Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 90

Underground Search (3)

At the sound of the trumpet, the Scarecrow, who had been confronting me and Irena, quickly retreated.

Irena wore a bitter expression.

"So they weren’t just wandering around alone, huh?"

"Apparently not."

It seemed that the sound we’d just heard had been a retreat signal.

The tall, lanky man with the pumpkin head backed away with large strides and melted into the darkness.

That skirmish just now had been a kind of power assessment.

"The bastards were testing us."

Their goal had been to see how strong we were. That way, they could plan their strategy moving forward.

In the process, they had revealed a portion of their strength to me as well…

But what bothered me was that the Areumdri Pawnshop team still had three cards left unrevealed.

If we’d been given just a little more time, I would have succeeded in landing a counterattack.

Even if I couldn’t take his life with a single strike, it would’ve naturally made his movements more cautious.

And if Irena joined in from that point, we could have secured victory much faster than the Scarecrow had anticipated.

"Well, no helping it if they ran away."

I smacked my lips briefly. Since the enemy clearly didn’t want to fight immediately, I didn’t feel any particular urge to chase them down either.

They likely had more numbers. Besides, our priority now was to get Melvin and Tanya out of this filthy swamp.

"At least the filter’s holding up well."

Irena tapped her gas mask as she spoke. Breathing was a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn’t enough to get in the way during a short skirmish.

Thanks to the procedure of the Featherwing, I could function perfectly even in conditions with far less oxygen than this.

"Doctor, let’s cross."

Crossing the rotting swamp once more, I arrived by Melvin’s side. His eyes were quivering nervously.

"Wasn’t that dangerous just now?"

What had he really meant by that question? Was it concern for me, or worry about his own safety in the event I lost?

I easily caught the real question hidden behind his words.

‘Can you really protect me?’

That was what Melvin had truly wanted to ask. No one wanted to die in a place like this, and Melvin’s desire to live was particularly intense.

The moment he became convinced that Irena and I couldn’t guarantee his safety, no one would know what Melvin might do.

"Dangerous, my ass."

I answered nonchalantly. Irena added a brief explanation on top.

"During that quick fight, we managed to deflect his attacks. If the clash had continued a few more times, Kairus probably would’ve landed a solid counter."

"Is that so?"

Hearing Irena's words, Melvin sank into brief contemplation.

"Doctor."

Watching him, I approached with a smile.

"Yes, what is i— Aaaaaargh?!"

I grabbed Melvin’s hand and, without hesitation, bent his index finger in a direction it was never meant to go.

"I went through all kinds of hell to bring you here safely. Don’t you think I’d be really disappointed if you suddenly started having second thoughts?"

Up until now, I’d treated Melvin with a fair amount of kindness.

That was because he had followed my instructions without complaint and more importantly, had never entertained any disrespectful thoughts that might get on my nerves.

But right now, Melvin was clearly contemplating if there was another option besides continuing to travel with me.

"I didn’t! I didn’t think anything like that! I swear!"

Melvin Istovan shouted in sheer agony and blinding fear.

"Right?"

Satisfied with his response, I turned to Tanya.

"Looks like our doctor needs a bit of treatment."

Without any particular change in expression, Tanya approached Melvin and took the necessary measures.

"Sure, someone else in another expedition team might be stronger than me."

At my words, Melvin stared at his limp finger and trembled.

"But that doesn’t mean you can run from me. I don’t like things going off track."

Once Tanya finished her treatment and stepped back, I placed a hand on Melvin’s shoulder.

"Changing your mind isn’t a good option. You’d better remember that."

Now Melvin truly understood. The real question wasn’t whether someone out there was stronger than me.

What mattered was whether he himself was stronger or weaker than I was.

"…."

His left index finger freshly shattered, Melvin was still overwhelmed by pain and injustice but he couldn’t bring himself to express any anger toward me.

After glancing at him, I picked up my pace again.

"Wasn’t that a bit much?"

"Really? I’m curious what you would’ve done instead."

When Irena questioned me, I threw the question back. She paused to think, then sighed.

"You’re right."

There really was no other way. Unlike Irena, Dr. Melvin wasn’t bound by any special constraints.

We weren’t in a position to spend years building trust together. In this situation, intimidation and violence were the most efficient and reliable—methods.

"If you’ve got enough energy to worry about Istovan’s condition, put it toward preparing for the next fight."

The movement of our team would continue to be obstructed. I struck the wall once, breaking off a handful of small stone fragments, then flicked them into the darkness with my thumb.

With a sharp metallic clang, a trap was triggered, followed by the sound of something dropping from the ceiling.

Some of them launched poison-tipped darts and arrows in our direction.

"Traps? How desperate can they get?"

Irena muttered a complaint as she swung her sword to deflect the flying projectiles.

"It's a dark interior. A tactic anyone might consider."

In this kind of environment, few methods of attack are more efficient than traps.

"They can’t be far."

Even if you wound someone, it’s extremely rare to finish them off with a trap alone.

So the ones who set these traps usually lie in wait nearby, ready to ambush their prey.

"Lunaseeker?"

At Irena’s remark, I let out a chuckle.

"Well, it could be."

Lunaseeker agents typically rely on various kinds of add-ons and equipment tailored for their main work—assassination and espionage.

Traps wouldn’t be an exception.

"But if these were Lunaseeker’s traps, I don’t think I’d have spotted them so easily."

I hadn’t fought with Lunaseeker directly before, but I was confident they wouldn’t scatter traps around so clumsily.

"Let’s keep our eyes peeled as we move forward."

I figured whoever had laid the traps was lying in ambush somewhere nearby.

But, unfortunately, that assumption turned out to be completely wrong.

The ones who had set up those traps for us didn’t have the luxury to care about that right now.

They were currently facing off against Nora.

"Isn’t this enough already?"

Nora Galatea said with an awkward expression to the people in front of her.

Holding a yataghan adorned with ivory and amber in one hand, she gave them an uneasy smile.

"That one already lost an arm."

As she said, among the four who were on guard against her, one was already missing his right arm.

"I’m not even here for you, and I don’t want to hurt anyone weak."

Her words came from the heart. Unless it was a target that had to be killed, Nora Galatea’s current mission was to locate Pontus.

If her mission required killing someone, she would only kill the target.

If no killing was necessary, she wouldn't kill at all.

"You crazy bitch, spouting nonsense."

But the one who had lost his wrist in the ambush didn’t share Nora’s sentiment.

From his perspective, losing a wrist from a surprise attack was not something he could just let go.

In this line of work, your body is your most valuable asset. And among those assets, a wrist holds critical importance and now it was gone.

"You bitch, I’m not leaving here until I smash your fucking skull in."

The man who had lost his wrist tightly wrapped the stump with a tourniquet, then began dragging his warhammer toward Nora.

"I really wouldn’t recommend that."

Even though it had been just a brief skirmish, it was enough for Nora to assess the situation. These four who were now trying to face her—none of them could defeat her.

Yet, they still wanted to fight. To Nora, they looked like fools yearning for suicide.

"I don’t want to fight."

Since she had no intention of fighting, Nora prepared to flee. Even if they wanted to engage, if she didn’t want to kill, then all she had to do was escape.

Just as she had been trained as a Lunaseeker, Nora instantly disappeared into the darkness. But at that moment, a flash of intense light ripped through the shadows.

"…."

As soon as the light flared, Nora vanished once more into the shadows. Bright light always cast deep shadows, so her choice had been the correct one.

"Taking the wrist was supposed to be a warning."

It hadn’t even been intended as a serious blow. She’d expected some level of reaction and tossed it as a warning.

The man had failed to heed that warning and lost his wrist because of it.

With such a vast difference in skill, what would happen if Nora actually intended to kill?

Those currently combing the area with rage burning in their eyes would meet death in an instant.

"But still…"

The lights turned off once again. And once more, the ally Lunaseekers trusted most—darkness—stood by Nora’s side.

‘It wouldn’t even take ten seconds.’

Even with that certainty, Nora chose to slip away silently.

Though trained as a Lunaseeker and having killed countless people, the color of blood still disgusted her, and the screams of the dying still made her heart ache.

"Find that fucking bitch!"

The voices of the others grew more distant. Not a single sound followed her.

"Didn’t she already get away?"

"What do you take me for?"

One of the people scanning the area tapped his earring.

"If she ran, there would’ve been a sound."

The earring was a custom-made item. Once calibrated, it could distinguish even the footsteps of a mouse amid a fireworks display and indicate their direction.

"But you didn’t even catch the ambush earlier."

"That was... because we let our guard down!"

Not anymore. The one who had proudly flaunted the earring now snapped irritably before adjusting its settings once more.

Human footsteps.

But the earring, which they trusted so much, couldn’t pick up Nora’s footsteps at all.

"Why the hell isn’t this working?"

The only sounds echoing through the underground were the bewildered voices of the four.

Meanwhile, Nora had already managed to get quite far away.

Since their objective was ultimately the same, another encounter was inevitable.

"Knocking them out... I can’t even try."

Nora shook her head. She had never learned how to knock someone out. Thanks to her thorough training, she only had two options.

Run or kill. She didn’t know any other way.

Even if she did know, her body would move first and crush the target’s throat before she could think.

It wasn’t something she could control.