62
“Find Chronos first.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Among Set’s group who had parked the caravan at the village entrance, Shango and Apophis started moving first. Set had decided to stay with Yeon Ji-ho to guard the caravan just in case.
Although the imperial family’s flag was planted at the top of the clock tower, it seemed that everything was already over as there was no sign of the knights. Only occasionally could they see small folk lying scattered about, and even those were few.
“Surely… Did they take everyone?”
“The number of small folk is usually about the same. If they’re not here… Yes. It seems they were taken away.”
“This must all be Hadad’s doing, right?”
The reason for capturing these people was obvious. They had been taken away on charges of being accomplices for hiding Chronos, who was a criminal. Yeon Ji-ho’s brow furrowed deeply.
Set muttered beside Yeon Ji-ho, looking at the village where the fire had not yet completely died out.
“This is unlike him.”
“Pardon?”
“The Hadad I knew would have used a more moderate method.”
In fact, setting fire to the village and attacking people indiscriminately was something the Gorgon Knights would have done. That’s how it should have been originally.
Hadad was someone who would reduce his own food to help people who had lost their homes due to war. He often said he hadn’t forgotten the times when he, born a commoner, was starving to death, and would save people with his own hands along with Gliese.
Why would such a person suddenly, now…
“…Has he changed after becoming emperor?”
“That could be. But he wasn’t a man swayed by wealth or honor. To be so greedy now when he has everything in his grasp?”
Set’s last question was puzzling. He simply couldn’t understand why they would go so far as to set fire to the Village of Time and capture people.
Even when waging war against him, Hadad was the kind of man who would endure massive losses, saying he couldn’t sacrifice innocent people.
“Your Excellency! We’ve found Chronos!”
Just then, Shango came running from afar, carrying a man with a child-like build on his back. Apophis, who was assisting him, was coming along as well.
As soon as Yeon Ji-ho saw them, he quickly opened the caravan door to receive them. When Shango entered the caravan and carefully laid Chronos on the bed, his miserable condition became apparent.
Chronos’s right cheekbone, eye, and about half of his forehead were oozing with burns. It seemed he couldn’t even lose consciousness from the pain, as bitter screams kept escaping from his mouth.
“Apophis. Bring a high-grade potion.”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
As soon as the cap was opened, the high-grade potion that was quickly procured was sprinkled over Chronos’s face. Along with the hissing sound of the burns slowly healing, Chronos’s screams erupted.
“Aaargh!”
“Chronos. We must treat the burns immediately to save your eye. Endure it.”
Even though the absorbed high-grade potion was healing the wounds from the inside, the potion itself was a liquid. It was natural for it to be painful when liquid touched burns that were still oozing.
After pouring in the high-grade potion, Shango quickly began first aid. As he wrapped and tightened the pre-prepared bandages, Chronos’s screams gradually subsided.
“Your… Your Excellency? Is it really, really you, young master Set?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, how can this be. Is this hell? Have I finally died?”
Set laughed briefly at Chronos’s question. He answered Chronos, who was looking at him with only one eye.
“If it were, we wouldn’t be meeting with smiles like this. We have many punishments to receive, don’t we?”
“Ha… haha! It really is you, Your Excellency!”
The beard covering Chronos’s mouth trembled. He raised his tiny hand to cover his face and muttered.
“You really, really were alive… You didn’t die.”
Soon after, tears that he couldn’t hide flowed through the gaps in his hands. If there was anyone in this world who would sincerely mourn Set’s death, it was Chronos.
To Chronos, the only surviving member of the previous generation of Gorgon Knights, Set was like a child. Because Chronos, who lived unbound by time, had watched Set since he was very young.
He always felt affection for Set, who grew up abused and died without knowing affection.
“I thought Prince Hadad was… just talking nonsense again.”
“…Hadad came in person?”
“Yes. He asked me about Your Excellency’s whereabouts. So I answered. Didn’t you kill him with your own hands, I said.”
Chronos recalled the events of just yesterday. Yesterday evening, the imperial knights had suddenly rushed into the Village of Time. There was no time to defend.
“They trampled everything of ours, burned it, and dragged people away indiscriminately.”
“…Hadad? ‘That’ Hadad did such a thing?”
“He was different from before, Your Excellency. I had never seen him with such an angry face…”
Hadad had never been indignant even when retreating after losing in war. He was the man who faced dying people with a sympathetic face rather than anger. He was a man of gentle nature.
“But he looked somehow very impatient, and also… anxious. He couldn’t stay still for a moment.”
“Strange.”
“Yes, very much so. He acted just like someone who had lost something important. But it didn’t seem to mean Your Excellency.”
‘Chronos. Just be honest now, will you? Do you know where Set is? If you tell me, I promise to spare your race.’
‘Didn’t I say I don’t know! He’s already by your hand…!’
‘Tsk. Your news is quite late. Of course, you wouldn’t know Ji-ho’s whereabouts either.’
Set’s face, which had been calmly listening to Chronos’s explanation, hardened. As Set raised his hand to stop Chronos’s words, he looked at Set with a puzzled face.
“…Whose whereabouts did Hadad say he was looking for?”
“Ah, he did mention ‘Ji-ho’, but whether that’s a person or not, I’m not sure…”
“I’m Ji-ho.”
At that moment, Yeon Ji-ho poked his head out from behind Set. Chronos’s eyes widened.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Yeon Ji-ho. You can call me Ji-ho. I’m traveling with Mr. Set.”
“Ah, so that’s why Prince Hadad…”
Chronos now realized why Hadad had been so persistent in asking about Set’s whereabouts. To be precise, he wasn’t looking for Set, but for a man called ‘Yeon Ji-ho’ who was traveling with him.
“What else did he say?”
“Ah, he also said this. That he had combed through all of Asterra like searching for lice, but couldn’t find even a single strand of hair.”
‘It’s strange. If he’s Set Gorgon’s odd-eye, there should be at least one rumor floating around… All I hear about are the whereabouts of Wings and Tongue.’
Of course, there were no rumors about him because he had been hiding in Korea with Shango and Yeon Ji-ho during that time. It was natural for Hadad, who wouldn’t even think that Yeon Ji-ho might have come from another world, to have doubts.
“Your Excellency. Prince Hadad’s demeanor was not normal. He was different from before.”
Chronos continued speaking while glancing at Yeon Ji-ho repeatedly.
“He didn’t seem to care about others’ eyes. Even though I clearly said he wasn’t here, he kept looking for Mr… Ji-ho.”
Set unknowingly clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm. This must have been why he had been so anxious all this time.
Even though he didn’t know the reason, he knew that Hadad would covet Yeon Ji-ho.
“However, Your Excellency, I have the ability to see through people. Prince Hadad’s eyes are not those of someone in love.”
Chronos’s worried eyes turned to Yeon Ji-ho. When their eyes met, Yeon Ji-ho smiled faintly, and Chronos finished speaking with a distressed face.
“They are eyes of desire, wanting to possess something. I have seen such eyes many times before. Your Excellency, you must have seen them too.”
Chronos’s small chest swelled greatly. That much tension was needed to utter this name. Even though the owner of that name had already passed away.
“Relis Gorgon.”
Set’s eyes widened for a moment. How long had it been since he heard that name? The root cause of his becoming the demon of the century, and the beginning of everything…
“For reasons I don’t understand, the moment I saw that man, I was reminded of the previous Duke Gorgon.”
And he was the villain who stood at the most opposite point to the protagonist in the novel.
