The blind villain of the academy

Chapter 187: Ortlock City [3]

Chapter 186

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Episode 44 - Ortlock City [3]

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I stepped forward and walked toward a large door.

Holding Lumina’s hand, I opened the door, and we both stepped inside.

The very next second, a mixture of smells coming from every direction made me wrinkle my nose.

I quickly stopped breathing; even suppressing my sense of smell wouldn’t be enough.

Lumina, beside me, seemed to be doing the same.

’I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary.’

As I thought that, a woman suddenly approached us.

She looked at both of us for a few seconds before flashing a mischievous smile and turning to Lumina.

"Doing it with a blind man, huh."

She whistled as though she admired Lumina’s choice.

"...?"

I felt Lumina’s hand tremble for an instant before returning to normal.

Then the woman turned to me, stared for a moment, and said,

"Wow, even with most of his face hidden."

She looked back at Lumina and whistled again.

"Miss, you’ve really got good taste, don’t you?"

"....?"

With a smile, the woman looked at me again and said,

"Mhm, wouldn’t you like it if there were two women in your...?"

Before she could even finish another word...

"...."

A sharp blade appeared at her neck. I turned my head in surprise.

The look in Lumina’s eyes was... unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Her expression reflected not only irritation, but also deep anger.

"....?"

I couldn’t help but be startled. Then Lumina’s voice, usually calm, sounded terrifying.

"Give me a room. Now."

The woman looked at the sword pressed against her neck and swallowed hard. With a nervous smile, she stammered,

"O-okay, just... please lower your sword. I won’t flirt with your man again..."

Lumina’s sword moved even closer to the woman’s neck.

"O-okay, I won’t say another word... Just lower your sword, please."

The woman slowly backed away with her hands raised. Lumina withdrew her sword and sheathed it.

"I don’t have time. Hurry."

Lumina spoke, and the woman ran off as though her life depended on it.

The two of us remained where we were in silence while women and men walked past us.

Every now and then, some of them looked at us in different ways.

’I’d like to destroy this place right now.’

It was my first time entering a place like this, and the number of stares I was receiving was truly overwhelming.

Fortunately, the woman returned before long.

"Fourth floor, Room 408."

She handed the keys to Lumina. Then she left as soon as she had finished her task.

I let out a sigh and finally released Lumina’s hand.

"....?"

She looked at me for a brief moment, and perhaps it was just my imagination, but I thought I saw a hint of regret in her expression when I let go of her hand.

’I’m probably imagining it.’

Shaking my head, I walked down the hallway.

Now that I was inside the brothel, it was time to find the secret entrance leading to the villain’s hideout.

Lumina and I walked slowly. I used my senses along with Mana Sense.

’According to my memories, there’s a hidden door on the first floor of the brothel, concealed by Illusion Sorcery.’

I used my senses to detect any possible nearby anomalies and Mana Sense to confirm any area where the flow of air felt even slightly different.

We continued searching for the secret door in silence.

As I pressed my hand against the wall, I suddenly felt something unusual.

"...?"

It was at the end of a hallway.

The wall contained traces of the Power of Chaos so well concealed that they would have been impossible for most people to detect.

A smile spread across my face.

Next, I activated Weakness Detection and "looked" at the wall in front of me.

Then, a red point appeared in my vision.

I drew my sword and, channeling mana into it, slashed through the red point.

Crack!

The space before me shattered.

Then it began to distort, and where there had once been an ordinary wall, there was now a door.

I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

On the other side was a staircase.

"....?!"

A gust of wind rushed up from the bottom of the stairs and struck my face, carrying with it a metallic smell that flooded my nose.

’Blood...’

A strong scent of blood drifted up from below. I turned toward Lumina, who was silently staring down the staircase as though lost in thought.

’Of course. Even she didn’t know about this place, since it was a Side Quest for the players.’

Lumina might be a regressor, but when it came to knowledge of the world’s hidden workings and the schemes of countless villains...

She was at a disadvantage.

From what I remembered, there were many side quests involving villains and small organizations that, at first glance, didn’t seem like much.

However, before long, they would become major obstacles.

This was one of the reasons Lumina died at the end of the story.

She ignored these villains because they posed no immediate threat, but over time they inevitably became one.

’That’s why Side Quests exist: to make the Main Story progress more smoothly and prevent possible deviations or anomalies.’

I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and headed down the stairs.

Lumina followed behind me in silence, still lost in thought.

It didn’t take long before we reached the bottom.

And, just as expected, the smell of blood had only grown absurdly stronger.

There was a door in front of me. I couldn’t help but feel a little surprised considering how overpowering the smell of blood had become.

’If a simple stairway reeks this strongly, then just how overwhelming must it be on the other side?’

Abruptly, I pushed the door open, and naturally, the stench only grew stronger.

Perhaps six times worse.

I wrinkled my nose and suppressed my sense of smell.

A large chamber stretched out before me.

In one corner, dozens of bodies were piled up; on the opposite side was what looked like a laboratory.

Several examination tables held corpses; most of them were boys and girls.

’So these bastards are the ones responsible.’

Outside, throughout the streets of Ortlock City, dozens of "Missing" posters could be seen everywhere.

Boys and girls, teenagers and adults, elderly men and women.

All of those people who had disappeared over the past weeks and months were right in front of me.

I walked across the enormous chamber, which measured roughly thirty square meters, large enough to set up a small soccer field for children.

Pools of blood soaked the soles of my boots with every step.

I moved slowly while using my senses. Then, on the opposite side of the chamber, I detected an illusion.

I walked toward it, and the moment a red dot appeared, I drove my sword into that spot. The illusion vanished.

A massive wooden door appeared. I pushed it open, and beyond it was a corridor filled with various objects.

I walked to the end of the corridor and reached another door.

Without hesitation, I stepped inside.

The first thing I noticed was dozens of cages.

Dozens of cages stretched across a vast chamber, almost like a warehouse.

Using my senses, I realized that a few of the cages still held living people.

They all appeared to be unconscious. Then I noticed something else.

The air smelled different.

’Poison... along with paralysis and sleeping agents.’

It was potent enough to leave a Four-Star Awakened with low resistance completely immobilized.

Since my resistance was high, I didn’t feel anything at all.

I slowly walked through the chamber, smashing the cages apart with my sword.

’They’re all asleep, but their condition is a complete mess. At this rate, they’ll be dead within days.’

As I continued destroying the remaining cages, I suddenly heard Lumina speak.

"We should notify the Knights."

"....?"

I stared at her in slight disbelief.

"Of course we should. We can’t just let them die, can we?"

She fell silent for a second before nodding.

"You’re right."

Before long, every cage containing living people had been destroyed.

I could carry them all outside now, but...

’My job here is to eliminate the two villains. I’ll leave this to the Knights.’

I turned around and found myself facing Lumina.

Her eyelids looked heavy, and her eyes were filled with exhaustion.

’Ah, right. Her resistance is terrible.’

I walked over to her, grabbed her by the wrist, and led her out of the chamber.

Once we were outside, it took a few seconds before she recovered.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone in there in the first place. My resistance is pretty low."

"It’s fine. I understand."

I brushed it off, but she looked straight at me and asked,

"But where are the two villains?"

I was about to answer her question, but then...

Two voices echoed through the corridor—one female, the other male.

"Someone definitely came down here."

"Oh no, this is bad. If they report this to the Knights, we’re finished."

"Hurry and gather the important stuff. We’re leaving."

"What about this facility? Are we really just going to abandon it?"

"We have no choice. Besides, this isn’t the only hideout in the city. And Cassian was killed recently."

"Shit, I’d forgotten about that. Then let’s grab everything."

Well, the protagonists had finally arrived at their hideout.

I turned to Lumina and answered her question.

"Well, there are our targets."

At last, it was time to settle the score with these bastards.

Without hesitation, I kicked the door in front of me. A deafening explosion echoed throughout the chamber.

Then, as though time itself had stopped, the two villains standing before me froze in shock and disbelief.