Chapter 21

They descended more and more into that pit. Only a handful of torches illuminated the place now and the only thing that could still be heard was their steps echoing down the corridor.

After another minute, they finally stopped when they reached a decorated door. It contrasted a lot with the unrefined stone wall around it.

Their cloaked escort knocked three times without receiving an answer. The door opened, revealing two other cloaked figures.

After confirming Hilma's and Satoru's identities, they moved to let them in.

Satoru immediately noticed the difference in style. The room he just entered seemed far more adequate for the decorated door than the corridor outside.

It was still quite dark in the room, not that it bothered him.

In the center was a round table with eight people seated at it. 'The Eight Fingers… As Hilma predicted, they are all here. Good. It would have been such a waste of time to hunt them down.'

It was fortunate that Hilma was a high ranking operative of the organization and knew how they operated in detail.

If it wasn't for her, it would have been improbable for Satoru to find them all in the same place.

But of course, they weren't alone in the room. He immediately noticed the figures, who hid themselves in the shadows of the room.

There were also six particular armed individuals not far from him.

They particularly piqued his interest or, to be more precise, one of them did. It was because he was undead, just like him.

His [Undead Blessing] racial ability allowed him to sense all undead beings in his vicinity and, if they were weak enough, gave him information on their race.

The one that caught his attention was an Elder Lich, probably between level 30 and 50 since after that he could evolve to another race of his choice.

But for now, he would ignore this development. He had to concentrate on more pressing matters.

"Ah Hilma, it's good to see you. It would have been a shame to lose you."

One of the youngest men seated at the table said.

"It took a little longer than expected, Cocco Doll, but I think the result was worth the wait."

The high-class prostitute said with her stoic face.

"I see you have chosen a different path from what was asked of you, considering that this man is still standing. Why is that?"

A raspy voice came from the far left of the table.

There sat an old man with white hair and a long beard, a scar on his left cheek was clearly visible even with the feeble light.

"It seems that your messenger didn't do a good job in explaining to Lord Satoru what we were offering him and what the gains were. We could say he was most… impolite and… forceful toward Lord Satoru."

She explained. The undead magic caster was quite impressed by how good of an actor she was. If he didn't know the plan already, he would think that she was being serious.

"Really now… kids these days. They can't even relay a message without messing up… If his tongue is so useless, I think it would be a kind gesture to have it removed."

As the old man said that he gestured for one of the cloaked men in the shadows.

"Go to that fool and relieve him of that weight, would you?"

As the cloaked man received his orders he bowed and left the room.

"So, did you explain what we have to offer while you were at it?"

Asked the head of the executive council.

"Only the basics. I didn't feel comfortable speaking in your stead, not knowing your thoughts. I actually spent a lot of time to convince him to meet with you. Let's say he didn't have a great opinion of you after what happened."

Hilma explained. The head executive hummed.

"I see. Always dutiful and well behaved, you will go far girl… now… let's get this over with."

He said returning to a more professional tone. Satoru was reminded of his boss at work when he was trying to fool some poor person.

"So, you must be the magic caster known as Satoru. Is that correct? Also, could you please remove your cloak? We are going to speak about business here, after all."

The head said. Satoru kindly obliged him and removed his cloak, revealing his form. As usual, he wore his elegant black gown.

His hands were still covered by metal gloves and his face was protected by his black mask with blue gems as eyes.

"Indeed, head executive. My name is Satoru, a magic caster from a distant land to the east of the Empire."

He presented himself. The head hummed once more.

"Well then, let's not waste anymore time… What we want from you is your cooperation. We do not wish to impose any fee on you since your willingness to cooperate is fundamental. We can even expand your business, making your products reach certain markets otherwise unavailable to you… It is quite the offer, don't you think? Also, if you took a liking to Hilma, you can take her, consider it a gift of good faith from us."

The head executive explained. To Satoru it was pretty clear what he wanted.

They wanted to exploit his growing influence and use Hilma to possibly control and spy on him.

They were so much like the politicians of his old world… and that made his anger only harder to control.

"I see, I see. What a good offer. I would like to make one of my own." The magic caster said with a pleasant tone.

"How about… you work for me from now on? I need someone to clean my shop at the end of the day. It is so tedious to do it myself…"

It took a moment for all of them to understand his comment. Some of the fingers chuckled.

"This must be the first time I heard a magic caster joke…" One said with amusement.

"But I'm afraid you should consider who you are speaking to before saying such things…"

As the head spoke those words, Satoru felt movement all around him. Soon he was surrounded by a dozen cloaked figures.

"You should learn a lesson in humility magic caster." Said the old man with the scar.

One of the cloaked figures grabbed him from behind and punched Satoru in the face, or to be more specific, his mask.

*CRACK*

The sound of something breaking echoed in the large room. A moment of silence, then a scream.

The one who punched him grabbed the hand he had used with his other one.

All the fingers of the hand he used to punch the magic caster were bent in unnatural directions.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed louder as the full pain hit him.

"You are annoying, shut up." Satoru said as he raised his gloved hand and slapped the screaming man in the face.

*CRACK*

All saw as the head of the man turned around and his neck snapped. The figure fell on the ground, dead. Silence descended once more in the room.

Satoru didn't want to kill him, but apparently, he must still learn how to control his strength. He noticed Hilma concealing herself in the shadows, leaving the full stage to him.

In that moment, the cloaked figures all charged at him, now with long daggers in their hands.

They all stabbed him in various points of his body. Now he could clearly see the sick smiles they had under their hoods.

"So much for a magic caster… that was quite the pathetic display."

He heard the comment coming from one of the six armed figures on his right. They all didn't move an inch since the whole commotion started.

"Is this all?" He asked aloud. Many of the Fingers' eyes widened as he spoke those words.

"W-What?" One of the cloaked men mumbled in disbelief.

"Well then [Negative Barrier]."

He casted his 5th tier spell that created a barrier made out of negative energy around him, engulfing all the cloaked men.

He immediately dispelled the barrier as soon as it appeared to observe the result.

It took only a moment before all the figures fell lifelessly on the ground. Immediately, the executive council stood up from their chairs.

Some of them had panic all over their faces as they stumbled away from him as much as they could.

They tried to leave the room through a hidden door, but as soon as they tried to exit the room, they hit something hard. A barrier.

"W-What is this?!"

One of them asked.

"Oh? It is just the effect of one of my many magic items. It creates a barrier where I need it. This special spell doesn't allow anyone to leave its area of effect without my permission."

He calmly said. Of course, that was a lie. Not that he didn't possess items with similar effects, but he didn't want to waste them on an occasion like this.

What he did was simply cast a silent [Anti-Life barrier] that repelled any living being from passing through it.

Before he could do anything else, the six figures finally decided to move and stepped between him and the executive council.

"Oh and who might you be?"

****

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