Chapter 147
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: You Should Have Held the Sword Until the End (1)
I could feel Marcos’s sharp gaze on my back.
Perhaps Marcos was fiddling with his pistol right now.
But he was alone, so he wouldn't be foolish enough to draw his gun. And even if he did attack, I could handle it.
Right now, I needed to focus solely on the watchtower.
The ladder was ten meters high.
Although it was a wooden ladder, it didn't make a sound when they changed shifts.
*Swoosh.*
Exhaling through his teeth, Kanghyeok gripped the ladder and began to climb cautiously, wary of making any noise.
He held the pistol in his mouth so he could grab it at a moment's notice.
He was about halfway up the ladder, the strong taste of metal in his mouth, when he heard it.
"Hey."
Hearing the voice from above, Kanghyeok froze and pressed himself flat against the ladder.
"That Nishida guy, why doesn't he run? If I were him, I'd have bolted long ago."
"Who knows. But he's good for a weekly laugh, so it's fine by us."
"I guess, but I just don't get it. Taking a beating every week and still sticking around."
"Just leave it. How's a person supposed to understand what goes on in a half-breed's head?"
"Heh heh, true that."
They hadn't noticed Kanghyeok.
Kanghyeok exhaled silently.
Then he started climbing again.
He could feel it.
Marcos, who should have been on lookout, was watching him, while the guards' attention was fixed on this person named Nishida.
Now was the only chance.
*Creeak.*
A faint noise escaped the moment he reached the top of the ladder.
The man who had glanced absently at the ladder whipped his head back, only to see Kanghyeok, now fully inside the watchtower.
*Thwip!*
The suppressed gunshot rang out.
*Thwack!*
The man who'd spotted Kanghyeok's throat was pierced, and blood spurted out.
"Gack, gurgle."
As the man fell, clutching his throat, the other two noticed Kanghyeok.
A figure in a jet-black suit stood in the darkness.
For less than a second, the men who saw Kanghyeok froze.
Before them stood a man who had silently infiltrated the island and climbed the watchtower.
They couldn't react immediately to the unbelievable situation.
*Thud!*
Then, one of them lunged for the siren, while the other aimed his rifle at Kanghyeok.
*Click!*
The sound of the safety being released, an index finger moving to the trigger.
Kanghyeok kicked the rifle's barrel away.
*Thwack!*
"Guh!"
The stock of the rifle slammed into the man's solar plexus, and his eyes widened, glistening in the moonlight.
In that same moment, Kanghyeok's gaze shifted to the other man.
The other man was about to sound the siren.
*Thump!*
Kanghyeok launched himself across the wooden floor of the watchtower, tackling the man who was reaching for the siren button, and they both crashed to the ground.
"Ugh! You bastard!"
*Crack!*
"Gaaah!"
As Kanghyeok drove his knee into the man's throat, the man slapped Kanghyeok's thigh, his mouth gaping.
Kanghyeok aimed his gaze and his pistol at the other man and pulled the trigger.
*Thwip!*
The man who had been about to shoot Kanghyeok with the rifle collapsed, blood pouring from the center of his forehead.
And then.
The man pinned beneath him grabbed Kanghyeok's collar and knee.
Then, like a judo practitioner, he threw Kanghyeok to the side and scrambled to his feet.
*Bang!*
Kanghyeok slammed the back of his head against the railing, gritting his teeth and swallowing a groan.
'Martial arts?'
*Shing!*
The sound of a sharp blade being drawn cut through the winter air as the man charged.
When Kanghyeok's eyes snapped open, he saw the man holding a Japanese sword, its blade looking to be at least forty centimeters long.
*Swish! Thwack!*
He ducked his head to the side to avoid the katana, and the blade embedded itself in the wooden railing.
*Crack.*
The man skillfully pulled the katana free and swung it wide at Kanghyeok's neck.
*Swish-! Swoosh!*
Dodging the katana that moved like flowing water, changing direction at will, Kanghyeok tried to create some distance.
The gleaming blade was passing dangerously close to his face.
What's more, the man was aware of the pistol; the moment Kanghyeok raised the barrel, his arm would likely be lopped off.
"Tch!"
Abandoning the thought of using the pistol, Kanghyeok charged at the man.
"Ugh?"
The man seemed surprised, not having expected Kanghyeok to rush him.
But he quickly regained his stance and raised the katana high.
*Thud!*
Before the katana could complete its swing, Kanghyeok grabbed the man's wrist.
He twisted it toward the railing and kicked the man's ankle,
*Thump!*
and the man fell sideways, his head hitting the railing hard.
*Clatter.*
The sound of the katana falling from the watchtower and Kanghyeok grabbing the man's hair happened at the same time.
"Ugh, eek!"
Kanghyeok pulled his hair, positioning the man's neck on the railing, and then,
*Crack! Crunch!*
he brought his elbow down on the man's temple, snapping his neck.
"Hoo!"
When Kanghyeok let go, the corpse, its head now lolling freely, slumped over the railing.
*Click.*
He ejected the magazine to check his remaining bullets, then tucked the pistol into his jacket.
(Is it over?)
Hearing a small voice from his pocket, he took out the communication device and placed it in his ear.
"Situation clear. They've been neutralized."
(I'm coming up.)
"No, wait there. I'll be down in a minute."
(...Understood.)
Marcos replied with a sour tone, but Kanghyeok had no time to worry about that.
Kanghyeok picked up a notebook near the siren and brought it over to a large lantern.
The notebook, which detailed special instructions for guard duty, the number of teams, and how many watchtowers like this one existed, was definitely valuable.
*Flip, flip, flip.*
Flipping through the pages to see if there was any other useful information, Kanghyeok tore out all the relevant pages and stuffed them in his pocket.
'Shift changes are every two hours. I'll destroy their means of escape before the next rotation.'
It felt like a mountain of homework had piled up.
The deputy team leaders, who should have been helping him, were instead looking for a chance to stab him in the back.
His only weapons were a silenced pistol and three spare magazines.
But there was definitely something to be hopeful about.
*Clink.*
Kanghyeok picked up a pair of binoculars and looked toward the location written in the notebook.
They were night-vision binoculars, so they pierced the darkness and showed him exactly what he wanted to see.
'That's the warehouse. There might be a ledger I can access.'
If so?
I can get much closer to uncovering the identities of those hiding in the shadows.
He could feel his heart pounding.
*Finally,* he thought.
But it wasn't time to relax.
"Hoooo."
Exhaling a breath that turned white in the cold, Kanghyeok lowered the binoculars and gazed in the direction of the warehouse.
The notebook mentioned that visitors were scheduled to arrive in three days.
He didn't know who they were.
But judging by the fiercely drawn underline and the childishly drawn star next to it, they seemed to be important figures.
'I have to finish everything I can on this island before they arrive.'
He didn't know why, but he had a strong, ominous feeling that he had to.
(You should probably come down.)
Marcos's voice came through, lowered to a whisper.
"Got it."
As he headed for the ladder, Kanghyeok glanced down at the bodies.
Trained in martial arts.
"Damn bastard."
What era was this, for someone to come at you with a damn katana?
It felt anachronistic, but the skill the man had shown was nothing to scoff at.
What if he had been attacked by all three of them at once without any bullets?
Kanghyeok rubbed his neck.
He wasn't sure if his physical recovery ability could reattach a severed head.
He had no desire to test it, nor did he want to know.
On his way to the ladder, he looked back at the corpse, ground his teeth, and took the katana and rifle from it.
They were no match for the rifle and kukri he was used to, but it was better than nothing.
"I thought I told you to wait."
"I was scouting the area. No one's approaching."
This was just after he'd climbed down the ladder.
Marcos jerked his thumb back and nodded, and Kanghyeok gave him a sharp look before turning away.
"Where are you going?"
"I've confirmed the location of the dock."
"Did you find anything else?"
He didn't answer Marcos's probing question.
He hadn't lived a life naive enough to reveal everything to someone he couldn't trust.
"I understand."
Marcos muttered, nodded, and began to follow Kanghyeok.
Then he silently picked up the fallen katana, stared at the back of Kanghyeok's head, and slipped a hand into his jacket.
*Click.*
The faint sound of a pistol's safety being released came from inside his suit.
***
It was a sleepless night.
As usual.
Yohan, shirtless, was doing push-ups as slowly as possible in the forest near the cathedral.
Five minutes for a single repetition.
It was a training method he'd learned here, designed to maximize stimulation throughout the body.
*Drip, drip.*
Sweat dripped from his chin, steaming as it cooled in the air.
With his teeth and jaw clenched, his arms trembling violently, Yohan fully extended his arms.
"Hah, hah!"
It felt as if he were lifting the entire planet, but Yohan immediately began to bend his arms again.
It was so strenuous that his breath smelled sweet, but Yohan stubbornly focused on his push-ups.
Just then.
"Yohan?"
A young man's voice called out to him.
Yohan immediately dropped to his knees and pulled his arms back as the beam of a flashlight washed over him.
"Ah, sorry."
As Yohan squinted and turned his head, Amos moved the flashlight away.
"What are you doing out here alone?"
"...Training."
"You trained during the day, too. You need to rest. Go to bed for tonight."
"Just a little longer."
Yohan's voice sounded like he was pleading to be left alone, so Amos gave a wry smile and sat down beside him.
"Are we making you uncomfortable?"
Yohan didn't answer.
Amos smiled wryly again and exhaled through his nose.
"I heard the gist of it. About your situation, why you picked up a gun."
Yohan glanced at Amos out of the corner of his eye.
"It's the same for all the kids here. Me, Gabriel, all of us. We don't have parents. That's why we train, hoping for a world where there are no more kids like us."
This was one of the reasons Yohan couldn't bring himself to mix with the people at the cathedral.
He was afraid that if he got attached, his resolve would weaken, his thirst for revenge would fade.
But the most crucial reason was the feeling that he was fundamentally different from them.
"No one talks about it, but I'm sure there are others like you."
A personal vendetta.
The most unfitting emotion for the Errant Priests, who moved for a greater cause and for justice.
"Why... are people like that here?"
"Because wounds can be overcome."
"...What if it's not that easy?"
"You create faith, hope, a place to lean on."
Amos continued, putting his hands in his pockets.
"You said you lost your mother, right? I hope this helps you, even just a little."
Amos took something from his pocket and pressed it into Yohan's hand.
The rough texture in his palm, the warmth from the hand holding his.
Yohan looked at Amos with questioning eyes, and Amos smiled like an older brother before getting up.
"May peace be with you. Get some sleep."
After Amos left, Yohan opened his palm.
A sterling silver necklace, its engravings tarnished black.
The crudely but lovingly carved figure was the Holy Mother, Mary.