I'll Spare You If You Run

“Pretend you don”t know anything and run away. Then I'll spare you.'

Those words echoed in my mind.

The Recruitment Offer was ultimately just a side note. The important part was what came before it.

Telling me to run away, that he would spare me if I did...

Meant he was planning to kill everyone else but me.

Those were the exact words of that Luddite gang Boss, the man who called himself Ned Ludd. The chances of it being empty words or a bluff were not high.

He probably planned to kill the Rich Young Lady Alexandra, and dispose of all the witnesses that resulted from the Process.

How they planned to kill not only the Young Lady and her bodyguards, but also the dozens of Ronin who would be armed with various cyberware, when their numbers were a mere seven, was a mystery.

They must have had some method to be acting like that.

Judging from the brief conversation and psychological warfare we engaged in, he was by no means an easy opponent.

A cunning mind smart enough to read my inner thoughts in that short time, plus an ominous aura that felt like he had easily buried hundreds of people.

The Position of General Ned Ludd wasn't won through a game of Ddakji. The opponent was truly the Leader of a terrorist Group.

“...”

I rolled my eyes, pretending to think, and looked at the main table. I assessed the situation of the Senior Bartenders.

Tony was putting on a Flame Show in front of the Ronin.

The sight of him lighting a blue flame on his alcohol-soaked fingers with a whoosh and spitting out Dragon's Breath was very impressive.

It was a cool Fire show, but it didn't seem like it would be much help in dealing with the Luddite gang. I roughly glossed over it.

Across from him on the side... was Sey.

The Dragon's Lair Head Bartender.

An unidentified Powerhouse presumed to Possess a high-output Implant that amplified her speed to the point of invisibility.

She was also mixing cocktails all the same.

Mixing various transparent alcohols in a Mixing Glass, she quietly cast her gaze with her Cold gray eyes as always.

Our eyes seemed to meet, yet passed by as if they hadn't.

My mind was complicated.

As long as Dragon President hadn't returned yet, she was my only reliable resource.

But seeing her look so uninterested in what was happening over here, I couldn't help but be at a loss.

Did she not know the seriousness of the situation? Or was this level of trouble nothing to her?

There was no way she didn't know.

If what she had was the ultra-high-speed cyberware I knew of, or even if it wasn't, if it was a modification with similar properties...

The person named Seira would be a Superhuman beyond imagination.

With her acute senses Alone, she would have a clear grasp of everything happening in the bar, as if it were in the palm of her hand.

That was probably why she could See Through the weapons hidden by the Customers like a ghost, and for a similar reason, she would have figured out that they were members of the Luddite gang much faster than I did.

What was the reason she still hadn't stepped forward despite that?

I remembered the conversation I had with her the other day at the Iceberg Ground Bus Station.

The words Sey had Calmly spat out when I expressed my gratitude for her saving me.

“Boss asked me to, to help you out a bit.”

“You saved me because of that?”

“That too. I thought the floor would get dirty with blood if your hand got cut off. I hate dirty things.”

She spoke so expressionlessly that it was confusing whether she was joking or being serious.

Toward me, who was debating whether to laugh with an Awkward face or not, Sey added.

“I also don't really like it when an acquaintance dies.”

“...”

“Just don't think it'll be like this every time. It would be better not to expect my help from now on. I am, after all, a Bartender, not a security Guard.”

*At that moment, strangely enough, I was fixated on a specific vocabulary word in what she said and was only thinking about that.*

“An acquaintance...”

Somehow, those words wouldn't Leave my ears.

Was it just my imagination if it felt like she meant an acquaintance from having crossed paths much earlier, rather than the familiarity built over the past few days of being together?

I chewed over the strange déjà vu I felt every time I looked at Sey.

There was no way I would forget if I had met such an impressive person before.

Strangely, I couldn't remember, but it felt like we had crossed paths.

I felt certain I had brushed past those gray swirling eyes and that Dark Blue Hair somewhere before.

I opened my mouth impulsively without realizing it.

“Have we... met somewhere before by any chance?”

Words that a stranger would have thought of as a cheap pickup line if they heard it.

I regretted it as soon as I said it.

While I was avoiding the gaze staring intently in my direction, Sey spoke.

“That's Unexpected. I thought you would remember.”

“...!”

Toward me, who raised my head in surprise, Sey exhaled the smoke she had been holding in her mouth.

A white stain formed over the control panel of the lights spread around us.

“When and where did we meet?”

She answered while looking at the city center, which looked like a luminous honeycomb distorting in the distance.

“If you can't remember, then I don't need to go out of my way to tell you. It'll be better for you to keep forgetting it like that. Don't try to recall it.”

I couldn't Answer those words back then.

...And now, in this situation facing the Luddite gang. Sey wasn't moving.

She had said it would be better not to expect her help from now on.

Was she trying to clearly show that those words were the truth, or was she testing me?

Would she only save me when I was on the verge of having an arm or leg cut off like last time, when I was right on the brink of death?

Either way, the help of others should only be considered a last resort, a crutch. I couldn't just blindly trust in that Alone.

The decision was ultimately mine to make, and I had to bear the full responsibility for my choices.

“Aren't you thinking about it for too long? I can't give you that much time. We're busy people too.”

Ned Ludd whispered once again.

I bit my lip and took a Step back to the side.

It couldn't be helped.

If the Microchip in My Head had reacted, I would have tried to fight back somehow, but that wasn't the case either.

Without the effects of cyberware, I was nothing more than an Ordinary Person who didn't even really know how to fight.

There was nothing I could do in the current situation against the gang Terrorists.

“...It would be right for matters between Customers to be resolved between Customers. I won't interfere any further. Have a good time.”

Ned Ludd's eyes followed my movements as I then headed toward the back Warehouse at a quick pace.

He looked satisfied seeing me run away hastily just as he had told me to, yet at the same time, he seemed somewhat regretful and dissatisfied.

And also, the gazes of the bodyguards and Alexandra, who looked strangely at me suddenly leaving my spot after whispering a few words with the Factory Worker.

With Ned Ludd saying, “Boys, let”s go,' and stepping closer toward the bodyguards as the final sight, I closed the door and stepped completely inside the Warehouse.

“...Phew.”

Standing in the middle of the muffled Equipment Warehouse, I let out a heavy breath.

Now, shall we begin.

It was obvious, but I wasn't a child, and I hadn't come here with the intention of hiding away in the Warehouse and waiting for things to end.

I wasn't trying to run away either. If I was going to run away, I would have just left entirely through the back door of the Staff Lounge.

Beep.

I turned on my Cyberwatch and accessed the bar's security system with my On-site Manager authority.

I brought up the Closed-Circuit Camera screen illuminating the Corner Hall Table as a hologram.

I took in the video that showed not only the real-time appearance of the scene but also let me hear the sound.

[Have these bastards lost their minds? Where do bottom-tier trash like you think you are...]

At the sight of the Luddite gang Members wearing overalls and tool belts approaching with a swagger,

the bodyguard flew into a fiery rage and threw his sunglasses to the side.

As he thrust one hand forward along with his glowing red electronic eyeball, his arm transforms with a Ch-ch-chk— sound.

A silver blade jutting out lengthily in all directions, and a blazing, burning literal hand cannon in the center.

Just as it was about to unleash its power, the slouched man Ned Ludd was standing right in front of the bodyguard's nose, stroking that silver cannon.

[...!]

[Not bad. Looks cool, looks strong. But it takes too long.]

A voice heard from around chest level because the difference in physique was so great.

The bodyguard, who instinctively lowered his head and tried to swing his arm, was frozen in paralysis just like that.

[I don't have a hobby of kindly waiting around just because someone is undergoing a flashy Transformation.]

With one hand he stroked the blade cannon, and he placed his other hand on the bodyguard's chest.

A bright blue light spewed out over the prominent pectoral muscles beneath the suit.

The high-voltage current that burst from the tips of his split fingers violently scorched near the heart, a vital spot that could kill a person instantly.

The massive body trembled violently and collapsed helplessly with its eyes rolled back, accompanied by a Bzzzt- noise.

Another bodyguard from the side rushed in, terrified, but the Luddite gang Members who popped out from behind blocked him all at once.

They didn't just stop at blocking him, but surrounded him in an instant so he couldn't even budge.

The bodyguard swung his fist and sent one gang member flying, but they stabbed into the opening revealed during that time without the slightest hesitation.

In that short time, he was attacked multiple times by a cyberarm that had turned into an awl, a tool, a blade on the sole of the foot, and so on.

The bodyguard shouted while Streaming blue blood.

[Young Lady... these bastards, absolutely—.]

He was probably trying to say that they were absolutely not Factory Workers.

The ability to unknowingly dig into the opening of a bodyguard who would have invested a considerable amount of money in reaction nerve modification,

plus the perfectly coordinated movements and the extremeness of stabbing someone without an inch of hesitation.

All of it would be absolutely impossible if they were ordinary Factory Workers.

However, informing her of that wasn't a very Meaningful act.

Alexandra couldn't come to her senses and was just staring with wide eyes at the urgent situation that had unfolded in an instant,

and even while his entire body was drenched in bodily fluids, the bodyguard who kicked away another gang member and tried to somehow convey the information to his Master had his head grabbed by a Luddite who leaped and clung to him from behind.

As he pulled out his wrist from the arm where the Hammer Tattoo was hidden, a long thin thread connected between them.

When he placed the transparent shimmering wire against the neck and yanked it hard, the head slid right off without a single drop of blood splattering. A clean Mechanical Cut Surface was revealed.

[Kekekek, look at this bastard, dying with a dumbfounded expression.]

The Luddite gang Members kicked the bodyguard's rolling head, with its Mouth Agap, like a soccer ball.

I was watching all of that.

With one eye, I observed the internal situation,

and with the other eye, I examined all sorts of weapons of the Ronin that had been moved to the Warehouse.

So far, it was within the expected range. Right, the Luddite gang I knew, especially a Group led by their Leader, should be able to do at least that much.

Furthermore, the bodyguards had let their Guard down significantly, so it wasn't strange at all for them to be Taken down in an instant like that.

“The boss has a prosthetic arm with built-in high-voltage current shocker, the subordinates have a basic cyberarm with an added Hand blade and nail gun, plus an illegally modified monomolecular wire...”

I grasped their Armed Status and came up with countermeasures by comparing it with what I remembered.

This weapon, that weapon, and armor.

I had to find the things I needed and meet the minimum requirements.

Until then, I couldn't face off against the Luddite gang.

After everything was equipped... well. Even then, I would have to judge the situation well.

I continued to keep a cool eye on the inside of the bar.

I wished they would buy me just a little more time.

Had that Wish of mine been conveyed?

Fortunately, the atmosphere wasn't flowing too one-sidedly.