episode_0045

The early summer night air brushed past Ryu-shin Jeong.

The shantytown streets were dark.

So was Ryu-shin Jeong’s heart.

A boar-man approached.

Was his name Snout-nose?

“Scar.”

Snout-nose respectfully handed over a towel and a new coat.

Ryu-shin Jeong took off his worn coat and wiped his body with the towel. The towel reeked of blood from how much blood was on it.

“Is it mostly wiped off?”

Ryu-shin Jeong said, handing the towel back.

“Yes.”

“But why were you waiting?”

“Aldaine-nim told me to check if Scar was alive and come back, so I was waiting outside.”

“Is that so?”

Snout-nose looked at Ryu-shin Jeong, then quickly lowered his head. His eyes were murkier and shinier than when he had first seen him.

“I will guide you.”

“Understood.”

The two men left the shantytown. They passed through the dark alleyways and walked through the dazzling streets again, exiting the eastern checkpoint.

The guard glanced at Ryu-shin Jeong’s body but said nothing else.

Upon reaching the central district, Ryu-shin Jeong opened his mouth.

“Go on ahead. I need to buy a weapon and go.”

“At this hour?”

“Yes.”

Could Einhofer be there?

He thought for a moment. He didn’t know if he would be. But he was going to go to the western blacksmith street once.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Go on ahead.”

“I will wait at the monster dismantling site.”

“Understood.”

Ryu-shin Jeong watched the boar-man’s back as he left, then moved his feet.

He walked for a while and arrived at the blacksmith street. Most of the lights were off and it was dark. Except for one place.

It was Boron’s blacksmith.

Is he still awake?

He walked towards the blacksmith, drawn by the light leaking out.

He opened the door to the blacksmith and Boron was sitting in a chair. Boron had bandages wrapped around his head.

“Oh?! What’s wrong? At this late hour.”

Boron asked with surprised eyes.

“I came to buy a sword.”

He intuitively felt that it would be a night where he could not sleep without a weapon.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of a hammer echoed from beyond the wooden door in one corner of the blacksmith.

“Einhofer?”

“Yes. He’s a terrible guy. Really.”

Boron crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.

“He doesn’t eat or sleep. He just keeps hammering iron. He’s going to die like that. Tsk tsk. How did I end up taking in a guy like that.”

“Can I watch?”

“Go ahead. But be careful. He has a shaking sickness engraving, so he sometimes drops the hammer.”

“Yes.”

Ryu-shin Jeong walked towards the sound of the hammer.

Creak.

When he opened the door, a wave of heat enveloped his body.

The heat and light coming from the furnace filled the room.

Einhofer was swinging a hammer in front of the anvil.

The hammer struck the red-hot sword.

Sparks flew.

Ryu-shin Jeong slowly approached and sat down a little away from Einhofer.

Einhofer’s face was wet with thick beads of sweat.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, pooled around his eyes, and ran down his cheeks.

He looked like he was crying.

He lowered his gaze.

The hammer struck the sword and sometimes hit the anvil askew.

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!

Because he couldn’t hammer with consistent force, the shape of the sword was bent this way and that.

It was like his own appearance, twisted by fate. And it was also Einhofer’s appearance.

One was suffering from madness after accepting the ‘darkness’ of the labyrinth.

The other was in a situation where it was difficult to lead a normal life due to a negative engraving.

He thought while watching Einhofer’s appearance.

Today, he killed 31 people and almost killed one more.

Those 31 were deserving of death, with no chance of rehabilitation. There was no regret.

The problem was Tarman.

Thinking about it in more detail, it was himself hesitating whether to kill Tarman or not.

Madness tightened his heart and rummaged through his head.

Clang!! Clang!!

As Einhofer’s hammer sounded, Ryu-shin Jeong’s sharp mind calmed down.

Once again, sparks flew.

Einhofer was crying. But he didn’t stop his hands. He didn’t give up either.

A man who wouldn’t give in even if he shed tears at the ordeal fate had given him.

He was a wonderful man who insisted on the right path without turning his eyes to deviation. You could say he was half crazy.

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!

As he blankly watched Einhofer’s hammering, a small light sprouted from a corner of his dark heart.

How Daramong survives in the labyrinth city.

How Aldaine survives in the labyrinth city.

How Einhofer survives in the labyrinth city.

Each of their methods were different.

He closed his eyes.

He gathered Daramong’s goodwill, Aldaine’s ruthlessness, and Einhofer’s persistence.

And.

He mixed in Ryu-shin Jeong’s resolution.

He hammered down the rampaging madness by picturing Einhofer’s hammering in his mind.

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!!

Ryu-shin Jeong slowly opened his eyes.

Eyes mixed with clear and murky energy sparkled in the light of the brazier.

‘Ah.’

Einhofer dropped the hammer. The hammer flew towards Ryu-shin Jeong.

He reached out and snatched the hammer.

“···Scar.”

Einhofer was blankly staring at Ryu-shin Jeong.

Ryu-shin Jeong handed over the hammer and said.

“Please make me a sword later.”

“···Can I make it?”

Einhofer’s voice trembled.

“Of course. I believe in you.”

Einhofer’s lips twitched.

The two men stared at each other in silence for a long time.

Ryu-shin Jeong got up from his seat.

“I will visit often.”

“···Alright.”

Boron was standing there when he opened the door and came out.

“Give me a longsword.”

Ryu-shin Jeong said.

Boron glanced at the sword in Ryu-shin Jeong’s hand.

“Isn’t that an elf’s single-edged blade? You already have a weapon, is there a need to buy another one?”

“I won’t use this.”

“···Understood.”

Boron went to the weapon display stand and took out a longsword.

“Use this.”

“How much is it?”

“10 silver coins. What happened to the light armor?”

“It was smashed.”

“Tsk tsk. Come and leave it to me later. Bring the money then.”

“Yes.”

Ryu-shin Jeong wore the longsword on his opposite hip and left the blacksmith.

Dawn was approaching.

He walked slowly and arrived at the monster dismantling site.

A bonfire was burning in the dismantling site’s yard. A familiar place. It was where he used to grill meat with his colleagues after work at the dismantling site.

Aldaine was sitting there.

The boar-man was nowhere to be seen.

Aldaine was only staring at the flames without moving even when Ryu-shin Jeong approached.

“Why did you let one live?”

Aldaine opened his mouth.

Instead of answering, Ryu-shin Jeong held out the sword.

“Just take it.”

Aldaine glanced at the sword and said, turning his gaze back to the bonfire.

“I don’t want it.”

“Why?”

“Because it smells strongly of blood.”

Aldaine received the sword that Ryu-shin Jeong handed him.

“Come often. Show your face. Do some work too.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Come closer.”

When Ryu-shin Jeong came closer, Aldaine raised his head and looked into Ryu-shin Jeong’s eyes.

“Annoying eyes. Take the coat. It suits you well.”

Ryu-shin Jeong turned his body and left the dismantling site.

Ryu-shin Jeong disappeared from view.

The boar-man came behind Aldaine and stood silently.

“That Barbaroi bastard didn’t ask what kind of people we are until the end. Is he not curious?”

Aldaine grumbled.

“Would you tell him if he asked?”

“No.”

“Scar-nim probably thought so too.”

Aldaine turned his head and looked at Snout-nose.

“Why do you keep using honorifics with Scar?”

“This is really hard to explain. I don’t know if it’s because he has dignity or because he has poison… I don’t know, but it was hard to make eye contact with him. So, I think I keep using honorifics without realizing it.”

Snout-nose tilted his head and answered.

“Okay. How did that guy fight?”

Aldaine asked.

“That’s…”

“Why?”

“It was desperate.”

“Tell me in detail.”

Snout-nose hesitated and told him about the fight that happened in the bar.

A time for a cup of tea passed.

“He bit his neck? Are you sure?”

Aldaine, after hearing the story, scratched his head as if he was dumbfounded and asked again.

“Yes. He bit a person’s neck, chewed the flesh and bones, and spat them out on the floor.”

“Heh.”

Aldaine let out a strange sigh.

“And? How did he kill that blacksmith bastard?”

“That blacksmith bastard stabbed Scar-nim in the stomach with a knife.”

“He stabbed him? What? Tell me quickly.”

Aldaine urged.

“Without batting an eye, he used that…engraving ability.”

The boar-man stopped talking, stood in front of Aldaine, and waved his body, reenacting Ryu-shin Jeong’s appearance.

“He stabbed a golden dagger into his stomach. Like this. He plunged it in.”

“…”

“And.”

“There’s more?”

“Yes. Scar-nim then went closer, grabbed the bastard’s mouth, and tore it.”

“He tore it? You mean he grabbed it with his bare hands and tore it open?”

“Yes.”

“Heh… geez. He got stabbed in the stomach but insisted on walking over and tearing the boss’s mouth? This is completely crazy. I didn’t know he could fight that well because he was young and a mixed-blood, so is this really Barbaroi? You really didn’t help him, right?”

Aldaine glared at Snout-nose.

“Yes. I just watched. But what should we do with the remaining slave hunter cell?”

Snout-nose asked.

“Leave it alone. They’ll scatter on their own. They’re just guys with a lot of money. These days, business is difficult, so they’re trying to get a foothold in the labyrinth city, but is that easy?

“Couldn’t they take other actions because of this incident? Instead of directly intervening, they will try to indirectly exert influence on the labyrinth city?”

“At best, they are rolling stones. A stone will only be crushed if it rolls into a city teeming with demons. And I’ll think about that when the time comes. Go.”

“Yes.”

Snout-nose bowed deeply and left the bonfire.

Aldaine stroked the red single-edged sword.

“How is it?”

The sword trembled.

“You liked it that much? You’ve finally found your soulmate.”

Aldaine said in a surprised voice.

“···You want to be with him all the time? Let’s wait a little for now. It looks like we’ll be meeting again soon.”

Perhaps this fight has spread widely in the eastern district.

It must have reached the ears of the demon bastards crouching in the darkness of the labyrinth city. If he just waited leisurely, Scar, who was exhausted from the evil of the labyrinth city, would come into his arms.

“Brother.”

Aldaine muttered, stroking the sword.

* * *

He walked alone under the dawn stars.

As he walked, he arrived in front of Daramong’s inn.

Looking closely, someone was kneeling in front of the inn.

His head was strangely shaved in patches.

It was Tarman.

Ryu-shin Jeong approached.

“···I told you to leave.”

“I have nowhere to go.”

“You’re saying you’ll die by my hand?”

“Where would I go, abandoning my village friends? Please accept me.”

Tarman raised his head.

The man who peed his pants and trembled in the bar was gone.

No.

There was clearly fear in Tarman’s eyes.

Nevertheless, a love for his friends could be seen.

Is it impossible for him to abandon his friends and leave?

Ryu-shin Jeong raised his head and looked up at the sky for a moment.

The calm wind of the dawn streets brushed past Ryu-shin Jeong.

‘Daramong.’

The image of him rushing to his wife’s affair was stuck in his heart.

Ryu-shin Jeong slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you still have the explorer’s iron badge?”

“Yes.”

“Give it to me.”

“Yes?”

“Hand over the badge to me.”

Tarman rummaged through his clothes and took out the iron badge.

Ryu-shin Jeong received the iron badge and put it in his arms.

“I won’t ask how you got here. Work here.”

Aldaine must have sent him. Does he want to leave him as a contact? It doesn’t matter.

“Yes.”

“If you do any more stupid shit, one of us will die. Do you understand?”

The blood drained from Tarman’s face at Ryu-shin Jeong’s warning.

“···Yes.”

Tarman barely opened his mouth and answered.

“Can you cook a little?”

“I can a little.”

“Understood. Get your head shaved short. I don’t know who shaved it, but it’s really unsightly.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. It’s good to see you trying to reform.”

“Thank you.”

Ryu-shin Jeong tilted his head for a moment at Tarman’s answer.

“···Thinking about it, I’m getting a little angry. You stay outside a little longer and come in.”

“…”

Ryu-shin Jeong tapped Tarman on the shoulder once and went inside Daramong’s inn.

The dawn was gradually brightening the dark streets.