1.
Ruby was right.
“Leaderless <Black Wolf>!! How dangerous are those unleashed rabid dogs!!”
It had not been a day since they were left unsupervised.
Yet <Black Wolf>, moving on their own, was in the middle of a massacre at the central plaza of the regime.
‘What’s the problem?’
I even gave them the order to clean the hideout and receive maintenance, afraid they’d cause trouble.
“PLEASE!! PLEASE SPARE ME, DAMN IT!!”
“Sorry. You stink too.”
Why are they cleaning people instead of the hideout?
‘What am I gonna do about this?’
Should I briefly return in the form of <Black Wolf> and withdraw them?
‘No. There are too many onlookers watching right now.’
If it were revealed that <Yellow Dragon> and <Black Wolf> are the same person, it would cause an even bigger problem.
‘But if I leave them as they are, the remaining ten-odd hostages will die too.’
With no idea on how to solve this, I was staring blankly when Dalan, who was standing beside me, asked with a smile still on his face.
“What happened?”
Exactly.
I’m about to go insane.
Suppressing the complaints and sighs that were about to escape, I replied calmly.
“I don’t know anything about it.”
“Oh, you’re lying. Is there such a thing as something the leader of <Black Wolf> doesn’t know?”
“Right here.”
“Haha! I couldn’t help but laugh!”
What do you even mean?
“Now stop fooling around and tell me the plan, leader.”
Dalan’s attitude, which was annoyingly teasing, finally got to me, and I slightly hardened my tone.
“Dalan. I’ll say it again. I clearly stated that I don’t know anything about it.”
“…!”
Now realizing it was the truth, Dalan stiffened his expression and lowered his head.
“I apologize. I understand now.”
“Alright.”
I was about to die from frustration.
After thinking about something with a firm tone, Dalan looked up and asked again.
“Should I subdue them?”
“Will it be possible?”
“Maybe if we work together. Although, to be honest, you can handle them alone, can’t you?”
No, not really?
As everyone knows, the members of the <Black Wolf> are all around S rank.
If I approach them as is, I’m sure I’ll get my head cut off and die as <Yellow Dragon>.
However, there’s no way I can run away.
I know they’re <Black Wolf>, so I’m less shocked, but for others, it’s merely a massacre by unknown assailants.
Terrified people looked around for someone to resolve the situation, and <Yellow Dragon> matched exactly what they were looking for.
“Uh, it’s Mr. Yellow Dragon!!”
“Look over there! Mr. Strange Dragon is also there with him!!”
“Mr. Yellow Dragon would surely help, right??”
The gazes just kept increasing.
‘…Damn, this is really frustrating.’
A situation where I can neither fight nor flee.
‘What am I supposed to do exactly?’
Ignoring the headache, I was just standing there looking at the <Black Wolf>.
Ding.
Out of nowhere, a clear sound rang out, and a blue system window appeared in front of me.
-『Sub Quest Generated!』
◆ A New Hero.
:<Knight> has set off on an expedition, deepening the unrest now. The Babylonia Empire needs a new Hero.
◆ Conditions for Completion.
1. Banish <Black Wolf>.
2. Do not expose that <Black Wolf> is <Yellow Dragon>.
3. Survive.
◆ Reward.
:<Eclipse>’s attention.
◆ If Failed or Declined.
:<Yellow Dragon>’s destruction.
What seemed like a lifeline was, indeed, an evil minister pushing me towards certain death.
However, what can one do?
If I want to live,
If I want to go back, I must do this.
‘…Still, if it’s just about driving them away.’
With the help of Artifacts, skills, and even Strange Dragon’s and Dalan’s power, perhaps it’s possible?
A faint glimmer of hope lit up the previously pitch-black path.
“Remember, Dalan. It’s Yellow Dragon.”
“…I know that.”
After reiterating that it’s not <Black Wolf>, but <Yellow Dragon>, as I was about to grasp my greatsword and pull it out,
“Everyone, be silent.”
Until then, a strange man with a dark red longsword who had been standing quietly, stepped forward.
Ssshh.
Even though I could only see through the mask, an intense killing intent that raised goosebumps all over my body.
“A being who has stepped into a darkness deeper than darkness itself, those who wish to fill their stomachs with others’ lives, and those… who defy the will of <Black Wolf> and close their eyes and ears.”
The strange man who silenced everyone swept his finger along the sword hilt and declared.
“Slowly, taking our time, I shall send you all on the same path.”
The moment the strange man finished speaking,
Tuck, Tududuk.
Tuck, Tuck.
The dozen or so hostages who were close by had their necks slashed in an instant and tumbled to the ground.
Frozen with the overwhelming might of the strange man, people were unable to scream, and among the cruel scene of severed heads falling like rain,
Only the presumed female stranger spoke with a slightly excited voice, adding one more sentence.
“All of this is according to <Black Wolf's> will, the leader!”
I didn’t do any of that, really!
2.
Central Plaza.
The horrifying massacre that occurred in broad daylight at the heart of the Babylonia regime.
“All of this is according to <Black Wolf's> will, the leader!”
The voice of the frenzied stranger once again harshly crushed people.
Mud, an E-Rank mercenary and first witness to the incident, was equally terrified.
‘It wasn’t a child after all.’
The person, who seemed small between the large and the tall stranger, was simply tiny compared to them. But just like the other two, he was no more than a monstrous being rejoicing in blood.
“…Thank heavens the assumption was wrong.”
After muttering that, Mud prepared to retreat while slowly stepping back.
E-Rank mercenary, Mud.
Leader of the F-Rank mercenary group <Mud Mercenary Group>, a third-year mercenary who still maintained an upright character and was a righteous man.
In a world where such people don’t survive past a year, the reason Mud had survived until now was for one reason.
‘Anyway, the knights will surely come soon and handle it. We’ve saved all the hostages, and no one deserving of death is here, so we need to run now to survive.’
It was precisely his excellent instinct.
“Alright, let’s go.”
His group members, who bore a resemblance to him in their righteous nature, began to sweat cold sweat and timidly repeated the words.
“R-Really right now…?!”
“Yeah. These guys seem way too dangerous.”
“But we should stay and help the people…!”
“Helping? The knights will be here soon, so let’s leave for now.”
Knights.
Completely different from the F to E rank individuals like themselves, these were monsters that started at a minimum B+ rank.
The strangers’ ranks also appeared high. But both in quality and quantity, the knights were far superior for sure.
“Quickly go back and finish the herb collection mission. We’ll starve again today if we don’t.”
Saying half-jokingly, F-Rank mage Rorain, who recently joined for the mission, whispered earnestly.
“But, captain… I heard something weird while healing a guard earlier. The information about the knights coming… was it fake…?!”
“What…?!”
As Mud was startled, Rorain came closer and whispered.
“Everyone’s whispering, but you know…! About last night, how <Black Wolf> tried to kill the emperor…! Because of that, the knights are all holed up to protect themselves…!”
“…Damn it.”
As Rorain finished speaking, the expressions of all the members of the <Mud Mercenary Group> stiffened.
The coward emperor,
Leina Babylonia.
Ever since she ascended to the throne of the emperor 10 years ago when the previous emperor passed away, the <Babylonia> Empire had been rotting away from the inside.
Because the safety of the commoners was believed to be protected, a rebellion had not occurred,
“It seems they’ve even stopped doing that now…”
The saddening thought was whispered cautiously, and Rorain spoke again.
“I also heard somewhere, now that the <Hero> is gone, there’s no one to keep an eye on things.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t it obvious…! Just look at the current state after the hero left…! Honestly, would something like this happen if the Hero were still here!?”
Everyone nodded at Rorain’s words.
The regime was better when the Hero was around.
The corrupt nobles obsessed with filling their own stomachs, the cowardly emperor who hid in safe places and only governed by tyranny, even the strangers in front of them.
“The things happening now wouldn’t have happened if the Hero had been here.”
In the midst of this somber atmosphere,
“Isn’t it? Now that the Hero has left, we need a new one, right?”
“Hmph.”
Mud noticed Rorain’s slightly sardonic smirk but dismissed it as a misjudgment as he lifted his head.
“Enough talk, let’s get up. No matter what happens, the work we need to do remains the same. Let’s protect as many people as possible from those strangers.”
Saving people.
That was the last wish of this man who had once longed to be a <Hero> since ancient times, but accepted reality due to lack of talent.
As much as they could do was to help the terrified individuals who had collapsed with fear, and lead them to safety away from the scene.
“Let’s go, everyone.”
He was about to move.
No,
“Wow! You smell good, brother. There’s a kind of fresh mud scent.”
He was about to move.
Tuck, Tududuk.
A sticky liquid dripping sound was followed by a sharp metallic smell.
“Dang it, Rorain, use the speed increase magic…!!”
Even as Mud realized something was coming and turned while drawing his longsword, yelling out,
“Uh, sorry. If you had spoken just a bit faster, I would have waited.”
Mud’s eyes met with Rorain’s, whose head was being squeezed by the stranger’s hand.
“Uh, wha…what…?”
“I found this woman’s face in the memories of the kid I killed last time. Hmm. That’s why her being the only one to smell bad here was odd?”
“Uh…why…?”
“Cleaning up?”
Frozen with terror, Mud could do nothing but watch.
However, because he was facing death, his thoughts were sharper than ever,
-They’ve made that kid wear a robe and mask and forced him to kill personally!!
Mud realized the truth about the stranger in front of him.
“Wait a moment. Let me check and I’ll let you go if you’re clean. The smell seems fine, but I can’t afford to make a mistake this time.”
The stranger who had cut off Rorain’s head raised an emerald green light in his eyes.
Mud understood.
The stranger was reading the memories of severed Rorain’s head, and if there were elements the stranger sought within us,
‘We’re going to die.’
Absolutely.
This wasn’t the vague fear of death, but a vivid and certain death heading our way.
If he were a normal person, he would’ve run or begged for his life at that moment.
“That’s why I told you to leave.”
【Skill 1 – <Mud Swamp(E)> has been activated.】
A copper-colored aura poured out from Mud’s body, surrounding the other two group members.
Schhhhrak!
As if sinking into soft mud,
The two missing group members from the <Mud Mercenary Group> reappeared 5 meters away.
“Uh… what’s going on? Did something trigger you?”
Thanks to this, the stranger who was focused on reading memories turned his gaze back to Mud.
“Are you <Eclipse> too? Do you have any connection?”
“…What?”
“Hmm, so you retreated because of that guilt, huh.”
Creeak.
【<Magician> Masquerade Ends.】
【A long-time deceased magician left behind memories and sleeps peacefully.】
【<Hansen> Masquerade Begins.】
【The master of daggers, who has deeply slept, refreshes the edges of cutting and sharpness.】
The black mask worn by the stranger transformed into a white clown mask.
“Since you were with her anyway? You’re part of the group that dared to assassinate the Leader, so even unknowingly harboring you is a crime.”
I’m going to die.
Absolutely, I’m going to die.
An E-Rank mercenary like me would be eliminated without even a single clash.
-We need a new Hero, don’t we?
An unexpected last word became the final whisper Rorain had once uttered.
Hero.
A dream abandoned long ago, one I could never achieve even in my dreams, but in the final moment, I pray deeply.
‘If only someone would appear…’
Instead of me, who is about to die here,
– I’ll become a Hero someday and protect everyone!
I wish someone would come to fulfill the unfulfilled dream.
“Goodbye, brother with the nice fragrance.”
Just as that man who once dreamed to be a hero was about to accept his death and close his eyes,
【<Daylight Annihilation(EX)> has been activated!】
【Bam—!】
A streak of light flew in.
