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Chapter 56: Vagabond
Chapter 56: Vagabond
< Chapter 56: Vagabond (2) >
Wednesday, 10 p.m.
The hideout of the Saviors of Truth near Dobongsan Mountain.
“There’s no clue, no clue. Damn.”
Vagabond was eating a preserved food roughly, annoyed.
He had a crumpled information sheet in one hand, which he had taken from the raid on the investigation team.
He had searched everywhere he could, but nothing came out.
“I should have just left it to Hermit.”
Vagabond recalled the emergency meeting that Unknown and the seven executives had before he came to Korea.
-Find him and bring him to me. He’s a valuable guest.
Unknown looked unusually excited. He seemed a bit impatient.
Maestro was the first to react to his words.
-Boss. Do you mean we should stop all the preparations for the national war raid?
Then a small argument broke out. They knew why the boss wanted to find the hybrids, but it was too hasty a decision.
They should think of system analysis as the top priority.
It was too much to deploy all seven executives.
Something like that.
-That’s a reasonable point.
As Maestro’s words continued, Unknown gradually regained his usual appearance. His smile and impatience disappeared.
-Good. David. You’re right, we shouldn’t forget our original purpose. But the investigation of the hybrids is necessary.
-Then how about sending only one executive? If we can’t do anything about the angel, one is enough, isn’t it?
Unknown nodded.
-Then I’ll go.
And then Hermit stepped up.
-Investigation and infiltration are my specialties. I should be the one to go.
As they all agreed on that.
-No. I’ll go.
Vagabond stepped up.
-Hermit, you have a lot of work to do. I have nothing to do, and I’m the best fit for this.
His reason for stepping up was very simple.
-Vagabond. You don’t want to fight with the angel, do you?
He wanted to fight with the angel, an existence beyond the standard.
-Hahaha! Do you think I’ll disobey the boss’s order? I’ll work hard on the investigation. But well…
Vagabond said.
-If conditions permit, I’d like to cross swords with him too.
That’s how Vagabond took charge of the hybrid investigation. There were many words that Vagabond couldn’t handle the job properly, but in the end, with Maestro’s full support, Vagabond became in charge.
“Tsk. I shouldn’t have stepped up.”
He was doing this annoying thing because he was distracted by the angel.
He hadn’t been able to do his job properly for three days already. His whole body was stiff.
“Ah. I want to fight.”
He wanted to run wild in the war zone. He wanted to fight with Unknown. He wanted to fight with that angel bastard! Screw the orders and everything, he just wanted to break into the Korean Association and beat up those superhuman bastards!
“Shit.”
He was cursing in his head when it happened.
Whoosh-!
He heard something flying in. It wasn’t a bullet. It was something lighter.
Vagabond quickly raised his spear to hit whatever was flying in.
“!”
Vagabond suddenly lowered his spear with a surprised expression.
He had clearly identified what was flying in.
Whoosh- Thud-
It stuck to the floor soon.
-A feather?
It was a feather.
A feather with a small note attached to its tip.
Vagabond stretched his senses to scan around. He felt nothing.
“Where did it come from?”
No, how did they know this place in the first place?
Vagabond picked up the feather with a frown.
It was a very large and pure white feather.
-Magic?
The feather had magic imbued in it. And that magic showed no signs of fading.
It couldn’t be like this if it was an ordinary feather.
-No way.
Vagabond quickly opened the note.
[To. The strongest of mankind. I have heard of your fame from heaven. I think it’s a great honor that you are looking for me. If I have a chance, I’d like to cross swords with you. Of course, I’ll win.]
[If your ‘Red Oath Spear’ and my ‘White Resolve Spear’ can clash, I’ll consider it an honor for life. Of course, you will.]
[If you want to fight me, come to this place tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. Of course, you’ll be scared for sure… From. Angel]
“Kuhuhu.”
Vagabond laughed holding the note.
* * *
“Do you really think he’ll fall for such a letter?”
Yu Hwa, the pro of hiding, asked me with a nervous expression.
A while ago, she was the one who sent the feather to the hideout.
Thanks to her, I was able to deliver the message without being detected by Vagabond’s senses.
“Yes. 100% he’ll bite.”
“No matter what, an executive like him would fall for such a suspicious letter…?”
Yu Hwa looked at me with a dubious eye.
“Vagabond is a lunatic who’s crazy about fighting. He’s been suppressing his nature for quite a long time now, so he’ll jump at the chance to fight.”
Vagabond was a pretty important villain in the original work.
Should I say he’s a single-celled organism?
A madman who would go anywhere there was a breathtaking battle.
He joined the Saviors of Truth in the first place because he wanted to fight with Unknown.
Unknown got him on his side by promising to fight him once a month.
“I also wrote down the words he likes in the letter.”
Things like the strongest of mankind, or fame that spread to heaven.
Well, on the other hand, I also made a lot of childish provocations.
“And I mentioned the Red Oath Spear at the end, so he won’t doubt it much.”
I even wrote down the name of his rusty spear that only Unknown knew.
Vagabond probably thought something like this.
‘Ah. He’s from heaven, so he knows everything. Then he must know that I’m the strongest of mankind.’
His simple mind must be thinking something like that.
“What if his goal is to find the angel? What if he reports to the organization? Won’t the other executives come along?”
“That’s not a problem either.”
“Why?”
“Well. It’s a long story…”
I explained.
“First of all, Unknown or Maestro wouldn’t have any idea how to deal with the angel. They would have told Vagabond to solve it by talking, even if he succeeded in finding the angel.”
“Ah~”
Yu Hwa nodded with an understanding expression.
“Vagabond, who’s crazy about fighting, wouldn’t like that order, right?”
“Yes. He’d want to fight first, regardless of talking. And now he has a chance to fight, so why would he report it to the organization and ruin it? That’s impossible for Vagabond’s personality.”
The letter was designed based on Vagabond’s personality from beginning to end.
“Hmm. You talk as if you know his personality inside and out.”
Yu Hwa looked at me with a strange eye.
“Yes. Well. You know, I’m very well-informed about the Saviors of Truth.”
Well, she already knows that I have excellent knowledge of the Saviors of Truth.
“But there’s always a chance, right? What if he doesn’t show up at the place?”
“No. He’ll definitely show up. He’ll look around first.”
No matter how crazy he is about fighting, an executive is an executive.
He wouldn’t ignore the possibility of a trap. So he’ll check first. Vagabond must have a wide range of detection abilities, so he’ll surely examine carefully if there are any traps around.
“Then won’t he get caught by the traps we set up beforehand?”
“Well. Then there’s nothing we can do.”
I joked, and Yu Hwa glared at me.
“I’m kidding. Vagabond’s detection is specialized in magic detection. That’s why he couldn’t find you, Yu Hwa, who can use stealth skills that block both presence and magic.”
“I see. He can’t detect traps that don’t need magic?”
“Yes.”
That’s why I told Jia beforehand to set up devices that don’t need magic near the meeting place.
“We’ll block Vagabond’s escape routes with those traps and deploy S-rank superhumans. Easy, right?”
“Hmm. Who will be the bait?”
The bait.
The person who will pretend to be an angel and stand at the place to lure Vagabond out.
The bait is the most important part of this operation.
A high-quality bait that Vagabond can’t help but drool over and show himself.
“Jia said she has a suitable superhuman for that. She said she specially made angel wings that move just like mine, including my body shape.”
“Wings too? She did well to prepare that in such a short time.”
“Yes. She’s amazing.”
* * *
Of course, the high-quality bait that was exactly the same as the angel, including the body shape and the moving wings, was none other than me.
Production? There’s no such thing.
How can you make moving wings in a day? Even if you did, Vagabond would never fall for such shoddy wings.
Of course, only Jia knows this fact.
The other superhumans, including Yu Hwa, think it’s an imitation of the angel.
I checked the time, wearing the clothes and mask I wore during the great rift treatment.
[PM 7:11]
It’s already two hours before the operation starts.
I started to get nervous.
“Ancestor. Are you okay?”
“Huh? What?”
Jia asked me with a worried look as she looked at me.
“You’re playing the bait role.”
I told Jia this after the great rift incident.
I’ve recently unsealed it twice in a row, and I don’t want to unseal it any more.
…That’s what I said.
That’s why she asked me that.
She’s worried about my safety.
“Well, it’s okay to unseal it a little bit.”
I made an excuse.
“Ah. That’s good.”
Jia sighed with relief.
“But, ancestor.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask you one thing?”
Jia fidgeted with her fingers and hesitated.
“What is it?”
“Well, your goal is to stop the upcoming war, right?”
“Yeah.”
“…Then why are you trying to stop the Saviors of Truth?”
Jia said urgently.
“Ah, of course, they’re bad guys who are devouring the world. Of course, they need to be dealt with. But do you really need to risk yourself and step in…?”
“Hmm….”
That makes sense.
“Just. I don’t like them.”
“You don’t like them…?”
“Yeah. I can’t stand that those bastards are breathing on this land.”
This was true.
“And besides, taking care of them is also a way of saving the world, right?”
“…Ah.”
Jia nodded as if she understood.
“Anyway, don’t worry too much. There won’t be any problem.”
I tapped Jia’s shoulder.
“…Yes.”
“By the way, how did you do on your written exam today?”
Today is Thursday.
The day of the first written exam.
“Oh, yes. I think I did well.”
“I’m glad. I’m sorry for making such a fuss during the exam period.”
“Hey. Don’t be sorry.”
Jia smiled brightly.
“Oh, right. You asked me to prepare something for you.”
Jia took something out of her bag and handed it to me.
A small equipment carrier.
A carrier for accessories.
“Thank you. I’ll use it today and return it right away.”
There’s a ring of the heavenly race in there. I asked her to borrow one of the angelic relics stored in the Shinwa Group warehouse.
Just in case.
I couldn’t ask for it before because there was no reason.
But now they think I’m a half of the heavenly race and an elf, so I asked them to lend it to me comfortably.
“Are you going to write a statement later for sneaking this out?”
“If you just return it properly, there won’t be any problem.”
Jia answered jokingly to my joking remark.
“Anyway, thank you.”
I put the box in my pocket. The clothes themselves are puffy, so it doesn’t show much.
“What about the items Yu Hwa sent?”
“Oh. They’re ready in the car.”
“Yeah? Then let’s go.”
It’s time to go fishing for Vagabond.
9:29 p.m.
I was standing alone in a ruin near Dobongsan Mountain.
With my wings spread wide, in a conspicuous manner.
About 5km away from here, S-rank superhumans are waiting.
It’s a bit far, but if we get any closer, Vagabond might notice us, so we had no choice.
The point of this operation is how well I can stall him.
I fiddled with the accessory box I had in my pocket.
I’m nervous.
Next, I checked my equipment one by one.
Bihon, items borrowed from Shinwa.
First, armor.
I chose only items that had ridiculously high ability limits and high defense.
They should be damn heavy, but I’m not heavy.
Next, sword.
Likewise, I borrowed [Pray Sword], which had an absurd ability limit. It also had the drawback of being too heavy to swing properly, but I’m not heavy either.
“Good.”
All checks are done.
And now it’s 9:30 p.m.
The appointed time.
He hasn’t shown up yet, so he must be suspicious.
I expected that.
Well, if he’s suspicious, I just have to show him proof that I’m an angel.
Whoosh-
I spread my wings and flew up from my spot.
And I said this at a vague height.
“I know you’re there. Come out.”
That’s when it happened.
“Kuhuhu. You really are an angel.”
190cm tall.
Hair tied back.
Swaggering steps.
A rusty spear on his shoulder.
It’s Vagabond.
He must have shown himself, confident that there was no one else around.
As soon as I saw him, I quickly opened the accessory box in my pocket.
“Then come.”
···Vagabond’s rule one.
Don’t ambush.
“Are you ready?”
···Vagabond’s rule two.
No need for words in a man’s conversation.
I put on the angelic relic I had prepared beforehand. [Distelion Ring].
An item listed in [Ancient Relic/A+ Rank].
[Distelion Ring] is an angelic relic that is unrivaled in terms of defense.
Vagabond disappeared.
···Vagabond’s rule three.
Aim for the neck at the first strike.
And the next moment.
Kiiiiing-!
A loud friction sound rang out right in front of my neck.
“Kyahaha!”
It was the sound of Vagabond’s spear and
“Hmm.”
[Distelion Ring]’s [Saint Wall] between them.
…1 minute.
The time left to finish him off for sure.
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