novelraw Chapter 129 : Phantom
Chapter 129 : Phantom
Chapter 129: Phantom
The night was pitch black, and rain poured down in torrents.
The mercenaries spurred their horses forward, charging toward the train ahead.
“Rumble—!”
Lightning flashed, thunder roared.
At the very moment the thunder sounded, several mercenaries at the rear of the formation trembled—then fell straight off their horses.
But no one noticed this strange scene.
For those mercenaries, their attention was fixed solely on the train drawing closer. In the pitch-black night, even their vision was unreliable. The torrential rain and howling wind drowned out surrounding sounds.
Thus, even as their companions fell one by one behind them in the storm, they remained completely unaware.
“Rumble—!!”
Thunder roared again.
“——————!”
A shadow flashed.
A mercenary riding at the back saw the companion beside him suddenly fall backward off his horse. Before he could understand what had happened, a spinning bullet pierced his forehead.
Without a sound, he fell to the ground—following his companions into death.
“Rumble—!!!”
The thunder sounded for the third time.
The train was now right in front of them.
The mercenary leader gripped the reins tightly, charging forward with all his strength. Then he leapt—landing onto the train!
“Quick! Everyone, get on!”
Stepping onto the connection between the carriages, the mercenary leader shouted, turning his head back.
However—
What he saw behind him was not the expected swarm of mercenaries.
It was… nothing.
“Crash… crash…”
In the pouring rain, everything was pitch black. His subordinates had vanished, as if swallowed by the night.
What was going on?
“Click.”
Before the mercenary leader could figure it out, a cold gun barrel pressed against his head.
He trembled as he slowly turned around—
Levi stood by the carriage door, smiling calmly.
“Alright. You’re the only one left. Surrender peacefully.”
“………………………”
Staring at the dark muzzle, the mercenary leader was dumbfounded.
At that moment, only one thought remained in his mind—
What happened?
What exactly happened?
This was also the question Adams and Hancock wanted answered.
After contacting the mercenaries through secret channels, they had been waiting for good news. But to their shock, after waiting an entire night until dawn, what they received was—
Total annihilation.
Every mercenary who attacked the Explorer train had been wiped out. The leader had been captured by Levi and handed over to the local Imperial garrison at the next station.
Only then did the two realize—
Their plan had failed.
“Damn it! How is this possible? Didn’t the Continental Council say those mercenaries had never failed?”
Adams slammed the table in fury.
Hancock, meanwhile, had lost all his previous confidence. After learning this, he immediately went to find their contact within the Continental Council—but the man refused to see him.
Clearly, they intended to distance themselves completely.
Once the Empire interrogated the mercenary leader, their involvement would surely be exposed. Hancock had no illusions about the man’s loyalty—he would likely sell them out without hesitation.
But what could they do now?
They had no way out.
As for what exactly happened, Hancock had no idea. He only heard from an informant that earlier that morning, when the Explorer train stopped at a station, Levi had disembarked with a man and handed him over to the Imperial garrison, claiming he had attempted to attack the train.
No further details were known.
Only that the prisoner had looked extremely terrified.
What exactly happened last night? Why had the attack failed? Was there a leak?
No—even if there had been, a fully armed group of dozens of mercenaries shouldn’t have been so easily defeated.
Forget it.
There was no point thinking about it now.
At this point…
“We can only go find that person.”
“You mean that assassin?”
Adams frowned.
“Do we really have to? Honestly, I think he’s… strange. And besides…”
He had been recommended by Claiborne.
Indeed, during their previous meeting, Claiborne had suggested they seek out a certain assassin. Adams had refused—he found the man unsettling, not normal.
So they had relied on their own connections instead—and failed.
“Now we have no other choice. We have to take the gamble. Let’s hope he’s as capable as Mr. Claiborne claims.”
“………………………”
Adams fell silent.
Hancock was right.
They had no retreat left.
“I’ll lead the way.”
Adams made his decision and stood up.
No matter what, what they were trying to accomplish could not be stopped.
It was for themselves, for everyone, for the future of Melisia.
Afterward, the two rode to a small hill outside Feihat City. Within the forest stood a small hut.
“This is the place?”
Hancock frowned.
The hut was unlike the square houses common in Melisia—it had a conical shape. Strange bones hung from the branches outside.
It reminded Hancock of childhood stories his mother had told him—to keep him from wandering into the forest—about witches who ate children.
This place felt exactly like that.
He even wondered if a witch truly lived inside.
“This is it.”
Adams dismounted, walked to the door, and knocked.
“Knock knock knock.”
“………………”
No response.
“Knock knock knock.”
He knocked again.
This time, the tightly shut wooden door creaked open with a low groan—like a painful wail.
Then—
A figure cloaked from head to toe stepped out.
Hancock could not tell whether it was male or female. But at first glance, it made his entire body feel uneasy.
Previously, he thought Adams had been overly sensitive. After all, they had already hired mercenaries—why fear hiring an assassin?
But now—
Seeing this being in person, Hancock finally understood Adams’ unease.
It was like something out of a story—a witch or a demon.
Even if it asked them to sign a contract with their souls, Hancock wouldn’t find it strange.
He had a feeling—
What stood before him was not human.
“My apologies for disturbing you again.”
Adams spoke with difficulty.
“This time… we hope you will accept a commission…”
“Heh heh…”
The figure let out a dry, eerie laugh.
The sound made Hancock’s skin crawl—it was like nails scraping against a chalkboard.
For a moment, he even wanted to turn and leave.
Was this really the right choice?
Working with something like this… could it truly end well?
“This is the payment.”
Adams handed over a pouch of money.
“The target is Detective Levi. There’s no time left—we hope you can eliminate him as soon as possible.”
“Heh heh heh…”
The figure laughed again and took the pouch.
Hancock instinctively stared at its sleeve—
But saw nothing.
The sleeve seemed to swallow the pouch like a living thing.
“Then… we’ll take our leave.”
Adams had clearly reached his limit. He turned and left immediately.
It might have seemed impolite—but Hancock understood.
This place was wrong.
Everything here felt hostile—like even the trees and the mountain itself rejected them.
The two mounted their horses and rode off at full speed, driven by an instinctive sense of danger.
As if staying any longer would lead to something terrible.
Only after returning to Feihat City, seeing the streets and crowds, did they finally relax.
They exchanged glances—
Only to realize their backs were drenched in cold sweat.
Was this truly the right choice?
But they had no way back.
For Levi—
It was the same.
Tonight was the most crucial night.
As the sun set once more, Levi narrowed his eyes, his expression serious.
From Mules to Feihat City—a journey of three days and two nights.
This was the final night.
Tomorrow, he would arrive.
Last night’s incident meant nothing to him. While the train robbery had been somewhat surprising, dealing with those mercenaries disguised as bandits had been effortless.
After all, in the dark stormy night, with 【Soul Sight】 combined with 【Ricochet Shot】 and 【Eye of the Reaper】—
Those mercenaries were practically blind.
Like low-level AI in an FPS game.
But tonight would be different.
Levi played with the Persuader in his hand, opening and closing it.
What exactly was the Phantom Killer?
According to his investigation, it was likely tied to primitive tribal legends.
But such tribes were small in number.
Even if all of them believed in the Phantom Killer, its power shouldn’t be that great.
Or…
Was it connected to the land?
At the very least, Levi was certain he had weakened it. During their encounter in Lexington, it had shown signs of exhaustion—its escape had been clumsy.
So—
Was this the relationship between the Phantom Killer and the Continental Council?
The Council used it to eliminate enemies, while the media amplified its legend to strengthen it?
Levi recalled a book he had read.
Names have power.
According to it, creatures in folklore always had simple, intuitive names.
Because legends must be easy to understand.
The Courtesan Killer—kills courtesans.
Vampire—drinks blood.
Werewolf—linked to wolves.
So what about “Phantom Killer”?
Did the term itself implant a concept into people’s minds?
Simple words represented defining traits.
What did “Phantom” represent?
Did knowing the name already plant something in the subconscious?
Was that the source of its power?
And the mission requirement—“completely eliminate the Phantom Killer”—
Did “completely” refer to this as well?
Before he realized it, night had fallen.
The carriage was dimly lit.
“Clatter… clatter…”
The sound of the rails echoed.
Levi stepped out of his room and headed to the dining car. Normally, it would be dinner time—but no attendant had come to notify him.
Strange.
“Click.”
He opened the door.
A flash of cold light—
A cleaver swung down at him.
Levi fired instantly.
“Bang!”
The attacker trembled and collapsed.
Only then did Levi see clearly—
A man dressed in primitive tribal clothing, face painted, brown-skinned, eyes wide, mouth open like a roaring beast.
It was the same face Levi had seen in Lexington.
“Click!”
Before it ended—
The door behind him opened.
Another man entered.
Same clothing.
Same painted face.
Same appearance.
“Ugh… kill…”
The man roared and lunged.
Just as agile as before.
Levi fired again.
“Bang!”
The attacker dropped mid-air like a broken puppet.
Levi didn’t even glance at him.
He looked back toward the doorway.
A third killer—
Had appeared.