Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 228

Preparing for the Retry (3)Carrying the massive box containing Angelene’s Answer, Kairus stepped out into the open lot and spoke while facing Irena.

“It’s not too late yet. If you give up now, your body won’t explode.”

At Kairus’s words, Irena sharply frowned.

“I’m already nervous enough, so stop saying things like that.”

Hoo. After taking a deep breath, Irena slowly opened the box.

Then she quietly stared at Angelene’s Answer resting inside.

“It was such a violent fight that even the terrain changed. Hm. Not a single scratch.”

Just like Veil of Plumed Mist, this greatsword also did not bear a single scratch. It looked so pristine that anyone seeing it would mistake indestructibility for the battle gear’s actual ability.

Kairus placed a hand on Irena’s shoulder and calmly spoke.

“If you’re certain you won’t regret it, then reach out with the resolve to die.”

Irena felt the emotions transmitted through the hand resting on her shoulder. It was a strangely warm hand where worry and anticipation coexisted together.

“Don’t worry.”

With that final reply, Irena slowly brought her hand toward the greatsword’s hilt.

The very same hilt once gripped by Dana Watson, whom she had once admired.

Could Irena truly make this greatsword her own?

“…!”

Irena’s body suddenly jerked violently once.

Blood streamed down her face. Looking closely, blood was literally pouring out from every single hole on her face.

“Ha… ngh. Hhk. Krrghk….”

She let out incomprehensible sounds in a condition that looked dangerous beyond belief at a glance.

But Kairus instead felt relieved.

‘She didn’t explode.’

If someone unqualified tried to wield Angelene’s Answer, it would simply blow their body apart.

But Irena had not exploded. Her eyes, turned completely red after all the blood vessels burst, were wide open as she glared at Angelene’s Answer.

“….”

Irena also understood her own condition perfectly well right now.

She was standing at death’s doorstep.

The moment she slipped up, one of her body’s critical blood vessels could burst, leaving her crippled, or killing her on the spot.

The terror that felt as though her entire body could burst apart at any moment.

If she let go now, Irena would probably survive.

‘Not yet.’

But Irena continued gripping the greatsword. Even if she exploded alive right here and now, that was fine. Irena genuinely thought so as she held onto the greatsword.

It almost felt as though Angelene’s Answer itself was threatening her.

[Ooooh, you’re gonna die? If you seriously keep being stubborn, you’re really gonna croak right here.]

That was the kind of feeling it gave off.

Irena casually wiped away the blood flowing down from her eyes and grinned.

“Then kill me… or else! Become! Mine! You fucking chunk of metal!”

The moment she endured up to that point—

All the pressure crushing her body suddenly vanished completely, as though it had all been a lie.

“….”

Of course, that did not mean the blood flowing down Irena’s face stopped immediately.

“You did well.”

But Irena did not die. Angelene’s Answer had not blown her apart.

No, after personally experiencing Angelene’s Answer, Irena could now say it with certainty.

“That thing explodes you the moment you feel fear and try to let go.”

“Hm? Ah, so that’s how it worked.”

It gradually raised its output to a razor-thin limit, pushing the wielder into danger.

And when the person sensed that danger and tried to pull their hand away from the battle gear?

It violently raised the output even further and blew them apart.

That was the trial Angelene’s Answer imposed upon its users.

“It pushes you to the point where blood pours out from every hole in your face.”

Those who tried to wield Angelene’s Answer sensed that something was wrong and instinctively tried to let go.

And the moment they did, they died.

The instant they tried to give up because they didn’t want to die, Angelene’s Answer killed them.

But Irena did not give up.

Angelene’s Answer tested Irena’s will, and Irena had passed.

“So, does that mean it’s over now?”

Irena let out a low “Mm,” then carefully placed her hand on Angelene’s Answer once more. The crude and dangerous test from before did not happen again.

Slowly increasing the output, Irena tested Angelene’s Answer up to the maximum level she herself could endure before clicking her tongue.

“Less than half? That’s ridiculous.”

The maximum output Irena could draw out at once did not even reach half of Angelene’s Answer’s true maximum output.

Kairus, who had been watching Irena with his arms crossed, nodded.

“About the same level as Veil of Plumed Mist. Then you can think of it as roughly thirty percent of its maximum output.”

Since Kairus had personally fought against Dana Watson wielding Angelene’s Answer, it was quite an accurate estimate. In terms of sheer output alone, Angelene’s Answer boasted more than three times the power of Veil of Plumed Mist.

The problem was that its stability was a complete disaster, and most people could not handle all that output anyway.

“Even this is enough for now. Right?”

“Of course. Every conversation we excitedly had until just now was based on the assumption that you could handle Angelene’s Answer.”

Irena lightly nodded and examined the newly acquired greatsword from various angles.

But dissatisfaction clearly lingered in her eyes.

She said it was enough, but it really wasn’t. She probably wanted to use every bit of the battle gear’s power now resting in her hands.

In a sense, Irena’s goal had now been decided.

‘That’s a good thing.’

Irena had stopped simply chasing after Kairus from behind. If so, then she needed a goal different from his. Completely mastering Angelene’s Answer was certainly a worthwhile objective.

Kairus and Irena returned to the office. Nora, who had been biting her nails anxiously, met Irena’s gaze.

“You succeeded! I was so worried unni was gonna die!”

Nora spoke to Irena with a bright smile.

“Thankfully, I succeeded.”

Irena could now use Angelene’s Answer. Naturally, Nora continued using Moon Sand so she would not fall behind Kairus and Irena.

It was impossible to evaluate combat strength simply by counting the number of battle gears they possessed, but…

Kairus quietly weighed the balance of power currently existing within Bennett.

‘Excluding me, there are five members on the Operations Committee. But the Barenza siblings share one battle gear between the two of them.’

Excluding Kairus, the Operations Committee currently possessed a total of four powerful battle gears.

But Cecilia and Kairus could be considered allies.

‘Then it’s basically like I possess four battle gears, while the remaining committee members have three.’

It was an extremely simplistic and inaccurate assessment. To begin with, Cecilia was not someone who could unquestionably be called Kairus’s ally, and the same applied to Nora, who belonged to Lunaseeker.

Still, he could at least conclude that the balance of power had become much tighter.

That was a good thing.

“So what’s the plan from here?”

Nora threw the question at the deeply thoughtful Kairus. Kairus explained his future plans to Nora.

“Oppa, you’re not seriously planning to search the entire Imperial sea territory like a caveman, right? You might literally work yourself to death before you find anything.”

Kairus slightly frowned at Nora’s dry joke.

“Of course I’m narrowing down the search area.”

Liriana and the buoy. And the chain connecting the two.

Someone would periodically patrol the buoy connected to the chain.

On top of that, to keep its position stable, it was highly likely to be located in a sea with calm currents and few storms.

If he gradually eliminated every area that failed to meet those conditions one by one, the range Kairus personally needed to inspect would definitely shrink.

And—

“Just like there are places we can eliminate, there are also regions we should investigate first.”

“Hm? Where?”

“Seas that freeze over during winter.”

Irena, who had been listening from the side, let out a thoughtful “Mm.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Because it gives them an excuse to keep Denver around for one more season under the pretext of winter.”

Would the Emperor really keep his promise to Denver Hudson?

Kairus did not think so. The Emperor of the Empire was the kind of man who had no concept of trust or credibility. His actions up until now proved that well enough.

He probably never intended to release her in the first place. And if he never intended to release her anyway, then it would be better to have a plausible excuse ready for when Denver Hudson demanded his wife’s freedom.

[It’s winter right now, so the sea is frozen. We can’t bring her out.]

That would make for a fairly convincing excuse.

And now that they knew Denver Hudson wanted his wife freed, they would also be able to finish whatever preparations they needed before winter passed.

“That actually makes sense.”

After hearing Kairus’s explanation, even Irena had no choice but to agree.

A sea that froze over during winter.

After pondering for a moment, Irena let out another low hum.

“We can probably narrow the range down quite a bit. Sailors would know the sea best… do you know any captains?”

Kairus let out a low scoff.

“There are plenty of bastards smuggling goods through the Antaria Grand Canal.”

And if you did not know the sea well, you could never become a skilled smuggler.

Kairus held enormous influence within this city.

If there were people in this city who knew the sea well, then they would hand over everything they knew to Kairus.

“Irena, focus on getting used to Angelene’s Answer. Nora also needs time to adapt to Moon Sand anyway.”

The two of them just needed to spar together and grow accustomed to their newly changed weapons.

Meanwhile, Kairus would spend his time rapidly narrowing the search area and searching for the buoy.

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

At Irena’s question, Kairus shrugged.

“How the hell would I know?”

It definitely would not be resolved in a short amount of time. Even after narrowing the range down as much as possible… the sea was still vast.

For now, he needed to hear advice from those involved in smuggling.

Kairus briefly watched Irena and Nora exchange dozens of attacks in a flash out in the open lot before heading toward a nearby marketplace.

“Survivor-nim. I heard you recovered… that’s truly a relief.”

A man pretending to sell fish with several hanging from his stall immediately sprang to his feet and greeted Kairus.

“….”

Instead of answering, Kairus sliced open the belly of one of the fish laid out on the stall.

Inside the fish, instead of entrails, were several mysterious-looking packages.

“You make decent money with this?”

“W-Well… it’s enough to get by.”

The man glanced around nervously before finally answering Kairus’s question with difficulty.

Kairus snorted with amusement, wiped his hand on the man’s apron, and spoke.

“I’m not taking it, you bastard. Relax your face.”

Only then did the smuggler awkwardly laugh.

“Haha…”

“How many years have you worked on ships?”

“About… ten years, sir.”

Kairus let out an impressed sound.

“Oh? Then you must know quite a few smugglers who know the sea well.”

People in the same line of work naturally held gatherings together and met regularly, after all.

“Yes, we at least know each other by name.”

Kairus patted the man on the shoulder and grinned.

“Spread the word to everyone you know. I’ve got some business out at sea. Do it as fast as possible.”

Kairus spoke as though the possibility of refusal had never even crossed his mind.

And in reality, refusal had never been an option to begin with.