Chapter 29

‘He… He’s hereee!!!’

Gary's body trembled with excitement, his eyes wide as saucers.

He was overjoyed beyond compare.

He didn’t think he had ever been this happy from the day he was born until now.

‘H-he must have woken up due to all the noise…’

With that in mind, Gary convinced himself that the reason he had been screaming and shouting like a pathetic little rat was so he could get the Leader’s attention.

Yes… this was all a part of the plan!

His thoughts raced with relief at the sight of Leader Gus.

‘N-now that Leader Gus is here, I’m saved!’ he thought, a grin spreading across his face.

“Looks like you’re the only one who survived. Of all my capable men, it had to be you…”

Gary felt his body rise from the pool of blood. He was being lifted by the Leader, who firmly grabbed his head with one hand,

Leader Gus was an extremely robust man—many could call him very fat.

However, he wasn’t particularly obese. Rather, he proudly claimed that the reason for his huge size and round potbelly was due to the strong muscles he had gathered there.

The fact that he could effortlessly lift a grown man like Gary as if it was nothing only reinforced this claim.

Leader Gus was extremely strong!

“S-sorry, Leader. Haha… I’ll try my best…” Gary stammered, feeling dwarfed by the giant face of his leader. The man grinned at him with some sort of evil gleam in his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sure you will. But first…” Gus’ free hand was stretched out as if expecting something.

Gary felt confused.

He locked eyes with Leader Gus' raised eyebrow, but it took a moment for the realization to dawn on him.

“A-ahh… the ring!”

His only hand trembled as he struggled to remove the pouch from his crotch and present it to the overweight man.

Parting with such a valuable treasure was hard for Gary, but he was more interested in living.

Besides, he could probably get a cut from the whole thing if the Leader sold the ring.

‘We just have to get through these guys first…’ Gary mused internally as he dropped the pouch into Gus's awaiting hand. However, before he could finish his thought, a vice-like grip squeezed his head tightly.

“U-um… Leader, y-you’re squeezing a little too—”

~SQUELCH!~

Before Gary could finish his sentence, his head exploded into pieces, scattering pink chunks of brain matter and blood across the area.

His lifeless body fell to the ground with a heavy thud, naked and awkward in the pool of blood and vomit.

Before Gary could even realize it, he was already long dead.

**********

“Huhu… what a useless guy…” Gus grinned with a big ol’ smile on his face.

His flabby neck and chubby cheeks jiggled as he laughed loudly.

He gently caressed the pouch in his grasp, not even minding that it had previously occupied his subordinate’s nether region.

“I heard everything, you know? I’ve been awake for some time now, so I know…” Gus said casually, running his fingers over the pouch before flipping it upside down.

The gleaming treasure inside spilled into his palm, the ring landing softly amidst his plump fingers.

While he did all this, his audience—the pink-haired warrior, Aldred, and the leader Ralyks—merely watched in silence.

The initial two were standing a distance from the latter, since he had already said to leave it to him.

However, that was for dealing with Gary.

With Gus present, the situation had changed drastically.

“Oho! This looks like an amazing find! The craftsmanship… the Magic Energy… this is… I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

As Gus gleamed in delight, his overweight body danced in joy.

He was thick from head to toe, so other than his flabby cheeks and slightly malleable neck, the rest of his body was dense.

As a result, even though he jumped in excitement, his body didn’t jiggle all over the place.

“Where did this come from? Where did you guys get it? These sorts of exceptional stuff usually come with their distinct brand, right?”

Gus wasn’t answered by the ones who watched in silence.

Instead, they left the discovery to him.

As someone who had stolen many things in his life—and even had the opportunity to handle a few luxury items—Gus knew precisely where to check to find what he was looking for.

It took him only moments to find it.

And then—

“E-ehh… the K-KariBlanc… Group…?”

Gus stuttered in disbelief, the color draining from his face.

In an instant, all his excitement vanished, it was like he instantly knew how screwed he was.

Sweat beaded on Gus's forehead as he scrutinized the ring again, confirming the hidden logo that only experts would be able to find.

He wasn’t wrong.

The KariBlanc Group made it!

“H-hold on… this can’t be…!”

Gus exclaimed, his voice trembling with anxiety. The KariBlanc Group was notorious for not selling their items through third parties. Obtaining their products outside of their official outlets was nearly impossible.

They could also sniff out any trade in the Black Market—and even the surface world—that involved their goods.

They had a strict monopoly on certain types of items—especially in the capital.

And, it was rumored that they were deeply affiliated with the Obsidian Council.

Anyone who messed with them was as good as dead

Those who stole from them met miserable ends.

The few who challenged them were inevitably destroyed.

The KariBlanc Group was an incredible force to be reckoned with, and just recently they had started expanding their power.

At their current pace, it was safe to say they could become the most powerful of the Companies within the Black Market and perhaps even the mainstream.

Gus knew most of these things from hearsay, but as someone who had been in the game this long, he knew certain things were as immutable as death itself.

One of those things was the hierarchy.

“I-I deeply apologize!” Gus's voice quivered as he fell to his knees, disregarding the blood and gore that stained his body in the process.

At that moment, he was more concerned about sparing his life than anything else.

Even though it was his foolish subordinate who committed such an idiotic act, he knew he would be the one to pay for it.

Such was the law of this world of darkness.

"P-please spare me! I'll do anything!" Gus pleaded desperately, sweat trickling down his face.

He could feel his heart racing as a tense air of silence hung above him.

He felt like a blade might descend from above and end his life.

He also knew he couldn’t do anything if that happened.

Gus could only pray he would be spared.

“I told that man… that he wouldn’t die a quick death.”

As Gus heard the voice of the dark one known as Ralyks, he felt a chill permeate his entire body.

“Yet you killed him so easily…”

Gus instantly knew he was screwed.

‘I messed up! I screwed up! I’m so dead!’ His panicked thoughts were written all over his face.

“… so how do you plan on taking responsibility?”

The moment Gus heard this, he knew immediately that this was his only chance at survival, and he had to take it.

“T-the girl you’re searching for! I know where she is!”

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Guess it wasn’t the climactic fight you were all looking forward to.

Sorry… haha!