"N-none of them… can…?"
It didn't take a genius to understand what those words meant.
Even for Evals, who was currently wallowing in confusion and pain, the words made it painfully clear what the masked man did.
"Y-you killed them…!!" His eyes nearly popped out of their suckers as his smushed face trembled in terror.
He feared he would be next.
"What? No! I just prevented all the sound we made from escaping. They can't hear anything… literally."
The way the masked man spoke about it felt like he was joking.
Evals didn't know what to believe anymore.
"You deserve death, but that would be a waste. You'll be way more useful alive." The masked man continued as he advanced further.
Evals Redart didn't let the distance fool him, though. He knew the man could just appear in front of him anytime he wished.
In essence, the slave trader was trapped.
"You run a whole network of trade in the Slavery Business. I'm sure you're well-connected to the other slave-traders in the United Human Alliance."
The masked man wasn't wrong.
Evals knew the other two who ran an equally successful empire as him.
None of them were friends, and in most instances, they were competitors.
However, they shared a mutual banner—the illegal trade of living humans as if they were nothing but livestock.
"All of that information will be useful to the Royal Council. I'm sure they'll use it to prevent more tragedies like this from happening ."
The moment Evals heard this, his eyes widened more than ever before,
"Y-you… you report to the Royal Council?! Is that why you're here?! To stop me on their behalf? Y-you… you are—!"
"[Sleep]." The moment the masked man said this, Evals felt a wave of drownings hit him.
However, the feeling didn't last long thanks to the Resistance his Enchanted Earrings provided him with.
"Oh? You resisted that, huh? I guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."
The masked man vanished from his position and appeared behind Evals before the latter could even complete his words.
'The Royal Council? Those corrupt bastards?' Evals' thoughts echoed as he gritted his teeth in sheer frustration.
He remembered how many times his two other competitors bragged about how they were being backed by four members of the Royal Council.
Despite him not going down that route and building his empire from scratch, he still had to pay his dues to the Royal Council.
Every member of the Black Market had to do so!
This information was only privy to those at the top—like the Obsidian Council—but even the helm of the Black Market answered to the four anonymous members of the Royal Council.
THEY were the ones who ruled the underworld.
'The only reason the Slave Trade has been able to flourish this far is because of them!'
And now, he was being taken to that very same Royal Council?
"Y-you bastard! They're—!"
Before Evals could say anything more, he felt a hard impact on his head.
Everything went black, and the sensation instantly sent him to the same place as his two subordinates.
… The realm of the unconscious.
********
"I guess that settles it." Rey murmured as he looked at the unconscious body of Evals Redart.
It was a relatively easy and quick fight for Rey, but he still couldn't forget the experience.
Why?
"Looks like I got a bunch of new Skills thanks to him."
Rey was grinning widely as he stared at Evals.
'The teleportation one is particularly useful. Eye Of Truth is nice, but I already have [Absolute Appraisal], so what's the point?'
There were a bunch of other Skills too, and Rey found himself recoiling in glee.
'I guess this fight wasn't for nothing, after all.'
He had used [Absolute Appraisal] on Redart, which was how he got to know of his [Item Equip] Skill, and the current Items he had equipped.
Rey had waited for him to display all the abilities so he could use [Doppel] on them.
Thankfully, the Slave Trader didn't disappoint.
Since he was done with Evals, it was time for him to finish the job once and for all.
'And, to make sure this entire place is out of the reach of people like Aldred, I better destroy everything…'
Rey took one final glance at the two other unconscious people in the room, and then Sylvia's hanging corpse.
He knew within himself that the people he had shown mercy to were absolute monsters.
'How different are they from the Hobgoblins who keep DarkWolves as livestock?'
Despite thinking this, Rey couldn't see humans as monsters to kill. He felt immensely frustrated by it, but in a way… he was relieved.
'I'm not too far gone.'
After interacting so much with the Black Market and the criminal underworld of H'Trae, Rey had been questioning his own morality.
The way he constantly acted for his benefit, and how he constantly kept secrets and involved himself in illegal activities…
It was wrong.
He knew that fully well, yet he indulged in the act repeatedly.
However, on this very day he finally understood the difference between himself and the true denizens of this dark world.
He didn't compare to them in the slightest.
There were lines he didn't—couldn't—cross, and there were acts he would never indulge in.
And that brought Rey relief.
'At least, I know I'm not a monster too…'
And he never wanted to be.
*********
"[Black Hole]"
Rey sent out a small spatial orb of darkness towards the compound that stood before him.
What happened next did not come as a surprise to him.
~VWUUUUUUMMM!!~
The darkness expanded, swallowing everything in its path in order to feed its endless hunger
In no time, it grew large enough to consume the entire Warehouse building, eating away the compound as well as the surrounding land.
It dug itself into the earth and consumed even the underground passage until there was nothing left.
After it was done eating everything, still expecting more, Rey canceled the Skill.
'It'll keep eating away my Mana and keep expanding if I don't stop it…' His thoughts trailed.
The purpose of the [Black Hole] was done, though.
Everything about the Warehouse was now gone—granted as an offering to the void.
'Looks like I'm done here.'
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Thanks for reading!
What do you think about Rey's moral code?
Do you think he has to change? Or that he will change in the future?
