Chapter 529 – Side Story 32) the Phantom Thief
32) Ghost Thief
‘You’re sleeping really well.’
The phantom thief’s agent was sound asleep with his wife. He was deeply asleep, and the deputy didn’t even know I was looking down at him.
Carefully placing my hand on his forearm so he wouldn’t wake up, I read his memory using my memory reading skill.
‘Hmm.’
Fortunately, the information I wanted was quickly available. And he thought he was good at not kidnapping the deputy.
It wasn’t that this man was an agent of the Phantom Thieves from the start. One day, a ghost thief suddenly came looking for the agent. Like when he stole an artifact from the Hero Association, in the form of a ghost.
The phantom thief asked his man to be his agent. In return, the phantom thief paid him a hefty sum of money. He was fired from his job just in time and desperate for money, so he accepted the ghost thief’s offer.
The agent did nothing. One day, a ghost thief suddenly came and told me what to do, and it was the end of doing it.
I was afraid to meet the villains in person, but the villains weren’t big enough to attack the landlord who gave them a lot of money.
The method was always the same. When the villains create a commotion and attract the attention of the heroes and police, the ghost thief leisurely steals. Most of the items that ghost thieves steal are related to monsters.
‘The ghost thief comes first, right?’
The agent never knew who his employer was or where he lived, because the phantom thief always came looking for him. The identity of the ghost thief was not important to the agent, as long as he gave money.
‘Let’s see…’
I checked the date of the most recent visit by the ghost thief. It was about two weeks ago now. I looked closely at the ghost thief who came through the wall to find the agent.
‘Let’s go.’
I saw everything to see here. I came out.
[Huh! Butterfly! Master, the butterfly over there!]
[You’ve just returned.]
The day I came out, Ren and Highwug welcomed me. Ren whimpered as he pointed to a butterfly flapping its wings gently. I wanted to chase the butterfly, but I couldn’t because I told her to stay still.
“You can move now.”
[Butterfly yi yi yi!]
He said, putting High Warg on his shoulder, and Ren flew up like his bullet. Knock-! Butterflies flying through the sky disappeared into Ren’s mouth.
Ah… She wasn’t like that because the butterfly was pretty, but she whined because she wanted to eat it…
I underestimated our Ren.
[Delicious!]
“Psychometry.”
The butterfly seemed to have hit her mouth, she ate the butterfly and Len flew onto my shoulder. After confirming that appearance, I used the Psychometric skill. What happened in these streets on the day the ghost thief came to the agent unfolded before my eyes.
I saw a ghost thief walking slowly and entering the agent’s house.
‘Rewind.’
The time in my memory started going backwards. The phantom thief, who entered the house through the wall, exited the road and walked backwards. I followed the phantom thief away.
Perhaps because of his ghostly state, the phantom thief walked in a straight line regardless of whether or not there were obstacles in his path. No one noticed the ghost thief’s existence.
So the phantom thief passed through the district and through again.
“Here…”
As I walked through the ghost thief, I could see the sea before I knew it. This was the port city, District 133.
“Huh? That bastard…”
As I followed the phantom thief, I spotted a man sitting in a fishing chair and looking out to sea. The phantom thief, walking backwards, entered the man’s body.
“What the fuck?”
After confirming the identity of the ghost thief, I made an impression. This was the first time I had actually seen it, but I had heard about that man several times.
S-class villain Kang Tae-gong.
A crazy fishing fanatic who only fishes in District 133, wondering what he is thinking. The identity of the ghost thief who stole the steel lion statue from the Hero Association was the crazy bastard bastard who only fished without paying attention to whether he was taking pictures or pooping next to him.
“…If this is the case, we will have to revise the plan.”
The idea was that if Young Hero took down all the villains currently in the Bug Farm, he would have them fight the Phantom Thieves. If you defeat all the villains, you will go up at least 1 to 2 levels.
However, if the opponent was Kang Tae-gong, the story was different.
Now, District 133 has become a must-visit tourist attraction to take pictures, but Kang Tae-gong was a very strong and brutal villain.
It was Kang Tae-gong who ended the villains’ struggle over District 133. At the time, all the villains who were confusing District 133 were dead.
The Hero Association tried to arrest Kang Tae-gong for that time. However, Kang Tae-gong killed only the villains, settled down like that, and didn’t move a single step, so in the end we decided not to arrest him.
Even the Hero Association, which really tried to catch Kang Tae-gong, must have made quite a few sacrifices. Because it was more profitable to leave Tae-gong Kang alone than to sacrifice a hero for killing Tae-gong Kang, the Hero Association designated Tae-gong Kang as an S-class villain and left him alone.
You may think it was a complacent decision, but I also agreed with it. It is indeed a foolish act to leave an S-class villain alone just because he is still.
Couldn’t that bastard suddenly massacre civilians?
But in one group, the person making the important decisions sits at a desk. Not on the spot. He was an idiot everywhere who acted like he was the best man in the world.
“No, why would an S-class bastard steal an artifact without doing anything? Of course, it’s not an ordinary artifact, so it can…
Impressed, I canceled the Psychometric skill. Then, what I saw in front of me was Kang Tae-gong, an S-class villain who exists in the memory of the street. He was still sitting in his fishing chair, looking out to sea.
“I can’t help it.”
Against Young Hero, Kang Tae-gong is a very strong opponent. He has to stick around and he will be defeated in the blink of an eye.
“Hey.”
Also, I couldn’t tell Ice Queen that the ghost thief was Kang Tae-gong. The fight between S-class heroes and S-class villains is not just a kid’s fight. It is a battle of monsters that can collapse an entire area if done wrong.
“Are you that good at fighting?”
Can there be stars to keep a quiet night?
“You bastard! Come up to the roof!”
I have no choice but to step out.
It’s time for the Guardians of the Dark City to make a move.
“Hey you fucking bastard.”
“…”
“Are you eating your ears?”
“…”
“… Hey?”
“…”
“Um… Can’t you hear Mr. Kang?”
“…”
“What is this…”
He stepped forward nicely, but Kang Tae-gong did not respond. He didn’t respond to my words and didn’t look back even when I cursed at him. I just stared at the unmoving fishing rod in silence and the jet-black sea.
It’s so embarrassing to write.
‘Would you react if I slap you on the back of the head?’
It is certain that the ghost thief who stole the Iron Lion statue artifact kept by the Hero Association was Kang Tae-gong. Memories engraved in the streets do not lie.
[Master! Master!]
[Master.]
It was time to approach Kang Tae-gong to hit him in the back of the head. Ren and Highwug, who were sitting on my shoulders, urgently called me.
“What’s the matter?”
[That’s strange!]
[I can barely feel the human aura. Rather… It smells strongly of the same kind.]
“What?”
At the words of the two monsters, I looked at Kang Tae-gong from behind. Does it smell strongly of the same people? Does that mean Taegong Kang is a monster?
‘The status window is what I use at times like this. Psychic Analyst!’
I used the Psychic Analyst on Kang Tae-gong.
[Name: Colby Margaref (Male / 44 years old)]
[Super Power: Monster Predator (Lv.10)]
[Psychic Tree]
Lv.1 [Active]
Lv.2 [Monster – Crop]
Lv.3 [Monster – Bali Forma]
Lv.4 [Monster – Hexa.Shippy]
Lv.5 [Monster – Gargamashirou]
Lv.6 [Monster – Krada. Bonzabi]
Lv.7 [Monster – C.Gul.Zepeth]
Lv.8 [Monster – Jellyfish.C.Hyde]
Lv.9 [Monster – Paramoa.Cony.Ghost]
Lv.10 [Monster – Serpent.Kill.Gimora]
‘This…?’
As a result of checking through the psychic analyst, [S-class villain Kang Tae-gong Colby Margaref] Was right.
He’s human…But it was hard to see him as a whole person.
‘A monster predator?’
Kang Tae-gong possessed the [Monster Eater (Lv.
Looking at the psychic tree, the monsters he has eaten so far are three small monsters (Crop, Baliforma, Gargamashiro), one medium monster (Hexa.Shippy), and four large monsters (C.Gul.Zepes~Serpent. Kil. Gimora) was.
‘Ummm… This is…’
The psychic analyst analyzed the monster predator in more detail. And I could see why Ren and Highwog were nervous when they saw Kang Tae-gong.
Kang Tae-gong didn’t just eat the monster’s body. He ate all the monsters’ ferocious souls.
As a result, Kang Tae-gong became a human but not a human being. Like Peter, who replaced his own body with that of a monster.
“… Hmm?”
Then, I felt something approaching me. I looked around, but nothing approached me. Kang Tae-gong was still looking at the sea containing the fishing rod.
“Hmm.”
But my instincts were telling me to stay away. I am a man faithful to my instincts, so I did not disobey the orders given by my instincts. Jump-! Ran back
Bang-!
Then the place where I was standing exploded. It was as if a very heavy object had been dropped from above. But what broke the floor was invisible.
‘What?’
My instincts kept telling me that something was attacking me. I kept running and changing places.
Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!
The seats where I was standing exploded one after another. Something invisible is attacking me.
‘Hmm…’
It’s not particularly threatening. And it’s not something that can’t be avoided. So I moved from place to place and continued to analyze Kang Tae-gong’s psychic powers.
‘… Found. It must have been this.’
While checking my psychic powers, I was able to figure out what was attacking me.
Among the monsters that Kang Tae-gong ate, there was a [Jellyfish.C.Hyde]. It was a large sea monster in the shape of a jellyfish.
There is one characteristic of this large monster, and when it goes up to the ground without water, its body becomes transparent. It was also a dangerous monster with poison so strong that it could kill an elephant on the spot with a simple touch.
Are you annoyed when I keep avoiding you?
Swoop-
“…”
Kang Tae-gong, who was sitting on a fishing chair, stood up. He turned to me He was a middle-aged man with the impression that one can often see on the street. His narrowed eyes were filled with irritation and delight at the same time.
It must be annoying that I keep avoiding self-attacks… What does it mean to be happy?
“… Monsters were living in the city too.”
Kang Tae-gong glared at Ren and Haiwog who were sitting on my shoulders and said. It seemed that my monsters were happy.
“What kind of taste do six monsters taste like?”
Churup-!
Kang Tae-gong licked his lips at Ren and Haiwog.
“Did you steal an artifact from the Hero Association last week?”
“Yes. I was asked to.”
‘Ask?’
“What request? Who did you ask for?”
“Can you tell me?”
Pretty cooperative. I nodded at his question.
“Yes, tell me. Who asked you for something?”
“Then… Give me the monster you have.”
“What man?”
“That looks delicious. I want to eat it.”
“Her…”
I snorted at his suggestion. Was this a complete madman?
“Okay. I’ll just grab you and read your memory.”
“…”
Kang Tae-gong’s face hardened when I rejected his proposal with a single knife. He growled like a beast.
“Then… I’ll eat you too.”
“Fuck, my body is covered with honey. Why do so many guys want to eat me? But aren’t you? The bastard who tried to eat me before you ended up getting eaten by me.”
Wiggle-!
Dark gray tentacles wriggled in the sleeves of his suit. I don’t lose the tentacle theory anywhere.
