Ch.133Miho 4

“Who are you people…”

The man with both hands restrained mutters.

In response, the red-haired woman in a kimono speaks in a soft yet menacing voice.

“What do you think? We’re the fox’s masters.”

She looks at me intently with her delicate makeup.

Perhaps because we had infiltrated a Japanese hotel, I almost lost myself in her elegant appearance, so different from her usual self.

“Just surrender quietly. These clothes are uncomfortable.”

Anna, standing beside her, speaks as if annoyed.

Indeed, she’s wearing a daring silk dress that reveals every curve of her body.

If she swings her sword carelessly, the dress might just slip right off.

Well, Anna probably wouldn’t care anyway.

“…”

Having assessed the situation, the man clamps his mouth shut.

He signals with his eyes for the hunters lying in ambush to retreat.

“At least you’re perceptive.”

The red-haired woman smiles slightly as she watches the retreating hunters.

The target, pierced by her gaze, glares back at her with a resentful expression.

“I’m not stupid enough to send my men to their deaths.”

“Right, and if you’re that smart, you probably know why we’ve been looking for you?”

As the formal interrogation begins, the man chews on his lip.

Soon, seemingly having made up his mind, he gradually opens his mouth.

“Could you please untie my hands for a moment?”

“Why would I trust you enough to release you?”

The red-haired woman twirls her Japanese-style parasol with her free hand.

The man then makes a gesture as if about to kneel in surrender.

Only then do the red-haired woman and Anna begin to loosen their grip on him.

But…

“…!”

It was a ploy to lower their guard.

He breaks free from their weakened grasp and immediately pulls out a smoke bomb from his sleeve.

It was a split-second moment.

With practiced skill, he throws the sphere to the ground, obscuring everyone’s vision.

Then he quickly hides himself in the smoke.

I cough and rub my eyes.

Suddenly, someone grabs my wrist and stops my rubbing motion.

That person whispers softly in my ear.

“It’s dangerous to rub your eyes in smoke.”

It was the red-haired woman.

She blocks the smoke with her parasol.

And she gently wipes my face with the hem of her long kimono robe.

A subtle cherry blossom scent emanates from her as she draws closer.

“Thanks…”

“Your outfit is cute, you know?”

“…”

Despite the target being able to escape, she just stares down at me intently.

Perhaps it’s because of the full moon, but her red eyes seem even more bewitching.

“What about the target…?”

“Don’t worry, someone much sturdier than me is chasing after him.”

The smoke gradually thins.

Thanks to that, I can see a shadow leaping over the tiled roofs of the folk village.

It’s Anna.

She moves effortlessly through the air in her daring dress.

“So shall we wait here leisurely?”

The red-haired woman tickles the fox makeup drawn on my cheek.

Startled by the sensation, I quickly get to my feet.

“We can’t let her chase him alone. We should go help!”

And I start following Anna, taking the lead.

The red-haired woman watches me with half-closed eyes.

“Tch…”

Soon she follows me gracefully, parasol in hand.

“Damn… What’s with that insane speed…!”

The target keeps looking back as he runs.

But no matter how many times he looks back, the distance between them doesn’t widen.

Instead, it gradually narrows.

Soon, a long sword flies toward him.

To avoid the deadly strike, he finally stops his escape.

“I’m busy, so let’s end this quickly.”

Anna speaks with a calm expression.

“I can’t let that woman have the fox all to herself.”

“Ha, joking even in this situation… Your ranker really underestimates me.”

The target now seems ready to fight, starting to loosen his shoulders.

He pulls out a pair of short daggers from his sleeve.

“I can’t handle both of you either, so I’ll have to settle this quickly.”

On the stone bridge bathed in moonlight,

the two hunters stare at each other indifferently.

Anna attacks first.

She wants to quickly dispatch this target who clearly doesn’t seem to have ranker-level strength, so she can get back to the gumiho.

But surprisingly, the man barely manages to block her sword.

Normally, most hunters would be crushed by a single strike from Anna’s sword, but he somehow manages to withstand it, though trembling.

Sensing something off, Anna immediately launches a barrage of attacks.

She twists the sword that was pressing down, causing the blade to slide.

The sliding blade cuts across the man’s abdomen.

With red blood, his clothes are cleanly split in half.

“This is…”

At that moment, Anna’s eyebrows furrow.

The man’s exposed bare body was grotesquely disturbing.

His abdomen was in such a terrible state it was hard to consider him human.

His skin was blue as if bruised all over, and his veins were expanded as if about to burst.

There was a separate reason why this seemingly ordinary man could withstand Anna’s sword.

“How many Angel Tips have you taken?”

“A lot… maybe 10…?”

The man glares with bloodshot eyes while breathing heavily.

Normally, seeing such a sight would make one shudder with dismay and fear.

But Anna looks at the man with a pitying expression.

Because she knows all too well the side effects of the drug.

“Why are you willing to throw away your life to become stronger?”

“Would someone like you, who was born strong, understand if I explained?”

Anna nods as if in agreement.

And while pinching and pulling at her clinging dress, she calmly says,

“You’re right, there’s no need to hear it now.”

“That woman will handle the interrogation anyway.”

The silver-haired woman raises her sword toward the sky.

In response, the man humbly raises his twin daggers.

They soon clash again.

The long sword rushes toward the target’s right shoulder.

Gripping his daggers firmly, he barely manages to counter the strike with both hands.

Each of Anna’s attacks seemed to be delivered with all her might.

But her actual movements were casual, as if she was just playing around.

Perhaps feeling the overwhelming difference in skill, the target takes a gamble by ducking to narrowly avoid the sword.

Then he launches a decisive strike with his dagger, aiming for Anna’s abdomen.

However…

It was merely a trap set by Anna.

She lightly twists her body and strikes the back of his neck with the hilt of her sword.

Hit on the head, he finally collapses weakly to the ground.

The man wears a dejected expression at the stark difference in skill.

The daggers he was holding are all broken, scattered on the ground.

“Damn it…”

The target gazes at the distant horizon.

Then he suddenly frowns at the approaching presence.

Anna wouldn’t miss the sound he heard.

She raises her sword and points it toward the source of the sound.

“Boss, wait! We’ll save you!”

Hearing the familiar voice, the man urgently shouts,

“Don’t come! They’re not opponents you can defeat!”

But despite his words, the hunters collectively approach Anna.

The ranker tilts her head, looking at their appearance.

They don’t look well-trained like Counters or the Association.

Shabby outfits common on the streets.

They’re clearly not high-class hunters.

At best, they might be C-rank.

“Who are you guys?”

Anna’s silver hair flutters.

Seeing the weak young men, she lowers the tip of her sword to the ground.

“L-let our boss go, you murderer!”

The boy who seems to be the leader of the group grips a shabby sword.

With a poorly maintained blade that’s missing teeth, he bravely confronts Anna.

“You fools… I told you to run away…”

He speaks with a voice filled with frustration.

Anna looks down at him pitifully and asks,

“Who are they?”

“…”

As he hesitates to answer,

the red-haired woman and I finally catch up to them on the stone bridge.

“Haah…”

The long traditional dress made it so hard to run.

I must have tripped dozens of times; my knees are now covered in dirt.

“Anna, are you okay…?”

“Why are you so worried? Do you think she’d lose?”

The red-haired woman is relaxed, unlike my anxious self.

She just twirls her parasol elegantly with both hands.

She surveys the surroundings with her red eyes.

It’s obvious that Anna has dealt with the target, and his subordinates are all just small fry.

“To think such a ragtag army was in charge of drug distribution…”

“Park Shinae is stupid too.”

When the red-haired woman speaks dismissively of the doctor, the fallen target’s expression changes.

He shouts at her with a serious face,

“Don’t disrespect Dr. Park! She’s not someone that gangsters like you should even mention!”

When he shouts proudly, the stone bridge falls silent.

We all look at the target with incredulous expressions.

“Do you know how hard she’s working for this world…”

“Really?”

The red-haired woman, who was taken aback, interrupts him.

She puts down her parasol and approaches the target with clicking steps.

“What has that woman done for this world?”

“She’s creating a new government.”

“Ha, a new government?”

The red-haired woman snorts and folds her arms.

She uncomfortably pulls up her kimono sleeves to her elbows.

“In the government she’s establishing, there will be no weak or strong. Everyone will live equally and happily.”

“Through that drug that’s destroying your body right now?”

The red-haired woman stares down at his necrotic abdomen.

In response, he proudly exclaims,

“I was going to die soon from cancer anyway. Thanks to this drug, I can at least be active until I die!”

“Then why not just die? Why help with evil deeds?”

“You don’t understand… so just kill me.”

“Ha, so if you keep your mouth shut, it’s over, right?”

The female executive of the criminal organization asks.

She slowly turns her head to look at the terrified subordinates.

“I guess there’s no choice. If you won’t talk, I’ll have to capture all your subordinates and torture them myself.”

“You trash…”

As the red-haired woman casually utters cruel words, the situation becomes even more serious.

At this rate, we won’t get any clues about Park Shinae, and everyone might die…!

Watching the two carefully, I cautiously approach the target.

The two rankers quickly block me.

“He’s dangerous, don’t get close.”

“It’s okay, I’ll talk to him myself.”

After reassuring the two, I approach the fallen target.

Fortunately, he seems less wary of me, who appears much weaker than the two rankers.

“Um, hello?”

“What…”

“I’m sorry for trying to deceive you earlier. Shall we introduce ourselves?”

The man looks puzzled at my sudden attempt at conversation.

But I persisted without backing down.

“My name is Siho. I’m a bartender at a place called Moment…”

“What are you trying to do…?”

“Can we talk for a moment? I promise you won’t get hurt during our conversation.”

I extend my hand toward him.

He stares at my palm.

“I’ll explain everything. Why we’re after Park Shinae. The atrocities she’s committed.”

“Atrocities…?”

The man raises his head.

I stretch my neck to meet his gaze.

Soon, the target sees the mark of servitude around my neck.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a slave mark that Park Shinae engraved on me.”

“Slave…?”

As the unpleasant word ‘slave’ comes out, the target’s eyes waver.

He really seems to know nothing about Park Shinae.

He probably just received the drug with his dying body.

It must have made him feel powerful when he took it, making her seem like a god.

“Yes, that woman damaged my body and stole my abilities.”

I gently hold his hand.

Soon, a bright light emanates from my hand.

Thanks to this, the target gets a glimpse of the memories I experienced.

His expression begins to change to one of horror.

“This can’t be…”

Anna and the red-haired woman also approach him leisurely.

He swallows deeply under the intimidating shadows of the two rankers.

“That’s enough hand-holding.”

At those words, I quickly withdraw my hand.

They’re so sensitive… I was just showing him my memories, guys…

“I’ll tell you the details if we move to another location.”

“Do I even have a choice?”

The target asks, watching the two rankers.

I speak to him in a friendly voice with half-closed eyes, trying to reassure him.

“Of course. Shall we go back and talk over a drink ‘together’?”

The man clears his throat and quietly nods.

See that?

This is how you persuade someone.

A kind tone and calm dialogue.

Learn from this, you two!