<h4>Vol. 5 ITRG Volume 5 Chapter 14.2</h4>


    At first nce, it was a visibly seedy neighborhood. It was the first time in his life that he had ever set foot in the dens of crime and lust called the bottom ce. A maze of filthy, dimly lit alleys where, true to its reputation, the rough and tumble wandered with dangerous res. Aeroc knew there was a brothel on the edge of this street.


    “It should be here somewhere.”


    With knowledge gleaned from questionable members of high society, Aeroc explored the bottom ce. He was stunned by the filth, with dirty cats, dogs, and even swarms of rats scurrying about, and wherever the sewers were clogged, the foul-smelling filth pooled in deeply. Carefully stepping to avoid dirtying his shoes, Aeroc encountered a door unexpectedly opening. The narrow alley waspletely blocked by the opened door.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    The person who opened the door sshed water onto the path. It was filthy, with something rotten mixed in, and hot steam rose from it. The door mmed shut again. Startled, Aeroc caught a glimpse of eyes looking this way from the end of the street. Someone with a massive body, wearing filthy clothes adorned with outdatedce, grinned with a malicious smile, their fingers moving suggestively. With heavy makeup, it was impossible to discern if they were a woman or a man.


    “Did youe here for an Omega? If so, what about me? Despite my looks, I have yet to experience anything, my lord.”


    “Ah…… no. No.”


    Struck by absurd propositions, Aeroc abandoned his previous intentions. He had no intention of attempting anything with someone who clearly hadn’t bathed properly. He’d rather skip all the hassle and go with a dysentery patient who bathed twelve times a day. No more having the intention of trying to find his solution here, Aeroc turned around and started back the way he came. He regretted his impulse over and over again. How nonsensical it was, how foolish.


    <i>Thud, thud.</i>


    <i>Thud, thud, thud.</i>


    Aeroc felt an unpleasant presence stirring behind him. He nced back to see two men, looking rather menacing and whispering to each other, following him at a distance. At first, he thought it might be his hypersensitive imagination, but to test, he turned into a narrower alley, and they followed suit. It was clear they were tailing him. Despite trying to shake them off by taking various turns, they didn’t easily disappear. Whenever it seemed like they were gone, they would suddenly narrow the gap and reappear.


    Aeroc circled around and around until he came to an unfamiliar alley, and they were gone. Thank goodness, it seemed he managed to lose them.


    “Where am I now?”


    Aeroc couldn’t tell how far in the bottom ce he had gone. Fortunately, it was still daylight. Aeroc looked left, right, and center for the direction of the sun in the sky. If he kept going in one direction, he would somehow get out. However, just as Aeroc was about to confidently resume his original path, those men appeared abruptly at the other end of the alley.


    “Where are you going so hastily?”


    “You look quite well-off. Let’s share some of that.”


    It was surprising to see thugs roaming unrestrained in broad daylight, but it seemed like they’d turn to robbery if given the chance. Money was not the issue. If they were beggars and not muggers, Aeroc would have given them his wallet due to sympathy. But Aeroc had no desire to give in to their threats. As a grown alpha male, he wasn’t a pathetic coward who couldn’t defend himself. Aeroc turned the cane made of a sturdy material upside down.


    The approaching figures entered striking distance. He swung the ornament on the end of his cane like a club and struck one in the jaw.


    <i>Wham.</i>


    “Ack!”


    As the man went down, Asroc mmed his cane into the temple of the other man, who stiffened in panic.


    “Ouch!”


    The other winced in pain. Aeroc pushed past them both and sped out of the alley.


    “Son of a bitch! I won’t let you get away with this!”


    “I’ll cuss you till your pretty face bes blue!”


    Profanity flew from behind Aeroc. He didn’t know what they were saying or how they were saying it, and he didn’t care. What mattered was that, for some reason, as those men shouted, others who had been casually minding their business now inexplicably turned to watch Aeroc. A few of them, seemingly of the same trashy caliber, joined in the chase.


    He was absolutely outnumbered. What’s more, this was the center of the bottom ce. No matter what happened here, Aeroc had no way to call for help. He regretted entering this unfamiliar territory alone. If he’d told the coachman to wait, he might have gone to look for himter. It was a confluence of bad luck.


    “This is bad.”


    Aeroc barely had time to breathe. He knew he had to run to break a sweat, but his body wasn’t as urgent as his mind. There was nothing wrong with his legs. It was just that Aeroc’s body had never been used to strenuous exercise beyond brisk walking while wearing a suit and dress shoes. It instinctively refused to run, a kind of mental constraint imposed by the tightness of the suit. Of course, the lowlifes pursuing him had no such constraints. They ran, and the distance Aeroc had opened up using his intelligence quickly narrowed.


    “It can’t be helped.”


    He needed to deliberately weave through theplex alleyways to split the pursuers. It would be more advantageous to take them out calmly when they were down to one or two. Aeroc weaved through the alleyways, trying to think of a way to get out from the bottom ce, but he didn’t forget to keep his eyes ahead. Anyone familiar with the area could jump out in front of him. Just as he turned into a narrow alley, the silhouette of a well-built man popped out of nowhere.


    “Argh!”


    Aeroc immediately swung his cane. But instead of a dull crack, there was a dry snap.


    “Huft.”


    The impact on his wrist was significant. Aeroc managed to not let go of the cane. Losing the cane now could lead to a truly dreadful oue. Instead, Aeroc grabbed his aching wrist and tried to shove the opponent away with his shoulder. But the sturdy opponent didn’t budge. Instead, Aeroc’s nose was crushed by a hard chest, and the silk hat on his head fell to the floor. A ck hand grabbed Aeroc’s arm.


    “What are you doing here?”


    The voice was familiar, and Aeroc lifted his head to meet a pair of fiery eyes staring back at him. This guy was thest person he wanted to face at this moment.


    “Why are you here?”


    “That’s my question, Aeroc! Are you insane, wandering around a ce like this by yourself?”


    Bendyke’s temper red, despite his own sudden appearance, Aeroc had his fair share of arguments with the guy, but he had never seen Bendyke shout so loudly and with such emotions. While Aeroc was unsure of how to react to such a violent reaction, Bendyke shoved Aeroc against the wall. Then he groped him all over.


    “What are you doing?!”


    Even as Aeroc pushed away the restraining hand, Bendyke leaned down and searched Aeroc’s body, starting at his ankles and working his way up to the top of his head. When he lifted the drooping jacket to check if anything had happened to hi,, embarrassment spread across Aeroc’s face. He wasn’t sure what Bendyke was thinking, but the serious man wasn’t satisfied with his own inspection and confronted Aeroc again.


    “Are you hurt anywhere?”


    “Nothing. Let go of me.”


    Aeroc told him to let go in surprise, but the damned guy was deaf and did the opposite. He pinned Aeroc to his side. It was fortunate that Aeroc was wearing a jacket, if he had been wearing a cloak or a coat, he would have been embraced entirely.


    “Get out of here now. No, I’ll apany you myself to the estate.”


    He sounded as sensitive as a foster guardian who’d found a young Omega girl sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. Before Aeroc could protest, a strong hand dragged him out of the alley.


    “I dropped my hat.”


    “Forget the hat, you’ve got enough money to buy hundreds more of those.”


    “You say that when you don’t even let me pass one invoice.”


    “I’ll personally buy them for you. It doesn’t matter how many you want, so shut that mouth and get out right now from this damned bottom ce.”


    It was surprising to hear this offer from the cobbler. The bottom ce was dangerous, but not to the point it warranted this overreaction. Aeroc wondered how fragile Bendyke thought he was. Just as Aeroc was about to protest that he could walk on his own, the gangster group that had been following him appeared, blocking the way.


    “There are two more people.”


    “They’re both oozing with grease.”


    “Let’s finish them all.”


    Whatever grudge they held, the thugs pulled small daggers from their pockets. The stains on the dirty de seemed to be more than just rust.


    “I’m sorry. They’re after me. These bad people.”


    “Of course they are, those filthy bastards will always snatch my people away.”


    With that, Bendyke tried to tuck Aeroc behind him. A romanticist might have taken this as a heart-throbbing wonderful gesture, but not Aeroc. If anything, it made him feel even more disrespected. Moreover, when did Aeroc be his persom? He shook off the shoving arm and turned to face Bendyke, who gave him a fearsome re.


    “Stay back. It’s dangerous.”


    “I am capable of defending myself.”


    “Your paltry abilities are none of my business!”


    The angry alpha shouted with a roar, and Aeroc wasn’t the only one startled by the rumbling cry. The thugs who wereughing wickedly also seemed taken aback. Somewhere, there was a sound of a door creaking open or hastily closing.


    Aeroc’s eyes widened, and Bendyke spoke in a bitter voice.


    “It’s my role to get blood-stained. Aeroc, you just stay… in your wless self. That’s how it should be. Because this time I want to protect you…… please.”


    In his boiling anger, an indescribable earnestness permeated. The sight Bendyke showed now was nothingpared to the gaze directed at Rapiel. It was a gaze filled with desperate determination, having barely struggled through the mes of pain and despair. Why he had such thoughts, Aeroc didn’t know, but it was like that.


    “Then, do so.”


    Aeroc stepped back obediently. Bendyke let out a long sigh and muttered something low. Aeroc caught a glimpse of the words: second, another chance, god, grateful. Was the guy thanking the god for giving him a second chance? Aeroc wondered what was this second chance, and what made the devil-like guy thanking the god, but it wasn’t the time to ask that right now.


    Bendyke stood upright, facing the thugs, his hands d in tough-looking leather gloves and holding an unusually thick and long cane. It was the same metal that had blocked Aeroc’s sword earlier.


    <i>Swooosh.</i>


    Unlike Aeroc’s, Bendyke’s cane had a long sword through a twist of the handle. It was a fairly ssic weapon, one that had been rarely seentely, and the de was eerily sharp, not a mere decoration. It was spotted with ck stains, but the color was nothingpared to the dagger in the thugs’ hand. The de glowed ominously.


    “Now, you bastards.”


    The smirk on his face was creepy. The thugs looked at each other. They exchanged nces as if to see who would make the first move, and then one of them yelped and lunged. Bendyke waited, then swung his sword in the guise of cane.


    What was this guy doing here? And with such a terrifying item?


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