Chapter 136: Fictional Shadow Societies Are So Troublesome…

“W-What’s this for?”

The slave—who seemed to be the father—asked.

“Use it to protect yourself. Killing your slaver won’t save your life; more will come looking for their missing goods.”

I looked around, making sure that what I warned them about hadn’t already arrived. I couldn’t be too careful, just in case the slave trader I killed had tracking magic on him.

“Those swords are meant to protect you. Well… I don’t really care; you do what you want with them.” I smile. “Maybe free others? Who knows. Just repay me one day, kay?”

“We will!”

The father clutched the sword like a lifeline. Along with the others, he clearly knew how much power that thing held.

“I look forward to it.”

I walked off. If they do get killed and my swords end up in less-than-savory hands, I’ll just dispel them before any real harm can be done.

It’s almost impossible for me not to know if those swords fall into the wrong hands; the magic I placed on them will warn me if they do.

[Profaned Manipulation]

It’s about time I return to my original plan for now.

But helping seeds from time to time while doing so is definitely the best course of action. Who knows what fruit I’ll get when it’s time for a harvest?

***

“Night within.”

“Night without.”

Two silhouettes stood in a shady corner of an already shady part of town. Now that’s a tongue twister.

It wasn’t that hard to locate some of its members.

The real issue now is… how am I supposed to infiltrate this entire society and make it do my bidding? The novel—as stupidly huge as its worldbuilding was—intentionally kept the shadow society very vague.

Not even Julius managed to completely destroy it.

I know it exists. I know it’s important figures and even it’s one main branch.

But that still isn’t enough to bring an entire underground society under my control, to force them to work in the name of Evelina.

That’s a different beast entirely.

And while I could take the slow and steady route…

“It’s just gonna take away time I could be spending with my goddess… tch.”

An assassin without time… it’s like a chef without an oven.

What’s the point?

Eh…

I’ll make it work.

[Profaned Step]

SLASH!

BANG!

As expected of members from an underground society…

Teleportation was not something you could use without getting overwhelmed.

But…

“What?”

“He survived?”

I caught the first figure’s blade with my hands, then dodged the second figure’s greathammer and slammed it down onto the ground with my feet.

“That isn’t how you’re supposed to greet a guest.”

SNAP!

CRACK!

The two weapons broke easily with just the slightest amount of pressure.

But before I could say another word, they were already planning their own deaths. They drew daggers from under their coats—if they couldn’t escape, they’d rather die than risk giving away any useful information.

They already knew they stood no chance once they saw someone break steel with just his body.

“You stubborn bastards.”

[Profaned Manipulation]

I grabbed their wrists before they could slit their own throats. But to make sure they don’t do anything else stupid.

CRACK!

I broke them for good measure. Their daggers dropped neatly on the cold, damp dirt.

“Be good boys and tell me the entrance to your headquarters…”

“Fuck you!”

One tried to spit on me, but my purple tendrils caught it before even a single drop managed to touch me.

I gotta admire their training.

[Profaned Prince]

“Speak.”

“F-Fuck you!”

They resisted it? No… can’t be, they’re too weak for that, must be some sort of magical method that only allows them to curse me out if I ask about their location.

Sounds absurd… but… magic is magic.

[Chaos Manipulation]

I tried breaking the magic that bound them, if there even was any, with chaos magic to destabilize the formula.

But…

SPLAT!

“What the fuck?”

I stumbled back as both of their heads exploded like overripe watermelons the instant I channeled even the slightest bit of chaos energy into them.

The grisly sight was enough to leave me reeling for a moment.

“Fuck! I think some of that got in my mouth!”

So much for interrogating them. Coercion, disabling their magic—none of it was an option. If I tried anything, they’d just die on the spot.

I thought this was going to be a walk in the park.

I shook my head in disappointment, then saw something that looked like a nightclub just on the edge of my vision.

If I can’t directly talk to members from the society itself, then I have to do things the hard way.

***

DUM! DUM! DUM!

After a fresh change of clothes, I entered the nightclub that I saw, the loud music already annoyingly piercing my ears the moment I stepped inside.

Who knew fucking dubstep out of all things existed in a world like this?

Thick waves of sound rattled the glassware behind the bar and made the hanging lights tremble like they were barely holding onto existence. Blue and violet mana-lamps pulsed in sync with the beat, washing the dance floor in artificial twilight.

Bodies moved without rhythm — just instinct. Sweat, perfume, alcohol, and cheap aphrodisiacs saturated the air.

It was unique to say the least… like walking from Victorian London into something else entirely.

To my surprise, I could even recognize a few nobles mingling within the crowd.

Heck, some were even students who just didn’t care about the examination.

“Oh my god! It’s you, isn’t it!”

A random stranger suddenly hooked her hands around my arm, wearing the most expensive skimpy attire I could imagine existing in this world.

That alone told me it wasn’t a hooker.

[Photographic Memory]

Fiona Whitestrake.

An S-Ranked mage and daughter of an earl. She wasn’t a character in the novel, nor did I hear anything about her while I was in the academy, despite her high rank.

She was a complete stranger to me, someone I only recognized from glancing at class lists while walking through the hallways.

S-Ranks really are a strange bunch of people, huh?

From a villainess, to a main character of a novel, to an obsessive prodigy, to me… and now to someone who dresses up like a hooker…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep