Ch.5353. Kathy Elijha

The day after Amon’s party made a deal with Requetio Corporation, Requetio began their work.

There was something Amon’s party didn’t know: Requetio was a natural predator of the Seanrai Group.

They would dig up a company’s fatal weaknesses, pour capital into that company, and then sue them directly. Then they would profit from the difference in stock prices through short selling.

This was one of the investment company Requetio’s methods of operation.

Using this method, they would take down companies that were too large to be considered regular corporations but too weak in power to be Megacorps, then either devour them themselves or gift them to friendly Megacorps.

This earned them the nickname “Megacorp Gatekeeper.”

As Seanrai happened to be straddling the boundary between a large corporation and a Megacorp, they instantly became Requetio’s prey.

<Breaking News! Seanrai Group’s Blatant Lies! Forced Corporate Technology Reclamation Underway.>

To reiterate, the cyberpunk world isn’t lawless.

The law is just applied somewhat unfairly.

The law sided with Requetio, who were stronger, more righteous, and wealthier, and Seanrai was thoroughly hunted down without being able to put up any meaningful resistance.

The technologies from the “Howling Darkness” dungeon that Seanrai possessed were treated as illegally obtained and completely confiscated.

Seanrai requested help from other companies that had profited from “Howling Darkness,” but none took their side.

Those companies had purchased the technology without knowing it was from a fake dungeon created by Seanrai, and in such cases, the technology wasn’t confiscated.

Rather, if they unnecessarily sided with Seanrai, they might get lumped together and go down with them.

So the companies completely severed ties with Seanrai.

All partners, even subcontractors.

They cut off Seanrai.

In fact, Seanrai’s closest partner even took the lead in the lawsuit, as if trying to prove they had no knowledge of the situation.

“You traitorous bastards!”

News came that a Seanrai director in charge of external partnerships had carried out a suicide bombing at a partner company.

Seanrai was hunted down quickly.

Stock prices plummeted due to Requetio’s short selling.

Then came massive compensation bombs from huge lawsuits.

Meanwhile, all their technology was confiscated, and they were under investigation for bombing charges.

They were cornered.

Seanrai’s end was certain.

“Haha… damn it all…”

The vice president swallowed a red pill with a dry laugh.

The next day.

The lawsuit was briefly delayed due to the suicide of Seanrai Group’s spokesperson, but when the judge threatened a default judgment if they didn’t come to America within a week, the chairman flew in from Japan with his aging body.

The public could see resignation in the eyes of the Seanrai Group chairman featured in the news.

*

While the Seanrai Group was being dismembered and stripped down to fertilizer, Amon was…

“How’s that, Sonia?”

“Hmm… a bit higher.”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

Pat pat.

He was massaging Sonia’s shoulders, which were sore from sparring at the theological school.

For reference, Sonia had taken first place in the sparring.

“Feel better now?”

“Just 10 more minutes.”

“Gladly.”

Amon applied more pressure to loosen her muscles.

Three months had passed since Requetio began their Seanrai dismantling show.

During that time, Amon’s party hadn’t ventured far from home.

Amon’s party weren’t idiots from horror movies who thoughtlessly went to dungeons or training and got assassinated.

They always followed the instructions of the bodyguards sent by Requetio and stayed in their safe house.

On the rare occasions they left home, it was only to go shopping, escort family members to school, or attend court as witnesses, and even then, they were accompanied by bodyguards.

Sure enough, assassins sent by Seanrai would threaten them at such times, but the bodyguards easily thwarted these attacks.

Thanks to this, apart from adding a bit of spice to their daily lives, they were living peacefully.

In this peaceful daily life, Sonia, while receiving Amon’s massage, asked a question.

“Amon. How many months left?”

“About a month or so.”

“So you’re unemployed until then?”

“That’s right.”

According to the President of Requetio, it would take about 4 months to secure a safety margin.

Of course, the first month was enough to render Seanrai incapable of recovery, but the trial dragged on a bit since they were still technically a large corporation.

“Four months is more than enough to completely neutralize Seanrai’s combat power.”

The four months was just the time needed to dismantle Seanrai’s private military, and according to the president, it would take an additional two months to completely dismantle or acquire them.

As a result, Amon hadn’t been able to train for three months and had to endure for another month.

Sonia asked with concern:

“Don’t you feel frustrated?”

“It would be a lie to say I don’t.”

It was frustrating to have his growth halted during such a critical period.

But it wasn’t all bad.

“If I think of it as time to upgrade my teammates’ equipment and adapt, well…”

Laundering Seanrai’s equipment, implanting it, and adapting to it easily took three months.

If he thought of it as necessary expenses, it wasn’t too painful.

Besides, Amon hadn’t only suffered losses during this period.

“Capital is ultimately a growth driver too.”

In this world, the financial power to buy equipment was also one of the elements of growth.

And just a week ago, the technology royalties sent by Requetio had finally been deposited, allowing him to purchase the equipment he had been eyeing, so it was growth in a way.

“I wonder if it will arrive this afternoon.”

Originally, he wanted to buy an essence, but the essence Amon wanted was far beyond this amount, so he bought equipment instead.

It took a week because it departed from Germany and went through layer upon layer of security.

As if on cue, an alert sounded on Amon’s phone.

Amon rose from his seat excitedly but quickly calmed himself and contacted the bodyguards first.

This was to prepare for the possibility of an assassin disguised as a delivery person.

Fortunately, the bodyguards’ response was that the delivery person was safe.

Eventually, Amon received the product from a delivery person from the auction house, dressed in all-black equipment. (He didn’t forget the tip.)

Humming a tune, Amon returned to his room with the box containing the equipment.

Sonia was also curious about the contents of the box.

“What kind of equipment is it?”

“Wait and see. You’ll know when you see it.”

After opening the box, entering the password on the black case, and tossing aside the instruction manual and bubble wrap, what Amon took out was…

“A crossbow and a pistol?”

Sonia tilted her head at the unfamiliar combination.

In contrast, Amon was as excited as a child with a new toy and began checking the items.

He checked the pistol’s chamber and pulled the trigger of the empty crossbow, then nodded with satisfaction.

Then he went into his room, put on some kind of belt, and returned to the living room.

“That belt, did Paul make it for you?”

“Yes.”

Paul’s party, whom Amon had been indebted to in the past, had retired and opened a forge and explorer equipment store.

The belt Amon was wearing was made specifically for him there.

Amon tucked the pistol into his waist and attached the crossbow to the opposite side.

Both were small enough to be held with one hand, so at a glance, he looked like a cowboy with twin pistols at his waist.

It looked quite ridiculous over his underwear, but Amon was satisfied.

Amon repeatedly practiced quickly drawing weapons from his belt.

Sonia, who had been watching quietly, asked Amon:

“Didn’t you used to throw daggers?”

“Yeah. But this time I realized I needed a gun and a crossbow.”

Originally, Amon preferred throwing daggers.

They were more powerful and silent.

But while facing Seanrai Group’s security team, he realized:

His dagger throwing was unsuitable for assassinating people wearing helmets.

As a result, it took longer to assassinate enemies from behind.

So after the battle, Amon immediately decided to purchase a pistol and a crossbow.

“The pistol is for general human targets, the crossbow is for those with thicker skin.”

When Amon pulled the empty crossbow’s trigger twice, the string was released with a “ting!” sound.

Amon struggled to pull the string back.

If someone who could beat an ordinary orc in arm wrestling was struggling, the tension in that small crossbow string was beyond imagination.

“Sonia, this is a double-barrel crossbow made by the workshop that made your gun. Rumor has it they have some strange entity in their basement. This string is made from that entity’s whiskers.”

After struggling to load the string, Amon also examined the pistol.

“The silencer for this pistol was also made there. They say it’s made from that entity’s intestines. When you fire the gun, it only sounds like a needle being shot.”

Sonia’s eyes lit up at Amon’s explanation.

An ordinary woman might not care, but Sonia also had equipment-loving tendencies.

She showed considerable interest in Amon’s equipment.

But Sonia knew that she wasn’t a delicate assassin like Amon but preferred overwhelming firepower, so this equipment wouldn’t suit her.

Amon nodded as he checked the crossbow and magazine.

Like a soldier about to go to war.

When she saw him taking out daggers and swords from his room and oiling them, Sonia was certain.

“Do you have somewhere else to take care of?”

“Yeah. Not today, but in a month. It’s something that needs to be handled secretly, so I’m preparing in advance.”

“Me?”

“Well, I’d appreciate it if you could come with me just in case…”

“I’ll get my gun right away.”

“What about your lectures?”

“There’s a break coming up soon.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s what I go to school for.”

She smiled at him and immediately began checking her equipment.

The reason they were moving a month in advance was that their custom-made equipment sometimes took weeks to repair or order ammunition.

The two of them sat side by side, maintaining their weapons and chatting, which might have looked strange, but they didn’t mind.

Sonia checked an ampoule with sloshing liquid and asked:

“Ampoule check. Silencer check too. Have you investigated the destination?”

“Yes. Here.”

“Huh… a cathedral?”

“Don’t call it a cathedral. Call it a cult headquarters.”

The Amon that Sonia knew wasn’t someone who would storm into a peaceful cult and declare a holy war.

Amon was a practical person.

If Amon were a madman trying to purify all heretics and blasphemers in this world, he would have nuked the Vatican first.

In this world, such targets were abundant on the streets, yet Amon had never once started a knife fight.

Nevertheless, the fact that he was moving meant…

“Ah. Did they do something to you?”

“Well… they did do something, but… it’s more that I think they’re going to do something bigger.”

That answer was sufficient.

Sonia didn’t deeply believe in the Goddess, but as a theological school student and Amon’s lover, she had a modicum of faith.

Moreover, Amon wasn’t someone who would state his intuitions without basis.

Sonia trusted Amon’s judgment and prepared for battle.

Meanwhile, Amon recalled why he was going to the cult headquarters.

Originally, Amon had no intention of stirring up the cult.

After all, in this world, thousands of cathedrals had deviated from their foundations, and he couldn’t go around destroying them all.

So he had planned to let the conversation with Kathy’s brother pass as a mere incident.

But a few days ago, his conversation with Kathy made him change his mind.

[Amon… my father has been acting strange lately.]

[I accidentally overheard something in my father’s room a few days ago… he was using the word ‘revelation.’]

[Oh, don’t misunderstand. I don’t think he’s been influenced by my brother. But he seems to be blindly believing in the word ‘revelation.’]

Megacorp presidents aren’t stupid.

They are infinitely rational and cold-headed when it comes to money and power.

For such a president to mention ‘revelation’…

‘There’s something there.’

Something that should never be overlooked.