Avoid Yandere Constellation

Meanwhile, at that moment.

‘Damn that main body!’

Kejun was cursing Kaine in his head while running frantically. He had, of course, understood Kaine’s intentions from the start.

‘He said it was a good deed!’

He had still held onto a small hope, but as expected, he was just being used as bait. Then, at that moment—

[The Goddess of Fate says to go left.]

Fate sent a message. The path she pointed out was leading him further away from the branch leader. Kejun nodded and followed her instructions.

“Haa…”

As he calmly continued his escape—

A man with narrow eyes appeared before him. That man was none other than—

“Jade…”

“Oh? You know who I am?”

Jade slightly opened his narrow eyes, intrigued. Kejun nodded as he looked at him.

‘I have to stall for as long as possible until the main body finishes its task.’

Whether Jade knew what he was thinking or not, he squinted his eyes and then spoke.

“I heard rumors that the David family had been gathering information on the cult along with Kim Soo-yong, but I never imagined you would even know about me. I thought I had kept myself well-hidden.”

“Well, it was tough figuring it out since you’re so thorough.”

“Hmmm… But you.”

Then, in a sharp voice, he continued, opening his eyes fully.

“Isn’t it way too obvious that you’re trying to buy time?”

“…Shit.”

This is why dealing with quick-witted guys is such a pain.

.

.

.

While Kejun was stalling Jade, elsewhere, Kaine was—

‘Where’s that bastard, Robe?’

Using his map ability, Kaine was searching for Jade’s subordinate, Robe. The key to this operation was none other than time.

‘I need to take him down while Kejun buys time.’

If not, the entire plan would fall apart. As he searched diligently using the map—

“Found him.”

Sure enough, Robe, who had appeared as a mid-boss in the original story, was there.

‘Just like in the original.’

Jade always had one subordinate with him, and that subordinate was always Robe. The reason was simple—among the branch leaders, Robe specialized in assassination.

‘That guy also had stealth abilities, right?’

Of course, unlike Jade, he wasn’t strong enough to use it all day.

‘Judging by the fact that he’s not using it now, he must have already exhausted quite a bit of stamina.’

While Kaine was chasing after him, deep in thought—

“You are…”

He finally caught up to Robe. Without a moment’s hesitation—

-Bang!

Kaine swung his fist at the slightly exhausted Robe. Robe barely managed to block it with both hands. Seeing this, Kaine quickly spoke.

“I don’t have time, so let’s skip the small talk and just take the hits.”

“You’re the one talking right now.”

Robe responded, looking dumbfounded. Seeing his reaction, Kaine—

-Click!

—pulled out his magic gun and pulled the trigger.

-Whizz!

As expected of an assassination specialist, Robe dodged all the bullets. Then—

-Whoom!

—he activated his stealth ability. Kaine used his presence detection skill.

If Kaine had been weaker, he wouldn’t have been able to sense Robe’s presence.

“I can feel you, dumbass.”

But now, Kaine was stronger than the branch leaders. And with Robe already exhausted, it was even easier. As Robe attempted to ambush him from behind—

-Boom!

Kaine fired his magic gun without hesitation.

-Splurt!

Dark red blood splattered into the air.

“Urgh! How?!”

Robe, clutching his bleeding shoulder, was now visible. Kaine looked down at him with cold eyes.

“I told you, no talking.”

With those words, Kaine fired again, aiming for Robe’s heart and head.

-Bang! Bang!

Robe’s body was riddled with holes. Kaine retrieved the crystal orb from his corpse and—

-Whoom!

—without hesitation, stored the body in his inventory.

[The Goddess of Fate is amazed by how easily you defeat branch leaders now!]

At that moment, Fate reacted in awe. Kaine shook his head.

“It wasn’t easy at all.”

It was simply a matter of type advantage, and Robe had already been exhausted. If that hadn’t been the case, even if Kaine had won, it wouldn’t have been this easy.

The subordinates directly under the executives were the strongest among the branch leaders.

“Anyway, time for phase two of the plan.”

With that, he smirked.

.

.

.

Meanwhile—

“Huff… Huff…”

Kejun was now exhausted from fighting against Jade. Jade, on the other hand, was calmly observing him with curiosity.

“Intriguing. I never expected a human to wield the power of a dragon.”

It was no surprise that Jade was astonished. After all, dragon power was a force that only the noble dragons themselves could wield. Yet here was a mere human using it.

“It’d be a waste to kill you.”

Jade was deep in thought, wearing a relaxed expression.

Normally, he would follow Andrew’s orders without question, but in this case, capturing Kejun instead of killing him seemed like the better option.

Having reached a conclusion, Jade spoke.

“Hm. I won’t kill you—I’ll take you with me instead. Andrew will understand once he sees your power.”

Kejun, panting for breath, was subdued in an instant.

• Thud!

•

He collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Jade took out a communication crystal and spoke.

“Robe. The target has been subdued. You may come immediately.”

“-Understood.”

Not long after—

“Thank you for blocking the escape route.”

“It was nothing, Sir Jade.”

Robe had appeared before him without a sound.

He glanced at the unconscious Kejun and carefully asked.

“Sir Jade, may I, in my humble capacity, ask you something?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I was just wondering why you chose to spare the target?”

“Hmm… Well, it’s understandable that you’d have questions. I’ve never spared a target before.”

Jade nodded as if acknowledging the legitimacy of Robe’s question, then explained.

“After fighting him, I realized he was too valuable to simply kill. His various powers intrigue me, and I’m also curious as to how he managed to sense my presence. Additionally, even if we do kill him, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to torture him first and extract some information.”

The biggest reason, of course, was the power of the dragon.

But there was no need to say that aloud, so he kept it to himself.

“I see. As expected of you, Sir Jade.”

In the next moment, Robe nodded with a deeply moved expression.

Jade, not even bothering to look at him, gave his next order.

“Then, carry the target.”

“Understood.”

Robe responded as he summoned an inventory near Jade’s side—

• Thunk!

•

—And, without hesitation, drove the blade of his magic gun into him.

Had Jade truly not anticipated that he would be ambushed?

“What?”

He slowly turned his head.

And then—

“Robe, what the hell are—”

He was speaking with a chilling intensity, but soon, his face twisted in shock.

It was because—

“You are…?”

The one who had stabbed him was none other than Kaine.

‘What? What the hell is going on?’

He was certain he had already subdued Kaine.

Yet, the man standing before him looked completely unharmed.

Jade quickly turned his head toward the person he had taken down earlier.

And then—

“?!”

The body began to fade into mist.

Realizing the truth, he quickly kicked off the ground and leaped backward.

“Tch… I see now. I was the one caught in a trap.”

That must have been a clone.

That was the only way to explain this situation.

‘Damn it. I never imagined I’d fall into a trap myself.’

As an assassin, he had always toyed with his targets.

Never before had he been the one to be deceived.

This was a humiliating situation for a high-ranking officer of the cult.

“Since when?”

“Ugh, guys like you always leave out the subject of their sentences.”

Kaine responded in a cold voice.

Jade scowled and corrected himself.

“Since when did you know I was watching you?”

“Oh? Ah.”

Kaine nodded as if he had just understood the question.

And then—

“Since you were in your mother’s womb, you bastard.”

He pointed his magic gun at Jade and pulled the trigger.

Jade clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Tch!”

He swiftly moved.

And as expected—

‘Good thing I dodged.’

The ground where he had been standing moments ago was now a gaping hole from Kaine’s attack.

Kaine smirked.

“Your movements are sluggish.”

He began taunting him.

“Tch!”

Jade gritted his teeth.

Indeed, his body wasn’t moving properly.

Each high-ranking officer of the cult had a specialized ability.

Take John, who was killed by the David family, for example.

He was tougher than most officers—

‘But he was slightly slower than the others.’

Jade, on the other hand, specialized in speed.

“If not for that sneak attack…”

But his durability was lower than the other officers.

That’s why his movements felt sluggish now.

In reality—

• Drip, drip.

•

—Blood continued to pour from his side.

“So? Why the hell did you try to assassinate me when I was just minding my own business?”

Kaine asked in a tone that dripped with sarcasm.

Jade narrowed his eyes as he observed Kaine’s movements.

‘This is truly unexpected.’

His body wasn’t responding properly due to the ambush.

However, that alone wasn’t why he was struggling.

Rather—

‘He’s strong…’

The Kaine before him was on a completely different level than the clone he had just fought.

Not only had he transformed into a dragon-like being, but he had also reinforced his body.

Even though his clone had displayed similar abilities—

‘The difference is staggering.’

Jade scowled as he realized something.

For the first time since becoming an officer, he was feeling true danger.

As he stared at Kaine—

‘I cannot allow you to live.’

—He came to a decision.

If Kaine was left alive, the consequences would be catastrophic.

• Vwoom!

•

Jade narrowly dodged another one of Kaine’s attacks and stepped back.

At the same time, he unleashed a thick, ominous energy.

“I acknowledge it. You are strong.”

“…No, you don’t have to acknowledge it.”

Kaine rejected his words flatly.

“That’s why you must die here, David von Kaine. If I let you live, you’ll become a massive nuisance in the future.”

With that, Jade merged with a high-ranking demon and vanished into stealth.

At that moment—

‘He’s definitely different.’

Jade completely disappeared from view.

Not only that—

‘I can’t sense him either.’

Unlike with Robe, Kaine’s sensory abilities weren’t working on him.

However, unlike his clone, Kaine had a way to counter stealth.

And that was—

‘Volume control.’

He turned his auditory perception to the maximum.

And then—

• #@&

•

A loud, piercing noise rang in his ears.

Now, all he had to do was find the closest sound.

‘There!’

Soon, he heard the distinct sound of someone approaching him.

Kaine immediately—

• Whoosh!

•

—Threw a punch toward the source of the noise.

“What?!”

Jade’s eyes widened in shock.

He quickly raised both arms to block—

• Boom!

•

—But he was too slow.

Kaine’s punch landed squarely.

In the next moment, Jade was sent flying into the opposite wall.

As he watched him crash, Kaine spoke in a seething voice.

“Consider that the first part of Sien’s revenge, you bastard.”