Chapter 70: Would the Host like to use the Identity Shift card?
"...We need to get out of here right away."
The man in the shiny black jacket lowered his hat slightly, looking at the woman across from him, dressed in the same kind of outfit.
"That idiot merchant gave away our location. I noticed too late. So, once today’s target is found, we can leave right away."
The woman in question shrugged and let out a sigh, sounding thoroughly annoyed.
"Run again? Ugh, this is exhausting. When are we actually gonna get to live freely?"
"You talk too much," the man said, glancing around them. They were currently inside an abandoned bread warehouse—a dark space, crawling with insects, thick with the sharp smell of dust.
His gaze then drifted up toward the ceiling.
"Once ’they’ descend, believe me, freedom will finally be ours. ’They’ will be the saviors of this world ’they’ destroyed—we just need to wait."
The man’s smile widened, showing off a striking kind of fanatic devotion as he pressed his fingers together.
"You need to remember... that we’ve survived to this very day, all thanks to ’them.’"
The woman, of course, understood that perfectly well. After all, she and the man had once been nothing but worthless drifters, living on the streets, reduced to a heap of trash with no power whatsoever.
At least, until a man named Crimson came along and gave them help, offering hope, a light that let them feel what it meant to actually live again.
"I know..." That was exactly why the woman never once doubted a single word he told her.
Right then, the warehouse door swung open. A sliver of light spilled in, along with a man walking in unsteadily. His eyes were completely hollow, showing no sign of life at all, though his breathing body proved he was still alive.
The dark-skinned man walked a few steps forward, stopped in front of the two of them, then went still.
The woman glanced at her partner. "So, we’re leaving now?"
The man nodded. "Yeah. I’ll bring the prey along, we’re leaving right now."
But it looked like it wasn’t going to be as easy as they’d hoped. Because a woman walked in—short, dark blue hair, an exhausted expression on her face.
"Haah... could you two just give up already? I’m genuinely exhausted here," the woman, Bell, rolled her dark eyes and gave a small smile. "Two Awakened? Wow, what a waste. You’d be better off working for peace instead."
Even though Bell was only guessing, it seemed like she’d guessed right.
Both their faces darkened, recognizing exactly who Bell was. A direct disciple of a Tower Keeper, and someone who’d only recently reached the Luminous Soul Tier.
That alone proved she carried genuine talent.
Of course, the two of them were also technically right on the edge of reaching Luminous themselves.
But that would never be enough to actually stand against someone at Luminous, unless they were clever enough to outsmart their opponent.
The woman clenched her jaw, glaring at Bell with irritation. "Tch, shouldn’t it be you people who give up?! Peace, my ass! You killed my parents over something trivial! And now you expect peace?!"
The woman spat, a smirk crossing her face. "You’re a bunch of damn hypocrites."
"Hmm..." Bell mulled that over, then let out a hollow laugh. "So it’s the classic tale, huh? Someone who used to be good, turned bad because of circumstance."
"Unfortunately, I really don’t care about your backstory. Yeah, genuinely don’t care. So, save that story of yours and go whine to someone who actually cares."
"You’ve gone too far!" The woman’s killing intent surged, plain to see. Around her stomach, a mark glowed with a silvery light.
At the same time, in her empty hand, a staff slowly began to materialize—midnight blue, with a crescent moon fixed at its tip.
The man, who’d been watching silently, quietly manifested his own weapon as well—a short dagger with a pale green-tinted blade.
"So what if you’re at the Luminous Tier?! That won’t be enough to take both of us down!"
"Heh... how enthusiastic."
Bell wasn’t fazed by their jabs at all. She calmly manifested her own weapon, revealing a pale glow appearing right at the center of her chest.
Right then, a wooden staff materialized in her hand—a wooden staff with a thin chain, holding a small lantern glowing faintly with a teal-green light.
The air around them grew tense, atmospheres clashing against each other. Every stigmata produced its own distinct pressure, but stigmata already at the Luminous tier carried a genuinely different kind of power altogether.
Displaying an overwhelming, dominant force, enough to send a shiver through both of them.
"Well then, how about you two go first?" Still, neither of them could ever feel calm with every word Bell spoke.
***
[Would the Host like to use the Identity Shift card?]
"Yes."
[Please visualize the identity the Host desires in the Host’s mind, covering appearance, gender, personality, and habits.]
Eiros had finally decided to create a new identity here. Given that someone had been specifically sent to hunt down Black Genesis, and seeing just how sharp they were at sensing their presence, made Eiros realize they’d probably already tracked their trail and were heading toward the designated location.
He couldn’t risk letting his identity as an academy student get exposed, getting caught up in a fight against an organization that someone like him wasn’t even supposed to know about yet.
That was exactly why he’d decided to go undercover.
Eiros had already entered the western forest by now. It shouldn’t take him long to reach the warehouse.
All that remained now was the identity he needed to build. And since Eiros could only use that card once to create a single identity, he couldn’t afford to slap something together carelessly.
He needed to create an identity he could use as a fully realized persona with its own life, in stark contrast to Eiros’s own body, which was still just an academy student.
Then, since this mattered—since Eiros intended to use it as the identity for hunting down Black Genesis...
It had to be a persona that was free, unbound...
’I’ll set him as a wanderer. Looks don’t matter too much, but being handsome sometimes makes things easier.’
As for personality...
This part mattered. Eiros wasn’t sure—once he shifted into that identity, would his behavior change on its own, or would he have to actively force himself to act that way?
[The Host will become familiar with that identity’s personality, allowing the Host to act naturally, as though the Host has genuinely become someone else entirely.]
"....!"
’Rare for it to actually answer.’
Eiros gave a small smile, his lips twitching as he held back a laugh. His system was genuinely quiet most of the time, but thankfully, that strange thing was actually being helpful now that things were down to the wire.
Drawing a deep breath, Eiros looked at a building in the distance, an old structure that appeared to be shaking, weighed down by a heavy atmosphere and fierce wind.
"...."
Eiros stayed still for a moment, then took a step forward.
His appearance shifted right then, transforming into a figure entirely different from himself.
At the same moment, the warehouse exploded.
***