Kassal stared at Miguel with a questioning look.

"Where did you come from? And how did you end up behind them?!"

Miguel walked among the dismembered corpses, a smile spreading in the pitch darkness.

"It's easy… when there's the smell of blood to follow."

Miguel then glanced at Cyn's hand, smiling faintly.

Kassal sneered at him.

"Hah? What are you—some kind of dog?"

Miguel's answer was unexpected.

"Heh… you could say that, when it comes to scent and blood."

Cyn looked around with a hint of admiration.

"I never took you for an artist, Miguel. I didn't know you were capable of doing things like this."

Miguel was pleased by Cyn's praise, but replied modestly,

"This is nothing compared to your ability. Defeating Valgean from the raging Floods… that old man is an obstacle I could never overcome."

Quids and Javrot were stunned by what they were witnessing. They were no strangers to bloodshed—they had killed many people themselves and spilled plenty of blood. But this… and worse, calling it art.

Cyn pulled his mask back up and motioned for them to follow.

"Let's move—before that auction ends. Fortunately, no one reported what happened. Everyone who came here were just guards… cannon fodder. We'll seize the one in charge of the Raging Floods' capital branches."

Kassal looked around at the blood. From the moment they attacked the Blue Rose building, he felt as though they had become some sort of assassination organization—like a hidden syndicate. A rush of excitement surged through him, amplified by the alcohol he had consumed earlier. He shouted loudly,

"The capital is ours! Let's go and kill those bastards—wipe them all out!"

Cyn and the others merely smiled. The scar was guiding Cyn toward the paths they needed to take, which made him question it once again.

How do you really do it? First with Tristan… and now with this Benson?

He had already asked about this before. Weren't scars things that had no connection to reality—unable to influence it unless they had a bearer to manifest their power?

The voice of the Scar of Pride echoed in his mind, carrying arrogance and superiority.

"What do you take me for? I am the Scar of Pride. My name alone is enough to terrify both worlds—yours and ours. My abilities are many, but they belong to me alone. As for you, all you can draw upon is my scar energy."

Cyn scoffed inwardly.

You should reconsider how effective those abilities really are. Tristan's answer nearly earned us multiple enemies. Things could have been avoided.

The scar replied,

"Is that my problem? You were the ones who asked him about other bases or branches of the Raging Floods. You didn't ask about an entire underground society."

Cyn pondered this carefully. The scar had a point—but Tristan had previously answered with an overwhelming amount of information unrelated to the question, as if responding to several questions at once. So why the difference this time?

Could it be that he still retains some level of control?

Cyn still remembered how Tristan had defended his leader, Chibi, and supported his rise to kingship.

Miguel asked Cyn,

"So, what's the plan?"

Cyn replied in an ambiguous tone,

"A plan?"

—as if asking Miguel to clarify what he meant.

Miguel explained,

"It's obvious. What are we going to do when we get there? You heard it yourself."

Cyn spoke, relaying the information obtained through the scar.

"There's a small public auction. The fourth-ranked member of the Raging Floods is there—the one responsible for their capital branch. Several groups are present right now. It'll be difficult to seize him among them. Our only option is to wait until he separates from the others—when he tries to leave."

Javrot spoke from the side,

"It's good we killed the others. No one knows we caused this destruction. That gives us cover. No one is aware of us."

Miguel objected,

"But on the other hand, the Church and the knights will reach the place we destroyed. Word will spread inside about intruders breaching a Raging Floods entrance, and that will—"

Kassal cut him off.

"That's not public knowledge, Miguel. Otherwise, I would've known about a new black market under our feet long ago. It'll take hours—maybe more—for the news to reach here. That is, as long as we don't expose ourselves."

Cyn took another path, ending the argument between Miguel and Kassal.

"It doesn't really matter whether we're exposed or not…"

He paused briefly before continuing.

"In the end, we didn't start this. We're only here to reclaim our natural right—and expel the Raging Floods who dared provoke us."

They arrived at a massive hall where multiple intersections converged—numerous paths branching in every direction. Cyn was reminded of traffic circles from his previous life, along with the silver signs hanging above each road, pointing toward different destinations.

Quids turned around and looked at the sign above the path they had just come from. It bore a very predictable name:

"Blue Rose – Raging Floods."

That meant this door served as both an entrance and exit for a Raging Floods branch. There were many doors—dozens, in fact—each leading to a different location or exit.

They walked through the hall. Miguel whispered some of the words he read on the signs:

"Central – Black Market"

"Jaguar House"

"Branch – Black Market"

"Main Auction Hall"

"Free Trade Shops"

"Bond of Friendship – Field Smiths Guild"

Numerous paths led to countless places.

Miguel smiled before speaking.

"Some lead to guild branches. Others lead deeper into the underworld. And some lead to private residences and clubs for high-ranking individuals."

Kassal was astonished—more than that, shocked.

"By hell… there's an entire road network beneath the capital! I can't even count all these doors or where they lead!"

Quids interrupted confidently,

"The hall is square-shaped. Each side has sixteen paths. That makes the total—uh—sixty-four routes. Each one leads to a specific destination."

Kassal looked at Quids with a dumbfounded expression, as if to say,

Do I look like an idiot who cares how many doors and corridors meet here?

Quids assumed Kassal was impressed by his math skills. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hahaha… I forgot to mention—I'm good at calculations…"

Kassal clenched his fist angrily.

"If you don't shut up, I'll make you see fewer paths and doors."

Miguel laughed lightly, trying to calm him down.

"Relax, man—"

Kassal scowled.

"How do you expect me to relax?! Do you even understand what this means?! Paths leading to most of the capital—and even noble residences! Not to mention others. What is really going on here? Secret agreements we don't know about? Some kind of alliance?!"

Miguel wasn't even listening—he had shut his ears entirely. That only fueled Kassal's anger further. But on the other hand, Cyn agreed with him.

"He has a point."

Cyn stood before one of the paths and stared at the sign above it. He was reminded of train stations from his previous life, staring at carriage signs.

"CIPHER ZERO – ENTRANCE"

Cyn smiled and spoke to Miguel.

"I mean… these paths and entrances could be used to raid them at their strongholds, if things ever spiral out of control."

Miguel had a different opinion.

"You saw it yourself earlier. What we found was just a branch. Following these routes could lead you to a barn on some farm—or a tavern. In the worst case, straight into a knight stronghold. And in the best case, to Lady's Night. If you find nothing, you can at least spend some time with the finest prostitutes—won't be a waste, heh. What I'm saying is, who in their right mind would place a direct path to their true stronghold?"

Cyn found some truth in Miguel's words. On top of that, such routes would be heavily guarded—just like the Raging Floods branch they had encountered earlier.

Cyn ended the discussion.

"Meh… that's not why we're here."

He looked toward the sign beside him, as did the others.

"Sub Auction Hall."

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