Chapter 124

The outsider who had escaped from the 8th Platoon Leader's grasp by detonating minerals in the air had barely survived after being caught in the explosion he caused and had been wandering the interior of the peninsula for days, clinging to his tenacious lifeline.

The reason he had been able to escape from the collapse site was thanks to a certain pill. It was the 500-something-th drug Alec Siles had been developing, and if what he had administered to Leonardo was a stabilizer, what Alec had given to the outsider was a kind of mana amplifier.

Taking a single dose would make one feel as if mana was endlessly welling up for about three hours, and this was a drug Alec had created by imitating the symptoms of a mana rampage when he was researching it.

However, it didn't allow one to use a power stronger and more vast than the mana one already possessed, and it was a dangerous drug that could temporarily raise one's usable mana to the limit and then completely discharge the body like a blown fuse at the end.

He, who had received and taken it thinking it was simply a drug that amplified mana without knowing the details, had used up the extra he had to escape from the site during the collapse, so he was in a situation where he had lost the means to escape the peninsula alone.

The man was currently running somewhere in a hurry, and the place he was heading to while wandering through the winding tunnels was the mining team's hideout.

He hadn't expected to go back there on his own feet, but rather than being eaten by monsters or arrested by the Council on the way out, he thought it would be better to return, take a few beatings, and beg them to take him back, which was the best judgment he had made.

He had already become a terrorist challenging public authority after living while avoiding the Council, so if he was caught, he might have to spend half his life in prison.

In the midst of that, since yesterday, he had begun to feel a chilling sensation as if someone was watching him, and he was assaulted by the anxiety that perhaps that brutal blond-haired guy was looking for him as if to kill him.

He had been running around looking for complicated paths in a daze to cut off the tail that had been following him like that, and as a result, he had ended up near here.

It seemed like he would see the entrance if he went a little further, but this area was so much like a maze that he couldn't tell if he was going the right way.

The sound of running echoed inside the tunnel and gradually slowed down. Perhaps because there was a lack of oxygen underground, he was already exhausted even though he hadn't run much.

"Cough, ack—."

The outsider, who had been running to the point where he almost tasted blood in his throat, stopped and spat phlegm on the ground after dry heaving. Then, he leaned against the wall, panting, and looked back at the path he had run.

There was fear in his eyes. Clearly, there was no one, but he felt like something suffocating was chasing after him. Moreover, whether it was his imagination or not, his body seemed to be shivering more and more, and his condition didn't seem very good.

Shivering and shaking off the chills, the outsider shouted into the empty air under the pressure closing in on him for no reason.

"Hey, you bastard, come out! I know you're there!"

The echo reverberated through the quiet cave. The eyes of the terrified outsider rolled around following his own voice spreading out.

However, the echo soon stopped and became silent, and nothing happened to him.

He, who had been rolling his eyes, pressed close to the wall to secure his field of vision and alternately looked left and right. Then, he threatened the empty air once more.

"Are you scared? Are you scared! Come out, fuck!"

The petty bravado hit the cave wall and came back intact.

When the reverberation became silent again and nothing happened even after time passed, the outsider, who had been pressed against the wall for a while, finally let out a big sigh of relief.

The embarrassment of making a fuss alone in a place where there was no one belatedly hit him, but since he was alone anyway, what did it matter?

Thinking that he should grab something to eat as he felt deflated, he was about to take his back off the wall and finish moving his steps towards his destination.

Kwaaang—!

The cave wall in front of the outsider, which he had been looking at, shattered and collapsed in an instant. What gushed out from the debris flying in all directions was a chill like a blade.

Someone emitting a fierce and cold energy that seemed to freeze the blood vessels appeared from beyond the broken wall. That silhouette, blurry but threatening and huge, was glaring coldly at the outsider.

After a moment of his body freezing under that gaze, the outsider saw the Council's combat uniform and tried to flee in a panic. However, a large hand suddenly approached through the dirt filling the cave and mercilessly grabbed the neck of the outsider, who hadn't even taken two steps.

"Urk, ack—."

His legs, which had been trying to run away, lifted off the ground and flailed in the air. He tried to tear off the large hand grasping his neck with both hands, but the surface of that hand was as hard and extremely cold as ice, so his nails didn't even dig in, let alone break, and soon slipped off.

"Nngh, gah. Ugh, haa—."

Hugo held up the resisting outsider with one hand and stared at him with emotionless eyes.

As the flailing kicks brushed against his waist, he took a step closer to the edge of the cave and pressed the outsider's neck firmly against the wall. Then, blood vessels burst on the outsider's face, creating red spots, and the skin with protruding veins turned a bruised purple color.

Soon after, 1st Battalion members poured out from beyond the pierced wall and surrounded Hugo and the outsider. Lastly, when the 8th Platoon Leader appeared and stood next to him, Hugo asked her while keeping his gaze fixed on the outsider.

"Is this the guy?"

The 8th Platoon Leader confirmed the appearance of the man who was choking and gasping for air, then spoke with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Yes, that's right."

Simultaneously with her answer, Hugo lifted the outsider's neck, which he had been pressing firmly against the wall, and raised it high again. Then, in that state, he threw him towards the empty passage as if discarding a piece of luggage.

Thud— Crack—!

Although he hadn't thrown him that hard, the outsider who had been sent flying by Hugo's grip rolled diagonally and strongly collided his back against the cave wall. Because of that, a brutal sound was heard as if the cave wall and his shoulder blade had cracked, and something had definitely broken.

But there was no time to be in pain from that impact. The outsider got up from the floor to secure his opened airway and began limping and running.

To survive, he had to run. Only the will to live dominated his mind and moved his legs. However, even that will was shattered by the wall that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

Ice spikes protruded from all sides of the cave wall in the direction he was running, blocking his way forward. The sharp pillars intertwined with each other, completely blocking the passage, and the frosty icicles hanging down to his eyes threatened him.

The feeling of despair was momentary. The outsider, who felt an indescribable pain in his leg, lowered his head. Then, as his hazy mind gradually became clear, he saw his leg with ice embedded in it, bleeding profusely.

After staring at it for a moment, his breathing became more and more ragged. Soon, his brain seemed to recognize the pain, and he screamed as if wailing.

"Aa, aaaaargh!"

As he sat down awkwardly and crawled backward, the ice that had come out of his leg, soaked in blood, was visible. He hugged his leg, which had a hole pierced through it and red liquid gushing out like a fountain, and rolled on the ground. Then, he fell into a panic and spat out all kinds of curses while foaming at the mouth.

"Fuck, you son of a bitch!! You, bastard! My leg!"

At the voice resounding through the cave, Hugo frowned and gestured with his chin towards the outsider. At his direction, two members of the 1st Battalion approached and grabbed both arms of the outsider, who was rolling on the floor, to restrain him.

The outsider thrashed violently, then raised his nails and clawed at the members, screaming vulgar curses at the top of his lungs.

The two members tried to make him kneel by pulling his arms back despite such resistance, but the cornered rat spat at the member's face.

The member next to him frowned and blocked it with one arm, then grabbed the back of the outsider's neck to make him face forward and kicked the back of his knee, making him sit on the floor.

No longer able to turn his head, he looked at the Council bastards facing him while his body was restrained.

His unstable breathing, exhaling intermittently, showed his state of lost mind. In the midst of that, as the cold air wafted up to his chin, his body shivered and trembled like a leaf, whether from fear or cold.

Hugo walked slowly towards him with a face devoid of any sympathy. The closer Hugo got, the more violent the outsider's struggles became, and he spat out any dirty words from his mouth. Then, he eventually stammered the words criminals always say when being suppressed.

"Th-the Council bastards can beat people and try to kill them like this? These are just gangsters, nothing else..."

He blabbered to his heart's content, but when the huge man approached and looked down at him from right in front, his mouth closed on its own. That gaze was as if looking at a bug that could be easily crushed to death, so his survival instinct took precedence over his petty pride. Eventually, the outsider began to wail as if screaming, with a contorted face.

"Uh..., what did I do so wrong! This is all to make a living—."

He opened his mouth boldly, but again, he couldn't finish. It was because Hugo, who had approached, bent his knees to match his eye level and sat down.

In the suffocating silence, only his voice alone echoed. This monster-like group didn't even make a sound of breathing. In the meantime, as the grim reaper-like man stared at him from the front, he wanted to swallow his own breath, which sounded particularly loud, let alone make a loud noise.

The outsider's gaze, filled with fear, met Hugo's cold face and slowly rolled up to his rising hand. As the hand as big as a pot lid got closer to his head, the outsider's chin trembled.

Hugo silently stared at the terrified face. Then, he struck the outsider's face with his right hand just like that.

Smack—!

A dull sound was heard, not the sound of skin rubbing. The outsider heard a sound as if something had burst in his ear.

His head was completely twisted, and his body even staggered. If the two members hadn't been holding him, he would have flown to the side with the force.

For a moment, his ears became muffled, and sparks briefly flew in front of his eyes, his vision turning bright and then dark again. Something warm gradually welled up in the corners of his eyes. It wasn't tears, but blood that had pooled from the burst blood vessels in his eyes.

He, who had been hit by Hugo's hand, drooled mixed with blood as the inside of his mouth had ruptured. His ear on the side that was hit didn't hear well as if he was underwater, as if something had happened to his eardrum. His entire head felt hot and numb, beyond the level of tingling, as if it had been struck by something and the sensation had died.

He couldn't even breathe properly and looked at Hugo again with a fearful side glance. However, Hugo raised his hand again with an expressionless face. Then, he mercilessly struck his face once more.

With a force so strong that he couldn't even make an oof sound, two of the outsider's teeth flew far away. It was exactly two strikes. He had only been hit twice until his entire face ruptured and blood flowed from every orifice.

His body trembled, alternating between tension and loosening as if he was about to lose consciousness. His eyeballs seemed to burst and even dislocate.

But through his reddened vision, he saw the hand rising one more time. Only then did the outsider begin to beg desperately.

"Uh, uh... Pl, please. Spare my life."

He made a groaning sound and tried to say something. His pronunciation was slurred, perhaps because the inside of his mouth was all ruptured and his teeth had fallen out.

Hugo coldly stared at him, who was mumbling. After silently looking at him for a long time, he calmly asked the outsider when the unpleasant sound stopped.

"Are you done talking?"

It sounded like he would strike him if he had nothing more to say, so the outsider was startled and began to plead again, stammering incoherently.

"Ple, ple, please have mercy... Uheuk..."

He bowed his head and begged for mercy. He repeated that he would never do it again as if repenting.

Hugo's raised hand slowly lowered. It was a common repertoire of those who didn't listen with words.

Hugo took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood off his hand. After briefly looking at the two teeth rolling on the floor, he met the outsider's eyes again and scanned his swollen face without any emotion. Then, he spoke to him in a cold voice.

"Why should I do that?"

"...Uh, huh?"

The outsider let out a perplexed sound at the unexpected words.

Hugo's eyes, which had been staring at the outsider with an expressionless face, gradually became fierce. Murderous intent froze in his blue pupils and even dripped down, and his gaze alone gave the sensation of his neck being strangled. His low voice dug into his ears and reminded the outsider of the sins he had committed.

"You put the three people I must protect in danger. One of them suffered a head injury, and two are still missing."

The outsider's eyes, which had been meeting the eyes of the grim reaper, rolled towards the 8th Platoon Leader standing behind. There was still a gauze attached to her forehead, and her gaze looking at the outsider was also spine-chillingly cold.

Only then could he realize that the woman had been caught up in the explosion he had caused. It was because he had never thought she would be alive.

His gaze shifted back to the man in front of him.

"Is there any reason for me to show mercy to someone like you?"

"..."

There wasn't. There was absolutely no reason for him to show mercy to him.

Blood-mixed saliva flowed down the outsider's mouth, which he couldn't close to breathe because his nose was blocked by nosebleed, and dripped down his trembling chin.

The anger in the voice made even his numb spine shudder.

Hugo stared down at the sinner who seemed to have his words stuck in his throat and was just trembling, and spoke.

"I don't show mercy to sinners. One, I won't kill you because you won't be able to speak if you die."

The outsider could instinctively know who the person in front of him was. Because even the seasoned guys in Barmot unanimously said that there was one person in the Council that you should never meet in your life.

Blue pupils that seemed to freeze even the blood flowing in the body. A gaze that looked at sinners like bugs. An overwhelming pressure that pressed down on the entire body, making it impossible to even breathe. His murderous gaze was probing him, saying this:

"If you want to live, spill everything you know. Before my patience runs out."

Kazad of the Council.

The moment he recognized the man's identity, the front of the outsider's pants became soaked.