Chapter 24 (Patreon)

The distance from Kyiv International Airport to the city center was not that far.

Ragnar Kagenou leaned against the thick bulletproof glass, watching the scenery outside blur past at high speed.

The convoy was arranged in a simple formation.

The lead vehicle carried only the driver.

Behind it was a car holding four Grade 2 curse users.

Ragnar had gotten lucky—he had the middle vehicle all to himself.

The car behind him carried the middle-aged man.

And the last one held the three Grade 1 curse users.

“How boring…”

The moment Ragnar muttered that to himself—

Boom!!!

An explosion roared through the street.

He stared ahead for a second.

“…Yeah. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

The lead car was blown off the ground by a rocket that struck beneath the chassis, flipping it over on the spot.

Right after that, dozens of explosive drones swarmed toward the convoy.

Then, suddenly, a wave of black mist spread through the air.

The drones were instantly thrown into disarray by the interference of Cursed Energy and crashed one after another before reaching their target.

“Cursed Energy mist?”

Ragnar narrowed his eyes slightly.

“So one of the Grade 1s finally decided to move.”

That was fine with him.

If they were willing to act, it saved him the trouble.

He glanced at the fallen drones.

“…DJI?”

Of all things, it was that kind.

In a sense, they had successfully created a world where only the driver in the first car got hurt.

Then—

Whoosh!

A blur moved at absurd speed, tore straight through the black mist, and swept the overturned lead vehicle aside with brute force, slamming it across the center of the road.

The entire convoy was forced to stop.

Ragnar looked forward.

“A whip?”

A beautiful woman stood atop the overturned car.

Her long blonde hair moved in the wind, and the atmosphere around her was sharp enough to split the night open.

Yuki Tsukumo.

Though of course, the others did not know that yet.

The order came immediately from the rear vehicle.

“Jujutsu sorcerer ahead. All Grade 2 curse users, get out and engage.”

The four Grade 2 curse users in the front vehicle jumped out first.

Ragnar stepped out after them at a much slower pace, taking his time like he was out for a walk.

The blonde woman looked down at them with a casual smile.

“Come on, Curse Users.”

“Step up and die already, alright?”

Her whip lashed down.

Slash—

Two Grade 2 curse users were cut cleanly in half at the waist.

Blood exploded into the air in an instant.

The salaryman curse user in the rear car went rigid.

“…This is a Special Grade sorcerer.”

The other two Grade 1 curse users beside him immediately stiffened.

“Turn around!”

“Take another route! Now!”

The two vehicles at the rear made a sharp emergency turn and sped off without the slightest hesitation.

As expected.

The Grade 2 curse users had only ever been brought along as expendable bait.

The two surviving Grade 2 curse users were already drenched in sweat.

Faced with Yuki Tsukumo, they could barely survive even her casual attacks.

One of them turned and shouted at Ragnar in panic.

“What are you standing there for?! Help us!”

“If this keeps up, we’re all going to die here!”

Ragnar gave a light shrug.

“No problem. I’m coming.”

Golden ripples spread behind him without the slightest attempt at concealment.

From within them, he drew Gáe Bolg.

Yuki’s eyes narrowed the moment she saw it.

“…What is someone like you doing mixed in with Curse Users?”

Puchi.

Before the two Grade 2 curse users could react, Ragnar thrust from behind.

The spear pierced through both of them in a single motion.

Blood flooded their lungs.

Neither of them could even get a word out before collapsing.

【Two Grade 2 curse users eliminated. Cursed Energy +20】

Ragnar shook the blood from the spear, then looked up at Yuki with a grin.

“Long time no see, Tsukumo Yuki.”

Yuki stared at him for a moment.

“…Ragnar Kagenou.”

“So it really is you.”

Then her expression shifted slightly.

“Don’t tell me you’ve gone rogue too. Just like Geto.”

Ragnar put Gáe Bolg away and laughed.

“Relax. I’m just fishing.”

“What exactly is there for me to betray?”

“And honestly, what’s so special about the kind of filthy holes Curse Users crawl around in?”

Yuki let out a slow breath, visibly relieved.

“If you’re going to do something like this, at least file a report first.”

“Otherwise, people are obviously going to think you defected.”

Ragnar answered instantly.

“Fine. I’ll do it next time.”

Yuki looked at him in silence for a beat.

Then she gave him a flat stare.

That tone alone made it obvious.

He would absolutely not be doing that next time.

She already knew there was no point pushing it.

So she moved on.

“What’s your assignment here?”

Ragnar asked casually.

Yuki replied just as casually.

“Can’t tell you.”

“You’ve got impressive professional ethics.”

Ragnar tilted his head slightly.

“Anyway, I’m here protecting a financier tied to a Curse User group. They came to Kyiv for something.”

Yuki sighed.

“You really just say everything out loud, huh…”

Then she folded her arms.

“I can’t tell you the full details of my job either.”

“But I can tell you this much—my employer here is Russia.”

Ragnar blinked.

“…That sounds loaded.”

Yuki nodded.

“The country’s been unstable for years.”

“The man you brought here could end up being the spark that sets things off.”

“So he needs to be eliminated.”

Ragnar’s expression didn’t change.

“Don’t worry.”

“He won’t live long enough for that to matter.”

Yuki nodded once.

“Then it’s safer if I move with you.”

“Do what you want,” Ragnar said. “But the three Grade 1 curse users are mine.”

Yuki raised a brow.

“Your people?”

“No.”

“They’re just my kills.”

That answer was immediate enough to make her snort.

Then she said, “There’ll probably be a protest in Independence Square tomorrow.”

“I’m guessing that’s their real target.”

“When the time comes, I’ll deploy a Curtain to isolate the civilians.”

“Just don’t let ordinary people get caught up in it.”

“No problem.”

Ragnar answered without hesitation.

Yuki took a step closer, then looked him up and down.

“…Still, if you just go back like this, they’re definitely going to get suspicious.”

A playful look entered her eyes.

“How about this? Big Sister gives you a few lashes with the whip. Just enough to make it convincing.”

Ragnar looked at her in disbelief.

“Get lost.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve got my own methods.”

Yuki looked genuinely disappointed.

“It’d only leave marks on the surface. It wouldn’t actually hurt, you know?”

“If you don’t disappear right now, I’ll stab you.”

Yuki rolled her eyes.

“Fine, fine.”

Then she got on her motorcycle and left without another word.

Ragnar walked back toward the jeep, only to find that the driver had already vanished at some point.

He glanced at the empty seat and shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“I already know where they’re staying.”

Back at the airport, the middle-aged man had told them the hotel name.

InterContinental Kyiv.

Not bad.

The place looked expensive enough to match the rest of this ridiculous job.

By pure coincidence—or maybe not—Ragnar ran into the middle-aged man and the others just as they were coming downstairs.

He raised a hand lightly.

“Yo.”

“Funny running into all of you again.”

The middle-aged man froze.

“…Mr. Streetlight King?”

“You survived a run-in with a Special Grade sorcerer?”

His shock was real.

After all, Ragnar was supposedly just a Grade 2 curse user.

The three people standing behind the middle-aged man, however, were not shocked.

They were wary.

Extremely wary.

Ragnar answered lazily.

“Got lucky.”

“She wasn’t interested in killing me.”

“I see…” the middle-aged man said with a stiff smile. “Mr. Streetlight King really is blessed with incredible luck.”

At this point, everyone here understood the same thing.

The man in front of them was suspicious.

Very suspicious.

But no one dared expose it openly.

As long as nobody tore the paper window, everyone could keep pretending not to notice.

The moment someone said it out loud, the fragile balance would collapse—and the middle-aged man knew perfectly well that if that happened, he would probably be the first one to die.

So even if Ragnar really was a problem, this was not the time to call him out.

Ragnar looked around at them.

“Why are you all just standing there?”

“Take me to my room.”

The middle-aged man hurriedly nodded.

“No problem. Of course.”

He quickly handed Ragnar a room card.

The three curse users exchanged glances.

None of them wanted to force the issue yet.

If Ragnar really was a jujutsu sorcerer, then at worst he was probably Grade 1.

And if all three of them acted together, they were confident they could kill him.

Tomorrow would be the ideal time.

Once everything started at the square, they could strike all at once and remove him immediately.

Until then, it was better to keep playing along.

Ragnar, for his part, also wanted to know what these people were planning.

There was no rush.

He could just kill them tomorrow.

Besides, with Yuki already prepared to deploy a Curtain, dragging this out a little longer was not a problem.

“Let’s go.”

The middle-aged man had no choice but to accompany Ragnar upstairs.

As they moved, one of the others spoke quietly.

“Follow him secretly.”

“No problem.”

The college student curse user, who had barely spoken the entire time, sank soundlessly into the shadows.

In the next instant, he slipped into the middle-aged man’s shadow and disappeared.

Ragnar caught the movement from the corner of his eye.

“Shadows, huh…”