Chapter 55: Libero (1)
*
‘Is he doing well?’
It had been a month since Allen had left him.
In the countless years Libero had lived, a month was merely a short time.
However, that was only relative.
In reality, it didn’t feel short to him at all.
If anything, it felt longer than the meaningless time he had spent so far.
‘I guess he’ll manage.’
He was weak and lacked talent.
But he wasn’t completely useless either.
He had knowledge he couldn’t fathom where he learned it, along with a unique self-suggestion technique.
And, most importantly, a will that surpassed all of that.
That was something Libero himself did not possess.
With that kind of will, he should be doing well no matter where he was. He wanted to believe that.
‘By the way, I’ve been hearing strange things about Sakh lately.’
He shouldn’t be worrying about Allen, who he had no idea what he was up to.
However, the situation in Sakh, which was immediately in front of his eyes, felt strange.
Sakh had already been a place where crime was almost left unchecked in the back alleys, but lately, the frequency of incidents felt like it was surging.
One could think it was just the security relaxing, but to someone who knew the underlying truth, it didn’t look that way.
The number of minor crimes hadn’t changed dramatically. If anything, it seemed to be less than before.
‘Those guys must have instinctively sensed it was time to be cautious.’
However, the activities of the Reaper Gang, Vermilion Bird Gang, and Black Tortoise Gang had become more lively.
Even the remnants of the Azure Dragon Gang, which he had smashed before, had started moving again.
If it were just one group on the move, it could be ignored, but the fact multiple groups were stirring meant one thing.
‘What the hell are you planning, Gineus?’
The Company behind them. The Demon King ruling that Company must have some purpose in mind.
There was no other way to think about it.
‘The big wave is approaching.’
Whether it was related to what Gineus was plotting, he couldn’t tell.
However, looking at the city’s state, it was clear something was about to happen.
‘But…’
He momentarily clenched his fist.
When he opened it, he shook his head.
‘It’s just a hobby.’
He wasn’t a hero.
In fact, he was the exact opposite—a Demon King.
Helping people from time to time was merely a hobby for him.
Gineus didn’t seem to have a fondness for that hobby of his.
‘Demon Kings can’t mess with other Demon Kings.’
No matter how much they focused on their own pursuits, there was a minimum agreement between them.
One of those agreements was not to interfere in the affairs of other Demon Kings.
That’s why, on the surface, he was permitted to engage only in hobby activities limited to the Reaper Gang, which was unrelated to the Company.
And for the same reason, Gineus couldn’t touch him due to this agreement.
‘Let’s just pass by quietly this time.’
There was no other choice this time.
Last time, he had shattered the Azure Dragon Gang in a fit of rage, but then Gineus had brought him to the Demon King’s Meeting over it.
If he took down all the ruffians now, the Demon King’s Meeting might become a nuisance again.
But he couldn’t help but feel troubled.
‘Maybe I should go have a drink.’
Perhaps the Regular Bar could calm him down a bit.
*
“Boss, it seems the government has completely loosened regulations lately.”
“So what?”
Jinmu, the leader of the White Tiger Gang, replied boredly to his subordinate’s words.
“What do you mean, so what? We need to grab a score here. The Vermilion Bird Gang and the Black Tortoise Gang are making a killing right now. Even the Azure Dragon guys, who we thought were gone, are back on their feet!”
However, the leader gave no response.
“Boss! When did you become such a fool! The banquet’s laid out, and you can’t even pick up the spoon!”
“Shut up!”
Simultaneously, an ashtray flew and shattered against the wall.
“I’m not doing this because I want to.”
He also wanted to seize money while the opportunity was ripe.
But there was something far more important than money.
That was his life.
‘That Demon King… Something feels off about him.’
Of course, the White Tiger Gang had grown this far thanks to the Company run by Demon King Gineus.
However, this time felt a bit ominous.
‘The scale is too big.’
Demon King Gineus was cunning.
For that reason, she had quietly progressed every job behind the veil of the Company.
But this time was different in nature than anything before.
‘She wouldn’t suddenly change like that.’
There was surely a scheme in play.
And that scheme felt unsettling to him.
His instinct for having survived in this business for a long time was telling him.
“Listen well. We’re not doing anything.”
“What?”
“I said listen carefully, you brat!”
“B-but, boss…”
The subordinate hesitated for a moment, momentarily stopping himself.
The leader’s left eyebrow twitched.
The subordinate knew that when he twitched his left eyebrow, the words that followed were crucial.
“Then what should we do?”
“I told you. Do nothing. Just keep an eye on the kids.”
“Understood.”
Just as the subordinate was about to leave the room.
Suddenly, the leader muttered to himself.
“A tsunami is coming. We just need to avoid getting swept away. Then everything left after the tsunami passes will be ours.”
*
“No! This is the store I’ve protected for years!”
“Doesn’t matter. There aren’t any customers anyway, old man.”
A man kicked the elderly man lying on the floor.
The old man couldn’t resist and rolled helplessly on the ground.
Libero watched the scene with cold eyes.
As if he sensed Libero’s gaze, the man turned and called out.
“Hey, you!”
Libero offered no response.
He simply continued to stare at the man.
That was it.
Yet, sensing something from that, the man who was assaulting the old man clicked his tongue and left.
“Thank you! Thank you…”
Libero quickly moved his feet to leave the elder behind.
He shouldn’t get involved in the events happening now.
Just then, as he was walking towards the tavern,
(Libero!)
It was a communication from Demon King Violet.
‘What’s going on?’
(It seems what Gineus said is weighing on my mind.)
‘Gineus? What did she say?’
Her name emerged to match the current situation, which felt set up.
It was hard not to be concerned.
(You remember the last Demon King’s Meeting, right?)
‘Are you talking about the death of the 71st Demon King?’
(Yes, and we put a lot of effort into finding out who killed that Demon King but ultimately failed.)
But what does that have to do with Gineus?
As he was pondering this seemingly unrelated connection,
(Gineus seems unhappy about that. If that Hero were to come into Sakh… )
‘Wait a minute.’
Libero stopped in his tracks.
He couldn’t just pass by the scenario laid out in front of him, no matter how hard he tried to avoid entanglement.
‘Go on, Violet.’
(She said she won’t let you be.)
Libero clenched his fists.
‘So this is a declaration of war?’
(Yes?)
He disconnected the communication with Violet.
Then, he looked at his once-favorite bar, now in ruins.
In front of it stood a Hero he had seen often in the tavern lately.
“Hmm?”
As Libero approached him, the Hero finally noticed his presence.
“By the way, you used to be a regular here, didn’t you? I hardly knew anyone when I came here, but it feels like you were here almost every day.”
The Hero was right.
He was just a regular. There was no other way to describe his relationship with the bar.
He was simply a regular.
But the burning anger in his heart was too hot to just let go.
“Who ruined this place?”
“I heard from other customers earlier, it was either the Black Tortoise Gang or the Vermilion Bird Gang.”
“Is that so?”
He turned on his heel.
If he didn’t know which one it was, then smashing both would do the trick.
And…
*
“Lord Gineus, the Vermilion Bird Gang and the Black Tortoise Gang were quickly taken down.”
Upon receiving that news, Gineus clenched her fist under the desk.
She had been feeling a bit anxious anyway.
She never expected Libero would advance this far.
“It seems the Black Tortoise Gang found out about the Regular Bar he used to frequent and destroyed it effectively.”
“Tell them well done. Well, I suppose there aren’t any survivors left now?”
It didn’t matter anyway.
They were just street thugs, no matter how grandly they called themselves the Reaper Gang.
Such street thugs were everywhere in Sakh.
‘If I can eliminate Libero, that would be a bargain.’
She asked her subordinate, “If we’ve caused this much chaos, the Heroes must have noticed too, right?”
In just one night, they had annihilated two large organizations.
It was impossible for the Heroes in Sakh not to have caught wind of his presence.
‘Farewell, you Masked Figure.’
At that moment, a sound of an explosion echoed from somewhere.
It was a bit far from the Company building.
Boom…
Kaboom…
‘No way?’
Feeling the approaching explosions, her expression hardened slightly.
‘Is he heading here directly?’
She sprang to her feet and commanded her subordinate.
“Contact the government of Sakh and have every available Hero sent to the Company! Quickly!”
If the one who defeated the 71st Demon King was coming, she believed Libero could be defeated as well.
After all, he was within a barrier, and Libero was skilled in swordsmanship, but his Demon King Form wasn’t that powerful.
However, for some reason, her instincts warned her. She should not let her guard down.
*
