"...Kevin?"
Kevin and Nick were the unlucky ones to draw the smallest sticks and were tasked to guard the truck, while the rest of the Venom Brawlers enjoyed a al in Karem city. But aside from lanting the fact and complaining a little, they couldn't really do anything else as it was how things have worked with their guild from the start.
Nothing really happens, anyway. Most Explorers just pass by them without even glancing at their truck. And if there were any that would ask questions, they would just quickly lose interest.
That is why there is a saying, 'If you want to do business, do it in the Underworld', because most people here are busy hunting monsters and doing whatever it is they are doing.
But never did Nick think that he would be watching his friend very slowly fall back to the ground; limp and completely lifeless as the socket of one of his friend's eyes were now completely visible to him.
There was not really a lot of blood oozing from his eye, but it was enough to damp the dry rocks beneath his head.
"Kevin…?" Nick let out a small stutter. But as
soon as he finally woke up from his mild stupor, he quickly turned to look at Rhys. Before he could scream, however, Rhys suddenly blasted a layer of web on his mouth, before just tugging on it; with force strong enough that it snapped Nick's jaw and neck at the sa ti.
"Hm…" Rhys only looked at the two corpses suddenly in front of him, before pulling them by their ankles and slightly hiding them behind the boulder. There really was no reason to do so, however, as the next thing he did was casually approach the truck.
"...What the?" The first to see him was the oldest mber of the guild, Trae. He just opened the steel case he placed on the ground, but as soon as he saw Rhys approaching them, he imdiately closed it again, "Guys, we might have trouble."
The rest of the Venom Brawlers also quickly closed the boxes they placed on the ground, before moving close to Rhys and blocking his path.
"W—isn't this the Lowborn who was eating with us earlier?" The only woman in the guild, Elize, quickly looked at Rhys from head to toe as she rembered him from the eatery.
"What do you want?" Alexis, as the leader of the guild, approached Rhys; not before sneakily gesturing to his guild to return the boxes inside the truck, "If you want money, we don't have it."
"We do," Trae placed his wrinkled hand on Alexis's shoulder before walking toward Rhys. He looked at Rhys's missing arm, before handing him so change, "I know this ain't enough to get you by, as big as you are, but I hope it helps, young man."
"Why are you giving the dude alms?" Joshua scoffed as he grabbed Trae's hand before he could give Rhys so cash, "Look at him, if he's that big, then he should just work as a porter or soth—Wait. Is that why you approached us? You thought we needed help in carrying this box to the truck? What can you even do with one arm?"
"Enough, Joshua," Alexis tapped Joshua and Trae's back, "Go find Nick and Kevin. Trae, let's return the package to the truck. As for you…"
Alexis squinted his eyes as he tried to look past the hair covering Rhys's face, "I am afraid we have no work, especially for a Lowborn missing one ha—"
"What's in the boxes?" Rhys interrupted Alexis as he pointed at the box being carried by Elize.
"Tch," Joshua, who was about to go and find their two missing comrades, could not help but groan as he once again approached Rhys; this ti, with his feet stomping on the ground, "Look here, you fucking dregger. We do not have ti for you, or your attempts to beg for money. Just go, go! Don't think we don't know you guys are so part of the mob or sothing — they probably cut off your arm to make you look more pitiable."
"Joshua, don't treat the man like that," Trae, who was already carrying a box, quickly stood between Joshua and Rhys, "You're lucky you weren't born that way. He is—"
And before Trae could finish his words, Rhys suddenly opened the box he was carrying.
"This is…" Rhys squinted his eyes as he stared at the content of the box, only to see so sort of four-eyed infant feline sleeping in it; the tip of its whiskers, glowing a faint blue which resembled its fur,
"...You are smuggling monsters to the Surface."
"Fuck…" Joshua rolled his eyes as he closed the box Trae was carrying, "...Now you're just ssing with—"
"!!!"
And before Joshua could finish his words, Trae could really only close his eyes as blood started squirting on his face. The side of Joshua's neck, completely split open as Rhys suddenly cut it open with a silver scalpel without any hint or warning.
"Huk…" Joshua grabbed his neck, but all it really did was increase the pressure and strengthen the flow of blood showering on Trae's face. And soon, he fell forward; pushing away the box Trae was holding and causing the infant monster to roll away — even with this, however, it did not wake up.
"It's an attack!" Alexis quickly roared as his entire body was suddenly encapsulated by an armor of ice. But before he could rush toward Rhys, he had already twisted Trae's neck, causing him to hesitate for a mont.
That mont, however, was a mistake — as Rhys threw the scalpel on his hand straight through his forehead with a clean cut.
As Rhys pulled his hand, however, the clean cut imdiately turned into a mangled hole as he actually had the scalpel attached to a thread of web; his weapon, returning to him as quickly as he threw it.
"W… what have you done…!?" Elize couldn't even move from her spot; only dropping the box she was holding as she stared at Rhys with her trembling eyes.
"Smuggling monsters to the Surface is punishable by death," Rhys let out a small but very deep sigh as he shook his head and started walking toward Elize, "A lot of people will die once these monsters grow up."
"T… they're pets! They… they are harmless!" Elize started to stutter, she tried shooting stone bullets at Rhys, but the only thing it did was shatter upon reaching his face.
"For now," Rhys once again sighed, "But they will grow, and when they do — they will resent you for taking them from their hos. They will grow scared, angry. These are not pets to be played around with. They are going to grow up as killers because they have been molded by the world to be so."
"Oh… oh my god… you… you killed them," Elize looked at her friends.
"And I will have to do the sa to you, Ma'am," Rhys coldly said.
"I'm… I'm pregnant!" Elize raised one of her hands in the air as she touched her belly, "Please… please! I am telling the truth, I can get the ultrasound from the truck and—"
"I know, I have read all of your files."
"Then—"
"No," Rhys very slowly raised his scalpel, "Justice…
…should be fair to everyone."
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