A middle-aged man with half of his brown hair turned white was walking out of a small forest while carrying a string bag on his back.
The string bag was filled with chestnuts, and their large and lustrous appearance looked extremely delicious at a glance.
“Neji!”
The middle-aged man called someone’s name towards the iron door located at the center of the stone wall.
“Huh?”
A young man who seemed to be in his twenties poked his head out above the iron door.
“Mister Joren, you returned early today. It’s understandable since the other people aren’t even working today since it’s the weekend.”
The young man named Neji smiled at the middle-aged man.
“I quickly finished the job since I had to go to the city afterward. I still brought quite a lot though.”
The middle-aged man named Joren pointed at the string bag on his back.
“Wow, those are some fat chestnuts. We can take it easy this year.”
Neji nodded with a cheerful smile on his face.
“It’s not just the chestnuts. The berries are also great this year.”
“I noticed they are rather expensive nowadays too. Won’t we be able to expand the village at this rate?”
“That’s why I’m heading to the city.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. We need more manpower, so I’m planning to find the workers in advance in the city.”
“Wow! What are you waiting for?! Come inside already!”
Neji’s footsteps could be heard as he ran downstairs, and the iron door split in half and opened up right after.
“It’s because you didn’t open the door before.”
Joren smiled. When he was about to enter the village, heavy footsteps were heard from behind him.
He looked around and found that a group of people clad in black robes were walking towards the village.
‘Who are they…?’
There were some infrequent visitors to Werthers Village because they were famous for their berries and chestnuts, but their unexcited appearance didn’t suggest that they were tourists at all.
‘They are dangerous…’
The intuition of his thirty years of life as a mercenary was whispering to him, telling him to run away as fast as possible. However, he couldn’t simply run and leave his home and family behind.
Joren hurriedly closed the iron door that was being open and stood in front of the door.
“Wh-who are you?”
“……”
There were a lot of people, but none of them responded. They continued walking and arrived right in front of the village’s entrance.
The man at the very front raised his head. His black eyes looked like they were completely scorched. Goosebumps appeared all over his body upon seeing his eyes.
“M-mister! Who are they…?”
“Don’t come outside!”
Joren shook his hand at Neji before leaning his back towards the door.
“Is this Werthers Village?”
The black-eyed man opened his mouth. His voice was an embodiment of unknown darkness, and it echoed as if he were talking from deep underground.
“Aah…”
His heart skipped a beat just from hearing the voice. His strength left his body, and he couldn’t do anything at all.
“Y-yes.”
Joren bit his lip tightly and nodded.
“How many people live in this village?”
“Why are you asking that question?”
“How many?”
“I don’t know who you are, but…”
“Your opportunity ran out.”
The black-eyed man shook his hand as if he were chasing a fly away.
“What do you mea—ah!”
The dark claws emerged from his hand, and Joren’s body was cut into four pieces.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Silence.”
Neji, who’d been watching from above, started to scream and tried to ring the bell, but the man’s hand lowered smoothly, as if he were directing an orchestra.
Crack!
The dark claws dwelling in his hand fell diagonally. The iron door and the stone walls burst without leaving any trace, and even Neji—who was standing below—turned into a pool of blood and fell.
“Gasp…”
“Aah…”
“Wh-what’s happening…?”
Werthers Villagers watched the scene from below the walls and sank to the ground as if they couldn’t control their bodies. The terror they felt from the black-eyed man’s intense energy was that great.
“Gather every villager in one place.”
“Yes.”
The black-robed men scattered like ghosts upon hearing the black-eyed man’s command.
“Aah!”
“L-let me go!”
“Ugh…”
The black-robed men dug holes into people’s bodies with hooks that were covered with dark energy and dragged them like cattle toward the center.
“There’s a mean rat over there.”
The black-eyed man shook his hand towards the right side. Dark claws extended from his hand, then fell upon a sturdy house to completely crush it, creating a huge scar on the ground.
Pssh!
A dangerous amount of flesh and blood flowed to the ground along with someone’s shoulder from behind the collapsing wall.
Rumble!
The house collapsed, and the person who lost their arm was crushed under the debris before they could even scream.
The black-eyed man stared at the collapsed house for a moment before he turned his head. The villagers were only looking at the ground with their faces turned pale.
“Thirty-nine. Their number is enough for the sacrifice.”
He nodded while looking at them.
“How are the preparations going?”
“It’s done. We finished injecting the demonic energy into everyone.”
A woman nodded. Her robe was dragging on the ground because of her small height.
“We are bringing all of them.”
“Yes.”
The small woman stood in front of the people upon hearing his order. A strange resonance coming out from her mouth wasn’t a human language, and the people lost focus in their eyes upon hearing it.
They stood up while wobbling like zombies and started walking towards the Jamari mountain range.
The black-eyed man rolled his lips into a smile while watching them.
“I’m curious about what kind of monster they will make once they are reborn.”
* * *
Raon couldn’t stop himself anymore and turned his head towards Denning Rose.
“What do you mean? Why did they attack Werthers Village?”
Werthers Village was close to the Jamari mountain range, but they weren’t in their path.
The Black Tower would’ve needed to stray far into the right, and Raon couldn’t understand why they went out of their way to attack them.
“I don’t understand either. Our agent in the village seems to have been killed, as we aren’t getting any response after he said that the Black Tower was attacking them.”
Denning Rose clenched her fist without raising her head. He must’ve been an agent that she cherished, as it was rare for her to reveal her emotions.
“How is this happening…?”
Dorian gathered his trembling hands upon hearing about the unexpected incident.
“This is just an assumption…”
Denning Rose slowed her steps and looked at Raon furtively.
“Yes, tell me.”
“In my opinion, they must be trying to sacrifice the villagers.”
“Sacrifice?”
“I’m guessing that they are going to inject the mana of darkness into the villagers and feed them to the drake to accumulate the negative energy inside the drake before killing it.”
“Negative energy…”
Raon nodded while touching his lips.
‘Indeed. That’s the most likely scenario.’
He agreed with Denning Rose that it seemed to be the only reason why the Black Tower would suddenly attack the village when they were trying to kill the drake.
No, he was hoping that it was the case, as sacrificing them meant that the villagers would still be alive.
Mana of darkness?
Wrath violently ground his teeth.
How dare they disturb the King of Essence’s dessert when they are nothing but peasants who borrow a demon’s power?!
He furiously ground his teeth and unleashed the energy of wrath because he couldn’t eat the food he wanted anymore.
‘It’s a bit different.’
What’s different now?
‘The Black Tower does use the energy of darkness, but it’s not an ordinary energy of darkness.’
What else is it?
‘They used the energy of darkness after absorbing it into their vitality.’
The Black Tower didn’t simply use the energy of darkness but combined it with their own life—their vitality. It was truly an insane method.
That was why their output was a lot stronger than the normal method, both in terms of martial arts and magic.
They aren’t even demons, yet they combine the mana of darkness into their vitality? Are they trying to kill themselves?
‘They don’t die, unfortunately.’
Raon sighed and looked at Wrath.
‘You should help if you want to eat the mountain berry pie or the braised chestnut.
Of course! The King of Essence’s got this!
Wrath confidently clenched his round, hamlike fist. Even though he was usually nothing but a useless mouth, he was bound to be helpful sometimes.
‘I should leave Dorian behind.’
Since the Black Tower made the first move and they even had hostages, he couldn’t guarantee that everything would go according to plan anymore.
Since bringing the cowardly Dorian with him could become even more troublesome, Raon figured it was better to leave him behind.
“Dorian, you should… Hmm?”
Raon’s eyes widened once he turned to look at Dorian.
‘What’s going on?’
He thought Dorian would be trembling in fear, but he was staring at him while clenching the hilt of his sword.
His trembling hand showed his fear, but there was no darkness in his glowing eyes.
“I-I’m also going.”
Dorian took a step forward.
“I’m sure there will be something I can do!”
Raon smiled faintly while meeting his eyes.
‘You grew up.’
Raon wasn’t too impressed even when Dorian became the highest-level Expert, but he could clearly feel his growth upon seeing his eyes.
We should bring him with us.
‘Yes.’
Raon nodded and looked at Denning Rose.
“We are going to leave right away since every second counts.”
“There’s no dimensional door since it’s a remote place. We’ve prepared horses on the way so that you can switch as you go. The rest is up to you.”
Denning Rose had already made the preparations despite the urgency of the situation. She was truly an amazing person.
“Thank you.”
Raon nodded and left Rokan City with the horse.
‘Just in case.’
He went to the bushes outside the city and quietly called Merlin so that Dorian wouldn’t hear him.
‘Merlin, Merlin.’
He couldn’t feel any presence at all, unlike the other times. Merlin had mentioned that she still had something left to do, and it must’ve been true.
A madwoman like her is never there when you need them.
Wrath frowned while saying that it was classic behavior of mad women.
‘It can’t be helped. We have to go without her help.’
Raon sighed briefly and mounted the horse. It was going to take longer, but he had no other method available.
“We won’t rest until we arrive.”
“Yes!”
Dorian swallowed nervously and gave him a big nod.
Raon smiled at Dorian because he wasn’t running away from his fear.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
* * *
Creak.
Derus Robert was sitting in front of a man, who had a carefree expression on his face like a playboy, inside his office. The door was opened before Regel entered the room.
“My lord.”
Regel straightened his back and bowed at him.
“We’ve finished the confirmation. A drake’s nest really exists at the peak of the Jamari mountain range.”
“So, Palen Sephia was telling the truth.”
Derus smiled coldly at Regel.
“Yes. It’s not a reason to be relieved, but at least the suspicion is gone.”
Regel closed his eyes and nodded.
“Loktan.”
Derus looked at the middle-aged man standing in front of him.
“Yes, my lord.”
The middle-aged man named Loktan lowered his head. His voice was heavy, unlike his frivolous expression.
“Can you get rid of Raon Zieghart?”
Derus Robert sounded like he was asking a question, but it wasn’t actually a question. He was ordering him to achieve it no matter what.
“Of course.”
Loktan nodded, without being intimidated by his frightening order.
“He’s just a child who is good with a sword. I can play him like a toy and kill him.”
“He shouldn’t be underestimated. He can determine his opponent’s martial art at a glance.”
Derus frowned while remembering Raon’s swordsmanship, which he’d seen in the arena.
“So he’s a genius that even my lord acknowledges. It makes it even easier for me.”
Loktan smiled while spinning his wrist.
“Because I'm a genius when it comes down to hunting those greenhorns.”
“I believe in you.”
“Thank you.”
“However, don’t massacre people unnecessarily.”
“Of course. I won’t. I don’t kill people for pleasure.”
“Don’t deny it. You are a murderer who destroys an entire village every time you go on a mission.”
“Haha, that was when I was still young…”
Loktan awkwardly scratched his cheek. However, his eyes were glowing with a murderous intent that couldn’t be hidden.
“Do you need anything?”
Derus looked down on Loktan coldly.
“There’s one thing I need.”
“What is it?”
“We might arrive there after everything’s over because it took too much time to gather information. May I ask to take care of the movement?”
Loktan scratched the back of his head while murmuring that he couldn’t even be bothered to walk.
“Regel.”
Derus Robert nodded at Regel instead of Loktan.
“Tell him to make the preparations.”
“Yes.”
Regel bowed before he left the office.
“You won’t reach the mountain range, but he should be able to bring you to the vicinity.”
“Thank you. I’ll repay your trust with the mission’s completion.”
Loktan smiled and raised his hand. Energies with various colors creeped out from his finger.
“Even though he’s a genius who is rumored to be the strongest warrior in the future, he is going to perish before he realizes what happened to him.”
‘I’ll melt down his corpse and bring the drake's heart back as a present.’
* * *
Raon kept changing horses and even used the footwork to reach the area near Werthers Village.
‘It’s so eerie.’
The walls of Werthers Village used to have a warm scenery despite its thickness.
However, the village he was seeing from afar was completely ruined. It almost looked like a dragon had crushed it with its claws.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes…”
Raon sighed deeply to brace himself before he entered the village.
“Ugh…”
As soon as they entered the village, Dorian covered his mouth and groaned.
It couldn’t be helped. People’s corpses were ripped apart like pieces of paper, and chunks of flesh were decomposing like rotten meat.
The entire village was covered in disgusting stench of fertilizer and evil energies.
Raon clenched his back teeth while looking at the corpses that had turned black from decomposition.
‘Mana of darkness.’
They looked like they'd been rotting for months even though the assault had only happened a few days ago, and that was proof that they were killed with the mana of darkness.
What a nasty stench. Just like you said, something is mixed into their demonic energy.
Wrath also frowned in displeasure.
“Haa…”
Raon examined the village without averting his eyes from the cruelty and the stench.
‘There aren’t enough corpses.’
Considering the village’s size, he could expect the number of villagers to be from thirty to fifty people, yet there were only ten corpses around.
That implied that the other people hadn’t died inside the village.
‘Were they really taken awa—hmm? Is that someone breathing?’
He had just thought that Denning Rose had predicted the situation correctly when he could hear the sound of a person breathing from a collapsed building. It was an extremely thin and weak breath that sounded like it could stop at any moment.
Raon used footwork to quickly run towards it and lifted the debris. A man without an arm and a hole in his stomach was under the rubble, and he opened his eyes with difficulty.
‘This is… The Carbon Cultivation Technique!’
The technique was made for a situation where the user had to deliver a message despite a serious injury, and it consisted of removing one’s breath to feign death.
However, they were bound to die the moment they finished the technique and an intense pain visited them while they survived. That was why most people didn’t use it even if they’d learned the technique.
The man in front of him had been enduring the deadly pain while waiting for someone’s arrival.
“Are you from the Black Market?”
“Y-yes.”
Just like Raon had expected, he was the Black Market agent that Denning Rose had dispatched.
“Y-you must be Sir Raon.”
The agent’s voice was shivering. He was about to die.
“Yes. If you have anything to tell me…”
“Th-the Black Tower’s Black Commander came to the village and took away the villagers. H-he said that he was going to feed them to the drake as sacrifices and shoved the mana of darkness in their bodies.”
The agent grabbed his own body with his only arm and continued.
“H-he said that he could accumulate the mana of darkness inside the d-drake by feeding it people who were poisoned by the mana of darkness. They must be planning to leave the people in the nest to feed them to the drake before killing it.”
“Please have a drink.”
Dorian tried to give some water to the agent, but he refused with a faint smile on his face.
“Th-the Black Commander can unleash claws of demonic energy from his hand. I couldn’t defend against it even though I hardened my defense. Th-there was also a small magician, and her mana was extremely powerful.”
The agent had even figured out the Black Commander’s attack pattern and the level of his subordinates.
“P-please.”
He didn’t even mention his name or beg for his life. All he asked was for Raon to save the villagers as he forced himself to smile while grabbing Raon’s hand. That was when he hung his head, his thin breath suddenly coming to an end.
Raon grasped the agent’s hand, which was quickly getting colder, tightly.
The agent was simply dispatched to the village.
He didn’t really know the villagers nor was he close to them.
He was only making that request because he was a human being.
It was the last request made from the man who’d lasted that long while simply living as a human.
‘I accept your request.’
Raon bowed to the agent, whose name he didn’t even know.
“Dorian.”
“Yes!”
Dorian ran up to him while wiping his tears with his sleeve. He was cowardly, and even more of a crybaby, but he’d become a trustworthy fellow.
“I have a job for you.”
“L-leave it to me.”
Raon spread the map out while listening to his response. He pointed behind the highest peak where the drake’s nest was located.
“Head to the nest by climbing the cliff behind it to avoid the Black Tower’s notice.”
“A-am I supposed to climb the mountain?”
“Yes. Please protect the villagers from the drake and the Black Tower.”
“Erm… U-understood!”
Dorian was terrified like always and was about to shake his head, but he bit his lip and nodded sharply.
“You should be able to do it. Equip every single artifact that you have that can conceal your presence.”
“Okay.”
Dorian took out various pieces of equipment from his belly pocket and equipped them around his body.
“What about you, vice squad leader?”
“I…”
Raon closed the map and looked up to the highest peak of the Jamari mountain range. Crimson lightning sparked in his eyes as he looked into the darkness.
“…shall take out the trash from there.”
‘Without a single exception.’
