Chapter 66
I moved after confirming the information on money laundering that Hemillas had sent.
There were many ruins on the outskirts of Akbaran. Ruins existed for various reasons. Some places had been abandoned due to canceled development plans, while others had been overrun by outlaws so vile that even gangs had driven them out, leading authorities to give up on maintaining order.
The place where I stood was one such abandoned ruin. Even the residents of the lower districts never set foot here. It was a lawless zone, devoid of even the minimal order imposed by gangs.
‘Ground destabilized due to reckless development.’
I looked at the unevenly protruding earth. Some areas had sunken in as I walked. In severe cases, the ground had caved in so deeply that the bottom wasn’t visible.
As soon as the instability of the ground was confirmed, the companies involved in the development withdrew. Since then, this place had remained in ruins.
Originally planned as a business district, high-rise buildings stood densely packed. The further in I went, the more I saw unfinished buildings. Rusted steel frames were exposed in eerie desolation.
“Is it around here?”
I walked according to the directions displayed on my retinal interface.
Traces of once-glorious buildings hinted at the past. Before the ground instability had been discovered, this area had been a highly anticipated business district. Several companies had even announced plans to relocate their headquarters here.
“H-Hey, you.”
A hunched old woman in tattered clothes blocked my way. I stared at her before glancing around. Like rats, vagrants and outlaws skulked in the shadows.
“What do you want?”
I tilted my head slightly as I asked.
“I-I don’t know what you’re looking for, but… I-I can guide you. A-As long as there’s… proper c-compensation….”
The old woman said this as she approached me. Her filthy hand reached out as if to cling to my arm.
Crack!
I kicked the old woman. It wasn’t out of some aristocratic sense of pride. Nor was it because I couldn’t stand the thought of dirty hands touching me.
It was because her intent was as clear as day. That pitifully hunched back of hers concealed a killing machine.
Clack, clack—clack!
From the old woman’s back, four spider-like mechanical arms shot out. She used them to latch onto the railing of a nearby building.
“Heh, heh-heh….”
She let out a chilling laugh before scuttling up the building’s exterior and vanishing somewhere.
‘I meant to leave her half-crippled, but….’
I couldn't hide my displeasure. It felt like kicking at empty air. With reflexes that sharp, she must have undergone extensive illegal modifications—ones that gnawed away at her lifespan and soul.
As my ambush failed, a significant number of eyes that had been watching me disappeared. They had realized I wasn’t an easy target. Those looking for easy prey would lose interest in me.
Step, step.
I continued walking, following the directions on my retinal display.
‘The final destination of the laundered funds.’
Before this place had become a ruin, there had been a security firm office here.
According to Hemillas’ investigation, this was where the laundered funds had gathered. The firm's name was Dead Ronin.
‘A premium security firm for VIPs in need of absolute discretion.’
That was how Dead Ronin was described. They didn’t accept credits. Instead, they took valuable antiques, artwork, and sometimes intangible assets like information as payment. Because of this, their transactions were impossible to trace.
‘VIPs who required confidentiality would have preferred untraceable payment methods.’
The shell companies linked to the arena had converted credits into untraceable assets before conducting sporadic transactions with Dead Ronin. Sometimes, they even used intermediaries to handle payments indirectly. Unless someone was a high-ranking imperial official, it would have been nearly impossible to track this flow of money.
‘That’s why Nikolaos wanted to conduct an additional investigation.’
Now that the full picture was clear, the stench of something rotten was overwhelming.
I came to an abrupt stop.
The arrow on my retinal display vanished. That meant I had arrived at my destination.
I furrowed my brows deeply. Was this really the right place?
Whooooosh—.
The air around me was being sucked underground.
Looking down, I saw a massive sinkhole caused by ground collapse. Its diameter had to be at least a hundred meters. High-rise buildings, shattered by the impact, had sunken into it together.
Beep, beep.
I raised my terminal and restarted the map guidance.
Even after double-checking, this was definitely the place.
Goddamn it.
Cursing under my breath, I stared down below. Broken high-rise buildings lay piled atop one another like discarded toys. Somewhere among them was Dead Ronin’s office.
With a heavy heart, I looked down—then jumped.
* * *
Squelch.
The bottom of the underground cavity was filled with stagnant rainwater that had yet to evaporate, reeking of decay.
I moved around, checking the collapsed buildings.
I stood in front of a building covered in moss and mold. The building I was looking for had collapsed diagonally. The main entrance was crushed into a wreck.
Swish.
I entered through a broken window.
As expected, the building’s electricity had been cut off. The chaos from its collapse remained intact. Disheveled furniture was piled in the corners of the slanted walls.
‘They didn’t even bother with proper recovery efforts after the accident.’
Several corpses were scattered around. One had a sharp steel rod piercing through from the back of its head to its mouth. Over time, the bones and steel had fused together as if they had always been one.
At the tip of the steel rod, a centipede as thick as my forearm clung to it. Sensing my presence, it quickly scuttled into the skull. It was a rather unsettling sight. My head itched for no reason.
‘Dead Ronin’s office is on the 9th floor.’
I searched for the directory sign on the wall. Fortunately, aside from being covered in dust, it was intact.
Since the collapsed building was leaning at an angle, the equilibrium was strange. I consciously adjusted my sense of balance as I walked down the hallway.
Step, step.
Some sections of the stairway were completely broken. I scaled the walls and leapt from floor to floor.
On the 7th floor, the building had snapped and bent. Because of that, the hallway was slanted like a steep slide. Losing my footing here would send me slipping straight through a window and out.
I carefully placed each step, keeping my footing in check. Soon, I spotted a sign indicating the 9th floor. The tilt was even worse here—what was once the hallway had become a wall, and what used to be the walls had become the hallway. The doors were now positioned above my head. Everything was jumbled, yet there was a strange sense of order to it, almost like a geometric maze.
‘Just standing still here makes me feel nauseous.’
The human brain prefers stable symmetry. I was no different. This eerily distorted space carried a stifling sense of unease. The structure itself, defying my instincts, was disorienting.
I examined the doors on the ceiling, searching for Dead Ronin’s office. After passing five doors, I found a nameplate with a few missing letters. Filling in the blanks, it was unmistakably Dead Ronin.
Crack!
I jumped lightly, grabbed the door on the ceiling, and ripped it off.
A pile of junk that had been precariously stacked behind the door came crashing down, sending a thick cloud of dust swirling through the air. The dust, seemingly undisturbed for over a decade, billowed out in heavy waves.
Even as someone accustomed to rough conditions, inhaling all of that in one go was the last thing I wanted.
I took a filter mask from my pocket and put it on. The mask expanded to fit the contours of my jaw before sealing tightly against my skin.
Wearing a filter mask rendered my sense of smell useless. Since it also dulled my combat instincts, I avoided using it unless absolutely necessary.
Tap, tap.
I brushed off the gray dust that had settled on my shoulders and head, then fixed my gaze on the pile of junk. Scattered among the debris were data chips and documents.
Clatter.
I gathered anything that seemed useful for the investigation and stuffed it into my waist pouch.
Scrape!
After searching through the junk, I stretched my arm up to the ceiling and pulled myself into the overturned office.
Whirrr.
My right cybernetic eye glowed as it expanded its visible light spectrum. With my vision secured, I scanned my surroundings. It was a typical office—something commonly seen in Akbaran’s business district.
‘If an organization powerful enough to assassinate Nikolaos is behind this… they wouldn’t have left any traceable evidence.’
Investigating Dead Ronin’s office was like grasping at straws. Unless they had made a critical mistake, I wasn’t expecting to find much.
However, the enemy interfering with my investigation was meticulous. Because of that… they would want to erase all traces by cutting off loose ends completely.
Whirrr.
I drew my sword. In the dim ruins, Crucis gleamed as if illuminating the darkness.
I had already made my preparations before coming here. I had taken sufficient rest and fine-tuned my cybernetic implants to optimal condition at the Imperial Guard maintenance facility.
…Right now, I was in perfect form.
Click.
I placed a hand on my chin and removed the filter mask.
The thick air scraped against my windpipe as it invaded my lungs. It felt like smoking dozens of cigarettes at once.
“Hah…”
I parted my lips and tasted the air with my tongue.
The sharp tang of energy particles lingered faintly within the dust, concealed as if trying to avoid detection. Only someone with hyper-sensitive perception would have noticed even this minute trace.
‘If they want to stop the investigation, the surest way is to kill me.’
I hadn’t come here just to investigate Dead Ronin’s office.
‘If I come here alone, the enemy will show themselves.’
Given the circumstances so far, it was almost certain. They had already killed Nikolaos—there was no reason for them not to target me.
Swish.
I lifted my head and looked upward.
A moment ago, the window had been empty.
But now, someone was perched on the window frame.
Even I had barely sensed the faintest presence.
“Good to see you again, Luka.”
I recognized him by voice alone. His attire was the same as before—a fully enclosed combat suit. His red, glowing eyes flickered as he looked down at me.
His name was Rick Silva Núñez, one of the Empire’s most wanted criminals. Also known as Rick Kaiser.
The man who had broken my neck and left Felix permanently crippled was right above me.
I called for backup from the Imperial Guard, but there was no signal inside this sinkhole of ruins. Or perhaps, without my knowledge, the area had already been flooded with jamming waves.
I couldn’t rely on external support. I had to handle this myself.
Whirrr.
I drew my shock pistol, Ruina. It had been preheated and its energy bound long before. The gun’s barrel glowed with blue energy particles coursing through its circuits.
This weapon was specifically prepared to fight Rick Kaiser. Since my defeat, I had run countless simulations in my mind, anticipating this battle.
There was no need for words with a treacherous revolutionary.
Thunk—!
I pulled the trigger.
Crash!
The energy-infused bullet detonated upon impact. A shockwave erupted in all directions, engulfing the surrounding area in a circular blast. The walls and windows caught in the explosion blackened and shattered into flying debris.
But Rick had already vanished. As expected.
Pivoting on my left foot, I swung Crucis in a wide arc behind me.
Whoosh!
Rick, who had been closing in on my back, was forced to retreat. Even he hadn’t managed to dodge completely. The tip of my blade had caught the chest of his combat suit, tearing through it. The fabric shredded apart, leaving a gaping wound in his armor.
I adjusted my stance, spinning Crucis in my grip, then raised Ruina in my left hand, aligning Rick diagonally in my sights.
Rick ran a hand over his chest, his voice laced with disbelief.
“…You’re a genius in combat. I never expected you to grow this much in such a short time.”
Praise from the enemy. But it felt good.
And I imagined it would feel even better when he died by my hand.