Chapter 77

After tightly binding Rose Baldy, the Violet-hooded figures ventured into the corridor to form a lineup.

As thugs flooded the stairs, Unit 1, who temporarily assumed command, issued orders.

“Everyone, report your status!”

“Ten under Clone 110 are currently waiting on the fourth floor of the trading location. They’re coming up.”

“Three under Clone 66 have secured four injured on the second floor. These people seem to be the brokers we were supposed to meet.”

“Five under Clone 91 and five under Clone 12 are on alert from the rooftops and alleys of the opposite building. They’re ready to shoot!”

This was a kind of self-suggestion. We were all equals, so a commander wasn’t needed, but giving directives helped us all reflect on the situation.

“Can you see well? About five of them are coming up right now!”

Clone 66, observing us from the opposite side, shared their viewpoint with us in real-time.

The building we occupied was a small office-tel with a window on the right overlooking the outside and doors leading to offices on the left.

Most of the thugs on the third floor appeared dazed as they came out, still unaware of the situation, but I could see some sharp-eyed ones racing up the stairs through the window.

“We don’t need covering fire; let’s take them out directly and head down.”

The corridor was wide enough for two people to pass through. The Violets formed two lines, wielding round shields and one-handed swords as they headed toward the stairs.

“Hey, Netch! You okay?”

The two fastest of our group entered the corridor and flinched at the sight of their decapitated comrade.

“Damn it, you guys are cops, right? Shit…Shit! Willy!”

As one of them suddenly pulled out a gun, Clone 110 swung their sword instinctively, gathering sword energy.

-Swish!

The sword cut smoothly like it was slicing through soft butter, beheading the thug and severing his left arm at the shoulder.

“Uhh…? Uh-oh? Mil…Mils?”

Stunned by seeing his comrade’s tragedy, the thug stammered. Clone 75 slashed vertically at the thug’s head and kicked the entrance towards the stairs.

Clone 75’s face tightened slightly.

“Oh, sorry.”

I mismanaged my strength.

The thug’s body was split vertically from crown to navel by the sword energy, almost cleaving him in half as he spilled blood down the stairs.

The ones following screamed.

“Ugh! Aaaah!”

“Shit… It’s an Awakened One! An Awakened One!”

As they entered the stairwell, the thugs, realizing the situation, pulled guns from their jackets.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Panicked thugs sprayed bullets backward. The sound echoed loudly in the stairwell like beans roasting. The leading Violets immediately swapped their circular shields for the Reinforced Suppression Shields as they descended.

-Clang! Crash!

The reinforced suppression shield, channeling magical power, was relentlessly battered by gunfire. As the Violets cautiously moved down, the thugs fiercely resisted and retreated to the third-floor corridor.

“Boss! Call the boss! He’s supposed to be with the Resolver! Call now! Hurry!”

“They’re coming! They’re coming!!”

-Tatatatata! Tatatatata!

As the Violets descended the stairs and faced the deafening gunfire, they briefly complained.

“Damn! They know it won’t work but they’re firing like crazy!”

Clone 75, irritated, pulled a bullet embedded in his left arm.

The thugs, lacking in handguns, pulled out submachine guns and sprayed wildly. Some stray bullets struck the shoulders and legs of the Violets.

Under normal circumstances, this would have resulted in serious injuries, but it was different now.

We had undergone harsh training under our instructor and gotten used to body enhancement through the training of multiple clones. The Ether Protection we learned during this process deflected some of the gunfire.

“Indeed, we need more training.”

As we entered the corridor on the third floor, an even denser barrage of bullets flew toward us. Seeing them firing with both hands like something out of a Hong Kong action film was nostalgic.

“Don’t panic! You bastards, if you shoot enough, even an Awakened One can die! Just hold on for a few minutes until the kids and the boss arrive!”

The one who appeared to be the squad leader encouraged them roughly, and they mustered their spirits, calmly showering us with rounds.

The Violets stepped back momentarily next to the stair entrance.

“They really know how to deal with Awakened Ones. They’re not complete fools.”

The Ether Protection of the Awakened One was robust, but if caught in such a bullet storm in a confined space, there was a risk of it being penetrated.

“Prepare to break through!”

“Clone 91 and everyone, are you ready? Aim for that guy’s head!”

“Confirmed.”

The five Violets waiting across targeted the scene inside the third-floor window. The bolt, having gathered magical power like a drawn bowstring, glowed red with energy.

“Listen up, whether you’re cops or other Resolvers, get in! Come on, you idiots…”

A glowing bolt struck the thug’s head, followed by bolts aiming at the necks or vital spots of the other four.

-Bam!

“AAAH!”

“Gahhh!”

“Burk? A-Ah, is it okay…”

“Gah!”

The first bolt, powered by magic, exploded as it burst the thug’s head, turning the corridor into a whirling chaos.

Right after the concentrated fire, the shield-bearing Violets charged into the corridor.

Thanks to the magic flowing in our bodies, we felt light as feathers. Clone 110 rushed forward, kicking the chin of the thug wielding dual pistols.

“Gahhh!”

The man flew across the corridor.

Next to him, a scarred thug aimed a submachine gun at Clone 110’s head. Too late. Clone 75, who had been following closely behind, severed the scarred thug’s arm along with the gun. Before he could even scream, I pierced the thug’s heart with a swift strike that flowed like water.

Wrist chopped off, head rolling on the floor, waist split in half. Though this was my doing, objectively, it was more of a massacre than a battle.

“Gahhh!”

The gang members, losing their will to fight, began to flee.

“Run! Aaaah!”

“Mom! Mommy!”

As those crying and fleeing were impaled with swords and hammers, we leisurely strolled after them.

<Critical Hit!>

[Attacking from behind activates Resonance Trait: Rear Severe Injury. Damage increased!]

Several frightened thugs rushed into a room and locked the door. Latecomers shrieked, clinging to the door.

“Damn it! Open up! You bastards! Let us out!”

“Don’t leave us! Save us, you fools! Please open it!”

“Sorry! Die instead! I’m sorry!”

The men desperately banging on the door turned their heads as they sensed our presence. Their eyes filled with despair.

“P-please save us!”

We let out a short sigh and swung our swords without hesitation. Clearing away the corpses, we fixed our gaze on the door. After several demolitions using sword energy, the office door was torn into pieces.

“AAAH! Please save me! I’m sorry!”

The men hiding inside looked at us and desperately attempted to escape through one window.

After a few swift sword swings, everything fell silent.

“Ugh…”

As I scanned the surroundings, a man from the corner of the room suddenly charged at me with a jungle knife.

To our magically enhanced vision, the man appeared to move like a jellyfish. Clone 75 effortlessly snatched the man’s wrist.

“AAAH!”

As I applied pressure, the man screamed in pain and dropped the knife. This was the gap between the Awakened and the Non-Awakened.

“Should we kill him too?”

“No, we need to leave some people for interrogation! If we kill everyone, what’s the point?”

Clone 1 persuaded us, and we nodded, swiftly knocking the man out and binding him.

We gagged his mouth with a cloth and dragged him back to the fourth-floor room where Rose Baldy was.

The corridors of the third and fourth floors were stained with blood and corpses. I’m not sure what to tell the landlord about all this.

“How are the people?”

“I left recovery medicine on-site and did first aid. They’re in terrible shape. How many times did they get beaten…?”

As the Violets organized the interior, other Violets were already hauling the bound individuals, presumably the brokers, out of the building.

“Clone 66, if you go left from that position and pass about three buildings, there’s an unmanned hotel, right? Let’s wait there for now. By the way, have you talked to those people yet?”

“Unmanned hotel? Got it. I talked to them already, but before I could say much, they fainted. We won’t need to rush, but we should send them to the hospital.”

“If Daphne were here, she could fix them. It’s a shame she’s not.”

“That’s nonsense! If she saw us like this, she might panic and go crazy. She’d scold us!”

That wasn’t wrong. Just the scene alone, with blood staining the ceiling, walls, and floors, looked horrendous, and we, covered in it, looked equally messy.

“How many are there?”

“Besides the two on the fourth floor, let’s see… one, two, three…”

“About fifteen of them.”

We searched the room where they had stayed and collected random items like weapons or cell phones from the corpses.

An urgent call came from Clone 12, who was waiting in the alley.

“Everyone pay attention! A bunch of cars are heading toward the trading firm’s building!”

“How many?”

“About seven, including three large vans. There must be dozens of people in them.”

“Emergency! About twenty armed individuals are coming from the opposite alley!”

Reports were coming in from all directions.

Looking outside, I noticed vehicles had long surrounded the building. Armed individuals moved to and fro in the dazzling headlights.

Clone 98, who was monitoring the prisoners on the fourth floor, urgently woke Rose Baldy and the man.

“Hey, people are gathering outside. Did you call them?”

The man sneered.

“Ah, the boss has arrived! You’re done for!”

I struck the thug’s head again, knocking him unconscious. The situation was clear.

In the short time given, we hurriedly exchanged opinions. Clone 1 was the first to express.

“Let’s retreat. If we reverse generate from here, we can leave without any problems.”

Clone 2 hesitated but then voiced a contrary opinion.

“That might be true. But we killed these thugs and saved the brokers. Since we committed to this, it makes sense to see it through to the end.”

“But why? We don’t even know them. We’re just customers. What happens doesn’t concern us.”

“I don’t care! These thugs deserve to die! They looked at us with malicious eyes and were plotting something bad!”

“Since we’re already in this deep, we can’t leave loose ends! Let’s go all the way!”

The Violets passionately voiced their opinions one by one.

A ringtone sounded from one of the thugs’ phones we picked up earlier. I answered it.

On the smartphone screen, the clear name ‘BOSS’ was lit up.

-Burke! You’ve been doing a lot of talking about whether you’re cops or resolvers; what’s the idea? Are the kids okay?

I listened silently, and the voiced boss sensed something was off and fell silent before speaking again.

-Who are you? It looks like you’re still inside from what I see out the window.

-Do you know who’s here? The Aramis Crew is laid out. Even the Tusk Detective Agency people have come! If you’re a resolver, you know who Tusk is, right?

-I don’t know why you’re siding with those brokers, but how dare you mess with our Calamity gang? Don’t think you’ll leave nicely. Not answering? You bastard…

I hung up the phone. Everyone’s opinions were soon solidified.

“It seems a bit late to leave without a fight, huh?”

“Let’s finish everything and then leave!”

Hard footsteps echoed from the first-floor stairs. The Violets checked their weapons and created additional clones.

The battle in the underworld, the second round, began.