Ch.11Misalignment (2)

“Horsedo, and I, were just being used!”

The voice echoed loudly. Najin pushed through the organization members gathered in front of the tavern and moved forward.

“Excuse me.”

“Ack! Who… Najin?”

Najin grabbed the back of the neck of a member lunging at Arnold and pulled him back. As Najin stepped to the front, the remaining members hesitated and backed away. And thus, a moment of silence was created.

Arnold, catching his breath, looked at Najin.

“Who are you?”

“Najin. Ivan’s proxy.”

Najin tapped the hilt of the sword at his waist.

It was the sword that symbolized Ivan.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Bring Ivan…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think someone like you would be allowed to meet the boss and an executive of a hostile organization who just showed up?”

Najin frowned deeply.

“I’m already being very lenient. Because you seem to have circumstances. So, before I cut off one of your arms as per regulations, say what you need to say. I’ll give you ten seconds.”

With a sharp sound, the sword was drawn from its scabbard. Gripping the sword, Najin pointed the tip at Arnold.

“If you don’t speak within that time, I’ll cut.”

“What an impudent brat…”

“Who’s being impudent now? You’re causing trouble here because you need something, right?”

Najin exhaled briefly.

“Either speak or give up an arm.”

Grind. Arnold gritted his teeth.

Ten, nine, eight… As Najin’s count dropped below three, Arnold finally opened his mouth.

“…It wasn’t Horsedo.”

“What did you say?”

“The one who picked a fight with you wasn’t Horsedo. We were just being used by that madman.”

While listening to Arnold’s story.

The organization members surrounding Arnold trembled slightly. Najin also gasped. With wide eyes, Najin stared at Arnold.

Drip, drip. Something was falling.

What fell was crimson blood.

Blood was dripping from Arnold’s bloodshot eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. Arnold, who was about to continue speaking, unconsciously looked down. Seeing the blood pooling at his feet and his vision turning red, he laughed.

With a self-deprecating laugh, he raised his head.

“Hey, kid.”

Looking at Najin, Arnold spoke.

“Tell Ivan immediately.”

Gulp. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he made his last words.

“The drug dealer Hakan is on the move.”

Najin’s eyes widened.

2.

Horsedo’s quarters connected to the tunnel.

Ten years ago, during the civil war, it was the underground tunnel where Horsedo had made his last stand. Ivan and Offen, who had infiltrated the place, were advancing deeper into the tunnel, suppressing their presence.

“If you ask me, that guy isn’t an Earth Spider but a mole or an ant. Why dig such a deep tunnel?”

“Lower your voice. We’ve infiltrated successfully, why risk being discovered?”

“I don’t sense anyone anyway.”

Ivan shrugged.

Offen didn’t deny it either. While there were quite a few people stationed near the entrance, there was no sign of anyone as they went deeper.

The tunnel was dead silent.

Ivan felt something off about this atmosphere. The tunnel was too quiet. Not only was it quiet, but the path was too clear. Not even a single common trap was set.

‘This is too easy. Suspiciously so.’

It wasn’t like this originally.

During the civil war, Ivan had tried to breach this tunnel but ultimately failed. There were traps at every step, and arrows from Horsedo flew out of the darkness.

Earth Spider Horsedo was a ranger, and a cornered ranger could be endlessly troublesome.

That’s why they had given up on finishing off Horsedo and ended the civil war. Of course, now with Offen by his side, he was confident they could breach the tunnel, but…

‘This is strange.’

Ivan frowned.

Just as he was beginning to think that the tunnel itself might be a trap, he sensed a presence. A presence from the depths of the tunnel. Ivan gripped his sword tightly.

A brief exchange of glances.

Immediately after, Ivan and Offen kicked off the ground and ran. The two sprinted toward the deepest part where the presence was felt. A wooden door at the end of the tunnel. Ivan, reaching the door a step ahead of Offen, didn’t slow down.

Bang!

Instead, he put even more force into his step and swung his sword with increased acceleration. The sword energy gathered on his blade completely crushed the wooden door. Sliding in after destroying the door, Ivan opened his eyes wide to secure his vision.

What appeared after breaking through the door was a vast space.

It was a huge dome-shaped cavity.

A place where tunnels, stretching in all directions like an ant colony, intersected. Rails for transporting ore were entangled like a spider web. Seeing holes leading to other paths all around, Ivan frowned.

‘Was there such a space?’

He didn’t think he had seen such a space when he set foot in the tunnel during the civil war. This made it impossible to know which way to go. With dozens of paths open, they couldn’t search each one.

It was at that moment.

Tuk.

The sound of a small stone fragment falling to the floor. Ivan’s head quickly turned toward the source of the sound. An upper path where the rails were cut off, making it impossible to climb. Someone was standing there.

“Huh.”

Ivan let out a hollow laugh.

“Saved me the trouble of finding you. What is it, Earth Spider? Came to greet us?”

Earth Spider Horsedo.

Revealing himself, he held a crossbow in one hand, with his hood pulled down deeply.

“It’s been a while, Ivan.”

“Indeed. I was planning to kill you on sight, but you’ve been hiding well.”

Ivan smirked.

He adjusted his grip on his sword and gestured to Offen. As if to be ready to move if Horsedo made the slightest suspicious move.

“So what’s your confidence?”

Fwoosh.

Sword energy rose above Ivan’s blade.

“Coming within my range. Are you confident?”

Ivan is a knight who has reached the realm of Sword Expert. For such an Ivan, the gap between himself and Horsedo was practically nonexistent. A distance that could be closed with one or two leaps.

Why had Horsedo revealed himself?

Horsedo is a ranger. He can never gain an advantage in close combat against a knight. Especially in a situation like this, with two swordsmen who have reached the realm of Sword Expert.

‘Does he have a hidden card?’

But at this distance, it would be meaningless.

He was confident he could behead him before he could make any move. Just as Ivan was about to kick off the ground while exhaling…

“I’m not confident.”

Horsedo opened his mouth.

“To be honest, Ivan, I don’t want to fight you. The scars you gave me still ache. Why do you think I’ve been hiding for the past ten years?”

He took a step forward. Horsedo emerged from the shadows where the light from the ore lamps didn’t reach.

“But what can I do?”

Where the light from the ore lamps reached.

The dim light from the ore lamps illuminated Horsedo’s face. His face, which had been hidden in darkness, was revealed. As if to show it more clearly, he removed the deeply pulled hood.

“I had to lure you out to survive.”

A grotesquely distorted half-face. One eye cloudy and unfocused, as if blind. Horsedo’s mouth twitched with each word he uttered. It was a symptom seen in drug addicts under the influence.

“You…”

Before Ivan could say anything.

“It’s the only way to survive against that madman.”

Horsedo pulled the trigger of his crossbow.

However, what he aimed at wasn’t Ivan. The arrow was directed at the ceiling of the dome-shaped cavity. Horsedo hit something hanging there with his arrow.

Zzzzzzzzzz…

A strange noise echoed through the cavity.

While the nature of the noise was unknown, it was clear that Horsedo had pulled some trick. Ivan kicked off the ground and rushed toward Horsedo.

Or rather, he tried to.

Ivan stopped in his tracks. Stopping, Ivan let out a hollow laugh at the presences he felt from all around. Paths stretching in all directions from the cavity. Footsteps echoed from dozens of tunnels.

It wasn’t just one or two.

Not even dozens.

Along with irregular footsteps, numerous humans poured out from the tunnels. Their eyes were unfocused, and drool dripped from their open mouths. As if they were under the influence of drugs.

“What the hell is…”

Ivan frowned.

They held blades in their hands, but despite their numbers, they weren’t particularly threatening. Their movements were sluggish and slow, as if drugged.

‘What’s the intention?’

After roughly counting their numbers, Ivan turned his gaze to look at Horsedo. Horsedo was smiling bitterly.

“Both you and I have been played, Ivan.”

Given the situation and information.

Based on that, Ivan assessed the situation. By assessing, he understood. That this place itself was a trap. That Horsedo, and the civil war he seemed to be instigating, were just bait thrown by someone.

‘Bait for what?’

The answer came quickly.

Bait to lure him and Offen here. Then, who orchestrated this? The stench of drugs vibrating from all around was telling the answer.

One of the three rulers of the underground city.

The ruler of the landfill who hadn’t moved during the civil war, frequent power struggles, or any other situation.

“…Drug dealer Hakan.”

The alchemist of the landfill had intervened.

However, Ivan doesn’t know why Hakan wanted to lure him here. He doesn’t have enough information about the drug dealer, and he doesn’t know much about the kind of people alchemists are.

“Ivan.”

The same goes for Offen.

Offen also doesn’t know much about the drug dealer. But, Offen knows well what kind of people alchemists are. During his time as the leader of the mercenary group, he had carried out requests from damn alchemists several times.

In other words.

“Move aside.”

Offen knows well “how” alchemists use humans. Pushing aside Ivan who was about to swing his sword, Offen stepped forward. He kicked the one approaching from the front.

The kicked one convulsed briefly.

The body swelled greatly, then exploded with a bang. As blood and flesh rained down after shooting upward, Offen let out a long sigh.

“Be careful of those who tremble and spill blood.”

Offen said with disgust.

“Those are living bombs.”

3.

Najin’s eyes widened.

“The drug dealer Hakan is on the move.”

It wasn’t because he understood the meaning of Arnold’s words. What Najin’s wide eyes saw was the flow expanding around Arnold.

The expanding flow. Arnold spewing blood.

The ground trembling slightly around Arnold.

And, Arnold’s expression as if he sensed his impending death.

Four pieces of information obtained through his eyes.

At that moment, the thought that came to Najin’s mind was a single sentence: ‘Need to create distance.’ Something that suddenly comes to mind during combat. It’s something Najin has relied on since he was very young.

Intuition, that’s how Najin understands it.

But this is far from something as vague as intuition. Najin’s talent is seeing. This is an extension of that talent. It’s making an immediate judgment based on information obtained through seeing.

Natural talent. And combat sense honed in actual battles. A temporary future sight created by the interlock of these two.

Bang!

And, Najin has the decisiveness to put this into action without doubt. Kicking off the ground, Najin rushed forward and kicked Arnold who was spewing blood.

Thwack, the sound of a kick embedding into the abdomen.

The moment his foot touched Arnold’s abdomen, Najin straightened his bent knee. A kick aimed at pushing. Arnold, pushed by the impact, was thrown into an alley between buildings.

“Everyone!”

Immediately after, Najin turned around and shouted while running.

“Fall back!”

Seeing the organization members hesitantly backing away, Najin frowned deeply. Grabbing the nape of a member close to the alley, Najin threw himself.

Right after.

Booooooom!

With a thunderous sound, Arnold’s body, which had been thrown into the alley, exploded. Organization members pushed by the explosion’s aftermath and those who witnessed a person exploding right before their eyes screamed, making the surroundings chaotic in an instant.

Organization members fleeing and civilians screaming.

Amidst the chaos they created, Najin gritted his teeth. The drug dealer is on the move, the executive of Horsedo’s organization had said. And only then did Najin realize the identity of the stench he had felt earlier.

A stench he had smelled when he once caught and beat up an addict trying to spread drugs in Ivan’s territory.

The pungent stench created by a mix of hallucinogens and all sorts of chemical drugs. That stench was emanating from the alley where Arnold had exploded. And, Najin had smelled the same stench before coming here.

Tap.

Najin kicked off the ground and ran.

As he ran back the way he had come, the stench brushed past his nose. Whip, turning his head, Najin’s gaze was directed at an alley locked with iron bars.

‘That place.’

A place where sewage, filth, and garbage are sent to the landfill of the underground city. The moment that thought crossed his mind, Najin saw it.

Grip.

A hand gripping the bars from inside the iron grate. That hand convulsing. The swollen hand reaching a critical point and exploding.

Booooooom!

With a thunderous sound, the iron bars were crushed.

Beyond the iron bars where darkness was thick. From that place where the stench was vibrating, someone walked out. A woman covered in the blood of the human who had just exploded.

She and Najin made eye contact.

The moment their gazes met, Najin felt all his senses sharpen. Something he had felt during his recent sparring with Ivan. Something like the pressure felt from a strong person who has reached a certain level.

That.

It was telling Najin who the woman standing before him was. Najin immediately drew his sword. With a crack, gripping the sword drawn as if to shatter the scabbard, Najin created distance.

Watching this, the woman raised the corner of her mouth.

“Good instincts.”

She snapped her fingers.

At that moment, a sound like insects chirping, zzzzzzzz, echoed. Najin didn’t know what that echoing sound was.

He didn’t know, but.

The dozens of presences felt beyond the woman after the sound echoed, the explosion sounds heard from various parts of the underground city, he could tell they had some kind of relationship with that sound.

And.

“You, do you know who I am?”

The identity of that woman as well.

“Drug dealer.”

Najin answered the woman’s question.

“Drug dealer Hakan.”