episode_0240

On the day of the operation, we headed to a cliff near the dungeon entrance.

Kenneth looked down and asked, “You said we’d watch from here and ambush them when they appeared, right?”

“Yes. Once they enter the dungeon, it’s as good as there being no exit. They won’t be able to escape.”

“What if they have a spatial teleportation artifact?”

“Even then, it’s not a big problem. As long as we know their identity, we can just wait for another chance. Or we can stop the dungeon raid because of this incident. Either way, as long as they don’t pose a threat in the future, it’s fine.”

I don’t know what kind of criminal the possessor occupying Noah Bellingham’s body is, but I don’t care what they do as long as they don’t interfere with me.

People are dying even at this moment, and saving everyone was impossible from the start anyway.

I fiddled with the mask on my face.

“So you be careful too. If your mask comes off, you could become the prey. Understand?”

“Of course. I’ll never take it off, so don’t worry.”

“Good. Then we’ll wait here. I’ll watch this side, and you watch that side.”

“Okay! Leave it to me!”

Kenneth confidently thumped his chest.

His demeanor wasn’t trustworthy at all, but I decided to let it go, as doubting him over such trivial matters would erode trust.

‘By the way, how many possessors are there in total?’

I’ve met quite a few possessors so far, but I don’t know how many more there are.

Suddenly, I remembered what the Pope said when I met him. -The possessors were originally destined to become the next Paladins.

Paladins. They are a group comprised of the strongest Holy Knights representing the church, and their total number is seven. Considering that, it would be wise to assume that seven possessors came, just like the Paladins.

‘How many so far?’

Me, the drug dealer, Pernia, Kenneth, Noah Bellingham, Ethan Gloucester, and the one who framed me, whom I confirmed recently. That makes seven in total.

Is this really the end of the possessors?

It feels unsettling to make a hasty conclusion, and yet I’m too exhausted to deny it.

It had been hard enough up to this point, and the fact that I had to expend mental energy on a possessor who might or might not even exist was bothersome.

It felt like a stone was weighing down a corner of my heart.

As I pondered, time flowed on, and before I knew it, the sun was high in the sky.

“They’re here!”

Finally, Noah Bellingham appeared.

Looking in the direction Kenneth pointed, a robed figure was walking through the bushes.

Before, even though they were a bit small, I’d thought they were a man, but now, at a glance, I could be sure it was a woman.

It seems they still haven’t fixed the transformation artifact.

‘That was an artifact from the frontier, right?’

I clearly remember the goblin tribal chief possessing it.

They used that artifact to transform into trolls or dragons, unleashing various attacks.

Of course, there was no change in stats, so it was merely a diversification of attack patterns.

In any case, that’s incredible patience.

It was too far; not only I but also the other possessors had no intention of going there.

Well, Noah Bellingham must have thought concealing her identity was that important. Indeed, thanks to it, she wasn’t discovered by me for several months.

I meticulously observed them.

‘Their power level is as the information stated.’

It’s hard to get a detailed grasp from a distance, but the density of the magic power I feel is roughly 4th Tier.

Even without considering the overwhelming advantage in compatibility, if their realm of power has also dropped, there’s no chance of missing them, not even one in ten thousand.

While I was assessing, Noah Bellingham stood before the dungeon entrance.

She opened the entrance with a simple manipulation and soon disappeared inside.

Kenneth’s gaze finally turned to me.

“They went in! Should we go too?”

“No. Let’s wait a bit longer. Since it’s come to this, let them expend some energy inside first. We were planning to clear the dungeon anyway, now that we’re here.”

“But what if they die to the monsters?”

“Die? Why would they die? You could sweep away all those guys in there by yourself. It’s fine.”

“Still…”

This brat still couldn’t hide his worry, even after my logical explanation.

I gave Kenneth a thump on the head.

*Thump!*

“Ack! What are you doing?!”

“Snap out of it, you brat. They’re still an enemy. If you keep acting like that, I might just rape them.”

“Ah, no! Alright! I’ll snap out of it. Don’t rape them!”

“If you understand, then wait quietly.”

Only after threatening him with NTR did he finally quiet down.

I sighed, then realized my heart felt much lighter and chuckled.

It’s better to focus on the present than to worry about things that haven’t happened yet.

‘Whatever happens, happens.’

Keeping the already revealed ones in check is already overwhelming, so there’s no need to concern myself with those whose existence is unknown.

Having simply defined what a possessor is, I waited for the time to come.

And 30 minutes later, I stood up.

“Let’s go. By now, the inside should be cleared up.”

“Okay! Let’s hurry!”

Kenneth, excitedly running ahead.

The giver of rice cakes isn’t even thinking about it [a proverb about prematurely anticipating a favor]. In that brat’s imagination, he’s already formed a soccer team with Noah Bellingham and their children.

I followed, hoping that he would suffer the pain of heartbreak.

How long had we been through the long corridor?

From far away, explosions and tearing sounds began to be heard.

I sent a telepathic message to Kenneth.

-You heard that, right? Noah Bellingham is over there. You fall back a little. I’ll take the lead.

-Understood!

I exchanged places with Kenneth and stealthily moved towards the source of the sound.

Soon, I discovered Noah Bellingham in a wide room, raining fireballs down on monsters.

Her face was slightly pale, as if she had expended a significant amount of magic power.

It was truly the optimal timing for a surprise attack.

-Kenneth. The moment the last monster falls, we’ll attack from both sides simultaneously. I’ll send a signal, so be ready.

-Ready!

Kenneth made a *growling* face, looking as if he couldn’t hold back and was about to charge immediately.

I carefully pacified him so he wouldn’t get too excited, all while waiting for my chance.

*CRASH!*

“Kyaaaak!”

Finally, the last monster fell.

-Now!

Simultaneously with sending the signal, I activated the Sky-Rending Consecutive Steps and shot forward at incredible speed.

With each step, my speed rapidly accelerated, and all the surrounding scenery blurred past.

“Urgh!?”

And only when the distance narrowed to around 5 meters did Noah Bellingham notice our presence, groaning as she turned around.

A magic circle appeared before her hands, and magic power converged, as if she intended to activate a spell, but it was already too late.

“Stay still!”

*Whoosh!*

I shot out Infinite Thread and pulled on her outstretched hand.

“Kyaak!”

With a scream, her slender body flew towards me.

I lifted my knee and received her body.

*Thwack!*

“Cough!”

My knee struck her abdomen, bending Noah’s body into a C-shape.

The impact seemed severe, as she collapsed onto the floor.

As I struck with my knee, I recalled the sensation of her ample chest pressing against my thigh, and then subdued Noah Bellingham.

I flipped her over, tied her hands behind her back, and bound her whole body.

Kenneth only arrived then.

“Wh-what are you doing?! What if you hit them like that?!”

“This is the fastest way. You get a chair. So we can make them sit.”

“Ugh, really!”

Kenneth made an exasperated face and quickly pulled a chair from his spatial pocket.

I resisted the urge to smack him on the back of the head and tied Noah Bellingham to the chair as well.

Only then did she regain consciousness.

“Keuk… *cough!* Who are you? Why are you doing this to me!”

“You know, don’t you? We’re also possessors.”

“But why are you holding me like this?! If you’re going to kill me, just kill me!”

She seemed to have a bad premonition from our actions and flared up in anger.

Kenneth poured oil onto the fire.

“Hey, calm down! We just want to talk! If you keep acting like that, you might really get raped!”

“What? Rape? You… come to think of it, you were that ‘Eunrang’ or whatever you call yourself! You’re going to rape me? Go ahead and try! You’ll regret it!”

“Regret it?”

“Yes! Actually, I’m a man!”

The moment those words spread, Kenneth, who had been anxiously fidgeting, froze solid.

He widened his eyes in surprise.

“Wh-what…? You’re a man?”

“Yes! This body might be female, but my soul is male! Surely you don’t want to assault a man, do you?”

And with his next words, he calmed down again.

Kenneth, after thinking carefully, gave a shocking answer.

“Then it doesn’t matter.”

“Wh-what?”

Conversely, Noah Bellingham was flustered.

He. No, she? Looked up at Kenneth with fearful eyes.

“If the body is female, isn’t it fine? I fell for the body anyway.”

“Th-this crazy bastard…”

“What about you? If the body is female, isn’t it fine?”

I fell into thought for a moment at the question.

‘The body is female, but the soul is male?’

Honestly, it wasn’t particularly to my liking, but I did think it was better than the opposite case where the body is male and the soul is female.

If it were for serious love, it would be difficult, but if it’s just for satisfying sexual desire, then enjoying the body is enough.

However, for me, with plenty of women around to satisfy my sexual desires, there was no reason to go that far for sex.

However, seeing my expression, Noah Bellingham seemed to misunderstand and shuddered.

“Y-you sex-crazed perverts! I’m a man! Are you really going to assault a man? You gays!”

Contempt flickered in her eyes.

I’d heard that in the West, they were open-minded and didn’t view gays so negatively, so it seems she was an East Asian person when she lived on Earth.

I accepted the new information with understanding, yet I denied her assertion.

“Wait. I didn’t explicitly say I would rape you.”

“Don’t lie! Do you think I’d believe such a thing?! You rapist!”

“It’s true. I just wanted to talk…”

“Stop bullshitting! I’ll never believe you! Go ahead and try! I’ll bite your dick off!”

She simply wouldn’t listen.

Realizing that persuasion was pointless as things stood, I took out a miniature bomb.

“Open your mouth.”

“Fuck off! Get your hands off me! Mph! Mphmphmph!”

I forcibly opened the struggling Noah Bellingham’s mouth and put the bomb inside.

Only after hitting her throat to make her swallow it completely did I let her go.

“*Spit!* *Ptui ptui!* What did you make me eat?! Is it some kind of aphrodisiac?”

“What you ate was a bomb.”

“You trash bastards! How many people have you done this to so far…! …What was that?”

“It’s a miniature bomb. It’s set to detonate the moment I press the trigger.”

I subtly showed her the detonator switch.

The moment she registered the situation, Noah Bellingham’s face grew even paler than before.

Her body trembled, causing the chair to shake.

“You motherf-ckers. Are you telling me to open up quietly if I don’t want to die? Huh?”

“Didn’t I say no? If you say that kind of thing one more time, I really might rape you.”

“…”

When I warned her with genuine frustration, she seemed to feel it and shut her mouth.

I pulled out another chair and sat facing her.

“Noah Bellingham. I have a proposal. Become our comrade. Then I’ll help you become stronger.”

“…Comrade?”

“Yes. The reason I subdued you instead of killing you was entirely for this. We don’t need to fight among ourselves, do we? We’re being hunted by the church; wouldn’t it be better to combine our strengths?”

We are called invaders from another world.

In this world, we are completely alone, and the only one we can trust is ourselves.

However, without even information about hidden pieces, and with no family to rely on, it was impossible for her to become stronger on her own.

In such a situation, a helping hand would be like welcome rain in a drought.

“How are you going to help me get stronger?”

“You might not know this, but I’m acquainted with an excellent mage. If enough trust is built, I could introduce you, or even if not, there are endless ways to get stronger using the knowledge I possess.”

“Knowledge?”

“Yes. How do you think I caught you? It was all because I knew the dungeon’s location. You might not know, but there’s an even better dungeon not far from here. Don’t you want to go to a place like that? Honestly, you must have come up empty-handed many times so far, right?”

“…”

Noah couldn’t say anything.

Realizing that meant affirmation, I subtly unbound her at this point.

“So, let’s work together. Don’t you want to return to Earth?”

“…Not exactly.”

“Really? Well, you do want to get stronger, right? Isn’t that true?”

“…You’re right.”

Noah Bellingham rubbed her arm, then stood up and didn’t take my hand, but instead threw a punch.

*Thwack!*

Of course, it was caught by my hand.

“What’s the meaning of this? Do you really want to be raped?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?! You punched me in the stomach earlier! You deserve to get hit too!”

“Just for that? What if I get angry and kill you?”

“Hmph! I can’t just take it, you know? I have to pay you back!”

Noah said it as if it were obvious.

‘Is this guy an anger management disorder perhaps?’

I tilted my head, seeing him unable to suppress his personality even in the face of mortal danger, then readily opened my arms.

“Then hit me. If that’ll make you feel better.”

“Hehehe! Really? Do you think I wouldn’t hit you then? Go on, take this!”

Noah laughed like an old man and threw a punch.

*Thud!*

Along with a dull sound, it felt like cotton had been rubbed against my stomach.

Then Noah clenched his fist and retreated.

“Ugh! My fist! Why is your stomach so hard?”

“My apologies. My abs are too hard.”

“Tch! Annoying. Well, this is enough. Then, I look forward to working with you.”

Noah offered a handshake, seemingly satisfied with having landed a hit, even if there was no impact.

“I look forward to working with you too, Noah.”

I gripped her tiny hand.

After shaking it up and down a few times in that state, I let go, and Noah asked curiously.

“But what am I supposed to do? I’m telling you now, don’t think about making me do anything weird.”

“I won’t make you do anything like that. Your job is simple. You just have to clear dungeons with that guy.”

“What? *Gag!*”

When I pointed at Kenneth, Noah grimaced and gagged.

Despite that reaction, Kenneth was just beaming.

And so, I gained another comrade.