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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 41
Late at night.
Russian Orthodox Church, Seoul Branch.
Bishop Nikolai was listening to a report about the outcome of the operation he had ordered: the retrieval of the Saint.
"You failed to secure the Saint?"
"Yes... all the executor-priests were killed except for me."
"...What are you saying? All of them?"
"A-a monstrous woman just appeared and—"
Kiril, the only one who had managed to return alive, stammered as he recounted the horrific encounter.
As the bishop listened, Nikolai's expression darkened.
“They were taken down by a single person?”
When he first heard of the failure, Nikolai had assumed external interference from another organization.
It would’ve made sense.
The Orthodox Church’s executor-priests were hand-picked professionals.
Murder and abduction were their trade honed through relentless training and countless real operations.
And yet... every single one of them had been wiped out.
And that too by a single person.
And by a woman, no less.
This wasn’t normal.
“Was it the Korean government?”
“No, she was of Germanic descent.”
“You pathetic fool.”
Nikolai’s mind raced.
To face off against eight executor-priests at once, the enemy would have to be an elite close-quarters awakened top-tier.
At least A-rank, maybe even higher.
And a foreign awakened, on top of that.
The first possibility that came to mind: the Catholic Church.
After all, the Orthodox Church wasn’t the only group moving to secure the Saint.
“A Paladin?”
The Paladins top-tier awakened, protectors of the Vatican.
If it was a woman, that meant it was Rubenka, the Holy Knight.
“I’ll need to inform Moscow.”
If Rubenka had entered Korea, this incident would have escalated far beyond Nikolai’s authority.
She was, after all, an S-rank awakened one of the Western Church’s most prized assets.
“For now, dispose of the bodies. Before the Korean government catches wind of this.”
“Would it be a problem if they did?”
“Of course it would, how could you not—”
Nikolai stopped mid-shout, suddenly startled.
His eyes went stiff as he stared at Kiril.
Kiril, confused by the reaction, turned around and his heart sank.
“!”
There, in the doorway, stood the same nightmare of a woman he had seen the day before.
“A-a monster…!”
Seeing Kiril’s terror, Nikolai immediately understood this was the very woman who had slaughtered the executor-priests.
Silently, he pressed a button beneath his desk.
It was a signal to summon the elite priests stationed in the lobby.
But no matter how long he waited, the room remained eerily quiet.
Not a single priest appeared.
Wait…
Now that he thought about it how had she even gotten this far inside?
Just as the chilling realization crept up on him, Nikolai felt a wave of cold dread wash over him.
“If you're talking about the ones outside, I just put them to sleep for a bit.”
“…!”
The woman spoke calmly as she sank leisurely into the sofa.
Only then did Nikolai realize just how composed she looked.
No trace of a battle.
No scratches on her.
She looked completely at ease like someone who hadn’t even broken a sweat.
A bleak sense of foreboding washed over Nikolai.
He had a feeling… This might be the end for him.
If you were to name the most infamous serial killer in history, most people would say ‘Jack the Ripper’.
A phantom of death that shook the Victorian era to its core.
To this day, people think of him as an unsolved case, a mysterious, terrifying presence.
This image is especially common in the UK where the murders took place, and in Japan, where the case has been repeatedly adapted into media.
A fear born of the unknown.
And that worldwide dread turned Jack the Ripper into a symbol and a legend.
As a result, Vanessa’s power had only grown stronger with time.
After all, in this world, even the relics of dead heroes carried power.
Of course, just like Jeanne, Vanessa’s raw power had significantly weakened since her prime.
Her power was proportional to that of her summoner, Choi Seojun.
But Vanessa being an assassin was never the type to rely heavily on brute mana.
Her strength came from using the least amount of mana for the maximum result, precisely when and where it mattered.
That was her specialty.
Even in this summoned state, Vanessa had become an ‘irregular’ more dangerous now than she ever was.
Especially in close-quarters combat.
And yet, even though she was stronger than before, Vanessa never overestimated herself.
She could have wiped out everyone in the Seoul branch of the Orthodox Church including Nikolai if she wanted.
But she didn’t.
Because she understood something clearly:
Killing wasn’t always the answer.
For her, murder was a last resort.
She’d already analyzed the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church.
It was far more vast and deeply rooted than she had anticipated.
Even if she killed everyone here, they’d just send more agents after Jeanne.
That’s why she spared Nikolai.
Instead, she chose to negotiate.
On her terms.
“…What is it you want?”
“Could you hand over the identities of those involved in this incident?”
“I’ll give it to you if you promise not to kill me.”
“I’m not going to kill you.”
“…Haa. Then do as you please. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about this mission either.”
Nikolai sighed as he handed over the list, making sure to emphasize that he hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter.
Not that it mattered most of the operatives had already had their identities scrubbed.
Even if she had the list, she wouldn’t be able to trace them back to the Church.
But Vanessa didn’t take the list.
“Not to me.”
“…?”
If not her then who?
Before he could ask, Vanessa smiled sweetly and answered:
“To the Korean government.”
“!!”
“Of course, they’ll need to verify everyone’s affiliation.”
The color drained from Nikolai’s face.
It was a ludicrous demand.
If he handed over the list to the Korean government, the Orthodox Church’s operations in Korea would come to a halt.
The authorities would quickly discover that all the corpses in Yeoksam-dong were affiliated with the Church.
That would eliminate any future chance of getting to the Saint.
And Vanessa going even further insisted that the bodies in Yeoksam-dong not be cleaned up.
The sheer absurdity of it made Nikolai shake his head.
“…Miss, I think you’re misunderstanding something. I don’t have the kind of authority to make that happen.”
“You’re going to have to find a way.”
“Haa, it’s impossible—”
Schhk—
In the blink of an eye, Kiril’s head, which had been just behind Vanessa, rolled cleanly onto the floor.
Thunk. Roll, roll.
It bounced once… and stopped right at Nikolai’s feet.
Thud—
Kiril’s body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Nikolai stood frozen, stiff as a statue.
Vanessa, now holding a pair of scissors she had drawn at some point, gave him a sweet smile.
“There are plenty of people I can negotiate with.”
“……”
Nikolai’s lips clamped shut.
That line meant only one thing.
If he refused, she would kill him and negotiate with whoever was sent next.
And if that person wouldn’t play ball either, she’d kill them and move on to the next.
And the next.
Whik, whik.
The scissors made a chilling sound as she idly flicked them like a pendulum counting down to his choice.
***
The next day, we moved into our new home.
Since it was a residence managed by the Dawn Constellation, we were able to move in immediately.
It had everything: TV, washing machine, fridge, air conditioner fully furnished from the get-go.
All we had to do was show up with our luggage.
“Damn… nothing beats a good house.”
I couldn’t help but whistle as I took in the view.
A wide-open park visible through the massive living room windows.
So this is why people chase after nicer places…
Five bedrooms and a living room big enough to be a gymnasium.
Just being in space made me feel richer.
“Congratulations, Seojun.”
“Congratulations, Benefactor.”
“What are you talking about? This is our place. We should all celebrate.”
Hearing that, Jeanne and Vanessa smiled warmly.
“It’s really spacious. I like it.”
“I’ve never had my own room before.”
They both looked genuinely happy.
Moments like this reminded me why making money matters.
Which is why I decided to start a new side hustle.
[Holmes & Watson]
While I was setting things up on my laptop, Jeanne looked over and asked,
“Is that… a detective agency?”
“Yep.”
I had decided to revive Sherlock Holmes’ office at 221B Baker Street online.
Thanks to Conan’s Fountain Pen, I could make that happen. That tool was practically a miracle-worker.
Our target clients were, unsurprisingly, ‘hunters’.
Modern society was plagued by incidents involving Awakened individuals; there was always work to be found.
I made a mental note:
“Gotta register this on the Black Market.”
The Black Market was a member-only open marketplace where hunters traded freely.
The joining fee alone was a steep 3 million won, but its anonymity made it wildly popular.
I created an account and immediately launched the [Holmes & Watson Detective Agency].
The concept?
A place where anything could be deduced.
“I hope it works out.”
“Oh, it will. This is Conan-level deduction we’re talking about.”
As we chatted, an alert rang out.
Ding!
Ding!
Not once, but twice.
“Wow, you’re popular already, Seojun.”
“Right? That was fast.”
Must be all the chaos going around lately.
I clicked the notifications with a bit of anticipation.
[My dog went missing during a walk… Please, please find her.;-;]
[Someone keeps leaving food for stray cats in front of my house at night… If you could find out who, I’d be so grateful. The address is…]
“……”
“We’re just getting started.”
“...I guess we are.”
“…Yeah.”
Jeanne’s quiet encouragement stopped me from closing up shop before we’d even begun.
You can’t expect a full belly from the first bite.
Start small, build trust, and eventually bigger cases would follow.
Where would a lost dog most likely wander to…?
Conan’s Fountain Pen moved swiftly across the page.
After wrapping up the request in record time, I turned my attention to the next target:
A new Gate to clear.
I needed to start hitting higher-level Gates if I wanted to expand my slots.
But not all high-tier Gates were made equal.
According to the system, the tougher the Gate’s strategy rating, the higher the chance of earning bonus slots as a reward.
So I began searching not just for a B-rank Gate, but one with higher strategic difficulty but lower actual danger.
‘This is a special gate.’
Special Gates only allowed entry under specific conditions.
That’s what made them tougher but also why they were often safer once you met those conditions.
Fortunately, Korea had its fair share of them.
I zeroed in on one that we could handle with ease: a Dark-attribute Gate.
With Jeanne on the team, clearing a Dark-attribute Gate would be a walk in the park.
Of course, there was a catch: these Gates were under the control of the Church.
They didn’t just let anyone walk in. One wrong move inside and people could die, after all.
But for me that wasn't a problem.
“Archbishop Ambrosio, may I have permission to enter the Gonjiam Gate?”
─If Lady Jeanne will accompany you, you are welcome anytime.
The Archbishop of Yeoksam was on our side.
But then, the Archbishop suddenly asked something strange.
─Has the Russian Orthodox Church contacted you recently? Any threats or concerns for your safety…?
“The Orthodox Church? No. Nothing like that. Why do you ask?”
─There’s unrest within their ranks. We don’t know much, but… we worry they may target the Saint.
“There’s been nothing of the sort.”
─I see. That’s good to hear.
With that, I ended the call after letting him know we’d visit tomorrow.
Still… the Russian Orthodox Church?
Things really must be getting rough out there.
Even near our building, police cars had been swarming lately.
***
Yeoksam residential area.
Police cars lined the street, blocking traffic.
Eight unidentified bodies had been discovered in the basement of a private home.
The corpses were estimated to have died three days ago, discovered after a neighbor reported a strange metallic smell.
“Look at these cuts clean as hell. What the hell were they using?”
“A blade, obviously. A professional killer. Damn good one, too.”
Each body had either a cleanly punctured heart or a perfectly sliced throat.
The Awakened Crime Division of the Hunter Association was rattled.
Even for them, the precision was unsettling.
This level of skill would be hard to fake even if someone tried to stage it.
Just then, one of the field agents who had gone outside returned to the basement.
“Captain!”
“What? You get a match on their identities?”
“Yes, sir. They had forged credentials, but we managed to trace them.”
“And?”
“They’re affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.”
“You sure?”
“There were phone logs. Clear calls with known Orthodox Church contacts. Looks like they were targeting Awakened individuals.”
“…What?”
The captain’s face twisted with fury.
“Shut down every single Orthodox Church route into Korea. If anyone tries to get in, I want a full report immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
“They have the nerve to come here and hunt our Awakened?”
The captain glared down at the corpses.
Just who the hell killed them…?
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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