Under the Mansion

Scarl felt a flicker of hope as he faced the ordinary-looking wooden door.

He cautiously channeled a minimal amount of mana, just enough to avoid triggering any detection magic, and probed for magical presence.

‘Bingo. Got one here.’

“Shadow.”

Aiming his sword precisely at the center of the magic circle, likely positioned on the other side of the wooden door, Scarl destroyed the core before the magic could activate, forcibly interrupting its initiation.

Pondering whether there might be a third security measure, Scarl flung open the wooden door.

The salty scent of the sea rushed to greet his nose.

The path downwards was a ladder.

‘They’ve greased the ladder to make it slippery?’

Outside, it was bright daylight.

Inside the hole, however, was filled with impenetrable darkness, with no end in sight.

Scarl carefully descended the treacherous ladder.

He could hear the faint sound of waves and the echoes peculiar to caves.

A faint voice carried on the wind blowing through the cave made him pause.

‘Are the captured people here?’

He quickened his pace slightly.

As he descended, the humidity increased dramatically, the air thick with moisture, making his hands and feet slippery.

‘So that’s why they risked greasing it.’

He carefully stepped onto the ground and looked back up the way he had come.

The bright opening of the mansion was barely visible, requiring him to crane his neck almost vertically.

‘It’s too dark, humid, and deep.’

Using tracking magic, the gold coin indicated the direction.

“Shadow.”

He coated his sword with fire mana, illuminating the surroundings.

The vaporized moisture from the fire mana created a smoky haze.

Objects began to come into view.

A damp and slippery floor.

Amphipods, startled by the sudden light, scurried away, and sea foam floated in the air, being inhaled into his nose and mouth with every breath.

Looking around, it became clear.

Scarl was standing on a stone pier.

The signal from the gold coin came from inside a ship bearing a pirate flag.

‘Is this where Shakline sets sail?’

The long cave must connect to the sea at its end.

‘It’s too humid for that, though.’

But this was the world of the game.

It shouldn’t make sense for pirates to be as strong as knights, but it was possible.

This was a world where even a Demon King over level 90 could appear weak in early events, defying expectations.

So, this place was…

The place where Shakline went out to sea to commit piracy.

Or…

“What! Why are you over there?! It’s here!”

A man shouting from the opposite side raised a torch.

Along with him, the side of an old sailing ship, half-wrecked and beached, came into view.

Scarl remained silent and approached the ship on the other side.

“What? I can’t hear you! Louder! Come closer and talk!”

The man with the torch thought Scarl’s words were being drowned out by the sound of the waves and wind.

“Michael? Someone’s here?!”

Another voice came from inside the ship.

Michael shouted into the ship.

“Johnson! Your shift’s here! Get out here!”

“Already? What’s up with that! Is the boss in a good mood!”

A man named Johnson came up on deck and looked at Scarl approaching.

“It’s true.”

Johnson stared at Scarl with curiosity, while Michael was curious about the situation above.

“What’s going on up there?”

“Just ask him.”

“Looks like the new guy who was supposed to come. He went to the other side, and his voice is too quiet to hear. Look at his torch. He came down without gloves.”

Johnson clicked his tongue.

“What are the guys upstairs doing, letting a newbie go down like that? They need to give him some training. It’ll be even more surprising inside.”

“Take it easy. Take it easy. You’ll scare him. You were surprised at first too, right?”

“When? I’ve always been calm.”

“Bullshit. That was me, you idiot.”

Focusing mana in his ears, Scarl listened to their conversation and, upon reaching the rope ladder, turned his sword into a ring and climbed up.

Johnson handed Scarl a necklace with a large key attached and said,

“Hey! Where did you throw the torch? Gloves? Never mind. Take this! And you! A newbie should be quick, damn it!”

Accepting the necklace, Scarl spoke in a clumsy manner, befitting Hati’s appearance.

“Did I hear wrong? I turned off the torch down there because I thought it would set the ship on fire. I didn’t bring gloves, sir?”

The two burst out laughing at Scarl’s words.

“Crazy bastard. It’s so humid, how could it catch fire? Where’s the other one? Why are you alone?”

Johnson said, approaching Scarl and nudging his shoulder.

Scarl, as if receiving punishment, put his hands behind his back.

“Shadow.”

Johnson looked at Michael and smirked.

“Shadow? Is this guy crazy! He came with Shadow?! Is that supposed to be a joke— Gk.”

As Scarl swung his hand, the magic sword swiftly sliced through Johnson’s neck.

“Johnson! You shi— You!”

Michael, using the torch he was holding as a weapon, swung it wildly.

The magic sword easily cut through the torch and grazed Michael’s Adam’s apple.

“Ggrrr—?!”

Michael groped his neck with both hands and died on the spot.

The large key in Scarl’s hand had a unique pattern engraved on it.

‘This is the Leviathan’s symbol.’

What on earth is inside?

He descended into the ship via the intact stairs.

The plaintive voices of the women he had heard from outside grew louder.

“Help me. Sob, sob, sob.”

“I don’t want to die!”

“Mommy, Mommy…”

“Shadow.”

Sword in hand, he cautiously moved towards the direction of the voices and saw a red-lit prison.

Inside, three women were screaming, their backs bare.

The iron bars that served as a door had a large padlock.

He approached to try the key.

Creak.

His back tensed at the sound of old plywood being stepped on.

The sound grew louder.

“Please save me!”

“Please, please!”

One person cried out even louder.

“Please save me!”

Feeling a sense of unease at the voice he had just heard, he stopped.

‘…It’s a different person, but they’re using the same intonation and accent as if they were the same person?’

Only the volume was different.

The three women’s words sounded as if they were spoken by one person.

Demons called sirens could steal the voices of dead women.

He took another step forward.

“Sob, sob, sob. I don’t want to die!”

“Mommy, Mommy… Please save me!”

“Help me. Please, please!”

He stopped again.

The voices, growing louder as if screaming, were astonishingly identical to what he had just heard.

“Save me. Please save me!”

“Mommy, Mommy… I don’t want to die!”

“Sob, sob, sob. Please, please!”

The three people he saw up close were horrifying.

That’s… not a siren.

What on earth was Shakline doing beneath the mansion?

Clang.

He opened the door with the key and entered.

The figures of the three people on the red-glowing magic circle became clearer.

“Please, please!”

Their eyes were gouged out, and their noses were cut off.

Their necks were covered in lacerations.

Their legs, bent at unnatural angles, were chained, preventing them from escaping.

Only their two hands were free.

“I don’t want to die!”

But their arms were covered in fish-like scales, and the ears visible through their hair had transformed into fins.

Their skin was cracked and parched, like sirens who had been out of the water for too long, even in the humidity that humans would find unpleasant.

“Please save me!”

The three people, blood streaming from their empty eye sockets and gaping nasal cavities, looked up.

“Save me.”

“Save me.”

“Save me.”

Humans.

Cannot speak if their vocal cords are damaged.

Humans.

Do not grow scales on their arms, nor do their ears turn into fins.

He touched his still-damp left arm with his right hand.

The skin before him was so dry that it was cracking, as if it lacked even this much moisture.

‘Artificial sirens.’

“Save me.”

“Save me.”

“Save me.”

The same person’s voice.

The three artificial sirens repeated, looking at the door I had entered.

“Please, please!”

“Save me.”

“Please save me!”

They reached out their hands to ask for help, but then scratched their bodies madly, as if their skin was unbearably itchy, causing self-inflicted wounds. The blood that flowed from these wounds seeped into the magic circle below and disappeared.

“Please, please!”

“Please, please!”

“Please, please!”

He poured mana into the ring.

“Shadow.”

They probably want to be killed, not saved.

While blaming himself for only being able to offer this.

He showed them the greatest mercy he could offer.

“March.”

A look of peace finally settled on the faces of the three women as they fell backward.

Kasha came running breathlessly.

“I’ve brought the horses and weapons!”

Flare and Luna, who had been waiting outside the detached building, immediately ran to Kasha and received their swords.

“We have to go quickly! I don’t know what reckless things Scarl might do on his own!”

“Thank you, Kasha!”

“Please get on quickly! What about Princess Sophia?!”

Flare and Luna naturally mounted their saddles.

“She’s gathering troops from all over before he arrives. Please help her too!”

“Please, Kasha!”

“Understood! Good luck to both of you!”

Flare and Luna rode off without answering.

“Giddy up!”

He immediately destroyed the magic circle that summoned the demon.

He could still hear the phantom voices of the dead.

Just as he was about to leave this place, he heard the man’s voice from above.

Find the guy who killed Michael and Johnson! He couldn’t have escaped yet!

Following that, he heard the voices of his subordinates.

Understood!

Drake’s orders! Search the ship thoroughly!

Boss! Should we check down there too?

After a moment, he heard that man’s voice again.

I’ll go there myself.

“Shadow.”