Dio stood before the two Lords dressed in orange prison wear, surprisingly with no cuffs restraining his arms.
He blinked. Was he getting released? Was that monster finally planning on letting him go?
Unfortunately, the intense gazes he felt boring into his figure from the sides promised him otherwise. He sighed and finally raised his head to confront Roy, and that was when he noticed Roy wasn't alone. Was that Vera?
Suddenly his lifeless gaze regained vigor as he yelled at Vera excitedly, "You, you're here! Quick, help me, I'm ready to trade the location for freedom now!"
Seeing her unmoved, he gritted his teeth and added, "I'm also ready to subordinate myself to you." His words squeezed through a clenched jaw. He expected this offer to move her. After all, he recalled how much she had offered previously for him to come under her banner — which was a given, because among hunters he was a genius!
But unfortunately, the Lord still remained unmoved. Instead, her gaze trailed back to Roy as she spoke. "It seems you have yet to discipline him well. His habit of being noisy remains the same."
Roy glanced at him, his gaze carrying a frigid chill, as his lips stretched into a smile that wasn't a smile. "You see, I was busy and I haven't had enough time to… tend with this dear friend of mine."
A chill crept up Dio's spine at the sight of Roy's gaze, his back matted with sweat. His brain finally seemed to have caught up on the fact that he was before two monstrous Lords, both of whose prowess he was well aware of.
His trembling lips parted in an attempt to plead when…
[Insubordination Detected!]
A screen flashed in his view and a mechanical voice boomed in his head. Somehow this screen didn't feel familiar. This wasn't his system, but the voice seemed familiar. It was then a slight itch from his groin reminded him…
[Delivering Appropriate Punishment!]
His eyes widened in horror. "N-No, ple—"
An obsidian metal collar, which had sat around his neck unnoticed since his arrival, suddenly constricted, squeezing his vocal cords. A threatening spark danced across its surface before happily digging into his skin.
His body was instantly overwhelmed by a high-intensity voltage, frying him from the inside out. His mouth went wide but only muffled grunts escaped. His figure collapsed as he convulsed and writhed all over the ground.
Even Vera, from the side, felt chills at this sight. Her gaze wandered warily from the sinister collar to Roy, who sat leisurely watching his prisoner's plight with no expression.
The bastard was a sex offender. He had no pity to spare for the likes of him… and besides, after this, he was sure Dio's lips would become a lot more loose.
The scorching currents finally halted, the tightened collar releasing its grip. By now his tattoos were indistinguishable from the burns. His chest heaved erratically as he coughed violently, but even in his miserable plight a cold order rang in his ears.
"Get up." Roy commanded, his icy gaze betraying no sympathy.
Dio's innards churned. He felt rage. He felt shame. But… he also felt fear.
He struggled to his feet, and to his surprise the same demonic collar which had brought him to this state was now radiating a light green glow. A refreshing force rushed through his veins from his neck, rejuvenating him, healing him.
Roy glanced at Vera. "Assemble your men, then. He will be leading the way."
Her brows furrowed at his request. "Wait, we are moving now? You know we have to prepare a lot of things for this expedition. This is a dungeon, you know? A place home to an army of monsters, some of which are at the peak of level 20s. We can't just waltz in like that."
Roy had naturally thought of all this, but he was severely short on time. In less than a week from now, his territory would be facing Variants.
In fact, if she could read his mind and see that he had plans of completely raiding a dungeon in less than a week, she would lament at how childish and crazy he was.
"Then go make preparations… but we still move today."
Vera fumed. Was this guy insane? Arcana had just been opened for two days, along with dungeons and other special locations. And just yesterday she got news of an early comer Lord who, along with his entire army, hurriedly marched into a newly discovered dungeon. The result?
His territory was currently in chaos, as different individuals were fighting for the now-empty crown of the deceased Lord!
She couldn't let that be her story!
But gazing at Roy's stubborn eyes, she could tell there would be no use in trying to haggle with his type. She gritted her teeth in anger.
Fuck it! There's no way I'm going to give up on the dungeon. As much as she wished to let this guy wander to his death alone, she couldn't. There was something vital she needed urgently, and if Dio's earlier descriptions were accurate, she might be able to acquire it there.
"Fine. You both wait here. I might take an hour or more to prepare. That's the best I can do." With that, she stormed out of the meeting room, not waiting for a reply.
Roy, on the other hand, was gazing at the gacha section with intensity while Vera went to prepare. This was his own preparation!
Dio, on the other hand, stood at the side, daring not to breathe too loud or be noticed.
Since I have no time to farm Justice Points, I'll just test my luck as it is… He clicked open the section.
[Exclusive Mystery Pack: Legendary Edition!]
A regal inscription bloomed in midair as the gacha screen flickered open. Roy was beside himself with anticipation. This was the first time he was seeing a legendary pack! Though its items would remain elusive until drawn, his heart raced with excitement at the thought of all the goodies it might hold.
"System, burn 100 vouchers!" he instructed. He wasn't going to be stingy when he was about to head into a deadly location. Today he was going to burn them all until he got something heaven-defying!