kscans

Chapter 48 - Interlude: Those Who Begin to Move

Night fell.

In the rocky mountains near the border of the Harg Kingdom.

Darkness reigned over the peaks. It was a dangerous time, when nocturnal monsters stirred, hunting their prey from the shadows.

A lone man walked through this perilous landscape. His entire body was shrouded in a tattered cloak, and he kept the hood pulled low so his face could not be seen.

That man was Rodel.

He was once an A-rank adventurer in the Kingdom, hailed as one of the nation’s finest heroes.

But that was a story from a few days ago. His life had been in a free fall ever since the King tasked him with subjugating the Kraken, a mission that had ended in utter defeat.

He had been biding his time, waiting for the Kraken to leave, but then he heard that the "Beautiful Sword" party had succeeded in slaying it. Panic set in. At this rate, his reputation would be ruined. Despising that thought, he decided he would marry Tina.

He had convinced himself that marrying the woman who defeated the Kraken would protect his standing. But not only did she reject him, he was told she had feelings for someone else.

Her affection was for some nameless adventurer. Such a man getting in the way would ruin all his plans. So, he challenged him to a duel. He had envisioned a future where the battle would open Tina’s eyes, lead to their marriage, and, if he was lucky, remind the populace of his own strength.

But the result was defeat.

He had lost to an opponent he’d arrogantly assumed he could beat.

Unable to accept reality, he had lashed out, been arrested by the soldiers, and was ultimately exiled by the King.

Now, his name was that of a great sinner who had sullied the Kingdom. He was called a womanizer who had preyed on countless women, a coward who had fled from a monster.

He retreated into a sea of delusion.

He saw his glory days in the Kingdom. He wielded the Light Attribute, an element only the chosen could command. Clad in brilliant armor and wielding a sword bestowed upon him by the King himself, he fought with grace and had always been victorious. Countless women adored him, he possessed more gold coins than he could ever spend—a life of pure indulgence.

It had been a blissful existence, one that only the chosen were permitted to enjoy.

But such fantasies never lasted long.

A strong wind blew, and the chill pricked at his skin. His face, scarred by burns, now resembled that of a zombie. The once-handsome man was now hideous. It was only natural for a person to want to hide such a thing.

His equipment consisted of a linen shirt and trousers, leather armor, and a second-hand sword. Why had he been reduced to this?

First, the golden sword was on loan from the King and had been returned. His golden armor and noble attire were confiscated as restitution for the crime of insulting the navy.

He had been stripped of everything.

The mercy he was shown was being given the cheapest clothes, armor, sword, and cloak available, as sending him out with nothing was deemed too cruel.

Dragged back to reality, the emotion that consumed him was pure rage.

…That man. If it weren't for him, my glory would have shone even brighter.

It was a completely baseless accusation, but there was no one here to point that out. Just then, he heard footsteps approaching from the darkness.

He immediately tensed.

From the sound of the footsteps, he was certain it was a human. The only people active in the rocky mountains at night were bandits. As he drew his sword, an old man appeared before him. The man wore the robes of a high-ranking magician and held a staff as tall as he was. At its tip was a carving of a bat with red eyes, and coiled below it, a green-eyed snake seemed poised to strike the bat.

At a glance, he looked like a magician in service to some lord.

But Rodel’s intuition screamed a warning.

…This man is dangerous. The old man, however, showed no hostility.

"It is only natural for you to be on your guard, but please, calm yourself. I am merely a researcher of magic in these borderlands. You are Rodel-dono, I presume?"

At those words, Rodel’s vigilance only sharpened. The old man continued.

"...Don’t look so grim. I have no intention of harming you. I simply know of you from the incident at the arena a few days ago."

To the old man who brought up a memory he wanted to forget, Rodel snapped.

"...What do you want? If you have no business with me, then get lost."

His voice was laced with unconcealed irritation. The old man replied.

"Indeed, I am not fond of long conversations myself. So I will be direct. …Do you not desire power?"

Rodel flinched.

The old man pressed on.

"...You have the potential to become much stronger. You possess the perfect qualities to be a test subject for my research. …What say you?"

To this, Rodel responded.

"A tempting offer, but ‘test subject’… Couldn’t you have phrased that a little more delicately?"

A smirk spread across the old man’s face.

"True, but I dislike being accused of lying later on. Is it not better to be straightforward? Besides, this is hardly a bad deal for you, is it? Don’t you wish to obtain power and have your revenge?"

At those words, Rodel’s rage surged once more.

That’s right. What this old man was plotting was irrelevant.

Right now, he wanted power.

He wanted to kill that man, that woman, that King, those people, that country—all of it.

Consumed by a vengeful obsession, Rodel said.

"...Fine. I’ll go along with your research."

At his reply, the old man—Redorza the Sage—smiled and approached Rodel. A black mist enveloped them both, and when it cleared, nothing remained.


High in the sky, over a certain country.

Among the glittering stars of the night, a single point of light moved erratically. It was Rumby the Fateweaver.

She was bored.

She couldn’t meddle with that otherworlder. The Dragon King had assigned someone else to the task, and she had no idea what he’d do to her if she acted out of turn.

In fact, Harynair had already been put on probation by the Dragon King. Since it hadn’t been a life-or-death struggle, her punishment was light. Rumby had no combat abilities, but she possessed unique powers. If she decided to get involved, she knew better than anyone that she would be utterly incapable of simply watching from the sidelines.

As she flew through the sky, lost in thought, she looked down at the ground below and pondered. …How can I make that otherworlder come to me? Just then, she spotted a human.

He was drinking and grumbling.

His complaints were incoherent, but it seemed he was dissatisfied with his country. She watched, thinking it was rather belligerent to be unhappy in a relatively peaceful nation.

Then, she had an idea.

If I use that human, the otherworlder might make a move. A smirk spread across Rumby’s face as she sprang into action.


In the Kingdom, on a rocky mountain in Alum.

Atop the darkened peak stood a monster, its arms crossed and its eyes closed. It had the face of a bull and stood on two legs. On its back, it carried a sword as long as it was tall. The blade, from its tip to the hilt, was a jet black deeper than the night itself.

Sidoor the Sword Demon.

He was the Minotaur who had petitioned the Dragon King and been granted the role of testing the otherworlder’s power.

He decided to wait here.

He had no intention of going directly to the town. There was no need to slaughter its inhabitants. He would simply wait, confident that reports from adventurers on assignment would eventually draw his target to him.

Sidoor thought to himself.

How far can that human fight? I doubt it will come to a subjugation, but I expect a good match. He was certain of it.

He had no evidence, but for some reason, he just knew.

He looked up at the night sky and smiled.


On a certain mountaintop, inside a mansion with a garden.

The mansion was enveloped in a purple mist, a deadly poison that would kill instantly upon inhalation. Living in such a dangerous place was Lates the Thousand Poisons.

In his laboratory, he was creating a new drug.

He was conducting every experiment he could think of, preparing for when his turn came.

For administering the new drug, he could just use the bandits he’d tossed in the dungeon for making a ruckus nearby. He would take his time, running all the human experiments he wanted.

With that thought, he devoted himself to his research.


Addendum: In a mansion lined with numerous crucifixes.

Harynair, still under probation, was pouting in her bed.