Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 197

Ready (4)The level of the attack just now was still something he could handle while wielding Flicker. However, after the clash, Kairus realized it instinctively.

That had not been her full strength. It was more appropriate to describe it as a kind of warning.

‘Stop that and use Veil of Plumed Mist.’

The message began at the tip of Kairus’s sword and was conveyed clearly through his fingers and wrist all the way to his head.

So what choice did he have? If she wanted to fight against Kairus wielding Veil of Plumed Mist, then he would oblige.

The sound of turbines roared through the air. Nora’s complexion stiffened slightly.

“Ugh, this is scary.”

“You chose Veil of Plumed Mist.”

As the output of Veil of Plumed Mist was drawn out to its limit, Nora, who faced it directly, fell into a slight state of panic.

It felt as though her entire body was plunging endlessly into helplessness. This kind of pressure was something only seen when a warrior of a certain caliber wielded a powerful battle gear.

Just as people had died merely from Dana Watson’s rising momentum in Rezantin, and just as Cecilia had forced Kairus to accept his death during their battle.

“No, when did your momentum rise this much again?”

“Exactly.”

She was not as strong as Cecilia. Now that he had reached the point where he could emit such momentum himself, he was certain of it.

Her greatest weapon was not her concerto. The current Kairus was confident that he would not be suppressed by Dana Watson’s momentum, but if he fought Cecilia, he would have to battle while being overwhelmed by her presence.

Perhaps, no matter how strong Kairus became, he would never be able to catch up to that momentum.

It was an inborn talent. That was how extraordinary it was.

‘If it were someone at Nora or Irena’s level, they would simply stand there and die.’

Like a mouse facing a snake, unable to do anything as it was devoured. However, being overwhelmed by momentum did not mean defeat.

If one had the skill to fight and win in that state, then it did not matter. It simply meant that, even if one could surpass everything else, it was best to give up on ever surpassing that momentum.

“Have you come to your senses?”

The reason Kairus had deliberately wasted time, lost in his own thoughts, was to give Nora time to recover.

“How do you feel?”

“An irresistible fall!”

Nora shuddered slightly and swallowed before answering.

“Can you move?”

“Yeah….”

Nora replied in a slightly withdrawn state before straightening her posture again.

“Then what are you doing? Stab.”

No sooner had Kairus finished speaking than Nora charged once more. With each step, the ground trembled like a speeding train.

Her acceleration continued.

‘Normally, trying to compete in speed with that oppa is out of the question.’

Kairus’s body, wielding Veil of Plumed Mist, toyed with speeds several times the speed of sound. His entire body had already adapted to it.

However, Nora could do it.

Not through speed, but through the power of the dagger that simply relocated her body.

Teleportation could not be countered with speed.

‘Just once.’

If she charged with genuine killing intent, Nora could seize exactly one opportunity against Kairus. If Kairus perceived or neutralized it, Nora—who would fall into the aftereffects of teleportation—would die afterward.

It was a trivial opportunity, but most people could not obtain even such a chance.

“Grr…!”

As if to meet Nora’s charge, a wind surged toward her from Kairus.

Simply saying that the wind was blowing could not properly describe it.

Even when she kicked off the ground, her body did not advance. As much as Nora ran forward, the wind ran just as fast, pushing her back.

Toward Nora, who could not advance, Kairus instead moved forward. It was not an act of kindness for someone who wanted to approach but could not.

His sword aimed for Nora’s neck.

He truly intended to strike. Nora halted her meaningless charge, lowered her body, and rolled across the ground.

The dark green blade of Veil of Plumed Mist passed through the spot where Nora had been standing.

Slash.

With the illusion that such a sound had echoed, everything caught within the sword’s trajectory was severed.

A crumbling wall dozens of meters away collapsed with a rumbling crash.

It was a strike that shattered one’s sense of distance. Nora’s expression darkened.

“Hey, oppa. Wait a second! You were really trying to kill me just now!”

“I was just joking—”

In the middle of speaking urgently, Nora raised her leg and kicked toward Kairus’s chin.

With the sound of air bursting, a shockwave shot upward into the sky.

“Of course I wouldn’t let you hit me!”

Nora’s voice, as she shouted, trailed off slightly. The moment she realized it had missed, she retreated and widened the distance.

With the sound of turbines, Kairus charged and brought his sword down toward Nora. From the spot where the blade struck, a pillar of earth erupted skyward.

“Eek.”

Thinking that it could have been her own flesh instead, Nora quickly pulled something from her pocket and scattered it.

With a rapid rattling sound, pure white sparks scattered like stardust, blocking the view with light.

A warm sensation emanated from them—if touched, they would scorch the skin.

A wind rising from below blew the burning white particles upward into the sky as they disintegrated in midair.

“Hah, what is this now?”

In that moment, several small metal lumps thrown by Nora released hundreds of black threads toward Kairus. It was more fitting to call it an explosion of threads.

If an ordinary person touched them, their flesh would be sliced apart, and even someone skilled would find their movements hindered.

“You’re really using every dirty trick in the book.”

“If I don’t, I can’t win!”

With a sharp hiss of escaping air, an anchor fired from the back of Nora’s hand and latched onto a chunk of stone from the collapsed wall.

As Nora swung her arm, the stone hurtled toward Kairus’s head.

With a dull thud, the rock struck Kairus squarely on the head, shattering into fragments that scattered across the ground. Kairus remained completely unharmed.

“…I’m not doing this anymore.”

At that point, Nora quickly surrendered. She was confident she could win against Kairus if he wielded Flicker, but she could not handle Veil of Plumed Mist.

She needed a better piece of battle gear. Something like Moon Sand, which Younia used.

If she used the dagger’s ability, she could attempt a decisive move once, but she had no intention of resorting to such measures in a sparring match.

“Good choice. If you had kept fighting with Flicker, I would have lost.”

The output of No. 568 and Flicker was similar. Kairus’s skill was superior. Even so, if they had fought under those conditions, Nora would have won.

“Do you know how hard I struggled just to adapt after finishing the procedure?”

From Nora’s perspective, the outcome was only natural. Still, she felt discouraged because nothing worked against Kairus once he wielded Veil of Plumed Mist.

“If fate allows it, you’ll be able to obtain one someday. Otherwise, try aiming for the president’s position.”

If she succeeded Younia, she would also inherit Moon Sand. At that point, neither Kairus nor Nora would be able to guarantee victory against the other.

Kairus was already aware of Moon Sand’s power—being grazed by its blade alone would mean death.

“If only you didn’t have Veil of Plumed Mist.”

At Nora’s words, Kairus scoffed. If the enemy army numbered a million and you brought only five hundred troops, who would agree if you said, ‘Fight fairly with just five hundred soldiers as well!’?

“If this had been a real battle, you would have died instantly.”

“I know that!”

After saying that, Nora abruptly turned her head to look at Irena.

“What, want to fight me too?”

Nora shook her head.

“I bought cake. Let’s eat together. I got it from a famous place.”

“You bought it? Or did you ‘get’ it?”

Nora puffed out her chest and replied,

“The line was long. I left the money where the cake had been.”

Isn’t that theft? Irena thought, just as Nora grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

“Hey, what about me—”

In response to Kairus’s words, Nora answered,

“There’s no cake for a monster.”

It seemed she felt quite wronged after being beaten without even managing a proper resistance.

And she probably had something to discuss with Irena as well. Lunaseeker must have noticed that something was wrong with the state of the Empire. After all, it was a company responsible for national intelligence. It would be stranger if they hadn’t noticed.

‘Irena isn’t a fool.’

After watching the two walk away for a moment, Kairus headed toward the office.

Sitting in the office chair, sipping coffee and trimming his nails, Kairus soon saw Nora and Irena return.

“Did you have a good talk?”

“Not really.”

Nora had not achieved the result she wanted. Instead, cream was smeared around her lips. It was clear that she had thoroughly enjoyed the cake.

“Everyone’s preparations are more or less complete, and we’ve each achieved our personal goals. Let’s rest for a while.”

At Kairus’s words, Nora and Irena nodded.

What the three of them needed before the great event ahead was rest.

Once the rebellion began in the Empire, they would not be able to rest even if they wanted to, so they planned to adjust their condition and spend their time doing things they might later wish they had done.

“Here, have some.”

For example, it would not be bad to eat the piece of cake Nora offered now that her sulking had completely subsided. As Kairus ate the cake, he spoke.

“Do you know anything about the Guardian of the Nation? You are Lunaseeker, after all.”

Denver Hudson, the Empire’s greatest swordsman. He was a man who could be considered the enemy nation’s greatest military strength. Lunaseeker must have gathered information tirelessly on him, and they also had reason to share that information with Kairus.

Moreover, Nora was an agent treated at the level of a deputy director. She had access to classified information and had recently even visited Lunaseeker’s headquarters.

“There’s not much.”

However, Nora’s answer was rather disappointing.

“Nothing? Lunaseeker isn’t what it used to be.”

At Kairus’s remark, Nora replied with a small sigh.

“He never leaves the Imperial Palace. We barely managed to discover that he even had a wife.”

Nora let out a quiet sigh at Kairus’s evaluation of Lunaseeker.

“What about those who fought him?”

Nora mimed slitting her throat with the knife she had used to cut the cake. Without exception, everyone who had crossed swords with Denver Hudson had died.

“He must at least spar.”

“No. The Emperor’s loyal hound doesn’t spar. In fact, his training has never been observed either.”

Was there a private training facility beneath the Imperial Palace? Even if there was, someone would have to manage it.

According to Nora, ever since the Empire’s greatest swordsman had been the head of House Featherwing, he had not engaged in training or sparring.

“Is that even possible?”

Even if sparring could be set aside, one still needed to train to maintain a body fit for combat. The human body softened at an unbelievable speed without constant stimulation.

“Lunaseeker thinks the same as you, oppa.”

He was suspicious in many ways. What irritated Kairus even more was the fact that once the rebellion began and he had defeated the knight commanders, he would inevitably face Denver Hudson at the Imperial Palace.

‘Because in Simid Kellogg’s plan, I became the wielder of Veil of Plumed Mist.’

It was Kairus who would have to face Denver Hudson, the Guardian of the Nation.

Having no information about an opponent with whom he must fight to the death was truly disheartening.

“I guess I should finish the cake.”

In the end, all he had gained from Nora was the cake. He wondered if she was deliberately withholding information, but even he could see no reason for her to hide details about the Guardian of the Nation at this point.

If Denver Hudson died, there would be no one left to protect the Emperor.

If the Emperor died, the Empire would be shaken, and the Republic would benefit. Even if Lunaseeker had uncovered the hidden intentions of the Bennett City Operations Committee—

‘There’s no reason for them to keep me in check.’

In any case, the role assigned to Kairus was to assist the Empire’s rebellion and kill the Emperor.

What the Republic needed to concern itself with was the outrageous schemes other committee members were plotting against their own nation.

Therefore, Lunaseeker truly knew nothing about Denver Hudson. As Kairus organized his thoughts, the cake had disappeared, leaving only a trace of cream and crumbs on the plate.