Black and ominous swords floated in the air and started slaughtering the soldiers nearby.
The once-grand mansion was already filled with the crimson glow of blood, and the ones responsible for the gruesome scene were those ten cursed swords that radiated a sinister aura.
Each sword wielded the skills of a knight at the peak of mastery, and though the remaining knights fought on with all their might, they fell one by one. They couldn’t overcome the demonic blades.
Amidst the massacre, a figure wearing a plain mask walked indifferently through the chaos.
“Y-You… What are you? What do you want to do something like this…?”
“……”
“Is it money? Or the non-humans? Take whatever you want! Just please, spare my life…!”
Shane, the masked figure, felt as though he was watching a play he had seen before, and walked past the pleading noble.
For a moment, the noble thought he had been spared by that indifferent gesture, but then a searing pain erupted from his chest. Looking down, he saw one of the very swords that had slaughtered his soldiers and knights was now buried in him.
“Urgh, urgh…”
As the masked figure continued walking without a word or explanation, the noble was gripped with a mix of terror and fleeting relief, thinking he would finally escape the fear that consumed him.
“Master, may I eat now?”
“Go ahead.”
As his consciousness faded, the noble couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread at the sound of a young girl’s voice behind him…
***
“Ugh!”
Dilaila who was hiding in the space of darkness Shane had created was finally able to escape once they reached the basement.
“Ugh… I never want to go through that again.”
Since she had an exceptional talent for reading memories from the earth, Dilaila felt the constant pressure of an unknown, massive presence while she was inside Shane’s shadow.
Even if Shane tried to conceal it, there was no hiding something like that, so it couldn’t be helped.
“W-Where are we?”
“This is a noble’s mansion. Up until two years ago, he was actively buying non-human slaves.”
“W-Why would you bring me to a place like this…?”
“You said you were curious about why you had to help me, didn’t you?”
“Well, I didn’t mean you should bring me somewhere like this…”
Though Dilaila felt obligated to cooperate with the masked figure who had saved her life, she still needed to know what she was getting involved in.
That was why she had asked the masked figure who had come to her home what exactly he was planning, which led to her current situation.
“You should be able to read it. The memories embedded in this place.”
“Ugh…”
She didn’t really want to know.
Two years ago, the memories of what Dilaila had experienced in the basement after being kidnapped by Count Salier had left her deeply traumatized.
However, on the other hand, as the sole survivor of that incident, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of duty to face reality head-on.
I’m stronger now, and I’ve got some influence. Maybe I can be of some help.
For the past two years, she had made a name for herself through various adventures.
If she raised her voice against this kind of thing, wouldn’t it have some effect?
No, that’s not going to work.
On second thought, even with her newfound influence, these were people openly defying the laws that even the Emperor of the Empire had forbidden.
Dilaila quickly erased that small flicker of hope.
“Ugh…”
Instead, she decided she was willing to help the figure in front of her if it meant uprooting people like them. Slowly, Dilaila began to read the various memories entwined with this mansion.
Among them were some most sinister, dark, and terrifying memories.
None of them ended well.
Dilaila barely suppressed the urge to vomit—
“Guweeek!”
In the end, she couldn’t hold it back and vomited everything inside her.
The memories tied to the earth were all filled with despair, fear, confusion, deep sadness, and hatred for the world.
It felt as if her mind was being tainted. Like she was no longer herself. And she got lost in that sensation.
Shane grabbed Dilaila’s shoulder.
“How did the scene created by a single human look to you?”
“What the f*ck, shit… That f*cking bastard deserves to die. Hell…”
It was only natural for Dilaila’s expression to harden as she stared at the corpse of the noble that was now reduced to nothing but bones and skin.
“What do you think would happen if people like him started appearing all over the continent?”
“Huh…? Th-That would be difficult, wouldn’t it? Not everyone is like that…”
Having seen her share of the world by now, Dilaila knew well that not all people were like him.
But Shane’s next words made her fall silent.
“What if it were possible?”
“….…”
The moment Dilaila imagined a world where such memories endlessly unfolded, she shook her head vigorously.
If it were her, she felt she wouldn’t be able to stay sane for even a moment in such a world.
“But why are you suddenly bringing up something like that?”
“There are people trying to make that a reality right now. What we’re doing is tracking them down.”
“Hmm… But is it really okay to just kill them like this? This is already the third one…”
Dilaila’s concern wasn’t unfounded.
For now, the nobles who were getting killed had their own secrets to hide, so their allies were unable to request help from the coalition.
But it was likely the coalition would step in on their own if this continued.
In fact, there were already signs of such movements.
“Don’t worry. Today is the last.”
“Do you have another plan?”
“This was just verification. Now, it’s time to meet our business partner.”
“Business partner…?”
“The dog butcher in the underground city. We’re heading to him.”
“Dog butcher…?”
Dilaila made a confused expression, and Shane continued to explain.
“All you have to do is guide us to him.”
“Uh… but I don’t even know who this dog butcher is.”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
“Hmm … alright.”
There was no reason to refuse the chance to punish some bad guys.
And so, the two melted into the shadows and disappeared once more.
***
Commonly known as the Dog Butcher.
The man in charge of the black market and auction house for the Four Families on the fifth floor. He mumbled to himself as he looked at the scattered newspapers.
“That makes three now.”
In the dark room, the dim light from a magic lamp faintly illuminated the space filled with antiques.
“Yeah~no kidding. Whoever it is, they’re making quite a sexy mess of things.”
The one responding to the dog butcher’s words was Miss Sue, a member of the Four Families who handled drugs, doping, and brothels.
“What do you think their goal is?”
The dog butcher smirked at Miss Sue’s question.
“You already know the answer. It’s clearly a message for me.”
The figure currently being called the “noble killer” from outside had become a major problem even inside the coalition’s society.
At the same time, many people were criticizing both the noble killer and the nobles who had been killed, because they had illegally bought non-human slaves.
The investigation had even revealed a large number of human slaves, which had further inflamed public opinion.
But neither of them cared about any of that.
They had long since realized that this was a signal from the noble killer meant for them.
“They’re showing us that the ledger is real.”
The other party was showing that Count Salier’s ledger was real without them having to verify it.
“Think they’ll reach out soon?”
“Hard to say. That one’s cautious, so who knows how they’ll make contact.”
“Oh my, cautious people must be extinct by now, right? This is someone going around killing nobles out in the open.”
“You should know just from seeing how they manipulate public opinion in the underground city. They’re thorough.”
“You’re not wrong~.”
With that, Miss Sue who was dressed in a gown that revealed her thighs crossed her legs.
“Well, I’ll be looking forward to what happens next~ after all, we’re twins, aren’t we? Let’s enjoy this together.”
“Just keep those junkies in line. Who knows what the others might try? If we’ve figured it out, they probably have, too.”
“Don’t worry about that. Well, I’m off. Alright, boys, let’s go~.”
With those words, Miss Sue left the room along with the slaves who had been holding up her chair.
The Dog Butcher who was now alone waited until Miss Sue’s figure had completely vanished before speaking again.
“Being twins doesn’t mean trust comes easy, especially if she’s plotting something behind my back. Isn’t that right, noble killer?”
“……”
In a room packed with antiques, a figure wearing a plain mask sat in a chair while staring at the Dog Butcher. No one could say how long they had been there.
“You’ve got quite the collection here. Your taste is refined.”
Fifth floor.
When Shane arrived at the dog butcher’s mansion and said those words, the dog butcher gave a faint smile and replied.
“Those are things discarded by people who don’t even know the value of the gold coins lying at their feet. If you don’t have an eye for it, you’ll end up buying something at a loss.”
“Then how do I look in those eyes of yours?”
“Let’s see…”
The dog butcher looked the masked figure up and down, from head to toe.
Decades ago.
Among the countless people he and his twin brother had encountered on their way to the top, someone like this was a rare sight.
“At the very least, you look more dangerous than those antiques you’re sitting on. If I were to consume you recklessly, I’d probably end up with a stomachache.”
“Is that so? You’re more cautious than I expected.”
“Hey, that’s just how it is around here. Do you really think you can survive in this underground city with brute strength alone? You need to know how to distinguish between what’s edible and what’s not if you want to make it out of the wild.”
“Then how do you see this?”
Shane, the masked figure, showed a thick stack of well-worn documents.
“Heeh, that looks like something filled to the brim with poison.”
“……”
“But, as they say, even poison can be used as medicine if handled correctly… I’ve heard from my brother that poison has its uses.”
“It’s all in how you use it.”
“How do you propose we handle this trade?”
“If the bid is successful, I’ll release the security enchantments. The date will be set for next week’s auction.”
“Good, good. Things are moving quickly. I like that. Understood.”
“Let me warn you in advance… it’s best not to get too greedy.”
“I just told you, didn’t I? Even poison can be used as medicine. I’m not stupid enough to try to swallow it all by myself.”
The dog butcher shrugged, and Shane placed the transaction ledger to the side before disappearing.
“He’s gone… hmm.”
Once he confirmed that Shane’s presence had vanished, the dog butcher slowly stood up and checked the transaction ledger.
The item, which he thought would cause quite a commotion even as it came into his possession, had arrived far more easily than expected.
Wasn’t it known that the fifth floor was so strong that even the Empire wouldn’t dare to set foot on it carelessly?
Like all families, the fog butcher who was in charge of the auction had put special effort into security.
It wasn’t just about setting up guards or laying traps. There was even a corridor partially based on ancient dwarf blueprints.
Since the dog butcher had installed it, no one had ever passed through that corridor without permission.
Shane had been the first to do so.
“He’s dangerous. Very dangerous…”
Had the other party harbored any hostility toward him, the situation would have been far different…
The dog butcher could only mutter to himself. He couldn’t fathom that a ruler of the earth, someone who had cleared the dwarf outpost dungeon, would be standing by Shane’s side.
He wiped away the cold sweat he hadn’t felt in who knew how long and began to store the transaction ledger. Then he started considering the security measures for the upcoming auction.
***
Meanwhile, upon returning to the base Adam had set up, Shane sent Dilaila to the Clayton family.
Because of the chaotic situation with the recent series of noble murders, he judged it better for her to be protected by the family rather than risk getting involved in unnecessary incidents. Dilaila also agreed.
“You’ve returned.”
“Yes. I’ve entrusted the items to the dog butcher.”
“Whew… The biggest problem has been resolved.”
Adam let out a sigh of relief, as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
In reality, Adam played a significant role in the recent events. Spreading rumors throughout this underground city without catching the attention of the four families’ information network was no easy feat.
“Now then, let’s move on to the next phase.”
“…Finally.”
“Yes. Contact the second prince of the Haiel Kingdom.”
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