Chapter 2424

2424 - The Stalkers' Invasion

"Heh~" Another person nearby stood up slowly, holding a similar device in his hand, "With these scenes, we'll make a fortune when we drop them into the hands of the right people." Then he began tossing the device gently upward, "I don't know why more of these haven't spread, even though it's so easy."

The third of them stood and slowly moved toward the small vehicle, "Do you think all spy offices have cameras with this kind of power and precision? Hmph!" Then he quickened his pace, "Let's go before we get discovered."

"Discovered? Impossible." The first one began moving toward the vehicle calmly, "I can actually see the outer ring of the Note Fleets' defenses"—for him, that's the defense, since that's the known maximum range of their sensors. Heh~ They think their Lord is the only one who can invent a new machine.

Then his eyes gleamed, "When people truly want something, they rush to create it—especially when the whole universe unites against you; no matter what you do, you won't stop the tide." Then he waved his right hand, "What do you think about this, Meez? Hehe, the devices cost us 32 million Pearl, but these scenes will sell for ten times that price, haha."

*Silence*

"Meez?" The first masked person turned toward the second, and instantly his pupils dilated to the extreme as he stopped breathing...

The scene there had changed completely. His friend, who had been standing confidently, was now a corpse lying on the ground, with a head in someone's hand.

Someone...

It was a person dressed in deep black, with a floor-length black cape trailing behind him. A hood covered his head, and a calm, dark mask concealed his face. At his waist hung a long, slender sword, and beside it, a dagger half its length...

That person held the head in his left hand and the camera in his right... examining it calmly.

"Shadow Sword?!" That person took two steps back, then turned toward their third companion, who was on his way to start the vehicle—"Ah—"

He was in a similar position, his body sprawled on the ground beside the vehicle, his head rolling nearby, with no sign of anyone else in the area!

*Huum*

Suddenly, a change occurred in the place. From the camera, a light emerged, projecting a scene.

Of course, there was no sound due to the distance, but what was captured was clear... It was a scene of a number of Demons devouring flesh ravenously after removing their masks.

"Hmm..." Shadow Sword stared at the scene for a few minutes. "Couldn't you have pulled the camera angle back a bit to show the truth that they're eating a space beast? Poor thing." Shadow Sword crushed the device with his left hand—*crash*—then turned toward the last of them with drowsy eyes. "And what did you film? Let me guess, the joyful scene of removing armor, but you didn't capture the moment of entering the passage... correct?"

"..." The stalker took a step back, the fear in his eyes shifting into alertness and hostility. "Seems you've done your homework, little sword. These are the clips people pay big money for—the truth doesn't matter."

"What about the truth that you're as good as dead today? Was it worth it?" Shadow Sword tossed the head aside and began moving toward the stalker calmly. "You asked yourself earlier why there aren't many scenes like this circulating, but you were too stupid to answer that question yourself."

"Don't do this, sword!" The man quickly pulled two small energy cannons from his ring, one in each hand. "We're both craftsmen of the same trade—these scenes will bring us at least 250 million Pearl. Join me and let's split it. Use your head and look out for yourself first. Do you want to live as a servant your whole life?"

“…?” The Shadow Sword stopped, furious. “Comparing me to you? Comparing the Shadow Swords—an intelligence apparatus serving a great empire, every member of it one of its own sons—to you, you scum and rabble of the underworld? Tsk, tsk. The Shadow Swords’ old reputation must be erased in the near future.”

“You brought this on yourself!!” The stalker raised both weapons and struck. “Hyaaaaaa—!”

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

The two cannons fired hundreds of rounds within fractions of a second, each egg-sized shot capable of destroying a building. As the cannon drew its power from several Pearls, the stalker poured all his strength into his eye to track the Shadow Lord so he wouldn’t slip away.

But he noticed something strange. “…What?”

The Shadow Sword was advancing toward him with steady steps, gazing at him with drowsy eyes… while the shots passed straight through his body.

“Impossible—is this a dark illusion?!” The stalker began looking around like a madman, spreading his soul sense, trying to find the real body.

And every time he refocused on that same spot, on that same person… his frantic soul sense told him that was a real body!!

“What’s happening?” The stalker retreated but maintained his fiery density, striking every part of the Shadow Sword’s body until he even began blasting the ground beneath his feet out of desperation. “What’s happening—!?”

"Clown." Shadow Sword stepped through the dust and reached his target with ease, looking at him the way a mantis looks at a small cockroach.

His body at that moment was riddled with circular holes, and what remained of his body was real!!

"No..." The stalker took two steps back, "I've heard of this... I've heard... it was just rumors!!"

"No smoke without fire." Shadow Sword smiled.

"Y-you..." The stalker swallowed his saliva, "You're not Shadow Sword, you're..." His lips began to tremble, "You're the Shadow Sword of Darkness, spa—!!"

*Puff*

The stalker's head fell... Shadow Sword hadn't even drawn his sword or dagger.

"Hooh~" The Shadow Sword bent down and began collecting the space ring and anything else of value, then with a simple motion, he concealed the corpse.

Then he looked in a certain direction.

*Whoosh* *Whoosh*

There were several vehicles in the nearby space fleeing from a Phantom Shadow vehicle.

Then he looked in another direction and used the magnification mechanism built into his mask... There were visible explosions on the surface of another planet, clearly the Imperial Guard had found another group.

Then he frowned...

If clashes of this scale were occurring within this small circle... what was happening at the outbreak of the imposed borders? How many recording and intervention cases were taking place at this very moment?

“…The cameras that Soul Society started selling have driven people crazy.” Shadow Sword muttered, then went to clean up the rest of the scene.

After that, he would go back into hiding and wait for another unwary victim.