Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Snake Hunt (1)
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The jolting carriage.
Inside it, Victor, the servant of the Viscount Haksen family, stared at the seat across from him with a face full of distrust and wariness.
There sat Demian Haksen, the eldest son of the Viscount Haksen family.
‘What scheme are you plotting now, dragging me along?’
Just a few minutes earlier, Victor had been handling the carcass of a horse that had died suddenly, along with the other servants.
Then Demian Haksen had appeared out of nowhere and called him over, saying he had a task for him.
-Young master, what is it?
-You’re coming with me to Landwalk City.
-Yes, yes? Wh-why would you go to such a dangerous place!
-I have business there, so follow me quietly.
Recalling that conversation, Victor let out a secret sigh.
It was obvious that entering Landwalk City now would mean running into the furious Black Snake.
But he couldn’t refuse to go.
Demian Haksen was the heir to the viscountcy. And serving the heir was Victor’s duty.
‘I hope this passes quietly without any trouble….’
Whether he knew Victor’s feelings or not, Demian Haksen was engrossed in a book.
It was an extremely old book, its cover completely worn away.
It was Victor’s first time seeing Demian Haksen reading, sparking his curiosity. Victor asked him.
“Young master, what on earth is that book you’re reading so intently?”
“This? A black magic tome. I picked it up recently.”
Victor gave a sly smile at Demian Haksen’s response.
“Young master, do you think I’d fall for such an absurd lie?”
“It’s real.”
“I may be an illiterate fool, but I know full well how dangerous and hard-to-obtain a black magic tome is.”
Victor puffed out his chest as he spoke.
Demian Haksen glanced at him and muttered.
“You really are an amusing guy.”
* * *
A few hours later, the carriage arrived safely in Landwalk City.
“Victor. I have a job for you.”
As soon as they entered the city, Demian Haksen handed Victor a sack.
The moment he saw the sack, Victor grimaced.
The bottom was soaked, and it gave off a strange smell.
“…Young master, what is this?”
“A person’s head.”
“No, young master. I told you, even if I’m ignorant, I won’t fall for jokes like…”
Victor peered inside the sack without thinking. His eyes met those of a head staring wide-eyed.
“Gahhhh!”
Victor screamed and fell to the ground. Demian Haksen picked up the sack.
“Y-y-young master!”
“Calm down. People are staring.”
Just as Demian Haksen said, gazes were focusing on them from around.
“Wh-what is this?”
“I’ll explain the details later. For now, your job is to deliver this head and this notebook to the church in the city.”
Demian Haksen handed over a notebook. Victor quickly took it.
“This is a very important mission. You must deliver these to the church. That way, there won’t be any loose ends.”
“L-loose ends?”
At Victor’s question, Demian Haksen smiled.
“I said I’d explain later, right? Now get moving if you understand.”
Victor nodded with a resolute face.
Clutching the sack and notebook to his chest, he dashed down the main street.
“Then I should get moving too.”
* * *
The first place Demian Haksen headed to was the tavern he had raided the day before.
‘Cutting off heads is easy, but that won’t satisfy me. They touched my family, so I’ll crush their bodies first.’
Demian Haksen intended to uproot the Black Snake from Landwalk City entirely.
To achieve that, he first needed to know the locations of all their branches in the city.
That’s why he had come to the tavern.
‘And while I’m at it, squeeze some potions out of the owner.’
However, Demian Haksen’s plan hit a snag from the start.
“…It’s closed?”
The tavern door was boarded up.
A sign reading “Closed for Business” was posted on the boards.
“What a shame.”
Demian Haksen stroked his chin.
With things like this, he had no choice but to capture another gang member and interrogate them about the base locations.
He was pondering where to find a Black Snake member when—
“You damn thug!”
A sudden shout rang out. Looking toward the source, he saw two men arguing.
“Hand over my money right now! I said hand it over!”
A gaunt man in rags yelled in an anger-filled voice.
“Your money? I told you clearly. I’d arrange a job, but I’d take a fee for my trouble.”
The man in rags protested, but the other snorted derisively.
Unlike the ragged man, he wore new clothes and had a sturdy build.
“Fee? Yeah! You said you’d take a fee! But you didn’t say you’d skim 80% as an introduction fee!”
“I’m telling you now. The introduction fee is 80%.”
Demian Haksen observed the two closely.
More precisely, he eyed the sturdy man’s nape. A snake tattoo was inked there.
“You con artist! Give me back my money right now!”
The ragged man clung to the other.
The man scowled fiercely and drove his fist into the ragged man’s gut.
“Guhk!”
The ragged man’s back arched like a shrimp.
The man didn’t stop there; he grabbed the ragged man’s hair and began slapping him.
“Hey, you beggar scum. When you were begging for a job because there were none, and now that I got you one, you’re bitching at me?”
“P-please stop.”
“Stop what? You little shit. Be grateful I got you a good job. Thug? Con artist?”
“Ugh! Ack!”
The ragged man just took every hit without resistance.
Only after beating him for a while did the man stop.
“Ptoo! Show your face to me one more time, and I’ll smash both your legs.”
The man turned to leave. Then someone grabbed his shoulder.
“And who the hell are you?”
The man scowled and turned around.
Demian Haksen had placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“You’re Black Snake, right?”
“So what? You need a job too?”
“No, I need something else.”
“Something else?”
“Tell me all the Black Snake bases in the city.”
The man’s face twisted in rage at those words.
“Have you lost your mind, you fucker!”
The man swung a fist out of nowhere.
Demian Haksen easily dodged and drew his longsword.
The blade grazed the man’s wrist. Soon, the man’s hand thudded to the ground.
“Aaahhh!”
The man screamed, clutching his wrist.
Blood seeped between his fingers.
“Y-you bastard! You cut off my—my arm! My arm!”
“Shut up. Can you be quiet?”
Demian Haksen pressed his longsword to the man’s throat.
The man gulped and clamped his mouth shut.
“You catch on quick. I like that.”
“Wh-who the hell are you?”
“Think you’ll know if I say Demian Haksen?”
“…D-Demian Haksen? N-no way, the murderous noble who raided the tavern?”
“Harsh words. I only exacted rightful vengeance.”
“H-how dare you return to the city. You must be suicidal…”
“Didn’t I ask you to be quiet?”
Demian pressed the blade tighter to the man’s throat. The man’s face paled.
“Why did that tavern shut down? I caused a scene, but the place itself was fine.”
“C-crazy bastard… After that shit happened, you think customers would come? No income, so the boss closed it!”
“What about the owner? That Andersen something guy.”
“Th-that old fart? Boss said he had to take responsibility for the mess and dealt with him.”
Demian Haksen clicked his tongue.
Too bad—he’d hoped to squeeze more potions out of him.
“Next question. Tell me all the Black Snake bases in Landwalk City.”
The man’s eyes wavered. He was clearly hesitating.
“Looks like… you still don’t get it. Want me to cut off an ear too?”
“N-no! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you, so stop!”
The threat worked. The gang member spilled everything to Demian Haksen.
Demian marked the locations the man mentioned on a city map he’d brought.
Excluding the central headquarters, there were five in total.
“What’s with so many?”
“Th-the Black Snake is the biggest gang in Landwalk City. That’s normal…”
“Thugs are thugs, no matter how impressive they think they are.”
Demian Haksen removed the sword from the gang member’s throat. The man’s face brightened a bit.
“S-so, you’ll let me go now?”
“No.”
Demian Haksen slashed the gang member’s throat with his sword.
The man died without even realizing what hit him.
“Once the church gets involved, you’re all dead anyway.”
The church never forgave black mages or their collaborators.
Once Victor handed over the evidence, the church would learn of the Black Snake’s dealings with the black mage.
Then they’d swiftly purge the Black Snake for heresy.
Demian Haksen planned to wipe them out before that.
He needed to set this precedent so future enemies wouldn’t dare touch his family.
“Conveniently, there’s one nearby.”
Demian Haksen started to move.
Then he noticed the ragged man trembling on the ground.
The ragged man eyed Demian Haksen warily, face full of fear.
“Ah.”
As if suddenly remembering, Demian Haksen reached into the gang member’s pocket.
He pulled out a money pouch and tossed it to the man.
“Wh-why are you giving this to me…”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t kill him because of you.”
“Th-then why give me this money?”
“Incidentally.”
The ragged man looked bewildered at those words.
Demian Haksen ignored him and walked away.
* * *
The first base Demian Haksen visited was a two-story building in a back alley.
A scruffy-looking gang member stood guard at the entrance.
Demian Haksen walked straight up to him.
“Hey, no peddlers allowed here. Scram.”
Demian Haksen didn’t stop at the gang member’s warning.
The gang member scowled and growled.
“Didn’t you hear me? Unless you want a beating like a dog, get lost…”
The moment he entered range, Demian Haksen swung his longsword.
The gang member’s head was cleanly severed.
He opened the door and entered the building.
Black Snake gang members were gambling and drinking around a large table.
Beside them, a naked man and woman knelt on their knees.
“You fucking mongrel bastards!”
A middle-aged man was raging in front of the pair.
“I put you scum in to watch the whores, and instead you hook up with one and run off? Smearing shit on my face like that!”
“B-branch chief! I’m sorry. I was wrong!”
“P-please spare us! W-we won’t do it again! We’ll never defy you, branch chief!”
The pair clasped their hands in begging. But the branch chief’s fury didn’t subside.
“You bitch! Do you know how much debt you owe, and you run? Your mom died without paying it, so you should’ve paid it off with your body!”
The branch chief grabbed the woman’s hair. Tears welled in her pained eyes.
“Damn it. No choice. I’ll behead you both as an example.”
“B-branch chief! Please show mercy just this once!”
“P-please, I beg you!”
“Shut up!”
The branch chief kicked the pair in the face.
They collapsed to the floor, groaning.
“Branch chief, forget it and come join us for a round.”
“Yeah, why get pissed at trash like that.”
The gambling gang members called to the branch chief.
The branch chief huffed and tried to join the game.
That’s when he spotted Demian Haksen standing at the door.
“Ah… This idiot can’t even guard properly.”
The branch chief irritably ruffled his hair.
“Fuck, who’s on guard duty today?”
“Henry.”
“Drag that fucker to my room. Time to drill some discipline into him.”
“Got it.”
“Got it my ass! Don’t just sit there—kick that fucker out now!”
The branch chief smacked a gang member on the back of the head in anger.
The gang member rubbed his head and stood up, expression sour.
“F… fuck.”
Probably planning to vent his anger on Demian Haksen, he cracked his knuckles as he approached.
“Do you know where you are, stepping in here? Think Black Snake is a joke? I’ll beat some sense into you today.”
Demian Haksen didn’t bother replying and swung his longsword.
The blade sliced across the gang member’s throat.
Moments later, the man’s head slipped from his neck and hit the ground.
“…Huh?”
“Wh-what?”
The other gang members watching made dumb noises.
The sudden death of their comrade left them slow to react.
The headless body lost balance and toppled.
At that moment, the gang members snapped to.
“B-Broad’s dead!”
“I-it’s an attack!”
They scrambled for their weapons.
But Demian Haksen was faster.
He charged into their midst.
“Gurk!”
“Gahk!”
Blood sprayed with every swing of Demian Haksen’s longsword.
The gang members’ bodies were sliced apart. In the blink of an eye, they were all corpses.
All except one—the branch chief.
“U-uwaaaah!”
The branch chief’s legs gave out, and he collapsed. He pointed at Demian Haksen, trembling.
“Wh-what are you! D-do you know who I am? I-I’m a Black Snake executive!”
“Shut up.”
Demian Haksen crushed the branch chief’s ankle underfoot.
Crack.
The ankle snapped with the sound. The branch chief screamed.
“Scream again, and I’ll cut it off.”
At Demian Haksen’s warning, the branch chief clamped his mouth shut.
Once he quieted, Demian Haksen glanced at the naked pair.
“P-please spare us!”
They prostrated themselves before him.
Demian Haksen said indifferently.
“You two can go.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Try to live honest lives.”
“W-we will!”
The pair hurriedly grabbed their clothes and fled.
“Now it’s just us two.”
Demian Haksen’s gaze shifted back to the branch chief. The man’s face turned ashen.
“Answer my questions from now on.”
“S-so if I do, y-you’ll spare me?”
“I’ll decide after hearing you out.”
Demian Haksen bent down to meet the branch chief’s eyes.
“Tell me all the Black Snake branches in this city.”
He’d heard from the first gang member, but he couldn’t fully trust it.
He needed cross-verification in case of trouble.
“Wh-why would you…”
Demian Haksen struck the branch chief’s face with his sword hilt.
The branch chief spat broken teeth, writhing in pain.
“Answer only the questions. Got it?”
The branch chief nodded, tears streaming down.