Chapter 272: Afterstory (2)

“Are you really sure I won’t kill you?”

I nodded. “Yes, you could have just taken us by surprise. The Black Dragon Master would have lost a hand, and I also might have lost a member. Your timing was perfect, yet you intentionally let your footsteps be heard. It was basically a warning. ‘If something like a purge were to happen, I would never sit idly by.’ You’ve made that clear to me—no, to the Black Dragon Master. Because there is already a high level of trust between you and me.”

The tension in the area was still suffocating. I smiled and approached the Sword Star.

Naturally, the Black Witch panicked. “Hey, Kim Gong-Ja, where are you going? Stay with me, you idiot! Don’t you understand what I’m saying? You have to stick with me if I’m going to use my teleportation, you idiot!

Ah

, you wacko!”

Behind my back, the Black Witch was huffing and puffing as she called me names. The funny thing was that her angry voice was getting closer and closer. Although she was angrily telling me not to go, she was following me diligently as I walked toward the swordsman who had not lost his top spot in the Hunter rankings for over a decade. He laughed as he watched us.

It made both me and the Black Witch stop in our tracks. We exchanged glances, asking each other if at least one of us understood what was going on. However, the Black Witch only shrugged.

The senior gentleman’s laughter only grew louder, as if he had truly seen everything there was to see in life. He was close to rolling on the ground in a way that didn’t suit him. Every time he laughed, his neatly trimmed white beard trembled.

“Have you gone senile?” the Black Witch asked, looking fed up.

I cleared my throat. “Should I contact the Chemist and ask her to make some kind of cure for you?”

“

Oh

, come to think of it, she’s also one of your people. How the heck did you recruit all these young talents? I think we need to create a system to restrict excessive talent hoarding.”

“What kind of strange system is that?”

The Sword Star probably noticed how close I was with the Black Witch from our small talk. He laughed for a long time.

“What’s so funny, sir?” I asked.

“How could I not laugh, young man? The one standing beside you is the master of the Black Dragon Guild, also known as the Witch of Darkness. She’s always cool-headed and never hesitates to kill anyone, yet she’s very worried about your safety.”

Ah.

The Sword Star called me “young man” instead of Deah King. I preferred the former a lot more because it made me feel much more at ease, as if I were his grandson. There was a certain pleasant feeling when he called me “young man.”

“I... I was worried that you might change,” the Sword Star said. “You’re now a true elite member of this Tower. It’s natural for you to be friends with the Five Guild leaders. Young man, unbeknownst to you, the guild leaders may be a bad influence on you.”

The Black Star snapped. “What? Bad influence? What the hell do you think of us to say that?”

“Are you offended?”

“Do you think I should be? What makes

you

so great?” She bared her teeth as if she wanted to bite off the Sword Star’s neck. “You also took part in the Great Purge, but you always act all high and mighty! You stepped down from the position of leader of the Watchmen League, so go spend the rest of your life in a temple or something instead of going around killing Hunters suspected of being murderers, you crazy old man! People should have some sense of shame. What we’re doing is evil purging, yet what you’re killing is a dark hero’s punishment? Why don’t you get a bat mask or something? Actually, that guy doesn’t kill people either.”

I could feel the pent-up criticism that the Black Witch had for the Sword Star all the way to my bones. This merciless storm struck him, but he didn’t even blink.

“I see you are very sensible,” the Sword Star said.

Anastasha paused. “What?”

“Most of the residents living in the Tower know you as a cold-blooded monarch. A woman who poisons her enemies without anyone knowing how she did it. An iron-blooded ruler who has spies all over the streets so that she can hear all about what happens in the Tower. An empress who coldly gets rid of anyone who stands in her way.”

The Black Witch clenched her fists, her bottom lip trembling. It looked like she didn’t know what to say, unable to figure out whether the Sword Star was just teasing her or had some other plan in mind.

The Sword Star let go of the hilt of his sword and pointed at her. “But look at you now. No one is more sensible, more human than you are. You rejoice when meaningless sacrifices are reduced. Inevitable sacrifices make you shed tears. Corruption and incompetence anger you. You respect heroes who actually achieve something, praising effort and struggle.”

The Sword Star had been laughing out until now, but the smile vanished from his eyes. His moonlit eyes shifted between the Black Witch and me.

“Even though she’s a person of power who assassinated and purged countless people, young man, she’s very human. That’s why I couldn’t help but worry about you, young man.”

His voice became much more gentle as he spoke to me, but his tone was still firm. His white eyebrows were two firm, straight lines.

“Usually, people say that if you peel off one layer from a person, that person becomes more human, but I beg to differ. While wearing a mask, anyone can look human.”

I remained silent. Beyond the wide rock where we stood earlier, the festival was still in full swing. The Terras had even readied drums and started playing them enthusiastically. All the species got drunk on the Sylvans’ free wine.

I nodded. “You’re right.”

The Black Witch, the Inquisitor, the Countess, and the Viper had all had their hands soaked in blood. Even the Sword Star had been like that until he met me. Same for Raviel.

If I were to permanently die and disappear for some reason, if no one could ever get me back... Just like Raviel completed me, I completed her. If one of us were to disappear, the one left behind would be the broken remains of a completely frozen heart. It didn’t take much for a person to be ruined.

I looked straight into the Sword Star’s wrinkled eyes. “But it’s okay. As long as I’m alive, it’s okay. Anastasha always tries to take the easy way out, saying she can’t help it. But if I’m by her side, she’ll think about it more. If I ask her about it, she’ll think about it twice more. If I say I adamantly refuse her decision, she’ll sigh and backtrack, saying that I’m walking down a difficult path again. It’s the same for other Hunters.”

I looked down at the festival. Dozens of Shellmounts had made a net out of their tentacles and used it to toss the Inquisitor in the air.

“

Hahaha! Haha!

Awesome! I feel like a rockstar!”

The Inquisitor’s laughter could be heard all the way here. The Countess was having tea with the Sylvans while the Paladin was swimming with the Fingills.

“The Inquisitor often says things like ‘

Hmm!

Let’s kill the guy to avoid any trouble!’ He only knows the easiest, simplest, and most certain way to deal with unpleasant stuff. But if I tell him to reconsider, he’ll listen. You said that anyone can pretend to be human if they wear a mask. Sir, then I’ll gladly become the mask for us.”

I walked right up to the Sword Star. If either of us were to draw their sword, the other would die. “Sir, you are no exception. After meeting me, you stopped relying on your Skill to kill murderers and said you would trust your eyes. What makes a person human isn’t a mask, a bluff, or showing off. Sir, it’s the other people who are always there for them.”

I grabbed something from my pocket. It was the lily-scented handkerchief that Raviel had given me. I held it tightly so that no one could see it. “I am that kind of person to Anastasha, and that is who she is to me.”

Silence. The distant cheers and laughter echoed around our ears, especially the Inquisitor’s high-pitched laughter. Apart from that, it was quiet all around. No sound came from the jungle surrounding us.

“Yes,” the Sword Star said. “You have already become someone like that to me.”

My heart rejoiced. I smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“You have taught me the hard way that I can be wrong. This time, you have shown me that even a person like the Black Dragon Master can change. With every three encounters I have with you, I change. You are not only a good friend, but also a good teacher.”

That was a bit too much. The Sword Star tended to be way too extra. Threats, warnings, emotions, compliments, he exaggerated all of them. Anyway, although he looked neat in his suit, he was incredibly passionate.

“But, young man, there is a fatal flaw in what you say.”

I tilted my head. “Pardon? Fatal flaw?”

The Sword Star nodded. “

Hmm.

You could call it a weakness. If you die, everyone around you will turn back into the beasts they were before, or even worse than before.”

It was the same thing the Mirage-Walking Princess had told me before.

“The Black Dragon Master and the Inquisitor told you their real names. The hundreds of warriors who are watching you and me right now are holding their swords ready to attack at any moment. It’s not just them, but all the people around you will go mad, perhaps as much as your duke. They will become beasts that will tear the world apart.”

The Sword Star lightly tapped me on my chest, right where my heart was.

“So if you wish us to remain human, young man, you must value your own life above all else. No matter what happens or what sacrifices are made, you must protect your own life. That is the duty of one who dared to lead the Inquisitor on the path of humanity, befriended the Black Dragon Master, and prevented me from killing a single person in the past few months.”

“Yes,” I said with a slow nod. I already knew this, but hearing it again steeled my resolve. “I will never, ever leave them.”

“Never?”

“... I will do my best.”

Only then did the Sword Star offer a playful smile. “Well, yes. That would be the most reliable promise you can make. I’m sorry, but my distrust for people is deeper than that of the Black Dragon Master. Ever since I was little, I’ve found humans a bit repulsive, disgusting even. Even McCalister asked me about it. The promise you just made doesn’t seem like it will be kept. No, I have a feeling it will definitely be broken.

Hmm

. I don’t like to brag, but my intuition is very good.”

Huh?

“Death King,” he said.

“Yes?”

The grass blades rustled gently as the Sword Star knelt in front of me on one knee. “I want to be your bodyguard.”

What now?

“I want to be your bodyguard, protect your life, and forever preserve the humanity of those around you.”

The Sword Star winked. Despite his old age, seeing him wink seemed fitting. He had probably broken many hearts while young.

“I’m a retiree who’s well past the average retirement age for a bodyguard, but will you hire this poor old man?”

Sir, you are a former chairman of a company and the number one swordsman in the Tower. Why would you become my bodyguard?