Chapter 241: Useful
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 241: Useful
“Iris?”
“I’m cold.”
“That’s a relief. I found something warm.”
I’d managed to harvest an internal organ from the Eldyokul, one with incredible insulation properties. It had a very peculiar, visceral texture—a strange structure where tendons connected to a central Flame Core, wrapping around it.
Of course, given the creature's massive size, the volume of this single organ was enormous. And while the Eldyokul couldn't do it, I had the ability to shrink the organs I consumed or restrict their mana to adjust the intensity of their functions.
The Eldyokul was among the largest creatures I had ever eaten, and with my current capacity, I couldn't swallow it all at once.
Using the Knight Lord’s swordsmanship, I carved the body into pieces and slowly swallowed them one by one through the Megido Serpent’s maw.
“This is nice.”
“Isn't it?”
After rescuing Iris from where she’d been buried in the cave, I brought the Flame Core—restricted to a comfortably warm level—close to her. The expression on her face, which had been turning into a frozen vampire inside the ice cave, softened considerably.
It was a simple, spherical mana core glowing with a brilliant light-blue hue, but it possessed the unique ability to continuously radiate heat proportional to the amount of mana poured into it.
“Let’s head back to the surface.”
“Okay.”
Now I just needed to practice handling Horus’s mana core and the Eldyokul’s Flame Core. It looked like I’d be imposing on Iris’s subspace for a while longer.
I set the coordinates on the teleportation artifact for the next labyrinth conquest.
“Ah, come to think of it, those two are still there.”
* * *
“Sniff... I thought I was going to die...”
“Stop overreacting. You’re not dead, so it’s fine.”
Kanna Belfos, who had harbored dark intentions toward me, and her attendant were shivering in a cave on the 55th floor, waiting for us.
Quite a bit of time had passed; the moon hung in the center of the sky, and the surroundings were dark. Still, I suppose a rich girl’s wealth doesn't go anywhere.
They were holding up well enough, huddled inside a decent barrier artifact with a fire going in the cave.
“I guess you didn't make it to the 60th floor after all.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s only been half a day.”
From climbing from the 55th floor to the 60th, hunting Snowfield Trolls, and fighting the Eldyokul—it had all been wrapped up within six hours.
I’d tried to finish as quickly as possible, but it seemed I was even faster than I’d anticipated.
“I took care of it. The 60th-floor boss.”
“Yeah, right... wait... oh. I see.”
Kanna Belfos started to dismiss it as nonsense, but she cut herself short, remembering how a Palladium-grade explorer had died before even trading a single blow.
Normally, subjugating such a high-grade monster would be an opportunity to make a fortune. However, in most of my battles, I didn't acquire any loot that could be turned into profit.
In my eyes, consuming everything myself was the best choice for increasing my combat power. Of course, if I ever needed money, I could always sell off the organs I no longer used.
“Sigh, it’s going to take forever to get back.”
“Three hours, give or take.”
“Yeah, right... wait... oh. I see.”
* * *
Two people who had operated in different eras but shared similar locations and reputations finally met.
“The world is small indeed. I knew the Poltergeist of Roanmarie was in Calax, but still.”
“Gwahaha! Being famous is a burden!”
In her youth, Renart Lymain had spent her time crushing numerous criminal organizations, helping the less fortunate, establishing orphanages, and using her wealth to exert influence within Roanmarie. Her relief efforts were calculated, yet undeniably beneficial to others.
It was during those days that she had utterly dismantled the beastkin criminal organization, Battlefang, and taken in the young, delinquent Alfi, whom she had been putting to good use ever since.
“Isn't it more like there are still plenty of people who grind their teeth at the mere mention of that name?”
“Ugh...”
However, the path of Roland Otmarie, known as the Poltergeist who killed the wicked, was quite different from Renart Lymain’s.
Roland was a man who had slaughtered hundreds of heinous criminals without order or specific criteria—just at random. This was a far cry from Renart, who exercised influence in the light, used overwhelming force to wipe out criminals through legal procedures, and left the aftermath to the Guild, an official institution.
“They say criminals trembled every night.”
If word reached Roland’s ears that there was a bad person somewhere, that very night became their execution date.
He didn't hand them over to authoritative institutions to pay their legal dues; instead, rumors simply swirled that someone had woken up the next morning to find them dead. While he couldn't manage large-scale purges like Renart, his effectiveness as a criminal deterrent was peerless.
“Ugh... let’s save that talk for later.”
Four criminals from the Antonio Brotherhood, their Achilles tendons severed so they couldn't walk properly, had arrived in the basement of Auction Lymain on Aureum Street.
On the day she had met Yoo Eon, Renart had used Iris’s dispelling magic to break the brainwashing Mystery Antoinette had placed on her.
Afterward, she had been asked to somehow delay or sever the deals being made with the Antonio Brotherhood.
“A perfect excuse has presented itself.”
“Mmph!! Mmmph!!!!”
The four criminals were gagged with bundles of dirty cloth. Inside the basement were Roland and his party members—Gadel, Gerick, and Bontes. Representing the Lymain family were Alfi, Renart, and the head butler, Alfred.
Since the others at the Mounted Goat Inn were in danger, they had closed shop for the day and moved to a hotel frequently used by the Lymain family.
“These Antonio Brotherhood bastards. There’s really no end to them if you just let them be.”
Roland’s voice was uncharacteristically calm and low. Of course, that didn't mean his voice was deep or mature. He was, after all, only a child of about ten years.
However, the waves of mana he was currently emitting were staggering. Even to the Antonio Brotherhood’s Platinum-to-Gold-grade undercover explorers—who still struggled to gauge the mana of others—it felt chillingly lethal.
Even Renart Lymain, watching from the side, felt the fur on her tail stand on end.
“What exactly did you come here to do?”
Rip...
Roland drew the sword at his waist, deliberately nicking a cheek as he sliced away the cloth gag. As Kayness flinched and spat out the bundle of cloth, Roland pressed the blade close to his throat.
“I-I don’t know, damn it! I just...! I was just told to go and take a look! We thought it was our building...!!”
“Your building? Ah, you mean the one where you collect money!”
“Yeah!! I made a mistake! I won't go near it again, I swear!!”
Slice...
“Aaaaaagh!!!!”
Before anyone could even see it happen, the tip of Kayness’s pinky finger was severed as he sat tied to the chair. Due to Gadel’s magic, the sensation of pain felt several times more intense than usual.
As Kayness convulsed in the chair, Gadel brought a flame to the stump of the severed finger. The bleeding stopped instantly, and the smell of burning flesh filled the room.
“Gaaah!!! Stop!! I really don't know anything!!!”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Roland’s gaze shifted to the side. The three undercover explorers, still gagged, had been watching their leader being tortured.
“Mr. Noble. Care to take a few?”
“We’ll handle these two.”
Two were handed over to Renart and Alfi, while Kayness and the remaining one were left to Gadel, Roland, Gerick, and Bontes.
Though it was past the time to receive customers, Alfred blocked the entrance to the basement and patrolled the shop to ensure there were no issues.
“Calax would be such a nice place if it weren't for these guys!”
“Agreed.”
Bontes approached the undercover explorer he was assigned to, roughly ripped off the gag, and spoke.
“You don't have to say a word. Let’s just start with a bit of pain first.”
Bontes gripped the tip of the bound criminal’s index finger firmly between his thumb and forefinger. His incredible grip strength instantly crushed the skin and twisted the flesh. As the nail was ripped away, the bone of the fingertip was exposed to the air.
“Gyaaaaaagh!!”
“To be in this much pain already... how pathetic.”
“Of course it hurts, you fucker!! Are you insane—?!”
“I see you only care about your own pain.”
* * *
“What the... did I do something wrong?”
When I returned to the inn, not a single soul was there. And my Direwolf olfactory organs were picking up a very complex scent.
“Oh, Sola? Where did everyone go? Why are you here alone?”
“Hero! Welcome back!”
For the place to be completely empty in the middle of the night, something had definitely gone wrong.
“Andrea and Browncoat came by! They said the inn is dangerous, so the Laraland family is putting everyone up in a motel for the night!”
“Uh, I didn't catch any of that. You’re saying everyone went to a motel together?”
What on earth was she talking about? Who was Andrea, and what was a Browncoat? And the Laraland family...
“Wait. Are you trying to say the Antonio Brotherhood came by? And the Lymain family said they’d put the inn people up in a hotel?”
“Ah, that’s it! Exactly, Hero!”
“What in the...!”
Does that mean the Antonio Brotherhood came directly to the inn? Could it be that Mystery Antoinette herself showed up?
“W-Who are you talking t-to...?”
“It’s a mental illness skill, don't worry about it,” Iris chimed in from the side.
“Eek...!”
Kanna Belfos, who had nowhere to go for the time being because the mercenary explorers supposed to escort her home had been turned into meat chunks, asked tentatively.
Since only I could perceive my conversation with Sola, Iris had decided to offer her own explanation.
“It’s nothing like that, so don't worry. Anyway, Sola, was anyone at the inn hurt?”
“No? Andrea... I mean, Antonio? Those people were the ones who got hurt!”
“And why did Theodora come here?”
“The Laraland family? I’m not sure. Three of them came together, though.”
“Three of them? Who?”
At any rate, it seemed no one from the inn was injured. If anything, the fact that the Antonio Brotherhood members were the ones who got hurt meant they’d been dealt with properly.
“Phew, those bastards finally...”
“Did something b-big happen...?”
“Kanna. If you want to speak casually, just do it.”
“R-Really? Is that okay?”
“If you want to never go home, keep doing that.”
“I’m sorry!!”
I was relieved no one was hurt. But to think they took everyone to a hotel.
“Kanna Belfos, you’re sleeping here tonight.”
“Huh? Here...? It’s a bit cramped and...”
“Ahem.”
“O-Of course! Naturally!”
“Mr. Attendant, you said you were Cobalt Grade? Stay here with the lady for the night. Find your own food. And don't think about running. I’ll catch you.”
“U-Understood...”
For now, it seemed Sola knew the location. She said she’d stayed behind just in case I came back, which turned out to be helpful. I’d close the inn and leave the guarding to the attendant and Kanna. I’d brought them along on a whim, but it’s a good thing they’re useful for something.
“Let’s go, Sola.”
“Yes! Moving out!”