Chapter 19. Geumseong Branch (4)
Episode 19. Golden Star Tournament (4)
The moment I stepped down from the arena after victory. Honestly, it was just a fleeting instant, yet one that would be hard to forget.
The roar of the crowd, the thunderous applause.
The sounds created by the masses vibrated through the air, colliding with one another as they escaped their origins. Shattering, breaking, tangling together.
In the end, they became a single wave, crashing against my eardrums like a tidal surge.
I shook the blood from my sword with a dry flick and descended from the stage without hesitation.
Leaving the applause and cheers behind, I melted into the shadows and headed to the restroom at the end of the waiting room corridor.
A space reserved only for participants, inaccessible to spectators. Basking in that silence, I locked the restroom door behind me.
Click.
Inside the stall, I opened the worn-out bag I'd prepared in advance. Shedding the ornate uniform, I changed into the grimy, coarse clothes of a laborer.
But the transformation didn't end there.
I inserted murky brown contact lenses to conceal my abyss-like pupils. Over my golden blond hair, I donned a tangled red wig. Finally, inserting dentures that perfectly fit my gums, my sharp jawline and lips were dulled into something unremarkable.
Last, I slipped a ring onto my finger—an artifact glowing with a faint blue light. It contained a [Stealth] effect.
After stashing the old bag in the ceiling compartment, I stepped out of the stall and examined myself in the mirror.
Huuuuum—
As the ring's cool mana enveloped my entire body, the mirror reflected not the third son of the Karsen family, but a laborer from the North.
Looking at myself now, I was reminded of my days as "Duckie." Back then, I could disguise myself as anything.
The artifacts I'd used were ones I'd procured during spare moments between Golden Star Tournament matches, visiting the 『12 Magic Tools』 shop in Seyren's 14th District.
Thinking of that place made me chuckle.
'The shopkeeper's attitude changed a lot.'
-Hoho, you're back again, I see.
The owner of 12 Magic Tools—a white-haired old man—brightened the moment he saw me and pulled out a hefty box from beneath the counter.
-I have a son. That boy always loved tinkering and inventing things.
I stopped myself from saying, "Soon, that boy's grandson will be the same way."
-When he heard someone was buying his creations at full price—no, at a premium—he was overjoyed. So he sent over more of the things he'd stashed away in his workshop.
The box was filled with treasures. Artifacts packed with cutting-edge magical engineering.
The early masterpieces of a genius magical engineer who would one day dominate the continent. And I, better than anyone, knew their true worth.
-I'll take them all. Every last one.
The old man shook his head, putting on a stern expression.
-Of course, I prepared these for you, young master. But this time, I can't accept extra like before. My son set a fixed price, and if you won't pay it, I won't sell. The boy insists on honest business, so this time, just pay the exact amount and take them.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like shrewd bargaining, but I actually liked that about him.
-Understood. Ah, and... Could you ask if he can make more of the 'Lightning Strike' and 'April Sprout' artifacts I bought before? Tell him I'll pay whatever price he asks.
-Of course.
Without hesitation, I paid the amount the old man quoted. For securing the trust of a future legendary craftsman and his family, the price was absurdly cheap.
And now, the stealth ring and disguise tools I'd obtained were about to prove their worth.
Before my regression, Sylvia—a strong contender for the championship—had suffered a crushing defeat in the semifinals against a nameless wandering knight.
Was that knight stronger than Sylvia?
Not a chance.
In this tournament where warriors under thirty clashed for supremacy, excluding me—a regressor—there wasn't a single person who could defeat my childhood friend, Sylvia Meyer.
Yet back then, she had lost without even displaying half her usual skill, and the weight of that defeat had plunged her into a long period of aimless wandering.
I was certain that a Traitor had intervened.
Why? Because that wandering knight—who won the Golden Star Tournament and joined the North's strongest knight order, the [Platinum Knight Order]—was a Traitor planted by the Demon Race.
'I won't let that happen this time.'
Not for Sylvia's sake. But to stop the Traitors' infiltration.
Under my covert disguise, I wandered the halls of Kaisus. Sometimes as a janitor, sometimes as a spectator.
Along the way, I drank beer and bought food. I was feeling peckish, after all.
How long had I been walking? Eventually, I reached the vicinity of Sylvia Meyer's waiting room—an area off-limits to the general public.
Blending into the crowd, I held my breath and watched for any suspicious movements.
Tick— tock—
But with just my eyes, I couldn't pick out those who were thoroughly disguised.
Tick— tock—
Time was passing, and soon Sylvia would take the stage... I grew impatient.
'How do I... Ah.'
Then it hit me.
There was a way. A method more precise than sight or instinct.
I activated [Mana Detection].
Huuuuum—
Pure mana rippled outward, flooding my mind with information—so much that it was dizzying. But then.
Thud— thud—
The divinity of Lumen embedded in my heart reacted violently, beginning to sort through the endless stream of data.
The divine pulse filtered out the indiscriminate information, and soon, amidst the sea of people, it pinpointed a man dressed as an ordinary worker.
Upon closer inspection, a faint but unmistakable black mana flickered in his heart.
'That's the one.'
Certain he was a Traitor, I erased my presence and gave chase.
Just as expected, the moment the man reached a blind spot where no eyes could see him, he pulled out a small magical vial from his coat.
Pop. Uncorking it, a colorless, odorless smoke seeped out. Invisible to ordinary people, but not to my mana detection.
The smoke lingered along the path Sylvia would take, guided by the man's direction.
Without hesitation, I drew flame-realm mana from my Holy Wheel and sent it chasing after the poisonous vapor.
While others had to manifest magic from their limbs or staffs, I could cast it even at a distance.
The mana surged forward, undulating like waves, and the moment it touched the smoke—
[Fire Ball]
Whoosh—
A fleeting spark erupted. The colorless, odorless poison burned away into nothingness.
"......?!"
The man froze in shock as he sensed the poison's disappearance. He spun around and hurriedly fled Kaisus, and I pursued him under stealth.
He weaved through Seyren's back alleys before stopping to inspect the empty vial again—as if doubting himself.
"It's not a mistake."
"......!"
My voice made him jolt and turn.
"W-Who's there?"
"A knight of some renown."
"......Wha—what?"
He tried to bolt, but it was too late. My sword had already pierced his throat. Skin split, tendons severed, the cold steel passing through his esophagus and windpipe.
"Ghk... Gahk...!"
The man collapsed without even a scream, blood gushing from his neck in thick spurts. He flopped like a fish out of water before finally going still.
Zzt—
A cold, alien gaze prickled at me. Following it, I spotted a small crystal ball artifact cleverly hidden in the dead man's clothes.
'Remote surveillance?'
I stared straight into the crystal ball, curling my lips into a vicious smirk. Then, slowly, I raised my middle finger at whoever was watching from the other side.
And—
Crack.
I crushed the crystal ball.
The gaze vanished.
Whoooosh—
I incinerated the corpse with flames, leaving no trace behind, before melting back into the shadows.
On my way back to Kaisus, the streets were livelier than ever.
Everyone was enjoying the rare festival atmosphere.
A sudden loneliness struck me. Among the crowds filling the streets, not a single soul knew what the future held.
The stagnant waters of peace.
The shadow of ruin burrowing beneath.
That it would ultimately lead to humanity's extinction—only I knew.
Yet I walked on. I would keep walking this path, unshaken. That was why I had regressed.
After returning to Kaisus, I stopped by the restroom to change back, then watched the Golden Star Tournament.
Clang! Clang!
The semifinals had already begun.
Sylvia was fighting.
The sight of the beautiful, formidable knightess in battle drove the audience into a frenzy.
Her deep blue hair shimmered with frost-like cold mana, and her sapphire eyes gleamed sharper than ever.
Her opponent, the wandering knight, desperately lunged at her, but he was no match for Sylvia.
With every swing of her sword, freezing aura exploded, encasing the ground in ice.
Before he could even counter, the wandering knight stiffened like an ice sculpture and collapsed.
A roar of awe erupted from the stands. The crowd praised her overwhelming strength in victory—and her beauty too.
What does beauty have to do with anything? But whatever.
Sylvia descended from the stage with the upright dignity befitting a knight of the North.
Yes. This is Sylvia's true history.
Somehow, a smile found its way to my lips.
I hadn't acted for her sake, but still—I was glad things turned out well.
At the same time.
In a dim room (secret room) outside the arena.
An old man watched the scene through a crystal ball, his eyes simmering with rage.
The crystal clearly showed the face of an unidentified man—red-haired, with murky eyes.
"Where did this rat crawl out from? ...I'll make sure to kill him."
Muttering quiet killing intent toward the unknown interloper who had ruined their plans, the old man secretly summoned his allies.
"The plan has gone awry."
"......How did you mess this up?"
"Someone interfered."
"You shouldn't have given them the chance!"
Some vented their anger, even raising concerns about being held accountable by their superiors. Then—
"The plan hasn't even begun yet. Don't overreact."
A single voice mediated, and silence fell over the room.
"The Inspection Bureau didn't catch wind of this, did they?"
"No, nothing like that. However—"
The old man showed everyone the red-haired man reflected in the crystal. The murky eyes, the blunt facial features.
The man who had turned their plan to neutralize Sylvia into a failure—who had meddled in their affairs.
"The red-haired man... Find him. At all costs."
It never crossed their minds that the red-haired man could be Sion Karsen. They simply burned the image of this new enemy into their minds.
Meanwhile, in another dim room (secret room) in the North, hostility toward Sion was brewing.
A secret research organization quietly expanding its influence in the North's shadows—『Post 24』.
Though headquartered in the Central Empire, some researchers had traveled north for convenience.
They had just received a report that their prized bioweapon, Jefren, had been subdued by Sion Karsen.
"Sion Karsen. What a damn bastard."
"Jefren belongs to our laboratory."
A cold mechanical voice echoed through the research chamber.
"We never forgive those who destroy what is ours."
Sion's fishing line was trembling enticingly.