LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 03 - Are You a Returnee (3)
Chapter 03 – Are You a Returnee Too? (3)
Bastille woke up, crushed by an overwhelming thirst.
He opened his eyes and looked in the mirror. Instead of tears, blood was flowing.
His body, infinitely close to death, had never been harmonious, even for a moment.
He reconstructed his body. Once the missing parts were filled, the hunger and thirst grew even worse.
Eating and drinking couldn’t satisfy it.
He had to kill a living being and take its life force. That’s why he constantly suppressed it.
If he ever let go, he would become something not much different from a demon.
“You look tired.”
Leonhart, who was in the living room of the apartment, spoke up.
“Is that so.”
“I feel the same. Drinking that much, even I would find it too much. It’s a stretch, you know. It’s not like I have Leonhart’s body.”
Just as Bastille had a handicap with life energy, Leonhart, being a Crusader, suffered from the untrained nature of his own body.
At that moment, Leonhart’s phone rang.
“Oh, Mincheol? Yeah? Alright, I’ll head there right away.”
As soon as he hung up, he spoke to Bastille.
“Why did you fight with that thug yesterday?”
“Seems like they’re causing trouble at the convenience store.”
“They say they brought two vans full of people? Must be around 20 of them.”
Bastille lowered his head slightly to Leonhart.
“I seem to have caused unnecessary trouble. I’ll take care of it.”
Leonhart crossed his arms and laughed.
“No, no. It’s actually a perfect opportunity. Think about it—around here, these local thugs are like the slimes or goblins near the village in Revenheim, right? Loot and level up. You can’t turn down a free growth delivery service.”
“Is it alright, even though it’s not the body you left behind in Revenheim?”
“I can handle around twenty slimes.”
Bastille and Leonhart headed straight for the convenience store. It was only about a 10-minute walk from the apartment.
The situation had already escalated out of control. The external windows of the store were completely shattered, and the inside was a mess.
Two vans blocked the front of the store entirely. The street was swarming with thugs in black suits.
By the time Leonhart and Bastille arrived at the main street opposite the store, Mincheol, the part-time worker, burst out of an alley and grabbed Leonhart by the arm.
“Manager! Don’t go in.”
“Mincheol.”
Leonhart looked over Mincheol’s appearance. His glasses were missing, and his temple was torn.
“Did they hit you?”
“…Yes.”
Leonhart scratched his head.
“Damn it, these bastards… You’re not too badly hurt, right?”
“I’m fine. They just scared me.”
“What do you mean scared? Did you call the police?”
“Well…”
“This has been going on for a while. What did the police say? Why haven’t they come yet?”
“I called them, but they told me to handle it myself.”
Leonhart frowned at Mincheol’s words.
“What are you talking about?”
“They said they can’t waste police resources on personal disputes…”
“Did they really say that? These people are out of their minds.”
Leonhart immediately called 112. After being transferred several times, they finally connected him to the local police station.
[This is Team Leader Kim Gihum from the Serious Crimes Unit.]
“Thank you for your work. This is the convenience store at the XX district intersection, and there are some people who look like thugs…”
[Excuse me, but who are you?]
“I’m the store manager.”
A deep sigh came from the other end of the phone.
[Sigh…]
“A sigh? What does that mean?”
[Well, why did you provoke the Daedong faction? Look, just apologize and end it. They’re just looking for someone, and they promised not to cause a bigger problem. Resolve it with words.]
“Is this really something the police should be saying?”
[You’re the one who escalated the situation, and now you’re calling the police? Anyway, we’ve sent one patrol car. If things get serious, we’ll request backup. Don’t go picking fights with just anyone. If you fight, both sides will get booked, no matter who they are.]
The police officer abruptly ended the call.
Leonhart let out a chuckle in disbelief.
“What did they say?”
When Mincheol asked, Leonhart answered with a baffled expression.
“They said if we fight, they’ll arrest us too.”
“They must be more than ordinary thugs, if even the police can’t handle them. What should we do, manager?”
Leonhart patted Mincheol’s shoulder a few times.
“Anyway, good job dealing with them. Go to the hospital and get treated, make sure you get a medical report. Here, use this money to buy yourself some meat or something.”
He pulled about 200,000 won from his wallet and handed it to Mincheol.
“Manager.”
“Go home early today. I’ll handle the rest.”
“But…”
“A newbie should stick to dealing with goblins. Let’s go, Bastille.”
Rolling his shoulders, Leonhart took big strides toward the thugs.
There was a police car parked across the street from the convenience store, but the officers inside were chatting with one of the thugs through the open window.
Aside from them, there wasn’t a single pedestrian in sight. A few of the thugs were stationed at both ends of the alley, driving away any passersby.
“They’re really set on this, huh? What exactly did you do?”
Leonhart laughed.
“Curious?”
At Bastille’s questioning tone, Leonhart replied.
“I’ll save it for later, as a drinking snack. Now, shall we get started? Goblin hunting!”
In terms of gathering in groups, having some degree of intelligence, and even using weapons, the thugs were closer to goblins than slimes.
Leonhart lunged forward and kicked one of the thugs who had been glaring at him.
Wham!
With one hit, the thug fell flat.
“That bastard!”
“Hey! Grab him! He’s crazy!”
“Lunatic!”
The thugs, numbering in the twenties, stared in shock, unable to believe that someone would just jump in with a flying kick right at their doorstep.
Several thugs yelled, and four of them rushed in to pin down Leonhart.
“Punch Leonhart! Take 5% of it!”
Leonhart laughed aloud as he punched the thug in front of him.
He had an ordinary build, standing just barely 180 centimeters tall. While he was above average in height, he couldn’t compare to the thugs who seemed like they were raised on a diet of muscle and strength.
However, his fists imbued with divine power were far from “ordinary.”
*Thwack!*
The thug’s neck twisted with the blow, his entire torso spinning like a windmill.
His body spun midair as if in slow motion before crashing onto the ground with a splat.
“Leonhart punch! Punch! Kick! Punch!”
Leonhart shouted enthusiastically as he took down the surrounding thugs. In no time, four of them were left sprawled on the ground, battered and bruised.
Despite facing only one opponent, the thugs’ morale was completely shattered.
At that moment, Leonhart bent down and started rummaging through the clothes of the fallen thug.
He pulled out a wallet, pocketing the ID and cash.
“Acquired loot. I’ve gained 300,000 gold.”
Bastille could only manage a wry smile at Leonhart’s playful tone.
After persistently looting the wallets of the five thugs he had taken down, Leonhart finally straightened up.
“Alright, shall we head to the next area? It’s a crossroad. Which way should we go?”
He half-turned to look at Bastille, but he was already gone.
Leonhart wasn’t the only one who had lost sight of Bastille. No one around had noticed when or where he had disappeared.
—
While Leonhart was causing a scene up front, Bastille quietly made his way into the deepest part of the thug group.
It was clear who the leader was just by the atmosphere he exuded.
The head of the gang was sitting with his legs crossed on a plastic chair in front of the convenience store, flanked by a thug like a folding screen.
Lee Heesu, one of the four captains of the Daedong faction, was nervously puffing on a cigarette. Seven of his men were already down. He had specifically brought fighters who were known to be tough, but it had been a one-sided affair.
“What kind of freak is that? Hey, Dongshik, it looks like we need to get serious.”
“Yes, boss.”
Just as Lee Heesu was about to issue more curses, a shadow suddenly loomed in front of him. It was Bastille.
Lee Heesu’s body stiffened.
He couldn’t figure out where this guy had come from, no matter how hard he thought. It really felt like he had just materialized out of thin air.
“What the hell…”
Choi Dongshik, Lee Heesu’s right-hand man, bellowed and charged at Bastille.
*Whoosh!* The sound of a fist cutting through the air echoed clearly.
Lee Heesu tensed as he watched the fight unfold. If this guy was anywhere near the level of that madman out front, he might have to get involved himself.
However, Choi Dongshik’s punch landed squarely on Bastille’s body.
*Thud!* Bastille’s body lifted slightly from the impact.
Choi Dongshik spat on the ground.
“Pfft! What a weakling…”
But his words didn’t last long. His muscles began to contract, and blood rapidly drained from his body as if being siphoned away from a far distance.
His life energy nearly depleted, Choi Dongshik only managed to pull himself away from Bastille when he was on the verge of death.
“Ugh… Guh…”
He collapsed backwards on the spot. Ignoring him, Bastille advanced toward Lee Heesu.
Standing before him, Bastille gazed down silently before speaking.
“Your business should be with me.”
“You… you… it was you!”
“Go on. Tell me why you came here.”
Lee Heesu fought to keep his mind from slipping away.
If this was just a strong opponent, he’d have confidence in handling them one way or another. But after seeing Choi Dongshik withered up like a mummy, this was clearly beyond human capabilities.
“You… monster!”
“You put a lot of effort into that insult. If you really want to face me, find a dark place at night where no one is around. I’ll show you what true death looks like.”
Bastille raised his hand and gently touched Lee Heesu’s forehead. With a crack, one of his eyes lost its light.
“Arghhh!”
Letting the scream fall on deaf ears, Bastille looked around.
Most of the thugs had already been dealt with.
Leonhart flashed a victory sign as he collected the last of the “goblin’s” loot.
—
“Ha, how much do you think this is? One, two, three…”
Leonhart repeatedly counted the 50,000-won bills in his hand.
“See? Being an adventurer is the best job. You beat up monsters, loot their corpses, and still get paid for the job.”
“The police over there don’t seem to agree with you.”
Glancing at the officers busy communicating on their radios, Bastille watched as Leonhart stood in front of Lee Heesu.
“Are you the boss mob? Want to surrender and cough up the loot? Or would you prefer to be taken down?”
“Y-you crazy bastards!”
“And you thugs think you’re sane? Smashing up a store’s windows and blocking the street in broad daylight? The only way to deal with rabid dogs is to beat them senseless. Who’s got time for compassionate discipline?”
Lee Heesu, clutching his still-aching eye, struggled to keep his mind focused.
Had it not been for his pride as a thug, he would have already run screaming to a hospital.
“You know what you’re messing with, right? This is the Daedong faction.”
Leonhart nodded.
“Yeah. Even the police know that.”
“Don’t think this will just blow over.”
Leonhart crossed his arms.
“And if it doesn’t? You plan on getting revenge? Maybe stabbing us in the back at night? Or going after our families?”
“….”
“Looks like I hit the mark. Haha, you guys are seriously lacking in creativity. But guess what? I just came up with a brilliant idea.”
Lee Heesu glared sharply at Leonhart, who continued speaking with a mischievous tone.