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Chapter 10
Ironblood Massimo
Rank 20.
One of the only twenty S-Rankers in existence.
It was said that the combat power he possessed alone was enough to face an A-Rank Gate by himself.
Ironblood.
Just like his title suggested, Massimo was the type to charge headfirst into battle, using his own body as a weapon. A monster who crushed opponents with overwhelming strength and bare hands.
Whenever a fight ended, he was always drenched in both his enemy’s blood and his own.
One of the lesser-known rumors I’d heard back at Rumble was that he was underrated among Rankers because of his crude behavior. Apparently, he always did whatever he pleased.
But why was someone like Massimo standing in front of me?
“You protected the child well with that soft little body. Good work.”
His cold black eyes swept over me and Lottie.
Since he’d helped us, did that mean he was on our side?
Or was Massimo somehow on the terrorists’ side too?
Even exhausted, my mind raced.
I needed to determine whether the person in front of me was a lifeline or not. If you were weak, you couldn’t afford to be lazy with your brain. It was practically a habit at this point.
Perhaps noticing my caution, Massimo cracked his neck and waved dismissively.
“Don’t get any strange ideas. I’m here to protect Lottie.”
As if to prove it, he reached inside his shirt and tossed something toward me.
I barely caught it with my aching arm.
A pacifier.
“…?”
“There’s probably something that matches that among Lottie’s belongings. I bought it for him.”
BOOM!
SKREEEE—
After speaking so casually, he kicked off the ground and dove straight into the swarm of monsters.
“Don’t tell me… you’re his father?”
My exhausted mind suddenly came back to life.
Looking closely at the pacifier, the finger-ring attached to it seemed familiar. I was sure there was another one of a different color in the box where unused items were stored.
“Lottie’s father is Massimo?”
What kind of person carried around a matching pacifier if not the child’s father?
Who else would buy one for him in the first place?
“You little brat… are you really the son of an S-Ranker?”
Monster blood sprayed everywhere and chunks of flesh rained down around us, but that shock was still shocking.
Lottie slept peacefully through it all.
The rumors at the Center had been true.
There had to be an S-Ranker involved somehow if A-Rankers were stationed there.
The past three months flashed through my mind.
No wonder he was extraordinary.
His bloodline wasn’t ordinary to begin with.
Massimo spent over an hour slaughtering monsters.
About halfway through, Cove recovered enough to join the fight and hurried over to assist him.
But his weakened lightning couldn’t compare to Massimo’s bare fists.
CRAAAASH!
“For a B-Rank, that took longer than expected.”
The Gate rippled before beginning to crumble like a collapsing brick wall.
Gate destruction.
The basic principle was that if all the monsters coming through were eliminated, the energy maintaining the Gate would lose balance.
At least, I thought that was how it worked.
“It is an honor to stand alongside you, Lord Massimo!”
Still covered in green monster blood like me, Cove suddenly stepped forward and bowed stiffly.
I’d heard Rankers cared greatly about hierarchy.
Apparently, even an A-Ranker stood beneath an S-Ranker.
“It seems you contributed to protecting Lottie as well. Good work.”
Unable to believe he’d just been praised by Massimo, Cove’s face turned bright red.
He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally clamping it shut.
The fact that his face was visibly red despite being stained blue-green with monster blood showed just how happy he was.
Passing Cove, Massimo approached me and Lottie.
I decided to ask first.
“Are you Lottie’s father, sir?”
“Father? That’s an odd thing to call a bachelor. Why would you think that?”
The deep frown on Massimo’s face immediately crushed my assumption.
Then why buy him things like this?
I glanced at the pacifier in my hand before asking again.
“So you’re not his father?”
“Do I look anything like him?”
His narrow eyes, dark brown hair, and scar-covered face looked about a hundred million light-years away from resembling Lottie.
“No. My apologies.”
“…You answered that a little too quickly.”
What exactly did he want from me?
I simply blinked at him as he tilted his head.
“Anyway, protecting a child in a disaster like this isn’t something an ordinary person could do. What kind of ability do you have?”
“Immortality.”
I didn’t see any reason to mention my other ability and only revealed the publicly known one.
Massimo’s forehead immediately wrinkled.
“Immortality? One of those toys?”
The rude remark came out instantly.
Does this world not teach basic manners? Calling people toys?
As that skeptical thought crossed my mind, Massimo continued.
“Ah, sorry. Delphi told me that’s not a polite thing to say. My apologies.”
Quite skilled at applying medicine after throwing the first punch.
At least there seemed to be some sane people around him.
“Well… that’s how most people see it.”
After that, neither of us spoke.
With Massimo’s arrival, the incident was effectively over.
Nothing else happened.
And even if something did happen, it wouldn’t matter anymore now that Massimo was here.
The damage was severe.
Ranker Rowina had died.
Several children and most of the babysitters had died as well.
The only reason so many children survived was because the sitters had placed them inside the shelters and stood guard outside.
The Center Director was eventually found in the deepest level of the collapsed Center building.
His sturdy body had protected him; he was merely lying there dead drunk.
Since he’d been deceived by the Administrator, I couldn’t exactly blame him.
Still, it was pathetic.
When I heard that Kassen had also died, all I could do was pat Helga’s shoulder a few times as she sat there half out of her mind.
Even for someone accustomed to death, it was a horrific tragedy.
The Day After the Terrorist Attack
After most of the cleanup was completed, everyone remaining at the Center stood on the ruined dock.
Though “everyone” wasn’t many people anymore.
Me.
The Director.
Massimo.
Amanda.
And Lottie.
“Good grief… Amanda, is it time yet?”
“Not quite.”
When the Director first met Massimo, he had treated him respectfully but not excessively so.
They even seemed to know each other.
But now the Director looked not merely nervous, but terrified.
I was dying to know who was coming.
“They’re here.”
Standing beside the Director, Massimo frowned and muttered.
Soon afterward, a large yacht sped toward the ruined dock.
Four people stepped off.
Three men in suits moved aside.
Behind them stood a petite woman.
Long silver hair so beautiful it seemed unreal.
Purple eyes.
“…Professor Ingram?”
No.
Why was she here?
I could only stare blankly.
Camilla Ingram.
A special professor at Rumble, the academy I attended before coming to the Center.
A genius of the century.
A Gate researcher affiliated with the Association.
I knew she was famous and active in many fields.
But I also knew she wasn’t someone who should be here.
Because Camilla Ingram wasn’t an ability user.
Why would she come to a disaster zone like this?
“Y-You’ve arrived! It must have been a long journey—”
“Where is Lottie?”
The Director’s trembling greeting was cut off instantly.
Her voice was cold.
Familiar.
Because she was so busy, her lectures only happened once a month.
I’d only attended two of them.
Yet I recognized that tone.
A voice so detached it bordered on transcendence.
After stopping the Director from following her, she came straight toward me.
Suddenly Lottie stretched out his arms.
“Uu!”
Before I could react to the child struggling to get away from me, Camilla effortlessly picked him up.
Lottie transferred to her arms without hesitation.
Then she immediately gave an order.
“Come with me.”
What kind of situation was this?
And why was Lottie acting so comfortable with her?
I looked toward the Director.
But the bearded man looked like a mouse standing before a cat.
No help there.
This is driving me insane.
The three suited men who had arrived with Camilla stared at me sternly, urging me to follow.
Judging from Massimo’s indifferent yawn, nobody seemed interested in giving me a choice.
In the end, I followed her aboard the yacht.
The interior left me speechless.
I’d never ridden such an expensive vessel before.
Everything about it screamed luxury.
It perfectly reflected Camilla’s status.
As expected. Geniuses and Association executives really do live differently.
“What is your name?”
After laying Lottie on a bed, Camilla approached me.
“A-Arsene Nerolo.”
The moment I answered, she took a step backward.
Her cold, expressionless face slowly twisted as though she’d seen something impossible.
“Is something wrong?”
The silence stretched on for far too long, forcing me to speak first.
That wasn’t a normal reaction.
I wanted to know why.
“…It’s changed.”
“Excuse me?”
“Why? What went wrong?”
Camilla staggered backward until she hit the wall.
Then she slid down and sat on the floor.
Moments later, she started striking her own head.
She was even gasping for breath.
It looked almost as though someone else had possessed her.
Ah.
Possession was my thing.
What is going on? They said she was eccentric, but she’s actually crazy.
Watching someone suddenly self-harm right in front of me was a completely new experience.
My body froze.
Even so, I forced myself to step forward to stop her.
The instant I moved, she suddenly stopped.
“No. Nothing changed. Everything happened exactly the same…”
Listening to her mutter to herself was becoming increasingly unsettling.
I discreetly glanced at the door behind me.
When dealing with crazy people, having an escape route was essential.
Just as I was mentally practicing grabbing the handle and running if necessary—
“At this point, the sitter should have been Ferid Bill. Why are you here…?”
Ferid Bill?
My head snapped back around.
That was Lottie’s former sitter.
The one who had supposedly quit because of Lottie’s difficult behavior.
Why was Camilla suddenly mentioning him?
More importantly, how did she know that?
The Center was supposed to be top-secret.
If she even knew the names of the sitters, didn’t that mean she knew far too much?
Maybe high-ranking Association researchers have access to that information…
After a moment’s hesitation, I answered.
“Due to… certain circumstances, he left, and I took over the position.”
I couldn’t exactly say:
“Lottie drove him away.”
“No. Ferid had no circumstances.”
The eyes that had been filled with confusion until now suddenly became completely certain.
Camilla stood.
Then slowly approached me.
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
I couldn’t understand her words.
It sounded as if she already knew everything.
“Mr. Arsene Nerolo.”
“Yes.”
“Come with me.”
“…What?”
“I want you to come with me.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Can you not understand simple words?”
Her expression was filled with anxiety and irritation.
Keeping several steps of distance between us, I desperately tried to process what she was saying.
No, I understand perfectly.
The problem is that you’re speaking complete nonsense.
Looking at her pale, furrowed face, I slowly shook my head.
No matter how beautiful she was, I wasn’t that easy to persuade.
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to accomplish.”
The moment I answered clearly—
FLASH!
A familiar screen appeared before my eyes.
[You have obtained a critical clue!]
[You have been chosen by the protagonist’s second most precious person!]
[‘The Power of Names’ is powerful!]
Get closer to the Commander.
She knows everything.
Clue Accumulation Rate: 3/5
It was the third clue.
