Chapter 382: Side Story, Dream Flower (5)

... Three hours ago.

[Letter of Affirmation: Xtra confirms that they have accepted the mission Rocallist proposed.]

I went down to the building's basement before proceeding with my business trip. Only I had access to it. After all, that was where ammunition boxes larger than most refrigerators were stored.

Opening one of them, the brilliant blue light coming from the neatly arranged magic bullets seeped out.

Known as 308-X, they were equipped with both destructive power and portability. Moreover, even though they were manufactured in a factory, the quality of mana imbued in them was much purer than bullets sold in the market.

I closed the cartridge and pressed a button. Soon after, the gigantic cartridges folded and mechanically moved, compressing themselves. Sized and shaped like a suitcase, they were now easier to carry.

Of course, [Setting Intervention] made these physically impossible techniques possible.

I took the ammunition case and went to the center of the basement. Vehicles, including SUVs and bikes, lined up before me, all parked in an organized manner.

"... Hmm."

It was quite difficult to decide which one to choose.

Bike? SUV? Helicopter? Or a horse?

After taking all factors into consideration, I chose an SUV.

Its body was harder than armor, and its engine and tires were engraved with various magic patterns, including [Silence], It would be more appropriate to call it a weapon than a car at this point.

I put Stigma mana into the SUV, reassembling it to take the form of a suitcase, much like the cartridges.

Holding two pieces of equipment in both hands, I got a call.

- Hajin chan~

Kim Hosup.

"What's going on?"

- Am I right to assume you asked me to search for risk factors in the British Royal Guild?

"Yeah. Especially Rachel."

- Oh~ Then I'm already done with it~

As expected, he was fast.

Honestly speaking, I molded Kim Hosup's personality without much thought. However, in terms of information gathering, he was one of the most talented people in this world. He had always been an immense aid in my current reality.

"Okay. Thank you. Send the file and get some rest."

- All right~

He sent the intel over through his personal server.

The list of files amazed me. It wasn't only accurate. It was perfectly organized, making it easy to read.

"... Lancaster?"

The first word that caught my eye.

There were rumors that he had sent a "warning letter" to the British Royal Guild. He was a concrete risk factor I had to watch out for, but there were countless other abstract ones.

Poor finances, multiple debts, conflict with domestic guilds, pressure from Germany and France, etc...

"Ugh."

It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

If it had proceeded according to the original story, Rachel would have unlocked her fullest potential with Kim Suho's help, and she would've been able to develop the Royal Guild further with a whole lot more dedication.

Now, however, everything had gone awry for her.

Was it because of me, or was it because this world changed arbitrarily?

... Whatever the reason was, I had to make up for it.

I read all the Lancaster-related information. With the most important parts already highlighted, it didn't take that long for me to go through all of them.

"British Royal Guild entrance exam?"

- Yeah! Based on what I found out, something would probably happen while that's ongoing.

I carefully checked the location and number of attendees, judges, and spectators of the entrance exam. It all eventually led me to an individual's file.

[James Finley]

He was currently the most dangerous variable, having had a meaningful conversation with a group believed to be Lancaster. He also bought a magic bomb from the Black Market last week.

If not for Kim Hosup, their network of connections would've been too complex to trace.

"When is the second exam?"

- Today. It starts in two hours.

"What? Why are you only telling me that now?"

I got up right away and put on a coat.

- I also hacked into their communication lines! It's been a long time since I met an opponent this tough!

"... Tough? Anyway, that's great. I'll be leaving now."

I accepted the mission last night, but I didn't think a problem would appear as soon as I did.

- What method are you going to use?

"Death by shooting."

I wanted to think of a different way, but I didn't have enough time. The best way to eliminate risk factors when under this much urgency was a plain and simple assassination.

"Pull the portal order earlier."

- Got it~ You can go without worries~

* * *

... James Finley was murdered.

The British Royal Guild immediately postponed the entrance examination and initiated a large-scale search along with investigative authorities' personnel. Much to their dismay, they found no traces of the assassin. It was as if they ascended to the sky, fell into the ground, or simply disappeared from existence.

Left with no other choice but to use her own reasoning, Rachel returned to the exam room.

A thin, thread-like light silently flashed and pierced Finley's forehead accurately and without error.

"The assassin most likely fired mana from a short distance, perhaps within the testing ground. If they had done it from the outside, they would've triggered the alarm. To do that, they'd have to disguise themselves as a spectator or bodyguard." Rachel said, attempting to deduce what transpired based on all available information.

"If so, then he could have easily escaped by mixing in with the panicking civilians... Haaa." She stopped abruptly, unable to calm her breathing down. Filled with rage, she could feel her body's temperature rising.

Murder transpired right in front of her eyes at the testing ground she was guarding. It had to be Lancaster's doing, done so to send her another warning.

He sacrificed an innocent young man for something so trivial...

Rachel had a hard time calming her pounding heart. She tried to suppress it, but her anger kept rising.

"... You bastards! How could you let this happen?! Didn't I tell you to search the audience?!" She heard the HR team head, Dake, scolding the heroes guarding the hall during the entrance exam.

"We probed them to the point where I thought it was too much, but we found nothing suspicious."

"I swear to my queen I maintained the barrier field. If the assassin conjured mana within a lkm radius around this building, I would've definitely felt it. I didn't detect any."

"Y-yes, that's right. We wouldn't neglect our duties. Especially not now, knowing Lancaster sent a warning."

"Gosh, you useless..."

Dake swept his hair back. He wouldn't be kidding if he were to say his head was about to break.

Thirty senior members of the British Royal Guild, including Vice-captain Rachel, were all in the building of the incident, begging the question of how that could even happen.

- Can you hear me?

As he wallowed over his thoughts, a cold voice pierced his ears. Dake looked at his smartwatch in surprise.

It was Xtra, the mercenary he had hired the other day.

"What is this... Ah."

At that moment, an idea flashed in his mind.

The validity period of the escort mission was immediately after signing the contract. If so, he had to have been watching the situation, too. If he weren't, they could still benefit from it by deducting his negligence from his fees.

"Are you nearby?"

- Yes. I see you.

"Whew, that's good. If that's the case, then I'm sure you saw—"

- I killed him.

"... What?"

Dake's mind momentarily blanked out. He tilted his head in confusion and obliviousness.

He wasn't sure if it was because he was speaking Korean, but he couldn't seem to understand his words.

Xtra slowly translated the sentence 'I killed him' into English.

- James Finley. I said I killed him.

"..."

He felt chills claw up his spine. Swallowing hard, he glanced at Rachel. She was still with the officers, conducting the investigation.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean you killed him?" Dake whispered.

- I believe James Finley has been brainwashed or instigated by Lancaster. Please check the files I'll be sending to you. They serve as my evidence.

"What? Hey!"

He yelled unconsciously, attracting Rachel's attention.

"Coming to think of it, your reasoning is very convincing."

"Oh, is that so? Then..."

Luckily, the officer's praise earned her focus right back.

- I've sent them.

"What?"

Several files were uploaded into his smartwatch. Keeping an eye out for their Vice-captain's movements, he checked them intently.

[Hacked Message History of James Finley and Lancaster's Secured Communication Line(Top Secret)]

[James Finley's Route]

[James Finley's Radius of Action]

[Security Camera Footages With James Finley and a Mysterious Man]

Each of them contained intel about their deceased candidate's traces and trails for the past six months.

Recovering from his dazed state, he first opened the security camera file.

It was recorded three weeks ago in the corner of London.

Finley seemed to be talking to someone. After the stranger handed him something, he left immediately. In the very next scene, a robed man passed by the camera.

- What he received in the video is allegedly a magic bomb.

"..."

Dake hurriedly tapped on [Hacked Message History of James Finley and Lancaster's Secured Communication Line(Top Secret)].

Unlike the camera footage file, this one was equipped with added security. It could only be viewed, not downloaded.

[... I am now ready to follow his will.]

[I will sacrifice my body to light the fire.]

[Yes. Thank you for making this glorious choice.]

[Thank you, My lord. The time to punish the wretched royal family will soon come.]

It wasn't clear whether the other party's message had been deleted or omitted, but it would be a serious problem if these were really from Finley.

"What the hell..."

He couldn't help but wonder how Xtra gathered all this information in half a day, however. He even hacked into Lancaster's highly secured lines. This entire assassination case aside, was such a feat even possible?

"Hey. Are you sure this isn't... falsified information?"

- Whether you believe it or not is up to your discretion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

- It means I don't care what you believe. I'll keep doing my job my way.

Dake was speechless, but strangely enough, he found himself trusting him.

Xtra outwitted all the heroes and mercenaries here and assassinated James Finley in ways he couldn't even imagine.

If he were on Lancaster's side, Rachel would've been the one killed in the blink of an eye.

- How you use the information I gave you is up to you.

Looking around, Dake moved to the corner of the hall, positioning himself even farther from the crowd.

"Still, wasn't it too sudden? You could've told us about this first before shooting..."

- I arrived late since the portal to England had an issue. I had to rush it.

"No, I mean, you could've told us about it through a call like this while waiting for the broken portal to be fixed."

- Would you have let me kill Finley? Had I been just three seconds late, He would have blown up the entire hall.

Dake looked at the ceiling for a moment. He agreed with him.

No matter how much he thought about it, assuming Finley really had a magic bomb, Xtra was right.

- Anyway, do you see the file I labeled top secret?

He went through the names of the files again.

"Yes. I found it."

- Don't reveal that to the public just yet.

"... Why? If we disclose it, we'd be able to accuse Finley of being Lancaster's informant—"

- We don't have to be concerned about our line being hacked, leaked, or tapped, but the moment you send that file to another user, it would certainly enter Lancaster's network. Once he sees it, it wouldn't take long for him to discover I've hacked into their lines and for him to switch to a different one. That would render a potential source of intel useless.

"I see. I get what you mean."

Xtra wasn't planning on baring his fangs without first catching all the fish.

- I'd like for my identity to be hidden as well. I prefer to work behind the scenes.

"Of course. I'll do my best."

Dake glanced where James Finley's body was.

Rachel and the officers were talking at a distance from his corpse, stating that the scene of the crime should be closed off to prevent any pieces of evidence from being tampered with.

- Get his body checked first. The magic bomb might be in it.

"Hmm, hmm. What could be here..."

- Be careful. The other informants who helped him bring it in will most likely be around as well.

Dake walked over to the corpse, pretending to be looking for something on the ground.

His heart pounded heavily.

As Xtra said, there was an unidentified object inside his breastplate.

"Stop what you're doing. We're here to retrieve that corpse."

As soon as he tried to remove it, the dispatched MI6 agents arrived, raising a commotion.

Dake gave them a quick glance, then returned his attention to what he was doing.

"Give me a minute. I just need to check something first...?"

The purple object flashing inside the dark red breastplate had disappeared.

"What just happened..."

"Please step away."

The MI6 pushed Dake away. Rachel, still talking with the cops, looked over to them.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, Vice-captain. No, urn... It's just..."

"Yes?"

"..."

Dake stood still, his eyes alternating between his approaching Vice-captain, the MI6 agents recovering James Finley's body, and the heroes and officers walking around him.