"Unexpectedly few people in here. ……Though I knew that would be the case."
Muttering to himself, Rei looked around the building.
Contrary to Rei's suspicion that the middle-aged man from earlier might actually be a Blue Spear member trying to deceive him, the man truly made no attempt to attack and simply left the building.
"Ah."
Rei suddenly remembered that he had left dealing with anyone leaving the building to Set, but come to think of it, he hadn't heard anything like a scream from the man either.
(From Set's perspective too, was that man judged to be a harmless opponent? ……Well, he did look powerless based on his appearance.)
Rei was still somewhat curious about the man from earlier, but since no screams suggesting Set had attacked him could be heard, he decided to leave it be.
……In truth, Rei didn't know this, but even from Set's perspective, the man who came out of the building looked like nothing more than an ordinary man without any combat power. Set's wild instincts—though many would question the word "wild"—had also judged him as harmless and let him pass.
"Oh, this is quite something."
The room Rei had just entered had the appearance of what could be called an office, and seeing it, Rei got the idea that there might be something worthwhile here.
"Or rather, even underworld organizations do clerical work and such. ……Though I suppose that's not really surprising."
Muttering, he stored the wooden chairs and desk into his Misty Ring, reasoning that since this organization was going to be destroyed anyway, there was no harm in taking them. If thrown, they could serve as makeshift weapons, and being made of wood, they could also be used as firewood.
After storing the five chairs and desks from the room into his Misty Ring, Rei next turned his gaze to the shelves that appeared to contain various items, including documents.
……That said, Rei didn't actually think there was anything important on those shelves. If there were, they would have hidden it somewhere—he was certain of that.
"Even so, I can't deny the possibility that there might be something important in there. ……Hey! Blue Spear! It's fine and dandy that you're all hiding from me, but if you keep this up, everything in this building is going to be mine! Are you okay with that!?"
Rei shouted with the intent of provoking the enemy.
Of course, he didn't think they would seriously come out at this shout. Even so, there was a possibility—however slim—and as long as that possibility existed, there was no harm in trying.
Rei didn't particularly think there was anything of great importance, but he also strongly felt that if there actually were something, the other side would have no choice but to come out.
……That said, no one showed any sign of coming out no matter how much Rei shouted.
"Don't tell me they ran away? Set is outside the building, so they shouldn't be able to escape. ……Ah, but if they built an underground passage, that would be a different story."
If they had used an underground passage to create an entrance and exit somewhere far from this building rather than right outside, even Set would have difficulty detecting it. If they were moving above ground, Set might be able to notice the enemy's presence through scent or sound, but traveling underground…… that would be difficult.
"Ah…… did I mess up? Since it's an underworld organization, and a newly established one at that, I didn't think they would resort to running away when attacked head-on."
In the underworld, reputation carried great significance.
Especially the organizations targeting Rei for assassination, such as Blue Spear—being newly established groups, they placed even greater importance on face and pride. If they didn't, they would be judged as easy prey and risk making unnecessary enemies.
That was why, even if it was Rei…… he hadn't thought they would resort to the entire organization fleeing just because one person attacked their hideout.
Above all, Rei was in the position of being targeted by new organizations including Blue Spear. For that very reason, if the opponent they were targeting fought back and they ran away, their reputation would be completely destroyed. If their reputation was destroyed right when they were trying to operate in Gilm, carrying out their activities would become difficult.
……In reality, there was also the question of whether they could safely do anything after being told Rei was attacking, but only those actually involved in this battle would be able to understand that.
"Are you planning to just keep running away? Instead of a grand name like Blue Spear, maybe something like 'Good at Running Away' would suit you better?"
Rei shouted with the intent to provoke—half…… no, entirely—yet no reply came back.
(Maybe there really is no one left in this building anymore?)
Harboring such doubts, Rei finished looking around the first floor and headed up the stairs to the second.
However, Rei's suspicion that perhaps no Blue Spear members were left in this building was proven wrong the moment he reached the second floor.
"Oh. Looks like they didn't choose to run away after all."
The second floor had a hallway with several doors arranged at regular intervals. Among them, multiple presences could be felt from the door at the very end of the hallway…… and whether they understood that Rei had come upstairs, a strong killing intent drifted toward him.
Granted, some of that killing intent was due to Rei having thoroughly provoked them.
"Alright then…… let's start with a greeting."
Muttering, Rei took out a blue spear he had seized from the man he'd defeated before entering the building, took a few running steps, and threw it.
It had been a while since he'd thrown a spear that wasn't the Twilight Spear. But in terms of delivering a preemptive greeting to the organization called Blue Spear, this spear seemed the most fitting.
The spear thrown by Rei's power made a sharp sound as if slicing through the air itself, flying straight ahead…… and eventually pierced clean through the door in its path, plunging into the room beyond.
"Gyah!"
"Uwah, shit! What the!?"
"It's the enemy—Rei did this!"
Shouts erupted from beyond the door.
……Normally, when throwing a spear, it would either stick into the door or perhaps shatter it. The fact that it did neither and instead pierced straight through was what made Rei's throw terrifying.
Rei's physical strength, the twist of his body, the timing of releasing the spear—if even one of those had been off, he wouldn't have been able to impart that much force. That he could do so at all was proof that Rei's spear-throwing technique was overwhelmingly superior to others'.
That said, he paid no attention at all to the spear he'd thrown and proceeded down the hallway unarmed.
Upon reaching the door, Rei observed the situation inside through the hole created by the spear. It was clear beyond any doubt that they were in disarray.
……Naturally. They had been waiting in ambush, but never expected the very opponent they were waiting for to launch a preemptive attack.
(Though it seems not everyone is in disarray.)
Currently, there was no doubt that confusion could be felt from beyond the door, but at the same time, the killing intent directed at him hadn't completely disappeared. Indeed, there were unquestionably some lying in wait, ready to attack the moment Rei opened the door and entered.
Knowing that, Rei had no intention of obediently falling for the enemy's scheme.
He swung his foot at the door that had been pierced by the blue spear—a front kick. Specifically, the kind delivered with the sole rather than the instep, what some might call a yakuza kick.
If the door had been made of some kind of metal or magic metal, it might have withstood Rei's kick. But this was a building in the Slum District, and one owned by a newly established organization at that. There was no way such a thing would be there.
Well, if it had been a metal door it might have managed somehow, but the door Rei kicked was wooden.
The door was blown off along with its hinges.
"Nuooooh!"
"Impossible!"
Whether they were hit by the flying door or not, screams erupted from within.
Rei entered the room without paying any mind to those voices, and the moment he realized it was a fairly large room of nearly twenty tatami mats in size, he drew Death Scythe from his Misty Ring and swung.
"Power Slash!"
The slashing attack, whose power was amplified by the skill, blew away several people nearby all at once.
The unfortunate one was the man who first met the swung Death Scythe.
Power Slash was currently Level 3. It hadn't reached Level 5, where the power dramatically spiked, but even so, the result of Rei's physical strength combined with Death Scythe's weight landing a hit…… that man's upper body was turned into chunks of flesh and blood mist, flying in the direction Rei had launched his attack.
And that wasn't all. Some had internal organs hit their faces and enter their mouths, while others suffered damage as if hit by a shotgun at point-blank range from bone fragments.
The man who took the first hit had his upper body shattered in an instant, but naturally, Death Scythe's strike didn't stop there. That said, the power had decreased considerably from the impact of blowing off the first man's upper body, and fortunately the second man and those after him didn't have their upper bodies pulverized like the first. Instead, they were blown back with their upper bodies intact, crashing into their comrades before being stopped.
"Tch! He's here, it's Rei! Kill him!"
A man at the back of the room shouted upon seeing Rei enter. A man in his fifties or so, with a stern face.
At that man's sharp command, the Blue Spear members all attacked Rei at once. Naturally, what they attacked with were the blue spears each of them carried.
Many of those near Rei thrust their spears simultaneously—an attack that could fittingly be described as a wall of spears.
But Rei deflected that strike with the Twilight Spear he had drawn from his Misty Ring.
……The Death Scythe he held in his other hand, utilizing the recoil from swinging the Twilight Spear, bisected the body of a man who had been trying to circle behind Rei, splitting him clean from top to bottom.
Normally, there was no way a single person's attack could deal with a number of spears that could be described as a wall. But…… that was only if things were normal. There was no way a single strike from Rei could be considered normal.
"Uooooooooooh!"
Not understanding what had happened, the man screamed as he was blown back. The fact that he didn't let go of the blue spear he was holding could be called impressive. ……Even so, considering he'd been blown away, returning to the fight immediately was impossible.
"Multi Slash."
Rei swung Death Scythe toward the gathered men.
There were men who tried to use their blue spears as shields, but Death Scythe easily severed the shafts and slashed through their torsos diagonally.
……However, naturally, it didn't end with just that one strike. The swung Death Scythe simultaneously unleashed three additional slashes against the other surrounding men, who hadn't done anything at all.
Without understanding what had happened, the others there had their bodies slashed apart and were sent flying.
(In a way, they're the perfect opponents.)
It was a sentiment that seemed unfitting for someone facing a large number of underworld organization members. Since he had the chance, he might as well use skills here that he hadn't had much opportunity to use before—the Blue Spear members surely never imagined they were being thought of in such a way.
"Magic Shield."
A Shield of Light was created, and Rei charged toward the enemy while it was deployed.
"Pain Burst!"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The man whose right shoulder was severed by the Death Scythe swung with Pain Burst active screamed in a completely unrestrained manner.
Pain Burst, which increased the pain felt when attacking, was currently Level 3, possessing the ability to inflict eight times the normal pain on the target. With his right shoulder severed and eight times the normal pain inflicted, it was no wonder a grown man would cry and scream.
Sweeping Death Scythe upward to sever the neck of the man rolling around on the floor, Rei blocked the blue spear of a man who attacked in what seemed like a desperate, reckless charge with his Magic Shield, and pierced his torso with the Twilight Spear.
"Penetrate!"
Using his grip to forcibly stop Death Scythe's motion after severing the neck, he activated another skill. The butt of Death Scythe's shaft became wreathed in wind and pierced through the torso of a nearby man.
With both the spear and Death Scythe embedded in their respective bodies, Rei gripped both weapons as they were and swung widely.
The bodies of the two men went flying from the impact. Rei forced his way through the men who had reflexively dodged the hurtling corpses……
"So, what'll it be?"
He pressed the blade of Death Scythe against the back of the neck of the man who had been giving orders, and asked.