Having gathered her belongings, Cadogen immediately set off for the place where her brother Lan was.
The tavern named “A Drink in the Left Hand,” located in the back alleys of the pleasure district, was one of the establishments managed by Gadam. It provided a variety of services to nobles and merchants.
Lan, along with the members of the White Scale Tribe, was overseeing the local area with the tavern as their central base.
“Ah, is it Mr. Cadogen?”
A guard, a barbarian well-acclimated to city life, who stood at the entrance frowning, brightened up and bowed to her.
“Is Lan around?”
“He is currently entertaining a guest of Gadam. Hmm? Mr. Cadogen?”
Cadogen headed toward the VIP room located at the deepest part of the tavern.
“Hey! Since I don’t have to send anyone over anymore—oh?”
The amiable Lan recognized her.
He was sitting with an obese middle-aged man and someone else on either side, entertaining a merchant recommended by Gadam.
“What brings you here?”
He showed both surprise and bewilderment at Cadogen’s arrival.
Cadogen, who usually declined repeated invitations to visit his tavern, believed that alcohol was a means of getting closer to the gods and should only be consumed during ceremonies.
“I don’t know what it is, but we’ll deal with it later. As you can see, I’m busy right now.”
Lan waved his hand dismissively. At that moment, the merchant next to him gave Cadogen an up-and-down look.
“Lan-san, what’s this young girl’s name?”
“Huh? What is it? Could it be that this woman caught your eye?”
“Barbarians are a first for me, and looking at her now, she’s unexpectedly—ugh!”
Lan grabbed the merchant by the neck and stood up. The hefty merchant, who was twice as heavy as the average man, floated easily in the air.
“You pig. How dare you treat my sister like a courtesan?”
“Ugh—Forgive me! I didn’t know—”
Although the merchant pleaded, his face gradually turned purple.
Lan really intended to kill him, much to the merchant’s shock.
‘Crazed barbarian, I’m your boss’s guest…!’
At this, Cadogen sighed in exasperation.
“Lan.”
“…”
Then Lan grinned and released his grip.
“Be grateful that my sister is a forgiving person.”
“Guh, guh—keuck! G, thank you…! Thank you!”
“You should apologize to my sister, not me. Heads are for decoration, you know?”
“Forgive me, Miss! I didn’t know—”
“Make sure you understand: take them and leave.”
“Yes, yes…! Hey, let’s go!”
The merchant hastily left the room with his people.
After the merchant left, Lan, who had been loosening the atmosphere with his shirt unbuttoned, grimaced when only he and his sister remained.
“Cadogen. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of work? Why are you acting this way? What’s the matter that you’re being so stubborn? It’s unlike you.”
“Pack up and get the kids ready immediately.”
“Huh?”
“We’ve stayed in Bondales too long. It’s time to leave.”
Instead of answering, Lan grabbed a bottle of premium alcohol from the store and drank deeply. Although half the bottle disappeared in one gulp, his expression remained calm but discontent.
“The city alcohol is strong, but it doesn’t feel like I’m drinking anything.”
“Lan.”
“Still, I like the alcohol here. I’ve gotten used to it. The kids also seem to be getting used to it here, Cadogen.”
Lan, with an expression clearly weary, looked at his sister.
“What’s going on? Why are you making such a fuss about this?”
“Gadam has messed with the wrong person this time.”
“Ha, I thought you were saying something new—again?”
It was common for Gadam to use ‘territory infringement’ on those with power or strength, and Cadogen occasionally displayed unease about it.
“Not ‘again,’ this time it’s really different.”
“Heh, sure it is.”
Lan laughed.
Just a few days ago, Cadogen had shown unease after Gadam attempted ‘territory infringement’ on ‘the Three Titans.’ Lan had easily ‘resolved’ Cadogen’s unease, and he assumed the same would happen this time.
Seeing Lan’s relaxed attitude, Cadogen was furious.
“You’re going to keep reacting like this?”
“I’m thinking. How should I calm our scaredy-cat sister?”
Cadogen’s patience reached its limit. She turned and left the room with a dismissive gesture.
Lan quickly stood up and followed her.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“If you’re not coming, I’ll just take the kids and leave.”
“Ah, I’m going insane! Cadogen! Alright! Fine!—how about this! Let’s do what we did last time again.”
“It’s a waste of time.”
“Hey! Just give it a try, even if it turns out to be a waste of time like you say, I’ll follow your opinion without a word. Got it!?”
“…”
Cadogen reluctantly agreed. Seeing this, Lan summoned some of his most trusted subordinates.
A significant portion of the forces under Councilman Gadam, the barbarian mercenaries, gathered in one place.
“Guh, I know we’re busy, but let’s go. Now that it’s come to this, I need to know what you’ve seen as well.”
When Cadogen was alone, the basement looked desolate, but with the arrival of Lan and seven other barbarians, it became an oppressively crowded space.
They stood on the newly drawn ‘territory infringement’ magical circle created by Cadogen.
“Mr. Lan, is this the same thing again?”
“Yeah. Who else is going to calm Cadogen’s worries if not us?”
While the subordinates chuckled quietly, they refrained from adding any further comments.
Responding improperly to Lan’s jokes about his sister could land them in trouble. In fact, his exile from the tribe was due to him half-crippling the chieftain’s son for dishonoring his sister.
Lan, who was hot-blooded and highly aggressive, earned the nickname ‘Battle Maniac.’ His volatile temper made even Gadam unable to restrain him, and his reputation in Bondales was infamous.
“There’s no time for this…”
Cadogen muttered unhappily but instructed them anyway.
“Are you ready?”
Soon, they would enter the illusory world created by Cadogen.They had planned to participate in the “spirit stepping.”
And within it, they were going to engage in a great battle.
This was how the warriors of the White Scales tribe prepared for battle.
Through spirit stepping, they would peek at the karma of their future adversaries and conquer that karma.
They believed that if others had achieved that karma, they were equally capable of achieving it.
“Anyway, what on earth did you see this time?”
“Honestly, they haven’t told me either?”
At their conversation, Cadogen wore a mischievous smile.
The spirit stepping unfolded.
“S-Sorcerer…!”
Soon after.
The warriors instinctively took a step back as the tide of the undead advanced toward them.
Cadogen smiled in satisfaction at their pitiful state.
“It’s about time you came to your senses.”
However, the smile didn’t last long.
“It’s a sorcerer. How intriguing. Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Before them stood Ragan, his face now filled with an eager competitive spirit, blocking the necromancer’s path.
“…”
“Prepare for battle!”
At Ragan’s command, the disarrayed atmosphere was immediately restored.
In formation, the warriors faced the necromancer.
Surprisingly, the battle remained evenly matched.
A necromancer’s terrifying power varies depending on how much death they command.
Given that, the necromancer they were currently facing could barely be considered newborn.
Still, the fact remained that necromancers were inherently fearsome—
Though this one did not yet fully embody the title.
“Done!!!”
“We’ve defeated the necromancer!!!”
The necromancer’s form dispersed. Under Ragan’s leadership, the savage warriors had successfully vanquished the necromancer.
Of course,
a necromancer cannot usually be destroyed by ordinary means.
This was possible only here—
in the mental realm created and controlled by Cadogen.
Additionally,
the existence of this mental realm, created for the purpose of “spirit stepping,” verified a fact.
It proved that Ragan’s group had the ability to overcome this “karma,” the very target of this spirit stepping.
If he could do it, so could they.
Besides, we still have Gadam behind us.
Thus, there was no reason to unnecessarily fear him.
Ragan beamed toward his sister, his face flushed with the lingering excitement from the battle.
“…This is not the end.”
“Good? That’s great. I was just getting warmed up anyway.”
Instantly, the world turned upside down.
The black mist and ominous energy that had enveloped the surroundings dissipated, and
a pond emerged.
Under the moonlight, elegant blue lotuses blossomed across the pond. The half-opened lotus flowers, like partially awakened eyes, gave those who saw them a sense of growing anticipation.
Amid the lotuses stood a woman.
“~”
Ragan whistled.
The other savage warriors also glittered with anticipation in their eyes.
The turquoise short hair of the woman shimmered under the moonlight, emitting a soft blue hue.
The composed demeanor blended naturally with the serene yet melancholy scenery of the pond.
Over her leather attire, traces of her rigorous training were evident, creating an aura akin to a mysterious and untamed beast, further stimulating the savage warriors’ desires for conquest.
One of Ragan’s subordinates, Dorik, approached the woman.
Ragan watched his subordinate with a grin until, abruptly, the woman disappeared from sight.
She had already reached Dorik’s vicinity.
“Gk—gk—”
Dorik emitted a sound like phlegm choking his throat. The woman’s hand was strangling—and piercing—his neck.
With apparent ease, the woman withdrew her hand from his neck, despite the torn flesh and broken bones that should’ve resisted her movements.
Clasped in the woman’s hand was a fragment of the mechanism that had once supported Dorik’s neck.
With the casualness of someone playing with clay, she inspected the object, savoring its texture.
Dorik’s body, now bereft of its neck support, collapsed.
To the savage warriors, who had witnessed countless forms of death, this was yet another surreal and bizarre death.
And it had all transpired in the blink of an eye while Ragan was distracted by the woman’s figure.
The joy and excitement of defeating the necromancer had vanished without a trace.
“…This is fun.”
Ragan stretched the corners of his mouth wide in a grin brimming with competitive spirit.
Finally, with all his strength, he hurled the battle axe in his left hand.
“Whooosh!”
The savage’s axe tore through the air viciously, moving in a trajectory hard to predict and respond to.
The woman indifferently flicked her hand in the direction of the axe.
The axe, which was unmistakably aimed at her, veered off course.
And it even accelerated—
Thud!
The sound was heard near Ragan.
The axe Ragan had thrown returned and struck his subordinate Damus square on the forehead.
Leaving the fallen subordinate behind, Ragan charged toward the woman. Though her figure disappeared again, Ragan’s focused senses caught her movement.
Their swords crossed.
It’s light.
Ragan perceived her sword as such and smiled.
A sense of arrogance rose within him, the thought that he would easily subdue this insolent woman.
A sadistic grin spread across the face of the battle maniac.
While pressing down on her with his sword, Ragan spoke.
“Much easier than I—gaaaaahh!”
His words faltered midway.
It was then that Ragan belatedly realized she was holding the sword with just one hand.
It became clear the moment her other hand, holding another sword, pierced through his left eye.
The force behind Ragan’s sword waned.
The woman, keeping her sword embedded, leaned her face toward his.
“Haa…”
With a delighted sigh, she gazed at Ragan’s expression, clouded with confusion and pain.
Ragan was a battle fanatic. Once excited, he was known to lose sight of everything around him, earning the nickname of a madman.
“…”
Even he could not comprehend what kind of emotion the woman displayed amid the chaos of battle.
No, amid the slaughter, what exactly was she feeling?
“Mo, mon—”
“R—”“Gan!”
Cadogen desperately called out his name.
By now, the wounds on Ragun’s body were cleanly healed.
Ragun recalled the fact that this world was created by Cadogen.
With her help, they could defeat that monster.
Their original purpose had long been forgotten, their thoughts utterly bound by the woman.
Ragun calmly stepped back and formed an array with his comrades—the same array they had once used to eliminate the necromancer.
The hurried movements of the savage warriors contrasted sharply with the woman’s graceful ease.
She took a step with an almost playful sway.
It was as if the world itself conspired to assist her movements—even in a realm crafted by Cadogen.
Before they knew it, she had slipped through the cracks of their formation and stood at its very center.
It was a foolish move. Allowing herself to be surrounded by the enemy like that.
But she smiled, as if she had intended it all along.
Before they could fully grasp the subtlety of her movements, her sword had already swung.
A thin trail of blood painted the air.
And even as the blood traced its path, the woman was already executing her next move, leaving them unable to track her.
The perception of the savages couldn’t keep up with her fluid motions.
By the time her sequence of actions concluded—
“Khhh!”
“Aaargh!”
One by one, they dropped, only just realizing the strikes of her sword too late.
Only Ragun remained standing, though it became clear to him that staying upright was a mistake.
He realized he should have fallen too. Otherwise, he’d continue to be toyed with by that monster.
With every step and swing, the monster began to strip Ragun of his human form.
Initially, the monster refrained from targeting Ragun’s vital points, intending not to kill him.
“Ragun!”
But it soon became apparent that no matter how many times the monster struck, Ragun would not die.
“Haa… Haa…”
The monster’s breathing grew more labored, its emotions imbued in every strike.
This was no longer a battle. Not even butchery. It was slaughter—the woman’s blade carving into Ragun’s flesh like he was livestock.
“What… what is this thing?”
The shaman’s body shook uncontrollably at the scene unfolding before him.
Could this still be called human?
What kind of human could wield such martial prowess? What kind of heart could harbor such killing intent?
“Ka- Ka-”
Through a ravaged jaw and throat, Ragun desperately called out for his sister.
Cadogen was the master of this world, yet even she couldn’t control the monster.
“Ragun!”
The savage eager for battle had vanished. Now, Ragun begged for mercy from the monster, for help from Cadogen.
If they delayed any longer, Ragun’s mind would surely break. Cadogen sought to abruptly end the ‘stepping on spirits’ ritual.
“Khk!”
At that moment, an axe struck Cadogen, embedding itself in her throat. Shock paralyzed her thoughts.
Through blurring vision, she saw the monster smiling.
‘It can’t be…’
It was merely a remnant—illusory residue created from past karma. Even so, this phantom was eroding the world Cadogen had created.
To manifest such a powerful ego, the being it represented must have had an inconceivably high order of existence. The savages couldn’t even begin to fathom it.
They writhed in pain, powerless to resist.
And then, at that moment—
“…!”
The monster’s focus snapped toward something. There stood a man, looking both amiable and almost boyish—an utterly incongruous figure amidst the slaughter.
The monster closed the distance with the same peculiar foot technique it had used to toy with the savages. It struck without hesitation, intending to utterly annihilate his dignity in an inhumane manner.
But, just as the monster’s body was about to make contact with the man—
“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
The monster screamed, its form beginning to crumble.
The man seized the monster by the neck. Instantly, the creature transformed into a sword.
Silently, the man picked up the sword and vanished into thin air.
The savages couldn’t process the surreal scene. The consciousness of the warriors, freed from the monster’s influence, flickered in and out.
“Huu…uuuugh…!”
In the basement, ragged gasps escaped repeatedly.
Ragun sat there, dazed, gasping for air for a while.
Then, his gaze moved toward his sister.
They silently nodded to each other.
[White Scale Tribe Warrior Ragun has left the party.]
[White Scale Tribe Warrior Dorek has left the party.]
[White Scale Tribe Archer Damus has left the party.]
[… has left the party.]
[… has left the party.]
[… has left the party.]
[… has left the party.]
*
“Did this come to me?”
The next morning.
Rishe untied an unidentified package left outside the Manor and inspected the contents.
[To Mr. Rishe]
