Dungeon Refrigerator 80

Test

Bang! Annihilation! Acid Man!

[Hyuoo... ooooooh...]

Lying in wait on the rooftop of a building, holding my breath, I peer below to observe the situation. It feels like I've become a ninja or a dark hero, concealed in the darkness, and it's satisfying.

Nina-san headed towards the station. Fortunately, there were no strange actions from anyone who seemed like a stalker, so I breathed a sigh of relief for the time being.

Narrow streets without sidewalks. Not even a white line is drawn on the side. Only street lamps mounted on electric poles illuminate the asphalt road. But even those are spaced far apart, and it has no other significant light sources. The light seeping from residential buildings provides some relief from the darkness.

Finally, a suspicious figure lurking in the night began to move.

Emerging from the alley, the man in a black T-shirt and jeans shrugs his shoulders. It's definitely suspicious that he appeared after all signs of people disappeared.

(Hmm... Wait, he passed by...?)

After passing by Serai-san's apartment, the suspicious man turns the corner.

What's going on? The presence I felt from him was the most suspicious so far. I cross my arms and ponder, but it doesn't quite add up.

(Well, if he had nothing to do with it, that's fine.)

As I'm thinking this, the man returns to the corner. He glances around, shaking his head, making sure there's no one around, and quickly jumps into the entrance, which is left open.

(Just as I thought! He must have circled the building once to check Serai-san's room from the outside. Damn, I do that too when I enter a new store for the first time.)

[Thud! TapTapTap!]

The man rushes up the stairs, skipping 2 or 3 steps. He's wearing sneakers, and even as he climbs, it's clear he's using the cushioning of his knees and toes to avoid making noise.

But I'm genuinely relieved by this.

His movements are that of an ordinary person, not a superhuman. If he were an Ability User who had gained power in a dungeon, he would probably be using that power by now. After all, whether it's a hawk or a lion. They do it with all their might when they pounce on their prey.

The man has straight black hair. His face is plain without distinctive features, but if I had to describe it, it's like a Noh mask, giving off a gloomy impression. However, perhaps due to the excitement of base desires and anticipation, his lips seem twisted into a thin smile.

[TapTapTap!]

The stalker reaches the 3rd floor of the apartment. Having climbed the stairs in one go, he holds his breath, bends at the waist, and extends his neck to check both sides of the corridor. Then, he looks at the open door of room 301, Serai-san's room, and his smile deepens.

Keeping a low profile is essential because I don't want the apartment's residents I'm hiding in to see me. The stalker sneaks up to the open door of room 301 and is suddenly attacked by a slime falling from above.

"Ugh! Mugaah! Muggggh!!..."

Like a person in a movie or drama who suddenly got kidnapped from behind with a bag over their head, the stalker was drenched in slime from head to toe.

Let me explain.

The slime that suddenly descended from above is a skill I had previously stretched thinly on the ceiling in front of Serai-san's room as a trap. I manipulated it with additional magical power and I made it attack the stalker like a slime.

"Uguu...! Gumomoo!... (Struggling!)"

"Hey, stop thrashing around (Bam)."

I leaped from the rooftop of the neighboring apartment and used the slime rope to move to Serai-san's apartment, like SpOder-Man. I gently nudged the stalker's chin to knock him unconscious.

"Master! Is it over?!"

Serai-san pokes her head out of her room in response to the noise. She wore sneakers. So she could escape quickly, and she tightly grips a mini crowbar for self-defense.

"Yeah, it's over... Please contact the police and Nina-san."

"Okay, I will!"

The battle is over.

A surprisingly uneventful conclusion. But that's fine.

It's out of the question for a dungeon-powered Ability User to engage in a superpowered battle in the middle of the city. Whether I win or lose, they'll charge me with property damage and assault.

And worst of all, I might kill someone or get killed myself.

That would be a disaster. In a different world or Japan's Edo period and earlier, I might have gotten away with disposing of thieves or rapists, but modern Japan is a nation of laws. If you break the law, you'll get caught by the police.

Just because he's a stalker doesn't mean I can kill him without consequences.

(Alright, before the police arrive, should I tie him up and check his belongings.)

There is a mysterious insect-like man, bending down next to a fallen man. If the police were to arrive at this moment, it wouldn't be hard to imagine where they'd point their gun barrel, whether at me or the man.

(Alright, alright, a folding knife. Guilty. Were you planning to use this to threaten Serai-san? What about his smartphone?)

I examine the stalker's smartphone. In the image folder, I found several suspicious photos. I knew there would be covert photos of Serai-san, but there are also other unclear and shabby pictures of abandoned buildings and desolate alleys. And then it suddenly dawns on me.

(Damn...! He was planning to kidnap Serai-san and imprison her in one of those abandoned buildings?!)

I feel a sudden surge of anger.

I don't know how far this guy was willing to go, but at the very least, he intended to carry out his plans if he had the opportunity. After all, he had infiltrated all the way to Serai-san's doorstep.

"Master, I've contacted them. Uh, I may have spoken to this man a few times..."

Serai-san, who pokes her head out of her room again to report, mutters as she looks at the unconscious man lying in the hallway.

"Do you remember what you talked about?"

"No. This man's voice was very low, and I couldn't hear what he said. We were near the university or the station. I was scared, so I left the scene right away..."

"I see... But don't worry, we've caught him now. Go back to your room, and I'll call you after I've finished tying him up."

"Yes, thank you, master."

Serai-san bows to me and glances at the stalker's face before closing her door. I thought she might kick the guy's head in anger or something, given her temperament, but she didn't show any such signs of aggression.

Anyway, I've restrained the stalker with zip ties and duct tape. I'm still furious, so I've wrapped his face with duct tape and bound his hands and feet. Just his nose sticking out should be enough.

(Haa, but...)

I'm still not satisfied. Even if I hand this stalker over to the police, he'll eventually released back into the world, no matter how many years he served his sentence. If he had harmed Serai-san, she would carry a lifelong scar in her heart. To think he could get away with it after serving 5 years or so in prison! That's unthinkable! Probation or settling out of court could even mean he avoids any punishment.

Probation only applies to sentences of less than 3 years of imprisonment or penal servitude, but I don't know what kind of sentence he'll receive.

(Grr... But can such a lenient outcome be allowed? If Serai-san had been raped, she would carry that pain in her heart for the rest of her life! To let him off after just 5 years or so in prison? Huh? That's absolutely unacceptable! Probation or settling out of court is out of the question!!)

Yes, I've concluded.

In the dungeon, it's either kill or be killed. If this stalker intended to prey on Seri-san, he should be prepared to be preyed upon himself.

So, before he faces legal consequences, I'll take care of him according to my rules.

I won't say I'll judge him; I'll only handle it on my terms. Just as this guy had planned to do, I'll only return the favor.

Alright! You'll be my test subject!!

Sugogogogogogo...!

(Boil over, Acid...! Surge, my Salt...!)

[Sugogogogogogo...! Byikyuuuun!!]

I gradually converted my magic power and used it. With that magic power, I activate a skill and forcefully pour it into the stalker's body!

.....

[ThudThudThudThud]

A police car arrived in front of the apartment, its lights silently flashing without sirens. The exterior of the building across the street is dyed red and flickering.

(Knock, knock, knock) "Seraii-san, the police car is here."

(Tap, tap, click) "Oh, really?"

"In this outfit, I'd better disappear. Let me pass through your room to the balcony."

"Oh, okay. But what should I tell the police...?"

"Say you fought off your attacker in one blow."

"...Alright."

"Well then, see ya!" (Whoosh!)

I escape to the balcony and hide on the rooftop again. While they didn't use sirens, the rotating police car lights have piqued the curiosity of nearby residents. They are peering out of their windows. Moving now would be risky with so many eyes on the scene.

So, I lie on the rooftop and gaze up at the night sky. The moon, which had been hidden by clouds earlier, is now rising.

(......)

I could describe the punishment I inflicted on the stalker as a curse. It's because I turned his testicles into rock-solid salted chunks.

As a result, he'll no longer get tormented by sexual desire and won't entertain any evil thoughts. Additionally, I used my skill, [Strong Acid], to multiply the acidity in his body several times, rapidly aging his blood vessels. From now on, he'll suffer from extreme hypertension, thanks to his deteriorating blood vessels, and his rock-solid salted testicles slowly dissolving.

(I didn't take his life. But from now on, he won't have time to concern himself with anyone else in his life.)

That's my version of the Code of Hammurabi.

I don't think I did anything wrong, but if someone were to read this notebook after my death, I'd be curious to hear their thoughts.

"What would you do... when you're in my shoes?"

By the way, Hammurabi was apparently a king.