Colossus Hunter Chapter 50-51

Every day spent in Rakshasa Citadale had been fulfilling. Coming into contact with a new world called warrior skills, I could discover myself growing stronger with each day passing and even came to reflect upon my own mistakes. That's why I delayed using Transfer for as long as possible. I had thought that since Etaqua and Igneel were connected, Etaqua would show a reaction and let me know if ever something happened on the other side.

But now I couldn't ignore it. The abyss had invaded reality. The dark merchants. They had come to Rakshasa Citadale, forcefully tearing apart the barrier and attacking. While it was important for myself to become stronger, it was just as important to reveal and hear the truth.

Hiss!

I heard what sounded like a snake. My arm felt a little numb as well, perhaps because I had yet to recover fully. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Igneel was sitting on the ground and looking at me.

Golden Dragon Igneel. Unlike Etaqua, however, his body hadn't undergone a drastic growth. From front to back he was sized 1m at most, similar to the average dragon's rate of body development. But the golden shine of his body was even more beautiful. An extraordinary phenomenon of mana, perhaps caused by his SS-grade magic power. I let out a smile seeing his welcoming figure.

"It's been a long time."

I estimated that about 50 days should have passed going by time in the abyss. When I spoke those words remaining seated on the throne, Igneel slightly unfurled his wings as if to express his joy as well. He had a quiet personality unlike Etaqua, so it felt like he only took only the minimum of necessary movements.

'Mind's Eye.'

I was curious as to his growth during this time, because Etaqua and Igneel possessed the qualifications to become the strongest in their respective differing areas; physical and magical.

Name: Igneel (Value – 255,000)
Race: Golden Dragon
Title:
Flame King (Lv9, Mag+13)
Stats:
Str 35a
Agi 30a
Con 33
Ing 44s
Mag 68(55+13)ss
Potential(197+13/485)
Special Note:
Has inherited the powers of the Blessing of the Sage, Power of the Flame King.
Recognizes the user as the parent.

Indeed, my expectations weren't disappointed. The amount of magic power was, in particular, at a praiseworthy level. There would probably be nothing to fear if he were to continue growing at this pace. Moreover, Igneel's Flame King title raised magic power of all things. While the stat increase was lower than Etaqua's, despite being at the same level, but it was in fact a positive factor when considering that it was magic power — although I couldn't really point out this and that as good or bad, seeing as the both of them focused on completely different areas.

I slowly stood up.

"Where is Laila?"

Hiss!

Igneel tottered as he lead the way forward. Following behind, I made my way toward where Laila was.

..
..

A group of intimidating dwarves were sculpting something outside the castle. The sculpture appeared to be about 10m large, and a single glance at its massie body and wings was enough to call a certain person to mind.

'It's me.'

To be specific, it was Uriel Diablo. The dwarves were making a stone statue of him, and at the side dark elf warriors riding smilodons were in the middle of doing something which looked like training. Laila was looking at them as if supervising or coaching. When I appeared, Laila was the very first to turn her head.

"My Lord!"

Then, appearing joyful, she approached me and kneeled. If she were a puppy, her ears would have been perked up and her tail wagging lightly. That about summed up the yearning that could be felt in the way she looked at me.

"Much seems to have changed during the time I was not here."

"The first business carried out by the Absolute Domination Company was successful. 99 items, all of them were completely sold. It just happens so that Gourmandi had said he had something to speak with my Lord on that subject."

"Gourmandi did?"

"Yes. I have given him permission to build a separate house and live nearby, should I call for him?"

"No. It is fine for now."

I shook my head, and did a calculation. The remaining stock of the Jewels of Space was 99. Each one went for 800 points, and 63% out of that made the actual profit. Since slightly less than 30 was sold before I had used Transfer, it meant that around 35,000 was earned. I drew a cross mark in midair and confirmed the remaining points.

[Points are being linked.]
[Remaining points – 26,600]

The original amount of points I had was around 13,000. Laila had used roughly 20,000 points. She must have used that to have the dwarves construct the statue, and to hire the dark elf warriors.

"Is that statue for the sake of honoring me?"

"Because the statue which was there before was destroyed in the war with Carpediem…my Lord's ruling power should increase when this stone statue is completed."

Ruling power?

I fixed my gaze on the stone statue, and soon its related information popped up.

A stone statue depicting the demon lord 'Uriel Diablo'.
It is filled with the devoted labor of dwarves. (69% completed)
Fame rises. (500)

Fame. It was correlated to the public evaluation of my name. It is said that with high fame, powerful beings would even come looking to become subordinates. Also, there were even buildings that required high fame before being able to be constructed. Before now there was nothing fame-worthy to my name, because I hadn't made any personal achievements after awakening. It wasn't a loss when looking at it that way.

"And the dark elves?"

"Carpediem's provocations are becoming worse. Thus I had hired the dark elves for 1 year as a temporary measure, but is it not to your liking?"

There seemed to be around 200 of them, and every single one of them appeared worthy to be called a warrior. Several tens of thousands of points may not be enough to buy all of them, so it was only under the pretext of being 'hired' could they be commanded.

I nodded my head. In the first place, I had entrusted full authority to Laila in my absence. She was the guardian deity who had protected this castle for a long time. She was a faithful woman who would even throw away her life to protect Uriel Diablo, so she must have spent neither too much, nor too less. I gave her suitable praise.

"Well done. They look quite strong."

"They are a rank 1 mercenary company who operate in the 'Horizon of the Abyss'. Together with the 500 lancers in my Lord's service, even Carpediem will not easily come attacking."

"It is an honor to meet you, Uriel Diablo, demon lord. Please call me Hayman."

Someone who looked to be the leader of the dark elf warriors approached. A man with a huge injury that spanned from his face to his back. I waved my hand, and he retreated.

"I shall be heading to the Dark Company. Make preparations."

"Understood."

Laila didn't ask the reason. She had unconditional trust whenever it came to what I wanted to do, after all.

Although it was important to meet Gourmandi and discuss the new business, taking a good look at the Dark Company came first for now. In doing so, I had to find out whether or not my conjectures were right.

'The reason why gates are created.'

To find the answer to this question: was it possibly the dark merchants creating all of the 'gates'?

Finding slaves, and plundering all other items. Was that the end of it? Perhaps there may be something else. A much bigger reason behind their endeavors.

'I have to find out.'

..
..

The company was as busy as ever. Maybe even more so than before.

"Uriel Diablo-nim, welcome to the Dark Company. This is the first time receiving your visit aside from the emergency auction that day. I take it that our product must have been satisfying."

A dark merchant wearing a silver crown approached. He must also know that I had taken the egg of 'Igneel' and 'Etaqua'. Since I hadn't gone to return it I must have seen the product, and having seen the product I couldn't have been anything but satisfied.

It seems that to them, it must be a rather aggrieving incident.

"It is unusually busy today."

"Hahah. A sharp observation. Actually we've discovered a new 'race'. Owing to that the merchants are moving busily."

A new race. It was much too timely an occurrence to be passed off as coincidence.

"Oh? Then an assessment of the race should be under way right now?"

Laila asked out of interest, and at that the dark mechant nodded his head.

"We are experimenting with their various limits. To see whether they are truly suitable to show to the esteemed lords, or so worthless that they should be disposed of."

Laila looked at me brightly.

"My Lord. The discovery of a race is no common occurrence. It does not hurt to take a look at least. If we happen to discover a 'pearl', we should be able to buy it on the spot."

"The first round of bidding is between the merchants, so you may participate with the same rights."

The dark merchant added a comment of his own.

There were subdivisions among the dark merchants as well. It appeared that they even individually carried out their buying and selling. It must be that the merchants carry out auctions among themselves, and the merchant winning the auction would then sell their merchandise to the demon lords or other customers through various methods.

"Lead the way."

I spoke heavily.

Screams resounded in a confined place resembling a cage. An 'auction' was going on, while several dark merchants, who wore the helms of ordinary soldiers, kept the goods bound in chains.

Other dark merchants made up the participants of the auction; there were a good 50 of them. The dark merchant who lead me here explained what was going on.

"It is a race called Yaksha. They are an unusual folk that carry jewels within their hearts as they live. After dissecting one it turned out that even their internal organs are unusual. Mana is concentrated in the jewel, and all the organs move in accordance to that jewel. Something which isn't even a heart, plays a role even greater than that of a heart…"

I listened through one ear and let it out through the other.

It was as I had predicted. The newly discovered race…was the Yaksha.

"The ability used differs depending on the jewel, and their physical abilities aren't bad either, but the 'jewel' they carry have quite the use. There are magic gems which power golems, no? While there are indeed differences in level between Yakshas', but among them there are some who possess jewels that can even substitute highest-grade magic gems. Isn't that amazing?"

Amazing you ask?

Well it is amazing I admit. Magic gems were rare, and golems, which were powered by highest-grade magic gems, were easily classified as monsters of Lv8 and above, after all; though creating a suitable body was even more expensive, of course.

Besides that, it was a gruesome scene.

Inside a steel cage, there was a Yaksha lying down with their innards dissected and open to view. Behind that, there were about 40 Yaksha lined up. There were injuries all over their bodies, and there were even some who were still resisting.

"Untie this! Untie this and let us battle fair and square! You pretlike bastards!"

"Bastards less than the shit of black wagons!"

"Bastards like the lazy Alamoor!"

It was questionable whether they were cursing, but sure enough they were warriors. Even the merchants seemed to marvel at their ferocity.

"As you can see, because their tempers are extremely bad, opinions are leaning towards extracting the jewels. I think that correcting their tempers will be difficult, even by branding a slave's seal on them. We've tried torturing them mentally, but it seems that they lack the very concept of a 'nightmare'."

Yaksha. They were warriors — revering martial prowess, abhorring weakness. They had failed because they tried to tame the beasts among beasts. But my eyes were fixed to one point. The one with his head quietly hung down, unlike the other Yaksha. A Yaksha with crimson hair. An azure flame was blazing from his head.

'Hwarang Gu.'

He was there.

Hwarang Gu! Chief of the Flame Lotus Division, and elder brother to Crimson Dragon Hwarin Gu. Although he was being quiet, his eyes were shining with light. Just like a wild animal. He had an air about him as if he would tear apart anything that comes near. From how I remembered him, he was rather mild for a Yaksha, but that must be his true appearance. But the strength of the azure flames were weak. Those bindings suppressed movement and mana.

"I shall participate in the auction."

"You'll have to compete with the other merchants. That's the rule, you see. Will you be fine with that?"

I didn't reply. A silent affirmation.

When I made my way closer, the attention of all the others focused on me.

"Uriel Diablo?"

"Why is he here?"

The merchants murmured among themselves, as if it were strange for me, a demon lord, to be in such a place. The Yaksha's reactions were intense as well.

"Are you the boss of these black fellows? Come at me, why don't you come at me!"

"Damn, if only I had a sword!"

Regarding the warrior skills that they learnt…fortunately, it seemed that they hadn't managed to properly understand it. If they had been sold to someone and the existence of warrior skills were to spread, that would have been a headache as well.

"How far have you proceeded?"

"O-, overall the biddings has proceeded until 22,000 points."

The auctioneer had broken out in a cold sweat. He was panicking at the sudden appearance of a demon lord.

I walked before him, and calmly crossed my arms.

"22,300. Anyone going higher?"

Following that, I shot a single look at the merchants. A very intense look.

Double release, click next chap:)

The merchants kept quiet as ever.

An abrupt intrusion of a tyrant. Regardless of the non-aggression agreement between the dark merchants and demon lords, they couldn't completely ignore my sudden appearance.

23,000 might be a heavy price at present, but it was pretty much a 'freebie' when considering the value of the Yaksha. Especially Hwarang gu. I had used Mind's Eye and saw that his value was over 100,000, after all.

But the dark merchants only put importance on the 'jewels' of the Yaksha. As the jewel of a Yaksha was one of the two greatest jewels, magic gems being the other, it definitely had much value. If the race couldn't be subjugated, evaluating them based on the value of a magic gem was understandable.

"Come on closer, come on!"

"Kuaaargh!"

The Yaksha struggled desperately. It seemed that they planned on killing any who came close, even if it means biting them to death. The merchants clicked their tongues. Then, Laila came forth to speak.

"It is a race that cannot be tamed in any case. Attempting to tame them by force will only serve to expend time and even more money. What's more, attempting to dominate them by putting excessive pressure on their minds may result in a backlash, causing them to physically weaken or be unable to use their skills properly."

She believed that there was no way I would buy something useless, because Laila Diablo knew that with Mind's Eye I was the 'one with piercing sight'. Thus, she stepped forward to sway the other merchants, to help me. Her words weren't wrong either.

This was the 1st round of auctions. Here, the merchants bought slaves at relatively 'cheap prices', but the buying merchant was wholly responsible for the money and time to be invested in training or dominating. In the end, all the customers would come across would be these kinds of monsters with 'completed training'. Excluding those that come in the form of eggs from the outset, of course.

Laila continued her words.

"23,000 should be enough purely considering the value of a magic gem. I shan't oppose if you intend on showing off and spend more, truly I wonder if the demon lord will be pleased."

"Laila Diablo! This is a sacred place of auction. Please refrain from threatening the merchants in that manner."

"Hmph, threaten you say? Should you not be feeling thankful instead? A barbaric race like that, what demon lord would show interest in them? It should be difficult for those not demon lords to rule those barbaric folk…you should think it fortunately to even cover the price of a magic gem. Any higher than that is blatant profiteering disguised as an auction.

Her words implied that asking for a greater price than that will be considered as making an unjust profit.

Laila's words had an impact to them. For a long time she had undertaken the role of 'acting demon lord' on my behalf, meaning that she had some acquaintance with all the merchants here. Moreover, while she may not match up to other demon lords, she couldn't be completely ignored as she belonged to the group of 'big customers' in a sense.

At that moment, a merchant who wore a soldier's helm spoke up.

"Damn it. 23,000 won't even cover the funds gone into catching these slaves!"

"Do you mean to blame us for your stupidity? If my memory serves correctly, your 'business ethics' entails providing good products at good prices, no?" said another with a crown as its merchant hat”

Laila didn't lose out even once in words.

The dark merchants wearing the helms of soldiers. They had lost the majority of their forces when they invaded the Rakshasa realm. Hundreds had gone in, but those that returned were merely twenty or so; a number which represented a near wipe-out.

Thanks to Laila, the momentum shifted to our side. Those who wore winged copper crowns as their merchant hats began making noise again.

"Certainly it does seem expensive."

"Training those slaves will easily cost 50,000 points. Magic related to the mind is expensive after all…"

"Even the price of a magic gem will be a relief. Butchering them cleanly and extracting the jewels is work too."

If 100,000 points went into purchasing and training, at least 130,000 points should be received in return for the sustained labor and costs. But apart from demon lords, there were almost none who could cope with such an expense. In other words, there was a high possibility that their efforts would go to waste if they failed to encourage customers' interest.

The auctioneer breathed out a sigh.

"We have a bid at 23,000. Is there anyone bidding higher than 23,000?"

The dark merchants scrutinized one another. There hadn't ever been a case where a demon lord personally came to bid on a recently procured item. There were times where they spectated, but no more than that.

Who would go looking for slaves that haven't undergone even the basic of training? Excluding those like dragon eggs, which doesn't even require training, wild monsters weren't particularly popular. What's more, training and reselling the Yaksha would be a problem as well. As Laila Diablo said, the merchant would wholly incur the loss if they failed to promote customers' interest in the demon lords.

'The merchants here aren't united as one either.'

I gained a small realization; while they were tied under the Dark Company's name, the merchants themselves were 'individual' beings, and they also competed among themselves as they endeavored to raise their 'prestige'.

The hats they wore were symbols of 'status'. While they were called the servants of the Great Star, I could guess that for the sake of even greater honor, they needed to raise their status and prestige. That, and the fact that…

'Apparently the attack on the Rakshasa realm wasn't intentional.'

It seemed that they had simply entered a randomly created gate, just like how I opened a gate. But the Rakshasa realm was an extremely powerful place, and they had managed to catch only around 40 Yaksha. Chances were very high that they hadn't gone there aiming for the library or warrior skills.

Of course, it was definitely problematic that they attacked numerous 'worlds' in this manner. The demon lords are expected to head toward Earth after the war in the abyss is finished to a certain extent, but from time to time the dark merchants would carry out invasions to 'plunder'. Was there no good way to tie them down?

"The Yaksha pack goes to 'Uriel Diablo' at 23,000 points. Congratulations."

When I was about to go over my thoughts again, the 1st round of the auction came to an end. Unlike the auctioneer or the merchants, those who wore soldier hats clenched their fists. What they had obtained and brought back at the cost of all their troops was sold for dirt cheap. You reap what you sow, however. I turned my head to look at Laila.

"Laila."

"Please speak, my Lord."

Laila's was a big help in this auction. She would never have done what she did if she was alone; she took the initiative regardless of everything, killing her own pride all for the sake of helping me. Contrary to what happened in the past, it was an extremely praiseworthy deed. But the words of praise had difficulty leaving my lips.

"Take the Yaksha and return to the territory. I have a separate matter to attend."

"May I ask as to what that matter is?"

"I didn't reply, and Laila didn't press further. Instead, she turned her head as if slightly sad.

"As you command."

..
..

The matter which I had to attend to alone…was to uncover what's behind these merchants here. To be specific, I wanted to know what method they used to go into 'other worlds'.

Since there was no way they would answer if asked, I had no other choice than to chase their backs. Laila shouldn't know the answer regarding this either, because all those who come here only seek to buy 'good items', rather than the origins of those items.

I saw the dark merchants wearing soldier hats going toward the back of building.

'The great preta should have come back together.'

Where could they be?

I had a feeling that I could find out by chasing them.

'Stygian Touch.'

An attack magic which turned space black, and summoned deathly hands. But an attack magic wasn't all it was. It was S-ranked, and if its level is raised I could even contain myself within that dark space.

Countless black hands pulled at me as I used Stygian Touch. Having entered the dark space, I then mimicked the 'shadow' of a dark merchant wearing a soldier hat, and began to shadow him around.

Fortunately, the dark merchants failed to notice me. While they called it an non-aggression area, it seemed that one wouldn't be sanctioned in any other way in particular, as long as one didn't attack.

Around 20. The number of dark merchants wearing soldier hats. They talked among themselves as they moved toward a narrow alley.

"Losing the rank of nobility will be certain at this rate. There'll be a limit even if 23,000 is used to rebuild the troops."

"What will you do?"

"The great preta should still be alive, yes?"

"Regardless, isn't it just a matter of time? They'll all die around 3 days from now."

"No other way than to quickly prepare for a trip within 3 days and 'infiltrate' again."

"Won't it be dangerous? There'll be big restrictions when admitting lifeforms of a different dimension into another dimension. Making a move ourselves will also be a bit too much…how about just plundering the lifeforms of a suitable dimension?"

"There's no time. Moreover, the lifeforms called great preta have quite the superb regeneration and adaptive abilities. We should be able to make a sufficient come back by infiltrating a lower dimension."

"Huu, no way around it. I never imagined that it was such a high-level dimension."

"We tried 'infiltrating' the one ruling that dimension, but almost died instead. Damn it! You'll need to be at the rank of count at least before barely being able to even challenge it. I've only become a mere baronet now, I was too greedy."

There was a part to their conversation which was difficult to follow. But I knew now that they were trying to ride the great preta and attack somewhere again. The dark merchant wearing a silver horned helmet, who appeared to be their leader…it seemed that he was the culprit behind all that had happened.

"Lord Uriel Diablo. We could have earned twice the amount if it weren't for him."

"Aren't there those who trade with us? If we make a request of them…"

"No matter what, us dark merchants can't attack demon lords, the candidates of the 'Great Star'. Though it's a different matter if they were to turn against one another."

"I heard that he and lord Carpediem don't get along well."

"Did we have a 'line' connected to him?"

"I have heard that 'Mountain-eating Yeti' is together with Carpediem."

"Mountain-eating Yeti is it…fine. We support Carpediem. But succeeding in 'infiltrating' a lower dimension comes first. At the very least, demotion has to be prevented."

Officially, 'backdoor dealings' between merchants and demon lords were wrong. But there was no way a demon lord would go on living an honest life. Apparently, they open channels in this manner. It was also quite curious that the dark merchants called themselves dark people. It made for a complete different feeling, though there was only a single word difference.

Soon they headed toward the end of the Dark Company. Only after being checked multiple times by dark people wearing soldier helms could they move toward the next location.

'Security is thorough.'

I would have been caught long ago if I hadn't melded into a shadow.

'This place is…'

It was a deep valley. There were countless dark people near it, appearing to number in the tens of thousands. They all appeared to soldier ranked, and even now they continued to launch themselves into the valley.

"Please permit entry into the lower dimension open to the public."

There was a dark person at the edge of the valley, who held a marble the size of a torso. When the soldier approached him and spoke, the dark person holding the marble tilted his head.

"You won't be going pioneering ?"

"Are you making fun of me? Everyone died after attempting to pioneer! I'm at the brink of demotion."

The dark person spoke as he peered inside the marble.

"Hmm, Rakshasa realm is it. You've only managed to explore 3%? If it's this much then I could designate you to the 18th dimension. Although you'll need to be a marquis at the least to be able to challenge it."

"Are you ignoring what I said?"

"Ahh, hang on. Let's see, the 3rd dimension happens to be open."

"Aren't there nothing but beasts like kaim at best in the 3rd dimension? Are you telling me now to attack and loot some animals?"

"The only lower dimension you're permitted to is that place. That's why you should have explored at least 10% of the Rakshasa realm. If you'd done so, you would have been granted a big reward."

"Hu…damn it all. Can't be helped then."

Cursing harshly, he nodded. He had no options to choose from.

Finally, the dark person holding the marble stretched out his fingers, toward the other side of the valley. The soldier began to move to that place, and I followed the soldier from behind, remaining as a shadow. Afterwards, I drew near the edge of the cliff and looked down the valley.

Rumble! Ruuumble!

Booom! Boom! Craash!

I could feel shivers running all over my body at the same time.

The bottom of the valley…it was a place where countless black vortexes were crazily swirling. It was like a nuclear fusion, the vortexes endlessly twisting together to give birth to countless explosions!

The dark people threw themselves toward the valley. The moment they did, they transformed to take the appearance of great preta.

'A great…rift!'

I felt like my mind was completely empty.

In a deep place of the abyss, there existed an uncountable number of rifts.

Chapter end