Pick Me Up!

I wrapped my arms around the struggling boy.

“Ugh!”

The boy kicked my back with his heels.

It was a futile resistance. I dragged him out of the Magic Hall.

[You, you greedy…]

I chuckled.

[What do you think you’re doing?!]

“I’m taking this guy with me.”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Get out of here. Stay in your dorms if you want to live.”

“Oh, understood!”

Five men and women quickly left the training camp.

The training camp’s gate opened with a creak, and Jenna walked in, carrying a cart filled with items she had picked out that survived the fire.

“What about this kid…?”

“He’s the most important loot. Don’t miss out.”

I tossed the boy into the cart.

“Isn’t this kidnapping?”

“It’s exactly that.”

Thud!

The cart shook as the boy kicked the inside with his feet.

I looked at his face. Tears welled up in his face, and his resentful gaze was directed at me.

“Take him to the airship. I’ll finish this up.”

“Alright, don’t be late!”

Jenna pulled the cart and disappeared.

I took a deep breath and then took out a wooden torch. I went outside briefly to burn what was left out.

Starting from the Magic Hall.

No need for oil here. There were plenty of paper rolls to burn.

[You, you selfish greed! Why are you doing this?]

The fairy stomped her feet in place.

“Call me whatever you want.”

I opened the door to the Magic Hall.

Books were tightly packed on the shelves. I threw in the burning torch. Whoosh. Flames started to rise along with the smoke.

[Danger!]

[Fire in the Magic Hall!]

Desks, chairs, various magical tools, and countless magical books turned into ashes.

The fairy, flapping her wings, tried her best to extinguish it, but once the fire started, it wasn’t easy to put out. Inside the training camp, I opened the lid of the fuel container Jenna had brought and poured oil on the floor.

It was only a matter of time before the flames from the Magic Hall reached here.

[Why…?]

“No compromises.”

When I first tracked a hunter, I spared him because he begged so much.

A month later, I got stabbed in the back. The next one, and the one after him, all did the same. No matter how much the people and circumstances changed, the result was always the same. Through countless experiences, I have established one principle.

“These guys never change.”

It was just temporary avoidance.

Once they found an opportunity, they would start preying on others again. The only way is to completely remove them from the game.

Whoosh!

Finally, the fire spread to the training camp.

[You think you can get away with this… even with this!] 

The fairy lashed out at me with a furious expression and threw a punch.

However, her fist was blocked by an invisible barrier, and her petite body rebounded, tumbling away.

‘There are two conditions that must be met for a fairy to attack.’

First, disobedience to the master’s orders.

Second, when a hero uses lethal force to attack a fellow hero.

This little one couldn’t harm me in any way. She could only stand by and watch.

The flames that erupted from the Magic Hall turned everything they touched into ashes.

Scarecrows and wooden dolls, various training weapons, chairs, and desks, all went up in flames. After leaving the square, I closed the door. The fire wouldn’t stop until it consumed the entire training camp.

I walked slowly through the square, now turned into a pile of ashes.

Blood, embers, and the corpses of heroes clung to various places.

One of them sat down with vacant eyes, looking around the square. I walked without faltering. I had created this. I had severed the hope of this world.

‘I have no regrets.’

Stepping on others is necessary to climb and survive.

I had long reconciled with that fact.

[If it comes this far, the Master…?]

“They might quit.”

[Knowing that, you did this? Then what are we supposed to do?)

The fairy sat down.

I pushed the large door outward.

A linear space, a rift in dimensions, was revealed.

Inside the passage, a sleek small airship was parked. It was called the Capitalism Ship.

‘Quite a creative name.’

The flames hadn’t reached here.

I had done that intentionally. I walked towards the Capitalism near the bottom. Jenna and Neryssa were stowing away the loot at the bottom of the airship.

“Have you arrived?”

“What’s the status of the airship? Can we depart?”

“The operational functions are offline. We have enough fuel, but it seems we need some sort of authentication.”

“Where’s the kid?”

“We tied him to the deck.”

I climbed the stairs.

On the deck, a boy bound to a pillar was struggling.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

I approached the boy and untied the rope around his mouth.

“Pff!”

He spat to the side.

“You filthy.”

“You’re even filthier, you bastards!”

The boy shouted with a harsh tone.

“Release me immediately! If you don’t want your head cut off. Do you know who I am?”

“A Mage, I assume.”

“That’s right! I am Katio, who terrifies even third-rate magicians by just hearing my name!”

“We want to start the airship, how do we do it?”

“Insane. Do you think I’d tell you just because you asked? I’d fry you in boiling water… Ugh.”

A blade pressed against the boy’s throat.

Behind him, Velkist stood with a cold expression.

“You’re quite noisy. Should I cut off a few fingers, so you won’t conjure any spells again?”

“Don’t.  It’s like we’re the real villains!”

“You are villains!”

“See, there was a misunderstanding.”

“No misunderstanding. You villains… Uggh!”

The blade dug slightly into the boy’s throat.

“First, remove the sword, and I’ll speak.”

“Remove it.”

Velkist sheathed the sword.

I spoke in an emotionless voice.

“If I see any signs of magic, I’ll cut off your arms immediately.”

“I understand.”

“You heartless…”

The boy’s face turned pale.

“We’ll clear up the misunderstanding later. We need to return to our original location. We need your cooperation. Understand?”

“Return?”

“We can’t stay here. There’s nothing but ashes.”

“You’re the ones who made it like this…”

“Oh.”

The boy looked at Velkist behind him and hesitated.

“It won’t be difficult. Just set the coordinates to where your friends went just now. It’s the place you were planning to raid.”

I loosened the restraints and helped the boy stand up.

Then, I led him into the control room of the airship.

“I, I was just doing research…”

“Understood.”

“Ugh…”

A sob mixed with a groan escaped from him.

I sighed.

“Don’t be so whiny. I’m starting to want to kill you.”

Velkist spoke irritably.

‘This guy really has no remorse.’

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