1.
Laktea Babylonia.
The Emperor, Reina Babylonia’s older sister and the deputy commander of <Black Wolf>.
Like the other squad members, she resides at the S-class level, and among them, she is at the highest S+ class.
However, there is one difference: while other members, due to <Black Wolf>‘s restrictions, operate far below their true levels,
“Endure the constriction. You’re used to it, right?”
“Hack!”
Laktea uses her original strength even with <Black Wolf>‘s restrictions in place.
“Thi, this… let… go…!!”
“Shh. Talking back makes me want to kill you.”
She effortlessly subdued the resisting Luna and then turned her gaze toward the other members.
“Snap out of it.”
At the same time, a black and red aura mixed with a golden white light spread across the space.
【Deputy Commander – <Laktea Babylonia(S+)>, using Skill 1 – <Word Order>.】
The innate superiority of royalty manifested in voice alone, constraining others’ actions.
Even as the three members staggered forward under the oppressive aura, they tripped and fell with a loud clang.
Crack!
And simultaneously, the masks broke.
The masks which had been forcibly controlling the members shattered in unison, as if by an agreement.
The first to regain consciousness was Dalan.
He cautiously bowed his head in submission to the suppressive Word Order.
“I’ve shown an unworthy sight.”
“Hush.”
“Yes, Deputy Commander.”
After taking care of Ruby and Hanlyang, Dalan bowed to me once more and stepped out of the tent.
Concise commands and absolute compliance.
While seemingly observing a superior ruler, I wondered why such a woman had joined <Black Wolf>—but at that moment,
Laktea, who had turned her smiled face toward us while firmly gripping Luna, met my gaze.
“Commander, your orders.”
The overwhelming presence she had just demonstrated was nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by a breathtakingly beautiful appearance that made Nahan barely manage to avert his eyes.
‘Anyway, the situation has been resolved.’
Though the side quest’s failure had caused Luna to lose control, if we simply dealt with Mother, everything would return to normal.
But why?
“…Too much.”
“…I trusted you.”
The look in Luna’s eyes when she confronted Mother upon the latter’s death kept haunting me.
The ‘Mother’ in Luna’s memories was nothing but trash.
She collected orphans, imprisoned and abused them, and sold them off to other trash at auctions.
The scar on Luna’s face,
the rusty chain choking her neck,
even the bizarre form of ‘love’—
all of it derived from the nightmares created by Mother, memories she surely wished to forget.
Then why, Luna, do you…
“Let go…!! Mommy…!!!”
Why do you struggle like this, risking your own life, fearing the loss of such a Mother?
‘Luna must be saved. But Mother… it’s better to erase her, isn’t it?’
There’s no benefit from her except that Luna calls her ‘mom.’
“…Commander?”
“Wait. I’m thinking.”
“Yes, Commander.”
While pondering Mother’s fate, Nahan was reminded of a conversation with Big Brother.
That day was spent collecting debts from a young man who had sunk into debt because his father had fled. After collecting, Big Brother asked him while smoking a cigarette:
– Are you an orphan?
– …What?
– No offense, I’m just asking. Look me in the eye.
– Yes, Brother.
Big Brother chuckled upon seeing the young man crying while leaning against a decrepit door.
– It’s a good thing.
– Huh?
– Not having a family? It’s a good thing.
A cigarette butt fell and hit the ground.
– Family is like that. No matter how much of a wretch they are, you can’t easily abandon them.
I learned later that Big Brother himself had lived with his gambling-addicted father before fleeing to the streets.
Even after eventually becoming the head of the top organization in Seoul, he still sent money to his father from time to time.
– He beats you for being broke, beats you for annoying him, beats you for breathing. Such a dog-like guy.
– Then just leave him. You told the man before that he shouldn’t repay the debt and should abandon his father.
– I want to, I really do…
With that, Big Brother crushed the stub under his foot, scratched his head, and mumbled,
– I keep remembering the good times. Like how he used to beat me up and then cry. Or when he came back saying sorry with a cheap fried chicken. …Damn. This sucks, let’s just get soju.
– I’m a minor.
– …Anyway, you’re too righteous for your own good.
A few years later, Big Brother passed away.
Cause of death: excessive blood loss.
While trying to rescue his gambling-addicted father who was tangled with a rival organization, he was stabbed by a reckless blade.
– Family is like that. No matter how much of a wretch they are, you can’t easily abandon them.
How many times did I contemplate this as the overseer of the main hall during his funeral?
If only Big Brother had been an orphan like me.
Even if the gambling addict had met a violent end, I wouldn’t have been able to stop Big Brother from rushing in.
At the very least…
– He’s my son!! The allowance is rightfully mine, you bastards!!
If only I had killed that man…
“…Laktea.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The optimal choice gleaned from past failures dominated Nahan’s mind.
“Kill her.”
The target…
As my cold gaze moved past Luna to settle on its destination,
…Chunk!
Something dark and sticky barely grabbed hold of the Black Wolf’s ankle.
“…No, …can’t.”
Until now, Mother’s muttering had been faint, but upon contact, it became crystal clear. As Laktea, perceiving it as a threat, tried to act,
Mother raised her severed torso in a desperate plea toward the Black Wolf.
“Luna… can’t. Just kill me.”
“…What?”
As I tried to shake off the ankle grab, thinking she was trying to mesmerize me with her words—
【”Nahan. You and I walk different paths.”】
【Per the contract between <Black Wolf (Ex)> and <Aria (???)>, the world supports you.】
【<Mother(S-)>‘s memories flow.】
An imposing voice resonated along with Mother’s flowing memories.
2.
Mother.
The woman who flowed into the gray desert, much like its barren setting, was devoid of emotion.
Leader of the Wandering Guild – Guild of Vanishing – and the top human trafficker in the Empire.
“That’s the woman, isn’t it? The one who collects orphans, raises them, and sells them off.”
“Taking them in, raising them, and then selling them on? That’s not something someone in their right mind could do, you know.”
“Yeah, she’s no ordinary wicked woman. But what business is it of ours?”
Crime-ridden due to the region’s nature, there were no saints to be found despite scouring the area thoroughly, yet Mother remained particularly notorious.
“Whatever the reason, though?”
The reasoning behind selling the children so desperately for money.
“Maybe? Just for money?”
Money could indeed blind even the wisest of men.
“No. I heard she lost sight due to an overwhelming desire to become stronger.”
Allegedly, she was once among the world’s top ten fighters.
Extracts from the hearts of children supposedly enhance their aura abilities.
Various theories swirled among the criminals, but there was no definitive answer.
Mother.
Her reason for flowing into this gray desert was singular.
“The promise to maintain her daughter’s life until the end. A promise she must keep.”
“The answer lies with you.”
Due to a contract with the enigmatic organization <Eclipse>.
“…Selena.”
—I will become a mercenary just like Mom!
—Hah! You can’t even do sit-ups!
—No, I can! I can do one already!
—A hundred E-class mercenaries can do them easily!
—Uh…
Contrary to her own darkness, a child like the bright rising moon.
—Incurable illness, you say?
—We apologize, but her periods of consciousness will get longer, and eventually…
—No… It can’t be… She’s never even had a cold!
She lost consciousness due to an unknown incurable disease, and despite astronomical sums spent, maintaining her fragile life was all that could be done.
—That will be all then.
—Shut up. I’ll get it right away?
—But the debt you’ve accumulated…
—I’ll ask this: aren’t you alive to spend money?
—…One week. Just one more week to wait. Beyond that, we cannot do any more.
Even the revenue of a top-tier global mercenary couldn’t cover her treatment costs, and at the time when she began to ponder whether she would have to send her daughter away,
Eclipse appeared with an offer.
—If you flawlessly accomplish the tasks we assign, we will fully cover all medical expenses and commit to developing a cure.
The mercenary’s instincts screamed a warning.
This seemingly too-good-to-be-true proposal was a dazzling flower harboring deadly poison.
But she couldn’t refuse.
—Mom! I feel better, don’t I?
—Yes, my child.
—Right? I’ve got to get better soon so I can train! It’s not too late to start, and eventually, I can become like you, right?
—Yes, without a doubt.
In the dreary path of mercenary life with no light, Selena was her only beacon.
—…Is that true?
—Yes. In exchange for lifelong employment, I’ve arranged for everything to be handled. So, Selena, just rest easy.
—…Mom. If it’s too hard…
—Quiet. Don’t… Don’t say another word.
—…Okay. Sorry.
That was the last they spoke before Selena fell into an indefinite sleep, and she, abandoning her name, drifted here, to the gray desert.
The job was simple.
—”Fetch the abandoned orphans, rehabilitate them, and auction them off.”
The sellers: me.
The buyers: nobles.
In short, human trafficking.
—”Don’t wear that look. Anyway, these kids who would die otherwise, isn’t it better if they sustainably survive under the nobility?”
—”Understood, now leave.”
—”So cold. Anyway, all the profits must be handed over to me, and I’ll divert a portion of this operation’s funds to you.”
Time flowed mercilessly.
One year,
Five years…,
Ten years…
Ten years had passed since Selena fell asleep.
Mother silently awaited her medicine but ceased visiting her.
Afraid she might harm Selena, should she become corrupted by evil and approach her.
“Auction begins.”
There was no longer any moral dilemma.
“Auction ends.”
Reflecting on it, I was doing what the trash had suggested, prolonging the lives of children who were otherwise certain to die.
“Auction begins.”
True, there were children like the trash that emitted a sinister aura who would cry during the auction and lost their lives that same day,
“Auction ends.”
but living in such suffering was worse than dying quickly.
“Am I getting better?”
Occasionally, the sense of déjà vu made her question herself, but being utterly broken, there was no longer a clear answer.
She whispered to the children she had taken in, trying to hold onto one thread of goodness,
“Smile. It helps to survive.”
“Auction begins.”
Mother carried out her duty quietly.
“Auction ends.”
Time flowed mercilessly.
“Auction begins.”
She began wearing a mask once she detested her face, ashamed of her reflection. And a decade after that day,
“Auction ends.”
After concluding a regular auction, she ventured out to seek more orphans.
“…”
For the first time in years, a part of the gray mist cleared, and moonlight shone outside the wasteland. And there, next to the radiant moonlight, stood a child who asked her,
“Mommy?”
-…Mom. If it’s too hard…
-Quiet. No more… No more words.
Overflowing with memories, Mother stared at the moonlight, muttering.
“No, I’m not your parent.”
Simultaneously, she wondered,
Would Selena still smile and say she wants to be like me if she saw me now?
“But if you wish, I can become one.”
At that moment,
Under the moonlight, the dirty child
…firmly
grabbed her stained hand.
“Am… I your mom?”
