Dust Rose (3)
When I arrived in Dust Rose territory...
It was already a scene from hell.
Before I could even take stock of the situation, a few Black Claw thugs with madness gleaming in their eyes approached me.
"Hey, you punks from Dust Rose?"
A sleazy voice laced with repulsive laughter rang out as they looked us up and down, mocking us.
"But... for a kid, you're kinda tall, huh?"
"Whatever! He's here, so just kill him!"
"This is on you guys. Heh heh heh... how should we do it?"
That was the moment they came at us, cackling.
Then, the eyes of the Black Claw thug leading the pack widened in shock.
He seemed to spot something behind me and froze on the spot.
"H-Hey... that guy...!"
His stammering voice twisted with raw terror.
His sudden change threw his buddies into irritation.
"What the hell, man! Scared 'cause he's tall?!"
"Idiot! What're you doing? Hurry up!"
But the first guy was already ashen-faced.
His finger trembled as he pointed at Rynel behind me.
"N-No... look there... it's Rynel...!"
"What?! Rynel? You moron! You think a Jin Gang executive would be slumming it here? Cut the bullshit!"
The cocky one still wouldn't buy it.
"Fine, if it's really Rynel, I'll give you all my shit..."
Sneering at his terrified comrade, the cocky Black Claw thug strode forward with a snort.
Crusher Rynel? What a joke! No way a Jin Gang exec would show up in this rundown slum—especially Dust Rose turf.
He figured his buddy was hallucinating from fear.
But... his bold steps halted abruptly, his eyes shaking with shock and horror.
The smirk vanished from his face, replaced by creeping gray terror.
"...Wh... why... how... are you here...?"
He muttered in disbelief, voice quivering.
The hulking man before him. The mountain-like shield on his back. The crude brown armor etched with the unmistakable Jin Gang shield emblem.
To anyone living on Cheongam Mountain, this was an icon they couldn't ignore.
CrusherRynel.
The eerie nickname hit them, confirming this was a Jin Gang executive.
The captain had been absent for years. Who should the people of Cheongam Fortress fear?
A captain they'd never even seen, who never showed? Or the executives right in front of them, who could snatch their lives in an instant—the true power of Jin Gang?
Obviously the latter.
With the captain gone for years, the real symbols of terror for Cheongam Fortress residents were Jin Gang's executives.
They enforced the fortress's brutal order, claiming countless lives.
They were walking disasters.
And among them, Crusher Rynel had the worst reputation.
As Crusher Rynel's form appeared before them, tales of his infamy flashed through the Black Claw thugs' minds like a montage—or lightning.
The gruesome incident in the western district where he pulverized a mercenary blocking his path with his shield, leaving not a scrap of flesh.
The story of a slum gang that encroached on Jin Gang turf—their hideout smashed flat with his shield, then every fleeing member hunted and crushed without trace.
Even rumors he'd smashed a subordinate's pelvis with his shield on the spot for spilling hot magic potion on his clothes.
Whether true or exaggerated didn't matter.
What counted was that every story proved Crusher Rynel was a dangerous, brutal, unpredictable force never to defy.
One by one, the Black Claw thugs' legs gave out.
Unable even to scream, they dropped to their knees, foreheads to the dirt, begging for mercy.
"Please... spare our lives!"
"This was all on Crow's orders! We never wanted to cause harm!"
"Yes! We just wanted to live normal lives!"
Before death's shadow, all slum convictions crumbled like sandcastles.
But they were fatally mistaken.
Their lives hung not on Rynel's mood, but my will.
"Lord Astra, what are your orders?"
"......!"
Terror and shock spread across the Black Claws' faces.
Why? Because the only one a Jin Gang executive like Rynel would address with honorifics in all of Cheongam Fortress was one man.
Jin Gang's new captain. The Crusher's master. The pinnacle of all order.
Me.
The tension in the air thickened.
They finally realized who held their fates.
I gazed down at them coldly, trembling in fear.
No emotion stirred in me.
Either way, today... Black Claw ends.
I opened my mouth and sealed their doom with two words.
"Deal with them."
At my command, a chilling aura erupted from behind Rynel.
Before the kneeling Black Claws could scream... the crushing began.
Dull thuds mixed with snapping bones and tearing flesh echoed out. But I didn't turn around.
Ignoring the screams, I scanned the surroundings.
To find Rion—one of my reasons for coming—I decided to check likely hiding spots first.
Slowly, I lifted a nearby collapsed tent flap.
And inside... I spotted small huddled silhouettes.
Children.
Dust Rose kids, huh.
...That was the moment.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion ripped the air as massive flames surged up.
From the exact tent where the kids hid—and I'd just peeked in.
But before the blast wave could hit us—
Whoooong!!!
A blue glow flashed from Rynel's massive shield.
His Supernatural Ability.
A defensive barrier unleashing powerful shockwaves deployed instantly before the tent.
Crusher Rynel. Merciless crusher in offense, but at his core—a steadfast shield.
Amid the smoking tent wreckage, Rynel—having finished his crushing—rushed over and blocked my path.
Worry etched his rugged face.
"Are you alright, Lord Astra?"
I replied calmly, feigning nonchalance.
"Yes."
But inside, I was shaking.
Fuck... that was close.
Then, from the kids' tent, a girl suddenly bolted out.
Moving desperately, like entranced. I watched, then instinctively followed.
Where the girl stopped. A boy knelt, staring blankly in shock.
I approached the boy slowly.
My eyes went to his side.
Sword at his hip—must be a fighter like Rion.
"Where's Rion?"
At my question, the boy snapped to.
Without hesitation, as if he'd been waiting, he spilled the situation. Fear and desperation laced his voice.
"Right now... he's in a one-on-one with Crow... Rion's losing! Please... save him!"
Rion's losing...
"Lead the way."
* * *
Clang! Boom! Crack! Thud!
Red trails slashed the air. Explosive booms rang nonstop.
Exchanges too fast for normal eyes to follow.
Rion's Supernatural Ability turned his hands into beast claws.
Sharper and harder than blades, they carved red afterimages through the air.
Yet Rion's all-out strikes were effortlessly parried and dismantled by Crow's casual sweeps.
"Die! Die! Die!"
As time dragged, desperation gripped Rion.
With the kids' fates unknown, he couldn't help but grow frantic.
And the Crow before him wasn't even fighting seriously.
Like an adult toying with a child, he deflected Rion's assaults with leisure.
The gap was this wide?
Screeech—slash!
Suddenly, Crow deflected Rion's hand with his sword's flat and slashed his gut.
"Argh!"
The impact sent Rion crumpling with a pained groan.
Crow grinned down at him.
"Get up. If you stay down, all the Dust Rose kids die, y'know?"
"You bastard..."
Rage and pain fueled Rion's struggle to rise.
But his legs wouldn't hold.
Lost... too much blood.
Countless wounds from the relentless clash—sliced by blades, battered by fists, staggered by ability backlash...
But that gut strike was deadlier than all combined.
Crow tilted his head at the fallen Rion, vile smile intact.
"Hmm... not enough pain, huh?"
Like toying with a bug, he approached slowly, raising his sword again.
This time, no hesitation—he swung at Rion's leg.
Rion rolled instinctively.
The cold blade grazed his thigh by a hair.
He dodged, but every move sent agony from his gut.
Crow sneered at the evasion.
"How long can you last?"
He kept swinging.
At Rion's legs, shoulders, flanks... Each roll and dodge met gruesome near-misses.
Sometimes flesh tore with sickening rips.
"Ha..."
"One last chance. You're no scrub—worth having under me."
"What're you saying."
"Kill all the kids under you with your own hands, come to me, and I'll spare you. Deal?"
To Rion, it wasn't worth considering.
"Shut up!"
"Fine? Then die."
As Crow's blade arced for Rion's throat, silence blanketed the space—an immense pressure crushed Crow.
"Guh... wh-what?!"
Step—step—
A stranger. But an unprecedented aura poured from him.
"That's far enough. Now I'll play with you."