Hildebert let out a long laugh as he looked at Erich Erhart.

It wasn’t a pleasant, good-natured smile.

Of course it wasn’t.

There was no way things had been going well. There had been plenty to scrape at one’s nerves—frozen accounts, for one, and the humans who had been hovering around their vicinity lately.

And countless other things besides....

Well, even so, he had endured it well.

Shashinsky was surprised that they had held out better than expected.

Two months was a fairly long stretch of time.

Falcon was more seasoned than anyone when it came to this kind of war. To be honest, anyone who made Colton Wiseman their enemy usually didn’t survive even three days.

Overnight, they would find themselves saddled with massive debt and kill themselves, or discover that certain videos had been leaked and kill themselves, or die mysteriously in any number of different ways.

In many cases, the bodies were never even found.

But Hildebert was very much alive and healthy, as if to spite them, and his kin were also all doing just fine.

By “his kin,” this literally meant every Titan within Center Core.

Over the past two months, Hildebert had tracked down every single one of those who had been waiting for him.

He had hunted down all the Titans who were living quietly blended in among humans and gathered them into his net.

Now, if even one of them were to die under suspicious circumstances, Hildebert would draw his sword and hunt down the culprit.

No—truthfully, the moment someone even attempted a kidnapping, it would be over.

The instant a gun was aimed at a harmless Titan, that person’s name went straight onto Hildebert’s removal list.

That was how, over the course of two months, two people in positions of power had died.

One was a major entertainment industry tycoon who had failed in an attempt to kidnap Okazaki, the man running the Lexic noodles chain.

The other was the second son of a Core 3 conglomerate family who had failed while trying to take an aging old man hostage.

Both, he had heard, had been delivered dead to the front of Falcon’s residence.

There hadn’t been any kidnapping attempts in the past few weeks, but....

“We’ve been getting by,”

said the white-haired man as he set his whiskey glass down on the bar.

“Though something’s cropped up lately that’s been rather irritating.”

“You mean the ones loitering around your house.”

“Yes.”

Erich stepped closer to Hildebert and leaned crookedly against the bar.

Shashinsky watched as Hildebert placed his own whiskey glass on the counter.

The golden-eyed man asked,

“Has the intelligence agency been completely compromised?”

The corner of Erich's mouth stretched.

“As expected, you’re sharp. You don’t even have much freedom of movement—where are you getting this kind of information?”

“I didn’t get it from anywhere. I just swept up the traces left by the ones hanging around nearby. Even after fifty years, nothing’s really changed.”

“In what way?”

“They use surveillance equipment that’s more expensive than the police’s, but just like the police, they don’t look like civilians.”

Hildebert explained.

There was no particular enthusiasm in his voice.

“And unlike street-level criminal organizations, they try to withdraw without leaving behind even a scrap of trash.”

“Haha. That’s certainly their tendency. I quite like the ones their organization abandons during missions. They have a unique kind of charm.”

“There used to be a lot more competent ones, at least.”

“One wrong person at the top, and an organization falls apart in no time.”

Erich replied with a smile.

The strategist who had been sticking a knife into the bar to create psychological distance turned his head and snorted. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Igor frowned, and two women listened to the conversation with unreadable expressions.

Only the blond man called Lin looked completely uninterested.

Hildebert let out a sigh.

“Right.”

Then, as if organizing his thoughts, he gazed briefly into the empty air of the party hall before continuing.

“It’s probably the work of those riding the intelligence director’s line. Most agency employees won’t even know the Elders exist.”

“An ambitious man.”

Without turning around, Erich crooked his finger.

Shashinsky placed the personnel file of the intelligence director onto his superior’s hand.

Erich Erhart skimmed through the contents inside the yellow manila folder, then held it out to Hildebert.

“Arrogant, too. But unfortunately, he isn’t stupid. He’ll be troublesome to remove.”

“Thank you for the material.”

Hildebert opened the file and focused on the contents.

“Is this person also hovering around this estate?”

“No. I told you—he’s ambitious.”

Shashinsky handed over all the personnel files of other employees believed to be involved in this situation as well.

“He’s aiming to take you out directly.”

Those around Hildebert straightened their backs.

Only the white-haired man didn’t lift his head from the files.

Instead, he passed the finished one back to the strategist and picked up another.

“The moment he takes your head, immortality is practically guaranteed. Fewer steps than taking hostages and issuing threats. Looks like he’s trying to finish things quickly.”

“Clean and simple. I like it.”

Hildebert replied without lifting his head.

“Much better than those who try to take hostages.”

“He seems to be considering several approaches. I’ve heard that arresting and detaining you is one of the options on the table.”

“Ah, yes. A senior from that agency must’ve heard the same rumor—he contacted me.”

Bold.

As if thinking the same thing, Erich let out a low sound of admiration.

“A brave man.”

“Yes.”

Hildebert sighed.

“I told him it would be best to lose interest, but he didn’t listen.”

Erich smiled broadly.

“Then Ska Owen will have to protect him.”

“Yes. I’ve already given him a heads-up.”

“Just so you know, if you’re arrested in a place full of people, I won’t be able to stop them from taking you away.”

“Oh, you don’t need to stop them.”

“And no need to try to get you released?”

“No. Just take good care of my kin while I’m gone.”

As he said this, Hildebert lifted his head and looked Erich straight in the eye.

Eyes of blazing gold.

“Just as you’re protecting them right now in my place while I attend this party.”

The corner of Erich's mouth lifted.

“That’s why there’s barely any security around the estate.”

The platinum-blond Elder accepted Hildebert’s request in a gentle voice.

“I pulled everyone out to escort your kin.”

It was true.

And that fact grated on Shashinsky’s nerves, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Every time this happened, he had no way to refute Hildebert’s answer.

Do you really need more guards when I’m here?

And in truth, Hildebert was right. Even if they combined every single person they had dispatched, they still wouldn’t be able to defeat Hildebert alone. Those who sought immortality were well aware of this fact, which was why they usually couldn’t bring themselves to attempt to kill Hildebert outright.

Still, there were exceptions everywhere....

Like the intelligence °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° director being discussed now.

Even his name was unusual.

Don Child.

He wouldn’t be around much longer....

“By the way, are you all eating well?”

Perhaps Hildebert had grown bored of burying his head in personnel files again.

Erich lifted his head and swept his gaze over those nearby.

“Eat plenty before you go. And take the leftovers with you. None of you have particularly healthy bank balances, after all.”

“We’re living just fine.”

“Even so, eat a lot.”

As soon as the man called Igor grumbled, Hildebert spoke without lifting his head.

It sounded almost reflexive.

“You should eat when you can.”

They all gave off an aura that made them hard to approach, yet at moments like this they showed oddly human sides.

Was it because they resembled their leader?

Shashinsky stared blankly at the Titans as they began talking about available food budgets and electricity bills.

A red-haired woman tapping at her app to check her balance, the strategist muttering that he’d come to sell some long-shelved work and should find someone to make a deal with once the conversation ended.

Igor insisting that if money ran out, they could just hunt and gather nearby to secure food.

Rose reaching for the file the strategist had read and closed.

“Rose. Don’t go trying to kill everyone in those files unconditionally.”

Hildebert muttered without taking his eyes off the documents.

“Just remember them.”

“Yes!”

The pharmaceutical company chairman’s wife sparkled her ruby-like eyes.

“I’ll memorize all the information, Commander!”

Shashinsky took in the variety of reactions, then met the gaze of the blond Titan.

A man who had been staring at him intently without joining the conversation.

His eyes curved into a crescent.

‘Come on.’

Shashinsky watched, dumbfounded, as the man called Lin mouthed words silently.

‘Let’s talk.’

I’ve got nothing to say.

Speaking wasn’t even permitted. Shashinsky conveyed his response through his eyes.

Besides, even if permission were granted, Shashinsky had no intention of getting involved with that man.

Someone he had never expected Hildebert to bring along.

In recent years, Lin had committed only minor crimes like illegal Creature distribution. But back in the days when Hildebert had vanished, he had been involved in crimes so severe that even Shashinsky would have clicked his tongue.

Best not to get entangled.

He, Levi, and Erich all believed Lin was still storing a massive stash of drugs he had siphoned off from a cult somewhere.

After all, Lin had been the culprit behind the incident where drugs being transported to a cult were swapped out for flour.

The drugs that had vanished back then still hadn’t surfaced on the market.

‘Please eat.’

Lin understood the reply Shashinsky mouthed back.

With a helpless shake of his head, he shrugged once and turned his gaze away.

Idle chatter drifted around them.

After exchanging words with Hildebert about Choi Jeseok, Erich excused himself.

***

Tired.

That was what he thought as he drove back.

Still, the intelligence director’s move to confront him head-on was rather welcome.

「Next time, make sure you come out before the Commander, sunbae.」

「You do it yourself.」

The idea of trying to arrest me is appealing.

What assassination method could be more perfect than leaving me alone with the enemy in a solitary cell?

「And even if you did come out first and sit in the driver’s seat, you’d just get picked up by the Commander and moved to the passenger seat or the back anyway.」

「Then hug the steering wheel and hold your ground! You’re stronger than me, sunbae—next time, try claiming the driver’s seat.」

「Hey, what about my life?!」

If they lock me up, I’ll be grateful....

「So my life doesn’t matter?!」

「What greater honor is there than being able to die in the Commander’s place?」

Besides, I’d already been wondering whether I should infiltrate the intelligence agency anyway. There might be information there that could help identify a mole.

「If only I were stronger, I’d sit in the driver’s seat and hold out! Ah, I really need to train my strength more.」

「Train for a hundred days—do you think you can beat a Swordmaster with brute force?」

「Can’t you beat them either, sunbae?」

「As if!」

And now they’re inviting me first—how could I not welcome that?

They’ll probably arrest me when I go to headquarters for the promotion exam. It’s rare to get a crowd that large.

「Why does he get this stupid whenever it involves the Commander?」

「Commander.」

And when I do get taken, how am I supposed to calm Rose down?

I should also check the location of the drugs Lin has stashed away under the massive delusion that no one knows about them.

The moment the intelligence agency catches a whiff of narcotics, things will get troublesome.

It was while he was lost in those thoughts.

「There’s a strange light on the building to the left....」

A sniper.

Bang!

The window shattered, and searing pain lit up his shoulder.

He narrowly avoided a shot aimed at his heart, but he hadn’t escaped unscathed.

Screeeech!

He slammed the accelerator, and Rose drew her gun.

“Aaah!”

At the same time, Lin started screaming.

“Aah! Aah! Fuck!”

Ratatatatatang!

Bullets poured down.