CHAPTER 101
Inferno’s office.
It had been empty for a while since the great earthquake, and the room lacked any human warmth.
Perhaps that was why Inferno switched on a magical heating device as he cleared away some documents.
"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess since I left in a hurry. I'll clear a spot for you."
"Well, this is fine."
As I sat down in the space Inferno had cleared, he brought over a cup of coffee.
"So, the cause of this earthquake was Black Dawn, just as we thought."
"Yeah."
The great earthquake that had laid waste to the capital, Valterion.
The ones who had caused it were none other than Black Dawn.
"Those rotten bastards."
Inferno opened a window and put a cigarette to his lips.
"I quit smoking years ago, but they just had to make me pick it up again."
It seemed his insides were boiling over from all the incidents Black Dawn kept causing.
"How did they do it?"
To cause an earthquake of this magnitude, they must have had something prepared.
A great earthquake couldn't have occurred without a sound.
"Nox. The place you mentioned."
Nox?
"It was related to that place."
As soon as I heard that, my eyes began to widen.
After all, there was one person connected to Black Dawn who had been in Nox until recently.
"…The Red Flame Lord."
"Right. It was that bitch's doing."
The moment the Red Flame Lord was mentioned, the back of my neck tensed.
I never imagined that woman would pop up again.
When I had tortured the Red Flame Lord before, she never mentioned anything like this. In other words, even while being tortured with Holy Magic, that woman had kept her mouth shut to the very end.
'That crazy bitch.'
I knew she wasn't sane, but she was even crazier than I thought.
"What in the world is Black Dawn's objective?"
What exactly did Black Dawn accomplish by causing an unprecedented earthquake?
At that question, Inferno clicked his tongue.
"Nox's artificial sun."
"Excuse me? The artificial sun?"
"It's a sun made from an extremely rare ore, even in the 2nd World where magical power is concentrated. Originally, the Owner of Nox managed it from generation to generation, but they stole it during the earthquake."
I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never seen anyone steal a sun.
It seemed the Black Dawn bastards were trying to become the kings of thieves.
"I doubt the Owner of Nox will stand for this."
The Owner of Nox, Noir Nox.
Given her personality, she wasn't the type of woman to sit idly by while someone stole what was hers.
"Right. That's why she's already sent people to the surface. She's not just mad; she's absolutely furious."
As expected, she was already on the move.
According to Soun, Noir never left Nox.
There must be some kind of restriction on her.
Black Dawn must have known that and used the earthquake as a cover to steal the artificial sun.
"They're all insane. We're doing our best to round them up on our end, but…"
"If they were the type to get caught that easily, they wouldn't have pulled off something so audacious."
They divert attention to the surface using their modified bodies, then devastate both the surface and the underground with a great earthquake.
The Black Dawn bastards' schemes were getting more vicious by the day.
Of course, the Regular Army wasn't just sitting back.
Inferno himself was out and about every day.
They were surely rounding up the remnants of Black Dawn.
But in the end, the problem was the Deadly Sins.
The truly powerful individuals belonging to Black Dawn.
As long as they couldn't be captured, Black Dawn would continue to run rampant.
And that was where my existence became all the more important.
I was the crucial bait that could lure out the Deadly Sins.
I was the one that even Black Dawn had to risk an all-out battle to capture.
"We'll have to move the timeline up as much as possible."
These were the people who had just caused a massive earthquake.
Next time, they might genuinely target the Imperial Family.
More importantly, the project they were working on was gradually nearing completion.
The Artificial Transcendent project.
The moment that's completed, Resurrection magic and everything else becomes meaningless.
We have to make our move and shift the board before Black Dawn completes it.
"My thoughts exactly. But…"
Inferno looked at me.
His gaze asked if I would be okay.
"Commander-in-Chief Rapha Hastel assigned Lululio to me. The Regular Army is also scheduled to be on standby."
To roll the dice, you ultimately have to take a risk.
Whether the die lands on a 1 or a 6 is something you can only know after seeing the result.
"First, I'll call Lady Ririran. She was holding the Red Flame Lord in a separate location."
"Ririran-ssi, is it? Right, let's do that for now."
While Inferno finished his cigarette, I took a parchment out from my robe.

I always carried it with me, not knowing when something might happen.
Though it didn't work properly in the 2nd World, things were different now.
As I tore a piece of the parchment, a blue light flowed out of it.
"Hmm, I didn't expect to be summoned to the Regular Army."
A familiar voice soon followed.
When I lifted my head, Ririran was there, diligently grooming her hair.
Seeing her, Inferno let out a short, dry laugh.
"Ririran-ssi, Rapha Hastel-nim isn't here."
"Ah, young Inferno, is that so."
Ririran cleared her throat with a slightly relieved expression.
I had heard a hint of it before, but it seemed Ririran had feelings for Rapha Hastel.
Then again, if you only considered age, Ririran was actually the older one.
Yet, seeing her act like a young girl showed just how deep her feelings ran.
"Is he in good health?"
"Yes. Lately, he keeps preparing for his own death, but from what I can see, he could easily live for several more decades."
"He's a man who always considers the worst, isn't he? One must understand."
Ririran smiled warmly just from talking about Rapha Hastel.
It was a picture of pure, devoted love.
"Young man, I heard the stories from the city. They say you worked hard saving people."
"If that city falls, so do I."
"My, you're as consistent as ever. It's alright to act a little shy and be honest, you know."
"I am always an honest person."
Ririran gave a bitter smile before floating down onto the desk.
"So, why did you call me?"
"Because the cause of this great earthquake was the work of the Red Flame Lord and Black Dawn."
"Hah, I expected Black Dawn, but…"
Ririran’s eyes immediately narrowed.
Then, she lifted her fingers and snapped them.
"I shall summon her to this very spot."
At that moment, a red-haired woman appeared on the floor.
Clad only in a single gray cloth, all the tendons in her arms and legs had been severed, and her magic circuits were cut.
The Red Flame Lord, Ignarion.
Just seeing her face put me in a foul mood.
As if she knew it, she let out a sickening laugh.
"Hello, my little viper. We meet again, don't we?"
"Don't give me that 'we' crap. Stop spouting such nonsense."
"I tried my best to be like my little viper."
She said, leaning her head against the wall.
Seeing her so utterly relaxed, a wave of disgust washed over me.
"So, the reason you brought me here… it seems an earthquake occurred, did it?"
Just as I thought. This woman had planned it from the beginning.
Slap!

In that instant, the Red Flame Lord's jaw snapped to the side.
Inferno stood there, his eyes burning with fire.
"That's not something you should be saying with a smile. Countless people were killed or injured in that earthquake."
The Red Flame Lord, with her neck twisted, bit the inside of her mouth and spat out the blood that had pooled there.
Even so, she once again flashed a pale, empty smile.
"I'm laughing precisely because I did it knowing that would happen."
"Going to Nox was for this purpose from the very beginning, wasn't it?"
When I threw the question at her, her gaze turned toward me.
Then, as if it was all over anyway, she gave a meek nod.
"That's right. Originally, I was supposed to steal the artificial sun. It ended up like this because of you, viper."
"Then that's a good thing. So, did you hide this until the end because you thought Black Dawn would come and save you?"
"Pfft!"
Ignarion burst out laughing as if she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Don't be ridiculous. Those guys have probably forgotten all about me by now."
She then revealed a sly expression.
"It was just for fun. I'm destined to be locked up for the rest of my life, so it's fine to leave one world-shaking incident behind, isn't it?"
A Sacred Weapon formed in my hand.
Without hesitation, I plunged the dagger of light into Ignarion's neck.
Ignarion stared at me with wide eyes.
"That's right. From now on, whatever happens in this world, you won't know a thing about it."
But soon, with a faint smile, her body went limp.
There was nothing more she would say anyway.
Even if there was, she wouldn't have said it.
So I killed her.
She was a woman who would be of no help, even if kept alive.
After killing Ignarion, I cut off her finger and kept it.
I probably wouldn't have a reason to resurrect her again, but it was just in case.
"My apologies. If only I had tortured her more thoroughly."

"It's fine. That woman would never have opened her mouth anyway."
Inferno seemed to share my sentiment, looking at the Red Flame Lord's corpse with displeasure. Ririran then approached and, with a flick of her finger, sent the corpse flying away.
"I sent it to the deep sea where Cosmic was sent. We won't be seeing it again."
Crushed by the pressure of the deep sea, not even a corpse would remain.
"Lieutenant General Inferno, there's a guy named Cain who was taken by Black Dawn."
At the time, Cain had muttered something as if he knew something.
I didn't think he would know much, but we might be able to dig something out of him.
"I've brought his finger. What do you think?"
"The more information we can get, the better. I'm counting on you."
At his response, I immediately took out Cain's finger.
As I activated Resurrection magic, Cain's body began to form from the finger.
A moment later, as Cain's naked form was completed, his eyes slowly opened.
"Ugh, ughh."
A groan escaped Cain's lips.
In that instant, Inferno unhesitatingly grabbed Cain's neck and slammed him into the floor.
CRASH!
With a resounding thud, Cain coughed and struggled.
But Inferno's arm didn't budge an inch.
"Black Dawn Transferee, Cain."
When Inferno mentioned his name, Cain flinched and raised his head.
Then, as his eyes met Inferno's, his face turned deathly pale and his body trembled uncontrollably.
The killing intent flowing from Inferno had enveloped his entire body.
Even encountering a wild beast in the forest wouldn't have frozen him like this.
It was a terrifyingly potent killing intent.
"From this moment on, you will confess everything you know. If you don't, you will experience the worst thing you have ever experienced in your life."
"W-What do you mean, what I know? What could I possibly…"
Cain, with a bewildered expression, met my eyes.
When I gave him a friendly wave, Cain's eyes gradually widened and he shouted.
"You, you Korean bastard!"
CRUNCH!

The moment Cain shouted, Inferno broke one of his legs.
A shrill scream erupted from Cain's mouth.
But this room had already been enchanted with a spell that prevented sound from leaking out.
Cain's voice would not reach the outside.
"Tell me everything you know."
As Inferno unleashed an even more intense killing intent, tears welled up in Cain's eyes.
Once again, his other leg was broken.
Cain's scream echoed as if it would tear his throat apart.
He sobbed uncontrollably, pressing his face to the floor and letting out choked gasps.
The tips of his hair turned white from terror.
Meanwhile, a wet patch began to spread on his pants.
He still wore a look of someone who had no idea what he was supposed to say.
A dud?
As I thought, it seemed Cain didn't know anything of importance.
"S-Space."
But very occasionally…
The human brain can produce an unexpected answer.

Cain suddenly confessed.
"There's… there's a separate space in the 2nd World!"
Well, I'll be damned.
Jackpot.