Chapter 58

“Keu, keuheuk…!”

A large brute with a mangled face thrashed wildly, his throat clamped in a massive hand. He was exceptionally huge, far too heavy to be hoisted into the air with one hand by a normal person, but to Grondil—who harbored the monstrous strength of a Beast—lifting him was like picking up a pebble.

“Where is the Guild Master?”

A short distance away, Erin was interrogating a man sprawled on the floor. Half out of his mind from terror, the man couldn’t formulate a coherent answer. Clicking her tongue in disgust, Erin brought the edge of her hand down sharply on the back of his neck. It wasn’t a measured strike meant to knock him out.

Crack! 

The sickening sound of snapping bone echoed as the man’s body went completely limp. A second ago, he had been babbling and blinking frantically; now, he was nothing but a quiet corpse.

Witnessing his subordinate die without so much as a final groan, the brute dangling from Grondil’s grip hurriedly spilled everything.

“T-The Guild Master is on the… the 12th floor! Take the elevator to the right of the 3rd-floor emergency exit… ghk, cough… get off, take the left elevator, and p-press 1, 12, and 3 at the same time to reach his f-floor… keuk…!”

With a final, strangled gasp, the brute’s neck snapped back limply.

“Right elevator by the 3rd-floor emergency exit. Left elevator on the 12th floor. Press 1, 12, and 3 simultaneously, Lord Castillion,” Erin summarized perfectly.

“He holed himself up in a truly annoying spot,” Grondil muttered.

He hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place, hoping instead to spend the late hours of the night rolling around in bed with Lino before facing tomorrow’s obligations. The only reason he had chosen the Zetina Kingdom as the final destination in his search for a Letia was because of the Baron Merchant Guild. He could no longer tolerate the guild’s underground auctions, and upon hearing the Guild Master had established a new headquarters in Zetina, he had decided to uproot the entire organization.

If things had gone according to plan, he would have taken his time searching for a Letia while systematically dismantling the Baron Merchant Guild until it could never recover. However, he had found his Letia much faster than anticipated, Yuneria’s hostility toward Lino was rapidly escalating, and Baron Haklan had just appeared on their doorstep.

More importantly, Grondil found himself completely enamored with the real Letia. He wanted nothing more than to toss the fake to the Emperor and drag the real one back to Isberg. Existing in a human world that had rejected magic in favor of mechanical advancement was agonizing for him.

“Uh… Lord Castillion, your phone is ringing?”

“My phone?”

Who is it? 

Grondil carelessly tossed the limp corpse aside and pulled the device from his pocket. The caller ID flashed Enoch’s name.

“What is it—”

“—Your Highness! Sir Cliff has disappeared!”

“…What?”

What’s wrong? Erin mouthed silently from the sidelines, noticing Grondil’s expression instantly darken into something terrifying.

“We heard a gunshot from the rear quarters. When we investigated, we found Sir Cliff had broken the padlock on the servants’ back door and left.”

“An escape? Or a kidnapping?” Grondil demanded.

“We aren’t entirely certain yet, but… the security team believes he fled.”

“Fled? Lino ran away…?”

The visceral question of ‘Why the hell?’ was starkly painted across Grondil’s muttering face. Beside him, Erin’s expression morphed into pure, unadulterated concern.

“Wow… How did a guy who looks as sweet and soft as freshly baked honey bread ever find the guts to kick Lord Castillion and run away?” she whispered to herself. What is he going to do when he gets caught? 

Erin was genuinely terrified for Lino.

To run away from her lord, of all people. She didn’t know his reasons, but Castillion was the apex predator among Beasts. True to his carnivorous nature, he exhibited extreme, violent reactions when his chosen prey attempted to hide or flee. And the conclusion to those reactions was almost exclusively fatal: beating them to death, ripping them to shreds, or simply executing them. It meant an inevitable, forced farewell from the mortal realm.

“Find Lino right this—”

“Your Highness, wait a moment. We found something.”

“?”

The sound of rustling paper filtered through the receiver.

“Sir Cliff left a note in the study.”

“Read it. Now.”

Enoch rapidly scanned the note and relayed the summary. “He states he is stepping out to meet Baron Haklan. The location is Injiu District 12, Unit 9-11, 1st floor, in the Zetina Kingdom. The meeting is at 8:00. I will deploy a team immediately.”

“No, I am going. You stay and guard the estate.”

“It is nearly 8:00 now. What about the Baron Merchant Guild…?”

“I am leaving it to Erin.”

“Erin is… No, never mind. Understood. If you require backup, please contact me. I will stand by.”

Grondil hung up without a reply. Feeling a gaze on him, he turned to see Erin’s eyes practically sparkling with morbid excitement.

“Lord Castillion, do you really mean I can clear this entire place out myself?”

“…Yes. Handle it. Leave no trace behind.”

“Leave it entirely to me. Here are the car keys.”

Snatching the keys from her hand, Grondil immediately threw himself out the window. Plummeting five stories, the massive Beast landed lightly on his feet, absorbing the impact effortlessly before sprinting toward the parked vehicle with terrifying agility.

Watching the black car peel out with a deafening roar of its engine, Erin turned around leisurely. Recalling the complicated instructions the dead brute had vomited about reaching the secret office, she pulled back her fist and slammed it directly into the wall. 

Bang! 

The entire twelve-story building shuddered violently from a single strike of the woman’s small fist.

From the various corners of the structure, the muffled screams of those hiding within echoed out. Utilizing her highly sensitive hearing, Erin pinpointed exactly where every single shriek originated, and a chilling smile stretched across her face.

“Why bother taking the annoying elevator? I can just smash everything.”

Opting for the emergency stairs, Erin began her ascent to the top floor, casually punching the structural walls as she climbed. Boom. Boom. The entire building quaked, the agonizing sound of splitting concrete and tearing rebar filling the air.

Sensing the tremors, several prey items lost their nerve, abandoning their hiding spots to make a break for the exits. Erin didn’t care; she continued her leisurely climb. She had already erected a mana stone barrier around the perimeter of the building. Escaping was physically impossible.

I’ll save the terrified faces of the prey who realize they’re trapped for dessert, she thought, her smile deepening into something truly monstrous.

She might call Grondil the apex of all Beasts, but when it came to extermination, Erin was the pure embodiment of a monster. Stripping away all unnecessary actions, she swiftly and fully surrendered to her hunting instincts. It was a well-known fact in their world that any job entrusted to Erin yielded exactly zero survivors.

“Now then, shall we dish out a proper punishment for wasting our Lord Castillion’s precious time?”

Erin’s thorough cleaning of the building commenced.