Chapter 188: Chapter 188

"Mr. Skeleton, shall we follow?"

It was time to understand the full situation.

"Please, rest well," the innkeeper said with a meaningful smile.

Perhaps he already knew, but the way he looked at Rubia seemed like a predator eyeing its helpless prey. The kidnappers would soon make their move. Whether they would strike in broad daylight or sneak in under the cover of night, I couldn't let down my guard.

[Skill: Detection Lv. 7 activated.]

[Mind's Eye (C+) activated.]

Beside the plush-looking bed, a large, hollow space lay beyond the solid wall. It wasn't just a gap. It was a hidden passage with a long, wide tunnel big enough for two grown men.

I didn't need to taste it to know. Despite staying in the same inn, the meal set before us was leagues worse than what Rena and I had been served. Now I understood why no guests would ever stay here.

Yet, Rubia was too busy shoveling the bland food into her mouth to care. Watching her devour the pitiful meal was almost startling.

She took a gulp of water and turned to me, smiling faintly. "Ha… I feel alive again… but—"

"Why am I… so… sleepy…"

Rubia swayed on the bench, eyes fluttering shut. Her lips parted slightly, and she let out a soft sigh. She had lost consciousness in an instant.

I quickly checked her pulse. She wasn't dead, nor was her heart racing.

A cold dread filled me. If it had been poison instead of a sleeping draught, I would have watched her die for nothing. Maybe I had grown too complacent, too confident of my strength.

I'll need to develop a skill to detect poison, too.

At least for now, her deep sleep was convenient. The kidnappers would come soon enough. While I dealt with them, she could rest safely.

I gently lifted Rubia's head from where it had fallen into my lap and laid her diagonally on the bed. Rubia looked peaceful.

I turned back to the wall. A small handle for the secret passage was faintly visible.

I pried it open, revealing the dark corridor beyond. They had clearly put a lot of effort into this passageway. It wasn't just a place for one or two trips. Staying in stealth, I carefully closed the wall behind me and waited in the darkness. They didn't come immediately.

The innkeeper must be reporting what he's done.

The innkeeper probably told them that he put his prey to sleep.

About an hour later, I sensed them.

"Ugh, every time we have to crawl through this, it's such a pain. Couldn't we just walk in the front?"

"That's no fun. Anyone can pick a lock with the master key. But bursting in from an unexpected place, there's a thrill in that. A wildness. A hunt."

"They're all drugged anyway, aren't they? They won't know what's happening either way."

"Doesn't matter. It's about the feeling. Climbing up, showing up where they'd never expect… that's the real excitement."

Three guards were coming to kidnap Rubia while she lay unconscious. She had no chance to fight back or realize what was happening.

It filled me with fury. Even if they hadn't committed the crime yet, or if it wasn't fair or just, my rage demanded a place to settle. It would end here for them.

As they clambered up the passage, I activated my skill.

All three of them froze in place, seized by a terror that gripped them to the bone.

"Wh—? My body… won't… move…"

I recognized every face. They were the same ones who had once come to claim Rubia's corpse. In my past life, I'd slaughtered the entire Yublam guard force. They were nothing to me. Even if I let them strike first or let them land a blow, they'd still be worthless.

I stepped out of stealth, clad in my armor. The surge of fear left them blinking with their mouths agape.

They could only croak wordlessly, frozen stiff like statues. "Ah… ahhhh…"

It reminded me of my first encounter with Marquis Leandro outside the cave, and the overwhelming sense of weakness I experienced.

I shoved the black steel sprayer into the mouth of the man in front. He was the same man who had spoken of hunting and once went to claim Rubia's corpse. If he kept opening his mouth, it only made sense to fill it.

I had the perfect thing—Grassmere's Fire.

I couldn't even tell if he was trying to beg for mercy or offer a final confession. Not that I cared.

"You have no idea what's happening here, do you?"

The man with the sprayer in his mouth and the other two managed to jerk their heads up and down. It was a stiff but desperate nod, more a spasm than an answer. However, it was the best they could do while frozen in fear. Their dull, tear-streaked eyes looked as if they had been wronged by the entire world.

"That's your problem."

The fire burst from the sprayer, searing the man's tongue, throat, and everything beyond. It burned his lungs, stomach, and bowels, extending outward until his torso and limbs became fuel as well. The man didn't even have time to scream. The final echo of his life turned to smoke, drifting out of his mouth like soft, gray snow.

I tapped what was left of him. His body cracked and crumbled, collapsing into dust from head to toe.

The three men who had once been flesh and blood were now nothing more than pale ash. Their greed and their filthy desires were gone, leaving only silent ruin. I brushed the ash from my hands and stepped back into the room.

Rubia shifted slightly, as if she were too warm in her sleep.

At least Rubia would be safe from these men. Granted, there were gentler ways to deal with scum like them. Some might speak of reformation or correction, but these were people who had trafficked and tortured others. Even if there was a chance they could change, I had no interest in it.

Now, it was time to confirm what lay below. Just then, I sensed the innkeeper slowly climbing the stairs, listening at the door, trying to catch a whisper of what was inside. I didn't need to press my ear to the door. I could see everything with my Detection skill.

"Curious, aren't you?" I asked.

I opened the door for him.

"Uh… wh-what?" the innkeeper stammered.

The glimmer of curiosity and hunger in his eyes shifted to confusion.

Who is this guy?Where are the other guards?

His thoughts were written across his face. Before he could scream, I used the Fear skill to seize his throat.

Only ragged, choked noises escaped his lips. "Hic… ku, kkhik!"

He looked a lot rougher back then…

I remembered visiting this man's house near the mill. Now he looked almost clean, but it wouldn't be long before he, too, was tortured and discarded. Killing him before that might even be a mercy.

I toned down the skill just slightly so his heart wouldn't stop.

He tried to shake his head frantically, maybe even bite off his tongue. Nevertheless, none of that mattered. He was frozen solid. When I absorbed Fear from the Kraken, I wasn't sure how to use it, but it turned out to be invaluable. Even without leveling it up, the effect scaled with the difference in power between me and my targets.

The innkeeper extended a quivering hand and handed me the key. I took it to the basement and opened the secret door. Even though he knew it was the road to death, the fear skill forced him to comply.

The basement was surprisingly spacious. All around, torture devices of every shape and purpose were neatly arranged. Of course, this was no special court of the empire, nor was it some purification chamber of the Goddess of Penance, Yemera. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel•fire.net

It was just a private torture chamber, used to soften up kidnapped travelers. There were racks and devices for dislocating joints or stretching limbs; blades and whips for cutting and tearing; straps for binding the human body in twisted, grotesque ways.

All of it had been cleaned for the next use, but no amount of scrubbing could wash away the stench of despair and pain.

I shut the basement door behind us. To get his confession, I released the Fear skill.

The innkeeper immediately started to babble for mercy, but he didn't scream. The thick walls and padded surfaces absorbed every sound.

He knew that better than anyone, and he trembled. "Th-these, these things, I didn't use them! I just… cleaned up afterward!"

I raised my hand. "Enough."

I had no interest in listening to him ramble, whether it was the truth or a lie. My purpose here was already clear. I tossed him a sheet of paper and a pen.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Every crime you've committed. List them all."

"Maybe you won't be murdered."

He drew a ragged breath. "Uhh… I swear!"

Giving hope was important, but in reality, he had no choices left. The cold edge of my blade was ready to gut him from throat to belly.

"I'll write! I'll write!"

The innkeeper scribbled furiously, line by line, about the sleeping draughts, the abducted travelers, and the victims tortured in this chamber. The tally was over a hundred. How he'd managed to cover it up so thoroughly was astonishing. Human society looked orderly on the surface, yet it was riddled with these hidden pits of darkness.

For him, every second spent writing was another second of life. I let him have it because I already knew what the final line would be. The pen scratched on, marking up both sides of the paper.

The innkeeper's hand shook as he reached the end.

"Then write this final line: I… overcome with guilt…"

"…publicly confess all my crimes…"

The quill moved swiftly.

At that phrase, the innkeeper's hand froze. "Th-this… this isn't what you promised!"

"You're not being murdered. You're taking your own life."

I forced his hand to complete the final line.

"Now… kill yourself."

I tore strips from his outer garment and bound them into a makeshift noose, then looped it around his neck twice, suspending him in the air.

He kicked and jerked, tears of blood streaming down his face as I finished my work. I slipped his written confession and Grassmere's Fire into his pocket.

The black steel sprayer still had some fuel left. It was a shame to waste it, but it was better this way to make it look like he'd killed his accomplices with it.

The men I had burned alive had been the ones who once pulled the wagon. If this happened again, I would handle it the same way and then move on.

A familiar chime echoed through the air, and a translucent window appeared.

[You have added information about the Necron Social Society.

— Remarkable! You interrogated the innkeeper in both of his states.

— Spot registered: The inn basement, a place of education.]

[You have obtained Interrogation Lv.1!

— Slightly increases the chance of extracting truth while inflicting pain.]

So that's what this is…

[Attribute: Execution obtained.

— Your personal divine judgment.

— You have intentionally executed beings with karma below zero.

— Continued executions may grant a slight chance of receiving a goddess' blessing.

Ilien, the Goddess of Light

Yemera, the Goddess of Atonement

Virphon, the Goddess of Flame]

That was my only thought as the windows kept filling the air.