Part 7: Candid (5)

Faced with an absurd and bewildering reality, the master… accepted it surprisingly quickly. After all, there was no other choice but to come to terms with it.

There is no way to escape.

But if there’s an entrance, there must be an exit.

A path will reveal itself if I keep moving forward.

With that thought, the master began walking.

A vast desert under a sky where three moons hung.

The temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, an unnatural phenomenon in itself.

‘A real desert wouldn’t be like this.’

In this bizarre world where even the concept of time was unclear, the master soon came to a realization.

The Vinar Incident.

The truth behind the magic goblin attack.

He had come face-to-face with goblins wielding 2nd-Class magic.

There were five of them.

Each goblin’s skin color reflected the element they controlled.

The red goblin wielded fire magic.

The blue goblin commanded water magic.

The yellow goblin controlled lightning magic.

The black goblin manipulated earth magic.

The white goblin harnessed wind magic.

When they cast their spells simultaneously, it was as if nature itself had turned against him.

Flames surged toward him.

Waves came crashing down.

A blinding bolt of lightning shot through the air.

However, hunting goblins posed no real difficulty.

[2+2+2+2+2=10]

Combat wasn’t simple arithmetic.

Five 2nd-Class goblins didn’t add up to the power of a 10th-Class mage.

With movements as light as a feather, the master evaded every spell.

His dagger traced merciless arcs through the air.

Slash!

The goblins’ heads dropped like ripe fruit.

From their severed necks, blood sprayed like a fountain.

Surprisingly… the goblins’ blood retained the color of their respective elements, as if someone had been playing with paint.

The battle was over in an instant.

Their lifeless bodies lay motionless, growing cold.

The stench of blood filled the air, thick and nauseating.

“A guess… but it seems that old mage summoned these monsters from this world to the continent.”

— “I think so too.”

The Ego Dagger agreed.

— “But that mage didn’t have the power to create such a bizarre world… Something doesn’t add up.”

“I’ll ask him when we get back. And I’ll make him pay for this tenfold.”

The master gritted his teeth.

The journey across the desert continued.

As time passed, the initial fury that had driven him forward began to fade.

Every few minutes, a new wave of monsters would attack. Each one was as unnatural as the magic goblins.

A one-eyed orc.

Skeletons wielding spirit magic.

Ghouls with the raw strength of warriors.

Every single one defied the conventional knowledge of the continent.

Not only were their attack patterns bizarre, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming. No matter how strong the master was, the relentless onslaught was wearing him down.

And the deep, loose sand beneath his feet only made things worse.

“This is ridiculous… Am I really about to die to slimes?”

A bitter smile spread across the master’s lips.

Ten colossal slimes, each the size of a house, had surrounded him.

Physical attacks were useless. Even when he infused mana into his dagger, it simply bounced off their gelatinous bodies.

Magic wasn’t a weakness either.

He had tried using an artifact to cast fire magic, but it had no effect. The slimes didn’t even get singed.

Then, as if they had been waiting, the slimes rolled toward him all at once.

Thud, thud, thud.

Their speed was terrifying.

There wasn’t a single gap between them.

Meanwhile…

The master was out of stamina.

His mana was drained.

Even his willpower had reached its limit.

Death is inevitable.

What a shame.

At the very least, I don’t want to die so helplessly.

As his life flashed before his eyes, a single face surfaced in his mind.

Aiden.

To the master, Aiden was someone special.

Though he had treated him colder than anyone else…

It was because he loved him that much.

Assassins don’t grow strong through love. They are forged in neglect and scorn.

‘At least it’s a relief… He’s found his own path now. I hope he can live happily, even for my sake.’

But just then—

“Stay right where you are.”

A familiar voice rang out.

A voice that shouldn’t, couldn’t, possibly be here.

Perhaps…

Was he hearing things in his final moments?

But no.

The voice came again.

“Massacre’s Trajectory—Hundredfold Division.”

With those words, countless lines appeared in the air around the master—everywhere except where he stood.

As if someone had drawn a giant grid in the empty space.

Shhk!

Shhk!

The lines became real.

And the slimes, which had been touching those lines…

Were sliced apart.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Just as the voice had said, the slimes were cut into a hundred pieces each, reduced to grains of sand.

But it didn’t end there.

Fwoosh.

Black flames—unlike anything the master had ever seen—spread out.

In an instant, the slimes were reduced to ashes.

Even at full strength, the master would have struggled against those monsters.

Yet the owner of that voice had wiped them out in just five seconds.

Thud.

The voice landed lightly on the ground.

Looking straight at the master, he said, “You’ve gotten yourself into quite the mess. Thanks to you, I had a rough time.”

“Aiden…? How…?”

The master’s eyes widened in disbelief.

*  *  *

“So that’s what happened. Sounds like you’ve had just as rough a time as I have.”

The master nodded.

He had just finished listening to Aiden’s explanation.

It was simple.

He had followed out of concern.

(Though he had made up some nonsense about the Eye of Insight and Kato’s Compass to make it sound convincing.)

After subduing the old mage, he had interrogated him.

He had confirmed that the mage’s staff could open special worlds.

And then… he had killed him.

Using the staff’s ability, he had entered this world.

“You don’t trust me that much? You’re following me around like some kind of guardian?” the master grumbled, though secretly, he was pleased.

“When someone like you gets personally involved, it usually means trouble. And as it turns out, I was right.”

“Great. Just great.”

“This world is really strange,” Aiden scanned his surroundings as he spoke.

The world he had only glimpsed through the Eye of Insight was now unfolding right before his eyes.

A crescent moon, a half-moon, and a full moon.

A desert of sand beneath three moons.

A world where monsters beyond common sense roamed freely.

Creating such a world through illusions was impossible. Even the gods themselves could not replicate something of this scale.

Then this place must be…

As Mugin had said, it was likely the Realm of Chaos.

Everything about this world was chaotic from start to finish.

“Tell me exactly what you talked about with the old man. Did he say he made the staff himself?”

“No. He said he found it at a junk shop by chance.”

“And you believe that?”

“I heard the answer after he lost his right arm, so I doubt he was lying. Besides, it’s not like a mere 4th-class mage could create an artifact of this caliber.”

“Hmm… Well, you have a point. So, what was he planning to do with the staff?”

“He said he was training.”

“Training for what?”

“To extend the time he could open dimensional gates. Once he had mastered it, he planned to control the entire continent.”

“Talk about ambitious.”

“I wouldn’t say it was entirely impossible.”

From Aiden’s perspective, the old man’s dream wasn’t all that far-fetched.

If he had kept his abilities hidden…

If he had steadily grown stronger…

He could have made a mark in history as a legendary summoner.

Unfortunately for him, he had crossed paths with Aiden too soon.

In any case, after speaking with the old man, Aiden had come to understand why the master had personally taken on this mission.

As a true Arbiter, the master had an uncanny ability to sniff out looming disasters.

Had the old man been left unchecked, tragedy would have surely followed.

Moreover, Aiden had once again confirmed the usefulness of the Eye of Insight.

Without it… he wouldn’t have bothered to chase after the master.

And if he hadn’t… he would have lost the master in vain.

“You brought the staff, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s get out of here. I don’t want to stay a second longer.”

“We can’t. I checked on the way in—getting inside was easy, but leaving isn’t so simple.”

Aiden reached into the inner pocket of his robe, which was connected to a subspace, and pulled out the Jester’s Staff.

He waved it from side to side.

When he had done this outside, a giant mouth had appeared. But here, nothing happened.

“This is the worst. Now you’re stuck in this mess because of me.”

The master bit his lip.

“This was the first mission I handled after your retirement, and now it’s a disaster.”

“There are things in this world beyond our control. Who could have predicted this?”

“You’ve gotten sly, haven’t you?”

“It’s because I’m retired. You’re not my superior anymore.”

Hearing Aiden’s unusually smooth words, the master chuckled.

So, retirement has been good for him, huh?

Unlike when he was nothing more than a cog in the machine, Aiden was surprisingly pleasant.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“We keep moving forward. If there’s a way in, there must be a way out.”

“Isn’t that too dangerous? We don’t know where the end is, and the monsters are endless,” the master’s voice wavered.

At first, he had thought the same as Aiden.

But the longer he wandered, the more hopeless it seemed.

Could they really escape this place?

“Master.”

“What?”

“I am Aiden.”

A short statement, but one filled with meaning.

Anyone else would have scoffed, asking what nonsense he was spouting. But the master did not.

Because he knew.

Of everyone he had ever met, Aiden was the strongest.

And he hadn’t even gone all out in years.

He had been holding back, hiding most of his power.

“Alright. Let’s keep going. There’s no other choice.”

“Master, stay back and follow from a distance. I’ll take care of the monsters up ahead.”

Aiden sprinted across the sand at breakneck speed.

The master followed the trail he left behind, walking at his own pace.

Aiden was still Aiden.

In his wake, only the gruesome remains of monsters were left behind.

Just as he had done on the continent…

Even in this strange world, Aiden was the Grim Reaper.

Perhaps that was why—

The master realized just how much he had relied on Aiden.

And maybe…

It wasn’t that Aiden had retired.

Maybe it was that he had finally become independent.

— “It’s not too late. Hold onto Aiden now. If you order him, he will return to the guild.”

The Ego Dagger whispered temptingly.

“Shut up. I told you before—if a world can only be sustained by one person’s sacrifice, then it’s a world not worth saving.”

— “Hypocrite. You used him without hesitation all this time.”

“And I felt guilty for it. I suffered for it. I was late, but letting Aiden go is not something I regret.”

— “You’re just being stubborn…”

“Keep talking, and I’ll snap you in two.”

The master’s voice carried a quiet fury.

The Ego Dagger fell silent.

Running a tavern.

Writing in his journal.

Eating desserts.

Making friends.

An Aiden who joked around with him.

The master liked that Aiden.

And now he was supposed to turn him back into a tool for the guild?

Not a chance in hell.

About ten minutes later—

Aiden, who had been leading the way, suddenly stopped. He stood still, staring at something in the distance.

“Why? What is it?” the master stepped up beside him and asked.

“We should be able to get out of here soon. But first, let’s recover our strength.”

Aiden reached into his robe pocket and pulled something out.

Wrapped in cloth… was a pecan pie.

“…Are you seriously eating that in a place like this?”

In that moment, whatever fondness the master had for Aiden shattered completely.
 

To be continued

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