Chapter 85

I Am Not a Reincarnator Chapter 85

The Saint of Rome (6)

“Haa, haa!”

Thud, thud, thud!

A woman runs through a narrow, dark alley.

Her platinum blonde hair sways.

Her alabaster skin, now dirtied by sweat and dust, she pants heavily.

“Chase her!”

“This way!”

Behind the fleeing woman, men with fierce expressions chase after her.

“Ugh…!”

The platinum blonde woman takes a deep breath and quickly hides in a secluded corner of the alley.

Her face is tense and anxious.

“Damn! Where is she?!”

“She can’t have gone far! Chase her quickly!”

The men, with anxious expressions, scatter to search for the woman.

“…”

A brief silence follows.

“Haa.”

The woman, Isabella Colgrande, who had been fleeing from the men, lets out a low breath.

“…I let my guard down.”

She knew they were after her.

But she never expected the ‘Owls’ to be involved.

‘If this continues… it’s dangerous.’

Isabella looks down at her left chest and bites her lip tightly.

The lost holy mark.

The magic power that she usually wielded as naturally as her limbs now refuses to move.

“Can’t even contact anyone.”

How thoroughly they must have prepared for this plan.

Her smartphone and all communication relics have become useless.

‘I have to run.’

There’s no other way but to run as long as possible, evading their encirclement that covers all of Rome.

But.

‘Without magic…’

How can she escape the assassins’ watchful eyes that are everywhere?

“Ugh.”

Isabella frowns and clenches her fists.

Even though she knows the chances are slim.

Right now, there’s no other option but to run for her life.

‘If I’m caught.’

She tightly closes her eyes, as if unwilling to even imagine it.

A clean death would be a relief.

But she might be taken by them to experience something even more horrific than hell.

‘Be careful.’

Isabella crouches low and slowly moves her steps.

Fortunately, she knows the layout of the Gypsy village where she is now.

If she can run well, given the maze-like nature of the Gypsy village—

“There she is!”

“Chase her quickly!!”

Three men spot her.

The moment they see her, they rush towards her in a hurry.

“Damn!”

Isabella’s face contorts as she quickly turns and sprints.

-Thud, thud, thud!

She races through the narrow alleys.

The deeper she goes, the more the unknown stenches assault her nose.

“Haa! Haa!”

Her breath is short and labored.

Each step feels like placing a heavy weight on her shoulders.

Without magic, her body feels so heavy.

“Hahaha! You’re so slow!”

The men laugh and follow her leisurely.

“Hey! There she is!”

“Ah!”

Despite desperately trying to evade and buy time by running through the maze-like Gypsy village, she is eventually caught.

“This was a bit scary at first, but it’s nothing!”

“Kukuku! It’s natural since you’ve been cursed by the ‘Purple Microcosm (紫微垣)’.”

One of the men, gripping her slender arm, smirks.

“Let me go!!”

Isabella twists her body roughly, trying to free her arm, but it’s impossible without her magic.

“Shut up, you bitch!”

Crack!

The man swings his hand viciously.

Her head snaps to the side, and her cheek swells red.

“Dare to….”

Isabella bites her lip, glaring at the man with a venomous look.

“Kukuku! Don’t glare at me like that~”

The man sticks out his tongue, looking amused.

“—If you keep doing that, I’ll make your death even more painful.”

He roughly grabs her slender neck and licks his lips.

“Ahh! Ah!”

Isabella’s face contorts in pain as she scratches the arm choking her with her nails.

“Huh, huh!”

The man shudders involuntarily and steps back.

But only for a moment.

Seeing that her nails didn’t even leave a small scratch on his arm, the man’s lips curl up.

“Hahaha! Wow! The curse effect is amazing!”

“Kukuku! Stupid kid. You were scared even though you knew this?”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

The two men raise their voices and start cursing.

A brief moment of respite due to their carelessness.

‘I have to run now…!’

This might be her only chance.

Isabella, enduring the pain of being choked, lifts her foot.

She plans to kick a vital point and run.

“Hey, hey. Stop fooling around and make sure she doesn’t run.”

“I’m holding her tight….”

“Hey? Where’s the woman?”

But.

Before she can kick the vital point, another man notices her movement.

“Kukuku! You were still thinking about running in this state.”

“Just as expected, you live up to your reputation.”

The men look at her with derision.

“Come on, don’t be so sad, miss.”

“Going with us will be full of joy from now on!”

Their eyes, filled with lecherous desire, scan her body.

‘No…’

Her consciousness gradually blurs.

Isabella shivers, feeling the fear slowly creeping into her body.

‘Not yet.’

There’s still so much left to do.

“No….”

Without accomplishing anything.

Like this.

Pointlessly.

Meaninglessly.

It can’t end—

-Zzzz!

A blue lightning bolt fills her vision.

Like an angry god’s punishment.

A blue bolt of lightning falls from the sky, sweeping through the area.

“Aaaah!”

“What, what is this?”

The men are taken aback.

In their midst—

-Zzzz!

“Cough! Ah!”

A blue flame-enshrouded spear dances.

Blocking their escape routes and restricting their movements.

The sharp spear blades tear through the men’s bodies in all directions.

“Kaaaah!”

“M-my f-f-fault! Cough! Grr!”

The three men are instantly reduced to severed corpses, rolling on the ground.

“…What?”

Isabella’s eyes widen in confusion.

She touches her bruised neck and looks up.

There, she sees—

“Are you alright?”

A young man with wavy black hair.

His gentle eyes, which make one feel at ease just by looking at them.

“Mr. Oh Jin…?”

The Wolf of the Vega Star.

The wolf of the Vega Star stands before her.

“How did you… Ugh!”

Wobble.

Isabella wavers as she tries to stand.

Oh Jin grabs her hand and smiles.

“I followed your scent.”

“…What? My, my scent?”

Isabella, looking flustered, checks her body.

“Puhuhu! Just kidding.”

“Aah! You, that’s too much!”

Perhaps recalling their first meeting, Isabella’s cheeks turn red.

“It wasn’t because of the scent back then!”

“Hahaha! I know.”

Oh Jin shrugs lightly.

“I heard screams while passing by.”

“Oh.”

A short exclamation escapes Isabella’s lips.

“…Thank you.”

Her eyes welling up, she bows deeply.

Oh Jin looks down at the bowed Isabella and smiles.

“No problem.”

He grins widely.

‘Good.’

The effort of using the black curtain early in the morning and chasing after her was worth it.

‘Perfect timing.’

The goal of this plan is not just to save her life.

It’s to create a sense of ‘gratitude’ in her, making her follow his orders in the future.

‘It’s different from the Valhalla Guild.’

While he and the Valhalla Guild are currently in a cooperative relationship, he can’t just give orders to the Valhalla Guild.

But.

‘Isabella, with her personality, can’t refuse the words of her savior.’

Especially someone who saved her life ‘heroically’.

He would be able to control her like a puppet.

“Let’s run first.”

Oh Jin grabs her hand.

“Yes! I understand!”

Thud, thud, thud!

They run through the alley, holding hands.

“There she is!!”

“Damn! Who the hell is that guy?!”

Soon, other assassins appear.

Oh Jin’s eyes sharpen as he surveys them.

The distinct ‘Black Star’ magic power he senses from them.

‘Sure enough, it’s the Black Star Society.’

The number of Black Star magic powers he senses around is not just a few.

‘How many are there?’

The number of assassins surrounding this Gypsy village is far more than expected.

‘Four hundred… no, over five hundred?’

It feels strange to invest this many people to capture a single 6-star Awakened.

‘Well, it’s good for me.’

Thanks to this, he can create a more perfect picture.

“Sigh.”

He takes a deep breath and charges forward.

He extends his spear and stabs the charging assassins.

-Thud!

“Cough!”

“Damn! What the hell is this guy?!”

The assassins, looking disoriented, start cursing.

Despite their clumsy appearance, their skills are above average.

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

The assassins barely manage to block Oh Jin’s fierce attacks.

But that’s all.

The fierce blue lightning gradually starts to push them back.

-Clang!

“Gah!”

“What is this?!”

The narrow alley is densely covered with wires.

Blue lightning viciously surges through the wires.

-Zzzz!

“Aaaah!”

With a thick smoke, the assassins’ screams erupt.

Thud!

The assassins blocking the path fall to the ground.

“Wow….”

Isabella lets out a short exclamation, looking at Oh Jin.

For a moment.

She grabs his hand and runs forward.

“This way, there’s a place with many forks ahead!”

“I know.”

He had already surveyed the area over the past six days.

“Then, let’s go quickly….”

“No.”

He shakes his head and approaches the fallen assassin.

‘Sure enough.’

Searching the body, a red-flashing relic appears.

It’s probably a communication relic planted for tracking.

‘Then.’

He should use it to his advantage.

“Mr. Oh Jin?”

“Just a moment.”

Oh Jin ties the relic to the end of the wire shooter.

Clang!

He sends the relic to a pre-planned point.

‘The most difficult place to track.’

Unless they chase in a straight line, breaking through buildings, they’ll have to go around quite a bit.

“Come this way.”

Oh Jin grabs her hand and enters a nearby old apartment.

“Aren’t you running away?”

“Even if we run, we’ll be caught.”

The number of assassins forming the encirclement is at least five hundred.

That’s just the number he confirmed by their presence; there could be more.

“We need to hide in a suitable place and then move.”

Well, even doing this won’t completely shake them off.

But it’s better than a frontal breakthrough.

“…Yes.”

Isabella nods and follows Oh Jin into the old apartment.

The apartment is empty, as no one lives there.

“Phew. Let’s rest here for a bit.”

Oh Jin sits on the floor with a short sigh.

He takes off his jacket and lays it on the ground.

“You can sit on this.”

“…Thank you.”

Isabella carefully sits on the ground.

“…”

“…”

A sudden awkward silence.

“…Mr. Oh Jin.”

Breaking the awkward silence.

Isabella cautiously speaks.

“Why… are you helping me, Mr. Oh Jin?”

She looks at Oh Jin with trembling eyes.

Smirk.

Oh Jin smiles faintly.

“Didn’t they say that even a good deed done with the expectation of a return is still a good deed?”

“…Yes. They did.”

“Then, let’s consider this a good deed as well.”

“…”

Isabella’s eyes waver.

“But I can’t give you any return….”

“You don’t need to give me anything. Miss Isabella, you didn’t serve the Gypsies for something in return, did you?”

“But! That’s different from this!”

Helping someone out of kindness and risking one’s life to save someone are not the same.

“Alright, then.”

Oh Jin smiles warmly.

“There is one thing I would like to ask.”

“What….”

He slowly extends his hand and covers her trembling cheek.

‘Look at her eyes. Keep your voice calm.’

Creating the desired atmosphere.

Now, he can do it as naturally as breathing.

“Just like now… I would like Miss Isabella to be by my side from now on.”

Kya!

‘Got it.’

Damn, that’s so cool.