The will of the Oryun has been made clear enough. Stop the nonsense and go back.”
“……What?”
It seemed that the spearwoman of the Oryun had been under a misconception, having experienced similar incidents before.
Just as Lennok was about to reply, someone burst out from beyond the shattered door.
“Sister!! What’s all this about!”
The young man who ran to the spearwoman’s side and saw Lennok’s face opened his mouth in surprise.
Lennok’s expression also changed oddly as he recognized the young man’s face.
“Wait, you are……”
“Van?”
“……Chen, was it?”
A freelancer who had worked with him against a dark mage and a terrorist organization upon an agent’s request.
Lennok remembered his face and name because Chen was quick-witted and had been helpful during the last operation in the industrial district.
He even remembered Chen grumbling about taking on the job to raise capital for his startup, never imagining they’d meet again here.
“……”
As the two exchanged knowing looks, the spearwoman, who had been holding her moon-blade with a fierce look, also discreetly lowered her spear.
Realizing the misunderstanding, she coughed awkwardly and mumbled,
“Ahem, ahem… if, perhaps, you are acquaintances of my brother… then, I might have made a mistake…”
As Lennok stared at her, the spearwoman meekly bowed her head.
“……I’m sorry.”
* * *
“I was really surprised. I never thought you would visit the fortress.”
Chen, who served coffee to Manson and Lennok seated on the sleek wooden floor, smiled awkwardly.
Lennok also smiled faintly upon seeing his face.
Thinking about it, Chen knew Lennok was an exceptionally talented mage but never revered or feared him.
He simply treated him as a highly competent colleague and did his best in operations.
He didn’t put himself forward, but he always delivered more than his share in the tasks he was given.
There was no doubt that he was a capable person in every aspect.
“It’s inevitable since we’ve both been busy with our lives.”
He naturally placed the coffee in front of the two and took a seat next to the spearwoman.
“It’s really been a long time since we’ve seen each other. I thought we kept in touch after the work was done, though.”
“Did we?”
Chen laughed it off without a care.
“Time really flies. Until about two years ago, we were both freelancers, and now you’ve become a noble beyond reach.”
“Well. Haven’t you become more flattering since we last met?”
“What are you talking about? A wizard who went head-to-head with the cartel and won needs a title far more grand than that.”
“……”
The woman, who had been quietly listening to the conversation next to Chen, chuckled slightly and looked at Lennok with a surprised gaze.
“So, you’re the deity of District 49 who recently joined the ranks of the cartel’s leadership.”
“Um……”
“It seems you were called Jianlei in the outside world……”
Lennok slightly lowered his gaze as he observed the woman.
He had thought the insiders of the fortress were indifferent to external news, but this woman seemed to know much more about the outside rumors than expected.
This must be because she is either a high-ranking official interested in external news or originally from outside.
And considering Chen’s reaction to her, the former seems more likely.
“How did the startup go?”
Caught off guard by Lennok’s question, Chen averted his gaze.
Lennok continued without surprise.
“The Oryun is your family home. Did you come back to take care of family matters because there were problems?”
“It’s my fault.”
The woman listening with a gloomy expression spoke.
“We were driven into a corner to the point where we couldn’t maintain the family without the help of the sibling who had left home… truly a disgraceful situation.”
“It’s not your fault, sister.”
Chen calmly countered.
“It’s the karma of our father who wasted all those years filling his own greed until the family head changed.”
His voice contained a faint contempt.
The spearwoman referred to as sister gently shook her head.
“……Don’t say that. Even so, I should have taken care of those who depend on this family. I failed to do even that simple task.”
[This is more serious than I thought.]
Manson tilted his head towards Lennok and whispered.
Since it was in a mechanical voice, the two sitting opposite could hear it as well.
Chen seemed about to say more but then gave up and smiled bitterly.
He stood up and gestured towards the outside.
“Shall we talk outside for a moment?”
Leaving the spearwoman with her head bowed down, clutching her coffee cup, the three went up to the mansion’s rooftop.
Despite the extensive damage and dirt, the mansion retained an air of elegance amidst the ruins, standing out in beauty even when compared to other houses or buildings within the fortress.
The view of the fortress at night from the balcony peeking between the tiles was quite beautiful even to Lennok’s eyes.
Instead of street lamps or fluorescent lights, soft lanterns lit the streets, and fireflies flew in the sky.
The faint sound of string instruments from the streets and the unmistakable scent of wood.
It was a scene not easily found in Vulcan.
Leaning against the railing, Chen blankly stared at the night view below and chuckled.
“As a kid, I hated this street so much… I never thought I’d come back at this age.”
“……”
“Well, as you can see, given the situation, there’s not much I can do to help. I don’t know why you’ve come to the fortress, Van, but if you need the power of the Eight Families, it might be best to look elsewhere.”
“It seems there were family matters.”
The Chen that Lennok remembered was someone who was quite decisive in his actions.
After dealing with dark mages and terrorist organizations together, he had indeed disappeared cleanly to focus on his own business.
It was natural to assume that a man of such character had returned to his crumbling family home to clean up the mess for a significant reason.
“My sister and I have different mothers.”
“……”
“I, being the child of a concubine, hated this family so much that I ran away… But until then, my sister took great care of me.”
Chen stopped there, sighed, and shook his head.
“……I shouldn’t have said all that. What’s the point of mentioning it now?”
[……]
Manson glanced at Lennok quietly after hearing the soft sigh.
Lennok, understanding Manson’s thoughts from his gesture, chose to ignore it cleanly and asked Chen,
“What do you want to do?”
“What?”
Although Chen didn’t say much, Lennok could easily guess what had happened to the Oryun family.
After the sudden death of the family head, the Oryun fell out of the power struggle among the Eight Families, and the family head died.
The reason would be some mistake due to the greedy nature of the family head.
The only successor, having lost power, found it difficult to exert any influence.
Having heard of the situation, Chen visited the fortress to help his half-sister, but could not provide any significant aid.
The state of this mansion, unable to hide the scars of political strife, was proof of that.
“You said you were gathering people to start a business. Knowing your personality, you must have produced some results by now.”
“……”
“Have you decided to abandon everything you’ve built up to help your family?”
“You’re right.”
Chen responded.
“I don’t have much time. There are quite a few employees who trust and follow me. I originally intended to help my sister with friends who were supporting my business.”
“But?”
“As soon as we entered the fortress, everyone except me was forcibly expelled.”
“……”
“They probably did it to prevent a defeated family from making any unnecessary resistance.”
He muttered with his fist clenched.
“If only I had the right to appoint an agent or something…”
It was easy to guess why Chen had given up on bringing his friends.
Facing the five families of the fortress in a frontal battle was practically impossible.
Guaranteeing victory was out of the question, and regardless of the outcome, they would suffer massive damage.
He wouldn’t have wanted to jeopardize the well-being of friends who had helped with his business due to his own circumstances.
“So, do you plan to just let everything go?”
Lennok asked.
“Watching your own blood slowly wither and die?”
It was a provocative challenge.
There was no need to mention how much Chen, who had temporarily set aside his business to find his kin, valued her.
Wasn’t he remaining in the ruins of the Oryun’ mansion because he valued her life more than the survival of the family he had abandoned?
Even for Lennok, that remark seemed too much to bear, as Chen’s lips twisted faintly.
“Then, are you planning to help, Van?”
“……”
“No, right? Then, I’d appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut.”
Chen said with a pained smile.
“I haven’t worked with you for long, but I know what kind of person you are. You observe, judge, and sift through answers based on your own criteria. You don’t make a move until you’re certain of your decision.”
“Hmm.”
“Once you make a decision, you don’t hesitate, but your judgment itself is very careful and heavy. I don’t particularly dislike you, but I don’t think someone like you would help us.”
A person who could be incredibly reliable as a colleague, but not easy to become one.
That summarized the impression Chen had of Lennok from watching him work alongside him.
Even though he thought the judgment was somewhat harsh and definitive, Lennok partly agreed that it wasn’t incorrect.
It must be because, as someone who meets people and does business firsthand, Chen has his own discernment.
Chen, having rapidly poured out his words, then spoke self-deprecatingly.
“……Damn, I don’t even know what I’m talking about. Sorry.”
“No, you got it right.”
Lennok said this and closed the distance towards Chen.
Seeing Chen flinch, Lennok silently pulled out a ticket from his coat.
“Like you said, I like to see and judge with my own eyes. That’s why I was able to make a decision.”
“Wait, this item is……”
Lennok smirked as Chen’s eyes widened upon seeing the emblem on the ticket.
“Starting today, ‘that kind of person’ you mentioned will be helping you guys.”
(To be Continued)