At the same time, in the outskirts.
Rubin’s team was heading toward the freezer where Lara had been abducted.
They had departed the moment they received Han’s communication, but even though they had started in the same district, their locations had been at opposite ends. The considerable distance meant it was taking time.
“T-Team Leader. Team Leader Han has gone in alone…!”
“Ha…. I expected as much.”
When one of his male team members spoke urgently, Rubin let out a sigh.
Rubin’s gaze deepened.
Seeing his expression, the man grew uneasy as well.
He had heard plenty of rumors about Team Leader Han.
An Easterner who had risen through the ranks at extraordinary speed thanks to his exceptional talent despite his young age.
A man who was normally gentlemanly, but who would occasionally tear into criminals in the field like a dog with Rabies….
There were some concerning aspects to him, but Han had consistently produced undeniable results, so the man did not distrust him.
‘……But this time, the opponent is different.’
William Bonin.
Cold sweat formed on the man’s skin because he had faced Bonin personally before.
Before joining Rubin’s team, an emergency mobilization had been ordered to capture Bonin after he wiped out an entire Special Unit team.
The man had been among those mobilized.
‘We had enough manpower. More than enough, in fact.’
The man recalled that day.
There had been only two Heretical Mages.
William Bonin and Ivan Keller.
No matter how strong two Fifth-Tier Mages were, four Special Unit teams had been deployed against them, so no one had thought there would be any danger.
‘But the result was nothing like we expected.’
Six Special Unit members were seriously wounded, and three were killed in the line of duty.
Worse, one of their targets, Ivan Keller, escaped.
They had barely managed to capture William Bonin.
The man vividly remembered the scene.
William Bonin.
He remembered just how terrifyingly powerful that bastard had been before they finally neutralized him.
Even now, remembering it sent a chill down his spine.
“Team Leader…. Shouldn’t we increase our speed, even if we have to push ourselves?”
The man asked while hiding the tremor in his voice.
Their Mobility Gear was already running at full output.
But not enough to damage their mana circuits.
It was commonly said that injuries to the mana circuits never disappeared.
Even so, those could hardly be compared to a person’s life.
Rubin seemed to agree with the man’s question.
“We really may have to….”
Rubin continued with genuine concern.
“At this rate, instead of us—the ones assigned the main role—the team belonging to the fellow assigned as support will sweep up all the credit…. I cannot very well watch that happen with my eyes wide open.”
“…Excuse me?”
The man stared blankly as though he had been struck in the back of the head.
“What… do you mean? Are you saying Team Leader Han is not the one in danger right now, but Bonin’s gang?”
“Hmm? Of course. What are you talking about?”
“…….”
“Ah, right. You have not seen Team Leader Han use a sword yet.”
“A sword…?”
Rubin added an explanation for his still-confused team member.
“Team Leader Han’s specialty is Mobility Swordsmanship.”
“Not marksmanship?”
“Marksmanship? What nonsense…. That is not even a comparison.”
Rubin looked dumbfounded.
Still, he thought to himself that it was understandable for the man not to know.
“Anyway. Even so, Team Leader Han rarely draws his sword. He only draws it against criminals eligible for summary execution…. In other words, those classified as Mid or higher under current law. But do you know what is interesting?”
“…I do not.”
“Everyone who says Team Leader Han has Rabies has seen him draw his sword. And of the criminals he faced on those occasions, every last one except a single person ended up dead in a horrific state.”
“…….”
“Now that I think about it, I really am worried. There is a great deal of information we need to extract from William Bonin.”
Rubin increased his speed, hoping Han would restrain himself and only rough Bonin up a reasonable amount.
***
While Rubin’s team hurried toward them—
Han, who had stormed the freezer, examined Lara and Lea from a distance.
“I’m glad you seem unharmed.”
“This looks unharmed to you…?! My arm has a hole through it!”
Lara shook the wound she had forcibly sealed with ice magic.
Han tapped his own left arm in response.
“Mine was cut off.”
“……I’m sorry.”
“…If you actually apologize, it makes the situation somewhat awkward.”
“No. I should apologize. Now that I think about it, this seems like something that’ll heal once I go back and get treated.”
“…….”
Han smacked his lips bitterly for some reason.
At that moment, an iron spike flew toward him at tremendous speed.
Han tilted his neck and avoided it.
He stared impassively at Bonin.
“You could have at least given us enough time for a brief conversation. Are you that eager to have a banknote stuffed into your mouth?”
“You are rather arrogant for an Easterner.”
The mana surrounding Bonin became ominous.
His dense magical power, filled with anger, was ready to transform into weapons at any moment.
Han, however, remained completely unconcerned.
He seemed almost peaceful.
“A racist remark on top of everything else…. No, I suppose since you are a pig, you are not technically a race to begin with.”
Han deliberately said it loudly enough for Bonin to hear.
His provocation worked quite well.
“Go kill him.”
Bonin gave the order.
His subordinates moved their mana and charged.
They held tools such as knives and crowbars in their hands.
In a sense, they were hybrids who fought with both magic and melee weapons.
“Die, you filthy Easterner bastard—!”
The first criminal to reach him hurled a small but searing Fireball while swinging an axe.
Han did not retreat.
Instead, he stepped in.
His left fist struck the man’s jaw.
The criminal immediately crumpled to the floor.
Han looked down at the unconscious man and spoke.
“I shower once a day. Why are you calling me filthy? If anything, Westerners smell worse.”
“You bastard—!!”
They had watched the first attacker go down in an instant, yet the criminals charged without fear.
Even rotten, a prized fish remained prized.
They were Heretical Mages—only around Second to Third Tier—but when all of them cast their formulas at once, the sight was fairly spectacular.
Clusters of fire and ice bloomed throughout the room like flower buds.
Masses of magical power filled the spaces between them.
And amid it all, the criminals rushed at Han like a pack of dogs.
Han released steam to meet them.
HISSSSS—!
High-temperature steam erupted, pouring strength into Han’s body.
Han extracted maximum efficiency from the minimum amount of mana.
Then—
“W-What the hell is this bastard—?!”
“A-Aaaaaagh!”
The criminals began screaming.
They had overwhelming superiority in numbers.
Yet they could not kill a single Special Unit member.
No—
They could not even put a small scratch on him.
Amid the tangled chaos of magic and bodies, Han alone maintained an almost aloof composure.
Without even a drop of sweat on him, Han seemed like something fundamentally out of place.
THUD! THUD—!
One by one, Han knocked the criminals unconscious.
They were bastards who did nothing but evil anyway.
If he followed his heart, he would have cut off their heads or some other body part right then and there.
But he barely restrained himself.
‘Unfortunately, their Crime Grades aren’t high enough.’
Han tried diligently to obey the laws of the Republic.
Watching the criminals fall like autumn leaves in a gale kept bringing a murderous gleam to his eyes, but he suppressed it.
He had already accumulated quite a few warnings for excessive force.
He had even placed his own team member, Louis Allen, in isolation for excessive force.
If Han, the team leader, acted hypocritically, he would hardly be setting an example.
‘If I mess this up, I won’t even be able to lecture him later. I should be careful.’
Meanwhile, the criminals fighting him had no idea what was going through his mind.
From their perspective, Han’s calm expression only emphasized the overwhelming difference between them.
And that realization began to inspire fear.
“Fuck…….”
The man who had kidnapped Lara and Lea watched the scene from a distance and quietly began backing away.
He did not think William Bonin would lose.
But there was always a chance.
However—
BANG—!
A single gunshot dropped him on the spot.
It had come from a window near the ceiling.
Samuel, dressed as a woman, was there with a sniper rifle.
“I-I hit him!”
Samuel became excited when the Tranquilizer Round he had fired struck its target.
With the hem of Samuel’s dress fluttering, another Special Unit member arrived at the scene as well.
“Boss! More Special Unit bastards are here—!”
Fabian was dealing with the men guarding the outside of the warehouse.
He wanted to rush inside and rescue Lara and Lea immediately, but he could not allow the criminals to escape.
Han and Samuel covered the inside.
Fabian covered the outside.
William Bonin’s gang was now effectively surrounded.
“B-Boss Bonin…. I think this is getting dangerous…. Maybe you should retreat while you still can!”
“Retreat?”
Bonin stared at his trembling subordinate.
The unreadable look in Bonin’s eyes made the subordinate shake even harder, but he gathered his courage and continued.
“O-Obviously, none of this is a problem for you, Boss… but we—”
—CRACK—!!
The subordinate never managed to finish.
Half his face was blown away.
His face shattered as though something made of steel had struck it.
Fresh red blood dripped from Bonin’s hand after he killed his own subordinate.
“Why would he tell me to retreat?”
Bonin turned and asked Lara.
Having just watched a man die gruesomely before her eyes, Lara clenched her teeth and frowned.
Then—
BANG—!
Another gunshot rang out.
Samuel had fired at Bonin.
He aimed directly at Bonin’s forehead, snapping the man’s head violently backward.
But somehow—
“That hurt. Was that a Magic-Suppressing Silver Bullet?”
CRAAAASH—!
Bonin did not die.
He merely flicked his hand.
At his command, heated iron spikes shot toward the window where Samuel had been positioned.
“Samuel—!”
Lara shouted.
Debris rained down from the window, now riddled with iron spikes.
Samuel did not fall, but there was no way to tell what had happened to him.
“You pig bastard!”
Lara moved her mana and fired a flaming arrow at Bonin.
But even though she had pushed her mana circuits to their limits to launch the attack, it seemed to do no damage whatsoever.
Her magic had been weakened far too severely by the Magic-Suppressing Silver chains.
“You’re like a sick stray dog.”
Lara growled at Bonin.
The backlash from forcing her mana to manifest had even brought blood to the corners of her eyes.
Bonin looked away from Lara.
“Wait. I’ll play with you after I deal with that.”
His gaze turned toward an area that had suddenly gone quiet.
The place where Han and his subordinates had been fighting.
Only one person remained standing in the area that had been filled with noise moments before.
“Han Augustus. Right?”
“…….”
“Now that I think about it, I heard your name in Alkant.”
“…….”
“One of the bastards who stayed on the same floor as me was captured by an Easterner. So that Easterner was you? Heh. Hehehe….”
Bonin began chuckling as though he had found something amusing.
His grin steadily widened until his yellow teeth were fully exposed.
“You should watch yourself.”
As Bonin spoke, he moved his mana.
Dozens of iron spikes rose behind him.
Every last one pointed at Han.
“That bastard… is desperate to kill you.”
At the same time, Han released steam.
His hand was already gripping the hilt of his sword.
Just before the two clashed, Han spoke.
“Fascinating. A pig without even its own arms and legs is giving advice to a human.”
“What?”
Red lines had been drawn across each of Bonin’s four limbs.
Tiny beads of blood began swelling along them.
Then—
SPURT—!
Blood erupted in fountains as his limbs fell away.