Chapter 233: Episode 233

Iceland. Vestmannaeyjar.

This was getting ridiculous. It felt like I was shooting some globe-trotting movie—Korea, Switzerland, Malta, Germany, and now Iceland.

I headed straight for the demon research facility.

’The security on this island feels way too light.’

This was the site where a drug capable of turning humans into monsters had been discovered. With so few guards, could they really stop the demons if they decided to attack?

With that doubt in mind, I walked toward the site.

“Stop!”

Alliance soldiers guarding the area raised their guns. When they demanded identification, I presented my official certification.

“Official rank 2 hunter, Kim Yusin.”

“S-Sir, our apologies!”

The soldiers quickly lowered their guns and snapped to attention in a salute.

Lately, as I traveled around the world, I had been getting a real sense of the power that came with being rank 2. Normally, they would have immediately asked my nationality and grilled me about whether my dispatch had been coordinated between the Alliance and my home country. But once I revealed my rank, it was a free pass almost everywhere.

Guided by the soldiers, I entered the research facility.

“…Tch.”

No wonder the security had felt so thin. The facility itself was completely empty. All the data had already been moved.

“I’ve seen enough. I’d like to speak with whoever is in charge.”

“Yes, sir!”

A short while later, an Alliance officer with a lieutenant colonel’s insignia came hurrying over. After shaking his hand, I got straight to the point.

“Where did you move all the original data that was stored here?”

“The Alliance recovered it.”

That couldn’t be right. I had checked with the Alliance before coming here. That meant the copies were with the Alliance, and the originals had been moved by someone else.

“It’s not at Alliance Headquarters. Where, exactly, was it moved?”

“I was not informed of the location, sir.”

I looked past him at the officers who had followed him.

“Does anyone here know?”

“…”

Silence. I shoved my hands into my pockets and sighed.

“Do any of you have friends or family who took the cold medicine?”

“…”

“This is a matter of hundreds of millions of lives. If the location comes to mind later, please contact Alchemia.”

“Mr. hunter!”

I had just turned to leave when a young officer called out to me.

“After the Alliance completed its investigation, the Sky Castle Lord of France personally came and collected the data.”

“…The Sky Castle Lord?”

I stroked my chin, thought it over, then nodded.

“I see. Thank you for your cooperation.”

The officer bit his lip and spoke in a strained voice. “My fiancée… she took the medicine. Please…”

“I will do everything I can. If you give me your contact information, I’ll send you a vial of the antidote as soon as I get my hands on it.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

After taking down his contact information, I left the site.

Things were taking a strangely complicated turn.

“Ea. How long would it take if we tried to schedule a meeting with the Sky Castle Lord?”

-I have heard he is not someone who can be easily met. There is no method to arrange an appointment.

“And clearing the Calamity of Demonbane to convene another World Guild Conference would take far too long.”

I tapped my forehead with my index finger, sinking into thought.

“Then can we at least find out where the Sky Castle is right now?”

-What are you planning to do?

“What do you think?” I answered with a cheerful smile. “I’m going to break in.”

* * *

I stepped out of the warp gate into a new location—an altitude so high it made my head spin.

’Ugh, just how high up is this?’

Below my feet, I could see clouds, and beneath those, the blue ocean.

Not long after I activated the Wing Golem and took flight, the hazy outline of a castle appeared above the clouds.

’A castle floating in the sky over the sea. How poetic.’

It was large and imposing enough that the name “Sky Castle” didn’t feel like an exaggeration at all.

As I flew around, surveying the place, I spotted two guards. I wasn’t exactly an invited guest, but I decided to go for a frontal assault anyway.

I poured mana into my wings and accelerated to top speed.

Whooooosh!

Riding a fierce gust of wind, I dropped down in front of the Sky Castle’s main gate. The two guards flinched in surprise and raised their swords.

“…”

“…”

’Uh, well. They’re missing their lines. As guards, they’re supposed to at least ask something like, “Who goes there?” or “State your business!”’

Since they stubbornly refused to ask, I would have to introduce myself first.

“I am—”

In that instant, one of the guards shot toward me like a bolt of light. I quickly shifted the Specter to my front and grabbed it with both hands.

CLANG!

Sparks flew from the clash of our blades, and my body skidded backward across the ground.

“Hey, wait a second! I’m Tower Master Kim—!”

“You must not know the rules of Sky Castle,” the guard said, resetting his stance and raising his sword again. “Anyone who approaches is considered an enemy and will be eliminated.”

A pair of unnatural wings unfurled from his back.

Swoosh!

The second guard also spread his wings, darted in from the side, and swung his hunting device. I ducked to avoid it, but a few strands of my hair were sliced off and scattered in the wind.

’…Wow, these guys are really coming at me with the intent to kill.’

The two of them landed and gripped their swords, advancing one step at a time. The thrust from those wings was no joke. Their feet were on the ground, but their charges were instantaneous, like Devastar’s.

“Hm.” I scratched the side of my head. “I was trying to be polite, since this is someone else’s turf, but if you keep this up…”

I clenched my fist and raised it.

With a sharp crack, blood sprayed as the guard who had rushed in from the flank went flying, collapsing with a nosebleed.

“You’re starting to get on my nerves.”

“…!”

The remaining guard’s face tightened as he saw his comrade knocked out cold in an instant.

“I want to meet the Sky Castle Lord. I’m not in the mood to waste time on small fry like you.”

“You arrogant—!”

The guard swept his leg wide and lunged. Just as his sword was about to swing, I kicked out.

Thwack!

My foot shot out, catching his blade on the tip of my boot. I then jumped and extended my left leg. He barely managed to block and was shoved backward, but at the same time, a barrage of Rapid Arrows slammed into his body.

The guard wrapped his wings around himself. The storm of golden arrows failed to pierce them and clattered uselessly to the ground.

’So that’s Icarus, the ability of Sky Castle guild members.’

Simply put, it was an ability that granted them wings. There had been plenty of talk that it was inferior to the Holy Knights and the Gravekeepers, who received abilities that granted a source of mana, but Icarus’s usefulness had already been proven in countless battles.

The fastest speed, the best weapon, the strongest shield.

On top of that, the fact that a hunter had reached official rank 1 using only that ability and was still active made countless others dream of joining Sky Castle. No other World Guild had produced an official rank 1 yet.

’Let’s see just how fast you really are.’

<Ice Javelin>

I pulled out and fired a series of second-order ice spears. The guard immediately spread his wings and took off, weaving through the air to evade them. Even with Ea’s precise control, not a single spear hit him.

He really was fast. I didn’t know if he was average by Sky Castle standards or above, but I had a strong feeling that making an enemy of them would be a major headache.

’Then let’s change the equation a bit.’

I moved my fingers, drawing an Ice Javelin magic circle directly in the air. I placed it in front of me, then lined up five sixth-order “Acceleration Magic Circles” in a row before it. Like drawing a bowstring and aiming at a target, I moved all the circles together to line up my shot, then fired.

WHAM!

The wind roared. The Ice Javelin left my hand, shot through the five acceleration circles, and buried itself in the guard’s chest in the blink of an eye.

“Gah!”

His body slammed into the wall behind him with a loud crash, then slid down and crumpled to the floor.

“What a hassle.”

I dispelled all the magic circles and walked up to the main gate. It was still firmly shut.

I drew in a breath, then shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Sky Castle Lord! It’s Kim Yusin! I’d like a word!”

As if in response, the castle’s main gate rumbled open.

’Is he finally going to hear me out?’

Contrary to my expectations, however, the open gate revealed an interior swarming with hunters bearing white wings and drawn weapons.

“An intruder!”

“Everyone out!”

I quickly stepped to the side. A flock of winged hunters burst out of the gate like a swarm of birds, circling in the air as they surrounded me.

Shing!

Click!

They all leveled their hunting devices at me. I raised both hands.

“I didn’t come here to start a war with Sky Castle.”

Fwoosh!

A Round Shield wrapped around my body. Around it, twenty-five acceleration circles rose like turrets, all aimed at the airborne hunters. The Ice Javelins that would serve as shells emerged from the circles, ready to fire.

“But if you insist on fighting, I don’t have much choice.”

“Everyone, prepare to attack!” a middle-aged hunter who seemed to be the commander shouted. All the Sky Castle guild members’ wings flared with blue light, drawn to their limits.

I curled my lips into a smile and unleashed all my mana.

“That is enough.”

At the echoing voice that rang out from the air itself, everyone froze.

“Let him in.”

It was the voice of the Sky Castle Lord. The commander ground his teeth, then bowed his head.

“Understood. Everyone, lower your weapons.”

I watched the Sky Castle guild members reluctantly put away their weapons with frustrated expressions. Only then did I smile, withdraw my mana, and drop my shield.

“Now that’s more like it.”

* * *

Led by a Sky Castle guild member, I headed inside. The interior was nothing flashy, just a standard castle layout.

“This way, please.”

For all their earlier ferocity, the guild members here treated me with scrupulous politeness. Snatches of their murmurs drifted to my ears.

“So that’s the Tower Master? He’s a lot younger than I expected.”

“I heard he’s a candidate for a new World Guild.”

Letting the chatter wash over me, I stepped into a room.

Oh.

In the old-fashioned room sat a breathtakingly handsome man with his legs crossed. His white suit and scarf, and his brown hair that called to mind autumn leaves, gave off an indescribable aura. It was a completely different kind of charisma from the overwhelming pressure of Association President Hong Yul.

“Have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

I had finally gotten the chance to sit face-to-face with this man. A guild member appeared, pushing a cart, and poured tea into my cup and his.

“I entrusted you with the calamity that occurred in Malta,” he said, taking a sip of tea. “Have you already given up?”

“Of course not. Things are progressing well on that front. The evaluation is of the Magic Tower’s ability to carry out missions, not my own.”

“I see.”

While I was still thinking about how to broach the subject, he spoke first.

“What brings you here?”

“I heard that the data recovered from the demon research facility in Iceland was moved to this castle.”

He only drank his tea, neither confirming nor denying it. I decided to play my trump card.

“Would it be possible for me to access that data?”

* * *

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