Cyberpunk, but urban

Even though the bodies they were using now were not as useful as the ones they had in Lobotomy Corporation, the difference in experience still allowed them to easily separate all of the Run Agency members except for the two eighth-level finishers, Run and Ellie, into separate battlefields.

Therefore, the representative of Run Agency and his most powerful closer had to face Roland, the "Ninth-Level Closer" in person.

"Can't you even do such a simple task?" Run looked at the situation on the battlefield, and then he and Ellie faced Roland, who was holding a long sword.

"Haha~ Let me treat you to some bamboo shoots and meat~ It will be painful."

Ellie's chainsaw sword let out a startling roar, and the giant chainsaw spinning at high speed seemed to have no gravity in her hand. Before Run launched an attack on Roland, the chainsaw sword in Ellie's hand drew a delicate arc that made Run ashamed, and intersected with Durandal, which Roland raised casually.

"how……"

The next moment, Roland easily led the chainsaw sword in Ellie's hand to his side. If she had not let go quickly enough, the Durandal in Roland's hand would have opened a wound in her stomach that was big enough to make all her organs fall out.

"Ellie, retreat."

Run ducked past Ellie and threw an uppercut at Roland's chin. Then, the punch was blocked by the gauntlet from the Langya Workshop that Roland had temporarily materialized.

"Oh, I almost got hit." Roland said as if he was about to get hit hard, but the tone in which he said it made Run and Ellie wish they could tear a piece of flesh off him.

"Tsk, the situation is not good..."

In another reception room, Angelica had been struggling with the human-shaped mass of thorns that used to be Finn for a long time. She had tried every workshop weapon she had ever used in this meaningless beating.

But no matter whether it was the freezing effect of the Ice Workshop's Frost Gloves, the sword energy released by the Ink Workshop's Katana, or the special effects of any workshop weapon she had ever used, none of them could cause effective damage to these branches of the thorny flower.

As time went by, the atmosphere in the reception room, which had turned into a field of wild flowers, gradually became depressing. The sorrow that had once made Angelica sink seemed to be surfacing in her heart again.

At this moment, Angela's voice rang out in the reception room: "Angelica, we must understand his emotions in order to get him out of this state."

"What should I do?" Angelica asked.

“Open up your heart and feel what he feels.”

"and then?"

Angelica only had time to ask these few words before she completely let go and sank into Finn's pain.

"Then let him understand his feelings, let him accept them." Angela's voice penetrated the pain and penetrated Angelica's heart. Angelica gritted her teeth and opened her bloodshot eyes from the pain that did not belong to her, and said to Finn, who was bound by the materialized despair and pain:

"Finn...it was only your fantasy about your sister that was shattered. Your real sister is still alive! How long are you going to suffer here? It's time to face up to your feelings for your sister!"

"Face up to... your feelings?"

"Run! What are you doing!?"

Ellie fell to the ground after being pushed by Run, and Run, who was left standing, was pierced through the heart by the sword in Roland's hand and fell to the ground helplessly.

"...Heh, I just...don't want to ignore my own...feelings any more...I want to be turned into a book too...I didn't expect that my ending would be..."

"Fuck...Fuck!" Ellie, who was seriously injured, suddenly burst out with new strength. She raised the chainsaw sword that Roland had broken again and launched an attack on Roland that could only be regarded as reckless.

Outside the battlefield of the three of them, the assistant librarians on the general classification level were collecting the books from the finishers of Run's office. No one paid any attention to Ellie who was still struggling and Run who was about to turn into a book.

"You bastard... you said you were confident you could make a fortune... but now you leave me all alone! What the hell is this!"

"Ha... Ellie... You were just promoted to the 8th level finisher..."

Perhaps it was the hidden affection that these two people occasionally revealed that reminded Roland of the time when he and Angelica had just met. He was kind enough to let each of them take a breath before saying goodbye.

Chapter 85. Finding Myself

"My sister is still waiting for me at home...but...my imaginary sister died to save me..."

"Yes, your sister has died because of you. You should release this sorrow to your heart's content."

In the chaos and pain, Finn slowly opened his eyes. He knew clearly that his sister was still waiting for him at home. He also knew clearly that he was defeated by Ms. Angelica in the reception room of the library, but his imaginary sister Elvira turned from fantasy into reality and blocked the final fatal attack for him.

And the words that he regarded as the voice of his heart when he was confused did not actually come from his own heart.

"Mr. Finn, you should understand, if you return to reality..."

"...I have to face the fact that my sister doesn't have that kind of feelings for me, and at the same time I have to face the reality that my fantasy sister Elvira, who was willing to form a relationship beyond siblings with me, is dead."

Finn said to the voice. Having been awakened by Angelica, he already fully understood what would happen when he woke up.

"Then why do you want to wake up? Isn't it better to continue to indulge yourself and leave everything to instinct?"

The man's voice still echoed in Finn's ears, persuading him to indulge his instincts, to let his heart run wild, to let his heart ignore all the rules and do things he dared not do.

But…Finn couldn't do that.

He knew that the moment he opened his eyes, he would still have to face Ms. Angelica, the color-level finisher with the title of Dark and Silence, whom he could never defeat.

He knew that even if he broke free from this pain and dragged his broken body to stand up again, he would not be able to bring back the sister who had appeared in reality from his fantasy.

But he still had to wake up.

If he continued to sink, Sister Avella would definitely not be happy. Even if he died because of this commission, his Sister Avella would return to normal life after being sad.

But if he turned into a monster with only instincts, then his sister would be bound by him as a monster forever and would exhaust herself in order to turn him back into Finn.

"So...are you sure you want to deny my proposal?"

"I'm sure... even if I die here, I can't be the brother who drags down my sister."

After Finn followed his heart and told that voice his thoughts.

Another different voice sounded from his heart, blessing him: "Then... I hope you can always stick to your original intention. I hope you can turn this belief into the power to overcome everything."

When the blessing of the voice stopped, Finn sat up from among the countless branches of the wildflowers as if waking up from a dream, and looked at Ms. Angelica who was entangled by the wildflowers.

"Lady Angelica... Lady Darksilence. It is such an honor that my last battle is against a legend like you..."

"It seems that you have gotten rid of the distortion. But...what is that skirt you are wearing?" Angelica asked, pointing at Finn's long skirt of the same color as the hibiscus.

Finn also lowered his head as if he had just realized this, and then raised his head again with enlightenment: "I think... this may be the power I gained after I broke free from the distortion and strengthened myself?"

Finn smiled, and all the wild flowers in the room gathered around him, transforming into illusory yet real human forms, reshaping his broken and disappearing sister.

"...Does this count as the resurrection of the woman who just blocked my last attack for you?"

Angelica asked.

"No, this is just my commemoration of her... How can a person be resurrected after death? All we can do is commemorate her."

The branches of the thorn tree turned into a sharp thorn in Finn's hand. Holding the thorn, he started a new battle with Angelica again.

Finn, who turned his self-distortion into divine preparation, showed a defensive ability that was enough to withstand Angelica's attack. Countless thorns were turned into ashes under Angelica's attack.

Then, they grew again in the breeze that came from nowhere, becoming Finn's new defense. Angelica was blocked by these wild flowers and it was difficult for her to get close to Finn for a while.

But soon, both Angela and Angelica discovered that although Finn displayed defensive capabilities at the level of a super first-level finisher, he had almost no offensive power. The only thing he could use for fighting was the spikes formed by the branches of the thorny flower, which was not much stronger than when he used the dagger before awakening this set of divine equipment.

"Interesting... What gave you such power?" Angelica changed into the Roulette Heavy Industry's giant sword. Even a high-level finisher like her had to hold the heavy sword with both hands, but it exerted its due power and shattered all the series of Wuhua defense walls in front of her.

"Maybe it's my desire to protect my sister... I want to make my sister happy, I want to protect my sister, so this power from the heart showed me a defense that can block your full-strength attack."

Finn retreated backwards. On his way back, the wildflowers grew again like weeds that could never be burned out. In a flash, they turned into dozens of new defensive walls that blocked Angelica's way forward.

Angela leaned against the door, quietly watching the fight between the two of them. Whether it was the abnormal form that Ye Lan called "distorted", or his current state as if he was wearing ego equipment, neither of them was something that could be born in the current library in Angela's cognition.

"Finn, I have a question for you." Although Finn was fighting with Angelica, Angela still asked her question: "I remember when you first entered the library, you were expecting to be praised by the representative of the firm...but why do you think that you only need to protect your sister now?"

"Well..." Several vines emerged from Finn's feet and temporarily stopped Angelica who was approaching him with the two knives of Calista's studio. Then he said to Angela, "At that time, I just wanted to make a name for myself in order to get my sister's recognition. But now I think about it, I just want to have the power to protect my sister. Whether I can make a name for myself is not important."

"I see... Then I think this news will not affect you." Angela said: "When you were twisted, everyone in Run Office had already entered the library and was turned into books by us."

"what?!"

Chapter 86. The Book of Godly Finn

The news that the seniors in the firm died in the library and turned into books had a real impact on Finn.

Even though his divine nature was born out of his determination to protect his sister, and even though he knew that everyone in Jun Office was actually just using him, that was why they let him enter the library first.

But even with all kinds of bad aspects, Run Agency is still the first agency Finn has worked for since he became a closer, and everyone in Run Agency is his colleague, senior, and leader who he has been with for a long time.

Finn, who was distracted for a moment by the news of their death, was immediately found a flaw by Angelica. The Bulbous Wall, which was no longer under Finn's control, was bypassed by Angelica. In just a few seconds, Angelica approached Finn with her most handy Beech Workshop hammer and battle axe.

The hammer, spear and battle axe lightly slashed across Finn's body, and two intersecting streams of blood gushed out, dyeing the ground in front of Finn red. He was also sent flying backwards by the heavy blow and fell beside his sister made of hibiscus.

If Finn's ragweed represents his undying persistence, then when Finn falls, the ragweed figure that moves on its own as if by miracle and stands before Finn as the last guardian is the sister that Finn imagined, who has turned into pieces and dissipated, with undying tenderness.

Unlike Finn, who developed a divine weapon to protect his sister, the sister in human form has only one goal: to destroy all invading enemies for her brother.

As the thorns grew on the human-shaped hands and transformed into the weapons that Finn's sister was good at, Angelica's pursuit of Finn had to be temporarily stopped.

The attack from the bromeliad humanoid was so threatening that even Angelica was surprised. She swung the weapon formed by the flower branches and released the bromeliad petals. No matter what surface they fell on, they could quickly suck the objects underneath them to grow, providing nutrients for the fallen Finn to heal his wounds.

And the omnipotent sister in Finn's imagination, after mastering the human form of this Buhua, even has the uncanny strength to fight with Angelica.

"This is so hard to fight..." Angelica muttered to herself, and she replaced the weapon in her hand with a lance produced in the Arras workshop.

This lance has a special effect that can increase the attack speed by five times. Angelica raised the lance and suddenly launched a surprise attack on Finn himself.

Even the Wuhua humanoid, which had the combat power of a first-level finisher thanks to Finn's fantasy, lost the opportunity to react to such a sudden attack.

Unable to respond properly to Angelica's surprise attack, the Wuhua humanoid immediately gave up counterattacking and rushed towards Angelica's route at its fastest speed.

However, Angelica's target from the beginning was not Finn, but the rudbeckia doll itself. Angelica's full sprint speed was increased five times by the effect of the weapons in the Arras workshop. By the time her "sister" realized that her target had quickly changed from Finn to herself protecting Finn, the lance had already pierced through the outermost layer of vines and penetrated into her body.

The lance in Angelica's hand mercilessly pierced through the thorns that made up her "sister's" body, nailing her to the spot. Then, the one-handed war hammer produced by the Old Boy's Workshop fell continuously on her head, scattering all the thorns that made up her to the ground.

This time, even the "sister"'s undying tenderness could no longer protect her brother.

Finn forced himself to open his eyes and looked at Angelica who was walking towards him, and forced an ugly smile. He shook his head at his "sister" who was struggling to reshape herself, and said, "That's enough... I never thought I could rely on this power that came out of nowhere to defeat Ms. Angelica."

"In this city... how can there be a power that can be obtained without paying anything... a power that can surpass the power that a talented person has gained through long-term efforts..."

"Ms. Angelica... please take my apology to my sister after I die..."

Before Angelica could make a move, Finn, who could no longer maintain his divine preparedness, returned to his pre-distorted form, a form that had already been tattered in the battle with Angelica.

Then, he turned into a book in the light of the library and fell to the ground.

"Not one... but two?"

Angela walked forward and carefully picked up the two books. The cover of the first book was engraved with the words "The Book of Finn", while the cover of the second book was engraved with the words "The Book of "Elvira"".

Perhaps from the moment Finn gained divine power, his imaginary false "sister" became a real life due to the power of his inner emotions.

Angelica, who had ended the battle, left the reception room first, while Angela carefully placed the two books transformed by Finn and "sister" near the "Book of Run" and placed them together with the books of other people in the Run Office.

I think, after completing the plan of the City Book and releasing them, everyone in the Run Office will have a new life...

Angela returned to her curator's office with a barely perceptible smile. Roland and Angelica were already waiting there.

"Alas... they are just like moths to a flame. Although this guy named Run seems to have some brains, in order to get what he wants, he still rushes into the fire recklessly in the end."

Roland sighed. It was really not an interesting thing to fight against these eighth or ninth level finishers.

"I surprisingly had a hard time fighting here... I didn't expect that young man to be able to show such strength."

Angelica was talking to Roland, telling him what happened after he entered the reception room.

Angela walked into the director's office and joined the conversation: "At least... our actions are still decent. 'Many times, people's lives are taken without their consent.' Roland, I remember this sentence of yours very clearly."

"At least in the library, people enter the library with their signed consent, and are willing to risk death in exchange for what they want. There is no pressure or coercion in the process, and all gains and losses are their own choices."

"Yeah...at least they all agreed to risk their lives in exchange for what they wanted."

Angelica sighed. Perhaps it was because of the birth of the child, she felt increasingly weaker recently.

"Hey, no matter if it was for their own desires or for some other reason, since they did it willingly, there is no need for us to sigh over their deaths... After all, one thing is one thing."

Roland said.

Chapter 87: To the city, this is just the closure of a shabby firm

In a villa of unknown location, a well-dressed gentleman threw his phone into the trash can.

"That guy named Jun is really not good enough... But, the library..."

The sponsor who provided Run with a lot of funds for his operations called his servants and told them to send commissions to other firms he sponsored, asking these firms that were better developed and more capable than Run's to be prepared to find out more about the library that Run mentioned.

However, it will take quite some time for these firms to rush from the back alleys of the city to Alley 12 where the collapsed L Nest is located. During this time, the changes that this investor will bring to L Nest will not appear so quickly.

Ye Lan, who was outside the Run Agency, could now confirm that from today on, all the agents of the Run Agency to the closers who were still loyal to the agency had been killed, and the Run Agency had completely closed down.

"Luna, we should continue tracking the Puss in Boots."

"learn!"

The little girl followed Ye Lan with a giggle. From Ye Lan's perspective, the traces left by the alien seemed real, leaving a dark blue mark on the street where Run Office was located.