Screams echoed from the depths of the dungeon today.
“…Help me! I really don’t know…! Aaaaagh!”
A man who was once a noble of the Sail Kingdom.
But now, he was in a wretched state, only repeating pleas for his life.
Irena had captured most of the nobles when she took over the Sail Kingdom.
And she sent the captured nobles to this dungeon managed by Celia.
Since they were all practically condemned prisoners, no one cared about what happened inside the dungeon.
“What should we do? Left.”
“Right, the administrator told us to keep torturing him.”
This was Sector 1 of the second layer of the dungeon.
It was the space where the two-headed ogre brothers, ‘Left’ and ‘Right,’ resided.
Although they were brothers, they shared one torso.
Instead, one torso had two heads, and each head had its own thoughts and consciousness.
The head on the left was named ‘Left,’ and the head on the right was called ‘Right.’
The most significant difference between the two was that Left had only one eyeball.
Then, Left growled and spoke.
“Human. Answer, where is the organization?”
Celia’s order was simple.
She wanted to know about the underworld of the Sail Kingdom.
It was an intelligence gathering mission on the organization that controlled the ‘black market.’
The existence of the organization had already been confirmed through Count Beerton. However, because it was structured as a cellular organization, it was difficult to grasp its exact nature.
Although the Sail Kingdom was seized, could it truly be considered conquered if the underworld wasn’t managed?
Therefore, they tortured other nobles to extract any information they knew.
The moment its structure was revealed, Celia planned to deploy Necros.
“I, I really don’t know… Please, spare me…”
Unfortunately, the man knew nothing.
He just trembled with fear and shook his head.
But such excuses wouldn’t work for the ogre brothers.
“Left, this is bad. The human, doesn’t know again.”
“Don’t worry. Right. This time, his fingernails. We’ll pull them out.”
“Oh, good idea! That’s why you’re Left! So smart!”
With the ogre’s brute strength, one of the noble’s fingernails was pulled out.
Naturally, screams filled the dungeon.
Every time a fingernail was pulled out, his body convulsed as if in a seizure.
“I, I really don’t know…!”
But it was no use.
The ogre brothers immediately proceeded to pull out the next fingernail.
Other nobles who witnessed this scene were horrified by the ogre’s cruel actions.
They had held onto a sliver of hope when they were told they would be sent to the mountains, but reality was cruel.
Wouldn’t it be better to just die in such a situation?
*Clap-*
Just then, Celia clapped her hands once, changing the atmosphere.
“We’re running too late. All of this is for Master. We need to finish quickly.”
At Celia’s voice, the ogre brothers flinched and replied.
“What should we do, Left? The administrator is angry.”
“I agree, Right. We need something stronger.”
The tortured man fell into despair.
It was already hell, and this wasn’t even the end.
“I, I really don’t know… *sob*.”
This time, the ogre held a slime.
Just as he was about to press the slime against the human’s face.
A Skeleton Knight approached Celia.
“Tap! Taptaptap.”
“You said Mr. Dampir has arrived?”
The story the Skeleton Knight conveyed was precisely that Dampir had visited the dungeon.
She had explicitly ordered Dampir to operate as an adventurer.
Yet, Dampir had returned to the dungeon.
What had happened?
At this juncture, variables were absolutely not allowed.
“Then, please continue. Just don’t kill them.”
Celia gave instructions to the ogre brothers and turned around.
“Understood. We won’t kill them.”
Killing the nobles at this stage was not part of the plan.
The priority was to gather all information through continued torture. Therefore, it would be problematic if they were to die easily.
Following this, the groans of the nobles continued to be heard.
* * *
Contrary to Celia’s worries, nothing special had happened.
“So, you’re saying a human with a preference for zombies made such a request, and Dampir took it on?”
“That’s correct. And my name is now Dambi.”
“Ah, I see. That’s a nice name.”
Dampir had registered as an adventurer and started using the name Dambi.
“Speaking of zombies…”
Celia mulled over Dambi’s words and tilted her head slightly.
She hadn’t expected him to accept a request to bring back a living zombie.
The request stated it was for zombie research purposes, but what Dambi heard was different.
The guide at the Adventurer’s Guild had apparently told Dambi the truth in confidence.
“Hmm.”
Celia, lost in thought for a moment, eventually nodded.
“Well, human tastes are incredibly diverse. I don’t fail to understand. For someone, zombies can be such an object of desire.”
Celia was a succubus.
Before she was sealed by the Church, she had spent a considerable amount of time in the Succubus Dungeon.
And she received various theoretical training in that dungeon.
Although she had never practiced, Celia understood how diverse human tastes were.
Celia reminisced about the past for a moment.
But that was also a distant memory.
Her memories had faded.
What happened to the Succubus Dungeon back then, or whether the Succubus Queen was still alive, wasn’t Celia’s concern.
Her sole intention was to serve Master, who had saved her from the abyss.
And Dambi’s activities as an adventurer were also an extension of her service to Master.
Someday, when Dambi established himself as an adventurer, she would need him.
For that day, she was merely sowing seeds and waiting.
“Then, you must take the zombie, right? Follow me.”
The request Dambi received was to capture a zombie in its intact state.
Each request would be judged based on Dambi’s performance. These performances would, in turn, affect his adventurer rank.
Therefore, Celia intended to provide the zombie for Dambi.
Celia led Dambi to Sector 1 of the first layer.
Sector 1, First Layer.
It was the dwelling place of undead monsters, with Death Knight as a sub-boss; zombies were also found here.
Currently, Sector 1 was quiet.
The undead did not need to eat or sleep. They only needed to remain still, so Sector 1 felt as still as if time had stopped.
“Actually, some more zombies and ghouls have been added.”
After the situation in the Sail Kingdom was resolved.
Master had bestowed more monsters upon her.
Although their numbers were fewer than before, it was at least enough for Dambi to take a zombie with him.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Dambi approached the zombie with the chain he had prepared beforehand.
“Kuuuer?”
The zombie let out a sound towards Dambi, who approached it.
Dambi immediately fastened the chain and began to drag the zombie away.
“Kuuuer….”
The zombie made a strange sound, but seeing Celia’s gaze, it soon followed obediently.
With this, Dambi’s objective was achieved.
Since his mission was to operate as an adventurer from the start, there was no need for him to stay any longer.
“Then I will be on my way now. Celia-sama.”
“Yes, I’ll be waiting for good news. Be careful, Mr. Dambi.”
The two exchanged brief farewells.
Dambi immediately turned towards the dungeon exit, dragging the zombie.
“……”
As Dambi’s figure disappeared, Celia’s steps took her back to the depths of the dungeon.
And she quietly opened her mouth.
“Necros-ssi.”
Necros, hidden in the darkness, emerged at Celia’s words.
He was still on standby because complete information about the underworld organization was lacking.
“I will assign Skeleton Knights to you. Investigate the request that Dambi is currently handling.”
Celia’s expression changed.
* * *
Cold darkness engulfed the room.
The air itself was heavy, and magic was cast to prevent ordinary people from approaching.
A large, round table occupied the room, and six figures sat around it.
They were the representatives of the ‘Black Hand,’ the organization controlling the underworld of the Sail Kingdom.
The Black Hand was an organization tightly bound by the ironclad rule that betrayal meant only death.
To be precise, rather than a single organization, it was more akin to an alliance formed by six different organizations, each led by its own leader.
Hence, they were filled with distrust rather than trust for one another.
Naturally, strict measures against betrayal were in place to prevent anyone from backstabbing.
Changing the meeting place every time and the rule that no one except oneself could accompany them were unique customs born from their mutual distrust.
Still, by forming an alliance, they were able to firmly grasp the Sail Kingdom’s underworld.
However, the atmosphere today was different.
“Hee hee, why is everyone so gloomy? It’s been a while since we had a meeting, let’s have some laughs, hee hee hee.”
Malcolm was the one who first broke the silence.
His large, red, hooked nose disrupted the balance of his face, making him look uglier.
Nevertheless, Malcolm grinned and looked around at the others.
“With the situation like this, Malcolm, how can you even laugh?”
Lyla, sitting next to him, sighed and glared at Malcolm.
Despite being the ones who controlled the underworld of the Sail Kingdom, the current atmosphere in the kingdom was not good.
Since the 7-star catastrophe was stabilized, most nobles had been arrested.
Among the nobles were many who had generously sponsored the Black Hand.
The cessation of the nobles’ sponsorship was a problem, but more importantly, Lyla’s business had been halted.
Lyla was notorious as a villainess who kidnapped women for human trafficking.
She had rapidly expanded her influence through this business, but now was not a good time.
With guards stationed throughout the kingdom, human trafficking had become more difficult.
As the current situation continued, her losses would only increase, making her sensitive.
“Just leave him be. Looking at Malcolm’s expression, he probably just collected some good-quality zombies somewhere. That zombie-fucker.”
Another person spoke up.
It was Annabelle.
“What? Is that true? With the mood like this, you’re still going to stuff a zombie? Well… I guess it’s understandable.”
At Annabelle’s words, Lyla looked at Malcolm with a pathetic expression.
However, she understood.
With Malcolm’s hideous face, if he were to get a girlfriend, that would be a bigger problem.
If such a thing were to happen, it would be one of two things.
Either the girlfriend would try to assassinate Malcolm.
Or the girlfriend would have strange tastes, like preferring men who looked like orcs.
“Sigh, Malcolm the bastard is worry-free, which is nice. But I’m completely ruined this time.”
Annabelle, who had referred to Malcolm as a zombie-fucker, sighed.
Annabelle’s main business was the cultivation and distribution of narcotics.
Thanks to this, she was also the one handling the largest amount of money among them.
In fact, her entire body was adorned with jewels, so her wealth was obvious.
Even her attire was flashy.
Despite adorning herself with money from head to toe, her expression was not good.
The reason was that her invested territories had encountered problems.
The nobles she was connected with were successively arrested, and their territories were also confiscated by the royal family.
“Damn it! I invested so much in that land!”
Drug cultivation is not an overnight business.
Vast lands for drug cultivation are essential.
It starts with finding nobles willing to rent such land.
And then, personnel to manage cultivation and guards to protect the cultivation sites are also needed.
It’s not a business that can be sustained simply by having land and personnel.
Therefore, Annabelle invested in the nobles’ territories to secure places for drug cultivation.
But the invested territories were ruined in an instant.
Although not all drug cultivation sites had been discovered yet, it was only a matter of time.
Even if she wanted to retrieve the drugs beforehand, it was impossible due to beefed-up security in the kingdom.
“Oh my, my fate! Damn it, why did the disaster have to happen here!”
Annabelle slumped over the round table and began to lament her fate.
Then, Peris, who had been watching her, spoke to Annabelle.
“I could solve that for you, you know. If you give me money, I’ll kill the troops in the territory. In the meantime, you can just smuggle out the drugs, right?”
Peris, in line with his sharp appearance, primarily handled assassination requests and information.
Hence, he proposed to help her move the drugs.
Annabelle was tempted by Peris’s offer but shook her head soon after.
“Forget it. I can already tell how much you’ll squeeze out for that. If I’m going to fill your pockets, I’d rather abandon the drugs! Myself.”
Annabelle spoke curtly and resumed lamenting her fate.
The meeting atmosphere was becoming increasingly noisy.
Then, after a moment, a silent presence raised its hand.
“Everyone, quiet. You’re too loud.”
Unlike the others, this was a figure wearing a black mask.
The chattering individuals trembled and lowered their heads.
“Y-yes, sorry. Master.”
The black mask, referred to as Master.
No one had ever seen the face underneath the mask.
At first, they complained that only he wore a mask, but the power of the black mask was immense.
Even if all five people present teamed up, they couldn’t touch even a strand of his hair.
Although the Black Hand formed an alliance by bringing together their respective organizations, in reality, the actual leader was no different from the black mask.
Hence, at some point, they started calling him Master.
Master stroked the black mask.
Then, after a moment of thought, he called out the names of the remaining five people one by one.
“First, Annabelle.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Drug distribution is prohibited for the time being. There are too many eyes watching. And as for the drug cultivation sites, it’s regrettable, but abandon them for now. I will compensate for the losses.”
“T-thank you! Master!”
Annabelle’s expression, which had been downcast moments ago, brightened.
“Next, Lyla.”
“Yes. Master.”
“The kingdom is still in chaos. It will likely take time to sort things out. This time, I will specially lift the restrictions. I permit you to bring not only adults but also young girls.”
“I will obey your command!”
Until now, under Master’s order, they had only kidnapped adult women. But now, that restriction was lifted.
Liana bowed her head to Master with a smile.
“Next, Peris.”
“Just give me your command, Master.”
Peris, who handled assassination requests and information, bowed his head.
“I need information about Irena, who has become the Queen. Report everything, without exception, about who she contacts and meets.”
“Understood!”
This time, Master’s order fell.
Peris, who received the order, immediately left the seat.
Since Master had already intervened and taken the lead in the meeting, it was clear there would be no further discussions.
“Next, Darkmore.”
“……”
The one called Darkmore was a warlock wearing a black robe.
But he merely shook his head slightly without speaking.
“Yes, you can continue as you were. You’ve acquired a lot of corpses this time, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Yes…”
And there was one person left whose name had not been called.
“Malcolm.”
“Yes, Master! Hee hee.”
This time, Master’s voice deepened.
“Did you obtain the zombies through the Adventurer’s Guild?”
“Yes! Ah, do not worry, I used a proxy.”
Master touched the black mask once more.
“From what I heard, the zombies were in prime condition.”
“Ah…”
Master already knew everything about Malcolm’s business.
Malcolm felt a shiver but lowered his head.
“Yes, I was very lucky this time. Apparently, it’s a new adventurer who brought back the zombies without a single scratch.”
“Hmm. What is that adventurer’s name?”
However, Malcolm could not answer Master’s question.
‘Was it, Tamba? What was it?’
Malcolm was only interested in zombies; human names were unimportant to him.
After a moment of silence, Master commanded Malcolm.
“Find out who that adventurer is. Where they are from, what they did before becoming an adventurer, everything.”
Malcolm bowed his head, agreeing.
Having said what he needed to say, Master stood up from his seat.
Thus, the regular meeting of the ‘Black Hand’ concluded.
