The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 127
Only Krnovel
Episode 127. Five Pillars (4)
The fugitive was as fast as a ghost and his movements were vague. However, Kadim’s superhuman senses never lost track of him. As he overtook the rabbit-eyed passersby, ran over walls, and crossed the alleys that stretched out like spider webs, the gap between the two of them narrowed by the second.
After chasing around for a while, we arrived at the entrance to a staircase that was deep like a cave.
There, Kadim stopped for a moment.
“… … .”
… … Something was strange.
It was clear that the fugitive had entered here, but there was no sign of him from here on out. I hesitated to chase him because I couldn’t figure out why.
It was obvious what the fugitive’s identity was. The black outfit, the unique hand gesture that covers the eyes, and deliberately lured the person to a place where the sun’s gaze cannot reach. All evidence pointed to the fact that he was a ‘follower of the forgotten god’.
The problem is that among them, there are those who help him, like ‘Ilenia’, and there are those who hinder him, like the ‘Night Crow Sect’.
But the conflict did not last long.
When I thought about it, it didn’t matter either way. If you were a helper, you had no choice but to follow in order to chat, and if you were a saboteur, you had no choice but to follow in order to split the head. Kadim resolutely grabbed the sack and went down the stairs.
An extremely strange shade that soon comes into view.
The pure white color was nowhere to be found, and everything in sight was engulfed in gloomy colors. Messy stalls, passageways strewn with filth, bizarre decorations and sculptures of unknown purpose. A place that seemed to be a reversal of the bright street outside suddenly appeared.
Moreover, the people were completely different from those outside.
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr of… … .”
“Ugh, uh, uh, uh… .”
“… … .”
A gaunt man who was frothing at the mouth and convulsing, and a woman next to him who was calmly chewing on something that looked like a dried goblin finger. On the stall side, there was an old woman with flabby skin and a middle-aged man with arms and legs as thick as an elephant. They were not interested in each other’s strange appearances, and instead, they stared at Kadim.
But what bothered me more than anything was the pervasive stench.
The smell of human blood. And the smell that stimulates forgotten longings… …the terrible smell of demon blood.
“… … .”
Among the items being sold at the stall were slaughtered human bodies and the dismembered corpses of demons. As he was about to lose his senses, thinking that he had come to some kind of flea market from hell, someone approached Kadim and spoke to him first.
A small and squat old man, like a rat.
“Savage, oh, savage. What, what, what have you come to sell? A heart? An eye? A finger? A toe? Or… … there?”
Kadim frowned. Even as he spoke, the old man’s gaze was focused only on his crotch.
“K, keuheu, oh, good. Hey, that savage’s place is good for stamina. A lot of people like it. Ma, if you dry it and sell it, there will be a lot of demand. Sell it to me for 4, 4,000 luden. I’ll cut it well so it doesn’t hurt… … .”
The old man suddenly took out a rusty sickle from his bosom. So Kadim also suddenly grabbed the old man by the collar and lifted him up.
“Wow!”
Chaeng-grang-!
The hand that was pulling the small body hard, the scythe handle fell limply to the floor. Kadim thrust the axe blade with his other hand. The old man flailed around in belated fear.
“Huh! no? Aren’t you here to sell your body? Well, what, then what are you looking for? What are you looking for? Magic tools? approximately? Demon corpse? Awesome woman? Well, just tell me anything and I will find it right away… … .”
“… … Where is this? It doesn’t look like a normal black market.”
“What, what? You came here without knowing where you were? W-This is the ‘Magul’! If you took the wrong way, then you should get out quickly, right? Before you get your internal organs and limbs ripped off for free… … .”
‘Magul’… …?
I think I heard it vaguely while talking to the wizard earlier, but I couldn’t remember it properly. One thing for sure was that it wasn’t a good place to stay for a long time. Kadim decided to leave right away after finishing his business.
“… … I’m looking for someone. Didn’t a black-clothed man just pass by here?”
“Si, the guy in black clothes? Oh, that guy would have gone that way! uh? Hey, I have no intention of cutting it up and selling it… … ? He, he’s not a barbarian and can only give you 1,000 Luden… … .”
“… … .”
Kadim dropped the old man out of the air.
Puck – !
“Kwaaak!!”
The old man rolled around on the floor for a long time, clutching his buttocks, as if his tailbone had been shattered. The savage turned his back on the crazy old man and continued to pursue him.
It seemed that it was not only his work that was treated like a mere commodity. On his way, Kadim often saw people locked in cages or chained. Covered in human waste and all kinds of filth, they already looked more like animals exhibited at the Dottegi Market than people.
“….”
“….”
Faded eyes that have accepted death and do not even call for help even when they see people passing by.
After traversing endless streets filled with the gloomy gazes of the prisoners and the stinking stalls, Khadim finally found the fugitive in the most deserted of places.
To be precise, it was closer to being ambushed than finding it.
Suddenly, a one-eyed man suddenly appeared behind me.
“… … It would be better to remain quiet. “Unless you want to open a new pore in the hair branch.”
“… … .”
The man thrust the invisible dagger at the back of Kadim’s neck and stabbed him. He had a black cloak wrapped around his shoulders, and his presence appeared and disappeared every time the hem of the cape fluttered.
“under.”
From the moment he entered the stairs until he reached this place, Kadim had not let his guard down for a single moment. However, he could not detect any movement beyond the cloak. This was the first time since his senses had been heightened to this extent that he had been completely taken by surprise.
Rather than feeling defeated, he asked calmly, feeling surprised.
“That cloak is a pretty good relic. Can it even ward off magic? I need something like that right now.”
“… … .”
The goblin straightened his face and thrust the transparent dagger closer.
“I guess you don’t understand the situation well. This dagger is sharp enough to cut steel with a single cut. It’s time to relax as if you have multiple lives… … .”
“No, I think it’s you who can’t understand the situation.”
“… … what?”
“Do you need a thousand luden? If you need it, I will get it for you right away.”
“… … What nonsense are you talking about… … .”
One-Eye furrowed his brows, but suddenly felt a tingling cold in his lower body and looked down.
A sharp-blue throwing ax was aimed just below the crotch.
“The old man I met earlier said he would buy your item for 1,000 Luden.”
“… … !!”
If the man had been more calm, he would have remembered that the neck was a more fatal vital point than the groin.
… … But there is no man in the world who can remain calm even when that place is under threat.
“Ugh!!”
As the axe blade rose, the one-eyed man was startled and put away his dagger, stepping back.
Khadim turns around without missing the opportunity. He lunged like a wild beast and narrowed the distance. After reflexively striking away the swung dagger with the axe, he grabbed the enemy’s forearm, lifted it into the air, and mercilessly slammed it to the ground.
Puck – !
“Khuuuuk!!”
Immediately, he bent back both of the enemy’s arms. I overlapped his forearms and pressed his knees together with my back. Her man couldn’t even breathe properly, let alone struggle under the mountain-like pressure.
Kadim leisurely rolled up the black cloak over his shoulders and removed it.
“Your fighting skills are terrible. If you were going to make a surprise attack, why didn’t you just turn this giant over and wear it until the end? Then you could have stabbed him in the butt with one blow.”
“Ugh, oh, oh my god… … .”
“Why did you suddenly surprise me? Are you also a member of the ‘Night Raven Sect’ or something…? … “Do you belong to something similar to those crazy people?”
“Ugh, ha, don’t even mention such filthy heretics. My affiliation is the historic ‘Dawn Shade Sect’… … .”
“… … .”
“… … You belong to the same sect as the one you know as ‘Ilenia’.”
This was unexpected. Kadim narrowed his eyes.
“What, weren’t you guys helping me?”
“Hehehe… … I did, I did… … . I don’t know anything… … . “That dwarven throwing ax that was aimed at me. Do you know that one of my eyes turned like this while I was looking for it in the North?”
The one-eyed gaze glared venomously at the ‘Thunderbolt’ in Kadim’s hand. The man’s tone was filled with a sincere sense of betrayal.
“Kuuu, but it was okay until then… … . I did have some resentment, but I thought it was a meaningful sacrifice… … . But, ha… … I never thought that the warrior we so firmly believed to be our savior would be in collusion with the Elgar Church… … .”
“… … What nonsense? “I have an affair with the Elgar Church.”
“Don’t act like a fool! I clearly saw you make contact with the Arch Paladin of the sect a while ago! You were just pretending to fight for a moment, and then you received orders from him and came here!”
“… … .”
A shallow sigh escaped from the corner of my mouth.
Ah, I see. Now I think I know what’s going on. I didn’t think he had any eyes to see, but I never thought he’d be spying on me meeting Arch Paladin.
I thought it was a good thing that he had misunderstood him so much and tried to assassinate him without knowing what he was doing. On the other hand, Kadim wanted to settle the matter cleanly by either hammering an axe into the bastard’s head or beating Gogan with an axe.
However, I decided to exercise my deepest patience and endure it just this once. If what he said was true, then I would have reaped the benefits of the axe I had worked so hard to obtain.
Before explaining, Kadim opened up about his old past. The story of a crazy Arch Paladin who, 300 years ago, suffered terrible injuries to his companions and nearly killed himself.
And after finishing the discussion, I asked the man.
“Let me ask you. Between you and me, who only heard the story of the downfall of our distant ancestors’ country, which one do you think has a greater hatred for the Elgar Order?”
“… … .”
“Do you really think that I, who waited for death while watching my comrades die with their limbs twisted and their joints broken, would mindlessly act as a puppet at the orders of that bastard Paladin?”
The squint-eyed man had no choice but to grit his teeth. However, he could not bring himself to say so. Kadim waited for the other man to figure out his true feelings, and then relayed the exact conversation he had with Arch Paladin.
A squinty-eyed man who has been deep in thought for a long time, chewing his lips in a complicated manner.
“Even in the Elgar Church… … That paladin remained… … .”
“… … .”
“… … It’s not a story you can easily believe. However, the hypothesis that the Magic Tower is involved in the devil’s rampage has been raised once in our church. The evidence collected was insufficient in many ways, and in the end, it was concluded that the ultimate culprit was the ‘watching eyes’ of the sky… … .”
The man’s eyes, which had calmed down his excitement, were filled with venom. He looked up at her distant ceiling with distraught eyes, and eventually knelt in front of her and bowed his head.
“… … I apologize, warrior. It is also important to determine the cause of the outbreak and eradicate the source of the demons. You never betrayed us. Don’t misunderstand and take surprise again… … “I swear to the Forgotten God that I will take heed.”
“… … .”
Anyone could apologize using only the tongue. Kadim had a bitter cynicism in his face.
“This is a rather plain apology, considering you brandished a knife like a madman. If you were truly apologizing, shouldn’t you at least give me this cloak?”
“… … Take it. “The reason I came here in the first place was to convey that.”
“… … .”
“The name of that cloak is ‘Cloak of the Night Shadow’. As you guessed, it is indeed a relic of the forgotten god. When worn, it can completely evade human senses as well as mystical perception. However, it will lose its effectiveness if it is in the sun’s sight, so be sure to use it only at night or in a shaded area where there is no sunlight… … .”
I was speechless when I saw him readily give up and kindly explain the precautions. What the heck, you punk? So you came to deliver the goods and then just brandished a knife like that?
“Then this won’t be enough. Hand me that transparent dagger as well.”
“What? Oh, no. Because this is my only weapon… … .”
“Or cut up that 1,000 Luden item and give it away.”
“… … !”
One-Eyed was scared and twisted his lower body. She urgently negotiated, saying she would give useful information in exchange for it. As Kadim twirled the sack, she replied that she would listen to the information and then judge.
One-eyed, unraveling information in a nervous voice.
“Here, in the ‘Magul’, the dregs of the Magic Tower and all sorts of shady objects are gathered… … Among them, there is one of the ‘pillars’, the key you need right now.”
“… … !”
Kadim belatedly recalled what the magician of the magic tower had said. The ‘pillar of the earth’ was said to be a den, and that it was located in the black market beneath Vestana…
“In fact, finding those ‘pillars’ is the mission assigned to you. Since revealing the location is too much of a direct intervention, there is a risk that ‘watchful eyes’ will notice and punish you. But since I have suffered unnecessary threats because of my own fault, I am willing to take the risk… … .”
Then, One-Eye leaves a detailed explanation about the location of the ‘Pillar of the Earth’.
This was quite useful information. Kadim nodded in understanding. One-Eyed added a final warning.
“I know you are a great warrior. However, you must be careful about your actions here. The dark merchants of the ‘Magul’ are not picky about the items they deal in, and some of them are obsessed with obtaining fresh savage accessories.”
“… … .”
“for example… … Just like the people who are flocking behind you now.”
Kadim slowly turns his head.
A group of people with half-opened eyes were surrounding the area.
“No, fuck? It was real, right? Hehehe, it’s something I will live to see for a long time. A barbarian crawls into a horse cave without fear… … .”
“I take care of the pain, the pain in the bones, and the dick. “You guys take care of the rest.”
“Damn, you fell asleep while talking like a X-man! Where the hell are you trying to get all the expensive stuff… … .”
The armed thugs were already fighting over how to divide the spoils. Among them was an old man who resembled the rat I had met when I first came in.
“Joe, X sucks, don’t suck! Well, leave it alone! That, that, that place is mine! If you grind it finely and dry it, you will get the very precious savage red pepper powder… … .”
“… … .”
It seemed like that crazy old man was the mastermind behind bringing this human trafficking squad.
When he looked back, the one-eyed man had suddenly disappeared. Kadim let out a laugh to himself. Was this kid so scared that he would have his stuff stolen that he ran away?
Still, it didn’t matter much. After all, they are minnows that can be handled by oneself. If we organize things quickly and go to the place that coward told us about, we will be able to secure two ‘pillars’ within today.
Conversation was unnecessary. Kadim threw the thunderbolt.
Pararaeraraerarak, peugeogeokeok – !
“Kekeke!”
A violent whirlwind tore through the old man’s bones. The incredible rotational force did not just crush the shrunken skull and brain, but also extended straight through the back of the head and hit the ceiling.
Gurrrrrr… … .
A majestic roar echoed through the air and debris rained down. Even without lightning, the destructive power was enough to crush most physical magic spells.
“… … Hieee.”
On the old man’s tongue, there was nothing but a filthy piece of meat. The corpse with its head cut off collapsed on the ground, spurting blood. The faces of the thugs were distorted in dull confusion.
“uh……?”
“Ouch! what!”
“Huh? What, what, what is this… … .”
Those stuttering words became someone’s last words.
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo – ugh!
“… … “Ouch!”
The returning ax blade struck another person in the back of the head. Her head was aligned exactly with the bridge of his nose, and her eyeballs were pushed out from the shock and hung out like a snail.
As the scoundrel fell, the lightning struck again. Kadim swept away the bloody residue and turned to the rest of the gang.
“… … “Is there a place that buys corpses with their heads crushed?”
“… … .”
“I wish you would tell me before I die. “It would be better if you let me know how much you can get for four spheres and the market price.”
“… … “Uh, oh oh, oh oh oh.”
“Uh uh uh… … .”
The human traffickers, who had gone from being slaughtered to being slaughtered for the first time, let out faint groans in fear of a level they had never experienced before.
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