"Hey, isn't this bag empty...?"

"What?!"

"This is just a normal bag! What the...?"

"What is this?! There's nothing in here! We were tricked!"

After leaving Ryu behind, Big and his party attempted to take out their belongings from the bag they had stolen, only to discover that it wasn't a magic bag.

Big and his party had entrusted almost all their possessions to Ryu. The abundance of supplies they had prepared allowed them to confidently navigate the dungeon.

But what would happen if they were suddenly left empty-handed?

…

Around the time when they finally realized that the bag was a plain, ordinary one, Ryu imagined the scene and couldn't help but grin.

Stretching his body, Ryu slowly stood up and started walking. He stored the incense that attracted monsters in his dimensional storage. It might come in handy someday. Even the burning incense could be kept in its current state within the dimensional storage, where time was stopped.

Now, how would they react…?

"Of course, they'll come back."

With his God's Eye, Ryu could see the entire structure of the dungeon, knowing exactly what was where, including the location of every monster and Big's party.

While he could see them rushing back, Ryu had a mischievous idea.

He transferred monsters from the surrounding area to the place where he had been abandoned, then moved himself to a different passage.

Panicked, Big and his party encountered a swarm of monsters and engaged in battle. They would be desperate. If Ryu was dead and they couldn't retrieve their supplies, everything would be lost.

...

Big: "Ryu?!... He's not here?!"

As expected of an A-rank party, they quickly wiped out the gathered monsters.

Jojo: "Did the monsters devour him, leaving no trace?"

Chacha: "..."

Amilla: "... Perhaps Ryu was paralyzed. That's a possibility. But it's strange that there's no trace of his weapons or armor. Did he escape safely?"

At that moment, a voice echoed from the depths of the passage.

"Hey, everyone, where did you go?!"

The exaggeratedly dramatic voice, barely audible, was, of course, Ryu.

Big: "...Did you hear that?!"

Jojo: "This way!"

Big and his party rushed towards the source of the voice.

But as they got closer, Ryu used transfer magic to move further away, still calling out as if he were looking for them.

Along the way, he transferred monsters nearby to harass them.

He continued to lure them deeper and deeper, eventually leading them through a staircase to a lower floor.

They continued to go further and further into that floor. It was strange that they hadn't noticed anything, but perhaps the constant battles against the transferred monsters kept them distracted.

Finally, they reached the area where the Earth Dragon resided.

"Ryu! What did you do with the luggage?!"

At the perfect moment when Big's party was running towards him, Ryu, pretending to be looking for them, stepped into the area where the dragon was.

As they entered the room, the door to the passage where Ryu had been abandoned closed. There had been no door there before.

This area, once entered, had been modified to prevent any retreat. It wasn't like that before, but the dungeon had evolved in response to the escape of Yorm and his party in the previous raid.

...

Turning around, Ryu faced Big's party.

Ryu: "Can I get my bag back? It's my favorite."

Big: "Ryu! Where's the real magic bag?!"

Ryu: "Magic bag? What are you talking about? I just happened to be carrying that bag because I liked it."

He smirked.

Jojo: "Where are your belongings stored? Are you hiding them in a pouch? Is it a ring? A bracelet?"

There were various shapes for storage magic items. Pouches and bags were common, but high-performance artifacts could also be rings or bracelets.

However, even upon closer inspection, Ryu didn't seem to be wearing anything like that.

Ryu: "You should be more worried about something else than your luggage."

As Ryu spoke, the Earth Dragon approached from behind him.

The dragon glared at Big and his party, intimidating them.

Big's party quickly drew their swords, but the dragon only intimidated them without attacking. Ryu remained calm, facing away from the dragon.

The dragon also intimidated Amilla and her group, but it seemed to ignore Ryu.

Big: "...What's going on? Is Ryu too weak, so only we, the A-rankers, are being targeted...?"

Ryu: "Before we talk about the dragon, what were you planning to do with my bag?"

Big: "Don't be ridiculous! That was just an empty bag. Where's the magic bag?!"

Ryu decided to cut to the chase, as he was getting tired of the back and forth.

Ryu: "Big, you intended to kill me from the beginning and steal the magic bag, right? That's why you brought me along."

Big: "N-no, that's not..." "You don't have to hide it."

Ryu: "I heard everything you said when you left me behind."

Big: "The sleeping drug..." "I just pretended to eat the food and threw it away. We stored the magic in a dimensional space."

Chacha: "Stored?!"

Ryu: "I'll return the magic."

The magic he had absorbed into the dimensional space was still smoldering within. Ryu opened the dimensional space and released it. The exit, of course, was right in front of Chacha, who had cast the magic. He unleashed the Sleep and Paralyze magic he had cast on himself. Chacha collapsed and was rendered immobile.

"So, what do you say?"

Ryu turned to Amilla.

Ryu: "I can't forgive you for leaving me behind and trying to kill me... but you might have been forced to obey orders. If you confess honestly and surrender, I might let you live."

He glanced at Jojo, implying that the same offer was extended to him.

Big: "Are you planning to let the dragon attack us?! We're A-rank adventurers! We'll defeat the dragon!"

Ryu: "No, you're B-rank."

He had been ignoring it, but finally couldn't resist calling him out.

Big: "Shut up, I'm going to be A-rank soon! Anyway, after we defeat the dragon, you're not going to get off easy! Do you understand?!"

Ryu: "I'm curious whether you can even defeat the dragon... But don't worry, I'll take care of you. I've been wanting to fight an A-rank adventurer."

Jojo: "A measly F-rank adventurer fighting us? Do you think you stand a chance?"

Ryu: "Rank doesn't always reflect strength."

Jojo: "Right, that's true. But..."

Jojo used his Appraisal skill to check Ryu's strength (level).

Jojo: "...Level 1?! You're mocking us!"

Ryu: "Taking Appraisal at face value could get you hurt."

The next moment, Ryu was standing in front of Jojo.

Jojo: "What?!"

Jojo drew his sword in a panic, but Ryu grabbed his wrist, pinning his arm.

"Ugh!"

Jojo froze in pain, unable to move under the powerful grip.

Ryu grabbed his chest with his other hand, lifted Jojo, and threw him away.

Jojo, flying through the air, collided with Big, rolling them both towards the wall.

Jojo: "I-impossible..."

Amilla: "Well, it seems you have some skill."

Ryu: "I'll ask you one more time. If you oppose me, I won't show any mercy. You'll die. Are you sure about this?"

Amilla: "I can say the same to you. I'm afraid we can't let you live. Even an attempted murder could result in the death penalty."

Amilla drew her sword.

Ryu: "Alright, then come at me. I'll play with you for a bit. I don't mind facing you both at once."

Ryu initially considered kidnapping only Big and giving him a punishment and re-education.

But by joining Big's plan to kill Ryu, everyone became guilty.

Even if they were acting under Big's orders, Ryu had no intention of letting them go unpunished. Ultimately, it was just a matter of whether they would be sentenced to death for attempted murder or die at the hands of Ryu. Knowing this, Amilla and the others were determined to kill Ryu and believed they could do it.

But before Ryu could finish speaking, Amilla lunged at him. It was an incredible speed, as if she had teleported. This incredibly fast strike was Amilla's weapon.

As expected of an A-rank adventurer, she attacked with terrifying speed. Ryu took the blow head-on.

However, Amilla's expression froze. Her sword had struck Ryu, but it was stopped a few millimeters before his body, by an invisible wall.

Ryu had already erected a dimensional barrier around his body.

No matter how sharp a blade was, it could only move within its own dimension. The "dimensional barrier," a thin plate-like arrangement of different dimensional spaces, was an impenetrable defense that could not be crossed by anything without the ability to transcend dimensions.

Ryu: "Speed is your forte, is it? Let's see."

Ryu increased his own speed and attacked Amilla. A steel longsword appeared in his hand out of thin air.

Amilla managed to block Ryu's incredibly fast strike.

Ryu continued to unleash rapid attacks without pause.

Amilla parried every attack, waiting for an opportunity to counter.

Amilla and Ryu clashed fiercely.

At first, they seemed evenly matched.

But soon, Amilla began to falter, eventually becoming defensive.

Ryu had initially matched Amilla's speed but gradually started to increase it even further.

Amilla began to fall behind Ryu's sword speed. Finally, Ryu's sword pierced her abdomen.

Amilla: "Ugh... what speed..."

Amilla slowly knelt.

Ryu let go of the sword that was piercing Amilla's body, but he didn't pull it out. The sword was battered from its intense clash with Amilla's blade. It wouldn't hold up much longer.

But as Ryu released the sword, a blow struck from behind. It was a surprise attack from Jojo.

However, Ryu, with his ability to foresee future dangers, was not taken by surprise. As Ryu turned around, Jojo's arm was already severed. In Ryu's hand was the magic sword, Fragarach.

The magic sword, Fragarach, appeared in its wielder's hand at their will. Even if it was released, it would instantly return to its wielder's hand.

Jojo, though his arm was severed, didn't hesitate and immediately unleashed magic attacks. As expected of an A-rank adventurer.

Jojo was a magic swordsman, a swordsman who could also use magic. (He wasn't the type who used magic swords, but rather, someone who was proficient in both magic and swordsmanship.)

Fireballs, one after another, assaulted Ryu, each one capable of instantly reducing him to ashes. Jojo's magic was top-notch, even though magic swordsmen often ended up being mediocre in both magic and swordsmanship.

However, all of Jojo's fireballs vanished as if they were being absorbed into Ryu's body.

Ryu opened a dimensional space in front of him and absorbed all the fireballs.

Jojo was stunned to see Ryu standing there calmly.

"Is it over?"

Ryu swung his sword, standing some distance from Jojo. Jojo braced himself, unsure what he was about to do.

But in the next moment, Ryu was behind Jojo, and his magic sword cleaved through his body.

Ryu had teleported behind Jojo as he swung his sword. A skilled swordsman might have dodged, but Jojo's swordsmanship wasn't at that level. He probably preferred magic, judging by the power of his spells.

As Ryu defeated Jojo, he noticed Chacha chanting. He was supposed to be incapacitated from the Sleep and Paralyze magic. Was he wearing some sort of artifact to reduce the effects of status ailments, allowing him to recover quickly?

Chacha unleashed a magic attack. Fifty high-powered fire arrows rained down on Ryu, a torrent of flames.

But once again, Ryu opened a dimensional space in front of him. The fire arrows were all absorbed into the dimensional space.

Confirming that all the arrows were inside the dimensional space, Ryu opened the exit in front of Chacha. The arrows that had been flying through the dimensional space were all released, piercing Chacha.

Chacha, hit by fifty powerful fire arrows all at once, was torn to pieces and burned to ashes.

...

Ryu slowly walked towards Big, who was standing stunned in the corner of the room.

Big: "G-gah! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Ryu: "What are you apologizing for?"

Ryu continued to walk without stopping, standing before Big.

Big: "For trying to steal the bag, for trying to kill you... Please, I'll confess! I'll admit my guilt!"

Ryu: "You did something worse than that, long ago."

Ryu hadn't forgotten how Big, when he was a slave, bought him and subjected him to daily torture for his own amusement.

Big: "Ah, you mean that! It was... wrong! I apologize! It was a long time ago, I didn't mean anything by it, I've changed now! I'm sorry!"

Ryu: "Changed? You were planning to build a torture room in your basement when you became a lord, right? And have fun torturing people again."

Big: "How did you...?!"

Big accidentally admitted it.

Ryu: "I can read minds."

Ryu's eyes glowed golden.

Big: "!!"

Ryu: "If I let you live, I see a future where many people will suffer because of your sadistic pleasure. I shouldn't let you live."

Big: "Please, forgive me."

But despite apologizing with his mouth, Big thrust a hidden knife towards Ryu.

However, Big's knife was severed along with his arm in a single strike from Ryu's sword.

Big: "Ugh!"

Ryu: "I told you I could read minds, didn't I? I know what you were trying to do, and I know you're not truly apologizing. You're just pretending."

Ryu swung his sword three more times. Big's arms and legs were severed.

Fragarach's sharpness meant that Big probably didn't feel much pain. But losing both his arms and legs left him stunned and bewildered.

Ryu: "The wounds inflicted by this sword cannot be healed by potions or healing magic. In other words, you've lost your arms and legs, and they won't grow back no matter how much you heal them."

It wasn't necessary to mention healing, but Ryu said it anyway, to shock him further.

...

Ryu piled the bodies of Big, Amilla, and Jojo in front of the dragon.

Ryu signaled to the dragon, and it lifted its head.

Big saw the dragon's mouth open. He could see the dragon's breath being released. It was the last thing Big ever saw.

Big's body was engulfed by the dragon's breath, turning into complete ash, leaving no bones behind.

Ryu briefly regretted giving Big such an easy death, recalling the torture he had endured. But what was done was done.

He knew, through his mind-reading, that Big would never have truly repented. He had to kill him.

Ryu decided to move on, accepting the fact that he had prevented a future where Big would have tortured countless people.