Chapter 127: Leave When the Applause Dies Down
Waaaahh―!!
The dawn of the second day of the Munsin Tournament arrived.
The crowd had only grown, not diminished in size compared to yesterday. The cheers and fervor were at their peak, turning the arena into a boiling pot.
“Hooh… Back in my Liz days, I couldn’t even imagine such a crowd. They really have summoned a lot of heroes.”
As I stood quietly observing the scene, a vibration from my waist interrupted me. It was Older Brother Sooho muttering to himself.
A classic complaint filled with the weight of the changing times.
Yes.
Today, I have put aside the Killer Spoon’s creed and participated in the preliminary rounds with a pair of black and white twin swords strapped to my waist.
“Ah… ah…”
Embarrassing as it may be, what can I do? I might die.
That’s right. To be honest, I’m scared. It’s terrifying.
I know I’ve died before, but I don’t know why. In such situations, being helplessly drawn to one’s doom feels dreadful, doesn’t it?
This morning, coming to the arena felt like being led to the slaughterhouse like a lamb.
“Obbing… it’s ruining my face…”
It’s not death itself that is frightening, it’s the unknown process of getting there that terrifies.
The fear of the unknown was suffocating me.
“Blue side! Challenger no. 112, Blood-stained Moonlight Shadow!”
The judge’s shout woke me up from my daze. I shook my head sharply to clear my thoughts.
Anyway, with a situation like this, even the preliminary rounds do not allow for any slack. I will give everything I’ve got in every match.
I’ll show you how brutally Jin-sung Park massacres the civilians.
“Red side, Challenger no. 1125! Yueli!”
A slightly unusual name was called out. I turned my gaze toward my opponent.
She is not Korean. While her name came through as ‘Yueli’, it’s a translated foreign word; the original pronunciation is probably something like ‘Lunar Elpras’.
A few months in this alternative world and things start to come automatically; it’s why people often send their kids abroad for education, I guess.
“Is she from a minority group or something?”
She has dark black hair and deep azure eyes. Her attire is a voluminous, flowing gown reminiscent of a hanbok. She wears a fluttering white mask that seems to partially cover her face.
Regardless, she has an eastern-inspired appearance, which naturally gives me some sense of familiarity.
“Second Day, Match 12, Begin!”
The referee slashed a hand and loudly announced the start.
The cheers became even more intense. This indicated that many spectators were tuning in to our match.
One reason is me. Apparently, my star quality spread like wildfire overnight. I was kept busy trying to suppress the corners of my mouth that kept involuntarily dancing.
“Hmm. Mi, The Eye of Mimir.”
I need to calm down, Jeong-yong Park. This is quite a serious situation… and it’s not the time.
Desperately trying to hold on to my seriousness, I immediately brought up her Status Window.
[Name: Portia]
[Nickname: The 93rd Cavalier, Witch Hunter, Nameless Knight, Yueli, Muxian]
[Level 311]
[HP: 2100/2100 MP: 2000/2000 Condition: Normal]
[Strength: 209 Agility: 442 Intelligence: 363 Hero Sense: 23]
“What the hell…!”
The sense of reality that was slipping away suddenly struck my spine like a lightning bolt.
I couldn’t believe it even after checking over and over again. The content displayed in the window didn’t change. I turned my gaze to the Name and Nickname sections.
“Portia… Nameless Knight?!”
It was real.
Everything that Karhalas told me last night was true.
Looking at Yueli… no, Portia the Nameless Knight before me now, I realized it.
— “I want to protect Father… our Dad.”
I recalled my room from last night. The urgent eyes and the aching voice of Karhalas echoed in my mind.
The events of that night slowly filled my thoughts.
“What are you talking about? Who needs to protect Ade Lang?”
In the quiet loneliness of my bed, I held Karhalas’ jaw as I locked eyes and stared into hers with burning intensity.
Anyone could mistake it for a romantic situation, but the atmosphere between us was far from romantic or pleasant. Especially for me, who had just been crushed.
“Do you know the rumors of Restitution Sect’s suspicious movements worldwide?”
Karhalas started this conversation.
Her eyes, which looked directly at me, were filled with resignation.
I released her jaw upon reading her gaze, and nodded my head.
“I’ve dealt with one of those on my way here.”
“Yeah, I heard. When I first met you, I thought you were just some oddball, but now I know you’re far more extraordinary than I imagined.”
With a bitter smile, Karhalas stared earnestly at me.
But I held my head high with no need to lower it.
“What does this have to do with my participation in the Munsin Tournament?”
“In order to explain that, I need to talk about the agenda of today’s International Conference… do you know anything about it?”
“No.”
Fast talking, no future promises, a Yes Man.
My immediate answer made Karhalas a bit flustered.
“You’re… really bold.”
“If I didn’t attend the conference, it’s not a crime to not know things.”
“Ahh… yeah, that’s true.”
Of course, not feeling ashamed of ignorance is a sin, an ancient someone said. Which is why I’ve been giving off fiery glares this entire time.
Karhalas chuckled awkwardly and nodded hesitantly.
“The main topic of today’s international diplomatic conference was ‘What is the Resurrection Sect’s true goal?'”
“Goal?”
“Well, the acts of the Resurrection Sect reported from all over the world are too inconsistent.”
“In what way?”
“Originally, the Resurrection Sect was an organization that engaged in acts of terrorism, such as human sacrifices, for the return of a witch. However, recently, we’ve gathered intelligence that they have rallied under a Demon King. The organization that acted for the return of a witch is now suppressing a Demon King, an act without precedent.”
“…”
“Ultimately, today’s meeting ended inconclusively… but…”
I think I know why this is happening.
Your group has been integrated by Kasas? Given their overarching policy of neutrality, there’s nothing they could do. This vague thought popped up but, unable to predict the repercussions of saying it, I kept my mouth shut.
Then Karhalas continued.
“Additionally, while preparing for the Munsin Tournament and investigating the Resurrection Sect, we secretly obtained information.”
“What is it?”
“There are numerous forces related to the Resurrection Sect that have infiltrated the competition, and… they are targeting the Witch Hunters.”
Witch Hunters.
With a familiar ring, I swallowed.
— “All things related to witches will be punished. In the name of Witch Hunter Ade Lang.”
Ade Lang’s signature line.
He used to say this every time he killed someone related to witches, as if he wanted to broadcast to everyone that he was a ‘Witch Hunter.’
And now, for the first time, I confronted Karhalas with the massive curiosity surrounding Ade Lang.
“Hey. What exactly is this ‘Witch Hunter’? Isn’t Ade Lang one? Is it like some sort of group?”
“… Oh, yeah. You know about it.”
“If he goes around boasting like that, not knowing might seem odd.”
“Uh… Dad is really…”
With an exasperated sigh, Karhalas looked far older.
Beautiful people are beautiful even when they look five years older. I was deep in thought while the situation seemed serious to her.
Anyway, contrary to my expectation of a clear explanation, Karhalas shook her head with a troubled expression.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not something I can talk about freely. If you want to know, you need to ask Father.”
“It’s kind of late to be cagey now.”
“It’s father’s absolute directive, so there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.”
For once, Karhalas was resolute. I swallowed and acknowledged defeat.
Before Karhalas had the chance to speak, I interrupted and summarized.
“In any case, since this mysterious force is after the Witch Hunters infiltrating in the Munsin Tournament… Ade Lang, known as a Witch Hunter, is in danger, correct?”
“Yes.”
Karhalas gave a slight nod.
On the basis of what I had heard so far, I drew my conclusion.
“So, a counter force that could eliminate these enemies in the matches was necessary. And to at least extract some information about their hidden agents, you set me up as a decoy. Isn’t it?”
“Decoy… that wasn’t my intention…”
“Intent or not, it ended up as that, right?”
“… Yeah. I’m sorry.”
Maybe because I’ve died once already? My words came out somewhat harsh.
However, Karhalas didn’t rebut. In fact, she apologized. She seems to acknowledge, at least to some extent.
I briefly thought about this mysterious force.
“Active Knights like myself barely survive when facing these guys.”
For characters of that calibre still hidden in the shadows without emerging…
That’s unlikely to be common. Moreover, although I do not know exactly what Witch Hunters specialize in, this case involving witches itself is indicative.
This mysterious force is nine times out of ten likely to be an Apostle of Cassas.
“And there’s one more thing.”
While I was grinding my teeth, remembering things from Kern, Karhalas added.
“If you happen to meet a woman with black hair wearing distinct clothing during the preliminary rounds, please be careful not to expose her true power. Even immediate resignation from the match would be acceptable.”
Another baffling request came out. I frowned.
“… What’s that supposed to mean? Earlier, you insisted I must make it to the finals.”
At my confused gaze, Karhalas lowered her voice slightly. As if telling a secret.
“I just heard this, but it appears Father has also infiltrated a Witch Hunter in the Munsin Tournament.”
End of recollection. Returning to reality, I sighed deeply.
“What a rotten streak.”
Who would have thought I’d run into this undercover spy so early in the second day’s preliminaries?
With roughly 2500 participants, the chances of me facing this person in the first round should have been one in 1250, and yet here we are. Breaking the rules, aren’t we?
“… And I still couldn’t recover the residual memories.”
I glanced briefly at Arena 33.
In the corner of the arena was my corpse, still headless, sprawled out like discarded baggage. The remaining residual memory in the center of the arena emitted a gloomy glow.
I swallowed bitterly at the regret. With this situation, I had no choice.
Suddenly, I raised my hand.
“I forfeit.”
Not only Portia, who had been observing me silently, but even the referee widened his eyes.
The latter’s reaction was especially noteworthy. It seemed he had expected to watch one of the rising dark horses.
“… Are you joking?”
My opponent… the Nameless Knight, spat out with contempt.
Her displeased expression made it clear she took it as an insult. While I had no idea how to avoid this prestigious industry award of disdain, I was resolute.
“If the client says cancel, I cancel.”
I had not initially participated out of my own will anyway. The scenarios I wanted to achieve were for the most part fulfilled. Especially since I learned now that getting involved with this tournament may jeopardize my life further.
And anyway, she’s a Knight of considerable standing; she’ll surely investigate things well enough on her own without me.
“Sorry for wasting your time.”
Leaving the arena behind, I trudged toward the exit. Whether from disappointment over the underwhelming end to the match or not, the cheers quickly turned into boos and criticisms directed towards me.
“Ugh!”
“What the hell is this?! Come back and fight!”
“Hey you crazy bastard! Pay with my entire fortune!”
Thus, the legend of Moonlight Shadow drenched in blood came to an unfortunate finish.
