Chapter 82
Chapter 82
Iron Emperor — Chapter 82
"Have a drink first."
Once he had calmed down somewhat, Rainman swallowed the cup of liquor Ung-sam had poured for him and quietly stared down at the table. After holding that silence, a long sigh escaped his lips.
"Hoooh. Forgive me, Sir Gerard. I've shown you something shameful."
"Not at all. Can you not tell me what happened? I could ask Baron Gowin, but I would still rather hear it from Sir Rainman's own mouth first."
Ung-sam slowly refilled Rainman's empty cup and broached the question. Rainman tossed back the filled cup and let out a hollow laugh.
"Hahahahaha."
"......."
"The baron's dream has shattered."
A dream.
A man whose dream has shattered is no longer truly alive.
If that dream was what he devoted his whole life to, the moment the dream shatters, the one who lived that dream collapses—it is only a matter of time.
Rainman had said the baron's dream had shattered, but Rainman surely had shared that same dream. He had lived looking toward his lord's dream.
Whatever else could be said, the Baron Gowin Ung-sam had observed was a man who lived with a clear sense of purpose. He was not a particularly benevolent lord to his people, nor a virtuous one. He was no different from any other noble who took moderate sacrifice for granted. But at the very least, he was not a man who wavered this way and that.
"His dream has shattered... Please, tell me more."
At Ung-sam's calm words, a feeble voice trickled from Rainman's mouth.
"You know our baron has drifted from one foreign battlefield to another."
"Mm."
"If the Haian Kingdom had possessed even a fistful of strength, the continent's situation might be different. Geopolitically, if we had even a little power, we could join hands with any empire and rise. The baron has spent his life cultivating that power."
Rainman's continued explanation made Ung-sam nod. The elite forces the baron had raised on overseas campaigns were stronger than units decked out with money raised inside the Haian Kingdom, and to preserve them, Baron Gowin had become a noble marked by the kingdom despite his countless battlefield achievements.
The central nobles of the kingdom had tried to use them, sending them to empires where they wagged their own tails to curry favor; Baron Gowin would lead his forces, achieve the intended objective, but always pulled his troops back at a certain line and refused orders.
That was how he had raised a force of 20,000 men.
And while Baron Gowin was away in the Reganza Mountains, the nobles had whispered into the king's ear and dispatched that very force to the Holy Empire—led by a commander-in-chief fat with grease...
The elite force he had built over ten years and more would now lay their bodies in foreign soil for the benefit of those nobles.
"Hngh. Damn it all."
Rainman's shoulders heaved.
Ung-sam quietly placed a hand on his shoulder. And for a long while, he simply watched in silence. A thought crossed his mind: he should share a drink with Baron Gowin this evening.
A bustling street.
It was a sight befitting a kingdom's capital. Because the balance of power was skewed, the city kept handing over tribute to this side and that, yet ironically, travelers from every nation thronged the streets, piling the tribute right back up.
To be precise, those who earned kept earning, while those who lost were too busy making up their losses.
"Hngh! Ah, why isn't that punk Yuwol coming?"
Samdopyo's huge frame stood out unmistakably even in the capital.
His sheer size was more than enough to draw eyes, and Dupyo's habit of ceaselessly looking around—a country boy's specialty—drew even more attention. Dupyo, who had been killing time by feeding jerky to the kitty in his arms, suddenly spotted a crowd gathered to one side.
"What's that?"
Whatever the subject, when a crowd has gathered, anyone's curiosity compels them to go see. Dupyo was no exception. Still, thanks to his large build, he had no trouble seeing what was drawing everyone's attention.
"Some kinda picture...."
On it was drawn a figure reminiscent of a bear, with demonic shapes around it. But Dupyo's fatal weakness—the fact that he could not read—only fanned the flames of his raging curiosity.
Poke, poke.
"Hey, friend."
"Damn it, what!"
A man responded explosively and spun around at Dupyo's finger-based attempt at conversation.
Kyang!
"......."
What met the man's eyes was not a human being but a chest so broad and muscles so fit to burst they seemed closer to a bear's, and right in the middle of it all, a baby saber-tooth tiger with only its head poking out.
"What d'you mean what, I'm tryin' to ask you somethin'. Hngh."
Dupyo's forceful snort gusted down and lightly lifted the man's bangs. The man slowly smiled and raised his head.
"Ask me anything. If there is something I can help you with, I must help with anything."
"Much obliged. What in the world do those words on that picture there say?"
At Dupyo's blunt question, the man's overflowing kindness—his smile and the rubbing of his palms together—spread a warm breeze through the surroundings.
"You mean that? They say the Demon Tribe has appeared this time!"
"Demon Tribe? And what in tarnation is a Demon Tribe?"
When Dupyo rolled his large eyes and asked back, the man before him put on a surprised expression and answered.
"What, you don't know the Demon Tribe?"
"Hngh."
A look full of the desperate wish for him to just get on with it, delivered with a snort, slammed into the man in lieu of an answer. And the man naturally began answering promptly.
"The Demon Tribe are, literally, a demonic race and a terror to humankind. They say they're gloomy, they suck the brain matter of children, manipulate human minds, command monsters—and a human killed by the Demon Tribe finds their soul wandering forever without salvation."
"Is that so? They're horrifying creatures, then?"
"Right!"
As Dupyo spoke with a frown, the man answered as if chiming right in. Looking at the picture while listening to the man's continued blabbing, they really did look vicious.
"Things like that oughta all be beaten to death!"
"Absolutely. But, I tell you, this time the Demon Tribe showed up and pulled off something huge!"
"Something huge?"
When Dupyo asked with a curious look, the man's face turned grave.
"This time, in the capital's gate city, Verus, they say the Demon Tribe appeared and seized and tortured an envoy of the Holy Empire! And moreover, the Holy Knight Order fought bravely, but were struck by their demonic magic, buried in the earth, and barely escaped with their lives. What's more, they say a priest of the Holy Empire risked death to resist the Demon Tribe's attempt to spread all manner of plague, and ended up a half-cripple. Fortunately, the Demon Tribe fled because of the priest's Holy Power, but they say they still haven't been caught."
"Good heavens! A respectable gentleman suffered something ghastly."
"Dupyo, what're you doing?"
Behind Dupyo, who was shaking his head in sympathy, Gang Yuwol appeared.
"Yuwol, good timing. Look at that."
"At what?"
To Yuwol, who had briefly stepped away to buy necessities, Dupyo made a huge fuss with a look as if something catastrophic had occurred. Yuwol, who had begun looking at the picture Dupyo pointed to, started tilting his head.
"Hmm."
"That's the Demon Tribe—showed up in that gate town we passed through and ran wild tryin' to kill every last person in the world!"
When a low groan slipped from Yuwol's lips, Dupyo flailed both arms and relayed what he'd heard from the man in front of him, adding a bit of extra flesh to it.
"...And so that fine priest thrashed all the Demon Tribe but missed a few stragglers, I hear!"
"......."
Yuwol had already begun ignoring Dupyo's explanation around the halfway point—right about the part where hundreds of priests died in battle and thousands of the Demon Tribe were slain.
One reason Yuwol was traveling with Dupyo was that he could read. So it was easy for him to notice the enormous gap between the words written on the picture and the words Dupyo was spouting.
But the figures depicted in the picture nagged at him a little.
The forms of the Demon Tribe expressed in the picture had features that went beyond the human form. Every single one was depicted with horns and wings. A demon reminiscent of a bear was holding a pitch-black staff, and beside it, a sleek-looking demon was holding a curved blade.
To Yuwol, that blade shape was perfectly ordinary, but here it was not a common form to see. The real problem was what caught his eye in the picture.
A demon in the form of someone swinging a bow.
'An ill omen.'
The thought that they had to leave this place immediately flashed through Yuwol's mind.
"Dupyo, let's head back."
"Hngh! Ah, I ain't done talkin'! Hey, what'd you say a minute ago?"
When Dupyo poked the man beside him and addressed him again, the man, apparently getting into it himself, eagerly began prattling away.
"Those six remaining Demon Tribe members..."
Murmur, murmur!
Even under Yuwol's insistent tugging, Dupyo remained rooted, listening with great interest as the man, face flushed red, carried on. Just then, one side of the square stirred as a squad of soldiers came running.
"What's this?"
Dupyo, who had already merged with the crowd, had his attention drawn to the picture the soldiers were posting. Having finished putting up the picture, a soldier atop the platform turned to face the crowd.
"We have obtained detailed information about the Demon Tribe this time. These demons are the previously mentioned six, and notably, intelligence has come in that the bear-like demon in particular feeds male genitalia to its monsters. As its methods are bizarre and atrocious, you are urged to use caution. Here, we have drawn pictures of what they looked like before they transformed into demons: everyone, the moment you see individuals matching these, you are obligated to report them. The reporting party shall receive one Gold as a reward, and anyone who captures them directly shall receive fifty Gold. The bear-like demon in particular carries a bounty of twenty Gold."
As the soldier's explanation went on, the face of the man who had been explaining so eagerly turned full of excitement, while Dupyo's and Yuwol's faces turned pale. It somehow sounded exactly like their own descriptions. And hadn't they heard the men they'd beaten senseless in the gate city not long ago going on about some priest this and Demon Tribe that!
Dupyo and Yuwol both suddenly felt they really didn't want to see the new picture that soldier had just posted behind him.
"Dupyo, hurry up and get back..."
"R-right."
"I have a question!"
A loud voice and a hand thrust toward the sky.
In contrast, Yuwol's and Dupyo's spirits plunged toward despair.
"What is it?"
The owner of the hand thrust into the air was the same man who had been laboriously explaining everything to Dupyo. The soldier pointed at the man and asked. The man, now utterly high on the word "reward," asked with his eyes shining.
"If those demons have transformed into people and are walking around, what distinguishing features do they have?"
"They do have them!"
"What are they?"
At the man's vigorous question, the soldier smirked, pointed at the picture behind him, and began to answer.
"As you can see here, the bear demon is said to carry a monster in its chest."
Ka-wng~!
"Is that so?"
"......."
On Dupyo's chest, as he slowly backed away toward the outside, the kitty yawned and displayed its two sharp fangs. The soldier, momentarily speechless, glanced back at the picture and stammered on.
"And... the demon... has black eyes and... black hair, and is distinctive for using an iron staff as a weapon..."
"......."
By this point, even the man who had asked the question sensed something was off. No—more than off, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Especially the look of mingled shock the soldier was sending.
The man felt the area around him suddenly grow empty. Only Dupyo and Yuwol remained standing beside him. With a trembling voice, the man threw out a remark at Dupyo as if it were a joke.
"Haha... Surely you aren't a demon, right?"
"Good grief! Would a demon come strolling up here saying, 'Here I am, catch me'?"
At Dupyo's display, complete with vigorously waving hands, the eyes of the man and the soldier wavered mercilessly. But the man suddenly burst out laughing as if denying something, and shouted.
"Hahaha, you're right—besides, this fellow right here is alone! Look, if you look here, the distinguishing demons are the bow-demon... and..."
The man, who had been prattling on as if worried over nothing, caught sight of Yuwol's back as Yuwol turned his body away from behind Dupyo and made for the exit.
A black bow, hanging there for all to see.
"......."
In answer to the man's magnificent (?) powers of deduction, which had revealed everything, the soldier shouted.
"Seize the demons!"
"It's the demons!"
"Kyaaak!"
"Hngh, this has all gone damned sideways!"
The commotion of the crowd and Dupyo's rueful voice rang out across the capital plaza of the Haian Kingdom. And in the middle of it all, one man sat slumped as if his whole body had drained of strength, looking as though the ordeal had taken ten years off his life.
* * *
Without breaking stride, Gang Yuwol launched his body into the air. As he rose, Yuwol pulled three arrows from his quiver, nocked them to his bow, and twisted his body backward in the same motion. Released from the taut-drawn bowstring, the three arrows shot from Yuwol at lightning speed.
TWANG!
"Kuaaak!"
"Urk!"
The moment Yuwol's feet touched the ground, screams erupted.
Even though he had achieved his objective with three arrows in that brief instant, Yuwol's face was contorted.
"Dammit..."
Even as he ran on, the quiver at Yuwol's waist held no more arrows.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
"After them!"
"Hngh! Dammit all. They just won't shake off!"
Dupyo, who had been running ahead, let out a sigh-laden voice when Yuwol pulled up beside him. At Dupyo's sighing complaint, Yuwol scowled and snapped back.
"If you hadn't caused trouble in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."
"Hell. How was I supposed to know it'd turn out like this! And anyway, you call me in the wrong just 'cause I roughed up some bastards who were spoutin' crazy nonsense while a man's lyin' there with his legs wrecked?!"
"Dammit!"
Yuwol clicked his tongue at Dupyo's retort and increased his pace. As if by agreement, the two veered into an alleyway.
"Huh?"
A high wall blocked the way. It stood fully 4 mir in height. Yet neither of them stopped; instead, they quickened their steps.
"Go first!"
"Right!"
Dupyo yelled for Yuwol to go first, then actually picked up speed and surged ahead. Arriving right in front of the wall, he stopped so abruptly that the friction under his soles sent dust flying in every direction. And Yuwol, following behind, hurled his body into the air.
"Hup!"
With a short cry, Yuwol's feet, flying up like a bird, split into an inverted V-shape and sequentially stepped on Dupyo's shoulders.
THUD!
"Heave!"
"Pull me up too!"
Yuwol, having used Dupyo's shoulders as stepping stones, landed lightly on top of the wall. At the insistent voice from below, he smirked, turned around, and extended a hand.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
"Whoa!"
Dupyo kicked off the wall once, his body shooting upward, and he caught hold of Yuwol's outstretched hand. Then, as naturally as walking on level ground, he stepped his way up the wall and climbed on top. Beyond the wall, elegant buildings, splendid gardens, and woods spread before their eyes. Dupyo, who had hesitated a moment before that splendor, flung his body to the ground first and cried out.
"Let's go!"
"Right!"
By the time the pursuing soldiers entered the alley, there was nothing left to find. The soldiers simply stopped in their tracks, not even thinking of further pursuit, and only stared beyond the wall.