Chapter 48
#048
1.
Iming made an overwhelming impression just by showing up.
He was six cheok and three chon tall.
Weighing in at a monstrous 230 geun.
Bulging forearms with his sleeves rolled up.
Blue veins writhing like angry snakes over rock-hard muscles.
A back like a mountain range and rippling glutes.
He was the very image of a Vajra warrior ripping demons apart barehanded.
Only, with a slightly high BMI.
“Sit down and smoke a cigarette. I’ll carve up those carp bastards first.”
Even with Iming's unexpected appearance, I couldn't let my guard down.
I had plenty to feel guilty about, not just with Ceres mama, but with Iming too.
Man, I really did live like a total bastard this run.
“Lord Iming! I think there’s been some misunderstanding between us!”
“A misunderstanding?”
“We’re not bullying that guy for no reason. That slippery bastard stole a treasure from the Geumniga family. The Jinjo doll kept in the Sector E warehouse.”
One of the Geumniga assassins barked back furiously.
“The Jinjo doll?”
Iming's broad back froze for a moment.
“That’s right! This is a blatant violation. Surely the lord isn’t unfamiliar with Overnus Pharmaceuticals’ code!”
He wasn’t wrong.
I’d learned a thing or two while running errands as a flunky.
In this city with no laws or rules, what Overnus Pharmaceuticals values most is ‘just cause.’
Right now, Iming doesn’t have one.
No matter what the circumstances were, his underling had laid hands on a treasure that Geumniga kept under strict watch.
But even Geumniga would be wary of making this into a fight and going head-to-head with Iming.
“Lord Iming probably didn’t know it was a ‘doll’ either, did he? If you back off now, our Geumniga family will spare your face and bury this here. If you hand over that one little bastard, wouldn’t that settle everything cleanly?”
In other words, they were proposing a compromise: hand over me, the actual culprit, and let both sides save face.
“Or do you want to take this all the way?”
If he protected me here, he’d be kicking even that compromise aside.
That would mean violating the organization’s code and, in effect, declaring war on Geumniga.
Even the Hyun-gwi clan would have no way to back Iming up.
Besides, what had I done? Report omissions, embezzlement, and breach of trust.
There was no reason for Iming to cover for me.
“Rowen.”
“…Yes, big bro.”
“Is what that guy said true?”
Iming asked without looking at me.
Ha....
I’ve really got nothing to say here.
“I’m sorry, big bro. There were circumstances I couldn’t tell you.”
The Geumniga hitmen rose to their feet and gripped their weapons.
They could tell the matter had been settled.
“Move aside. We’ll handle it in no time.”
“Does he really have to die?”
“Lord Iming, you know how it is, don’t you? Someone has to take responsibility. Or will you do it yourself? Looks like that fixer bastard even stabbed you in the back.”
Iming was going to back down.
Ah, this run ends here.
The only silver lining was that the reset start point meant I couldn’t make out with Arbel.
Then.
“Rowen, a dog barks for the one who fills its bowl. That’s just the instinct of a beast.”
Iming clenched his fist.
-Kreeeek, gigiik
With a sound like a massive bridge bending, his log-like forearms writhed.
Steam rising from the cracked ground scattered before the fierce heat pouring off him, as though it were nothing.
That malice was aimed at.
Not me, but the Geumniga assassins.
“L-Lord Iming...! Are you out of your mind right now?”
Among the assassins scrambling to raise their weapons,
“Then what are men supposed to bleed for? Answer me, Rowen!”
A boisterous cry, laced with laughter, thundered through the air.
“A real man!!! dies for the one and only person who recognized him!!!”
The instant Iming lowered his center of gravity and kicked off with his back foot.
-Boom!
The 130-kilo giant shot out at near-supersonic speed.
A pale shockwave burst from the spot where he kicked off the ground.
Surprisingly, the Geumniga assassin managed to react to that movement.
He whipped his blade around and struck Iming in the temple.
-Clang!
What rang out was a clear metallic clang.
The blade that met his skin only sent off sparks as it bounced away, leaving not even a scratch.
“That’s all you’ve got?”
“Wait....”
The off-balance opening was split wide by Iming’s vertically thrown fist.
-DONG!!!
With a gong-like impact, the assassin’s body burst like a water balloon.
Chunks of flesh and bone scattered like shotgun buckshot.
All that remained in the air was blood mist drifting like a crimson haze.
“Y-you insane bastard...!!!”
Another assassin, finally catching on, swung a guandao at Iming.
As expected of a Geumniga hitman.
Even in the confusion, his response speed was astonishing.
Just before that blade could touch Iming’s back,
Iming’s log-like leg was one step ahead, hooking the assassin under the jaw.
-Kang!
A clean strike, like smashing a ball with an aluminum bat.
The assassin’s head shot up, spinning high like a soda bottle cap flying off.
Home run.
The body, left standing blankly without its head, staggered for a long while before collapsing in a heap.
“Who the hell do you punks think you’re threatening?”
Straightening the rumpled folds of his changpao, Iming looked like he’d just been out for a casual stroll.
No, this made no damn sense.
Iming, you were this strong?
A Tier-2 mage, physically... ?
What I knew and what I was seeing with my own eyes were worlds apart.
Meeting my slack-jawed stare, Iming scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
“Hey, why the long face, you punk? You didn’t know I was crazy strong?”
Iming didn’t scold me, nor did he show any resentment like I’d dragged him into this too.
He just grinned.
Fuck, my chest is really tightening up.
The idiot I thought I’d been this whole time was me!
“Big bro, why would you go this far for this worthless little brother of yours!”
“I’ll hear the details later. For now, let’s get out of here before we’re seen....”
Momentarily,
From the muddy puddles on the street, from the rainwater pooled in drains,
golden carp apparitions poked their heads out.
Those creepy fish eyes staring at us like they were watching.
“…Already too late. Damn it.”
Iming glanced over them and spat.
“What is that, big bro?”
“That’s the Geumniga family head’s technique, Turbid Water Eye. He uses it to monitor the whole city. We’ve got no time left. Can you run?”
“Of course, big bro!”
We sprinted through the maze of alleys.
As we ran, every puddle we passed kept popping up carp heads that tracked our movements.
“A Geumniga strike team will be here soon.”
“Sorry, big bro. Because of me, you even had to...”
Iming’s thick palm smacked the back of my head.
“A man shouldn’t get all embarrassed like that. Let’s just figure out how to survive together.”
::: Challenge Objective (NEW!) :::
- You’ve become Geumniga’s target for extermination. +5pt
2.
This run is very close to failure.
I let Jjapjo slip away.
I moved way too much like the mastermind, and because of the status window I couldn’t even make a proper excuse, so Ceres mama ditched me.
And on top of that, Geumniga had put me firmly on their hit list....
Clearing the route within the next few days was all but impossible.
Normally, even Cedric would have gone for a second run.
But I couldn’t just die meaninglessly like this.
“Rowen, we’re leaving the Necropolis. Pack a bunch of all-purpose gear and let’s head for Arden!”
“Yes, big bro!”
Iming, my big bro, had thrown everything he had into saving me.
As his little brother, could I really just give up without a fight?
Maybe, just maybe.
If I twisted things around enough, maybe I could still clear it.
Power-ups matter, sure, but if luck gives me a shot at clearing the premium route, I’ll take it without hesitation.
From what I can tell, this premium run....
If I keep rerolling it just to wring every last drop out of it, there’s a good chance I’m really going to be screwed.
The moment we left Butcher Street under the goldfish’s relentless surveillance,
“Holy shit....”
Goosebumps ran all over me.
The street, usually as crowded as rush hour, was dead silent.
Not a single citizen remained.
What filled the empty space was....
Dark-skinned humans stood stiffly with talismans pasted to their foreheads.
I wasn’t exactly well-versed in Geumniga, but I could tell at a glance what those were.
You know, that thing from wuxia novels. That thing.
Jiangshi.
There were several hundred of them, give or take.
The moment they spotted us, they charged.
-Jingle jingle jingle
The bells attached to their bodies rang out in bright unison.
Their speed was on par with a Class 8 fixer at Augmentation Level 1.
It wasn’t quite a Sandevistan, but it was more than enough to go beyond human limits.
Hundreds of human-shaped figures charging at us in silence, bells ringing....
Eerie doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Iming sprinted forward without the slightest hesitation.
“We’ll break through head-on, Rowen! Stay behind me!”
“I’ll back you up too!”
I snapped out of it too.
I formed hand seals and unleashed Sign Verdicts.
No need to aim precisely.
There were so many of them, and they were charging mindlessly; if I fired anywhere, I’d hit one for sure.
The output itself was about the same as a Class 8 fixer at Augmentation Level 1.
Their movements were simple too.
“Ugh! Why are you so damn tough!”
But damn, they were hard as nails.
Even when they took Sign Verdicts, they didn’t get neatly sliced apart—it felt like they could tank several hits.
And unless I blew off their heads, even cutting them in half at the waist just made them crawl on.
They were the very definition of meat shields.
If I had been alone, I would have been crushed by sheer numbers in no time.
::: Challenge Objective (NEW!) :::
- Kill a jiangshi. +1pt
By the time I was barely hacking my way through the jiangshi,
“Wow.”
Iming was fighting an entirely different battle.
The moment he slammed into the jiangshi, five or six of them burst apart, scattering chunks of flesh.
The dozens of jiangshi caught in the blast all staggered back at once.
He hadn’t even used any special technique.
Just a body slam, that’s all.
-Kwang! KWAANG! Thud!
And so began Iming’s slaughter show.
Against the jiangshi pouring in without end,
a single wave of his hand burst their heads like watermelons.
One kick split them into upper and lower halves.
And that wasn’t all—he grabbed arms and legs, swung them around like nunchucks, and tossed them away.
To think pure physical strength alone could make that possible.
I’d seen it before, but he really was built to a different spec.
“You’re amazing, big bro!”
At this level, I can see why he isn’t afraid of an extermination order.
Even if he made Geumniga his enemy, even if the Hyun-gwi clan didn’t help him.
With Iming, my big bro, by my side, maybe this run still wasn’t over yet.
Just as I was thinking that,
-Jingle jingle
The sound of bells started coming from everywhere.
-Jingle jingle jingle
Under the dim glow of red lanterns,
-Jingle jingle jingle jingle
In the darkness of alleys where not even light could reach, in the narrow gaps between buildings.
The dead emerged, ringing their bells.
There was no point in even counting them anymore.
“Can’t I have even one easy day....”
“An endless refill?”
I don’t need an endless refill like this!
“Rowen, are you shaking?”
At some point, Iming had come up beside me and said, wiping blood from his cheek.
“Yes, big bro, I am.”
“You little....”
“Just thinking about getting through this with you and making Geumniga eat shit already has my heart racing.”
Iming paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“Kwahaha! Exactly! That’s the kind of ambition a man should have! Let’s go straight to round two!”
“Right away, big bro! Round two’s on me!”
“Wahaha!”
Yeah, fuck it.
Let’s take it all the way!
The two men’s laughter rang out louder than the bells.