The Mad Dog's Return
The criminal underworld. It was now fully integrated by the Death King Dark Heaven and placed under the management of the Seven Deadly Sins, but in the past—before the Death King had appeared—it was a lawless zone that answered to no one's laws or control. The criminal organization Freddy's Dogs, which had taken root in the Ellemental Kingdom, was one of the more storied groups that had survived from those dark days in the lawless zone all the way to the present.
After the previous boss met a mysterious death following his failed attempt to kidnap a celebrity he fancied, Kemel had risen to the position of second boss. He could hardly be called a good leader—even in the kindest terms—given how he abused his subordinates over trivial matters and resorted to violence on a whim. Still, after the former boss, a 4-star mage who had shouldered nearly all of Freddy's Dogs' combat strength, died, Kemel's ability to keep the crumbling organization afloat by cleverly currying favor everywhere was undeniably impressive.
“Sigh.”
Having earned recognition for that skill, Kemel now held a degree of influence granted by Pride. Assigned his own territory, provided with troops, and elevated to a managerial role, he was regarded as the economic boss who had raised Freddy's Dogs into the ranks of major organizations.
At first glance, one might picture a vulgar upstart reveling in every luxury and wielding power at will, but Kemel's actual daily life was utterly bleak. There was no time to spend the money he earned amid the endless stream of work. As a result, he hardly ever left his room and could not even fully grasp how much his influence had grown. When reports came in that his subordinates had caused trouble somewhere, his first reaction was often envy that they even had the time for such things, rather than anger.
He could not complain too much, either. He knew that Pride, who had dumped all this work on him, was handling several times more than he was. At least Kemel got to sleep, whereas Pride never slept at all and simply kept working. Honestly, if Pride had offloaded everything and gone off to play, Kemel might have risked his life to protest. Reflecting on his life, he could not help but sigh, thinking that the old days of simply following orders from above and barely scraping by might have been better.
Well, at least I don't have to go hungry.
In fact, with so little time to spend it, he mostly used the money on food. A parade of gourmet delicacies that even most nobles could only dream of.
I wonder what they'll serve today.
The only part of the day he truly looked forward to was mealtime. As the minute hand raced toward twelve, Kemel's hands moved faster without him realizing it, filled with anticipation for today's chef's omakase.
Creak.
It was finally here. Kemel lifted his head with eager expectation at the sound of the door. But at the same time, he suddenly noticed something strange.
No knock?
Knocking and waiting for permission. For that process to be skipped and the door to open immediately was something utterly unimaginable given his position. Even for very important guests, a knock was mandatory. Nor did it seem like someone had rushed in without knocking due to an emergency—the sound of the door had been completely calm.
“Hey. It’s been a while, Kemel.”
When he fully raised his head and saw the man entering through the door, Kemel’s eyes widened as far as they could possibly go.
“B… Boss…?”
It was impossible. The previous boss of Freddy's Dogs, Freddy—who was supposed to have died in an incident roughly ten years ago—now stood before him with the exact same cocky smile as before.
Kemel shot up from his seat in shock.
An undead?
Had someone resurrected the previous boss’s corpse? Or was it a disguise? He had heard the Fan Empire possessed something called a human skin mask—could that be it?
All sorts of possibilities flashed through Kemel’s mind.
“Oh, as expected of the vice-captain. Unlike the guys outside, you’re still quick on the uptake.”
Seeing this, Freddy slowly approached Kemel’s side of the room and plopped down in the chair he had vacated. Then, kicking the miscellaneous documents off the desk, he propped his legs up and gestured with his hand toward Kemel, who now stood behind him.
“……”
In response, Kemel quietly placed a cigarette between his fingers. When Freddy brought it to his lips, Kemel naturally lit the end with a lighter.
“Huu.”
Exhaling a deep breath just like Kemel had earlier while sitting in the chair, a hazy cloud of cigarette smoke rose.
Not an undead, then.
The skin temperature he had felt when handing over the cigarette was far too warm for an undead. At the very least, it was not the cold touch of a corpse. And if it were someone disguised as Freddy, they were replicating his old habits, quirks, and attitude perfectly. Besides, what reason would anyone have to disguise themselves as Freddy, who had died ten years ago, and appear before him?
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that the person before him was the real Freddy.
Could it be that he never actually died ten years ago?
No way. Kemel himself had secretly recovered the body while the police were handling it. There was no way he had seen wrong. Although the corpse’s face had been smashed beyond recognition, Kemel—who had long served under him, waiting for his chance—could tell at a glance. That body had definitely been Freddy himself.
“There must have been subordinates outside. How did you get past them?”
“……”
At Kemel’s question, Freddy, who had been arrogantly leaning back while smoking, turned his head slightly toward him. Then, letting out a small snort of laughter,
“It really has been a long time, huh? That you’d dare throw a question at me. You’ve grown a lot, Kemel.”
“……”
“Well, since it’s been so long, I’ll let it slide.”
Grinding the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray, Freddy’s smile twisted ominously.
“To think they couldn’t even recognize their own master and blocked my path. How insolent for mere dogs.”
Freddy's Dogs. The name meant Freddy’s dogs. The organization had been created solely because he needed people to clean up after him. Therefore, failing to recognize their master was an enormous sin. It was to the point where even if he executed them on the spot for his foul temper, no one could complain.
“……”
At those words, Kemel felt goosebumps rise across his back. The people outside had not been ordinary. There were regular subordinates, but most were troops Pride had provided to protect him. Among them was even a martial artist who had reached 4-star—the same level as the old Freddy.
And all of them had been killed. Moreover, Kemel had not even noticed that a battle had taken place. That meant the fight had been so overwhelmingly one-sided that not even a scream had leaked out.
It was something the old Freddy, a 4-star mage, could never have accomplished. It indirectly told him that Freddy had advanced a stage beyond his past self.
“Heh.”
Freddy let out a mocking laugh at Kemel’s frozen face. Only then did Kemel notice the faint smell of blood drifting in from beyond the door—a scent he had been too slow to detect because of Freddy’s presence.
“Anyway. On my way here, I took a quick look, and it seems she’s doing well.”
There was no subject, but by searching his old memories Kemel could clearly tell who he meant. Layla Ruby. The only person Freddy—who treated his subordinates like disposable tools and never bothered remembering anyone’s name but his own—had ever paid any attention to.
“She’s become even prettier than she was ten years ago?”
“……”
“And I heard she’s even holding a concert in a few days.”
He pulled something from his pocket. It was someone else’s smartphone that he had casually killed and taken on the way here. The battery was down to a mere four percent from continuous use during his journey. The search history listed below the internet bar was packed exclusively with terms related to Layla Ruby.
“Perfect. Kidnap her.”
He was going to carry out the plan that had failed ten years ago. With an obsession bordering on madness for Layla Ruby, he casually tossed the dead smartphone behind the chair.
“And get me a new smartphone too.”
“The latter is possible, but the former is not.”
“……”
Freddy turned his head toward Kemel once again. His chillingly sunken eyes seemed to ask: You dared to question me without permission earlier, and now you’re talking back?
“The situation has changed greatly from the old days when you ruled the organization, Boss.”
Freddy’s personality was extremely short-tempered and violent. So Kemel hurriedly began offering excuses before his anger could erupt. Roughly five years ago, an absolute being called the Death King had appeared and completely taken over the criminal underworld. After that, every organization in the underworld had begun operating under the control of his subordinates, the Seven Deadly Sins.
“Our Freddy's Dogs is currently receiving direct orders from Pride and governing this district. Pride has recently ordered us to refrain from any activities in the capital, Raymond.”
It was different from the old days when Freddy could act however he pleased and treat his subordinates as he wished. There was now an even more terrifying existence—the absolute being known as the Death King—standing firm, supported by the Seven Deadly Sins, all of them superhumans. To go against that will meant the end. Even Freddy was no exception.
“I will quickly report the fact that you have returned, Boss.”
If he wanted the position, Kemel would hand it over immediately. It was perfect timing. He had been wanting to quit everything lately and just rest. He would need Pride’s permission first, but he doubted Pride would stop him if the former boss had returned. Of course, since Freddy was not the type to handle work properly, Pride would probably come looking for him again in a few days. But even so, a few days of rest would be welcome.
Above all, getting involved with this guy will only make things annoying.
He would grant every wish and then disappear. Since there was no way to oppose him with force, that was the only way Kemel could escape this position.
“Haa.”
A low sigh escaped from Freddy’s mouth, and before Kemel could even realize something was wrong, flames erupted at his feet.
“Why has our Kemel’s tongue gotten so long while I was away?”
He could not even leave behind a scream as his last words. Kemel’s body, burned pitch black in an instant, toppled backward. Looking down at it coldly, Freddy clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“In short, you sold all my subordinates to someone else. And you call yourself scared of that guy and talk back to me.”
Death King, Seven Deadly Sins—what did he care? Rules established after his death, rules in which his opinion had not been reflected at all, held no interest for him. Why would he fear people he had never even seen before and ruin things because of them?
Why had he persistently clung to the hole that being had opened when rising from the underworld to the living world and crawled his way up? It was all to see Layla’s face at least one more time.
Yet without understanding any of that, the man had spouted such nonsense. It was a sin deserving of death, and killing him in one go almost felt like too light a punishment.
“This organization is useless now, too.”
He had come thinking it might be of some help, but it seemed that was in vain. Well, he could not expect much from guys who could not even properly follow the order not to let intruders in ten years ago.
“I’ll have to start everything from scratch.”
Freddy was not completely unaware that the current state of the criminal underworld was different from before. He had heard various things on his way here. But he had not fully accepted those stories.
What is there to fear from an absolute being or whatever.
He did not need to pay any attention to the Death King or the Seven Deadly Sins. In the first place, no matter how absolute, ruling the entire continent? Did that even make sense? There was a reason the criminal underworld had been called a lawless zone in the past. It possessed an abyss so vast, deep, and dark that no one could properly control it.
Having fully absorbed the realizations gained in the underworld during his ascent from the realm where growth had stopped to the living world and reached 5-star, even if he went against their feelings, there should be no great problem surviving by fleeing across the continent.
“Before creating a new organization, I should meet Layla first.”
Wait for me, Layla. I will appear before you once more as your fan.
The flames that had spread from Kemel’s body to the documents on the floor expanded throughout the entire building. As he left the room crackling with fire, a madness-filled smile was darkly etched across Freddy’s face, illuminated from behind by the flames.