Late at night, a certain port in the Arion Kingdom.
Near the pier, a group of thugs stepped into a small warehouse.
“Was anyone tailing you?”
“Are you kidding me? I covered my tracks clean.”
“Hah, this was exhausting. All brawn and no brains.”
A thug threw off his suffocating mask and tossed the large sack he’d been carrying onto the floor.
The impact caused the sack’s opening to widen, revealing someone’s face.
Argon, the manager of Rainbow Sherbet, whose true identity was Heffner Argon, the one and only prince of the Arion Kingdom.
“Ugh…!”
Heffner let out a cry as he painfully opened his eyes.
His face was a mess.
Slash wounds from blades and bruises from punches covered him.
“You’re awake? Why did you have to rebel uselessly and get beaten up like that?”
At the brash voice, Heffner regained his senses but curled up in pain from the throbbing all over his body.
‘Am I… kidnapped?’
The moment he realized his situation, terrible memories flooded back like lightning.
‘No! Aaaah!’
‘Sa, save me…! Kyaaaah!’
‘Escape…!’
He remembered the ladies who tried to protect him until the end, falling under cold steel blades.
The people who treated him like family were dead.
They were his mothers, sisters, and friends who had become lifeless corpses.
All because of me.
“Aaaahh!!!”
This truth pierced Heffner with unbearable pain.
It hurt more than any blade or punch.
He felt like his chest would explode if he didn’t scream.
“This brat… Shut up already!”
Punch!
“Kehk!”
Heffner coughed repeatedly after being hit in the sternum by the man.
Hot tears melted the dried blood on his face and flowed down red.
That was Heffner’s agony.
“Cough- Spit! Don’t piss me off. I want to just kill you right now.”
Snot dripped onto Heffner’s cheek.
It didn’t matter.
Heffner looked up at the man.
The gaze of someone who had lost their second family was hollow yet overflowing with killing intent.
Seeing the wounded animal-like stare, the man instinctively took a step back.
“Hmph! What’s wrong? Are you scared of a kid? Loser!”
“…You bastard!”
The humiliated man pulled out a dagger in rage.
“Are you gonna keep glaring? Should I gouge your eyes out?”
Heffner silently stared at him, thinking.
He was just like some drunkard wandering around the red-light district.
Could those women really have died at the hands of such a lowly person?
What am I even worth?
Who cares about the throne anyway?
“You little…”
Before the man could stab him with the dagger held backward, someone kicked him in the side.
Smack!
“What the… Who…!”
“It’s me. What’re you gonna do?”
“Da, Leader…!”
The man who had been rolling his eyes straightened up urgently.
The middle-aged man with an impressive scar across his nose clicked his tongue while looking at the man standing at attention.
“Do you fear this kid?”
“No sir!”
“Tch tch, we lack talent. We really do.”
The middle-aged man grabbed Heffner’s hair and looked at his face.
Despite the excruciating pain of having his hair yanked, Heffner didn’t make a sound and stared intensely.
Confirming that gaze, the middle-aged man slapped Heffner across the face.
Slap!
“Keh…!”
“Young one, you’ve got quite the glare. So you’re royalty, huh? No wonder he’s scared.”
“I’m not scared, Leader!”
“Shut up. Stop barking like a scared dog.”
With a cold remark, the man bowed his head.
Looking at him, the middle-aged man dropped Heffner to the ground and stood up.
Looking down at the unconscious Heffner, he asked his subordinate.
“What about the woman who was with him?”
“She’s from out of town. She arrived this morning apparently. It’ll take some time to investigate.”
“Is her ID forged?”
“Yes. Grade A.”
Grade A forged IDs were hard-to-get items from the ‘underworld’ that ordinary people couldn’t easily obtain.
Knowing this well, the middle-aged man stroked his scruffy beard.
“Hmm, find out which organization she belongs to.”
“Why don’t we just kill her? That’d prevent future trouble.”
“We need to confirm if she’s connected to the Arion Royal Family at least. Now that we’ve caused a big commotion, we can’t afford further noise.”
After saying that, the middle-aged man kicked the still-bowed man with his foot.
“Oof!”
“I clearly said to bring him quietly. Planning to spread rumors that we found the prince?”
“… Sorry.”
“The Eastern Union is also searching for him desperately. If news of this kidnapping spreads in these times, even an idiot would figure something’s up.”
The original plan was to secretly kidnap the prince, brainwash him, and naturally take over the Arion Kingdom without anyone noticing.
But thanks to the subordinate’s impulsive actions, that became impossible.
Not only did they fail to quietly kidnap him, but they ended up killing all the prostitutes in the store.
Incidents happening in closed-off places like the red-light district tend to spread quickly.
Now there was nothing left to do but hurry back.
“Sorry. I’ll gladly accept my punishment.”
“Tch, it’s fine. My mistake for sending you hothead. Is the ship ready?”
The answer came from another subordinate.
“We’ve negotiated with a smuggler. They say it’ll take about an hour to prepare.”
“Can’t it be faster?”
“They’ve gotten stricter recently. This is the reduced time after paying extra.”
“Hearing that the empire’s crown prince is running wild… Can’t be helped. Let’s eat first at least.”
“Yes. I sent someone as soon as we arrived, so they’ll be back soon.”
Sighing at the wasted time while hastily revising plans, the middle-aged man sat roughly on a crude wooden chair.
Judging that his superior’s mood had slightly improved, the man cautiously lifted his head and spoke.
“Leader… If it’s okay…”
“Tch, are you thinking about women even in this situation?”
“Hehe, you know me. Need to release the bloodlust when I see blood…”
The middle-aged man, who knew his subordinate’s twisted sexual desires well, sighed and nodded.
“Keep it moderate.”
“Thank you!”
“One round, then switch. The others need their turn too.”
“Yes, understood.”
The man, finally getting a chance to release his sexual tension, went outside with a sly smile.
His bulging pants revealed his excitement.
Creak…
Watching the old door close, the middle-aged man muttered to himself.
“What a dirty guy.”
“He can’t help it, but isn’t his swordsmanship decent?”
“That’s why I keep him around. Without that, he would’ve been dead long ago.”
Sighing again, the middle-aged man searched his pocket for a cigarette.
And just as he put it in his mouth…
Tap…
A faint sound reached his ears.
“Hmph, that guy taking too long to get food. Probably eating first…”
“Hold on.”
Cutting off his subordinate’s words, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and focused.
But the suspicious sound didn’t come again.
“… Was it a mistake?”
“Why is that?”
“Just now, I thought I heard something fall outside… In case, go check.”
“Yes, understood.”
The nodding man carefully opened the door.
Whoosh…
The only sounds coming from the darkness were the waves.
Carefully checking his surroundings, the man let out a sigh of relief and turned his head.
“No one’s here.”
“Hmm, my apologies. Guess I was on edge.”
“That’s fine. Isn’t this the biggest mission of the year? Even you make mistakes sometimes, Leader.”
“I’m human too…”
Chuckling, the middle-aged man lit his cigarette and blew smoke while looking down at Heffner.
“Hmph- Luckily, we didn’t lose him to the empire.”
War Hero, Barbarian Massacre Allen.
The rumors about him that had been circulating quietly began spreading widely after the recent Eastern Union conference attack incident.
Now even commoners were starting to hear them, though many sounded exaggerated.
“A genius master at a young age. I hear he has power comparable to the Golden Way Zodiacs… Damn, would make an old man like me feel inferior.”
“Haha, there’s no way. Those rumors from the empire must be fake.”
While there were surprisingly many who became masters at a young age, claiming to match the Golden Way Zodiacs was a different story altogether.
The Sirius Empire’s Golden Way Zodiacs were monsters incomparable to regular masters, hence the term “asymmetric power” wasn’t used lightly.
“Besides, rumor has it he’s dating the empire’s imperial princess. Does that even make sense? No matter how skilled, how could a commoner be involved with a princess? Though, there are those who thrive on such things…”
Though it was information subtly leaked by the empire’s intelligence department following the princess’s orders, the middle-aged man, unaware of this, naturally thought it was fake gossip spread by tabloids.
As he smoked and relaxed momentarily, he suddenly realized something.
The subordinate hadn’t replied.
The only sound was the cigarette burning.
Neither the sound of the sea wind hitting the weathered walls, the waves, nor the squawking seagulls could be heard.
Something was wrong.
Gulp…
Swallowing hard, the middle-aged man carefully raised his head.
There stood his subordinate, facing him with the open door behind him.
Something was off about the atmosphere as the middle-aged man opened his mouth.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
At that moment, like a marionette whose strings were cut, the subordinate’s figure collapsed.
Thud!
The middle-aged man saw the dagger stuck in his subordinate’s neck.
His whole body went cold.
Who could have killed his subordinate right under his nose?
No sound of throwing the dagger, no sound of metal piercing skin and bone, nothing.
At least the weak breath of someone dying should have been audible.
He’d never experienced such a phenomenon in his life.
“Who’s there?”
Suppressing the rising fear, the middle-aged man activated his aura.
If someone strong enough to deceive a master’s senses was here, they must definitely be a master too.
No, judging by this skill level, it had to be one of the Golden Way Zodiacs at minimum.
“From the empire?”
The middle-aged man quickly searched his mind for information.
Among the Golden Way Zodiacs known as assassins…
“Aries Palace?”
“You’re wrong.”
A deep baritone voice echoed in his ear.
Clomp… Clomp…
Quiet footsteps approached from the darkness, revealing a man.
Hair as dark as if it absorbed all light.
Eyes like the night sky.
Tall stature with an expressionless face.
Even upon first sight, the middle-aged man recognized his identity.
“Barbarian Massacre…!”
“So you know about me? People sure say all sorts of things about me…”
Allen shrugged and smiled wryly.
The calm demeanor made the middle-aged man bite his lips.
To snap himself out of the fear-induced stiffness.
“What did you do to my subordinates?”
“Well, who are you talking about?”
Did he kill them all?
Realizing the fate of his subordinates, the middle-aged man swiftly drew his sword.
“Haven’t heard you’re an assassin… But yeah, top-tier forces always hide their true strength.”
“Nah, the one who killed these guys isn’t me. It’s my colleague.”
“Trying to deceive me till the end, huh!”
“Geez, telling you the truth and you still don’t believe me.”
Shaking his head slightly, Allen said helplessly.
“Don’t kill him. Need to extract information.”
“Who for…!”
“Understood.”
Hearing the nearby voice, the middle-aged man swung his sword frantically.
“Too slow.”
A heavy pain spread through his entire body along the cervical spine.
Unable to withstand the unexpected shock, he lost consciousness.
‘Damn it…’
Between the fading vision, he saw what looked like a fluffy animal tail.
