Even in Sleep, the Child Remembers
A child engraves the sounds around them into their heart even while asleep.
"Just toss them a few coins and kick them out."
"So what if they're my dead brother's kids? The old man kicked the bucket anyway. This merchant group is mine now, so why can't I do what I want?"
"More importantly, what was it again? The reason my brother left for good before he died?"
"A contract with the Nepiri ducal house? Not bad. That alone could skyrocket the group's growth overnight."
"What are you doing? Wrap up the funeral and get back to work! A ducal house, you say? If you're late, you're taking full responsibility!"
At his father's funeral. The man who had stolen every bit of inheritance that should have gone to them and thrown his young sister and him out onto the streets. The same man who had merely ridden on the achievements his father had built and grown the Nasara Merchant Group into something far greater. Those words he had uttered back then had remained painfully lodged in the heart of the boy who had been sleeping in his sister's arms.
"So you were still alive?"
Decken Nasara. The former head of the Nasara Merchant Group, now erased from the continent. And the very first target the man who never forgot a grudge had wiped out when he began his activities on the continent after conquering the underworld.
"My subordinates must have done a sloppy job."
He had clearly ordered them to erase everything related to the Nasara Merchant Group. Yet here was its former master, standing right in front of him. And using his own black magic, no less. It was so absurd he could barely find the words.
"……"
Even at his bleak remark, the man—Meckken Nasara—could not open his mouth. The pitch-black sky. The oppressive atmosphere weighing down on the surroundings. And the horde of zombies bowing their heads as if in worship. He could not have forgotten. He could never have forgotten. How could he? When the Nasara Merchant Group had fallen, and on the day he had been murdered and died once before, the sky had been just as dark and black.
The being known as the Death King was an unknown figure with no information available. Unlike the other four Absolutes who ruled over the continent divided into four parts, his very existence had never been properly confirmed. The pinnacle of evil who had unified all underworlds of the continent and swallowed the entire subterranean world whole. No one knew his name. No one knew his face. Even Tugwi and the Empress, who had waged war against him, had only fought his summons and never confronted him directly. That was why he remained nothing more than a legend across the continent. But one thing was certain. The moment he moved, the sky would always turn black, as if even light feared him and hid away. That was why people called him Heokcheon. The strongest black mage in history. The king of the dead who ruled over the deceased. Sawang Heokcheon. The fifth Absolute of the continent had revealed himself before him after so long.
"How ridiculous."
Reading the zombie's memories, he grasped everything that had happened here. At the same time, an involuntary chuckle escaped his lips. The Nasara Merchant Group had been destroyed by his hand, and its influence had been transferred intact to the Grant Merchant Group. The reason was simple. His sister, Kayen at the time, had also never forgotten her grudge and had been targeting the Nasara Merchant Group just like him. He had merely helped her plan along a little while destroying the Nasara Merchant Group. Sending anonymous messages warning that the Nasara Merchant Group would disappear, for instance.
"If you wanted revenge, you should have come after me directly."
Anyway, because of that, he had come to hold a grudge against the Grant Merchant Group. Claiming that the Grant Merchant Group had taken everything from him. It was a truly laughable point. The one who had actually destroyed the Nasara Merchant Group was the Death King, yet instead of daring to challenge him, the man had taken out his anger elsewhere. And on top of that, he had proudly learned the Death King's black magic.
"You really are the same piece of trash you've always been."
He had been like that since the past. Both at his father's funeral and at this very moment. He was the same typical trash, completely unchanged.
"Why are you here……"
"Wrong. I was here first, and you just happened to show up."
"……"
"You did a fine job laying your hands on that kid."
Thanks to that, he was genuinely angry for the first time in a while. Normally, he would not have even bothered feeling anything toward such trash. But right now, the irritation of wanting to kill him was surging up intensely.
"I won't let you die easily."
Thud!
At Kain's words, something pierced Meckken's back from behind. It was a sword glowing black. A pitch-black abyss opened in the air, and from within emerged a skeleton that unleashed an ominous light as it twisted the sword piercing his heart. A Death Knight. An apex undead that could not even be compared to the zombies Meckken had summoned. Especially those directly summoned by the Death King were nearly on par with 8-star superhumans. Such monsters were crawling up endlessly from beyond the distant abyss onto the surface.
"……"
Blood dripped down the tip of the sword onto the floor. It was truly strange. His heart had clearly been pierced. From his experience of dying once before, this single strike should have killed him instantly without any issue. Yet for some reason, he was still alive.
"You can't die yet."
The world said that the Death King was a being who transcended even death. No one in this world could live or die recklessly in his presence. A monster who governed the life and death of all. And at this moment, he was denying Meckken's death.
"As you wished, I've completely isolated this department store from the outside using my power. Unless Majoan himself comes, the rescue team will never get in here."
"……"
"So relax and keep doing what you were doing with the kid. From what I read in your memories, you were having quite a bit of fun."
Squelch. Poison gas spewed from the corpses contaminated his insides. Zombies bit into Meckken's limbs. Death Knights minced his skin with their swords.
"Kuaaaaaagh!!"
Honestly, he had taken death lightly. After dying and coming back to life, he could not help but do so. That was why he had so easily resolved to take revenge. After being revived in the underworld, he had realized that the Grant Merchant Group had stolen everything his merchant group had built. Then, while wandering the underworld by chance, he had discovered the Death King's black magic. With such a lighthearted thought, he had caused this catastrophe. And the price had come much faster than expected. A price so vicious and horrific.
"Stop! Please, just stooooop!"
He screamed loudly, begging to be spared. But salvation did not come. And it continued until that plea turned into a desperate cry to be killed. Even as his entire body disappeared and more than half his head was gone, he tenaciously clung to life. Meckken's breath finally cut off after enduring the full pain without even going mad from Kain's curse.
"Hah!"
And he woke from the dream. What he realized upon regaining consciousness was that his limbs were still intact. In that moment of confusion rushing in, thud. A Death Knight's sword flew from behind and pierced his heart. Looking down at his face with a bleak, emotionless gaze, Kain spoke.
"I wonder how many times you'll have to die before I feel better."
"……!"
It was not the end. It was only the beginning. That hell was starting all over again. Damn it, he hated this. He hated it so much more. Please just kill him. Someone, anyone, kill him again. Let him escape from that demon. He did not want to suffer anymore. He would never return here after being thrown back into the underworld again. So please……
"There are no miracles in this world."
Just as no one had come to save the countless people who had died in the terror he had caused, no one would come to save him this time either. Because the world was originally this cruel and merciless.
"Now, it's time to wake up from the dream again."
Just like before, at the moment his neck was severed, time reversed and Meckken woke from his sleep. And the same thing repeated once more. Watching it leisurely, Kain picked up the camera Meckken had dropped.
"It recorded well."
And while confirming the scene of Meckken dying endlessly, he smashed the camera in one go. That was all the content captured on the camera. Since all the data was destroyed, it would never be taken outside. Now, this was the full story of the incident that no one except Kain would ever know.
"What are you doing! Move faster!"
After Kain roughly wrapped up the incident. The moment his black magic that had pulled the entire department store into his Inner World and isolated it from the world was released, the police rushed inside the department store in a hurry. Leading them was a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes. A familiar face. He was clearly the prince of this country. No, since he was the only prince of the Ellemental Kingdom, it would not be strange to call him the crown prince. In terms of position, he was the top figure in this country. Such a person was urging the police on with a somewhat pale face.
'Come to think of it, there was one more girl inside who looked about the kid's age.'
Judging from their matching hair and eye colors, they must be siblings? He remembered hearing that the prince of this country cherished his much younger sister, the princess, dearly. Before settling in this country, Pride had forced some materials on him, saying they might be useful information. He had read them a few times, treating it like reading a book.
"……"
After roughly venting his anger on Meckken and coming out of the department store, Kain blended in among the nearby people who had gathered due to the sudden commotion, moving only through blind spots to escape outside without issue.
'I don't want anything troublesome.'
The situation had escalated quite a bit. To name it, the Grant Department Store Massacre. All the working clerks had been wiped out. Except for a very small number, all the customers who had come had died as well. Even now, inside the department store, the zombies Kain had left behind because dealing with them was too bothersome were rampaging in all directions. Since it was the weekend and there had been a lot of foot traffic inside the department store, the estimated casualties alone were easily over several thousand. If he were caught in perfect condition in this situation, he would waste a lot of time and suffer all sorts of indignities. Of course, if he contacted Pride, he would move the underworld of this country to cover up the incident somehow. But if that happened, there was a chance he might be discovered by Majoan.
'No, maybe I've already been discovered.'
After reading the report on this incident, they might discover something unusual. Well, he could think about what to do when the time came. As long as he was not caught directly, it should be fine. Probably.
"Mmm."
Just as Kain was lost in thought for a moment, he heard the kid's whining from behind his back. Had she woken up? But it was not time for her to wake yet. Wondering, he glanced back, but it seemed that was not the case, as Arina only buried her face deeper into his back while rubbing her head against him.
"Uncle, thank you."
"……"
She had not completely fallen asleep after all, as sleep-talk slipped from her mouth. It meant her tension had eased that much. Maybe she had even realized that the incident had completely ended. Even if a child fell asleep, they tended to hear external sounds and engrave them in their heart.
"Yeah, you did well too."
Childcare was truly troublesome. There were many things to take responsibility for and many things to worry about. For him, who had lived his whole life doing whatever he wanted without any restraint, Arina's existence was like shackles he had never had before. But why was it? Even looking at her like this, he did not feel strangely bad or unpleasant. Was it simply because Arina was the daughter his sister had entrusted to him? Or had he grown attached after living together for two years?
"Arina."
He did not know the reason, but one thing was certain. Now, he too was slowly accepting Arina as his family. After his sister who had died two years ago, a new family had appeared for him.
—Please take good care of my daughter.
The words his sister had said before dying flashed through his mind. At first, it had been a relationship formed simply because of his sister's request. But now it was different. No, it was changing.
"……"
Just like Kain's footsteps walking home with Arina on his back under the evening sunset where the birds were gradually disappearing. The story of two people who had started as complete strangers and were turning into family had only just begun.