Chapter 293: Three Walk Together (7)

Fate.

The “fate” that came from the Governor’s mouth didn’t refer to the word that was found in a dictionary.

It was the Dwarf King’s thought that remained in the Golden Seal, the shattered world tree in a broken dream, and the fate whispered by the stars.

The word “fate” that came from the Governor’s mouth precisely referred to that.

“People who don’t know call it history, and others… call it a script.”

Yeomyeong forced his body to remain still. From the muscles in his face that wanted to twitch, to the ones in his body that wanted to stir. Thanks to that, he didn’t show any signs of agitation on the outside.

At least, on the outside.

But the smoke rising from the cigarette in his mouth was something he couldn’t control.

The cigarette smoke, reacting to the small vibrations of his body, visibly wavered, and the Governor’s lips curled into a gentle smile as he saw this.

“I see, you know, don’t you?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Yeomyeong crushed the cigarette in his mouth.

If the Governor had made him smoke just to see this reaction… No, he was certainly aiming for this very result.

…I got tricked.

As Yeomyeong tossed the crushed cigarette into the trash can beneath the bed, the Governor spoke in a regretful tone.

“You should’ve taken at least one drag. It’s quite an expensive cigarette.”

“…”

It was hard to tell whether it was mockery or sincerity, but seeing him savor the cigarette in his mouth, it seemed sincere.

Well, it didn’t matter much to Yeomyeong. He half-closed his right hand and gauged the distance to the Governor.

If he drew his sword from his inventory and swung it, it would barely reach the Governor’s neck.

Whether he knew it or not, the Governor exhaled smoke toward the hospital ceiling and continued speaking.

“Since you’ve been found out, tell me who told you about fate. Did the Saintess tell you? Or did you figure it out yourself?”

“…”

“If it wasn’t either of those… did you meet some madman?”

“A madman?”

When Yeomyeong asked back, the Governor leaned forward, bringing his face closer to Yeomyeong’s. The experienced politician’s eyes met those hidden behind illusions.

“The one who claims to be the creator of this world.”

As soon as he heard this, Yeomyeong thought of the “Author” from the academy. Baonic Lerac, who had taken over the body of a ruffian man, and an unknown individual who could foresee future events.

However, this time he wasn’t holding a cigarette, and he hid his reaction and instead spoke words that were different from his thoughts.

“For someone like the Governor of the United States, I guess even blasphemy is done creatively.”

It was an answer fitting for a Holy Knight. Yeomyeong didn’t know why the Governor found it funny, but he laughed and raised his head.

“Hahaha! Blasphemy, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve heard that. Oh, but don’t misunderstand. Despite this appearance, I’m a huge donor. Baptist, Mormon, Catholic, Lamaist, Five Gods… the religious organizations I donate to number in the double digits.”

Truly, a politician’s response. Yeomyeong squinted his eyes and spoke.

“Does that include the Church of the Apocalyspe?”

At that, the smile disappeared from the Governor’s face. He raised one eyebrow, as if he had been struck.

“Did you hear that from Ayatollah?”

“Maybe I figured it out on my own without meeting some lunatic. Or maybe I heard it from the Saintess.”

“…”

It was a response full of mockery, but the Governor didn’t get angry. He simply stared down at Yeomyeong for a moment, at a loss for words, then suddenly burst into chuckling laughter.=

“You’re different from the Holy Knight stereotype— you can’t stand letting a jab go unanswered. Good. I like you even more.”

After chuckling for a while, the Governor lit a second cigarette and spoke.

“But… you’re a bit hasty. Don’t you think? You could’ve waited to land your blow until after hearing my sincerity.”

“Not interested.”

“Well, knowing that I’ve made a deal with the Church of the Apocalyse cult, I can understand why you draw a line against me. But hear me out, the Church is nothing more than a tool to me. My real goal is…”

Just as the Governor’s words began to drag out, Yeomyeong drew a weapon from his inventory and swung it.

It was because someone had leaped through the wide-open hospital window behind him.

!!!

Sparks flew as the Comet Sword’s Arcane Relic clashed with a dagger.

Metal collided with metal, and the window rattled, but no sound was made.

It was either sound-suppressing magic, or a martial technique that mimicked it.

Whichever it was, Yeomyeong didn’t care. He rose from the hospital bed and unleashed his swordsmanship. The blue dagger in his hand gleamed, reflecting the hospital’s fluorescent lights.

“…”

But the attacker was no longer there. In the blink of an eye, Yeomyeong realized his blade had cut nothing but air.

Sensing the Killing Aura, he rolled off the bed. Just as the intruder adjusted his attack to target Yeomyeong’s body, the two blades clashed again, sparks bursting into the air.

Perhaps surprised that Yeomyeong had even blocked the follow-up attack, the intruder — face hidden beneath a black hood — swung his dagger with a glint of admiration.

His dagger, thick like a Bowie knife straight out of a Vietnam War movie, clashed against the Comet Sword’s Arcane Relic without so much as a scratch, clearly no ordinary weapon.

!!

As the two daggers bounced off each other, they were already moving into their next forms — faster, sharper.

Between the window and the bed, the narrow space was filled with a silent Killing Aura. Killing Aura that moved at deadly speed, where a single successful strike would mean death.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of attacks and defenses exchanged, sparks erupting with each clash.

Every time shadows flickered across the hospital room with the sparks and lights, afterimages appeared on the arms of both fighters.

Slash, counter, stab, block.

As the two fighters spun and swung their blades in arcs, the hospital room descended into chaos. The bed flipped over, the table and chairs were shattered, the fruit basket had long since scattered its contents across the floor.

But neither Yeomyeong nor the intruder cared. They were solely focused on each other, as if only their bodies and their blades existed in this world.

And almost simultaneously, both realized the other wasn’t fighting at full strength.

Whether it was a shared understanding between those hiding their true selves, or a bond born from trying to kill each other, they didn’t know — but the mana pulsing through their veins and their racing hearts confirmed it.

Yeomyeong simply narrowed his eyes, but the intruder reacted differently. As if insulted, he glared furiously and changed tactics.

More precisely, he abandoned defense entirely and threw everything into offense.

Squelch—

The first successful hit came from Yeomyeong’s Arcane Relic. His dagger stabbed deep between the attacker’s ribs. In response, the attacker immediately swung his own dagger toward Yeomyeong’s face.

A flash of light, as fast as lightning, split the clear air — but no blood splattered. Yeomyeong had caught the intruder’s blade between his teeth.

“…? …?!”

The intruder, horrified by the insane act, muttered something. However, still no sound was made, and Yeomyeong wasn’t interested in hearing what he was mumbling.

Yeomyeong simply rotated the Arcane Relic he had stabbed in. He could feel the sensation of muscles tearing apart and bones splitting.

“……, …!”

A silent agony.

The intruder tried to apply more pressure to the blade caught between Yeomyeong’s teeth, but with a hole in his side, his attempts to force his arm forward were futile. He couldn’t break the solid grip of Yeomyeong’s teeth.

In the end, the intruder raised his leg and kicked Yeomyeong. As the distance between them grew, both daggers were pulled away, and blood and spit flew.

“…, ……….”

Holding his bleeding side, the intruder staggered and muttered something at Yeomyeong— or rather, at the Governor behind him. Yeomyeong turned his head, tense and worried the Governor might charge at him as well.

But the Governor had only stepped back, showing no intention of getting involved in the fight.

Instead, he was leisurely puffing on his cigarette with an amused expression, like a tourist watching the spectacle.

“…, …….”

The next moment, the masked intruder cursed and lifted his dagger. Despite his side being soaked in blood, instead of fleeing, he charged at Yeomyeong again.

Behind him, the city lights sparkled. The hospital’s fluorescent lights and the city’s night view mixed, creating long streaks of light from his blade.

The flashing streaks passed over Yeomyeong’s head and were deflected by his Arcane Relic. Shoulder, arm, solar plexus, side, and then again, his head.

At that moment, Yeomyeong did not block the attack.

The two daggers crossed paths, their eyes meeting. The intruder stared with wide eyes, still in the posture of an upward strike.

In the fraction of a second, he realized two things.

One that Yeomyeong had already neutralized all his martial arts techniques in this brief exchange, and had extended his dagger to exploit a weakness at that moment.

He realized that the arm he had extended couldn’t be retracted fast enough to block Yeomyeong’s dagger, nor could he strike Yeomyeong’s head first.

If they had both fought at full strength from the start, it would’ve been a good fight — he lamented in that brief but felt like forever moment.

At that moment, the Governor suddenly clapped.

Clap!!!

The sound of his hands clapping wasn’t the sound of flesh meeting flesh. It was the sound of a magic wave infused with mana shattering, and the innocent hospital window shattered into pieces.

But the most decisive effect was on the bodies of the two fighters. The shockwave made Yeomyeong’s dagger waver, and in that split second, the masked intruder seized the opportunity and leaned back.

Yeomyeong’s dagger narrowly missed his cheek, the mask torn and blood spraying out from beneath it, but it was better than having his throat sliced off.

“Where do you think-?”

Just as Yeomyeong was about to take another step to ensure he didn’t lose the intruder.

“Enough, that’s enough.”

The Governor’s voice stopped him. Yeomyeong, holding the Arcane Relic, turned his head.

“That’s what you think.”

Immediately, Yeomyeong launched his nameless martial art toward the intruder, who was trying to escape through the window.

The immense force, even one that could pull an Ayatollah off his feet, dragged the intruder back. The masked intruder yelped and was yanked into the air, landing right into Yeomyeong’s grasp.

Cough, cough — The intruder trembled and bled, but Yeomyeong aimed the dagger at his skull.

A gesture that promised to split his skull in half if he moved or resisted. The intruder, smart enough, immediately went still.

Despite one of his subordinates being held hostage, the Governor didn’t blink. Instead, he casually asked.

“What was that technique you used to pull that guy in? Martial arts? Magic?”

“…Blessing.”

When Yeomyeong, still wearing the guise of a Holy Knight, answered that way, the Governor stroked his chin in interest.

Yeomyeong narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Governor.

“Talking about sincerity in front, then sending an assassin from behind… No wonder you’re American.”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. That guy is my subordinate, but I never told him to stab you.”

“Bullshit.”

“Why would I lie about something like this? That guy was the one who set off the explosion in the sky lounge a moment ago… I guess he got mad because of the explosion.”

The masked intruder flinched as soon as the Governor finished speaking, his body trembling. Was it true?

Either way, if he survived the magic circle of Corvus, it meant the guy had some decent skills.

Yeomyeong narrowed his brow and tightened his grip on the dagger aimed at the intruder’s head.

“So, you have nothing to do with this? Then I guess it’s fine for me to kill him as I please?”

“That… would not be acceptable. I can’t just let you kill my subordinate in front of me.”

“…”

“Ah, but I suppose it’s fine to cut off a limb or two. Let’s let you vent your anger by doing that.”

“…”

What the hell was this crazy bastard saying? While Yeomyeong was in disbelief, the intruder, held hostage, swallowed nervously and stretched out his right arm toward Yeomyeong.

What the hell was he doing now?

As Yeomyeong’s confusion grew, the Governor took out his third cigarette and lit it.

“If possible, cut off one limb at a time and release him. I doubt this kind of hostage situation fits the holy knight’s style.”

“You want to stick to the holy knight’s style? How about I take this guy, go to the broadcasting station, and tell them you’re behind all of this?”

“Oh, that’s not a bad idea.”

Though Yeomyeong’s threat was serious, the Governor just laughed. In fact, the masked intruder’s eyes began to tremble in response to the Governor’s laughter.

“But while you’re going to the broadcasting station, should I just leave the Saintess alone?”

“…”

“It would break my heart to give the order for the young girl to be killed by the State National Guard, but it’s not something impossible. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…You bastard.”

Yeomyeong tightened his grip on the intruder’s neck. Regardless of the intruder’s choking noises, the Governor shrugged and lit his cigarette.

“It’s just talk. If you don’t harm that guy, I won’t either, so don’t worry about it.”

“…”

After a brief pause, Yeomyeong threw the intruder aside. He knew that one hostage wouldn’t be enough to control someone like the Governor.

The Governor caught the intruder with one hand. He was able to easily stop him, even when Yeomyeong had added mana to throw the intruder. It was clear that the Governor’s abilities were no less impressive…

“Still, there must be a price to pay for acting on your own?”

In that moment, the Governor raised his other hand and grabbed the intruder’s arm. With one powerful motion, he twisted the masked man’s arm—

Crack!

The arm was twisted so horribly that Yeomyeong flinched at the sight.

“I was actually planning to pull it out entirely, but I figured the nurses cleaning up the room might be shocked if they saw blood, so I just twisted it. You’re fine with that, right?”

“…”

The Governor threw the intruder to the ground and then turned to Yeomyeong.

You twisted his arm like that just for that reason?

As Yeomyeong couldn’t hide his astonishment, the intruder nodded. Why the hell are you nodding now?

Yeomyeong shut his mouth and said nothing. A short silence fell among the three, returning the situation to a lull.

In the meantime, Yeomyeong noticed the intruder’s mask slightly moving, suggesting he was secretly communicating with the Governor through some kind of applied sound magic.

Just as the silence was about to grow awkward, the Governor stubbed out his cigarette and spoke.

“Do you love the Saintess?”

It was a sudden question. Yeomyeong neither denied nor affirmed it. But the answer was obvious from how he had reacted earlier when the Saintess was mentioned.

“What if I offered you the Saintess in exchange for working under me?”

“…Go eat shit.”

It was an immediate response. The Governor stroked his chin.

“So that’s a no? Good grief… You’re a hard one to keep under control.”

“…”

“Then… let’s start by simply helping each other.”

“…What?”

Yeomyeong tilted his head, thinking, What fresh bullshit was this? Help? Who? With whom?

Meanwhile, the Governor pulled something from his coat. It wasn’t a gun or weapon, but a business card—an extremely luxurious one with a phone number engraved on high-end paper.

“Contact me if you ever need my help.”

“…”

The Governor flicked the card, infused with mana. Yeomyeong, catching it without thinking, glared at him, but the Governor was already dusting off his coat and getting up.

Yeomyeong frowned.

“…You’re insane. You come here on your own, make a mess, and then just say ‘let’s work together’?”

“It’s a privilege of the one in power. Trust me, you’ll call that number eventually.”

“…What if I just go straight to the broadcasting station and expose your crimes?”

Yeomyeong asked as he watched the Governor’s back heading toward the hospital room door. The Governor laughed out loud and replied.

“You won’t. The Saintess has twisted fate too much, and I’m one of the few people who can actually help her.”

“…”

“Just like how the Saintess saved the dragon in Manchuria, it’s better to have as many allies against fate as possible. Don’t you think?”

Judging from the Governor’s overly confident attitude, it was clear he was misunderstanding something—but Yeomyeong didn’t bother correcting him.

Then, just as the Governor grabbed the doorknob, he turned his head and added.

“Ah, and the city will host a medal award ceremony. Make sure you attend. As an apology for today’s mess, I’ve prepared a fun little gift.”

“A medal…?”

Yeomyeong tried to say something, but the Governor slammed the hospital room door shut. The shattered glass pieces jumped, and the million-won wine bottle that Browning had brought rolled across the floor…

…And the very next day, Yeomyeong learned through TV what the Governor meant by that “fun gift,” and frowned deeply.