Desire!

Chapter 20 - Desire!

After Shiro and Ryuu cleared the peripheral killer ants, the ones in the inner circle gradually dispersed.

The thing inside gradually revealed its face to the two of them.

It was a black-haired beastman.

No, perhaps it's more accurate to say that 'thing' was once a black-haired beastman not long ago, as that miserable appearance could no longer be described as human.

Its lower body was severed at the waist, with various organs spilling out of the wound.

There were scars left by the killer ants on its chest and signs of being beaten on its face.

The expression of disbelief and agony at the time of death remained on its face, along with a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Scars?

Shiro remembered the kind beastman who joked with him yesterday at the Hostess of Fertility.

When he left yesterday, he vaguely heard him say that he was about to save enough money to buy a new, better-looking red robe for his god, to give the god of his Familia some prestige at the Denatus.

So? He just died like this? What about his god? In the future, when seeing a red robe, would he think of the bright red wine in the goblets at the Denatus or his child's blood spilled all over the ground?

Countless questions emerged in his mind.

The beauty of yesterday and the cruelty of reality were mixed in his mind, making it difficult for Shiro to determine which was a dream.

"Ugh—"

Faster than his brain could react was his stomach, with stomach acid churning, awakening his brain.

Although he had been prepared to encounter dead bodies since crossing over, seeing a familiar face he met just yesterday dead, made him feel uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart, and he could only suppress this feeling and the stomach acid in his abdomen.

Ryuu seemed accustomed to this sight, but her clenched fists betrayed her thoughts.

Approaching the corpse, they found a black bag next to it.

Ryuu used a wooden sword to open the bag, revealing a killer ant's corpse inside, with a small knife stuck in it.

The bag also emitted a strange fragrance.

At this moment, both Shiro and Ryuu understood that this was not a simple scene of an adventurer being killed by monsters in the dungeon.

It was undoubtedly a murder.

The wound that cut the monster's body in half was clearly man-made.

Someone had exploited the killer ants' trait of calling their companions in danger.

After the killer ants arrived, they backstabbed this guy, taking away the magic stones and everything valuable.

This cruel scene fully exposed the maliciousness of human nature.

After burying the body in a good location, Shiro lost the interest to explore further and left the dungeon with Ryuu.

As soon as they reached the 4th floor, a deep voice came from around the corner.

"Ha ha! That idiot really thought we found some talking monster! He followed like a fool."

Another sharp voice came through.

"That's why these hot-blooded people are so easy to deceive. After so many years, every time we make up a touching story from a fairy tale, we can always make a profit from them. Looks like we've got our hands on some Soma wine today."

"Man! I was so sick of listening to him talking about dreams and wishes every time we teamed up, what's the use of that crap, can it buy me another drink? I want a bigger share of the wine this time since I went through a lot of trouble to deceive him."

"Hey, I was the one who caught that killer ant, at most we split it half and half, don't even think about more."

Just as Shiro was about to shout something, someone was quicker.

Thud!

When Shiro reached the corner, he saw this scene.

Ryuu had grabbed a pallum, slamming him hard against the wall.

The pallum was dizzied by the impact, unable to utter a word.

Standing next to them was a tall human, about 1.9 meters tall, carrying a huge axe on his back and wearing the cheapest armor, looking like a typical bald, muscular villain from video games.

Seeing Ryuu suddenly attack his companion, the tall human drew his axe and questioned her.

"Hey! What are you doing! Let him go!"

But Ryuu's gaze at him was as indifferent as looking at an insect.

These despicable people casually take others' lives for their selfish desires.

This triggers Ryuu's memories of the past, igniting rage within her.

"Do you want to be wanted by the guild!"

Seeing Ryuu indifferent to his shouting, he directly brought up the guild, attempting to make Ryuu let go.

The guild prohibits adventurers from attacking each other, but it still couldn't control those greedy enough to kill for money.

Crack—

The sound of bones breaking came from Ryuu's hand, and the pallum adventurer lost his breath.

Ryuu's ruthless action terrified the tall human.

They, who usually plotted for wealth and money, would not decisively kill like this without first checking if anyone was nearby.

After all, being found out and put on the guild's wanted list would be a disaster they couldn't afford.

"Are you, bastard, a remnant of Evilus?"

Having survived for so long, the guy was obviously not a fool.

Whether to fight or flee next, it was always right to label the other party as evil first.

Evilus, a target for universal condemnation, seemed like a good choice because, in this scene, anyone would believe it since Ryuu suddenly attacked and killed his companion, making him the righteous party.

Moreover, his acquaintance with the pallum wasn't long; they had just teamed up for the sake of money, and now that the other party was dead, wasn't all the Soma wine his?

Thinking this, he seemed to regain some courage, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift slightly.

However, he failed to notice that when Ryuu heard the term "remnant of Evilus," her originally indifferent eyes seemed to freeze over.

Ryuu drew the wooden sword hanging at her waist.

Remembering when she pulled the young man next to her out of the monster horde, although it was a critical situation, she didn't want to let go of his hand; probably, she didn't dislike him.

But what would he think after seeing her in this brutal form?

It was only their third meeting, and her impression of him was unexpectedly good, perhaps because his carefree laughter while throwing his sword in the dungeon reminded her of an idiot.

What would he think after seeing her like this now?

Or, he might just report her to the guild.

'What is Torajirou-san, standing behind me now, thinking?' Ryuu felt worried.

She had probably seen such a look before, a few years ago when she killed those associated with Evilus, their fearful expression.

She was a bit afraid to turn around and look at his face; to be scared in such a situation was indeed childish, just as Kaguya once mockingly said.

But letting him go away would involve Syr and the staff at the Hostess of Fertility in this mess.

Now, she had already strayed from 'justice'; since the guild couldn't handle such scum without evidence, so let her do it...

"Let me do it, Ryuu."

Shiro's words interrupted Ryuu's actions.

He saw that Ryuu was not in the right state of mind, teetering on the edge of self-destruction, a slight push could send her into the abyss she would never see light from again.

"Are you her accomplice?"

The tall human yelled at Shiro, brandishing his axe, though his voice sounded somewhat harsh and strained.

Shiro had no intention of further dialogue with such scum, drew his sword from its sheath, and slashed directly at the opponent's head.

The opponent, obviously a seasoned level 1 adventurer, knowing communication was futile, immediately launched a counterattack.

But Shiro had previously fought stronger beings, whether it was Ais or Raul, all at least level 4, so a mere level 1 did not concern him, and within a few exchanges, he seized the opportunity and pierced the opponent's heart.

The guy's eyes widened, staring at Shiro.

He couldn't understand why, with no conflict between them, the other was determined to kill him, just as he would never understand why the beastman he had bisected and left in the dungeon could smile when mentioning his god.

Warm blood flowed from the blade down to Shiro's hands, gradually tinting his vision red.

The feeling of his blade piercing someone's heart, the temperature of the blood, and watching the life slowly drain from the opponent made Shiro somewhat dazed.

This feeling was definitely not pleasant, but if Shiro had to choose again, he would still do it.

The memory of his first kill was firmly etched in his heart.

If the opponent killed that beastman just to drink one more bottle of wine, then Shiro's reason was to make himself and Ryuu next to him feel a bit more at ease.

It had nothing to do with 'justice' or 'righteousness'; it was all about being true to one's own desires.

Being able to kill the opponent rather than being killed was just because he was stronger; if he encountered someone stronger, he would be the one to die and even implicate his friends.

This world was just that cruel.

'So even if it's just to prevent those I know from having their lives taken away for such a simple reason, I must become stronger.' Shiro made a silent determination in his heart.

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