Chapter 150 : Chapter 150
Chapter 150 : Rat Hunting (2)
When adjusting the price of a contract, the most important thing is to distribute the cost that must be paid as much as possible.
Even if the price is the same, sacrificing a single body part can lead to enormous long-term losses, whereas enduring immediate pain allows one to pay the price of the contract without major long-term damage.
Of course, despite that, I had even used the method of sacrificing part of my body when fighting the Destruction Dragon, so it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
Well, strictly speaking, that had been possible because it was a game, and now that it had become reality, I had no intention of doing such a thing even in the slightest.
Yes, no matter what price I had to pay.
“Hooh……! Hooh……!”
Before I knew it, the Blazing Fire that had been trying to devour the surroundings lost its fuel and slowly faded away.
The magic the rat bastard had created by offering up one of his eyes was neutralized.
Of course, the price was not small.
“Guhk…….”
Every time I breathed, it felt like my lungs were burning away, and whenever the wind brushed against my skin, screams spilled out.
It hurt.
It hurt so much that, honestly, I felt like tears were about to fall.
No, maybe they were already falling, but were all burning away before I could even realize it.
‘I can’t collapse yet.’
Edric and the rat bastard were still locked in a fierce exchange.
Perhaps because he had lost an eye, the exchange itself seemed to be tilting in Edric’s favor, but if I collapsed now, the rat bastard would calmly slip away from this place.
I had no intention of letting that happen.
“Hooh…….”
I looked toward where Edric and the rat bastard were exchanging violent sword strikes.
I was, honestly, a little pissed off too.
[Activating ‘Weapon Summon(??)’.]
[A ‘Lv.5’ weapon has been summoned.]
[Summoning weapon, ‘N242 Minigun’.]
Along with a blue halo of light, the N242 Minigun, designated as a Lv.5 weapon, revealed itself.
“Cap…… tain!”
I had only shouted, yet it felt as though my throat and lungs were burning together.
That was despite the Orb of Water continuously restoring my wounds in real time.
At my shout, Edric’s slash struck the rat bastard and forced distance between the two of them.
Seeing me from afar the entire time, the rat bastard’s mouth slowly fell open.
“……Damn it. What the hell is that now.”
As a hollow laugh escaped his lips, 7.62×51mm rounds poured down on him at a rate of four thousand rounds per minute.
Kwa-kwa-kwa!!!
There was no need to deliberately imbue them with demonic energy.
The overwhelming destructive power imbued with the strength of the Postponer of Ruin alone was more than enough to strip away the demonic armor the rat bastard was wearing.
“Kyaaaagh!”
The demonic armor that had refused to peel away like steel until now was torn apart miserably.
It was honestly hard to believe that a human could survive such an attack, but in a way, players had already become something beyond human.
The moment the rat bastard, who had been so persistent, was neutralized, I had no intention of missing the chance.
“Captain!”
“Got it!”
Edric’s slash flashed and cut into the rat bastard.
“Kyaaagh!”
Yet, as if to prove just how tenacious the vitality of a player nearing demonic personhood was, the rat bastard was still alive despite everything.
I had no intention of killing him anyway.
If he were just an insignificant rat bastard, he probably wouldn’t know much, but at that level, he was certain to hold some information.
“Captain…… we need to…… capture him.”
“And how?”
“If he can’t…… move…… that’s…… enough.”
“Simple. I like it!”
Despite my broken speech, Edric immediately grasped exactly what he needed to do.
Chwak!
Chwaak──!
Edric’s sword flashed, severing the rat bastard’s right arm cleanly.
“Kyaaaagh!!!”
The method for preventing a player, who possessed functions like the Anonymous Bulletin Board, from contacting the outside was simple.
You cut off all their limbs.
If that was done, even if they accessed the Anonymous Bulletin Board or any other board, they couldn’t leave a single post.
Even if they tried to make contact while captured, it meant completely blocking such methods from the outset.
“Damn it, you bastards……!”
Demonic energy, going berserk from the pain and rage of losing body parts, rampaged wildly.
But at this point, there was nothing that mere demonic energy could do.
‘Lion.’
[Yes.]
At the price of Spirit Magic, a massive amount of demonic energy was offered up.
Even with the demonic energy I possessed, I could only use it once or twice at most.
Precisely because of that, the effect of the magic was certain.
Spirit Magic.
Self-Entanglement.
With that, the demonic energy the rat bastard had been spewing out instead began to bind him.
“What the hell is this……!”
Soon after, strands of demonic energy moved and sealed the rat bastard’s mouth shut.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
“Excellent!”
Then Edric’s sword moved again, severing all of the rat bastard’s remaining limbs.
“Grrk…….”
At last, unable to endure the pain, the rat bastard’s body collapsed limply.
As a player on the verge of demonic personhood, there was no need to worry about him dying from excessive blood loss.
‘Is it finally over.’
Only after safely subduing the rat bastard did I feel the body I had been holding together through sheer Mental Power begin to collapse.
Now, I was truly at my limit.
***
When I came to my senses, I was lying on a bed.
Judging by the familiar scenery outside the window, it seemed to be lodging within Bernhardt.
‘Did Edric move me.’
It was a relief that I hadn’t lost consciousness until the very end.
If I had passed out midway, I couldn’t be sure whether Edric alone would have been able to subdue the rat bastard.
‘But more importantly, my body…….’
Looking closely, my entire body was tightly wrapped in bandages.
It seemed that after arriving in Bernhardt, Edric had called for a doctor.
Thanks to the treatment, and to the Orb of Water diligently regenerating my body while I slept, the burns covering my entire body had been reduced from third-degree to around second-degree.
Of course, they were still serious, but it was better than before.
Earlier, every single moment of being alive had felt close to pain and despair.
“Hooh…….”
My lungs had also recovered quite a bit, and now simply breathing no longer felt like my lungs were burning away.
At that moment, the door opened and a familiar face entered.
It was Edric.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
“Did you move me, Captain?”
“Moving you and the rat bastard at the same time was quite the ordeal. The Mülhen Granary Zone is enormous, after all…….”
“What happened to the rat bastard?”
“He’s being held in a heavily secured interrogation room.”
“Has his backer been identified?”
“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet. If anything, you seem to have woken up far too quickly.”
“I see.”
With all his limbs severed, even a player on the verge of demonic personhood must have suffered immense shock.
And with no limbs, he wouldn’t be able to use the Anonymous Bulletin Board or Guild Bulletin Board anyway, so he was no different from a fish already caught.
“May I go see him once?”
At that, Edric spoke with an exasperated expression.
“……In that condition?”
“What’s wrong with my condition?”
“Well, that…… if the unit members see you like this, they’ll be extremely shocked. Especially Alicia.”
From those words, I could tell one thing.
“It seems the unit members don’t know my condition.”
“Basically, this entire incident was handled as top secret. It didn’t seem like something that should leak outside.”
No wonder there had been no one around when I woke up…… I had thought something felt off.
“You handled it well.”
“Being praised by you makes me feel strange. It’s as if I’ve become the subordinate.”
“Don’t worry about the small things.”
Edric nodded.
“In any case, if you insist on seeing him now, it would be best to cover your entire body. And if possible, avoid familiar faces and move discreetly.”
“I’ll do that. Could you prepare a suitable robe for me?”
“Of course. Wait here for a moment. But even if you hurry, he’ll probably still be unconscious. Wouldn’t it be better to wait and go later?”
“There isn’t much time. I think I need to hurry.”
“Hm, if you say so, it can’t be helped. Wait here for a bit.”
After Edric left the room, he soon returned with a suitably sized black robe for me to wear.
“This should do.”
“Thank you.”
“Shall we go right away, then?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Follow me.”
After putting on the robe, I followed Edric toward a certain building.
From the outside, it felt like a public institution handling Bernhardt’s official affairs, and when Edric entered, someone inside recognized him.
“Sir Edric, you’ve come.”
“May we go in?”
“Ah, yes. This way.”
Following the guide, Edric and I began descending underground.
The underground level was quite deep.
It was surprising that a building like this could even have a basement that deep.
“You’ve done well. If there’s anything else later, I’ll call for you again.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
With that, the guide went back upstairs, and we stopped in front of a sealed room.
“Is it here?”
“That’s right.”
“May I go in alone?”
“Will you be alright?”
“Yes. He’s a man without limbs, after all.”
“Well, considering the power he wielded, even without limbs it’s not something to be careless about…… but if you insist, I understand. I’ll wait here.”
Since the conversation I intended to have would be more convenient without Edric present, I decided to enter alone.
Creeeeak…….
When I entered the sealed room, I saw the rat bastard bound tightly around the torso and neck with metal chains that appeared to be made of Magic Sealing Stone.
“Wake up. I know you’re awake.”
At that, the rat bastard’s limp body twitched slightly.
“……Heh. How did you know?”
“Just a guess. If you were really unconscious, you wouldn’t react anyway.”
“…….”
The rat bastard looked at me as if thinking, what kind of bastard is this?
“……Come to think of it, you’ve recovered pretty well. Ah, I heard the Plague Mask has attribute Orbs. Is that thanks to them? Meanwhile, I’m in this pathetic state.”
A limbless man grinning like that was a truly grotesque sight.
“There’s something I want to ask.”
“Something you want to ask? You think I’ll answer questions after being reduced to this state? Stop screwing around and just kill me.”
“It seems you’re misunderstanding something.”
I corrected the misconception the rat bastard had.
“Your life and death are completely in my hands. That means you can’t decide whether you live or die on your own.”
“Damn it.”
The rat bastard growled viciously.
“So what, you're threatening me? You think there’s anything left to scare me after this?”
“Don’t pretend you’ve given up hope. If you can handle demonic energy, you should know that even in that state, living daily life with prosthetic arms and legs isn’t impossible.”
The rat bastard’s expression stiffened.
“Let’s go back to the beginning. What’s your name? Ah, you don’t have to answer this. It just feels awkward to keep calling you a rat bastard.”
“……Bare.”
“Bare. Got it. Then I’ll ask again.”
I spoke.
“Is your backer the Supreme King?”
“Yes.”
“Was it the Supreme King who drew the magic circle in the Mülhen Granary Zone?”
“You know quite a lot. Yes, that’s right too.”
“You’re answering more readily than I expected.”
Bare let out a chuckle.
“There’s no need to hide something that obvious, right? If anything, that just makes it more convincing. It’s better to answer honestly and throw you into confusion.”
“That’s true.”
And from that, one more clue could be inferred.
“Then the Supreme King is a player.”
“Well…… I won’t deny it.”
As expected, the Supreme King who had suddenly appeared and unified the Eastern Union was a player.
“What is the Supreme King’s objective?”
At that, Bare grinned.
“To open the sky.”