As Rey stepped out of the abandoned shack with Gus, he kept his entire body under control.
He could tell that he was trembling within, but thankfully no one could notice it.
Ah, and this time it wasn't due to fear, or some other fickle emotion like that.
'Billy, you…!'
There was only one feeling that currently swiped within Rey at this point—enough to make him grit his teeth and widen his eyes with emotion.
… Pure, unbridled rage.
'You did all this!' He fought not to clench his fist, or hit anything in sight.
But his overflowing anger needed a conduit.
He needed one so badly.
Alas! They were out in the open, within the slums of the Black Market,
Rey knew he couldn't act very brashly now, especially with Aldred and Yuri watching him so intently since he appeared from a distance.
'I don't know if they're suspicious of me for not killing anyone, but…'
For now, they probably weren't going to make a move against him.
Rey just knew he had to keep his guard up.
'Right now, I better save up all I'm feeling for when we arrive at the location…'
He pictured Alicia in trouble, and the foolish Billy being right beside her.
'The idiot let himself be captured as well… he's just—!'
"So, what now, Sir Ralyks?"
Rey was interrupted by Aldred's words, causing him to snap out of the realm of thoughts.
He had already made it to the presence of his two KariBlanc helpers, and with Gus right next to him, the next thing on the list was what the next step would be.
"We're heading to the Slave Trading Storage Facility—the one where they keep some of their merchandise."
Rey wanted to tell Aldred and Yuri that they could leave the rest to him, since he didn't want them to have any knowledge of Alicia.
If they knew of Alicia's identity, they could either deduce his, or use her as leverage on him.
'I don't want her to be a weak link…'
However, Rey found it difficult to send them off.
Excluding the fact that the two didn't seem like they were interested in leaving yet, Rey still needed them for dirty work.
He still hadn't killed a human and he wasn't intending to.
'I have to keep my hands as clean as possible, just in case a case with the TruthSeeker comes up again and I'm asked something along those lines…'
This was Rey's excuse, but the true reason he didn't want to take a life was far simpler.
He really couldn't do it.
Rey was by no means a hardened killer, and the very thought of ending human life and living with those consequences made him nearly retch.
Killing Monsters in Dungeons felt like a game. In video games, no matter how realistic, you could always kill anyone and go scot free.
There would be no guilt associated with it, and most people ended up having fun with it.
That was how Rey had always felt with the monsters.
But people.. those were different.
'I… I just…'
"I'm guessing this one here will be leading us to the place?"
Rey nodded gently, his facade of stoicism working perfectly beneath his obsidian mask.
"Perfect! Shall we get going, then?"
"Yeah…"
The four left the hideout, leaving the bloodied interior just the way it was.
The reason behind that could only be guessed.
*********
'I feel… really weak…'
Alicia had thought that a night's rest would make her feel better, but she was dead wrong.
She had never felt so terrible in her life.
'My body won't even move…'
It felt like she was paralyzed, unable to move even the tiniest parts of her body.
Her heartbeat also slowed down despite how scared she was. This darkness that surrounded her… it felt all-consuming.
No one spoke, so the entire expanse was filled with dread.
Even Billy, whose words—despite how annoying they were—
kept her company, was nowhere to be heard.
He was probably just sitting down helplessly in a corner, unable to do anything of note.
From what Alicia could gather, this was a box-like room, with quite a decent amount of space within.
When she first woke up within it, she only saw Billy. However, by the time she regained consciousness and looked around her, Alicia could notice a few presences.
There were two other individuals in the room with them.
Alicia couldn't properly see their faces, but based on the shapes of their bodies that she could make out their identities.
One was a girl, appearing slightly shorter than her. They were probably the same age.
The other looked like a boy, and he seemed much younger than anyone else in the room.
That was all she could manage to detect in the room.
'Just how long has passed? I have no idea…'
Alicia was growing desperate by the minute—specifically because of what Billy told her.
They were getting sold today!
'Please… someone out there… please help!'
********
Gus led Rey and his two entourages to the place within one of the most secluded areas within the community of darkness.
A place he called the Warehouse.
This place was a massive structure that covered quite a wide area of land. It had a large fence surrounding if, along with guards who were either fixed in their positions, or took patrols.
All of this grandiose display showed just how important the building behind the walls was.
The Workshop—
It was a place where his Boss kept his merchandise—in essence, those who would be sold as slaves.
Rey could only feel disgust when he thought of the concept. He wondered if men like Gus and his Boss ought to even be alive.
As rage seared within him, he heard the disgusting voice of Gus.
"We drop them off at the entrance. We're not allowed to go any further in."
There were two entrances to the building.
One was at the far back, where the 'Special' products were stored, but the front gate led to the normal place where slaves were kept.
According to Gus, he and his goons went to the far back since both Alicia and Billy were confirmed to be Skill-Holders and had a Class.
In H'Trae, it was rare for young ones like them to possess impressive Class and multiple Skills.
Even a single Skill and an E or D-Tier Class would make you special as a young product.
As a result, they were going to fetch a lot of money.
"T-this is all I know… I swear!" Gus pleaded, once again kneeling and prostrating to 'Sir Ralyks.'
Rey was too distracted to take Gus very seriously.
His thoughts lay on the building, and the fact that Alicia and Billy would be somewhere inside.
'Isn't this too conspicuous, though?'
From the little he knew, even within the criminal underworld, Slave Trade was kept on the downlow.
'With such a massive structure and several guards, it's bound to draw attention.'
However, when Rey thought about it, that also meant it was secure.
'Hmm…'
He and his two momentary allies were watching from an elevated platform in the distance, so they could hardly see any detail within the building.
In the end, Rey did the only thing he could.
"What do you think about all this, Aldred?"
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