Chapter 109: Graduation Ceremony (5)

Chapter 109: Graduation
Ceremony (5)

I
stripped the two female outlaws naked and tried to tie them up
together, to subdue them more completely.

-poof

As
I peeled off their clothes and the chain mail they were wearing, the
brooches on their breastplates fell off.

The
outlaws’ faces were instantly transformed into different people and
their body shapes changed slightly.

‘So
this brooch is a disguise artifact.’

Curious,
I pinned the disguise artifact to my chest and looked at myself in a
nearby mirror.

I’m
slightly shorter, around 190, and my visible muscles have shrunk.

I
also had long hair spilling out from under my helmet.

I
checked my surroundings and removed my helmet, only to find that my
face had been replaced by the face of Valterri, the outlaw I had just
stunned.

Of
course, only my appearance had changed, and touching my body revealed
that I was still the same height and muscular body with the same
masculine features.

“Ah.”

I
said out loud, and a female voice came out. I don’t know how this
works.

‘I
don’t know, but I’m guessing it’s the same illusionary magic Reichem
used to deal with.’

Suddenly,
an idea flashed through my mind.

‘Maybe
this would make things easier.’

Another
outlaw named Copson also wore a disguise artifact brooch on her
chest.

It’s
a mark of identification among outlaws, which means I can pretend to
be a member of the Blues Clan.

‘Invisibility
magic isn’t everything, so it’s nice to have something like this.’

Invisibility
spells are convenient, but they have some limitations.

If
I activate invisibility and walk more than 15 steps, the invisibility
will be removed, and those who are sensitive to movement detection
may notice.

The
Disguise Artifact, however, has none of those drawbacks.

‘It’s
more useful if I’m trying to get closer to the outlaws and lower
their guard.’

I
hid the helm in the corner of the balcony for a while.

There
were quite a few people who recognized it now, and it would attract
unnecessary attention.

“I’ll
borrow it for a while.”

I
peeled off the half-mask worn by the drunken, unintelligible male
graduate and placed it over my face, just in case the disguise
artifact came undone.

“Miao-ong!”

Shuding
perched on my shoulder and I stroked her toned stomach, and said.

“That’s
right. Lead the way. Let’s go.”

It’s
time to become Assassin’s Creed of the Labyrinth City.

***

“Grrrr-”

The
eyes of the guy I was strangling rolled back.

I’ve
captured my fifth target.

Grrrr-

“Ouch.”

This
time it was a little dangerous. I almost broke my invisibility by
exceeding my step limit, but I managed to subdue them quickly.

Five
naked outlaws were bundled up like oysters and locked in a storage
room beneath the ballroom roof.

I
had originally planned to put them on the roof.

“Slurp
– haa – honey⋯”

“Uh,
sleep, sleep, sleep.”

It
was still an hour until the dinner party was scheduled to start, and
already the wine-drunk, bleary-eyed couple was making out on the
roof.

“Fuck.
Some people can’t even enjoy themselves properly and they are like
this⋯”

I
felt a rush of frustration, but it was the path I chose, so my
complaints were short-lived.

The
hardships I was going through now would definitely pay off later.

For
now, it was time to struggle a little more.

“Miao-”

I
set the route according to Shuding’s cries, which had become my
navigation system.

Our
destination was a corner of a dingy garden outside the banquet hall
where two women in suits were having a secret meeting.

I
stared at their chests and like the five I had already captured, they
had disguise artifacts on their chests.

[James
LV.34]

[◆Blessing
of Detection]

[◆Blessing
of the 3312th Puppet]

[Bones
Ahil LV.23]

[◆Blessing
of the 4919th Puppet

The
status window confirms his name, confirming that he is an outlaw.

‘Good
interrogation.’

While
capturing five outlaws, I lightly tortured two of them while they
were still conscious and I was able to get names out of them that
Assistant Gelsia didn’t recognize.

In
fact, that James guy was a name I hadn’t heard before.

‘He’s
not a Gurmimi, but he’s high level. Is he an officer?’

I
needed to be a little more cautious.

I
scanned my surroundings, waiting for the right moment.

“They’re
about to report that they’re done kidnapping a couple people.”

“Something’s
going on, don’t you think, or have you already noticed?”

“⋯No,
of course not. There are no holes for the information to leak out,
and the TA is being squeezed by sister.”

James
shook his head with conviction.

“Are
you sure they’re not just playing around?”

“⋯No
matter what, they’re not the kind of people who would go to such
lengths.”

“Hmm…
Okay. Sister, Kalino, and Dray went to target the big game, so we’ll
take care of the rest…”

I
captured five outlaws so far, which only left the two in front of me,
and the leader, Vesta, who seems to have headed elsewhere with the
other two.

I’ve
gotten all the information I can get so I activated my invisibility
spell and approached them.

With
a fifteen-step limit, I maximize my stride with each step, but at the
same time, I stalk my prey with careful steps.

One
step, two steps.

Five
steps, six steps.

I’m
within striking distance in the remaining nine steps. If only the
last six steps had been enough.

“Who
is it?!”

James,
the one with the [Blessing of Detection], whipped his head in my
direction. I immediately disengaged my invisibility.

“James⋯!”

I
called out to him in my best, most desperate voice.

“What’s
up?”

Bones
Ahil shook her head at my mask, but James recognized me.

“No.
The voice, the brooch, the disguised face⋯
is that Valterri?”

“Yes.
Ugh.”

I
strode toward them, holding my arm as if it would break and with a
pained expression on my face.

I
immediately dropped to one knee and cowered.

Sure
enough, they reacted as expected.

Panicked,
they leaned in close to me.

“What
the hell happened? Where’s Copson, who went with you? What happened
to your arm?!”

“It
looks like the plan was blown, all the others were caught, I was the
only one who managed to escape-”

“What?
Is that true?!”

“Uh,
the professors are scouring the ballroom like crazy. Uh, we have to
run away⋯!”

If
I put a huge virtual enemy in front of their eyes, their eyes will be
turned elsewhere and not at me, who is continuing my awkward acting
in disguise.

“Then,
then sister who is still at the banquet hall–”

Vesta
is still in the ballroom?

“I
already told sister. I was told to prepare the carriage first, so I’m
on my way there⋯!”

This
was also a lie.

“Really?!
Good!”

Seeing
the look in their eyes it seems my plan worked.

“I’m
sorry about the other five, but it can’t be helped. I’m sure you and
Kalino will land the big one. You should do as sister says and have
the assistant get the carriage ready. Let’s go!”

James
and Bones Ahil, who had shared a look and turned away.

I,
too, rose cautiously, keeping my weight forward.

The
moment they looked away from me to signal a threat other than me and
check their next objective…

‘Now.’

I
seized the opportunity, put all my weight on my front foot and tensed
my lower body.

With
their backs to me, I lunged at them like a tiger pouncing on its prey
and immediately grabbed the back of the woman’s head.

James,
who had noticed my sudden change in demeanor, looked back, but it was
too late.

-Koooooow!

Bones
Ahil, who had fallen face first to the ground, instantly, lost
consciousness.

“Ughhhh!”

James,
who had been pinned from down, struggled to get up, but I immediately
crushed his neck.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

James,
unable to even breathe properly, slammed his fist into my shoe.

“Pole-keh-ek-?!”

Fear-filled
eyes turned to my face.

Looking
up, they seemed to be asking, “Who are you? Who the hell are you?”

I
was not obligated to tell.

-Tsk.

I
choked him, and he spat foam from his mouth and tilted his head.

Three
outlaws remained, including the leader, Vesta.

I
dragged the two unconscious outlaws to the back of the garden.

Again,
stripping them naked and tying them together. I did it five times,
and they were tied up nicely.

-Whoosh.

I
looked up at the sky, frowning at the sudden gust of wind.

“⋯What
was that?”

Ellie,
dressed in a black dress, was flying through the air.

‘No,
no.’

I
rubbed my eyes and looked at the sky again.

The
colors overlapped with the night sky.

Ellie
wasn’t flying, she was being kidnapped by three women in black suits.

“Holy
shit.”

Those
assholes had touched the bomb.

A
strategic nuclear bomb, named Diana.