Chapter 179: Safe? Zone (8)

Chapter 179: Safe? Zone (8)

The
green foam bubbling from her mouth gradually began to subside.

“Ku,
huuk⋯”

Balkan
gazed down at Bio, who lay crumpled on the floor.

She
was still moving—proof she was not dead.

Having
expended all her mana in that last sword strike, she no longer had
the power to maintain the deadly poison.

“This⋯
can’t⋯
be⋯
I’m⋯
the chosen⋯”

Mumbling
incoherently, she dragged her bloodied body across the ground,
crawling toward something.

Balkan,
now feeling lighter as the poison wore off, followed her slowly.

Like
a soaked mop leaving streaks of water on the floor, Bio left a trail
of blood as she crawled forward. Eventually, she stopped.

It
wasn’t far—about six paces from where the fight had taken place.

There,
under a shelf, was a small table.

On
top of it sat a box.

Though
it was small enough to fit in one hand, its appearance was anything
but ordinary.

A
radiant silver box shimmered, reflecting the scene of Balkan standing
still and Bio reaching out desperately with a pained expression.

The
silver box gleamed like a polished mirror, its surface spotless and
pristine. Anyone could see it was no ordinary container—it was a
vault for storing something precious.

“Damn.
For all your bravado, there was a reason, huh? What’s in this fancy
vault?”

“Uh⋯
aaaah⋯!!”

As
she stretched her arm toward the box in desperation, it was snatched
away before her eyes.

Her
bloodshot eyes captured the sight of Balkan grinning greedily,
exuding an air of triumph.

“Give⋯
it⋯
back⋯!
That is not something a lowly bastard like you should possess⋯!!!”

“Is
that so?”

Crouching
down, Balkan brought the box closer to her face.

Bio
attempted to grab it, but—

Smack!

“Kuuaaagh!”

Balkan’s
kick twisted her already battered arm further, leaving it grotesquely
bent.

Smirking
cruelly, Balkan once again brought the box near her face.

“Password.”

“⋯⋯”

“It’s
a safe, but there’s no keyhole or mechanism to unlock it. Tell me
how to open it.”

“I
refuse—”

Thud!

Balkan
stomped on Bio’s head mercilessly.

Her
jaw slammed into the wooden floor, shattering it, and her face
pressed into the ground as foam bubbled from her mouth. She lay limp,
her eyes rolled back.

She
still didn’t seem to grasp her situation.

If
he repeated this enough times, eventually she’d break and beg to
reveal it herself.

‘What
could possibly be inside that she cherishes so much?’

Balkan’s
gaze turned toward the box, his anticipation building.

A
strange silence enveloped the room.

The
atmosphere was so tense and frigid that no one dared to move.

“No⋯
it can’t be. Potion! Someone bring a potion quickly!”

A
desperate clan member broke the silence, shouting with trembling
urgency, spittle flying from his mouth.

“Bio-sama
couldn’t possibly lose like that! Everyone—”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Blood
droplets scattered through the air. As something flew through the
void, the splattered blood dyed the clan members’ heads and their
territory crimson.

Splatter!

The
sticky sound resonated as their gazes instinctively turned to the
source.

The
corpse that had been hurled through the air now lay sprawled and
crushed on the floor.

The
face, already mangled from earlier, was now completely
unrecognizable, smashed into the ground and drenched in blood.

The
body of someone who had once mercilessly slaughtered foes and
helpless victims alike with her poisoned sword was now rigid, stiff
from post-mortem rigidity, utterly motionless.

Faced
with the grim end of their leader, the clan’s soldiers dropped
their swords in despair.

Their
leader—far stronger than any of them—had been obliterated without
resistance.

Confronted
with such reality, few could summon the will to keep fighting.

Creak.
Creak.

The
eerie sound drew the attention of the clan members.

The
man who had ruthlessly crushed their leader was leisurely descending
the wooden stairs, his steps deliberate.

“Haha.”

Amel
Drexia watched him, a faint admiration in her eyes.

‘He
said he was recruiting for a 15th-floor party.’

When
she’d previously attended his party interview, the group she
observed seemed average at best.

Neither
particularly flawed nor exceptional, they had struck her as
thoroughly ordinary.

She
had only considered joining because the premise sounded exciting, not
because the party appeared especially formidable.

But
that assumption had been shattered to pieces during the overwhelming
display of combat she had just witnessed.

‘This
is no mere 15th-floor-level party.’

Though
Bio had been rapidly declining in power recently, she had once been a
notable figure in the 15th floor’s underbelly.

Her
poison, effective even against mid-tier monsters and rival
adventurers, had consistently been in demand.

So
Amel’s attention naturally turned to the man who had withstood her.

In
the labyrinth, as one descended deeper, the dangers became
increasingly insidious and depraved.

Some
levels featured traps that tortured people to the brink of death, or
psychological snares that destroyed minds.

For
someone capable of enduring Bio’s poison unaided, it was clear his
mental fortitude could withstand even the labyrinth’s cruelest
trials.

He
was the kind of teammate any explorer would find irresistible.

“Ah⋯
aaah⋯”

While
Amel admired him silently, the sight was nothing short of a disaster
for the clan members.

Their
leader had fallen.

Now
that the head was gone, it was only a matter of time before the
body—and every limb—was ripped apart.

“What⋯
what do you want?”

Kneeling
before Balkan, they gripped the shredded remains of Bio’s ankle.

Balkan
glanced at them and muttered softly.

“Speaking
informally?”

“⋯What
is it that you desire, sir?”

The
newfound respect in their tone brought a faint smile to Balkan’s
face.

“What
do you want from us to have attacked our clan? Was it because we sell
poison? Or perhaps—”

Smack!

Before
he could finish, Balkan’s backhand sent the speaker flying.

Crashing
into the wall, the clan member convulsed before hastily kneeling
again as Balkan approached.

She
lowered her head in fear, avoiding eye contact with him.

Balkan
squatted down to meet her gaze, his expression cold.

Tap.
Tap.

Without
a word, he lightly tapped the clan member’s cheek, then muttered in
a low voice.

“I
don’t care if you kill people, rape them, or sell them into
slavery. None of that concerns me.”

Tap—tap-tap.

“But.”

Though
his touch wasn’t forceful, the menace in his presence was
undeniable.

“When
you mess with what’s mine, the story changes.”

His
hand lingered on her cheek, as if to remind her he could take her
life at any moment.

If
anyone dared touch what belonged to him, no matter how large their
organization, his retribution would be absolute—fueled by the fury
of a berserker.

“Keep
that in mind.”

Tap-tap.

The
clan member, her cheek marked with his handprints, desperately
nodded, still kneeling.

“Wait.”

At
the sound of the voice from somewhere, Balkan, who had been dragging
Bio out, turned around.

A
centaur and Amel Drexia. She was the one who stopped Balkan.

“If
you round up all the people here, it’ll be a contribution bomb.
You’re not going to take them in?”

“…”

Balkan,
who had paused at her words, looked at the clan members who were
staring at him silently.

Filled
with fear and terror, they didn’t even think about moving.

“Hey.
Go grab a rope.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Scratching
the back of his helmet for a moment, Balkan struck the head of a
nearby clan member as he gave the order.

With
a satisfied look, Balkan raised the rope handed to him and muttered
softly.

“Anyone
who wants to keep their life intact, gather in front of me now.”

15th
Floor Safe Zone.

It
dawned on him that calling it a “safe zone” was utter
nonsense.

Of
course, there were no dungeon monsters here. And no traps either.

But
there were humans no different from monsters who committed vile acts.

Those
who, driven by all manner of greed and malice, would set traps for
their fellow humans.

No
different from other floors. Monsters, traps, and all sorts of other
methods tested those exploring the labyrinth.

Perhaps
the monsters and traps of the 15th floor were humans themselves.

“Damn
it! Balkan! I like you!!”

In
that sense, Balkan thought he was rather lucky to have good
companions.

Jubeel,
whose complexion had eased after recovering from the poison eating
away at her body, rushed toward him, drooling like a baby.

As
he easily sidestepped her, Jubeel fell and rolled on the ground.

“Urgh—!
Aw, that’s just mean!”

“Who
would want to embrace someone coming at them drooling like that?”

If
it were Diana drooling, maybe. But to be honest, Jubeel’s drool
smelled.

“Balkan,
is that group behind you…?”

“Yes,
they are.”

Rubia,
who looked noticeably more at ease, pointed behind him and asked.

Not
only Rubia but also Hitolis, Lammel, and the others around the
fountain were all looking in that direction.

“Wait.
That blood-soaked woman… Isn’t that Bio?”

“Oh,
yeah! That poison dagger! Then, could it be that the ones behind her
are…?”

Roughly
twenty people, their wrists tied with ropes, being marched along.

He
had captured the entire clan that ruled the back alleys, stringing
them together like sausages. No wonder it drew attention.

“Lord.
Lord.”

Feeling
the eyes on him, Belle, who was following behind, tugged at the hem
of his clothes.

“Um.
I didn’t eat any humans.”

“…Good
job. But next time, put up some resistance, will you?”

“Heehee.
Okay!”

Belle
and Fusilini group had also been rescued. Thankfully, they had been
locked in cages rather than harmed, likely intended for sale as
slaves.

Being
a place that focused on slave trade, they even had contract papers.
The document for a contract with Belle hung conspicuously from his
waist.

The
party members had been healed, and the loot had been collected.

Bio,
like a giving tree, had handed over the slave contract papers and
even a safe that seemed to hold valuable items.

Oh,
and if he handed in the captured clan members, there’d be reward
money and contribution points too.

For
the amount of trouble he’d gone through, the outcome was pretty good.

With
a satisfied smile, Balkan turned his attention to the final matter at
hand.

“Ddu-ddu-da?”

The
infantile murmur of Nuer.

Now,
it was time to treat her.

Submerged
in the water of healing, Nuer felt as though she was floating in the
ocean.

Incredible
freedom and a sense of buoyancy surrounded her as she swam in an
expansive sea.

Her
eyes, which had been dulled by madness, slowly regained their light,
glimmering with clarity.

But
as Nuer’s body swam freely like a fish in water, it began to
stiffen.

The
more she swam, the greater the unease grew.

Finally,
when the sense of unease reached its peak—

–Aw,
our little Nuer, were you hurt? Let me kiss it better~

–Oh
my, you’ve made such a big mess. Let’s change that diaper, okay?
Don’t cry now~

–Aww,
good girl! Good girl! Here’s a candy for you. Say “ah~.”

Her
mind was filled with [memories that should not exist].

“…Ah…”

Nuer
stood still, feeling the ‘thing’ strapped to her lower half.

A
baby diaper.

The
undergarment meant for infants who couldn’t manage their own
bathroom needs was…heavy.

Drip.

Tears
rolled down Nuer’s cheeks.

And
then—

Crunch!

“Hey!!
She’s biting her tongue! Stop her!!”

“Get
a gag! Quickly! Get a gag!”

It
took a long time to calm Nuer down.