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A week later, the Dark Alley I returned to still exuded an unsettling and dangerous atmosphere.

The difference from last time was that today’s Dark Alley felt a bit more vibrant.

Previously, it had been filled with intimidating figures like former soldiers, illegal mercenaries, and seedy adventurers.

However, today, there were many more ordinary-looking civilians, merchants, and even nobles walking the streets.

Welcoming these folks, the Dark Alley buzzed with life.

“Just a drop will heat up both the customer and the partner! No need to look anywhere else! We sell it at the cheapest price here!”

“Selling magic scrolls you can’t even get at the Magic Tower! If you’re interested in forbidden magic, take a look!”

“……”

Of course, I wasn’t curious about what kind of deals they were making, so I ignored the scene on the street and headed straight to my destination, the Brothel.

Since the tattooed man seemed to remember my face, he immediately guided Silvia, allowing me to enter the Brothel without any fuss this time.

Seeing Silvia after a long while, I noticed she was again in the guise of the Freckled Girl for some reason.

“When are you going to stop that disguise?”

“Why? Doesn’t it look good? I think I’m quite pretty with this face.”

It wasn’t that it looked bad. It was just that her expression didn’t match her face, making it all feel oddly awkward.

Her innocent countryside girl’s face combined with a seductive smile while sitting with her legs crossed gave off a rather dangerous vibe in this place.

Silvia propped her chin on her hand with a sweet smile.

“I borrowed this girl’s face. She used to do odd jobs here.”

“Borrowed?”

“You know, my real face is still wanted, right? If I enter as a new person, I’ll get suspicious looks. But if I disguise myself as someone who already exists, I’m less noticeable. It’s better to avoid trouble, so I usually work here like an actual maid. Everyone is fooled quite well.”

Silvia’s disguise skills were not just about changing her face. She could even alter her bone structure and vocal cords, perfectly mimicking her height and voice.

Whether it was the Imperial Intelligence Bureau or other criminal organizations, finding Silvia, who was making herself unobtrusive, would not be an easy task. Plus, this particular area was her domain.

By the way, if she borrowed someone’s face, that meant there were now two people in the Brothel that looked exactly the same.

“What happened to the original owner of that face?”

“Oh, curious, are we?”

Then Silvia, with a dangerous smile, said, “She seemed to have been sold due to debt, but I sent her back home with a fat compensation. I also made sure she wouldn’t be sold again to her parents.”

“……”

Why was she giving such a wicked smile after doing a good deed?

By the way, a proper measure? Something tells me that it probably wasn’t peaceful at all. She had always despised the kind of people who would sell girls to the Brothel.

Anyway, that’s enough of the preamble.

It was about time to get to the main point of why I was here.

“Is the information ready?”

“Of course. Who do you think I am? Just because I retired doesn’t mean my skills have vanished!”

Silvia reached into her cleavage and pulled out a piece of paper and casually handed it to me.

“Here you go.”

“……”

“Not taking it? My hand hurts.”

I received the paper with a stiff expression, not bothering to hide my reluctance. The paper smelled faintly of perfume or some woman’s scent.

I momentarily squeezed my eyes shut, brushed aside thoughts of the smell, and opened the paper to check its contents.

The details written on the paper weren’t long. However, with each line I read, my expression grew markedly stiffer.

To put it simply.

All my assumptions about Ella were true.

This document contained succinct information that backed up my theories.

It detailed that the mercenary group that visited our town twenty years ago was actually the Ionia Royal Knight Order in disguise.

They had accompanied a girl that matched Ella’s details and took her to the royal castle of Ionia.

However, after that, their whereabouts could not be traced, it said.

Next, it contained information related to Ella’s identity.

The last king of the Ionia Kingdom, Vittore III, had once studied abroad at Philion Academy.

Also, during his studies in the Empire, he had a brief encounter with a maid, and that maid bore a child identical to Vittore III with blonde hair.

Additionally, the maid continued her life in the capital but eventually returned to her hometown with her father.

It was easy to guess that the maid mentioned here was Ella’s mother, who ran an inn in our village.

The meaning of this document was clear.

“Ha…”

Ella was not living happily in the Capital City.

I had hoped otherwise, but in the end, that was the truth.

After confirming all the contents, I tore the paper and threw it into the Fireplace.

The paper was quickly engulfed by the flames, crackling and burning until only ashes remained.

I stared silently at the flickering fire and the black ash for a long time.

Silvia, who had been watching, cautiously asked, “It’s usually the rule to read the information and burn it on the spot… Are you feeling a bit emotional, unlike you?”

I sighed heavily before speaking.

“Is this all there is to find out?”

While the document stated that Ella was the illegitimate child of the Ionia king and that her last known location was the royal castle, it didn’t provide any information about what had happened to her afterward.

Silvia nodded in response. “This is all we could find in a week. You know, right? How the Ionia Kingdom fell almost overnight.”

I knew. I was aware that the Capital of Karia had crumbled from the inside due to the mysterious ritual carried out by the Undying King.

The horde of Undead that appeared inside the city, not outside the city walls, turned the city into a hellscape in an instant.

Silvia crossed her legs and gave me a slightly tired expression. “The Dark Alley and the Intelligence Guild that were there disappeared that day as well. So, it’s going to take a bit longer to glean more detailed information. We’ll need to find survivors of the kingdom and ask them. I can’t just send informants into a land that essentially resembles a battlefield.”

Silvia looked at me with a significant expression. “There was one person who might have known about the royal information, but he died a few days ago.”

“……”

“You’re aware, right? The last princess of the fallen kingdom who fled to the Empire. Due to her importance, the Intelligence Bureau was keeping an eye on her, but she hadn’t made any moves in years, so when they let their guard down, she pulled off such a cunning stunt. I guess she really held a deep grudge against the Elves.”

The lifeless green eyes briefly flashed through my mind before fading away.

Well, it wouldn’t have mattered much even if Daisy was alive.

This information had also come from her, and she must have been just a child back then, so she wouldn’t know anything more detailed.

The Undying King’s mysterious ritual. The bloodline of Ionia sacrificed.

Yet, this information alone was insufficient to confirm Ella’s fate. There was still a possibility that Ella escaped and is alive.

Or maybe I just wanted to hope so.

Honestly, even now that I had uncovered this information, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

Did I want to meet her if she were alive, or was it simply to alleviate my guilt?

But for now, I should finish what I started.

“Silvia.”

“Yeah?”

“You mentioned you had a request for me.”

At that, for the first time, a girl-like smile appeared on Silvia’s face.

*

“Now, introducing to you all! The undefeated hero! The indomitable warrior! A contestant who will become the new star of the Underground Coliseum!”

“…Ha.”

I donned a completely face-covering black mask as I entered the Coliseum.

In the center of the arena stood a stunning beauty in revealing clothing announcing the contestants through a magical speaker—this beauty was none other than a disguised Silvia.

“Let’s give a warm welcome to ‘Iron Fist Ian’!”

I winced at that horrendous name.

By the way, the first alias Silvia suggested was even worse. Chaos Devil, Black Heart, Silent Lancer… all ridiculous names that were hard to take seriously.

I desperately rejected Silvia’s initial suggestion and opted for the simpler name ‘Ian,’ twisting my real name slightly. Silvia argued that just ‘Ian’ was dull and insisted on adding ‘Iron Fist’ in front of it.

Still, ‘Iron Fist Ian’ was better than ‘Chaos Devil,’ so I had no choice.

Despite Silvia’s enthusiastic introduction, the audience’s response was rather lackluster. Most of them clapped politely but weren’t enthusiastic; it was only natural, really. To them, I was just an unremarkable newcomer.

However, the crowd’s reaction towards my opponent was entirely different.

“Now, let me introduce the next contestant! This contestant should be familiar to you all! The legend of the Underground Coliseum! The terrifying man who shredded 99 challengers! ‘Blood Wind Sword Gu Ryun’!”

“Woooaahhh!!”

“Blood Wind Sword!! Blood Wind Sword!!”

“I’ve been waiting for you, kid!”

Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, the person who stepped into the arena looked like a skilled swordsman from the East.

He had long hair tied back like a ronin, and with a presence as sharp as a blade, he stood facing me.

Blood Wind Sword Gu Ryun spoke to me in a deep voice.

“You’re not a swordsman, are you?”

“Correct.”

“But you’d better wield a sword. From the looks of it, you can’t use magic, so if you face my sword barehanded, you’ll die.”

“Hmph.”

Blood Wind Sword’s words were only half true.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t use magic; I was just holding it back.

If I used my martial arts, my dark magic would be revealed, and rumors of a demon would spread, causing chaos.

I crossed my arms and casually replied, “I think I’ll be fine without it.”

Even without weapons or magic, I didn’t feel a shred of danger in this situation.

I was just stating a fact, but Blood Wind Sword seemed to interpret that as a provocation, twisting his lips with malice.

“Ha ha… I was planning to take pity on you, but you chose your own death. This outcome is your own doing.”

“Oh, you who’ve claimed to have killed ninety-nine, talk big.”

“Ha! And now you’ll be the one hundredth!”

Silvia raised her hand outside the arena and shouted, “Let the match begin!”

With the declaration of the start, Blood Wind Sword’s sword and his entire body burst into red magical energy like flames.

The fact that the magical energy flickered like flames meant that his martial arts had reached a supreme level, and unlike ordinary blue magical energy, red magic indicated the presence of tainted magical power—meaning he had learned dark arts.

Under the influence of his dark arts, Blood Wind Sword charged at me with an insatiable grin, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

“Khaha! Finally, I’ll see some blood!”

I didn’t pay attention to the approaching Blood Wind Sword; instead, I looked at Silvia outside the arena.

She winked at me as if she believed in my victory without a doubt.

I had said to take him down overwhelmingly…

“Where are you looking, kid! Die—!!”

In that brief moment, the tip of Blood Wind Sword’s blade lunged toward me. At the same time, my thought process accelerated rapidly.

The blade that seemed about to pierce my chest started to feel like it was moving in slow motion, and the excited sounds of the audience began to fade.

In this slowed reality, I alone moved at normal speed, grasping the tip of Blood Wind Sword’s blade with my bare hand.

Crack!

The sight of the blade embedded with killing intent breaking in my hand left Blood Wind Sword shocked.

I promptly struck a punch right into that face.

“Hugh!!”

Time resumed its normal pace as Blood Wind Sword went flying across the arena, crashing against the wall.

With his jaw possibly shattered, he gaped with his mouth hang open, drooling, and didn’t seem to retain any consciousness.

What the audience witnessed was merely the scene of a broken sword being grabbed and a split second later, Blood Wind Sword hurtling through the air.

The crowd stared in bewilderment at the incomprehensible spectacle.

The Coliseum was engulfed in silence.

 

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