The airship continued its journey.
Conrad kept the couple within his peripheral vision, careful not to stare or draw attention. He didn't waste the waiting time.
He maintained Ten with a thin layer of aura, and from time to time he shifted into Gyo, briefly strengthening his eyes to watch the flow of aura around the nearby passengers.
He also practiced entering and leaving Zetsu, timing the transitions until they became smooth and natural.
Three hours passed like that.
Then the couple moved.
They stood almost casually and gathered their things, as if heading for food or the restroom. Conrad noticed at once, but he didn't react. He waited, counting slowly in his head.
Ten seconds.
Then he stood. The moment he stepped into the aisle, he entered Zetsu completely, and his presence vanished.
He followed them at a safe distance. They walked into the airship's large central hall, where meals were being served.
It was crowded, and the two blended in easily, moving with the flow. Conrad stayed near the edge and tracked them without looking directly.
They didn't stop. After crossing the hall, they turned into a narrower hallway, and the direction was clear.
The captain's section.
Conrad slowed slightly and let the distance grow so they wouldn't notice him. No guards were visible yet, but that didn't mean none were nearby.
When the couple reached the end of the hallway, they exchanged a quick glance and kept going.
Conrad stopped near the corner and leaned lightly against the wall, still in Zetsu. He smiled.
So their plan is on.
Five minutes later the couple reached the entrance to the captain's quarters.
The hallway narrowed there and ended at a reinforced metal door, and the only approach was a straight ten-meter stretch with nowhere to hide.
Two guards stood in front of the door. Both wore dark suits and black sunglasses, and each held a compact scorpion-type machine gun at chest level, fingers near the trigger.
Their eyes scanned the hallway constantly.
The couple slowed. They traded a quick sideways glance, and neither spoke.
Conrad stood ten meters behind them, pressed lightly against the wall and fully suppressed in Zetsu. From the guards' point of view, only two nervous civilians had wandered into a restricted area.
The woman shifted slightly to the side, and her breathing changed.
The young man nodded once and slid a hand under his jacket. A small blade appeared in his grip, thin and sharp.
Conrad narrowed his eyes.
Is he going to try to kill them with a dagger? That's suicide. At this distance, guns would tear him apart before he took two steps.
Before Conrad could decide whether to step in, the woman suddenly screamed. It was loud and full of panic.
Both guards snapped their attention to her, their guns lifting a few degrees, the clicks of the safeties audible.
"Please!" she cried, falling to her knees. "Please don't kill me! I didn't know! I swear!"
Her voice cracked and tears streamed down her face as she pressed her hands to the floor. "I didn't know this area was restricted! I'm sorry, please!"
The guards froze.
What is this crazy woman talking about? both of them thought. One glanced at the other, confusion crossing his face. The hallway wasn't supposed to have civilians like this, let alone a hysterical one.
"Ma'am, calm down," one of them said sharply. "Stand up slowly."
She shook her head violently. "Please! I'll do anything! Just don't shoot!"
Behind her, the young man stiffened. His hand tightened around the blade, but he didn't move. His eyes were locked on the guards, waiting.
Conrad watched closely. It was a distraction.
As the guards stepped closer to the woman, their attention shifted fully onto her.
One of them lowered his weapon slightly, his posture changing from alert to cautious, and turned his head toward the young man, clearly about to ask something.
That was the moment.
The young man stepped forward without hesitation and slashed upward.
The blade cut cleanly across the first guard's throat. Before the body had finished collapsing, he took a short step to the side and struck again.
Two movements. Two cuts.
The second guard dropped almost at once, his weapon slipping from his hands as blood spilled onto the floor.
The hallway filled with the sharp smell of iron, and a lot of blood pooled across the polished surface beneath the two bodies, which twitched briefly in silence before going still.
The woman rose instantly. No trace of panic remained in her face.
"Take the gun," she said sharply.
The young man bent, grabbed one of the scorpion machine guns, and checked the magazine with practiced speed.
"There will be three more guards inside," she went on.
"When they come to see what happened, we shoot."
Conrad watched from behind as the young man wiped the blade against his sleeve and held it loosely at his side.
He's better than I thought.
The timing, the precision, and the lack of hesitation all said that this man had killed before. He hadn't relied on strength but on positioning and timing. If Conrad hadn't had Nen, getting close to someone like that would have been dangerous.
I assumed they wouldn't be good at close combat and wouldn't choose to act like this. Maybe my understanding of people isn't great, and I'm pretty inexperienced at this. That young man is either a serial killer or an ex-army type. Ordinary thieves can't be this calm. Of course, my comparison is limited to Earth, not to this world.
Very dangerous.
The woman dragged one of the bodies slightly aside, clearing the center of the hallway, then glanced at the door to the captain's quarters and listened.
Footsteps. The guards inside had noticed something.
The young man raised the machine gun and took a position beside the doorway. The woman moved to the opposite side and picked up the second weapon.
The nervous civilians were gone completely. They were ready.
Conrad stayed in Zetsu, pressed against the wall farther down the corridor. It would be best if the two sides cleared each other out, and then he could move in to strike.
He trusted himself, but he wasn't fool enough to attack into automatic submachine gun fire and try to block bullets.