Staring at the completely unconscious Laius — who hadn’t even bothered to bathe, just passed out in bed reeking of alcohol —
Ryo’s mouth twitched.
All that preparation was starting to feel like overkill.
Buying the layout from Shiroyasha had partly been about preparing for the worst case — hiding in the shadows and taking on the entire Perseus community with just the two of them.
The ultimate fallback was taking everything by force.
Steal the Authority of Medusa before Laius could use it, then launch a large-scale slaughter.
It was the standard approach against someone wielding an ultra-tier Gift — deny them the chance to activate it, seize the initiative.
But clearly, none of that was necessary now.
Laius was dead asleep.
The Gift that could decide everything — the one that made him nearly invincible in the lower layers — the Authority of Medusa — was hanging around his neck like a trinket.
“Seriously, who the hell wears a killer-tier Gift around their neck like that these days?”
Ryo emerged from the shadows, looking at Laius with a strange expression.
Gifts weren’t like bound magical artifacts.
There were no user restrictions.
Whoever got their hands on one could use it freely.
Myth after myth told of heroes’ divine artifacts being stolen and turned against their owners.
Generally speaking, unless a Gift had specific binding conditions, most could be used by anyone.
Whether they could handle the cost and fully unleash its power was another matter.
That was why almost everyone at five-digit and above in Little Garden carried a Gift Card — to store item-type Gifts inside, retrieve them at will, and prevent theft.
And Gift Cards could themselves be stored in one’s Spirit Rank, making them impossible to steal.
Not to mention Gift Cards had other functions, like identification.
Ryo had even heard that some high-end Gift Cards could display the holder’s skill progression.
It was practically a minimalist system panel.
And with such a convenient tool available, who doesn’t store their Gifts in their Gift Card before going to sleep?
Were they asking to get robbed?
Ryo didn’t know what to say.
He just sighed and turned to Lamia.
“Lamia.
Steal the Authority of Medusa off his neck.”
Lamia stifled a giggle.
She hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly either.
The single most threatening Gift in all of Perseus was falling into their hands this easily.
Her shadow writhed, forming several black tendrils.
One gently slid Laius’s pillow away and propped up his head.
Another became a razor-sharp blade, slicing through the leather cord around his neck.
A third whisked the pendant away.
The Authority of Medusa — an item created from the head of Medusa, severed by Perseus himself.
It was also the seal containing the former Demon Star, Algol.
Its wielder could draw upon two of Algol’s former Authorities — Petrification and Demon — and could also command the sealed Algol herself.
Even a waste of space like Laius became one of the strongest figures in the lower layers while holding this Gift.
Your average four-digit being wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
“It’s…
really ours now?”
Lamia still couldn’t quite believe it.
Everything had gone too smoothly.
“Stay calm.
The world is one giant makeshift stage.
Don’t expect too much from communities like this.”
Ryo toyed with the stone pendant shaped like the gorgon’s head, unsurprised.
“And now that the most dangerous weapon is out of the picture, it’s time for the next step.”
“Time to announce the Demon Lord’s arrival!!!”
Ryo tossed the gorgon head into the air, caught it in his palm, and grinned.
“Yes, my master!!”
Lamia smiled, lifted the hem of her skirt in a curtsy, and then spread a pair of pitch-black, blood-red bat wings from her back.
The next moment, countless black contract documents drifted down from the sky, falling through the night to land beside every person — announcing the Demon Lord’s arrival!!
In the dead of night, while everyone rested, the Demon Lord’s attack came right on schedule!!!
Meanwhile, the worried and loyal warrior — still awake by lamplight — stared at the contract falling from above, confused.
“What’s that?
Rain?
Or…?”
It wasn’t until the contract passed through the lamplight and landed in his hand that he realized what was happening.
“DEMON LORD ATTACK!!!”
The warrior let out a shriek, then without hesitation sprinted toward the bell tower, shouting as he ran.
“Demon Lord attack!!
Wake the hell up, all of you!!”
He kicked a few dozing guards awake along the way.
Finally, the urgent tolling of bells echoed across the entire estate.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
It woke everyone still asleep — including Laius, who’d been out cold.
Waste of space though he was, even he knew what those frantic bells meant.
“What’s all the noise?
It’s just a Demon Lord attack.”
Laius cursed.
The shrill bells had yanked him from sleep and left him irritable.
“This damn Demon Lord dares to attack me?
I’ll turn you to stone and sell you for a good price!!”
He reached reflexively for his neck — the source of all his arrogance, the very thing he depended on to survive.
The next moment, cold sweat ran down his back.
“No, no, no…
wait.
Where’s my Authority of Medusa?”
A jolt went through him, the remaining drunkenness instantly vaporized by terror.
Things had just gotten very, very bad.
“No, no.
This is a hallucination.
It’s definitely a hallucination!!”
Laius lay back down, pulled the covers over himself, buried his head, and “woke up” again.
This time, he carefully reached for his neck.
Still no pendant.
This…
this was real.
The Authority of Medusa had really been stolen!!
And the Demon Lord attack signal was right on top of it!!!
Put the two together, and Laius had exactly one feeling:
I am so screwed.
“What do I do?
What the hell do I do now?”
Laius pulled at his hair in despair, but there was no one to answer him.
Meanwhile, Ryo and Lamia had already shifted targets.
They’d locked onto the warrior — the one with a hundred thousand gold coins on him, currently ringing the bell to announce the Demon Lord’s arrival.
“Hehehe~ Money~ We’ve come for you~!”