Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Flood
-----------------------------------------------------------------
His thoughts reached that point.
Damian shook his head vigorously.
'I must have really lost my mind.'
The possibility of devouring it had come to him so naturally.
Thump, thump!
His heart kept pounding.
He couldn't control it.
"Guild Leader."
In the end, Damian parted his lips.
"Speak."
"Is there any friendly relation between you and that organization called the 'Black Hand' by any chance?"
A blatant probing question.
The approach would change based on the answer.
"What nonsense is that...!"
Anton waved his hands frantically and jumped up.
"We're the victims here, victims! Do you know how much those bastards are threatening Melrn's commerce? From our merchants' perspective, they're a massive headache!"
Anger laced his voice.
At this point, it was likely genuine.
"I see."
He'd gotten the answer he wanted.
No reason to hesitate, then.
"...No way."
Anton seemed to catch on to something.
"You're really thinking of going there?"
"I have to. I need to get my sword fixed."
The one trying to stop him and the one insisting on going.
Anton, tasked with the stopping role, tried persuading Damian once more.
"I'm well aware of Sir Damian's skills. However, the Black Hand is not an organization to take lightly."
His expression turned grave.
"They're the largest crime syndicate in the area!"
And that was just the beginning.
Anton lowered his voice to a whisper.
"I've heard... that even sword users who couldn't become knights due to various disqualifications have joined them."
Sword user.
Damian's eyes changed at the term.
"Of course, it's just a rumor, but if you go alone, you'll surely run into big trouble."
Sincere dissuasion.
The problem was that this worry only ignited Damian's heart.
'Even sword users have joined the criminals?'
His heart pounded again.
He even felt a certain hunger.
'...I have to admit it.'
He was thoroughly insane.
At this point, it was an undeniable fact.
"Thank you for your concern. As you say, Guild Leader, I'll put this matter on hold."
"Oh, good. I'm glad you understand my sincerity."
No need to unsettle the guild leader unnecessarily.
For such a large organization, finding them wouldn't be hard anyway.
The free city of Melrn.
Its nights were freer than the days.
Of course, in a bad way.
'It's rotten to the core.'
Damian clicked his tongue while hiding in a dark alley.
The guards responsible for the city's security were in cahoots with the criminals.
No, they were practically criminals themselves.
They were aiding their crimes, after all.
"Hey, Jack."
A rough voice came from not far away.
They were Black Hand organization members.
They handed a thick money pouch to the guards.
"Take care of this one too."
"We'll handle it. Just don't make too much noise."
"You mean this, right?"
The guard smirked while gauging the pouch's weight.
A repulsive smile dripping with greed.
Their deal ended there.
"Alright, let's go!"
The Black Hand members moved again.
Behind them, people bound in iron chains were dragged along.
Kidnapped people from all over.
'Human trafficking?'
Damian tailed them.
Proficient Tracking and Stealthy Maneuvering.
Those two skills shone brightly.
Melrn's outskirts, the slums.
The darkest, most squalid district among them.
The entire area was the Black Hand's stronghold.
'Quite the scale.'
A massive compound surrounded by high walls.
Not just a hideout, but their own little kingdom.
"Open the gate!"
When the members knocked on the iron gate, it swung open.
"P-please, spare us...!"
"At least let my child go... please!"
Screams from the people being dragged in.
And the gate closing again.
Screeech... Bang!
Silence returned.
Damian surveyed the surroundings.
'Now what?'
Patrolling members along the walls.
Sentries watching from the watchtowers.
'Take out those guys first.'
The first targets were the sentries on the watchtower.
Damian drew a dagger from his bosom.
'Proficient Dagger Throwing.'
Whoosh!
A sharp gleam cut through the darkness.
Thuk!
The dagger embedded in the sentry's throat.
"Guhk...!"
The first casualty collapsed without even a scream.
A new sensation accompanied the blue text.
Rope Throwing—what an odd skill.
'Next.'
This time, he approached the base of the wall.
Two patrolling members came into view.
"Fuck, it's freezing to death. How long do we have to do this shit?"
"Tell me about it. I just wanna go inside and warm up."
"Saw a pretty decent girl dragged in earlier, right?"
They were relaxed.
Disgusting conversation that made his ears rot just listening.
Now was the chance while they were off guard.
Shing!
Damian drew Dawn.
At the same time, he melted into the darkness.
The ability stolen from the wood elf scout.
'Shadow Hide.'
'A bit more.'
The stealth broke the moment he moved.
So he had to wait still.
Until they passed right by.
'Now!'
The instant they passed in front of him.
Damian finally moved.
"Wh-what the?!"
The late reaction from the members.
But it was already too late.
Slash!
Dawn traced a silver arc in the air.
The head of the front member flew off.
Skills of all kinds.
"Y-you bast...!"
The remaining member drew his knife, but.
Thuk!
Damian's sword was faster.
Situation cleared.
'Time to infiltrate.'
Damian swiftly scaled the wall.
After observing the stronghold's interior for a while.
'...This is serious.'
That single assessment said it all.
They had built their own kingdom here.
'A criminal kingdom.'
Moans and screams echoed everywhere.
People suffering forced labor.
Even baseless beatings and abuse.
'Hundreds imprisoned.'
And the members managing them.
Roughly a hundred, by his estimate.
'If there are even sword users among them...'
The guild leader's warning came to mind.
Not opponents to take lightly.
Impossible to handle alone.
'Need a special measure.'
A way to wipe out these criminals in one go.
An opportunity to devour numerous abilities.
'How to do it?'
Right then.
'...This smell?'
Damian, searching for a method, froze.
His 'Enhanced Sense of Smell' reacted sharply.
A foul, stimulating chemical odor.
'Something's there.'
The source was a nearby stone building.
Damian stealthily checked inside.
'A workshop?'
A space filled with all sorts of lab tools and herbs.
Numerous people grinding herbs, boiling something, stirring nonstop.
'The captives.'
Clear forced labor.
Handling chemicals, no less.
Deadly ones, at that.
'Hallucinogens.'
Damian's alchemy knowledge whispered it.
They were brewing hallucinogens.
Or rather, forced into it.
'Clean house first.'
The members guarding the site.
Take them out first.
Whoosh!
A throwing dagger flew in from the window.
It pierced the nearest member's throat precisely.
"Guhk...?"
Before they could register their comrade's death.
Damian was already among them.
Slash!
Thuk!
All the members in the workshop collapsed in an instant.
No more obstacles.
"..."
Only the dumbstruck victims remained.
"Rest easy. I'm not here to harm you."
Rescuing laborers wasn't the primary goal.
He wasn't playing the apostle of justice.
But if they escaped in the process?
He was willing to allow that much.
"If things go well, you might all get out together."
Their faces relaxed a bit at his words.
Though still filled with wariness.
'They seem to get it.'
Whether they truly understood or had just lost the will to live.
Either way, the situation quieted down.
'Let's take a look.'
Why had he come this far?
Simple. The chemical smell.
He might find a way here.
'Using alchemy knowledge.'
Damian's gaze turned to the materials on the workbench.
Various herbs, ground herb powders, strangely glowing mushroom spores.
And all sorts of alchemy tools.
"...!"
As he examined them.
Something flashed in his mind.
Basic Ancient Alchemy Knowledge absorbed from the wood elf alchemist.
It reinterpreted the materials before him in a new light.
'With these materials... it might be possible.'
Not mere hallucinogens or drugs.
A potion that caused massive explosions.
The knowledge called it 'Dragon's Breath'.
'The key to wiping them out in one shot.'
Facing over a hundred enemies one by one was inefficient.
Especially if sword users were mixed in.
'Start brewing.'
Damian began without hesitation.
The alchemy knowledge guided his hands and senses.
Refining materials, mixing, processing.
The entire process flowed naturally like water.
Bubble bubble...!
All materials and tools mobilized.
Plus the knowledge—about thirty minutes later.
Finally, red liquid boiled up in the large flask.
A liquid burning fiercely, as if alive with trapped flames.
'Dragon's Breath.'
It ignited on its own without any heating.
Clear proof of successful brewing.
'Not bad for a first try.'
Damian felt a strange satisfaction.
He looked at the victims who had been put to work on the hallucinogens.
"All of you, get out of here."
"Pardon? G-get out...?"
"Go grab the members and tell them. An intruder appeared in the workshop."
"Wh-what...?"
"If you don't move, there'll be no way out."
"...!"
A mission tied to their survival.
An order they couldn't defy.
"Only those who want to live, move. And don't come back near this building."
At his words, the people stumbled out of the workshop.
Damian placed the Dragon's Breath in the center, then hid nearby.
All preparations complete.
"Intruder in the workshop! An intruder's appeared!"
"Help! There's an intruder in the workshop...!"
A moment later.
The victims' desperate cries shook the stronghold.
"Nick from the watchtower is dead!"
"The two on patrol too...!"
"Must be that intruder's doing!"
And on top of that?
The perfect timing for the bodies from the watchtower and walls to be discovered.
"What the hell! How many came in?!"
"Go catch those rats and beat 'em!"
The stronghold turned into pandemonium in an instant.
Dozens of members swarmed the workshop.
'A bit more.'
Damian, hidden in the shadows, sensed their presence.
About twenty had rushed to the workshop earlier.
'A bit more.'
Not yet.
More reinforcements kept pouring in.
End them all at once.
"What?! What's going on?"
"Nobody here...?"
"Where'd they all go?"
"What's that bright red potion?"
The Black Hand members milled about in confusion.
Gathering thickly from the workshop interior to the surroundings.
By the time their numbers exceeded fifty.
'Greed brings disaster.'
Push it further, and they'd scatter everywhere.
Damian rose from his hiding spot, resolved.
At the same time, he hurled a dagger through the workshop window.
"Th-there...!"
One sharp-eyed member pointed at Damian beyond the window, but.
Crash!
Too late.
The dagger shattered the large flask.
Or rather, it awakened the Dragon's Breath inside.
"...Huh?"
Along with the members' dull reaction.
KABOOM - !
A massive explosion engulfed the workshop area.
Perfect destruction that burned away even screams.
And at that moment.
It was truly a flood of abilities.