American Isekai - Chapter 78 (Patreon)

“Hm?”

My head suddenly rose, looking around me to see an empty expanse of white all around.

I stood within this blank area, unable to make out any indication of direction. I couldn’t even see the floor I was standing on. It was so perfectly white that it was all I could see.

But as I stood there, my mind seemed to drift toward other thoughts, as if there were a current taking me in that direction.

I remembered all those children and adults from the warehouse, the ones I had saved. Yet I also saw those that I had failed to save. Their faces were perfectly engraved within my mind, unable to be forgotten.

And I imagined others. Hundreds, thousands who had all suffered the same fate. I could imagine the atrocities committed in an attempt to seek out the limits of the human body.

I regret, but then, I steeled myself.

I could save even more. I just needed information, and there were plenty of people to get it from. Tavera was just one of them. There were hundreds of bounties on the Repository, and surely there would be more traffickers on that list.

If I could do it, then I would. My guns gave me the power to kill even an Authority 7 warlock. Anybody below that level wouldn’t be able to stop me.

As I made my decisions, my surroundings shifted. I saw another warehouse, one full of even more trafficked people. They were in an even sorrier state than the ones I saved.

I moved forward to rescue them. I could feel their captors around the building. I just needed to kill them.

But, my body wouldn’t listen to me. I simply stood there even as all those captors rushed down to meet the threat. There were Authority 6’s, even an Authority 7 knight. They were strong, not people I could fight against.

And I saw them all emerge. They rushed toward me, their hatred evident, yet unable to hide a layer of fear.

They were scared, as if they knew what was coming.

And then, they all ran past me.

I turned around, hearing an explosion as a huge metal door was blown open.

All those who approached the figure were cut down with a brutal axe already stained with blood.

Limbs went flying, blood pooled on the floor, and the figure was untouched as the axe delivered explosive blows to their enemies.

With every impact, flesh would bloom, as if the axe were laced with explosive material. It made every blow several times more deadly.

And, without fail, the figure would decapitate every single enemy, alive or dead.

An Executioner.

The captors screamed as they were being annihilated yet I couldn’t hear a single sound.

I simply watched as they were all dispatched with impunity. After that, every kidnapped child and adult were released.

All I could do was watch, and I came to an understanding.

I wasn’t needed. It wasn’t my job to do.

Whoever that executioner was, they were enough.

I watched that person stand there. They wore a coat and hood, very similar to my own.

And, perhaps having felt something, they reached into their coat and pulled out a bullet.

My eyes widened. I was the only person who could give someone a bullet.

Who was it? It wasn’t the Key Master, that was certain. So then who could possibly have an unfired bullet from me?

That’s when I saw a faint pair of wings bloom behind that person.

Ah, I see.

Guardian Angel.

I smiled, letting out a long breath as I closed my eyes.

And the next time I opened them, I saw my hotel room.

I laid there in my bed while my mind processed everything that happened.

It was like I could feel my own Guardian Angel comforting me. I thought about what needed to be done and realized that this battle wasn’t my own to fight.

There was somebody else out there who I could trust to do it for me.

So I let it go, my mind cleansed of its torment.

At that moment though, I suddenly took out my advancement formation.

I looked at the first page and brought up my hand, letting my Aura loose and beginning to trace.

I watched as the core part of the first formation was drawn, as if it weren’t my own hand doing the drawing. I simply let it flow like it should.

And an entire 30% of the formation was completed.

When considered among the entire advancement formation, it was only 10% of it. I had been studying it for a while now and it seemed with this dream, I was able to take a leap.

My mind churned as I finished what I could. My ocean of thought started to flow, going from a brief current turning into a deliberate tide as it shifted into something similar to a whirlpool in my head.

It wasn’t fast, having barely even started to shift in that direction, but the results were immediate. Everything about my thought process became faster, smoother, like I had been thinking with a bunch of murky barriers in my way, as if my thoughts were stagnant.

It felt amazing, and with this boost I felt like I was able to accept what had recently happened and relinquish control over the situation.

If it wasn’t my calling, then so be it.

I sat up after letting myself calm down. Then, I heard several notifications blare from my Aerial.

The most recent one was interesting.

It was from the Key Master, specifically on behalf of the Black Spider Repository.

“John Cooper. For successfully claiming the head of Henevue Rence, your Polaris Bank Account has automatically received the bounty reward of 250 thousand coin. In addition, on behalf of the Tavera Family Patriarch, an additional 190 thousand coin has been deposited.”

“Oh.”

My face was neutral. Money was always welcome, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt about being paid for this.

Oh well. I had lost a bit over 100 thousand coin to the victims, so I decided to just accept it.

After that, I looked at everything else.

Plex sent me a few messages in regard to our job from Apocryon, which was today. We would handle it during sunset, which wasn’t long from now.

Other than that, I had several messages from Umara, some of them about the results of their questioning, others wondering where I was.

The messages from Vetsmon and Feiden were asking where I was on behalf of Umara. So to ease her worries I made the call.

She picked up instantly.

“John!”

“Hey. Sorry about the delay. I was a bit busy.”

“That’s okay. I was just worried. Were the jobs really that time consuming?”

“Well… something like that. It got a bit dangerous so I couldn’t really respond.”

I decided to refrain from telling her about it for now. No need to spoil her mood when Christmas was a time for her to enjoy herself.

Still, her voice brought a smile to my face. I decided to meet with her and bring myself a bit more ease.

“I have some more business tonight, but I’d like to see you today. Do you have time?”

“Of course. Just give me the location and I’ll be there.”

“Sure thing.”

With a goodbye we hung up. After I found a suitable place for a short date, I got dressed and sent her the location.

We met up a little while later. She came dressed in some beautiful yet casual clothes fit for the chilled weather.

Her head tilted though when she approached.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“...Yea.”

I let out a breath, the two of us hugging.

“Just realizing how lucky I am to be with someone like you.”

“O-Oh. Thank you. I-I mean, I feel lucky too.”

She stammered a bit, making me chuckle.

“Come on.”

Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into the nearby cafe, starting our date.

I only had a couple hours, but that was enough to talk about recent events.

Particularly, she informed me about what was going to happen in regard to the Cyclops Scout.

The testimonies of my squad all came back completely true, which means there was zero doubt that I had actually killed it single handedly.

And since I had broken some kind of record, I was going to be placed within the Magisterium’s Hall of Fame.

It was a place only the best Elites could have their image enshrined. The body of that scout would be put on display, evidence of my kill, and my name would accompany it as the first Authority 4 to ever kill an Authority 7.

Whenever something like this happened, there would be a big announcement and an award would be given out, though I didn’t know when. I imagined that it would happen after Christmas since nobody was there anyway.

Well, at this point I wasn’t sure I cared. I had now killed an Authority 7 warlock, so I topped that achievement. And after what I just went through, it simply didn’t feel like something that I cared to give my attention to.

So as she spoke, I simply rested my chin on my hand and stared at her, appreciated her presence, and realized that I really, really liked this girl.

Was it enough to say that I had fallen in love?

A small smile rested on my face as I watched her talk.

Ah, she was so pretty.

Perhaps she noticed too, because at some point she stopped talking and started reddening.

She fidgeted in her seat, occasionally glancing at me to check if I was still staring.

So I could still tease her. Good.

After a few minutes of that I finally laughed and diverted my gaze.

We went on to talk for a while until I had to leave. I told her that I was going on a dangerous job, so we ended our date with a long kiss.

With that, I made my way to the Founder’s Market.

……

I looked at Rayla as we trudged through the Trenches.

Plex took the lead and Libitus tailed him. We made conversation along the way since we hadn’t seen each other in a while, killing time while heading over to Apocryon’s headquarters.

I didn’t feel any particular sort of danger, but I knew that would change as soon as we arrived. I was especially curious to see Apocryon again.

Back then, that madman was able to play tricks on my mind with illusions. I saw and felt him kill me, yet it was nothing more than one of his tricks.

I had thought it was just his magic back then, but now I wasn’t so sure.

Since I was with a group, nobody dared to come and blatantly attack us. So we arrived at the headquarters smoothly.

And there, I saw Apocryon.

He sat atop a particularly large APC modded with all kinds of scrap metal and mounted spikes. It fit the psycho vibe this place gave off.

And he was still the same as last time. I could feel the unrestrained power that bristled from his body, carrying an Aura of unhinged psychosis. His eyes were particularly stinging. My Aura felt like it could be damaged by his own.

Dressed in a dirty lab coat, he jumped up as soon as we stepped foot into his territory, entering the plaza in front of the headquarters.

“Ah, my favorite deliveryman! And John! You’ve made quite the name for yourself since I last saw you. A far cry from that little kid several months ago!”

“And I still vividly remember you tearing my chest open with your bare hands.”

“Heh, a mere trick of the mind. I can see your Aura. I’ve never seen someone progress so far in such a short amount of time, not since I did so myself. Let me see you clearly.”

“...”

I was silent. I had kept Plex in front of me to hinder the line of sight between us, but now he was asking.

And I was curious myself. So I stepped forward, standing next to Plex as I stared him down.

That’s when I saw it clearly.

His Aura. It wasn’t like mine, all foggy and malleable. His was like a storm of needles, capable of piercing through all.

And at the center of that storm was an eye. A massive eye that peered straight into my mind.

As soon as I looked into it, I felt my surroundings change.

The surrounding people faded away, the ground turned black as spikes jutted out from all directions.

They pierced my feet, my legs, my chest. Skewering me from every possible angle while tearing my body apart.

But, through the arresting illusions, I was able to get a glimpse.

The slightest indication that all of it was fake. The smallest sign that it was all planted into my mind instead.

I was able to dissociate from the pain, just slightly, just enough for it to not be overwhelming.

He really was a warlock, which made sense since he could concoct potions and medicine. But his Aura’s ability to tamper with the mind was inconceivable.

Still, I fought back. My resistance appeared in the form of that foggy cloud that tried to wear away at all the spikes.

But it was the furthest thing from enough. It didn’t so much as leave a scratch. The difference between us was incredible.

And yet I was able to see the path forward.

Suddenly, I raised my hand, in it a 1911.

And I fired straight at him, the bullet wielding the power of my Aura and tearing through the illusion.

Until it was scattered, a mere thought from Apocryon enough to shatter all hopes of resistance.

“Amazing.”

He mumbled, and then, he pointed.

A needle appeared in front of his finger, piercing toward my forehead, intent on killing me.

And it would’ve if not for Plex stepping back in front of me.

“That’s enough.”

“Ugh…”

I collapsed as soon as the illusion left, buckling as blood poured from my eyes, nose, and mouth.

Someone caught me. I was barely able to feel her body. It was Rayla.

Without a word, she started cleaning up my face.

“Focus on me.”

“...”

I stared, my mind feeling like it was being stabbed repeatedly.

What an amazing power. Through the horrible illusions I could see the remarkable skill and profound knowledge behind it.

He was capable of killing with his Aura. It was clear that I wouldn’t be going down that path, but my path wasn’t far from it.

My Aura was an extension of my mind, of my Psyka. And I would use it as such, wielding my mind, my strongest attribute, as a tool to fight others.

Previously I had been worried about subterfuge. I wanted Plex’s invisibility because it would keep me safe and allow me to use my guns with complete freedom.

But maybe I didn’t need invisibility. Maybe I just needed an illusion of it.

Knights, my most threatening foes, would be at the mercy of my powerful mind. Anyone else could be killed by my guns with relative ease.

Yes, this was it.

I lifted my head with that revelation, barely able to see Apocryon discussing something with Plex.

When he sensed my gaze though, I sent out my Aura once more, this time delivering a message to his own.

(I figured it out. Thank you.)

“...Hahaha!”

He suddenly laughed, causing Plex to quiet.

“To think I’ve been used! Amazing! To think you were talented enough to use me for your own gain! Pray, John Cooper, that you are simply envied and not feared! Or be doomed to the path I have walked! Do you understand me?!”

(Yes.)

I nodded as he almost screamed at me. With every second, my mind gradually recuperated and I was eventually able to climb back to my feet.

I watched Apocryon as he made the exchange with Plex, thinking long and hard about what he said.

Be envied, not feared. I could imagine why he said that. I was already dealing with such things from nobles.

If they envied me, then they would simply hate my presence, perhaps taking some measures to get rid of me.

If they truly feared me, then I was as good as dead. They would stoop to any level and my days would be numbered.

Had he gone through something like that? Everyone already feared him, and perhaps the only reason he was able to survive was because he pushed his power to the extremes that he did.

I had a feeling that he wasn’t always the psycho everyone knew him to be. People were often shaped by their circumstances and environment. Maybe Apocryon was the victim of that.

I took his advice to heart, starting to think that I needed to hide certain powers of mine.

Apocryon threw Plex a box. What was inside would only be revealed at the auction.

And then he handed him payment.

Once that exchange was made, Plex waited for Apocryon to disappear into his headquarters before turning and vanishing himself.

Libitus, Rayla, and I could see the surrounding individuals start to prey on us.

But I simply raised my hand and fired a warning shot.

*BANG*

“...”

Everyone froze. By now, my guns had left a permanent mark on the residents of the Trenches.

I looked around, equipping my hood.

“You know who I am. So fuck off.”

“...”

Nobody responded, nobody attacked, some even left. So after a few seconds of waiting, I turned and walked off.

The others walked with me, nobody daring to provoke us.

Just like that, we left the Trenches.

Libitus chuckled.

“Wow. What an easy job.”

“Shut up.”

“Haha, I’ll give you some of my cut as thanks for lending us your infamous name, Mr. American.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just buy me a drink tomorrow.”

“Sure thing.”

He pat my shoulder as the pain in my mind shifted from stabbing pains to a hammering headache. I took out a stogie in order to help, but much of the damage was done via Aura instead of physically.

The reason I bled at all was because of a spike in blood pressure, my body reacting negatively to the crap going on mentally. If I had spent any longer within Apocryon’s Aura, then I probably would’ve had something like an aneurysm.

For now, I just needed rest and I would recover naturally.

Of course, we had to stop by our place of business first.

There, Plex had already arrived, surprised to see us so quickly.

I put my hand out, making him smirk and throw a bag of coin.

Inside was 150 thousand coin.

“Hazard pay. Now get out of here and prepare for the auction tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

I nodded before stashing the coin.

When I turned, I saw Rayla looking at me.

She smiled and squeezed my shoulder.

“Go rest up.”

I smiled back as she walked past and received her own pay.

After giving a goodbye to Libitus as well, I left and headed to my hotel room.

I also texted Umara, letting her know that I was fine.

Of course, she also came over once she heard that I was done. So I waited a bit for her to show up, bringing her to the room as well.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the energy to really engage with her. She saw the smeared blood across my face and helped me clean up before both of us went to bed.

Thankfully the cigar had helped me recover a good amount, allowing me to fall asleep in the first place.

I passed out looking forward to the auction.