019. Shobe Cave
Tenka was speechless at the sight of his own red blood spraying from his body.
A low 5th-class knight, 1st grade.
'I heard he was a Bascon heir... What the hell is this magi...'
Whoosh—slash—cutting sounds echoed through the rising sandstorm.
It was the noise of Bin, who had closed the distance in an instant, slicing into Tenka's body.
With all his ligaments severed in a single blow, Tenka couldn't even twitch.
'H-his speed just got faster?!'
Before Tenka's startled eyes stood Bin, black smoke billowing from his arm.
There wasn't a shred of mercy in the reptile-like right eye of his foe.
No, it almost seemed like he was enjoying this.
'......'
Schwick. Shwaaaack.
Bin's relentless dismemberment began.
Crack. Crack.
With no mana left to endure, Tenka's body began to freeze over.
'A guy who looked like he was about to collapse any second...'
Tenka's face went slack for a moment before he let out a hollow laugh.
'Heh, so he's been holding back his mana all this time? Fighting someone of higher rank and still having the luxury to play around.'
As Tenka said, Bin unleashed his hoarded mana alongside his magi.
Splash.
Tenka felt like he'd been possessed by a ghost.
It wasn't just the magi.
It was the seasoned skill etched into that youthful face.
How else could you explain it, if not for experience forged in countless brushes with death?
This was a battlefield where one mistake meant death.
It was impossible to believe a teenager could handle it like this.
'The Bascons have a monster on their hands.'
Young age. Low rank. Even his weapon proficiency.
No excuses could be made, even with the magi.
All conditions favored Tenka.
Darkness filled his vision.
It felt like being trapped in an endlessly narrow, pitch-black well.
He realized anew how narrow his world was.
At the well's rim loomed a colossal presence—Bin, gazing down at Tenka.
Those cold eyes conveyed the gulf between them.
Meeting that gaze, Tenka's body slowly sank into the well.
Submerged in deep water, he flashed a hollow smile.
'I admit it. A perfect defeat. You're aiming for someone incomparable to me...'
Crack.
Tenka froze solid, encased in ice from head to toe.
Before him stood Bin, his face etched with concern.
'Is it just my imagination? This feeling of getting closer to mindless monsters.'
Bin quelled his unease and delved deep into his inner self.
As the sandstorm settled, the black smoke from Shabest faded away.
Only then could the Red Vanguard see Bin and Tenka.
Yet even after a long moment, no one spoke.
"......"
In the silence, they eyed each other warily.
They'd seen the gust brush Bin's body, so they'd expected Tenka's victory.
But in that brief instant, everything had flipped.
Tenka encased in ice, and Bin standing tall in his black uniform before him.
An unbelievable sight.
The Red Vanguard members collapsed, legs giving out.
"T-Tenka... lost."
A moment later, Bin's eyes—returned to normal—took in the countless Red Vanguard corpses.
Not just the frozen Tenka, but Donka too, his head and body severed.
And a sudden thought struck him.
'If I hadn't regressed...'
He might have had to face the two brothers, 4th-class knight Donka and Tenka.
He might have been the one lying on the ground.
As Bin pondered deeply, a scream erupted beside him.
"Ugh... Aaaagh!!"
A Black Wolf Squad knight was jabbing his spear into the thigh of a bound Red Vanguard knight.
The sharp blade buried in flesh, now carving through muscle, threatened to pierce straight through.
The Red Vanguard knight thrashed wildly, mouth agape, as the Black Wolf knight bellowed.
"Spit it out right, or I'll shove this skewer up your ass and toss you alive to the monsters!"
Under the Black Wolf knight's torture, the Red Vanguard knight's face flushed as red as his armor.
It looked ready to burst.
Then, wracked by the agony of flesh tearing, he began convulsing.
Crack. Crack.
The Black Wolf knight splashed water from his helmet onto him.
Splash!
To keep him conscious.
Drenched, the Red Vanguard knight's eyes glazed over as words tumbled out.
"A-anything... I'll tell you. P-please... just spare me......"
"That's right, keep that attitude. What good are knightly pride and convictions when you're spouting that crap? Think of your family waiting at home, necks stretched."
The Black Wolf knight's sly grin made the captive's pupils tremble.
He glanced around.
Countless knights in black armor. Their grim presence made him doubt if they were even human.
But the Red Vanguard knight had no other choice.
He nodded.
Tap tap.
Bin approached the compliant captive and pressed his sword to his throat.
"Any other spies in the Bascon family right now?"
Bin's icy gaze made the knight's throat bob involuntarily.
Gulp.
The cold steel felt ready to slice his neck at any moment.
Meeting Bin's eyes, the knight's pupils shook.
'This guy's... serious.'
As the blade grazed his Adam's apple, words spilled out.
"N-none that I know of....... I swear it."
His pitiful eyes betrayed no lie.
Bin, expressionless, looked down at him.
"None, you say."
Bin wondered if the ones who'd ambushed the Bascons in the past were already inside.
But the knight's demeanor suggested he truly didn't know.
Bin posed another question.
"What mission brought you this deep?"
On the Gana Continent, the Bascons lay east, the Granders north.
Meeting at the central Royal Tomb was rare.
At Bin's words, the knight's pupils quivered.
Not the face of a liar, just sheer terror.
After hesitating several times, he finally spoke.
"T-to... make dwarves."
"......!"
A furious Black Wolf knight shouted at the Red Vanguard's words.
"You still delirious, punk? Playing word games."
"I-it's not a lie! Believe... "
"Shut it! Young master, give the order. I'll rip his jaw off right now."
As the Black Wolf knight fumed, Bin's voice cut in.
"Stop."
The knight couldn't fathom Bin's actions.
Bin, meanwhile, thought deeply.
And recalled his conversation with Danel before leaving Plentel Castle.
Danel had spoken to Bin at the table, her voice thick with worry.
"You're going there because of the dwarf sighting rumors, right? I just don't understand why your father sends a child like you on such perilous missions... Especially with kids vanishing left and right. Sigh......"
Bin couldn't shake the ominous feeling.
The knight had clearly said "make dwarves."
Logically, crafting something required materials.
Danel's words—"kids vanishing"—sparked a horrific suspicion.
'Of course it shouldn't be that... but...'
On a hunch, Bin asked the knight.
"Don't tell me. You need kids to make those dwarves?"
The Red Vanguard knight nodded, unable to speak.
"......"
Near the Royal Tomb, 'Shobe Cave.'
A vast underground cavern.
Bin and the Black Wolf Squad's 7th Division knights advanced, the Red Vanguard captive in the lead.
Bin had come here for two reasons.
One: to confirm if they were turning kids into dwarves.
Two: if those kids and the one-legged dwarf were imprisoned here.
The knight's words had conjured someone in Bin's mind.
'A one-legged dwarf... Could it be...'
His mentor, the dwarf Ront who'd guided him into blacksmithing.
Of the surviving Black Wolf knights, twenty remained.
Their moods split two ways: deranged from comrades' deaths, or dazed by Donka's betrayal.
In the heavy atmosphere, a Black Wolf knight's voice rang out.
"F-footprints...?"
They marveled at the many prints on the ground.
"What kind of massive creature leaves tracks like these... "
Codic at Bin's belt also scanned around, tilting his head.
'This place feels familiar...'
Countless beast prints on the floor.
Oddly, they all led into the cave—no returns.
As everyone hesitated before the giant tracks, a Black Wolf knight lunged at the captive.
"Y-you bastard! Where the hell are you leading us?!"
The edgy knight grabbed his collar.
Fearing more comrades might die.
He shook harder.
"No sign of the kids you promised! You trying to lure us into a trap?!"
He gripped so tight the captive could only cough.
"Kuh! Kehk......"
The agitated knight turned to Bin.
"Young master, we don't know this guy's game! And those huge prints scream danger."
Despite the urgency, Bin replied calmly.
"It's fine. Let him go."
As the knight faltered, Bin pointed ahead.
Following his finger, they spotted a small iron door in the distance.
Only then did the knight release his grip.
"Huh... Huff."
The Red Vanguard knight, barely catching his breath, approached the door.
And everyone blinked at the rare sight.
"......!"
The walls around the small iron door were covered in murals.
Countless monster depictions.
The Black Wolf knights froze instinctively.
"Th-those paintings...?!"
"Using the wall's contours for such vivid art... Nothing like flat drawings!"
Among the varied beasts, one stood out: a massive, cow-like figure.
Its shoulders and hips bulged on the convex wall, adding depth.
A masterful technique, artistically superb.
Not an exaggeration to say it felt alive.
Then—
Thud!
One Black Wolf knight toppled backward, staring at the mural.
All eyes turned.
"What, scared of a painting?"
Another pulled a cloth from his helmet and shoved it at him.
"Smells like piss. Cover up. Haha."
Despite their jabs, the fallen knight shuddered, pointing at the massive wall figure.
"Th-that thing's eyes... They moved!"