I Won't Forgive You
The western outskirts. In a desolate valley long abandoned by human footsteps, the entrance to the Graveyard of Bones loomed ominously. A barren wasteland where thick fog and malevolent mana swirled together, obscuring even the sky. Every time a chilling wind slipped through the cracks in the rocks, an eerie sound like clattering bones echoed throughout the entire valley.
Swish. A black hood sliced silently through the night mist. Step. Step. I adjusted the eyepatch that half-covered my face and began walking toward the entrance of the Graveyard of Bones.
In truth, thanks to all the odd jobs I'd taken on as a fixer, I'd already accumulated enough wealth to live comfortably for the rest of my life without envy. A massive fortune—enough to buy several fine buildings in the heart of the capital and still have plenty left over—sat untouched in my secret vault. If this had been about money, there would have been no reason to come to this foul-smelling dungeon of my own free will.
My true objective was something else entirely.
That insane woman…
When I first opened my eyes in the back alleys, I had to drench myself in blood just to survive. The worst connection I made during that time was with the boss. The head of the underworld's most powerful organization. Our first meeting had been on a blood-soaked pile of corpses, where she sat elegantly and reached out to me with interest after I'd barely survived a fight against professional killers.
I'd survived the assassins' attack by the skin of my teeth. She looked at me with fascination and extended her hand. That was the beginning of our cursed bond.
She was a woman like a blood-red rose covered in thorns. Every word that fell from her crimson lips was sweet poison, and the atrocities she committed were unimaginably cruel.
Even as she tore apart and hung the limbs of executives who had disobeyed her orders, she would whisper to me every night in a voice that made my skin crawl.
She coveted my exceptional talent and carved a terrible brand into both my soul and body. Even now, as I hid from the organization and tried to live quietly, that brand gnawed at my life like a time bomb ready to detonate at any moment.
The Seal of the Serpent. The broker had dismissed it as nothing more than a relic from a fallen house, but it was the only tool capable of severing that vile connection. In short, I needed it to become completely free.
Kiiiiieeeeek—!
From the darkness, skeleton knights with glowing blue eyes raised their swords and charged. True to the dungeon's name, an endless horde of undead clawed their way up from the dirt floor.
"What a nuisance."
I muttered coldly and drew two daggers from my waist. Shaaaak—! Like a shadow, I slipped through the gaps between the enemies, precisely carving out only the organic joints between their bones. Every time my daggers sliced through the air, they left behind a chilling trail. The charging skeletons shattered without even a scream.
Tap. Thud.
In mere dozens of seconds, I had reduced dozens of undead to nothing but bone dust. Without hesitation, I pressed deeper into the dungeon's heart. There, floating in the air above a massive altar and radiating red mana, was a blue gem seal.
Found it.
Just as I was about to step toward the altar—
Swish—!
Sharp projectiles flew at my neck accompanied by black smoke. I twisted my head slightly to dodge them, then knocked the incoming weapons away with my daggers. Clang! Sparks flew with the impact.
"As expected of Black Jack. You really did crawl in here like a rat."
Hsssss.
The shadows stretched grotesquely, and men in formal suits rose from the darkness like ghosts. On their chests was an emblem I knew all too well—a blood-soaked blade. They were the boss's personal trackers. It seemed they'd finally chased me all the way here.
The man at the front of the trackers let out a sinister voice from behind his cold mask.
"It's been a while, Black Jack. Or should I say, traitor of the organization. I never thought you'd lay your hands on the boss's property."
"If your eyes are so sharp, why the hell did you crawl all the way here just to get your hides peeled?"
I gripped my daggers in reverse and sneered. The man shrugged as if amused and continued.
"Know your place. No matter how much you run, you'll always be nothing but trash at the bottom."
He slowly drew the sword from his waist. With the arrogant stride of someone who already held my life in his grasp, he took a single step forward.
"The boss wants you back. She's still waiting for you to return to where you belong."
"Ha."
"Hand over the seal obediently and come back. That's the only way you'll return with all your limbs intact."
"Return? Don't make me laugh."
A wave of intense disgust surged up in an instant.
"That damn woman."
I spat the words through gritted teeth. I'd gone through hell and back just to get away from that lunatic.
"Tell her this. If she comes near me again, I'll rip that slender neck of hers clean off."
I adjusted my grip on my weapons and released my killing intent. The trackers' faces twisted in fury at my words.
"You crazy bastard! How dare you insult the boss? A traitor like you only has a big mouth!"
"Your head's the one that'll get torn off first, Black Jack!"
Rough curses flew from all directions as blue killing intent poured from their bodies, filling the altar. It was pure, vicious hostility—the kind that said they would tear me limb from limb at any moment. Their coordinated movements as they aimed for my vital points were exactly what you'd expect from the organization's elite.
I frowned deeply.
What a pain in the ass.
Just as I was about to engage—
"…Ah."
A faint sound, like a delicate whimper, echoed through the cavern.
Boom!
Suddenly, an intensely cold mana surged through the air. Right after, a transparent, thin barrier shot up from the ground right in front of me.
".....!!"
I reflexively raised my daggers, but the barrier wasn't meant to harm me. Instead, it rose like an iron wall, perfectly separating me from the organization's trackers.
The sharp sword energy of the assassins—which could slice through thick stone walls in a single blow—bounced off the barrier uselessly. It was a mana barrier of overwhelming density, yet deeply ominous. While the men faltered in confusion, a small silhouette emerged from the thick fog beyond.
"……Estelle?"
There stood the child who should have been waiting obediently back at the hideout. She had clearly disobeyed me and followed secretly. She'd trailed an assassin like me all the way down this treacherous path without making a single sound.
It sent a chill down my spine.
To be able to control mana with such precision at this age…
What she had just deployed, though small in scale, was undeniably a barrier spell. The density was enough to instantly repel the attacks of first-rate killers. Was this the early sign of her emerging as the final boss of the Holy Law?
But my surprise lasted only a moment. When I saw Estelle's face, I froze. Unexpectedly, the child was crying her eyes out.
"Why… why did you abandon me?"
I quickly approached Estelle and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I didn't abandon you. I just left you for a moment because it was dangerous. So stop crying."
At my calm voice, Estelle's sobs abruptly stopped.
"Really?"
She looked up at me with wide eyes. I lowered myself to her eye level and gently brushed the dirt from her cheeks. My voice was as gentle and low as possible. I had to soothe this unstable child somehow.
When my hand touched her, I could feel her ragged breathing gradually calming down.
Then, Estelle looked coldly at the trackers standing behind me and asked,
"By the way… who are those people?"
"They're nothing. Just some uninvited guests from my old workplace. I'll chase them off soon, so don't worry."
"Uninvited guests…"
In Estelle's mind, a terrible misunderstanding was perfectly completed. Men with vicious faces covered in scars. Disgusting mouths spouting nonsense. Only then did it all make sense to her.
Ah, so he left because of them. He didn't abandon me.
Estelle's eyes grew icy cold. A dark shadow that didn't belong on a child's face fell over her features. At that moment, the trackers began spewing their killing intent and growling menacingly. Nonsense about returning to the boss, handing over the seal, and so on.
"........."
After quietly listening to their words, Estelle reached a single conclusion.
I see. These filthy things are trying to take away my only light.
The man who had given her her first warm meal and bed. The one and only salvation she never wanted to lose. The monsters trying to steal him away.
In an instant, the focus disappeared from Estelle's eyes, turning them into dead, hollow voids.
"I won't forgive you."