Chapter 55

Gary’s eyes were seeing red.

A blurry, nauseating sight of danger and death clouded his vision.

Death was no stranger to him; he had seen his fair share of it, along with pain and gore.

But, nothing he had ever experienced compared to this moment.

Seeing his comrades—the ones he joked and played games with earlier—reduced to mere lifeless chunks of meat, caused his stomach to churn and his throat to burn.

Were it not for the searing pain in his arm, and the certainty of death that weighed heavily on him, Gary was certain that he would have vomited once again.

“G-guahhh… ahhh… arghhh…” Tears mixed with drool slipped down his face, and mucus flowed from his nose and he shivered.

He looked like a pathetic sniveling rat that could only tremble in the face of danger.

“Ahh… I suppose I was being a bit impatient. For a moment there, I thought you were reaching for a weapon.”

The way the masked figure spoke so casually, despite Gary just losing an arm, made a flickering flame of rage burn within the pathetic man.

However…

“You seem clueless. You should be eliminated as well.” the figure continued.

The news of his impending death extinguished Gary’s rage, replacing it with desperate pleas.

“I-I know where she is! Please! Please don’t kill me!”

As Gary begged desperately, he could see the red glow of the masked one’s eyes dim a little.

The other two present in the room remained still, making no sudden moves.

It seemed the one shrouded in darkness was their real leader—the Boss of the group.

“I-I wasn’t reaching out for a weapon. I wanted to show you something…” Gary stammered.

“Show me something? In your underwear?”

“A-ahh…” Gary felt like he was being labeled a pervert by the group.

Even the expression on the girl’s face seemed to say, ‘What a pathetic creep!’

But that wasn’t his intent at all.

‘I wanted to surrender and give you the ring. But now… now it seems there’s another way.’

Gary realized his mistake; these people were after the girl, and not the ring.

‘I was confused then, but now… yes… now I know what to do!’

Gary saw an opportunity: he could offer the girl to save himself and keep the valuable ring.

Though he had lost his right hand, his left was still intact.

Besides, now that he was certain of the value of the ring, he was sure he could get his hand fixed with Magic and still have tons of change to spare.

‘I just need to find a way around thi—’

“This is pointless. Use the tracker again, Aldred,” the Boss commanded.

“Understood.”

Before Gary could say a single word to initiate the deal, he felt a buzzing sensation in his crotch, and a warm feeling spread from the pouch.

It grew uncomfortably hot beneath his soiled boxers, and it wasn’t just from the remnants of pee.

Something else was happening...

“H-hold on… the tracker is picking up the ring… on him!” Aldred exclaimed.

“Something’s glowing under his boxers,” the girl added, pointing at Gary’s stained garment.

“….”

The distinguished gentleman stared at a screen, his expression one of shock, while the dark-masked man remained silent.

Gary felt an intense pressure building within him.

It was sheer bloodlust!

~VWUUUUU!!~

The entire area was shrouded in such pressure that Gary felt he would die just from sensing the killing intent.

He felt like passing out a thousand times over, but he wasn’t allowed to.

The collective bloodlust from all three who watched him made his heart nearly give out, and Gary was teetering on the edge of life and death

Then—

“You imbecile! You kept our luxury item close to your wretched dick?!”

No one could have expected the gentleman to utter such crude words, but he did.

“Shall I dispose of this fool, Master Aldred?” the pink-haired girl asked, already wielding her blade menacingly, ready to turn Gary into a kebab.

Gary trembled violently, he knew he was screwed just from the rage on their faces.

“No. Hold on… we can’t act on our own.” The man who had earlier been addressed as Aldred said, glancing at the silent masked man.

“We’re not the owner of the Item, so it’s not in our place to mete out judgment.”

It was clear that Aldred was immensely furious, but he deferred to the masked one.

—Another proof of who was in charge here.

“How would you like to handle this matter, Sir Ralyks?”

As the question echoed in the air, the man leaning on the wall finally left his position.

“Haaa…”

A heavy breath, almost a frustrated sigh, escaped his lips, which were invisible due to the mask he wore.

The one called Sir Ralyks took one step forward, and then two… on and on.

With each step, Gary felt like he was getting closer to the end of his life. Yet, against all odds, he clung to life, desperate to survive.

“Why ask me?” His tone sounded strange, nearly sarcastic.

“That ring doesn’t belong to me either…”

Despite speaking in such a cool tone, his crimson eyes had never been brighter.

“… But, I think I’ll take it from here.”

The others—pink-hair and Aldred—politely stepped back, leaving Ralyks alone at the forefront.

“Don’t expect a quick death,” Ralyks warned, his intense gaze fixed on Gary, who swallowed hard.

This… this really was the end!

‘I-I’m sorry! I won’t do it again! I promise… I promise I’ll be better!’ Gary’s thoughts screamed, but his lips trembled, unable to voice the words that echoed loudly in his mind.

The end was here…

“Hold it right there!”

… Or so one would think.

~BOOOOOM!~

A sudden explosion shattered the wooden ground that separated the bringer of death and the helpless Gary.

Shards of blood-stained wood flew in many directions, with splinters and even a few large chunks charging towards Ralyks.

However, none touched him by some miracle.

“A-ahh…?!” Amidst the chaos, Gary finally regained movement of his body and turned to see his unexpected savior.

His bulging eyes had never been so happy to see the man in his entire life.

‘L-Leader Gus!’

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

We’re reaching the climax of this confrontation. Let’s not forget the Dungeon.

We’ll get to that in a bit… I think.

Hopefully, you’re not too bored.