Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for the bespectacled man to accept reality.
With stiff movents, he took a step back and looked straight in the eye.
"Bjorn Yandel... you’re making a grave mistake right now."
His voice was full of sincerity—an earnest warning.
But as soon as I heard that, only one thought ca to mind.
Hmm, how many people have said sothing like that to so far?
"Do you know how many troops are stationed nearby? There’s no way you’ll get out of here alive. You maybe, but your companions—never."
"Oh, I see."
I nodded in understanding, then reached out and grabbed him by the neck in one swift motion.
I yanked him close.
"But how many lives do you have, exactly?"
It had been bothering for a while now.
Does this guy not value his life?
If he really thought my companions were my weakness, shouldn’t he be more careful when poking at such a sensitive spot?
"Hmm?"
I asked a question. Why isn't he answering?
"...G-Ghhk!"
Ah, right. Can’t speak with your throat being crushed.
Srrrk.
I relaxed my grip just enough to let him talk, and he gasped for breath, quickly speaking.
"Wh-Why are you doing this...!"
"Hmm?"
"We made a deal to get what we both wanted, didn’t we...!"
Ah, that...
Yeah, I guess we did.
"But the situation’s changed since then."
"W-What...?"
"Ah, sorry I broke our agreent! Truly, I apologize!"
Since I was the one who broke it, I offered a sincere apology.
Maybe he didn’t believe in my sincerity?
"...An apology? You think that’s enough?!"
That was the kind of response that made even a barbarian tilt his head.
"Hmm? What do you an? If an apology doesn’t fix it, what’s the point of apologizing?"
"...?"
"I did wrong, so I apologized. That’s the end of it, no?"
"W-What kind of nonsense logic is that...!"
The bespectacled man shouted in disbelief.
"Nonsense logic, huh..."
Being the broad-minded barbarian I am, I let that slide—but I did offer him so advice.
"Don’t use big words like that. Makes you look weak."
"......"
"Anyway, I’ve apologized."
Just when it seed things were settled, he switched gears and threw out a new line of reasoning.
"...If apologizing fixed everything, why would we have laws? Why would we have prisons?!"
Ooh, sharp.
But still wrong.
"That’s why barbarians hate laws and prisons."
"..."
"So this conversation’s over."
I cut the discussion short.
Co on, now.
It’s more productive to talk about the future than waste ti on bla and resentnt.
Therefore—
"Withdraw all troops stationed nearby."
"...Are you mad? You broke the agreent unilaterally—why would we accept such a demand—"
"If you don’t comply, I’ll fire Urae at the District 4 main building."
The mont I showed my K-barbarian commitnt to peace, the man’s face turned pale.
Well, the Noark lord is in that building, after all.
‘I was a little worried, but looks like he’s still there.’
It had been a few days since I heard that from the Chancellor’s son, so I was slightly concerned, but judging by that face, no need to switch to Plan B yet.
"Your decision."
"W-Wait, let consult with—"
"No."
I shut him down firmly, and the man ground his teeth.
"How am I supposed to make a decision on sothing this huge?!"
"You’ve worked with the lord a long ti, haven’t you? You can more or less predict what he’d do in a situation like this, right?"
"......"
"You decide. On your own."
I get it. His head must be spinning.
He’s supposed to punish us for breaking the deal, but doing so might get his lord killed.
Still, I wasn’t too worried.
This guy was loyal enough to ntion my companions just to protect his lord.
And now he has justification to protect the lord and avoid bla...
Plus, he gets to live?
‘It’d be weirder if he didn’t take that option.’
Once the path opens—even if against your will—it’s only natural to glance at it.
"Decide fast. I broke a promise, yeah, but I also apologized. You really want blood over that, or are we going to just move on?"
"......"
"Not sure if you’ll believe in this situation, but I wasn’t planning to fire Urae at you guys."
"...Not at us? Bjorn, don’t tell ...!"
"Shh. No more talking. Your answer?"
Despite my push, the man hesitated.
But only for a short ti.
Eventually, he forced out a response.
"...I refuse."
...What?
"Don’t treat like an idiot, Bjorn Yandel."
Before I could say anything else, the alarms installed throughout the building began to blare all at once.
BWAANG—! BWAANG—! BWAANG—!
So he had a panic button or sothing...
"This is how we operate."
"......"
"Better to destroy everything than let it all be taken."
Guess I underestimated the Noark mindset.
Tch. I figured he was at least a semi-rational type.
"...Didn’t think you’d turn out to be such a macho bastard."
I genuinely admired him for a second—but that didn’t stop my hands from doing what needed to be done.
"I’ll say it one more ti. Don’t treat like—"
"Enough. Die."
CRACK—!
I crushed his skull with my hamr and turned to head for the room where my companions were.
Well—tried to.
‘Wait, where are they?’
With alarms blaring everywhere, I had to pause and think about which way to go.
"Yandel...!"
Just then, the door at the end of the hall burst open and Alia appeared with the group.
They must have rushed out when the alarm went off...
"What happened?! What’s going on?!"
Alia asked, and I let out a heavy sigh.
Looks like “easy mode” really doesn’t exist for .
"Things got complicated."
Ti for Plan B.
***
Plan A was simple.
Threaten the lord with Urae and escape.
It was a peaceful, non-violent, and constructive strategy.
But...
‘Tch. This is why you can’t work with gangsters.’
That plan got tossed thanks to Noark’s twisted mindset.
So now it’s ti for Plan B.
And surprisingly, Plan B was even simpler.
Because...
I use Urae.
Those three words are enough.
‘Now how do I use it? Ah—maybe like this—’
Whoa, what the hell.
The mont I resolved to use Urae, it was like my soul shot out of my body.
My perspective rocketed upward—through the ceiling, through walls, endlessly.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOM—!
By the ti I ca to my senses, I was high above the city, looking down.
An overwhelming view I’d never seen before—not even from the tallest walls.
But this wasn’t the ti to sit around staring.
Swoosh.
I looked down, spotting the building I’d just been in.
All around it, I could see troops that the bespectacled man had gathered—so dense that "swarming" didn't even cover it.
If I fired directly at the building, even I might not make it out.
So...
I locked the target away from the structure.
Then...
‘Fire. Just think that, right?’
The mont that intent solidified, I felt an unknown force pour out of .
And then—
SHOOOOM—!
A massive sothing blasted upward from the building like a rocket.
That was the last thing I saw before—
"What the hell was that just now?! What did you do?!"
Like waking {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} from a dream, I returned to my normal vision.
"Uuh..."
My head went blank for a second, but I forced myself to focus.
"Whoaaa! Sothing huge just launched from above Bjorn’s head...!"
Ah, so it did fire.
Having just been way up in the sky, it didn’t feel real.
But regardless, there was no ti now.
Because Urae would fall here soon.
"There they are...!"
Right on cue, Noark troops appeared at the stairwell.
Must’ve rushed here when the alarm sounded...
‘Look at that gear—no wonder the guy thought he could grab my companions.’
Still doesn’t an much, though.
Srrrk.
As they approached, I raised my hamr high.
Then...
"Everyone grab onto ! Alia, take care of Ragna—Ainard, watch over Harin!"
With [Giant Form] active, I let everyone cling to my enlarged body.
KWAAAAAAAANG—!
And I slamd my giant hamr down into the floor.
"Kyaaaaaaaah—!"
The stone-and-steel floor shattered like crackers, and I dropped straight to the floor below.
‘Third floor now?’
Of course, I wasn’t planning to stop.
Like a 2D mining ga, I kept smashing downward.
Like swinging a pickaxe top-down—
"Wh-What the hell is happening?!"
KWAANG—!
Second floor.
"What’s going on—kyaaah!"
KWAANG—!
First floor.
I crashed into the tall-ceilinged ground floor, but didn’t stop.
There’s no way a building this big wouldn’t have a basent, right?
"YEEEEEAHHH!! BASENT!!"
KWAANG—!
"Wait, just hold o—"
KWAANG—!
Down to B2.
I slamd the ground again, but this ti, the floor didn’t collapse—just left a deep crater.
Still, I kept hamring, digging a pit.
‘Okay, this is big enough for all of us.’
Once I had a wide enough space, I tossed my companions down into the pit.
Then—
Plop.
I dropped [Giant Form] on top like a lid, sealing off the improvised bunker.
"Good, made it in ti."
"What... No, seriously, what the hell is going on?! Can you explain now?!"
From under , I heard Hyunbyeol’s sharp voice.
But I had only one thing to say.
"Hold on tight."
Ti to explode.
***
A massive boom shook the world, and the supposedly solid ground rippled like jelly.
If the ground was this bad, no way the upper floors stayed intact.
BOOOOM—! KRRRAAANG—! THUUUUM—!
Debris from the collapsed building rained down and slamd into my back.
That was fine.
The real problem ca next.
——————————!
Blinding light burst through the debris and seared my entire body.
It felt like I was being cooked alive.
Made wonder if the ones below were even okay.
Fortunately, it didn’t last long.
‘Even after dropping to B2, it’s this bad...’
If I hadn’t aid away from the building, this could’ve gone horribly wrong.
‘Better check on the others.’
The air was sauna-hot, but not deadly.
I shook it off and called out.
"Everyone okay?"
"That’s our question. Are you okay?"
"Feels like I cracked a few vertebrae, but I’ll live. So—answer the question?"
"...We’re fine. Harin Suevi had a pretty powerful defensive scroll on her."
"Seriously though, what was that just now—!"
God, she’s persistent.
Why does that matter now?
"It’s nothing. Let think for a minute."
Hyunbyeol muttered sothing under her breath, but I ignored it.
Ti to plan ahead.
‘Oxygen won’t be an issue—we can rotate through dive scrolls and magic tools.’
It’ll take so ti, but we can dig through the rubble and escape eventually.
Then head straight across the city to Karnohn and show Astarotta the Marquis’s body.
Mission complete.
‘It’s almost over...’
Part of felt this whole incident was finally nearing its end.
But another part...
That creeping unease in my chest refused to fade.
Thump—
Please, let there be no surprises left.
User Comments
0 comments from readers