Erosion

A brief silence fell. Seeing Ki-seok completely collapsed and unable to rise, the soldiers erupted in cheers.

"Waaaaaah!!!"

"That demon bastard! He's finally dead!!"

"Victory is ours!"

Then Baron David's voice rang out from inside the cube.

"You lot! Getting excited over something so obvious?! Kill the woman already!"

"Yes, my lord!"

At their lord's command, the soldiers charged toward the two of them as one.

Ki-seok had fought brilliantly and cut down many, but more than forty still remained.

Seeing that, Old Man Lu roared!

"Stop!!!"

But there was nothing he could do. Only Aiham stood at her side, protecting her.

"My lady, I will guard you to the very end."

But there were simply too many soldiers. Aera squeezed her eyes shut.

"Ki-seok!"

Rise.

Thud—

A small noise rose from one of the corpses.

Rise.

Thud— Thud—

It began to make a slow, steady sound, keeping a measured beat.

If you cannot rise, then offer yourself up.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

The rhythm quickened.

And then my eyes snapped open.

Cheers roaring all around me. The coppery stench of the corpses piled near my body.

What… what is this? Am I not dead?

I slowly pushed myself up at the waist and pressed a hand to my chest. My whole body was in tatters, but my heart was still beating.

Then something went wrong inside me.

Pssht—

Every vessel in my body burst. Blood surged up and spilled out in every direction. I clutched both shoulders as it poured from me.

Then the sudden, violent nausea.

"Khuhk…!"

I heaved something up from my mouth. A clotted mass of dark, blackish blood. My vision had gone red as well, blood streaming from my eyes.

Then a system window flared open without warning.

"Ber… berserk? What… is this supposed to…"

I was about to die, and the system was spouting nonsense…

"Th-that's impossible…!"

5

4

"Wh… what?!"

3

Panicking, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I strained to reach toward the system and shut the window, but it would not close. The numbers kept ticking down.

2

1

0.

A piercing tinnitus tore through my ears—and in that instant the world spun, and my consciousness cut out.

"My lady! Open your eyes."

At Aiham's voice, Aera cautiously lifted her lids. The soldiers had already closed to within ten meters.

"Kyaaah!!"

Aera shut her eyes again.

"Not that. Look beyond them!"

She glanced at Aiham. The corner of his mouth was turned up.

"What is it…"

Aera carefully looked again in the direction Aiham was staring.

Far off, a single figure stood. Black hair, and a thin chainmail shirt that ordinary soldiers never wore.

"It can't be… Ki-seok?!"

But the figure was slightly different from how Ki-seok usually looked. His skin carried a strange, dark cast. Even so, he was standing exactly where Ki-seok had fallen.

"Ki-seok!!"

Then the man suddenly came running toward them, arms pumping front to back—at an incredible speed.

Baron David's voice cut through the air.

"Watch the rear!! Something's coming!"

At that, some of the soldiers turned to brace for an attack from behind. As the figure closed the distance at blistering speed, they finally got a clear look at his face.

"No way… that demon from before!!"

His skin was ashen gray, his pupils glowed yellow, and a horn jutted from one side of his forehead—but it was unmistakably Ki-seok, the same man who had carved through their comrades.

"Ki-seok!!"

Aiham shouted his name, but he did not respond. He only had eyes for the cluster of soldiers.

"A walking corpse charging us bare-handed? Do we look that easy to you?!"

"That's right! This time I'll put holes through that body with this spear!"

Indeed—there was no weapon of any kind in Ki-seok's hands. Still he kept running straight at them, and the spearmen leveled their points toward his charge.

"Crazy bastard—this time I'll run you clean through the heart!!"

The moment the soldiers and Ki-seok collided, the spears aimed at the oncoming figure failed to pierce him. They rang out with a sharp ting!, as if they had struck a wall.

"Ki-seok?!"

Aera stared at him in shock—just as some of the soldiers reached them. Aiham alone held off the few who had closed in, shouting,

"My lady! Us first!!"

"S-sorry!"

Aera shut her eyes for a moment and cried out,

"O iron. Bloom colder still. Ice Weapon."

Frost bloomed across Aiham's greatsword, turning it bitterly cold.

"My lady, Ki-seok's fighting that hard—we can't give up either!"

"I know!! We'll hold!"

The two of them threw themselves into the frenzied press of oncoming soldiers.

Meanwhile, the men whose spears had failed to pierce Ki-seok's body were thrown into confusion.

"This bastard—his body is like a rock!"

Ki-seok looked down at the broken spear tip resting against him, then lifted his gaze to the eyes of the soldier who had thrust it.

"Khheh…"

In a flash he drove his fist into the soldier's gut.

"Khuhk…"

One blow punched clean through the man's thick frame. When Ki-seok slowly drew his hand back, dark blood poured from the soldier's belly. The man toppled, and the soldiers around him screamed.

"M-monster!!!"

The corner of Ki-seok's mouth curled up, and he began cutting through the soldiers one by one. Fists. Kicks. He had never formally learned martial arts—but every movement belonged to someone who knew how to fight.

Ribs shattered under his kicks. Bellies punched clean through. Temples crushed under his elbow until skulls caved in. Soldiers fell one after another.

"Ughk…"

Screams kept coming.

"J-just once, spare m—"

Crunch—

Ki-seok seized a soldier's throat in one hand and snapped it. In moments more than half the force was gone; fewer than twenty remained.

One of the soldiers who had watched the last neck break screamed and bolted.

"Shit!! I don't want to die!!"

"Where do you think you're going?! I'll kill your whole families!!!"

Even under the baron's roar, the soldiers fled. But Ki-seok left them alone and simply stood there, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left hand stretched forward.

Old Man Lu's eyes went wide. His voice shook as he spoke.

"Th-that is…?!"

Ki-seok whispered quietly.

"Gluttony."

A black, wave-like tattoo unfurled across his forearm, and a dark hole opened in the palm of his left hand. The hole swelled larger and larger—then something burst from it.

A ghostlike, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠translucent green monster. It looked like a parasite: no eyes, only an enormous maw lined with terrifying teeth. The creature stretched long from his hand and surged toward the soldiers.

The moment it closed on them, its body ballooned to an enormous size—

Gulp—

—and in an instant it swallowed not only the fleeing soldiers, but everything in that whole stretch of ground.

Aiham, having just cut down the last man in front of him, stood watching the scene.

"Ki… Ki-seok…?"

The surroundings fell silent all at once. The first to break that silence was Baron David.

"Butler! What is that?! What kind of monster is that?!"

"Run."

"What?"

"If you die here, friction between our nation and the Empire will be hard to avoid. Run for now."

Baron David answered in a trembling voice.

"Y-you think I'll fall for that…? As long as I'm inside this, I'm safe. If I just hold out a little longer, the search party will come!"

Ki-seok was already walking toward Baron David.

"Don't be a fool! That power is not something a mere B-rank artifact can stop!"

"What…?"

While they were still arguing, Ki-seok had already closed the distance. Step by step. A moment later he stood before the baron and simply stared at him.

"S-see? He can't do a thing, can he?"

Then Ki-seok thrust his left hand straight out. Baron David toppled backward, his whole body shaking.

"N-no…"

Old Man Lu shouted,

"Release the artifact! Baron!!!"

But the green monster was already writhing out of Ki-seok's hand. Its jaws clamped onto the corner of the cube. The purple, translucent barrier of the artifact cracked under those teeth with a grinding crunch.

"Eek!!"

Old Man Lu shouted again.

"Baron!!!"

"I-it'll really keep me alive, right?!!!!"

"Just release it!!!"

The baron squeezed his eyes shut and cried,

"Release!"

The purple cube burst with a bang, and the barrier fell. Old Man Lu kicked off the ground in a flash. The monster's jaws were already closing—but he was faster. He shoved the baron clear and rolled across the dirt. A heartbeat later and Old Man Lu would have been swallowed too.

The baron groaned as he tumbled.

"Ugh…"

A fallen noble, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠covered in dirt. Old Man Lu barked at him,

"What are you doing?! Get out of here!!"

The baron pushed himself up at the waist.

"You… dare shove a noble…?!"

"Be grateful I saved your life."

"What?"

"Truth is, I'd love to tear you apart right now—but even trash like you is still a noble. I can't kill you on the Empire's front doorstep."

"You lowborn… how dare you!!"

Baron David ground his teeth in fury at Old Man Lu's words. Then he saw Ki-seok approaching again and recoiled in terror.

Stay here and you die. That was the animal instinct that hit him. He scrambled up and fled toward his white horse, shouting as he ran,

"J-just you wait!! Medici!!"

He mounted and vanished.

Meanwhile, Ki-seok and Old Man Lu stood facing each other. Sand began to whip across the ground. Ki-seok tilted his head, staring at the old man. Old Man Lu spoke to him.

"Lord Ki-seok, can you understand me?"

"…"

"Hah… as I thought. You're past the point of conversation."

Ki-seok leaned forward into a charging stance. Behind him lay dozens of fallen soldiers. Old Man Lu sighed.

"Hah. This state will be difficult."

Then he drew the single rose he always kept tucked in his breast pocket.

"Lord Allen—this is to save your younger brother. Forgive me."

He held the rose to the center of his chest and murmured,

"Open State."