053. Intrusion
The air split with a sharp whistle as the silver greatsword began tearing through the transparent barrier. Crackle!
Codic's eyes gleamed at the sight. The silver on the greatsword... it's different from before.
Before, the silver had merely clung to Luminare's surface. Now, the entire blade glowed with it.
The Gana-in's pupils trembled as he stared at the silver-sheathed greatsword. The round, transparent barrier was distorting, crumpling inward.
"Sword aura?! How could this brat...?!"
The Gana-in's heart pounded wildly. Thump-thump. It was terror, the fear of standing on death's doorstep—a sensation he'd never known. No one had ever threatened his life. The world had always bent to his will.
His lips began to quiver. Me... dying?
In the face of this unbelievable reality, the Gana-in finally screamed.
"I, the Gana-in..."
His words cut off mid-sentence. Agony ripped through one shoulder, as if it had been torn apart.
"...!"
Pain too excruciating for even a scream. In that extreme torment, the Gana-in's consciousness snapped.
Crack!
His shoulder caved deeply, blood erupting like a fountain.
Squish!
Bin gazed coldly at the man. No regrets.
Gana-in was one of the worst sorts from his previous life. Arrogant nobles who treated their underlings as special privileges and the lowly as trash. Touching one meant retaliation from the supernovas and Gana Imperial Guard.
But this was Zaratann's back—a moving island far from the Gana Continent. He couldn't just stand by and watch someone treat another human like a beast.
The naked woman stared at the bleeding Gana-in with wide, shocked eyes.
"B-blood... from the Gana-in's body..."
She couldn't believe what she'd witnessed. It felt like a dream. The pinnacle of power on the Gana Continent, the ones closest to the gods.
Ga. Na. In.
Seeing his blood made her own heart race.
"...?!"
Moments later, the situation settled.
Clack-clack.
Skeleton soldiers prowled around the fallen Gana-in and his guards. Then they began rummaging and donning something.
Bin smirked in satisfaction. "Not bad."
Before him stood ranks of skeleton soldiers, but they looked different now—clad in the guards' gleaming plate mail.
The skeletons seemed pleased too. They'd shatter under heavy impacts before, requiring Codic's magi to reassemble. This armor would save them the trouble.
Bin glanced at a skeleton, then turned. "Got this one too."
His eyes fixed on a massive monster skeleton—Behemoth's corpse.
His gaze shifted again, to the bloodied Gana-in.
I'd love to end him right now... but not yet.
Bin stared coldly. As the top nobility of the Gana Continent, the man would prove useful.
As Bin loomed over Gana-in, the green-cloaked woman eyed him nervously.
"Th-thank you. You've freed me from that hellish life."
Without even glancing at her reddened eyes, Bin replied flatly. "Sure."
Ront cut in midway, sensing the curtness. "Don't be so cold, lad. The poor woman's just escaped life and death."
Ront eyed her teary face, and someone flashed in his mind—Mia's sister, Ria.
Anxious for her welfare, he pressed urgently. "Do you know Ria, by chance?"
His words tumbled out fast—he was desperate for news.
She hesitated, then spoke. "...From the moment I was captured here, they treated us like beasts. No names."
"Then..."
Ront stroked his beard thoughtfully. Then his eyes lit up with an idea.
He soon fetched Mia and showed her. "Anyone here who looks like this girl?"
"...!"
She stared at Mia, then her face lit with recognition.
"If it's who I think... yes, she was there until just before I escaped the prison."
Ront sighed in relief. "Phew..."
Ria's presence on Zaratann was confirmed. The journey hadn't been in vain.
With Ria's survival verified, Bin's group prepared to leave—until she spoke up.
"Um... excuse me..."
Bin turned at her trembling voice.
"This is shameless, but... could you help just one more time?"
He met her eyes—shaking with desperate plea.
"I've been locked in a prison my whole life. No sunlight at all. But I'm not the only one..."
She gauged his reaction before continuing.
"At the heart of Zaratann, there's an underground prison. Countless women have been trapped there for ages. P-please, help them live like humans again...?"
Tears streamed down her face like chicken droppings.
Despite her desperation, Bin turned away without a word and started walking.
Tap. Tap.
Ront frowned, displeased. "That's too much for a lady..."
"..."
Her voice chased after Bin's silent back.
"Please, I beg you... I'll help with anything! Even if all I have is this scarred body..."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"...!"
Ront blinked in stunned silence. A brief hush fell.
......
She collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sob... sob..."
Even her pleas couldn't breach the wall of reality—her trapped comrades.
Then—
Tap...
Bin halted. He turned and spoke.
"Quit the noise. We were heading that way anyway."
Her heart soared.
"Ah... ah..."
Sobbing anew, not from sorrow but gratitude, tears poured like rain.
She bowed deeply, thanking him. "Th-thank you..."
Ront, who'd been scowling, thought as he watched Bin. Quite the player...
Meanwhile, inside the central fortress on Zaratann's back.
A lavish bathtub caught the eye. Inside, surrounded by naked women, lounged a man.
His long forelock veiled one eye—the supernova Hobas, with sharp features.
He brought his palm-long tongue near a woman's neck and hissed sinisterly.
"Stay still."
The long tongue slithered mercilessly across her neck.
Slither. Slither.
Hobas smirked darkly at her grimace.
"Smile."
"..."
She forced a managed expression, wary of revealing her true feelings.
But Hobas sensed it like a ghost.
"...!"
She froze as his hand reached for her head.
Smack!
She trembled in terror, but Hobas ignored it. Grabbing her hair, he hurled her at the wall with all his might.
Boom!
The wall shook, a section staining red.
"...!!"
All the women in the tub shuddered, eyes wide—fearing they were next.
Hobas looked down at her shattered skull.
"Ugly bitch. Pores wide as nostrils."
His raised voice chilled the air instantly.
Amid the tense mood, footsteps grew louder.
Tap. Tap. Tap...
A panting knight rushed in and bowed to Hobas.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
His labored breath signaled urgent news. He lifted his head.
"Lord Hobas, traces of intruders have been found on Zaratann!"
Most would bristle at such news. But Hobas lolled his tongue, grinning eerily.
"Intruders? Hehehehe."
His laughter cut short, eyes flashing murderously.
"Perfect timing—I've been bored. Shall we see what they look like?"
At the entrance to the central fortress on Zaratann's back—a pitch-black square bastion loomed.
The prison holding countless women. Guards patrolled vigilantly.
Amid the tense watch, someone approached the entrance leisurely.
Thud. Thud.
It was Gana-in. But not in his usual white uniform—in a large green cloak shrouding his body.
As he neared, the guards scrambled.
Pat-pat-pat!
The sentries dropped to one knee in unison.
"Your Excellency! We greet the Gana-in!"
Gana-in nodded as if it were natural, then swept his arm down as usual.
The guards returned to posts.
Pat-pat-pat!
Groooan.
The massive fortress gates creaked open.
As they parted fully, Gana-in strode in leisurely.
The moment he crossed the threshold—
His green cloak twitched.
Gana-in's face soured.
"..."
Inside the cloak: Codic's skull-headed form.
He spoke up. "My lord, success!"
Bin smirked from within, sword at Gana-in's throat. "See? Told you it'd work."
Gana-in scowled at their words. "You bastards..."
But his voice choked off—Bin's blade pressed against him.
Feeling the threat to his life, Gana-in clamped his mouth shut, face twisted.
Bin's smirk faded to ice. Hobas's face from his past life surfaced—the supernova who'd attacked him with a weapon.
Hobas... time to settle the debt.