‘What’s going on?’

It happened so fast that I couldn’t stop him.

‘What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong?’

BOOM!

The fish was blasted away into a wall. Before he could scream, Park Deok-Gu grabbed his head and slammed him into the wall again. I heard a loud

crack

, but Park Deok-Gu's roar was loud enough to drown out that sound.

He was swearing and crying at the same time.

The scene was so bizarre that I questioned whether I was staring at the Park Deok-Gu I was familiar with. His voice was completely different from his usual voice, and he was so domineering that the fish could not do anything other than cover his face with his hands.

“H-Hold on…

Aahhh!

” Squiat yelled.

‘Looks like our Deok-Gu became stronger.’

I thought our pig only knew how to get hit, but he was actually pretty strong.

He had grown a lot.

The fish had a warrior-type class, but he couldn’t fight back at all.

The fish was a typical melee DPS with balanced stats; his skills and attributes were excellent. In addition, he had to be an Epic adventurer or higher. Otherwise, he couldn't have reached his current heights.

If he were closer to Legendary than Epic, he would outclass Park Deok-Gu, but that wasn't the case here.

Sword techniques, martial arts techniques, and skills were useless against a tank with extremely high Endurance. There was a massive difference in stats, so Park Deok-Gu’s attacks were extremely damaging to him despite the former's low Strength.

Just one fist was enough to render Squiat to the brink of a coma, and the punch that came afterward had to have made it difficult for Squiat to breathe.

I was sure he had already lost his teeth as well.

He was covered in blood because Park Deok-Gu was still punching him.

“How… could you do that?! You bastard! You ungrateful jerk!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“

Ah… ahhhh!

” Squiat screamed.

“You deserve to die! You… You know nothing!” Park Deok-Gu continued.

“

Cough!

”

“You shouldn't have talked nonsense when you know nothing! Did you really have to do that?! Why?! To feel better about yourself?! You bastard! Do you feel better now, huh?!” 𝐫

“

Keugh…

”

“You dirty, wicked, and shameful bastard!!!” Park Deok-Gu yelled.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Squiat was using all of his energy to withstand the pig's punches.

‘I do feel kind of better. Yeah, if you’re going to punch him, you might as well go all out. Don’t show mercy.’

I felt conflicted. A part of me wanted to keep watching, while the other part of me wanted to stop him. If I could, I'd send Squiat’s soul to Benigoa, but…

‘It’ll be bad if he ends up dying here…’

Obviously, I had to stop Park Deok-Gu, so I decided to pull him away.

Park Deok-Gu raised his fist to pound Squiat's head, but I moved quickly and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him away.

“Deok-Gu! Park Deok-Gu!”

I called out his name desperately, but he was so immersed that he could not hear me.

“You… dirty bastard! You deserve to die! Our hyung-nim… he… he went through so many hardships! He struggled so much…he's been struggling, but you… you…”

‘Why are you crying?’

Park Deok-Gu failed to control himself and burst into tears.

‘You’re acting as if you’re the one who's getting beaten up.’

“

Haa…

S-save…”

‘Hey, he might actually die at this rate. I think he’s really trying to kill the guy.’

Squiat was writhing in pain, and he couldn't even think about resisting anymore.

He looked like a fish on land.

‘He can’t die here. He can’t. I need to send him back as an example to others.’

In the end, I had no choice but to cling to Park Deok-Gu’s arm.

Park Deok-Gu failed to notice me, so I flew away when he swung his fist.

I ended up rolling on the ground.

I rolled dramatically to ensure that he'd notice me, and it worked.

“

Ah!

” Park Deok-Gu exclaimed. “

Uh… uh…

hyung-nim?”

“...”

“Hyung-nim…” Park Deok-Gu said.

I needed to be stern with him. I couldn’t be nice to the guy who had crossed the line.

“Get out,” I said.

My serious voice filled the quiet room, and I was even surprised by how cold I sounded.

I checked up on Squiat before looking up at Park Deok-Gu.

As expected, Park Deok-Gu was looking at me in disbelief. It looked like he had finally come to his senses. He had sent the Saint of Sacrifice rolling on the ground and had pummeled the fish bloody.

“I-I… just…” he stuttered.

“I said get out, you pig!” I ordered.

“I just—”

“You bastard! Who told you to beat him up? Have I ever told you to beat up people you didn’t like?” I questioned.

“...”

“What was that? You think I’ve been taking care of you, so you can do something like this? Does nothing matter to you anymore now that you’ve gotten stronger? Do you feel better after barging into my room and behaving as you pleased? Do you not care about anything anymore?” I scolded him.

‘I was happy by what he did. I honestly wanted to punch the fish myself. I'm feeling better thanks to the pig.’

“H-He… he…” Park Deok-Gu muttered.

“I heard what happened as well. I don’t understand why that was kept a secret in the first place… but how… how could you act like this… every time…” I complained.

Park Deok-Gu was silent. He had to be too embarrassed to even apologize. He knew what he had done, after all.

‘How dare you beat up my guest?’

Of course, it was true that Squiat had broken the contract, but the contract hadn't stated anything about being forced to eat knuckle sandwiches upon breaking the contract.

Kim Ye-Ri swinging her dagger was probably a decision by the Blue Guild as a whole, and I was sure the contract that was released to the public was different.

Basically, Park Deok-Gu had done something bad.

Thankfully, I could stop this from becoming a big story because I had influence over the press, but the news of Park Deok-Gu beating up the manager of Ohio to a pulp would cause political issues.

Park Deok-Gu wasn’t exactly a political individual, but he was smart enough to know that.

‘If only the beating weren't this severe…'’

Squiat’s political life was going to come to an end on its own because breaking a contract wasn’t an issue that could be resolved easily. However, Park Deok-Gu had run rampant, so Squiat now had a reason to kick up a fuss.

‘It didn’t really matter, anyway.’

I was going to end the fish, anyway. I had already planted the seeds, and it would have been great if Park Deok-Gu hadn't beaten him up. Well, it had already happened, so the least I could do was ensure that Squiat wouldn't die at Park Deok-Gu's hands.

In addition, Park Deok-Gu also had no excuse to behave in such a ruthless manner.

“T-That…”

I cast a disappointed gaze at Park Deok-Gu. He received one stack of disappointment upon barging into the room like some thug, and he received another stack of disappointment by behaving in such a violent way.

‘Are you still the Deok-Gu whom I'm familiar with?’

'Are you really the same pig that I know? You weren’t acting like a pig just now. You don’t have anger management issues, do you?'

I had no choice but to keep acting like I was disappointed with him.

“I was just… w-worried about you… and… more importantly…” Park Deok-Gu paused.

“...”

“H-He…” Park Deok-Gu stuttered.

“You…” I paused.

“...”

“You disappoint me…

really…

” I said.

Park Deok-Gu cried.

“Sniff!”

‘Don’t cry. Why are you crying?’

“Get out,” I said.

“So

He couldn’t move.

“I said get out! You pig!” I shouted.

I felt kind of bad for him when I saw him standing there and wiping away his tears.

I’d feel uncomfortable leaving like this… Actually, I couldn’t leave just like this. Unlike him, I had to keep doing my job. First, I had to check if Squiat was still alive… and sprinkle a bit of holy power on him.

Once I was done, I had to call a priest.

The pig just stood there with his head down. Blood was still dripping from his hands, and the sight bothered me. I was sure he wasn’t hurt because of his exceedingly high Endurance stat, but…

“

Keugh…

”

‘Ah, it’s really bothering me.’

“Give me… your hand,” I said.

“...”

I took out a bottle of potion from my bag and poured it over his hand.

“Hey… I’m sorry…” Park Deok-Gu mumbled.

“Don’t do this next time,” I said.

“But still…”

"Hey, listen.”

“...”

“Don’t tell Hyun-Sung either, and make sure that Ye-Ri won't tell anyone about what happened. You know why I’m acting like this, right? It’s because I don’t want this to become a big problem,” I told him.

“B-but hyung-nim… about what happened during the Bahamut expedition… that was—”

“Yeah, I know. It’s not a big deal, is it?” I interrupted him.

“That’s right. It wasn’t a big deal, so don’t worry about it. I'm not sure what he told you… but it really wasn’t a big deal. It’s not something you have to worry yourself over, and it’s all over now. I’m telling you that you don’t need to worry or carry the burdens alone."

'You say it’s not a big deal, but you barged in here and went crazy. Does that even make sense?'

“All right, thanks,” I said.

“A-Also, I’m sorry. I—”

“Just don’t do it again next time, so leave this place to me and go rest,” I interrupted him.

“I

“I’ll take care of it, so you go take care of Ye-Ri,” I said.

‘Even if you stay here, there’s nothing you can do.’

“At least—”

“Get out,” I ordered.

He finally caught on and left the room quietly.

‘Ah, shit… it really is a mess.’

I felt like I was just hit by a tornado.

The unconscious Squiat before me made me feel extreme delight, but I couldn’t show it because Park Deok-Gu and Kim Ye-Ri were peeking in through the slightly ajar door.

I sighed and showed them my back.

My shoulders were trembling as if I were dealing with my tumultuous emotions.

‘I’m suffering like this because of you guys. Yeah, you two—Ye-Ri and Park Deok-Gu.’

Only accomplished actors could act with their backs turned on their audience.

After wiping away my tears, I opened the communication channel.

"Benigoa."

—...

"Benigoa?"

—

Huh? Ah!

I-I’m here! Lee Ki-Young! I-I was just taking care of the work that had piled up. W-Why are you calling me?

"Let me borrow your spear."

—...

"You know, the spear. The one you’re using as a decoration… Let me borrow it."

—

Huh? Huh?

The

spear? My… spear? Why?

'What do you mean, why? They'll find your relic during the dungeon cleanup, and I expect them to find it thirty days from now.'