Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: City of the Fallen (4)
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***
Dawn slowly lowered her hand, then pulled Uragan's Hilt from her bosom and raised it above her head.
An ivory rod of unmistakable beauty, even in the sewer's darkness.
It was the most expensive item Josef had sold her at the Incheon black market—and the one that had connected her to Seti.
Josef's eyebrows rose slightly as he recognized Uragan's Hilt.
"No way... the one that elder brought with him back then...?"
"...Long time no see."
The moment he heard Dawn's voice, Josef let out a hollow laugh.
"Damn, the world's a filthy small place, huh."
By then, his men had caught on to the strange atmosphere and were glancing back and forth between Dawn and Josef.
As the silence dragged on and the Ratkins' squeaks grew louder from beyond the sewer,
Josef spoke.
"Hey, all of you, lower your guns. She's an acquaintance."
"But boss, the opponent's a superhuman..."
"She's a friend of the elder I respect. Lower them if I say so."
His armed subordinates hesitated but pointed their gun barrels downward.
Only then could Dawn and Seti relax...
Bang!
One of the subordinates fired his gun. Was it aimed at Dawn or Seti? No.
His barrel had been pointed at the sewer floor.
It looked like a simple misfire to anyone watching, but the consequences were anything but.
"You fucking idiot..."
The instant Josef smacked the head of the man who'd caused the misfire,
Squeak! Squeak, sniff!
The rat pups noticed the group and began sniffing with ears and noses twitching.
Moments later, they spotted Dawn's party standing beyond the sewer and started shrieking.
Human, ah, female!
Female! Female! Me, me eat!
Eat! Eat her!
Dozens of pairs of beastly gleaming eyes moved in unison, filling the sewer with chittering breaths.
"Goddamn it."
At Josef's curse, his men started raising their guns again, but Dawn drew her sword first.
Josef marveled at the blade gleaming sharply even in the sewer's darkness, while the rat pups bared their massive front teeth.
Me, me like male too!
Compared to Korbus, they're just beasts. The moment Dawn thought that, something whistled through the air from the Ratkins.
A steel pellet—fired from a slingshot—aimed precisely at her forehead, but Dawn caught it in her palm.
Squeak?
Had the slingshot-wielding Ratkin not expected her to catch it barehanded? It tilted its head, and Dawn returned the pellet. Full swing.
The rat pup with the slingshot couldn't even scream. A hole had been punched clean through its forehead—a natural outcome.
As it crumpled, the charging rat pups—and even Josef, who was reloading behind—froze, eyes wide in disbelief.
Squeak, squeak? What? What is it?
Dawn didn't answer. She kicked off the ground instead. Her first target: the one drooling at Seti.
It reflexively swung its claws, but they couldn't block Tears of the Mountain.
Its hand and body severed simultaneously, and unable to withstand the sword aura, blood sprayed from its torso with a splatter—
Flesh, blood, and filth.
Standing atop the familiar heap of corpse filling the sewer floor, Dawn beckoned to the rats.
"Let's end this quick."
The Ratkins didn't ignore the taunt. Their eyes flushed red in response.
Human, knight!
Eat! Let's eat!
Kill!!!
With the stampede of beastkin footsteps, light erupted from Dawn's sword, flooding the sewer.
***
About two hours after Dawn butchered dozens of Ratkins.
A small inn on the Drei Terial highlands.
Dawn was toweling off her wet hair.
Having washed for the first time in days, she felt strangely refreshed.
'...Well, of course I would.'
She'd fallen into the desert covered in academy sewer filth and blood, spent days like that, and then gotten drenched in more blood and muck in the sewers.
It took a full bar of soap to scrub off the grime.
And above all...
Player.
The moment that name crossed her mind, Dawn silently stopped her hand.
Before the heavy silence could fill the room, she stood and opened the window.
Outside, a sun no different from Earth's blanketed the city.
The imperial palace city, the city of trash, the largest city in the south.
As if to prove all those names were hers, Drei Terial brimmed with chaos.
Half-built skyscrapers abandoned amid the economic crash dotted the city.
It evoked post-apocalyptic movie sets, yet the locals made thrifty use of even those.
Most unfinished buildings wore makeshift roofs of patchwork sheet metal, while some roofless ones served as rooftop markets or gardens.
Below them, grid-like structures blending Earth's engineering with otherworldly aesthetics sprawled in disorder—a sight familiar to Dawn.
Incheon's most rundown shantytown looked just like that...
"What're you doing?"
The bathroom door opened, and Seti's voice rang through the room. Dawn snapped from her thoughts and turned.
Seti, freshly showered, was lightly dressed and shaking out her hair.
"...Just looking outside."
"You look pretty troubled for that."
"You would be too, seeing the view."
At Dawn's words, Seti smirked and joined her at the window, taking in the same scene.
A moment later, she let out a hollow laugh with a brief impression.
"...Dramas glamorize it a lot, huh?"
Dawn, who'd never seen the crime dramas she meant, shrugged in vague agreement. Seti slammed the window shut with a bang.
In the now fully sealed room, Seti flopped onto the bed.
"...We somehow made it here."
She stretched languidly, her navel peeking temptingly from her clothes.
Dawn averted her gaze with a cough.
"We could hop the next train back to Earth."
"That sounds good, but doesn't it feel off to just leave?"
"Yeah... We need to know why the Korean government's shepherds are in a city like this."
The intel tortured out of the desert wraith, Dagall. Dawn couldn't refuse her suggestion.
Having killed Player, his greatest enemy was the Korean government.
As Dawn fell silent, Seti propped herself up on the bed and asked,
"Oh, right. What'd Josef say?"
The Incheon arms dealer they'd met in the sewers.
Before Dawn could even ask why an Incheon guy was here, he'd recommended an inn and left.
Thanks to Dawn, they'd cleared the rat pups quicker than expected, so he had business to handle?
His parting words were just one thing.
"...He said he'd send someone this evening. Wants to treat us to dinner."
"So we've got time?"
"Why, wanna sightsee?"
"No? Absolutely not?"
Seti furrowed her fine brows as if he'd said something absurd, then patted the bed invitingly.
But when Dawn ignored the gesture, she turned serious.
"Come sit."
"...Why?"
"Hey, now."
Dawn started to protest but sighed at Seti's simmering glare.
With no real reason to refuse, he sat beside her.
The next instant, she pulled him into a tight hug, burying her face in his chest.
Ah, no way. Dawn's mind raced with possibilities.
Especially recalling that creative(?) waterskin from the desert...
"Seti?"
Her embrace loosened. Her breathing grew steady, and her body went limp, collapsing into his arms.
"...She was tired."
Dawn held the sleeping Seti, patting her back.
For some reason, the saintess's face flashed in his mind, but he brushed it off.
He matched his breathing to hers, holding her gently and quietly.
Soon, the small inn room echoed with a single, long breath.
Until evening.
***
Sunset, as lights flickered on across the city.
The man Josef sent was the very subordinate who'd misfired in the sewers.
Perhaps awed by Dawn's prowess in carving up the Ratkins, he bowed deeply and explained,
'The boss invites you both to the city's most expensive restaurant.'
He mentioned dress codes for fine dining, offering Dawn a crisp white suit and Seti a black dress.
It was a hassle, but they didn't refuse.
The subordinate's pleading expression played a part, but mainly curiosity about why Josef was here instead of Incheon.
Dressed up, weapons and pouches packed, they followed him briefly.
Instead of a car, a carriage brought them to a luxurious building starkly contrasting the cityscape.
Massive statues guarded the entrance, with ornate lights and faint music drifting out.
"Table 11 reservation. Confirmed."
The interior outdid the exterior. Crystal lamps floated by magic, sparkling from the ceiling.
The outer city was a shantytown, yet here was this opulence.
Dawn smirked at the glaring wealth gap; even Seti shook her head.
But business was business.
Spotting Josef at the largest table inside, they wiped the smiles from their faces.
"Ah, guests! You're finally here!"
Josef, spotting them late, spread his arms wide in welcome.
"Long time no see, Josef."
"First time since you chased me out of the black market."
After brief greetings, they sat across from him.
Josef ordered food, crossed his arms, and said,
"So, you two were the sun mask and... dog mask from that black market day?"
The day Elder Jang Man first took him to the market.
Dawn nodded at the blunt question. No need to hide it.
"What a coincidence. Or should I call it fate?"
Seeing his cheeky grin, Dawn cut to the chase.
"Josef, why are you here instead of Incheon?"
"Well, smugglers are merchants at heart. Why does a merchant move? Money, obviously."
"...Money?"
"Yeah, after the North Manchuria mess, things got complicated... Arms dealing in Incheon tanked hard."
He nodded sheepishly, as if embarrassed to explain.
"Couldn't just quit, so I came here chasing a big score. Word is this place is about to go to hell."
"...Go to hell?"
Josef smiled meaningfully.
"They say three unclaimed treasures turned up here. All heavy hitters: World Tree Crystal, the previous-previous tower master's secret relic, and... a nuke warhead."
World Tree Crystal and secret relic aside—what? Nuke warhead?
Dawn frowned, thinking bullshit, but Josef was unfazed.
He smirked, expecting disbelief.
"Well, I've never seen them myself. A nuke warhead? Honestly, probably just rumors."
"...But even rumors of that caliber could spark conflicts."
Intangible or not, those items would inevitably draw fights.
And where there's conflict, weapons are always needed.
"Exactly."
"..."
As Dawn eyed Josef, Seti chimed in.
"Why give us that info for free?"
"...Pure goodwill, of course."
"Bullshit."
At Seti's cynical jab, Josef laughed and added,
"Truth is, I want to hire you two as bodyguards."
"Hmm?"
"Honestly, no thoughts at first sight, but after seeing your skills..."
"How do you trust us enough for that?"
"This young lady came with Elder Jang Man himself to the black market, right? That's trustworthy enough."
Was Elder Jang Man that big a deal? Seti glanced at Dawn, but he neither confirmed nor denied, staring straight at Josef.
Their gazes locked briefly, then Dawn abruptly tossed a small gold-coin pouch from her waist at him.
Jingle—the coins clinked on the table.
"No need for guards. I'll hire you instead."
"...For that price?"
Josef tilted his head at the pouch. Barely fifty coins max.
Hiring him in reverse? No issue? Dawn drummed the table.
"No. My offer's a hundred times that in gold."
"..."
"If short, I'll throw in a chest of bullion. Fair?"
A long smile spread across Josef's face. He recalled Dawn in the mask, following Elder Jang Man.
Yeah, she was always this bold.
He mentally tallied it up, then a question popped up.
"Just to check—are you related to Elder Jang Man?"
"...No."
"Huh, but you look just like his younger self. I'd believe you were his son."
Before Dawn could respond, Josef lifted the pouch.
"Deal. This is the advance."
He checked the coins inside. Business was business.
All genuine gold coins from beyond the dimensional gate.
Each worth at least a grand...
Mid-thought, Josef scowled.
"Why the face?"
As Dawn asked, Josef pulled out one coin.
Unlike the others, it bore a translucent pattern—like a magic circle.
"No way... tracking spell...?"
That instant.
The restaurant ceiling exploded.
!!!!
Amid the deafening blast swallowing all sounds, stone, glass, and shadowy figures rained down.
"Dawn! Catch!"
Seti drew the sword hidden under her dress skirt and tossed it; Dawn caught it as
A red-haired man above slashed down with his blade.
A man with ears several times longer than a human's.
* * *