Chapter 114

The western outskirts.

The outlying area between the Great Forest and the border belonged to the Kingdom of Esten, but it was also the only place without a border garrison. According to Ed, most illicit trading took place here.

["The Antarian Federation is actually famous among players for its black markets."]

Waiting for Ed on the outskirts, Woojin recalled what he had said.

["The five great kingdoms have well-established systems to match their power, so they keep a close watch on black markets. They do exist, of course, but... you have to pay the officials that much more."]

With a system this precarious, it would hardly have been surprising if the five great kingdoms had attacked already. The federation had likely survived not only because of outstanding figures like Aswell, but because it had other uses as well.

"The world's a pretty unfair place."

Had Aswell been born in any of the five great kingdoms, the continent might already have been united.

'Well... probably no one's worse off than I am.'

He was going through all this trouble just to log out, something everyone else could do.

Seeing his bitter smile, Setsuna asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

'Still... things are better than they were at first.'

He thought this as he gently stroked Setsuna's head. Unlike those early days when he had felt on the verge of going mad, he had now fully adapted to the world of [Evil Tale].

But that was precisely why Woojin never forgot to remain wary—of himself, growing accustomed to it all.

'I'm not an NPC.'

This world was not his world.

"Over here."

Just then, Ed's voice came from within the forest. As if shaking off his thoughts, Woojin raised his head and looked ahead.

"I've brought our guest."

Beside Ed stood someone wearing a black face covering.

'Smaller than I expected.'

An alchemist, perhaps? The robes looked natural on the figure. Woojin adjusted the black mask he too wore to conceal his face and nodded to Ed.

"The first three bottles sold for sixty gold apiece. The last went for three hundred and fifty gold. This gentleman bought all of them."

That was roughly seventy million Korean won.

'Insane. Blowing that much money on a few doses of drugs.'

Ironically, virtual drugs were now selling more briskly than real ones. Ridiculous as it was, people these days tended to think that since they even experienced death in virtual reality, mere drugs could hardly affect their real bodies. They wanted to engage in all manner of illegal activities without harming their own health. Woojin found it pathetic, but there were far more such people than one might expect.

'Never mind the money. An ordinary person wouldn't even think of doing this.'

Businesspeople, the wealthy, conglomerate tycoons...

The virtual drug trade catered to people with all manner of wealth at their disposal, and its scale was said to defy imagination.

'Let's see just what kind of bastard you are.'

Woojin quietly began gauging the distance between himself and the masked man.

"You're selling the recipe?"

"That's right."

"Fascinating. I examined it, and it works better than the Black Juice sold until recently."

"It should. I developed it independently."

"Independently?"

The mask hid his expression, but the disbelief in his voice was unmistakable.

"Did you really develop it independently?"

"Why do you want to know?"

'Of course you're curious. You know it's your recipe.'

"I've heard that the Black Juice recipe uses a proprietary code that makes it impossible for outsiders to decipher."

"Really? That wasn't my experience."

"..."

It would have been impossible without Setsuna's [Analysis] and [Speed Reading], so naturally they couldn't understand it.

"Well, since you're buying it, I'll let you in on it. I found a recipe in a mansion in the Kingdom of Esten. When I tried making it, it turned out to be that Black Juice everyone's so excited about."

At Woojin's casual explanation, the masked man's gaze sharpened.

"... Don't make me laugh. You made it in a single day? And improved its effects, too?"

Woojin smirked at his outburst.

"Not even a day. Half a day was plenty for a shitty, worthless recipe like that."

"You bastard."

Woojin tossed the sack he had hidden behind him in front of the man.

"...!!!"

When he opened it, Hansen lay inside, gagged. Even behind the man's mask, his alarm was evident.

"Don't try anything stupid. Just quietly answer my questions. What were you people trying to do in the Kingdom of Esten?"

"Grab him!!!"

The man shouted at once.

"...?"

But despite his confident manner, no one responded.

THUD.

Something rolled out from deeper in the forest.

"...!!"

It was a severed head wearing the same face covering as the man. And it wasn't the only one.

"There were about thirty of them. They had surrounded the forest."

The masked man stared in horror at Aswell, who spoke as though he had merely returned from a stroll.

"N-no way!! The... Sword Emperor? Why are you here...!!"

Instinctively, he turned and ran.

SHING!!

At that instant, Ed drew his dagger with incredible speed and severed the fleeing man's Achilles tendon.

"Aaaaargh!!!"

He screamed and collapsed.

SLICE!!

SPLASH!!!

Aswell's sword cut off both legs as the man lay on the ground.

"Y-you...!!!"

"Take your time, please. He might log out if he leaves combat."

Aswell wasn't sure what logging out meant, but he nodded without asking.

"You mean like this?"

He counted off the seconds, then—

SHUNK.

—drove his sword into what remained of the man's thigh at regular intervals.

"Aaaaargh!!"

The masked man screamed.

"Y-you... Are you with that dwarf bastard?"

"Dwarf?"

"The one digging into our affairs!! If it hadn't been for him, we could have finished the quest in Esten...!! Damn it...!!"

Apparently, that dwarf was the reason they had fled the mansion in such a hurry. Woojin was curious, but remained on guard, suspecting a ploy to buy time.

"That has nothing to do with me."

He signaled Aswell with his eyes.

SLICE.

One of the masked man's arms came off.

"You...!! Fuck...!!"

Virtual reality or not, few people could remain unfazed as their limbs were cut off.

Woojin pressed his fingers hard into the hollow between the man's collarbones.

"Aaaaargh!!"

The man screamed.

"Sir Aswell, please don't cut so cleanly. If the blade is too fast, he won't feel the pain."

Woojin placed the edge of his hand against the man's other shoulder and moved it back and forth like a saw.

"Like this. Slowly, as though stripping meat from the bone."

"Y-you son of a bitch..."

The masked man's eyes trembled as he looked at Woojin.

Woojin slipped off the man's face covering.

"Do you know him?"

Once his gag was removed, Hansen studied the man, then nodded, eyes widening.

"Yes, I do! Of course I do!! He's the one who first asked me to arrange an audience with His Majesty!!"

"S-shut up!!"

In his panic, the man flailed at Hansen, trying to kick him.

"I'll ask again. Remember, this is your last chance. Why did you keep Esten's king drugged out of his mind?"

"What other reason would there be? Damn it! We just wanted to work on our alchemy in peace!"

"What were you going to use that monster for?"

"Use it for what?! Since when does an alchemist need a purpose for research?!"

"Oh, of course. What a distinguished researcher we have here."

"A-aaagh...!!"

"A bastard who just makes drugs."

Woojin pressed down on his shoulder again.

"Why attack the Kingdom of Tekan? If you wanted to shut up and research in peace, there was no need to stir up trouble, was there?"

"... We didn't have enough people."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The man grimaced.

"The vagrants in Esten weren't nearly enough... We were going to start a conflict to collect corpses!"

"How many have you killed like this?"

"I don't know. We kept failing! We'd only just started seeing results..."

CRUNCH.

Woojin gripped his shoulder and pushed his fingers beneath the collarbone.

"Aaaaargh!!"

"I'm asking how many people you fed to that monster."

"A-a thousand... No, f-f-fifteen hundred or so!! Stop!! Stop!!!"

"Fifteen hundred?"

CRACK.

At the answer, Woojin's grip tightened without his realizing it.

"D-damn it!! F-fuck!!!"

The collarbone shattered, and the man's arm hung limp.

"I-isn't this a good thing for you, too? Why not use this chance to invade Esten and unite the federation? We'll help you!!"

He shouted desperately at Aswell.

"Gah!!"

Aswell thrust his sword into the man's mouth.

"I have no intention of joining hands with drug-addled bastards."

SLASH!!

He twisted the sword to the left. The sharp blade sliced through the man's cheek and out.

"Aaaaargh...!!!"

The man thrashed, clutching his slashed cheek. It wasn't merely a matter of pain. Aswell's oppressive presence seemed to crush their minds.

"Hansen, was it?"

Leaving the screaming man on the ground, Aswell approached Hansen.

"Y-yes... That's right!! P-please spare me!! Please...!!"

"Whom do you serve?"

"Pardon? W-well... H-His Majesty..."

Hansen couldn't finish.

A chill ran through him. Even to Woojin, Aswell's gaze was terrifying.

"Even the king's steward cannot easily arrange for an outsider to obtain a royal audience. There must have been someone else who bridged that gap."

He delivered his warning in a low voice.

"That person is very likely in league with them. Tell me who it is."

"Th-that's..."

"Why? Are you afraid of him?"

Aswell smiled at him.

"You seem to fear him more than the man standing before you."

"P-pardon?"

"Isn't that what you people call me?"

His sword touched Hansen's throat.

"The continent's strongest swordsman."

The words were icy cold. Even his speech held a blade.

At that moment, liquid trickled down, soaking Hansen's trousers.

"I'll ask again. Do you fear him more than me?"

"M-my lord...!! Please...!!! I-I was only being used. Please...! Please...!!!"

Hansen pressed his head to the ground and shouted.

"Count Bursen!! He's the one in league with them!!"

"Very well. I'll learn whether you're telling the truth when I meet him."

"Y-you...!!"

It happened then. Grinding his teeth, the fallen man bit his finger and swiftly drew something on the ground with its blood.

HUMMM...!!

A huge ritual circle appeared around him—a transmutation circle, somewhat different from the magic circles used by mages.

'What a fool.'

Apparently, he didn't realize his struggles were meaningless. As had just been said, the foe before him was the continent's strongest swordsman.

[The Transmutation Summoning Circle is complete.]

[The summoning ritual...]

Even the notification failed to finish.

THWACK!!!!

Aswell's scabbard flew through the air with incredible speed and struck the man in the abdomen.

"Gah!!!"

With his groan, the transmutation circle he was activating faded helplessly away.

"I'll let you live until we meet the count."

Having crossed blades with Aswell Balan, Woojin knew better than anyone how strong he was. Yet the gulf between the combatants was so vast that the fight wasn't merely anticlimactic—it felt almost empty.

"What will you do if they were conspiring with the count to take over the kingdom?"

"That is Esten's problem, after all. It is not my place to interfere."

Dragging the two fallen men along, Aswell continued.

"But if the attack on Tekan was not the alchemists acting alone, and the count was involved, Esten will pay the price—even if it was a vassal's scheming."

Aswell looked toward the royal castle.

"Tenfold for the lives taken from Tekan."

He ground his teeth.

"No, even a hundredfold would not suffice."

At that moment, a thought came to Woojin.

Could a single person bring down a kingdom?

It was utterly absurd. By any ordinary standard, it made no sense.

And yet...

It genuinely seemed possible.