Chapter 69

< Enver >

“Right below me is Chief Security Officer Neko. Man, that guy is so enthusiastic.”

Inspector Ennes immediately exposed the Security Headquarters’ undercover operation.

“No matter how much I oppose it, he won’t listen. I mean, what’s the point of using civilians in operations? And he’s even a murderer with a criminal record? What if we use him and he ends up joining Black Dog instead? I tried to persuade him extensively like that. But he wouldn’t listen.”

How are Backstab and Neko looking at this situation?

The Wizard’s Eye isn’t an ear, so it can’t hear.

It only plays video like a silent movie.

So right now, they can’t hear the inspector exposing the operation. But just the fact that the inspector came in here is suspicious enough circumstantially, isn’t it?

So please.

Neko.

Please notice that the situation has gone wrong.

“He even went directly to listen to case reports and wrote up a report this thick to submit.”

The inspector excitedly babbled about what kind of report it was.

“It’s practically a Caleb worship document. He could start a religion with it. How brilliant and intelligent he is, how righteous he is, yes he has a murder record but that’s true, but how much trust he receives from countless adventurers from the 1st to 3rd floors. Blah blah blah.”

“……”

“When he goes that far, what can you do? So…… Caleb.”

Ennes stared at me quietly and smiled.

“Don’t feel too wronged. It’s not just one or two people who step into Black Dog wrong and go missing. Whether you’re an outstanding student.”

This time he turns his gaze to Enver.

“Or a university professor.”

“W-wait a minute!”

Enver, terrified, desperately shouted.

“I, I…… I have nothing to do with this operation! Really! C-Caleb! Right……?”

“That’s correct. The professor has nothing to do with it.”

Since Enver really didn’t know about this, I defended him for now.

But, Enver.

It probably won’t work.

“You want me to believe that now?”

The Orc Berserker’s voice settled low and heavy on the table.

“I…… Really……”

“Then let’s say Caleb came to stir us up because of the Security Headquarters operation, why did you come here?”

“I…… I…… It was purely for mutual exchange…… Since Caleb became a member of our gathering, I wanted to let you know not to touch him in the future……”

“But your gathering’s youngest member made this plan without you knowing?”

“N-no……”

Enver’s face turned pale.

“Your youngest member would know about the agreement between us and you, but despite that, he independently made a big plan to sink us together with the Security Headquarters, and didn’t tell you about it while bringing you all the way here, so you had no idea?”

Honestly, even I find it hard to believe.

“You fucking bastard.”

Murderous intent poured from the Orc’s eyes.

“Do I look like such a pushover to you?”

“A-actually……”

Enver had now given up on all plans, strategies, and winning moves.

When a human is on the verge of losing their life, they have no choice but to do that.

“Actually…… Caleb isn’t a member of our gathering yet……”

Tears dripped from Enver’s terrified eyes.

Drip drip.

It was true, but the possibility of Chrome believing his words converged to zero.

“Your story keeps changing, Enver.”

Chrome pulled out a massive two-handed axe from under the table.

“Shall I tell you what I think? Enver. You used Caleb. After recruiting him into your gathering, you heard that the Security Headquarters approached this guy. You must have been tempted.”

“No…… Really no……”

“You thought you could use this guy to blow your nose without using your hands, borrowing the Security Headquarters’ power. Deal a big blow to Black Dog while your tails don’t get caught.”

“That’s really not it! Please believe me!”

“Then you would receive White Lion’s favor and get promoted, and if you do well, you might even receive the Abyss’s selection. That was your plan, wasn’t it?”

“Ah……”

“You attacked first. I have no reason to be blamed for killing you.”

Enver, terrified, collapsed to the floor.

And at the moment Chrome took a step toward him.

***

“Don’t move.”

Suddenly Caleb raised his wand high into the air.

“What.”

Despite drawing a weapon, that wizard showed no wariness from anyone.

Compared to the other three, he was too weak.

Chrome is a deep-layer adventurer, the inspector is also much higher level than Caleb, and Enver, though incomparable to Meldini, is still a professor.

But that wizard was at most a 3rd floor adventurer.

“Kid, sit down. I’ll call you when it’s your turn.”

Inspector Ennes chuckled and said.

But Caleb’s following response was shocking.

“There’s a Wizard’s Eye here.”

“What……?”

Ennes’ eyes widened.

“I’ve placed an invisible Wizard’s Eye inside this meeting room. Security Officer Neko has the glass bottle. He’s watching the entire situation here. He’s probably judging it as an emergency and already on standby for entry.”

“Hahaha!”

Chrome burst into loud laughter.

“An invisible Wizard’s Eye? Say something that makes sense, kid. Among Black Dog executives, I’m relatively high-ranking. I could have chosen to go to any organization. But do you know why I took charge of the gambling house?”

“……”

“Because I could deploy plenty of Watchers on the 1st floor. ‘Disguise’ also gets caught by Watchers. If that White Lion bastard tried to sneak in here, I was planning to find him immediately and split his skull.”

Chrome said.

“Invisibility also can’t enter here. It has no choice but to get caught by the Watchers……”

“Red Cloud.”

Caleb cast magic in the room.

“This bastard!”

“Wait!”

Chrome, who was raising his axe thinking it was an attack, hesitated.

“What, what……”

Something shocking appeared in the room.

Behind Chrome’s back, diagonally at 2.5 meters in the air, a round spherical object where raindrops were splattering was detected.

Tap tap.

“Fucking hell!”

Ennes immediately shouted.

“Damn crazy bastard! Then everything I said coming in here was recorded……”

“It’s already checkmate!”

Caleb shouted.

“The Security Headquarters isn’t attacking because they’re worried I might be taken hostage if they move rashly. But if bloodshed starts, they’ll immediately storm in. If you don’t want to add murder charges now, put down the axe!”

At this shocking development, Enver stared at Caleb with an astonished expression, and Chrome was also considerably flustered.

And Ennes ran to Chrome and clung to his forearm.

“Chrome! Stop for now! The security officers can’t come in right now!”

But that massive Orc Berserker didn’t budge at all.

Instead, he just stared at Caleb with murderous eyes.

“Kid.”

“……”

“I don’t know how you did it, but your skills are truly remarkable. But do you know this?”

He said.

“The Security Headquarters doesn’t protect Possessors.”

Enver’s face turned deathly pale again.

“And Enver is a Possessor. Unlike you or me.”

Chrome won’t be punished by the Security Headquarters for killing Enver.

And since Enver set the trap first, he won’t be blamed by the gathering either.

He will kill Enver here. That is an unchanging fact. But……

“I know that too.”

Caleb answered.

“That Professor Enver is a Possessor. I know that too.”

“You, you know……?”

Enver’s pupils shook.

“And I know that you won’t be punished even if you kill Professor Enver. But…… Inspector.”

Caleb turned to Ennes.

“Will you just let this situation be, Inspector?”

“What……?”

“You’re not like a Black Dog informant or anything, Inspector.”

“What the fuck……”

“You didn’t come here to expose Security Officer Neko’s operation. Isn’t that right?”

Ennes’ lips trembled.

Tremble tremble.

“You sensed danger would occur and came to protect me and Professor Enver, didn’t you? The Wizard’s Eye only transmits vision, not voice.”

It was a tightrope walk where one mistake would send you straight to hell.

And it was the final deal.

“The Security Headquarters doesn’t know yet that you exposed Neko’s operation.”

This is the joker card that can save Enver in this gambling match.

“Depending on how the four of us testify, they might never know.”

“This…… This little rat bastard.”

The inspector ground his teeth. He pulled on Chrome’s forearm.

Grind grind.

“I’m really caught good. Stop for now! Chrome! If we stop now and all get our stories straight, we can smooth this over. Let’s talk more with that bastard!”

“Haha.”

Chrome burst into laughter.

While putting away his weapon.

“You’re really an interesting guy. That’s a decent proposal. Exchange Enver and the inspector? Certainly an informant of the inspector’s level would be an incredibly important asset to us too.”

The Orc said.

“Caleb.”

“……”

“But, do you know this?”

The deep-layer adventurer’s eyes gleamed murderously.

“Humans aren’t actually that rational. Plans, negotiations, strategies – those things often get crushed. Especially guys like me.”

Tap.

The Orc’s shoe kicked through the rainwater.

“I’m impulsive sometimes.”

Firmly planting his foot on the ground, his body drew a heavy arc.

The massive axe fell like a guillotine blade.

“……!”

Toward Enver’s torso.

No one could even scream.

***

“Chrome-!”

The enraged inspector’s shout echoed.

“You crazy bastard! What are you doing!”

It felt distant like an echo.

I’ve seen people die many times before, and I’ve killed countless people myself.

‘…….’

But this time the feeling is different.

Like resisting the pouring rain, blood spurting like a fountain covered my face and cardigan.

It’s hot.

Even in the cold rainwater, I can clearly feel that heat.

Even standing in that fierce downpour, the blood doesn’t seem to wash away.

The smell of blood is intense.

Blood flows from Enver’s bloodshot eyes.

“Gasp……”

Enver grabbed my sleeve.

He was still breathing.

But everyone knows.

That amount of bleeding spreading in the rainwater can’t be helped by magic or medicine.

The torso split by the axe blade was like a crushed aluminum can.

“C-Caleb……!”

The hand gripping my sleeve trembles.

Tremble tremble.

I can feel the strength rapidly draining from that hand.

-Freeze!

-Security Headquarters! Everyone don’t move!

Shouts from security officers could be heard from the gambling house lobby.

“I’ll let you live.”

The Orc’s massive hand lightly touched the top of my head.

Tap.

“As you said, I can’t commit ‘murder’ in front of the security officers. I’ll go down and explain this situation to the security officers.”

Chrome said.

“That Magic University Professor Enver was a Possessor. That’s why I killed him. We have plenty of means to prove that. Enver was like the face of your gathering.”

The Orc left the room just like that, and the inspector stamped his feet before running to me.

Stomp stomp.

“Caleb! Don’t give false testimony! Enver was killed because Enver was a Possessor! I just came in here to inform you of that fact! Right……? Please……”

I didn’t give any answer.

“Fuck. Fuck. How is there a Wizard’s Eye in a place like this! This bastard!”

Ennes kicked the table with a bang! and left the room.

-Ennes! Don’t move!

I could hear Neko shouting from below.

“……Caleb.”

And a groan came from the floor.

***

“Caleb…… When, when did you…… Cough!“

Enver looked at me with eyes gradually losing strength while spitting up blood.

Cough!

“When did you know……? About me……”

The rainwater completely soaked his face, but I could still distinguish what was flowing from his eyes.

“Cough!“

Enver coughed.

“……Thank you. For protecting me earlier…… I haven’t been that good to you. Cough cough……”

“……”

“Sorry, but…… Could you write this down somewhere……?”

He said while crying.

“The, the name is Kim Min-seong. Age…… Twenty-seven. Completed military service as a sergeant and took a leave of absence…… I was…… I was just a jobless bastard who only played games……”

Another Korean person, of all people.

“For someone like me to be a professor. Hehe…… Actually it’s not my ability…… White Lion helped me…… Just told me to recruit people…… Cough!“

Blood gurgled in his mouth.

Gurgle.

“White Lion said…… If I receive the deep selection…… I could go back. If I just make it into the top ten……”

“……”

“Home……”

The hand that had been gripping my sleeve fell with a thud.

“I want to go home……”

Enver’s breathing stopped.