Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 79

Office Rental (3)

“Take the guest!” That shout rang out inside the dark cabaret. Since this cabaret was the Winged Fox’s business establishment, no one had ever come barging in this loudly before.

A few of the Winged Fox gang members, who had been lazily sprawled across the chairs that were supposed to be filled with customers at night, slowly lifted their heads.

“Can’t you see the old men are sleeping? We’re tired, so get lost.”

The ones dozing inside the dark cabaret were members of the Winged Fox, the gang that ruled this alley.

Considering their reputation, normally they would have stabbed an intruder dozens of times just for barging into their hideout without permission….

But right now, they had been sleeping. And when one is just waking up, everything tends to feel like a nuisance.

Because of that, the Winged Fox decided to extend mercy this time and spare the intruder’s life.

“Go call your boss. I need to talk to him.”

But the one who had kicked the door open and barged in didn’t seem at all interested in receiving the rare mercy of the Winged Fox.

“Well, it’ll just end up being your funeral.”

The ones sprawled on the sofas slowly stood up, gathering all sorts of bladed weapons in their hands.

The cabaret interior was dim, but the tools they pulled out shimmered faintly, casting a pale light in the darkness.

“It’d be better for you to just do as you’re told instead of getting yourself hurt.”

Facing the twenty or so men who had armed themselves the moment he stepped inside, Kairus still maintained a calm and gentle tone.

“Just look at them, they don’t seem the least bit interested in listening. What kind of people are these anyway.”

From Irena’s point of view, this development was truly absurd.

Even if barging into a shop during the day to look for the owner could be considered rude, what sort of manners did one learn to immediately pull out blades at strangers?

“Our boss has no business with the likes of you.”

One of the men spoke while pulling out a bizarre-shaped blade that could have easily been mistaken for an axe, pointing it at Kairus.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself.”

Kairus had spent so much time on jobs where he had to hide his identity that he sometimes forgot to introduce himself even when meeting someone for the first time.

“Yeah? Then let’s hear it. What kind of bastard are you, acting so cocky?”

Even they were curious about Kairus’s identity. After all, there was no one in this neighborhood who didn’t know this was their base.

When someone attacked a gang’s headquarters alone, there were usually only two possibilities.

A fool hopped up on drugs, thinking he was something special.

Or a real monster—someone with the power to single-handedly wipe out an entire gang.

In Bennett City, where it was easier to get drugs than cold medicine, the first case was overwhelmingly more common than the second.

Still, the Winged Fox wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss the rarer possibility.

“I am Kairus.”

…

After hearing his introduction, the Winged Fox members exchanged glances with one another, checking if anyone recognized the name.

“I’ve heard of that guy. Word is he hit an Imperial train. Took down five Empire knights all by himself.”

One of them finally managed to recall who Kairus was.

‘Fought five knights and robbed a train, huh.’

There was no doubt—he was strong. This wasn’t just some punk high on drugs making trouble.

The Winged Fox members who had just woken up turned their eyes toward the highest-ranking man among them.

“So what, you bastard. You think introducing yourself is gonna make us get on our knees and beg for our lives?”

As he said that, the man stepped forward.

A clicking sound followed, and faint yellow sparks jumped from the shoes he was wearing.

“No, why would you beg on your knees? I was hoping you’d introduce yourselves too.”

No one cared for Kairus’s answer. The words of the veteran just now carried one simple message.

‘Even if he’s strong, we’re stronger. Don’t worry, just crush him.’

The atmosphere, which had seemed to ease slightly, instantly grew menacing again. The men holding weapons began to close in slowly.

“Wouldn’t the Security Corps show up if people started dying and things got too noisy?”

“No chance.”

Irena’s question seemed reasonable at first glance, but in Bennett City, that sort of thing never happened.

“If you say so, then I’ll trust you.”

The Security Corps would never come. For Irena, the only daughter of the Kellogg family, that was all she needed to confirm.

‘If I caused a commotion and ended up dragged in by the Security Corps, that would stain the family name.’

For now, she hadn’t revealed her surname. But if she ended up at the Security Corps station for questioning, her identity would inevitably come out.

“After this job’s done, I’ll arrange a false identity for you, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Good. It’d be useful to have one.”

Kairus had already thought about getting her a cover identity since their train ride. He simply judged that securing an office was the most urgent matter for now.

“What the hell are you two whispering about?”

“We were debating how many of your skulls we’d need to crack open before meeting your boss.”

With those words, Kairus drew Flicker and charged straight at the Winged Fox’s veteran.

“Oh yeah? Lucky for us, there are only two skulls we need to crack, so it’ll be a piece of cake, you motherfucker.”

Toward the swinging blade of the mosaic, the opponent’s shoe—charged with bright yellow electricity—came stomping down. The sparks didn’t burst from the shoe itself, but from the studded sole fastened with metal rivets.

It was a brutal strike. As his right foot came down against Kairus’s sword, his left foot was already winding up, ready to deliver a follow-up blow.

‘If I block…’

The stomp just now was only to parry Kairus’s blade. The true strike would come from the left foot that was about to be unleashed.

“You sure have a filthy mouth, cursing people right off the bat. Makes me want to rip it open.”

But the man who had blocked Kairus’s strike failed to turn his follow-up into a counterattack.

The instant Flicker and the shoe clashed, a shockwave erupted.

That shockwave became the trigger for an updraft carrying razor-sharp winds that wrapped around the opponent. It was the storm Kairus had brought with his charge.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

Inside the rampaging storm of blades—scattering, gathering, forming and vanishing in endless repetition—the man’s desperate screams were shredded into nothingness.

When the gale finally subsided, his voice vanished along with it.

What remained on the ground was no longer something that could be called a corpse. It was a grotesque, tattered mass of flesh.

“Holy… shit!”

Even the Winged Fox members, who had seen and made countless corpses, felt terror at the sight.

This wasn’t just the loss of human form. It was a mangled lump of ground meat, bones mixed in, incapable of even maintaining the shape of a living being.

‘That’s exactly the kind of idea Dana Watson would come up with.’

Wind could be guided in the direction and manner one desired. But if needed, one could grab the wind by the scruff of the neck and drag it by force.

Of course, Kairus hadn’t fully mastered the concept Dana Watson had tossed at him. Yet even so, he could already produce such devastating results in the blink of an eye.

The horrific remains Kairus created were unmistakably the kind of scene Dana Watson might one day make, should she learn Swift Blade.

“All I want is to have a talk with your boss. If I keep piling up corpses, you’ll just end up with higher funeral costs. So bring him out while I’m being nice.”

The answer he received was simple.

Kairus was strong. But no one knew who the woman beside him was. Since the two of them seemed acquainted, the obvious choice was to target the woman.

Without anyone giving orders, half a dozen underlings rushed straight toward Irena.

“Oh, so this is how it’s going to be?”

Watching enemies charge at her with weapons raised, Irena’s mood plummeted into a bottomless pit.

Even if she didn’t fully understand the workings of this city, she understood very clearly what their judgment and actions meant.

She was being completely ignored. Their intention to go after the weaker of the two was painfully obvious.

“This pisses me off.”

“Urk?!”

Irena reached out and seized the throat of the one who had charged at the front.

“Do I look that easy to you?”

With a sharp cracking sound, the man’s cervical spine snapped.

His body went limp in her grasp, and Irena flung him aside. His corpse rolled across the floor.

“Next.”

Irena beckoned with her hand. The enemies who had just been rushing at her with all their might froze in place.

The woman they thought would be easy prey turned out to be a monster as well. In truth, Irena wasn’t someone who deserved to be treated like some pushover.

Maybe back in the days when she had a time lag, but not anymore. The current Irena possessed skills far beyond that of an apprentice knight.

If she managed to build more achievements, she would soon be a candidate for the rank of 3rd Class Knight of Merit.

“No next? Then I’ll come to you.”

The men who had attacked her were already full of regret, but Irena was too angry to care.

“Calm down. We didn’t come here to slaughter people.”

Thankfully, Kairus stepped in to calm her rage. Their enemies were already terrified enough. There was no need to create more corpses.

“Your student was ignored. And instead of helping her, you, the great teacher, are holding her back?”

“You were ignored, but he ended up with a broken neck. He’s dead.”

At Kairus’s words, Irena let out a small grunt.

“It was just… malpractice. I was trying to fix his neck, but I made a mistake.”

“Sure, if you say so. Anyway, if they still don’t bring their boss out, then it won’t be too late for you to cut loose.”

At that, Irena nodded, then turned toward the gang members, her voice suddenly soft and coaxing.

“You’re not going to bring your boss, right? Please, just tell me you won’t.”

A sharp cracking sound echoed. Everyone’s eyes went to Irena’s clenched fist, the bones popping ominously as she tightened her grip.

“W-we’ll bring him right away!”

In the end, their choice was already made. Fear won out.

“Lacking courage and guts, aren’t you.”

Irena spoke as if it were a pity. A part of her wished they had shown a little more backbone.

“Plucking a starving tiger’s whiskers with bare hands isn’t courage or guts.”

That was just plain stupidity.

Kairus scolded her lightly, then waited for them to fetch their boss.

“So, what’s this gang boss’s name?”

“I don’t know his name. They just call him Mr. Geumdaeji.”

At that, Irena tilted her head.

“Sounds like a nickname. Then again, it’d be stranger for criminals to use their real names in the first place.”

“In Bennett City, it doesn’t matter. You can use a nickname or not, nobody cares.”

After all, this was a city without public authority. No nation cared enough to hunt criminals here.

“Fair enough. Still, Geumdaeji, huh. Does that mean he has so much money he could pave the ground with gold?”

While Kairus and Irena traded guesses, the door opened, and heavy footsteps echoed through the dim cabaret.

“Oh, I think I can guess why he got that nickname.”

A massive man, close to 200 kilograms, with dark skin and sunglasses, walked in, puffing on a cigar the size of a forearm.

A thick gold chain hung around his neck, with three or four gold bracelets on each arm. Every one of his ten fingers bore a gold ring, each set with a different massive jewel.

Not so much “Geumdaeji”… but another animal with a very similar sound came easily to mind.