“False information? Are you certain it was fake? Major Hyun has definitely weakened compared to before. Didn’t you come to that conclusion after seeing the data we provided?”
Livio changed his stance and countered the man. He no longer hid that he was the client. When they first arrived, he thought it would be troublesome, but now he felt it was for the best.
Although they were pathetically defeated dogs, they had directly faced Iberis, so he could get more vivid information than what the intelligence team had brought. Livio’s eyes gleamed as he faced the two.
“Based on data collected over the past few years, we determined that Major Hyun had developed physical problems. That’s why we hired you. There were no other intentions.”
“Lies.”
“Think what you want if you don’t want to believe it. Honestly, I’m disappointed. To be defeated so miserably… Is he that great, or are you just weak?”
“Weak?! We mobilized nearly a hundred people for this operation! There were some low-grade ones, but… I’m A-grade, and so is she. Dozens of A and B-grade espers participated besides us!”
The man, irritated by Livio’s mockery, jumped to his feet. Normally, he wouldn’t have fallen for such provocation, but having lost everything, it was hard to maintain composure.
“If Major Hyun was really sick as you said, it would have been a fight we couldn’t possibly lose, you know?”
Typically, ability users have healthier bodies than ordinary people. This means they rarely get common illnesses apart from side effects caused by excessive use of their abilities.
Unless there were special circumstances like physical imbalance due to lack of guiding or abnormal symptoms due to the nature of their abilities, ability users rarely fell ill. Conversely, when they did get sick, it was usually more severe than for others. In extreme cases, they might even receive terminal diagnoses.
Knowing this, the man accepted this request. He thought if Iberis’s health had deteriorated to the point of falling into a coma, he would surely have a chance of winning.
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course! With one attack from him, over a dozen people were taken out. He moved as if unaffected even when poisoned. He showed no signs of struggle throughout our fight. If anything, he looked healthier than when I saw him before.”
“Hmm.”
“I met Major Hyun when he had just arrived in N-zone. Even then, he completely destroyed our organization. And during this fight, I realized. He’s become even stronger. I don’t know how you investigated, but… your information is garbage.”
“…”
“Damn it, I accepted the request based on this nonsensical information, and my organization…”
The man grimaced and fumed. After their activities were restricted by Iberis, the power of villain organizations in N-zone was weakening day by day. His organization was no exception.
However, no one dared to step up and attempt to eliminate Iberis. Then came the assassination request along with intelligence that he was seriously ill.
Believing there was no hope as long as Iberis lived, the man went to persuade the heads of the organization. If the information was true, it seemed like a fight worth trying.
But the result was a crushing defeat. Far from killing Iberis and reviving the organization, the man lost everything and became a wanted fugitive.
“Much stronger than a few years ago… Is that so…”
Livio muttered ominously, lowering his eyes after hearing the man’s story.
“Now you understand that your information was wrong? Take responsibility.”
“…What do you want?”
“Send me and her to a safe place. We want new identities that Major Hyun can’t trace and settlement money.”
“Hmm, then let’s make a deal with the evidence you have.”
“Deal?”
“You said earlier that you had evidence that I ordered the assassination of Major Hyun. Hand it over.”
Livio said with a gentle smile. Then the woman, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, spoke up.
“We’ll give you that after you secure our safety, Guild Master.”
“Is that so? Hmm, then the negotiation has failed.”
“…What?”
The woman’s eyes widened as Livio seemed uninterested in continuing the conversation. She had expected him to try to persuade them since they had leverage over him, but her expectation was completely off.
“Stupid fools. If you failed, you should have quietly run away. Instead, you crawled into your death bed.”
Livio spat out curses as he leaned back on the sofa and snapped his fingers. From the start, he had no intention of letting the two live. He was merely curious if they had any useful information.
“Die.”
“What… Aaargh!”
Confused by Livio’s sudden change in demeanor, the man writhed as flames erupted from his body. As the dark red fire coiled around the man’s body like a snake, agonized screams filled the air.
“No, no! Save me, argh, gah! It’s hot…”
The man’s screams didn’t last long. His charred body crumbled to the floor.
The woman froze at the atrocity that unfolded in the blink of an eye. She stammered, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. Then, coming to her senses, she hurriedly got to her feet.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Huk!”
The woman, attempting to escape, swallowed hard as bright red flames blocked her path. With her legs giving way at the sight of the flames that seemed ready to devour her at any moment, she pleaded with Livio.
“I-I’m sorry! P-please spare me!”
“Failed hunting dogs dare to negotiate? You’re afraid of Major Hyun but not of me? Ha, I must be getting old. To be disrespected by such vermin.”
“Ah…”
Only then did the woman realize that the man before her was also an S-grade esper like Iberis. Despair clouded her face.
“If you hand over the evidence, I’ll give you an easier death than him. How about it?”
“I-I’ll give you anything, please, please spare me… Kyaah!”
Livio coldly looked down at the woman begging for her life and snapped his fingers again. The woman screamed in terror as she saw her hair catch fire. At that moment, Livio’s hand moved.
Thud!
Struck on the back of her neck, the woman collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Livio looked down at the unconscious woman with indifferent eyes and called his secretary’s name in a low voice.
“Yuki.”
“…Yes, Guild Master.”
“I’m very disappointed in you.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Yuki bowed her head shamefully at the fierce rebuke. She and the guild’s intelligence team had directed this assassination operation against Iberis.
“I didn’t expect them to kill Iberis. I was fine with it either way – if by some miracle they succeeded in the assassination, great, and if they failed, we wouldn’t lose anything. But having our tail caught like this is troublesome.”
“I have no words. It’s entirely my fault.”
“Be thankful that you’re my guide. Otherwise, you would have had to take responsibility for this mission failure long ago.”
At Livio’s words, Yuki’s gaze turned to the ashen remains. She shuddered at the thought that she could have ended up like that.
“I’m truly sorry…”
“Hmph, your apologies don’t solve the situation. Gather the intelligence team right now. How sloppily did they act to be traced by such fools? They’ve all lost their minds… Tsk, looks like I need to clean house for the first time in a while.”
Yuki’s face darkened rapidly at Livio’s mutterings, which foreshadowed a major purge before she could even feel relieved about saving her own life.
“Make sure to eliminate all the villains who escaped without being caught by Major Hyun. We can’t have a day like today happen again.”
“Yes, I’ll take care of it as soon as possible.”
“Also, think of a way to dispose of those caught by N-0 unit.”
“Understood.”
Having finished speaking, Livio gestured for her to leave. Yuki backed out with her head bowed and left the guild master’s office as if fleeing. She could feel her shirt, damp with cold sweat, sticking to her back. With a pale face, Yuki hurried to the intelligence team’s office.
* * *
“…Major? Major?”
“Hm?”
Lost in thought, Iberis snapped out of his reverie at the voice calling him. As he blinked, his blurry vision cleared, and he saw Brenda looking at him with concern.
“Are you alright? I hope I haven’t tired you out unnecessarily when you should be resting…”
Brenda apologetically examined Iberis’s face. On the fourth day after the incident, she had come to the official residence to report on the events of the past few days, as she was handling the unit commander duties in Iberis’s stead.
“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about something else. What were we talking about?”
“I was reporting that the restoration work at the terrorist attack sites has begun today. N-8 and N-9 units will be working together on this… Next week, there will be a joint memorial service for the victims of this incident. The families of the terror victims have requested your presence, Major…”
“Hmm, yes. I should attend. It happened because of me, after all…”
Iberis’s expression darkened at the mention of the memorial service. Although there were fewer casualties than expected given the scale of the terror attack, not everyone had escaped death. Knowing that he had been the target of the villains who caused the incident, he felt deep guilt towards those who died caught up in the terror attack.
“The defense force is covering the medical expenses for the injured, right?”
“Yes, since they were injured by the villains’ terror attack, it’s right that we take responsibility.”
“It’s unusual for the higher-ups to approve so readily. I thought they’d make excuses about lack of funds and postpone it.”
“Ah, about that… I found out that recently, a pharmaceutical company contacted us wanting to become a partner of the defense force… They agreed to supply drugs to military hospitals at below market price. So it seems there’s some financial leeway.”
“That happened? That’s fortunate.”
Iberis’s expression brightened at the good news. After hesitating for a moment, he carefully spoke up.
“I’d like to personally provide consolation money to the injured and the victims’ families… Would that be possible?”
