24
I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 24
Caesar headed towards the cotton mill located on the outermost edge of Eastline.
"They're really half-hearted about money laundering."
Typically, a cotton mill's machines need to run non-stop for 24 hours.
Once a machine stops, doesn't it take quite a while to restart it?
But this place, calling itself a cotton mill, had layers of dust accumulated, showing how long the machines hadn't been running.
They claim this factory generates an income of 1 million del annually?
Bunch of thieving bastards.
"Let's see..."
Caesar took out Dominic's notebook and used psychometry.
Immediately, the location of the hidden money in this cotton mill appeared in his mind.
'One, two, three.'
Looking at the floor of the third machine, uniquely, it had a thick carpet laid down.
As Caesar lifted the carpet slightly, a door leading to a basement appeared.
"Bingo."
Caesar pushed the machine to the side.
He wondered why there was a carpet, but it seemed it was laid to make pushing easier.
Thanks to that, he could easily push it without much effort.
Caesar opened the door, took out a gas lamp from his bag, and went inside.
The first thing Caesar saw was bundles of money.
"...How much is all this."
Bricks of 100 del bills filled the walls.
There was so much that it couldn't all fit in the space-warping bag, leaving him at a loss for what to do.
Did Gilbert really have this much money?
Before packing the money, Caesar started stomping around the floor.
Among the things Caesar was aiming for, money was one, but he was after something even bigger.
Thump- Thump- Thump- Thunk-
"Found it."
Caesar tore open the carpet at the spot where a different sound was heard, using an axe.
Under the carpet was a cement door connected to the floor, and Caesar inserted his fingers into the door hole and opened it.
Inside was a safe.
It wasn't the key-opening type, but a dial-opening type.
'Dominic said he didn't know the safe password, right?'
Usually, he would have just hacked at it with an axe to open it, but there was a more elegant method.
Caesar placed his hand on the safe and used psychometry.
Then, the image of Gilbert turning the dial appeared.
'23, 11, 66'
Click-
As the safe door opened, paper envelopes filled Caesar's view.
'Bingo.'
Unfortunately, there wasn't anything like a ledger, but the stench was so strong that it was clearly something that would send Gregory to paradise if shown to him.
Caesar examined the documents one by one.
Starting from real estate purchase agreements, to artifact purchase agreements, weapon purchase agreements, various transaction documents appeared.
"...What's this."
But Gilbert's name didn't appear even once, and only one name kept repeating.
Howard Duken.
"I've heard this name somewhere."
If it's a name he's heard somewhere, it must be related to the game.
As Caesar was rummaging through the documents, his eyes lit up when he saw a blue fish-shaped seal.
"Right... There was a Viscount Duken."
Unless you start as a mage, Homigraph and Sapientia are cities detached from the main story of <Valent Saga>.
Even if you start as a mage, you mostly only operate within the magic tower, and rarely operate in Sapientia or Homigraph.
In game terms, it's like the position of a shop town where you go to match equipment or buy potions?
However, there is just one sub-quest surrounding Homigraph and Sapientia, and one of the key figures in that sub-quest is 'Viscount Duken’.
'But was this guy such a big shot?'
In the game, Viscount Duken's position is that of a 'smuggler'.
He's a guy who buys artifacts and potions in bulk from the magic tower and then sells them at high prices to shady characters.
Of course, depending on the choices, you might have a final battle with Viscount Duken who has become a demon, but because it doesn't greatly affect the main story, he was a vague character.
But looking at Duken's transaction history, he had secret dealings with everyone from the Redfield family to the Crown Prince, the Kingdom of Dior, and even the religious orders.
Judging by the transactions occurring every six months to a year, it seemed he was even having regular meetings.
"Hmm... No matter how I look at it, he seems to be quite a big shot."
If there's one thing Caesar has realized during his three years in this world, it's that you'll get in big trouble if you try to solve problems solely with game knowledge.
In the game, you can objectively grasp all information.
Moreover, the characters act strictly according to certain algorithms, and variables don't exist.
But in this world, the original story flow can change greatly depending on how Caesar speaks in what situation.
You don't have to look far for an example.
In the original game story, Barre is a character who sacrifices himself to save his companions as soon as the Demon King undergoes his second awakening.
But didn't the Demon King die with his head cracked by the axe Barre threw?
Variables always exist, and there's a need to control those variables as much as possible.
'I need to approach this a bit more cautiously.'
Now the question is how Gilbert has these transaction documents.
The moment this gets out into the world, it won't just be Viscount Duken who's finished, but the entire Empire will be in an uproar.
But for a mere mafia to have such secret transaction documents.
It doesn't make sense.
Caesar used psychometry.
In front of Caesar's eyes appeared Gilbert and a man with a hook on his left hand.
Caesar knew that man with a hook on his left hand.
That man was 'King', the boss of the Anchor Family.
King shone a cylindrical artifact emitting white light on the documents.
Then, two identical copies of the transaction documents shot out from the hole in the artifact.
-If we get caught with this, we're all dead. You know that, right?
-Still, it's better than just us getting caught and being abandoned.
-Well, that's true too.
"These crazy bastards."
Caesar stared at the money filling the wall.
This money doesn't belong to Gilbert.
It all belongs to Viscount Duken.
He had Gilbert keep and manage such huge funds, as putting them in a bank would risk being traced.
And he copied the transaction documents in case he needed to cut ties later.
Thud Thud.
At that moment, he heard people entering the factory.
Caesar took out the remaining axe from his bag and turned off the gas lamp.
Those guys stopped above his head.
"What... Looks like someone's already been here."
"Wait, there are only footprints going in."
They're quite perceptive, huh?
Caesar jumped up through the basement door in one go.
He could see the intruders at a glance.
They were all men in suits.
They had guns and swords in their hands.
Caesar swung his axe in all directions.
"Gaaahk!"
After taking out three of them at once, Caesar ignored those with guns and approached the one with a sword.
Clang!
When Caesar brought down his axe, the guy blocked it.
Screech!
His strength might be one thing, but his reaction speed is no joke.
This guy isn't just some ordinary user.
He's a knight.
Caesar swung the axe in his left hand towards the guy's waist.
The guy barely dodged it.
"It's Caesar! Be careful!"
Caesar had never had a life-or-death battle with a knight before.
Well, during the Demon World War, Caesar fought on the Allied side, not the Demon King's army.
But he had sparred countless times.
His opponent was 'Yan', known as the strongest knight.
-Barre. You have a tendency to try to solve everything with brute force too much.
You need to think while managing the duel. Figure out the opponent's fighting style, find their weakness, and strike at their vulnerabilities.
That kind of crude fighting style only works on stupid demons.
Recalling that annoying guy's advice makes his head hot.
But what he said isn't entirely wrong.
You need to approach fighting knights differently than fighting demons.
Caesar brought down his axe straightforwardly.
The guy parried Caesar's blade.
Judging by his reaction speed similar to Caesar's, he's clearly a technique type.
Caesar then swung his axe horizontally towards the guy's side.
As if not falling for the same pattern twice, the guy stepped back half a step and raised his sword to head height.
It's a thrusting stance.
Technique types have the habit of always counterattacking after blocking or dodging ingrained in their brains.
That's actually the biggest advantage and weapon of technique types.
But the moment they take a stance to counterattack, a weakness inevitably appears.
Caesar's axe, which was swinging in a smooth curve horizontally, suddenly moves in a straight line.
Caesar never intended to swing the axe in the first place.
He was going to throw it.
Caesar's axe leaves his hand and flies towards the guy's waist.
Of course, due to the unstable posture, it didn't have much power behind it, and because the distance was so short, it wasn't precise as he had to rotate it sharply.
But that's enough.
"Aaaaargh!"
The axe deeply dug into the guy's left thigh.
When a technique type loses mobility, they're as good as dead.
Caesar brought down the axe in his right hand.
Bang!
When the knight went down, the other guys fired their guns at Caesar.
But mere bullets couldn't penetrate Caesar's tough skin.
Ignoring their attacks, Caesar brought down his axe.
The guy barely blocked Caesar's axe, but his stance crumbled and he fell on his backside.
Caesar grabbed the blade of the guy's sword as it was flailing.
The guy tried to pull the sword to crush Caesar's palm.
But Caesar didn't resist and instead let himself be pulled in.
And then...
Thud!
Caesar planted his axe in the guy's chest, which was completely defenseless.
Gush.
The guy coughed up blood and died.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Caesar looked at the guys shooting their guns at him.
"Run!"
Perhaps realizing they were no match?
The guys retreated while maintaining their formation.
They weren't shooting mindlessly like the mafia guys, but were firing in order, replacing ammo to avoid combat gaps.
They're trained guys.
But so what?
Caesar charged at them like a tiger.
"Graaah."
Just as bees stinging a bear raiding their honey are ignored as the bear destroys the hive and swallows the honey.
Caesar ignored all their bullets except those coming for his head and crotch, and slaughtered the guys.
"Mo, monster...!"
Caesar grabbed the neck of the surviving guy and used psychometry.
"Under whose orders did you come?"
"You think I'd tell you?!"
"It was Viscount Duken after all. What was your purpose?"
"What...?"
"Right, he ordered you to retrieve the money he left with Gilbert."
"...!"
"Are there any other guys besides you?"
The guy bit his lip and didn't say a word.
He probably wouldn't talk even if he was about to die.
But it didn't matter to Caesar.
Just because he's not speaking doesn't mean he's not thinking.
"I see. So you're the last ones. That's good."
"H-How...!"
Caesar ignored the guy completely and continued to ask questions and get answers.
"Is there some kind of recording artifact? No, there isn't."
"Did you know I would be here? You didn't know."
"Did you know about Gilbert's secret safe in there? You didn't know."
"Is there a way to track the money inside? Oh. You applied a special solution that reacts to oil on some of the bundles."
"Do you know about the smuggling routes Viscount Duken uses? You do know."
Information about the smuggling routes the guy knew entered Caesar's brain in fragments.
The guy couldn't even speak and wet himself in fear.
After extracting all the information he could from the guy, Caesar spoke.
"Last question. Was the plan to abandon Gilbert completely?"
Then, an image of Gilbert wearing a strange prosthetic on his right arm appeared, different from the Gilbert Caesar remembered.
"Wait, what did you do to Gilbert? I see. Viscount Duken implanted an artifact prosthetic. You came to check on the funds during the confusion."
"H-How on earth..."
"How did I know, you ask?"
Crack.
Caesar snapped the guy's neck.
"What good would it do you to know?"
Caesar dragged the corpses and threw them into the pit containing the bundles of money.
Then he gathered the oil and cotton fabrics lying around the factory and poured them all into the pit.
Finally, Caesar struck a match and threw it into the pit.
Whoosh-
"It burns well."
Is it because it's using banknotes worth tens of millions of dels as firewood?
It burns quite spectacularly.
"Could this be Stork's heart?"
If Viscount Duken intuitively realized all his slush fund was burning, he'd throw a fit like Madam Jeong.
It's a shame I can't see that sight.
"Still, it's such a waste."
Stork at least took half of the money he stole, but what about me?
If only the tracking solution wasn't applied to the money, I would have taken some. It's really too bad.
"Now, shall we go crack Gilbert's head?"
He wanted to stop by Gilbert's safe house first, but seeing the prosthetic he was wearing, it seemed like the police might suffer considerable casualties if he wasn't careful.
Caesar grabbed his bag and axe and left the factory.
***
Gilbert charged towards the police.
"Aaaaargh!"
How could mere guns break through his shield?
Even hundreds of gunshots can't stop Gilbert.
At that moment, a mortar fired at Gilbert.
That might be a bit dangerous.
But Gilbert trusted his prosthetic.
Gilbert pressed the yellow button on his forearm and ran.
As the acceleration magic activated, he could see the shell flying in an arc.
Just before the mortar shell hit the ground, Gilbert ran and smashed the mortar battery.
"Hahahahaha!"
Somehow, he felt like he could understand Caesar's feelings a little.
How could one stay still with such overwhelming power?
He wanted to release this boiling power in some way.
Clunk.
At that moment, a strange sound came from Gilbert's right knee, and he fell forward.
"Nnnngh..."
It was good that he could produce incredible speed and power with the prosthetic, but Gilbert's fragile body couldn't withstand that power.
"Now's our chance!"
As Gilbert fell to the ground, the police poured bullets like rain.
Gilbert pressed the red button and swung his prosthetic arm in all directions.
"Aaaaargh!"
The red laser that burst from his palm bisected all the nearby police officers.
Buildings collapsed and dust rose thickly.
Pop.
A cartridge that had turned gray popped out of the prosthetic.
Gilbert, with trembling hands, took out a new cartridge from his pocket and inserted it.
Whirr.
As the prosthetic reactivated, strength increased buff magic and danger detection magic activated.
"Nnnnngh!"
At the same time, Gilbert's whole body shook as if it was about to break apart from pain.
Gilbert took out a syringe from his pocket and jabbed it into his forearm.
As the drug flowed through his bloodstream, the pain disappeared, and he gained energy to move his body.
Gilbert staggered to his feet.
At that moment, his gaze fell on a broken mirror.
Gilbert walked towards the mirror as if in a trance.
He examined his appearance.
His eyes were glowing light purple, his once fat body had become as thin as a drug addict's, and his skin had turned dark and murky.
"I-Is this me?"
Gilbert struck the broken mirror.
"No! No! No! No! No!"
Gilbert smashed the mirror until it turned to powder.
"This isn't me!"
"It's always the ugly ones who blame the mirror."
Gilbert turned his head towards the voice.
There stood the root cause of his transformation, looking down at him arrogantly.
"Caesaaaaaar!"
Caesar drew his axe and said, "Well, at least you look better now that you've lost weight. Should've gone on a diet earlier."
"Die!"
Gilbert charged at Caesar like a madman.