Gary's eyes were seeing red.
His vision was clouded by a blurry, nauseating sight of danger and death.
He had killed his fair share of people, and this was by no means the first time he had encountered gore—or pain.
But, nothing he had ever experienced compared to this moment.
Seeing his own comrades—the one he was playing games with just moments earlier—now nothing more than lifeless chunks of meat, caused his stomach to churn and his throat to burn.
If not for the searing pain in his arm, and the certainty of death that weighed heavily on him, Gary was certain that he would have vomited once again.
"G-guahhh… ahhh… arghhh…" As tears and drool slipped down his face, mucus flowed from his nose and he shivered.
He looked like a pathetic sniveling rat that could only tremble in the face of pure danger.
"Ahh… I suppose I was being a bit impatient. For a moment there, I thought you were reaching for a weapon."
The way the masked one spoke so casually, despite Gary just losing an arm, made a flickering flame of rage burn within the pathetic man.
However…
"It seems you know nothing. You should be eliminated as well."
… That rage soon vanished the moment execution drew near.
"I-I know where she is! Please! Please don't kill me!"
As Gary begged desperately, he could see the red glow of the masked one's eyes dim a little.
The other two present in the room weren't making any moves either.
It seemed the one shrouded in darkness was their real leader—the Boss of the group.
"I-I wasn't reaching out for a weapon. I wanted to show you something…"
"Show me something? Inside your boxer shorts…?"
"A-ahh…" Gary felt like he was being labeled a pervert by the group.
Even the state of the girl told him she was thinking something along the lines of 'What a pathetic lech!'
But that wasn't it at all!
'I wanted to surrender and give you the ring. But now… now it seems there's another way.'
These people were after the girl, and not the ring. He had made a miscalculation on his part.
'I was confused then, but now… yes… now I know what to do!'
It was possible to show them the girl and he would keep the ring.
Sure, he had lost his right hand, but he still had his left one.
Besides, now that he was certain of the value of the ring, Gary was sure he could get his hand fixed with Magic and still have tons of change to spare.
'I just need to find a way around thi—'
"This is pointless. Use the tracker again, Aldred."
"Understood."
Before Gary could say a single word in order to initiate the deal, he felt a vibrating sensation in his crotch, and a warm feeling rose from the pouch.
It felt hot underneath his soiled boxers, and it wasn't just due to the remnants of pee that stained it.
It was…
"H-hold on… the tracker is detecting the ring… on him!"
"Something is glowing under his boxer shorts."
"…."
As the distinguished gentleman looked at some sort of screen in front of him, looking shocked, the pink-haired girl pointed at his soiled boxers, and the dark masked man said nothing, Gary felt something building up.
It was… sheet bloodlust!
~VWUUUUU!!~
The entire area was shrouded in such pressure that Gary felt he would die just from sensing the killing intent.
He felt like passing out a thousand times over, but he wasn't allowed to.
The joint bloodlust from all three who watched him made his heart nearly give out, and Gary was teetering between the edge of life and death
Then—
"You imbecile! You actually kept our luxury item close to your wretched dick?!"
No one could have expected the gentleman to utter such crude words, but he did.
"Shall I dispose of this fool, Master Aldred?"
The pink-haired cutie was already brandishing her blade, ready to turn Gary into a kebab.
Gary felt his body shake violently, he knew he was screwed just from the enraged faces they were making.
"No. Hold on… we can't act on our own." The man who had earlier been addressed as Aldred looked in the direction of the silent masked man.
"We're not the owner of the Item, so it's not in our place to mete out judgment."
It was clear that Aldred was immensely furious, but he deferred to the masked one.
—Another proof of who was in charge here.
"How would you like to handle this matter, Sir Ralyks?"
As the question echoed in the air, the man resting on the wall finally left his position.
"Haaa…"
A heavy exhalation, almost akin to a frustrated sigh, escaped his lips—invisible due to the mask he wore.
The one called Sir Ralyks took one step forward, and then two… on and on.
With each step, Gary felt like he had already reached the end of his life, yet he found himself still maintaining his mortal coil.
"Why ask me?" His question sounded strange, nearly sarcastic.
"That ring doesn't belong to me either…"
Despite speaking in such a cool tone, his crimson eyes had never been brighter.
"… But, I think I'll take it from here."
The two—pink-hair and Aldred—nodded politely and took a few steps back.
Now, only Ralyks stood at the forefront.
"Don't expect a quick death." His crimson eyes focused heavily on Gary as he gulped fervently.
This… this really was the end!
'I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I promise… I promise I'll be better!'
Unfortunately, his trembling lips were too impotent to let out the words that echoed loudly in his mind.
The end was here…
"Hold it right there!"
… Or so one would think.
~BOOOOOM!~
A sudden explosion shattered the wooden ground that separated the bringer of death and the helpless Gary.
Shards of blood-stained wood flew in many directions, with splinters and even a few large chunks charging towards Ralyks.
However, none touched him by some miracle.
"A-ahh…?!" Thanks to the commotion, Gary, who could finally move his body, turned his head back and saw the one who intervened.
His bulging eyes had never been so happy to see the man in his entire life.
'L-Leader Gus!'
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Thanks for reading!
We're reaching the climax of this confrontation. Let's not forget the Dungeon.
We'll get to that in a bit… I think.
Hopefully, you're not too bored.
