Several servants smiled when they saw their master returning home. They had prepared dinner to welcome him, as usual.
"Welcome home, sir—"
Darius, the middle-aged man who had just arrived, walked quickly, ignoring the greetings of his servants.
Usually, he would respond to their greetings with a lewd remark. But this time, he looked completely different. His expression was unfriendly, full of anxiety and fear. His hands were shaking, his steps were hurried, and cold sweat covered his face.
"No. This cannot be allowed. I must leave here immediately!"
Darius was in a panic and kept walking quickly upstairs, completely ignoring his servants. He no longer cared about them because all he cared about now was himself and his future.
Truly, at this moment, his position was completely on the line.
The dirty businesses he had built with several other nobles in the region had been completely destroyed, putting his position in the coalition in serious jeopardy because he was the lowest-ranking noble.
To make matters worse, the bandit group he had been working with had disbanded because, according to him, someone had attacked them. This put his life in real danger because the bandit group was the foundation of all his dirty business.
"At the very least, I don't want to go back to being a poor nobleman in this region," he said as he walked up the stairs.
Darius completely ignored all the servants who were staring at him strangely because he was not acting like himself. But he didn't care about that. If he didn't leave with all his possessions tonight, then it was certain that his life would be completely ruined.
When he reached the top floor, he immediately rushed into his room, then walked towards a large bookcase. He pushed the bookcase aside with all his might until he saw a special storage space embedded in the wall.
Next, he immediately opened the storage space and took out a special box inside. It was the box where he kept all his valuables.
Darius smiled with great relief. Even though he was currently panicked and anxious, with these treasures, he was free to live anywhere without fear of poverty.
"With this, I will be able to start a new life somewhere else."
He then opened the storage box, revealing a large amount of gold and jewels, as well as several other valuable items with high selling prices.
All of these were truly valuable treasures that he had obtained from his dirty business dealings.
And just by looking at his treasures, his anxiety and fear began to subside. He felt that he no longer needed to worry because after this, he would still be able to live comfortably in another region.
"Yeah, I'm going to escape from this place."
Darius grinned and then looked out the window. The night sky was very dark, and the moon was not too bright, making his escape tonight sure to go smoothly.
Even though this area was ideal for him and his dirty business, he still had to leave before all his corruption was exposed and the other nobles in his coalition cast him out.
"Yeah. Let's leave Fernmels and start a new business in another area."
Darius immediately got ready by changing his clothes and taking some other valuable items.
Earlier, he had asked his servants to prepare a horse-drawn carriage, and he had also hired several people who could use magic to escort him on his journey. He was definitely leaving this region tonight.
He continued to get ready, unaware that the formidable guards he had hired had already been defeated by unknown people who were targeting him.
"Oh, yeah. There is still some jewelry in the drawer," he said excitedly when he remembered that he still had some other valuable jewelry.
He immediately walked to the dressing table and pulled open the drawer. He often wore several pieces of luxurious jewelry. He smiled at the valuable items and used them without hesitation.
"Ah, my beloved jewelry. Of course, I won't leave you behind."
Darius was so busy getting ready that he didn't notice several people sneaking into his mansion. He was completely preoccupied with gathering all his possessions so that nothing would be left behind.
And after everything was done, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. All his possessions were complete and safe. With this, he would not have to worry about how he would leave this place and start a new life in another region.
"Rather than returning to being a poor nobleman in this region, it's better for me to escape from here and build another dirty business in another region," he said with a grin as he looked at all his possessions.
BAANG!!
Darius was immediately shocked when the wall of his room was destroyed, causing several pieces of stone to hit him. However, he became even more frightened when his gaze met the terrifying gaze of a man with black hair and a few strands of red hair.
"W-Who are you?!" Darius was so panicked that he reflexively hugged his box of treasures.
The man who had just destroyed the wall with his punch just grinned. He gave the corrupt nobleman in front of him a truly intimidating look.
"Hmm, it looks like you're going to leave this place, huh? Why? Is it because your dirty business has been destroyed here?" he asked casually, then released his magic.
Slowly, the blood that formed the gloves on both his hands began to melt until it finally fell and scattered on the floor. This signaled that his magic had been released.
Darius was immediately frightened and panicked. He wondered how someone could know about his dirty secrets? And that made cold sweat cover his entire body; his legs felt heavy, and he fell onto his own bed.
"W-who are you? How do you know about my business?"
But suddenly, footsteps were heard, and the doorknob was opened from the outside. After that, a woman with blonde hair entered the room. She was wearing purple clothes and carrying a purple flower that matched her outfit.
"Of course, we know, because we are the ones who destroyed your dirty business," said the woman while playing with her flower.
Instantly, Darius became even more frightened. His body was covered in cold sweat, his hands were trembling, and his legs felt very weak. The aura of the two people in front of him was so intimidating that he couldn't do anything.
It was certain that the two people in front of him were the ones who had destroyed his dirty business and attacked his bandits until they dispersed.
Darius shook his head in fear while hugging his treasure box. No. This was completely beyond his expectations. He didn't know that he was also being targeted.
"H-how did you get in here? My guards—"
"We defeated them."
The man dressed in black who had been leaning against the wall next to the bed finally spoke.
Darius immediately turned to the side and reflexively screamed as he moved away when he realized that there was someone else quite close to him.
This third person looked exactly like a ninja, dressed in black, wearing a mask, and carrying a sword. In addition, a crow on his shoulder made Darius even more frightened.
Darius's cold sweat increased. He was completely intimidated by these strangers. They were really scary, as if they were ready to kill him at any moment.
"Hahaha... Finally, you get to feel the fear that the victims of your dirty business feel!"
Another voice distracted Darius, but he didn't see anyone else in his room. Suddenly, his gaze fell on his bedroom wall, which seemed to peel off and turn into playing cards. Then, a man dressed like a magician appeared.
"How about it? Are you happy with the surprise we gave you, Mr. Darius? Hahaha!"
The man dressed like a magician laughed as he played with his cards.
Darius's brain stopped working for a few seconds. He had difficulty digesting this very sudden event. How could four creepy people come directly to his room with such intimidation? And it was certain that they were all users of magic.
But more than that, the arrival of these strangers was not to be friendly with him, let alone to help him escape from this area. They must have been targeting him for a long time and wanted to kill him for all his past misdeeds.
"No, no, no." Darius shook his head frantically as he hugged his treasure box tightly. "I don't want to die here! I don't want to die here!"
A black-and-red-haired thug, a yellow-haired woman holding a purple flower, a tall man dressed like a ninja with a crow on his shoulder, and a short magician playing with his playing cards.
The four of them completely intimidated Darius. They watched as the corrupt noble in front of them trembled with fear. But this was only a small retaliation; they hadn't even started yet.
Darius crept to the edge of the bed, staring at the four people in front of him with fear.
"I don't want to die here. Please forgive me! I will give you anything you want as long as you don't kill me!"
The four strangers remained silent as they stared at Darius, who continued to beg for their forgiveness. But none of them cared because they clearly knew how rotten Darius' dirty business was, which had made life difficult and destroyed the lives of many people in this region.
Then a maroon cat walked casually through the wall and approached Darius. Its eyes were very sharp, and its body glowed slightly, clearly showing that this cat was magical.
"No, we will never forgive you."
The maroon cat climbed onto the bed, further intimidating Darius.
"We will never forgive you, no matter what happens. You must pay with the lives of the people you have killed in your dirty business. You must pay with the lives of the people who died as a result of being robbed by your bandits. And you must pay with the lives of the maids you killed after they conceived your children."
"You must pay for everything, Darius. With your own life." The maroon cat completely intimidated Darius.
Darius's eyes immediately darkened. All his sins were completely exposed. All the murders he had committed, all his dirty business, and all his crimes. Everything was completely exposed without exception. And this made him so sick that his teeth gnashed and his emotions exploded.
"Bastard!"
Darius shouted angrily and slammed his treasure box at the cat in front of him. But his blow passed right through the cat in front of him as if the cat wasn't real and couldn't be touched.
And after that, the four people who had been watching immediately approached Darius with intimidation.
The man with red-black hair aimed his fist, the woman with yellow hair aimed her poisonous purple flower, the ninja man aimed his sword, and the magician man aimed his cards.
They were truly ready to kill Darius at any moment.
And all of that made Darius truly aware of his position. His body was drenched in sweat, his hands trembled, and the fear in his eyes was clear. "W-Who… who are you?"
"We are butchers. People who will make Fernmels a better place by killing destructive humans like you."