Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Chapter 34.
Just now, Eddie had died.
Gunter blinked, checking the message repeatedly.
But the content remained unchanged.
A chilling dread swept from his spine to the back of his knees.
'...What? How is that possible?'
He had only left the bunker ten minutes ago.
Considering his pace, Eddie should have just exited the underground bunker entrance.
Gunter had already dealt with all the organization members on the way.
What could possibly have led to his death in that short time?
A lower levels thug lurking near the bunker?
A gang member he missed?
Absurd assumptions.
Even if injured, Eddie was a Contractor.
A Contractor whose skills were specialized in Tanking, no less.
And wasn't the female Contractor, a combatant, with him?
"...Damn it."
In the narrow steel passageway of the underground bunker, Gunter was momentarily frozen, seized by immense bewilderment.
At that moment, one face came to mind.
"Yes! I'll trust you!"
Brody, who had asked for a search with eyes full of trust.
The scene where he promised to bring Eddie back alive tightened his chest.
'Snap out of it.'
Gunter gritted his teeth and shook his head.
Self-blame and confusion could wait.
Regardless, now that an unknown threat had revealed itself, he couldn't afford to hesitate and delay his judgment here.
Gunter's gaze flickered rapidly between the passageway leading deeper into the bunker and the exit.
He soon admitted it.
'…….'
Dealing with the mother as originally planned was impossible.
The interior was still swarming with gang members.
If he charged in recklessly, he'd be surrounded from both sides and die without accomplishing anything.
Therefore, there was only one conclusion.
'Return to the entrance.'
An instinct honed through countless deaths was sounding an alarm.
The scent of death had crept up to his nose.
Gunter's eyes darkened.
If so, there was only one choice.
He had to decide how to utilize the approaching death, what to extract from it.
Yes.
The unknown threat that killed Eddie.
He had to uncover its identity.
Tatak-
Gunter cast aside his hesitation and turned his body.
And he sprinted with unwavering steps towards the dark passageway where Eddie had vanished.
.
.
.
It was unexpected.
He encountered no one until the stairs leading to the entrance came into view.
Neither Eddie's corpse nor any signs of a struggle were visible.
'He must have been attacked outside.'
The perpetrator seemed to still be outside.
And for some reason, it hadn't stormed inside yet.
Tatak-
Gunter bounded up the stairs in one go.
He was wary of an ambush, but no swords, arrows, or magic bullets flew until his body was fully exposed to the outside.
Huuuuuung-
...Only the biting wind of early winter swept past his cheek.
Thud-
After taking a few steps, Gunter stopped.
The smell of iron permeating the air.
The scene spread across the clearing was as expected.
[‘Calm Heart’ is activated]
Eddie's corpse, with its throat half-severed, was the first thing he saw.
The blood pooling on the ground emitted faint steam.
His hand, still clutching his sword, twitched as if in convulsions.
'He was killed in a single blow.'
Gunter's gaze naturally shifted behind the body.
He finally understood why the perpetrator had lingered outside instead of storming in immediately.
"Ughhh. I was wrong, I was wrong!"
The female Contractor was already dead, and the two non-combatant men were weeping under torture.
Though he couldn't hear clearly, he instinctively knew it was about him.
"Ugh, is it him? Is that guy the only one who broke in?"
The stout man orchestrating the torture chuckled and looked at Gunter.
Expensive clothes and accessories.
Contrasted by his vulgarity.
His bulky physique caused his taut clothing to reveal tangled, messy tattoos.
Gunter recalled the description from the document Brody had given him.
'...The gang's Boss.'
The Boss, puffing on a pipe, gestured to the two men sprawled on the ground.
"Get rid of these two. They're not needed anymore."
...Not needed anymore? Contractors?
As Gunter's eyes narrowed at the unexpected words, the tall, slender man standing next to the Boss moved.
Swish-
With a nonchalant expression, he swung his twin daggers.
The throats of the two wailing men were instantly slit.
They likely felt no pain.
Gunter's gaze moved to the man's forehead.
Specifically, to the deep X-shaped scar etched in its center.
'...It's the guy Eddie warned me about.'
His yellow, beast-like eyes flickered over Gunter.
A sinister, sharp killing intent mixed with the smell of blood, pressing down on him.
But Gunter's gaze didn't linger on him.
'…….'
He felt no aura of death from the Scarred Man, the gang Boss, or the row of executives.
Gunter's gaze fixed on a massive carriage parked behind them.
Its scale suggested it was built to transport large beasts.
Though covered by thick canvas, obscuring the interior, its purpose was easily inferred.
And before it stood two figures.
"Hmm... Sir Patrick. Take a look at that fellow."
"...His spirit is quite fierce."
Though not wearing priest robes or armor, Gunter recognized their identities instantly.
'A Paladin and a Priest.'
...The entire situation unfolded before him.
Coincidentally, today.
They had come to retrieve the mother that Rutien had entrusted to the gang.
He could infer this from the strangely large carriage, and the scene of the Contractors, meant to be food, being brutally killed confirmed it.
They no longer needed Contractors.
Gunter's eyes twitched slightly.
'Of all days... today.'
It was a day of exceptionally bad luck.
"What should we do with that guy...?"
The once imposing gang Boss scurried over to the Paladin and Priest, bowing his waist.
"Just give the order. I'll drag that moth who ruined our auspicious day and present him at your feet like a dog."
Despite his fawning tone, neither of them spared him a glance, only looking at each other.
"When I first heard the report, I thought it was Night Crow... but he's not wearing a mask."
"That's right, Sir Patrick. He seems to be a mere fool who rushed in to save a friend."
"However... with that level of skill, wouldn't it yield interesting results if fed to the mother, what do you think?"
"Agreed. Let's use him as food."
Gunter's fate was thus sealed.
To be captured and fed to the mother.
"Hey."
The Paladin, with eyes devoid of any chivalry, gestured with his chin towards the gang Boss.
"Keep him alive. It improves the efficiency of the meal."
"W-what choice is there? Men, attack!"
The gang executives, armed with daggers and maces, slowly approached.
The Scarred Man drew his twin daggers with a blank expression.
Gunter stood firm, watching the approaching enemies.
'This is... not good.'
The calculation was simple.
The Scarred Man alone was already formidable.
Even if he used all his trump cards and defeated them all, he couldn't withstand a combined assault from the Paladin and Priest.
'Zero chance of victory.'
If he didn't commit suicide now, only the fate of being chewed alive by the mother awaited him.
Gunter's hand fumbled inside his coat for the suicide dagger.
'For the next life...'
...Kkuuk.
But his hand, emerging back into the open, held nothing.
Clack-
His fingers, fumbling as if hesitant in the air, grasped the long sword at his waist, Rhadenbach's Steadfastness.
With it, a fierce light rekindled in Gunter's eyes.
'No, not yet.'
There was still something to gain in this life.
With no risk of being captured, suicide was not the best option.
It was merely an escape.
Of course, he was afraid.
Death, confirmed in a horrific form, was approaching.
But he was a Regressor.
A being who had to face death with calculation, not emotion.
If he succumbed to fear and turned his back here, he would pay a greater price in future lives.
Gunter took a deep breath, organizing his chaotic thoughts.
'I must find out.'
Their strength, tactics, means, and the mother's condition.
He had to grasp that precise data to lay the groundwork for a counterattack in the next life.
Sreung-
Gunter exhaled softly.
His trembling hand drew his sword.
.
.
.
Thwack-
Gunter's body was slammed into the ground.
The shock that stole his breath made his fading consciousness flicker faintly.
As he struggled to lift his eyelids, before him-
Dreadreadread-
A black shadow covered the floor.
Quickly crossing dark brown segmented legs.
Click- Click-
The chilling clacking of mandibles beneath his chin and dozens of eyes, tangled like a swarm of flies, stared at him.
'Damn it.'
How many people had it consumed?
The mother was far larger than he had anticipated.
Gunter exhaled a short breath, then raised his gaze.
...A cheerful humming reached his ears.
"Heh heh..."
Above the high drop chute.
The Paladin and Priest peered down at him with intrigued gazes.
Cruel anticipation flickered in their eyes, like spectators watching a bleeding gladiator.
A sadism that craved screams and pleas.
'You wish.'
But Gunter didn't waver in the slightest.
He had never pleaded in his life, except when his salary was withheld.
Instead of fulfilling their expectations, he forced his staggering body to rise.
Chak-
And raised his two fists.
A moment of silence.
A burst of boisterous laughter erupted from above.
But Gunter's expression was calm.
'This is the end.'
Understanding the mother's specs.
This was the completion of the answer.
...Now, all that remained was to struggle with all his might until the very end.
In his own way.
"See you later, you bastards."
Gunter smiled faintly and kicked off the ground first.
Kkwa-jijijik-
It was the same moment a giant mandible pierced his abdomen.
Swallowing the searing pain, he struck the spider's carapace with all his might.
Kieeeek-
Naturally, it was insufficient.
The spider, unbothered by the barrage of punches, tore at his body with its mandibles.
The sensation of flesh and blood being ripped apart spread like a fireball.
Gunter resisted with all his might, but the rate at which his strength drained was unstoppable.
Churururuk-
The mother, having incapacitated him, wrapped him tightly in sticky spider silk.
It seemed to intend to suck his bodily fluids while he was still alive.
"Haha... look at him squirm."
"The more intense the pain, the sweeter the offering. This should be excellent."
The mother could no longer induce growth with the existing minor Contractors.
But at this unexpected moment, a high-quality meal had appeared, so why wouldn't they be delighted?
It was at that moment that the joyous laughter of the Paladin and Priest echoed through the feeding hall.
Shuuk-!
A dagger, suddenly flying, pierced Gunter's neck like lightning.
With his vision fading, Gunter stared in the direction the dagger had come from.
He saw nothing.
.
.
.
Tiring-!
[You have died]
[Counting death records]
[13/99]
Tiring-!
[#13 The Trapped Rat's Life]
[What terrible luck... Gunter, you crawled into a trap yourself. Will you truly be able to escape successfully?]
[Calculating Karma...]
[Karma for the Thirteenth Life: 110]
[Owned Karma: 453]
[Total Karma: 1775]
Tiring-!
[Self-created scenario, ‘Brody's Request,’ has been reactivated]
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[Returning to Save Point #4