Chapter 25

3 days later.

It's the early morning when the cold night air moistens the tip of one's nose.

Renok, who had arrived at Sector 48 after walking under the unusually bright night sky, saw a wisp of cold smoke seep out from the corner of his mouth.

He had a long, leather bag slung over his back, and a cigarette dangled from his lips.

The weight of the bag made it necessary for him to smoke to forget his fatigue on the way.

"Hmm...."

Indeed, the tension rose as he inhaled the cold air upon arriving at the harbor.

Especially so when he thought about what he had to do from now on.

Renok lightly slapped his cheeks, sent a text to Jenny saying he was starting, and immediately headed to the agreed location.

"You're here. You're the last one."

The four people who had gathered earlier slowly turned their heads.

A gaunt woman, a man with a bandit-like build, and two people with pale iron masks covering their faces.

The two masked individuals were so thoroughly covered in thick cloth that it was impossible to discern their gender or build.

'What a motley crew....'

As Renok approached them without a word, the four people instantly took a step back.

Their demeanor was clearly filled with suspicion.

The discipline of the team members before the operation did not seem to be lax.

The man on the far right spoke first. His voice was deep, undoubtedly that of a man.

He seemed to have the most authority in this group.

"Everyone knows the general plan, so we'll just go over the details and start."

He said this and manipulated the device on his left wrist, projecting a simple hologram in the center of the group.

It was the same technology he had demonstrated in front of Drey Crimgal and his mercenaries.

"There are seven entrances to the harbor in Sector 48, which is currently sealed off by Paul Ackerman's private army. Excluding the dedicated entrances for sailors and cargo handlers, we have five entrances to deal with. Each of us will take one and suppress the private army, then wait."

The mindset that each person must thoroughly handle their own part is not bad.

His tone was quite authoritarian, but everyone nodded without much complaint.

"Paul Ackerman and the distributors will move through different routes to meet. Once the meeting place is confirmed, the one who verifies it will start the operation, and the rest will join immediately."

Five small earpieces popped out from the man's pocket, and the other team members each took one.

"These are disposable communication devices. They are designed to malfunction after a day, so don't keep them for long. Let's start."

From his tone, it seemed the masked man didn't have high expectations for the other team members.

His attitude openly suggested that he just wanted them to fight adequately and buy some time.

Renok could somewhat understand his feelings.

It would be strange to trust five strangers gathered together to carry out an operation.

On the contrary, the simpler the operation, the more room there is for individual excellence, so it's not all bad.

"But you guys, you're really careless."

Just as they were about to disperse after roughly agreeing on the plan, another masked person standing next to the first one spoke.

"Coming to such a place without even covering your faces? Dike may have a lot of money, but he doesn't guarantee your safety."

The voice was calm and high-pitched, clearly that of a woman.

Had they accepted this job as a pair? It was an unusual combination.

The woman's words made Renok and the other two exchange glances before bursting into laughter.

The gaunt woman replied with a mocking expression.

"You guys aren't from around here, are you?"

"....What?"

"In this line of work, you have to reveal your face and name to raise your value. Unless there's a special reason, why would you care about your identity being exposed?"

A special reason... Could there be such a reason behind Dylan's bizarre mask?

Renok recalled the first time he took on the factory bombing job, lost in a wistful memory.

The woman seemed momentarily taken aback by the gaunt woman's words but quickly regained her composure and turned around.

"Hmph, as long as you do your job well, it shouldn't matter. Just don't mess things up."

'From her attitude, it seems she's not from around here.'

As Renok watched the masked individuals disappear, he roughly filtered out the potential candidates Dike might have hired.

Mercenaries, gang members, freelancers, soldiers... It wouldn't be surprising if he even brought in criminals.

Meanwhile, the bandit-like man patted the gaunt woman's shoulder.

"Hey, which way are you going?"

"....It doesn't matter. I wasn't chosen for my combat skills anyway. I'll handle my part on my own."

"Is that so? What a shame... If you were another gaunt guy, I would have wanted to go with the lady."

The man leered, and the woman coldly ignored him.

Seeing no reaction from the woman, the man turned to Renok with a grin.

"Looks like you're not the fighting type either... Just follow me to the harbor without dying. If you slow us down and make my job harder, I'll tear you apart."

Without a word, Renok turned around.

He was so used to such provocations that they had become tiresome.

It wouldn't be too late to settle things after the job was done.

If the man was still alive by then, of course.

[Three, two, one. We're going in.]

A monotonous voice came through the earpiece. The masked man had insisted on synchronizing the entry timing.

Taking a deep breath of the cold air, Renok entered the harbor.

There was no sound around, only the distant murmur of waves lapping at the harbor's edge.

A chaotic street of concrete lined with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of containers.

Turning his head, all he could see were iron containers that resembled corrugated metal, but Renok already knew that many people were gathered nearby.

His vast magical sensing ability accurately detected the people hiding and watching from all directions.

Each of them held a heavy rifle and wore a sturdy bulletproof vest.

Their masked faces and the sharp aura emanating from their bodies.

They were undoubtedly the private army Paul Ackerman had hired and brought with him.

There was no doubt about it.

The people gathering here today would never walk around with their faces exposed in broad daylight.

'Paul Ackerman hasn't arrived yet. It was worth getting here early.'

No one could withstand the hallucination magic that would penetrate the senses of the private army.

The sounds of other team members entering the harbor in different ways could also be heard.

[Crack! Thud!]

A frontal assault.

[Can you hear me? Jaden, everything's fine. I just want to change the patrol route, can you help?]

With a distorted voice.

[Whirr...!!]

Even the sound of an unknown machine.

In that short time, it seemed a variety of abilities had gathered.

Renok leisurely passed through the ranks of the private army and found a spot in a corner of an open area where a large cargo ship was visible.

Although there were many among the private army who used magical sensing, it meant nothing to Renok.

There was still some time before Paul Ackerman arrived.

Instead of idly waiting, Renok decided to do a bit more.

'It would be good to reduce the numbers a bit in advance.'

He adjusted the hallucination magic he had cast on the private army as they passed.

He planted small auditory hallucinations in their ears and cast flickering shadows in their vision to heighten their alertness before dispelling the magic.

"......"

Continuously injecting signals to distract their senses, the private army, unable to endure, raised their guns and slowly began to track the traces.

As Renok watched the private soldiers approaching one by one, centered around a container, he smiled faintly.

They probably never imagined they would be dealt with in such a way.

Even if encountering a mage was rare, they certainly never expected to meet a mage who could use hallucination magic.

[Silence]

He had brought enough bullets for such a situation.

Renok slowly pulled the trigger at the approaching private soldiers from behind the container.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With each pull of the revolver's trigger, blood splattered, and the private soldiers, who had been stiff with tension, fell like lifeless dolls without any resistance.

After quickly disposing of over a dozen private soldiers, Renok finally emerged from behind the container and hid in the corner of the open area.

He hid his presence in the shadows of the moonlight and fumbled with his waist.

In Renok's hand was the druid's talisman he had received from Mira.

After rubbing the talisman a few times and hanging it back on his waist, Renok's presence immediately faded, and his breathing became imperceptible.

Considering it was a consumable item, using one was like wasting a shot, but Renok didn't relax.

Considering Russell's background as a war mercenary, his senses were likely sharper than the others.

Using the talisman to escape his senses was not a waste at all.

Time passed.

[...Entry complete. Now we wait, and the first to spot the target will signal.]

The masked man's words were gradually becoming orders.

Renok slightly frowned but decided to wait and see until the job was over. It wasn't too bothersome.

Soon, the entrance to the harbor became noisy, and the sound of murmuring and footsteps echoed.

Just by the increasing noise, it was clear.

'It's my turn.'

Renok tapped his earpiece, muttered a few words, and immediately used the talisman again.

The headlights of a car illuminated the space