đźź Chapter 49:
Number Four slammed into the door, shattering it completely.
Honestly, leaving the plan aside, that pistol could've easily been dangerous for me if the front bullet had been real — but I think the system used materials from the Industrial City, things that don't exist in the real world, to make it work.
[I built it in my own way internally — not like humans do. I don't make the impossible, but I'm certainly better than a human brain.]
"Well, that's actually reassuring… and surprisingly humble of you."
[I wasn't trying to reassure you.]
I went over to lift Haizen, who was struggling to move. He still looked stunned by what he'd just seen.
I put his arm over my shoulder to help him up. He looked at me and said,
"You're seriously suicidal… is your neck okay?"
"It's just a scratch. You should be worrying about yourself instead."
I then turned toward Number Five, who was frozen stiff after what he'd witnessed. I walked up to him, holding the storage stone in my hand. He looked at me, puzzled.
"Wait—why are you holding that stone? What are you planning to do?"
"Don't worry. It's part of the plan."
I pulled him into the stone. Haizen saw me and asked,
"What is this now? What kind of plan is that supposed to be?"
"Listen, I left the stone that releases things up there. Do you get it now?"
He went silent for a moment, then his eyes widened in realization.
"Oh… I see. Not a bad plan. Alright, let's move."
"Good. Now, take this…"
---
We entered through the shattered gate — and finally found Elithius.
In a grand hall adorned with strange decorations, he sat on a luxurious couch beside a man with white hair in a formal suit — clearly the boss — and two others in black suits standing behind him. They had to be numbers too.
Elithius's expression was cold at first, but when he saw us, it twisted into pure shock. The white-haired man, however, smiled confidently.
"Well, well… welcome, intruders."
It felt like they had been expecting us. One of the two men in black looked toward Number Four's collapsed body.
"Impressive. You actually managed to take down Number Four, you filthy little rats."
Haizen drew his sword, ready to fight, while I raised my pistol. But—
"Stop. You two can't take them on."
It was the prince trying to stop us. Haizen snapped at him,
"Listen, spoiled prince — we didn't come all this way to turn back just because you said so. Whether you like it or not, we're taking you back."
He sounded confident, but the stabs and the poison were clearly taking their toll. One of the men in black stepped forward and said:
"It's fine. Leave them to me — I'll handle this myself."
I smirked at him.
"Everyone who said that before you ended up surprised at how things turned out."
He started laughing.
"Oh, interesting. I'd love to see you surprise me."
Even though I couldn't see his face clearly, I could tell he was absolutely confident. Haizen didn't wait — he launched his attack, but his opponent dodged every swing effortlessly. No surprise there; Haizen's movements were sluggish from the poison.
My real target, though, was the boss himself. I aimed my pistol straight at him.
When Elithius noticed, he shouted,
"Wait—Takeru, don't do it!"
I didn't understand. Why was the prince trying to stop me? The boss didn't even flinch, so I ignored everything and prepared to fire — but before I could pull the trigger, the other man in black grabbed my arm.
"Not so fast, brat. You didn't think I'd just stand here and watch, did you?"
That voice— I recognized it instantly. It was the same man who'd defeated us before and taken the prince away. Number One.
That meant the one fighting Haizen was Number Two.
I couldn't move my arm — he grabbed my neck again, just like before, and kicked me hard in the stomach, slamming me into the wall.
"You're still weak, just like last time, kid. But I'll admit — I'm impressed you made it this far."
The other man — Number Two — glanced toward us while fighting Haizen.
"Oh? So these are the ones we sent Brenty to get the necklace from? Don't tell me you actually defeated him, you filthy rats."
He was talking about Number Five. They didn't know he was here — if they saw his current state, they'd probably mock him even more.
Haizen was still trying desperately to land a hit, but not once did his sword connect. Frustrated, he shouted,
"Are you just going to keep dodging? Aren't you going to attack?"
Number Two replied calmly,
"If I attacked now, it'd end too quickly. I'd rather see what else you've got — maybe something interesting, like what you pulled on the others."
The stronger the Numbers, the more arrogant they got.
I hate to admit it, but we were in a pathetic situation. Number Four had done too much damage to Haizen.
Even though we defeated her, the aftermath was still hitting us hard.
I shifted my aim toward Number Two to support Haizen. I had no idea what kind of ability he had, but I didn't have any better options left.
I fired a bullet. Number One didn't move. Number Two just stood there, watching it come. They didn't even understand what a pistol was.
But this wasn't a human-made pistol — it was crafted by the system. The bullet acted like a mini explosive. A single hit was enough to trigger a blast.
It struck Number Two's face— and exploded, just like with Four and Five.
"So? What do you think? Wasn't that the opposite of what you expected—"
My words stopped mid-sentence.
Even Haizen froze, waiting for Number Two to fall. But instead… the explosion disappeared.
It was as if nothing had happened.
"What… what just happened?"
"Oh, so that's how you wanted to 'defy my expectations.'"
Number Two stood there without a scratch, completely unharmed. He raised his hand slightly.
"Well then… how about I show you something unexpected?"
He pointed toward Haizen — who looked confused — and then suddenly… Haizen exploded.
The exact blast that should've hit Number Two had transferred to him.
"M–my… what just happened?!"
Number Two walked toward me slowly, confidently.
"You see now? You're not the only one with hidden tricks. Everyone has their own cards to play."
This… this was worse than I imagined. After coming all this way, we couldn't even fight back.
I looked at Haizen, lying motionless on the ground. I didn't even know if he was conscious.
As for me… all I had left was a pistol and a few small bombs — none of which would work against monsters like them.
Number Two now stood right in front of me.
My mind went blank. I had nothing left — no plan, no idea, no resource that could save us. The system was smart, yes… but even it couldn't make the impossible.
Could it really be… that after all this, this was where it ends?