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chapter 165
Katrina was hastily pulling back while circulating her mana.
Screeeeech—!
[Legacy, “The Two-Legged Horse,” swiftly withdraws from the scene!]
Katrina’s Legacy was Tikbalang—a beastly spirit from Filipino folklore said to haunt the forests.
In such chaos, slipping away was hardly difficult.
[Tikbalang]
A forest-dwelling spirit.
Said to take the form of a human, horse, or monster, luring travelers or hermits astray into the wilderness.
— Source: “Customs of the Tagalogs”
That was also why she had volunteered to meet with Guirye in the first place—someone had to give the City Cartel’s incoming bombers his exact location.
But now—
He figured out that I was the traitor…!
That was the problem.
Just as she was about to frame Esteban, Guirye’s telepathic message had struck her out of nowhere—followed by that final look in his eyes.
He had been smiling.
Chillingly so.
As though he could see right through her.
There’s no way he survived that kind of bombardment… but still…
Katrina looked toward the warehouse district now engulfed in a storm of flames.
The warehouse “Pierre 21,” where the meeting had taken place, and all the surrounding container warehouses were reduced to rubble.
The City Cartel would have to pay enormous compensation to the affected companies, but that was nothing compared to the losses they would suffer if Guirye survived.
And Katrina was sure—he had survived.
If he knew everything, he would have prepared countermeasures.
Still, he can’t be in good shape. If we keep pressing relentlessly, we can kill him. No matter how powerful he is, no one’s mana is infinite!
Katrina pulled out a radio item, intending to call in more airstrikes.
If the “army” circling the warehouse area joined in, this game would be finished for good.
Chhhk.
“This is Katrina. The tank division will advance—!”
But the moment she tried to speak—
KWA-RUUUM!!
A white flash pierced through the black smoke, cutting across the sky.
The heat it carried was so intense the air itself shimmered visibly.
“…!!!”
Katrina instinctively summoned mana to shield herself—
KRAAANG!!
—but the white flash, the Arrow of Dharma, effortlessly shattered her barrier and struck her right between the eyes.
Even as a Ranker, she couldn’t react in time. The speed and destructive force were overwhelming.
Thunk!
Her head snapped back violently, slamming into the ground.
At the end of that blinding path—
Guirye stood with his back turned, eyes cold.
“Th-This is…!”
“Damn it!! She sold us out like this!? After all the ass-kissing we’ve done—this is how she repays us!?”
“Damn it! Damn it all!!”
At the center of the bombing zone, the businessmen trembled beneath a protective barrier woven of dense white lightning.
Caught between the fear of death, the relief of survival, and the betrayal of Katrina.
“You… knew all this, didn’t you?”
Only Esteban looked at Guirye with a solemn face.
For an instant, something flickered across Guirye’s eyes.
He had expected Esteban, of all people, to be the most furious and panicked—but surprisingly, he remained composed, even bold.
Was that natural talent?
Guirye shook his head calmly.
“I’m not omniscient. Of course I didn’t know everything.”
“Then how…”
“Intuition.”
“In…tuition?”
Esteban’s eyes widened slightly.
“It all went too smoothly. So I just prepared a few precautions.”
“…”
Pfft.
Guirye gave a small, almost mocking laugh.
“I came early and scouted the area. Someone tried to hide things, but there were plenty of traces of preparation.”
“Even so, why come to such a dangerous meeting?”
“Once a trap is exposed, it’s no longer a threat. I just wanted to see which fools thought this little game would work.”
Esteban looked at Ramon, who smiled knowingly and nodded—he had known as well.
“…Ha.”
Esteban felt all the strength drain from his body.
I feel like an idiot.
He had suspected there was a traitor among the participants during the meeting. He’d been watching every businessman closely, ready to subdue anyone who acted out of line.
But no traitor had revealed themselves until the very end—he had begun to think he was wrong.
I never imagined Katrina would betray us. And to use bombers!? She’s completely insane.
He had thought he knew her well—they’d been bitter rivals for years. The Black Maria syndicate and City Cartel often clashed over business territories.
He’d never imagined she’d join hands with them.
If anyone were to side with the Cartel, I’d have expected it to be our kind of people—the dogs they use for dirty work. That’s just common sense in Guam.
So Katrina and the Cartel had pulled off a perfect surprise.
But—
Their mistake was choosing him as their enemy.
Only now did Esteban begin to understand who Guirye really was.
People called him a madman, a murderer, a walking bomb.
But in truth, he was a cold, calculating gambler, frighteningly fast at reading situations.
“How did you find their little game?” Esteban asked, now speaking respectfully.
Those who had lived their lives in the slums could sense instinctively—
who they should bow to.
“Pathetic,” Guirye said. “Like a rehearsal act.”
Esteban couldn’t help but chuckle.
To this man, massive syndicates like Black Maria and City Cartel were nothing but amateur theatrics.
“But thanks to this, I now understand what kind of place Guam is. Show your back, and you’ll be devoured.”
“…Guam isn’t all like that. We do have loyalty.”
“I heard you kidnap slum kids to use as lab rats.”
“That—! There were reasons! I can’t explain them to an outsider, but what Katrina said wasn’t true! Those children wanted it!”
Esteban raised his voice, then froze—worried he might have angered Guirye.
He wasn’t afraid of dying, but he couldn’t die yet—not with his people still in the slums depending on him.
But—
“I see. Understood.”
Guirye nodded casually.
Esteban’s eyebrow twitched.
“You… believe me?”
“No. But I see no reason not to.”
“…”
Esteban found the man increasingly incomprehensible.
Then he shook his head and changed the subject.
“Anyway, how do you plan to escape? Black Maria and City Cartel are some of the biggest warlords in Guam. If they’ve deployed bombers, they’ll bring troops next. Do you have a plan?”
All eyes turned to the two men.
The businessmen’s faces turned pale—hope at the mention of escape, dread at the mention of armies.
“You speak as if I plan to save you.”
“…If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have set up this barrier to protect us. With your skill, you could have just escaped with your bullfighter companion.”
“Smart.”
Esteban thought he saw a faint curve—a smile—behind Guirye’s mask.
“Then you already know what I’m about to demand.”
“Contract renewal… isn’t it?”
Guirye said nothing, but Esteban knew that silence was an answer.
“Re…renewal?”
“A… new contract?”
While the businessmen exchanged confused looks, Ramon opened his briefcase and handed out new documents.
“These are alternate contracts we prepared for a situation like this. Please, take a look.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
No one dared read carefully in such a moment. Even Esteban only skimmed the pages.
“There’s a clause demanding shares in the mines?”
“What good are large-scale deals or expansions if we’re dead tomorrow?”
Ramon smiled faintly, and all fell silent.
“We’re requesting 60% of the mining shares for Lord Guirye.”
“The sponsor payments remain the same? That’s outright robbery.”
Esteban scoffed, but Ramon shook his head politely.
“Oh, of course the payment terms have changed. The investment amount is now ten times higher.”
“…!”
“…!!”
Only then did the businessmen truly look at the document—seeing not only the demand for mining shares and increased investment, but a host of restrictive, poisonous clauses binding their companies.
“We originally considered a twentyfold increase,” Ramon continued cheerfully, “but that might bankrupt some of you immediately, so we settled for ten. Of course, those willing to invest more will receive additional privileges.”
“…”
“…”
A thinly veiled threat—pay more, or lose out.
Several faces flushed with anger—
—but then Ramon added casually:
“Still, this deal won’t leave you at a loss. It includes the mining shares formerly held by Black Maria.”
“…!”
“…!!”
“And Lord Guirye has no plans to encroach on the business territories they once controlled. Isn’t that quite a fair opportunity for you all?”
Greed replaced fear in the businessmen’s eyes. They could smell money now.
Esteban asked, “So you won’t plant Guirye’s flag over the ruins of the Cartel and Black Maria?”
“Correct. Lord Guirye has no ties to Guam and no interest in those kinds of enterprises. He’s already renounced them.”
The Cartel’s smuggling networks, Black Maria’s security business—
The businessmen quickly calculated their potential gains.
“And the slaughterhouse?”
“We’ll compete as an equal sponsor, of course.”
No one truly believed that, but the illusion of cooperation was enough.
“We’ll be able to use Guirye’s name in our bids, right?”
“Of course. That’s the core of the sponsorship contract.”
That was enough.
Esteban was the first to sign—
even increasing the investment fortyfold. It was a reckless gamble, pouring in La Sombra’s entire fortune, but he didn’t hesitate.
Ramon’s eyes curved in satisfaction.
“You won’t regret it.”
Soon, the others signed too.
Ramon carefully gathered the contracts, stacking them neatly in his briefcase.
“We thank all of you for your faith in Lord Guirye. Oh, and do remember—payments are due by tomorrow. A minute late, and there will be penalties.”
“…!?”
“Wait, how are we supposed to gather that much money in a day—!?”
“In exchange, Lord Guirye will finish clearing out all of Black Maria’s and the Cartel’s facilities today. Mines included.”
“…!!!”
“…!!!”
“You’ve all worked hard. Surely tonight you’d like to rest your legs in a suite at Hagåtña’s finest seven-star hotel?”
“…”
“…”
The luxurious land of Hagåtña—
The businessmen’s eyes glazed over, drunk on the dream of paradise.
Guirye’s arrogant declaration—to seize the capital in a single day—no longer sounded like madness.
“Lord Guirye, shall we leave it to you, then?”
Ramon bowed theatrically, like a showman in a slaughterhouse.
Pfft.
Guirye gave a faint chuckle and tapped his rune staff against the ground.
―ᛊ.
The rune Sowilo, symbol of the sun and lightning.
Zzzzap!!
At once, white currents radiated outward from where the staff struck—
hundreds of electric arcs surged upward, coalescing into spheres of crackling energy.
Thunder Orbs.
The core of Guirye’s lightning magic.
Each orb shimmered with plasma and corona, burning hot like miniature suns.
To Esteban, in that moment, Guirye looked like a celestial god who ruled over the stars of the universe.
“Detonate.”
With a single incantation, the thunder orbs spinning around him scattered in every direction—
and the world turned white.
