Chapter 1276

<Episode 1276> 1276. Pheromone Monster

I stepped out of the car and began walking down the street.

Through wireless earbuds with a flower in my ear, I could hear Sophia’s voice.

“-Do you see the house with the penguin statue at the entrance?”

“Yeah, I see it. Guess they really like penguins.”

“…My daughter used to love them. Just go inside that house. Is anyone there?”

Sophia was tracking my location via GPS from her car. Since she’s an ordinary person, it’d be too dangerous for her to move, so I’m doing this alone.

I stopped and spread my ki senses. I detected the presence of four people hiding inside the house and six others concealed outside. The enemies have already noticed me.

“There are ten people hiding nearby, all keeping their eyes on me. Two seem to be B Rank, while the rest appear to be C Rank. Should I take them down?”

“…Please avoid combat as much as possible.”

“I’ll do my best. Where’s the data located?”

“It’s in the doghouse in the yard. There’s a small drawer under the right side of the roof. Inside, you’ll find a USB stick. It won’t be easily visible from the outside, so feel around with your palm.”

“So that’s why they haven’t found it yet. Hiding stuff in a doghouse, huh?”

“Hehe, consider that a compliment.”

I entered through the main gate of Sophia’s house.

At that moment, bullets came flying toward me.

Heavenly Lightning Flow – Electromagnetic Barrier!

The bullets couldn’t penetrate the electromagnetic barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground.

‘They didn’t hesitate to shoot. Looks like these guys are ready for action.’

A mere bullet isn’t enough to kill me.

While maintaining my spread ki senses, I approached the doghouse. Quite fancy for a doghouse, but it appears empty. No dog in sight.

“Don’t see any pets around. Did they kill it?”

“…Rex went with my ex-husband.”

“Oh, I see.”

Sophia’s voice turned melancholic. I regret asking now; it seems her split with her ex wasn’t amicable.

I crouched in front of the doghouse and ran my hand along the underside of the right roof. My fingers brushed against something.

I pulled, revealing a hidden drawer that popped out a USB drive.

“Found it.”

“Guess even they couldn’t locate it. That’s good news.”

“But it seems we’ll have to fight after all.”

Thud… Thud…

Two men emerged from both my left and right sides—both B Rank ability users. The remaining eight are still hiding and waiting.

“Hey, hand that over.”

“We promise. Just give us the USB, and we’ll let you walk away unharmed.”

They each wielded a sword and an axe, their weapons glowing with menacing energy blades. I slipped the USB into my pants pocket and summoned my Scarlet Lotus Blade.

“I’m warning you. Step back now, and I might let you live.”

The hairy brute wielding the axe smirked.

“You underestimate us because we’re B Rank, huh? Do you know how many A Rankers we’ve killed with our bare hands? Over seven.”

“Today will make it eight.”

The lanky one with the sword lunged forward with a chilling voice.


The sword enveloped in blade energy was raised to block the scrawny one’s attack.

The hairy brute swung his axe at my neck as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

I tilted my head back to dodge. The attacks from the hairball and the scrawny guy were pretty straightforward.

‘These guys are just distractions. The real threat is…’

A bullet flew through the air. Crack! My electromagnetic shield flickered and deflected it. The fallen bullet rolled on the ground.

‘There are eight hiding. No gunshots mean they’re using magic or artifacts. And…’

The bullet that fell wasn’t copper but some other metal. Special rounds that could even affect an A-Rank Hunter.

Whoosh~

The axe and sword came flying at me simultaneously.

Too simple, too slow.

That’s what I thought right before… the weapons suddenly warped and split into dozens of pieces.

“[Moment] activated. Remaining stacks: 6.”

Panicking, I used Moment.

Instinctively analyzing their stances, they looked sloppy by my standards – not professionally trained fighters.

‘This isn’t skill but ability. The warping is… illusion from the hairy brute’s power, and the splitting must be the scrawny one’s.’

Even with all the distortion and division, one thing remained unchanged – reach. Their attack range hadn’t increased.

I casually stepped back. Thanks to Moment, it became an incredibly fast backstep.

“Huh?”

“Got speed-type abilities too?”

Lowering my upper body and knees, I positioned the Huaryeon Sword at my side and swung it, channeling lightning energy toward the enemies.

The blue blade cut through them. The hairy brute was cleanly bisected, while the scrawny one got lucky and only suffered a bloody wound on his side.

“Fire at will!!”

The scrawny one shouted.

Bullets poured from all directions. But I didn’t react. There was no need. My electromagnetic shield effortlessly nullified every single round.

“Dammit! Nobody told us this guy’s completely bulletproof!!”

The scrawny one swung his sword in rage. The blade split into three. Instead of recklessly blocking, I evaded using footwork and countered with the Huaryeon Sword aimed at his opening.

“Gack!”

The scrawny one, stabbed in the chest, couldn’t evade or defend.

“If you can’t even block such a basic attack… Physical stats and mana B-Rank? Combat skills lower than C-Rank. So… you weren’t Hunters.”

If they were Hunters, they wouldn’t have been so sloppy.

They probably weren’t Hunters who chose not to be. To become a Hunter, you need a clean criminal record. These guys were criminals even before awakening their powers.

‘Well, maybe they were just Hunters who hated the job.’

Confirming the scrawny one’s last breath, I scanned the surroundings. Through ki perception, I felt the ones who shot at me earlier fleeing in panic.

Repeating Sophia’s request to minimize casualties in my mind…

I dismissed the Huaryeon Sword and headed to Sophia.

Back in the workshop, Sophia sat typing furiously at her computer. Watching her work from the bed, I quietly closed my eyes.

Boom!

The loud noise woke me up. Wiping the drool from the corner of my mouth, I turned toward the sound source. Sophia had risen from her chair and was glaring daggers at the computer screen.

Looking at my smartphone, it was 11 AM.

“…Sophia, I guess we can’t say good morning. Did you stay up all night working?”

“…No. I did sleep. You just woke up late. Did you rest well?”

“Yes, I slept soundly. But Sophia seems to be in a bad mood. Did something go wrong with your work?”

“Jack Taylor has been captured by BlueCad. Because of that, their operations have stopped.”

Rising from the bed, I scratched my head.

“Just because one person was caught, does BlueCad’s operation really…


“Excuse me, Spring?”

“Jack Taylor was at the heart of Blue Cadre. The politicians who followed Jack Taylor decided to sit this one out and watch how things play. And here I am, babbling nonsense again like some journalist. A few media outlets still support me… but that won’t last long. You use the press far too well. And for some reason, influential figures in politics and business are publicly supporting you.”

“……Shouldn’t we inform the public that Jack Taylor has been captured?”

“You’re no pushover, Boss. Officially, Jack Taylor is just on hiatus due to poor health. Even if I said Jack Taylor was caught by you, nobody would believe it.”

“Hmph…”

“Wanna hear the worst part? We’ve become wanted fugitives. Our faces are being broadcast live all over the internet right now.”

Sophia pointed at the monitor.

Both mine and Sophia’s faces were plastered across internet news sites. There were even bounties on our heads. 50,000 dollars for Sophia, and a 3 million dollar bounty on mine.

“Isn’t that a huge disparity in the bounty amounts?”

“You’re an Awakened, aren’t you? With abilities ranking up there with A Rank.”

“Hmph. That’s true.”

“…You’re awfully calm. I nearly lost it when I saw this.”

“I don’t get excited over something as trivial as this. What matters is what we do next.”

Sophia sighed deeply.

“Blue Cadre is planning a rescue operation for Jack Taylor. But…”

“Not going so well, huh?”

“Without proper leadership, they’re lukewarm about it. They’re preparing protests separately… but it won’t have much effect. The current state of Blue Cadre won’t be of any help.”

“So should we two rescue Jack Taylor ourselves?”

“…No. That’d be tough. There might be other ways though…”

Sophia stared at me intently.

“There is a way, but I’ll need your consent.”

“I’ve already said I’ll help. Just hope it’s not too unreasonable.”

“Do you know what Americans go crazy over?”

“Uh… freedom?”

“Freedom’s a given. Americans love heroes. Superheroes with special powers.”

“Yeah, I know that. The top hunters in America are called ‘Heroes’ separately, aren’t they? They’re more popular than most celebrities.”

“That’s right. So… how about you consider becoming a Dark Hero?”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious. Putting aside opinions about me, public opinion about you isn’t actually that bad. All three people you killed yesterday were mobsters. Criminals with superpowers—villains. Some communities are already calling you Jupiter and praising you.”

“Jupiter?”

“Don’t you know? Zeus, the chief god in Greek mythology…”

“No, I know that. What I’m curious about is why Americans are praising me.”

“It’s because you’re being revered as a rare Dark Hero.”

Top-tier hunters don’t engage in Dark Hero antics. No matter how much the public wants it, a Dark Hero is ultimately a criminal. There’s no reason to throw away a stable job just for popularity.

“Do I really have to become this Dark Hero thing?”

“We’re already criminals. At this rate, we’ll only be chased by the police and bounty hunters. But if you become the perfect Dark Hero that Americans want… we can sway public opinion in our favor. We could even label Governor Boss as evil and oust him from the presidency.”

I fell into thought, weighing various factors.

First off, it sounds pretty fun.

Next, the risks… After pondering several aspects, I nodded. It seemed worth a shot.

“Meh, let’s give it a try.”