Chapter 40: Mysterious Woman
‘Finally the last stage.’
Woohyuk advanced cautiously as he observed the city’s night scene that he had been transported to.
On this climb up here, he had completed many quests and received bountiful rewards. Although they were for the most part consumable items and not equipment, they were still very useful.
“It’s quite quiet.”
Leifina mentioned while looking at the empty streets.
The quality of her equipment had seen a remarkable change in the last few days.
“I guess it is the dead of night.”
There must be some reason that they were sent here at such a time.
As he looked around for anything that might serve as the trigger for his quest, he heard the sound of carriage wheels racing down the street.
“Could it be that?”
To be in such a hurry this late at night. Although it naturally could be due to a number or reasons, at least it was a bit suspicious.
His gut was telling him so.
“What should we do?”
“Let's chase after them.”
He also had to keep a certain distance from the carriage so that they didn’t notice that they were being pursued.
When it turned into a rather long straight road, he got a clearer view. It was a black carriage being drawn by a pair of majestic white horses.
‘Must be some noble.’
Avoiding detection of the carriage’s escorts, Woohyuk summoned two undead desert eagles.
[Hop on]
A ground mount simply had too many limitations compared to an airborne one. They soared up high into the sky, tracking the carriage from up above.
[Where are they headed.]
[I think it will be far away.]
It seemed to him that there was a high level of urgency because they were moving through the night at full speed.
He had no choice but to follow them from a distance until they arrived at their destination. Due to a high level enchantment protecting the carriage, he wasn’t able to detect who it was riding inside.
As the pursuit was in full swing….
Chaeng! Cha Chang!
Out of nowhere a group of masked men jumped out and assaulted the carriage.
At the same time, a box with white text appeared before Woohyuk and Leifina’s eyes.
[New Quest]
Name: A secret that mustn't be revealed.
Type: Chain (1/3)
Content: Uncover the identity of the black carriage’s passenger and investigate the forces behind the attack.Other: Once failed, cannot be repeated.
This time around it was a chain quest. As you progressed along the different steps in the quest, the requirements would become increasingly more difficult.
It wouldn’t be a simple ending like needing to kill or capture a certain figure.
On several occasions there were a few surprising twists, and he had almost failed to react accordingly because he had been trying to rush through the levels.
[Should we go help?]
[Let’s just observe for now.]
It wouldn’t be too late to step in after the carriage’s passenger fell into danger.
As the assassins continued to attack, the escorts began to drop one by one. The carriage door was then swung wide open, as a silver haired woman wielding a dark scythe stepped out.
Clothing that could only belong to the nobility and a beauty to match her position.
Suguk
The dark scythe harvested the lives of the assassins, one swing at a time. She clearly had considerable skill for such a delicate figure.
Woohyuk examined this silver haired woman with a look of interest.
‘You didn’t even need any guards in the first place.’
She was on a completely different level compared to the assassins.
Was the secret that shouldn’t be revealed regarding her? If so, it might explain why the carriage had been attacked by a group of assassins in the dead of night.
‘A young noblewoman carrying a dark scythe.’
It certainly wasn’t something you could see everyday.
It didn’t take long for the battle to come to an end. The silver haired woman then looked up into the air, riding her blade of any blood with a single swing of her scythe.
‘Looks like she knew all along.’
It was impossible to stay in the shadows after being discovered, so Woohyuk flew down to have a talk with her.
“We don’t come with any ill intentions, we just want to talk.”
“....”
The silver haired woman simply raised her dark scythe, a blank look on her face devoid of any feelings
Peace talks failed, as her guards were the first to engage.
‘I guess I have no choice.’
It was what he had been expecting, but at the very least he could pat himself on the back for trying.
Woohyuk moved gracefully, cutting his way past the guards. In the midst of his slaughter, a scythe tore through the air, aiming at an opening in Woohyuk’s defenses.
Calang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out as the scythe and longsword crossed, sparking dancing in the air.
It was a breathtaking fight, but Woohyuk still had many trump cards.
Whiriic!
The scythe was sent flying through the air, as Woohyuk struck it from an unexpected angle.
A pair of chilly golden eyes stared back at him.
“Are you going to kill me?”
She asked, in a voice that seemed devoid of any emotions. He couldn’t even sense an ounce of fear from this silver haired woman.
“I truly have no intention of doing so.”
Woohyuk replied, despite having Grandia placed against the neck. It had been her side that initiated the fight.
He naturally could simply cut her head clean off, but he had to keep in mind the content of the Quest.
‘Based on her looks, she might also be an assassin herself’
There had been many cases where assassins employed the honey trap to lower their target’s guard.
The more the nobles basked in the power and wealth, the more they gave in to their inner lust.
“You should run away now, more of them are coming.”
“Who is them?”
It seemed to be the hidden forces that he needed to uncover for his Quest. However, just as he was about to ask once more, multiple Dark Arrows were shot from far away, causing sonic booms as they sped through the air.
Woohyuk swung Grandia and deflected an incoming Dark Arrow to the side. The silver haired woman however took the chance to recover her scythe, and quickly enter her carriage once more.
‘Did they teleport here?’
Seeing the Warlocks appear, Woohyuk couldn’t help but have his curiosity piqued by this latest development.
It was due to the Dark Energy that the previous attack emitted.
They were most likely also one who had entered into a contract with a Demon.
“Who are you?”
Ask the man that seemed to hold the senior position.
“Just a traveler passing by.”
“Why is it that you are interfering with us?”
“Don’t misunderstand, I had no relation to them.”
Woohyuk pointed at the corpses of the assassin strewn across the ground.
They all held a certain black tattoo, mostly being part of some Rogue Guild.
“I can’t let you go because you’ve seen her face.”
Upon finishing, the Warlock raised his staff and a Dark Arrow shot out, speeding towards Woohyuk’s heart.
‘It’s a good chance.’
The magic spells he had previously absorbed were starting to become a bit obsolete due to their low level.
Woohyuk absorbed any incoming Dark Arrows with his Ghost Queen Star Serpent which had recently ranked up a Grade.
[Fina, come over.]
[Yes, Lord.]
Leifina appeared beside him in a flash of light, causing the Warlocks to frown.
“Is that a Paladin? They don’t seem to be ordinary travellers.”
“Well, I have my own circumstances.”
There was no point in explaining everything in detail to his enemies anyways.
Woohyuk gave her a look, and Leifina nodded back.
[I’ll take the left.]
She had progressed nicely in her time with Woohyuk. At the very least she had reached a level that he wouldn’t need to constantly be worried about her safety.
Woohyuk looked straight ahead as he raised Grandia. Sword dance between these two opponents ensued.
* * *
Due to the Warlocks’ interference, the silver haired woman was able to escape aboard her carriage. They weren’t able to catch up given the massive head start she was given.
They didn’t know her destination, so it would be difficult to catch her anytime soon.
‘At least we have a clue.’
The assassins that were sent after her would likely have more intel on her. They must be based somewhere in the city, and it wouldn’t be too hard to find them based on their unique tattoo.
‘A Rogue Guild wouldn’t want to be in the limelight.’
They had to carry out requests with a certain level of secrecy, so they couldn’t be headquartered in a commercial area or a high class residential one.
They preferred places that were rarely frequented and had poor living conditions.
“Password.”
A man blocked a back alley entrance, as Woohyuk walked up with Leifina.
A password was necessary if one wanted to enter without the Guild’s tattoo.
“I’ve come to meet your leader.”
“Password.”
The man completely ignored his request. Clearly they were careful no to allow any strangers inside.
Woohyuk nodded as if this was the expected result.
“Moonlit Hourglass”
He had done some reconnaissance about the group prior to coming here, asking around in the city. Naturally he made sure to learn the password ahead of time.
He didn’t say the password right away, because he wanted to buy himself some time to scan the place, looking for any traps or enemies in case this guild would be hostile to them.
“...Follow me.”
The man led Woohyuk inside. Taking so many twists and turns that it felt like they were in a maze.
KKiiic
After walking around for some time, they finally came to the Guild’s headquarters as they opened the wooden door before them.
As the man gestured for him to go inside, Woohyuk stepped in cautiously.
“You are a new face.”
The voice of a middle aged man rang out in the dark candle lit stone room. It was a level of darkness such that an average person wouldn’t be able to make out the others’ features.
“I have something to ask you.”
“Didn’t you come here to place a request?”
“My questions are part of my request.”
The man became silent as he examined Woohyuk carefully.
“You can ask one question.”
“Do you know who the passenger was in the black carriage that was assaulted last night?”
Shiiing!
The sound of multiple swords being drawn at once rang out in the room.
In addition to the boss, several of his subordinates had been hidden within the room. Just one of many traps prepared in case of intruders.
Woohyuk had already been aware of this, and wasn’t bothered.
Even if they were invisible, he could still grasp everything within this room by simply pushing his perception to the limit.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Silver hair, golden eyes, young woman with pale skin, about a foot shorter than me. Also she carried a dark scythe.”
“....”
“Strong enough to single handedly take care of all your subordinates. It just happened to take place as I was walking by the other day.”
As he explained his encounter the other night, filling it with dramatic flair, a guy appeared in front of Woohyuk.
Ferdinand, the Master of the Black Morris Rogue Guild who was known as the city’s top assassin.
“You seem to be from a very remote area if you don’t recognize her by face, but why are you so interested in her?”
“Is she that well known?”
“Going only by that description, then indeed one would assume that she’s Elizabeth Valencia, the second Princess of the Ravenna Empire.”
It was instead almost certainly a lookalike, but even Ferdinand couldn’t confirm the facts regarding this.
“Do you know who is behind this?”
“Count Oscar, but his role in all this is unknown.”
Elizabeth, the eldest of the two, had a twin sister Isabella who had died six months back. It was also well known that Count Oscar had professed his love for Isabella.
Although it had been an impossible love and the union between the two could never happen, it didn’t make sense for him to have taken such extreme measures.
“It’s been quite some time since Elizabeth hasn’t shown her face in public, but it’s unlikely that she’s been kidnapped otherwise the Royal family would have been in an uproar. ”
“How did you come to know of her existence?”
“It happened while investigating Count Oscar for a different request. We found out that he had been attending some secret meetings.”
After Isabella’s death, the Count was said to have locked himself in his house. So when he showed interest in something other than a social gathering, a rival noble was naturally curious and requested an investigation.
Ferdinand himself had been the one to stalk him, and stumbled upon a woman who had the same appearance as Elizabeth.
“Did she let you leave unharmed?”
“I almost lost my head while trying to evade that scythe. No matter how much they looked alike, it can’t be Elizabeth. She fought like some beast.”
Monster… the moment he heard that wonder a certain character came to mind.
Lucas, the same guy that had performed the banned experiments and created chimeras.
If he happened to be present in this world….
“Where is Isabella’s body kept?”
“In an underground Mausoleum beneath Beatrice Cathedral in the kingdom’s capital, Marlene. It is a place that none can enter.
The security was extremely tight because it was a place reserved only for the royal family.
Even a Rogue master like Ferdinand wouldn’t be able to break inside.
Still, Woohyuk was thinking about something else entirely.
“It might be possible if the entity wasn’t human.”
“Do you think the Demons are involved?”
“Maybe.”
“Hmm…”
Ferdinand revealed a complicated expression. Demons were truly difficult to handle and was considering putting and end to his involvement
“Why are you looking for her?”
“It is due to a request, there is a noble willing to pay a lot of money.”
Ferdinand didn’t reveal his client’s information, and given his profession Woohyuk didn’t press him for a name either.
“How much do you know about the secret meetings that Oscar was taking part in?”
“Nothing other than the fact the location changes every time.”
Ferdinand hadn’t been able to learn much because last time around he had been discovered. Still at least he had discovered that there was a woman who held the same appearance as Elizabeth.
“At least we are certain that the carriage from last night was headed toward the capital. As it happens, there will be a large banquet held at the Imperial Palace.”
If Elizabeth being replaced by this look-alike was part of some grand conspiracy, then there was a good chance that something might go down during the banquet.
Hearing Ferdinand’s explanation, Woohyuk couldn’t help but become interested.
“Is the Imperial Treasure also located in the basement of the Beatrice Cathedral?”
“Although it’s history is unclear because it had occurred so very long ago, it is said that the treasure has some connection to the Demon God which Leonard, the Empire's founder and first emperor had defeated.
‘Demon God...’
He had met Solomon’s 72 Demons Kings, but had never heard of him.
Just going by its name alone, it seemed to be of a higher position than the Demon Kings. Woohyuk couldn’t help but want to learn more about him.
“Will you be staying here for some time? Any more questions I can help you with?”
“... Let’s put an end to any meaningless hostilities between us.”
“With a single hand gesture, several Rogues appeared inside the room. Leifina, who had been nervous this entire time, let out a sigh of relief.
[Fortunately everything turned out well.]
[This is just the start.]
Clearly it wouldn’t be easy to obtain Nakron’s hidden reward.
Woohyuk sat down on the chair, thinking about the relationship between Princess and Demon God.
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