Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 84

The Hunters and the Cloud

News that Kairus and his group had entered the sewer system spread to various organizations.

However, not everyone merely heard the news.

"Hey, quit puffing on that pipe already, you bastard. You’re gonna wear out your beak."

With a tap, the burnt-out ash fell from the pipe onto the ground.

"Oi, you all saw it too, right? Wasn’t just me?"

Most others had only been informed secondhand.

But the three men standing on the rooftop of this building had actually witnessed Kairus and his companions descending into the sewers through a manhole.

"This city’s not bad. Got a decent number of tall buildings."

Hunters liked high places.

With a clear field of vision and elevated ground, the three hunters gathered here, known collectively as the Three Stars, could identify a person’s face up to 17 kilometers away.

"The sewers, huh. Mr. Lukas is asking for a tough favor this time," said Cheonghong, the eldest of the three.

"That’s what I’m saying. It stinks down there, and it’s dark. Not my thing," replied Jangpal, who stood beside Cheonghong, applying ointment from a small tin to the tip of an arrow.

"What’re you guys gonna do? Hurry up and say. We going in with them or hanging back for a bit?"

The youngest, Mandeok, asked his two older brothers while gnawing on a large boiled chicken leg.

"A man’s gotta stay diligent. If you’re done prepping your gear, let’s move out."

The other organizations were still trying to round up decent mercenaries. If they could act quickly, there was no reason to wait.

When Cheonghong gave the order, the other two immediately gathered their things and got to their feet.

"Hey, before we go, how about a cup of grain powder drink for each of you?"

"You little shit. You’re tearing into a chicken leg while trying to look generous offering us powdered water?"

At Jangpal’s words, Mandeok laughed heartily.

"You’re the one who said you didn’t want any. What, you really not gonna have some?"

"Give me a cup."

Jangpal obediently took the grain powder mixed with water and drank it down.

"Listen while you eat. Word is, those bastards use the Swift Blade."

Hearing this, Jangpal drained the cup and wiped his mouth before responding.

"Man, I never thought Mr. Lukas would stoop like that. Fighting in the sewer’s annoying enough, and now the enemy uses Swift Blade?"

For a hunter who fought with bows and arrows, the battlefield wasn’t ideal, and the match-up against the enemy wasn’t favorable either.

"Jangpal, since when did we ever choose our hunts based on the opponent?"

"That's true, but still... Ah, well, it’ll work out somehow. I’m done eating. Are you gonna eat now, brother?"

Cheonghong shook his head.

"My mouth feels all dry and scratchy. I’ll eat later when I get hungry."

"Alright then. Let’s get going."

With their conversation over, the three hunters jumped off the rooftop without a word about who would go first.

While the hunters were on the move, Kairus and his group were also diligently surveying their surroundings.

"I heard hunters rely on their eyesight."

While Melvin searched for archaeological traces left in the sewer, Irena struck up a conversation with Kairus.

"That’s right."

The true weapon of a hunter wasn’t the bow—it was their vision. Among living beings, nothing could rival the eyesight of a hunter who had consumed medicinal decoctions over a long period.

"Once they secure a clear view, they can even read a newspaper laid out 15 kilometers away."

It was a chilling ability.

"And to think that the only downside to gaining such vision is that they can’t eat a few kinds of vegetables."

"Limitations tend to become devastatingly fatal in unexpected situations."

There was no need to look far for an example of how a minor restriction could be deadly.

Why did the House Featherwing fall?

"I see. Anyway, that’s not what I meant. It’s dark here."

Irena said that as she gestured to her own eyes.

"What’s the use of having great vision?"

Kairus understood what Irena was getting at. In the dark, even vision lost its meaning.

That was common sense.

"Hunters' vision is thanks to the decoctions they drink regularly. Over time, it doesn’t just enhance sight."

If it had only been about improving eyesight, the name "hunter" would never have gained such fame.

"Eyes of hunters who’ve consumed the decoction for a long time can even see heat."

In front of eyes that see heat, darkness without light becomes meaningless. Even without light, there’s still heat, and if one can see heat, then they can see through the dark.

"Then shouldn’t we just create a heat source nearby?"

To Irena’s suggestion, Kairus responded.

"To neutralize hunters’ heat detection, we’d need to raise the surrounding temperature significantly… and the only way to do that is to light a fire."

"Ah."

Irena fell silent for a moment at Kairus's words. Lighting a fire creates light. Then hunters wouldn’t need to rely on sensing heat.

They could just use their eyes. It wasn’t like they had some kind of switch to turn it on or off.

"What about creating a sudden, powerful flash of light?"

"Hunters overcome the effects of a flash in less than a second."

"What the hell is that?"

Irena looked utterly dumbfounded.

Kairus, seeing the incredulous expression on Irena's face, shared what he had learned from his own experience.

"Don’t bother trying to exploit hunters’ eyes. It’s pointless."

Countless people had tried all kinds of ways to neutralize hunters’ vision after hearing how sharp it was.

"There was even a guy who suggested burning damp straw to create smoke and block their sight."

"And the result?"

"Our own eyes got blocked too. When conditions are equal, the hunters' vision is still superior."

To sum it up: they all failed. Hunters’ eyes were so refined, they were even immune to tear powder.

The only known method of disabling a hunter’s eyes was to shove vegetables like scallions or leeks into their mouths.

"If we head this way, I think we’ll find it."

Melvin, who had been examining the surroundings, finally reached a conclusion.

"Dr. Istovan really knows his way around, even in these sewage-filled sewers. I guess seeing the path comes from knowing so much."

At Tanya Lysand’s comment, Melvin gave a faint smile.

"If the preservation state had been better, it wouldn’t have taken this long."

"Still, we should be grateful that anything remains at all."

The two seemed to work well together—though it was more that Tanya was a good listener to Melvin’s explanations.

Just then, a sudden whistle rang out through the dark sewer.

Kairus, who had been watching the exchange between Tanya and Melvin, instantly drew Flicker and slashed into the air.

"...?! What the—"

With a sharp crackling sound, his blade cut through the air, scattering sparks as it clashed with something unseen.

"I’m glad to see how well your team gets along. Now stop chatting. You should fall back for now."

Having seen the arrow embedded in the ground, its shaft trembling, Irena finally grasped the situation and drew Stained Glass.

‘The sound was hidden.’

Irena swallowed hard. The speed of the arrow had been so carefully controlled that the sound of it slicing through the air had been completely masked by the whistle.

"Wow. How’d you block that, huh? Young man, have you been hunted before or something?"

A voice rang out from beyond the darkness—clearly the one who had loosed the arrow.

Instead of answering the hunter’s question, Kairus responded with one of his own.

"How many years have you been drinking it?"

"Well, look at this attitude. When someone asks you a question, you answer it. You can’t just ask a question back."

Another whistle echoed through the sewer. Along with it came seventeen arrows that Kairus had to deflect mid-flight.

"So, did you come alone? Must’ve been a lonely trip from Daeyeon all the way here without anyone to talk to."

At Kairus’s remark, laughter echoed from beyond the darkness—huhuhuh.

"That place, the Rose Garden or whatever—didn’t they hand over all the intel? So why are you playing dumb? There’s three of us, you know."

"Yeah, well, I asked because I only heard one voice."

Once again, a whistle rang out, followed by a barrage of arrows.

While talking, Kairus continued to think.

‘The one making noise is the bastard whistling.’

The other two were firing. And the ones shooting were positioned farther back than the one whistling.

"You use Swift Blade."

At the moment, Kairus and Irena couldn’t both use Swift Blade simultaneously. Irena’s mastery wasn’t high enough, so their techniques would interfere with each other.

So Kairus had no plans to use it.

"Sorry."

"Save that for when we’re dying. It’s not time to apologize yet."

Irena gave a small nod and boosted the output of Stained Glass.

The air in the sewer rippled from the surge in energy. Taking advantage of that moment, Kairus dashed into the darkness.

‘At this distance…’

As Kairus dropped his stance, an arrow grazed over his head. If he had been a split second late, it would’ve pierced him right between the eyes.

"You’re not the only ones with good eyes."

Purely in terms of performance, Early Sense fell short compared to a hunter’s senses…

Even though hunters had exceptional eyesight, Featherwing’s Early Sense wasn’t something to scoff at either.

And the procedures of the Featherwing family didn’t stop at Early Sense. Taking in a deep breath, Kairus pushed off the ground and leapt.

"Hiyah, what the hell is that?"

From within the darkness, Jangpal, who had been watching Kairus while whistling, clicked his tongue.

There was no better way to describe it than to say Kairus used three-dimensional space. The ceiling became the floor, and the floor became the ceiling.

He ran along the wall, then kicked off it, springing up to the ceiling and running along it.

Kairus's charge was a feat impossible with the elasticity of ordinary joints and muscles.

"Jeez, it’s not like I’ve got no tricks of my own."

But calling it a trick was almost an insult to hunters who had spent their lives handling every situation with only a bow and arrows.

Following tradition, he drew a single arrow, nocked it, and fired it toward the ground.

The time it took to complete the entire process had to be measured in decimals.

‘One step, three arrows.’

With every step, he loosed three arrows. It was the basic skill required to even be called a hunter. Skilled hunters fired even faster.

"Goddamn it."

The arrow Jangpal had fired struck the wall, ricocheted, and targeted Kairus.

As Kairus dodged it, two more arrows collided in midair and deflected in different directions.

Countless arrows flew without pause, striking the walls or colliding with each other, tracing chaotic trajectories.

Kairus silently deflected and evaded the arrows targeting him, waiting patiently.

"What the hell is taking so long?"

And finally, a raging gale swept through the sewer, suppressing the arrows like a swarm of angry hornets.

The descending wind grabbed the arrows by the scruff and yanked them to the ground. After all, arrows needed to fly.

And nothing that flies can escape the control of the wind.

"That’s why, maybe it’s time to quit fooling around."

Kairus muttered quietly, tightening his grip on Flicker as he stared into the darkness.

A faint flash of light flickered across his vision for a moment.

There was no time to hesitate. Raising the output of his battle gear, Kairus swung Flicker.

With a deafening boom, the shockwave exploded, sweeping away the sewage that filled the sewer. The walls trembled, and the joints in Kairus’s body screamed.

His body, firmly planted on the ground, was pushed back nearly ten meters.