Chapter 128. The Battle of the Strongest (1)
The Demon King and the Hero were beings fated to always manifest in this world.
In a world established upon such an absolute law, the Hero, in particular, could not help but draw even more attention than the Demon King.
Unlike the Demon King, whose existence was absolute and whose power permitted no defiance, the Hero—though brimming with potential—began weak and thus felt far more familiar to mortals.
This held true for both the forces of Humanity and the Demon King's Army.
As everyone watched the Hero's movements, some depended on her or regarded her as an object of envy, while others schemed to curry favor with her mission or manipulate the Hero herself to fulfill their own long-cherished desires.
And some, harboring twisted desires, approached by making the Hero's very existence their goal....
"I've brought her as I said."
A fixer of the underworld, commissioned by one who harbored such desires.
As Bardos stated it plainly, the old man conducting the transaction looked down at the woman collapsed on the floor.
"Yes. Are you telling me this young lady, fast asleep and oblivious to the ways of the world, is truly the Hero?"
"If I were the type to deceive with such things, you wouldn't have commissioned me in the first place."
Like Bardos, the old man concealed his figure with a black hood, but the wrinkled hands revealed beneath his sleeves were nearly covered with rings on every finger, each set with meticulously crafted gemstones.
Items that in themselves allowed one to guess at his wealth and status.
However, Bardos did not bother to probe that aspect deeply.
Whether the client was a high-ranking noble or a turncoat who had betrayed humanity, the only thing that ever mattered to him was whether they possessed the financial means to pay him.
"I didn't mean it out of suspicion. It's simply hard to believe. Truly... the moment has come when the Hero is in my grasp."
The old man chuckled at Bardos's sarcasm as he looked down at Serika.
Before his wrinkled hand could touch her face, she felt the presence, furrowed her brow, and slowly began to open her eyes.
"...Uh, ueh?"
A moan escaping her as she just woke from sleep.
Afterward, she stared at the old man before her with vacant eyes and tilted her head.
"Eh, auh..."
The old man wore a puzzled expression at the babble leaving her mouth.
Bardos, who had been watching him, clicked his tongue and gestured to a nearby subordinate.
"...Seems she hasn't fully woken. Put her back to sleep."
"Understood."
The subordinates immediately approached Serika and brought a drug-soaked cloth to her mouth.
Smelling the fumes, Serika let out a "Heeeuuu..." sound and fell back into a deep slumber, and the old man watching this scene burst into laughter once more as he began to examine Serika's face.
"Looking at her this way, she really is quite a plain young lady. So much so that I doubt she was truly born with the destiny to become the center of the world......"
Plain.
What other word could describe this woman so perfectly?
Having encountered countless charming women throughout his life, the old man could state that evaluation with even greater conviction—despite her face objectively qualifying as beautiful.
"...Hey."
And separately from that, the client's evaluation caused Bardos no small amount of unease.
"You're not thinking of rejecting her because her appearance isn't to your taste, are you?"
"Keuh-huh-huh~! Do not worry so. I only meant that she seems to have almost no experience in grooming her appearance."
Saying this, the old man smoothly showed off the jewels set in the rings fitted on his fingers.
Each gem, meticulously crafted by master artisans, highlighted its incomparable value simply by reflecting the moonlight seeping into the warehouse.
"Indeed, the gems fitted on these hands were originally nothing more than rough stones. What do you think transformed them into valuable treasures?"
"...The client?"
"The artisan. No matter how much money one has, without skill, even the rich will ultimately end up displaying mere stones in their rooms."
Just as he said, everything that existed in the world harbored its own potential, but in its original state, could not properly demonstrate its worth.
To truly transform all of that into something one could call a treasure, it had to pass through the hands of one who could bring out that value.
"And I have personally crafted many women with these hands up until now. Even insignificant women, after passing through my hands, were reborn as charming figures and went on to flaunt their appearances all over the world."
What a fancy way to spin a perverted hobby.
The fact that the women groomed by his hands invariably became broken shells was a story known to those in the know.
The old man paid no heed to such rumors and, as if pressing his convictions, demanded Bardos's empathy.
"Wouldn't you say the Hero, who has only just begun to grow, is the finest material necessary to create such a treasure?"
"......If you say so."
Whatever happened, he was a man who only needed to receive his pay.
Bardos was filled with the desire to quickly hand over custody of the Hero and escape this place.
After all, the underworld had recently been in a chaotic state with rebellions and whatnot.
The plan to kidnap the Hero by exploiting that confusion had been carried out boldly, but since a prolonged trail risked getting them caught, he planned to lie low and operate quietly for the time being.
He had also decided to use the money earned this time after the situation had settled down to some degree.
"But isn't the Hero a person many eyes are watching? Even for someone of your stature, it seems you wouldn't be able to keep her for long......."
But perhaps because the kidnapped target was who she was?
When he asked the question out of an abundance of caution, the old man chuckled and showed one of the rings fitted on his hand.
Unlike the rings shining in a myriad of colors, this one emanated a particularly dark and ominous magical energy.
"There's no need to worry about that. Because what I intend to do is just a little, just a tiny bit of touching up on her mind."
"...Touching up her mind?"
"It's entirely possible using an object imbued with the power of the Demonic Race. It's nothing more than planting a light suggestion, but as she repeats that suggestion to herself, she will one day come to find me on her own."
That after the work was done, he would release her immediately, and the power dwelling in her mind would gradually begin to erode her without him having to lift a finger.
The process would be slow but certain, so no one would notice the change occurring in the Hero and would simply accept that decision.
The old man held such conviction. Because all the many women he had seduced so far had met such an end.
"...Then, well, I suppose I needn't worry."
He didn't know where the old man had obtained such an object, but in any case, if he was going to release her soon, even the Human Alliance—distracted by the Rebel Army—wouldn't drag out the investigation.
His tail wouldn't be followed for long, so he could leave here with peace of mind.
Only after hearing that affirmation did Bardos leave the warehouse. He paused at the entrance at the last moment, straining his ears to the voice coming from behind.
"Uhehehe! At last, at last the day my long-cherished desire is achieved has come. Hero, do not worry. I will only peer into your mind just a little......."
"...That damned old bastard."
Did he still wish to take out his perverted lust on a young girl even at that age?
With the thought that he truly wasn't a man to associate with, Bardos cursed and left the area.
It was only after they had more or less left the gloomy warehouse district on the outskirts of the city that his followers spoke up.
"Is this job finished with this?"
"As expected of the boss! Not only obtaining the Hero's information that the royal family had concealed, but even boldly kidnapping her— I truly respect that nerve and skill!"
"...Don't make a fuss over nothing. The job isn't completely done yet, so just prepare to break away as soon as we join up with the group."
"Oh my, that's only natural~"
"By the time we arrive, the guys will have everything prepared. Boss, you just need to come, so don't worry!"
Despite his scolding, his subordinates advanced through the dawn streets in high spirits.
Even their immature flattery had been pleasant to hear in the past, but now it brought on a fair amount of annoyance.
'It didn't seem like I was this numb when I first started this work.'
The underworld, where law and ethics did not exist.
The clients wishing to use that place were not limited to outlaws.
On the contrary, the more one grew weary of the regulations of the surface world, the more intense their longing for an environment where they could act boldly became.
And the one most envied in such a place was the one with the most outstanding skill.
Regardless of position or criminal record, here, as long as one had ability, all manner of rewards and fame followed.
Bardos was someone who possessed the skill befitting that.
The man who had reigned as the top fixer within just a few years of descending to the underworld. The strongest of the underworld.
'...Maybe it's because it's all too easy.'
But now, having even finished the task of kidnapping the Hero, Bardos felt a fair amount of skepticism toward his current self.
Because everything had gone so well after he descended to the underworld that he felt no particular tension... Yes, it was probably because he was suffering from what was commonly called boredom.
Just look at now. No one had tracked them down from the moment he personally infiltrated the Hero's residence until completing the transaction.
'Well, it seems that Berdia woman has joined the party, but she probably can't track us.'
Even renowned trackers could barely follow his trail, so how could that woman who could only stubbornly hold a shield possibly follow him?
Unless someone well-versed in the ways of the underworld was in that party.
At least, since even Melia, known among the party members to be skilled in tracking, had gone missing, it was virtually impossible for the remaining members to chase after him.
A Grand Archmage who only stared at books, a sniper who had only recently become an adventurer, and a party comprised of nothing but porters not even worth investigating.......
"Boss, we're almost there."
"Ah, yeah."
In any case, this request had been safely completed.
After this, all that remained was to lead his organization out of the country and wait for the rebellion that would soon break out in the nation to end.
After that, it was simply a matter of starting a business or enjoying pleasures with the money earned this time.
As he was mulling over these smooth plans while chewing over his boredom, Bardos suddenly halted his steps at a strange sensation from his surroundings.
"Boss? What's wrong?"
"......."
"...Boss?"
"No, you guys go on ahead. I've got something to do for a moment."
"What? You said we'd be leaving soon......."
"You rascal, don't you dare talk back to the boss!"
Another subordinate scolded the one raising a question and prepared to lead the rest of the group to the original rendezvous point.
Bardos sighed deeply watching their retreating figures.
Then, smoothly stepping backward from the spot and hiding his body in the darkness of the alley, he muttered.
"We're fucked."
The moment he sensed the concentration of mana in the vicinity thickening at a terrifying speed.
-KABOOOM!!!
Then the building where they were supposed to meet exploded, and everything in its vicinity began to burn and crumble away.
Debris and people flew in all directions.
Bardos, having seared the silhouettes of his subordinates into his eyes, stared at the shadow emerging from the flames after that.
"You there, the one using stealth. I've already noticed, so why don't you come out?"
A red cloak fluttering.
The woman with rough locks of hair approached precisely toward where he was.
"...Well, this is something."
Bardos exhaled a deep breath and stepped out from the alley.
Having even withdrawn the mana he had been using to conceal his body, he looked at the woman who had emerged onto the street now turned into a scene of carnage and spoke lowly.
"...I'd only heard rumors, but this is my first time seeing it in person. Truly a terrifying magical power beyond compare."
Black Crystal Ymir.
The youngest Grand Archmage and a member of the Hero's Party.
"Judging roughly by the level of your magic power, you seem to be the boss... I have no interest in who you are, and I'll ask just one thing."
A prominent figure, with a mass of fire at her back.
Glaring at Bardos emerging from the darkness, she began to gather mana at her fingertips.
"Where did you take our kid?"
-Sizzle.
Bardos put a rolled cigarette in his mouth as if in lieu of an answer.
Then, exhaling a bluish smoke, he narrowed his newly sharpened eyes and replied lowly.
"...If I intended to answer that right away, I'd still be living off tax money now."
The turncoat Bardos.
The man called one of the Ten Strongest of the Continent felt a forgotten thrill coming back to life after descending to the underworld by his own will.