Chapter 99

SIDE: Leighton Dorgwant

The fate of the fingers, which many would think they already knew.

The hands, and especially the fingers, are the parts of the body we see most often and are also indicators of human nature. Dissecting them is difficult, and even for those aspiring to a medical career, the dissection of a cadaver's hand during the mandatory anatomy lab can be a point of frustration. It's not a matter of difficulty; it's the inability to suppress the feeling of disgust. Even after cutting open the chest or abdomen, the feeling remains.

"~~♪ The secret ledger needs to be hidden more carefully."

With the momentum of the village's upgrade to a town, and its continued growth to the point of almost becoming a secondary capital, the city of Clarisent. Among the many large buildings in the city, the most elegant and luxurious is the combined city hall and mayor's residence. In one of its rooms, he was smiling.

Leighton continued flipping through the stack of documents, humming a tune. The pages, filled with the city's financial transactions, would take even a seasoned reader a considerable amount of time to decipher. However, Leighton's eyes and hands did not stop. From an outsider's perspective, he was flipping through the pages as quickly as a child playing with a stack of paper, his eyes moving up and down continuously. Each page contained over thirty lines of numbers, and the destinations of the funds were written in a way that could serve as a code. The documents were categorized, and there were over two hundred pages in total. After reviewing all the information, Leighton closed the stack with a thud.

It took only about five minutes, but in that time, Leighton had accurately grasped almost all the budget flows of the city.

He returned the documents to the cluttered shelf and turned around.

"Well, I kept you waiting."

"………………!"

In front of him was the current mayor of Clarisent, Sigan Sheffield, tied to a chair and gagged.

Leighton approached and pressed his face close to Sigan's nose.

"I have a few things to confirm, so I'll ask you some questions. ... Oh, I won't remove the gag. A response will be enough."

His smile, if seen alone, looked as gentle as a young man trying to woo a woman on a street corner. But Sigan knew there was no kindness there. In fact, he had been suddenly subdued and restrained by this man, who had sneaked in at some point.

Who is he? How? And how did he sneak in? The questions were endless. But Sigan understood that any resistance would result in the sword at his waist being turned on him. So, he did not resist.

It was a wise move. The only effect was that he avoided a bit of pain.

"First, you told five people about your plan to use the Trenchworm, excluding the monster tamer Helena Kunz."

Leighton held Sigan's right hand and asked,

"...It seems to be fine."

Sigan had not intended to nod or say anything.

But for Leighton, it was enough information. Sweat, pulse, eye movements, and changes in complexion. The amount of information that can be obtained from these physiological signs is vast.

Therefore, the statement was true. Sigan had only revealed the details of the secret to five city officials, those who understood the flow of funds. Among those who could grasp the flow of taxes, he had excluded those who might oppose or could not keep the secret, and if necessary, reassigned them to other positions.

"Um, the names are...?"

The five names that followed. Sigan's head was filled with question marks. Why? There was nothing in the documents he had just seen that would reveal this. They were written in a way that would not be obvious, just in case.

But why? As he narrowed his eyes, the man in front of him chuckled.

"Thank you, I understand clearly."

Leighton said, standing up. He walked to the window, looked outside, and took a breath.

Why? The question marks in Sigan's head continued to fly.

Earlier, after being restrained, he was asked which ledger showed the flow of funds. He had remained silent, not answering. Yet, this man had said "thank you" and without hesitation, sifted through the documents to find the secret ledger.

Why? Sigan continued to think. The eerie feeling of being read like an open book made his cold sweat uncontrollable.

"Well, we can't finish your processing here. I don't want to leave any traces... so..."

Leighton's arm blurred for a moment. The next instant, the ropes binding Sigan to the chair fell off. However, the restraints on his hands and the gag remained.

"Let's go to the forest, then."

The next pressure points. Sharp pains shot through Sigan's thighs and throat. By the time he realized the pain, it was too late. His legs gave out, and he fell forward. He tried to scream, but only a hoarse groan escaped.

The floor rushed toward him. But his face did not hit the ground; someone had grabbed the collar of his shirt and held him up.

By "someone," there was only one person.

"..."

Leighton dragged Sigan, heading for the exit.

Holding the neck of a grown man and dragging him through the room, from an outsider's perspective, it was extremely unnatural. It would not be strange for guards or Sigan's private soldiers to rush in and surround him.

But that did not happen.

At each corner, he sensed the presence of people. Each time, Leighton paused for a moment, then moved.

Perfectly synchronizing his breathing with the passersby, he entered the blind spot, moving without casting a shadow.

A bold intrusion in broad daylight, and with Sigan in tow. Despite these adverse conditions, Leighton moved freely, completely undetected by everyone in the building. As if he did not exist.

Once outside, his movements became even more audacious.

Using the tops of buildings, alleys, and the shadows of objects, he abducted Sigan. Due to the pressure points applied by Leighton, Sigan was paralyzed and had no means of resistance.

Before long, the two shadows reached the depths of the northern forest of Clarisent, where the Trenchworm had been sighted.

Even if Sigan wanted to complain as he was roughly thrown to the ground, the effect of the pressure points still prevented him from speaking.

Even if he glared in defiance, Leighton only smiled without any reaction.

"..."

Leighton grabbed Sigan's hand and threw it sideways.

The momentum caused Sigan to fall face down, his bound hands stretched out. Leighton stepped on his wrists, a light pressure to keep him in place, not to hurt him.

Leighton's face, from Sigan's perspective, looked very pleased.

"Five people were involved. Lucky for you, I can handle it with just one hand."

"?"

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Sigan's right hand.

"Ahgaaaaa..."

The intense pain partially alleviated the effect of the pressure points. Still, it was only enough to let out a scream. Sigan's body convulsed. Twisting his paralyzed body, he struggled desperately to escape the pain, but his movements were limited to a slight writhing.

Scrape...

Each time Leighton moved the thin file in his hand, this sound was heard. Inserting it into the metacarpophalangeal joint, the bone at the base of the finger, he cut through the flesh.

Of course, there was no lack of pain. Sigan's body stiffened from the pain, and he continued to scream.

Still, the screams were only at the level of groans.

With Leighton's skill, he could have removed the fingers without the person noticing. A finger could suddenly fall off during a routine activity, blood spurting out, creating a bizarre situation as if it had "fallen off at some point."

However, Leighton did not do that.

He disliked the sharp wound that would be visible in such a case. That was the main reason.

The contorted face and foaming mouth of Sigan as he created the rough cut did not bother him at all.

With a snap, the thumb was removed. The only method of stopping the bleeding was a simple tourniquet of a material that would quickly decompose and disappear, wrapped around the wrist. Of course, the ground was stained with fresh blood, but that was all part of Leighton's plan.

"Well, one down. Let's hurry through the rest."

As he said, Leighton's movements became slightly faster. The terror of having fingers removed and the hope that it would end quickly mixed, and tears streamed down Sigan's cheeks.

"Alright, done. Let's finish it up."

Sigan had no energy left to resist. The pain in his arm was so intense that he could not even determine where it was coming from. The sensation of loss at the end of his arm. His consciousness was fading due to blood loss.

Leighton grabbed his collar and lifted him. The powerless body hung limply, and the glare in his eyes was much weaker.

The fresh blood dripping from Sigan's right hand stained the ground. The smell of blood, while not noticeable in the forest, would be a perfect beacon for those seeking it.

He waited for a moment.

What was he planning? As the pain began to subside and Sigan's brain adapted, he was just starting to think clearly when...

A rumble came from under Leighton's feet. A faint vibration that would not be noticeable without being in contact with the ground, but Leighton sensed it. Finally, they had come. He stepped back slightly and threw Sigan's body forward.

Sigan did not understand what was happening.

Suddenly thrown by the man, he felt a moment of weightlessness. But that was all. He struggled to land on his weak legs, and the ground beneath him began to shake.

This is bad.

By the time he realized it, it was too late.

A hole opened in the ground beneath his feet, and a foul odor rose.

A moment later, he saw the teeth, and the red, slimy mouth. A slimy sensation covered his feet.

His vision went dark, and he felt a strong pressure all over his body. Then, the pain of the teeth piercing him.

The last thing Sigan saw in this world was Leighton's smiling face, waving goodbye.

"Wow, impressive."

Leighton sighed. The Trenchworm that appeared before him was so large that its face could not be seen even when looking up, larger than the one he had accidentally hunted in the mountains of Nerg before.

The tough, tightly bound hide, proportional to its size, would make excellent armor. If sold, it would fetch a considerable price.

But he would not allow that.

The guild, the intended buyer, was also involved in this crime. He could not give them such a profit. He would pay for the work to be done later, but he could not give them such a valuable item.

Leighton placed his hand on the magic sword at his waist and waited for the Trenchworm to finish its meal.

The Trenchworm squeezed its prey in its mouth, savoring it in its throat.

Drawn by the smell of blood, it had not had such a large catch in a long time. Living by hunting small prey in the area, following the pleasant aura emitted by the human, it had been lonely and hungry.

A large catch, finally. If this fills my belly, it will be great.

His throat rumbled with satisfaction. But then he noticed something was wrong. No, there were two prey earlier. Now, only one was in his body.

Realizing this, he used his throat muscles to push the prey further into his body, changing his plan.

I'll fill my belly with this one. I'll savor the other one later.

But where did the other one go?

As he returned his body to the ground and looked around, he quickly found the other prey. A coward, trying to escape.

First, I'll weaken it.

He thought, and with a powerful lunge, struck the prey's side.

The impact on his abdomen. He had struck it, he thought.

But his consciousness went dark, and he lost it there.

The approaching Trenchworm. Leighton, who could understand human thoughts to some extent, could not read the mind of a monster. But it was clear to anyone that it was attacking.

Kicking the approaching side, Leighton's hand blurred.

The magic sword, Jungvi, which only sages could wield, was used to its full potential by Leighton.

In the next instant, a storm of slashes appeared with the swing of the sword, each one cutting into the Trenchworm's hide and leaving wounds.

He did not give it a chance to groan in pain. The numerous wounds inflicted by the slashes made the tough hide crack and fall apart, and finally, the lightning-fast slashes reached the Trenchworm.

The slashes from the magic sword were to torment. The slashes from the sword were to take the prey's life with minimal damage.

The contradictory goals were achieved simultaneously.

The giant body fell, and as planned, the Trenchworm's corpse, having swallowed a human, was created.

That night, in various parts of the city, mostly in large mansions, small screams were heard.

Some found discolored fingers in the rabbit terrine, some in the fried potatoes, and some on the fork that had pierced the sausage in the soup.

Each of them shuddered when they saw the letter hidden under the plate.

"If you continue, it will be your turn next."

The letter and the swollen finger. Without any prior agreement, for a while, the city council of Clarisent became the most upright in the country.