Beyond the Original, Part 1
Until now, I had barely been able to make use of my knowledge of the original novel. I was a failure as a possessor, but there was no helping it. In the first place, the events of the original story wouldn't take place for several years. Elis, the female lead, hadn't even crossed over to this world yet. By now, she was probably living somewhere in modern South Korea, supporting her younger siblings. The characters connected to her were far out of reach for now, and our own future was still completely unwritten. I could only make wild guesses by looking toward a distant future.
During this time, Sirien and I had certainly done our best. Looking back, we had strived so hard that we couldn't possibly have achieved a better outcome. Yet, despite giving it our all, the result we arrived at seemed to merely tread the path laid out by the original novel. If we had slipped up even slightly, we wouldn't have even come close to matching the original trajectory. To change the flow of fate, doing our best was no longer enough. Something had to change.
In the original novel, Russell's name was never mentioned even once. It was highly likely that he had died this time as well. Just like Therion and Hena had.
'But what about Isha?'
Though it was revealed only much later, Isha had been a trusted subordinate of Sirien and me. There was no doubt that the catalyst for that relationship was our encounter in Requitas. Even so, we couldn't afford to ruin our plans just to help Isha right now. Regardless of our feelings, wiping out the Sewer Rats was an absolute necessity. We needed to map out the approximate locations of their strongholds. In the process, drawing some of Millen's attention had been unavoidable.
On the day we parted ways with Isha on the camellia-blossom hill, Russell had told her to leave, but she chose to remain in Requitas. We couldn't help her any further. By then, Millen's eyes were already on us. Even if we shook off our tail, looking after Isha continuously was impossible. Not only was it too dangerous, but we also had our own objective of erasing any trace of Crux. Goodwill had to remain just goodwill.
'But is this really enough?'
Only a few years remained until the start of the original story. If things didn't change, only tragedy awaited us. That was the one thing I could never allow. I didn't want to die. And naturally, I didn't want to watch Sirien die either. By now, Sirien was more precious to me than my own life. Even if it was something minor, I had to steer things toward a better path. We had suffered enough. We didn't need to experience the same tragedy we did at the cabin ever again.
Just then, the sword at my waist caught my eye. It was an ordinary blade, but because I had used it for so long, my divine power was thoroughly infused into the steel. Sirien could track her own divine power. I couldn't deliberately leave traces behind like she did. But if it was divine power that had already seeped into the weapon... wouldn't I be able to track it too?
Russell had a premonition. To be precise, he couldn't help but have one.
"I believe this is our chance. What do you think?"
"I agree."
The administrative officer nodded. He was a man who had served Russell for a long time. Their opinions usually aligned, and this time was no exception.
The night felt unusually chaotic. It wasn't strange for the nights in Requitas to be loud. In fact, a quiet night was what truly felt out of place in this lawless land. A city of luxury and pleasure. Just as a bright light casts a deep shadow, Requitas had a night life as brilliant as its dark underbelly.
But tonight, the chaos was of a different nature. Instead of lust and pleasure, blood and death flooded the city. There were no coquettish sighs of women, only terrible screams echoing through the streets.
"Will you make your decision now?"
"I must. If we miss this moment, I doubt an opportunity like this will ever come again."
"But your injuries haven't fully healed yet."
"Even if I were in perfect condition, I don't think I could match that knight."
A soft chuckle escaped the administrative officer.
"It certainly seems so. Besides, aren't you about at retirement age anyway?"
"I'm not that old yet."
"I can see grey hairs even from here. Oh, look at how many there are."
"..."
An unidentified knight was ruthlessly demolishing the Sewer Rats' strongholds. It was an incredibly violent and crude method—one Russell would never have even dreamed of in his entire life. Yet, he couldn't deny its sheer effectiveness.
The knight in black armor charged straight into the outer wall of a building. Excluding the pleasure district, most buildings in Requitas were poorly constructed. This was especially true for a crude den where the Sewer Rats gathered to puff away on drugs.
The building's wall crumbled helplessly, allowing the knight to breach the interior. Upon his armor, illegible runes glowed with a blood-red light. His greatsword was enveloped in a dark crimson aura. As he unleashed irresistible violence, the inside of the building was painted in the same bloody hue.
It took mere minutes for one of the Sewer Rats' strongholds to be reduced to ruins. At this point, Russell wondered if it was even correct to call this monster a knight. His fighting style was closer to that of a wild beast than a human. Driven by overwhelming strength and destructive power, his blade reaped every life that stood in his way.
If Death or Killing Intent itself were to manifest in the world and wield a sword, would it not look exactly like this? Moreover, that blood-red color... Russell felt an ominous dread from that crimson light. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't understand why it also felt strangely divine. Could that sinister, terrifying power truly be divinity? It was utterly hard to believe.
"Has there ever been such an ominous divine power in this world?"
"I'm not even sure if that is divine power."
"To be honest, neither am I. It makes all the knowledge I've accumulated over my life feel like a castle built on sand."
But yes. The identity of that knight, or the nature of the power he wielded, did not matter in the slightest. Russell was a man who would sell his soul to the devil if necessary. He had heard that the enemy of his enemy was his friend. If that friend was this powerful, he would welcome them with open arms.
Russell raised a red flag atop the dilapidated building, and his administrative officer lit a fire beside it. It was the signal flare announcing the start of their counterattack. He did not know how many members of the Crescent Moon were still alive. The numbers were likely devastatingly low. Even if they had survived, he couldn't be sure they would answer this call to assemble. It was highly possible that Russell would be thrown into this battle entirely alone, as his officer had absolutely no talent for fighting.
"I'm off."
"Yes. Please return safely."
Despite the odds, Russell fastened two swords to his waist. He no longer placed much value on his own life. There was no hesitation in his swift strides.
'In the end, either Millen or I must die.'
It was the final duty he had to perform as a father. If Russell died, Millen would stop pursuing Isha. The only person who held that 'dangerous information' would be gone. There would be no reason for Millen to waste time and money searching for her. Conversely, if he killed Millen, there would be no one left to hunt her down.
He didn't know how far that knight would go in tearing the Sewer Rats apart. His goal might simply be to destroy a few strongholds, or he might be aiming to kill Millen himself. But Millen was a cunning man. If the situation turned unfavorable, he would hide in a safe place to weather the storm, just as Russell had done. That alone would buy time. But time was merely time. Unless Isha left the Empire entirely, Millen's evil clutches would reach her eventually. He couldn't rest easy with just that.
'I brought a daughter into this world, yet I couldn't even love her properly.'
It was entirely due to his own shortcomings and foolishness. In Russell's own estimation, he was a broken man, missing a few screws, capable of nothing other than what he had done his whole life—killing people and gathering profitable information. He should never have trusted his own judgment. They said a truly foolish man never realizes his own stupidity, and he was the perfect example of that.
Looking back, it had stemmed from a simple, misguided thought. Even to him, Requitas was a dangerous place. He believed that the weak could not survive here, which was why he had been so harsh on Isha. He feared that showing her affection too often would make her heart soft. How could he have been so foolish? Of course, it was nonsense. They were all excuses. The truth was, he simply didn't know how to give love.
When his wife was alive, he thought everything would be fine. He believed she would be a good parent. But in reality, Russell only realized his own incompetence when he failed to protect even his own wife. After her death, it was easier to be a strict father than a good one. It was a cowardly, ugly escape from reality. Even though he had sworn never to let the same thing happen again, he was repeating the exact same mistake.
If there was only one thing he had done right in his life, it was that he had not ignored his daughter's desperation. When Isha ran away from home, he had searched for her like a madman. When he saw his daughter sobbing in front of the camellia tree, his heart had felt as if it were dropping into his stomach. He should have realized it then. He should have taken just one more step closer. Instead of waiting until she couldn't bear it anymore, he should have been a father who told her he loved her whenever the thought crossed his mind. Just that alone would have made things a little different.
Russell felt nothing but deep regret for the life he had lived.