# Chapter 25
—
A Titan gang member blinked.
The sudden gunshot.
And Captain Boris, with a hole drilled through his brow.
The surreal situation had unfolded so abruptly that his mind froze.
But the moment Arthur, who had killed Boris, began to move, the situation became real.
Each of them drew their weapons and aimed them at Arthur.
“Move, and you die.”
At the sharp warning, Arthur didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled something out from Boris’s ear—now a corpse.
The Titan gang members who witnessed this widened their eyes.
It was a magical communicator.
And not just that—it was still active.
“If I had left him alone, that communicator would’ve marked us as targets, and magic would’ve rained down on us. We’d all have been wiped out on the spot.”
“…”
“So I killed him first… Well. Is that a problem?”
The Titan gang members fell into silence at his explanation.
If his words were true, then Arthur was their savior.
If false, he was just a bastard who killed their captain.
Yet the way things looked, shockingly enough, the former seemed more likely.
Why else would Captain Boris have been wearing a magical communicator?
And from the very device, still active, the voice drifting out unmistakably belonged to members of the Giants.
As heavy silence threatened to descend, a man stepped forward.
“The name’s Laborde. So what you’re saying is, our captain betrayed us?”
Arthur nodded.
“From how things look, isn’t that the case?”
“…”
“He had the communicator on him. Magic rained down in the dead of night, striking right at our position. And then there’s the voices coming from this communicator.”
Arthur shook the device in his hand for emphasis.
“Just from this conversation… isn’t it obvious? Betrayal. At least, that’s my opinion.”
Having finished speaking, Arthur took a step back.
In the silence that followed, the Titan gang members began glancing at one another.
As the mood started to drift into dangerous territory, Laborde spoke again.
“So? Do we believe him?”
“And if we don’t?”
“Then we kill him here and now, and retreat from the scene.”
“But the Giants are right in front of us.”
“This is beyond what we bargained for. Forget the money. With the captain dead, we have to pull out.”
“Can we even retreat?”
“If we scatter, some of us will die. But it’s better than being wiped out completely, isn’t it?”
Arthur, who had been listening quietly, raised his hand.
“I don’t think escape is an option.”
“What?”
“We’re surrounded. Uh… By my count, there are twice as many as the reports said.”
The Titan gang members’ faces stiffened at his explanation.
They quickly scanned their surroundings to verify his words.
“Damn it.”
They hated to admit it, but once again, Arthur was right.
Beyond the mob approaching from the front, another force was closing in from the rear.
Clicking his tongue, Laborde looked at Arthur.
“You got any alternatives?”
“An alternative?”
“We’ve heard the rumors about you. First mission, yet the rookie who killed a mage. With that kind of skill, you must have something.”
Arthur thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
“There is a simple, effective solution.”
“What is it?”
“You guys buy me some time.”
“…?”
“In the meantime, I’ll kill that mage over there. Once the bombardment stops, even if we can’t win, at least we’ll be able to drag things out.”
Laborde let out a dry laugh.
“You want us to play bullet shields while you run?”
“Mm… that wasn’t my intent. But unless you’ve got a better idea?”
“…”
“Then I’ll go with your choice. But decide quickly. We don’t have much time. Once that mage finishes casting again, half our people are dead before we even start.”
At his calm explanation, Laborde fell silent.
After scratching his head roughly, he finally apologized.
“Sorry. The situation made me speak harshly. And besides, you… well, you did kill our captain, even if he was a traitor.”
Arthur raised his brows in surprise.
‘Oh… A gangster who actually apologizes?’
Still, he didn’t show his feelings.
Boris hadn’t acted like a gangster either, and he turned out to be a traitor.
There was no reason Laborde couldn’t be the same.
After consulting the others, Laborde turned back to Arthur.
“In a situation like this, it’s a bit strange to say, but… can you swear on faith and trust?”
“Faith and trust?”
“I don’t mean like a knight’s oath. Just… the honor that comes with the name of Donn. Can you swear on that honor to keep your word?”
Without hesitation, Arthur nodded.
“I promise. I want to resolve this incident too. And… there’s something I still need to get.”
Hearing his answer, Laborde pulled something out.
A shotgun.
A massive, brand-new model Arthur had seen in the gun shop.
Without hesitation, Laborde aimed it skyward and pulled the trigger.
BOOM—!!
The thunderous blast made the advancing Giants stop in their tracks.
From within the smoke, Laborde spoke to Arthur.
“We’ll buy you time. Now our lives are in your hands.”
—
—
Thanks to Laborde and the Titan gang, Arthur managed to break through the encirclement, bounding between ruined buildings like a flying squirrel.
There was no worry of losing his way.
The gnome and the undine were leading him from ahead.
\[Arthur, this way!]
Watching them, Arthur thought:
‘Every time, I can’t help but feel it—Undine and Mr. Gnome are truly invaluable.’
It was thanks to their advance scouting that he had realized Boris was a traitor and that magical bombardment was coming.
If the gnome and undine hadn’t located the mage’s position and identified Boris’s voice through the communicator, it would have been their side caught in the trap.
‘It paid off to prepare for the worst. And luck was on my side, too.’
That revolver had shattered a mage’s spell with a single shot.
Even if it was coincidence, it was proof enough of the weapon’s worth.
Arthur couldn’t help but smirk.
‘Must’ve been all the auxiliary enchantments boosting its power. Definitely worth the money.’
Clearing his thoughts, Arthur narrowed his vision.
With his body enhanced, his field of view was unnaturally wide.
At its edge, he spotted a group lying in ambush on the rooftop of a ruined building.
Nine men.
One emanating magical energy.
And eight guards protecting him.
Having confirmed his target, Arthur drew his revolver without hesitation.
And pulled the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG—!
With each deafening shot, the heads of the guards burst apart in succession.
“Shit!”
“What the hell!?”
“Ambush! Grab your weapons!”
The survivors raised their weapons with desperate cries.
But before they could even swing, something sliced through the darkness, severing their throats.
Whoosh—!
With a strange rushing sound, the last of the guards fell headless.
The mage, mid-incantation, froze in horror.
Arthur didn’t miss the opening.
His blood-soaked blade shot straight for the mage’s throat.
BOOM—!
A shockwave blasted him back, making his hand tingle.
‘A powerhouse. Stronger than Jane Dormunt.’
According to reports, the Giants had only one man of such caliber.
‘The gang leader, Furis, who possesses the bloodline of Spatial Leap. That must be him.’
Tightening his grip on his sword, Arthur braced himself.
The man presumed to be Furis rested a massive axe on his shoulder and muttered.
“I thought I’d check in just in case, and of course. To think you’d break through that encirclement… Are Willet’s mercenaries nothing but monsters, even if they’re rookies?”
Letting out a sigh, Furis asked:
“Just in case—are you willing to negotiate?”
“Negotiate?”
“Yes. If you back down quietly here, we’ll give you half our payment. Fifty gold. Not a small sum. What do you say?”
Arthur blinked.
‘A gang leader trying to negotiate… he’s an odd one, too.’
But unfortunately, there was no room for negotiation.
He hadn’t accepted this mission for money.
Click.
Arthur leveled his revolver in silent answer.
Furis let out a bitter laugh.
“No room for negotiation, huh. This is why I never wanted to cross Willet’s mercenaries.”
Silence descended.
Arthur and Furis, both utterly still, their auras heavy. The mage swallowed hard.
Then, as if on cue, the two men leapt forward at the same moment.
BOOM!
Sword and axe collided, sparks splitting the darkness.
In that clash, both Arthur and Furis knew—
The victor here tonight would be the one who survived.
—
—
Arthur sprang forward.
Harnessing the elasticity of the Frakil bloodline and his body enhanced by a first-circle ring, he closed the distance instantly.
But the axe-wielding gang leader would not allow him in.
Flash—!
With a burst of light, Furis vanished.
He left behind not even a trace.
‘So this is Spatial Leap?’
It was even more potent than he’d expected.
Practically a short-range teleport.
Arthur instinctively swung behind him.
Clang—!
Steel rang as the two exchanged another blow, then launched into a furious exchange.
Sparks flew from sword and axe, tearing through the dark.
Arthur shifted his fighting style.
Whoosh!
His blade curved through the air.
Not merely an illusion—it truly bent, as he contorted his joints unnaturally to create impossible angles of attack.
Clicking his tongue, Furis relied on raw power and speed to block.
BOOM—!
The impact pressed Arthur down beneath the weight of the axe.
If this continued, his body would be split in two.
So Arthur twisted his joints again, springing upward to slash at Furis’s throat.
“You bastard—!”
Cursing, Furis swung again.
But Arthur measured the distance perfectly, hopping back out of reach.
The evasive movement made Furis grind his teeth.
He had to admit—Arthur’s instincts were unnerving. But instead of admiration, annoyance rose within him.
And he soon realized why.
‘He’s not fighting me. He’s hunting me.’
Before he was the feared gang leader of Arcane, Furis had once wandered mountain ranges, where he encountered a nameless beast.
For days it circled him, sleepless, harried, provoked, until he gave up his journey and hunted it down in rage.
Now, facing Arthur, that loathsome memory returned.
The rookie before him was hunting him—harrying him, baiting him, pushing his senses to their utmost with unpredictable strikes.
‘If this goes on, I’ll be the one to wear down. And then he’ll bare his fangs.’
Taking a deep breath, Furis calmed the irritation and heat in his body.
Arthur noticed the change and smirked.
‘He’s calmed down. Saw through my intent and steadied himself.’
Arthur had to admit it.
‘The toughest opponent I’ve faced yet. This won’t be easy.’
But that didn’t mean the outcome would change.
He would win. He would take the bloodline power of Spatial Leap.
That was the intuition granted by the awakening of his Bayern blood—the sharp instinct that never once had proven wrong.
Arthur charged again, sword of meteoric iron in hand.
“Jump—!”
At the mage’s shout, Furis vanished into Spatial Leap.
And in the gap left open, the mage’s spell blazed.
Arthur was caught off guard—he hadn’t expected magic at this moment—but quickly drew his revolver in response.
Bang! Bang!
The barrier cracked under his bullets.
By the time it shattered completely, the massive explosion of light engulfed Arthur.
BOOM—!!!
The ruined building shook, its outer wall blown apart.
As chunks of concrete rained down, Arthur exhaled.
“Thanks, Mr. Gnome. You saved me.”
\[……!]
“I’d hoped to save you for later, but looks like I’ll have to use you and Undine more actively now.”
With a leap, Arthur took cover behind a half-broken pillar.
The collapsing building drowned out any trace of Furis.
‘But he could appear anywhere. With his ability…’
Arthur sharpened his senses to the extreme, bristling like a beast ready to pounce.
He whipped around—
BOOM—!
The axe slammed down, staggering him.
Furis kicked him in the stomach, but thanks to Frakil’s bloodline, the damage was negligible—though the force still knocked him back.
At that moment, the tilted building groaned ominously.
“Run to the other side!”
The mage’s shout came as his spell flashed—this time not at Arthur, but at the collapsing structure.
Arthur clicked his tongue.
If this kept up, he’d be buried under falling concrete.
“Mr. Gnome!”
Creating footholds, Arthur regained balance, then fired his revolver relentlessly to restrict Furis’s movements.
Overusing Spatial Leap had weakened Furis, leaving him unable to fully dodge. He relied on his enhanced body to absorb the bullets.
“Damn it—!”
But Arthur’s revolver, coated in layered enchantments, was near artifact-level.
Furis’s body couldn’t withstand it. Wounds opened.
Seizing the moment, Arthur swung his blade wide at Furis’s chest.
Slash—!
Blood spurted across the air, soaking Arthur’s sword.
Furis, wounded, grappled Arthur and leapt into the void.
“This is my victory, bastard!”
Just before crashing down, he triggered his ability.
Arthur was cast to the ground. Furis landed atop a building.
And the ruined structure collapsed in a thunderous crash.
KA-BOOM—!!
The world shook, a storm of dust surging.
Panting, Furis barely escaped.
The mage approached cautiously.
“I-it’s over?”
“For now, it seems.”
Furis stood again, gazing at where Arthur had fallen.
“Anyone who survived that… it’d be better if they were dead, don’t you agree?”
The mage nodded.
To have survived a mage’s spells, to have driven a battle gang leader to the edge, and then to fall from such a height—better to die outright.
“Damn… What a monster. If not for overwhelming numbers, we’d be the dead ones.”
Muttering this, Furis finally began to let his guard down—
Thud!
Blood burst from his chest. His heartbeat stopped.
Startled, Furis turned his head.
A flat, emotionless voice rang in his ear.
“That was close. I have to admit it—you really are strong, Mr. Furis.”
Recognizing the voice, Furis let out a bitter laugh.
The monster who should’ve been crushed to pulp by the fall was still alive.
“…Damn.”
As the blade withdrew, Furis collapsed.
Arthur smiled brightly as he looked down at him.
“But in the end, I won. Good fight, Mr. Furis.”
—
