Chapter 61 - No, Thanks
Chapter 61 - No, Thanks
A groan followed the triumphant roar.
"Uuugh…"
Jin staggered heavily.
His vision spun for a moment.
His chin felt damp, and when he wiped it with his palm, it came away bright red.
His middle finger was still missing.
More than two joints had been blown off, leaving it noticeably shorter.
The jagged wound exposed broken bone and pale nerves.
Ah, I shouldn't have looked.
Humans naturally feel greater pain when they see their own injuries.
There's a reason they say ignorance is bliss.
Once you've seen it with your own eyes, it's only natural to feel uncomfortable, in pain, and annoyed.
"Shit…"
Since it had already come to this, Jin gritted his teeth and began assessing his condition.
From head to toe, there wasn't a single part of him that was unscathed.
His scalp was barely hanging on.
His arms had less than half their normal range of motion.
And his left ankle was twisted in the wrong direction.
He didn't even bother lifting his clothes to check his internal injuries.
Just from what was visible, he already looked like a walking disaster zone.
To make matters worse, his recovery was sluggish.
His wounds were still bleeding profusely.
It was to be expected.
An Irregular's Reconstruction was an extraordinary healing ability, but it wasn't omnipotent.
Restoring a body part that was beyond recovery—
Though it sounded simple in words, It consumed a massive amount of energy.
It was impossible to maintain continuously.
And on top of that, Jin had forced his regeneration into overdrive to keep fighting.
His scorched eyeball and nerves had regenerated quickly because of that.
Now that the immediate danger had passed, his body was rebelling.
It had declared a strike.
Of course, Jin wasn't aware of these specifics.
He simply assumed the pain would last a little longer than usual.
With that thought, he unsteadily climbed down from Taha's corpse.
Then, his surroundings naturally came into view.
"…Is this even real?"
Jin muttered in disbelief.
Who wouldn't react that way?
Anyone would be shocked upon witnessing the carnage under the dim moonlight.
Hundreds of corpses, ripped apart.
Not a single civilian among them.
All of them were seasoned mercenaries and battle-hardened soldiers.
Could they have ever imagined that their end would come in mutual destruction alongside the boss they trusted?
Of course not.
Even the one responsible for this massacre hadn't anticipated it.
Jin's gaze settled on Taha's fallen form.
Even charred black, remnants of his dignity still clung to his lion-maned head, etching itself into Jin's gray eyes.
Had this been a world where his madness never surfaced,
He would never have met such a fate.
But it was a meaningless thought.
Jin turned his head away.
He had seen enough.
It was time to return to his companions.
And just as he began dragging his aching legs forward—
Thud.
Something landed on the ground behind him.
That was all.
Yet, chills ran down his spine.
"…"
In the suddenly frigid air, Jin turned his head slightly.
There stood a figure, draped in a massive coat.
A grotesquely swollen body, uneven and lumpy.
Bulging shapes protruded as if they might burst through the fabric at any moment.
They were faces.
Faces.
Countless faces embedded in its body,
Yet its own face was obscured in the deep shadows of its hood.
The figure bent one knee.
Then, a withered hand slowly reached forward and gripped the dead lion's face.
Crunch—
The grotesque sound of flesh tearing.
In the next instant, as if it had been cleanly peeled away, Taha's face—no, his lion's mask—was completely separated from the skull.
The figure stood up again, holding the lifeless skin at eye level.
It tilted its head.
And from the pitch-black void of its hood, a voice rasped like metal scraping against stone.
"That's strange. You weren't supposed to die here… Hey, hey?"
Of course, the severed head did not respond.
So the one-sided muttering continued.
"You were supposed to become a vessel. You were supposed to break the wall as soon as possible, and now you're just a roasted husk? Hmm?"
The head tilted to the right.
Then to the left, as if struggling to understand.
And finally, it turned towards Jin.
"Was it you?"
Jin's brows furrowed deeply.
"You got a problem with that?"
He shot back with bravado,
But in truth, the emergency sirens in his head were blaring.
That's… That's it.
The Face Collector?
The Face Hunter?
Whatever it was called!
The high-risk criminal Colonel John Harrison had been hunting.
The one suspected of aiding Taha in this civil war.
Jin swallowed his saliva in two separate gulps.
If he did it all at once, his bobbing Adam's apple would betray his nerves.
I'm not scared.
I just can't fight right now.
It wasn't just an excuse.
His mana was drained, and his limbs barely functioned.
He needed a way out of this.
What should I do?
Should I say I know the head of the Zahad family?
No, that's too absurd.
Then what about Lokan?
Wait, is he even famous enough?
What if his name doesn't carry weight?
Jin was spinning his thoughts rapidly without the slightest change in his expression.
"I have complaints. My plan's been disrupted, after all."
A chilling voice slithered into his ears, but Jin remained unfazed as he asked back.
"What plan?"
He wasn't even curious, to be honest.
He had just thrown the question out there to buy time.
He hadn't expected an answer.
And yet, to his surprise, the other party continued speaking.
"Collecting the head of Carthdrubael."
"Car… Car what? Hold on, slow down a bit."
"Carthdrubael."
"…Anyway, what is that?"
Jin furrowed his brows.
This time, he wasn't asking just to stall.
Carthdrubael.
That difficult-to-pronounce name was the very thing Taha, in his final moments of madness, had howled at the top of his lungs.
The response came without delay.
"He was the Beast King who ruled the Age of Light and Roses. How magnificent he was. The pinnacle of an extinct ancient race, the first of his kind, the father of all beastfolk…!!"
The more he spoke, the higher his tone rose.
Jin couldn't see his expression, but it was clear—this man was excited.
To Jin, it was nothing short of repulsive.
"The Age of Light and Roses? Why are you looking for a beastfolk from that era now? His name was Taha. Taha."
Jin pointed at the shriveled lion hide at his feet.
But the Face Collector didn't care.
His voice, now brimming with excitement, continued as he gestured feverishly.
"I need a rare face. A legendary one that has left its mark on history. Just imagine the thrill of wearing it… Ahh… Ahhh!!"
He shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning.
Jin grimaced and instinctively took a step back.
Is this bastard insane?
He actually had a hobby of wearing the skinned faces of others?
Well, criminals were criminals for a reason.
An eerie disgust rose within Jin, along with a lingering doubt.
…But wait.
Shouldn't they be showing up about now?
As he darted his eyes left and right—
The Face Collector, who had slowly calmed down, muttered.
"A beastfolk of Rank 3 or higher, completely consumed by madness… Not easy. I really thought this time, I'd succeed."
He slowly lifted his head.
"Well, it can't be helped. I'll just have to settle for your face instead."
Then, he spread his bony hands wide.
"Urk!"
A bizarre pulling force yanked at him, and Jin leaned back with all his might, resisting.
"Wait! Hold on! I still have questions! Let's talk a little more!"
His heels scraped against the ground with a shriek as his feet lifted off the floor.
Dragged helplessly forward, Jin raised his voice to the heavens.
"If you're a public servant, at least earn your damn taxes!"
It was then—
The air trembled violently for a moment.
Then, a low voice cut through the tension.
[Gravity]
KWOOM!!
A circular depression formed beneath the Face Collector's feet.
At the same time, projectiles shot in from all directions, embedding themselves into the ground around him in a perfect square.
They hadn't missed.
The cylindrical projectiles split open with a click, revealing sharp, lightning rod-like devices that unleashed a blinding surge of electricity.
BZZZZZZT!!!
The Face Collector was instantly trapped in a cage of crackling energy.
But it wasn't over yet.
Snap!
A sharp snap of fingers shifted the flow of air.
The wind began to spiral clockwise, quickly becoming a visible whirlwind that swallowed the Face Collector whole.
Now freed from the pulling force, Jin collapsed onto his rear.
"Urgh!"
Then, a voice spoke from behind him.
"All that talk for someone who doesn't even pay taxes."
Jin glanced up and let out a hollow chuckle as he saw the pair of military boots that had come to a stop beside him.
"You're drinking even now?"
"A man's gotta be consistent."
Colonel John Harrison smirked, raising a liquor bottle to his lips.
Meanwhile, Q, who had appeared at some point, spoke.
"All Law Enforcers have assembled. Target 'Face Collector' secured."
"So we meet again, you damn Many-Faced bastard. Let's end this today."
As the Colonel spoke, Jin turned his gaze toward the direction the projectiles had come from.
The rooftops near the docks entered his view one by one.
Though he couldn't see them, there had to be snipers stationed somewhere up there.
Which meant…
This wasn't a rescue made in the nick of time.
They had planned it all along.
Realizing their thoroughness, Jin clicked his tongue.
Then—
"GUAAAAARGH!!!"
A familiar roar thundered through the storm, making Jin flinch.
Phase 4?!
With a deafening explosion, the ground shook violently as the lightning rods shattered to pieces.
At the same time, something massive tore through the whirlwind and shot into the sky.
It was the Face Collector.
That alone wasn't surprising—
But when Jin saw the white lion face within the hood, his eyes widened.
Yet, the Colonel and Q remained unshaken.
As if they had expected this all along, they exchanged words.
"He's already using it."
"As expected."
Meanwhile, the Face Collector, hands clasped behind his head, plummeted toward the ground—
And then swung his arms down.
BOOM!!!
The ground flipped as if a bomb had gone off.
But the Colonel and Q had already moved away, and Q released his grip on Jin's collar.
"No need for thanks."
As expected, Jin ended up choking again.
He coughed violently, his expression one of sheer disbelief.
Meanwhile, the Face Collector, now wearing Taha's face, lifted his head.
"Aren't you people tired? Seems like it's about time you gave up."
Even his voice had changed to match his new face, making the sight all the more grotesque.
Jin's eyebrow twitched.
At the same time, he forcibly twisted his fractured left ankle back into place.
The pain was enough to make his hair stand on end, but this would speed up his recovery.
After completing his rough first aid, he snapped his gaze back to the front—
And there, yet another face awaited him.
A man with a strong jawline had appeared, prompting Q to speak.
"No. 22, Sandman. Load the incendiary rounds."
Immediately, as if they had been waiting for the command, sniper bullets came flying from all directions.
The shots pierced the Face Collector, and parts of his body crumbled like a sandcastle swept away by the waves.
Yet, he simply laughed in amusement.
"Hahaha! There's nothing you don't know, huh?"
"Of course. It's been years."
The Colonel spoke casually, then flicked his liquor bottle to the side.
CRASH!
The shattered pieces were caught by a gust of wind, soaring upward before vanishing into the distance.
At the same time, the Colonel's wind-wrapped feet lifted off the ground, causing the Face Collector's lips to curl.
"Aerokinesis… Now that's a power I'd love to have."
"Go ahead, try and take it."
In the next instant—
Without a moment's hesitation, the two charged at each other, colliding with a tremendous shockwave.
As if on cue, Q sprinted forward, while continuous supporting fire rained down from unseen snipers.
Meanwhile, Jin was the only one completely out of sorts.
Hold on—I'm a patient, damn it!
His body was already in shambles, and now he was stuck in the middle of a battlefield where even the air screamed.
It was making him sick to his stomach.
Then—BOOM!
Another shockwave sent him rolling.
This way—tumbling.
That way—tumbling.
Jin was getting tossed around like a ragdoll when, in a desperate attempt to stabilize himself, he grabbed onto the pants leg of a dead TB soldier.
It was then that—
A status window suddenly flashed across his vision.
───「(Emergency!) (???) Face Collector」──────────
???? Many-Faced One ?????
Defeat the Face Collector alongside the Law Enforcers.
??? ??? ?????
*Reward: 150,000 XP / ???
─────────────────────
Jin raised his severed middle finger.
Yeah, no thanks.