Have you ever splattered paint on a pristine canvas?
Fist against fist, bone against bone, muscle against muscle.
Every time they collided, colors were painted on the pure white snowfield. The deadly dance of crimson spread was rough yet precise.
Bang! Leorick’s fist struck Ian’s cheek. As he staggered and retreated, Leorick pressed forward without letting up.
Before that, Ian’s kick had exploded against his solar plexus.
Gulp! Thin mud flowed from Leorick’s mouth.
Ian rushed in and swung his fist. Leorick gritted his teeth and endured, throwing another punch.
It was a brutal fight between two men without weapons.
The battle felt desperate to the point of being pitiful. Leorick’s mind was hazy; he had already reached his limit.
I must not be wrong.
Leorick kept murmuring those words to himself.
All of his teeth had been knocked out and were lying on the ground. His jaw was shattered, and trying to move his tongue only produced a hissing sound.
So, he could only mutter to himself.
I am not wrong.
Fleeting landscapes from the past penetrated his fading mind. It was a scene from one particular day.
He trembled alone, exposed to the cold of the North. He had tried to endure, but the starvation that lasted for days was driving him to death.
At that time, he met an injured Elf girl.
She was also destined to die. The threats to life in the coniferous forest were not only from the cold and hunger.
Monsters would come, drawn by the smell of blood.
Perhaps that’s why the Elf girl forced a bright smile and offered him bread.
“I may not be able to survive, but you can, right?”
It was rough and coarse bread.
Leorick was a war priest. Even the cheapest meals provided by the military were of better quality than this.
Yet, why had he devoured the bread so desperately?
Leorick thought it was fate.
He saw it as a wonderful opportunity to solve the doubts he had always held about the divine.
Oh, God, did you not say that you love peace and forgiveness?
But why must humanity and Elves repeat such cruel fights?
As a clergyman, he could not understand, and like most scholars, he had plunged deeply into that question seeking the truth.
After healing the Elf girl, he had embraced her in front of the monsters and become covered in blood.
Thus, Leorick gained the recognition of the Elves.
What had he heard at that time?
He couldn’t remember.
Only a blow to his nose that jolted him from his reverie.
“Leorick!”
Leorick gritted his teeth and twisted his body. His nose shattered and filled with blood, making his already labored breathing more ragged.
Yet, using his massive frame, he collided hard, forcing Ian to root his feet firmly into the ground to avoid falling.
Leorick crushed one of those feet with his left.
Whether it was the left foot or the right, he couldn’t tell due to the chaos.
He could only see Ian biting his teeth.
And then, a headbutt.
Ian staggered back, and the shock that pierced through his skull made Leorick take a few steps back as well.
Through his fading consciousness, a blurry voice came through.
“Ah, mister! Are you okay? The food storage is on fire…!”
“Th, that’s already too late…”
It was a murmur uttered with a melted tongue.
However, the girl, though shedding tears, did not give up on him.
It’s my fault.
Leorick’s hair was a disheveled mess. After that day when his face melted away and gruesome scars were etched all over his body, Leorick awoke after who-knows-how-long.
And he saw it.
The face of the Elf girl whose cheek had caved in and who had died.
Leorick cried out, his burned vocal cords letting loose full-throated sobs. He loathed his own condition, which could not even express his grief properly.
Even so, the girl had done her utmost to save Leorick.
By going hungry, she had exerted all her strength to gather food and pass it on to him.
Upon realizing that, Leorick cried all night long.
Once more, he cursed himself.
Foolish man, I had thought it wrong.
The world was an extension of a food chain governed by death and survival. To forgive someone was merely the ramblings of those whose bellies were full.
Didn’t I realize while burning myself?
That I could not forgive those who inflicted this pain.
Yeah, I was not wrong.
The woman who appeared like a ghost that day was the same.
I swear, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Could even the Virgin Saint of the Holy Kingdom, known as the pinnacle of beauty, compare to her?
Her noble black hair allowed not a single ray of light, and her ruby-red eyes were inscrutable.
Her white skin resembled a snowfield untouched by anyone, and her sharp features looked like they were born to captivate all.
Whether man or woman.
If she so desired, she could seduce anyone.
And that’s why it was all the more terrifying.
The more he stared into those eyes, the more he felt himself being pulled in.
The woman smiled gently.
“Do you want revenge?”
Yes, that word was the catalyst.
“You were simply following the teachings of the Heavenly Deity. But why must you endure such pain? And why do those who inflicted the pain seem unbothered? Isn’t it irrational?”
“Y, you are….”
“Shh.”
She was a woman as alluring as night, and yet, foreboding.
A bewitching smile danced upon her lips.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You simply lacked power… so how about this? Shall we make a deal?”
“A, a deal?”
“Yes, I will grant you power. Power that can overturn this irrational world… but in exchange, you must also pay a price. That’s how a ‘deal’ works.”
That day, Leorick accepted the offer.
But no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t remember what that ‘price’ was.
What did I give up?
And then, a fist suddenly plowed into his solar plexus.
Leorick’s pupils shook violently. It was an unexpected blow he had never seen coming.
There was no sign at all.
Even though he was a novice in street fighting, Leorick still had the strength he had acquired through the ‘deal’ left in his body. His reflexes were far beyond those of a normal person.
Yet, he hadn’t noticed.
How could this be?
Before that question could even form fully, a flurry of punches exploded against his jaw and temple. Leorick cried out as he flailed his arms wildly.
In the end, Ian kicked at his solar plexus and stepped back.
Leorick was now clearly at a disadvantage.
Spitting out mud once more, Leorick contemplated through his fading vision.
Yeah, I haven’t done anything wrong.
“Look! Living is pain! Is there anyone among you who can claim life is not hell? We must show mercy to those who cannot endure this hell!”
Yes, I am.
“Do not be too conspicuous in your plunder. Our goal is to engrave the fact that we are not a manageable opponent in their minds. If sacrifices occur in the process… it cannot be helped.”
I am.
“Oh, poor Betty. Unfortunately, it is impossible for her to overcome that pain alone. But I will lend her a small hand. So that it may be less painful… that her hellish life may find some peace.”
And then, a scream.
Leorick could not control the flames of anger raging in his heart. He prayed and burned his vocal cords, and in the end, he couldn’t even grasp the meaning of the cries pouring forth.
He simply ran, and fists collided.
After that, the two men’s bodies drifted apart, then closed in again, repeatedly falling over.
Leorick’s breath grew increasingly ragged.
The name of the Elf girl, the precious child he regarded as a daughter, wouldn’t come to mind.
Why?
He had buried the girl deep in his heart. He had built a memorial in a corner of his memory and had lived each day with a feeling of remembrance.
To honor the girl, he had kept two items in his pocket.
One was bread, the other was a dagger.
The bread was to remember the grace the girl had bestowed upon him.
The dagger was so he wouldn’t hesitate, like that day.
Yet still, why couldn’t he recall her name?
Leorick’s mind twisted like a tangled thread rolling on the ground.
Yes, this was all that man’s fault.
Ian Fercurus.
Since he had emerged, the plan had turned to chaos. Ultimately, he lost the strength granted to him by the divine and remained tormented by useless worries.
Leorick unleashed a scream filled with hatred.
“Ian… Fercurus!!!”
The fists of the two men struck each other’s faces.
In the perfect crossover, both men staggered back simultaneously. A dark haze formed in Leorick’s eyes.
Ian was no different.
There was nowhere left to retreat. The two had to settle their score right here, whether alive or dead.
Both their conditions were so terrible that no one could call one better than the other.
Their faces were bruised with colorful contusions, and droplets of blood were falling on the snowfield behind them.
Neither of them spoke.
Yet, instinctively, they reached a silent agreement.
They would end it with the next strike.
It was time to reveal the hidden trump card they had kept until now.
His mind was hazy. It was a miracle he was even able to stand on two legs.
But Leorick could never fall.
His defeat would mean that he was wrong.
The world that steals life and life has always been this way. History was always written under the victor’s logic, and the defeated would be cast out and remain as villains.
Leorick did not want to meet such a miserable end.
He wanted to carve the name of the Elf girl who had saved him into history.
So that no one would ever forget!
As Leorick swayed, Ian’s body sprang off the ground.
As if they had made a promise, both of their hands rifled through their own pockets.
A dagger.
Leorick gritted his teeth, thinking. Ian must have sensed it too.
What they had been hiding in each of their pockets.
The identity of the secret that could take away the other’s life with just one strike.
Amidst his hazy mind, Leorick felt something grip his hand.
There was no time to hesitate.
The arms of the two men reached out.
With a whoosh, blood soaked the earth.
Unlike before, it was a lethal bleeding. This time it was not a one-time occurrence but steady and massive blood loss.
Leorick finally regained his senses.
It felt as if the whole world was narrowing around him and Ian. He was clearly standing on the ground, yet it felt as if he was looking down at the crossed arms from the sky.
A dagger was plunging into Leorick’s body. From just the golden handle, he could tell it was a premium item.
Perhaps it was a gift meant for protection for a lover.
A piece of knowledge flickered through Leorick’s mind, remnants of his past as a priest. Though it was ultimately meaningless.
Leorick aimed for Ian’s heart with the end of his outstretched arm.
It was bread.
Not a dagger, but the bread he had always carried to honor the Elf girl.
The bread and dagger crossed paths.
Gulp! Dark blood poured from Leorick’s mouth. For a moment, the color of the blood was black, but it quickly turned red again as he expelled it.
Shaking and trembling, Leorick collapsed to the ground.
Death was approaching.
Perhaps due to that, his shattered jaw was moving on its own.
“I, did I… lose?”
“Yes.”
Leorick broke into a chuckle at that quiet response.
Yes, in the end, I have lost.
He no longer felt anger. Even the cold seeping into his body could not inflict pain upon him.
In fact, he felt relieved.
Now he would not have to fight anymore. He would not have to feel pain anymore.
But there was one thing that weighed on his mind.
“Ah, will Ariella be sad?”
It was a name he had uttered without thought.
Leorick couldn’t even remember that name. Surely, Ian must have felt it was sudden as well.
But Ian kept silent.
He simply touched his chest, where the blunt end of the bread had struck.
“I’ve always carried bread to honor that girl… but because of that, I ended up losing in the final match. Cough!”
Tears welled in Leorick’s eyes.
It had truly been a long time since he realized that.
Did he even have tears?
He thought that his tear ducts had burned away the day the food storage caught fire.
“Ariella, I have no face to see you…”
“She will be pleased.”
However, at Ian’s words, Leorick grasped the last thread of his fading consciousness.
“The priest whom Ariella regarded as a father was such a person, wasn’t he? Whether human or Elf, he cared for the suffering… even when he was left alone in the coniferous forest due to the Elvish raid, he was the man who treated the injured girl.”
He too must have struggled for breath.
Kneeling down, Ian continued with his fading breath.
“He was a good man who would not repay dagger for dagger. No, a dagger was something he lived his life unaware of… and so, he was a man who could melt the Elves, who harbored daggers in their hearts, with kindness.”
Leorick fell silent.
There was no more mud left. His body had returned to that of a frail priest.
There were not many chances left even to take a breath.
Through the haze of his mind, a few memories resurfaced.
Truly, like a sudden jab to his mind, voices burst in.
“Sister Ariella, the Elves seem both rational and fearsome. Bread with bread, a dagger with a dagger… had it not been for you, I might have been turned away at the door. Haha!”
A single tear rolled down Leorick’s cheek.
So that was it.
“Hmph, I find what the old man says far more interesting than that trivial story. That, who was it? The Heavenly Deity’s words!”
“That, that might have been a bit boring…”
So this was my ‘price.’
“That is much cooler and greater! If you repay a dagger with a dagger, what happens next? The person who received the dagger would surely harbor one in their heart too, right? It would never end! We’d have to fight eternally!”
“Of course, that is true, but…”
“I like you for that reason!”
This bright smile, the happiness of a child.
Even in hunger, laughter blooming so brightly.
“If I live according to your words, can I become that way? The one who repays a dagger not with a dagger, but with bread!”
Such precious memories.
Why had he forgotten them? Hot tears uncontrollably poured down as his eyelids grew heavy and slowly closed.
Leorick spoke through his sobs.
“Ah, I see. So that was it…”
The value of life was not found in abundance and wealth.
Even in a bitter life, there were moments that sparkled like this.
“In the end, I’m glad it came true. I’ve committed so many sins…”
Swallowing his sobs with great difficulty, Leorick squeezed out his final strength to speak.
“Please tell them I’m sorry.”
To whom, Ian thought, but he didn’t pose that question.
Instead, he remained silent.
To honor the last moments of an ancient rival he had faced for so long.
“Be careful.”
Leorick’s breath gradually became shallower.
Once a priest of the Heavenly Deity Sect, a leader in socializing, now just a bloodied man.
That was his final request.
“Archbishop Einadel, he is dangerous…”
He couldn’t even convey his last request, as Leorick’s heartbeat completely stopped.
Kneeling, Ian finally relaxed and collapsed onto the ground.
He too felt hazy.
He couldn’t remember how many times he had been struck. As he fell back, staring at the sky, he had a single thought.
It’s clear.
The sun was rising over the North, where the blizzard had raged.
As if announcing the end of the bloodshed.
