## Chapter 1456 – 1456. Dark Moon
Suddenly, a splash of water erupted around the trembling Invisible Blade.
I was pushed back by the surging water and fell.
I immediately got back up, but she had already created distance between us. She wrapped herself in the waterproof cloth covering the machine and prepared to jump out the window. In her hands were a ninjato and a fox mask.
It was my mistake. A complete lapse in vigilance.
‘Both her hands were in my sight, and she had been so compliant until now that I thought she had completely surrendered. Was she pretending to surrender while waiting for her body to recover?’
I clicked my tongue. At the same time, I prepared for battle. The situation was… bad. Unlike her, who had focused on recovery, I had been constantly using mana to create and move tentacles. Moreover, my body was exhausted from having ejaculated so many times that my dick wouldn’t even stand up. My condition was the worst.
Still, I couldn’t show weakness in front of the enemy.
The Invisible Blade glared at me as if she wanted to kill me. Unlike her serious gaze, her lower body was trembling, and she was squirting out vaginal fluids, making her look ridiculous.
“Just you wait. I will definitely repay you for this.”
The ninja left those words, like a third-rate villain, and escaped through the window. Her back, wrapped in the waterproof cloth, quickly disappeared into the distance. I slowly approached the window. In my current state, I couldn’t chase after her.
There were traces of her fluids left on the windowsill.
‘She used ninjutsu again without forming hand seals.’
Ninjas don’t have an astral like mages. She didn’t use ninjutsu centered around an astral.
‘If it were just a simple no-chant, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed the energy. The reason ninjas form hand seals in the first place is for secrecy.’
I moved my fingers around.
The basic concept of hand seals is runes. You express runes with your hands and fingers to execute spells. There are clear advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that you can hide mana fluctuations and cast magic secretly. The disadvantage is that when you cast magic with hand seals, the application is limited.
Another disadvantage is that hand seals require practice.
‘My fingers aren’t moving as I want them to. It would take time to cast even a simple first-class spell with hand seals.’
I know in my head how to form hand seals. But these damn fingers won’t do what I want them to.
‘How did the Invisible Blade use ninjutsu… Ah.’
After thinking for a bit, I realized.
The tongue.
The Invisible Blade’s tongue was longer and unbelievably flexible than an ordinary person’s.
‘Did she form hand seals with her tongue? If you can express spells with your tongue, it’s not entirely impossible.’
However, it was impossible for me.
My tongue isn’t as long as hers, nor is it as flexible.
There’s also the option of using technology to attach a mechanical tongue… but that would be meaningless. Most machines don’t have mana sensitivity. Even if they did, as machines, their limitations would be clear.
‘I should give up on that method. Hand seals… Maybe I should practice them whenever I have time, in case I need them later.’
I had figured out the Invisible Blade’s secret. Just as I was feeling satisfied, I belatedly realized there was another concern. The Invisible Blade’s revenge.
‘…She won’t just come looking for revenge, but I can’t know when she might target me. First, I need to invest half of the money I earned from this job into security.’
I also had to tell Yuria. She, who lives with me, could also become a target of the Invisible Blade. If she left me because of this… I would respect it.
‘When that time comes… will I be able to let her go without any regrets?’
I couldn’t be sure.
I picked up my scattered clothes and left the factory, which was covered in all sorts of fluids.
***
After resting at home until the next day, I headed to X Manpower Agency. Since the job was successfully completed, my steps were leisurely.
Rose was sitting at her desk, staring at the monitor as always. But her right arm had changed.
Her previous mechanical arm, or rather, the mechanical gauntlet, had a crude design that made you wonder if it smelled of oil.
But now, her right arm had a sleek, futuristic silver design.
“You’re here? How’s your body?”
“Not bad.”
“You got paid, right?”
“The money was deposited into my account right after the job was done.”
“Because the client is rich. And the client is satisfied with you. Well, it wasn’t a perfect job, but ultimately, the client didn’t suffer any losses.”
“I received an additional 30 million credits.”
“That’s a bonus from the client. Think of it as a tip. It’s rare, but sometimes this happens.”
“It must be because of the Invisible Blade?”
“That’s right. The Invisible Blade betrayed them, so they must have had extra funds… They also liked that you tracked the Invisible Blade. Even though you didn’t catch her.”
I heard the details of that day from Rose.
I had chased after the female ninja, and a group had attacked the casino. They had destroyed the building and disappeared.
“They must have been black mages. Everyone in the basement died. It seems they had implanted machines in their hearts from the beginning. The machines exploded… Um. I’m just saying this in case, but it’s not your fault.”
“Of course, it’s not my fault.”
“Anyway, this job is over, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Over, huh…”
It wasn’t over.
The Invisible Blade was targeting my neck.
“Are you worried about the Invisible Blade?”
“…The job didn’t end well. I made an assassin with that level of skill my enemy. My neck feels cold at night.”
I told Yuria about the current situation. She didn’t seem to think much of it. Instead, she was more worried about my stamina. That day, I only ate foods that were good for stamina. And then I was squeezed dry at night.
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Hmm? Did something happen to the Invisible Blade?”
The client, enraged by the betrayal, had hired someone else to kill the Invisible Blade. A plausible scenario popped into my head.
“It did. First of all, the broker who introduced the job to the Invisible Blade immediately cut ties with her. As a broker, that was the only option. The moment they sided with the Invisible Blade, their career would be ruined. The Invisible Blade is a newbie, so there’s no reason to protect her to the end. Who knows if something like this will happen again?”
“……I understand that the female ninja had a falling out with the broker. So?”
“Acrotex took care of it. Acrotex… do you know them?”
“Of course. They’re a pretty famous company in Neo London. They specialize in magical engineering and mechanization, and they supply products to the military, right?”
It was a company I had naturally come to know while taking an interest in magical engineering.
“It turns out the Invisible Blade is related to Acrotex. Acrotex provides her with products, and she provides Acrotex with combat data? It seems like more than that to me, but… I don’t know the details.”
“……”
My gaze turned to her right arm.
The mechanical arm had been replaced with a futuristic design. I didn’t have an eye for machines, so I couldn’t make an accurate judgment, but I could tell it was a high-end product.
“Hehe. It’s a mechanical arm made by Acrotex. It has so many functions. It can even do this?”
Rose smiled like an idiot and stretched out her mechanical hand toward the documents. The documents, which were more than 2 meters away, floated into the air and flew into her mechanical hand. Telekinesis.
“It has many other functions, but this is really convenient. I don’t have to get up to get documents anymore? The simple telekinesis is handled by the processor built into the arm, so it’s not tiring at all.”
She seemed to like it a lot. If I left her alone, she would probably talk about it for hours.
“You got it from Acrotex. What were the conditions?”
“……I’ve become the one managing the Invisible Blade.”
“You’re taking on such a troublemaker.”
“It might be a bit tough to manage her, but her skills are too good to waste. She seems to be a newbie, and everyone makes mistakes at least once, right? Above all, she’s connected to Acrotex. It’s not bad to have ties with a large corporation.”
“What if that woman takes on a double job again?”
“Then it’s over, no more chances.”
Rose gave a cold smile.
She was by no means an easy woman. Her connections could have a small influence on the council. Perhaps Acrotex had a rough idea of Rose’s identity and asked her to take care of the Invisible Blade.
“That woman seems to have a grudge against you. And it’s not a small one. What did you do?”
“……”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine. That woman won’t try to kill you. But she might try to mess with you… you’ll have to deal with that yourself.”
“I will.”
Just knowing that I didn’t have to make a life-or-death decision made me feel relieved.
“What are you going to do with the 130 million you received this time? It’s the first big money you’ve earned, isn’t it?”
“I’ve already spent it. I bought a factory. Thanks to that, I have less than ten million credits left.”
“What kind of factory?”
“A food factory. I plan to make and sell instant Korean food. There’s a limit to just chicken.”
“Korean food? Is that the food of the ancient nation, Great Korea?”
“You got it right.”
“…Hmm. Well, good luck.”
Rose waved her hand with an expression that showed she had no expectations. She seemed to think my business would fail.
I said a brief goodbye to Rose and left the office.
‘Great Korea is too unfamiliar to the citizens of Neo London.’
But just you wait.
I will definitely succeed.
‘…The problem is that I need more money.’
Maintaining the factory costs money, and remodeling it costs money. There are other problems as well. Taxes, qualification issues, and so on.
‘Everyone knows that Neo London’s public officials are corrupt. I’ll have to grease their palms with money to be able to produce and sell food within a year.’
To do that, I needed hundreds of millions more credits.
‘With the profits from Yuyu Chicken, it would take me several more years to expand the factory.’
Fortunately, I had combat abilities.
Now that I had succeeded in this job, there would be well-paying, designated requests coming in.
‘I need money. Money is needed for magical research, and money is needed for business expansion.’
I’ll invest everything I earn. In myself. And in my business.
If I keep growing like that, someday I will become a big shot in this city. No, I will definitely become one.
I clenched my fist tightly.
The Battle Mage Project.
That project was over. The project’s supervisor, Instructor Venus, had been beheaded and frozen.
But I don’t think my revenge is over with that.
The ones I want to kill are the ones above Instructor Venus.
‘There’s no way Venus could have carried out that kind of project alone. The real person in charge is higher up.’
And another person in charge.
Alpha Tier Pharmaceutical Company.
The military of the Kingdom of Prisel and a global corporation.
I’m too small right now to go up against them.
‘Those bastards have to suffer the same pain I did.’
My revenge was not over.
As I was wandering through the winding alleys of Zone X, dreaming of revenge, someone stood in front of me.
A sleek, silver cyber suit covering her entire body. Voluptuous breasts and alluring hips and thighs. Blackish-brown hair tied up in a ponytail and a Japanese fox mask.
It was the Invisible Blade.
I checked that a barrier was in place and asked her.
“I heard from Rose that our business was over… What’s going on?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? The thing you shoved into my ass, undo it right now.”
“Ah.”
