[20 Minutes! Meet Me at the Central Plaza!!]
"Kuh-heok..."
The Drug & Rush was in total shambles. Cheshire, who had been blocking the entrance, slumped to the floor, coughing up blood. The countless wounds carved into her body and the blood-soaked state of her clothes spoke volumes about the ferocity of the battle that had just taken place.
"You're disgustingly persistent," Lamech said, brushing dust off his clothes. Unlike the battered Cheshire, he looked relatively unscathed. It was a natural result, given that he was a man virtually impossible to kill unless specific conditions were met.
'Damn it... I can't move anymore...'
Cheshire stared at the floor through blurred vision. She had known her opponent was strong, but she hadn't expected the gap to be this wide.
'Joon-ah...'
Even as she drifted toward unconsciousness, she refused to budge from the entrance. It was clear that this obsession-driven monster, addicted to slaughter, would track Jojun to the ends of the earth to tear his throat out. He was a freak of nature who didn't even care about the eyes of the gods.
Driven by the single-minded determination that she could not let Lamech out, she had guarded the entrance of Drug & Rush to the very end.
"Move, Cheshire."
"N-no..."
Lamech approached her. Cheshire didn't even have the strength to lift her head. She had lost too much blood, and her mind was half-gone. There were only two reasons she was still alive: the superhuman vitality she had gained from the various elixirs the Poacher had fed her since childhood, and the small, twisted mercy Lamech had shown her. His target was only the human.
"Ha. Can you even stop me in your current state?"
"You... will never... pass..."
"You've already lost your mind."
Lamech picked up the weapon that had fallen beside Cheshire.
"A laser pistol. A fine weapon."
Collecting weapons from defeated targets was an old habit of his. "I'll use this to kill that human."
"No... don't... Lamech... please..."
Just before she lost consciousness, Cheshire grabbed Lamech's leg. Lamech indifferently struck her temple, knocking her out completely.
"Jeky."
After fiddling with Cheshire's laser pistol to 'contaminate' it, Lamech called out to Jeky, who was hiding behind the counter watching the situation. Jeky had taken neither Cheshire's nor Lamech's side. Since she possessed zero combat ability, she had decided not to get caught in the middle of a whale fight. Had she intervened, she would have been shredded in an instant. So, she had hidden, covering her ears until the fight ended. If her brother, Jackson, had been awake, he would have tried to stop them no matter what, but she lacked the courage.
"Yes..."
"Treat this one. I have no intention of fighting that filthy poacher."
"O-okay..."
"Then, I'm off. I hope Jackson is here next time."
Lamech picked up the slumped Cheshire, tossed her toward Jeky, who was hiding behind the counter, lit a cigarette, and opened the shop door. His body vanished shortly after. He must have flown off somewhere into the Black Market.
"Ch-Cheshire..."
Jeky placed the unconscious Cheshire on a shop table and brought out various medicines. Among them were a few items that should never be used on a patient.
"I-I'll save you... after I run a few... experiments..."
Jeky gulped. If it were her brother Jackson, he wouldn't do such a thing to an unconscious person, but Jeky was a top-tier merchant of the Black Market who had already crossed the line. She was cut from a different cloth than her brother, the master of drug manufacturing. To seize the opportunity, she tried to inject an unknown drug into Cheshire's arm.
At that moment.
-BANG!!!
The shop door burst open, and two figures entered. One was a Fallen Angel with a menacing expression, and the other was a synthetic monster whose race was impossible to guess.
"You guys are..."
"CHESHIRE!!!"
The Fallen Angel rushed toward Cheshire, who lay unconscious on the table. She immediately reached out and began using healing magic. Jeky panicked. She tried to hide the syringe filled with multicolored liquid behind her back. Then, the Slaughter Beast, who had followed the Fallen Angel, grabbed Jeky by the throat.
"Kuh-heok!!"
"You, what were you trying to do to Cheshire just now? It's better not to lie. Unless you want to die."
"Gk... n-nothing..."
Sensing malice from Jeky, the Slaughter Beast roughly snatched the syringe from her hand and plunged it into his own forearm.
-Sluuuuurp...
The drug inside the syringe spread through Kekere's body. Kekere, who possessed extreme drug resistance, immediately broke down the narcotics and tossed the syringe to the floor.
-CLATTER!
Seeing the shattered syringe, Jeky realized she was screwed.
"Kuhaha... Phew. This stuff is killer... Wow. Hey, were you trying to use this garbage on Cheshire? Are you completely insane?"
Kekere threw Jeky against the wall.
-CRASH!!!
"KYAAAA!!!"
With her side pierced by a wooden splinter, Jeky hurriedly chewed and swallowed a candy from her pocket to erase the pain. She couldn't let the pain wake her brother, Jackson. Meanwhile, Kekere approached Jeky, grabbed her head, and asked,
"You bitch. Where is my master?"
"G-g-g..."
"Where is Jojun!!! Where is Jojun and that bastard named Lamech!!!"
-SPLASH!!!
Jeky's left arm was torn off, and Jackson, who had been drugged, opened his eyes slightly. "G-g-g... Jeky... what is this..."
"O-oppa..."
"Ugh..."
Jackson's consciousness was surfacing. If he found out what she had been trying to do, she might be dissected by her own brother. Jeky, who had survived by clinging to her brother's sympathy, knew that the moment she was dissected, she would lose her body and be left as nothing but a head. That would be the end of her life. Furthermore, Jackson, who lacked any sense of money, would surely be 'disposed of' by Black Market loan sharks the moment he abandoned his sister. To handle this situation alone, Jeky struck her brother's chin with her remaining right arm.
-CRACK!
Jackson fell into a deep, unconscious sleep. After confirming this, Jeky shouted at Kekere.
"H-he already left!!"
"What? Who?"
"B-both of them! The Cultist was pushed back by Cheshire and bounced outside... Cheshire was blocking Lamech alone and got broken through just a moment ago..."
"Phew... do you know where they went?"
"Ch-Cheshire definitely... I saw her send him to the Food Alley..."
Cheshire had intended to send Jojun to the Poacher first. If there was anyone in the Black Market who would help them without asking questions, it was the Poacher. However, due to the schemes of the Evil Gods, Jojun had been intercepted. Since the Boxman was famous for leaving no traces, even Lamech was unable to track Jojun. Unless Jojun revealed himself, Lamech would likely roam the entire Black Market hunting for him.
"Mer! Did you hear? She said the Food Alley."
"I heard. The Food Alley... First, we need to wake Cheshire if we want to move freely in the Black Market."
"Wait, I have that."
Kekere pulled a small bottle from her stomach pouch. It was an item she had received from Hellus while starving in the Abyss—an unfinished elixir. Hellus, who had been making things similar to elixirs using World Tree aphids, had asked Kekere, who had high drug and poison resistance, to conduct various experiments, and she had received one at that time.
"Can I... use this?"
"I drank a few bottles; it's lacking to be called an elixir, but there are no side effects. It should be fine to eat."
Soon, the elixir imitation was poured into the mouth of Cheshire, whose condition was already improving thanks to Mer's healing magic.
"Kuh-heok... cough... cough...!!"
Cheshire woke up.
"Uwaaa!! LAMECH!!!"
"Calm down, Cheshire! It's us."
"Ah, Mer... Mer? Where is Jojun? Where is Joon?"
"The other party members are searching for him now. We must find Jojun quickly, too. Before Lamech finds him first."
"H-his pager... something on the pager... huh?"
The records on the guide pager had been cut off for 30 minutes.
"Let's get out of here first. There's nothing more to gain here."
"Yes...!"
Soon, the three women left the drug dealer's shop. Their destination was the Food Alley. Just before leaving, Mer glared at Jeky and said,
"I will hold you responsible later. If you run away, I will chase you to the ends of hell, so stay put."
Mer spat out the warning to Jeky, who was sitting on the floor forcibly suturing her arm. Jeky nodded. There was nowhere else for Jeky to run besides this shop. If there was one other place, it was Franken's laboratory, but... she didn't want to go there even if she died.
"Haa... Oppa... what do I do now..."
She stroked the head of Jackson, who was sleeping as if knocked out. The result of giving in to a moment of temptation was that her life was now in danger. This is why drugs are dangerous.
The Black Market's Food Alley. A duo appeared there.
"Hey, are you sure we're going the right way?"
"I can definitely smell it here. Sniff, sniff..."
It was the Beast Hunter Killian and Henry, the Ghost of the Abyss. Currently, Killian was tracking Jojun's scent. As a result, they were able to reach the Food Alley where Jojun had bled profusely.
"Hmm?"
While Killian was busy tracking Jojun's clues, Henry sensed a spine-chilling energy.
"This is..."
It was a very familiar energy. It was killing intent. Refined, sharp killing intent. The opponent was a master.
"Killian."
"Sniff, sniff... it looks like he went somewhere else from here..."
"Killian!"
"Huh? What... oh... what is that..."
Where their gazes landed, a disheveled man was glaring at them while carrying a large bag.
"That must be him."
Henry realized it immediately. The fact that the monster Jojun mentioned, Lamech, was that man. Meanwhile, Killian realized that Jojun's scent had completely vanished from the Food Alley. Jojun was not here. Therefore, the two men's tasks were clear.
"Killian. I request covering fire. I need to hold that guy down as much as possible."
"I-I'm a bit scared..."
"No... are you thinking of running away again...?"
"I-I'm the type who doesn't take fights I can't win!"
"You... coward bastard..."
The two men's defense was quite precarious from the very start.
"Where is this?"
"Ah, that is... it's called the Festival of Sorrow. Where the slave traders are..."
An abandoned amusement park where the Festival of Sorrow was taking place. Hilde and Aila reached that place. The two had almost no connection, so it was very awkward. Still, since they could reach this far with a single movement, it was the most efficient method.
"Oh? Hilde-nim... Joon's energy..."
At that moment, Aila sensed the Black Snake Three Divine Treasures she had given to Jojun. It was not far away. They had arrived at the exact moment Jojun entered the slave trader's circus tent.
"T-there it is!!"
Aila pointed to the circus tent made of red canvas. At that moment, Hilde pulled out her wings, hugged Aila, and soared into the sky. Arriving in front of the circus tent after traversing the amusement park in just 10 seconds, the two hurriedly entered.
"Joon!!"
"Cultist! Argh!!!"
-CRACK!!!
"KYAAAA!!!"
The slave trader lunged to catch Jojun, and as the terrified Jojun fled outside the circus tent, the two entered. As a result, the slave trader ended up lunging at Hilde, and Hilde immediately struck the slave trader away.
-THUD!!!
"DAMNNNNN!!! Who the hell are you guys again!"
The slave trader, who had just missed Jojun, was already frustrated to death, and now that he was being interrupted, he felt like his hair was going to fall out. Regardless, Hilde strode down, grabbed the clown who was shedding tears by his hair, and lifted him up. Only then did the clown realize that one of the women who had just entered was Aila, and this red-haired woman was a polymorphed dragon. It was a desperate crisis.
"Kuhhh!!! W-wait!!"
"Can you move freely through the Black Market?"
"Yes? M-me...?"
"Yes. I asked if you can move freely through the Black Market. If you can't, you'll burn to death here. For a long time."
"Ah... y-yes, I can!!"
"It's fortunate I don't have to kill you. Then, guide me."
"T-to where..."
"To where the Cultist is."
"Uh... t-that is..."
"Can't you?"
"Y-yes, I can!!"
Every time Hilde raised her hand, the slave trader flinched and shouted that he could definitely do it. He realized. This was not an opponent with whom jokes would work. Moreover, judging by the faint energy of corruption he felt...
'That crazy 광룡 (Mad Dragon)... who killed the Dragon King's child and ran away...'
The slave trader, who was well-versed in information about criminals, realized the existence of Brynhildr. He began to rack his brain. If he handed this woman over to the Dragon King, he would be able to purchase all the slaves he wanted. He might even be taken in by the Manma-jeon. If that happened... he might even be able to make the forest-keeping elves his slaves.
"I-I will guide you!! If we intercept the signal going to the Black Market guide... we can definitely find the Cultist! Haha..!"
He smiled. When a clown is up to no good, he smiles broadly.
Meanwhile, Central Plaza.
"Damn... what is this..."
Jojun, who had moved to the Central Plaza, was staring blankly at the scenery before him.
"Kieeeee!! It's Paimon-nim's order!!!"
"Find Jang Jojun!!! It's the human Jang Jojun!!!"
"Uwoooooo!!!!"
Thousands of parasitic trees and the underground guard were fighting like crazy, and the vigilantes were in battle with nameless low-level demons.
"Why, why did things get so twisted...?"
He looked at the demons searching for him and recalled the list of beings he had sworn to kill.
'Nick, World Tree, Lamech, and...'
As expected, Jojun hated Paimon the most, who interfered with him at every turn.