The Black Saint is My StalkerCh48 - Forty-two-step skincare routine

There should have been a mission briefing at the local Hunter’s Guild. But due to some bullshit state of emergency or whatever, Han Li was so rudely notified that he only had five hours before being shipped off to the west coast. And he’d be stuck with the remaining batch of losers that were unlucky enough to get saddled with conscription.

In short, things sucked and he was grumbling a list of complaints while packing his bags. nCU iR

Graham told him to bring two weeks’ worth of supplies as though they were going a fucking vacation or something and Han Li almost ripped his hair out.

“Forgive me,” Graham had said, the phrase starting to sound annoyingly overused, “But it seems that I cannot join you on the journey. I have some business to attend to first before arriving on site.” His phone camera was angled oddly and Han Li kind of hated that the Saint of Eternity could look so good despite the weird angle.

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Han Li rolled his eyes at the news, “I’ll be fine, mom. This is hardly my first rodeo. You know that.”

“…Still.” Graham sighed, his face pulled ever slightly from displeasure. Han Li was getting pretty good at recognizing those little expressions. He knew that Graham especially didn’t enjoy being referred to as Han Li’s mother, even if it was just a joke. D7cMKb

“If there’s anything that might arise, you know how to contact me.” The Saint of Eternity pointed to his ear, prompting Han Li to do the same. His fingertips played with the cold metal and hung from there. Not only had Graham spent exuberant amounts on the piece of jewelry (Han Li checked the brand etched on the box out of curiosity) but he had also imbued it with a unique communication spell. It was even warded.

Han Li blushed and scowled, trying his best not to feel any flicker of emotion from the tiny gesture. It wasn’t anything special and didn’t even require much effort on the saint’s side. Even the money spent on the gift was unimportant to the black-clad idiot.

“Look, I get it that you’re like, a helicopter boyfriend or something but I swear I’m not some useless damsel in distress. I know how large-scale operations work. I know the process and the drill and all that. I might have never been a full-time professional but I’ve seen enough shit in Saint August’s honors program.” He waved dismissively before ending the video call.

From the depths of his closet, Han Li dusted off a large box, where he kept all his old hunter things.

In hindsight, he should have just thrown all this shit out when he called it quits on the Association but Han Li was sentimental. A lot of the items he kept from his old life beheld some level of sentimental value. The custom-made coat was rewarded to him after he and his buddies in Saint August’s completed three high-ranking missions back to back. The combat boots were gifts from Laura for his 19th birthday. She had jumped through several hoops just to give them to him before she went off to the Academy. He hadn’t even really gotten a chance to break them in.

And of course, there was his sword, Weian, a priceless heirloom that he received from his dear mother. While Han Li could never claim full mastery of the blade, he wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Weian rested within its sheath. Han Li sighed as he reached to pluck it from its resting place inside the box, neatly placed on top of everything else. A wry smile stretched his lips.

“Lfs, biv yevvs. Obbxr ilxf kf’gf yjmx lc yerlcfrr.” GcH9L0

…

Qtfc Ljc Ol ifoa tlr jqjgawfca tf kjr vgfrrfv lc tlr mjrejir, pera j qijlc ktlaf a-rtlga, ugfs rkfjar, jcv geccfgr. C klcafg pjmxfa kjr mjgfifrris atgbkc bc abq, yea lc ageat, Ljc Ol vlv cba gfjiis wlcv atf mbiv. Ccv qier, atf kfjatfg lc atf wlv-kfra kjr j iba wlivfg. Ktbeut la kjr vjgx, la kjrc’a vloolmeia ab rqba atf yijmx mjg atja kjr qjgxfv bwlcberis bearlvf tlr jqjgawfca. Mbg bcmf, la kjrc’a Xgjtjw.

Instead, there was a tall Eastern woman with waist-length hair, pin-straight. Her attire was entirely dark, from the sleek dress pants to dress shoes and the thin black jacket that rested atop her sharp figure. Too long, don’t read, she was basically Graham. But female, and Eastern. Even when she turned to face him, there was that uncanny lack of emotion to her face. There was a small smile on her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Han Li, I take it?”

“Erm,” Han Li shook his head, forcing himself to recover from his momentary stupor, “That’s me.” He jogged up to her, dragging his suitcase after him. When he went and reached out to take her hand in a handshake, she had expertly weaved around him and taken his suitcase before he could react. dCEXBl

Stunned, he could only stare at her doll-like visage when she held the handshake with determined firmness and spoke, “I am Jong Seoyun of the Jong Exorcist Clan. I will be the commander of the upcoming S-rank mission. It is an honor to finally make your acquaintance, Han Li.”

“Huh? Um, likewise?” he said awkwardly, frowning at his belongings that were now held hostage. “It’s fine, I can take my own things, ma’am.”

“No need,” she hummed. “Allow me to take care of it. After all, the Association has been troublesome towards you.” Seoyun completely ignored Han Li’s attempts at trying to reclaim his suitcase and maneuvered around him to the trunk. She didn’t even save him the dignity of opening the car door for himself and Han Li couldn’t help but feel like this woman had a troublesome personality.

Luckily, she was the commander of the mission, which likely meant that she wasn’t in charge of his particular unit. After all, Han Li could hardly even qualify for the lower-ranked clean-up crew meant as an entourage for the A-team. While it didn’t make much sense why said commander would be picking him up personally, Han Li felt immune to these strange, odd details after being around Graham for a period of time. JCzBqf

He sighed heavily and slipped into the car.

Only to be startled by a familiar voice.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

“To think that we would cross paths again so soon, Black Phantom of the East! Fate does work in mysterious ways it so seems. We shan’t question her decisions.”

Han Li almost spat. xWH0j

There he was, that bastard Seiji, sitting smug and comfortable with his arms and legs crossed. That cosplay-attire seemed fresh out of the washer, the jacket a pristine white. Though Han Li swore, he could see dark roots peeking through that flop of crimson hair.

Who the fuck invited this clown!?

More importantly, “What the heck is ‘Black Phantom of the East’ supposed to be!?”

Seiji’s ice prince expression broke with a childish pout. “What? You don’t like it? Or would you rather ‘Sovereign of Shadows’. Oh, I know. How about, ‘Half-Blooded Knight Prince’? Hm,” he nodded, his expression exuding satisfaction, “That one sounds good.” QP31AE

Han Li was so flabbergasted that he didn’t even buckle himself in when Seoyun stepped on the gas, effectively flinging him into Seiji’s lap. “Fuck!”

“I understand that you might be envious of my naming sense but know! There is not a need to fling yourself at my feet, for there are much more effective ways at professing your admiration.”

“Shut up!” Han Li shrilled, struggling to get himself back into his own seat without putting his hand on Seiji. “No one is professing anything.”

“Understood, Half-Blooded Knight Prince.” 2Vzxd8

“And don’t make up weirdass names on your own, you idiot!”

From the driver’s seat, Seoyun shot a glance at her rear-view mirror. She was not that old. But for some reason, looking at the two made her feel at least twice her age. Absently, she took one hand off the steering wheel and touched her own face, feeling for the plumpness and softness of her own visage.

“…” Maybe her thirty-step skincare routine wasn’t enough to maintain her youthfulness after all… Wasn’t there that one viral routine with forty-two steps? Seoyun needed to check that out.

… bolcmB

The whole city was vacated.

It was a process that began a week and a half ago, when the definite spawn location had been confirmed through the disturbances in the Edelstein Barrier.

The summoning site was precisely situated on the outskirts of the city, the remnants of a summoning circle were uncovered within an abandoned warehouse. While the ritual itself was performed months in advance, the demon was stalled from entering the mortal realm with aid of the Edelstein Barrier.

Within the last week, evil was beginning to fester on the land, attracting all sorts of devils and unsightly things to the city. But with the help of the Hunter’s Association, the casualties remained a staggering low. Things were under control. EVi0Nr

Above the city, a single golden chariot remained afloat without a sacred beast at its helm. Saint Miguel was given the option of an airship to ease the strain on his reservoir of divine power.

Said ship was definitely being prepared for his sake, but Miguel had already arrived on site a day early to inspect the parameters for his spell on his own.

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“…” A lazy smile stretched his lips. The Saint of Shields raised an arm, his hand opened as though to receive something from the heavens. The clouds began to churn, forming a circular void above the saint’s head.

A halo of light glowed above his dark brown hair. The heavens trembled and parted for seven golden spears. Each weapon was twelve meters tall. They remained suspended in the sky, forming a large circle above Miguel’s golden chariot, casting long shadows on the ground below. UZ4S57

The spears vibrated with holy power and Miguel felt his entire body and soul strain from their power. His arm dropped and along with it, the spears descended upon the earth below, etching deep into soil and concrete alike.

Miguel swayed on his feet, his hand grasping the edge of the chariot. He chuckled to himself, pleased. A golden light surrounded the summoning site, isolating it from the outside world. The stage was set; what was left was the actors.

Author: Thanks to a dear friend of mine for helping with Seiji’s weird nicknames. Ahem. Also I’m pretty excited to inch closer to the action weee @ w @;; I hope y’all like some good flashy flash sword go swooshy swoosh because I love, love action. Even though, erm, me writing action might be…something different and not as cool as I imagine TT w TT;;