Chapter 157

<.. Hassan and the Nine-headed Thief .. >

157 – Hassan and the Nine-headed Thief #8

DONG.

The olive wood cudgel I threw hit the lamp dead center. Honestly, I had about a fifty-fifty chance,

but since I’d been throwing stones since my days as a slave and a gladiator, and also received a bonus to my skills thanks to the grace of the Sun God, it seems my accuracy improved.

As the last remaining light went out, the situation underground was plunged into total darkness.

Whispers of thieves echoed from all directions.

“Turning off the light at a time like this makes things more interesting.”

“Admittedly, we do operate better in the dark.”

True to form, the thieves, who move like shadows and clouds under the moonlight, didn’t seem fazed at all by the loss of vision.

Their leader, Ismail, was no exception.

“The ability to see in the dark is not something to brag about. You really think you can hide from me by just putting out a light?”

GLUGGLUG.

He then pulled out a small lantern that contained a glowing stone from his waist. The lantern softly emitted an azure light, illuminating the floor.

SWISH, SWISH.

Ismail scanned the surroundings with the lantern.

But he failed to find me no matter how much he waved the light around, fumbling aimlessly.

“Did he disappear?”

“Could he have hidden in that short span of time? It seems you truly possess divine grace.”

70.

69.

68….

I activated the grace “Mantle of the Night” and received a bonus for stealthy behaviors. For that, I first needed to get out of the sight of the enemy.

That’s why I extinguished the light, creating a brief moment of complete darkness. I figured, as skilled as thieves are in the dark, they would still have a moment where their vision would be obscured as their eyes adjusted to the dark.

And it seems my prediction hit the mark.

I hid behind a suitable pillar and observed the movements of the thieves.

Ismail, the leader of the thieves, continued to stumble around, waving his lantern and dagger to try and find me.

“This stalling won’t get you anywhere. This fight won’t end until one of us dies!”

And with that, he started slashing wildly into the air, as if he believed I had become transparent and was attacking him.

SHIIIIISH!

SHHHH!

The sound of his sword cleaving through the air was reminiscent of vicious snakes hissing. The dagger coated with Hydra venom was nothing less than a deadly venomous fang.

60.

59….

I continued to hold my breath, watching the numbers change right before my eyes.

As he had said, if I kept stalling, my grace would fade in a minute. At that point, I’d eventually be discovered, and it’s likely I’d end up injured by his dagger.

With that in mind, this was the only chance to change the tide of the battle.

I quickly looked around for any potential tools. A scattering of small rock fragments caught my eye. They were likely fragments from the pillar Ismail broke earlier while showing off his strength.

So this pillar I hid behind was the shattered one.

I picked up a rock and hurled it at Ismail with all my might. From behind the pillar, this Sidearm Throw was the optimal form for concealment.

I was aiming squarely for his lamp.

Please, let it hit!

Huff …

My Full Effort Pitch, powered by my Strength of 12, sent the rock flying like a b*llet, striking his arm.

PUNK!

“AAARGH!”

Ismail let out a scream as the rock hit him, and in pain, he dropped the lamp he was holding.

DUNG, TANGURURU,

Though I didn’t accurately hit the lamp itself, creating an opening was the result I had hoped for.

I dashed out from behind the pillar toward the thief leader. The instant my grace faded and the crowd around him stirred.

“Eh?”

“There he is!”

Reactive to the realization that others had noticed me, Ismail turned his head.

“d*mn you!”

He moved his arm as if to respond to my surprise attack, but I had already lunged first.

WHOOSH, KAANG!

I grabbed his head with my gauntlet and slammed him onto the ground.

“Ugh!”

A loud thud was accompanied by a scream from the leader of the thieves.

With that opening, I jumped onto him and raised my dagger hand towards his neck.

“You b*stard! What kind of power is this!? d*mn, damnnnn~!”

Still, Ismail wasn’t an easy opponent. Even after having a minor concussion and being in a panicked state, which would be expected from anyone, he quickly recovered. Perhaps his skull was abnormally thick, or maybe it was an instinct to survive.

PUNK, PAK, PAK!

My dagger, aimed at his throat, instead struck his palm, forearm, shoulder, and chest, spilling bl**d.

Though the instant d*ath from a stab in the throat was avoided, the lethal injury was evident as his body was stained red.

“d*e, you b*stard!”

In a final attempt for the finishing blow, I raised my dagger backward and struck his chest with all my strength.

“GGGGH!”

Ismail raised both arms to block, grasping my wrist tightly with both hands in a desperate attempt to protect his heart.

I added strength from my other arm to the thrust.

My immediate strength was impressive, but my endurance was weak.

If I failed to bring this guy down in this moment, it was clear I would tire out first.

So I gritted my teeth as if they were going to grind away and poured all my strength into it.

“GGGGRAAAH!”

“I, this b*stard-! I am, the king on the summit, Ismail…! I, I am!”

And thus my two hands began to push the kn*fe’s tip towards his heart,

GOOOOK.

The sharp tip tore through his black coat, piercing through bone and internal organs, the sensation vividly felt in my arm.

“KGHHN, GGEUUUUK.”

In that moment, the strength that had previously been resisting disappeared from the body of the thief leader, as if everything up to that moment was a lie.

I realized for sure that I had plunged my kn*fe into his heart.

Still, that wasn’t enough for me. I pulled out the blade and plunged it several more times into his neck and chest.

Magic, curses, and strange graces exist in this world, so it was necessary to confirm the definitive k*ll.

FAP, PAP.

And as I was repeatedly stabbing the lifeless body,

SSSHT.

I could feel someone approach from behind.

“That’s enough, it’s confirmed he’s dead. You can stop now.”

It was Dorthea, a high-ranking member of the Thief Guild. She stood a step away from me, in an awkward, crouched position, tapping me lightly on the shoulder.

“It’s over!”

“Huff…”

Only then did I finally release the grip I had been holding with all my might. The red-tinged vision slowly returned, and the ambient noises that had previously been silent started flowing back into my ears.

Adrenaline, which had been surging to the top of my head, was gradually calming down.

My chest and stomach were throbbing so violently it felt as if I were going to vomit from the blind punches I received from Ismail’s resistance.

“Kuh…”

I calmed my breath again and examined the leader’s wrist.

There was no pulse,

And no more words appeared.

He was surely dead.

I’ve killed a man.

The realization hit me so vividly that my arms and legs started trembling. The grip that had tensed so much earlier could no longer even hold the dagger.

Nonetheless, I won.

In this brutal world of competition, where life and d*ath are the most crucial, there’s no room for moral or ethical sentiments.

SLICK.

I stood up from the lifeless body of the thief leader covered in bl**d and sifted through the items on his body for anything useful.

No one tried to stop or interfere with my actions. Everyone merely stood around, staring blankly, wondering what was to come.

DINGDING.

And that’s how I obtained a small lantern filled with a glowing blue light, a dagger coated with Hydra venom, and five silver coins from the underworld. Lastly, I found a peculiar key adorned with jewelry.

“A key. Must be the vault key of the leader.”

At that moment, Big Joe, a burly man, approached me and showed some knowledge about the key.

“The skull decoration at the end of the key, it’s called the ‘Skeleton Key.’ There’s no doubt about it. It opens the vault where the leaders used to hide their treasures.”

Big Joe pointed out correctly; this was indeed a key adorned with an unusual skull-shaped decoration. Furthermore, it was the key to the vault where the past leaders supposedly hid their treasures. The unusual nature of the item made my stomach tingle.

Perhaps gold coins were in there? Or gold bars? If it’s gold bars, that would be great. Seeing even the tip of one gold bar would suffice for my whole life.

Gold Bar.

Just the thought of a shiny rod made my stomach feel full.

While indulging in such thoughts, someone interrupted me.

“So, you’re the new leader now. Really, who would’ve thought you could take down Ismail? What should we call you?”

In response to Big Joe’s question, it felt as if my brain went blank. What should I be called? They were asking for a title or alias, were they?

But as I’ve always said, this kind of creativity isn’t my strong suit. The only names that come to mind are “Ol Dol Gol” or “Mang Ho.”

Besides, wasn’t Luna and Hippolyte supposed to arrive by now? In the middle of everything, somehow I ended up killing the leader and became the new boss.

SSSSW, what should I even do now?

Since this was far from any plan I had, my thoughts were in disarray, like an earthquake rattling my mind.

King Hassan, the thief.

I became the leader of one of the most notorious criminal groups in Sodomora.

“So, what now? Shall we consider today’s events as though they never occurred?”

“Since there’s a new leader, we’ll need new rules. How do you plan on handling this?”

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.

But now that it happened, I consciously realized that I didn’t suit the position of someone with decision-making authority.

To say nothing of being the leader of troublemakers in the city. If I get entangled in some strange laws and end up imprisoned, it would be over. Maybe even get dragged to the prison city. SSUL, prison city. That future was something I needed to avoid.

So, I racked my brain and opened my mouth.

“Isn’t the leader’s command absolute? Then my first command as the new leader is this: everyone, turn yourselves in.”

“What the hell?”

“Isn’t that ridiculous nonsense?”

The crowd reacted strongly. Though I had taken down the leader, these were still notable criminals. If they decided to draw their swords and attack, could I possibly handle them in my semi-exhausted state? The image of Caesar getting stabbed with daggers flashed before my eyes.

Perspiration started trickling down my back.

“No, it was just a casual suggestion. You don’t have to surrender if you don’t want to. So, how about… dissolving the guild, hmm?”

“Dissolve the guild?”

“Seriously? That’s actually not such a bad idea.”

It was a thought that came off the top of my head, but the guild officers seemed to react quite positively.

A thin, wiry man spoke. His name might have been Astrid.

“To be honest, Hydra is outdated these days. The pressure from the higher-ups is getting stronger, and it’d be good to disband the old guild and start anew with a different name.”

With his suggestion, everyone started chiming in one after another.

“Pretend we’ve been wiped out or disappeared to regroup and grow stronger. This would be the first time the guild name is changing.”

“Good idea. It’s common for thieves to remake their aliases.”

“I’ve suggested this to Ismail… no, the former leader several times, but he never accepted it. The guy had an odd attachment to the name ‘Hydra.'”

“But, who should we claim wiped us out? If we say we were taken down by some random adventurer, no one will believe it. It’ll be too obvious we’re just abandoning an old ship for a new one.”

“And what about the rest of the guys in the underground market who don’t know about this discussion yet?”

“Other than our executives, those guys aren’t actually part of the Thief Guild either. They’re like parasites clinging to the name anyway, so they’ll figure it out-…”

Seven executives gathered and argued, turning the spacious cavern into a loud debating chamber.

And right there, like a lightning bolt striking my mind, an incredible idea popped up. So this is what they call inspiration for artists.

I declared,

“Claim that Hydra has been destroyed by the great archangel of the gods, the hero of the common folk. Spread that news far and wide.”

“Hero of the common folk? A Gold Tier adventurer? You’re suggesting lying about being taken down by Gold Tier adventurers? That’s way too easy to expose. They’ll just deny it, and it’ll fail. Besides, setting up a fake story like this would be too dangerous.”

“No, it’s not a Gold Tier adventurer. It’s a Bronze Tier adventurer from the Mars Guild: Hassan of Samaria…”

I had begun to wrap up my statement when,

KWAANG!

A loud explosion was accompanied by black smoke, and flames erupted around us.

“See, Elfi! Following the arrow signs, we actually found the rats hiding!”

“That surely is the guidance of Hermes! Our prayers have been answered.”

Through the flames, Delphina appeared. Beside her, her party members were armed with staves and swords ready for battle.

d*mn, SSUL.

“We all know rodents typically dart out once the place catches fire!”

—————————= Works Afterword —————————=

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