Chapter 104

Midnight.

In the dark night sea, only the sound of waves and the crowing of seagulls echoed occasionally.

"There, there."

Said the navigator, pointing to the pier of the island in the distance.

It was the hideout of the Underhill Slaves.

The navigator, who had been looking around for a while, rode down between the shores of the island and found a naturally created blind spot. He drove the ship there and anchored it.

"Why did they keep the ships sparsely anchored?"

Aria asked in a puzzled voice.

"What? You can see that?"

Vincent leaned against the railing, opened his eyes, and looked intently toward his pier.

It was already far away and it was night, so he couldn't see anything except a few flashes of light.

"There are three ships here and there."

Aria roughly explained the situation at the pier.

There were three large ships, a medium ship, and a small ship, and only the middle ship had people coming and going. It was a large ship that was anchored in the most remote location.

"What is your sight?"

Vincent stopped working on futile things and recalled what Aria had said.

"Looking at the size of the large ship, it must be a ship carrying slaves, and the middle ship seems to be a cargo ship. The purpose of the small ship is unknown…"

She tilted her head.

"Something is strange. It would be easier to manage the slaves if they were anchored side by side."

It was a natural choice in order to save the movement. If there is no reason, who else would go through the trouble of going back and forth on the same road twice needlessly?

"Yeah. It would take double the time."

Aria agreed with Vincent.

It was far wiser for them to put the ships in a position where they could be bridged to each other, even in case of a surprise attack. It was the basics.

'I'm sure there's no way they don't know that.'

Besides, the ship carrying slaves should be monitored most closely, but they put it in the most remote place. What if the slaves run away by taking advantage of the neglect of surveillance?

'Confident that the slaves will never escape? Or was it that they let their guard down so they wouldn't have to keep a good security guard nearby and not watch it?'

Even so, it was a very unconventional decision.

Wasn't it the merchant guild of the world's best slaves? It's not like they had done business for just a day or two, so why was this absurd....

"Isn't it because it's just a hiding place?"

Then Cloud intervened.

"I wish everyone in the world was as simple as Sir."

Vincent stopped what he was thinking and replied sarcastically.

"About the location where the ship was anchored, isn't it a minor issue. The given time is not enough, so I don't think it's necessary to think too deeply about that."

"Hmm...."

Vincent couldn't read the minds of the slave traders in the end. It was hurting his self-esteem, though.

"It could be a trap in case of an attack. The probability of that happening is low, but there's nothing wrong with preparing in advance."

He finally had to shrug his shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Even if it's going very smoothly, it's definitely going to be a win-win situation for us."

Around the time the ship's owner went to sleep, while the members of the slave traders was distracted by loading the cargo, they will take advantage of that and recapture the ship. The plan was simple and clear.

"I'll take the biggest ship."

After saying that, Lloyd got on the ship.

"Go safely."

Saying so, Aria stretched her hand under the railing. And she gently patted Lloyd's hand, which was holding onto the rope.

Warm hands. Lloyd squeezed the small hand that naturally moved away from the back of his hand.

"I'll be back."

As the ship went down, the hand he was holding on to fell slowly.

Lloyd stared at her tenaciously until the hand fell completely, then looked down at his warm hand.

"Then can I take the small ship?"

And she belatedly noticed Cloud's presence sitting opposite her.

"Yes."

"I guess it's okay if you goes to retake the slave ship by yourself…"

Cloud, who was once Lloyd's escort knight, asked himself and came to his own conclusion.

And he turned to the smallest ship he was assigned to. If it was that size, he would have been able to handle anything in an instant.

"You'll do it on your own, but I'll join you as soon as possible."

"Don't be vigilant because it's small. Because it's a ship of unknown purpose, it may be the most dangerous."

"Yes, I understand."

That way, the two split.

Lloyd watched the moon move, and then he climbed the ladder on the side of the slave ship.

Ted, very nervously, followed behind him.

"…it's strangely quiet."

He placed his hands on the sword and walked leisurely along the deck.

There was not a single person watching the ship. There were no sailors standing on the watchtower or passing by the deck. No one even slept in the cabin.

It was a strange stillness.

'Is it a trap?'

But even so, he could feel the presence of people somewhere on the ship. Slaves were obviously on board.

"Kyaaaak!"

It was then.

A terrifying sound resounded over the ship.

Hearing the scream, Lloyd quickly drew his sword and ran. And he stepped down the stairs and went down.

The source of the sound was the dock where cargo was loaded under the deck. Without hesitation, he grabbed the doorknob.

Crank, crank.

'Was it locked?'

A door with a structure that can only be locked with a key from the outside.

Lloyd turned the doorknob a few times before listening again to the sound from inside.

"Please, please save me!"

"Please! Is there anyone out there?!"

"Aackk! A monster, a monster!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong…"

Lloyd took a step back and kicked the door. The wooden door was shattered at his kick, revealing the scenery inside the dock.

He couldn't see the inside because he was engulfed in darkness, but the bloody smell that had been trapped in an enclosed space hit him.

Ted, who came after Lloyd's belatedly, covered his nose and mouth.

Slaves, completely insane, pushed Lloyd out and tried to run outside, then fell to the floor.

It was because they had no strength from starvation throughout the voyage. He just stood still and got pushed by people.

Lloyd bowed his back and reached out towards the fallen slaves.

"Hiikk!"

The slave, already in a panic, reflexively withdrew and trembled.

Lloyd looked around his hand without saying a word. Hands dripping with skin and messy nails.

The slave was bruised so much that his whole body had no blemishes.

Eyes that could not look directly at him and were slightly out of focus.

It smelled like something from a corpse, and the bones were damaged.

And... broken leg.

"It looked awful."

He never imagined this.

Lloyd's gaze fell on the man's twisted leg.

He ripped out the torches hanging from the wall, illuminating the inside of the dock. The walls were all red.

Upon closer inspection, he saw traces of numerous scratches with fingernails and beatings with fists.

It was like hell.

"This, this, this…"

Ted barely swallowed the nausea.

He wondered if this was really happening in the same world.

Shadows that looked like piles of corpses were piled up like a mountain in a space that was barely lit by light.

"No, no way… Lisa! Leo!"

Maybe his family was among those corpses.

Ted, who had been thinking about it that far, tried to jump inside.

Lloyd stopped him.

"Let go!"

"Stay still."

Don't be a nuisance.

Lloyd sat him, who was rebelling hard and pressed his shoulder firmly. With just that, Ted couldn't move. It was an overwhelming difference in power.

Lloyd looked at the slaves in that state.

"Please, save, please save, save me."

"Who made you like this?"

"A, a monster… no…"

Guild Master.

The man muttered as if chewing and spitting, and then tears fell. As if crushed by fear and unable to fully feel the hatred.

"The guild master ?"

Slaves were all human beings, but from the point of view of the upper-classes, they were commodities.

But what about scratching the products you buy and sell for money? Lloyd frowned slightly. Because he couldn't figure out what the hell he was thinking.

He said to the struggling Ted.

"You stay here to keep them from ever diving into the sea."

"But...!"

"I will take responsibility for your family."

If they're alive. Lloyd added.

Ted licked his lips at those words and finally bowed his head. All he can do now is pray to the sky that his family is safe.

Lloyd took off his coat and placed it over the head of the youngest of the slaves.

"Cover your ears."

Then he got up and stepped into the dock.

The soles of his shoes clinged to the hardwood floor and creaked, making an unpleasant noise. But he moved on without hesitation.

Then he put his head down on the floor and put the knife to the neck of the man who was licking blood.

"Is drinking blood fashionable these days?"

"Hii, hi-chik."

The man raised his hands, pretending to surrender, and let out a strange laugh.

"Is it strange? They said we could eat everything in the warehouse…"

"Everything here is food? So are you my food too?"

He murmured, trying to push Lloyd's sword with his fingers.

When Lloyd gave strength to the sword, it flew away with his fingers to his death.

The man fell to the ground with a gurgling and bizarre sound and died. And when he died, it moved as if it was natural. Like worms that wriggles when it's in pieces

"Haa...."

Chimera.

Lloyd sighed.

The monster that he thought he would never see again after the gutter rat was on the rise again.

He was very sick of it.

'Then the wizard....'

Lloyd remembered the presence of a wizard who used barrier magic and escaped through the vent when he was fighting the gutter rat.

Meanwhile, the chimera found a corpse with intact limbs and switched bodies.

"I'm surprised. It hurts…"

"..."

"You're mean."

And started whining.

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. Although this chimera had an adult body, its language skills were comparable to that of a child.

'I think the gutter rat was better.'

At least in intelligence.

Lloyd was puzzled and raised his sword.

After he was killed, he was going to bind it tightly so that it wouldn't be able to target any other body.

For an instant, Lloyd swung his sword so fast that a flash of light flashed across the blade.

Their bodies passed by each other.

The pierced chimera let out a sound of blood-boiling and the body slowly toppled.

– Lloyd! Are you okay?

At that moment, Aria's message was heard.

Lloyd replied, retrieving the sword from the Chimera's body.

– It's an unexpected situation, but I've solved it. I'll fix it soon and go there....

Then, something hot liquid dripped from Lloyd's cheek.

What is this?

Lloyd groped his own cheek.

It stung.

'Blood?'

There was a scar on his cheek. A sharp wound as if cut by a sword.

At that moment, the chimera, who had been lying on the floor without even moving, slowly got up.