The Back Alley's Trap
Diark City lay not far from Sky Island, and within it sprawled the Back Alley. On the surface, the Back Alley looked like just another unremarkable district in a modest town.
It was said to have become a lawless zone after various big shots who dubbed themselves the "Dark King" all failed in their bids to take control.
But the truth was different. Just a few months ago, a nobody—no boss, no standout thug, no criminal mastermind, no assassin—had succeeded in dominating the Back Alley.
"Lord Plague Rat, we have a report."
Plague Rat.
He looked like nothing more than a short, scrawny vagrant...
"Yeah? Who is it?"
"The Arishion family."
"What?"
He was the man who had chosen to become a lapdog of power, receiving all sorts of backing, strength, and support to become the first to conquer the Back Alley.
Sure, he had plenty of support, but who among those backed by the powerful hadn't?
He knew how to deal with that power efficiently, how to curry favor with the elites above, and how to handle the scum below.
But that only worked as long as the power brokers continued to "favor" him. If he failed at his tasks and lost their interest and utility?
"Damn it all. We still can't get a steady supply of bodies. The Black Forest got wiped out by someone... What about the mutant trolls and fake monsters?"
"Th-they all failed the experiments and ended up half-crippled from the side effects."
"Shit! How much money did we pour into this, and you fuck it up like that?!"
'Do it yourself, you little shit. Why take it out on me...'
Death.
If he lost the interest of his backers, the one pillar propping him up would crumble, and those who deemed him useless would likely kill him.
"Damn it. Buy as much time as you can for now. Don't piss them off, no matter what!"
Plague Rat anxiously scratched at his desk with a top-grade fountain pen.
He hadn't taken the normal route to power, but right now, he was in a position where the elites might take notice of him. That route? They couldn't care less about it from their vantage point.
Then, one of the reports suddenly came back to mind.
'...Hold on. They came in person? With two new-looking escorts?'
Why?
The power of "why" is tremendous. It uncovers hidden truths or fabricates new ones.
And that was exactly what Eugene had intended.
They were already doing business with the Back Alley. Who was the dominant party here?
Obviously, the "Arishion family" was the top dog, and the Back Alley was the underling. So the underling had to watch the top dog's mood.
But what if the top dog seemed to be openly offering the underling a chance?
"And..."
"And what else?!"
"Th-the two escorts who seem like newbies... they mentioned the bodies would be useful ones..."
Anyone could see it: "I'm giving you a chance right now. Grovel properly."
'...I still have a shot!'
A foolish rat would lunge even if it knew the cheese was poisoned.
"Got it. Prepare to supply the bodies right now!"
"Pardon? But we barely have any bodies..."
"The supply is already prepared. Your job is just to do as I say! Whoever pulls off results this time gets a reward—a fake ID that lets them operate outside."
At those words, the eyes of the man attending Plague Rat changed.
"Spread the word to everyone!"
"Yes, sir!"
The man bolted out, and Plague Rat hurriedly activated a hygiene artifact, then spritzed on perfume.
No matter how much support he had, his position was precarious.
He hadn't yet grasped the weaknesses of his superiors or built an irreplaceable foothold.
They could rip him apart on a whim if he smelled bad or looked unclean.
"Master. Where should we escort 'those people'?"
"Take them to the important facilities."
"But they didn't take the normal route. They could be fakes..."
"You idiot!"
He lashed the servant's back with a whip.
Flesh tore off with a single strike, exposing raw wounds.
The servant bowed his head without a change in expression.
"Is that the issue right now? And even if they're fakes, it doesn't matter. Better yet, perfect! My masterpieces are there too—I can eliminate them on the spot."
"Understood."
"Escort me there now!"
Clink.
"What foul-smelling swill is this? You expect me to drink this crap?"
"My apologies. I'll get a fresh—"
"No."
I hurled the teacup behind me.
Honestly, it pissed me off to waste it. Smelly? Bullshit—that was just me grasping at straws; it actually smelled great.
'How much was that worth...'
Crash!
I crossed my legs, making damn sure to show how pissed I was.
"Call that bastard here right now. You trying to waste my time?"
"Perish the thought. Never. He's just running late to show Your Excellency even better results in person."
"Tch. This deal's already gone south... Not happy about it. Hey, old man."
"Yes."
"If I pay you, can you kill your boss?"
The old man shook his head.
"I'm not skilled enough."
"Tch. Figures. You're such a pathetic sack of bones, you couldn't even hack it in a circus. Why not use you as a corpse?"
"Because I'm too worthless even for that."
As he said it, the old man bowed low enough to show his bald pate.
But I could read his true intentions.
'Lying sack of shit.'
From his gait, the subtle aura he exuded, his movements, his speech—
Definitely a top confidant.
"The boss has arrived."
"Get out."
"Yes. Have a pleasant time."
The door opened, and a man entered.
Impossible to believe he came from the filthy Back Alley—he was impeccably clean.
Sure, he was short and ugly, but in the Back Alley, having normal features put you in the upper echelons.
"My deepest apologies!!"
He slammed his head to the floor the moment he entered.
I didn't fluster, just kept my legs crossed and jiggled my foot.
"Hey. What the hell is this? The Arishion family didn't strike a deal with trash like you for this bullshit."
"It-it was all going according to plan... Then these weird fuckers showed up out of nowhere..."
"Hey."
Mosik slammed the table awkwardly with a chop. Crack! It split in half.
"You think I dragged my precious ass all the way here to hear excuses?"
"N-no, sir."
"Then you know what you gotta do, right? I'm pretty fucking annoyed right now."
Honestly, my acting wasn't perfect.
Maybe thanks to my predecessor's influence on this body, I reeked of gutter noble, but it came off awkward.
But that wasn't bad. My goal was to intimidate this prick, figure out what he was up to, and how deep he was in.
"Do you know who's standing before you? Would've been better if you'd just said no one came. Everything's a mess."
"...No one came."
"Good. Then this is the first and last chance I'm giving you."
I stood and stalked toward him.
Squish...!
"Guhk...!"
I pinned his head to the floor with my foot so he couldn't look up, then whispered low.
"I'm scum from the same gutter as you. Know what that means? I get what trash like you wants, and what trash like you can do."
"...!"
"So squeeze it out. Your best goddamn idea right now. How are you gonna wrap up this deal with us? No bullshit about rounding up civilians or rebuilding the Black Forest. Come up with a way to supply bodies in hours."
I didn't know what scheme he'd cook up.
But to survive, he'd have to spit something out.
Even if it meant carving up his own forces.
For survival, he'd pull any card.
"...I'll call them!"
"Who?"
"The other criminals!"
I eased my foot a bit, curious to hear him out, and he must've thought it was his chance to live, because he rushed into his plan.
Horror dawned in Mosik and Jenella's eyes.
His plan was simple.
'Round up everyone gunning for the Dark King seat right now.'
Why hadn't the existence of a Dark King been publicized? To use the hyenas swarming in to devour the Back Alley.
And not just any hyenas—these had their own power and gangs. High notoriety, real skills. They'd already been quietly turning a tiny fraction of idiot criminals into corpses.
But the challengers were few and far between, thanks to the unofficial rumors trickling out.
'A Dark King already rules!'
But what if a great house publicly offered the head of the presumed Dark King and issued an official decree?
'We'll back whoever claims the Dark King throne!'
If word spread like that?
A week? A day?
No. Hours, and every criminal would swarm in.
No matter how poisoned the grail, it'd look like sweet nectar to them.
"...As proof, offer up that old man's head! He used to dominate so hard he might as well have been the Dark King! Most will buy it!"
"And the ones who won't?"
"The doubters don't matter—it's the masses who'll bite! We'll get enough quantity and some quality. The throne-chasers are strong; their corpses will be top-tier...!"
Not bad.
As long as it wasn't dragging in civilians or some long-term op, I didn't care.
My goal was exterminating these vermin and stopping the bigwigs' illegal shit.
Once they're all wiped out and weakened from infighting, I clean house.
"Fine. Approved."
For this moment, I invoked the Arishion name.
"Round them all up."
Here, we slaughter every last criminal.
The rumors spread like wildfire.
A paper placed alongside the head of a one-eyed old man reached every big shot.
Black Mamba. He'd just killed a criminal who dared challenge him, and he picked up the paper with blood dripping from his hands.
"This'll be fun."
"It's too big for you. Could rip your jaws apart."
"Snakes can swallow things way bigger than themselves. You think I look like some ordinary snake?"
"You look like a snake with delusions of grandeur."
Medeya. She'd bitten off the cock of a now-castrated man and read the paper with blood trickling from her mouth.
"Heh heh heh... If I play this right, maybe I can fuck a noble? Mmm~ I'm sick of these sturdy types. Well-fed purebloods gotta taste different, right?"
"Planning to expand your territory this time?"
"Yeah~ The men in this zone bore me. Plenty of women left, but they're all brainwashed weirdos—no flavor~"
Sauraba. He'd just decapitated a kid who touched his stolen goods and fiddled with the loot from the parents while reading the paper.
"Been wanting to steal from nobles. Perfect."
"Still haven't learned after last failure? The guys next door didn't budge."
"That coward? I'm heading out now. This time it's not goods—it's the throne. Gonna be a blast."
...In just hours, the big shots who heard the rumors gathered.
The great war of those vying for the Dark King throne.
Eugene stood overlooking them all, shaking the cola in his hand.
'Time to uproot every future menace in one go.'
As priest of the War God, he gladly took the reins of this grand battle.