When Sanchez received the order to capture a man named Victor, he didn’t think much of it.
He had heard the rumors about Victor taking down Hayden with just a club, but he didn’t take it too seriously.
After all, there were many knights under Duplis who were more skilled than Hayden. Sanchez considered himself one of them.
“Taking on Hayden with just a club? It might be a bit tough, but I can handle that too!”
Victor might be slightly, just slightly, more skilled than Sanchez. But Sanchez wasn’t alone. He had two other knights of similar caliber with him.
That’s why he was confident.
Confident that he could subdue Victor and bring back results that would satisfy Lord Duplis.
”…What?”
That confidence vanished the moment he saw the club descending towards his head.
He couldn’t even react, let alone block it. The attack was that swift.
If he couldn’t dodge, he could at least endure it. Fortunately, Victor’s club was wooden, not metal. It shouldn’t hurt too much…
“Ugh!”
The moment the club struck his head, a searing pain shot through his entire body.
What was this?
With that brief question, Sanchez’s head hit the ground. His face was smeared with the filthy mud that countless people had trampled over.
The unpleasant smell of dirt filled his nostrils, but Sanchez couldn’t lift his head.
It hurt. It hurt so much that he couldn’t even reach up to feel the wound. All he could do was wait for the pain to subside.
“Ugh, aaargh!”
Once the pain had dulled a bit, Sanchez managed to lift his head. He rubbed the spot where he’d been hit with both hands.
“I’m… I’m fine?”
He was sure his head had split open, but there wasn’t a scratch. As Sanchez was bewildered by this strange phenomenon, a shadow loomed over him.
Turning his head, he saw Victor standing there with the club. Sanchez screamed and hastily spoke.
“W-wait! I’m a messenger of Lord Duplis! If you hit me again, it’ll mean you’re declaring enmity with Lord Duplis!”
From Sanchez’s perspective, it was a threat to stop the beating. But Victor’s reaction was odd.
“Oh? Really?”
Feeling a sense of foreboding, Sanchez emphasized again.
“Yes, really! If Lord Duplis finds out you attacked me, he’ll be furious… W-wait!”
Victor swung the club again, and it hurt even more than before.
“Why, why are you hitting me again… Agh! Aaaargh!”
This time, it wasn’t just one hit. Victor pummeled Sanchez all over.
“Those guys are up too?”
Victor didn’t forget to beat the other knights who had accompanied Sanchez.
Only after a thorough beating did Victor stop. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he spoke with satisfaction.
“Now I feel a bit better.”
Sanchez felt a surge of anger at those words.
But he couldn’t dare to get up. He feared Victor would hit him again.
“What on earth is going on here?”
A stern voice interrupted. Recognizing the familiar voice, Sanchez quickly looked up.
A man with a rugged face, clad in thick armor, was approaching.
Behind him were knights and soldiers bearing the emblem of the White Nation.
It was Dominico of the White Nation’s high class.
“Sir Dominico!”
Sanchez hurriedly ran to Dominico, clutching at his pant leg and shouting.
“That man! That Victor attacked me! He beat me and the other knights with that club!”
Sanchez pointed at Victor, his hand trembling.
“This is a violation of the White Nation’s rule against causing disputes on the ground. He should be expelled immediately.”
“Is that true?”
“If you don’t believe me, ask the others!”
Sanchez spoke with confidence. Dominico turned to the people around them.
“Is what he says true?”
“Well… that man did swing the club first.”
The people nodded reluctantly.
Regardless of the circumstances, it was true that Victor had used force first.
With the crowd’s agreement, Sanchez shouted even more triumphantly.
“See? Expel him at once! That’s the rule of the White Nation!”
“What a pathetic fool.”
Damian clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched Sanchez. A knight who couldn’t think of retaliating himself and instead clung to Dominico seemed utterly pathetic.
Tiebow whispered cautiously to Damian.
“Sir Victor, you should explain yourself quickly.”
“Why bother?”
Damian asked, tilting his head.
“The situation… If it continues like this, you might be expelled.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
“What?”
No one else noticed, but Dominico had been nearby the whole time. Damian’s senses had picked up Dominico’s presence.
Yet Dominico hadn’t intervened when Damian was beating the knights.
“Expulsion, huh…”
Dominico stroked his chin, lost in thought.
“But looking at it, there was one of him and three of you. Did you really get beaten in a 3:1 fight?”
Dominico’s words made Sanchez’s face flush red.
“Wh-what does that matter now!”
“It matters a lot. It means the supposedly superior knights of Duplis couldn’t even defeat one man.”
Dominico’s words drew laughter from the White Nation’s knights and soldiers.
Once the laughter subsided, Dominico spoke in a serious tone.
“It was clearly an unfair fight for Victor. Holding him solely responsible is strange. I won’t impose any punishment.”
“Sir Dominico! Are you siding with that man?”
Sanchez shouted, his face livid with anger. At that moment, the smile vanished from Dominico’s face.
“And if I am?”
“W-what?”
“I asked what you plan to do if I am.”
Dominico’s aura flared. The immense pressure made Sanchez’s face turn pale.
“Do you have a problem with my decision?”
Sanchez’s head bowed involuntarily. He couldn’t withstand Dominico’s gaze, cold sweat trickling down his face.
“Do you have a problem?”
“N-no, sir.”
Sanchez replied in a meek voice. Only then did Dominico withdraw his intimidating presence.
“Then there’s no issue between us, is there? Now, be on your way.”
Sanchez and the two knights hurriedly fled.
Once they were gone, Dominico turned to Damian.
“You must be tired from exploring the ruins. You’ve done well.”
His demeanor was entirely different from when he dealt with Sanchez.
“If something like this happens again, feel free to smash them like today. I’ll cover for you, so don’t worry.”
“Isn’t someone in charge of security supposed to be impartial?”
Damian asked playfully, and Dominico laughed heartily.
“Those guys have been acting as they please in the White Nation, so I think I’m entitled to a bit of bias. Besides, who would dare complain to me?”
As a high-class knight, he had that much authority.
Not quite a master class, but still crucial enough to influence national power.
“I haven’t finished my patrol, so I’ll take my leave.”
With that, Dominico departed with his subordinates.
Afterward, Damian returned to the inn to rest.
The artifacts found at the ruins were stored in Damian’s room at the inn. There were too many to fit in his spatial storage.
The next day, Damian spoke to Tiebow in front of the ruins.
“I have a task for you today.”
Tiebow tilted his head in curiosity.
“A task?”
“Spend the day in the White Nation, researching the market prices of artifacts.”
With the accumulation of artifacts from the ruins, it was time to figure out how to handle them.
Moreover, they would likely find more artifacts in the future, so preparation was necessary.
“Market prices?”
“Yes, not just for the artifacts we’ve found, but for others as well. Understand?”
“Leave it to me! I’m quite adept at gathering information.”
Tiebow replied confidently.
He had researched the White Nation thoroughly from the Apple Kingdom, so his skills were reliable.
“And there’s one more thing I’d like you to investigate.”
“What else?”
“Find out if anyone has encountered undead at the ruins or if there’s someone regularly purchasing magic-related reagents.”
Tiebow looked puzzled, as if questioning the need for such information.
“I need information on Gasdal’s movements.”
They couldn’t just wait for Gasdal to appear. Any information, no matter how small, was valuable.
“Don’t worry. I’ll have everything sorted out before you return from the ruins, Sir Victor!”
With Tiebow’s enthusiastic promise, Damian entered the ruins.
Damian headed straight for the fifth floor.
Unlike yesterday, there were no mercenaries guarding the entrance. It seemed the Obter Mercenary Group had been wiped out.
Thanks to this, Damian was able to enter the fifth floor without any trouble.
“Hey, isn’t that Victor?”
As soon as he descended to the fifth floor, he encountered a group of knights.
Their armor bore the emblem of the White Kingdom, suggesting they were on patrol.
“Didn’t expect to see you here!” one of the knights said with a friendly grin, recognizing Damian. The others looked puzzled.
“Who is he?” one asked.
“Oh, you weren’t here yesterday, were you? That’s Victor,” the first knight explained.
“Victor? The explorer who supposedly took down a bunch of those annoying Duplis knights?”
The moment they realized who Damian was, their demeanor changed.
“Are you off exploring again today? Stay safe out there!”
“If you run into those Duplis knights again, do us a favor and give them a good thrashing!”
Like Dominico, the knights of the White Kingdom didn’t seem too fond of Duplis either.
Damian’s gaze drifted to a cart the knights were pulling.
It was filled with people, still alive but barely, letting out faint groans.
“What’s that about?” Damian asked.
“Oh, this? We’re transporting the injured to the surface. Can’t just leave them to die, can we?”
Surviving in a dangerous place like the fifth floor meant they were lucky indeed.
“Take care,” Damian said as the knights passed him, heading upstairs.
Damian moved on as well.
He had no plans to explore the fifth floor today. His reconnaissance yesterday had shown no sign of Gastal.
Today, his target was the sixth floor.
Though the fifth floor was vast, the map quickly led him to the entrance to the sixth.
“Core manufacturing facility,” he read aloud, deciphering the ancient script at the entrance.
“Seems like an important place.”
Damian looked ahead. Three ancient golems crouched there, dormant.
As he approached, the golems stirred, rising to glare at him. They were the leader class he had encountered before.
He had no time to waste on them. Just as he was about to draw his sword, Dawn, he paused.
“Let’s see that face of yours,” he murmured.
Instead of grabbing his sword, Damian opened a pocket of space. He reached in and pulled out a large travel bag.
It was a magical artifact he had acquired from the Necromancer’s lab, exuding an aura of age and weight.
Damian unzipped the bag, revealing only darkness inside.
“Come out, Mia.”
From the shadows emerged a figure with alabaster skin.
Their androgynous features made it hard to tell if they were male or female, yet their face was undeniably beautiful.
“Let’s see what you can do after all this time.”
The Necromancer’s final masterpiece had returned to the world.