Chapter 45: The Arms Dealer

There were twelve people inside.

One glance was enough for me to recognize Klaue.

He stood near a large table covered with maps, weapons, and documents while the others gathered around him.

Two men sat in front of several security monitors, their attention fixed on the screens showing the front gate and different sections of the perimeter.

Looks like they were more worried about the villagers than someone sneaking in through the secret tunnel.

That worked in my favor.

I remained where I was for a few more seconds, carefully memorizing everyone’s positions.

Three men stood close to Klaue while the rest were scattered around the room.

None of them were paying attention to the door behind me.

Slowly standing up, I took a step back and rested my finger on the trigger of my AS VAL.

Twelve armed men.

Definitely the biggest fight I’d walked into so far.

I took a slow breath and steadied myself.

There was no hesitation in my mind.

The moment I opened that door, either they died…

or I did.

There wasn’t a third option.

Silently disengaging the safety, I raised the rifle toward where I remembered the first guard standing.

The wooden door wasn’t thick enough to stop rifle rounds, which made things much easier.

Without giving myself another second to think, I squeezed the trigger.

Thup…

Thup…

Thup…

The suppressed rounds punched straight through the wooden door.

A heavy thud followed almost immediately, then another, and before anyone inside had the chance to react, three more bodies crashed onto the floor.

For a brief moment, the entire room fell silent.

Then someone finally shouted, “Enemy!” and the remaining guards immediately scattered for cover.

Rifle fire tore through the wooden door, filling it with holes as splinters flew in every direction.

There was no point staying outside anymore.

Planting my foot against the door, I kicked it open with all my strength.

The door slammed against the wall, and the moment I stepped inside, every rifle in the room turned toward me.

Gunfire erupted from every direction.

Bullets slammed into my chest, shoulders, and arms one after another, the impacts forcing me back half a step.

The suit absorbed most of the impact, while my enhanced physique handled the rest.

It hurt a little, but nothing serious enough to slow me down.

I raised my rifle and returned fire without stopping.

The first burst dropped the man hiding behind an overturned table.

The second caught another as he tried to move between cover.

One after another, they fell.

Some tried to return fire while others attempted to escape, but it didn’t make any difference.

Barely ten seconds after the first shot was fired, the room had fallen silent once again.

The smell of gunpowder filled the air as bodies lay scattered across the floor, blood slowly spreading beneath them.

Only two people were still standing—Klaue and the guard beside him.

I slowly raised my rifle toward them.

“Throw your weapons over here.”

Neither of them moved.

I shifted the barrel toward the guard and repeated calmly, “I’m only going to ask once.”

The guard was the first to give in.

He slowly lowered his rifle before sliding it across the floor toward me.

After a brief hesitation, Klaue did the same.

Both of them raised their hands and stepped away from the weapons.

“Good. Now move a little further.”

Neither of them argued.

Once they were a few steps away, I raised my rifle and pulled the trigger.

Thup.

The suppressed round struck the guard square in the forehead.

His body collapsed to the floor before he even realized what had happened.

Klaue’s face instantly turned pale.

“I… I thought you said you wouldn’t kill us.”

I looked at him for a moment before shaking my head.

“I told you to throw your weapons over here. I never said I was going to let either of you live.”

His body visibly relaxed for a brief second before the fear returned.

“…Except you.”

The color drained from his face once again.

Up close, he looked nothing like the ruthless man his reputation suggested.

Sweat covered his forehead, and his eyes constantly shifted between me and the bodies scattered across the room.

Honestly, I expected more.

“I need something from you,” I said calmly.

“Before that, where are the security recordings, transaction records, and every piece of information stored in this base?”

Without saying a word, Klaue pointed toward a row of metal cabinets against the wall.

“There… everything is there.”

Keeping my rifle trained on him, I walked over and opened the cabinets.

Hard drives, laptops, documents, ledgers, and several storage devices were neatly arranged inside.

One after another, I threw everything into my storage space.

Watching shelves empty in front of his eyes without me touching half the items, Klaue’s breathing became even more erratic.

“W-What… what are you?” Klaue asked, staring at the empty cabinets.

Before I could answer, footsteps echoed through the corridor.

A second later, Diablo walked into the room.

His gaze swept across the bodies before stopping on me.

He gave a slight nod before saying, “You’ve done well. Leave the rest to me.” Just as we had planned, I silently stepped aside and stood behind him.

Diablo slowly walked toward Klaue, his expression calm from beginning to end.

“I only have one question,” he said.

“Where is the Vibranium?” The moment those words left his mouth, Klaue’s expression changed.

He looked at Diablo, then at me, as though he had finally realized who was actually calling the shots.

For a few seconds, Klaue remained silent before forcing out a nervous laugh.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Diablo simply looked at him.

After several seconds of silence, he spoke again.

“I’ll ask one last time. Where is the Vibranium?”

Klaue swallowed hard but still shook his head.

“I don’t—”

Diablo turned his head slightly toward me.

“I want the information.”

That was my cue.

I walked over until I was standing directly in front of Klaue.

The closer I got, the more nervous he became.

“W-Wait…” he blurted out.

“I have money. A lot of money. I’ll give you everything I have. Just kill him and let me go. You’ll never have to work again.”

For a brief moment, I almost laughed.

Even now, he thought money could solve everything.

Unfortunately for him, the one thing I wanted couldn’t be bought.

Without another word, I placed my hand on top of his head and activated the curse.

The effect was immediate.

Klaue let out a bloodcurdling scream before collapsing onto his knees, clutching his head in agony.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

It hadn’t even been five seconds.

I released the curse and stepped back.

Panting heavily, Klaue looked up at Diablo with terror written all over his face.

“The Vibranium… it’s stored in a separate vault beneath the bunker. I’ll take you there. Just… don’t use that on me again.”

Before either of us could respond, one of the dead guards’ walkie-talkies suddenly crackled to life.

“Boss? We heard gunfire. What’s going on there?” Klaue’s face instantly turned pale.

Diablo calmly picked up the radio and held it in front of him.

“Answer.”

“I…”

“Or I’ll have him continue.”

Klaue grabbed the radio with trembling hands.

“Everything’s fine,” he replied, forcing his voice to stay steady.

“A few men are checking the warehouse after hearing a noise. Stay on the perimeter. Don’t leave your positions.”

A few seconds later, the reply came.

“…Understood, boss.”

The radio went silent.

Before leaving, I quickly looked around the room.

Several deformed bullets lay scattered across the floor, along with a few damaged fragments from my suit where the rounds had struck.

I picked up every one of them and stored them away.

I wasn’t planning on leaving behind evidence of equipment that shouldn’t exist.

Only after making sure nothing had been left behind did Diablo look at Klaue and give a slight nod.

“Good.”

“Now take us to the vault.”

…..

Author’s Note:

Cast your vote and let me know which demon you’d like to see join Chris’s side!