episode_0035

“Kahah…Kuhuhuh…”

Alic, pierced through the abdomen by Leos’ chain sword, stumbled and fell to the ground while trying to hold on. The man’s expression looked very sad. As long as one arm and leg are damaged, losing the battle is virtually a foregone conclusion. It wasn’t because of that.

“Red Gate…Red Gate…is…sealing… right…?”

Alrik was a man who lived with only the name of being loyal to the empire. The killing of so many people and the driving to death were all caused by the self-justification that the cow should be sacrificed for the greater good. That’s why Alrik was able to be confident. But the current Alrik was not confident at all. Because he had violated his own beliefs. The only way for a man to die honorably is to benefit the empire through his death.

Alric decided that there was no way for him to survive here anyway, and muttered even as he was dying to make an excuse for his own comfort.

“Keep your promise…that you will seal the Red Gate…”

Leos stood right in front of Alric and looked down at him as he spoke.

“You said you would kill your subordinates or if they kill you, you would seal them away, right? Now I’m struggling to survive and now I’m facing a dog’s death, so why should I listen to you?”

“…”

Alric, the leader of the Imperial Execution Team, stretched out his trembling hand towards Leos.

“Heavenly punishment…You will receive heavenly punishment.”

“Take that for me when you die.”

With a crunching sound, Alric’s head falls to the ground. I am sure that if there is such a thing as hell, the man would have headed there.

Leos turned around without saying a word and looked at the remaining people standing in the empty lot.

“You guys saw it too, right? Those who always force others to make sacrifices don’t actually make any sacrifices themselves. I’m just saying that because I’m in a position where I can force sacrifices. So, your beliefs are wrong.”

Leos whispered as he pierced the necks of the executioners one by one with his chain sword.

“The countless murders and crimes you have committed so far were selfish acts solely for self-consolation. And meeting me now is payment for the sins you committed.”

“Keuok….”

When the last man fell to the ground, the corpses of the executioners were scattered all over the empty lot. Leos clicked his tongue as he looked at the blood splattered on his body, then slowly walked towards the boys who had just been attacked.

“Brother…Brother…open your eyes…”

Theon is holding Tedre and crying. Even though his body was full of wounds, he was more worried about his brother, so he didn’t even think about stopping the bleeding and just stayed next to Tedre.

Leos spoke to Rakarte, who was watching from the side.

“Treat these guys.”

“It’s not difficult.”

When Rakarat gestured, Faron walked up from behind and stretched out his hand. Intense mana energy wavered from Faron’s hand and was eventually absorbed into Tedre’s body.

At that moment, the falling blood drops began to stop, and Tedre’s breathing, which had been panting, began to return to normal. Faron used healing magic on Theon next to him and then collected mana.

“Te…on…?”

Soon after, Tedre opened his eyes and looked at Theon.

Theon urgently hugged his brother and cried.

“Brother…Brother…you’re alive…I thought you were going to die…I thought you were going to die…”

Leaving behind the beautiful sight of his older brother and younger brother loving each other dearly, Rakart asked Leos.

“How will you take responsibility? He saved the lives of those who should have died. Are you going to leave it like this? Or will you take responsibility until the end?”

“I don’t have the resources to take care of them. The only reason I saved him was because I didn’t want to see him in despair right in front of me.”

“Hmm… Then just leave it here.”

As Leos was not responding, Theon suddenly came nearby and grabbed Leos’ collar, crying.

“Brother…Can you help us…? Please…how many times…how many times have I almost died…I was lucky enough to survive today thanks to your help, but next time something like this happens, we will definitely die…Please take my brother with me, not me. ..Please…”

As Theon cried and grabbed his collar, his older brother Tedre approached him and shouted with a stern expression.

“Theon! What are you doing! Come here now! Not only did they help us without any compensation, but they also used healing magic for free, which would normally have cost us a lot of money. But trying to sustain one’s life is acting like a bedbug. We have to find our own way to live. So come here right now.”

As Tedre shouted, Theon cried and walked away again.

“I’m sorry… Please pretend I didn’t hear what I just said… And… Thank you so much for saving me… ”

Leos looked at Tedre and Theon alternately, then slowly opened his mouth to Rakarte.

“Can you guys help? I guess I’m too nervous to leave it alone.”

“Hey Leos. Just because we are, doesn’t mean we don’t care. But you know the situation now, right? Monsters are rampant around us, we need to find food for our extermination team members right now, and trackers sent by the empire are coming from time to time, so it’s difficult for us to help them. You also have colleagues that you need to protect and care about, so you decided you couldn’t accept them.”

“If you help, I think I can look at you in a positive light.”

“No, such irresponsible words…”

Rakarte scratched his head wildly for a moment, then sighed and spoke.

“Faron, bring them in. I roughly made a base out of the surrounding trees.”

“Rakarte…There will be strong opposition from within the assassination team. Aren’t you going to be working with us? They are cold-hearted and completely useless.”

“Don’t you think Leos will look at us positively? Even to that extent, they are useful enough.”

“…”

Faron was about to retort, but then closed his mouth.

‘If I hadn’t seen the battle just now, I would have said something…’

Faron saw Leos fighting. An executive group that ranks among the highest in combat power in the empire. Not only did he win them over in multiple battles, he completely overwhelmed them. Strategy, battle, and justification were all aspects of the battle. A man with such great power that it would be difficult to describe him as a male monster.

‘He is an absolutely necessary person in the coup d’état.’

Even excluding the fact that only Leos could seal the upper-level Red Gate, Leos’ power was an essential element.

‘But… now that I think about it, I heard that Leos’ specialty is fighting monsters…?’

For an instant, Faron got goosebumps all over his body. According to the information I found, Leos had no murder record before the Redgate Whirlpool incident. They say they have never killed a single person before. This also meant that he could fight monsters more skillfully than fighting people.

‘Really… he’s a man with no end in sight.’

After considering various circumstances, Faron had no choice but to bring the children.

“You guys heard it too, right? From now on, you will be working with us. We will protect you.”

“I…really?”

Theon asked a question while crying, and Tedre next to him thought for a moment and then lowered his head and spoke.

“I will try my best to never be a burden. If there is anything we can do, please tell us at any time and we will do our best.”

“ done. Have you eaten? It looks like he was attacked while trying to roast a monster’s corpse.”

Growling…

At that moment, a loud noise was heard from Tedre and Theon’s stomach, and Faron had his subordinate bring a lump of beef jerky.

“Eat. There are a lot of us anyway.”

As Faron threw the beef jerky in chunks and walked forward first, his subordinate muttered in embarrassment.

“Brother, that was the food we were going to eat today…?”

“Why is that? It’s been a while since I ate a grilled monster.”

After seeing the happy smiles of the children, the subordinate nodded and answered.

“That would be nice too. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to eat a monster for the first time in a while.”

Rakarte, who watched Faron and his subordinates talking from behind, placed his hands on their shoulders and spoke.

“Look at them. You look so happy, right? Smiling so brightly at just one piece of beef jerky.”

“It’s not just one, it’s a lump. With that amount, anyone in distress would be happy.”

“Faron, I heard you are too romantic. That’s what they say.”

Faron chuckled, was silent for a moment, and then opened his mouth.

“Lacarte…If we start a rebellion, will the empire become more comfortable?”

“I don’t know either. But what is certain is that people who are happy with little things like them will not die in vain. Because the current emperor is a scumbag who considers everyone but himself an accessory.”

“I see.”

Even after Rakart and his men left, Faron watched the children from afar for a long time. These people seem friendly and happy.

“Hyung! We have too much jerky, so let’s eat only a little and share it with others!”

“Good idea, Theon. I’m sure you’ve given me too much, but it doesn’t make sense to eat it all. We’ve had enough, so let’s keep it and give it back tomorrow.”

‘I feel good.’

A family that appreciates the little things and is willing to sacrifice their lives for each other. Faron envied them.

The man was immersed in lingering thoughts for a while, then walked towards Rakarat and spoke.

“Brother, would you like to go for a walk together today for the first time in a while? I also do reconnaissance.”

“What kind of disgusting older brother are you?”

“I heard you used to call me that.”

“That was when you were young.”

“I feel sorry for saying that.”

“Why are you acting like you?”

As Rakarte looked at him quizzically, Faron smiled and answered.

“No matter how old you get, I think the desire to make a fool of someone you can rely on is the same.”

As Rakarte ran away in disgust, Faron slowly followed behind him.

The night wind is particularly cold. However, through the cold wind, the smell of blood from corpses killed during the day wafted through.

“Even though so many people died, it actually became more peaceful here.”

To protect freedom and peace, you must have strength. Faron felt it again and held his sword tightly.

*

News that the entire imperial executive team was dead began to reach the imperial palace.

The emperor, who had already sent out the shadow corps, assassination corps, execution corps, and several other groups, was confident that he would be able to capture Leos even if it took time, but he could not help but feel angry.

-Clink!

The emperor who destroys everything in the hall. He spoke while looking at the trembling servant.

“Say it again. What happened to the enforcement team?”

“Everyone, including execution leader Alrik…is presumed dead.”

– Suddenly…

The emperor kicked the innocent maid, then stepped forward and shouted.

“It won’t work. We have to bring him down, even if it means mobilizing all the troops guarding the imperial palace. If time continues like this, the imperial palace will also be in danger. No…it would be a good idea to change your mind. If only the root cause is addressed, there will at least be no concern that Red Gate will spread further. Those who will die for no reason anyway will be happy if they sacrifice themselves for the empire. Places that should be abandoned should be abandoned. From now on, those inside the Red Gate Vortex will be wiped out like monsters…”

-Kugugugugugung!

A sudden vibration resounded while the emperor was giving orders. The emperor barely survived the near fall and stood up, shouting.

“What’s going on! Report it immediately!”

The knight commander who was waiting outside the door came straight through the door, knelt down and shouted to the emperor.

“Your Majesty…a big problem has occurred. Now…”

“Speak quickly. Is this an enemy attack? If the rioters are intruding, kill them all. How dare you attack the imperial palace? I mean, sweep them all away!”

“That’s not it…Red Gate…is not limited to the vortex range, but is expanding throughout the empire. And just now…”

The knight commander added with despairing eyes.

“Right next to the imperial palace, a high-level Red Gate has appeared.”