Chapter 74. White Crystal (3)
The 22 elite members of Evil Society quickly went to work. They first blocked out pathways off the stage, then decimated the security. Furthermore, they didn’t distinguish between security guards and ordinary civilians. Anyone who got in their way was cut down. As a result, the peaceful hall quickly turned into a scene from hell, and at the forefront of it all was Team 1’s executive, Neide.
He was a grade-1 wanted Djinn who was on the Association’s violet list.
“Heroes! Over here! Here!”
Zelen was attracting Heroes to himself in despair. Neide first shut his mouth, and let his underlings deal with the Heroes that came to help. Then, with nimble and fluid movements, he snatched the cube and the crystal inside.
At that moment, a man walked up to him.
“Where are you going? Let me introduce myself. I’m a high-rank Hero, Jin Xiangchen.”
The man introduced himself in poor Korean. Neide stared at him silently. He had no plans to waste time fighting a high-rank Hero.
With a smirk, Neide’s body multiplied. Eight clones of Neide appeared in a flash.
“What a troublesome ability.”
Jin Xiangchen prepared to fight all eight bodies simultaneously, but Neide had no intention of attacking.
The eight Neides ran away, splitting up in eight directions.
“Y-You motherfucker.”
Xiangchen pondered.
Which direction should he choose?
After thinking for a moment, he chose to follow the one running eastward.
Meanwhile, Boss was staring at the stage through the darkness. When Neide split up and ran away, she began to walk not east but north.
“Hmm.”
...From the midst of darkness, a short breath came out.
A man who was observing the situation slowly raised his body. Walking through the darkness, he grabbed the wrist of a Djinn who was about to cut down a man.
“Kuak!”
Twisting his wrist and making him drop his weapon, the man grabbed his neck.
1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...
The Djinn died, bleeding from all orifices.
Throwing the corpse aside, Kim Junwoo grabbed the sword the Djinn dropped. Next, he began to cut down every Djinn he came across, making his way to Chae Nayun’s party.
“Oppa!”
Chae Nayun and her friends ran up to him. Without a word, Kim Junwoo threw a Djinn’s sword over to Kim Suho. Kim Suho received it, staring at Kim Junwoo.
Kim Junwoo smiled.
“Shall we fight?”
**
Just like in the original story, Neide split into eight bodies and escaped.
Standing on the rooftop, I saw which Neide had the crystal.
To the east, there was a Hero chasing after Neide, but that one didn’t have the crystal.
To the south, Jain, who was disguised as a Djinn, was accompanying Neide. However, that Neide didn’t have the crystal either.
And to the north, the one Boss was chasing after should have the crystal according to the original story.
I closely watched the north side.
—Stop!
Twelve Djinns got in front of Boss.
Boss immediately unleashed her magic power, a tiny black ball of magic power that looked ordinary from the outside. However, the twelve Djinns were sucked into that tiny ball effortlessly. Then, they were twisted and distorted to the point of being unrecognizable.
Void Sphere.
It was a destructive ability that was only a tiny portion of Boss’ Gift.
After lightly shaking off the blockade, Boss chased after Neide. From now, she would easily steal the crystal from Neide’s hands.
I stared at Neide, who was still running away.
“...What?”
At that moment, my head shook.
This Neide didn’t have the crystal either. Again, the Neide in the north didn’t have the crystal.
“How....”
I quickly turned on my laptop. However, there were no alerts. If it wasn’t because of a settings change, then what changed the situation?
I broke out into cold sweat. My head felt numb, and my heart began to beat wildly.
I hurriedly looked around the hall, but I couldn’t find the crystal with so many people running around.
“....”
Suddenly, an idea popped up in my head.
Although I had never tried it, there was no time to waste.
I concentrated Stigma’s magic power on my retina.
No, to be exact, I concentrated it around my Gift, ‘Master Sharpshooter – Thousand-Mile Eyes’.
Stigma’s magic power moved and exerted itself according to my will. In that case, it should be possible to strengthen the Thousand-Mile Eyes for a moment....
In an instant, the scope of my vision transformed.
Just like how satellites looked down on the earth, a wide range entered my sight.
Civilians hurriedly escaping the hall, Heroes fighting against Djinns, strange monster-like one-dimensional shapes summoned by Djinns to incite chaos, and... the white crystal I needed to find.
As the essence of magic power, the white crystal was easy to spot. The crystal was inside a fast-moving sedan. Inside the sedan was only one person.
Thwak—
However, with the sound of blood vessels being cut, my vision narrowed once again.
“...!”
I grabbed my eyes and knelt. I was struck with a pain so intense that I couldn’t even scream. However, I didn’t even have time to writhe in pain.
I took out the Desert Eagle. I planned to snipe the sedan. However, it seemed my Thousand-Mile Eyes were overloaded as I couldn’t aim properly.
Without a choice, I jumped down from the rooftop. It was thanks to Parkour’s power.
As soon as I landed on the ground, I looked for something to ride. My luck seemed to have helped me again as there was a motorbike parked nearby.
It was a black bike that looked expensive even at a glance.
I had experience driving a motorcycle since I often did delivery as a part-time job before going to the army.
“Everybody, stay calm as you evacuate!”
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice. It was Chae Nayun. Without a weapon, she was holding onto magic power condensed in the shape of a stick. Feeling somewhat bad, I shouted at Chae Nayun.
“Hey!”
“Uh, what, Kim Hajin!? Where have you...”
I took out the magic sword I kept in my Stigma and threw it at her.
“Be careful not to get hurt.”
Then, I ran to the place where the bike was parked.
I didn’t need the key. As all car keys in this world were digital, I just had to hack into the bike with my laptop.
Sitting on the saddle, I muttered in a low voice.
“Scan.”
The result was... 40%.
A jackpot. The number 40 was engraved on the body of the black bike.
Like so, Random Consolidation System also worked on vehicles.
“Hey, where are you going!?”
Chae Nayun hurriedly asked. I started the engine without answering her.
Vroooaaang—! The engine’s beast-like roar rang out.
“Whoa!”
The bike charged forward the moment I stepped on the accelerator. Its sheer speed was something I wouldn’t dare to wield.
Covering my insufficient driving skill as much as possible with my acute dynamic vision, I stormed down the road.
The direction was southeast. Pushing the air to the side, the bike rushed through like a streak of light.
Three minutes was enough to reach the goal.
At the end of the supersonic charge, I began to see the back of the sedan.
What I planned to do from now could only be described as daring.
I put Aether around the bike and pushed on the accelerator even harder.
The speed shot up endlessly. Piercing wind struck my body, and the air pressure prevented me from breathing.
Even so, I never let go of the gas.
...The bike rammed into the back of the sedan.
KWANG—!
The bike and sedan collided.
In most instances, the motorcycle would have been blown away. However, it was different this time.
The force of the collision caused the back of the sedan to shoot up. Overturned like a tin can, the sedan barreled through the air and slammed into the trunk of a tree.
“...Haa.”
I stopped the bike and let out a breath I had been holding onto this entire time.
**
“....”
Chae Nayun stared blankly at what just happened. Her eyes and ears were solely focused on one spot. The bike that ran out into the road had already become a tiny dot.
To be completely honest, she just saw a scene of her dreams.
A lightspeed bike, and driving it masterfully in a cool manner...
“Kyaaak!”
However, a desperate shriek dragged her back to reality.
“What?”
Chae Nayun stared at the magic sword she received while she was in a daze.
‘Where did he get something this expensive? He said he won 2 billion won, so did he buy it with that? To give it to me? No, that can’t be....’
Regardless, it was undoubtedly helpful. With a grin, she imbued her magic power into the sword.
Wiing—
A clean, sharp blade of magic power rose up.
“...Huup.”
Chae Nayun continued to imbue magic power into the sword. The blade continued to get longer until the blade eventually reached 4 meters in length. The blade burned clearly without a single blemish, showing the world the power of her true Gift.
“Someone save me!”
At that moment, someone’s scream struck her ears.
Chae Nayun shouted with the sword in her hand.
“I’m coming!”
**
I approached the overturned sedan. The magic power that flowed out of Stigma gathered in my hand and formed the Desert Eagle.
Drkk—
The sedan’s driver seat door opened, and a Djinn crawled out. He was holding a suitcase in hand.
“Crazy bastard...”
The Djinn cursed as he glared at me.
“You’re dead.”
Where did his confidence come from? When I pondered, I saw a flashing object in the distance. It was an aerial carrier with a stealth function. The Djinn’s face brightened.
However, I took out my laptop extremely casually.
“O-Over here! Brothers! Over here!”
The Djinn even shot a flare gun to announce his position.
I didn’t stop him. No, I didn’t need to. Instead, I used the laptop to connect to a [peripheral server].
‘A0936-B Carrier’.
I needed 100 SP to access it. I felt a bit regretful, but it was still worth paying.
Tak.
I closed the laptop.
Suddenly, the carrier began to move backward.
“A-Ah, w-where are you going!? Over here, I said!! HEY! WHERE ARE YOU FUCKING GOING!? I mean, where are you going, sirs? Guys??”
The moment the Djinn was coughing up blood and going insane...
A terrifying wind pressure blew, and something huge fell down on the ground.
KOONG!
Shock waves shook the area at the moment of landing. A rock accompanied the shockwave, striking his head and crushing it.
I stared at what landed.
“....”
A giant over 2.2 meters. This man, who gave off an overwhelming presence just by standing, was a man who could be said to be the strongest in close ranged combat – Cheok Jungyeong.
However, a girl was caught in his hand like a pet.
“L-Let go! Let me go!”
Rachel struggled as much as she could, but Cheok Jungyeong didn’t even flinch.
“Let me go! This is England’s territory, and I am England’s princess....”
When I stared at her, Cheok Jungyeong spoke with a smirk.
“Oh, this girl? It looked like she was following you, so I brought her.”
Rachel met my eyes. She clenched her teeth. Leaving Rachel alone for a moment, I picked up the now ownerless suitcase.
Cheok Jungyeong then spoke softly.
“Put that down.”
I retorted briefly.
“You first.”
“....”
Cheok Jungyeong didn’t respond. He only stared at me with the eyes of a dead fish.
Without a choice, I pointed my gun at the suitcase. Immediately, Cheok Jungyeong’s expression changed.
“Eh? Hey, hey, do you know how much that’s worth?”
Without answering him, I transformed the Desert Eagle from a handgun to a shotgun.
“Fine, you want to try me? Let’s see who’s faster. Me ripping of this girl’s head, or you drilling a hole through that suitcase.”
I put my finger on the trigger.
For a moment, an intimidating confrontation continued, but soon, Cheo Jungyeong sighed as though he was giving up.
“...Fine, little bastard.”
Then he threw Rachel at me.
“Kyaa!”
Rachel fell at my feet. I was curious why Rachel was here, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
Cheok Jungyeong’s heavy voice knocked on my ears.
“Now, put that down.”
“....”
In the first place, this crystal wasn’t something I could handle. The ideal plan was to give it to Rachel to make it the English Royal Court’s possession, but it was impossible now that Cheok Jungyeong was here.
“Fine.”
I threw the suitcase down without hesitation. Cheok Jungyeong picked up the suitcase. In his hands, it looked more like a purse.
It was then.
Wiiing—
A fly landed on my nose, distracting me for a second.
But in the next moment.
A fierce wind blew towards me.
All the hair on my body flew backward. I couldn’t think. When I looked forward, a head-sized fist was in front of me. Beyond the fist, Cheok Jungyeong made a satisfied smile.
In the blink of an eye, Cheok Jungyeong had charged towards me and stretched out his fist.
3 cm.
Just 3 cm closer and my head would have been crushed.
“...Looks like you aren’t so rotten.”
Cheok Jungyeong seemed satisfied at my calm(?) response as he turned back with those few words.
His heavy steps resounded.
My body didn’t move until he completely disappeared. My head was completely blank, not a single thought existing in it.
My body and conscious were frozen.