Chapter 86

I Am Not a Reincarnator Chapter 86

The Saint of Rome (7)

“Wh-what? Wh-what?!”

Isabella’s face turned as red as an apple, and her eyes widened.

She could feel her trembling cheeks stiffen.

“W-what, w-what do you mean by that?”

What could he mean?

‘It means I want you to work as my assistant, toiling away under me from now on.’

Of course, he didn’t voice the thoughts that came to his mind.

The most important thing right now was to win her favor.

And to thoroughly use her based on that favor.

“Hmm, what could it mean?”

He asked playfully with a smirk.

“Ah…”

Isabella bowed her head, her cheeks flushed red.

‘It’s working perfectly.’

Indeed.

He was her savior in a crisis.

Their first meeting had ended on a good note, so it would be strange if she didn’t feel some affection.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean the affection will turn into romantic feelings.’

Saving someone’s life and having romantic feelings for them are two different things.

She would probably see him as someone she can rely on.

‘That’s just right.’

If the affection turned into romantic feelings, it would be troublesome.

If Haeun found out, it would give her a headache.

“Mr. Oh Jin, you speak so boldly.”

“Isn’t Miss Isabella the same?”

When they first met, she had even said it felt like a date.

“Huh. Maybe.”

“Let’s stop the small talk and focus on escaping safely.”

“Yes!”

Oh Jin narrowed his eyes and activated the Hunter Constellation.

Thanks to sending the communication relic far away, there was no presence he could sense around them.

‘It’s time to move.’

He stood up.

“Are you going?”

“We can’t keep hiding here forever.”

“…But it’s fine, right?”

Isabella pouted, looking somewhat disappointed.

“Huh?”

“Hehe. No, it’s not.”

She shook her head lightly and stood up.

‘She’s mentally tougher than she looks.’

Despite being pursued by hundreds of assassins, she maintained a calm expression.

“Which way are you going?”

“First, let’s aim to get out of Rome.”

The assassins were stationed in the city of Rome.

To shake off the pursuit, they needed to get out of Rome.

“Yes!”

She answered brightly and they headed out together.

They passed through the winding alleys and headed towards the outskirts of Rome.

-Step, step.

They moved cautiously, barely making a sound.

Each step was so quiet that even their breathing couldn’t be heard.

“Mr. Oh Jin?”

“Yes?”

“Won’t we end up going deeper into the city if we go this way?”

“That’s right.”

As she said, the direction Oh Jin was heading was towards the center of Rome.

“Then, what do you mean by getting out of the city…?”

“Even if we try to escape on foot, there’s nothing but mountains around, right?”

If they entered the mountains, the assassins would follow them more openly.

“We’ll move along the Tiber River to the coast.”

“Oh.”

The Tiber River, like the Han River in Korea, runs through the entire city.

If they followed it to the sea, even the best assassins wouldn’t be able to catch up.

“But we don’t have a boat, do we?”

“We should be able to find one.”

Though he said it that way,

He had already prepared a boat during the six days of studying escape routes.

If they passed the Colosseum and reached the river, they could board the prepared boat and escape.

‘And once we reach the river…’

He could use his ‘Hydro Affinity’ ability to fight the assassins.

“I understand. I’ll trust you, Mr. Oh Jin.”

Isabella nodded, seemingly realizing there was no other option.

-Step, step.

They moved cautiously again.

After about an hour,

“Found it, the car!”

“There it is!!”

“Damn it!! Catch him quickly!! We don’t have much time!”

Was it impossible to completely shake off the assassins with just a trick?

As they came out of the alley onto a wide road, the assassins who were patrolling the area started to follow them.

“Tsk. Of course, we can’t go easily.”

There were over a hundred assassins.

He never thought that just throwing the communication relic far away would be enough to shake them off.

“Oh, Mr. Oh Jin!”

Isabella looked at him with an urgent expression.

“From here on, we’ll run.”

“Eek!”

He picked her up and tied her to his body with a wire.

Until now, they had moved quietly like mice, but from now on, it would be a speed battle.

-Clang!

He used the wire to leap between buildings, moving quickly.

“Damn it! Chase him!!!”

“Damn! Is he Spider-Man or something?!!”

“We can’t let him get away!”

The assassins shouted frantically.

“Haa!”

Bang!

An assassin leaped high and scattered sharp metal pieces.

-Clang! Clang!

He deflected the hidden weapons with his spear and charged towards the river.

“What? What’s happening?”

“Is a gate opening or something?”

As they came out of the alley and ran down the main road, the sight of ordinary people walking on the street began to appear.

“Get out of the way, you bastards!”

-Swoosh!

“Cough! Snap!”

“Screeech!!”

The assassins swung their weapons mercilessly at the people, continuing their pursuit.

‘What the hell.’

I didn’t expect them to go this far.

‘Isn’t the Black Sun in Italy trying to maintain a good image with the public?’

If they had cleanly killed everyone, it might have been seen as eliminating witnesses, but this wasn’t the case.

‘It feels like they’re just clearing away annoying obstacles.’

Indeed, some people hit by their weapons didn’t die.

This meant that from the beginning, they had no intention of ‘eliminating witnesses.’

Still,

They swung their weapons indiscriminately at the people blocking their path.

As if they didn’t care about the ‘saint’ image they had built up.

“…”

The sense of unease that prickled at the back of his neck.

The cause and effect of the situation were twisted, like gears that didn’t mesh.

‘What is it?’

What’s wrong?

Where did I go wrong?

-A series of questions, one leading to another.

But a clear answer didn’t immediately come to mind.

“Mr. Oh Jin!”

“Gah!”

Bang!

A fierce explosion swept the area.

He narrowly avoided the attack and pushed off with his feet.

‘Damn.’

With dozens, no, hundreds of assassins chasing him, there was no time to think leisurely.

‘I’ll shake them off and think later.’

Oh Jin charged forward, swinging his spear roughly.

-Snap, snap, snap!

A blue current of lightning repelled the assassins blocking his path.

“Aaaah!!”

“Stop him!! Stop him, damn it!!”

With overwhelming firepower, he pushed the assassins back, but only for a moment.

They swarmed towards him like a pack of hungry demons.

“Gah!”

Oh Jin swung his spear roughly, repelling the assassins charging at him.

“Dieeeeee!!”

A sharp blade aimed at Isabella.

He raised his arm to block the blade.

-Snik!

“Aaaah!!”

The blade pierced his arm, and blood gushed out.

Despite the intense pain,

“Thunder.”

“Gaaaaah!!!”

He ignored it.

Ignoring pain was not that difficult.

“Mr. Oh Jin… your arm!”

“I’m fine.”

He answered briefly and dealt with the assassins closing in.

The number of assassants surrounding them had already exceeded a hundred.

‘Should I call Vega?’

No, not yet.

‘Let’s try to paint a more perfect picture.’

This level of ‘crisis’ is not enough.

The picture is still too flat.

-Snap, snap, snap!

Feathers made of lightning viciously swept the area.

“Aaaah!”

“Damn it!!”

The screams of the assassins.

He swung his spear, cutting down the assassins and charged towards the river.

-Swoosh!

“Gah!”

One step, two steps.

With each step, his wounds increased.

Large and small wounds covered his body, and he was drenched in blood.

“…Mr. Oh Jin.”

Isabella loosened her grip on his back.

“Leave me behind.”

Her trembling voice.

“We’re almost there.”

“It’s too late! Even if we reach the river, we can’t escape….”

“I’m fine.”

Crack!

He twisted the neck of an assassin charging at him and continued.

“I’ll make sure I’m fine.”

“…Mr. Oh Jin.”

Isabella’s eyes trembled.

‘Good.’

The highlight of the play was approaching.

“We’ve… arrived!”

After running for about five more minutes, dodging the assassins, they reached the riverbank.

The riverbank, bathed in a red sunset, had a boat that Oh Jin had prepared in advance.

“Get on… the boat… there.”

“Mr. Oh Jin?”

Oh Jin deliberately panted and staggered.

With each step, blood poured onto the ground.

“Quickly, get on the… boat. I’ll… buy… some time.”

Like a protagonist who sacrifices his life to save the heroine.

He pushed her towards the boat and turned around.

“But then, Mr. Oh Jin!”

“…Go.”

“No! I can’t leave Mr. Oh Jin behind!”

“Go quickly!”

He pushed her towards the boat, bursting with emotion.

“Mr. Oh Jin….”

Isabella looked at Oh Jin, tears streaming down her face.

And then,

“Oh.”

Stumble.

Oh Jin’s body swayed violently.

Thud!

He fell to the ground, kneeling.

“Mr. Oh Jin!! Mr. Oh Jin!!!”

“Quickly… run….”

He squeezed out a faint, almost broken voice.

Oh Jin closed his eyes.

“Noooooo!!!”

A piercing scream echoed.

In the distance, the sound of assassins gathering could be heard.

The corners of Oh Jin’s closed eyes slightly curved upwards.

‘It’s done.’

Everything was ready to set the stage for the highlight of the play.

Now, he just needed to lie still and wait for the moment when she was in mortal danger, then receive Vega’s blessing and sweep away the assassins.

‘Of course, the protagonist awakens in a crisis!’

The heroine in danger.

The protagonist, thought to be dead, makes a spectacular comeback and sweeps away the enemies in one go!

‘Kyaha! What a perfect setup!’

This time, the plan he had put a lot of effort into gave him a thrilling sense of accomplishment.

“─You ran well, like a rat, Isabella.”

The assassins surrounded them.

“But it ends here.”

They glared at her with murderous intent.

‘Alright, time to wake up Vega.’

Just as Oh Jin, who had been observing the situation with half-closed eyes, was about to infuse his necklace with mana,

-Snap.

[Some of the memories of the Awakened Lee Shinhyuk have been successfully restored.]

His vision distorted.

Unfamiliar memories began to flood his mind.

-If I had met Isabella that day… would things be different now?

-…Brother.

Huh? What?

Wasn’t the transmission over?

-If I had met her then…!!

Lee Shinhyuk, gripping the rooftop railing, screamed.

‘Ah, right. The transmission was supposed to be divided as the restoration progressed.’

Damn.

I already solved everything, and now this.

-If I had met Isabella…!!

Puhuhuh! Kid.

Yeah, I saved her as you wished.

No, I didn’t just save her.

I made a whole drama out of it.

-If I had killed her then…!!!

Yeah, yeah.

If I had killed Isabella two years ago….

‘Huh?’

Wait a minute.

What the hell?

-If I had killed her when she was weakened by the ‘Curse of Jamwon’…!!

No.

It wasn’t about saving her.

I was supposed to kill her?

-If I could have prevented this disaster…!!

Hey, you bastard.

‘Shouldn’t you have said it clearly from the beginning, damn it!!’

It felt like getting hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

Oh Jin’s mind became a tangled mess, unable to understand the situation.

“Don’t die, Mr. Oh Jin!!! Mr. Oh Jin!!!”

Isabella’s tearful, desperate scream echoed in his ears.

“Huh!! Huh!! Huhaaa!!”

Her sorrowful cries reverberated.

“There’s no place to run now!”

The assassins, who had surrounded her without a gap, approached with their weapons drawn.

“If you stay still, you won’t get hurt.”

Swallow.

Their tense expressions as they cautiously approached Isabella.

“H-Huh!”

Isabella’s shoulders trembled as she shed a tear.

A fragile, frightened appearance like a scared puppy.

One of the assassins, gripping his weapon, snarled.

“Drop the act! Leech Queen!!!”

“…”

“You, who tore our members to shreds, can’t expect to get away with that expression….”

“─Oh?”

A chilling murderous intent flashed in Isabella’s blue eyes.

As if she had never been afraid, she slowly straightened her body.

“Leech?”

Snap.

Sharp fangs grew, and a suffocating aura dominated the area.

“Calling such a beautiful lady a leech is a bit inappropriate, don’t you think?”

“Gah!”

The assassins’ faces paled at the explosive murderous intent.

“Hmm.”

Isabella scanned the assassins surrounding her and then looked down at Oh Jin, who was lying on the ground.

“Let’s see… you’re not really dead, are you?”

She placed her fingers on his throat and tilted her head with an innocent expression.

“Oh?