C184: Jack the Ripper (1)
It was more than seven years ago that Rudger first used an alias. It was when he had just escaped from his teacher and entered the outside world in earnest.
His first destination was the Exilion Empire’s largest city and the place where he would most likely find fragments of his relic.
In Lindebrnew, the capital of the Empire, the name that was unintentionally used in connection with the military coup was <Jack the Ripper>.
Rudger, holding a knife in one hand and a Karambit dagger in the other hand, headed to the mansion where Carlone stayed.
This is Carlone’s mansion, but at the same time it was home to the Silver Sun Mafia. All the employees working here were members of the Silver Sun.
This fact only suggests one thing to Rudger. That he didn’t have to let anyone in this mansion go.
* * *
All the lights in Carlone’s mansion went out.
The darkness that the light could not drive out invaded the interior of the mansion and soon the mansion became black and was filled with heavy silence.
“What? What’s going on?”
“Somebody go check the power! If it doesn’t work, turn on the emergency generator!”
The members, who were resting inside, hurried to move, embarrassed by the sudden power outage.
Accidents caused by insufficient management of the mansion are unforgivable and knowing how eccentric the boss’s personality was, the members hurried to the breaker.
Upon arriving at the breaker with a portable light, the members found a figure of a person standing in front of him.
Was it a colleague who came first?
“Hey, what happened? What about the breaker?”
“…….”
“Why aren’t you answering me? What happened to the circuit breaker?”
The members of the organization flashed the light in annoyance and saw the corpse of a colleague that died.
“What?”
The members of the group who saw the scene were startled. As the dead body soon fell forward the existence that was hiding behind it was revealed.
It was a shadow that covered the whole body with something black and only red lights flowed where both eyes were supposed to be.
“What, what!”
“Who is it? Who is it? How dare you do that?”
The shadow did not speak. The red eyes seemed to explode strongly once, and the shadow stretched silently. At least that’s what it looked like in their eyes.
Soon after, as the shadow passed by, the members of the group collapsed, spraying blood one by one.
“Enemy attack!”
“Kill him!”
Members of the Silver Line also fought back without running away. They, who have lived in a fence of violence for a long time, did not avoid the fight but this time they picked the wrong opponent.
The shadow was fast and too strong. No matter how much they swung their axes or sticks, they never touched the shadow. Rather, only the members who wielded weapons died.
“Bring me the gun!”
They thought they couldn’t go on like this, so they brought guns right away, but it was dark and they couldn’t see anything.
“What are you doing? Get out of my way!”
“My legs won’t move!”
“What?”
The screams of the dying members drew nearer and the gunman showed hesitation but the captain yelled from the side.
“What are you doing? Just shoot!”
“But my colleagues in front of me!”
“If you don’t shoot, we’ll all die!”
Eventually, the gunmen clenched their teeth and pulled the trigger. However, even after the trigger was pulled, the bullet did not go out.
“What are you doing?”
“The gun is broken.”
“What?”
There is no way that the gun, which had been in good shape, suddenly broke because it was constantly checked every day. The captain knew this better than anything else.
“Silence of fire? Is the attacker a wizard?”
The captain thought it was ridiculous because his subordinates died when the intruder passed by them. How could a wizard do such a thing?
The captain gritted his teeth.
“Get out of my way! I’m going!”
In the end, he had no choice but to step up. Although he retired due to injury, he was once a knight. If the opponent is a wizard he can fight him.
With that thought, the captain pulled out the sword from his waist and rushed toward the shadow.
“You punk!”
His sword fell vertically while he shouted but at that moment, the opponent lifted the daggers in both hands to block the sword.
“Block? If so, I’ll press down with force!”
In a power struggle the one with superior physical ability has a much better advantage.
The forearm of the captain swelled and nearly doubled in size as he intended to cut the intruder in half but the sword he wielded did not go any further.
“What?”
At that moment something flashed before his eyes and the captain instinctively turned his head back.
Thanks to the instinct he had developed while living as a knight he wasn’t decapitated. The captain hurriedly stepped back but he lost his sword.
His eyes, which had adapted a little in the dark, judged the outline of the other person roughly.
‘Four arms?’
It was an exceptionally large arm that blocked the sword he wielded. There were also two arms made of shadows that flowed like coats down his shoulders.
An ordinary wizard cannot have such parts.
‘It’s a spell!’
The experienced captain grasped the identity of that shadow at once.
He understood the magical power of a wizard and that ridiculous fighting power because wizards can summon magic beasts.
He swung a sword using the magic beast, and the magician himself swung another sword aiming at the gap created by the magic beast.
Wasn’t he almost killed by that method?
“Who are you? Why is a man of your caliber coming into the Silver Sun and doing this? Isn’t it a waste of your life?”
“Did you touch me because you didn’t want to waste your life?”
The shadow spoke for the first time and the captain frowned as he replied.
“We touched you?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s enough to just give back as much as you suffered. Aren’t you like that too?”
Among Mafia members, there exists a strong precept called Omertà,
Among them, there is only one principle and those who touch it will never be tolerated by the organization.
[Vendetta.]
Revenge of blood, and punishment that must be achieved without ever tolerating the other person. The captain, who understood the words, twisted his face.
“Revenge? How dare you take revenge on Silver Sun?”
The captain pulled out an extra sword. A little while ago, he was surprised by the unexpected attack and stepped down, but now it was different.
“I’ll cut off your neck and take it to the boss!”
However, the captain’s words did not continue until the end because white frost tied his legs.
“Magic? When?”
It was a secret magic that deceived one’s senses.
“That’s nothing!”
As soon as he broke the frost with his legs, the shadow rushed at him. The daggers held by the shadows of both shoulders disturbed his eyes and the captain had no choice but to concentrate on defense.
Each sword wielded by the shadow arms was powerful enough to shake his muscles.
‘I used to be a knight, but I’m going to lose against a wizard?’
Reality was brutal and the sword in the captain’s hands bounced high in the air. The captain looked at the scene in vain and shouted urgently.
“No, wait!”
But the opponent ignored him as his red eyes shining in the dark looked down at him.
“If you’ve acted like that until now, you should have been prepared to suffer.”
And the sword was swung.
* * *
The noise inside of the mansion subsided quietly as the sound of footsteps jolting along the quiet hallway echoed softly.
Soon the door of the office where Carlone, the boss of the Silver Sun, was opened.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”
There, Carlone welcomed Rudger with a smile.
He didn’t run away. Rather, he was sitting in front of the table and drinking wine as if he was showing off his composure.
There was a chair opposite Carlone and Rudger went into the room without a word and sat down on the chair.
Along the path through which he passed, a blue mist settled gently on the floor.
Rudger put what he had in his hand on the desk. It was the bloody sword used by the captain who had just died.
“It’s a shame. He was still useful.”
Carlone was not surprised by his subordinate’s death, shrugged his shoulders.
Rudger revealed his face by half releasing [Aether Nocturnus].
“Oh, my. You’re nobler than I thought.”
“You didn’t escape.”
Rudger spoke to Carlone in a provocative tone and Carlone smirked at the unkind provocation.
“Did you think I’d run away?”
“You should have a secret passage in a place like this just in case.”
“No way.”
Even though he said so, Carlone secretly adjusted his assessment of Rudger. He was a sharp fellow and at the same time knew the way this industry worked.
“So you’re the one that the beggars call Owner?”
“At least by those people, I’m called Owner.”
“By those people? Interesting. It sounds like you have a different name.”
“You’re right.”
Rudger leaned his back against the back of the chair. His slightly arrogant chin was full of the feeling of looking down at Carlone.
“Sometimes Jack the Ripper.”
Those eyes.
“Sometimes James Moriarty.”
Looked inhuman.
“Sometimes Abraham Van Helsing.”
Carlone was unconsciously intimidated.
“And Machiavelli until recently.”
“Ha.”
Carlone sneered to show that he was not pushed back. Above all, he believed that bluffing is real when people do it moderately.
“Aren’t you too young for that? And it was surprising that you thought of coming into a place like this alone.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. I’ve heard of Silver Sun’s notoriety, but to be honest I’m disappointed.”
“Is that so? When this is over I’ll have to change all the guys below.”
“There is no need to do that. I’ve taken care of everything. Do you think you’ll have a next time?”
“You’re a very cruel man but do you really think you have an advantage right now? Do you think you’re holding my life line now?”
“Trying to deny reality.”
“Hey, we’re not like the Red Society, we’re Silver Sun. Did you forget? You seem like you’ve used all your strength, so you should have straightened your shoulders while sitting down.”
Carlone snapped finger.
Upon receiving the signal, the hidden doors of the room’s study and walls opened, and people hiding inside appeared. They were all members of the gang dressed in black suits.
“All twenty of them are knight-level powers and there’s even a wizard among them.”
Carlone couldn’t hold back the laughter that was about to escape from his lips.
Showing his hidden cards in front of an opponent who thought it had the upper hand and putting him into the abyss of despair was a pleasure for Carlone.
“I’ll tell you one more thing. Now that you’re here, haven’t you thought about what will happen to those beggars?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about all of a sudden.”
“I sent my men, much more than I sent this afternoon. Don’t tell me the people there thought that was all Silver Sun had?”
“…….”
“They should have arrived by now and they’ll be happily sweeping up the slums while you’ll die struggling without doing anything. Everyone is powerless in the face of violence.”
Carlone took a sip of wine.
“From the beginning I was above you in strength and resources.”
“That’s funny.”
When the expected response did not come out, Carlone narrowed his eyes.
“It’s no use pretending to be calm on purpose.”
“It’s funny that you’re bragging about using something so primitive as violence.”
“What?”
“You need to correct your attitude. First, I knew from the beginning that your men were hiding in secret spaces and secondly I’m grateful to you for this.”
“Grateful?”
“Violence.”
Rudger’s eyes curled like a crescent moon.
“It’s the field that ‘we’ are most confident in.”
* * *
A dark street at night.
Even streetlights were not installed, so hundreds of people who walked there had to depend on the moonlight alone.
All of them were ferocious and had weapons in their hands.
“A lot of them are coming.”
Alex took off his back from the wall of the building he was leaning against.
“You’re saying we can beat them all up, right? It’s simple.”
The members of “U.N. Owen” stood around Alex one by one.
The squad members who received the order frowned at those who stood in their way. There was a woman, a kid, and a strong man.
“What should we do?”
“Didn’t you hear the boss’s order? Sweep them all.”
Anyway, only a few people were there but they had over 200 people.
The members of the squad exchanged glances with each other, grabbed their weapons, and strode forward.
Alex, watching the scene, stuck out his tongue.
“Oh, my. You’re trying to kill us without asking me who we are.”
“I like it because it’s neat.”
Pantos said, loosening his shoulders.
Arpa also smiled as if he was looking forward to the upcoming fight.
“Well, let’s fight.”
Alex said with a mask on his face.
It was the moment when the executives of <U.N. Owen> stepped up.
* * *
“Then, can I say that this is all the remaining power of Silver Sun?”
Rudger glanced lightly at the combatants staring at him. All have great power and talent, but they are born evil and kill for money so he didn’t had to go easy on them.
“Is this guy funny?”
Among them, an old-looking wizard laughed at Rudger.
“I don’t think you understand the situation. Don’t you know it’s you who’s under siege now? Or do you still not understand what will happen to you because you’re not smart?”
“I don’t know what will happen to me.”
Rudger stared softly at the wizard who spoke to him.
“But I know what’s going to happen to you.”
The wizard wanted to argue to his senses and furthermore his instincts suddenly warned him.
“What is it?”
It was the same for the other elites. The strange feeling of anxiety didn’t go away from their minds.
‘Wait, this blue energy on the floor……What is it?’
If this was pure manna that this man has been spilling since he came in here then he would have no more mana left to use magic but what is this anxiety?
His whole body was screaming that it wanted to run away from here right away.
“What have you done?”
Carlone also stared at Rudger, perhaps because he felt a certain sense of crisis.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Rudger replied with a blank face.
Immediately after that something black came down slowly from the ceiling.
