Chapter 34

When I leapt down from the ceiling and landed between David and Lexi, a small pang of regret immediately popped into my head.

The moment I came face-to-face with her battle-ready stance, a chill ran up my spine as if I’d stuck my hand onto a guillotine.

Especially now, I wasn’t in my Ghost form but rather Yuria wearing just a mask.

The limitation of not being able to use telekinesis freely only added to this sense of unease.

“Sh-, Should I have just flipped over the cloth and come down? …No, that would be too dangerous. This isn’t the Western Labyrinth, and rampaging in the middle of the city where there’s no escape is too risky.”

But this was unavoidable.

Fighting Lexi here as a ghost was different from secretly using telekinesis in the back of the hotel where there were no witnesses or CCTV.

If I wanted to suppress Lexi with telekinesis, the aftermath of that fight would inevitably extend beyond this space.

It would turn everything into chaos like when I fought Drakel, making a huge mess everywhere.

Naturally, the existence of superpowers would spread externally, and even if I somehow managed to escape, people would relentlessly pursue me to uncover my identity.

Ah, just imagining it gives me a headache.

No matter how sorry David and Sabrina feel, I can’t douse myself in oil and jump into a fire.

“In the end, either I don’t use telekinesis here, or I need to make Lexi retreat without getting caught…?”

Then another wave of helplessness quickly set in.

How on earth could I pull that off against this sadistic psycho queen?

“Jin…? No, he’s not the type to act so flashy…”

While I was feeling tense and struggling to control my anxious emotions,

Lexi tilted her head, confused, then muttered with a menacing smile.

“Hmm. I don’t get it. I have no idea what she’s trying to do.”

“…”

“Well… whatever. I’ll just do my job. Eventually, I’ll figure it out anyway, right?”

Clearly having no clue why I, who had been at the banquet with Raven earlier, suddenly appeared here to interfere, Lexi licked her lips and raised her whip.

Rather than pondering unanswered questions, she decided to just tie everything up and do her job.

Probably thinking something along those lines. A truly terrifying queen.

“Snake, restrain him. Try not to leave any marks.”

“…!”

Piiing!

A black whip flew at an invisible speed, wrapping tightly around my body in an instant.

The speed was so fast that by the time I realized it, my entire body was already bound tightly, leaving me unable to move.

This was the artifact treated as tier one in combat within the story, the flesh-tearing snake.

If she had really intended to kill me, I would have already been dead. The mere thought sent shivers down my spine.

“Ugh… It, it hurts…! I’m not into this kind of thing!”

Kwaak.

I felt an agonizing pressure squeezing my arms, legs, and neck.

Was she planning to choke me unconscious?

Tears involuntarily welled up as I felt the sensation of being forcibly strangled.

Lexi, seemingly confident that I was completely subdued regardless of whether I clutched the whip choking me,

Calmly walked towards me and scratched at my mask with her fingertips.

“I’ve been curious about what’s behind this mask. What kind of face are you hiding so thoroughly? If it’s cutely enviable, maybe I should ruin it a bit?”

What a terrifying thing to say!

Trembling at Lexi’s chilling words, which didn’t feel like a joke at all, I pushed my formless telekinesis along the surface of the whip.

And quietly, when the telekinesis reached the hidden, extremely soft spot inside the whip’s handle,

I grabbed that cute little tail with telekinesis.

-Squeak!

“What…?! Snake!”

“…!”

My body, tightly bound by the flesh-tearing snake, screamed.

The reason? I had mercilessly tormented the snake’s soft and vulnerable tail, which was well-protected by the handle.

At this point, even Lexi herself didn’t know the flesh-tearing snake’s only weakness.

Unaware that I could do such a thing, Lexi urgently checked the whip’s erratic behavior…

Regaining my freedom, I rolled my body hard to the side, ignoring the wounds.

Behind me was the injured David and Sabrina, and in front was Lexi inspecting her whip—this fleeting moment was a precious opportunity money couldn’t buy!

“Shock!”

“…Damn it!”

Kwagwang!

A much stronger shockwave than before narrowly missed me and struck Lexi, who had let her guard down.

Considering its power, that was probably David giving it his all while leaving minimal energy in reserve.

Thanks to that, Lexi was sent flying like she’d been hit by a truck, crashing through the wall and disappearing.

Indeed, intelligent David. He didn’t miss the opening I barely created and seized it for me.

For someone who had nearly been choked to death moments ago, this was tearfully grateful.

“To be honest, it was half-crazed, but it worked.”

Still clutching my tingling neck, I sighed in relief.

This was the picture I painted from the ceiling.

If I hadn’t known that Lexi secretly adored Raven and wouldn’t hurt me right away, and that her whip had a weak point, I wouldn’t have even attempted such a messy plan.

Even now, with success close at hand, my heart was pounding wildly with fear and anxiety. This was a truly insane stunt that I wouldn’t dare try again.

“We, we did it! Brother! Fox! We did it!”

“Haa, haa… Fox… I don’t know how you did it, but thank you for your help. I’m really grateful.”

Was defeating Lexi properly that joyful?

Sabrina and David were already excited, their faces bright with happiness.

It wasn’t an unusual reaction.

The shockwave David had unleashed earlier had enough destructive power to punch a hole through a wall.

Since Lexi was a Fixer, she probably wouldn’t die, but it seemed they thought it sufficient to knock her out.

But… it might be too early to celebrate.

Lexi was also a genetically enhanced human like Raven, so she probably wasn’t severely injured by that.

“Ku, kuhehe… Ahahaha! Fun, fun! That actually hurt a bit!”

As expected, Lexi emerged from beyond the broken wall, blood trickling down her forehead.

Compared to before, it was definitely a solid hit.

Her jacket was tattered, and she was bleeding from a previously unscathed body.

However, since she looked perfectly healthy enough to continue fighting, David and Sabrina’s joyous expressions quickly turned cold.

Even hitting her with our best possible attack wasn’t enough.

It was a despairingly hopeless situation, clearly showing the gap in strength.

Ignoring their expressions, Lexi wiped away the blood flowing down her face roughly.

She stared at me fiercely, veins popping out of her single eye.

“Aah, fine. As long as you’re alive, missing limbs won’t matter. I wonder what expression Jin will make when you’re all torn up!”

Enraged, she swung her whip with full force.

An utterly unrestrained and terrifying attack unlike before.

If it continued, my soft body would be shredded to pieces by the sharp whip.

Tadang! Suddenly, sharp gunshots rang out in quick succession from not far away.

And reflexively closing my eyes tightly, I noticed I didn’t have a scratch on my body.

Honestly, this is nerve-wracking.

“What!”

Lexi’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The flesh-tearing snake’s body, moving rapidly along an unpredictable path, was repeatedly and effortlessly blown apart by the incoming bullets.

Of course, except for its tail, the flesh-tearing snake could regenerate its body freely as a shadow snake.

Therefore, Lexi’s whip itself wasn’t rendered useless, but her brow furrowed involuntarily at the extraordinary accuracy of the shots.

It was like shooting down popcorn scattered indiscriminately in the sky—a level of unbelievable skill. Only one person could do this.

“Could it be…?”

Swish. Lexi’s head turned toward the direction of the gunfire.

There stood a man holding a smoking black pistol.

“Lexi. It’s troubling if you scare our office newbie like that. I got so startled I accidentally fired like I had an accident.”

“Jin!”

The intruder was none other than Raven.

One of the top marksmen among the Fixers. A monster capable of killing three people with a single bullet.

With just a gun in hand, he was the most reassuring man in the world.

The tension naturally drained from my shoulders.

The moment he arrived here without delay, I realized everything was already over.

Reluctant to admit it, Lexi glared at Jin with a heated expression.

“Haha, what’s this? Did I just get stabbed in the back? Are you on a mission too? How much did you get? From which company?”

“No, I didn’t receive any particular request. If you return our part-timer safely, I’ll be on my way.”

“Hmm… Is that so? Then take him and leave quickly. I have work to do.”

Lexi carefully observed Raven, seemingly realizing his words weren’t false, and swiftly proposed a negotiation.

Apparently, if Raven seriously interfered, things would go completely awry, so she planned to quickly hand me over and push him offstage.

But… I didn’t want that.

“…!”

Spreading my arms wide as if to say I wouldn’t back down, I stood in front of Sabrina and David.

After all I’ve done, how could I stop here?

Did my strong will reach the two Fixers facing off?

After a brief silence, Lexi was the first to move.

“Snake! Kill him!”

The flesh-tearing snake, whose wounds from the bullets had already disappeared, attacked Raven from all sides.

Almost simultaneously, Raven’s black pistol roared, spitting fire.

Kwajik! Kwajik! Kwajijik!

The bullets tore the flesh-tearing snake’s body to shreds.

So precise were his shots that only black fragments of the snake fluttered near Raven.

“Kuh…!”

“It won’t work, Lexi. Our compatibility from the past hasn’t changed. Why would it change now?”

“Shut up! Do you still see me as the same fool from back then?”

Lexi attacked Raven with her regenerated flesh-eating snake, and Raven calmly countered with his pistol. This pattern repeated several times.

Finally, when the flesh-eating snake collapsed, seemingly reaching its limit of regeneration,

Lexi grabbed her bangs in disbelief and let out a defeated sigh.

“Haa… How do you hit a snake with a gun? Can you see the future or something?”

“Hmph, no matter how fast your snake is, it’s still slower than a bullet. There’s nothing to be done about it. It’s like how a lightbulb goes out in front of the sun.”

“…You haven’t changed. Bragging about deflecting a bullet with a bullet once, how many times do you intend to bring that up?”

Gritting her teeth at Raven’s teasing words, Lexi reattached her whip to her waist.

Having completely lost her fighting spirit, she clicked her tongue while looking alternately at Raven and me.

“I can’t risk my life fighting Jin for pocket change. Fine. I give up. Do what you want.”

Lexi raised both hands in surrender.

Though she might still have some secret weapons left, it seemed she thought the amount of money she received from her client wasn’t worth going that far.

Well, that’s understandable. Even though Nemesis was large-scale, they wouldn’t invest heavily in Fixers to prepare for potential incidents.

In the original story, she backed off after Raven stopped her, causing some trouble before retreating.

This strongly highlighted her efficiency-oriented nature, doing exactly the amount of work she was paid for.

Just as Lexi was about to leave peacefully, she glanced at me and said,

“…You. You said you work at Jin’s office.”

“…”

“See you again.”

“…!”

Hyeok. Why, why?

Startled by Lexi’s sudden after-request, I looked at Raven in surprise. He shrugged as if saying, “What can you do?”

But whether I panicked or not, Lexi simply turned her back and walked away.

S-, Surely she doesn’t plan to come back soon to teach me a lesson? If so, that would be a truly terrifying declaration.

“…Thank goodness I’m just a one-month temp worker. Once my time’s up, I’ll bolt right away.”

Still, I felt relieved inwardly.

If Lexi ever visits the office, it would be long after this.

By then, I’ll have quit my office job and will be working diligently at Greg’s shop, so I won’t meet her later to suffer any retaliation.

…Right?

“Y-, Fox… This is…”

“…”

Anyway, somehow we made Lexi retreat, so there were no more obstacles to David’s plan. All that remained was for the knight to dash out and rescue the captured princess.

I patted Sabrina’s shoulder, who had unconsciously clung tightly to my back, unsettled by Raven’s unfamiliar presence, and nodded at David, who quietly watched us.

David would carry on with his task, and Sabrina would stay to explain the situation.

Perhaps sensing that meaning, David hurriedly ran toward the VIP banquet hall, dragging his bleeding body, while Raven approached me and Sabrina leisurely.

“Really… Part-timer. I’ve been looking all over for you. And what’s this, dropping this on the floor?”

“…!”

Raven handed me my suit tie.

During the intense fight between David and Lexi, I had subtly pushed it into the corridor near the stairs using telekinesis.

It was a kind of distress signal. A plea for help: “It’s dangerous, please help.”

Of course, it was more likely that he came upon hearing the explosion. Thanks to this, he arrived just in time. That’s what I thought.

As I hung the tie Raven returned around my neck, he pressed firmly on the top of my head, forcing me to look at the floor.

Don’t press so hard. It hurts.

“So, care to explain in detail? Why is someone who went to the bathroom doing this?”

“…”

“A-, Ah! Let me explain instead…!”

Nice Sabrina.

I subtly gave her a thumbs-up.

Please calm down this slightly angry person for me.

Before this guy makes my height shrink… Hurry!

[!– Slider main container –]