140.
Someone was approaching. Rector noticed this fact during the fight but couldn’t withdraw. It was because Jinhyeon was clinging to him persistently like a wolf. In this situation, Keith also lunged at Rector. Unlike Jinhyeon, who instinctively sensed Rector’s agitation, Keith seemed to have realized through experience that Rector had started to be wary of something other than themselves.
“How annoying!”
Rector swung his sword widely to try and shake them off. But even with the sword coming right up to their faces, both of them avoided the attack with minimal movement and clung to Rector again. And then, a person jumped out from the bushes and stabbed at Rector. He barely avoided it by twisting his body, but a follow-up attack came immediately.
Even, a person with wheat-colored messy hair, was someone who prioritized speed over weight in swordsmanship. As such, fast attacks poured out continuously. At this point, Rector also realized who his opponent was.
“Imperial dog!”
Even didn’t waver at the insult. He just continued his attacks silently. In this situation, Jinhyeon jumped in again. Usually, attacks with unfamiliar people tend to interfere with each other, but Jinhyeon was different. He quickly got used to Even’s swordsmanship and excellently supported him.
Keith stepped back but was still looking for an opportunity. It was the worst situation for Rector. He regretted not accepting when Aksen told him to take some subordinates. But regret always comes too late.
‘That doesn’t mean I’m going to just take it.’
Rector smirked and threw himself at Even’s rapier. The sharp rapier pierced his right chest, followed by intense pain. However, this caused Even to momentarily lose his weapon. Rector’s sword slashed Even’s shoulder.
“Ugh!”
Even gritted his teeth, retrieved his rapier, and stepped back. Jinhyeon took his place. He faced Rector while Even was stopping the bleeding on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Rector didn’t give him time to stop the bleeding, and the flowing blood began to soak his clothes.
‘Impressive.’
Even picked up his rapier again as soon as he stopped the bleeding. Perhaps because the cut was quite deep, he held the rapier in his other hand this time, but even in this situation, his attacks were fast.
“Unfortunately, I’m ambidextrous.”
Even without saying it, one could see it with their eyes. If only a small gap would appear, he would try something, but it was frustrating. Where did such a guy come from? Rector knew that Jinhyeon was quite strong, but he hadn’t taken it seriously until now. There were many people in the world who were called strong. But this guy was different.
He wasn’t just strong. Jinhyeon read Rector’s breathing and struck at the weaknesses in his swordsmanship. So even with the difference in skill, Rector couldn’t easily break free.
“This is troublesome.”
It seemed that this place might become Rector’s grave.
Yu Jin woke up on a soft blanket. After looking at the sunlight filtering through the window, he stretched out his body. Feeling somewhat empty, he felt around the space next to him, but no one was there. Slowly getting up and looking around the house, Jinhyeon was nowhere to be seen.
“Did he go to prepare a meal?”
Perhaps because there were few dishes that could be made with the indoor stove, Jinhyeon often made food outside. Yu Jin would put on a shawl and blankly watch him. Sometimes he would help by cutting vegetables. Thinking it would be the same today, he slowly got up. Since he was in his sleepwear, he put on one of the carelessly thrown shawls. Then, yawning, he went outside, but it was as quiet outside as it was inside.
“Jinhyeon?”
He looked towards the fireplace where Jinhyeon usually cooked, but no one was there.
‘Something feels off.’
He walked around the cabin, but still couldn’t see Jinhyeon. Did he go to fetch water? The stream was a bit far from here. Yu Jin knew the location because he had gone with Jinhyeon to fetch water before. But somehow, he didn’t feel like moving. The cool wind blowing from somewhere made him unconsciously shrink. It wasn’t because of the cold. It was closer to a chilling sensation.
Yu Jin blinked and quickly went back into the cabin, closing the door. Fortunately, the cabin also had a latch installed, so it wasn’t difficult to lock. Belatedly, he thought that Jinhyeon wouldn’t have left without saying anything. If it were somewhere else, maybe, but wasn’t this a place they came to hide? He searched around where he had been sleeping and found a note.
[I’ll be back soon.]
The note was written in Korean. It was a familiar language when living in Korea, but not here. The Korean he was seeing after a long time looked almost like a code. Yu Jin smiled slightly and put away the note. For a moment, his anxiety disappeared.
“I wonder where he went?”
Perhaps because it was too quiet, he found himself talking out loud. Sitting back down on the carpet, Yu Jin curled up and thought. In the current situation, he must have gone out for something related to Leviathan. It might even be dangerous. That’s why he left Yu Jin behind.
He hoped Jinhyeon would return unharmed. As he was thinking this, he heard a faint sound from somewhere. It seemed too artificial to be coming from the forest, so he approached the window and listened closely. He could tell that someone was fighting not far from the cabin. Yu Jin tensed up and raised his head a little more. But although he could tell there was a sound, it wasn’t easy to pinpoint the direction.
‘Should I stay here? Or is it better to go out and hide?’
He had heard that it was a specially prepared cabin, but being a lone house in the forest, it was quite noticeable. If an enemy had come, it might be better to go out and hide. Especially if that opponent was Leviathan. In the worst-case scenario, it could be Aksen who had come here. He didn’t know what special abilities Aksen had, but if he came, the cabin wouldn’t last long.
Yu Jin quickly changed his clothes. Then, after putting on his shoes firmly, he unlocked the door and left the cabin. Then he ran straight towards the stream. There were traces of someone moving up to the stream. He planned to follow that and then move in the stream.
Although he had no experience of running away from someone, Yu Jin had seen and heard things in his life. He thought he should erase the traces of his escape, even if clumsily. Fortunately, there was no one chasing him until he reached the quite distant stream. This would make it difficult for allies to find Yu Jin too, but it was okay because Jinhyeon was there. Throughout their stay in the cabin, the two had discussed escape methods whenever they had time. Jinhyeon would be able to find Yu Jin quickly.
Upon reaching the stream, Yu Jin immediately jumped in. Even though the water only came up to his knees, it wasn’t easy to move. Yu Jin moved along the stream for a while, stumbling halfway. The sound of fighting was no longer audible. After moving like this, he climbed onto land when he thought it was appropriate.
His heart pounded at the unfamiliar scenery, and he pressed his hand firmly against his chest.
“It’s okay.”
It was a reassurance to himself. Yu Jin stepped forward, treading on half-rotten leaves fallen on the ground. As he went, he tried various methods to erase his traces as best he could. He went backward and circled around. Moving energetically after a long time made his body feel heavier.
Yu Jin thought it was about time to rest. Just then, he found a small gap between tangled trees. It was barely enough to hide his body, but it looked excellent as a hiding place for now. Yu Jin squeezed into that space and sat down heavily, catching his breath.
‘This is tough.’
Maybe nothing had happened, and he had just overexerted himself. Being alone, various thoughts came to mind. Yu Jin buried his face in his gathered knees and closed his eyes. Although he had slept enough, perhaps due to fatigue, he felt sleepy again.
‘I shouldn’t fall asleep.’
Even while thinking this, he couldn’t stop sleeping.
He was walking through the forest. There were some who tried to block his walk in the middle, but he left such things to Aksen.
“May I kill them?”
“Hmm, keep some alive.”
Generally, kind people tend to be weak against threats involving others’ lives. He, Greyardin, thought Yu Jin would be the same. The reason he was called a good-for-nothing was because he was too kind. He could destroy himself because he valued other people’s lives.
“Yes.”
Aksen answered leisurely, moving the wand in his hand.
“You bastard!”
Aksen didn’t waver at the curse that burst out from the enemy. Those who live in the back alleys are all like that. It was just amusing how they try to puff themselves up by spitting out harsh words because they’re weak.
“You should use polite language.”
Even after being slammed to the ground several times, they still didn’t know how to shut their mouths.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
