Episode 225 – Eat and Run (4)

Eat and Run (4)

When I woke up, there was no one beside me. Only a suit jacket was draped over my face.

At first, I was a bit dazed.

Inside the parked car.

Through the window, I could see the tall tower, and next to it, the full moon floated.

I was alone. Johanna seemed to have already left.

Yet, the view was so nice that I just sat there, gazing out.

“…Ugh.”

I belatedly sat up. The pain was quite severe. It brought me back to reality.

I opened the car door.

Fortunately, my body had mostly recovered. I dusted myself off on the ground. Several bullets fell naturally from the bulletproof vest.

“…Thought I was dead, huh?”

It seems Johanna was mistaken.

After all, the sleep for recovery is almost like a coma.

Anyway.

I hurried into the tower. I immediately got on the Elevator and pressed the button for the 30th floor.

From the 30th floor, there are two routes.

Either buy a ticket and take the Elevator, or go up the stairs.

But the direct Elevator to the observation deck was already ascending.

I chose the stairs.

Taking three steps at a time, almost flying up…

[50th Floor]

“Phew.”

I finally caught up.

I pressed the Elevator button while drawing my gun. I watched the floor panel, waiting.

Ding—

The sound of the Elevator stopping.

The doors slowly opened, and inside, I saw Johanna entangled with the hitmen.

I pulled the trigger.

* * *

“…”

Shion Ascal, who had entered, calmly pressed the close button. After pushing the three bodies aside, he stood next to her.

Johanna looked at him blankly.

“…Are you a twin by any chance?”

The most plausible conjecture amidst the impossible.

Shion chuckled softly.

“No. I just have a bit of exceptional regenerative ability.”

Johanna scanned his body up and down. His body was covered in dried blood, but he seemed relatively stable.

It was an incomprehensible state of being. To withstand such gunfire and bleeding, without a mana zone?

Even for someone naturally resilient, this was beyond common sense.

That’s when it happened.

Thump—!

Suddenly, the Elevator stopped. 93rd floor. The lights went out, and the inside shook violently.

Shion’s response was immediate. He quickly jumped up and opened the ceiling of the Elevator. From above, he reached out his hand to Johanna. It was the kind of quick thinking you’d expect from a veteran who had been on the field for over a decade.

“Come up.”

Johanna grabbed his hand. Shion lifted her up to the ground of the 93rd floor.

Kwaaaa───!

The very next moment, a loud noise erupted from behind. The Elevator had fallen.

Without even looking back, Shion said,

“We’ll take the stairs now.”

Seven floors remained.

Shion led the way, and Johanna followed him up the stairs, looking at his back. Faint footsteps echoed sharply from below.

They were probably the pursuit team.

“We’re faster.”

“I know.”

Together, they arrived at the [100th floor].

The two stood on the rooftop observation deck of the tower.

The cold night wind pierced their lungs. White breath flowed through their teeth. Johanna stood by the railing, looking down.

It was dizzyingly high.

“Have you ever used one of these?”

She asked, showing a hang glider strapped on like a backpack. Shion nodded immediately.

“Yes.”

He was actually an expert. Not only hang gliders that operated on fuel like this one, but also those that moved with mana stones.

Those lacking in real skill tend to become obsessed with various gadgets.

“First, spread your wings.”

After helping Johanna spread her wings, Shion started the engine. Heat from the engine emanated from her back.

“Now, let’s climb onto the railing.”

They stood on the dizzying edge of the railing. Johanna took a deep breath. The chill of the wind seeped into her whole body.

“Jump off forcefully, and once you’ve gained some acceleration, spread your wings.”

Shion spread his wings as well.

Johanna looked back at him and asked,

“Like a bird?”

“Yes. Like a bird. I’ll jump first, so follow my lead.”

Shion did not hesitate. He immediately jumped off the railing. He fell like a dive, then opened the wings and soared upward.

Johanna followed suit.

She leaped off the railing, feeling the resistance of the oncoming air, spreading the wings wide…!

Hwiiiiing───

Johanna glided like an eagle. Her breath was taken away, and her sense of direction was momentarily lost, but soon Shion Ascal came up beside her.

He looked at her as if to say well done.

“Follow me.”

“Alright.”

Johanna followed him. They flew through the lake-like night sky. The stars, densely packed, seemed close enough to touch.

An involuntary smile spread across her lips.

It was a beautiful view.

Her body had already adapted. She skillfully twisted the wings, surfing the air.

But then, suddenly.

“Lady Johanna. I will fly in the opposite direction.”

Shion said something strange. Johanna furrowed her brow.

“What?”

Then Shion gave a bitter smile. His face bore an expression of disbelief at his own oversight.

“Even when you think you’ve prepared well, sometimes you can be so inattentive to the smallest things that it leads to a mishap.”

He gestured to his back.

“We’re running out of fuel.”

“Fuel?”

“Yes. It seems the shop owner sold us a pair with used fuel. Fortunately, it looks like there’s no issue with Lady Johanna’s.”

Johanna looked at Shion’s back. Indeed, compared to hers, the engine’s power was weak.

“But, this might actually be a good thing. There will be hitmen tracking us from the ground. We could be shot at from the air.”

Shion twisted his body slightly. The distance between the two, flying side by side, gradually widened.

“Lady Johanna, please continue straight ahead. I will turn in the opposite direction to draw their attention.”

“…”

Johanna looked at him silently.

She was conflicted.

Was there a way to salvage this situation?

“Stay safe, I hope.”

But Shion had already saluted her with the edge of his hand. That was all Johanna could say.

“Stay alive.”

If the player is alive, the game can always be revived.

“Yes.”

Shion flew off in the opposite direction. Deliberately drawing the hitmen’s attention, he traced noisy, erratic paths through the air.

Johanna watched him disappear into the night sky for a long time.

──! ──!

Soon, the sound of Detonation adorned the void, chasing after him.

* * *

I landed in the forest. It was an emergency landing. The fuel hadn’t run out, but the hitmen’s gunfire had torn holes in my wings.

They arrived shortly after, and I faced them with a smile.

“…It was you, after all.”

Karlos.

He looked at me with a cigar in his mouth, a face sensing defeat.

For me, the situation was ambiguous. I had managed to pledge loyalty, but dying here would make it all for naught.

“Well. That’s how it turned out.”

Karlos exhaled cigar smoke.

“Do you think that crazy woman Johanna will appreciate you sacrificing yourself to save her?”

“…”

If I know Johanna, the answer is obviously ‘no’.

She’s someone who would sell even her own subordinates for money, and above all, she hates being held accountable.

“I expect nothing from Lady Johanna.”

“You expect nothing?”

“Yes. Because I am not affiliated with Lady Johanna.”

“…”

“I belong to the youngest, Miss Zia.”

Karlos’s face became baffled. The hitmen aimed their guns at me. The sound of their guns cocking was chilling.

There seemed to be just over 40 men. Including those preparing to snipe from a distance…

No matter how I thought about it, there seemed to be no way out.

“Stop.”

Karlos raised his hand to restrain them. The forest was instantly engulfed in silence.

“I’m curious about one thing.”

He looked at me and asked.

“Why did you fold with that hand? Did information leak?”

Four of a kind and a straight flush. Karlos still seemed puzzled by it.

I smiled faintly and shook my head.

“To obtain the most important thing, a great sacrifice must precede. That’s all I saw.”

Karlos. I knew his name too, one of the nine mafias of the Golden Casino. He’s quite famous. Especially since he was brutally and cruelly murdered by Johanna.

“…”

Karlos’s face became thoughtful for a moment. Then he dropped the cigar he was holding onto the ground.

“Player. What do you think Johanna will do now?”

He had the look of someone who might have sensed his end.

There probably wasn’t a way for him to survive this situation.

After all, he had provoked Johanna to such an extent.

“Lady Johanna will try to kill you. She’ll seek out the worst possible method.”

Among the mafia, he would meet the most terrible death.

By an indescribable cruelty, his body would be torn to pieces.

“Sooner or later. Lady Johanna will not give up on you, as long as you don’t give up first.”

“…”

Karlos looked at me silently.

Suddenly, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

It was Eva.

She whispered something in Karlos’s ear in a low voice. Then Karlos closed his eyes. He exhaled a small breath and formed something like a smile.

“Surrender…”

He pointed at me again with his finger.

“If that’s the case, then I should also make a bet.”

His voice sounded somewhat relieved.

* * *

As the dawn light faded and the morning sun began to rise.

Outside the [Golden Casino] territory.

Johanna, who had successfully escaped, stood in an ‘ordinary’ place where mana lingered in the air, looking out at the horizon of the casino.

“……”

Silent beside her, the armies of Libra were lined up.

Most of the forces she could currently muster had gathered here for the war that would unfold at this casino.

“Lady Johanna. I’ve brought it.”

Just then, Johanna’s Chaser spoke. She turned around.

There was a shopkeeper.

The bastard who had sold a used hang glider at the shop, not even half-filled with fuel.

“Uh, uhg…”

The man’s face was soaked with tears. Tied up with ropes all over his body, he looked up at her, begging for mercy. He was like a pig in a slaughterhouse.

“You wouldn’t have known.”

Johanna put a cigar in her mouth. She lit it and murmured softly.

“You wouldn’t have thought that the price for selling a used item, for a single swindle, would be your life.”

“Please! Ugh!”

The shopkeeper trembled like an animal. The smell wafting from him was quite foul. He must have soiled himself several times already.

“Consider yourself lucky I’m not killing your mother, father, son, and daughter too.”

“Ugh, ugh───!”

Johanna waved her hand dismissively.

“Get rid of this filthy creature. Bury him alive in a dung heap.”

“Yes.”

“Ugh, ughughugh……”

The Chasers dragged the shopkeeper away. As they left, heavy footsteps approached in their place.

“……Lady Johanna.”

Beckman. Johanna looked at him. He had a somewhat heartbroken expression, shadows deepening around the wrinkles on his face.

“Why did you call?”

Suddenly, Shion Ascal’s words came to mind.

‘Be cautious of Beckman’s overconfidence.’

An excessive trust. A warning that it could turn into blind faith at any moment.

Thinking about it, it was a ridiculous thing to say.

Such an overstepping piece of advice.

Shion Ascal, that guy, had never served her, but Beckman had been serving her for a good ten years.

“……Do you not trust me?”

Beckman asked. Johanna turned to look at him.

“No. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but that I trust myself.”

“If there is a traitor, I will certainly-”

“There’s no need. It’s someone who isn’t here right now anyway.”

Beckman quietly surveyed the surroundings.

Johanna’s casino manager. The guy she had scouted and raised herself.

He was missing.

“……I will track him down.”

Magical energy flickered beside Beckman’s body. It was anger burning like a wildfire.

“Bring him to me in pieces. If he still has a form, my anger might only grow stronger.”

“Yes.”

He quietly withdrew.

“……Huh.”

Johanna exhaled smoke.

This was enough of an achievement.

She would definitely seize the 3% stake in the [Golden Casino], even if it meant going to war, and Derek would be seething with rage.

However……

“Lady Johanna. There’s a call from Karlos.”

A Chaser handed her a mobile phone. Johanna took it and sat down inside the car.

─Congratulations.

As soon as she answered the call, Karlos’s first words spilled out.

─It’s your victory. You’ve swept all the boards.

Johanna didn’t respond. She leaned back expressionlessly. Her murderous intent had already frozen over her desire.

She had no intention of leaving Karlos alive now.

She would kill him using magic. First, she’d cut off his head, then forcibly keep him breathing so he could watch himself, and everyone around him, die-

─By the way. Your player, Shion Ascal, is still alive.

“……”

Johanna’s thoughts came to a halt.

She twitched her eyebrows quietly but refrained from saying anything rash.

Showing one’s hand in negotiations was the mark of an amateur.

─They say that when whales fight, the shrimp’s back is broken. I don’t wish for such a thing. I’l return the player back unharmed.

Yet, it seemed that Karlos was surprisingly willing to release him.

─However, I do have one condition.

“…Even in such circumstances, you have demands?”

Johanna almost let out a scoff. Karlos continued calmly.

─It’s nothing too grand. You know what I want.

“…….”

Indeed, Johanna knew what he wanted.

But that alone was not enough—

─I’m washing my hands of this.

“Washing your hands?”

Johanna’s brow furrowed, like an enraged goblin.

─Yes. I’ve already got my answer, so I don’t need much. I plan to retire, distributing everything to my subordinates. A small manor and a pension to secure my old age will suffice. With that, the other families and my subordinates will likely give their blessing.

Johanna was momentarily at a loss for words. Her lips fluttered like a goldfish.

“…Is that woman so important to you?”

She managed to utter the sentence with difficulty.

Johanna had been observing Karlos for a long time.

13 years. A full 13 years.

The Karlos she knew was no less a tough breed than herself. A phantom obsessed with gambling.

But now…

They say the brain rots with age, could that be true?

─She is that important to me.

“You’ll regret it. She’s already betrayed you once. That woman will surely abandon you again.”

─If you think so, then just watch. If Eva really does that, you won’t have to lift a finger, and it will be like blowing your nose without touching it, right? I’ll be committing suicide, and Eva will become miserable.

“…….”

Johanna placed a hand on a snowglobe.

“3.5% of the Golden Casino’s shares. Add to that the release of the player, and I’ll overlook today’s incident and Eva’s safety.”

Honestly, it was ludicrous, but gaining an additional 0.5% stake wasn’t a completely bad deal.

─3.5%. I’ll send the player with the certificate in hand.

Karlos was very compliant. So much so that it was almost disconcerting for Johanna.

Nevertheless, it was a profitable deal for her. There was no longer a need to exhaust her forces in a war.

“…….”

Yet, she felt strangely ambivalent.

It was because of the sudden disappearance of her own murderous intent, melting away like snow.

─But. That player isn’t your man, is he?

The player.

Shion Ascal.

Yes, when I heard that the bastard hadn’t died, the urge to kill Karlos subsided.

Johanna explained the reason.

“It’s a debt owed to the youngest. I can’t face myself as an older sister if I can’t return him.”

─Since when have you been so fond of the youngest? Anyway, the youngest has acquired a great sword, I see. Kahaha.

Karlos let out a repulsive smile.

“I’ll hang up now.”

─…It’s curious, Johanna. I’ve negotiated with you for over a decade. But there has never been an easier day than today. Today will be a very special day for both you and I.

“Do you really need to perform a full-body bow as a retiring old man?”

Johanna exhaled a plume of cigar smoke with a relaxed smile.

─Indeed. So I hope you don’t end up like me. After all, acquiring the heart of a single person is the hardest path, harder than any wealth, cards, or casinos.

“……”

Johanna’s hand stopped. She rolled the cigar between two fingers and hardened her expression.

─Ah. Would you like to speak with your player? I feel like the negotiation can only be complete once you confirm he’s alive.

Karlos suggested. It seemed to hold no special meaning.

Johanna pondered for a moment but then tossed her cigar out the window. She spoke in the most neutral tone possible.

“Put him on.”

First, she needed to confirm the condition of the goods before she could fully engage in the trade…