Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Translator: Penny
Chapter 32
Six Fingers (5)
Night Alley was different tonight.
A sign reading "Closed" hung on the door, and the interior was shrouded in eerie silence, the lights extinguished.
Something's off.
Josef, the bartender, muttered uneasily as he polished empty glasses, over and over. It was a nervous habit he fell into whenever anxiety gnawed at him.
It's been hours. Why hasn't anyone come? At least one team should have returned by now to report the results.
He lit a cigar in the darkness, as if trying to conceal his growing unease. The smoke swirling in his mouth and the lingering aroma calmed his nerves.
"Phew..."
"Enjoying that?"
A deep voice suddenly echoed from the shadows.
As Josef's worst fears materialized, he felt the blood drain from his body.
In the ink-black darkness, the owner of the voice moved first.
Without realizing it, Josef clamped down on his cigar, drew the one-handed sword he'd hidden beneath the bar, and slashed at the flickering shadows.
Whoosh!
But his opponent was faster.
A long sword swept horizontally, smashing everything on the bar to pieces.
Clang! Crash!
"Fuck!"
Josef managed to dodge the attack by throwing himself backward.
But he knew this stroke of luck wouldn't last.
Then, his opponent darted behind the bar like a shadow.
Clad in a dark leather armor beneath a long cloak, the figure seemed to embody the darkness itself.
How do you plan to swing that sword in this cramped space?!
The question lingered for only a moment.
The opponent's fist slammed into Josef's abdomen and face in rapid succession.
"Gah!"
Josef felt as if stars were exploding behind his eyes.
The salty, metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and nose.
He immediately thrust his sword forward in a desperate lunge.
But the opponent seemed to see through the darkness, evading Josef's attack once more.
Using the momentum from his dodge, the figure spun around and drove his elbow upward into Josef's jaw.
Crack!
Josef staggered, grabbed the bar for support, and leaped out of the cramped space.
"Kuh-ah!"
But the impact to his jaw had left him disoriented. He crashed through the neatly arranged chairs and tables in the hall, collapsing onto the floor.
Josef's knees and limbs throbbed with pain.
"Cough! You bastard... Who the hell are you?!" he sputtered, flailing on the floor as he glared at the figure clad in dark leather armor.
"Someone who runs the Dark Guild and brokers assassinations has no right to ask such a question," the armored figure replied coldly.
"You fucking... dog-shit bastard!" Josef cursed.
Suddenly, Josef realized the voice was familiar. He'd definitely heard it before.
"You... I remember now! You're the kid who came with Jacob, aren't you?!"
"Impressive memory."
The man was a wandering mercenary who had accompanied Jacob a couple of times. Josef had heard that Agron's inner circle had no one with that face. So why was he here?
"Judging by your expression, you haven't investigated me thoroughly."
"Y-you... what kind of bastard are you? Are you one of those Underworld Guild thugs?"
"I am Wolf, the Knight Commander and sword of His Excellency Count Agron."
"What...? Knight Commander?"
There's no way I wouldn't recognize someone of that rank.
Josef suddenly recalled a peculiar detail from his subordinates' reports:
This is the knight commander, but he always wears a helmet, so we can't see his face.
Has he been wandering around outside or trying to track us?
No, he just stays within the mansion grounds.
Then leave him be. We can't force him to show his face anyway.
"I-I remember now! You're that crazy bastard who always wears a helmet?!"
"I don't understand why I'm called crazy just for moving around within my usual area."
Wolf leaped over the bar and approached Josef.
"Ugh!"
Josef rose from his seat and swung his sword at Wolf.
But the attack had already lost much of its momentum.
Wolf raised his sword, effortlessly deflected the strike, and simultaneously lunged forward, pressing his blade against Josef's throat.
"Will you die here, or come quietly?"
"D-damn it...!"
"Trying to defeat me and escape is pointless. The family's knights have already surrounded this tavern."
"What?! Fuck! If you'd told me that first, I would have surrendered quietly without getting beaten!"
"...Hmm, you might have."
Wolf nodded quietly as he bound Josef's arms.
Agron set out to find the abandoned church Breaker had mentioned.
It was dawn, and the bright moonlight shattered the surrounding darkness, illuminating the forest path.
"This must be it," Agron muttered, spotting the church. Without hesitation, he threw open the church doors and strode inside.
Creak.
As he stepped inside, candles flickered in every corner, casting light on massive stone statues. Moonlight streamed through the stained-glass window high above, painting colorful patterns across the church floor.
Clomp, clomp, clomp.
Agron approached the church's raised platform.
There, kneeling in prayer near the platform, was a priest.
"What brings you here, Brother?" a voice, its age impossible to discern, broke the church's silence.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Who is this person, Brother?"
"He's the leader of an assassination organization."
"Oh dear... Is he here in this church?"
"Yes."
At Agron's answer, the priest stopped praying and rose from his seat. He was a young man with a pale complexion and a frail appearance.
"Shall I help you find what you're looking for, Brother?"
"There's no need. I've already found it."
"I see. I'd like to pray for that sinner. Where is he?"
The priest's dark, pitch-black eyes met Agron's blazing, sapphire-blue gaze.
"..."
"..."
In that moment, sparks flew through the air, and the deafening clang of metal devouring metal filled the space.
"You're quick."
"Heh heh, you're quite quick yourself, Brother."
The Priest, wielding twin axes, smiled kindly at Agron, who was adjusting his grip on his mace.
"Your presence here must mean the Breaker is dead."
"I showed him mercy and granted him a swift end."
"Oh dear, I suppose I should thank the gods for that."
"I doubt the gods will heed your prayers."
"...Ha."
The Priest's thin, crescent-shaped eyes curved into a smile.
In that instant, his axe struck with lightning speed.
Agron gauged the distance, took a step back, and parried the attack with his mace, attempting to land a punch in the opening.
But the Priest's other axe, like a living serpent, lunged at Agron's neck with razor-sharp fangs. Agron swiftly placed his foot on the axe handle and sprang backward, narrowly evading the strike.
A fierce exchange unfolded in barely a second.
"Impressive. Your physique is similar to the Breaker's, yet your speed surpasses mine."
"It's nothing special. Just tense your muscles and move."
"...? I see. I'll need to move faster too!"
The Priest's axe blade sliced through the air like cold moonlight, closing in to trap him.
Yet Agron's expression remained impassive.
His mace surged forward like an explosion, effortlessly parrying the axe blades that rained down from all directions.
CLANG!
"Ugh!"
For the first time, a groan escaped the Priest's lips.
Agron's monstrous strength had traveled through the axe blade and handle, sending a shockwave up his arm.
With each blocked attack, it felt as if someone were hammering his wrist, making his bones ache.
"Tch!"
The Priest retreated three or four steps, examining his axe and his hand.
The axe he had wielded his entire life had already stripped the skin from his palm, blood seeping through the raw flesh.
Neither of the axe blades had fared any better.
He discarded the more damaged axe, leaving the relatively intact one behind.
"Don't mistake this for surrender, Brother."
"I didn't say anything."
"Hah... It seems this is the only way to counter such monstrous strength."
The Priest unclasped his necklace and hung it on the end of the axe handle.
Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a chain shaped like a necklace.
"I have a question for you before you die."
"About what? Ah—could it be?"
"Did you kill Count and Countess Veilain?"
Meeting Agron's piercing blue gaze, the Priest hesitated for a moment before replying with a gentle smile, "Yes, I killed them."
Agron suppressed the surge of emotion and pressed on, "Why?"
"Why, you ask? Because I received a commission, Brother."
"Whose commission?"
"Ha ha, an assassin never reveals their client."
"Even if it means death?"
"Well, I might offer a hint or two. But only if I feel like it."
Agron nodded. "Then it seems it's my turn to ask before you die, Brother."
"What do you want to know?"
"Where did the Demon Lord of Cacciola go?"
The Ananta Followers were divided in their opinions after witnessing the ruins of Cacciola's dungeon.
One faction claimed the demon summoning had failed, while the other insisted the demon had been summoned but its whereabouts remained unknown.
The Priest personally suspected Agron might have allied with the demon, given his previous alliance with Vampir.
"A demon?"
"I have several questions. Did you become a thrall of Vampir? Or did you form an alliance? Or perhaps you became a thrall of the Demon Lord?"
Agron tilted his head at the questions.
"Vampir became my thrall. And I killed the demon."
"...?"
For the first time, the Priest's expression shifted strangely.
"There are two corrections I must make. First, Vampirs cannot become thralls of humans, even if they are Low-Grade Vampirs. Second, no human in this world can kill the Demon Lord."
"I can kill him."
"That's absurd, but... how?"
"Just beat him to death with my fists."
"..."
"For the record, I killed him by smashing his skull."
"Ha."
The Priest shook his head.
He gripped the chain bundle in one hand and held the end of the chain in the other, swinging the axe hanging from it like a pendulum.
It spun so rapidly that dust piled on the floor and chairs swirled into the air, scattering in all directions.
"Do you happen to know about 'Six Fingers'?"
"Isn't that your organization's name?"
"Incorrect. To be precise, 'Six Fingers' is—"
KWA-GA-GA...!
The axe, flung from the Priest's fingertips, hurtled through the air, smashing through the ceiling, floor, chairs, and statues with ferocious force.
"That's my name. They're merely my subordinates."
The Priest's six fingers twitched powerfully.
Each twitch caused the chain to tighten and slacken, sending the axe blade spinning in unpredictable directions.
Kwaa──ang!
The chain, which had wrapped around the statue, shifted its angle, sending the axe blade crashing down toward Agron.
A truly terrifying strike.
The scattered candles flickered out, and dust billowed in all directions.
"My god, Demon Lord, today I have sent another soul to join you."
The Priest smiled benevolently and tugged on the chain.
Charrrr─ Thunk!
"Hmm?"
The chain snagged on something, refusing to budge.
The Priest clicked his tongue in annoyance and yanked the chain again with renewed force.
At that moment, a brilliant blue flame slowly ignited from the spot where the axe blade had fallen, piercing the darkness.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny