Chapter 69: Enver
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Enver
“The Chief Constable right under me is Neko, you see. And man, is that guy passionate.”
Inspector Ennes immediately laid bare the Public Security Headquarters’ entire undercover operation.
“No matter how much I objected, he wouldn’t listen. I mean, why use a civilian in an operation? And a convicted murderer, no less! What if he ends up siding with Blackdog instead? I tried my best to persuade him, you know? But he wouldn’t budge.”
What were Back Attack and Neko seeing right now?
A Wizard’s Eye wasn’t an ear, so it couldn’t hear.
It was just replaying the scene like a silent movie.
So they couldn’t hear the inspector exposing the operation. But wasn’t the inspector’s mere presence here suspicious enough?
So please.
Neko.
Notice that things have gone wrong.
“He even went to listen to the case report himself and came back with a report this thick.”
The inspector excitedly rambled on about the contents of the report.
“It was practically a hymn of praise to Caleb. You’d think he was starting a new religion. All about how clever and intelligent he is, how righteous he is, and how, despite his murder conviction, he’s earned the trust of countless adventurers from the 1st to the 3rd floor. On and on he went.”
“…”
“What was I supposed to do when he went that far? So… Caleb.”
Ennes smiled as he looked at me intently.
“Don’t feel too bad about it. You’re not the first person to get tangled up with Blackdog and disappear. Whether you’re a brilliant student…”
This time, he turned his gaze to Enver.
“Or a university professor.”
“W-Wait a minute!”
Enver, terrified, cried out desperately.
“I, I… I have nothing to do with this operation! I swear! C-Caleb! Isn’t that right…?”
“That’s correct. The professor has nothing to do with it.”
Enver truly didn’t know anything, so I defended him for the time being.
But, Enver.
It probably won’t work.
“And you expect me to believe that?”
The Orc berserker’s voice was a low, heavy rumble that settled over the table.
“I-It’s true…”
“Fine, let’s say Caleb came here to stir things up as part of a Public Security operation. Then why are you here?”
“I… I… It was purely a gesture of goodwill… Since Caleb became a member of our assembly, I came to tell you… not to touch him from now on…”
“And your assembly’s newest member planned all this without your knowledge?”
“N-No…”
The color drained from Enver’s face.
“Your rookie must know about the agreement between our groups. And yet, he single-handedly orchestrated a grand plan with the Public Security Headquarters to take us down, brought you all the way here without telling you a thing, and you remained completely oblivious?”
Honestly, even I wouldn’t believe it.
“You fucking bastard.”
Murderous intent poured from the Orc’s eyes.
“Do I look like that much of a pushover to you?”
“A-Actually…”
Enver completely abandoned his plans, his gambits, everything.
When faced with imminent death, that’s all a person can do.
“Actually… Caleb isn’t a member of our assembly yet…”
Tears streamed from Enver’s terrified eyes.
It was the truth, but the chances of Krom believing him were converging on zero.
“Your story keeps changing, Enver.”
Krom pulled a massive two-handed axe from under the table.
“Want to know what I think? Enver, you used Caleb. You recruited him into your assembly, then heard that the Public Security Headquarters had approached him. The idea must have been tempting.”
“No… That’s not it…”
“You thought you could use him to get the Public Security Headquarters to do your dirty work. You could deal a major blow to Blackdog, and your hands would stay clean.”
“It’s not true! Please, believe me!”
“Then you’d win the White Lion’s favor and get a promotion. If you were lucky, you might even be chosen by the Abyss. That was your plan, wasn’t it?”
“Ah…”
“You attacked first. I won’t be held responsible for killing you.”
Terrified, Enver collapsed to the floor.
And just as Krom took a step toward him…
*
“Don’t move.”
Caleb suddenly thrust his wand into the air.
“What’s this?”
Even though he had drawn a weapon, no one showed any alarm.
He was simply too weak compared to the other three.
Krom was a Deep Layer adventurer, the inspector was a much higher level than Caleb, and while Enver was no Meldini, he was still a professor.
But this wizard was, at best, a 3rd-floor adventurer.
“Sit down, kiddo. I’ll call you when it’s your turn,” Inspector Ennes said with a chuckle.
But Caleb’s next words were shocking.
“There’s a Wizard’s Eye in here.”
“What…?”
Ennes’s eyes went wide.
“I’ve placed an invisible Wizard’s Eye in this meeting room. Constable Neko has the glass bottle. He’s watching everything that’s happening right now. He’s probably already determined this is an emergency and is on standby to breach.”
“Hahaha!”
Krom burst out laughing.
“An invisible Wizard’s Eye? Make sense, kid. I’m a high-ranking executive in Blackdog. I could have chosen to work in any of our facilities. Do you know why I took charge of the casino?”
“…”
“Because it allowed me to place a ton of Watchers on the 1st floor. Even ‘Disguise’ gets caught by a Watcher. I was planning to find that White Lion bastard the moment he tried to sneak in here and split his head open.”
Krom continued, “Invisibility can’t get in here either. It would have been caught by a Watcher…”
“Cumulonimbus.”
Caleb cast a spell inside the room.
“This bastard!”
“Wait!”
Krom, who had raised his axe thinking it was an attack, froze.
“W-What the…”
Something shocking had appeared in the room.
Behind Krom, diagonally up and to his left about 2.5 meters in the air, a spherical object crackling with raindrops had materialized.
“You son of a bitch!” Ennes immediately roared.
“You crazy bastard! Does that mean everything since I came in here has been recorded—?”
“It’s already checkmate!” Caleb shouted.
“The only reason the Public Security Headquarters hasn’t moved in is because they’re afraid I’ll be taken hostage. But the moment a fight breaks out, they’ll storm the place. If you don’t want to add a murder charge to your record, put down the axe!”
Stunned by the shocking turn of events, Enver stared at Caleb with a look of horror, and even Krom was visibly flustered.
Ennes rushed over to Krom and clung to his arm.
“Krom! Stop! The constables can’t come in here now!”
But the giant Orc berserker didn’t budge.
Instead, he just stared intently at Caleb with a murderous glint in his eyes.
“Kid.”
“…”
“I don’t know how you did it, but you’re quite talented. But you know what?”
He said, “The Public Security Headquarters doesn’t protect Possessors.”
Once again, the color drained from Enver’s face.
“And Enver is a Possessor. Unlike you or me.”
Krom wouldn’t be punished by the Public Security Headquarters for killing Enver.
And since Enver had set the trap first, the assembly couldn’t hold him responsible either.
He was going to kill Enver here. That was an unchangeable fact. But…
“I know that, too.”
Caleb replied.
“I know Professor Enver is a Possessor.”
“Y-You… know…?”
Enver’s pupils trembled.
“And I know you won’t be punished for killing him. But… Inspector.”
Caleb turned to Ennes.
“Are you just going to let this happen, Inspector?”
“What…?”
“You’re not some mole for Blackdog.”
“What the fuck are you…”
“You didn’t come here to expose Constable Neko’s operation, did you? Isn’t that right?”
Ennes’s lips trembled.
“You sensed a dangerous situation was about to unfold and came to protect Professor Enver and me, didn’t you? The Wizard’s Eye only captures visuals; it doesn’t transmit sound.”
It was a tightrope walk where a single misstep would mean a fatal fall.
And this was the final deal.
“The Public Security Headquarters doesn’t know you exposed Neko’s operation. Not yet.”
This was the joker card that could save Enver in this gamble.
“And depending on how the four of us testify, they might never know.”
“You… you little rat.”
The inspector ground his teeth. He pulled on Krom’s arm.
“He’s really got us. Stop for now, Krom! If we stop now and all get our stories straight, we can smooth this over. Let’s talk to him some more!”
“Hahaha.”
Krom let out a laugh.
He lowered his weapon.
“You’re a really interesting one. That’s a decent proposal. Trade Enver for the inspector? An inspector-level mole is certainly a huge asset for us, too.”
The Orc said, “Caleb.”
“…”
“But, do you know something?”
The Deep Layer adventurer’s eyes shone with a deadly light.
“Humans aren’t actually that rational. Plans, negotiations, strategies… they fall apart easily. Especially with a guy like me.”
Splash.
The Orc’s boot kicked through the rainwater.
“Sometimes, I get impulsive.”
Planting his feet firmly on the ground, his body drew a heavy arc.
The massive axe fell like the blade of a guillotine.
“…!”
Right onto Enver’s torso.
No one even had time to scream.
*
“Krom—!”
The enraged inspector’s shout echoed through the room.
“You crazy bastard! What have you done!”
It sounded distant, like an echo.
I had seen people die many times before, and I had killed countless myself.
‘…’
But this time felt different.
Like resisting a downpour, a fountain of blood erupted, covering my face and cardigan.
It was hot.
Even in the cold rain, I could feel its heat distinctly.
It felt as if the blood wouldn’t wash away, even standing in the fierce downpour.
The smell of blood was overwhelming.
Blood trickled from Enver’s bloodshot eyes.
“Huk…!”
Enver clutched at my clothes.
He was still breathing.
But everyone knew.
The amount of blood spreading into the rainwater was beyond what magic or medicine could fix.
His torso, struck by the axe blade, looked like a crushed aluminum can.
“Ca-Caleb…!”
The hand gripping my clothes trembled violently.
I could feel the strength draining from it at a rapid pace.
—Freeze!
—Public Security! Nobody move!
The shouts of constables echoed from the casino lobby.
“I’ll let you live.”
The Orc’s massive hand came to rest on the crown of my head.
“Like you said, I can’t commit ‘murder’ in front of the constables. I’ll go down and explain the situation to them.”
Krom said, “That the magic university professor, Enver, was a Possessor. That’s why I killed him. We have plenty of ways to prove it. Enver was the face of your assembly, after all.”
The Orc left the room. The inspector stomped his feet in frustration and rushed over to me.
“Caleb! D-Don’t you dare give any funny testimony! Enver was killed because he was a Possessor! I just came in here to tell you that! Right…? Please…”
I didn’t answer.
“Fuck. Fuck. How could there be a Wizard’s Eye here! That son of a bitch!”
Ennes kicked the table with a loud bang and stormed out of the room.
—Ennes! Don’t move!
I could hear Neko shouting from below.
“…leb.”
And a groan came from the floor.
*
“Caleb… H-How long… Cough!”
Enver coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes, growing weaker by the second, looking up at me.
“How long have you known…? About… about me…”
The rain soaked his face completely, but I could still distinguish the tears streaming from his eyes.
“Keok!”
Enver coughed again.
“…Thank you. For… protecting me earlier. I didn’t do much for you to deserve that. Hehehe…”
“…”
“Could you, I’m sorry, but… could you write this down somewhere…?”
He said, weeping.
“N-Name is Kim Min-sung. Age… twenty-seven. Discharged as a sergeant, on a break from college… I… I was just a fucking bum who only played games…”
Of all things, another Korean.
“Me, a professor. Hehehe… It wasn’t even my own ability… The White Lion helped me… just to recruit people… Keok!”
Blood gurgled in his throat.
“The White Lion… said if I was chosen by the Deep Layer… I could go back. If I just made it into the top ten…”
“…”
“Home…”
The hand that had been gripping my clothes fell limp.
“I want to go home…”
Enver’s breathing stopped.