Chapter 178
I called Jafa for corpse disposal.
Jafa and I stood over Ernest Borel’s body. His head was so thoroughly crushed that identifying him would be difficult.
“This is related to Kinuan. Investigate every last detail about the Borel family’s bodyguard, ‘Valek.’ Everything, no matter how trivial. Even that na is probably an alias.”
I spoke to Jafa. He tapped his long claws together anxiously.
“Did you kill Ernest Borel? Do you know who this guy is? Hooyoo...”
“He’s the son of a politician’s family.”
“It’s not just any politician’s family. The Borel family is one of the founding families of Border City.”
“There were a lot of founders. He’s just one of them.”
I replied indifferently.
“...You’ve just ssed with one of Border City’s real power players. Of course, I’m one of them too.”
Jafa revealed his confidence. Flicking his tongue, he walked toward Ernest Borel’s corpse.
“Jafa, my awakening wasn’t a coincidence orchestrated by your skill alone. You might think you chose , but you were just being used by Kinuan. The mont I woke up, I was already set on a path to find Ernest Borel.”
The only person who would pull sothing like this was Kinuan.
“I’ve had a vague suspicion that even my decision to find and awaken you was part of Kinuan’s design. It’s not the first ti I’ve been manipulated by him.”
Jafa spoke calmly, unfazed.
‘Jafa has known Kinuan for quite so ti. At least for years.’
That was the takeaway from our conversation.
“If you want to find Kinuan, stop hiding information and give everything you know.”
“That’s not possible. You can spend all the money you want—hoyot, hoyot—but don’t dig into my personal secrets. Consider this a warning.”
“You want to find soone while keeping the most important information to yourself? That’s ridiculous.”
“That’s why I’m supporting you in every way I can. If the Borel family finds out that the detective I hired killed Ernest, I’ll be in a very tricky position myself.”
Jafa crouched down, bringing his face level with Ernest’s corpse.
“Tricky, but not impossible to handle, right?”
“According to your intel, Ernest was a serial killer. That gives us so room to smooth things over. Though a father’s wrath over losing his child will be fierce... For now, let’s clean up the body.”
As soon as Jafa spoke, the cleaning androids began to move. They sprayed chemicals, scrubbed the area, and erased all traces of the murder scene.
“There were no civilian witnesses. But whether Valek will report Ernest’s whereabouts to the Borel family is another question.”
“What do you think, Luka? You’re the only one who saw Valek in person, and your intuition is usually spot on.”
“...He won’t say anything for now. And Valek will completely disappear from within the Borel family as well.”
We silently watched as all traces of the body vanished. Jafa stood calmly, as if he had handled this kind of cleanup countless tis before.
“I’ll begin investigating Valek. A thorough, widespread investigation is a job for capital and manpower.”
Jafa was always efficient in his work. No matter how recklessly I acted, he sohow managed to clean up after . Despite being an alien species, I had to admit—I liked his way of handling things.
“If we control the situation too much, it’ll draw suspicion. We should leave now.”
Jafa placed his fingers on the communicator at the back of his neck and issued orders to the Equessian rcenaries. His company controlled the area around the cri scene, and his rcenaries operated like a police or military force.
‘A security company controlling the streets would be ridiculous enough, but a restaurant corporation overstepping its bounds like this...’
Yet no one found it strange. In Border City, where public security was practically nonexistent, this was just the norm.
Every corporation in Border City maintained its own private ard forces, even if they weren’t officially security firms. The lack of law and order here was even worse than in Akbaran, so it was only natural.
‘Strange. It’s almost miraculous that a chaotic city like this still functions.’
Whoever designed and founded Border City wasn’t ordinary, but even they probably had no idea how the city continued to sustain itself.
Border City was like a tower built from mismatched toy blocks, stacked haphazardly. The pieces were tangled together in such a convoluted way that even if you observed from the top, you couldn’t understand why it wasn’t collapsing. There was no careful calculation—just a reckless piling up of height, discarding whatever fell and keeping only what remained. Naturally, there were countless unpredictable elents that defied logic and expectations.
‘It wouldn’t be surprising if this entire city collapsed at any mont.’
If a major incident erupted tomorrow and turned the entire city into a sea of flas, I wouldn’t even be shocked.
“And Valek has the Firelight Twinblades. They’re a rare weapon—trace his acquisition route.”
“...Speaking of sothing else, it wasn’t you who killed Ernest Borel, was it? It was Gabriel. If it had been you, you would have captured him alive first and handled things quietly. You’re eccentric, but you’re not the type to deal with matters in such an amateurish way.”
There was no point in denying it. I nodded.
“So what?”
“I’d prefer if you didn’t use Gabriel as an assistant while working on my request. If you need people, I can assign so to you. You’ve t Endo a few tis—he’s quite capable.”
“Who I use and who I don’t is my decision. That’s none of your business.”
“Gabriel will ruin things at a critical mont.”
I twisted one side of my lips.
“I’m the sa way. I screw things up at critical monts too.”
“At the very least, you have the ability to clean up your own ss and the will to do so. But people like Gabriel act on impulse and leave the aftermath for others to deal with. Like now.”
“Then I’ll handle the aftermath. Just like I’m doing now.”
I spoke, suppressing the boiling irritation inside .
My fingers itched. I wanted to reach out and twist Jafa’s neck right then and there. If I snapped the neck of a snake-like species, would it kill them instantly like it would a human? The thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“It’s not you handling the cleanup—it’s .”
“Using you for labor is part of my skillset.”
“Hoyooh... That’s an interesting perspective. Either way, you’re firm about Gabriel, so I won’t press the issue further. You’re softer than I expected.”
I wasn’t planning to reply, but I added a final remark.
“There are plenty of people better than Gabriel. But sothing else matters more to —Gabriel won’t stab in the back.”
“Just like you won’t betray Gabriel?”
I didn’t bother responding. Jafa let out his signature hissing laughter, his split tongue flicking out.
* * *
The Ernest Borel case had settled into a lull.
According to Jafa, the Borel family had sent people out to find Ernest, but they weren’t making any progress. It was largely because Ernest often moved around alone to maintain his private affairs in secrecy.
‘What matters to us right now is Valek.’
Valek was a master of Akies Victima. Not just Akies combat techniques, but the Victima discipline itself—aning he wasn’t just skilled in combat, but also in strategy and deception.
‘It would be best if Jafa could track down Valek, but even if he doesn’t... Valek will co looking for on his own.’
As I poured tea into my cup, I contemplated.
‘What do Kinuan and Valek hope to gain through ? Why did they lead Jafa to awaken ?’
Naturally, I couldn’t figure out their goal right now. With the limited information and clues available, it was impossible to deduce their true intentions.
‘If Valek cos back, I need to capture him alive.’
As long as I could take him alive, there were ways to extract information—if I was willing to discard a bit of my humanity.
I recalled my fight with Valek and considered thods to subdue him, but none of them were easy.
‘Valek will be preparing just as much to counter .’
In terms of raw combat ability, I had the advantage. But in real battles, a single unexpected variable could overturn everything.
The longer I stayed in Border City, the more tangled my situation beca. Giselle’s disappearance was tied to Kinuan.
The clues were sparse, and the outline of the situation wasn’t just unclear—it constantly shifted, changing shape with each passing mont.
‘But this kind of environnt suits .’
Ever since my encounter with Valek, I could feel my energy returning.
The more difficult and pressing the situation beca... the stronger the force within grew. It was a kind of recoil—an inverse reaction.
The more the world tried to crush , the stronger and more alive I beca. On the other hand, a peaceful and relaxed life only sank into depression. It was maddening, but it was the truth.
Right now, even when I looked at a gun, I didn’t feel the urge to press the barrel against my temple and pull the trigger. The impulse to jump out of a window had faded, and even when I pulled the curtains open, I felt nothing but calm.
The fire inside was burning away the sticky, suffocating gloom. It was a cliché sentint, but passion really did matter.
‘That’s enough for today.’
Sipping my tea, I let my thoughts slow down.
Tok, tok.
Soone knocked on the door politely.
I stood up and creaked the door open. Boyan was standing there.
“Ah, sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. I just wanted to say hello.”
Boyan, still in the early stages of growth, only reached my chest for now. But considering the Crawler species had an average height of over two ters, he would surpass in just two or three years. Even without any special training, he would eventually develop the raw physical power to tear an average human male apart with ease.
For a human to match the average physical capabilities of a Crawler, they would have to be covered in cybernetic implants. But a Crawler could achieve Gabriel’s level of brute force just by breathing and existing.
‘And yet, despite being born with such violent physical potential, he chooses to study...’
Boyan was far more of an Irregular than I was. In Crawler society, where guys like Regor were the norm, it was only natural that they found Boyan hard to accept.
“You don’t have to go out of your way just because you’re going to school.”
I glanced at Boyan’s attire as I spoke. His custom-tailored uniform was neat and proper. A pair of glasses rested in the breast pocket.
“It’s my first day. Jafa said it’s a good school. Also, I got the glasses to help correct the vision in my left eye. Jafa recomnded them, saying they’d soften my overall impression.”
Boyan had been beaten by Regor so many tis that he had nearly lost vision in his left eye. The difference in vision between his two eyes must have made reading difficult for him.
“Well, do your best.”
I leaned against the doorfra and scratched my head. That was all I could say.
‘If Boyan had wanted to learn combat skills, there would’ve been a lot more I could do or say for him.’
But if he had ever intended to beco a fighter, he and I would never have crossed paths in the first place.
‘He’s walking a completely different path from mine.’
Boyan bowed his head before walking down the hallway. Even to , seeing a Crawler in a school uniform looked bizarre.
After that, I often ran into Boyan. Living in the sa building, it was inevitable.
Sotis, he would vanish beyond the hallway as if trying to avoid . It took about a week to figure out why. No matter how much he tried to avoid , there were tis when he simply couldn’t.
“Ah, h-hello. I tripped on my way here.”
Boyan awkwardly blurted out an obvious lie. I noticed his dirtied uniform and the broken glasses tucked into his chest pocket.
There were tis when his clothes were torn. Other tis, his bag carried a strange stench. Whenever that happened, Boyan would try to hide from .
‘Boyan is being bullied at school.’
Whoever was responsible must have had so nerve to pick on a Crawler. But they must have been certain that Boyan wouldn’t retaliate. In other words, they thought he was an easy target.
I simply shrugged and accepted Boyan’s greeting every ti.
‘This is sothing he has to handle on his own.’
Compared to what Boyan would face in the future, this level of hardship was nothing. If he ever found it unbearable, he could just learn how to fight.
Then one day, Jafa contacted about Boyan.
- The school has summoned Boyan’s guardian.
“The foundation sponsoring him can handle it.”
- We’re his sponsors, not his guardians.
“I’m not his parent either.”
Jafa went silent for a mont before speaking again, his tone slightly irritated.
- You’d show more concern for a stray cat you picked up off the street. And Boyan isn’t so insignificant creature—he’s a sentient being.
...He had a point. I got up and grabbed my coat.
Reviews
All reviews (0)