What the Hell Are You Saying?
Kain's mind reeled at the absurdity. Tugwi Jeok-cheong, the absolute ruler of the Fan Empire, was bound to him by a grudge that no amount of empty words could erase. Just as he had once charged recklessly into the frozen tundra at the birth of the Ice Empress, the moment he heard a new Absolute Being had appeared in the underworld, Tugwi had come charging straight at Kain looking for a fight. That was the kind of man he was—someone who threw himself into battle without a second thought.
Yet here he was, claiming he had no intention of fighting. 'Even lies should make some sense.' The sheer ridiculousness of it made Kain turn his head.
"You don't seem to believe me."
Tugwi's laughter grew louder, clearly amused by the disbelief in Kain's eyes.
"But it's the truth, unfortunately. Fighting someone who isn't at full strength wouldn't be any fun."
In the silent, soundless space, the conductor swung his baton with passionate fervor. His movements were violent, almost like a dance. The orchestra featured electronic guitars and synthesizers alongside instruments never seen in traditional ensembles. It was the destruction of form, and from that destruction came rebirth. Judging by the expressions on the audience's faces, the performance must have been shockingly beautiful and magnificent. It was a shame he couldn't hear it.
"Why don't you undo this?"
"……."
"You're awfully on edge. Turns out you're more of a coward than I thought."
If he truly had no intention of fighting, he should have felt relief instead of maintaining such vigilance. Kain snorted at the sight of Tugwi shrugging his shoulders.
"I'm not scared. I just don't trust you."
It was a matter of credibility. If the Majoan had approached saying he had no desire to fight, that would have been one thing. But the one making the claim was Tugwi. No one in this world would believe those words.
"You already know a flimsy barrier like this can't stop me, right?"
"Try it."
"You sure I can?"
Tugwi turned his head. His indifferent black eyes, devoid of emotion, locked precisely onto the seat beside Kain—onto Arina, who remained completely unaware of the situation as she focused on the orchestra performance. His gaze was asking a silent question: Could Kain really fight him while protecting that girl?
"I told you not to make me repeat myself."
Kain's violet-tinged Evil Eye flared behind his thick glasses, blocking that gaze with a fierce warning that he would kill Tugwi at the slightest provocation.
"……I take back the coward comment."
As expected, the Death King was an interesting fellow. A man whose pride would break before it ever bent. He met provocation with provocation and refused to yield even an inch, no matter how disadvantageous the situation. With a gesture of surrender, Tugwi raised both arms.
"Like I said earlier, I have no interest in fighting someone who isn't at full strength."
The Death King was a rare opponent worth fighting after so long. Tugwi had no desire to clash with him under any handicap. Even if Tugwi himself didn't touch the girl, the Death King's attention would inevitably be split.
"I'm just here as an observer. If you don't pull any stunts, I won't get involved."
An observer, huh… Kain fell into brief thought at Tugwi's words. Who would dare use an Absolute Being as a mere watcher? More importantly, Tugwi himself was not the type to be ordered around by anyone. That meant he had come here of his own volition.
"Tsk."
After drumming his fingers on the armrest for a moment, Kain clicked his tongue softly once he had organized his thoughts.
"Terrorism?"
"Oh, correct."
"And the target is one of the Seven Deadly Sins."
"Also correct."
Kain was being preemptively blocked from intervening. It meant someone was trying to directly interfere within his domain. People who held grudges against those under Kain's protection, yet bore no direct grudge against Kain himself. Among them, the only group directly connected to Tugwi was the Tugwi Guard, who had suffered direct losses in the underworld.
Though Tugwi and the Fan Empire had publicly denied any connection to them, Kain had never believed a word of it.
'Pride hasn't contacted me at all.'
The Tugwi Guard had moved to hunt the underworld. Tugwi's appearance here meant the expected site of the incident was Vivaldi. Yet even knowing Kain was present, Pride had sent no word. There was no way Pride hadn't known. The fact that he hadn't contacted Kain meant Pride had judged that his own forces were sufficient to handle the matter. He knew how much Kain disliked being dragged into unnecessary affairs. Considering the recent Ice Empress incident and the fact that Kain was currently traveling with Arina, Pride had likely intended to resolve everything without saying a word.
In other words, Pride had never even considered the possibility that Tugwi himself would move. If he had known Tugwi was coming, he never would have been so confident.
"So in the end, you're saying you stuck your nose in because of pointless worry?"
Only an Absolute Being could face another Absolute Being. Kain had no intention of getting involved in this incident, but the other side didn't know that. Or perhaps they did know, and had accounted for it. If one of the Seven Deadly Sins truly faced death, there was no guarantee Kain wouldn't intervene personally. That was why they had sent Tugwi—to directly monitor Kain and ensure he stayed out of the matter.
"……."
Kain glanced sideways. The stage where the orchestra poured their entire souls into the performance was bathed in countless spotlights, while the audience seats remained shrouded in darkness. There, Kain's eyes met Jealousy's. Disguised as Professor Clara, Jealousy nodded at Kain's gaze. Then he melted into the shadows and vanished. A smirk close to a sneer formed on Kain's lips as he watched.
"I don't really care, but are you sure about this? Your subordinates are about to die soon."
He had no concern whatsoever that his side might lose. Pride had already judged it possible. Therefore, failure was never an option.
"That doesn't matter to me either."
Unlike Kain, who was indifferent to most things yet possessed a sense of ownership over those he had taken in, Tugwi felt nothing of the sort. In fact, he didn't even consider them his subordinates to begin with. To Tugwi, they were merely a group that followed him of their own accord. He had come here half out of curiosity to see the Death King in person, so whether they lived or died was of little concern to him.
"We'll just keep watching each other and stay out of it."
Tugwi would monitor Kain to ensure he didn't pull any tricks. Kain would watch Tugwi to make sure he didn't suddenly change his mind and unleash his impulses. In this isolated world where even sound was cut off, they would endlessly guard against one another. Tugwi grinned, his usual madness barely concealed, as he gazed at the stage filled only with silence.
"Hmph."
Kain snorted at those words and simply stared straight ahead, just like Tugwi, never taking his eyes off the conductor who danced violently among the countless instruments on the soundless stage.
The midday sun lingered high in the sky long after it should have been time to head home. The day stretched on, stealing time that rightfully belonged to night.
"Whew, it's finally over."
The long police job experience had come to an end today. It had been far more eventful than expected, starting with the arrest of a wanted criminal on the very first day. Though he had received a stern lecture because of it, overall it had been a good experience. Feeling refreshed, Togun stretched and turned to Jeon, who was following behind him.
"Hyung, what should we eat for dinner?"
"……I don't know."
Jeon answered a beat late, walking along in a daze. He seemed lost in thought, his mind elsewhere. But since he had been like this for an entire week ever since seeing Julia Evergreen arrest Laden, there was little worry on Togun's face.
'Did something shock him?'
Togun didn't know the reason, but perhaps Jeon had been stimulated by something. Though for different reasons, Togun himself had once wandered around in a similar daze for several days when he had decided on his dream despite everyone's objections.
And indeed, just as Togun suspected, Jeon had been deep in thought for the past few days.
'I'm still immature.'
He had thought the only thing lacking to become a special police officer was skill. He had assumed that if he trained hard enough, he would definitely get in. He had believed his resolve was second to none and that simply harboring hatred toward criminals would be enough. But he was wrong. The one who was naive and immature was himself.
'Don't draw lines between good and evil. Judge objectively according to the law's standards.'
Criminals were evil. And evil must be punished. The moment he learned that criminals were also victims, his intuitive and overly broad values crumbled far too easily.
'I need to forge an unshakable sense of duty.'
A personal sense of justice that would allow him to move forward without the slightest hesitation. Without it, he could never survive in the Special Investigation Unit.
'What is it that I want to do as a special police officer?'
In the past, revenge would have been the first thing on his lips. And even now, that hadn't really changed. But strangely, it had become difficult to say it out loud. It meant his conviction wasn't as solid as he thought. Someone like the music world's master, Lenny Fowler, who possessed unshakable beliefs, could proudly voice them no matter what others thought.
"The food we had the day before yesterday was pretty good. Should we go again?"
Julia Evergreen's words had clearly shaken Jeon Raydel's heart. But at the same time, it was something he couldn't decide in this moment. It was something that needed to be carefully built over a long period of time. Fortunately, he still had plenty of time left. While attending Benedict Academy, he could continue thinking about it.
Doing his best to shake off the complicated thoughts, Jeon looked at Togun and answered.
"If it was the day before yesterday, was that the fried rice with pineapple?"
Vivaldi was a city heavily influenced by the great nature of Yggdrasil. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon to see traditional Yggdrasil dishes while walking down the street.
'Did he like the taste?'
Personally, Jeon hadn't been a fan. Togun tilted his head at Jeon's words. But since it wasn't completely inedible, he nodded readily.
"Yeah, sounds good."
Jeon nodded as well at Togun's response.
'So he really does like that food.'
Jeon remembered how Togun had wolfed it down with such relish back then. Of course, the truth was that Togun had simply been starving after oversleeping because he forgot to set his alarm the night before. But unaware of this, Jeon could only assume Togun liked the dish.
'It wasn't to my taste, but since he likes it…'
An excessive amount of consideration and compromise toward each other. As a result, a dinner menu that neither of them actually wanted was decided upon.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Just as they were heading toward the pineapple fried rice restaurant, each lost in their own thoughts, a distant scream suddenly reached their ears. Without needing to exchange words, both turned around at once. Even from afar, they could tell it wasn't a cheer but a scream. At the same time, they sensed commotion coming from the direction of Ariaadna Square. After briefly meeting each other's eyes, the two nodded simultaneously and broke into a run toward the source of the disturbance.