Chapter 185 : Chapter 185
Chapter 185
Soon, the family members Malcolm had gathered arrived.
“Father! We’re here!”
“Got our tools, Father.”
“Father!”
Father shouted.
“Let’s go! My sons!”
With Father at the center, the sons go out of the family house.
“S-spare….”
Under the rock Father had been using for his workout, five people were crushed.
Their bones and flesh had become sticky and clumped together.
…They were all people who had failed to bring the tribute Father had commanded. They had to support Father's rock until they died.
“Hey!”
One by one, families gathered in the newly incorporated slum area where the burnt noble mansion was. As if by appointment, they gathered at the ruined mansion.
“That’s the Scorpion Family over there.”
“Tsk, I see the Blackfinger gang too. Annoying bastards….”
“Don’t let your guard down. The Bloody Axe Family is a bunch of crazies.”
And the fathers of the families and the bosses of the gangs gather in one place. Though they were at the same location, there was a difference in class among them.
The new gangs or families just kept their places, while the competition was between the traditional organizations.
“…Hey, Scorpion. Long time no see.”
“Hah, Muscle King, is it.”
The father of the Muscle King Family, whose entire body seemed to be made of muscle, greeted the man with a sharp impression who was wearing dozens of daggers.
When Scorpion drew his dagger, a distinct green poisonous light was reflected in his eyes.
“Want a drink?”
“Hah! With you? I’d never drink. I’d rather have that Blackfinger over there.”
“…I don’t drink such things as alcohol.”
Blackfinger. A gang that takes contract killing as its profession. Though small in number, their military power is not lacking compared to a large family.
“Haha! Long time no see, everyone! Let’s have a go!”
And the father of the Bloody Axe Family.
“We didn't come here to fight.”
“We came to find out the truth of the incident.”
“That’s right. But….”
Though they seemed moderate at first glance, the position they stood in was one that could never be reached with a sane mind.
“Or, shall we reduce the numbers a bit before we talk?”
“Good. I want to kill too. Let’s kill them. I’ll poison them!”
“There's nothing easier to kill than an innocent life.”
“Khehehaha! We all speak the same language!”
Finding out the truth of the incident? What a joke. When they gather, they first try to fight.
The one who survives in this mad slum, the one who rises high, is only a madman.
Killing intent and the aura of violence overflowed, and the string of tension was pulled taut. The moment of explosion. Right before it.
“That's enough.”
Someone firmly grasped the center of the string that was about to break.
“…What.”
“Huh?”
Two people walk over.
One person was wearing a crimson cloak with crow feathers, and a red-eyed crow was embroidered with black thread, and the other person was in a green robe.
“Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”
“Extras.”
As if time had stopped, the movements of the bosses stopped. They only rolled their eyes to look at the two who had intruded.
Even the father of the Bloody Axe Family, who would normally have thrown an axe first, paused.
Because the robes they wore were too luxurious and clean to be dismissed.
“…”
“…”
The two did not answer the question. In the midst of the silence, the man in the black robe drew a long shotgun from behind his back. It was a stylish gun with a picture of a hound engraved on it.
“Looks like everyone’s here.”
At the words that followed, the bosses couldn't move this time either.
Doesn't it sound as if they had been 'led' to gather here? As if they were the 'masterminds' of this incident.
“Extras. Assemble under me.”
When he said that.
“Yes, sir.”
Malcolm, who had been sticking close to the father of the Muscle King Family, scurries over.
“Hey, Malcolm…?”
Malcolm prostrates himself before the crow and the hound. The dumbfounded Muscle King stared blankly for about 3 seconds, and then, clenching his teeth.
“This bastard, what are you….”
Just as he was about to say something.
“Understood.”
“Assemble! We have received our orders!”
“Yes!”
Several people came out from among the families and gangs. As if, the composition of a solid castle wall was being pulled out piece by piece. And... it was no ordinary thing. There was at least one executive from each organization.
They also lined up next to Malcolm in an orderly fashion, and then.
“We greet the head of the Ulvhadin family!”
To the hound, they said that.
“What…? The head of the Ulvhadin family?”
“…Head William?”
“No, he looks young.”
That wasn't the end. Then, looking at the red-eyed crow.
“We greet His Majesty the Emperor!”
The head of the Ulvhadin family, and the emperor, of which there is only one in this world.
In the ruins where the families and gangs had gathered, soon, along with someone's snicker, laughter spread.
“Puhahahaha! Did you hear that?! Did you hear?! Oh my, the head of the Ulvhadin family, the terror of the foreign tribes, and His Majesty the Great Emperor of Imperium have graced us with their presence!”
“Khahahak! Oh my, I’m dying! Malcolm you bastard, you have to be good at jokes too!”
“Kekekekek!”
The laughter was not long. Because silence soon followed. The bosses who had been laughing as if they had seen a farce turned serious and looked at the two who had called themselves 'extras'.
“Ah, whatever. Kill them.”
The father of the Bloody Axe Family charged with a rusty axe.
Still, the two did not move. In the eyes of the bosses, it looked as if they were so scared their bodies had frozen.
“The self-proclaimed head of the family and His Majesty the Emperor! You must keep the order!”
The axe, unfortunately, was headed for the hound.
“We will send off the head of the Ulvhadin family first!”
Why was it unfortunate.
Thwump—!
A gunshot that sounded like thunder rang out.
A bloody axe flies through the air. Blood and flesh splatter everywhere. A body with only the lower half left, its upper half gone, kneels before the hound, unable to overcome its inertia.
“…Wh-what.”
“What was that.”
They didn't see what flew, or what happened. Just that with a clap of thunder, the upper body had exploded. That's how it looked to the ruffians of the slums.
But in reality, it was a place more than 1km away. The rooftop of a tall building.
“…No one will be able to harm my master.”
Lilac, wearing a Peacemaker uniform over her maid dress, was escorting Martin with a sacred white anti-materiel sniper rifle.
The chamber opens, and the casing of a large-caliber bullet falls with a clink. A reloading sound, heavier than Martin's, echoes.
“From now on, I will announce the kill list.”
Martin raised his shotgun and aimed it at the bosses gathered in the center.
“You will all die in this place.”
“…”
“The executives, except for those selected, will die.”
“…”
“The rest will be shown leniency if they show signs of turning over a new leaf like those prostrated before me.”
“Pffft!”
Someone laughed. It was Scorpion.
“You foolish bastard.”
“…”
“You’re already poisoned!”
Why had the Scorpion Family become so strong. Dagger skills? No, the dagger is just a means. Its true power is poison.
“It's the poison of the shadow frog, imported from the great forest! It's a secret poison that can kill an elephant in 10 seconds.”
As the situation became clear, boasts and laughter of victory erupted here and there. Most of them were from the Scorpion Family. Or people who knew of its power.
Scorpion was also confident of victory.
“Khaha! Look at you running wild! If you cry and beg me for forgiveness right now, I'll give you the antidote! If not? You just die! You'll have to live with the antidote for the rest of your life! Your body is starting to stiffen, isn't it?! It hurts, doesn't it?! You're going crazy, aren't you?! I'll…!”
Scorpion's words trail off. He, who had been shouting confidently, turned serious. Terrified. He looked at the hound.
“…You, why… are you okay?”
“Lilac, kill him.”
A rough gunshot rings out, and the upper body of the Scorpion boss also explodes.
“…!”
At that moment, an assassin with a black hand appeared behind the hound.
However, the crow's wings also spread. Crimson claws mercilessly tear apart the prey that doesn't know its place.
The boss of Blackfinger, a renowned authority on contract killing even in the slums, was cut into 25 pieces and fell to the ground just as he appeared. Slowly, the crow retracts its claws.
“Th-this bastard…!”
The Muscle King boss was flustered. Bloody Axe, Blackfinger, Scorpion. They were all taken down. By a sniper from who knows where and the crow next to him.
“I challenge you! To a duel of leaders!”
But to put it another way…, the combat power of the man with the shotgun is still unknown. It's not impossible that he just looks plausible but is actually an empty shell.
Because power is usually shown off, not hidden!
“So be it.”
As soon as the hound's permission was given, Muscle King charged. His enormous arm muscles were swung, but.
“…!”
It was caught. Not by the right hand holding the shotgun, but by the left hand. He is pulled. It was a very light movement, but he couldn't resist. Soon, a small palm grabs the Muscle King boss' face. And crushes it.
He met his end without even being able to let out a final cry.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Silence. The hundreds of combatants from the slums were silent.
“What are you doing?”
Everyone flinched and looked up at the hound.
“Prostrate yourselves.”
That day, the slums were unified under one organization, 'Extra'.
***
There's a saying that life goes in circles. Life has its ups and downs. Sometimes there are days so difficult you feel like you're going to die, and other times there are joyful days when you feel like you're flying high.
But in the end, it comes back to the starting point.
'So it's here after all.'
I sat by the window and stretched my body out.
Imperium Academy. The time had come when it was moving from the end of autumn to winter.
School was closed during the Brahmus terror attack, and closed again because of the terror of Kragach and Joverka. We were only able to return after a week had passed.
“Cadet Martin, are you listening?”
“Ah, yes.”
Next to me, Anette was chattering away. At the request of the Director of the Humanity Preservation Agency, we, who had cleaned up the slums, talked about the aftermath.
About the unified slum organization 'Extra'.
“The Ulvhadin family is sponsoring it.”
I had explained about Extra to the acting head, William, and requested his sponsorship.
“And the Empress of Defardly is running it.”
Anette had decided to take charge of the actual operation of Extra.
“Will you be alright? I heard you're keeping the name.”
“Hmm! I liked it too! Extra. Isn't it a word that perfectly describes us?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
From now on, Extra will rule the slums. Its leader is the Crow Empress, Anette.
“By the way, I heard that you’re also called the Crow Lady Boss in the slums?”
“…Th-that is….”
Anette's face turns red.
Fwoosh. The way it turns red like a fire going up in a stove is like something out of a comic book.
“I-I don't know! I don't know anything like that!”
Anette, who hurriedly returns to her seat. And yet, she exchanges greetings with the other cadets.
“Uh, uh, hello everyone!”
Anette had completely revealed her identity through the recent series of events. An empress without a country, without subjects. A former war criminal nation, but reborn as a protector of humanity, the Crow Empress of Defardly.
Perhaps because of her recent exploits and the peculiarity of being the empress of a country that had already disappeared and could only be seen in history books, there were no cadets who found Anette particularly difficult to approach.
I quietly watched Anette's back as she returned to her seat. I had never thought that she and I would become comrades.
“You’re living quite the life.”
“Ah.”
A familiar voice. But it's been a while. I turned my head and saw a golden shimmer. Her eyes also shimmered with gold.
Princess Adela. But she seems to be in a very bad mood.
'Ignoring her is the answer at times like this.'
I snapped my head back and looked straight ahead.
“Hey, do you like the back of that crow so much? I heard a rumor that you're playing together in a group.”
“It was official business.”
I answered curtly.
Adela frowned and looked at me silently, then roughly sat down in the seat next to me. Then she says sarcastically, as if for me to hear.
“Official business? Hah! Did you think I was playing around? I was so busy! Hah! While I was repeating training and official duties, training and official duties, trying to somehow make time.”
“Ah, yes.”
I get it. I get it, so stop now.
As I continued to ignore her, Adela's expression contorted.