It Was A Trap

I didn’t know if they were a group wearing the masks of Cultists of Ruin or if this was truly how all those cultists acted, but the ‘profit’ they spoke of meant sacrificing victims through a specific ritual to forcibly extract what could be called Gate-unique items.

And since he said the items currently filling the hallway were extracted in that manner, I was left speechless.

Knowing this was surprising, but conversely, I wondered what they intended to do with what they obtained through such abuse.

Moreover, looking at the faces of those present, most were people who held power above a certain level, so I thought they might not be properly punished even though the Cultists of Ruin were intentionally causing trouble; at the same time, I stopped worrying as I weighed the effort and probability of blocking them when the moment came for them to decide to expand their influence further.

‘I will take care of everyone here.’

After hardening my heart, I slipped away from my spot. Then, I remembered an artifact that amplified mana while on my way here and headed toward the place where it was located.

Although these were items strictly protected by alarm magic, the security was far too trivial to me. I lightly released mana and squeezed into the gaps of the barrier.

Then, I began to neutralize the security by calculating the patterns in reverse.

It felt like it was set with maximum security, but it was a spell that couldn’t even hold out for 10 seconds, and I reached out to the released artifact and began to put it in sub-space.

Then, thinking that making all their past efforts come to naught would be more effective than dealing with all of them, I began to repeat the same task and started putting all the artifacts in the hallway into sub-space.

Thinking there might be other things like this in different locations, I secretly released mana and began searching, and it was after I had been rummaging through the interior for some time.

Wee-ooo-eee-ooo, an alarm blared along with the sound of a siren, and after identifying the source of the commotion, the corners of my mouth curled up.

‘Did they just realize their belongings are gone?’

It must feel like getting their nose cut off with their eyes wide open.

First, I stopped the search and moved to track the movements of the 12 people who were holding their breath inside.

And as I passed through a familiar hallway, a shout filled with resentment was heard.

“What on earth happened!! The artifacts! The treasures!!”

I saw the person in charge, who seemed to be the one responsible for the perimeter, getting scolded severely by the manager here.

“I am sorry. The operation was carried out so secretly that I didn’t have time to notice. And when I checked the period the security was breached… It seems it only lasted for about 10 seconds.”

Everyone flinched in surprise.

Since they had set the security themselves, they must have known how absurd it was for it to be removed so briefly and secretly.

As the situation reached this point, the manager became urgent.

“Follow me! We’ll check there, too!”

At those words, everyone inside, including the Awakeners on guard, began to move all at once.

‘There, huh… You’re personally guiding me to give me what I want. How kind.’

While following leisurely, it was surprising that not a single one of them could detect my presence.

They appeared to be a group that strictly excluded black mages.

After all, to act as a Cultist of Ruin, they must make people firmly believe they must die to go to God’s side, so they might inevitably find beings who handle souls repulsive.

In that regard, it was a fortunate case for me, but as I passed through several secret spaces afterward, I was grateful that there were still many artifacts left to take.

‘How many people were sacrificed to collect this many items?’

To obtain at least one artifact, they must have sacrificed the lives of dozens of people.

But as the commotion arose, naked men and women popped out from everywhere in the secret rooms inside. But they were all faces I seemed to have seen at least once somewhere.

There were celebrities, those related to politicians, and even business figures caught my eye.

Regardless of gender, they had hazy and stupid faces as if they were addicted to something, but they seemed to possess some level of cognition, as one of them asked the manager.

“What exactly is going on?”

“It’s not something you need to worry about. Everything will be resolved if you just enjoy yourself.”

“Tsk, it’ll be a problem if security is breached. You know that, right?”

“I’m well aware. So do not worry.”

The manager pushed the man who asked the question back into the secret room, and inside, a woman who had been enjoying herself was stretched out, moaning and craving the man.

It was obvious she wasn’t in a normal state, but it seemed this wasn’t just a problem in this secret room; after gaining information through secretly released mana, I learned that similar things were happening in dozens of secret rooms.

‘Are they even prostituting?’

Although mostly men were the subjects, women were occasionally mixed in as well.

But the problem was that everyone was high on drugs, and those who seemed to be victims—excluding the privileged—wriggled as if they couldn’t endure even a fleeting moment of being incited by desire, which made me shudder.

‘It’s enough to make even me, whose emotions are drying up, feel angry. I really can’t understand the thoughts of these guys…’

What kind of benefit can be gained by going this far?

Facing a reality I don’t even want to understand over and over, my chest feels tight and heavy.

The manager spoke as if they had reached their destination just in time.

“Open the door, I need to check the inside.”

At the command, the alarm magic was immediately released using what looked like a security key, and the moment the door opened, a foul smell of rot wafted out from inside.

It was the smell of rotting money, as people often say.

‘Is it just money?’

With the thought that I would be disappointed if that were the case, I followed them inside and saw two items displayed beyond a mountain of countless bundles of cash.

‘An artifact I’ve never seen before. What on earth is it that they hid it so tightly?’

While watching the situation in wonder, one of the 12 men spoke.

“The Moon Orb and Sun Divine Stone are intact. It seems they couldn’t invade this far.”

“It’s a place with quadruple or quintuple security. In a way, it’s only natural. Now that we’ve confirmed its safety… I must find out which bastard is pulling these tricks.”

“We shall help as well.”

Since they were all prominent and skilled Awakeners, they seemed to have judged that they could sufficiently handle an intruder if they set their minds to it.

But did they know?

‘What can incompetent fools do when they can’t even find the enemy right in front of them…’

Leaving behind the group exiting the secret room, I stayed alone inside and began to examine the two artifacts.

‘The Moon Orb and the Sun Divine Stone…’

They were artifacts that looked exactly like their names suggested.

At a glance, both items appeared to be things meant for sockets; a socket is an artifact that can synthesize items like the ones before me, which appear in artifacts with a certain probability.

Because they could draw out special power, artifacts with sockets used to hold astronomical value.

The ‘Five Finger Shield,’ famous for being the artifact with the most sockets in the world, was also well-known as an item that writes miracles, as its name suggests, with five sockets.

‘Let’s take them for now.’

I released mana to examine the redeployed security magic, and confirming a security state of a different caliber than the previous items, I worked cautiously, feeling that it would take quite some time this time.

Then, after stripping away all the double and triple-layered security, I put them in sub-space and left the secret room.

A massive search operation lasting an hour followed.

“We couldn’t find the culprit anywhere.”

“There are no signs of intrusion either. I’ve never heard of a being who can move this secretly.”

“Just what method did they use to intrude and move so secretly?”

While everyone was full of questions, there were no results. The manager here groaned and pondered.

“They couldn’t be this secret without a special artifact. I know one such person.”

“…Are you saying that man came here?”

“Amhwang, it would make sense if he moved. Since he is the only human who can control darkness at will.”

“…”

A long silence descended upon the hall. And amidst the tension, one person raised their hand to draw attention.

“Amhwang is a physical Awakener. He is not a mage. However, the security magic cast here is all based on powerful barriers reaching the 5th Circle. How many families in this country can break through this in 10 seconds, and I’ve never heard that Amhwang is a mage.”

“Then who on earth is the culprit?”

While everyone’s attention was focused, the answer came from an unexpected place.

“The culprit is nearby.”

“Who is it!!”

The 12 people, or rather, the group of about 50 including the Awakeners in charge of security, were startled and urgently guarded their surroundings as they searched in all directions.

However, it was difficult to even infer the direction the voice came from, and since they couldn’t even perceive that someone was there, cold sweat began to flow.

It was then.

“Detect Eye!”

A high-level mage used a spell used to search for secret enemies, and it instantly filled the interior with light, but the problem was that the light disappeared instantly with a ‘snap’ sound.

“You’d better stop those clumsy tricks.”

“W-who are you? Just who are you to do this to us!”

The manager, shouting urgently, firmly believed there would be a hint in the fact that the opponent was attempting a conversation.

But the answer that came back made everyone’s mind go blank.

“A robber. There were quite a lot of good items. I shall make good use of the Moon Orb and the Sun Divine Stone.”

“H-how dare you!!!”

The manager expressed his anger and wanted to rush out immediately, but everyone held him back, and amidst the scuffle, the voice continued.

“I do want to know the method of obtaining artifacts at the cost of many lives, but since I have no desire to become a demon, at least in ethical terms, I intend to bury the secret here.”

“You bastard!!”

“I don’t think I’ll feel proud for killing a bunch of insects with no room for rehabilitation, but I’m grateful for at least one thing.”

It seemed they didn’t even have the energy to answer as the manager and the others were swept with rage, but at the voice’s next words, everyone released their power in all directions.

“I shall use the artifacts well for a long, long time, so… Disappear. Break of Dimension.”

Instantly, the surroundings distorted and shattered, and space itself broke down as if being sucked into darkness.

Everyone was frantic to stop this somehow, but at that moment, a mage spoke with a vacant face.

“7th Circle… Black magic!!”

That resonant cry threw everyone into despair, and despairing at the fact that no one here could block this magic, they were simply torn to pieces along with the shattering space and fell as chunks of meat, unable to withstand the collapse of death.