Chapter 147. Vintert (2)
Kwa-jik! U-jikkeun!
From inside the building, brutal sounds echoed again and again.
Galliark, gripping Hwihwol.
Already accustomed to its weight, he laughed as if thrilled.
"Haha! No wonder it's worth 1.1 billion Elk, the impact is incredible. With this, I could crush through any armor. It was worth coming to the Kingdom!"
"Look ahead."
At Verden's words, Galliark turned his head forward.
Costa's remnants were rushing toward them with weapons drawn.
They faltered for a moment at the sight of scattered pieces of corpses and blood on the floor, but they did not abandon their murderous intent.
Costa's influence, his lingering fear still remained. Otherwise, they would not have tried to block the way so desperately.
'Costa is already dead, though.'
Galliark drew in a breath.
Gripping Hwihwol with both hands, he charged forward, smashing the floor beneath his feet.
Even from a distance, the crushing pressure of his onslaught could be felt.
Like facing down a runaway carriage, the sheer momentum overwhelmed the remnants.
He pulled both arms back.
A twist of his waist followed, unleashing explosive power. Strength and elasticity added together, Hwihwol's blade traced a diagonal arc.
Kwa-ja-ja-ja-ja-jak!
Shattered swords, split armor. Flesh and muscle ripped apart, bones shattered into powder.
With one swing, four were cleaved and hurled away.
He then hurled Hwihwol to kill two more, continuing the battle with his bare hands.
"Kwahahahahaha!"
His laughter, soaked in excitement, echoed.
One punch crushed a face, one front kick burst organs out.
Even in a narrow corridor, facing dozens, the butcher did not yield an inch.
Soon after, all that remained in his path were the ruins of the corridor and what had once been people.
"What, this is it? That's a bit dull."
Wiping the blood from his face, Galliark picked up Hwihwol.
He gave it a light swing, flinging away the blood and grease clinging to it in an instant. His body did not bear a single scratch.
"Wow..."
"...!"
"Is, is that really a human...?"
This was a different kind of scene than Verden's.
Far more brutal, primitive strength—Aiden and Charlotte's eyes gleamed at the sight. Samwell, however, was terrified.
Meanwhile, Verden incinerated the corpses into ashes, then spread out his mana detection. No signs of life remained other than Verden's group.
"Seems the remnants are all dealt with."
Now, it was time to find Costa's chamber.
It was Aiden and Charlotte's turn to step forward.
"This way!"
"Agh...!"
The siblings eagerly began guiding.
Dragged around these past few weeks by Costa and his subordinates, they knew the layout of the house well. The memories were painful, but it no longer mattered.
Costa, who had once terrified them, was nothing after all.
They had realized there existed someone far more overwhelming.
The two had learned of the world.
They proceeded deep along the complex corridors.
Before long, they reached their destination. Casting mana detection, they sensed a lavishly decorated room.
"No traps."
"Urah-cha!"
With Galliark's kick, the door swung wide open.
Even upon entering, nothing unusual touched their senses. After confirming safety, Verden took control of the entire room with mana.
All at once, furniture shook and the items hidden within spilled out.
Costa's ornaments and decorative weapons displayed along the walls, and even the safe concealed in the floorboards.
"Oh, that's a big one. I wonder what's inside."
Galliark grabbed the safe's handle.
Keys or passwords were unnecessary.
Veins bulged, Kwa-duk! The safe's door tore off.
Inside were brilliantly shining jewel cases, expensive ornaments, bundles of cash worth a million Elk, and several ledgers.
Verden and Galliark skimmed through the ledgers.
They contained records of narcotics and slave trade. Useless.
"Sure, if we sold this it'd fetch money, but... for someone said to be a power in Roafra, shouldn't he be sitting on 1 or 2 billion at least? Does this make sense?"
"C, Costa is a minor power. And in Roafra, power means business rights. Not cash or jewels, but the authority to generate profit—that's the greatest asset."
Tsk. Galliark clicked his tongue.
"What trash."
"Better than nothing at least."
Verden packed everything inside the safe into his spatial bag.
As Galliark suggested, they took Costa's territory, and even claimed the legacy he left behind.
All that remained was to settle matters with Vintert, and the Roafra affair would be over.
A desk at the center of the room, sofas encircling it.
Verden sat at the head seat, Galliark took the left.
Samwell, Aiden, and Charlotte hesitated before occupying the remaining seats.
...Silence fell.
In the awkward air, the siblings darted their eyes around.
With Charlotte's voice lost, Aiden carefully opened his mouth in her stead.
"Um... thank you for saving us."
"Agh...."
The situation had moved too fast until now for them to express gratitude.
The two bowed deeply.
Verden answered.
"Alright."
That was all.
He demanded no compensation, and yet he was keeping them safe. Why, the siblings could not know.
Silence fell again.
With their benefactor having said as much, Aiden and Charlotte did not know how else to express thanks. With nothing in their possession, they could not offer any return.
The broken flow made the air even more awkward.
Samwell, caught in between, felt it worst.
Not knowing when Vintert would arrive, remaining here was torture in itself. Restless, his trembling hand struck the underside of the desk.
'Ah!'
A mistake.
Tak.
Something fell to the floor.
Picking it up, it turned out to be a stack of cards used in casinos. The sound breaking the silence drew everyone's eyes.
Panicked, Samwell stammered.
"Uh... w, would you like to play a card game?"
***
Costa's territory.
Following Vintert's information network to trace Verden's group, they came upon a warehouse with its entrance destroyed. One of the passages leading to Costa's residence.
Entering inside and stepping into the corridor, bloodstains covered the walls everywhere, the stench of smoke clung strong to the nose.
Draken's eye twitched as he held a bottle of liquor.
"The smell is foul. The corpses were erased, but judging by the traces, more than thirty must have died here."
"Looks like they wiped them all out."
The burning of the corpses was done with magic.
But the making of the corpses was not a mage's work. The physical marks were clear. It had to be the Giant who caused trouble back in the casino.
"How does their skill seem?"
Draken closed his eyes.
He carefully connected the traces, the blasted iron door, the floor broken by a kick, and the various marks left in the corridor, then slowly opened his eyelids.
"Impressive."
"If you were to set a standard?"
"You mean in terms of adventurer rank?"
Robert nodded.
A mithril plate hung from Draken's neck.
Once a mithril-rank adventurer, he had drifted into Roafra and taken the position of head of Vintert's guard division, a powerful figure.
A fallen adventurer.
That was Draken's epithet.
"Looks to be upper-mid tier within platinum rank, at least."
"At minimum?"
"At maximum... he might stand on the boundary of mithril rank."
A 4th-tier lightning mage renowned in Gray, and a warrior bordering mithril rank. Quite a dangerous combination.
The likelihood was very low, but... should they harbor hostility, the resulting conflict might be far greater than expected.
"Would support be necessary?"
"Not at all."
Without hesitation, Draken downed his drink.
No matter how strong the liquor, mere alcohol could not have any meaningful effect on his body. Which was why he mixed drugs into it.
Drugs that enhanced physical strength, sharpened senses, dulled even pain.
The withdrawal was harsh, but it didn't matter. Taking it always with alcohol, he never had the chance to feel such symptoms.
Thus, he had grown even stronger than in his adventuring days.
Draken wiped his mouth with his forearm.
In his right hand was the bottle, his left resting atop the sword at his waist—his signature stance. Though it looked defenseless, he left no openings.
"I see. If you say so, then it must be so."
Draken and Robert advanced forward.
They passed through the corridor filled with blood and ashes, and approached a room where presences could be felt.
Draken opened the door.
"Ugh...!!"
"Oh? Sister won again!"
"Again? Damn it!"
Five people were playing cards.
Clank.
Draken closed the door again.
"...Did I come to the wrong place?"
"...."
The two heads of Vintert could not hide their bewilderment.
***
The ruling force of Roafra, Vintert, had arrived.
Samwell quickly vacated his seat, pulling Aiden and Charlotte beneath Costa's desk to hide.
He whispered softly.
"No matter what happens, you must not make a sound. Don't look out of curiosity either. Understand?"
The siblings covered their mouths and nodded.
Giving them warning, Samwell let out a silent breath. He tried to calm himself, but simply could not.
At the center of the room sat Vintert, two of its division heads. Existence on a level that small powers like Costa could not even dare to look at.
And the two facing them were likewise beings far beyond Samwell's understanding.
'No matter what, I must not interfere.'
Samwell clamped his mouth shut with all his might.
If necessary, he was prepared to hold his breath until he nearly fainted.
Behind him, the negotiation was underway.
Verden, seated at the head, faced Robert.
Beside them, Draken and Galliark, who had just suffered his eighth straight defeat in cards, sat diagonally across the table.
Robert spoke first.
"Never thought you'd be casually playing cards. Stronger nerves than expected. Then again, had it not been so, we would not have come here directly."
Robert turned his gaze forward.
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Robert, I oversee gambling and investments within Vintert. And this man is Draken..."
"Hey."
Suddenly, Galliark cut him off.
His gaze was fixed on Draken's plate.
"You're an adventurer? Mithril rank?"
"Former."
"Former? Then why still carry the plate?"
Possessing a plate without being an adventurer was a serious crime.
Even those who withdrew from the guild were no exception, no matter how high their rank.
Draken's eyes turned icy.
"This is mine. Why should I give back what's mine?"
"Right, no need to return it yourself."
Unlike Blood Sword, the man before him had no wide network of adventurer companions.
And he bore a plate unlawfully. By the guild's rules, that made him subject to suppression and repossession.
More than enough justification.
Just the smallest spark, and Galliark would swing his axe without hesitation.
He revealed the fighting spirit of a warrior against another strong man.
But the master of this room was Verden.
"Enough."
With one word, the atmosphere broke.
Turning his gaze, Verden continued the introduction.
"I'm Asher."
"Pleasure to meet you. Now that introductions are done, let's get straight to the point."
Robert's eyes sharpened.
"Did you know that Ruiying Costa had ties to our Vintert?"
"Yes."
"Then killing him means you knowingly accepted the risk. Either confidence as a mage renowned abroad, or simply looking down on Vintert... but since you didn't immediately flee Roafra after the deed, I doubt it's the latter. If we had ignored it and simply issued a kill order on you, what would you have done?"
"Were you planning to?"
"No. Had we, I would not be here in person."
Robert continued.
"Costa was notorious in Roafra for his twisted tastes, but when it came to the narcotics business, he was fairly capable. Over the years he brought considerable profit to Vintert. Normally, for killing him, you'd be executed as an example. But... it doesn't have to be that way."
"...."
"For Vintert, especially for me who manages funds, the most important thing is profit and loss. Not some pointless revenge that brings only damage."
"Meaning you don't intend to pursue Costa's death."
"The world is full of problems. To even concern ourselves with the problems of the dead would be an inefficient waste, wouldn't it? So, I'll leave Costa's death unpunished. Spending men, money, and time to kill you both would cost us too much in losses."
Of course.
"That doesn't mean there's nothing to settle."
Costa was publicly known as being affiliated with Vintert.
Yet he was killed within Roafra, brazenly. Naturally, they could not just leave it. To restore Vintert's damaged prestige, an example had to be shown.
"What is it you want?"
"Vintert will demand two compensations from you."
Robert raised one finger.
"First, Costa's territory. More precisely, all the assets and business rights he held in life."
Even Vintert did not directly control all of Roafra.
Their management system was much like a feudal state. Just as a king could not simply strip a noble of his fiefdom at whim, even if he wished.
But this case was different.
It was the form of reclaiming territory taken by outsiders. More than enough justification to convince other powers.
At that moment, Verden narrowed his eyes.
"And these assets, what exactly do you mean?"
"Literally Costa's legacy. The jewel boxes, the expensive ornaments... and of course, those two slaves hiding under that desk."
Thud.
The desk trembled.
Though they desperately tried not to make a sound, it was clear even from afar that Aiden and Charlotte were trembling in fear.
"Are those two necessary to you?"
"Not necessary, but not useless either. There's always demand for young slaves. If we find them masters like Costa, they'll fetch a high price. Why would I discard such assets?"
Robert tapped the back of his own hand with a finger.
"Asher, you killed Costa surely because of those slaves. But think carefully. To save them and make enemies of Vintert, or to leave them and safely depart Roafra. Which is loss, and which is gain, isn't it obvious?"
Abandon two unknown slaves to save one's life.
Anyone, everyone would make that choice. To saint or hypocrite alike, the fear of death struck equally.
Becoming Vintert's target meant only one inevitable end.
Robert thought the mage before him would be no different.
But.
"I refuse."
Verden answered.
Without even a moment's hesitation.