Chapter 33

Early dawn.

The morning at the mountain fortress where the bandits lived was always early. Amidst the busy repairs of weapons and bustling movements, a black figure caught the eye of a sentry standing on the wooden palisade of the fortress.

It looked like a young woman, yet also like a young man. The figure’s silhouette was delicate, but the black robe it wore made it hard to distinguish the gender.

“What’s that?”

“Who knows? It’s not like a madman would approach a mountain fortress where bandits live.”

“Must be a vagrant. Clearly not worth any money, so just kill them.”

As the two bandits exchanged brief chatter, the black figure disappeared from sight.

“Huh? Did it disappear?”

“Must have run away as soon as it confirmed the fortress was here.”

But that was the wrong answer.

“…Bandits, or rather, mountain bandits since they’re in the mountains. For a hastily built fortress, it’s quite well-structured.”

“W-what? That guy who was over there just now…!”

He, who was clearly 300 meters away, closed the distance to the fortress in an instant.

“The gate is properly set up, but…”

He touched the thick wooden palisade gate with his index and middle fingers.

“That’s all there is to it.”

The gate, made of double-layered thick logs, was impossible to break without siege weapons, and even pushing it open would be difficult with normal strength.

Yet, with just a touch of his fingers, the gate was completely shattered.

“I-intruder!”

They frantically rang the bell to signal their comrades, but it was too late.

“Sounding the alarm after the gate is breached is meaningless.”

“When did this bastard get up here…?”

“My name isn’t ‘bastard.'”

They tried to draw their weapons upon seeing Raul, but before they could do anything, their shoulders were grabbed.

“…A piece of advice. It’s always better to keep your weapons drawn if possible.”

But they didn’t have time to remember that advice as their upper bodies exploded.

The lifeless bodies, now missing their upper halves, rolled on the ground, spilling blood.

“And it seems there are those who have taken that advice to heart.”

As Raul turned around, the bandits who heard the bell were glaring at him, weapons drawn, ready to kill him.

“What the hell are you doing, bastard!!!”

“…Can’t you see this corpse? Then what meaning does further talk have?”

“Are you fucking Imperial soldiers…?”

“By the way, I heard there were giants here, but I don’t see a trace of them. Considering the fortress’s size, it’s more than just a regular stronghold…”

“I asked if you’re Imperial soldiers, you bastard!!!”

“Are there any buildings in this fortress where giants might hide? Sadly, I don’t see any right now.”

It was Raul’s bad habit to occasionally ignore others’ words during conversations.

A defense mechanism he developed to avoid being hurt by others’ words backfired, but his friends let it slide, thinking it was better for Raul to ignore others than to be hurt by them.

As a result, those who conversed with Raul often ended up frustrated, but his friends believed it was better for others to be frustrated than for Raul to be hurt.

“That bastard’s dodging the question! He must be an Imperial soldier! Let’s kill him and get out of here!”

“…Ah. Did you ask if I’m an Imperial soldier?”

Raul, despite the bandits charging at him with weapons, began to ponder seriously, resting his chin on his hand.

Then, he gently touched the heads and chests of the bandits who swung their weapons at him.

Of course, whether it was their heads or chests, the moment Raul’s hand touched them, they exploded in a spray of red blood.

“Hmm…”

After easily killing about thirty bandits, Raul, still resting his chin on his hand, approached the bandit who had first spoken to him.

Terrified, the bandit had collapsed to the ground, wetting himself, but Raul paid no attention to that.

“Does whether I’m currently serving or retired affect the answer to that question?”

“Y-yes…?”

“I used to be an Imperial soldier, but now I’m just a patient.”

As Raul brushed the blood off his hands, the bandit who had spoken to him was trembling in fear for the first time in his life.

Though he knew it was futile against a madman who killed people so casually, he mustered the courage to beg for his life.

“I-I was wrong…! Please spare me…!”

“Very well. Assuming you repent and pay for your sins.”

“Huh…?”

“Didn’t you ask to be spared? So I’m sparing you. Is there a problem?”

“W-what about the ones you just killed…?”

“They didn’t ask, did they? Besides, they attacked me with weapons, so I consider it self-defense.”

The bandit could clearly see that Raul was not a normal human.

Raul, seemingly lacking a crucial part of his humanity, was preoccupied with wiping the blood off his hands.

Meanwhile, the group that had gone out for morning hunting returned.

“We’re back! But why is the gate shattered!!!”

“Tell them too. If they sincerely repent, I’ll spare…”

Raul swallowed his words as he turned to see who had arrived.

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

In Raul’s sight were the giants.

Standing over 4 meters tall, they bent down to enter the fortress and locked eyes with Raul.

“A-a demon!”

Despite their massive bodies, they were terrified and began to flee in panic.

No, it wasn’t just fear—it was an instinctive reaction born of learned terror.

Though they smashed through the palisade in their desperate escape, Raul caught up to them in an instant.

“…Breathe.”

They struggled desperately to survive, but it was futile.

“Who said you could breathe?”

As Raul struck down with his cane, the giant burst like a water balloon filled with blood.

“How dare you… belong to a band of thieves who misuse her name.”

“P-please spare us…! We did it because we had no way to make a living!”

“Don’t live.”

“What…?”

The other giants froze upon seeing Raul’s eyes.

“I mean, you shouldn’t live.”

“What kind of nonsense is that…!”

But the giant who tried to protest also had his head explode, ending his life.

“Sadly, I seem to be stronger than you. So remember this well. The nonsense of someone stronger than you isn’t nonsense.”

He adjusted his grip on his cane and slowly approached the remaining giants.

“It’s called providence, you disgusting lumps of flesh.”

And the remaining giants also turned into puddles of blood as Raul’s cane came down.

The giants had misused the name of the woman Raul loved, and that was their downfall.

Raul sighed as he looked at the blood covering his hands and cane. No matter how much he wished to live quietly, the blood on his hands and cane never dried.

“….”

He knew his hatred was misplaced. But the anger and hatred towards dragons and giants were something he could kill.

If he killed those emotions, it felt like forgiving them, like letting go of the hands of the dead, like the existence they had created in him would disappear.

Fearing that, Raul decided he would never forgive them, even if it meant going to hell. He would hold onto that hatred even in death.

“Layla.”

Raul quietly called out the name of the woman he loved.

“Layla Nevermore.”

He wondered if calling her full name would make a difference, but no answer came. Calling the name of the dead was a natural thing, yet Raul’s heart felt heavy.

The guilt of committing sins that would surely leave regret, the reality that the dead do not return, and the blood on his hands—all of it was unsettling.

And so, Raul returned to the mountain fortress where the bandits were and confronted the female bandit leader who had misused Layla’s name.

Though “confronted” was a stretch—it was more like he strangled her after knocking out all the other bandits guarding her.

“…Who gave you the right?”

“Huh…? What are you suddenly talking about, sir…?”

“Who gave you the right to wield her honor?”

There was no answer.

It wasn’t a question meant to be answered in the first place.

Paradoxically, answering the question itself was the wrong answer.

“No one has the right to impersonate her. Isn’t that right?”

“Y-yes…!”

“I’ll give you one last chance. Stop being bandits and live peacefully. Your personal circumstances are none of my concern. But if you still want to be bandits…”

Raul quietly struck a nearby rock with his cane, turning it to dust.

“Just as you took a right you didn’t have and wielded it, I’ll have no choice but to take your lives, which I have no right to, and wield them.”

“U-understood! From today, we’ll stop being bandits and live as farmers or merchants…!”

Hearing this, Raul quietly set her down and took out three gold coins from his pocket, tossing them to her.

“You’ll need money to settle down, whether as farmers or merchants. Use this. If I hear you’ve skimmed off the top, I’ll also…”

Fearing what threat he might make, she preemptively cut off the possibility.

“Of course not! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Leaving the groveling woman behind, Raul headed towards the prison where they had locked people up.

There were quite a variety of people—merchants, adventurers, herbalists, hunters, and even a landscape painter.

Raul had forgotten to get the keys from the bandit leader, but his arms were equipped with two master keys capable of breaking locks.

“…Be careful when traveling the mountain paths from now on.”

As he was releasing the people, a familiar voice called out.

“Brother…?”

Raul turned his head towards the familiar voice and soon faced a person he knew all too well.

“Rizel…?”