Chapter 221 In Cold Blood

There was no time to be spared for anybody else; though perhaps a version of him from just a month prior might have lent a helping hand in just a heartbeat, that was in the past and the now is the now.

As he walked through the streets of the isolated, but populated city filled with adventurers and people of his world, he bumped into a peculiar situation occurring just outside of an inn. There were onlookers gathered around.

What's going on? He thought.

Pushing past some onlookers, he found the sight of a few players surrounding another man, who was sitting on his rear with his hands together, pleading.

"Please! I've done nothing wrong! Nothing at all!" The man pleaded.

"Bullshit! We know who you are!" One of the players with curly, blue hair shouted.

The three players dressed, two dressed in standard white, and the blue-hair man, dressed in an orange set of leather armor, registered to his vision:

[Players Recognized.]

[Leeroy | Level 25]

[Kyle | Level 22]

[Bron | Level 24]

They were fairly decent levels, but when he tried looking at the man on the ground, who had pale skin and stringy, jet-black locks that hung down to his back, he couldn't acquire his information.

Don't tell me…That's a GOETIA System user? He thought.

As he stepped forward, the unnamed, black-haired man who had a bloody nose and bruises on his cheeks, no doubt from receiving kicks from the three players, looked up at the red-haired assassin with hopeful eyes.

"--Sir! These men…they're attacking me! Please!" The man begged.

The blue-haired one named "Leeroy" was quick to dissuade that, kicking the man again and knocking him back, "Don't listen to his bullshit! This is one of those 'Player Killers'!"

"Yeah! He's one of those psychotic murderers! If he reached the Tower, then…!" The young man with shaggy, brown hair, named "Kyle" added in rage, stomping the man's leg.

The eldest looking of the three, with a steel breastplate and scars stretching across his sour face added in, "--How many people did you kill, huh!? You sick bastard!"

Without wasting any time, the three continued kicking and stomping on the pale-skinned man, who cried out and curled up on the street.

"--" He watched.

Leeroy looked back at him, "Come on! You want him to pay, too, don't you?! You've lost people to these player killers, haven't you…? Sick bastards like this guy…they don't deserve to live!"

"Yeah! There's no way I'm letting a sick fuck like this get into heaven!" Bron added.

Though he did have utter disdain for player killers, that blind rage didn't burn inside of him at this moment. Rather than violence, his mind was more focused on finding those dear to him. Besides, he didn't personally know this man or know for sure if the crimes he was accused of were true.

…I've got to keep moving. Still, this confirms it…GOETIA users are in the Tower, too. That means…"he" is here–Baek-Hyeon, he thought.

Just as he turned around, something arrived–THUD.

It was a powerful landing, dropping onto the street with a heavy force that kicked up a wave of dust that caused the onlookers to cough up.

Even the bitter trio of players stopped and looked up at the figure that had landed, frozen in shock from the sudden arrival of the unknown entity.

Once the dust had cleared, a knight dressed in scarlet, heavy-set armor stood like a pillar of power, towering over the group as his illustrious, black cape flowed behind him.

Who is that…? He thought.

The face of the knight couldn't be seen as they wore a helmet in the shape of a roaring dragon; they wielded a massive greatsword that looked to be made out of a bone, precisely the tooth of a gargantuan beast.

[Scalyue Sentinel | Level 30]

Such a massive figure, standing silently, invoked silence from those around himself. The GOETIA System user was still curled up, laying directly at the feet of the sentinel.

As he looked around, he saw that the citizens looked relieved at the sight of the massive knight, so he lowered his guard and kept his distance, simply watching.

Level thirty? That's pretty high, he thought.

Leeroy finally spoke up, smiling, "--You're like the police here, right? That guy right there is a criminal! He's killed many people!"

"--" The Scalyue Sentinel was completely silent for a moment before speaking in a voice as deep as a canyon, "You're disturbing the peace. Seize this at once."

"Huh…? Didn't you hear me?! That guy is a murderer–!" Leeroy yelled out.

Just as the hot-headed young man stepped forward–SQUELCH. It happened in an instant; so fast that the other two that were with Leeroy didn't even register what had happened for a few seconds.

In a swift slash, executed without hesitation, the towering knight bisected Leeroy the moment he came a single step closer.

"--!" He watched in surprise.

A spray of blood painted the street in crimson as the upper half of Leeroy fell to the ground, lifeless with his innards strewn across the paved ground.

"What the fuck…?! What the fuck just happened…?!" Bron let out in shock, holding his head.

Kyle's legs were quivering before he turned and ran in the opposite direction, stumbling over but continuing to sprint away without his friend.

As he glanced around, the civilians didn't seem surprised or taken aback by any of this; it was as if it was the expected result.

"Outsiders like that are always so rowdy."

"I'm glad that was taken care of."

The comments from the Scalyue denizens were nonchalant to say the least as they went on their way.

Still on the ground, the player killer who was covered in bruises finally uncurled, looking up to find his assailant butchered on the street as a smile stretched across his lips.

"Hah…Aha-ha! Aha-ha-ha!" The man laughed out, "Serves you right!"

He was still standing there, watching in disbelief at the uncanny situation. Before leaving, the Scalyue Sentinel raised his hand, invoking a fire spell before incinerating the remains of Leeroy and cleansing the blood from the street, erasing any evidence that the young man ever existed.

What kind of city is this…? Violence is met with a death sentence–just like that? He thought.

Without a word, the massive, dragon-armored knight leapt away once more, returning to the building that loomed over the city: a black-quartz keep that had a statue of a dragon, curling around its architecture.

Still sitting there, the GOETIA user cackled with laughter, launching insults at the slain youth, "Pompous brat! Serves you right! Attacking me, Higara! Rot in hell! Ga-ha-ha!"

Though he wasn't angered by the man's existence before, hearing him rave about the death of the young man caused him to squeeze his fists shut and step forward.

Higara noticed this, flincing as he approached but then slowly laughing with his scratchy tone, "...Touch me! I dare you to lay a finger on me! You saw what happened to that stupid brat, didn't you!? Violence within the walls of this city is handled just like that!"

"--" He stopped, staring at the abhorrent man silently.

"Gah-ha-ha! See?! You can't do a damn thing! Scurry along now, brat!" Higara taunted him.

Begrudgingly, he turned away, which caused the player killer to continue laughing with his ear-scratching laugh.

"Run, run, run along!" Higara continued laughing, "--Huh?"

Slowly, a red line appeared across the man's throat, spreading before it was revealed to be a gash, appearing out of nowhere before blood sprayed out from the GOETIA user's neck.

"Grggh…?!" Higara fell back, clutching his throat as he gargled on his blood.

He glanced back only once, returning his dagger to its sheath that was never seen leaving its holster.

Within moments, the cackling player killer died out from blood loss, only noticed by passing city goers who didn't stop to help–only avoiding the man out of disgust.

[EXP + 5000]

[Assassin Proficiency +2 | 52/9999]

[New Skill(s) Acquired | Crimson Thread]

Eliminating somebody like that didn't weigh on his conscience at all; to him, it was simply making the world a better place.

…It's almost been an hour, hasn't it? I still haven't found any signs of anyone, he thought.

The more he explored the city, the more he wanted to find his friends as soon as possible, realizing it was a hectic place, filled with too many questionable individuals and unknown, harsh laws.

After spending some more time roaming the streets, passing by more marketplaces and crowded corners, he managed to find the rendezvous point once again at the primordial street embedded in the center of the city.

He waited directly against the tree, leaning against its sturdy hide while children played around on its gigantic branches, sitting on its high points and giggling. It had been awhile since he'd even seen a child; the existence of such innocence made the smallest smile form on his lips.

Is he here…? Don't tell me he got lost…He wondered.

"Aye, mate! Jeong-Hui!"

The unmistakable, thick accent met his ears as he looked over, finding Archie waving at him with a bright smile.

Though the man was always enthusiastic, there was something about his giant smile this time that made his heart skip a beat with hopefulness; that hopefulness was amplified as he saw a figure following behind the Australian eccentric.

"--" He was silent and hopeful, watching closely.

Archie raced over, "--I found one of your mates! This is 'im, right?!"

As the blonde-haired man stepped to the side, he found his eyes reuniting with a familiar sight that made him move instinctively.