Chapter 108

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[Translator –  Yasi ]

[Proofreader – Karane ]

Chapter 108

One day, countless strange posters were posted all around the Guangcheng District.

[Bad adults who bully children will be judged.]

A sentence as if scribbled by the neighborhood children as a prank. It was written in bright red paint and looked rather creepy, but naturally, most of the underworld organizations snorted and ignored the warning.

“Judged? Go fuck yourself. What a fucking joke!”

There was no way they, who had committed all kinds of atrocities, would be intimidated by a piece of paper of unknown origin.

However…

A few months had passed since then and there was no longer anyone who dismissed it as a joke.

“Have you heard? The pimp in the neighborhood was murdered last night.”

“What? He was someone who had even awakened an ability. Yet he was still killed?”

“Yes. And all the clients were brutally murdered. Of course, all the children were taken away this time too.”

“Fuck! What kind of madman is doing this?!”

Organizations that bought and sold orphans were uprooted overnight while factories that used children to manufacture illegal drugs exploded.

Naturally not all organizations sat still.

Employing mercenaries from outside, stealing high-value children elsewhere, etc…They racked their brains to come up with countermeasures.

However, as if to ridicule their efforts, the mysterious assailant would exterminate the members of their organization and take the children away each time.

No longer able to deal with the situation, they had no choice but to release the children and seek mercy by disposing of their assets and quietly leaving Guangcheng District.

“Hey! Do a body count when you load the children into the truck. Make sure no one runs away.”

“””Yes!”””

A somber night. Men of sturdy build moved busily, wary of their surroundings.

They were human traffickers who primarily supplied young girls to brothels, and were now sneaking away the goods they had kidnapped to avoid the wind of blood in Guangcheng District.

“Hurry up and move! We don’t know when the attack will come.”

The gang leader nervously rushed his subordinates. Meanwhile, in the corner of his eye he saw a girl gradually falling behind.

“You bitch! Didn’t you hear there’s no time? What are you dawdling for?!”

“Th-that’s because my feet hurt so much.”

An unpaved road full of pointed gravel. Without shoes, the girl had no choice but to walk slower than others.

However, as if the gang leader didn’t care about her predicament, he suddenly approached and slapped her.

Pak–!

“Kehuek!”

Struck by the thick palm, the girl stumbled and fell to the ground.

“Keuh, keuk…”

She held her cheek, unable to stand up. The young face, which hadn’t even lost its baby fat, was swollen black with blood vessels visible.

“You’re fucking wasting my time! Why aren’t you getting up?”

“Kyaaak!!! L-let go!!”

The gang leader tugged at the girl’s hair. Painful screams rang out as the struggling girl’s feet created long marks on the ground.

After dragging the girl like a luggage bag, he eventually handed her over to a nearby subordinate.

“She should be the last one, so get a body count and finish it quickly. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“Ah, yes!”

The subordinate quickly answered and bowed his head.

At that moment,

Baang–!

A loud gunshot resembling artillery firing resounded.

“Huh…?”

When the subordinate came to his senses, his body was falling to the ground regardless of his will.

Looking down, his left leg had been separated and laying on the ground mutilated.

“?!”

Belatedly realizing the pain, he let out a terrible scream.

“Keuaaak!!”

“B-boss!”

At that moment, another gunshot rang out.

Baang–!

In front of the gang leader’s eyes, the head of a subordinate who had been with him for a long time exploded.

The sight resembled a watermelon that had fallen from a high place as blood and guts scattered in all directions.

He stared blankly at the headless figure while covered in the blood that was gushing out.

Then came a series of gunshots.

Baang–!

Bang–!

Each time, the heads of his subordinates disappeared one by one.

“I-it’s an attack! Everyone, be careful!”

“It’s him! He’s here!”

The men hid behind the truck or fell on the ground in a hurry to cover themselves.

However, for some reason, the bullets twisted and turned as if it was alive and exploded their heads one after another.

“Fuck! Where the hell is it coming from?!”

“We can’t avoid it! Just run!”

Realizing that it was useless to hide, they began to run away at full speed with their backs turned.

In the direction of their escape, dozens of people wearing night vision goggles appeared one after another as if they had been waiting.

Small children standing with firearms that reached their waist. However, the pressure they emitted was too fearsome for them to be ordinary children.

The boy at the forefront among them spoke coldly.

“It’s time for judgment.”

“””Ya!”””

As soon as the order was given, bullets poured out from all sides and illuminated the night.

Dudududududu—!

“Keuaak!”

“Kehuek!”

Gang members died helplessly without any resistance. It took only a few seconds for the dust to settle.

After all the gang members had collapsed, the boy spoke in a pious tone.

“And God said…All’s well that ends well.”

“””Amen.”””

The children lowered their heads as if praying. Soon, they skillfully pulled a pistol from their waists as if they had done it countless times.

Next, they began to insert bullets into the foreheads of the fallen gang members with great care.

Wh-what the hell are they doing…?!

The gang leader, forgetting the pain in his legs, could only watch the scene blankly.

Would a monster in a child’s mask look like this?

He felt extreme fear as he watched the children who he had regarded only as products.

While he trembled, a girl carrying a firearm taller than her walked forward. Her eyes were brightly reflecting light in the dark like that of a cat.

“You know, ahjussi! I have a question. All the children here, is that everyone?”

“Y-yes.”

“Yay! The interrogation is over!”

“?!”

The girl’s voice was so carefree that the gang leader had answered without a second thought.

And, he had immediately realized his mistake.

W-was that the reason why I was kept alive…?

If so, he no longer had any value.

Wanting to extend his short life even a little longer, he desperately racked his head.

“Wh-who the hell are you?”

“Me? I’m Pie! And~ Pumpkin oppa is the one over there. The rest of the children just came in, so I haven’t memorized their names yet. Is that all?”

As the girl fiddled with her firearm, the gang leader hurriedly shouted.

“N-no! I still have more questions!”

“Aeyo. What else do you want to know?”

“Uh…Y-yes! Why are you guys doing this?”

Although it was thrown out of the blue, in fact, this question was also on the minds of every underworld organization in Guangcheng District.

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

Perhaps it was a new organization trying to dominate the underworld. Or perhaps it was a game played by a great evil beneath Guangcheng District for fun. A flurry of speculations came and went.

In a soft tone filled with admiration, the girl answered.

“Hmm…Noah oppa said children like us are precious…ubies? Newbies? Well, something like that.”

Clack–

A giant firearm that was closer to a cannon than a gun was aimed at the gang leader’s head.

“So we have to protect them all.”

“W-wait!! I-I still have questions…”

“Bye.”

The gang leader shook his arms desperately, but the girl pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Baaang–!

*

“Sisters. Today’s meeting with you sisters is his holiness’ ordained fate. The light in the pit of fire! Noah’s kingdom of heaven! Now, you’ll be able to obtain a new life like me after you receive this Bible here.”

“I-is that true?”

In the midst of Pumpkin preaching to the children that were just rescued, Pie took him aside and reported what she had just learned.

“It’s finished! There’s no one else.”

“Well done. Sister Pie. This will increase the number of people receiving his grace.”

“Not again! You’re talking weird! Ugh.”

“Sister Pie. As I’ve said before, we are the Apostles who convey his words to the world, and accordingly…”

“A-ah~, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you, lalala.”

Seeing Pie close her ears and pretending to not listen, Pumpkin eventually shook his head and sighed.

“Haa…Okay, I got it. Still, be careful with your attitude in front of the other believers.”

“I know! Hehe.”

As the two talked, from somewhere came the composed voice of a man.

“Huu~ You settled the request neatly again this time.”

An old man of short stature and resembling a toad approached Pumpkin and Pie.

His name was Ogama, and he was a reputable informant and contract broker who had been active in Guangcheng District for a long time.

Pumpkin and Pie needed more money to achieve their goal, so if possible, they tended to accept his requests when they would rescue children.

“As expected, reaching out to you back then was the correct choice.”

“Ugh!”

Pie showed a blatant disgust when Ogama looked at them with a pleased smile. 

The conversation had soured with his arrival, but nonetheless, he narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“…By the way, have you heard the news?”

“What news are you talking about?”

Pumpkin gave Ogama a puzzled look. As such, Ogama spoke with a meaningful smile.

“The news about Choi Noah. The one you always talk about.”

“Noah oppa?!”

“What about him…?”

Ogama took out his tablet and showed the current news.

“Hehe, seeing is believing.”

There was a funeral hall where numerous portraits of hero trainees, including Noah, hung.

Ogama looked at the two suggestively as if expecting something.

He thought the two who followed Noah religiously would show a rather interesting reaction.

However…

“Hahaha, what a ridiculous joke.”

“Hahaha! Noah oppa is dead? Nonsense!”

“Hmm?”

Somehow the two weren’t in the least perturbed. At first, he thought perhaps they were denying reality, but their eyes were too clear for that to be the case.

“Huh…? How come you don’t care?”

Ogama asked dejectedly. And as if it was an undeniable fact like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, Pumpkin and Pie answered in a tone that carried no doubt.

“That’s a given. He’s God and is eternal, so there’s no way he would die. This news is obviously fake.”

“That’s right! That’s right! Noah oppa is invincible! Absolutely invincible!”

“…”

Ogama silently looked at the two.

It was amazing he had hunted Hongir, but…

What was more surprising was how Noah was loved and trusted by others.

At one time, Ogama was also unquestionably loved and trusted by humans, so he knew how valuable it was.

A hero who is loved and trusted can rally people and…In the end, the emotions of humans rallied like that…

Looking at the two who were talking about Noah’s deed, he fell into the brilliant memories of his past.

And unlike his usual composed demeanor, his face became ice cold.

“Hmm? Ahjussi, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Are you sick?”

“Hehe, it’s nothing. Let me give you the next request.”

Ogama quickly regained his composure and thought to himself.

Like these children had said, if he assumed Noah was really alive…

I’ll have to call that vixen sooner or later.

*

A pink room filled with the touch of a girl.

Lady Fortune tilted her head as cards floated into the air.

She normally divined the fate of the world out of habit, but for some reason the divination couldn’t be read today.

“…Is it because I’m not in a good state of mind?”

She concentrated and shuffled the cards again.

But again, the cards were a hodgepodge in the air and only meaningless results were deduced. It was the same no matter how many times she tried.

It was a very incomprehensible phenomenon.

“That’s strange.”

Unless the ‘fate’ that existed in the world had disappeared, she should be able to feel something, even if very negligible.

That was why at first she had thought there was a problem with her ability.

But to say that, there was another divination that could be read normally…

“Hmm…”

She looked at the three cards floating in front of her. The 0 major arcana card THE FOOL intercepting THE DEVIL and DEATH.

It was this divination that had made her quickly adopt Noah in the past.

“Why is this fate still readable?”

In fact, the meaning of a divination wasn’t always clearly understood. It was just a metaphorical expression of the world’s fate using various tools and mediums.

For this reason, there was sufficient leeway for the meaning to change depending on the interpretation. Nevertheless, many questions remained regarding this divination that she was seeing now.

I adopted him at the time because I was led by fate, but…

She didn’t know how her death was related to Noah, and even now, after almost a year had passed and she still didn’t know.

Perhaps by adopting Noah she had unknowingly prevented her fate to die.

If not…Has the event related to my death not even begun in full yet…?

She frowned as if she was having a headache.

“Huu…I can’t understand it at all.”

Nothing was predictable when it was related to Noah.

It was the same last time.

Not long ago, she had told Noah of a fate she had read. It was a very ominous divination that represented the equivalent of death.

“I was wrong this time.”

Did she grow attached to the boy? For some reason, she even thought it was fortunate that her divination was wrong.

Contrary to what the world knew, Noah was very alive and well.

Her throbbing heart sank when she learned of his death in the news.

However, when she had received a call from him that he wouldn’t be able to come home for a while, her heart seemed to sink in a different sense.

“Huu…Where and what the hell kind of accident are you going to cause this time?”

She sighed and came out of her room.

At the end of her gaze was Elizabeth sitting in a terrace armchair looking out the window. She was staring blankly at the sky for no apparent reason.

Lady Fortune looked at it for a moment and sighed.

“Haa, tsk. She’s doing it again…”

A disciple she had accepted on a whim because of her contract with Noah.

Before Elizabeth came, she had never allowed anyone else to invade her territory. However, now that she was used to such a life, she felt like this wide castle was especially lonely when Elizabeth wasn’t being loud.

“Elizabeth.”

“…”

Nonetheless, Elizabeth was still silently staring out the window with unfocused eyes.

“Aeya…What should I do with this?”

Elizabeth had become like this after her visit to Hong Kong with Noah not long ago.

Lady Fortune didn’t know what had happened there, but Elizabeth would now often fall into the astral world regardless of her will like a narcolepsy patient. Even now, her mind was probably wandering around the astral world. 

And, the frequency was rapidly increasing.

This is worrying…

No matter how talented a witch was, if they continued to see places that were far from reality, eventually their mind would completely collapse and they would become a vegetable.

Although Lady Fortune had the ability of a witch, she couldn’t directly access the astral world like Elizabeth. As a result, there was nothing she could do for her.

“I can’t believe I’m worried about someone…It’s been a long time.”

Not only Elizabeth but Noah too. It was the hateful thing called affection. While living together, perhaps she had come to think of them as her real family to some extent.

It was a word she had thought she would have no connection to even though she had lived for a long time…

Please make it through this.

It would be the birth of an unfathomable monster so long as Elizabeth could overcome this situation.

After staring at Elizabeth for a moment, she approached her and draped a blanket over her shoulders.

“If you’re going to leave her unattended like this, why did you bring her here…Haa, tsk.”

She resented Noah for not being here.