༺ School Tuition is More Expensive Than I Thought! (9) ༻
Fwooooosh— Baaaaaaaang—!
With a massive explosion, the world became as bright as day.
When Salome raised her head, a tiny sun was floating in the sky.
It was a special flare bomb created with stacked magic.
“That means…”
That man, Judas, must have safely rescued the children.
Salome snorted in annoyance.
“…He’s faster than I am.”
She had thought she would deal with the owner of this mountain, ‘Jack’, faster than Judas rescuing the kids.
It seemed like everything was already done on Judas’ side before she could even approach Jack.
Swooosh—
At that moment, the hair on Salome’s nape bristled.
She felt something outrageous was about to happen ─ her sharp sense as a thief told her so.
━Expansion. Destruction. Flame. Rain. Star. Fall. Stone.
It felt as if someone’s voice was directly ringing in her head.
And before she could think of who it could be-.
Boooooooom—!
An explosion that rocked the earth echoed in the mountain.
Whiriririririri— Booooooooom!
“Argh, damn it! What’s falling from the sky?”
“M-Meteors?!”
Fist-sized meteors.
Whether it be the thieves’s shacks or the bars’ tables, nothing was spared from the indiscriminate disaster of rain falling from the sky.
“R-Run!”
“Run? To where!”
“Gyaaaak!”
The thieves were screaming and fleeing left and right, struck by the mysterious rocks; it was like a living hell.
This might have been what the ancient thief cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were said to have been destroyed overnight, looked like.
In Salome’s opinion, this was not a simple natural phenomenon, but something man-made.
It must be a powerful destructive magic.
‘Is it the work of that wizard? At least 7 words were used. Were those words earlier an incantation for a large-scale spell?’
Swoosh— Swoosh—
Dodging the falling meteors, Salome admired the scene with honest awe.
Magic that uses six words, is 6th circle magic, anything of that level and beyond is referred to as ‘Great Magic’.
But that incantation used 7 words. 7th circle magic!
Maps around the world would be a lot more homogenous if a wizard able to single handedly carry out such large-spell magic were to join any army.
“Gyaaak! Put out the fire quickly! Put out the fire!”
“How can you put out the fire when everything’s burning, you idiot!”
“Is this… the end of the world…”
Amidst the chaos, the heat was rising, and the thieves’ screams were getting louder.
Salome slowly moved towards the biggest tent in this hideout.
A tent.
Could it even still be called a tent?
It was more like a tower made of a jumble of plundered goods.
A tower made by haphazardly stacking stolen items.
As she entered, her feet stepped on piles of gold coins and ingots on the floor.
Jewelry such as gemstones and rings were scattered about like a carpet.
“……”
For Salome, who was known as the Princess of the Back Alleys, it was a familiar sight.
A throne room made of treasures stolen from all over the world.
Walls covered with famous paintings and swords as if they were mere wallpaper and a throne with silken and gold-threaded cloaks hanging like curtains.
It was a sight reminiscent of the ‘Scum Throne’, where the King of Thieves reigned despicably.
“How do you like it, Princess of Thieves? Quite similar, isn’t it? The Scum Throne of the Dark Forest in Kowloon Mountains.”
The thief sitting on the throne said.
He was dressed in a fur coat and tight pants.
His face was extremely lean and his eyes were gloomy.
Everything about him seemed old, shabby, and tired, but the crown with jewels on his head was strangely glamorous.
‘Jack.’
Salome instantly recognized that this man was Jack, the notorious thief who had been ruling this area of Freesia. His skills were said to be comparable to those of Herod Judas, who was once known as the King of Thieves.
They had been in the same criminal group and were even sworn brothers.
In fact, Salome had joined ‘Tenebris’, a cult worshipping Nocturne, to pursue this man.
Jack was said to have been killed by barbarian attacks, but Salome, who knew well how skilled her father was, thought that Jack, who was similar in skills to him, could not have died.
So she decided to look for an opportunity to find Jack, hiding in a meeting of evil conspirators near the Freesia Duchy, and as usual, Salome’s thinking hit the mark.
Of course.
Salome did not express such thoughts at all and said, pulling out her cool-looking sword.
“It does resemble the real deal. But it’s just a fake after all. The real one was more than ten times as magnificent. In terms of the quantity and quality of the treasures, it’s nowhere close to it.”
“How harsh. So, my niece. What’s going on outside right now? I’d like to hear an explanation.”
Jack asked.
Salome distanced herself from the man and lightly replied.
“What uncle? You’re going to die at my hands soon. But before I kill you, I have one question. Do you know what a ‘Vessel’ is?”
The 「Vessel」.
Its existence was passed down through secret murmurs and covert gestures among those who served Nocturne.
Even Salome, could not identify its true nature,
she only knew who possessed it.
“It’s the treasure Father longed for. You, who were known as his sworn brother, must surely know what it is?”
“The Vessel.”
Swoosh—
Jack rose from his seat.
Clang— Screech—
He pulled out a pistol and a dagger from his waist.
A battle with a pistol and dagger.
Salome slightly reminisced because it was exactly the same as her father, ‘Herod’.
Her father, who was criticized as the worst trash in the world, but was kind and warm to her only-.
─And the night when that father died at the hands of the new Judas.
Salome’s 19th birthday.
* * *
‘…Oh no!’
Salome was briefly immersed in her memories.
But in the nimble world of thieves, 1 second was an incredibly long time.
Tadadang—!
The pistol fired in an instant, shattering a few torches near the Scum Throne.
Thanks to that, everything around her darkened and the man ‘Jack’ disappeared amidst the chaos.
All that could be heard was a voice that sounded like scraping glass with an iron stick.
“I can tell you about the Vessel. But it’s not fun to answer too obediently. My niece. If you want to gain knowledge from me, steal it. In the name of Nocturne!”
“Hmph, how annoying!”
Salome snorted.
But inwardly, she was seriously tense.
Jack.
His skills were said to be on par with Herod, who was called the King of Thieves.
So, Salome was essentially fighting against the former Judas.
‘Calm down. I’ve also been training a lot.’
Salome’s rank was platinum.
The sum of all her stats reached 42.
Salome estimated that Jack’s total stats would be about 45.
It was higher than hers, but it wasn’t a gap that was impossible to overcome with her skills.
“So many openings! It seems you didn’t learn properly from Herod!”
Slash—!
A blade sprang out from the darkness.
Salome leaned her waist back in a very flexible motion.
The blade aiming for her neck only swished through empty air, deflected by the delicate maneuvers typical of female thieves.
Seeing the pattern of slashes aimed across her throat after the ambush, Salome chuckled.
“You’re just like Father. If you fight like Father, you can’t beat me, Jack. I’ve stolen and acquired all of Father’s techniques!”
“Ho, is that so? You really are the Princess of the Back Alleys.”
Fade—
Jack reemerged from the darkness.
Touching his scruffy mustache, he spoke.
“So, did your father also teach you this? – 《Shadow Servant》-.”
Wave—
Jack’s flat shadow on the floor rose up.
His show materialized, like a doppelganger.
“What is that….”
While Salome was startled, Jack smirked.
“He didn’t tell you after all. As expected of Herod. I guess he didn’t think it was necessary to tell you, his daughter. After all, you were nothing more than a sheep raised to be sacrificed.”
“Sheep to be sacrificed? What the hell are you talking about─.”
Just as Salome was about to say more.
The shadow and Jack charged at her.
Jack’s savage dagger attack, and simultaneously, the shadow blade in the hand of Jack’s shadow deeply pierced Salome’s shoulder.
Puchi—
“Arghh!!!!”
“Hehehe, niece, or is it Salome now? You said I was a fake before, didn’t you? But don’t underestimate a fake. Sometimes, a fake can be more deadly than the real thing!”
The man mercilessly attacked Salome, who had been stabbed in the shoulder.
His dagger targeted only Salome’s weak points such as her heart and eyes.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
Although she was dodging the attacks with quick maneuvers, Salome was in a situation where she was only able to defend or dodge, unable to counter.
It was a one-sided attack.
“Salome, my niece, after killing you, I will get one step closer to the Vessel! Hahahah!”
“What the hell is this Vessel!”
“This is what a Vessel is. It’s something that can only be acquired after accumulating endless karma of wickedness and betrayal. Just as Herod did. Like when he killed his wife with his own hands.”
“What…?”
“You thought your mother died in an unfortunate accident in a moment of your father’s carelessness, right? But no. Your mother was killed by your father. And you were destined to have the same fate!”
“What are you talking about!”
“Salome, you were nothing more than a sacrificial lamb carefully raised by your father to be killed. Is there anything more terrible than a man killing his own cherished daughter? Hahahah…!”
Salome couldn’t understand what Jack was saying.
No, she didn’t want to understand.
She didn’t want to believe it.
But Salome was a smart woman who could even perfectly impersonate a teacher at the Graham Academy. Her mind understood exactly what Jack was saying.
“My father… was going to kill me…?”
“Poor thing. How does it feel to find out the man you saw as a good father was nothing like that? Do you know how many children he’s killed for his evil deeds, kids he called his own?”
“Don’t lie! Do you think I’ll believe that? You jerk!”
“Go to hell and see for yourself if it’s a lie or not! Count the number of prostitutes and their children he’s killed!”
Swoosh—
Jack’s blade targeted Salome’s belly.
Salome, taken aback by the conversation, couldn’t dodge in time and the dagger deeply pierced her stomach.
“……!”
Salome couldn’t even scream.
As she silently expelled all the air from her lungs, Jack pulled out the blade and wickedly laughed, licking the flowing red blood with his tongue.
“That’s enough. Even though we’re not related by blood, killing my niece should be quite the wicked deed. Now my chances of being chosen as the Vessel have increased. Thank you, Salome. You’re such a great niece.”
“… Ah, aah…”
“I’ll tell you as a gift on your way to the afterlife. The ‘Vessel’ is currently embedded in the one who has piled up the highest karma of wickedness and immorality. It should have been Herod’s. But Herod failed. And a bastard called the Demon King popped up.”
“……”
Salome’s vision was getting blurry.
She couldn’t understand the man’s words.
It felt like they were circling around her mind without entering through her ears.
Salome’s body was growing colder.
Watching Salome, Jack lifted his gun.
It was to make sure she was dead.
However.
“Huh?”
There was no discharge from Jack’s gun.
Soon, Jack found his gun and the palm that held it on the floor.
Fwoosh—
Blood gushes out like a fountain from the wrist cut by something sharp.
“What the! What the fuck!”
He didn’t even have time to realize what was happening.
Because Jack’s remaining arm was also cut off and rolling on the floor.
“Fuck, what the hell!!!!”
Jack was confused by the sudden situation.
When he looked around in a situation he had never felt before, he barely noticed a faint silver flash in the darkness.
However, the moment he noticed that, the light in his left eye disappeared.
“Gyaaaaargh!!!”
Slash-!
The pain of being cut by something sharp shook Jack’s head.
At the same time, his left ankle was also cut off in an instant.
“Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk─!!!”
Jack, who had two arms and one ankle cut off, was rolling on the floor, helpless.
Then the silver flash that had been shining in the darkness revealed itself.
It was a knife.
And it was a black-haired man who held the knife in his hand.
“A b-barbarian…!!!!”
25 years ago.
Jack was almost killed in the underground market due to a Barbaroi revolt.
Seeing the black-haired man, anger surged up in his memories of that time.
However.
That anger soon sank into a cold fear and terror.
“You, you’re Judas. You’re the Judas… the one who killed Herod!”
“That’s right. You’re Jack, right? Nice to meet you.”
“How in the…”
Jack was at a loss for words.
He was a thief whose skill could rival the legendary Judas.
That’s why he could recognize the terrifying figure before him.
Jack had no choice but to admit that he had severely miscalculated.
‘…No matter how much I sin until the moment of my death, I can never reach this man. He’s no longer human. He’s a monster wearing human skin…!’
The bleeding Jack’s mind was now flashing back to past events like a lantern.
25 years ago.
The moment the enslaved fortune-teller warned him to “beware of the black-haired one” popped up in his mind.
He thought the ominous prophecy referred to the barbarians who attacked the market, but that was a big mistake.
Jack instinctively realized that the man in front of him was the ominous prophecy.
Now there was only one thing Jack had to do.
“Please, spare me… I won’t show up in front of people again…. I’ll go into a mountain where no one can find me and live alone. Please spare me… Please… Show mercy….”
Jack prostrated himself flat on the ground.
To change his fate.
He had no tricks or schemes left.
He was sincerely begging for his life.
“Please spare me… I swear on the name of Nocturne. Everything I have. You can have it all. Just please spare my life….”
The monstrous man simply looked down at Jack calmly.
And then he readily nodded.
“Okay. I think I’d get quite a bit of experience if I killed you myself. But if my experience goes up too much, it’ll be a problem for me too. In that sense, I won’t kill you. Consider yourself lucky.”
“L-Lucky…!”
A sudden hope came to Jack’s heart.
I did well to live according to my fortune─he thought for a moment.
Whooooosh- Kwaang-!
The junk that made up his garbage throne was shattered by a meteor that fell from the sky.
The coins that were stacked up to the ceiling were pouring out.
Vlaaaaam—
Soon everything around him started to burn due to the fire brought by the meteor.
The hot temperature melted the gold coins, gold bars, and jewels on the floor, turning the floor into a furnace.
“Fuuuuuuck! Graaaaaah! Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
Jack was sinking in the hot melting gold.
Hearing his screams, the King of Thieves said.
“Dying engulfed in gold. You’re a surprisingly lucky one. Quite the luxurious death for a thief.”
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