Chapter 89: Identify Yourself

"...Haha, this has to be a joke, right?" Wilson watched from atop the building. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling nervously, drenched in cold sweat.

His gaze stayed fixed on the area below, completely swallowed by the ring of white fog generated by the snowstorm.

He couldn’t see what was actually happening down there, but did that even matter?

The outcome had already been settled.

’A B-Grade Skill I’m seeing for the very first time, this makes no sense.’

Even from up here, Wilson could feel just how bitterly cold that wind was, cutting straight through skin down to the bone down there.

Just moments ago, he’d been thinking about how clumsy the man’s fighting looked, every movement felt rushed, inexperienced.

But beneath all that clumsiness, Wilson couldn’t deny one thing. Every single decision that man made ultimately created exactly the opening he needed.

’So, what is this really? Is this what it means to be the one fated, according to Miss Ilunia’s vision?’

The man had exploited his status as a Rank-E, someone who shouldn’t have possessed this many skills, catching the assassin off guard, someone accustomed to that standard, into believing he’d already won.

And who could have predicted that?

Even Wilson himself wasn’t confident he’d have handled a situation like this any better, had he been in the assassin’s position.

No Rank-E Hunter would ever choose Afterimage as one of their starter skills.

Wilson took a breath, feeling his lungs sting slightly from the cold, the smile on his face widening a bit.

"What kind of monster did you actually see in the future? If the current him is already full of surprises like this."

Wilson didn’t need any confirmation from Ilunia. He could already guess there was some condition preventing this man from having reached the level worthy of being humanity’s salvation just yet.

He only needed to know that, in the future, this man would eventually become the very salvation they worshipped.

That’s the reason why Ilunia always took matters into her own hands to clear the man’s path, to make sure not a single thing went wrong.

Wilson stayed quiet for a moment, then took a single step off the edge into the open air. His body drifted down gently, wind swirling around him.

Down below, the snowstorm had finally settled, revealing the assassin’s body, torn apart and scattered. Meanwhile, the man, Julian, stood there calmly.

Wilson’s feet touched the frozen, snow-covered street, and his gaze landed on Julian, who immediately turned to face him.

Their eyes met, and the next instant, Julian raised his sword, holding it up as though bracing for another fight.

His expression stayed blank, emotionless, his dark eyes meeting Wilson’s, producing a genuinely unpleasant sensation.

Still, Wilson brushed all of that aside and quickly bowed his head.

"I’m not an enemy, Lord Julian."

His voice got swallowed up by the cold wind, leaving the next few seconds in an awkward silence.

But it didn’t take long before Julian finally spoke.

"Identify yourself."

Wilson quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a stiff, solid card.

It was a license card proving he was an official Hunter, one with no criminal record whatsoever, currently.

"My name is Wilson, and I’m an officer."

Of course, Wilson might have been lying. But he wasn’t entirely lying either, he’d retired from his job as an officer occasionally deployed by the Association to handle certain matters in Central.

And, even after retirement, his status as an officer could still prove useful whenever he wanted to help with a matter like this one.

Meanwhile, Julian stayed silent. What was running through his head wasn’t something Wilson could know, but perhaps it was simply his way of showing he still had his doubts.

Wilson hesitated, then spoke again:

"We know the one who attacked you was an assassin. Apologies for the delay, you’re free to go, and we’ll handle the rest." Wilson blinked, receiving no response, and decided to continue. "And, that assassin was a fairly well-known bounty. We’ll be sending a sum of credits your way, matching that bounty’s value."

’Is that enough?’ Wilson had already said quite a lot, he could only hope it was enough to earn some trust.

But Julian didn’t so much as blink or move, simply standing there in silence, saying nothing at all.

That made Wilson’s brow furrow, sensing something was off.

And, right as Wilson realized it, Julian’s body before him had already shattered into fragments of light, leaving Wilson standing there alone, eyes wide with shock.

His lips twitched, holding back laughter, then he raised a hand and wiped his face.

"So, I was just talking to myself this whole time?"

He genuinely hadn’t realized that Julian had deliberately kept him talking, only to trick him and slip away entirely.

Still, what could Wilson do about it?

"Not just strange, but also remarkably sly."

Wilson let out a small sigh, unsure what else to say. But since things had turned out this way, well, so be it.

He lifted his gaze and raised a hand toward the sky, and right then, his companions emerged, carrying the bodies of the other assassins, all of them killed in complete silence.

"Wilson, what should we do now?"

"What else?" Wilson replied, amused, as one of them asked.

What were they supposed to do with the bodies and this mess?

"Let’s clean this mess up first," he said, then, recalling what Ilunia had told him, Wilson found himself even more amused, nearly bursting into laughter. "As for these corpses... well... let’s turn them into a gift, exactly as Miss Ilunia said."

Wilson didn’t fully understand what Ilunia had seen, but so far, every decision she’d ever made always carried a clear reason behind it.

So, even though this particular request sounded genuinely extreme, carrying the potential for enormous consequences...

Wilson didn’t care.

If anything, he felt a flicker of genuine curiosity. What would come of this?

What kind of advantage could actually be gained from all of this?