The World Does Not Exist for ■■

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: ford53
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< Chapter 9: A Coincidence for the Protagonist (5) >

On the way to the exit of the black market.

Now dragging a carrier filled with weapons instead of the money bag, Dung Beetle was addressed by Jangman.

“If you’re thinking of using those weapons in the city, think about your escape route first. It can get troublesome if the police start sniffing around after a fight’s over.”

He didn’t ask Dung Beetle anything. Not about the Necromancer, nor about his revenge.

“The weapons you bought all have limited range. If possible, it would be better to end the fight quickly at close range.”

He simply let out advice like a drifting breeze.

It wasn’t delicate, but it contained concern and wisdom in its own way.

Maybe this was Jangman’s way of showing consideration.

Thinking this, Dung Beetle silently followed behind Jangman.

…After Jangman spoke and Dung Beetle listened, they retraced their steps for a while.

Eventually, they arrived at the entrance of the warehouse they had descended from via the rusty stairs, where a familiar mask greeted them.

“Hello? We meet again, don’t we?”

The woman in the black dog mask.

She sat leisurely on top of the three guards she had flattened at the entrance of the warehouse.

“Tsk, the young girl’s persistent.”

Jangman clicked his tongue, and Dung Beetle quietly set down the carrier.

“Excuse me, sir. I have no intention of fighting. These men… it was just a small misunderstanding that led to this.”

“Is that so? Then since there’s no misunderstanding with us, we can leave, right?”

“Ey, that won’t do. I’ve been waiting here for a reason, because of you.”

The woman in the dog mask lightly jumped off the guards.

“Let’s make a deal, shall we?”

“What if I refuse?”

“I understand the situation might seem suspicious, but really, truly, it’s not a bad deal. Actually, it’s a positive one that could fatten your wallet more than whatever you’re doing?”

Despite her words, Dung Beetle felt something flowing in the body of the woman with the dog mask.

It was an unfamiliar sensation. To feel something not in my body, but in someone else’s.

Regardless of Dung Beetle’s new senses, Jangman and the masked woman continued their conversation.

“Would you like to hear it?”

“I have no intention of conversing with a madwoman.”

“Hmm… while that’s a rational response, it can’t be helped. I’m somewhat in a hurry.”

With those words, the woman shifted her stance.

A short jump. She dashed towards Jangman with almost flying speed.

In a split second, Dung Beetle reflexively threw himself in front of Jangman to block her attack.

Whack!

The first move was a kick. Dung Beetle raised his right arm to block her strike. The next moment, unable to withstand the force, his body lifted off the ground and flew sideways.

‘Damn crazy.’

Dung Beetle tumbled twice on the ground, hit a back-alley wall, and then managed to plant his feet back on the ground.

Ring

The kick was so powerful that his right ear rang with tinnitus.

“Seeing two superhumans in one day… I can’t tell if I’m lucky or unlucky.”

As Jangman’s voice reached his ears, the woman in the dog mask was charging at Dung Beetle again.

Thump!
Before Dung Beetle could react, a kick landed on his side. Unlike the first hit, this one didn’t end with a single blow.

Abdomen, thigh, side again, shoulder, and then… the chin.

Whack!

A heavy thud, a series of precise attacks. She delivered a perfect finishing kick to Dung Beetle.

“Huh.”

After Dung Beetle fell to the ground.

The woman in the black dog mask turned her back casually and looked at Jangman.

“Are you thinking about making a deal now?”

“Not yet, I reckon.”

“Not yet?”

In that moment, her senses reacted to something.

She sprung up from her position, creating distance. Dung Beetle’s hand, which had attempted to grab her ankle, swiped through the air.

“…How?”

Watching Dung Beetle rise, the woman in the dog mask tilted her head in confusion.

Even a superhuman should have been knocked out from that kind of blow, right?

“You have an absurdly good constitution. Did you eat something good?”

Ptui

Dung Beetle spat out the blood in his mouth. His head was still buzzing from the shock, but he raised his hands in a fighting stance.

“Quit the yapping and come at me.”

“If you insist.”

The woman with the mask rolled her stance again. She moved with a speed that was untraceable, but something had changed.

Dung Beetle’s eyes.

With all his nerves focused on his vision, the trajectory of her flying kick appeared to him like an extended line.

‘I can see it.’

Dung Beetle twisted his body out of the trajectory’s range. It was infinitely slower than her agility, but it was enough to create a slight fissure.

Swipe! The kick aiming for his chin barely grazed the hair on his forehead.

And then came the counterattack.

Dung Beetle, reversing the twist in his waist, swung his fist toward her face.

However, just as his punch was about to land, she evaded the range of his attack with a strange step.

“…You’re pretty good?”

This time, Dung Beetle charged first. His attacks were nothing more than clumsy punches compared to her style, but Dung Beetle was a superhuman.

Of course, so was she.

Dung Beetle’s punches split the air with a menacing sound, but not even one could touch the woman in the mask.

Her peculiar footwork…

No matter how Dung Beetle attacked, she evaded his range with a single step.

She even exploited the openings to deliver sharp kicks, accumulating damage on Dung Beetle’s body.

It was the difference between someone bouncing around like a spring and someone plodding along.

‘What’s going on?’

However, after a certain point, the woman in the dog mask began to frown. The level of her opponent was changing too quickly.

At the time of her first attack, the opponent was a mere novice. Every movement of his body was awkward. He didn’t even know how to fall properly.

But immediately after being knocked down, something changed.

His response to her kicks became faster, and the way he extended punches and kicks grew more refined.

His hand flew to the spot where her foot would strike, and when she bounced from the ground, he already began to move to where she would land.

As if he knew exactly how she would move.

‘Is he analyzing and adapting in real-time?’

She felt interest and annoyance at the same time.

Interest in the opponent who was replicating the skills she had worked hard to learn in real-time, and annoyance at the toughness of someone who took multiple kicks and still stood.

She could pull out other techniques and possibly seize the upper hand in the fight, but…

‘It’s a matter of pride now.’

The ensuing exchange was a stalemate.

Dung Beetle kept charging despite being hit by kicks, and the woman in the dog mask kept distance, repeatedly launching kicks.

The balance broke when Dung Beetle began to mimic her footwork technique.

“…!”

It was more of a pushing motion than a springy bounce, but even this reduced the speed gap.

The woman in the mask gritted her teeth and moved her feet even faster.

Up to that moment, she was confident of victory. Dung Beetle had been hit by scores of her kicks and strikes, and she still had a lot of stamina left.

In such a situation, there was no way she would lose to a novice superhuman who wasn’t even a Hero candidate. She was sure of that.

…And she was wrong.

During the monotonous exchange, Dung Beetle suddenly darted between her steps.

“Uh?”

A timing so perfect it was unavoidable.

“Damn it…!”

By the time she realized, it was too late. Dung Beetle had caught her kick and threw her.

Thud!

The woman in the mask slammed into the exact same alley wall that Dung Beetle had been sent flying against earlier.

Dust rose, and the mask she had been wearing was stripped off, flying far away.

“Ugh…”

After tumbling a couple of times, she got up with a short groan.

“That freaking hurts…”

As she struggled to lift her head, her face, which had been hidden under the mask, was revealed.

A beauty.

At least, Dung Beetle had never seen someone so beautiful in his life before.

Features so distinct as if specially crafted by a deity, over which flowed hair as dark as ebony along her forehead. Through the cascading silken strands, cold blue eyes met Dung Beetle’s.

“Pretty good, aren’t you?”

Two breaths, and then feet bouncing off the ground.

She charged at Dung Beetle again.

Even with her strange stepping mixed into her kicks aimed at Dung Beetle’s head, his eyes had become perfectly accustomed to her attacks.

Dung Beetle moved out of the long trajectory of the kick, and within that short interval, he replicated the kick she had shown him.

A sweeping kick targeting the torso.

Thunk­

With a sound, the kick hit her body. Like Dung Beetle when he first took her kick, she lost her balance and flew through the air.

But unlike Dung Beetle, who knew nothing of falling techniques, she quickly corrected her posture. She glared at Dung Beetle with a look of disbelief.

“My Shadow Skipping! How did you pick it up in such a short time?”

“Shadow Skipping?”

“…It’s an old-fashioned name, isn’t it? I think so too.”

She heaved a deep sigh and ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back.

Drip

Possibly from a ruptured microvessel, blood trickled down her nose.

“Ah, how long has it been since I’ve had a nosebleed?”

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand with an incredulous look on her face. She seemed quite upset about seeing blood, her beautiful brow furrowing deeply.

“Anyway, while the Shadow Skipping may have an old-fashioned name, it’s not low in difficulty. To steal such a skill in real-time… ah, I can’t even find the words.”

She looked down at the ground, muttering something that started with a ‘shi…’ before lifting her head again.

“Alright, I’m conceding that you’ve got the upper hand in hand-to-hand combat. But if I pull out a weapon… one of us is likely to die. How about we talk this out?”

Her question was directed at Dung Beetle, but the answer came from an unexpected place.

“Talking isn’t a bad idea. Just make sure no part other than your mouth moves.”

Click

Jangman, who had picked up the submachine gun dropped by the fallen guards, pointed the barrel at her.

Despite seeing the gun, she merely rolled her eyes slightly and responded confidently.

“Well, sure. My request won’t be a loss for you either.”

“Speak then.”

“I’d like to buy a certain item from Yosef, but it seems he doesn’t want to do business with me.”

“Someone like him naturally won’t deal with novices.”

“Yes, well, as one of those novices, it feels a bit unfair.”

She exaggerated a heavy sigh and then continued.

“It looks like you’re acquainted with Yosef. If you could purchase an item on my behalf, I’ll pay not only the item’s price but also a generous commission.”

“Commission?”

“Excluding the cost of the item, a commission of 500 million. If the item turns out to be cheaper than I expect, I might even give you more. How about it?”

‘500 million?’

Dung Beetle, still with the financial senses of a janitor, raised an eyebrow at her offer to put forth such a sum as just a commission.

“The better the offer, the higher the risk. Will you tell me what the item is?”

“It looks nothing like a weapon. Hm, how should I put this…”

She seemed to be searching for the right words for a moment before continuing.

“A rod made out of a unicorn horn…? That’s the only way I can explain it. It doesn’t really match its original name.”

At her answer, both Jangman and Dung Beetle looked at each other.

Beyond the masks of the snake and the sun, a strange look was exchanged. The girl, feeling left out of the conversation, tilted her head in confusion.

“…What’s with this atmosphere? You’re not having some weird thoughts, are you?”

Her guess was a bit off, but her suspicion was right on the mark.