Chapter 21: Vengeance Exacted

‘Splat.’

A dull thud echoed across the stone floor as a heap of fat slammed down.

‘Fatty’ Sean was dragged into the hall by Vivian like a dead dog. Then, she tossed him onto the ground as if he were nothing more than a bag of trash.

“Done.” Vivian looked at Sean, whose face was so battered that not a single patch of healthy skin remained, and turned her head away in disgust.

“I’ve finished up on my end as well.”

Black set down a chair that now had only one wooden leg remaining and clapped his hands. Several unconscious guards lay sprawled at his feet.

“Tie this Mr. Sean and his little friends up.”

“We’ll go upstairs and find Mr. Cole first. There was such a commotion down here, yet he hasn’t reacted at all.”

“I’m worried he might have run into some trouble.”

As Nolan spoke, he walked over to a collapsed shelf, pulled several hemp ropes from the debris, and tossed them to his two companions.

A short while later, a row of human bundles, tightly bound by rope, occupied the center of the hall.

—

Second floor, reception room.

Two tall, burly guards were lounging comfortably in soft sofas, their legs crossed over the tea table.

“Say, Old Mark, it sounds like something happened downstairs. Should we go check?”

The guard with a scar on his face nudged his companion with an elbow. He seemed slightly worried about their boss.

“Who cares? Just drink your tea!”

The one called Old Mark didn’t care about his boss’s life or death in the slightest. After speaking, he tilted his head back and poured a large mouthful of tea into his mouth.

“Pah! Bitter as hell!”

A bitter taste instantly flooded his mouth. He spat the tea out immediately, the spray hitting the scar-faced man sitting next to him.

Infuriated by the bitterness, Old Mark flew into a rage. He slammed his hand down, knocking the teacup to the floor where it shattered into pieces.

‘Damn, why does this stuff taste so bad?’

‘I saw those noble lords drinking this and thought it was some rare delicacy!’

‘To think it cost so much!’

The scar-faced guard wiped his face, his eyes turning cold and dark. He suddenly lunged upward, standing straight.

He grabbed Mark by the collar, hauling him up as he roared, “You looking for a fight, kid?”

He threw a punch, striking Old Mark square in the face and knocking him back onto the tea table.

Old Mark was no pushover. He scrambled up and lunged back. In an instant, the two were locked in a brawl, rolling across the floor.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

A series of rapid knocks interrupted the two men. Then, a girl’s soft, sweet voice drifted through the door.

“Open up, room inspection. We suspect illegal activities are taking place here.”

Old Mark, who was currently pinning the scar-faced man down, looked toward the door in confusion.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Mark released the other man’s collar and muttered to himself as he walked toward the door.

He pulled it open, only to find a tall young man and a beastman standing there.

‘Huh?’

Mark’s confusion deepened.

At that moment, the soft voice spoke again.

“Are you Chairman Cole of the Blue Whale Merchant Association?”

Mark finally looked down. There stood a tiny shorty with a mop of dark hair.

He wiped the blood from his forehead and said, “I’m Mark from the Sean Trading Company, not some Cole.”

Mark pointed toward a figure crouching in the corner of the room.

“There. The one drawing circles on the wall over in the corner is Cole.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a massive force slam into his stomach. An intense, agonizing pain radiated from his gut through his entire body.

He leaned against the doorframe, his body slowly slumping to the floor. Curled up like a cooked shrimp, he lay there foaming at the mouth.

“Please move aside, Mr. Mark.”

Vivian wore a friendly smile as she pulled back her tiny fist. She kicked the slumped Mark out of the way and stepped into the reception room.

“Who… who are you people?”

The scar-faced guard, whose face was already bloodied from the fight with Mark, propped himself up and shouted at Vivian warily.

“You, get over there as well,” Vivian said coldly, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Right… okay.”

The scar-faced man was terrified by Vivian’s presence and had no intention of resisting. He very sensibly lay back down on the floor and rolled into an empty corner, where he curled up and hugged his knees.

Weak, pitiful, and helpless…

Vivian snorted at the sight and didn’t bother him further. She walked straight toward the corner where Cole was located.

“Who are you?”

A disheveled Cole looked up with confusion, meeting Vivian’s dark red eyes. He didn’t recognize any of the three, and he had no idea if they were friends or foes.

Vivian didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she reached out her palm toward Nolan.

Nolan reacted quickly, placing a brass badge in her hand. Then, Vivian reached out toward Black on her other side.

Black handed her a piece of parchment embossed with the City Lord’s seal.

“We are the Church’s Demon Hunting Squad and bounty hunters.”

“We are here to investigate the demon attack. We expect your cooperation.”

Vivian borrowed the authority of others to make herself sound grand, stating her purpose directly. With the backing of both the Church and the City Lord, she was feeling very arrogant.

If there weren’t so many people around, she would have loved to burst out laughing and stand with her hands on her hips in triumph.

“I would be glad to. What help do you need?”

Cole stood up, smoothed his clothes, and wiped the dust from his face, trying his best to look presentable.

“Where are the survivors of the demon attack? We need to ask them about the specific details.”

“You’re looking for Toming and the others? But…”

Cole paused, a shadow of grief flickering in his eyes. He spoke with hesitation.

“They might have just… been sacrificed.”

“Oh…”

Vivian hadn’t expected this outcome. Disappointment was written clearly across her face.

The survivors of the demon attack and Wells were all members of the Blue Whale Merchant Association’s guard. Wells had just been murdered by Sean; his head was still sitting at Cole’s feet. If that was the case, Toming had likely met a similar fate.

“Follow me. I’ll go see if they’re still there.”

Cole walked to the door and signaled for Vivian’s trio to follow. A sliver of hope remained in his heart.

‘What if… just what if Toming and the others are still alive?’

After all, that boy was young and quick-witted. Maybe he had led a few of the brothers to hide in some corner and luckily escaped Sean’s blade.

Cole prayed silently for his subordinates.

Vivian and the others followed Cole back down to the first-floor hall.

Cole’s eyes widened as he saw the members of the Sean Trading Company—who had been so arrogant moments ago—now tied up in a neat, orderly row on the floor.

Noticing the confusion in Cole’s eyes, Vivian explained, “We suspect they are involved with cultists. We intend to take them all in for investigation.”

“Cultists?” Cole remained silent for a moment after hearing the word.

Then, the corners of his mouth began to curl. He could no longer suppress the smile on his face.

“Hahaha! Cultists! That’s great! Does that mean they’re as good as dead?”

Thinking of this, Cole couldn’t hold back any longer. He threw his head back and laughed out loud.

Anyone detained as a suspect by the Church’s Demon Hunting Squad would be lucky to keep their skin, let alone their life.

The gloom that had weighed on Cole’s heart because of Sean’s atrocities vanished instantly. The wrath of Ileos had descended so swiftly that it caught him off guard.

‘This fat pig is finally finished.’

‘In a few days, I must donate a large sum of money to the Church. No, tomorrow. Tomorrow, I’ll go see Priest Derek.’

Cole’s heart was filled with the pure pleasure of seeing his great enemy brought to justice.