Ryan was lying on his back in his bed and staring at the ceiling. Night had fallen and the room was dark. He was thinking about his last meeting with Ryner. Back then, when that man had asked him if he still wanted to be a hero, he had given him a rather childish answer.

“Ryan, you sleeping?” [Jayce]

Just as he was getting embarrassed, his best friend and roommate talked to him from the other bed next to him. He looked to his leftt and saw Jayce staring at him, lying on his back with his hands behind his head.

“I can’t sleep.” [Ryan]

“Yeah, it’s hard to fall asleep after seeing something like that. I really hope I don’t get nightmares.” [Jayce]

The dark skin youth said jokingly which prompted the two of them to remember how Ryner had torn out his eyes and cut off two of his limbs. They never thought they would actually see someone do something so gruesome to himself.

Not only did he become a blind man, he even lost an arm and a leg. Just living a normal life would be extremely difficult without help and he willingly put himself in that state for one of their classmates. Moreover, that classmate tried to kill them and enslave the girls.

They didn’t think he would have it in him to forgive that guy. The way the heroes saw him was now completely different from before. They were suspicious of his character and looked down on him since, despite being an otherworlder, he wasn’t an S rank like them.

However, they now respected him and feared him. The sight of Dan screaming in agony inside Ryner’s hands wasn’t going to fade away anytime soon. Plus, they saw a first-class gory show earlier today.

In short, Ryner’s actions caused some misunderstandings and his reputation among the high schoolers greatly increased along with his infamy. In fact, before he knew it, Ryan wasn’t only jealous of him, he even found himself admiring him, though he would never openly admit it.

“… Jayce?” [Ryan]

“Mhh?” [Jayce]

“Do you think I can do it? Becoming a hero?” [Ryan]

It was weird. He used to be able to easily call himself a hero, but now he didn’t have any confidence in that claim. The blonde-haired high schooler turned to his best friend and asked for his opinion, but his question wasn’t answered.

“Do you remember when we first met?” [Jayce]

“Huh? Yeah, why?” [Ryan]

“Back then, I was in the middle of getting beaten up by three guys in some alley. I really didn’t pick my fight correctly.” [Jayce]

Jayce remembered the crazy stunts he pulled back in middle school and smirked to himself. He honestly didn’t change much, but he did mature quite a bit, mainly his muscles, not his brain.

“Then, you showed up, out of nowhere, and charged headfirst to help me out.” [Jayce]

“Well, yeah. You were in trouble, so it was only right for me to help you out.” [Ryan]

“But, the thing is, not everyone can do that.” [Jayce]

Jayce looked at Ryan in the eyes. His expression was serious which surprised him a bit.

“That’s why I think you can be a great hero. You helped me out back then, so now I’ll cover your back. If you ever get in trouble, I’ll charge in and support you.” [Jayce]

Jayce grinned and lifted his fist, showing his fighting spirit. Ryan felt his body relax and closed his eyes. He smiled lightly and looked at the ceiling again.

“I see. Then, I’ll be counting on you.” [Ryan]

“Yeah.” [Jayce]

“But, it’ll probably be the girls that have to get us out of a mess.” [Ryan]

“Hahahaha! That always does happen, doesn’t it?” [Jayce]

The two laughed together for a bit, feeling calmer than before. Their thoughts drifted to that mysterious otherworlder and they wondered how he was doing now.

Meanwhile…

Charles was continuing his war with the mountain of paperwork at his desk in his room. The sun had set and the stars were out. As the city fell asleep, the king was working late in the night to get everything in order. Materials, resources, manpower, he had to plan it all out and finish rebuilding as soon as possible.

One good thing about the disaster that befell Elura was that they had gotten their hands on some dragoons. Their scales, bones, fangs and claws could be processed and used as materials to make expensive trinkets for collectors or powerful weapons for warriors. He could sell a part of them and keep the rest to prepare new equipment for his army.

Putting his pen down, he looked out the window and gazed at the sky. Charles went over what happened in the audience room earlier today and remembered Ryner’s face. That man who shamelessly asked for Dan to be forgiven, tainting his reputation among the nobility and the church.

“(*Sigh* It’s a good thing I told Jillian not to come.)” [Charles]

Not only that, he even went as far as to mutilate himself. Although he had agreed and went along with his plan, but he still wondered if what he did was the right thing. Charles sighed and rubbed his temples. His eyes drifted to a corner where a black, rectangular object stood upright. It was 170 cm tall and the lid was tightly shut.

When they last talked in this room, Ryner had pushed the Holy Wings onto him and locked it in that black metallic box. The matter of him being the protector of the true sacred sword was never settled and it was even forgotten when the dragoons attacked.

Yet, with the excuse that it’ll cause him too much trouble if he held onto it, he had given the king that white Artifact. Charles hadn’t told anyone yet and the conspicuous box was still sitting in his room, right against the wall. Of course, he would need to reveal this fact as soon as possible and get some strong arms to move it out of here.

“(No, to make sure that no one tries to steal it, I should only inform a few and have it hidden in a safe place.)” [Charles]

As he pondered such thoughts, he was completely unaware that the Holy Wings inside was just a normal sword made to look like the Artifact. Of course, since it was locked, he couldn’t get to the sword without breaking the container, so he couldn’t confirm if it was real or not. He couldn’t even tell if it really was inside.

He only had Ryner’s words to go with, but that man didn’t seem to be lying when he said that the white, winged sword was inside and, technically, he wasn’t. Not detecting any lies with the insight he sharpened as a king, Charles decided to trust him, which was his mistake.

The sword was an ordinary steel weapon, but the box was a product of science and had several built-in functions. One of them would alert Ryner if anyone pried it open.

He had prepared this in case he was asked to remain by the king, the nobles and the church because they wanted to keep the Holy Wings in their city. It was also made in the event that his bluff as the protector was rejected in the end and that they wanted him to hand over the Artifact. If he gave them that dummy weapon, then he would get to secretly keep the White Wing and they wouldn’t mettle in his affairs anymore.

“(If he’s given it to me, then he’s planning on leaving and doesn’t want me to send anyone to follow him. But, before he leaves, I just hope he doesn’t cause too much of a ruckus.)” [Charles]

His mind automatically recalled the other thing that Ryner had discussed with him in this room. After agreeing to his outrageous plan to spare Dan, the man with the white eye had shared with him his suspicions that the rogue hero was not working alone. Charles also thought that it was highly possible considering how he managed to gather dragoons and multiple humans as a fighting force without anyone noticing.

He would have been aware if he left the castle, yet he stayed inside most of the time. As such, there were probably others that moved for him. Ryner had told him that he had a lead and that he would investigate it tonight. Though he didn’t know how that young man would do it after mutilating himself, Charles had agreed to leave it to him and to turn a blind eye to everything that he would do to get to the truth.

“(Nobles are tasked with making their land prosper. If there are traitors that would threaten Elea, then they will die.)” [Charles]

The king, whose duty was to ensure the safety and prosperity of his kingdom, thought in his head as his eyes gave off a glint like steel. When he accepted the crown, he had prepared himself to do whatever it took to fulfill his duty, even if it meant killing his own subordinates.

He went back to his work all while worried about what the otherworlder would do tonight. Hopefully, the damages wouldn’t spread over a large area. He would have preferred to recruit him as his subordinate. After all, not only did he possess powerful weapons, according to his knight commander, he had powers that most likely surpassed the heroes. However, he didn’t have the confidence to keep him in check. He was a wild element, so it was better to let him go and to not become his enemy.

“(Come to think of it… What was his full name?)” [Charles]

As Charles’ pen moved across the piece of paper, this stray thought suddenly came to him. He realized he had never bothered to ask him for his last name. He looked out the window once more and wondered what that otherworlder was doing now.

Meanwhile…

“(It’s been a while since I sneaked inside a noble’s mansion.)” [Ryner]

Ryner was sneaking inside a noble’s mansion.

After leaving the city unannounced, Ryner, Maya and Evelyn went to the ruin to check on the progress of the Avalon. The repair drones flying about continued to work tirelessly and the ship was finally able to fly again. After having acquired some useful items, Ryner activated the massive teleportation circle that the Avalon was resting on top of. It was transported in the air where it was now flying at high altitude, away from people’s eyes.

Once their business was done, Ryner went back to the city to begin his investigation. He was going to question the one that helped Dan gather those dragoons and bandits. At the same time, he was going to use this opportunity to verify the performance of his body.

In the dead of the night, he moved like a ghost. Slipping past the guards that were on lookout outside in the courtyard and entering through a window, he made his way deeper in the abode without anyone noticing him.

His body was completely clad in black to help him blend in with the shadows. The collar of his black shirt was pulled up to cover the lower half of his face, a black eyepatch hid the left side and a hood was over his head. He looked like an assassin as he sneaked around corners and avoided the few servants working late in the night.

Since most of the residents living in the mansion were asleep, the hallways were dark except for a few sources of light along the walls. Ryner used it to his advantage and glided from one dark place to another, avoiding the light as much as possible.

However, one thing was odd about his appearance: he had all four limbs. Even though he had ripped his eyes out and cut off his left arm and right leg earlier today, he had two arms, two legs and his right eye that was white.

“(Looks like there’s no problem with my leg. Glad to see that parasite still works.)” [Ryner]

Ryner casually thought in his head as he stopped at a corner. He lightly massaged his right leg that had fully regenerated and leaned to the side to see if anyone was in the hallway. A maid was walking towards him. He quickly hid himself and silently backed away, waiting for her to pass by him.

The maid arrived at the intersection and, tilting her head, looked to her left, right where Ryner had been a moment ago. There was no one there. Thinking that it must have been her imagination, she continued walking in the dim corridor. If that woman had turned around, she would have seen a shadow rapidly going towards where she came from.

“(This place is huge. I should have done some recon before coming here.)” [Ryner]

Ryner looked for any room that might function as the office for the noble that owned the mansion. His left eye that was bandaged under the eyepatch was hurting, but it wasn’t unbearable. He ignored the pain and kept going, making sure no one was in a room before entering and searching the place to find any form of evidence. If he couldn’t open a door, he would check his surroundings before picking the lock.

“(Ow… Next time, instead of using an alien parasite to regenerate lost limbs, I’ll use the cell cloning equipment on the Avalon.)” [Ryner]

The man dressed like an assassin silently told himself so as he remembered the black goo that he used to get his leg back. The substance in the syringe was quite heavy despite its size, about 8 kg or so.

When he injected himself with it, the stump that was his right leg turned black and bubbled up. Accompanied by intense pain, nausea and headache, it began to grow in size and took the form of his leg before turning pale white which was his normal skin color. The same thing happened to a part of his left arm and his eyes.

The arm was now back to above the elbow while the right eye fully returned. Only a part of the left eye reformed, so blood gushed everywhere and Ryner had to rip it out again.

“(Yeah, I’ll regrow my arm and eye with that. It takes longer, but it’s way safer.)” [Ryner]

Despite the serious situation he was in, Ryner continued to casually grumble to himself. The parasite he used was heavily modified to allow instant regeneration, but it was still imperfect. Not only was the process painful, continuous use would be disastrous. It was first marketed to the military, but given its downsides and the horrible history of the parasite, it had no buyers except for a few eccentrics. Ryner was one of them.

As he steadily advanced, he finally found something promising. Peeking over a corner, at a T-shape intersection, two guards were blocking the way to one corridor.

Believing that he was on the right path, he took out from his pocket dimension a green cylindrical canister that fitted in his hand. Then, he threw it towards the guards, high over their heads and it nearly grazed the ceiling.

“Huh?” [Random guard]

“What?” [Random guard]

Noticing something flying towards them in the dim mansion, the two guards strained their eyes to see what it was. The unidentified object landed behind them with a metallic clanking sound, prompting the two of them to look at the point of impact. The swords on their waists were drawn and their senses were on alert.

However, the moment they turned their heads, it was their defeat. Ryner had closed the distance between them and knocked their heads together from behind. The guards lost consciousness and limply fell on the floor. The man in black picked up the canister that didn’t have the pin on top pulled and dragged the two guards with him, causing their steel armor to give away his position.

“(Ugh, they’re making way too much noise.)” [Ryner]

He arrived at a door along the hallway and, after searching the room to see if it didn’t have any secret correspondence with Dan or a journal filled with evil ambitions, he left the guards there and closed the door.

As he kept looking through the rooms one by one, he heard some faint sounds a bit farther away. Deciding to investigate, Ryner went towards the noise and ended up in front of a lone door no different from the others, right at the end of the corridor.

“Aaah! It hurts!” [???]

“Please, stop!” [???]

“Be quiet! Hurry and bring them here. I apologize for the wait, gentlemen.” [???]

“My word, they certainly are beautiful.” [???]

“True, the mother is in her prime and the daughter has clearly inherited her blood.” [???]

But, this one wasn’t empty. It contained some rather irritating voices.

“(Stay on mission. Stay on mission. Stay on mission.)” [Ryner]

He couldn’t search the room with people inside, so he quietly began to leave, but a name held him back.

“So, these are the surprise that you wanted to show us, Lord Cadiuz.” [???]

“Yes, I only acquired them very recently. As you know, getting slaves has become somewhat impossible in this city.” [Beves]

“Haha, that young hero certainly has made it hard on us. I wonder how his majesty can tolerate his actions.” [???]

“Indeed, not having any slaves has made it rather difficult for many.” [???]

“(Beves Cadiuz, so he’s in there. That’s his voice, huh. Better remember it.)” [Ryner]

Beves Cadiuz was the name of the noble that owned the mansion. He was also the one that Ryner suspected to be the traitor. The reason for that was because of his facial expression when he had laid his eyes on the White Wing the first time Ryner had shown it.

It was an expression laced with ambitions and dark desires, completely different from the awe, surprise and admiration that the others in the audience room had shown. Of course, there were some who had ambitious faces, but only his evoked disgust. That was what the old monster’s eyes had seen as they carefully scanned over everyone present.

“(If he’s here, then I might as well question him directly. Scouring this huge mansion would take too much time. But, what about the others? From what I can tell, there are twelve, thirteen people. The last one seems to be an animal. Five of them can fight, most likely some guards. The others are nothing special, probably nobles. Two are slaves, not counted as part of the enemy’s forces. One is an animal, doesn’t seem too big, not a threat.)” [Ryner]

“Now then, gentlemen, let us enjoy ourselves for the night. After that recent attack by the dragoons, we should relax our nerves and have fun. I haven’t touched these beastmen yet and the daughter is still unspoiled. I am sure you will like them.” [Beves]

“Oho, sharing them with us when you haven’t had the chance to taste them. You truly have a generous heart.” [Random noble]

“No, no. We have been longtime friends. Please, go ahead. As usual, I had this whole wing of the mansion cleared for our exclusive use. It is fine to make as much noise as you like.” [Beves]

“You mean it’s fine for the slaves to make as much noise as we like, correct?” [Random noble]

“Of course, of course. Well then, Lord Edrac, will your pet be choosing his toy?” [Beves]

“Just a moment. Edifus, have you decided yet?” [Edrac]

“Woof!” [Edifus]

“You truly treasure your dog.” [Random noble]

“After my youngest son died, he is like my child. It’s only natural for any parent to want to spoil their children.” [Edrac]

As the nobles continued to talk to each other in a pleasant tone, Ryner, crouched in front of the door and hiding his presence, was considering his options.

“(Cadiuz is the only target. The others are obstacles. I should wait until they leave and corner him when he’s alone. I can’t have any witnesses. Lowlifes they may be, they’re not involved in this. Unnecessary bloodshed is…)” [Ryner]

“Woof woof!” [Edifus]

“He’s heading for the child. As expected, he loves virgins. Thank you for your patience. Edifus has chosen the young one.” [Edrac]

“Very well. You two, get her on her knees and hold her down. Lift her skirt so that Edifus can see where to put it.” [Beves]

“N-no! Let me go!” [Slave daughter]

“Wait! I beg you! Please leave my child alone!” [Slave mother]

“Quiet her down, but don’t hit the face. Punch her stomach.” [Beves]

“Uggh!” [Slave mother]

“Mom! Mom! Don’t hit my mom! Stop! Kyaa! Let me go!” [Slave daughter]

“Stop resisting already. You beastmen are practically animals. So, what’s the problem?” [Random noble]

“I heard some of you are covered in fur and look like beasts walking on two legs.” [Random noble]

“You should feel honored instead. My Edifus is a first rate breed that I have taken great care of. He also has plenty of experience, so I am sure you will come to enjoy it.” [Edrac]

“(Stay on mission. I have one target. I don’t want them in my nightmares. I don’t want to shoulder their deaths. Lowlifes they may be, they are not enemies. Unnecessary bloodshed is…)” [Ryner]

Ryner gritted his teeth and calmed his heart as memories of being chained and abused began to play in his head. No matter which world he went to, there would always be this type of people. People who enjoyed tormenting the weak, who loved to exert their power on those of lower standing, all to satisfy their needs to feel superior. Such a desire was practically instinctual.

“*cough cough* … Please… My daughter. I’ll do anything, so please spare her!” [Slave mother]

“Obviously. She’s already taken, so you will be entertaining us in the meantime. I went through a lot of trouble to buy you.” [Beves]

“For a beastman, you have a nice face and you’re well-endowed. I have no complaints.” [Random noble]

“Actually, aren’t you looking forward to this? It’s mating season for your kind right now. You probably can’t wait.” [Random noble]

“Oho, it looks like my Edifus is ready to go too.” [Edrac]

“I beg you! I’ll do anything! I’ll be its partner! So please, don’t!” [Slave mother]

“(Lowlifes they may be, only kill your enemies. Unnecessary bloodshed is…)” [Ryner]

Although Ryner kept telling himself to remain calm, his gloved fists were tightly clenched and the unwanted memories were flooding his mind. He didn’t have time to stay crouched in front of the door. He had to plan out his next move. Every second was priceless.

“Woof!” [Edifus]

“S-stay away! Mom! Help! Mom!” [Slave daughter]

“Please! Please! I beg you! I’ll do it! Please!” [Slave mother]

“They are quite loud.” [Random noble]

“Isn’t it fine? It’s more exciting if they make more noise.” [Random noble]

“How twisted of you. But, should we not get started? I’m getting impatient.” [Random noble]

“You’re right. Then, naturally, Lord Cadiuz has the right to go first.” [Random noble]

“Ah, please wait a bit more. Edifus doesn’t like it if he doesn’t do it first.” [Edrac]

“It can’t be helped then. Please tell him to hurry.” [Beves]

“There is no need. Look, he is done smelling her.” [Edrac]

“*sob* PLEASE! ANYTHING, I’LL DO ANYTHING!” [Slave mother]

“NOOOOOO!!!” [Slave daughter]

“(Lowlifes they may be… Yeah, let’s kill them.)” [Ryner]

In the end, Ryner snapped and pulled out a green canister from his pocket dimension as he knocked on the door.

“Please pardon me, I have brought refreshments.” [Ryner]

He said in a deep and respectful voice.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” [Edifus]

“Who is it?! Interrupting Edifus just as he was about to start!” [Edrac]

“I apologize. I had specifically ordered the servants to stay away from this wing. You there, go and see who it is!” [Beves]

The door was opened and a man in armor appeared behind it. He looked left and right, but he couldn’t see anyone in the dim corridor.

“There is no one, my Lord.” [Random guard]

Just as he turned around to give his report, a cylindrical object passed over his head and landed in the middle of the room after bouncing a few times. Everyone’s eyes were naturally attracted to it, so they failed to notice what happened during that moment. The guard at the door was dragged away by a pair of hands. One covered his mouth and the other was around his neck.

Hearing the clanking sounds his armor made as he resisted, the nobles and their guards looked at the doorframe again. Before anyone could ask why he suddenly disappeared, the item that was thrown in the room, the green canister with its pin missing, let out grey smoke, surprising those present and sending them in a coughing fit. At the same time, the door closed, blocking the exit and preventing anyone from escaping what came next.

“*Cough cough* Wha-Urgh!?” [Random noble]

“W-what is going on?! *Cough cough* Argh!” [Random noble]

“Edifus?! *Cough* Edifus, where are you-uuuugh!” [Edrac]

Voices raised in panic abruptly went quiet after some choking and gurgling sounds. Bodies fell to the ground one after the other. Sometimes, the impact was soft because of the expensive clothes. Sometimes, it was hard and metallic because of the armor.

Nevertheless, in the room filled with smoke, the sound of eight bodies hitting the floor resounded along with the hissing of the released gas, the coughing of three people and the barking of a dog.

After a few seconds, once the canister was empty, the smoke dispersed and what was displayed was a scene of carnage.

“*Cough cough cough* W-what…?” [Beves]

“H-hiii!” [Slave daughter]

“D-don’t look!” [Slave mother]

Beves, a plump black-haired man with a bushy mustache stared with his eyes wide opened, his face full of shock and his body trembling. The frightened mother and child, beastmen with blonde hair and fox ears on top of their heads, were also shaking from fear.

Their tails were curled up and they tried to hide their bodies that were covered by white rags which served as sleeveless dresses with short skirts. The woman in her thirties tightly hugged her teenage daughter in her arms, trying to shield her from what was around them.

The room was full of corpses. The nobles and the guards had their throats slit and bled to death. They were motionless and rested in a puddle of blood. Their expressions were incredulous, surprised and doubtful of their own deaths.

Also, another element that couldn’t be ignored was the menacing man that silently stood in this field of dead bodies. He was fully covered in black with a hood over his head. A mask and an eyepatch hid the lower half and left side of his face. Only his right eye could be seen. It had a white iris and was both cold and emotionless. No matter how one looked at it, he was an assassin and he was responsible for this slaughter.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!” [Edifus]

Edifus, the brown-colored dog, barked and gnarled, showing his canines threateningly. It drooled as it charged at the trespasser, jumping straight for his throat.

“Attacking me even though you’re a dog? Did being pampered dull your instincts?” [Ryner]

Ryner said in a deep voice as he put his left arm in front to meet the attack. Then, before Edifus could bite his hand, it moved up at the wrist with the palm facing forward, but he didn’t flex it. The lower part below the wrist detached from the arm and the hand moved up in a mechanical movement, exposing a hole like a canon with its lid opened.

From there, a metal spike a bit shorter than the forearm flew out and impaled the dog’s throat. Letting out a high pitched yelp, Edifus died as he hung in midair and blood stained his well-groomed fur.

“Y-you…! What is the meaning of this?! GUARDS! GUARDS!” [Beves]

“Didn’t you just say that no one would be coming no matter how much noise you make?” [Ryner]

Ryner flung the dead animal aside and the spike retracted in the forearm. The gloved hand moved back in its place with a clicking sound and he spun it to see if there weren’t any problems. It did a full rotation before coming to a stop.

“(A bit clunky since it wasn’t properly tuned, but I’m so glad I had some working prostheses on the Avalon.)” [Ryner]

Ignoring the noble that was sitting on the floor and calling for help, the assassin scanned the room and noticed that there was another door. It was a small waiting room that Beves used to keep his slaves before showing them to his friends.

“You two, go in there and don’t come out.” [Ryner]

“Y-yes!” [Slave mother]

Ryner pointed at the door and ordered the two slaves to hide there. The mother-daughter pair fearfully looked at him with their teary green eyes, but they rapidly nodded their heads, not daring to defy him. The beastmen swiftly moved to the waiting room while averting their sight as much as possible from the field of corpses. Once they went inside and the door was closed, Ryner turned his attention to the shaking noble, his target.

“Beves Cadiuz, you can relax. I’m not going to kill you all of a sudden.” [Ryner]

“W-who are you?! Why do you know my name?! What do you want?! Money?!” [Beves]

Seeing that no one was coming to his rescue, the noble began to back away as he tried to stall Ryner by talking, hoping for a chance to escape.

“I just want to ask you something.” [Ryner]

“W-what?!” [Beeves]

“I want to know who my enemy is. So, the hero, Dan, did you help him attack the city?” [Ryner]

“T-that rogue hero?! Why would I-?!” [Beves]

“Call it intuition. I’ve seen a lot of men like you. Now, answer. Did you help him sneak out of the castle so that he could control all those monsters? If that king couldn’t keep track of him, then there had to be someone on the inside that could cover his movements, someone with the resources and manpower to prepare everything for him.” [Ryner]

“T-this is preposterous! I would never cooperate with that traitor and betray my country!” [Beves]

Beves was panicking. For some reason, his deeds were known by this man that actually had a small spear hidden in his left arm.

“… You’re lying.” [Ryner]

“I-I’m not! What proof do you have?! Why should I plead my innocence to you?! Don’t you understand what you’ve done?! Trespassing and murdering nobles! You will be hanged for this! There is no way you will get out of this alive! But, if you do not harm me, I will see to it that you are spared from the death penalty!” [Beves]

His voice trembled and nearly got caught in his throat when Ryner saw through him. His piercing gaze was making him sweat. That strange white eye, that seemed awfully familiar, invited dread in him. He tried to negotiate by ensuring the assassin his safety if he let him go, though it was a lie and he would have him beheaded for this later on. But, his words didn’t have any effect. The killer clad in black, unperturbed, slowly raised his right hand which caused the noble to flinch in fear.

“If you won’t answer me, we’ll go to stage two of our interrogation. From my experience, you’re the type that’ll spill his guts after suffering a bit. In the off chance I’m wrong and you’re not the traitor, then sorry about that.” [Ryner]

A blue circle made of rings materialized in front of his hand and he put it inside, shocking Beves. Pulling it out, a black, metallic object came out. It was the assault rifle.

“It can’t be…” [Beves]

The mustached noble had seen that before. The ability to store and take out objects at will from thin air, he had seen one individual capable of such a feat. That person’s right eye was also white, but he should be blind right now and missing two limbs. So, he couldn’t possibly be standing before him.

“Ryner…?” [Beves]

As he called out his name, the assassin, Ryner, pulled the fore-end under the barrel to the back. This caused the underside of the barrel to split into multiple plates and to move to the sides, revealing a chainsaw. Pressing a switch, the blades rapidly began spinning, letting out a buzzing sound that filled the room.

“No one can hear us here, right?! I’ll trust you on that!” [Ryner]

Ryner yelled before lunging at the noble sitting on the ground and swung down his weapon.

“GYAAAAAAHHHH!!!” [Beves]

Beves screamed in pain as he curled up and held his right foot. Blood was flowing out from his shoe that had a deep cut in the middle, practically splitting it in half. Just as Ryner raised his rifle over his head, Beves raised his hand to plead him to stop.

“Stop! Stop! I’ll tell you everything! It was me! I worked with Dan Vanbrocs and helped him move around the city! But, I didn’t gather the monsters or those bandits that attacked the city! They were prepared by another group! I just took him to them so he could apply his control magic!” [Beves]

Sure enough, just as Ryner predicted, the pitiful noble spilled everything loudly. He was shaking in fear and tightly clutching his injured foot. Turning off the chainsaw, the assassin lowered his weapon and began questioning him.

“Who were they?” [Ryner]

“I don’t know! T-they always hid their faces!” [Beves]

“Are there other nobles or anyone else in the city that are part of your group?” [Ryner]

“No! It’s just me and the hero! Arrgh! T-there isn’t anyone else! I swear! Please, I’m bleeding! The pain!” [Beves]

Beves truthfully answered every question without lying. Groaning from the pain and fearing for his life, he begged Ryner to stop the blood loss. But, the man only arrogantly told him one thing before moving on with the interrogation.

“It’s just a flesh wound, son! Anyway, who are you working with?” [Ryner]

“Urrgh! I-I don’t know! They keep their identities a secret! Instructions are relayed to me by one of their messengers! One day, they reached out to me and I agreed to cooperate with them! T-they said I could have my own kingdom if I worked with them!” [Beves]

“Tell me something useful about them.” [Ryner]

“P-please! The pain…! Argh! Make it stop!” [Beves]

“I will if you tell me. Hurry up before you die of blood loss. Who are they?” [Ryner]

In response to the question that was said in a calm and cold tone, Beves, gritting his teeth and with tears in his eyes, readily revealed the name of his allies. Hoping that it would save his life, he easily sold them out.

“T-they said their name was the First Order! That’s all I know! I swear! So please…! Make it stop!” [Beves]

Seeing that he wasn’t lying and that he wouldn’t get anything else out of him, Ryner nodded and accepted his request.

“Got it.” [Ryner]

He raised his rifle and took a step forward which caused fear to spread throughout Beves body.

“W-what are you doing?! I told you everything you wanted to know! Didn’t you say you’d spare my life!?” [Beves]

“You asked me to make the pain stop and I will. You can’t feel anything if you’re dead.” [Ryner]

“Wha-!” [Beves]

Realizing that he had no intention of letting him live, the noble’s jaw practically fell to the ground as he sported a dumbstruck expression. It was soon replaced by horror and tears spilled from his eyes.

“N-no! I don’t want to die! I gave you everything you wanted! Please, spare me!” [Beves]

Throwing away all dignity, he began to beg for his life, forgetting about the pain in his foot. But, Ryner cruelly rejected his wish.

“If you’re going to mess with people’s lives, you should be prepared for the same thing to happen to you. It’s a vicious cycle.” [Ryner]

“Please! I’ll give you anything you want! M-money! Take my money! Women?! I’ll buy all the women you want! I have two slaves! You can have them! Do what you want with them! Just spare me!” [Beves]

“You’re a noble, but you beg for your life. That woman’s a slave, but she begged for her daughter’s sake. It’s pretty easy to tell who’s worth more.” [Ryner]

The blades of the chainsaw began to spin rapidly and the buzzing sound that announced death resounded in the room.

“*Sob* Please! I don’t want to die! I’ll give you anything! PLEASE! SPARE ME! SPARE ME!” [Beves]

Tears and snot flowed down the injured noble’s face as he sat on the ground, shaking like a leaf and too scared to even make a run for it, though he wouldn’t get far with his bad foot.

“Really… Compared to you, her life is priceless.” [Ryner]

With those words, the reaper clad in black swung down his weapon, killing off his victim. A fountain of blood erupted as the chainsaw cut into the neck and decapitated Beves. The headless corpse fell on its side and the head sporting a despairing expression rolled away.

With his job done, Ryner stopped the chainsaw and put away his rifle. He took a look around the place. The room was filled with the stench of blood and corpses covered the floor. It was a classic scene of slaughter, but there weren’t enough bodies to make him sick, so he was fine.

“(The First Order… Sounds like a pain.)” [Ryner]

He didn’t get anything out of this incursion except for the name of the enemy that was navigating in the shadows. Whoever they were, they could make use of nobles, entice heroes and gather dragoons. In short, this organization was dangerous.

“(Well, for now, I need to deal with those two.)” [Ryner]

Scratching his head and pushing his future troubles to the future him, Ryner turned his sleepy-looking eye to the door that led to the waiting room. There, two beastmen were fearfully waiting inside, cowering and hugging each other.

*Author* NO GENDER BENDER

Looks like a few missed the note in the last chapter, so I'll mention it again here. The elf story is a different fiction. I won't be putting the gender bender tag on this one. If you want to see Ryner as an elf, you'll need to read the other fiction. It'll be mentioned in this one like "I wonder how my elf version is doing?" or something like that. The second game will not greatly affect Ryner like the first game that prevented him from using his powers.

Anyway, this is the last chapter of the hero arc. Please look forward to events that were pushed to future chapters such as: introduction of Cain's granddaughter, meeting the gods and the success of Evelyn's great plan.