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130th Chapter

“Mir said the others would handle it…!”

“Damn it! What’s going on?!”

The pale-faced terrorists, who had been fiddling with the bombs, screamed in disbelief.

‘Looks like they’re not thinking of backing off. If they want to see blood, so be it.’

Time was running out. I had to fight with the determination to kill and seize the bomb.

Without hesitation, I swung my sword enveloped in aura.

Boom!

“Everyone, get down!”

A black blade that swallowed all light. True to its color, my aura was destructively gluttonous.

Among the four terrorists trying to dodge, one stumbled from my aura, and the wall next to where the bomb was being set up shattered. I had aimed to miss intentionally.

‘Since I don’t know what kind of bomb it is, I can’t just blindly destroy it.’

Some bombs explode on impact. What they were installing might be one of those.

First, I should subdue them, then threaten them to tell me how to disarm the bomb.

‘Though it’s a problem that there isn’t much time to think carefully. If the worst-case scenario occurs and I can’t find a way to disarm it…’

I bit my lips tightly and glanced up at the sky.

I hadn’t just been idly waiting for the festival after learning that a terrorism incident was about to occur. I had hurriedly learned how to disarm bombs, and I had prepared as best I could.

However, things don’t always go as planned. While I had a method prepared for when facing the worst-case scenario of not being able to disarm the bomb…

‘I really hope I don’t have to use that method. I don’t want to worry my family.’

Sighing deeply inwardly, I steadied my sword toward the four terrorists, who had soon formed ranks after their initial panic from the sudden attack.

“You need to know exactly who you’re fighting.”

With dry eyes, I scanned them, layering mana over my feet to leap lightly and began swinging my sword with speed.

“Ugh!”

“Get that monster! Jed and I will hold him back, so you guard the bomb!”

Amidst the astonished terrorists, I struggled to keep my composure.

‘I don’t… want to bleed…’

Despite all the training, I still wasn’t accustomed to it.

I tried to keep my nerves away from the blood as I gathered mana.

Two people stood against me, and the last one seemed to be rushing toward the wall to finish installing the bomb.

However…

“I can’t… touch it.”

“What?”

The one called Jed glared at me.

I, the one who had created the mana barrier before the bomb, smiled slyly.

To break this, they needed to be a mana user above my level or incapacitate me.

And no one who could do that was before me.

“Turning your attention to something else while I’m standing right here… you’re quite bold.”

With a voice laced with killing intent, the frozen terrorists turned to me like ungreased robots. Their eyes were filled with sheer terror.

I twisted my lips into a smirk.

“Focus on me.”

“Ugh!”

Having surprisingly quick reflexes, Jed managed to block my sword but was overpowered by its strength.

“Ugh!”

A pained groan echoed, and fluid surged from his foot, soaking the blade.

Today, on a day when I had to strike, I couldn’t bring myself to use the sword gifted by Caesar, so I was using the sword I had fought with as a mercenary.

This sword had already soaked countless amounts of monster blood, and now it had merely turned red.

As I gritted my teeth and tried to hide my trembling, I swiftly moved my sword.

Taking the opportunity during my attack on one terrorist, I ducked under a stab aimed at my back and deflected a dagger flying at me with my sword.

Thud!

As I lightly tripped one of the two who charged at me, I leaped onto his back as he lost balance and kicked the face of the other.

Retrieving a dagger from my pocket, I incapacitated him.

Leaving behind the terrorist who gasped for breath without even a groan, I regained my footing and blocked the sword aimed at me.

Clang! Clang!

The chilling sound of blades clashing echoed several times.

“Ugh!”

Just as a desperate terrorist lunged at me, I released a murderous intent thick enough to fill the alley.

“Ugh.”

“Cough!”

Black smoke erupted from my body like a poisonous mist. The two terrorists sprawled out on the ground, incapacitated, gasped heavily for air.

Murderous intent is something all beings instinctively sense; it provokes the rawest emotion—fear. No creature could escape from its grasp.

The terrorist exposed to my aura, trying to attack, froze stiffly.

Taking advantage of that moment, I sliced through his leg without hesitation.

“Ugh! Ahhh!”

A fountain of blood surged. I took a big breath and, with subdued eyes, looked back down the alley. All three of the ones who attacked me were incapacitated.

‘…This is tough.’

I splashed cold water on my face roughly. The black gloves I wore were soaked heavily with blood, giving me the feeling of washing my face with my own fatigue.

I took a deep breath to suppress the nausea rising within me.

It wasn’t my body that was fatigued. I couldn’t be tired from just this level of movement.

What was exhausting was my mind. The unfamiliar sight of red human blood reignited my guilt and brought back painful memories of the past.

I wanted to escape this place thick with blood. The scent of human blood churned my insides, and the red stains seemed to turn the place into a pure white tundra.

I genuinely didn’t want to harm anyone.

‘When ending someone’s life… never look away from their eyes. You must carry the weight of the life you take. That’s how to avoid becoming a monster, even if it may hurt…’

Whenever my aversion to blood dominated my mind, my mentor’s words would surface without fail. Karasho’s parting lesson, one I could never forget even if I lived a lifetime.

I couldn’t forget nor refuse her last teaching.

‘Weakness is everything.’

I bit my lips until they bled and opened my eyes wide.

I took in every bit of the carnage I had created. I wanted to vomit it all out immediately, but I didn’t close my eyes.

This was the burden of blood I had to bear. It was only going to get heavier from here.

I must not evade this weight.

“Right. Terrorists. While it was foolish to charge recklessly… I’ll give you credit for your audacity.”

I strode forward toward the bomb.

Swish!

“That tenacity of yours is interesting.”

Clang!

Without looking, I caught a dagger coming from the side, swinging it dryly.

Thanks to the gloves, my hand gripping the blade didn’t get badly hurt, but the blade was so sharp that it cut right through, causing a faint trickle of blood to seep out.

“Now you draw your hand after clinging to your life. Isn’t life precious to you?”

I dropped the dagger and cast a cold gaze at the first terrorist I had incapacitated.

The one who had thrown the dagger and was showing his last-ditch effort seemed to flinch at my stare, then grinned with venom.

“Hah! It’s an honor for you, Mir, to acknowledge me. But what now? You won’t be able to disarm the bomb. It has already been set!”

His tone was taunting, as if he were mocking me. Anger surged within me, but I bit my tongue instead, checking the bomb.

‘…7 minutes.’

The bomb, with a shape reminiscent of a black orb, emitted an ominous aura of dark magic that made me reluctant to get close, and a timer was affixed atop it.

‘Damn! I’ve never seen this kind before!’

The time I’d spent researching how to disarm bombs felt meaningless.

With my Plan A for disarming the bomb in shambles, I had to swiftly pivot to Plan B.

Boom!

The terrorist who had thrown the dagger slammed into the wall, groaning.

I tightly gripped his collar, thrusting my glimmering sword toward the wall beside his head, ensuring he faced me with a chilling glare.

“How do you disarm that bomb? You’d better speak quickly.”

“Ugh, you look quite uneasy, Mir. Are you afraid of the bomb going off? It would be shocking for the mighty Mir to show fear, ugh, how the world would stir.”

He breathed irregularly, as if on the brink of choking, yet he still mocked me.

Cold sweat dripped down my back from anxiety and anger. I harshly maneuvered my sword to lift his mask.

Thunk.

As the magic-bound mask fell, revealing his true face, I gasped.

His originally ordinary black eyes turned bright blue the moment the mask came off. A pure and bright color, exactly like the eyes of the child I loved most. The features I had not seen clearly beneath the mask were far prettier than I had expected.

The identity of the terrorist targeting the Empire’s capital was a girl who looked to be about my age.

“See? Surprised she’s younger than you expected, isn’t it? I’m the one you ruthlessly attacked, Mir.”

The girl, noticing my shock, thrust out her mocking voice. I couldn’t help but flinch and lower my sword.

A flood of guilt washed over me. There was no escape from this wave.

“You all think we’re the villains, don’t you? When you hear ‘northerners,’ all you picture is a barbaric tribe worse than beasts. But to us, the Empire is the villain. You filthy bastards. Do you know how long we’ve been oppressed and trampled? Do you know how many of our people have died by your hands?”

I found myself absorbed in her words, forgetting that I had to disarm the bomb. It felt as though thorny vines were slowly squeezing my whole body.

“What a shame, Mir. Just like your heroics in stories, you’re supposed to defeat the villains and save the day. But this time, it looks like you’ve failed. Of course, that’s good news for us. Your failure means our success.”

Her taunts pierced my heart. I held my breath, frozen in place.

‘What have I done?’

I had aimed my sword at a child who had not yet lost her innocence. A vulnerable being worthy of protection.

If the Empire wins, the north will lose; if the citizens of the Empire survive, the northern people die. Even knowing that, I had been ignoring it all in my obsessive belief that I had to protect my loved ones.

But now, realizing I had aimed my sword at a child, I had to confront that reality.

Seeing me panic, the girl smiled slyly and tilted her head closer to mine.

Her eyes, reminiscent of Arya, were burning with hatred directed at me.

“The Sword Master is strong, so she won’t die from such a bomb, right? But this place will be shattered by that one bomb. Watch closely as the festival turns into hell—just as I saw the Imperial soldiers stab my parents to death right before my eyes.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

While watching the sadness, doubt, and anger cloud her gaze, I felt something that supported me within crumble.

‘What have I been trying to protect all this time?’

Wasn’t my belief to protect the weak? Was this the result of that conviction?

As I gasped for breath, irregularly, the girl holding my gaze gently grasped my trembling hand that clutched her collar.

“My name is Glen. Don’t forget it. It’s the name of the person you killed.”

The child whispered softly, then rolled her tongue and pulled out a small pill from beneath it, twisting her smile.

In that instant, bewildered by the sudden turn of events, a thought shot through my mind.

‘Assassins always carry poison beneath their tongues. To silence themselves if they fail their mission.’

“No! Don’t—!”

I desperately thrust my hand into Glen’s mouth to retrieve the pill.

Thunk.

Then, a dreadful pain radiated from my shoulder. One of the other terrorists seemed to have thrown it.

I paused for a moment but tried to move again; it was already too late.

Crunch.

The small pill was mercilessly bitten into her white teeth and swallowed down her throat. I could only watch, helpless as the situation unfolded.

Before death, Glen smiled with a peaceful expression.

“Now, the blizzard will come.”

And then her eyes closed.

Thud.

As I released Glen’s collar, she collapsed to the ground like a lifeless doll. The sound of her fall resonated like a shattering glass in my world.

Had she thrown a poisoned dagger? My shoulder, where the dagger had embedded, felt like it was on fire. But I couldn’t move.

My gaze remained fixated on Glen’s corpse, still warm with the life that had yet to fade.

I was the one who had killed her.

“Ugh…!”

My entire body trembled, and nausea surged within me. The world spun, and tears filled my eyes. I stepped back while covering my mouth.

Thunk.

Then, I felt two more lifeless bodies behind me.

They had all taken their own lives. Because they lost to me.

I had killed them.

‘When ending someone’s life… never look away from their eyes. You must carry the weight of the life you take. That’s how to avoid becoming a monster, even if it may hurt…’

My mentor’s final teachings echoed in my ears. It was a lesson I would carry for life. Yet, I could not face their eyes.

The rising tide of moisture threatening to drown me blurred my vision entirely.

‘How do I bear the weight of life, Karasho? Perhaps becoming a monster would be better.’

Just facing it felt like the world was collapsing. The knowledge that there were people who died because of me was too heavy to bear.

It felt like all the beliefs I had upheld were crumbling.

As I struggled to breathe, tears and sweat dripping down, I stumbled.

“…Mir, pull yourself together! Damn it, Kashmir! Look at me!”

A hand grabbed my shoulder and shook me. The moment I swayed, that grip held me firmly.

I barely managed to lift my head to face the person.

My vision was blurred with tears. I couldn’t see the outline of their face, but amidst the haze, one thing stood out clearly.

Deep golden eyes that reflected me.

“…Rainer.”

The person I knew best, Rainer, was there.

 

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