〈 Chapter 40 〉 I Want Power
*
Clatter, clatter.
The noise of the train shook the entire tavern.
“Maybe we should just blow up the tracks,” the innkeeper joked.
Of course, he didn’t have the guts to actually blow up the tracks.
But honestly, it seemed more likely than making enough money to move the tavern out from underneath them.
“What do you think, buddy?” the innkeeper asked.
But the man merely stared at the sloshing drink in his cup.
“Looks like this guy is drunk again,” the innkeeper thought, quickly shifting his attention.
Having been a regular, he knew the male customer well.
Then, someone shouted from a boisterous table.
“Bring us another round!”
“Alright, just hold on a sec.”
Saying that, the innkeeper began to fill the glasses with alcohol.
The man, still with his unfocused eyes, listened to the commotion from the back table.
“By the way, did you hear that the Blue Dragon Gang got smashed?”
“Oh right, I heard something about that. Apparently they’re trying to keep it under wraps internally…”
“Who the hell? The government in Sakh can’t handle them, how could they get wrecked overnight?”
The Blue Dragon Gang was a pack that dominated the eastern district of Sakh.
Their various illegal dealings and thug-like behavior made the local residents tremble in fear.
It was rumored that they had recently been taken down.
“There are still those who can get it done. Like that masked figure.”
“You actually believe in that? I mean, how can one person wipe out an entire organization?”
“And besides, that guy is just a criminal.”
The innkeeper put down glasses at their table.
With bitter expressions, they all raised their drinks.
“Let’s just drink.”
“Cheers.”
Clinking their glasses, they gulped down their drinks as if trying to forget something.
But one of them couldn’t bring his drink to his lips.
“If that mask really exists…”
He mumbled.
“Could he take care of the company guys?”
At those words, everyone who was drinking suddenly choked up.
“Cough, cough… hey! Watch your mouth!”
“You know what happens if those words reach their ears.”
They anxiously began to glance around the tavern.
Fortunately, only the innkeeper and the nearly-unstable man were present.
And the man was pretty much a fixture at the tavern, so there was no reason to worry.
“Why not go after the White Tiger Gang or Vermilion Bird Gang instead? You know how rampantly they operate.”
He knew that.
It was possible because those thugs had the company backing them.
But the more he thought of it, the more he hoped the masked figure really existed.
Something as unrealistic as taking down the company seemed impossible without him.
“Sorry, I messed up.”
But hoping and saying it out loud were worlds apart.
As soon as it was said, it ceased to be just his own thought.
No matter how drunk he was, it was a blatant mistake.
“It’s fine. Who’s even listening? Just don’t say it anywhere else.”
After some time of drinking and chatting, they finally got up to leave.
“Have a good holiday, everyone.”
“Well, I don’t know if that’s possible with a hangover.”
“True that.”
They chuckled as they exited the tavern.
…And the man watching them also got up.
“Hey, buddy.”
The innkeeper called out to him.
The man stopped and turned around.
Instead of answering, he reached out.
Clatter.
*
‘Why is it so dark out today?’
Walking home from the tavern.
He definitely overdid it, as even walking was a struggle.
It was a bad neighborhood to begin with, and today there didn’t seem to be a soul in sight.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said that earlier.’
He was still worried about the dangerous words he spoke among his companions.
‘Could I have the company dealt with?’
It was a reckless thing to say.
He didn’t even understand why he blurted it out.
‘I really need to be careful next time.’
Fortunately, there was no one around to overhear him.
If there had been any company associates nearby…
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, he felt nauseous.
He grabbed the nearby wall and crouched down.
“Ugh.”
With a burning sensation in his throat, the contents of his stomach erupted.
After heaving for a while, he finally managed to stand up.
He felt a bit better after throwing up, but for some reason, he felt even weaker.
Then.
‘Huh?’
He caught a glimpse of a figure in the corner of his vision.
It was a human figure.
‘Who was that?’
The fleeting sight had been in the alley he had passed through.
But now it was gone without a trace.
‘Was it just the alcohol messing with my head?’
Or maybe it was just someone passing by.
Yet an ominous feeling began to wash over him.
‘I need to get home quickly.’
With the slip of his earlier words and the unsettling feeling pressing down, he hurried his steps.
As he walked faster, he noticed something.
‘Someone is following me.’
And the distance between him and the pursuer was closing in.
Now it felt unignorable.
Just then.
Crack.
The incandescent light in the alley flickered and suddenly went out.
With that, only darkness remained.
‘Oh no!’
As the man sensed the danger and rushed to run away, the one following him closed in fast behind him.
In that person’s hand was a glimmering knife.
‘I’m dead.’
That was his thought.
Until a figure interposed between him and the pursuer.
The sound of clashing blades echoed sharply.
At the same moment, the knife that the attacker held was knocked away.
In the next instant, a blade gleamed.
Slash.
Blood erupted as if defying gravity.
The follower’s head dropped with a dull thud as it hit the ground.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
“Ugh, ugh…”
The man, shocked and sitting on the ground, tried to scream.
But the intruder turned their head and placed a finger to their lips.
It was a gesture to be quiet.
‘No, more than that…’
The intruder’s face.
It was completely concealed by a mask.
‘A mask?’
Suddenly, it dawned on him.
“There’s no way. There actually is that masked figure.” “Do you believe in that? How could one person take down an entire organization?” “And that guy is just a criminal too.”
It was possible.
With the skill he just witnessed, taking down an organization with one person seemed feasible.
“Are you… you…”
“Watch your mouth.”
The masked figure finished that line before turning away.
Then disappeared into the depths of the alley, leaving the sprawled body behind.
‘He really existed…’
He had finally met the masked figure he had only heard about in rumors.
And he saved his life.
Tap. Drip.
‘Huh?’
Something fell on his forehead.
He looked up.
It began to rain.
‘For now, I need to get home quickly.’
*
Coins placed on the counter.
Leftover payment for the drinks from the man.
‘No, I was just going to say I wanted to cut back on my drinking. Worried about my health, you know.’
Still, the innkeeper pocketed the coins.
‘Maybe it’s time for me to close up shop too.’
Just as he was about to head out to close the tavern, he noticed the rain falling outside.
‘By the way, I wonder if that guy really has a home.’
He had no idea where he lived or what he did.
He just always showed up at his tavern looking disheveled.
‘Well, too much curiosity is not good. He seemed like he had his own story to tell.’
*
Splash.
In a corner of the alley.
A man leaned against the wall.
As if he had given up on everything, there was no sign of movement in his vacant eyes.
He wasn’t drunk.
No matter how much he drank, he couldn’t get drunk.
Even getting soaked like this wouldn’t cause him to catch a cold.
He couldn’t catch a cold because he didn’t have the body for it.
But people looked at him as nothing more than a scruffy, tenacious homeless man.
No one paid attention to him or remembered him.
Not even he himself.
There was no reason to live.
He just had to keep living because he had a body that wouldn’t die.
Splish, splash.
He heard footsteps approaching him.
Yet he didn’t care.
Until his name was called.
“Libero.”
The man finally turned his head.
In front of him stood a boy clad in a raincoat.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. I’m here to fulfill the promise you made to your ancestor.”
Indeed. The boy had a faint vibe of the Leim Royal Family.
There was no confusing it; it had to be certainty.
“So, what do you want?”
With a serious expression, the boy said.
“I want power.”
*
