'He… He's hereee!!!'
Gary was overjoyed beyond compare.
He didn't think he had ever been this happy from the day he was born until now.
'H-he must have woken up due to all the noise…'
Once he concluded that, Gary convinced himself that the reason he had been screaming and shouting like a pathetic little rat was so he could get the Leader's attention.
Yes… this was all a part of the plan!
'N-now that Leader Gus is here, I'm saved!' Gary thought to himself with glee.
"Looks like you're the only one who survived. Of all my capable men, it had to be you…"
Gary felt his body rise from the pool of blood. It was being lifted by the Leader, who tightly grabbed his head with one hand,
Leader Gus was an extremely robust man—many could call him very fat.
However, he wasn't particularly obese. No, he claimed that the reason for his huge size and round potbelly was due to the strong muscles he gathered there.
The fact that he could effortlessly raise a grown man like Gary as if it was nothing proved his assertion.
Leader Gus was extremely strong!
"S-sorry, Leader. Haha… I'll try my best…"
Gary felt his body draw closer to the huge face of his leader as the man grinned at him with some sort of evil gleam in his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sure you will. But first…" Gus' unoccupied hand was stretched out, as if expecting something.
Gary felt confused.
He stared at the raised eyebrow of his Leader, but even then it took a while before he finally understood what Gus meant.
"A-ahh… the ring!"
His only viable hand trembled as he struggled to remove the pouch from his crotch and present it to the overweight man.
Gary wasn't particularly keen on parting with such a treasure, but he was more interested in living.
Besides, perhaps he could get a cut from the whole thing if the Leader sold the ring.
'We just have to get through these guys first…' As Gary thought this, while dropping the pouch on his Leader's outstretched hand, he felt something squeeze his head tightly.
"U-um… Leader, y-you're squeezing a little too—"
~SQUELCH!~
Before Gary could let out his words completely, his entire head burst into pieces.
Pink chunks of brain matter splattered around the area as blood splashed from his headless body.
His lifeless form fell to the ground in a heavy thud, and his naked body awkwardly lay in the pool of both blood and vomit.
Before Gary could have even imagined it, he was already long dead.
**********
"Huhu… what a useless guy…" Gus grinned with a a big ol' smile on his face.
His flabby neck and fluffy-looking cheeks danced as he made a chuckle.
He gently caressed the pouch in his grasp, not even minding that it had previously occupied his subordinate's Nether region.
"I heard everything, you know? I've been awake for some time now, so I know…"
Gus dangled the pouch, which was now upside down, forcing out the gleaming treasure inside.
And then, the ring landed on his fatty palm.
While he did all this, his audience—The pink-haired warrior, Aldred, and the leader Ralyks—merely watched in silence.
The initial two were standing a distance from the latter, since he had already said to leave it to him.
However, that was for dealing with Gary.
With Gus present, the situation had changed drastically.
"Oho! This looks like an amazing find! The craftsmanship… the Magic Energy… this is… I've never seen anything like it before!"
As Gus gleamed in delight, his overweight body danced in joy.
He was thick from head to toe, so other than his flabby cheeks and slightly malleable neck, the rest of his body was dense.
As a result, even though he jumped in excitement, his body didn't particularly jumble up and about.
"Where did this come from? Where did you guys get it? These sorts of exceptional stuff usually come with their distinct brand, right?"
Gus wasn't answered by the ones who watched in silence.
Instead, they left the discovery to him.
As someone who had stolen a lot of things in his life—and even had the chance to experience a few luxury items—Gus knew exactly what and where to check in order to find what he was looking for.
It didn't take him a few seconds to do so.
And then—
"E-ehh… the K-KariBlanc… Group…?"
All the excitement on his face drained away at that very moment,
It was like he instantly knew how screwed he was.
Instead, sweat fell from his face as he looked at the ring a second time to confirm the hidden logo details that only experts would be able to find.
He wasn't wrong.
It was made by the KariBlanc Group!
"H-hold on… this can't be…!"
The KariBlanc Group never sold their items to other stores, which meant the only way to get their products was to walk through the doors of any of their buildings.
They were also capable of sniffing out any trade in the Black Market—and even the surface world—that involved their goods.
They held a strict monopoly on certain types of items—
especially in the capital.
And, it was rumored that they were deeply affiliated with the Obsidian Council.
Anyone who messed with them was as good as dead
Those who stole from them met miserable ends.
The few who challenged them were inevitably destroyed.
The KariBlanc Group was an incredible force to be reckoned with, and just recently… they had started expanding their power.
At their current pace, it was safe to say they could become the most powerful of the Companies within the Black Market and perhaps even the mainstream.
Gus knew most of these things from hearsay, but as someone who had been in the game this long, he knew there were certain things that were as immutable as death itself.
One of those things was the hierarchy.
"I-I deeply apologize!" Gus swiftly fell to his knees, not caring that blood and gore splashed on his body in the process.
Right now, he was more concerned about sparing his life than anything else.
Even though it was his foolish subordinate that committed such an idiotic act, he knew he would be the one to pay for it.
Such was the law of this world of darkness.
"P-please spare me! I'll do anything!" He pleaded, more sweat dripping down his body.
He could feel his heart racing as an uncomfortably tense air of silence hung above him.
He felt like a blade might descend from above and end his life.
He also knew he couldn't do anything if that happened.
Gus could only pray he would be spared.
"I told that man… that he wouldn't die a quick death."
As Gus heard the voice of the dark one known as Ralyks, he felt a chill permeate his entire body.
"Yet you killed him so easily…"
Gus instantly knew he was screwed.
'I messed up! I screwed up! I'm so dead!' His bulging eyes showed his thoughts very clearly.
"… So how do you plan on taking responsibility?"
The moment Gus heard this, he knew he had been extended a lifeline.
This was the only chance he could get if he wanted to live.
He had to take it!
"T-the girl you're searching for! I know where she is!"
*
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Thanks for reading!
Guess it wasn't the climactic fight you were all looking forward to.
