Chapter 1719 – 1719. The Black Market Merchant
The party members were dragged to the temple by those guys.
I quietly followed behind them. The key to tailing someone was distance control. Too close, and you’d get caught; too far, and you wouldn’t know what they were doing.
‘If they were going to kill them, they would have done it right there. There’s no reason to drag them to the temple.’
This meant they weren’t just taking them to the temple to kill them. It made me even more curious about what they were hiding.
‘Sweeping them all out alone and leisurely investigating the temple… that’s impossible. These guys are no joke.’
If I fought them separately, I’d win. But if I fought them all head-on, it would be dangerous. Even if I didn’t know exactly who they were, they were clearly skilled to some degree.
‘I need to be more careful once I enter the temple.’
I prepared the Illusiter. When things got dangerous, I had to use it without hesitation. Hesitating to save battery would only make things worse.
“W-where are you taking us?!”
“Shut up and walk.”
The bearded man said in a low voice. The relaxed demeanor he had outside the temple was gone. He was clearly tense.
The interior of the temple was simple, unlike its grand and majestic exterior. It was a straight path leading inward. If you just walked forward, you would naturally reach the center of the temple. I knew this wasn’t a place built for people to live in.
The further we went inside, the more bloodstains on the floor and splatters on the pillars we saw. It was clear that quite a few people had been dragged here.
‘Judging by the reactions of the staff at the dungeon entrance… they probably didn’t just capture and kill the hunter parties that came in.’
Dealing with hunters was too unpredictable. If they needed to kill people here… it would be much better to kidnap people from outside and kill them. If they were illegal immigrants, no one would care if they suddenly disappeared.
‘This path is getting narrower.’
It was getting harder to tail them.
In this case, it was better to give up on tailing them. It would be much safer to go in and check after they finished their business.
‘But then I won’t know exactly what they’re doing. Let’s use the Illusiter and go in.’
Seeing their level, I felt confident. If I made up my mind to run, they wouldn’t be able to catch me.
Torches were hung on the inner walls of the temple, where sunlight didn’t reach. The path continued further inside. The further in we went, the more bloodstains there were.
And finally, we reached the end. A wide space opened up. A staircase in the center and a table that looked like a bed. That was definitely an altar.
‘Shit. Is this another thing related to Brahmasen? I’m sick of cults.’
The party members seemed to have similar thoughts, as they began to struggle violently.
“Y-you crazy bastards! Are you guys a cult?!”
“You’re planning to sacrifice us!”
“S-save me! Please save me!!”
No matter how much they struggled, they couldn’t break free from their restraints.
The guys who introduced themselves as Berta, unlike before, didn’t touch the party members. They didn’t yell at them either. They just stood there silently. Their attitude was both solemn and strange. The party members seemed to sense it too, as their struggles lessened and they soon fell silent.
A heavy silence, suffocatingly so, descended.
It was quiet. So quiet that it felt like the pressure had increased.
“Lord Kanex, we have brought the sacrifices.”
My vision wavered.
At first, I thought I was seeing things. But I wasn’t. It wasn’t my vision, but the space that was shaking. The space continued to shake, and cracks appeared on the altar.
A head emerged from the cracks. The head, over 3 meters in size, was similar to a human’s. Its skin was red, decaying, and its torn lips revealed sharp, half-broken teeth. The skin on its cheekbones was peeled back, revealing bone, its left eye socket was empty, and its right eye glowed gold. A reverse triangle tattoo was etched on its forehead. Its scalp was peeled back, and its skull was partially broken, revealing its pink brain.
Judging by its appearance alone, it certainly didn’t look like a benevolent being.
“An unexpected sacrifice.”
Kanex opened his mouth. Even though he had no neck, his voice echoed inside the temple.
“They came on their own. As our country’s saying goes, it’s like a gourd rolling in whole.”
Berta’s leader, the bearded man, stepped forward and said. He was being as careful as possible not to be disrespectful.
“I’m not interested in your country’s sayings.”
“Are you not interested in the sacrifices either?”
“That’s not true. Sacrifices are always welcome.”
Kanex grinned eerily. Ten pink tentacles sprouted from his brain, between his broken skull. The way they looked, like brain wrinkles turned into tentacles, was quite disgusting. The tentacles moved quickly and snatched the party members. They were so fast that it would have been hard for me to react if I hadn’t been focused.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“Please save me, please!”
Berta remained silent, whether they screamed or not.
Kanex chewed and swallowed the party members one by one with his tentacles. In his large mouth, humans became mere chunks of meat and disappeared. Even though he only had a head, what he swallowed didn’t spill onto the floor but evaporated.
“Ooh… much more satisfying than the usual sacrifices. This is the kind of sacrifice I wanted.”
Crunch, crunch.
He chewed on the humans with satisfaction.
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
“Bring me more humans like this in the future. I will surely reward the sacrifices. Isn’t that what you want?”
“I’m sorry, but today’s sacrifices are special. If we hadn’t been lucky, we wouldn’t have been able to offer them to Lord Kanex.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Crunch, crunch.
Kanex devoured all the party members. Still not satisfied, he rolled his eyes. Greed flashed in his eyes as he looked at the bearded man, then disappeared.
“Today’s sacrifices were quite satisfying. I’ll give you one more.”
Spit!
Kanex spat something out.
Two red walnuts. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say they looked like small brains. The bearded man bowed and picked up the small brains.
“Thank you, Lord Kanex.”
“As you can see, these are more potent than the usual enhancers I give. They’re also more effective. If you want to know more about these… bring me better quality sacrifices. Understand?”
“I will inform those above about Lord Kanex’s words. Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
The bearded man, having collected the enhancers, looked at Kanex.
“How is your condition?”
“It’s better than when I first appeared. But at this rate, it will take decades to restore my original power. I need more sacrifices.”
“We are doing our best.”
“I’m sure you are. Let me tell you something. I reward those who follow me fairly. If I regain my power… I will give you rewards that are incomparable to enhancers.”
“…I will also pass that message on to those above.”
The bearded man bowed respectfully and was about to turn around.
“Is that all?”
“That’s all the sacrifices for today. The next sacrifices will arrive tomorrow. I will visit you again then.”
“Was that thing behind you not a sacrifice but one of your companions? It looked quite tasty… what a shame.”
“Huh?”
Kanex gestured with his eyes towards me.
‘Shit. Did that monster, Kanex or whatever, notice me from the beginning?’
The bearded man turned around. Since I was using the Illusiter, the bearded man didn’t recognize me right away. Then he used mana. A wave of mana swept through the area. The bearded man’s face contorted instantly.
“What are you doing here?!”
Clack, clack, clack!
The bearded man and his companions all drew their weapons. Hostility poured towards me. They had also used mana to amplify their senses and detect me. The Illusiter was useless now. I turned it off to save battery.
My appearance was revealed. Since I was wearing a mask, there was no way they could recognize me.
“Who are you? I know you’re not with those guys from before. Reveal your identity.”
“That’s what I want to say. Who are you guys, offering humans to a monster and getting brain pieces? From what I hear, you’re the subcontractors… who’s your boss?”
Before the bearded man could open his mouth, Kanex exuded his presence first.
“How dare you… call me a monster?”
“If you’re in a dungeon, you’re a monster. And look at your current state. What else would you be if not a monster?”
“I am a god. Even if I have fallen and ended up in this state, there is no reason for me to be insulted by a mere human. The sin of insulting a god is not light… you will face a painful death.”
“A god? Like Brahmasen.”
“Brahmasen! You! What is your relationship with Brahmasen!”
Kanex shouted. As soon as he heard Brahmasen’s name, his face contorted and he expressed his anger. The air trembled from the impact. He was definitely not someone to be taken lightly.
One of them picked up a bow and shot an arrow. It was too obvious. This was to draw attention.
‘As expected…’
There was someone approaching stealthily and quickly. He was crouching low and running like a snake.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 5]
I dodged the arrow and used Flash. Instead of the Fire Lotus Blade, which could reveal my identity, I took out a normal-looking sword and swung it at the approaching man. The man changed direction. The sword cut his right arm. It was a shame. If his reaction had been a little slower, I could have split his head in half.
Three knives flew towards me. It was a woman named Do Haeyoung. A woman with short hair. Looking closely, she was quite pretty. Her expression was as stiff as a soldier’s.
Clang! Clang, clang!
I held the sword sideways, moving it slightly to deflect the three knives. The deflected knives spun in the air before stopping. Their blades turned towards me and rushed in.
‘Telekinesis.’
Just as I was about to deflect the knives again with my sword, my body wouldn’t move. An invisible force was tightly binding my body. It felt like I was sinking into the ground.
‘This is also telekinesis.’
There was no need to use Heavenly Heart. I increased the output of my mana and burst it out in an instant. The telekinesis that was binding my body disappeared.
