Chapter 34

*Thud!*

A massive beast fell with a heavy sound.

Black, tar-like blood oozed out from its rotting, tattered hide.

The beast had three heads, but one was riddled with holes like a rag, another was reduced to a charred skeleton, no longer functioning as a head.

And the last remaining head had its skull crushed, losing all functionality.

The three-headed beast, made of rotten flesh and bones, disintegrated into particles and vanished as soon as it fell.

“Must’ve been a magical creature.”

“Well, if it were a chimera, this room would’ve reeked of corpses.”

As they spoke, Mage Paul and Tanker Tori checked on their party members.

Hail, the firepower specialist with blue hair, had used up most of his ammo during the battle.

Yellow, the one with yellow hair, had also nearly exhausted his shotgun and sniper rounds.

Fortunately, the boss fell just as they were running dangerously low on ammo.

“Damage report. One minor injury, no fatalities.”

“Didn’t need to say it.”

As soon as it was over, Blue and Yellow started bickering.

Their leader, Paul, gave a bitter smile as he watched them.

True to his promise to Amon, the party had taken down the mid-boss with minimal losses.

And as if the heavens weren’t indifferent, there was a reward for their hard work.

“Oh right, Leader. Something dropped earlier.”

Yellow pointed to where the boss had fallen.

A purple-hued orb was rolling on the ground.

At Paul’s nod, Yellow scurried over and grabbed the orb.

The moment he held it, he shouted with confidence.

“Holy sh*t!!! It’s Essence! Unique grade! Hell yeah! Woo!!”

Yellow danced around, shaking his hips as he held the orb, making the party burst into laughter.

With a flourish, Yellow presented the orb to Paul.

“The moment we’ve been waiting for~ Showtime!”

*Dugudugudugu*

With Yellow’s antics as the backdrop, Paul examined the Essence.

Soon, Paul’s face lit up as he confirmed its effects.

“This’ll sell for a fortune. It’s called <Sky Step>.”

Sky Step.

Also known as Void Stride.

“It’s Unique, so it won’t let you fly, but it’ll fetch a pretty penny.”

Paul nodded and stored the Essence in his subspace pouch.

What was surprising was that no one in the party eyed the Essence with greed.

It was only natural.

They’d been a party for over ten years.

In a battlefield, camaraderie blooms, and comrades call each other brothers. After ten years together, they were practically family.

To them, money was just a tool to enrich their family’s lives, not something that could replace each other’s existence.

“I’m in the mood! Let’s go out for a feast today!”

At Paul’s declaration, Yellow, the mood-maker, cheered loudly.

Tori walked alongside Paul, linking arms with him, while Blue clapped his hands, surprisingly demure for his size.

After scouting the boss room and confirming there was nothing left, the party prepared to leave.

“Let’s go!”

Excited, Yellow swung the boss room door wide open.

The heavy door creaked open.

*Click.*

A familiar sound of a pin being pulled echoed through the room.

“!!!”

0.01 seconds after the sound.

Yellow accelerated his nerves to their maximum output.

Through the open door, he identified the source of the sound.

A claymore mine.

“Shi-i-i-t.”

In the slowed-down world, Yellow saw the claymore aimed at him.

He turned around to check on the others.

Tori and Blue, with their sturdy bodies, would be fine.

But Paul would be done for if he got hit.

0.09 seconds of thought.

“Pa-u-l!”

Hearing his own voice slowed down, Yellow rushed toward the party leader.

He dragged Paul as far back as he could.

0.2 seconds elapsed.

The claymore exploded.

*Boom!*

A hail of bullets rained down on the party.

Hail activated his shield, and Tori tanked it with her hardened skin.

And Paul…

“Even!! Hey, snap out of it!! Even!”

…was unharmed.

But at a cost. Yellow was convulsing, drooling blood and saliva.

Having taken the shrapnel and explosion to protect Paul, Yellow suffered severe injuries, his spine exposed.

“Damn it! It’s short-circuited!”

The Neural Acceleration Device in his spine had shorted out from the damage.

Yellow’s nerves were burning up from the ends.

“I’m sorry!”

Paul apologized to his unconscious comrade and severed the spinal nerves connecting to the lower half of his body.

This stopped the burning nerves from reaching his brain.

After the emergency treatment, Paul looked up to check on the others.

His lover Tori and Blue were engaged in combat with the attackers.

*Ratatat!*

Blue’s machine gun spat fire.

But less than a minute later, the sound of an empty chamber echoed.

“Out of ammo!!”

Paul tossed Yellow’s shotgun to Blue and began chanting.

Meanwhile, Tori and Blue stood protectively in front of Paul.

Finally, Paul shouted the activation word.

“Burst!!”

*KABOOM!*

A massive explosion erupted, dwarfing the claymores.

The party remained on high alert, staring at the dust cloud filling the exit.

Paul staggered from the explosion.

“I’m out of Magic Power..!”

That’s when it happened.

A spear pierced through the dust cloud.

Before anyone could react, it impaled Paul’s stomach.

“Guh!”

“Honey!”

“Leader!!”

The remaining two turned their attention to Paul.

It was only a moment, but in battle, it was fatal.

Figures wielding swords and scythes emerged from the dust cloud.

With eyes fused to night-vision gear, they precisely severed Blue’s arms.

“Hail!”

Tori shouted, trying to activate the pile bunker on her fist.

But before she could swing, her entire body froze.

Her arm systems shut down.

“Hacker…!”

The attackers, armed with swords and scythes, bound Tori and Hail with chains.

Paul desperately called out their names.

Even, Tori, Hail.

But his desperate cries fell on deaf ears as they were forced to their knees.

“Guh…”

Clutching the spear in his stomach, Paul groaned.

His vision blurred.

Through the haze, he saw more attackers emerging from the dust cloud.

One of them whistled as he approached Tori and Hail.

After inspecting Blue’s mechanical eye and tapping Tori’s arms, he whistled again.

“Oh. Looks like we hit the jackpot this time~? They’re in great condition.”

“Didn’t Atli say he wanted an eye upgrade?”

“Then let’s keep these for ourselves instead of selling them.”

The attackers appraised Paul’s party like they were merchandise.

From their conversation, Paul realized who they were.

‘Scavengers..!’

Human traffickers who kidnapped people to sell their organs and mechanical implants.

Even in this messed-up world, they were scum not worthy of being called human.

The Scavengers, having inspected Tori and Hail, turned their attention to Even.

“Ehh… This yellow-head’s pretty messed up.”

“That’s why I told you to tone it down. Ugh. That Neural Acceleration Device is expensive. What a waste.”

“Can we salvage it if we extract it now?”

“Hmm… Should we try?”

Hearing this, Paul shot up.

“Stop it, you bastards!”

But he quickly collapsed again.

His rage fueled him, but reality couldn’t be changed by will alone.

The massive spear in his stomach was a cruel reminder of that.

The Scavengers ignored the dying Paul and began preparing to harvest Even’s implants.

They didn’t even bother with sterilization, as this wasn’t a surgery to save him.

In the middle of the boss room, where the undead boss once stood, they laid out their tools.

As his comrade’s organs were about to be harvested before his eyes, Paul’s party cursed them with all their might.

“Even! Even!!”

“Stop it! You bastards!”

But they were powerless.

They could do nothing.

‘Damn it… damn it…!’

Paul gritted his teeth.

“Please…!”

As his vision faded, his life flashed before his eyes.

Forming the party, spending ten years together, becoming lovers with Tori.

It wasn’t a life he was ashamed of.

But where had it all gone wrong?

He knew that as an explorer, he might die quietly one day.

But this was too unfair.

Tears streamed down Paul’s face as he felt the injustice.

In his fading consciousness, he recalled a recent memory.

– “Haha. If there’s ever a need to find God in a dungeon, I’d trust only you.”

Was this why?

Paul muttered unconsciously.

“Lord… please.”.

.

.

That’s when it happened.

*Swish!*

Two daggers flew in from the exit.

The daggers pierced the heads of the two Scavengers preparing Even’s surgery.

They died without even knowing why.

The remaining Scavengers turned their gaze toward the exit.

But there was no one there.

“What… what’s going on?!”

The Scavengers muttered in confusion.

As their attention was on the exit, a voice came from behind them.

“Your bodies are temples you received from your mother—”

*Slice. Thud.*

The sound of paper being cut echoed, followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the ground.

The Scavengers turned around.

There stood a young man wielding twin swords, radiating a menacing aura.

A young man with no enhancements.

They’d seen him before in the Explorer’s Guild.

Back then, they’d laughed at him as a rookie.

Now, he stood before them, having already claimed four lives.

The Scavengers, overwhelmed by his presence, snapped back to reality only after two more of their comrades fell.

“Kill that crazy bastard!”

“He’s not worth keeping alive anyway!”

The Scavengers charged at Amon, activating their implants.

But Amon paid them no mind, swinging his swords while reciting scripture.

“The Spirit dwells within you, do you not know that you are the temple of God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price…!”

Amon swung his swords, reciting the Bible.

Hearing this, Paul’s consciousness was pulled back from the brink of death.

“Amon…?”

Paul looked at Amon.

Amon continued to swing his swords.

His slaughter was methodical.

Like following a set formula, like a craftsman at work.

He dealt minimal damage while ensuring each strike was fatal.

Amon’s body accumulated wounds.

But his momentum didn’t waver.

If anything, his menacing aura grew sharper, sending chills down their spines.

“Cough- *Spit*!”

Amon spat blood as he cut down another Scavenger.

The Scavengers couldn’t understand.

How?

He hadn’t undergone any enhancements, so how could he fight them on equal footing?

No, not just equal—how was he dominating them?

It was as if he knew their every move, luring them into his strikes.

Bullets either missed or ricocheted unless they got close enough for his sword to reach.

If anyone tried to cast magic, he’d sense it and throw a dagger.

The entire battlefield was under his control.

‘If this keeps up, we’re all dead.’

Finally, the Scavenger leader made a decision.

He aimed a grenade launcher at Amon and the frontliners holding him.

After all, loyalty among Scavengers was thinner than paper.

They only stuck together because it was beneficial, not because they considered each other comrades.

“Die, monster!!”

The leader pulled the trigger.

*BOOM!*

Scavengers and Amon alike were caught in the explosion.

Not satisfied with one shot, the leader kept firing.

*BOOMBOOMBOOM!*

Only after eight shots did he stop.

No sound came from beyond the thick dust cloud.

“Phew… I’m alive,,.”

Before he could finish, a voice came from the dust cloud.

“- Not a blade of grass in this land is yours, and those who buy and sell their brothers will burn in eternal hellfire.”

*Clang.*

A figure carrying a cross emerged from the dust cloud.

‘No. Not carrying…’

He was making a cross with his bloodied sword as he approached.

At his feet, a disposable barrier rolled away.

The Scavenger leader’s face turned pale.

Amon, staring at the leader, licked the blood dripping from his forehead and said,

“Amen.”

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