The early summer night breeze swept past Jeong Yusin.
The slum streets were dark.
So was Jeong Yusin’s mind.
A boar-like beastman approached.
His name was Delnaco, wasn’t it?
“Scath sir.”
Delnaco respectfully offered a towel and a new coat.
Jeong Yusin discarded his torn coat and wiped his body with the towel. So much blood had soaked it that a strong iron tang filled the air.
“Did I clean up well enough?”
Jeong Yusin handed back the towel as he spoke.
“Yes.”
“Then why were you waiting?”
“Aldein sir asked me to confirm if Scath sir was alive before returning.”
“Is that so?”
As Delnaco looked at Jeong Yusin, he hastily bowed his head. His gaze was murkier and more restless than the first time they’d met.
“Allow me to guide you.”
“Understood.”
The two men left the slums. Passing through dark alleys, they emerged onto the dazzling main streets and slipped through the Eastern Checkpoint.
The guard merely glanced at Jeong Yusin’s blood-stained body without saying anything.
As they reached the Central District, Jeong Yusin spoke.
“Go ahead. I need to buy a weapon first.”
“At this hour?”
“Yes.”
Is Einhofer even there?
He pondered briefly. There was no way to know. Still, he intended to visit the Western Forge Street once.
“I’ll come along.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll wait for you at the Demon Disassembly Site.”
“Understood.”
Watching the retreating back of the boar beastman, Jeong Yusin turned and walked on.
After a long walk, he arrived at the forge district. Most of the shops were dark, save one.
Boron’s Forge.
Is he still awake at this hour?
Drawn as if by a spell, he approached the forge where light seeped through.
Upon entering, Boron sat on a chair. His head was tightly bandaged.
“Hey?! What brings you here at this late hour?”
Boron asked in surprise.
“I’ve come to buy a sword.”
He instinctively felt that nights without a weapon at hand would no longer be possible.
CLANG! TANG!
From behind a wooden door in a corner of the forge, hammer sounds echoed.
“Ainhoffer?”
“That’s right. What a stubborn one he is.”
Boron crossed his arms and sighed.
“He doesn’t eat or sleep. Just keeps hammering away. At this rate, he’ll work himself to death. Tsk. How did I end up with such a guy?”
“May I watch?”
“As you please. But be careful. His Tremor Marking sometimes makes him lose grip of the hammer.”
“Understood.”
Jeong Yusin walked toward the sound of the hammer.
CREAK.
Opening the door, a stifling heat enveloped him.
The forge’s heat and light filled the room.
Ainhoffer was swinging a hammer at an anvil.
The hammer struck the red-hot sword.
Sparks flew.
Jeong Yusin slowly approached and sat a little distance from Ainhoffer.
Ainhoffer’s face was drenched in thick sweat.
Droplets collected at the corners of his eyes and trickled down his cheeks, resembling tears.
Lowering his gaze, Jeong Yusin watched.
The hammer struck the sword at times, and other times missed and hit the anvil instead.
CLANG!! TANG!! CLANG!!
The uneven strikes warped the sword in different directions.
Much like his own fate—distorted by misfortune—and also much like Ainhoffer.
One was tormented by the Labyrinth’s darkness, suffering from madness.
The other bore an Impurity Marking, making normal life difficult.
Watching Ainhoffer, Jeong Yusin reflected.
Today, he had killed 31 people and refrained from killing one more.
Those 31 deserved their fate, with no chance of reform. He had no regrets.
The issue was Tarman.
Or rather, his own deliberation over whether or not to kill Tarman.
Madness gripped his heart and clouded his mind.
CLANG!! TANG!!
Ainhoffer’s hammer sounded, calming Jeong Yusin’s sharp thoughts.
Again, sparks flew.
Ainhoffer wept but did not stop. He didn’t give up.
A man who, though shedding tears at the trials fate had given him, refused to be defeated—a man who steadfastly stayed on the righteous path, though he might appear half-mad.
CLANG!! TANG!! CLANG!!
As Jeong Yusin watched Ainhoffer’s hammering blankly, a small light sparked deep in the darkness of his heart.
Darmong’s way to survive in the Labyrinth City.
Aldein’s way to survive in the Labyrinth City.
Ainhoffer’s way to survive in the Labyrinth City.
Each had their own method.
Closing his eyes, Jeong Yusin gathered Darmong’s kindness, Aldein’s ruthlessness, and Ainhoffer’s persistence.
Then,
he mixed in his own resolve.
Imagining Ainhoffer’s hammering, he fastened his raging madness with mental nails.
CLANG!! CLANG!! TANG!!
Jeong Yusin slowly opened his eyes.
His irises, a mixture of clear and murky ki, gleamed in the forge’s light.
‘A.’
Ainhoffer lost grip of his hammer. It flew toward Jeong Yusin.
Extending his hand, he caught it.
“…Scath.”
Ainhoffer gazed blankly at Jeong Yusin.
Jeong Yusin handed back the hammer and said,
“Please make me a sword when you can.”
“…Can I really do it?”
Ainhoffer’s voice trembled.
“Of course. I trust you.”
Ainhoffer’s lips quivered.
For a long time, the two men stared at each other in silence.
Jeong Yusin stood up.
“I’ll visit again.”
“…Alright.”
As he opened the door, Boron stood there waiting.
“Give me a Long Sword.”
Jeong Yusin said.
Boron glanced at the sword in Jeong Yusin’s hand.
“That’s an elven single-edged blade, isn’t it? Why buy another when you already have a weapon?”
“I won’t use this.”
“…Understood.”
Boron went to the weapon display and retrieved a Long Sword.
“Use this.”
“How much?”
“Ten silver pieces. What about the Light Armor?”
“It’s destroyed.”
“Tsk. Bring it in for repair later along with the payment.”
“Understood.”
Equipping the Long Sword at his other hip, Jeong Yusin left the forge as dawn approached.
Walking slowly, he arrived at the Demon Disassembly Site.
In its courtyard, a bonfire burned. It was a familiar spot where, after work, he had once grilled meat with colleagues.
Aldein sat there alone, while the boar beastman was nowhere in sight.
Aldein continued staring at the fire without moving as Jeong Yusin approached.
“Why did you spare one?”
Aldein finally spoke.
Instead of answering, Jeong Yusin offered a sword.
“Just take it.”
Aldein glanced at the sword, then returned his gaze to the fire.
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“The smell of blood is too strong.”
Still holding the sword out, Aldein said,
“Visit more often. Show your face, do some work.”
“As you say.”
“Come closer.”
When Jeong Yusin stepped closer, Aldein looked up and scrutinized his eyes.
“You have annoying eyes. Take the coat. It suits you.”
With that, Jeong Yusin turned and departed.
As Jeong Yusin disappeared from sight,
Delnaco quietly appeared behind Aldein.
“That Barbaroy never asks what we’re doing. Isn’t he curious?”
Aldein muttered.
“Would you tell him if he asked?”
“No.”
“He’s probably thought the same.”
Aldein glanced at Delnaco.
“Why do you keep using honorifics with Scath?”
“That’s…hard to explain. Should I say he has dignity? Or that he’s full of venom?…I’m not sure, but I find it hard to meet his eyes directly. Somehow, I keep using honorifics unconsciously.”
Delnaco tilted his head, then answered.
“Enough. How did he fight?”
Aldein asked.
“It was…”
“Why?”
“Brutal.”
“Tell me more.”
Delnaco hesitated before recounting the fight at the tavern.
After a moment passed,
“He chewed on the neck, you say? Are you sure?”
Hearing this, Aldein scratched his head in disbelief then asked again.
“Yes. He gnawed on the neck, crunching on the flesh and bones, then spat them out on the ground.”
“Hmm…”
Aldein emitted a strange sigh.
“And? How did he kill the gang leader?”
“…”
“What? Hurry up.”
“He…didn’t blink an eye when he…used his marking ability.”
Delnaco stopped, then stood before Aldein, tilting to reenact Jeong Yusin’s action.
“He plunged a golden dagger into his stomach like this. Puuck.”
“…”
“Also…”
“More?”
“Yes. Scath then went near and grabbed the gang leader by the mouth and tore it open.”
“Tore? You mean he grabbed and spread it apart with his bare hands?”
“Yes.”
“Phew…truly insane. Young and half-blooded, I didn’t expect him to fight this way. That’s what a Barbaroy is? Did you really not help?”
Aldein glared at Delnaco.
“Yes. I just watched. By the way, what should we do about the remaining slave hunting group?”
Delnaco asked.
“Let them be. They’ll scatter on their own. They’re just money-driven guys. They seem to be trying to establish a foothold in the Labyrinth City due to their struggling business. But is that easy in a city infested with devils?”
“This might make them take further actions instead. They might try to exert indirect influence over the Labyrinth City rather than direct involvement.”
“If they’re merely meddlesome, they’ll be crushed in a city where demons run rampant. We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
Delnaco deeply bowed and left the bonfire.
Aldein stroked the crimson single-edged blade.
“How do you feel?”
The blade shivered.
“Was it really that impressive? Finally, you’ve found your soulmate.”
Aldein said in a surprised tone.
“…Do you wish to stay together? Let’s wait a bit for now. We’ll likely meet again soon.”
This fight would surely spread throughout the Eastern Sector. Even the demons lurking in the dark corners of the Labyrinth City would have heard by now. With patience, Scath, weary from the labyrinth’s evils, would eventually come into his arms.
“Younger brother.”
Aldein mumbled, stroking the blade.
*
Walking alone under the morning star.
Before he knew it, he arrived at Darmong’s inn.
Looking closely, someone knelt before the inn.
His hair was strangely shaved in patches.
It was Tarman.
Jeong Yusin approached.
“…I told you to leave.”
“I have nowhere to go.”
“Do you want to die by my hand?”
“Where can I go when I’ve abandoned my village friends? Please accept me.”
Tarman looked up.
Gone was the man who had wet himself and trembled in the tavern.
Or rather.
Though fear remained evident in Tarman’s eyes,
his love for his friends was clear.
Truly unable to abandon his friends and leave?
Jeong Yusin looked up at the sky for a moment.
The tranquil morning wind brushed past him.
“Darmong.”
The image of him hastily rushing after his wife’s infidelity was firmly etched in his heart.
Jeong Yusin slowly spoke.
“Do you still have the Explorer Chip?”
“Yes.”
“Give it to me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hand over your chip.”
Searching his robes hurriedly, Tarman produced the chip.
Jeong Yusin took it and tucked it away.
“I won’t ask how you got here. Work here from now on.”
He must’ve been sent by Aldein, probably as a liaison. It didn’t matter.
“Yes.”
“If you cause trouble again, one of us will die. Understand?”
At Jeong Yusin’s warning, the blood drained from Tarman’s face.
“….Yes.”
He managed to respond.
“Can you cook?”
“Some, yes.”
“Understood. Shave your head properly. Whoever did it before made a terrible job.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Your attempt at redemption is admirable.”
“Thank you.”
At Tarman’s words, Jeong Yusin tilted his head slightly.
“…Now that I think about it, you’re really pissing me off. Stay outside a bit more before coming in.”
“…”
Jeong Yusin gave Tarman’s shoulder a light tap, then entered Darmong’s inn.
The dark streets were beginning to brighten slightly with dawn.
