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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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While not a seasoned veteran like Limon, Na-kyung was a former PAB agent, experienced in dealing with all sorts of players, from drunks to murderers. And having overheard Limon discussing the culprits, she knew, even from a brief glimpse, what kind of person Vellus was.
‘That bastard’s a psycho! He’d kill a random passerby for no reason!’
He’d kill anyone who got in his way, anyone who saw him, anyone who bumped into him on the street.
He was a monster who saw humans as pebbles, worse than a thrill killer. And if this madman set his sights on Seong-sia and the other children of the Hanbit Orphanage…
[No!]
Na-kyung screamed inwardly, imagining the worst-case scenario.
She frantically sent telepathic messages to everyone she knew who was aware of her reincarnation—Limon, Li Chingwei, Yo Ouin, Wei-ling—and even to those she only knew by face, like the maids and guards, trying to alert anyone.
[Ugh, what do I do?]
But her efforts were futile. The messages didn’t go through. She buried her head under her wing.
Whether it was Vellus’s skill or an item, telepathic communication was blocked.
[Should I find a guard and ask for help? But…]
Would anyone believe a random bluebird suddenly appearing and asking for help, especially during an emergency?
She’d be lucky if they didn’t just dismiss her as a nuisance.
‘There’s no one who can help right now!’
And even if someone believed her, it wouldn’t matter. The corpses littering the hallway were a testament to the fact that ordinary guards were no match for Vellus.
[Oh, screw it!]
Zap!
After a moment of agonizing indecision, Na-kyung used her teleportation. She might not be able to do much in her current form, but she couldn’t just sit idly by.
Zap, zap, zap.
Her teleportation range was limited, but knowing the Leviathan’s layout, she quickly reached her destination.
The magnificent underground facility, a subterranean skyscraper with countless hallways and staircases spiraling downwards beneath a dazzling ceiling, a place known as the Subterranean Dragon Palace.
‘Fortunately, nothing seems to have happened yet.’
Na-kyung surveyed the vast space, practically a small underground city.
Perhaps due to the lockdown, the usually bustling facilities were eerily quiet, like a ghost town. But this reassured her. If Vellus had arrived first, it wouldn’t be this quiet.
“Who’s there?!”
“This area is restricted… Gah!”
[……]
Just as she thought. She had rushed to the scene after hearing a commotion, but she was too late.
Two more corpses lay mangled on the floor, bloody footprints leading further down.
Na-kyung’s face hardened.
‘Fast. Too fast to even scream.’
Just like the corpse in the hallway, these bodies were crushed beyond recognition. It would take several minutes to mangle a rag doll like this, let alone a human.
Considering the skill level of the Seven Dragons Association guards, this was impossible without a skill.
‘I don’t know what kind of skill it is… but it’s definitely a ranged, instant-death attack.’
Reassessing Vellus’s threat level, Na-kyung hesitated.
With her teleportation, she could probably escape even a Specter of the Liberation Brigade. But if Vellus’s skill was an instant-kill attack… she might die before she could even chirp.
‘Should I just take the kids and run?’
‘No, they don’t even know who I am. There’s no time to explain.’
‘The facility’s locked down, there’s no way out…’
‘Ugh, why was I reborn as a bird?!’
Na-kyung now understood Limon’s warning about the difficulties of living with past-life memories. She had never felt so frustrated about not being human.
After a moment of agonizing deliberation, Na-kyung set her beak firmly and took a step towards the lower levels, where Vellus had disappeared.
“Hmm. I had high expectations for the Leviathan’s vault, but this is disappointing.”
Whoosh!
And just as quickly, she retreated.
Vellus emerged from a passage leading to a secret facility in the lowest level.
“If only Fool Comrade had infiltrated as planned, this would have been much easier. Such an incompetent comrade.”
He clicked his tongue and continued walking, muttering to himself,
“If it’s not here, then they must not have known about it…”
Stroking his chin like a detective piecing together clues, he surveyed the various facilities in the Subterranean Dragon Palace, then turned towards a wall-mounted display showing a directory of the facilities.
He scrolled through the list, then stopped at a particular entry.
“Perhaps it’s here.”
After studying the directory, he turned and strode purposefully in a specific direction.
‘That direction…!’
Peeking out from her hiding spot, Na-kyung’s heart sank. He was heading towards the nursery.
‘You crazy bastard! Why are you going there?!’
Cursing inwardly, she followed him, hopping and teleporting, determined to stop him. But fortunately, she didn’t have to resort to desperate measures like tap-dancing in front of him to distract him.
Vellus entered a completely different location.
[…What?]
She had followed him frantically, only for him to ignore the nursery and enter a shop. Na-kyung muttered in confusion,
[Why is he going in there? He’s not here to shop, is he?]
Vellus leisurely browsed the items on display, looking so relaxed that, if not for the broken door, he would have seemed like an ordinary customer.
“Hmm, it seems it’s not here either.”
Shaking his head in disappointment, he walked out of the shop and chuckled.
“Well, even the Seven Dragons Association, with their lack of taste and knowledge, wouldn’t keep it here.”
‘It?’
Na-kyung, clinging to a chicken restaurant sign, pretending to be a chick, narrowed her eyes.
‘He’s looking for something? What is it?’
She didn’t know what it was, but it was clear that the chaos in the Leviathan was a diversion for Vellus’s infiltration. And after all this, he was searching for something in that place?
Na-kyung was baffled.
But then…
“Oh well.”
Rustle.
…she froze.
Vellus’s face turned cold as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book. A chilling killing intent washed over her.
“I’ll just kill everyone and search their belongings.”
‘No!’
Na-kyung screamed inwardly.
She knew instinctively that he meant everyone in the Subterranean Dragon Palace, that no one would survive if he decided to go on a rampage, and that she was powerless to stop him.
‘What do I do? What do I do?!’
Desperate for a solution, a thought struck her.
‘The book! If I can steal it…’
He wouldn’t be casually reading a book in the middle of all this. If Vellus was a player who relied on a specific item to activate his skill, stealing the book might stop him.
It was a gamble.
She didn’t know if it would work, and even if it did, the chances of a small bird succeeding in stealing a book from a Specter of the Liberation Brigade were slim to none. But with the lives of her siblings on the line, it was a gamble she had to take.
‘Fortune favors the bold!’
Just as Vellus opened the book, and Na-kyung prepared to charge…
Tinkle.
“Hmm?”
The killing intent vanished.
As Na-kyung scrambled to regain her balance, having almost launched herself at him, Vellus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bell, the source of the sound.
He held it in his palm and gently rang it.
Tinkle, tinkle.
“Oh… I thought it was broken, since it wasn’t reacting… it seems it wasn’t defective after all.”
He nodded, watching the bell ring as he turned his palm in different directions, then followed its sound.
Na-kyung, bewildered by his strange behavior, was horrified when she saw where he was going.
‘Why is he going there ?!’
It wasn’t just because it was an unexpected location. It was because it was so familiar.
As she watched Vellus break down the door and enter, a thought struck her.
‘Wait, could it be that what they’re looking for…?’
Na-kyung cautiously followed him inside.
It was a place she had visited almost daily with Limon.
The practice room, equipped with top-of-the-line instruments, befitting the Leviathan’s reputation. And at the far end of the room, Vellus stood before a long case, fiddling with the bell.
“Ha, I can’t believe they were keeping this like a common instrument… I never thought the Seven Dragons Association would be so foolish.”
At that moment, Na-kyung understood.
Why Vellus had checked the penthouse and the vault, then the music shop.
Why the Liberation Brigade had caused so much chaos for a single item.
Their target was something special, something unobtainable through normal means, something its owner, a stubborn swordsman who scoffed at threats, would never willingly surrender.
‘The violin! That’s their target!’
Na-kyung gasped, looking at the case containing the Black Abyssal Violin, the unique instrument Limon used to channel the power of the Constellations.
“What a disappointing ending. If I had known they were keeping it like this, I wouldn’t have bothered…”
Just as Vellus reached for the case…
Zap!
“…?”
[…Uh oh.]
Vellus paused, looking at the small bird that had suddenly appeared on top of the case.
Na-kyung, who had acted on instinct, now stood face to face with a dangerous criminal, sweat dripping down her feathers.
[A-ahem. Hello there! Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?]
Perhaps startled by the talking bird, or perhaps by the incongruous greeting, Vellus looked even more bewildered.
Na-kyung raised a wing and chirped cheerfully,
[Goodbye!]
Zap!
Just as suddenly as she had appeared, Na-kyung vanished, taking the long case with her.
Vellus stared at the empty space where the case had been, a deathly silence descending upon him.
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[Your Text Here]
lmao thanks fusion!