Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Corpse Retriever (3)
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Ceria's gaze shifted toward the guard's neck.
The moment he let his guard down, she planned to fire an anesthetic dart from her blowgun.
"......"
She had to hit him precisely in the back of the neck.
Aiming for the acupuncture point where the anesthetic would penetrate most effectively.
"......!"
The guard's nape opened wide.
The perfect moment for a clean shot from Ceria's angle.
Chin.
'Hold on.'
Regin stopped Ceria and mouthed the rest.
'Something's off.'
Something off?
Ceria racked her brain for what she might have missed.
Then a chill crept over her entire body.
'No way, this?'
'Probably.'
There was a type of mana she never forgot.
The humiliating mana etched into her bones since her defeat at Kaluan's hands.
On top of that, she sensed the mana of that demon who had floored her in one hit on the 8th Floor, delivering another defeat.
Even faintly from afar, it rattled her senses.
'This might blow up bigger than we thought.'
Regin stared coldly toward the exit.
They needed to change plans.
He gave his companions a brief explanation.
'They'll judge fast and move precisely. For example......'
He'd prepare for contingencies.
As he spoke, Regin's mana flowed to his fingertips and into the mana stone he held.
One second.
Two seconds.
He kept infusing mana into the glowing yellow mana stone.
Soon, he whispered softly to the stone now tinged red.
'Verdante. At least two. Underground sewers beneath the capital.'
* * *
"Senior?"
The remaining guard glanced toward the passage and muttered. No response came.
It meant his senior guard had slipped out first.
Thud.
The guard sat on the floor with a sigh.
"Even if he's just going for a break."
As a guard patrolling the entrance, he knew well.
There was another veteran guard there, just like his senior.
He knew they were close.
'Isn't my rookie buddy on patrol with him today?'
The guard recalled for a moment. The duty roster flashed dimly in his mind.
Sure enough, his fellow rookie named Paig was scheduled for patrol there today.
"He's great in every way, but his personality is a bit......"
Delicate beauty.
Exceptional skill.
In the guard's eyes, she was talented enough for better things—a standout rookie.
Especially her physical abilities, unbelievable for a woman.
Even those who dismissed her at first soon backed down.
'Such a girl suddenly popping up is surprising. If not for her quirky personality.'
He shook his head, recalling that oddly chilling vibe she gave off.
No point dwelling on his own judgments anyway.
"Hm?"
That was when the guard, sitting and waiting for time to pass, noticed something.
"Senior?"
Footsteps echoed from where his senior guard had vanished.
Did he forget something?
Turning to peer down the passage, an unexpected figure approached.
"Paig?"
Why was she here?
"And who's that with her?"
Not alone either.
A man with blood on his lips, and Paig approaching steadily.
Instinctively uneasy, the guard gripped his spear and eyed them.
"What happened to my senior?"
Paig ignored the question, smirking instead.
Her refined beauty twisted into a spine-chilling smile.
"My senior......"
The moment she spoke again.
Crunch—!
"Argh!!"
Black mana erupted from Paig's hand, piercing the guard.
A spell straight through the heart.
Whether burning agony or tearing pain.
An indescribable torment swept over him.
"Oof, this one's tough too."
Thud—
The guard's body crumpled face-first to the floor.
Vision fading bit by bit.
He glimpsed Paig's pitiful gaze upon him.
'Betray......'
Rumors swirled that the royal family always feared attacks from someone.
He'd dismissed them as baseless, but now he was certain.
Paig and that man—they were it.
'Someone, anyone......'
Report them upstairs.
As he silently screamed and closed his eyes.
"Fireball."
Whoosh!!
A fireball streaked from afar.
Illuminating the dark, damp underground sewer like a flare.
Paig swiftly deployed a mana shield to block it, but the assault didn't end.
"Fireball."
Another spell incoming.
The guard shut his eyes in the firelight.
At least they wouldn't escape easily, he thought.
* * *
Flash.
"One more time."
Regin eyed the scroll he'd just torn.
'A scroll that regenerates up to three times with fifty-fifty odds each.'
This one, made with rabbit fur, had lucked out with three regenerations.
"Fireball."
The third spell unleashed, Regin's group bolted from the passage toward Paig and Snouser.
"We need to end this quick."
Ideally, avoid fighting them.
'Miss the timing, and they'll snatch the corpses.'
Their goal was obvious: the bodies.
Snouser beside Paig had kept eyeing them.
Regin's group moved to the three corpses, turning their backs to them to face off against the pair.
"Little rats hiding, huh?"
"Paig."
"Yes."
"Kill them and recover the corpses."
Three fireballs hadn't left them seriously hurt.
'Paig's one of the faster casters among demon mages.'
When Zeke mentioned Snouser, Regin had suspected Verdante lurked in the capital.
But these two together? Bad luck.
He clenched his jaw.
'Snouser and Paig. Top Verdante executives.'
He didn't remember every Verdante member.
They changed over time, roles fluid.
But some tormented players unchanged across runs.
The named demons, called executives.
'These are the so-called Three Great Demon Hounds, grouped together.'
They defaulted to dog forms.
At least the bulldog one was missing—a small mercy.
"We grab the unconfirmed corpses, right?"
"Yeah. Both."
While facing off, Zeke collected a body.
As pre-planned.
Greg set down the man's corpse and picked up another.
"Grabbing corpses, senior?"
"......Does it matter what they do, Paig?"
Paig asked innocently, but Snouser raised mana and continued.
"Whatever, they die. Ignar's orders: recover these corpses."
Snouser gripped his sword two-handed, glaring at Regin's group.
Swish—
"The two-sword guy is mine."
"No."
Ceria gripped her daggers two-handed in response.
But Regin stopped her and tore a scroll.
"Head-on fight's too tough. Stick to plan."
He understood her feelings, but Snouser outclassed the first demon man.
'That one seemed executive-level...... but not named.'
Realistically, Regin's group lacked the power for a named demon straight-up.
Especially these two together.
'They synergize well.'
Grouped for a reason—their teamwork was solid.
Riiip—
"Everyone, close your eyes!"
Tearing the scroll unleashed light.
Harmless, classed as tier-one magic.
But perfect for blinding in these sewers.
"Flash!"
A flash spell erupted, bathing the area in blinding light.
"Ugh!"
It hit Snouser square in the eyes as he glared.
Paig, caught off-guard, squeezed hers shut too late.
'Flash isn't called a noob item for nothing.'
DAT PvP banned it for a reason.
Seizing their blinded moment, Regin shouted.
"Split up, both sides!"
Two corpses total.
Grab one each and flee.
Impossible against both at once.
'But we can split and run.'
One-on-one was feasible with group strength.
"Get outside somehow and regroup! Follow the markers!"
Steal Ferma's corpse and escape intact—all of them.
Regin and crew ran nonstop for that.
To escape this damn sewer.
"Ah, sorry, senior."
After Regin's group fled the hall, recovered Paig spoke.
Her innocent smile gone.
"They split into two and ran."
"Chase them."
Sniff sniff—
Both scented the air.
Verdante named demons, the Three Great Demon Hounds.
Amid the sewer stench, they isolated Regin's group's scent and moved.
"Kill and recover corpses. No other actions permitted."
"Got it."
They raced after the escape route.
Confident.
Never lost prey, the pair split at forks, grinding teeth.
* * *
"Hah...... huff!!"
The group split into two.
Greg and Ceria one team. Zeke and Regin the other.
'Left markers, so follow them up to the surface.'
Greg and Ceria, lost without them, took the marked path.
Regin had another route memorized.
He bolted toward it without hesitation.
"......Damn it!"
Zeke, following, was dying.
Carrying a corpse through sewers wasn't easy.
Maintaining speed over splashing water? Hell.
Sweat poured like rain now.
"Th-this far, they must've lost us......!"
Thirst for a break clawed at his throat.
Regin glanced while running.
He wanted to rest too, but not yet.
"You saw them turn into dogs, right?"
"......Huff. Yeah!"
"Not normal noses then. Means they'll catch up soon."
"Shit."
"But just a bit farther."
The sewer map flashed in Regin's mind.
'Almost there.'
A spot ahead for a showdown.
Fightable even if one chased.
'The public bath drain.'
Deepest water, fastest current coming.
Splash—
The roar hit then.
"Can't slow down now."
A cold voice from behind.
A form neither man nor dog.
Paig, face canine, quadruped-ran and leaped.
Whirl—!!
Her body reverted midair, right hand casting fast.
"Fire Lance."
Demon mana gathered at her fingertips into flame, shaping a spear.
Crack—!
It sliced air toward them.
Regin shoved Zeke forward.
Clang—!
'Flexis's Cloak.'
Mana shield from the cloak blocked the flames.
One hit shattered it to bits.
Shield mana scattered everywhere.
"Zeke."
Regin tore a scroll for a new shield and continued.
"Go first. Long stretch with water rushing like a river ahead. Ladder if you look."
"What about you......?!"
Honestly, first time facing a named demon at this spec.
Regin felt tension too.
'But doable.'
Odds were good.
'Always have been. Precarious, but clashing raised survival highest.'
Like stopping the Lycanrope guy.
Blocking Kaluan's rampage.
Pulverizing the 8th Floor demon.
"I'll follow soon."
Slosh—
Regin shook the glow liquid and smiled faintly.
After a few rounds, he got it.
"We'll meet alive."
Regin had survived doing everything possible.
He knew persistence upped his odds.
Options remained this time.
'Glow liquid...... main ingredient for light elixir and holy water.'
Start there to boost survival.