Chapter 146. Vintert (1)
The spot where the flashes subsided.
There were no survivors among those swept up by the lightning explosion.
Ruin Costa.
Killed instantly with fatal injuries to his face and chest.
Scourge Moknen.
Blown apart by the earth magic that exploded from within.
Flame Mage Boldren.
Suffered a fatal wound to the heart, then struck directly by the following lightning explosion, electrocuted to death.
The rest of Costa's guards also died for similar reasons.
A petty ruler who had reigned in the west of Roafra.
Ruin Costa, who until now had killed hundreds of slaves for amusement, met the end of his life at the hands of a single mage. Even while accompanied by his most elite guards.
"That, that Costa...."
In the blink of an eye, Costa was dead, and with a few flashes of light, all of Costa's guards were annihilated.
Even after witnessing the whole series of events directly, it was difficult to comprehend. Samwell only opened and closed his mouth soundlessly, staring blankly at the present scene.
And Aiden and Charlotte were no different.
They had only cried out for help. Even knowing they would be miserably rejected.
But this time was different.
There was someone who took Aiden's outstretched hand, and with that, Costa—the nightmare they could not escape—was dead. As powerless as the siblings had once been.
The two had no time to wipe away their tear-streaked faces.
They stared vacantly ahead. Eyes filled with admiration, respect, and gratitude all intertwined. At the end of that gaze stood only the ash-haired mage.
Step.
At that moment, a shadow approached Verden.
The Butcher, Galliark.
He looked around.
Despite the battle that had just taken place, the interior of the restaurant was relatively intact.
At most, the floor had cracked a little and was scorched in places. Considering the destructive power of magic, the scene was strangely mild.
'Could it be....'
People assume that the higher the magic tier, the more dazzling it will be.
That was certainly true from the 1st to the 4th tiers, where most mages resided.
But that was a misconception.
Elemental magic is not a spectacle.
Its essence is destruction. If unnecessary devastation is reduced, and the focus is solely on killing power—that is, on the mage's purpose—then it means the spell has come closer to its true essence.
Concentration of power.
Like a swordsman who could shatter a building with one strike, focusing that might into a single point.
That meant only one thing.
"This bastard's 5th tier."
Verden did not deny it.
"Heh."
At the silence heavy with confirmation, Galliark let out a hollow laugh.
'What the hell is this guy?'
The 5th tier was a realm reached only after decades of effort, even for gifted mages.
Yet he had attained it at that age. And that wasn't the only astonishing thing.
Unlike other mages who specialized in a single element, he had clearly reached the 5th tier in at least two elements.
And when he had fought Moknen up close, his movements were not those of a mage.
He had surely used imbued magic to enhance his body. And not just a 3rd-tier enhancement. Most likely, even his imbued magic had reached the 4th or 5th tier.
In adventurer terms, he was a mage of mithril rank.
'No, higher than that.'
He was, quite literally, insane.
If his growth continued at this rate, what would happen? Surely, the balance of the world would be shaken. By an absolute powerhouse.
That was the very strength Galliark himself sought.
'It was a good thing I told him about Gray.'
Galliark sincerely thought so.
Because it meant a companion—or a milestone—had appeared.
Well, enough of those thoughts.
"Hey, Genius Mage. What are you going to do now?"
Costa was dead.
But it didn't end there. The man had ties to Vintert.
'The ruling powers of Roafra surely won't sit idle.'
Verden had no intention of letting this incident spread beyond Roafra. It would only cause endless trouble.
"I'll end the matter here and leave."
"In what way?"
He already had two solutions in mind.
After hearing them, Galliark looked dumbfounded.
"That's your solution? Fuck, don't you ever call me crazy again."
"So. You disagree?"
Galliark grinned.
"Of course not. On the contrary, I'm looking forward to it. But that aside, what about those two?"
He pointed behind them.
Aiden and Charlotte were still staring at Verden.
"I'll take them with me."
It wasn't out of simple pity. If helping just because they were pitiful was the right thing, then one should help everyone in the world. That was an arrogant and twisted benevolence impossible even for a god. And Verden was no saint to begin with.
It was simply that they overlapped with his past, and he had acted on instinct.
'But I won't just abandon them in Roafra.'
Even selfless aid comes with responsibility.
If he were to shake off their hands now, it would only lead to a more tragic end for the two. Verden could foresee such a future precisely because he understood despair.
"Hm, in that case...."
Galliark stroked his chin.
Then, as if struck by a good idea, he smirked wickedly.
"Hey, you're not planning to go to Vintert directly, are you?"
"They'll come to us even if I don't."
Vintert's eyes and ears were everywhere in Roafra.
The news of Costa's death would soon reach them.
"Then let's take over Costa's territory."
"...?"
"We can't just hole up in the restaurant, can we? Better to make it easier for them to find us. And while we're at it, we can replenish the money you and I spent at the auction."
Galliark's eyes gleamed with greed.
Though this situation was the result of Verden's actions, making the matter bigger here...
'Not a bad idea.'
It was worth considering.
But how exactly did he know where Costa's territory was?
"Ah."
Verden turned his head.
Their guide, Samwell.
Well-versed in Roafra, he hiccuped.
***
Moknen's warehouse.
One of the locations connected to Costa's mansion, where a lively atmosphere was in full swing.
"I won! I wonnnnn!"
Costa's underlings were gathered around a round table, playing cards.
Crumpled bills moved back and forth with each win and loss. Having just lost all his money in one round, Oric slammed the table irritably.
"Fuck, what the hell... Hey! You're hiding cards, aren't you? How the hell can I lose ten times in a row?"
"Maybe you're just unlucky? If you don't like it, why don't you shuffle? Oh, of course, only if you bring more money first."
Hehehe.
Laughter rang out.
Oric bit down lightly on his lips and gulped down the whole bottle of liquor. At least with this, he might make up for the loss, even just a little.
Thump, thump.
At that moment, a knock came from outside.
"Hm? Who could it be?"
"Isn't it Lord Moknen coming back? I saw him earlier taking those slave siblings somewhere. He must have sent his men to put the slaves back in storage."
"Ah, the ones he bought a few weeks ago? From a distance, the girl looked pretty decent. Wonder when he'll throw her our way."
"Shut up already. Hey, we're busy playing here, so you go check. If it's Lord Moknen, give the signal."
The only one eliminated from the gambling table was Oric.
Clicking his tongue, he stood and headed toward the entrance, when he spotted a bill on the floor. It must have blown away during the game.
"Oh."
As he bent to pick it up, a voice called from outside.
"Stinks of booze and drugs in here. Hey, Samwell, and kids. This is the place, right?"
"Yes, yes, that's correct."
"That's right!"
"Good, then...."
It was a voice he had never heard before.
At that instant────KWAANG!
With an eardrum-shattering roar, the entrance exploded. The half-crumpled, heavy iron door crashed down onto the gambling table.
The henchmen caught in the unexpected blast were all swept away, limbs bent unnaturally as they sprawled across the floor.
The warehouse became a wreck in an instant.
Oric blinked, his head turning back, then looked forward.
Where the iron door had been stood a Giant, holding a massive axe.
Oric let out a voice.
"Who...?"
"No need to know who."
Grab.
A calloused hand gripped Oric's throat.
"Here to take the spoils."
Crunch.
***
The head of Vintert's gambling and investment division, Robert.
Black hair down to his shoulders, a snow-white face.
With an intellectual appearance ill-suited to the underworld, he was, as always, seated at his desk, managing Vintert's finances.
He never borrowed anyone else's hand, and wrote every document solely with his own practiced handwriting.
That made the workload heavier, but the reliability was immeasurably higher.
Since Robert had risen to the position of division head, his authority had not weakened—instead, it had only solidified further.
Reward proportionate to immense results.
Robert held a unique position in Vintert, granted by the king of the underworld the authority to move even other divisions.
Clack.
Someone turned the doorknob.
As that state lingered for a few seconds, the traps set at the entrance naturally deactivated. It was one of Robert's rules, known only to a select few within the organization.
A man in a suit entered quietly, silencing his footsteps.
"Did the auction end well, Gail?"
"Yes, though there was some disturbance along the way."
"What sort of disturbance?"
Robert asked.
He needed to know even the smallest detail. Because even one could influence investment.
"Two executives from the security division, Rocky and Robat, broke into a room."
"The reason?"
"They kept failing to win bids, and because of that they couldn't buy Rocky's birthday present."
"That's unfortunate."
Robert's hands did not stop.
Without even glancing at Gail, he continued his work as he spoke.
"Add their disciplinary matter to the agenda for the next meeting."
"Understood. And here's the auction ledger."
From his inner coat, Gail pulled out a thick book and placed it on the desk.
Inside, all the details of the auction were recorded. Robert opened it immediately, his hands and gray eyes moving quickly. Pages fluttered, their sound brushing past the ear.
His gray eyes halted at one point.
"...The amounts are higher than expected."
"The competition was fierce, many items exceeded their expected value. Especially the artifact at the end—it was sold for over double its starting price, at 10 billion Elk."
The ledger contained all the details.
"Without even a bidding war, just 10 billion right away... Have you identified the buyer?"
"My apologies."
Vintert was the host of the auction.
Anonymous or not, finding out who deposited the money and bought the item was never difficult. And yet they couldn't uncover the buyer's identity.
'Perhaps a foreign power took part.'
Well, as far as Robert was concerned, profits had been maximized, and that was good.
What the artifact was used for was none of his concern. He turned the page again.
"And outside the auction hall, another issue arose."
"What issue?"
"Ruin Costa is dead."
Freeze.
Robert's hands stopped.
"I haven't heard of a territory conflict."
"It wasn't about territory. The culprit was an outsider who had joined the auction, one of those currently stirring up the streets. A mage named Asher."
"Asher...."
A 4th-tier lightning mage who had recently made a name.
Robert recalled the information about him.
"Related to Daiel, Beken's illegitimate son?"
"That's true, but looking at Costa's movements, it seems less like the son's revenge, and more that Costa tried to recruit Asher. Since he came outside his territory with his top guards."
"So their talks collapsed, and Asher wiped out Costa's group. Where is he now?"
"He's headed to Costa's territory. Also, two more joined his party aside from the original three—it appears to be the slaves Costa purchased recently. Perhaps the conflict arose over them."
A dispute over slaves.
Nothing unusual. Go deeper into Roafra, and slavery still existed. The gap with the outside world, where it was abolished, was only natural.
Some had once burned with righteousness, declaring they would liberate the slaves.
But every one of them ended up dead, either poisoned at a meal or stripped and beaten to death in an alleyway.
Perhaps this mage called Asher was one of that type, a man of justice.
'And instead of leaving Roafra, he went to Costa's territory.'
Robert could easily guess the meaning.
"He's waiting for us to make contact. He doesn't want the matter in Roafra to spread beyond."
There was no reason not to oblige.
Because Asher was, at this moment, the "special mage" whom Vintert—or rather, the peak of Roafra—was interested in.
"Of course you reported this to His Majesty?"
His Majesty.
That did not mean the King of Estiria.
"Of course."
Gail went down on one knee.
"The King of the Underworld said, handle it as usual."
"As usual..."
Simple enough.
Robert rose from his seat.
"Summon Draken, the head of security. I'll meet him personally."
As always.