Chapter 87: The Inverted Pentagram

A few weeks had passed since Amon began laying the groundwork to bring down the pharmaceutical company.

During this time, Amon had prepared two major “gifts” for them.

The first was aiding Miller Pharmaceuticals to disrupt Neville Pharmaceuticals.

At the same time, he was securing vaccine victim witnesses to stab Miller Pharmaceuticals in the back.

Even in a world where law and common sense don’t function properly, securing around 100 witnesses and filing a lawsuit with corporate backing could deliver a significant blow.

While the law wasn’t a hammer, it could at least function as an iron club.

As time went on, the attacks from Neville Pharmaceuticals became increasingly fierce.

Miller Pharmaceuticals also noticed that victims kept disappearing, so they began sending assassins under the guise of silencing witnesses.

In response, Sonia primarily handled the former, while Amon took care of the latter.

“See you later.”

“Take care.”

With Sonia seeing him off, Amon left the house.

They were currently at the home of the 54th victim of illegal vaccine trials.

Normally, he would load the victim and their family into a car and head straight for the airport.

It was a straightforward mission that would end once they were on a plane bound for the United States.

However, since the 40th victim, Miller Pharmaceuticals had begun sending assassins, and Amon’s mission shifted to arriving ahead of them to protect the victims.

‘Cassie’s foresight makes this so much easier.’

Admiring Cassie’s ability to predict the assassins’ plans with precision, Amon exited the house.

***

He first headed to the garage to inspect the vehicle meant for the victims.

As expected, a bomb was installed.

It was the type designed to cause a minor explosion upon ignition, forcing the car to accelerate uncontrollably.

Then, upon collision, a second explosion would obliterate the driver’s seat.

Amon skillfully disarmed the bomb.

After handling the explosive, he stepped onto the window frame and leaped into the air, heading toward the roof.

He chuckled to himself at his habit of always seeking higher ground but focused on the task at hand.

He reached into his coat pocket, gripping the handle of his crossbow stored in a pocket dimension.

His sharp eyes scanned the street.

Seven assassins in total.

Excluding the hacker, who posed no real threat to him, there were six targets.

Amon memorized the positions of all six and the directions they were facing before making his move.

Descending from the building, he planted a bomb on another vehicle and returned to his position.

He targeted one assassin directly beneath him and two others nearby.

Leaping from the building, he fired his crossbow twice mid-air.

Thwack! Thwack!

The bolts pierced the temples of two targets.

The crossbow impressed him every time.

It was quieter and far more powerful than his pistol, easily penetrating the skulls of assassins with armored skin.

‘If only I could fix the magazine issue.’

‘Its only drawback was that it could hold only two bolts at a time.’

‘If that limitation didn’t exist, he might have completely replaced his pistol with the crossbow.’

As these trivial thoughts passed through his mind, Amon let gravity carry him downward.

One assassin realized something was wrong but didn’t notice the figure falling from above.

Silent as a shadow, Amon landed on the assassin and slit his throat with a reverse grip on his sword.

‘That’s three down. Three more and the hacker left.’

Using the wall for leverage, he propelled himself toward a corner and threw a dagger at a spot he had memorized earlier.

The dagger struck the head of an assassin before they could react.

‘Two left.’

Amon unsheathed his sword and charged openly at the last two.

They noticed him and drew their guns.

“Skull?! It’s him! Inform HQ—”

Before the assassin could finish his sentence, Amon’s sword pierced his throat.

Without hesitation, his blade struck down the final assassin.

Now, only the hacker remained.

The hacker frantically started a car and attempted to contact their base.

[HQ! It’s the Gray Ghost! The Gray Ghost has shown up—]

But the car exploded with a small blast as soon as it started, launching forward.

It slammed into a wall, crumpled, and triggered a second, larger explosion.

The skull mask watched the crackling flames silently.

‘Did I overdo it?’

Scratching his head in mild embarrassment, Amon gazed at the wreckage.

But his reflection didn’t last long.

‘It’s not like they saw my face, so whatever.’

The skull mask and robe were already well-known identifiers.

It wasn’t due to negligence.

In a world filled with CCTV, drones, and mechanical surveillance, becoming a perfect ghost without hacking was impossible.

This was a compromise Amon had made.

As long as his identity behind the mask remained hidden, it wasn’t a major issue.

‘My alibi is solid anyway.’

On record, Amon was currently on a skiing date with Sonia on the other side of France.

From an alibi perspective, it was flawless.

‘Miller Pharmaceuticals must be fuming.’

Knowing someone was targeting them, yet failing to stop witnesses from escaping, must be infuriating.

They might even suspect Amon and Sonia.

But they couldn’t act on mere suspicion.

Right now, Reketio was assisting Miller Pharmaceuticals in their cold war with Neville Pharmaceuticals.

If Miller Pharmaceuticals provoked Reketio and lost their support, it would create a headache.

In the worst case, Reketio might switch sides to Neville.

Using force was also off the table.

After losing their head of security to Amon, Miller Pharmaceuticals had limited resources to mobilize.

For now, all they could do was maintain their cold war with Neville and allocate resources to uncovering the identity of the Gray Ghost.

Amon justified the level of destruction to himself, thinking, ‘This much explosion is within acceptable limits. Anyway, as long as my identity wasn’t revealed, everything is fine.’

He sheathed his sword and returned to the house, where Sonia and the individuals he was guarding waited for him.

“It’s done. Let’s get moving.”

The man and his family nodded in agreement.

“Let’s use the car we brought, just in case.”

Although Amon had disarmed the bomb, there was no telling what else might have been tampered with.

They walked to the car parked a short distance from the house and got in.

The children were initially frightened of Amon in his skull mask, but their parents managed to calm them, and they quietly entered the car.

Once the family was inside, Amon and Sonia opened the driver’s and passenger’s side doors.

But before Amon could grab the steering wheel, he abruptly shut the door and shouted, “A…!”

Before the word was fully out, Amon’s sword sparked to life.

Kiing!

With the scream of steel, a massive chunk of metal was split in two.

‘What the hell?!’

Amon stared in shock at what his sword had just cleaved.

‘Was it a recoilless gun? An anti-tank rocket?’

He couldn’t tell without a closer look.

But one thing was clear: the projectile was no ordinary piece of metal—it was a high-explosive shell.

‘Shit!’

Amon cursed inwardly, imagining the lunatic gorilla who must have fired it.

The explosion engulfed him.

Boom!

“Aaahhh!”

The children inside the car screamed in terror.

Fortunately, the car sustained only minor damage—a few cracks in the windows and some shaking.

Amon had absorbed much of the shock, the car itself was sturdy, and Sonia had deployed a protective barrier in the nick of time.

Thanks to these factors, the family remained unharmed.

Sonia leaned into the car through the open passenger door and slammed the dashboard.

“Sebas! Engage combat mode and get moving!”

[Understood, Miss Sonia. I will wait at the designated destination.]

The monotone voice of the AI responded, and the car sped away.

A second shell was fired toward the retreating vehicle.

From within the cloud of dust created by the explosion, Amon emerged, cleaving the shell in half once again.

Boom!

***

The second explosion sent Amon tumbling across the ground.

Sonia rushed to him in alarm.

“Amon!”

“I’m fine!”

His immediate response reassured her.

Remarkably, Amon appeared almost unscathed for someone who had been caught in two high-explosive blasts.

His skin was singed in places, and his hair was frizzed, but his limbs were intact.

Amon gave a casual report to Sonia.

“I think I’ve got a slight crack in my bones.”

“I’ll heal you.”

A warm light emanated from Sonia’s hand and enveloped Amon’s body.

His wounds healed almost instantly.

She applied only minimal healing to his burns and didn’t bother with superficial injuries, as his body could regenerate them during combat.

In fact, they were already healing.

While she wanted to fully heal him, conserving her divine energy was essential given the uncertain battles ahead.

“Thanks.”

After a quick check, Amon rotated his arm to ensure it was in working order.

Sonia noticed his empty hand.

“Where’s your sword?”

“It got mangled.”

“Do you have more?”

“Four left.”

He still had three of his usual swords and one recently crafted by a dwarf.

Amon pulled out two of his original swords.

Sonia also readied her gun, aiming in the direction from which the attack had come.

Despite being in the outskirts of France, the area ahead was unnaturally dark.

No light shone from the streetlights or buildings.

Amon and Sonia kept their gazes locked on the darkness.

From beyond the shadow, the voices of a man and woman rang out.

“I told you they’d show up eventually.”

A woman with pink hair and a rocket launcher on her shoulder appeared.

“Seriously, who in their right mind would think someone could slice a high-explosive shell with a sword and walk away unscathed? Even with divine energy, that’s insane.”

A thin man in a full suit and fedora, his right cheek marred with scars, stepped into view.

Amon and Sonia’s eyes widened in recognition as the two emerged.

The man and woman were dressed in the attire of a paladin and a nun, unmistakably belonging to the Vatican.

Yet, they exuded an unnatural aura of divine power.

Even more unsettling, the symbol on their chests wasn’t a cross.

It was an inverted pentagram—the mark of a demon.

From the shadows, the man’s red eyes glimmered as he greeted them.

“Good evening, Amon.”

“You know me?”

“I know everything—past, present, and future.”

The man smiled, his lips curling sinisterly.

“Besides, you’re quite famous among our kind.”

As he finished, the man opened his mouth to introduce himself.

“My name is Valla—”

Before he could finish, Amon vanished in a flash.

Clang!

The man’s fedora was sliced off, revealing horns beneath that blocked Amon’s sword.

Amon’s expression turned even darker at the sight.

The man grumbled at Amon’s sudden attack.

“Sigh… At least let me finish my introduction…”

But Amon ignored him, shouting furiously.

“My mother wished for this! To cast you into the eternal flames!”

The man, now shaken, dropped all pretenses of formality and responded hastily.

“Hey, the Goddess doesn’t care about that!”

“Amen!!!”

Amon, however, paid no heed to his words.

Thus, the battle began.