CH 34

Words : 2048 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

C34: Step towards the Truth (3) Chapter 3/3 for last week. Sorry for the irregular releases, I’ll try to get back to the normal schedule from next week. Rudger still remembered that moment. Those clear eyes that looked up at him while licking his injured mother. Even though he used magic to kill them, he was grateful for that innocence. “I don’t know! How do I know! Who are you?” “You don’t know?” Rudger tossed the Bellbot Rickson to the floor. Bellbot, who was old and ill, fell to the floor and grabbed his waist. “Great. you, what are you?” “Do you know what this is?” Rudger took a pre-packaged test drug from his pocket and tossed it in front of the Bellbot. A red liquid that looks like melted ruby was inside the transparent glass tube. Bellbot who gave the instructions for it to be made couldn’t ignore it. “This!” “Now do you understand?” “What do you want from me? Do you want money?” Bellbot realized his opponent caught his weakness. He was capable of sneaking into his own room, and he didn’t know how he got it, but he even had a drug from an experiment he was involved in. Maybe he was from the Nightcrawler Knights? ‘Damn! How the heck did those worm brothers do their job!’ He invested a huge amount of money into the experiment and now a stranger entered his residence but he couldn’t show dissatisfaction. He didn’t know who the man in front of him was but he was holding his lifeline. “I won’t hold you accountable for sneaking in but you must want something since you decided to see me in secret.” “What do I want?” “Do you want money? I have a lot of money and I can give you anything you want.” But the answer that came back from Rudger was far beyond Bellbot’s expectations. “Answer.” “What?” “Answer the question I just asked.” Bellbot shook his head as much as he could, trying to recall Rudger’s question. “Were you the one who got rid of the escaped specimen by any chance?” “…….” “So it was you! I think there was a misunderstanding. Thanks to you, the situation didn’t get much worse.” “Just answer my questions.” “Oh, okay! That 7-year-old child test subject, right? What’s wrong with that? He already became a monster, and he’d rather die before being discovered.” “…….” “Aren’t they low-class citizens who people don’t even know that they exist? No matter how many of them died, what would be sad about that? Rather, they gave their lives to achieve great results, so they made a noble sacrifice.” Bellbot said they were making a noble sacrifice. Workers or the poor, how many of the lower class who roll in the mud of society die, what does that have to do with him? Rather, if they become a cornerstone for completing a drug that brings human youthfulness as test subjects they would at least contribute to mankind. “Even if dirty people work in a factory for a hundred days, sweating profusely, how much money can they really make?” It was far more productive to use that meaningless life for something more important. “Is the answer enough?” “Yes. That’s enough.” “Then……” Rudger grabbed Bellbot’s neck. Bellbot rolled his eyes and grabbed Rudger’s forearm with both hands, but his hand was too strong to be resisted by Bellbot’s old body. “Why?” I answered correctly! Bellbot’s eyes were protesting towards Rudger. Rudger did not answer, but instead placed the bottle of the drug he had brought in front of Bellbot’s face and poured it into his mouth. Bellbot desperately tried to resist, but even that was impossible because his neck was caught. The red drug passed through Bellbot’s throat. At the same time, changes began to take place in his body. “Aaaaaaaaaaaah!” Along with the pain as if it was being torn apart, Bellbot’s body began to slowly swell. After Rudger released his neck, he retreated and watched the scene. As the time passed, his wrinkled skin became taut, and eventually split to the left and right, and his hair grew abundantly. But his changes did not stop there. The hair that had grown out fell out, revealing the reddish skin, and it started to swell like a bubble. Bellbot drank an entire bottle of the drug while the test subjects were only administered a small part of a bottle at once. The amount that Bellbot drank had already far exceeded the standard. “Ouch! Why! Why!!!” Even as his body was torn, twisted, and changed, Bellbot couldn’t help but cry out to Rudger. His face was strangely contorted and half mixed with that of a beast and from his throat came a cry that didn’t sound human or animal. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah” “No matter what I say, you won’t even understand, let alone repent.” You don’t have to understand. Instead, feel the pain you inflicted on others. Rudger canceled the sound blocking magic he had spread out. “Tirriririring!” At the same time, an alarm in response to magical power went off throughout the mansion. After that, the screams of Bellbot, who had become a monster, reverberated. “Kwaaaaaaah!” “What is this sound?!” “It’s an intruder! The alarm came from Bellbot-sama’s place!” “Thud! Thud” A guard from outside knocked on the door. Suddenly, the locked door shattered and strong men rushed inside. Among them was a freelance mage hired to guard Bellbot. “A monster!” “Where is this monster from?” “Everyone get out of the way!” The wizard immediately performed fire magic and burned the monster. Contrary to its bizarre appearance, the monster caught fire so easily. Thanks to its tenacious life force his body regenerated as it burned and the process of burning it down continued. Even the wizard felt a sense of crisis and poured out all his magical powers to set off fire. An hour passed like that and the monster’s body, which could no longer regenerate, collapsed. “Ugh. It’s finally over.” “What about Bellbot?” “Find him.” No matter how bad-tempered he was, he was the employer who paid their salaries, so people were desperate to find Bellbot Rickson. However, no matter how much they looked around, they could not find Bellbot, and there was no trace of him. They had no choice but to come to the conclusion that Bellbot Rickson was eaten by the monster. At the same time they did not know that the secret safe hidden inside Bellbot’s room, which contained his entire wealth, was stolen. * * * “Are you here?” The hideout that Hans told me about was a shabby house nestled deep in the alleyways of Leathervelk commercial district. However, the only bad thing was the exterior, and when I went inside, there was no smell and the interior was very neat. It looks like an ordinary tavern from the outside, but it was just a trick. “You picked a pretty good place.” “It is a commercial area adjacent to the factory area.” “What about the surrounding area?” “It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it is certain that the ecology of Leathervelk Backstreet is quite complicated. We need more time.” “Right.” Rudger said so, and he put the safe he had brought on the floor. Hans’s eyes widened. “What is that? It must have taken a lot of effort to bring it.” “Not really.” “So this is a safe?” “Yes. It had magic security, but I unlocked it on the way.” Hans opened the door to the safe to check the contents, and immediately closed it. “……So many?” “Spend some of it on work and hide the rest in a suitable place for now.” “Understood. Are you going to go now?” “Yes.” “You look a little tired, so go take a break. I also have a separate room for you.” “I will check it later. It seems that I will come back soon anyway.” “With what kind of status will you come next time?” “The thing that suits you best when you’re moving in the underworld.” “Oh, you mean that?” Hans didn’t ask any more since Rudger must have been quite tired from today’s fight. “Get a good rest. I will try to finish my work as soon as possible.” “Yes.” Rudger came out of the hideout with weary steps. The air in the back alley, where people don’t come and go, melted and stuck to the skin like glue. While walking Rudger could sense that people were watching him from beyond the darkness of a deeper alley. They hyenas in the back alley glanced at Rudger but withdrew, realizing that they were no match for him. When he was completely out of the alleyway, Rudger took off the hood over his head and pulled down the fabric that covered his mouth and nose. As he was still gazing at the Ramzier River, where some steamships were roaming, a loud bell rang out from the towering clock tower in the center of Leathervelk. “Dang! Dang! Dang!” It was the sound of midnight. Rudger continued to stare at the darkened Ramzier River. * * * [The death of the rich man, Bellbot Rickson] It was a headline that adorned the front page of a newspaper issued to the city of Leathervelk the next day. The death of Bellbot, a vicious entrepreneur and one of Leathervelk richest people, was enough to heat up Leathervelk. Even more so if his cause of death was from a werewolf attack. The monster was exterminated by the wizard who was guarding the inside of the mansion, but the death of Bellbot himself was quite a big issue. Some said that Bellbot had been punished, while others said that Bellbot used evil black magic and died because he couldn’t control it. Reporters have been clamoring for days in front of Rickson’s mansion to be let in. A black car stopped behind the reporters. “Yes?” The reporters stared at the man who got out of the car. There were a total of three people who got off, and they were all wearing the same outfit, black uniform with golden epaulets. The reporters’ eyes widened when they recognized the attire that only authorized people could wear commonly referred to as a black coat. “The sheriff!” “It’s also the Nightcrawler Knights!” The Sheriff’s Office wasn’t exactly a secret organization. On the contrary, it had a tremendous reputation in the bright field, and a terrible notoriety even in the shade. The reporters gulped their saliva. They came to the entrance of the mansion simply for the sake of gossip, but if the security bureau stepped in, the story would be different. ‘Scoop.’ One word kept running through the reporters’ heads. ‘We won’t be able to get inside anyway, so we have to write something related to the security department.’ ‘If the security bureau stepped in, it means that it was a serious matter. Even that person at the forefront……’ Cold silver hair that perfectly contrasts with the black coat with gold and red stitching in harmony. The woman with the sharp impression who turned it up to reveal her forehead was a very famous person. “Trina Ryanhowl.” The head of the marquis Ryanhowl family, who symbolizes the protection of the empire. She belonged to the Security Bureau, and was the Knights Commander leading the Nightcrawler Knights. Her nickname is widely known as Lord Protector. The reporters quickly got out of the way as they saw Trina walking towards the mansion. With a sharp charisma, she was the idol of all knights in the empire. “Open the door.” When the security bureau stepped in, even the guards guarding the entrance had no choice but to sweat. “Don’t let anyone in……” “Door.” Trina said, pointing her finger at the guard. “Open it.” “Yes Yes!” The contemplative guard moved immediately. The gate of the Rickson mansion, which had been firmly shut, opened wide.

CH 34

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