Chapter 453

But before the disguised Kim Giryeo could say anything, he moved first.

Damn it!

Someone had suddenly appeared in his private space and even blocked his punch with a skill. From the homeowner's perspective, wasn't it only natural to be scared out of his wits? Japan's fifth S-rank used all his strength to barely break free from the psychokinetic restraint. While the archmage was wondering how to calm the intruder down, something happened. A dumbfounded electronic voice soon came through his translator.

[Calm down.]

But every attempt to start a conversation was in vain, as violence immediately broke out. The Japanese resident shot into the spacious living room like a streak of light. Then the S-rank hunter, using his body-enhancement skills, began recklessly hurling furniture.

[I have no intention of harming you—]

He wondered whether admitting that he'd simply tracked the man's movements like a primitive hunter and then teleported in just before the front door opened so they could meet would make the other man foam at the mouth. With that thought in mind, the intruder decided to respond quietly instead.

Heukh!

Contrary to the shrill scream one might have expected, his response was gentle. With a hand gesture that might have seemed meaningless, he simply stopped the flying furniture with magic.

Swish!

This was probably the homeowner's taste. A yellow leather sofa, metal chairs made by a famous designer, and several other pieces of furniture hung silently in the air. But seeing heavy objects hurled with the strength of an S-rank awakener suddenly freeze in midair as though they possessed no inertia at all was strange in more ways than one. From the homeowner's perspective, everything unfolding before him was alien and completely unlike anything he knew.

What the—anyway, even an unlucky bastard like me gets chills from drinking cold water.

The fifth S-rank panicked at the abnormal situation and took even more aggressive action. His opponent was an awakener who appeared to be using psychokinesis. So even if he tried to put distance between them, it wouldn't make any difference—he would still be attacked.

[Sir, I told you to stay still, didn't I?]

In fact, this Japanese S-rank hunter had artificially obtained the mysteries of the modern world, but the rest of his abilities had been honed through diligent training. In other words, the jiu-jitsu technique he was using now was something he'd earned through his own efforts.

He lunged at the man and attempted to twist his neck.

You damn intruder!

Whoosh!

Once the throat was compressed, concentration could falter, and skills might not activate properly.

If an enemy got too close, a psychokinesis user would have to keep pushing them away—but could a body-enhanced fighter clinging like a cicada really be lifted and thrown as easily as those pieces of furniture?

Earlier, you tried to land an impossible blow with a striking technique. Anyway, the only thing that foreigner had restrained with psychokinesis was your arm!

Suddenly, there was a thud. As the jiu-jitsu expert charged with all his strength, surprisingly, the disguised mage failed to react properly and collapsed onto the floor.

Oh! You damn idiot.

Considering the weight of the man who had charged into him, it was a perfectly natural reaction.

Yeah. This chokehold won't be easy to break.

But the brief satisfaction of successfully landing the attack didn't last long.

It happened roughly five seconds later.

Only a few ticks of the second hand had passed, yet the Japanese resident, who had attempted the acrobatic chokehold, began to tremble.

_-

With this much pressure, an ordinary human would already be gasping for breath and reflexively flailing their arms.

Damn it.

Yet the unknown skilled fighter caught in his hold didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. Even with his neck trapped between joints tightened by wildly straining muscles, the disguised intruder merely stared intently at the ceiling, as though wondering, "What am I supposed to do with this person?"

Moreover, the discomfort caused by the alien mage didn't end there.

[I've clearly shown consideration for you several times.]

He hadn't even moved his lips, and yet...

[This will sting for a moment.]

How on earth was Japanese coming out of the translator?

It was truly a phenomenon worthy of being called a miracle.

Kim Giryeo manipulated the Pixy Corp translator with magic in an abnormal manner, and the instant the mechanical voice finished speaking, he acted.

It!

The Japanese permanent resident lost consciousness and then woke up again.

Ugh!

For a brief instant, his vision flashed. When he came to his senses, the chokehold had been completely released. He had even lost the strength in his limbs and was kneeling in front of the blond intruder.

The S-rank hunter, flustered, shifted his gaze away.

What... did I pass out for a moment? The... carotid artery? Wait, was my carotid artery struck instead? But is such a precise attack even possible with a psychokinesis skill?

The alien mage, however, wasted no more time.

Crack!

The meaningless fight came to an end.

Kim Giryeo pressed the opponent's head down with his right hand to keep him from getting up. Then he lightly swung his left hand from top to bottom, as though hammering something, and in time with the motion, the man's bones broke.

Aaaaagh!

The cracking sounds came from the opponent's shoulders and both ankles.

Clearly, this was the strength of someone who knew nothing about martial arts, yet the opponent had been subdued by such a simple, brute-force movement. His dominant right arm had been twisted together with the scapula. Both legs had been injured, making even the running he had been so confident in impossible.

With three joints broken, the Japanese resident immediately lost any room to resist.

すいません (I'm sorry)...! Please, stop! Sorry!

At least his left arm was still intact enough for him to raise it and apologize.

I'll surrender!

Crunch!

For reference, the archmage was still holding Japan's fifth S-rank in place.

So the homeowner, struck by a bolt from the blue, began blurting out every English word he could think of. The translator was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} still operating, but just in case, he tried pleading for his life in something close to the global common language.

Surrender? Ah, I can understand that much even without the machine.

Ugh.

Then from now on, you really won't go berserk again if I let you go, right?

The Japanese hunter nodded after the intruder's words were translated.

OK.

Taking that gesture as a signal, the golden-haired man released the person he had been restraining.

Just so you know, breaking your bones was unavoidable self-defense. I didn't come here intending to do this, so relax.

Since he had disguised himself as thoroughly as possible so that he wouldn't look like Kim Giryeo, the archmage's voice was actually clearer than usual.

First, you broke into my place... and yet... y, you didn't even make a sound when you entered my tower mansion...

The victim couldn't have cared less about the perpetrator's voice. From the perspective of someone whose private property had been violated, it wasn't something he had any desire to pay attention to.

I'm serious. I still don't know whether you're a good person or a bad person, so I really don't want to hurt you any more than necessary.

What?

Thud.

The man who had twisted the fifth S-rank's scapula and everything else continued speaking.

Let's not fight. Seriously, what kind of nonsense is this when we're fellow Earthlings meeting face-to-face?

Up until this point, the peace negotiations had been relatively calm.

Ugh.

But just as Kim Giryeo, still wearing his disguised face, sat down on the living room sofa, the S-rank awakener who had obtained Japanese residency panicked at the small movement and hurriedly shouted first.

Um, excuse me, but, Mr. Robber... just so you know, I really don't own much!

Though the archmage's own finances were hardly comfortable or substantial either.

E, everything people guessed online is wrong! I've only just awakened, so I haven't made any money at all.

Huh?

All the furniture here was bought on loans. And more importantly, this place is rented! So even if you threaten me, r-really, I honestly have nothing I can give you right now.

Threaten you...

Ssshk.

The alien sitting on the sofa glanced at a nearby mirror.

Once again, he had put on that familiar Western face in order to conceal the name Kim Giryeo. But no matter how he altered it—double eyelids or no double eyelids—Earthlings always reacted the same way.

Fear. Trembling.

It wasn't merely because of his strength. They were clearly recoiling from the face itself, as though something about it triggered a deep, instinctive sense of discomfort.

This one actually looks more innocent than my usual expression. Or does it?

However, there was no reason to expect an alien sorcerer whose senses existed far outside the normal human range to solve a problem like this.

Kim Giryeo quickly organized his thoughts and looked at the other man.

Calm down. I'm not interested in your money. I only came here to ask you a few questions.

His purpose was simple.

I heard you're an artificially awakened person.

Yes?

I'm actually very interested in ability enhancement. If you don't mind, could you tell me exactly where you received the procedure?

Politeness had made the sentence longer, but in essence, it amounted to: 'Where did you get the procedure?'

Hearing this, the resident of the Japanese tower mansion began to feel a faint sense of disbelief, almost as though he were dreaming.

An abnormal human...

Even though the front door was locked with an electronic lock, a ghost dressed in ordinary clothes had somehow entered without leaving a trace. At first, it had been easy to assume this was someone sent by a national intelligence agency.

And yet, in this modern society, where even hospitals had review apps...

Someone had actually come all the way to Japan just to ask a single question like that?

The fifth S-rank, with both his arms and legs broken, raised his head with a miserable expression.

Then he spoke to the unexpected guest standing before him, an overwhelming powerhouse who seemed completely untrained.

I didn't receive any procedure....

But the instant Kim Giryeo heard that, he became furious.

Oh my. Why are you lying about this?

Heuk!

Your magic is scattered all over the place and completely chaotic. It was obvious from the beginning that it doesn't suit your body.

Ugh.

Listen, modern human technology is still a little lacking when it comes to deliberately creating something that feels natural.

As Kim Giryeo lightly raised a hand, the Japanese resident immediately apologized and corrected himself.

Ah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was afraid admitting I'd undergone the procedure would cause even more trouble, so I didn't say anything.

Hmm.

I did undergo the procedure! I did! Back in my hometown, I was introduced to someone near the military hospital who could turn me into an awakened person.

The fifth S-rank hunter belatedly recalled what had happened in the past.

At first, even in his own region, the rumors of 'artificial awakening' had been treated as nothing more than a joke. For a while, he hadn't believed such a procedure could possibly exist.

But one day, deciding to play along, he met with a guide...

It really did awaken me.

The fifth S-rank Hunter recounted what he had experienced the previous year.

The military hospital nurse was a broker connected to the artificial Awakening practitioner...?

That's right. It's true!

The story was that a nurse officer stationed in a country far from Japan had been the one who created the artificial superhuman sitting here now.

Wow.

At that moment, Kim Giryeo imitated the exclamation of an ordinary human.

Yet the Japanese S-rank resident kneeling beside him still spoke with unmistakable tension.

But why on earth do you want to know about artificial awakening?

Because I'm interested.

Still... you already look like someone who's awakened at the highest rank.

Anyone capable of turning a non-awakened person into a superpowered one should be able to make me even stronger, right?

Ah.

Of course, when I actually visit the hospital, I'll use a different excuse, but for now, that's a decent example of what I mean.

That makes sense... It definitely makes sense.

With power that immense, wouldn't someone naturally become interested in artificial enhancement?

Kim Giryeo explained it that way, and the other man was immediately convinced.

But I absolutely don't recommend artificial enhancement procedures...

Because of the side effects?

You might be surprised, but the aftereffects are actually only the second biggest problem.

But what he had just shown was only a small degree of acceptance.

The resident of the tower mansion still didn't fully approve of the intruder's intentions. Вставленный Markdown