What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 444

The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – #444

#444

The Devil’s Claw, Shipwreck of Nadir (8)

“What! Who is it! How dare you guys, Aaaagh!”

-Thwack! Thud! Thwack!

“Uwaaaagh!”

-Crash! Clang Clang!

“Freeze! Hands above your head! Move and I’ll shoot!”

-Rumble tumble!

“What are you gonna shoot! Keuheok!”

The pink-haired woman shouted at the top of her lungs, darting around the cramped space like a flying squirrel.

The spice shop instantly turned into a chaotic mess.

The perfume bottles on the shelf shattered, releasing all sorts of pungent scents, and the girl and rabbit statues were neatly broken and rolled across the floor.

‘Thud!’ The ceiling lights hanging from the black pipes swayed precariously.

‘Waaaaaah!’ ‘Rumble tumble!’ Those who rushed to the entrance like moths were all kicked away by the dark-skinned man.

Unlike the woman, who moved swiftly, the man stood firmly in the middle of the shop, knocking down anyone who charged at him with his bare hands.

Several people, pale with fright, hurriedly looked back at Alika.

‘Thwack!’ She was already grabbed by the long-haired intruder!

-Clang! Clatter!

“Damn it! Let go of me!? Do you know where you are!”

“I said move and I’ll shoot!”

The childish voice rang out sharply.

Alika struggled desperately to shake off the woman clinging to her back like a cicada.

At the same time, she thrashed about, trying to press the button hidden under the counter.

‘Rumble!’ All sorts of animal bones and cork boxes fell from the shelves.

The thick fingertips, stained with fiend blood, scratched frantically at the edge of the desk.

Almost there! Not even a pinky nail left―

-Crack crack crack!

Oh, no!

“You’re underestimating robbers these days, aren’t you, boss!”

Alika’s hands froze on the counter! She gritted her teeth and glared back at the youngster, but the intruder had already leaped up and was knocking down those heading to the back of the shop.

The helpless were mercilessly knocked down by legs spinning like windmills. ‘Thwack! Thump, thud!’

Painful screams followed. ‘Aaaagh, my side! My stomach feels like it’s going to burst!’

“W-What on earth are you! What’s the reason for doing this, not knowing your place!”

“Aren’t you afraid of the one who will become God!”

“We’re not even scared of God, why would we be scared of some wannabe! There are plenty of things to be scared of in the world, you idiot!”

The pink-haired woman dragged the fainted acolyte, spewing abusive language.

The faces under the masks, pale white, gasped as if they were about to die.

The woman’s robe was black, and the man’s robe was red.

Judging from the fact that they both wore black half-masks, they were definitely insiders.

They naturally mentioned words that only insiders would know, such as ‘Third Apostle’ and ‘Living Experiment.’

Moreover, one of them had the power to control water, so he must be a paladin or someone chosen as the lord’s experimental subject and blessed with grace.

But how―

How!

“How can this be! Betrayal! How could you abandon the lord…!”

“Who ordered you to act like this! Repent now!”

“In the end, only death awaits you!”

“Death? Are you gonna, like? Kill! Me?”

‘Sha, bang-sha! Bang!’ The woman suddenly raised her voice. Alika doubted her eardrums.

The tone was erratic, the rhythm bizarre, and even with nonsense added―anyone could tell it was a terrible ancient curse.

‘Uwaaaaa!’ The elders, realizing the situation, hurriedly covered their ears and fell to the floor.

That one’s crazy.

They must be possessed by an ancient spirit!

“Every! Thing? Is? Shabang-sha! Bang!”

“Everyone, cover your ears and lie down! Quickly! Before your soul rots away trying to save your body!”

The old man who had spoken to the man earlier cried out desperately.

Some of the younger ones, hearing the screams, lay flat beside him, tears streaming down their faces.

But the madwoman did not stop her dance of death.

She waved the black robe like the grim reaper and constantly poured out incantations.

‘Face, is! V-line! Eeeeen?’ ‘Thud!’ ‘Kuaaaaagh!’ She even took out a whip and lashed the floor.

This was clearly a terrifying warning to carve skulls into a ‘V’ shape and kill them.

Alika, trembling all over, finally collapsed.

Her hands, as if frostbitten, had lost all sensation.

“Good heavens, even if this is the black market where they don’t know the value of life… To think I’d die at the hands of madmen in a place like this…”

“Heueuheuk… Lord, Lord…”

Isn’t this practically a closed-room murder!

Since she couldn’t press the counter button, the black mages couldn’t come to help.

Moreover, Alika’s shop was famous for perfectly blocking the ether flow inside and out, with a thin layer of precious sacred stone powder spread on the walls.

It was impossible for any passing paladin to notice the situation and come in!

“Hey, one of them is running away to the back. I’ll give up my turn to receive red ginseng next time in exchange for borrowing that propulsion. We can’t break things here, so deal?”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Deal.”

Suddenly, the two madmen had a conversation that no one could understand.

The young acolytes glanced up, trying to gauge the situation. But it didn’t end there.

The woman leaped up with an amazing jump, settled on his arm,

“Are! You gonna, like? Kill…”

-Clang!

At that moment, the shop door opened!

‘Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling!’ With the cheerful sound of the bell, three figures appeared.

All the acolytes hurriedly raised their tear-soaked faces.

They didn’t know who it was, but they were saved.

Even if they saw the state of this place and ran away, at least if the word spread, one or two could walk out of here!

“Oh my, it looks like it was quite intense. Is everyone alright?”

Following that, a gentle baritone voice was heard.

The man who entered the shop, silhouetted against the dim magical light, asked that question.

He seemed surprised by the shards of glass and white roses under his feet.

It sounded like the door was locked again, but that didn’t matter.

The robed old man groped and looked up at the stranger.

Holding a kitten in his arms, he was most likely a black mage.

“Heok!”

Of course, the black mage was also surprised to see the madmen!

“Goodness, you two…”

“Ah! No, it’s a misunderstanding.”

The crazy woman hurriedly jumped off the crazy man’s arm.

However, the new guest seemed to be greatly shocked by their behavior.

He couldn’t understand what the muttering of ‘jackpot’ meant, but he guessed it meant ‘I deplore your barbaric behavior.’

He asked cautiously.

“Um, should we go out again?”

“Sit quietly.”

The bare-handed thug snapped in a boiling voice.

Then the young man drooped his shoulders and nodded obediently.

Oh dear, you shouldn’t do that! You should run out and call the vigilantes!

“Then…”

The young man walked over to this side and briefly looked around at the robed old man and the acolytes.

The group stared at him with blank eyes.

He told you to sit down, why are you standing there without moving quickly?

“I’ll do what I have to do first.”

-Paaaaaah!

At the same time, a brilliant golden light burst out!

‘Keuhaaaak!’ The horrified masked group screamed, covering their eyes.

After being in a dark place all along, suddenly facing a blinding light, they felt dizzy and nauseous.

It took a few more seconds to realize that the young man had deployed an ‘Ether Circle’ [a magical formation used to channel and amplify ether, the source of magical power].

The robed old man, hit by a thunderbolt, trembled his dry beard.

“You, no…! You too…!”

[Everyone better stay still. You’ve seen my skills, right?]

The light pink eyes under the glasses curved gently.

The cat in his arms yawned.

The group froze like corpses at the belated realization―along with a powerful divine message.

Their hairs stood on end, and goosebumps rose on their arms.

Then the young man whispered, barely audibly.

[Don’t you think those two look good together?]

“……”

They were speechless.

It was truly the appearance of a madman, doubled, in a madman’s shop.

*

Several tens of minutes later.

“Like I’d say that so easily…! Keuheok, keuheoeok!”

-Thud! Clatter!

One of the Twilight Acolytes suddenly grabbed his neck and started rolling around.

The bloodshot temples and wide-open eyes were terrifying.

The other acolytes hurriedly lowered their gaze and bit their lips.

That white-haired madman―now that they saw it, they were just a group of madmen―was once again torturing the acolytes, holding the innocent’s breath.

Of course, it wasn’t obvious!

He was so powerful that he could send people to their doom without moving a finger.

But everyone trapped in ‘Alika’s Land of Fragrance’ knew.

Except for the number one madman here.

“Why are you doing this? Could it be that there are toxic fragrances in the air?”

The young man asked with a worried voice.

The bare-handed madman ignored his words, and the acolytes gnashed their teeth in frustration.

Why are you doing this?

Whenever that white bastard steps up, people can’t breathe and faint, why are you asking why!

What’s wrong with your head?

“It seems very likely. But it’s a product for sale, so it won’t be a lethal dose. You’ll recover soon, so don’t worry too much.”

That, that white fox! You’ve smeared the devil’s honey on your snout!

“Fragrance my ass! Your evil and rotten ether, keuheok! Cough cough! Cough!”

‘Heueoooook!’ Another young man collapsed, making a miserable metallic sound.

The number one madman was surprised and covered the cat’s eyes.

But I guarantee that the cat knew the current situation much more accurately than its owner.

On top of that, the pink-haired woman went even further.

The acolytes realized today for the first time that the color of dianthus was so crazy.

“Sam, I think the shop owner is suspicious. If she makes and displays such dangerous things and welcomes these guys as customers, she must know a lot, right? Let’s just target that side first. Originally, the real troublemakers always say, ‘Bring out the boss here.'”

“You’ve learned well, my disciple.”

“You bastard!”

“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

At that moment, Alika screamed at the top of her lungs.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her. A brief silence flowed through the shop.

Only the circle that imprisoned them was rotating slowly.

After a while, the noise exploded again.

“Oh, Alika!”

“Are you out of your mind? Think again!”

“Are you only doing business today? What are you going to do tomorrow…!”

“However! I can’t answer questions that I can’t answer and die. That’s my condition.”

The woman added sharply.

Then the other madman, who had been silently crossing his arms, tilted his head.

“Boss, you’re using your head a bit. But how do we know you’re not deliberately avoiding questions?”

“Aren’t I a dead man anyway? If I pretend not to know when I do, I’ll die here, and if I blab like a magpie, I’ll die in a couple of days. I’m just a merchant desperately trying to live, so judge for yourself.”

The woman’s black eyes, spat out like that, gleamed.

This time, the bare-handed madman opened his mouth bluntly.

“Then I’ll ask. Are you all subordinates of Duke Sneider?”

“I can’t talk about customers, and I’m not. I’ve never thought of myself as someone’s ‘subordinate.'”

“So you’re subcontracting. Do you trade corpses?”

“……”

The man was very quick-witted. Alika chose not to answer.

The next question flew in right away.

“Who else is doing the same thing as you and helping him?”

“How would I know? I’m a busy person with my own business. Additional deals are just side jobs.”

“Indeed, a point organization. A duke-like method.”

The white fox muttered as if he had expected it.

The acolytes wished he would shut up, but no one dared to speak up.

Following that, the number one madman asked.

“Then I’ll change the direction a little. I know this is an area for high-ranking black mages. Is anything big happening here these days?”

“……”

“For example, a guest came from the surface, and because of that person, the magic stones in the black market have dried up.”

“……How do you know that?”

This time, Alika asked back.

Her eyes were faintly twitching, as if this question was really unexpected.

The acolytes looked back at her with bewildered faces. Did that happen?

“It seems like these people don’t know the situation. Is that right?”

This guy’s sense was like a ghost. As expected, the first-class madman was unpredictable.

Alika bit her lip a few times, but eventually shook her disheveled hair and confessed.

“How would I know? This is also one of my side jobs. What you said is all true. It’s so hard to get even a low-grade magic stone in the market these days. I also sold a few rolling around in the warehouse for a good price.”

“Do you know why you need magic stones?”

“I don’t know exactly. It seems like they’re melting it down to make something very big, but it’s not information they’d give to someone like me. They scraped up even the crumbs.”

Then the madmen exchanged glances for a moment.

“How long will it take to complete the big thing?”

“That’s also a mystery. Well, a errand boy came to get magic stones this morning, so it doesn’t seem like there are enough materials.”

“……Then what about mana? Was there anyone looking for the mana of a black mage instead of magic stones?”

“Those guys are common. There are even those who come on their own to become disciples of black mages.”

“So you haven’t heard any particularly suspicious rumors.”

It was a sharp analysis. Alika clicked her tongue inwardly and rolled her eyes.

“Then I’ll change the direction too. How much do you know about the ‘Devil’s Claw’ in the Grand Plaza?”

Suddenly, the pink-haired madwoman interjected. The owner frowned.

Why is she suddenly using honorifics?

“Is there anything more I need to know? It’s the claw that the devil secretly planted underground to lure unfortunate humans and make them his subordinates.”

“……Is that what everyone knows?”

“Probably. Even someone like me who’s been here for thirty years… Oh, they said you shouldn’t touch the knot hole of that thing carelessly.”

She frowned and rummaged through her memories. What was it…

“Originally, there was some ugly stone stuck there, right? There was a legend that if you touched it, even dead people would come back to life, and the blind would see. Of course, the cunning guys in the black market gathered together to steal it… But it wouldn’t come out that easily. But by chance, that tree had a priest friend. Those guys eventually seduced the priest and made him betray the tree.”

‘That’s roughly the story.’ Alika shrugged and finished speaking.

“……”

But somehow, the madmen’s expressions were unusual.

Her spine tingled.