'I feel sick…'
As Rey looked at the man before him, and at the space he found himself in, he honestly felt disgusted beyond words.
Killing monsters had already become a part of his normal life, but there was no way to get used to this;
Blood.
Gore.
Death.
The death of humans.
'Haaa… calm down, Rey.'
Right now, he was playing the character of Ralyks—the dark and gritty man of the shadows.
He couldn't afford to blow his cover here.
'But this is too awful…'
Rey had read and watched a lot of violent stories. He was a big fan of things like this, and anytime he read them, he found them fun and engaging.
The same feeling came to mind when he slaughtered monsters without consequence.
But now… now that he was faced with actual mutilated corpses, Rey couldn't help but feel the urge to throw up.
The overwhelming smell in the air, and the sight of so many sliced-up bodies along with their internal organs, were more than enough to put anyone off.
'To think that girl did all this…'
Yuri was the one who horribly mutilated all of these bodies at his command.
The surprise on his face when he saw how she summoned a blade out of nowhere and so easily ended human lives was indescribable.
It was puzzling how someone who appeared as sweet as her could switch up so easily and rid so many of their lives—in horrible ways for that matter.
Yuri had certainly made sure each of the men suffered greatly before they died.
It was horrible! Both for the men and for Rey, who watched everything.
He had chosen to stay in a corner and observe since he didn't want to draw close to the site of carnage, but he knew he couldn't stay away forever.
Ralyks could not appear weak.
That was why, when he approached Gary to deal a devastating strike, he was very slow.
Hesitation filled his steps, though he wasn't sure if anyone besides him noticed.
The more he saw the face of the man he was about to kill, the more he felt his heart racing and disgust churning in his stomach.
'I've never killed any human before. I don't… I don't think I want to.'
His plan was to torture him a bit and make Yuri finish him off, just to make himself seem like a brutal man.
Rey wasn't brutal at all—at least, not to humans.
He was just a 16-year-old boy who now realized that he was in over his head.
Frankly speaking, he was scared.
'I shouldn't have forgotten… just because I was able to establish myself with a big place like KariBlanc… I should not have forgotten what kind of place this is.'
This was the criminal underbelly.
Murderers, rapists, and a bunch of other kinds of despicable scum dwelled here.
How could he have thought of hacking and slashing his way through, just as he did in Dungeons.
He wasn't fighting monsters this time.
These were monsters who wore the skins of human beings.
'And them…' Rey glanced at Yuri and Aldred.
They appeared perfectly calm despite all of the carnage that filled their line of sight.
There was a chance that they were just pretending to be unbothered by it, but something told Ray that they genuinely didn't care.
They were probably used to stuff like this already.
'… They're monsters too.'
He could see that now—far clearer than ever before.
'None of the people here are my allies. None of them can be trusted.'
Sure, the KariBlanc Group was on his side now, but only because of profit.
That was all their relationship extended to.
If the mastermind, or some other third party made a better deal with them, and made him a target, they were definitely going to bite.
He already knew that before, but now that he was here… it all solidified in his head.
"Euk… p-please…"
Whimpers from the kneeling man before him brought Rey back to reality.
He overcame his disgust and did his best to concentrate. He reminded himself of the reason why he was here in the first place.
'Alicia! And he knows where she is!'
Rey had already recognized the blunder he made by assuming the ring would be with Alicia.
He didn't know how it got off her, but he knew how to get the answers.
"The girl… was she wearing the ring when you last saw her?" Rey asked.
"N-not when I last saw her. I… I… when she first came with the boy, she was wearing it, but…"
"Boy? Billy?"
"Y-yes! Yes… Billy!"
Rey's brows crinkled slightly as he confirmed that Alicia truly was with Billy.
What were they doing together?
"I saw everything using my Skill… but… I got distracted by that other woman… and I didn't see the rest." The man kept on blabbering.
"The next time I saw her… she had no ring…"
There were a bunch of thoughts that swirled around Rey's thoughts as he listened to the bits and pieces that he could decipher from the pathetic Gus.
'He was there when it all happened, then? I guess I'll find out everything from him.'
However, before he could extract any further information, Rey knew he had to take some precautions.
"Both of you, go outside. I want to have a private talk with him."
The moment Rey said this, Aldred and Yuri nodded, though the latter glanced at Aldred to see his reaction.
It showed Rey that she was first of all loyal and subservient to the Broker before him.
'I suppose that should have been expected…'
They were both members of the KariBlanc Group, after all.
Rey watched as they left the room, their footsteps ringing hollow the further the distance they created.
Soon, Rey was sure that they weren't nearby—relatively speaking.
'[Grand Sound Magic].' Rey activated a Skill, ensuring that none of the sound that would subsequently emanate from either him or Gus would be heard outside the room.
He also ensured to activate [Perception] and his other sensory Skills to make sure they weren't somehow spying on him.
After taking all necessary precautions and making sure the area was clear, Rey finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"Now, then… Gus." Rey had heard his name when the lanky idiot shouted it in relief.
If only the fool could see the future. He would have known not to have been relieved in the slightest.
"Raise your head."
In response to Rey—no, Ralyks' voice—Gus raised his head with trembling and fervor.
"Tell me everything you know."
*********
Yuri and Aldred stood a considerable distance from the worn-
down base of the men they had just annihilated, awkwardly waiting for Ralyks.
They both knew better than to spy on him or try to listen in for any info.
The KariBlanc Group feared and respected Ralyks far too much for two of their members to do something so unwise.
For a long while, there was silence among the two.
Until—
"Why do you think he didn't kill anyone?"
—Yuri asked a question.
In response to it, Aldred gave a small smile
It was like he understood everything perfectly.
"Why would he need to?" As he spoke, he watched the despairing Gus and regal Ralyks proceed out of the shack.
"Just as I do not need to kill my enemies when you are by my side, he also probably sees it that way."
Despite saying words like this, Aldred Winsley did not frown or feel bad.
Instead, his respect for the man called Ralyks deepened.
"We are his tools for destructions. Why would he need to act?"
That was all there was to it.
*
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Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know there hasn't been a lot of action recently, but… this story really took a dark turn, didn't it?
Stick around for more.
