Chapter 199
Deep in the woods, barely visible by moonlight, there was someone, wounded and struggling downhill.
“Damn it, how far are you chasing me……?”
Behind him, running through the forest with no time to recover from the accumulated damage, a huge pack of red wolves rushed forward.
-Awww──!
-Woof──!
The wolves’ signal that they have found their prey.
Chewing and swallowing the pain he felt throughout his body, Dark Spirit increased his speed and tightened his grip on the dagger in his left hand.
-Crrr! Kangkang!
Hearing the sound of a wolf next to him, he quickly turned around and swung his arm.
-Crunch!
His dagger plunged into the neck of the charging wolf, but he was no match for its weight and fell to the ground.
“Hmph, hmph, how many unknown abilities do you have……!”
Dark Spirit had always been a fanatical investigator of those connected to his clients and this was no different for Eugene Han Corleone, the de facto owner of the café, Cielo Notturno.
‘The heir to the Corleone family, attending the academy while hiding his identity.’
When he first realized his true identity, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
The things he had done in the academy while hiding his identity were beyond his imagination but at the same time, he thought that was all. At best, he thought, it was the level of a cadet at the Academy.
Some even thought that his reputation was exaggerated by Corleone’s power.
He’d gotten points for sniping gang members from the start, and there were suspicions of Corleone’s capital even in the middle of the semester, so it was only natural to assume that his achievements were inflated.
He was now a first-year at the Academy and even a genius has his limits.
But…….
‘That wasn’t it!’
He thought something was wrong.
Even though he was attending the Academy, she was actually Corleone’s successor.
If that’s the case, there should be information about his activities in Corleone, but for some reason there is no information about them.
At the time, I thought he was just being trained as an heir, but now I understand why.
He saw it with his own eyes.
‘On purpose! They were hiding it!’
If Corleone was deliberately withholding information, it made sense that he hadn’t found it.
‘They can’t possibly be hiding a monstrous heir like that in secret…’
At that moment.
Quang───!
The tree they had just passed exploded, sending debris flying.
“Ouch!”
In response, he quickly raised his hand to cover his face.
At the same time, he reflexively stretched out his hand in the direction of the falling tree.
“Dark hole.”
A huge crater appears where the black mass from his fingertips hit, sucking the wood and dirt that was there downward.
But
──! ──! ──! ──! ──! ──! ──! ──! ──!
“Boom!”
A baptism of bullets, this time from an unknown source, begins to rain down.
It feels as if each shot is a large-caliber bullet.
Feeling the impact reopen the wounds he had barely recovered from running through the darkness, he activated Shadow Stomp once more and scanned his surroundings.
‘I must remain calm. The darkness is my space. As long as I can pinpoint his location, I have the advantage.’
He composed himself, realizing that the unexpected attack and firepower had caught him off guard.
There were seven movements in the darkness. One of them must be Eugene.
‘It’s my good fortune that the chase led directly to him.’
Unlike the cramped hut, this was his field, with plenty of cover and darkness.
‘I’ve got him!’
Eugene was on his radar so he spread his darkness around him, a feat only possible for a dark elemental.
Seeing Eugene’s form, Dark Spirit immediately melted into the shadows, rising from the darkness.
It was the shadow behind Eugene and his dagger was immediately swung.
A decisive attack like this doesn’t warrant a futile “Die!”
But
“We’re doing this again?”
Eugene pulls the trigger, pointing backwards as if he’s expecting it.
──────!!!
There’s a huge boom, like a cannon being fired, and Dark Spirit body is sent flying, slamming into a tree.
However, the difference from the first time was that this time, instead of being sent flying by the impact, the bullet pierced through, tearing a huge hole in his body.
“Ugh…….”
His body sagged as if the wind had been knocked out of him.
The short whistling sound of “whistle-” indicated the result of the short chase.
* * *
“Kahhhhh!”
In the end, Dark Spirit was bitten by the wolves and dragged away.
Freed from the giant wolf’s teeth, he falls to the ground and begins to squirm and turn over.
“What the hell…… are you…….?”
“Oh, you’re still awake.”
The torn face beneath the black cloth was nothing like a normal human, instead it was a doll-like form made of darkness.
“You already know me, Eugene Han Corleone, heir to Corleone and the target of your client.”
Leaving him still lying on the ground, I dragged over any chair I could find and sat down on it.
“Don’t be ridiculous……! Throwing bombs like they’re trash and breaking through traps that no one ever told you about because you’re Corleone?”
Oh, he meant me.
It must have been questionable from his point of view.
He never gave away his information, let alone his lair.
In other words, to him, I was a ghost, an incomprehensible entity.
“I could show you something more interesting.”
Perhaps, he would be surprised to hear.
“Jin, Dark Spirit. I demand a spirit question from you.”
At the same time, his body shook violently.
“What? How the hell do you know my true name?”
He looked at me and shouted in a voice unlike any other as his body continued to tremble with panic.
“Shut up. The important thing is that I used Spirit Questioning with your true name.”
Spirit Questioning it’s a tradition used to bond and trust with the spirits people have contracted with.
It was kind of like a forced confession, but with each other’s names on the line…….
‘If I make a demand without including my name, he’s forced to answer the question, not the other way around.’
That’s why spirits only give their true names to their contractors but I already know his true name.
“What are you?!”
“I ask the questions. You shut up and answer.”
I didn’t kill him outright.
“First of all, who sent you to rob my cafe? Who is it?”
His body twitches once more at my question.
He tries not to speak, but his body is overwhelmed.
“You do realize that if you don’t answer the question during Spirit Questioning, you might lose your immortality, right?”
I smile at him, and he struggles to open his mouth.
“……President of the Seoul Academy of Heroes. Ray Pendragon. He’s the one! He’s the one!”
“Really? As expected.”
Well, who else in the academy would hate me so much?
However, the reason I asked him was to get a “solid testimony” and turn my guess into a certainty.
“Next question. Am I the only one who knows who you are right now?”
This time, he nodded his head.
“…….I assure you, I have left no mark on this world.”
“I see.”
That’s good. This will make things easier.
“……Corleone’s child. What the hell are you thinking?”
“Hmm?”
He suddenly looks up at me, a wicked grin on his face.
“You mean, like, sign a contract with me because I’m a spirit, or something?”
“What?”
“Yes, I’ll admit it. I am a high ranking spirit among the dark spirits. Of all the spirits in the human realm right now, I’m the best. It’s no wonder you’re so greedy, and if you show me a favor even now──”
“You’re writing a screenplay by yourself. Crazy spirit bastard.”
-Click.
I pull my pistol out of its holster and point it at his head. But he just looks at me with a smirk.
He seems convinced that I want to make a deal with him.
“Have you forgotten, I am a spirit. Even if my body in the human realm dies, my spirit body──”
“──There was a lizard child who spoke similarly to you not long ago. He was called Fafnir. Do you know him?”
“……what?”
His body flinches and trembles.
“You seem to know from the way you’re reacting. Well, he’s a Named Evil Dragon, so it’s not like you wouldn’t know, but you know what?”
Slowly, I pull the hammer back and hear a dull click.
“That bastard was also dealt with by me──”
At the same time, the arm bearing the dragon’s imprint heated up, and a new inscription began to appear in the air, as if someone was carving it out.
[Imprint: -Dragon (Emissary of the Immortals): He plunged his dagger into the heart of the ruler of the Abyssal Flame and drank the blood of the Immortals amidst a shower of deadly blows. He is the Emissary of Death who brought the Immortals to rest.]
Got it.
Another trigger for Dragon Imprint.
That is to place the life of an Immortal in my grasp.
In fact, the guy who had actually locked eyes with me just a moment ago was now shaking his head and shivering like he was suffering from hypothermia.
“Remember, it’s only because of my mercy that you’re breathing right now……Do you understand?”
The power of the imprint amplified my aura. The half-tangible energy wraps around him, slowly enveloping him.
He nods reflexively, and I begin to sense a trace of fear in his eyes.
“……Final question. Plague. Where is he?”
“Venice! He said he was stockpiling new powers in Venice. I told you everything I know!”
I can’t help but snort at his desperation.
All that lay beneath me now was a single, terrorized spirit, a shadow of its former self.
“Very well, since you’ve answered so faithfully, I suppose I should give you a gift.”
Snorting, I turn to the creature.
“Just this once. I’ll answer every question you ask with the truth, and you’d better think fast.”
“Ha, ha, ha…….”
He bursts out laughing.
And it didn’t stop, it got louder and louder.
“Ha. Hahahaha. Hahahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!”
He’s laughing like a maniac.
As I stare at him, he leaps to his feet and shouts.
“You never meant to let me live in the first place. If you had, you wouldn’t be talking to me like this! Ha! Hahahahahaha!”
And then he towers over you. His body comes to a stop.
“Okay, let me ask you a question. Eugene Han Corleone. What the hell is your ‘real’ identity?”
Two’s voice sounds like he’s on the verge of death, needing to know.
“Well, that’s not really a question.”
“……what?”
Still, it was his last wish before he died. I decided to tell him the truth.
“Deceased.”
“What? What does that mean──?”
“─It’s just an ordinary deceased person who has a lot of connections to you.”
──Bang!
