Chapter 33
Pursuit (2)
The Imperial Capital’s black market drew all kinds of people.
Thieves, con artists, fences, thugs...
Those who had been cast away. Those who were forgotten. Or misfits who had willingly stepped away from society.
And if one were to ask where the darkest, most infamous pit among them was, the answer would undoubtedly include “the Nest.”
It was one of the three major dens of vice, along with “the Valley,” the worst drug den, and “the Furnace,” a gathering of arms dealers.
A recruitment office where only those who had blood on their hands could enter.
Serial killers, contract killers, illegal mercenaries, assassins. Those whose profession, in any form, involved “murder” gathered here.
Under dim lighting. The air was thick with the smell of drugs, cigarette smoke, and stale alcohol. Year-round, it reeked of blood from unmaintained, rusted weapons.
...In short.
No matter how you looked at it, this wasn’t a place where a fancy “young lady” belonged.
So it was no surprise that the moment the door swung open, everyone’s eyes turned toward it.
The young woman, dressed in what was clearly an expensive priestess robe, didn’t match this scenery in the slightest.
With a cheerful bounce, she dashed in and twirled around as she looked about.
To anyone watching, she looked more like a child on a picnic...
“I’m the one who’s done the worst things around here. If you think you’ve got me beat, raise your hand.”
...And just like that, after capturing everyone’s attention, she threw out a question that was anything but ordinary.
“...”
“...”
As everyone in the Nest blinked in disbelief at the incomprehensible sight, the young woman frowned slightly and glanced around again.
“No one?”
“...”
“This is the best you’ve got? Seems weaker than the last two places.”
...Whatever those “last two places” meant.
Still, even here, there’s always someone whose pride won’t let them sit quietly after hearing that much.
With a loud clang, someone slammed down a weapon, drawing all eyes to him.
“If you’re in a hurry to die, I won’t stop you.”
And when people saw who had spoken, their bodies tensed in unison.
A hulking man, shirtless, his torso covered in scars clearly carved with a blade.
He was a well-known contract killer in the area. Infamous for marking his body with a scar for every person he killed.
“If you keep poking around like that, they won’t even be able to find your corpse, lady. Got it?”
With his tongue flicking and unfocused eyes sneering, the man's presence made everyone shrink back.
Even by the standards of the monsters here, he was the kind of man who would ruin your life if you got involved. No one even wanted to make eye contact with him...
Except for one person.
The woman who had asked the question tilted her head in curiosity and shuffled over to him.
“You, are you the worst guy here?”
“...Don’t think I’ll be getting a Good Citizen Award anytime soon.”
“Really?”
“Why, you want me to prove it to you with your own body?”
Upon hearing that, the woman nodded.
“Judging by how you talk, that settles it.”
Then, she gently laid her small hand over the man’s hand.
“What, you volunteering yourse—”
And right then, with no mercy in her expression, a knife came stabbing down.
The blade pierced through the back of the woman’s hand, went straight through the man’s hand beneath it, and embedded into the wooden table with a loud crack.
“----!!”
Blood spurted everywhere, and as the man let out an ear-splitting scream, those nearby jumped to their feet, each drawing their weapons.
“...You bitch—!”
“I’ve got a few questions. I’d appreciate it if you answered honestly. A friend asked me to look into this.”
Despite what she’d just done, the woman leaned her chin on the table with a smile. She even looked relaxed.
“What the hell are you talking about, you damn—”
“Saying you’ve done a lot of bad things must mean you’ve taken a lot of jobs here. So you must know a lot, too. Isn’t that right?”
But none of the others in the Nest dared to rush her.
They’d seen what those flames were—superheated fire blooming around her body, turning the whole interior into something straight out of hell in an instant.
“...Holy Flame?”
If she could control a power like that—
At minimum, a Paladin. At most, a royal of the Holy Crown Kingdom.
Plenty enough reason to reconsider picking a fight.
Meanwhile, the one who had shifted the entire atmosphere showed not a hint of hesitation as she continued speaking.
“Lately, there’ve been some folks poking around the black market. I want to know where they are.”
“Huff, gah—”
“Hellfire Bombs, Subjugation Talismans, and ritual-use roots. Someone’s been messing with all of them. Not exactly common goods, so the rumors must’ve spread. Know anything about that? Tell me everything and I’ll pull out the knife and let you go.”
“Don’t talk bullshit...! I’ll kill you, you fucking—!”
“Mmh, yeah, yeah. That’s what the last two places said too.”
“...What?”
“Let’s see... the Valley? The Furnace? Something cute like that.”
“...”
“When I did this at those places, they reacted the same way.”
The rest of the crowd stared in disbelief as the names of the most notorious organizations in the black market, aside from the Nest, spilled from her lips with ease.
...Just from how she talked—
It was clear that she had barged into other places in exactly the same manner before.
“...”
“...”
All the people who had drawn their weapons glanced awkwardly at one another.
To be honest, it would make more sense to assume she was bluffing.
As a network of criminals, the three major dens weren’t exactly friendly with one another, but at the very least, rumors about who got taken down would have spread quickly. Half a day, tops, and word would be everywhere.
In other words—
This woman was claiming to have reduced all three of the black market’s most infamous dens to rubble in less than half a day.
‘...Is that even possible?’
Everyone there was probably thinking the same thing.
But—
The problem was her demeanor as she said it.
“It’s fine. They all talked in the end.”
“...”
So casually.
Without any boasting, without a threatening tone. As if she were just stating a fact.
Still grinning, she continued cheerfully.
“Usually, people start talking by the time I’ve burned their hands and arms.”
Right after, the woman manipulated the flames rising around her.
While the man with the knife through his hand turned pale, her face—shrouded in shadows from the colorless flames that seemed to suck in all the light around—still wore that ever-smiling expression.
Of course, by this point, that smile had started to look very different.
Calling her a devil wouldn’t even be an exaggeration.
“—You bitch—!”
But everyone here made a living off killing, which meant that when pushed this far, resistance was inevitable.
With his free hand, the man drew a curved blade and swung it in a half-circle arc. In the blink of an eye, the woman’s neck would be cut.
And then—
...She simply scoffed.
No scream, no blood, not even a visible reaction.
As if the blade had passed through thin air.
“—Mm.”
And when the crowd saw the sliced portion of her body seamlessly reattach itself, they all recoiled in horror.
Just like a clay doll made of wet mud sealing back together, the way her severed neck rejoined in an instant was unsettling beyond belief.
Still—
She was smiling.
“If you were going to slice, you should’ve cut off your own wrist instead of trying to cut me.”
Then—
As she lightly tapped the back of her own hand where the knife was still lodged, she said,
“I don’t plan on pulling this out until you talk.”
“...”
“Not gonna talk?”
“...”
“Then I’m starting the burn. If it gets too much, just say so, okay?”
And from that expression—
Everyone in the room suddenly realized one thing.
—This woman.
It wasn’t a bluff at all that she had stormed through all three major dens of the black market.
She was truly a monster with the power to do exactly that...!
“I-I’ll talk! I’ll talk, okay?!”
As the flames crept closer to him, the man broke down, drenched in cold sweat.
And the moment she heard his answer, a look of disappointment spread across the woman’s face.
“...You really are the weakest one.”
...That comment, heavily implying she had actually burned people alive just earlier, turned the man’s face even more ashen. Soon, he obediently began to answer all of her questions.
As the fierce interrogation continued with nods and sharp exchanges, the entrance door suddenly burst open again.
Everyone, frozen in place under the woman’s oppressive presence, turned their eyes toward the door.
Was it another one of that monster’s companions? What if it was someone even worse...?
“All done?”
...Fortunately, contrary to their fears, the one who entered was an utterly ordinary-looking man.
The problem was—
“Oh, just now!”
It was the monster woman’s reaction upon seeing him.
The same woman who had just overwhelmed the entire room like she was possessed by a spirit instantly lost all of that terrifying energy the moment the man stuck his face in.
The man frowned as he glanced around the room.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Oh, I just stabbed a knife into my hand, that’s all!”
“...Why do you insist on hurting yourself?”
“The kids get way more scared that way!”
And then, the two of them casually exchanged words.
Like they were close. As if this monstrous woman saw the man as someone on her level.
“Well, if you’re done, let’s go. This was the last place.”
“There’s no more...?”
“...Unfortunately, there are only three places this rotten.”
As the woman smacked her lips in genuine disappointment, the man gave a small nod to the people around him.
“Ah, have a good day.”
With that farewell, the man walked out of the building, the woman clinging snugly to his arm at his side.
“...What the hell are those two?”
Everyone in the room was probably thinking the same thing.
...That insane woman was already crazy enough.
But the fact that there was a man who could interact with her like a “friend”—he couldn’t be normal either.
▣
Aiden let out a sigh as he crossed the final name off his notebook.
‘...That’s the last of the dens done.’
If you want to find a needle in a haystack, the best way is to bulldoze the biggest pile of “hay” all at once.
The effectiveness of that method proved itself—as if to demonstrate it, they had wiped out the most dangerous and filth-ridden places in the Empire in less than half a day, and the results were staggering.
Normally, they would have had to sit tight for weeks or even months to gather delicate intel. But thanks to the sheer force behind this approach, they had already narrowed down who the "underlings" were.
It was a method that would’ve been impossible without Katya, who loved getting violent. He had already lost count of how many people had been sent to the hospital in such a short span.
...This was exactly why Noel couldn’t be brought along.
As that thought crossed his mind, Katya stared at him blankly from the side.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just thinking... you really don't hold back when it’s time to cause some damage.”
“...”
“Most of the time, you seem so mild. But when it counts, you really go for it, huh?”
...Coming from her, of all people, that kind of comment brought a mess of complicated emotions.
Sadly, he couldn’t argue with her.
“When it's necessary, it has to be done. Speed is everything when you’re hunting down people like that.”
The reason they were going around so aggressively was simple: if rumors spread and the targets went into hiding, it would be a problem.
“...Though, to be fair, there’s a catch to saying that.”
“Hm?”
“They’re probably already preparing to disappear. People who take direct orders from high places aren’t going to have poor intel networks.”
Even if they had moved quickly, by now they had already taken down three major organizations. Rumors were bound to be spreading, and that meant the other side had likely started responding.
He wasn’t a criminal for nothing—he had a pretty good grasp of how these kinds of organizations moved.
They’d be erasing evidence, scattering, preparing to vanish.
“In that sense, our work isn’t quite done yet. Will you be alright with that?”
“Of course I’m fine. This is the best.”
“...”
“No one complains when you beat up bad guys. I get to enjoy my hobby and help a friend.”
Seeing Katya say that with a carefree smile left him speechless. Then suddenly, a message window appeared before his eyes.
-System Message
▶ The target ‘Katya’ is in an extremely good mood!
▶ This action has been identified as the most effective way to raise her ‘Affection Level.’ Related data has been added to the Encyclopedia!
▶ Repeating this action is highly likely to increase the target’s Affection Level!
...Well.
It really did seem like people didn’t change easily.
Even if she turned into a tame pet whenever she was around him, her tendency to brutally beat, destroy, and crush things just to blow off steam didn’t seem like it would be corrected anytime soon.
Still, the timing of this message popping up was a relief.
What he was about to say to Katya had a very high chance of rubbing her the wrong way.
If she was in a good mood, at least she might listen.
“Alright then, Katya.”
Aiden scratched his head as he opened his mouth.
“From here on, I’m going to need Dame Noel’s help.”
“...”
As expected, Katya’s cheerful expression immediately dropped.
The shift in emotion was so extreme it was like falling from heaven straight into hell.
“...Why her.”
“Hey now.”
“...”
“I told you to get along with Dame Noel, didn’t I?”
“...”
“Katya. I need a response.”
“...Fine.”
Watching Katya pout as she spoke, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
It felt like a dad coaxing his teenage daughter.
“Still, you owe me an explanation. Why are you calling her, really?”
“Oh, that?”
The truth was, now that they had the whereabouts, the real work began.
Catching the underlings was ultimately to screw over the prince and the Minister of Administration. To do that, they needed proof that those people were connected to them.
And for that, directly confronting those people wasn’t optional—it was essential.
And the method he chose for that...
“...We need Dame Noel to get really angry, first.”
“...”
He couldn’t say for sure, but—
Just hearing that Noel would be angry clearly lifted Katya’s mood.