TWEM Vol. 4 Chapter 15 Part 1
Chapter 15 – Cobra’s Hideout
We were headed for a two-story, slightly rundown building in the slums.
“This is it.”
“I never thought the day would come when I would be able to exterminate Cobra…the feeling is so gratifying.”
“My Lord. What shall we do? Shall we obliterate the whole building?”
Next to Sebas, who was feeling emotional, Zero started to say something outrageous.
“Nah, that would be a bit much.”
“There might be people trapped in there, so let’s not do that.”
“That’s true. My apologies.”
Zero bowed his head as Sebas and I rebuked him.
“Well, don’t worry about it…now then, let’s start with a barrier.”
I said and erected a barrier around the building.
It’s also become soundproof, so no matter how much violence goes on inside, it won’t disturb the neighbors. Now, they can’t escape even if they want to.”
““Understood.””
Just as Zero and Sebas nodded their heads, Ellis’ voice echoed in my head.
<<Master, I have a report to make.>>
Hmm? What is it, Ellis?
<<There are several paths leading to the outside in the basement. One leads to Almuth Balazel’s residence, and the others to random buildings in the royal capital.>>
Motherfucka, it really is true.
Can you identify which one these Cobra cocksuckers might use to escape?
<<Affirmative. The passage most likely to be used for escape is this one.>>
Along with her voice, a passageway appeared in red on the map visible with God Eye.
<<At present, there are three strong enemy reactions. One on the second floor and two in the basement. They are probably executives. Sebastian will be able to defeat them, no matter which one he encounters.>>
I see, you’re able to figure out that much. Well done.
“Sebastian, once we’re in, I want you to go alone to the location I’m going to give you. It is most likely their escape route.”
“Got it.”
“And it looks like there’s one guy on the second floor and two more in the basement. Zero, head upstairs once we get in. I’ll go downstairs.”
“Roger.”
Having finished assigning tasks, we headed for the main entrance.
～
Two men were standing at the entrance, chatting and laughing.
At first glance, they appeared to be mere residents, but when I looked at their status, I saw that they were assassins. In other words, they were enemies.
Without time to raise their voices, their throats were instantly slit by me and Zero.
The three of us broke into the building and sent each enemy we encountered on their merry way before they even had time to raise their voices.
Sure, going by stats, Cobra’s fighting ability was high, but Sebas is around level 100 and Zero and I around level 300. Not much of an opponent, I’d say.
“Found the stairway to the basement. Sebas and I will head that way.”
“Understood. Then I’ll proceed to exterminate the second floor.”
“You do that. Apparently, the one over there is quite strong, so don’t kill him, okay? He could be an executive.”
“Kukuku. My Lord, as long as I don’t kill him, anything goes?”
“Sure, knock yourself out.”
“Roger that.”
Zero said, a smile formed on his mouth.
I parted from Zero and went down the stairs, which led to a dimly lit passageway with lamps made of magic stone placed in various places.
Sebas, following my instructions, headed to set up an ambush on the escape route before the enemy became aware of our presence.
Checking with God Eye, I detected signs of people behind the door.
<<It appears that one of the executives is in the back room. The other one is moving in the direction Sebastian went. I don’t think they will notice us.>>
“Got it. Is there anyone not related to Cobra being held captive? We can’t afford to kill them by mistake.”
<<All right. There seem to be three women. The third room from the back, on the right.>>
After confirming this, I immediately started making my move.
I carefully entered the room through the door so as not to alert the enemy, and eliminated the bogies in the room.
In the midst of this, a certain door caught my attention.
When probed, I detected the presence of three people inside.
Looking at their statuses, it is obvious that they are not assassins. Which means…
“They must be the kidnapped victims…I better rescue them first and then talk later.”
I transformed the doorknob with my molding skill and unlocked it.
When I looked inside, I saw three women chained together. One was in her 20s, one was in her mid-teens, and the other was probably only eight years old.
When they saw me, they screamed “Hieek” and tried to escape toward the wall.
“It’s all right. I am here to exterminate these animals.”
I said to them in a low whisper.
“R-Really?”
“Of course. Here.”
I took out my adventurer’s card and showed it to the woman, who seemed to be the oldest.
“A jet-black adventurer’s card…Haruto?”
“Are you perhaps, the EX rank adventurer, the great hero, Haruto, sir?”
Oh gosh how far has this spread…I thought, but I affirmed it so that the conversation wouldn’t get complicated.
“Uh, well, yeah. So, I’m going to unlock these chains now, but there are still quite a few enemies deep inside. I’m going to go take them out, so just wait here. Okay?”
The three of them nodded quietly.
“All right.”
I broke the chains with magic, and while at it, healed all the wounds on their bodies with recovery magic.
Then, with the three astonished people behind me, I proceeded to the next room.
I quickly annihilated the rest of the rooms, and the only room that remained was the one at the far end, where the executives seemed to be.
“I guess this is the only one left. Three presences in total, huh?”
I’ve gotten rid of each one of them so far without raising an alarm, so it seems my presence is still undetected.
I strengthened my hearing and perused inside.
“—Then, we’ll be disposing of that woman real soon.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
By that woman, were they referring to one of the ones I just rescued.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it ain’t going to happen.
I busted the door open with a loud bang.
“Who—ughaa!”
“Who—the fuggh”
Then, as soon as the two men who seemed to be subordinates reacted, I closed in and cut them down in one fell swoop.
A well-dressed man in an expensive looking outfit, sitting on the other side of the table, stood up and glared at me.
“…Who the fuck are you?”
“Oh excuse me, I seemed to have lost my way and somehow ended up here.”
“Hmph, yeah, nice try…but, no matter, die motherfucker.”
The man jumped over the desk in an instant, drew his sword and slashed at me. But I dared to duck just in time and counter-kicked him in the gut.
“—You’re no simple fellow, are you? Not only did you evade my attack, you even counterattacked.”
“Oh, you don’t say? Or maybe, you’re just too weak?”
“Cut the bullshit!”
I looked at his level, and it was 93. Certainly, ordinary adventurers and soldiers can’t hope to compete with this kind of level…to me though, he’s just another small fry, same as his subordinates.
The executive tried to swing his sword at me again, and the next moment, fresh blood danced in the air and the sword fell.
“Ugh, ghaaaaaah!”
The man crumpled to the floor and screamed.
He probably didn’t see it, but I cut off both of his arms.
I didn’t want him to bleed to death, so I just used recovery magic to stop the bleeding.
He stared at me in confusion, as if he couldn’t grasp what had happened.
“What the hell just happened? What did you do, you sonuvabitch?”
“I merely slashed you, though it appears you didn’t see it.”
“You’re saying I couldn’t make out the speed of your attack…I’mma ask again. Who the hell are you?”
I silently took out my adventurer card and showed it to him.
“I see now. So, you are the infamous Demon King. But defeating me won’t make Cobra—”
I was pissed off that he called me a demon king, and he started to talk like a typical villain, which annoyed me even more, so I put him to sleep with magic and restrained him.
“Ellis, are there any more enemies in the area?”
<<No, sir. Zero had no problem on his end, even defeated some executives. The passageway where Sebastian headed to, a few had just tried to escape, and it seems that they have already been defeated. One of the remaining executives is about to arrive there, but Sebastian should have no problems dealing with him.>>
“I see. If that’s the case, I’ll leave that side to Sebas, and bring those guys to the ground, then join up with Zero.”
Except for the executives, there are only dead bodies left, but lemme just tie ‘em up in a corner for now. The soldiers should be coming soon.
As I escorted the three women back to the ground, I asked them about their story.
Apparently, they were all daughters of noble families and had been kidnapped as blackmail material.
As soon as they were on the ground, they lowered their heads intently.
“Thank you very much for rescuing us!”
“Please, let us give you something in return for this grace.”
“Thank you for rescuing us, big brother!”
It was a little embarrassing to be thanked so straightforwardly.
“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t rescue you in hopes of a return…well then, it looks like the inner room on the first floor is safe, so just wait there for a while longer.”
I said and headed to Zero’s location.
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