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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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The lizardman, seeing the Auror Blade pointed at him, faltered and stepped back. It was as if he was really retreating, unable to resist Locke’s Threat.
At that moment, Locke, who had been glaring at the lizardman, glanced at the distant sky. And as if he saw something, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Oh my. I dragged on for too long.”
The female mercenary, who heard those words, also turned back. Black dots that were gradually growing in Midland’s sky were also visible to her eyes.
But the moment the mercenary was about to reflexively pull the focus of her electronic eyes far to see that dot, the lizardman, who had been clutching his severed shoulder until then, suddenly wailed loudly towards the sky.
“Keh-e-e-!”
With that scream-like roar, the lizardman’s scales began to glow with a jade color. It also seemed to be enveloped in green flames. Seeing that ominous sight, Locke leaped forward without a second thought. He intended to cleanly behead him before he could pull any nonsense.
The lizardman’s flickering yellow pupils looked straight at Locke like that.
Feeling something from those eyes, Locke’s Body retreated back as if it were a lie. It was a movement that could be believed even if there were wires attached behind him.
Immediately, as Locke retreated, a thick green liquid spewed out from the lizardman’s mouth. The top of the trailer was covered with that liquid.
“This is, what the hell…”
The mercenary was able to avoid that ejection because she was behind the lizardman. But she soon felt her head go numb from the dizzying scent rushing in and staggered. In her swaying eyes, the sight of the trailer’s steel plate melting and bubbling was visible.
“Killer.”
Locke, who was standing on the edge of the trailer with only the tip of his toes, also muttered while covering his nose with his sleeve. If he had beheaded the lizardman just now, Locke would have been doused with that acidic liquid as it was. Retreating with an ominous feeling was the right answer.
“Keh-e-e…”
The lizardman, who had grandly spewed it out, was groaning in pain while dripping acidic liquid around his snout. Vomiting the acidic liquid seemed to be no ordinary feat, as his scales were losing color and cracking. But even while staggering in pain, he was also glaring intently at Locke.
Facing those eyes, Locke felt a sense of desperation and old yearning for some reason.
Locke, who had been quietly facing those eyes without saying anything, let the sword of light slowly fade from his right hand. He said while still making eye contact with the lizardman,
“There are things you must keep in mind to survive long in the mercenary industry. One of them is to never go against the authorities. Even if it means messing up the job.”
Having said that, Locke suddenly leaped back, somersaulted, and landed on top of the Black night. Then he disappeared as if sliding through the open driver’s window.
“Wha, what? Why? Why are you bailing now?”
The female mercenary muttered dumbly while holding her nose and making a nasal sound. But she soon realized something and turned back with a start. The Midland Police Department’s aerodynes, which had only been seen as black dots until a moment ago, had gotten much closer. Red and blue lights flashed on top of those flying vehicles.
Quickly looking back at the Black night, that Black Night had slipped to the side as if having nothing to do with the commotion here and had blended in among the other regular vehicles.
Seeing that, the mercenary urgently shouted into the radio channel.
“Fuck this shit! We’re all bailed! Come to the side and attach!”
At those words, the last modified truck that had been circling around the trailer came close to the side. But the police aerodyne’s megaphone voice rang out before the mercenary could cross over to that truck.
[Stop, stop- Everyone halt your actions. You are currently suspected of hijacking the trailer. Everyone stop moving and cooperate obediently.]
“Fuck…”
The silver-haired mercenary quietly swore at the sight of the police aerodynes quickly surrounding the top of the trailer. Originally, the plan was to quickly seize the item and disappear into Midland’s city center. The concrete jungle consisting of numerous alleys and underground passages was the optimal route to avoid the MLPD’s pursuit.
At that moment, the lizardman, who had been fixing his gaze on the receding Black night, suddenly raised his head. He scanned the three aerodynes surrounding the trailer in the air, then abruptly struck the floor, that is, the trailer’s ceiling, with his remaining left arm.
The trailer, which had already been half-melted by his acidic liquid, was torn like a piece of paper at that touch.
[Stop. If you move further, it will be considered a hostile act and we will suppress you. Do not move.]
The MLPD gave the final warning, but the lizardman didn’t care and tore open the trailer’s ceiling. And when the size of that hole became appropriate, he pushed his body into it.
Eventually, the MLPD aerodynes turned their bodies in the air. At the same time, the side of the aerodynes opened like wings, and the heavily armed police inside revealed themselves. The black bulletproof vests and the red light flashing from the face masks were threatening.
They immediately aimed at the ground, and seeing that, the silver-haired mercenary leaped without a second thought.
“Oh.”
Locke, who had stepped back as if having nothing to do with it while riding the Black night, lightly admired seeing her leap. Because the direction she leaped was not inward towards the road where the modified truck was, but outward, that is, below the overpass. Perhaps she thought the situation of getting on the modified truck was more hopeless than the situation of breaking her legs.
As if that prediction was correct, the muzzles of the heavily armed police began to spew fire, and the mercenaries remaining in the modified truck tried to respond by sticking out their guns, but in front of the overwhelming firepower, they became a honeycomb and ended up crashing into the road’s median and stopping.
And around that time, the lizardman who had entered inside the trailer reappeared. He was holding something in his arms. A long rectangular box that looked like a small coffin.
Locke immediately sensed that it was the dragon relic the megacorps were looking for.
Regardless, the MLPD’s muzzles immediately aimed at the lizardman. Under the pouring bullets, the lizardman showed signs of crouching to protect the box. Whether the police’s firearms were stronger than the mercenaries’, or whether he had weakened after spewing the acidic liquid earlier, the lizardman’s scales couldn’t completely block the bullets and were torn, splattering blood.
But even in the midst of that, the lizardman, who had been glancing around to assess the situation, seemed to have made up his mind and kicked off the trailer like the silver-haired mercenary had done a moment ago. It was towards the underside of the overpass, just like the silver-haired mercenary had done a moment ago.
At that sight of him disappearing like that, the heavily armed police who had been shooting were dumbfounded for a moment. But soon they seemed to be communicating with each other, gesturing here and there, and one aerodyne attached to the trailer that was still running, while the remaining two disappeared below the overpass.
Locke slowly left the scene, mixing with other vehicles moving to the side of the road. In the rearview mirror, the trailer stopped and the police who had disembarked from the aerodyne organizing the road were visible.
At that moment, the Black Night’s terminal rang. When he turned on the screen, the wrinkled green face of the goblin William appeared. He confirmed Locke’s Face and said,
[The situation doesn’t seem to have been resolved easily.]
“Did you deploy a surveillance agent besides me? You’re grasping the situation amazingly fast.”
[Why bother using more people? If you stick a little backdoor money into the MLPD’s situation room, they tell you all about their deployment situations. It seems the mercenaries on that side had mishandled the magician. When the trailer was hacked, that situation was immediately reported to the police department.]
Locke said while gently moving the Black Night’s handle,
“The one riding that trailer didn’t welcome the police.”
[Ah, it was a lizardman? I didn’t know that race still existed. Didn’t they all die in the old world war? Afterwards, the survivors were treated as dragons’ lackeys and hunted down. Anyway, it seems he was also a kind of cargo.]
“Cargo?”
Locke’s Eyebrows furrowed slightly.
[Yeah, cargo. He was found with the relic at the Dragonland ruins, and the dragon worshippers somehow convinced him to be put in the trailer along with the relic. If he had gone into the research lab like that, there was a high possibility he would have been dissected alive along with the relic.]
Two police aerodynes passed over the Black Night’s head as it exited the overpass. Locke traced their path with his eyes and slowly stepped on the accelerator.
[Anyway, what are you going to do now? Abandon the request? You didn’t receive any down payment, so you’ll just have to be a bit careful with your words.]
“It’s too early to give up.”
At that answer, William chuckled.
[Is that so? Then I’ll tell the client that too. Don’t overdo it. It seems the megacorp on that side hasn’t given up either.]
As the short encouragement ended, the terminal’s screen turned off. Locke drove the Black night towards the old apartment complex below the overpass, picturing the direction the aerodynes had flown a moment ago and the point where the lizardman had jumped.
Soon, he saw the landed aerodynes and the police officers taking statements from the residents. Locke slowed down, looked at them from a distance, then turned the handle and drove the Black night towards them.
The police officer gathering statements from the residential area residents looked at the approaching Black night with curious eyes. Soon, when Locke lowered the window, poked his head out, and nodded to greet, the police officer also grabbed his hat and nodded.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation, so I can’t tell you. Are you a resident here?”
“I’m passing by for work.”
Locke gave a rough answer to the police officer’s question and examined the situation behind him. He saw narrow alleys between buildings, walls that were a mess with claw marks, and smashed metal trash cans. A few police officers were standing there, looking around.
“Then take care.”
“Ah, yes…”
Locke, who had greeted the police officer, slowly drove the Black Night and pictured the lizardman’s fall on the alley he had just confirmed and his subsequent movements. The image of the alley he had drawn in his mind in a short time was quickly reconstructed.
The lizardman was large and had been injured, so he would have stood out, but judging by the actions of the police officers and residents, it seemed no one had seen him around here. In fact, there were few escape routes the lizardman could have chosen in this situation.
“He must have gone into the sewer.”
There was also a sewer manhole in the alley where the lizardman had fallen. The police didn’t seem to have noticed yet, but Locke’s Keen eyes caught the manhole being roughly closed.
With his thoughts sorted out, Locke parked the car on one side of a quiet street and got out. After making sure no one was watching, he opened a nearby sewer manhole. Locke’s Expression contorted at the stench rising from there.
“…The smell will soak into my clothes.”
But even while grimacing, he leaped into the sewer. His figure standing on the street disappeared as if being sucked in.
Landing underground, Locke rose and looked around. The Midland underground passageway was very dark and the stench-mixed air was sticky. But Locke smiled slightly even while smelling that stench. Because the familiar scent, the smell of the acidic liquid he had smelled on the trailer, was mixed in.
“The lizardman of the sewers…”
Locke muttered like that and began to move, following the stench. The darkness of the underground enveloped him, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t feel fear or discomfort in the dark. And if anyone had to feel fear, it wouldn’t be Locke.
Before long, Locke and the darkness became indistinguishable.
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