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Chapter 9

The victory was short-lived.

My vision blurred, and the world started to spin.

Every muscle in my body screamed in pain, and the sensation in my left shoulder had long since vanished.

A throbbing headache, dizziness, and stomach cramps hit all at once—side effects of the awakened state wearing off.

It was my second time experiencing this, but it never got easier.

‘...When I have some time, I need to start working out or something.’

Building up my muscles and body would solve most of these problems, but for now, there was nothing I could do but endure.

Still, I didn’t entirely hate the feeling.

Likewise, I could only feel this pain because I was still alive.

Yes, I had survived.

No, we had survived.

“We made it.”

Kayla broke the silence.

“We really survived…! We actually took down that monster!”

Despite how exhausted she must’ve been, her voice was filled with energy and relief.

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

It wasn’t just a platitude.

By the time I’d returned to the underground prison, the enemy had already been severely weakened.

Kayla had successfully landed her explosive Detonation spell, just as we had planned.

Because of that, I was able to pour the holy water and quickly push us into the second phase of the fight.

If I’d had to handle everything alone, it wouldn’t have been nearly as easy.

She had every right to feel proud of herself.

But she downplayed her role.

“What are you even talking about? You did all the heavy lifting. I just stalled for time.”

She replied in a rough tone.

“...Hmph.”

We exchanged glances in a brief silence before bursting into laughter at the same time.

After all, what did it matter? We were alive.

“That said, let’s get out of here. I feel like I’m about to die from hunger.”

I felt the same way. After a week without food, my stomach felt like it was glued to my spine.

“You got it.”

I nodded and walked over to where the corpse had been.

The body of the red-headed man had completely evaporated as if it had never been there.

Only a few items remained on the floor.

There was nothing unusual about it.

A servant’s body was reclaimed by the demon as part of their contract upon death.

Valefar must have taken it back.

With a soft clink, I picked up what was left.

A slightly rusted silver key.

The key to the underground prison.

“Let’s go.”

Finally, it was time to leave this accursed place behind.

***

The former third-rate mercenary and Captain of the raider gang in Sector 7, Dwat, opened his eyes with labored breaths.

“Gasp! What, what is this...?!”

Dwat quickly lowered his gaze to inspect his body.

He was tightly bound by ropes to a large stone pillar that had risen from the ground.

He looked around and saw that all the other members of the ‘Family’ were in the same situation.

"Ugh!"

Dwat tried to struggle and his veins bulged as he struggled with all his might.

But the ropes were so tightly bound that he couldn’t budge an inch.

After a long bout of struggling, a hazy memory began to surface.

“How did this happen...?”

It had been a week since they’d begun their search for the culprit who killed their leader.

They’d found no trace and were on the verge of giving up. But back at the hideout, they encountered a mysterious man.

At that moment, Dwat knew.

‘This bastard must be the root of problems.’

Just as he made his move, the man calmly placed his hand on the ground, and from nowhere, a deluge of water rained down on them.

Along with the water came a shocking jolt of electricity. He knocked out Dwat and all the other members of the Family.

Now, as he regained consciousness, he found himself in this situation.

“That fucking bastard...!”

“Ugh...”

At Dwat’s angry outburst, one of the Family members nearby started to wake up.

“C-Captain? What’s going on...?”

“What do you think? That person we ran into earlier did this to us!”

“H-Huh? He did this by himself?”

“Yeah! He waited until we were all exhausted from the search... That cunning bastard! If I can just get out of these ropes, I’ll tear him limb from limb!”

“...”

Dwat scowled as one of the members gave him a strange look.

“What are you staring at?”

“N-Nothing.”

“Spit it out, damn it! Don’t just sit there looking all confused!”

“Well... we’ve got over twenty people, right?”

“And what of it?!”

“For someone to take down all of us this quickly... doesn’t that mean he’s a pretty powerful mage? How do you plan to...”

“...Tsk.”

The man wasn’t wrong, and that only deepened Dwat’s scowl.

But he was the acting leader of the Family now, and with the leader dead, he would soon be the official leader. It was important to establish his authority early on.

Dwat yelled loudly.

“And so what?! You think I can’t handle him?!”

“N-No, I didn’t mean that.”

“Just wait and see! Soon enough, you’ll witness me snapping that asshole’s neck! Rahhh!”

Dwat let out a monstrous roar and twisted his body even harder than before.

His face turned beet red from the effort.

Perhaps the rumors of his strength as a mercenary weren’t just talk.

It was almost like superhuman strength.

Crack! Snap!

The ropes began to fray and thin.

The person beside him widened his eyes in amazement.

“Oh wow! You really are as strong as rumors out there!”

“Haha! See? Even as I get older, this strength won’t ever fade—”

But then.

Rrrrrrumble!

A strange sound echoed, followed by a tremor that shook the ground.

Those who hadn’t yet regained consciousness were jolted awake by the tremor and all eyes turned to the same spot.

“W-What is that?”

The stone wall blocking the entrance to the underground prison was slowly sinking into the ground.

Dwat muttered under his breath.

“...It’s him.”

Gulp.

The dry saliva just rolls down his face.

The mysterious man who had infiltrated the hideout.

At that moment, everyone was on edge.

Clomp, clomp.

Two figures emerged from behind the sinking stone wall, walking slowly toward them.

Dwat shuddered at the sight of them.

But it wasn’t from fear.

***

[PR/N- Pov changed to Dwat.]

Their first meeting was so sudden that he couldn\'t get a good look at his appearance.

The man had dark hair and eyes, that much he could tell.

\'He\'s just a beggar, isn\'t he?\'

From the haggard pupils like a dead fish to the pale face, to the tattered clothes, and the thin body visible within.

His hair was sticking up wildly, as if he\'d been electrocuted.

At a glance, his appearance was no different from any other beggar in Sector 7.

Moreover...

The man was actually in better shape.

Looking at the woman beside him...

\'Isn\'t that the girl Valen sold off?\'

A woman who was locked in an underground prison and forgotten about because he was so busy at that time.

It was definitely her, but...

\'Why does she look like that?\'

It\'s natural that she looks unsightly since she was a beggar to begin with, but now it\'s gotten too bad.

A body that was heavily tanned, hair that was crisp black, and dark circles under the eyes that reached down to the cheekbones.

She looked like she\'d been rummaging through a landfill for a week.

Although he had no idea what she had to do to make it happen, he secretly cheered.

\'A slight push could finish them off.\'

Subduing such weaklings would be much easier.

Unaware of his dark thoughts, the two beggars were chatting away carefreely.

"You even blocked the entrance?"

"I tied it up, just in case. You never know if someone might try to ambush us from behind during a fight."

"How did you create that stone wall? Last I saw, your earth magic wasn\'t at that level."

"Well... it just happened as I was working on it."

"...You\'re truly a freak."

‘Yes, they\'re overflowing with confidence.’

Thinking that, he narrowed his eyes sharply.

\'The rope is almost undone.\'

Thanks to his immense strength, the rope was on the verge of snapping.

It would probably come loose with just a little more force.

"C-Captain."

"Shh, wait quietly."

He planned to launch a surprise attack then.

Given how completely off-guard they were, the chances of success were high.

\'This will elevate my standing even further.\'

Everyone in the Family knew how strong that man was, even if the woman was an unknown factor.

If he could subdue him, his position would skyrocket.

He could claim the Family leader position with confidence.

As these hopeful thoughts raised the corners of his mouth, his eyes met the woman\'s.

"Hey, did you do this to them all by yourself?"

"Yeah, they are trying to find a way to escape."

"...Well done."

The woman sighed as if she had nothing more to say and opened her mouth.

"So, what are we going to do with them?"

"We\'ll have to kill them."

A shudder.

Everyone trembled at those words.

How could they make such a cruel decision without a moment\'s hesitation?

"What do you want to do?"

"Me?"

All eyes turned to the woman.

Gazes full of hope.

But the woman met their stares calmly and said,

"Why are you even asking? Of course we have to kill them. Who knows what they might do if we let them live."

"...!!"

There was no need to deliberate.

What reason was there for raiders who preyed on beggars to live?

"I see you think the same. Then..."

The man was about to step forward when the woman blocked him.

"Wait, I\'ll handle this. It won’t be fair if they die by your hand. After all, they\'ve wronged me before."

"...Alright."

Step, step.

The woman approached.

Although she looked shabby, even that appearance seemed like the approach of a god of death to my family.

"Ah... so this is how we die?"

The Family members trembled in fear.

But the woman just smiled contemptuously at the sight.

"Did you really think you\'d have a good ending, living like that?"

"..."

He had nothing to say.

Others knew it too.

That the path they had been living was by no means the right path.

But… …they still didn’t want to die.

He wanted to continue living even with the wickedness in their heart.

The moment the woman came close.

Snap!

"Hyaaah!"

He leaped up with a battle cry.

The rope was already broken.

He had a sharp dagger in my right hand.

The blade lunged straight for the woman\'s throat.

But…

There wasn\'t a hint of surprise on her face.

"...Of course you\'d do something like this."

Her voice was cold as if devoid of any emotion.

BOOM!

What happened next was beyond comprehension.

A purple light flashed in her eyes, and suddenly, a massive explosion erupted around her.

At the same time, Dwat, who was everyone\'s hope, flew away

THUD!

He slammed into the stone wall.

"...Ugh."

Thump.

He groaned and fell to his knees.

His eyes were unfocused.

The dagger in his hand clattered lifelessly on the ground.

Clang-

At that moment, everyone realized.

There would be no more surprises.

This was the day their Family would be erased.

"Die, you worthless scum."

***

[PR/N- POV changed to MC.]

Soon after it was evening.

Under the soft yellow light, Kayla, freshly washed and dressed in new clothes, held out a glass of wine.

"Did you see? How I blasted that so-called captain earlier?"

I couldn\'t help but chuckle at her triumphant voice.

Clink.

I touched my glass to hers and said.

"I saw. You\'ve improved a lot."

It was no surprise that the captain was no match for Kayla.

She\'s a proper mage now.

She mastered mana control and even flame attribute magic.

But beyond that, her growth was remarkably fast.

Now, if I\'m not paying attention, I might miss when she was using modified magic.

That\'s how comfortable she\'s become with it.

Slice, slice.

Kayla filled her mouth with a long meat she held in her hand.

I stared at her intently.

\'I want to take her with me.\'

After the past week, I\'d made up my mind.

I felt that I could accept her as my comrade now.

Though I couldn\'t blindly trust her yet, it seemed unlikely she\'d betray me.

\'She has some decent abilities too.\'

Her desperate wish wouldn\'t hinder our future journey.

But there was still one thing bothering me.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Hm? About what?"

"I mean, where are you going next?"

"Ah..."

Kayla swallowed meat and continued.

"I\'ll escape, of course..."

A small flame appeared on Kayla\'s palm.

Whoosh!

The flame illuminated her somber face.

"And then I\'ll go do what I need to do."

"...I see."

There was only one thing Kayla needed to do.

Revenge against the parents who abandoned her.

Though I was disappointed since I\'d considered taking her as a companion, I couldn\'t stop her.

Everyone has that one thing they absolutely must do.

For Kayla, it was revenge.

"Where are you heading?"

"Me... "

My goal had always been singular.

To catch Baal.

And to return to my original world.

Because of this, my path was already set.

"I\'m going to Sector 6."

Although my growth had been rapid, it wasn’t not enough.

I barely managed to defeat a mere red-headed minion and risked my life in the process.

I needed faster growth, more magic.

And entering Sector 6 would be the stepping stone for that.

"Hmm, is that so?"

Kayla looked at me with a meaningful expression and held out her wine glass.

"Then I\'ll see you there. I\'ll head that way once I\'m done with my business."

Her words made me smile.

Had my thoughts somehow reached her?

Or had my regret shown on my face?

Whatever it was, what mattered was that Kayla also intended to join me.

Clink.

"Alright, see you in Sector 6."

The red liquid inside the clear glass rippled.

Looking at that, I pulled myself together.

\'Starting tomorrow, it\'s going to be quite busy.\'

This rest was nice, but I couldn\'t let myself get too relaxed.

This cruel world wouldn\'t idly stand by while I took it easy.

But…

No matter what crisis was thrown at me, it would never be able to stop me.