[Moments before the explosion].
"Hehehe."
I walked in the dimly lit path before me while trying to hold back a chuckle.
'Damn it. I can't believe I won't see the face he'll make when he finds out.'
By now, that Pillay guy must still be making his rounds, and most likely, he hasn't noticed what we did yet.
Unfortunately, though I am tempted to go back, I had my priorities. Also, I get the feeling we'll see each other soon enough.
'Boy, do I want to piss him off.'
His existence is probably going to be a pain in the ass for me but that's exactly the reason why I want to annoy him.'
Secretly hoping for our next encounter, I looked to my side.
Elliot was walking silently despite the repulsive smell that would make anyone shout and complain.
The awful scent came from everywhere and the more we walked, the more pungent the smell became.
Unbothered, I also welcomed the god-awful smell that would make even the stinkiest poop smell like a perfume.
Where am I, you ask? Where else but the sewer pathways of the abandoned mansion.
The sewage system, when under the mansion itself, is quite huge. But no one bothered to guard this place because it only had a lot of sewage pipes.
Even if it technically had a direct path outside the mansion, the paths in the discussion were too small for even a human body to fit in.
In other words, it's currently the only secluded place in the mansion.
Well, not anymore.
"Oh, they're there."
A hint of relief can be traced in my voice as I spoke.
Not far from Elliot and I were River and Shin. Both were trying not to show the disgust on their face but from how Shin's nose kept twitching and how River kept adjusting the bandage on his face, I could tell they want to leave as soon as possible.
"Hey, guys! Glad you made it here in one piece."
I waved my hand and stopped in front of them.
"Haa. I got lucky."
River sighed and stretched his limbs.
"Back there, there's no one observant enough to notice my presence."
"River-san, if that Pillar-guy was there he would have noticed you."
"Really? Then I made the right decision to not get too close to the targets until he left."
"You did."
Shin commented.
Hearing the mention of the Pillar guy, I suddenly remembered what happened in the room. Shin must have thought of the same thing because his lips tugged up in a troublesome smile.
'Oh, shit.'
A cold shiver went down my spine as Shin spoke.
"Speaking about that Pillar guy, you cannot believe what Dark-san did to-"
"Shin, you son of a bitch."
I quickly placed my hand over his mouth and glared at him before he can say anything else.
With that, I dragged him to the side and whispered.
"You bastard. Did you forget that I did that to save you?"
"I know but it's too funny. I can't keep it to myself."
"Force it down your throat or I'll rip your tongue off."
"Tss. Fine, fine."
Shin answered back in a similarly low voice.
Satisfied, I let him go and we went back to the others.
River looked at us with a weird expression but then shook his head and decided not to ask.
"Joking aside, what do we do know?"
He asked.
Shin spoke after him.
"What else? We leave. The plan is to meet here when we get separated, right? Then if it's too risky, we leave. We can't possibly get a chance with that Pillar guy around."
Shrugging, I leaned my back on the wall.
"Personally, I don't disagree. But River, share your report first. I'll decide afterward."
Nodding, River told us what happened.
"I followed the children and the [Level III] security guards and found them lining in front of the basement door. At first, I was curious why they lined up but then I noticed they entered in groups of three people."
"Three people?"
My eyebrow shot up.
With my eyes, I signaled River to elaborate.
"Yes. There was a person in front of the door. He looked important and he was checking the people entering."
"Hmm."
I thought deeply.
If it had been our original plan, we would have been [Level III] security guards by now. We may or may not have been caught but it would be relatively easier than taking our [Level III] security guards at this moment.
But that is the case if all the [Level III] security is gathered in one place. If that's the case, getting involved would be out of the question.
However, if it's by a small number, and by three people at that, then there might still be a chance we can still proceed with a plan.
Looking over at River, I asked.
"Anything else? I need all the information you can give."
"Nothing much. All I can say is that from what I've noticed, the three people entering would be one managed, one fighter, and one child."
"You memorized the paths there, right?"
"Of course."
After hearing River's answer, a smile formed on my lips.
'This is perfect.'
My hands went behind my back and I took out the highly lethal explosives we had bought beforehand.
As something like this can't be stolen, we had to buy it with Shin's money.
We went broke after buying that we can't even give ourselves a dimension bag or a communication device.
But what can we do? Bombs were more important.
Shin and River copied me and also took out the bombs they had hidden with them. We placed them all on the floor.
They weren't much but with their lethality and when placed in the right places, they could deal a serious blow.
Smiling, I spoke to the others.
"Now, here's the plan."
* * *
[Location, basement].
Zen's assistant was constantly writing down important pieces of stuff while updating his boss.
Just now, the ceremony had ended. While he was busy cleaning up everything, he suddenly heard a commotion.
"What's that?"
His eyebrows furrowed as he squinted his eyes in the distance.
Something was approaching them and running in the hallways with a notable speed.
"Stop that thing."
Zen's assistant ordered.
The [Level III] security guards, in particular the fighters, readied their weapons.
"Halt!"
"Stay there!"
But no matter how much they screamed, the figure did not stop.
In fact, it got faster.
"Shit."
Cursing, Zen's assistant sent his boss a message.
[Sir Zen, we need you here].
Because they were in the basement, the signal was bad and the message was waiting to be sent.
Nevertheless, Zen's assistant knew it would reach his boss soon enough.
He focused his attention on the approaching figure.
"Tell that person that he'll be eliminated if he doesn't stop."
"Yes, Sir."
Nodding, the [Level III] security guard prepared to engage in battle and positioned himself to attack before screaming.
"Whoever you are, you must stop now! If not, you will be considered an intruder and we will be forced to get rid of you!"
Even upon saying that, the person did not stop.
As he was nearing, the [Level III] security guard noticed the person was wearing a [Level II] security uniform.
'What's a [Level II] security guard doing here? I remember Sir Zen telling us that they're restricted from getting near the basement.'
Though [Level II] security guards were assigned guards inside the mansion, the ones assigned in the basement were [Level III] security guards.
For the record, [Level III] security guards did not wear any uniforms. Because they were special and most particularly, because they were trusted, Pheregor did not tell them a dress code. They're free to equip themselves with any and all protective equipment, including specialized clothes with an integrated protection spell.
That's why it was easy to spot the [Level II] security guard.
'Meh, whatever.'
Shrugging, the [Level III] security guard did not pay it any mind.
'I just have to do my job.'
With that, he along with many others aimed their weapons at the approaching [Level II] security guard as ordered.
That guard, a now blind man that goes by the name of Elliot, did not care that many weapons were pointed at him.
He was not in his exact mind to care about himself.
All he could think about was the order of his master, a ruthless man with marigold eyes and raven black hair who is currently blending in with the people gathered on the basement door.
'Create an opening.'
That ruthless man had given him that last order and gave him his final words.
'Even if you die, you must make sure that we succeed in our plan.'
'Elliot, my survival is your priority.'
'I must survive.'
Though that ruthless person said it to him, if Elliot was in his right mind, he would notice that the receiver of those words was not him but the guy that had spoken it.
But alas, he did not.
Elliot can only run forward and accept the multiple weapons that flew in his way.
* * *
[Location, sewage].
In an empty dark place that was stinkier than the most unsanitary public rest room, numerous bombs were placed on the walls.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
One bomb made a little beeping sound which was barely audible, if alone, but spelled disaster when joined with many other bombs that made a similar doomsday noise.
The bombs were placed perfectly in alignment with a part that served as a foundation of the abandoned mansion above the sewer.
In that way, if the bombs were to explode, not only would they destroy a foundation but they would also create a chain of destruction.
Of course, it would not destroy the whole mansion but it would be sufficient enough to destroy a big part of it.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
On the surface of the bomb, along with the beeping sound, was the sound of a timer ticking consistently down.
There were exactly five minutes left on the timer.