Chapter 154: Chapter 112: Did You See Me Kill Someone? (2)

He turned again and patted Maguire’s face. "The men of the Pure-blooded Fierce Tiger have some nerve, I’ll give you that. But in Fude City, even the Pure-blooded Fierce Tiger himself wouldn’t dare act so brazenly before the Guard Post."

Veins throbbed on Maguire’s forehead, but he didn’t dare—and couldn’t—make a move.

Though he was a Demon Hunter from the Rose Hunting Group, the man opposite him was a public official from the Guard Post.

If he started a fight, it would put his leader, Yalilan, in a difficult position. Even though she was protective of her subordinates, the man’s status with the Guard Post would make things complicated.

It would only bring trouble to the Rose Hunting Group.

But if he did nothing, Maguire couldn’t swallow this insult.

’Since the man knew L was here, it meant he also knew that he and Zod belonged to Yalilan’s Rose Hunting Group.’

’Yet he’s still acting so high and mighty. It’s obvious he has no respect for the Rose Hunting Group and is just deliberately trying to provoke us!’

"What? Are you thinking of assaulting a public official of Fude City?"

The Guard Captain sneered, glancing sideways at Baron. "Whether you leave today isn’t up to you, Mr. L. I’m just following the Director’s orders. Even if you’re unwilling, you’ll have to take it up with the Director in person!"

"Take him away!"

The words had barely left his mouth when, in the next second, he saw the Demon Hunter sigh. With a shudder, the man’s sword and saber dropped away as he stomped a foot on the ground! He suddenly leaped into the air! A Knight Kick!

————

It all happened in a flash!

The Guard Captain’s body jolted. He twisted to the side, dodging Baron’s flying kick, and drew his saber!

The coarse flesh of his face contorted savagely as Spiritual Power surged through him!

’All that provocation... I thought he was a coward, but he finally took the bait!’

Feilan Rodney’s heart filled with glee. He pointed his saber at Baron, who was retreating after the failed attack:

"This man has refused to cooperate and has assaulted a public official! Cut him down!"

The guards roared and surged forward, drawing their blades.

A smile appeared on the face of Feilan Rodney—Tate’s younger brother and the Guard Captain at the Guard Post.

He had no idea what had happened at the Hunting Competition earlier that day, nor did he know of Baron’s glorious feat of single-handedly defeating six Knights.

If he had known, he would never be acting so arrogantly right now.

All he knew was that he’d gotten lucky. He’d accepted an assignment and happened to run into L, the very person his Gang Leader and brother were so eager to find.

It was a god-sent opportunity to mock him and incite a confrontation.

That was why he had been acting so wantonly and recklessly from the moment he walked in.

If Baron lost his temper on the spot, they would cut him down.

If Baron didn’t, they would find an opportunity to cut him down on the way.

When the Director asked about it later, he could just find an excuse and pin the blame on one of the subordinates assigned to watch him.

His own brother was the Vice Gang Leader of the Iron Thorn Gang; the Director wouldn’t do anything to him.

At this thought, Feilan sneered. Alchemy Circuits materialized on his body as he drew his long saber, about to join the fray.

Maguire and Zod parried the attacking guards’ blades. The Blood Loss Knight, Morey, who had been swept into the chaos, weaved through the flashes of steel. Every time, the guards were a hair’s breadth from plunging their blades into his armor, yet they could never quite land a blow.

Fortunately, these guards weren’t Law Enforcers—at most, they were just ordinary men with a bit of extra strength. Among them were a few Intern Demon Hunters, but their Command Spells had yet to be fully inscribed.

As a result, Maguire and Zod were handling the situation with ease.

The only thing they had to be careful about was not killing their opponents.

In Gillian, the Hunter Country, to maintain Order, the penalties for a Demon Hunter assaulting a public official were completely different from those for killing one.

Moreover, even though these guards weren’t Law Enforcers, they had all undergone some degree of training. Having to hold back against them made the fight frustrating—not nearly as satisfying as hunting Demons on a night of the hunt.

At that moment, seeing Feilan—who appeared to be a Black Iron Tier Demon Hunter—join the battle, radiating an aura that screamed he was here to put them down for good.

Maguire quickly clashed blades with him and shouted back over his shoulder, "L! Run! Go find Yalilan!!!"

Before he could finish, a blade flashed and Morey tackled Maguire to the ground.

Furious, Maguire was about to curse Morey for being a traitor when he saw the bench where he had just been standing, now cleaved in two.

’If Morey hadn’t tackled me, I would’ve been the one cleaved in two.’

A wave of delayed fear washed over Maguire, gripping his entire being.

’That Guard Captain... he really wants to kill me!’

The Blood Loss Knight still had the half-smoked cigarette dangling from his lips. He got off Maguire, flicked some ash away, and said, "No need for thanks. Just treat me to a trip to the brothel tonight and we’ll call it even."

Maguire, who had been about to thank him, was taken aback.

Feilan flicked the wood splinters from his blade with a cold snort. He clearly hadn’t expected his strike to be dodged.

The next second, he turned to face Baron.

Without any hesitation, he swung his long saber, empowered by his Alchemy Circuits, so fast it whistled through the air.

"L, get out of here!"

This time, even Zod—who was usually taciturn, either drinking or drunk—couldn’t help but cry out.

But Baron didn’t run. He suddenly did something completely unexpected.

He kicked away two guards who got too close, then formed his hand into the shape of a gun, aiming the "barrel" at Feilan, who was charging at him with a saber from several meters away.

’Has he gone mad!?’

This was the honest-to-god thought running through the minds of everyone present—from the guards, to the nuns trembling in the corner, to Zod, Maguire, and Morey.

"God! Please stop all this!"

An old nun who had rushed over at the commotion cried out in anguish upon seeing the scene.

"BANG!"

The Demon Hunter’s wrist flicked as he made a mock gunshot sound with his mouth.

The smile on Guard Captain Feilan’s face—who had just been thinking the Demon Hunter was scared stiff—froze. His body swayed, and he fell uncontrollably to his knees.

Blood quickly began to pool beneath him, flowing out unstoppably.

Seen from above, it looked like a blossoming red petal.

The sudden turn of events stunned the guards. They stopped their attacks and rushed forward to check on Feilan. One of them checked for breath, and his face went pale. "He’s... he’s dead!"

The faces of the surrounding guards changed. The tension that had dissipated at Feilan’s collapse returned, sharp as a drawn blade.

Now even Maguire and the others were aghast.

Killing a public official was a capital offense in Gillian, and Baron hadn’t just killed any ordinary official!

Maguire immediately stepped in front of Baron, raising his saber to face the tense guards. "L, you have to run! Get as far away as you can!"

’I chose my friends well... Compared to that guy Jack... never mind, not worth mentioning.’

"Why should I run?"

But Baron acted as if nothing had happened. He gestured for Maguire to step aside, scanned the crowd of guards, and said, word by word, "He wasn’t killed by me. Why should I run?"

The guards were stunned.

"Did you see me kill him? Did you see me holding a blade, or a gun?"

"Or are you saying that just because I made a finger-gun gesture, you think his death has something to do with me?"

"What kind of twisted, bullshit logic is that?!"

He scanned the still-dazed guards, then pulled the invitation from City Lord Lewis from his coat and berated them:

"Not to mention, I am a distinguished guest, personally invited by your own City Lord Lewis! I am the final victor of the Hunting Competition!"

"Go on, arrest me if you have the guts! We’ll see just who gave the order! We’ll see if this is how you invite someone to help solve a case!"

With that, he took a brazen step forward, his gaze sweeping over them with domineering confidence. Not one of the guards dared to meet his eyes, and they fell back a few steps under the pressure of his aura.

Baron gave a cold snort and, with Maguire, Zod, and Morey in tow, pushed past the guards’ longswords and left the Blood Church.

The guards were left behind, staring at Feilan’s cooling corpse on the ground, then at each other in bewilderment.

"What... what do we do now?"

’We came with a mission to ask L to help solve a case, but we ended up pissing him off and getting our captain killed... This whole situation feels pretty fucked up.’

Finally, one of the more respected guards stepped forward and said:

"We’ll just report this to the Director exactly as it happened. It doesn’t have much to do with us. I need two of the stronger men to carry the captain’s body back to the Guard Post. We’ll have a doctor perform an autopsy later."

...

「Outside the church.」

With a grunt of "HEAVE-HO," two strong guards lifted Feilan’s body—which had been wrapped in a long cloth and blessed by the old nun with a holy symbol drawn on it—onto a cart.

Just then, a sharp-eyed guard noticed a piece of paper sticking out from a corner of the cloth that wasn’t fully wrapped.

He picked up the paper and saw a hole in the middle, as if something had pierced through it.

There was no writing on either side, and it felt strangely hot to the touch.

"What are you looking at?" his companion asked.

"Ah, it’s nothing."

The guard studied the paper for a moment longer before casually tossing it into a roadside ditch.

’I’m probably overthinking it,’ he thought. ’It’s just a scrap of waste paper. What good could it be?’

’Someone who was singing hymns in the church must have left it behind.’