Chapter 62: Ti to Part Ways
“Hurry! Move quickly!”
I waved my hand urgently as the people scrambled in the direction of the forest I pointed to.
I had been at the very front during the breakthrough, but now the situation called for a change in position.
After signaling Dorneth to take the lead, I sprinted to the rear. With so many people, it took quite a while just to make my way to the back.
If there were any pursuit, it would naturally target the rear first.
My heart was pounding in anxiety, but as soon as I reached the tail end of the procession, I noticed sothing—there had been a shift in the Chira formation.
No Chiras were following us into the forest.
‘We’re in the clear!’
There wasn’t even a trace of their presence. It seed we no longer needed to worry about the Chiras.
Panting heavily, I let out a sigh of relief on the spot.
If Dominic had given up the chase, it ant his attention was entirely focused on the crimson beast.
The greatest danger had been averted.
I stuck to the very back of the line, encouraging people as they moved forward. Our priority was to ensure enough distance for safety.
Boom—! BOOOM—!
“…Ugh!”
Suddenly, bloodied Chira corpses ca flying from the sky and crashed to the ground.
As the grotesquely mangled bodies rained down, people scread in terror, so even vomiting at the horrific sight.
How could bodies be flung all the way here?
It felt as though we were still trapped in the brutal battlefield.
‘What an absolute brute.’
The scattered remnants were a testant to the overwhelming power of the crimson beast.
Roooaaarrr—!!
A furious roar echoed from far away, sending fear rippling through the group as they ran for their lives.
A long, winding procession cutting through the forest.
How long had we been running?
“Urgh, gah!”
“Pant… pant…”
So people collapsed, gasping for breath, unable to get up again. The number of those falling grew rapidly, so I signaled for everyone to stop and helped the fallen.
The expressions on the faces of those resting on the ground were pale and drained.
Most of them had gone days without food, let alone water. Reaching this point would have been impossible without the help of the dwarves.
Now that I judged we had secured enough distance, I began searching for a suitable place for the group to take a proper rest.
“Can we find water nearby?”
When I asked Fenry, she imdiately turned in a specific direction without hesitation.
Unlike before, I moved the group more leisurely under her guidance.
A short while later, we ca upon a large stream, and the once-exhausted people’s faces lit up with newfound energy.
“…Water!”
Without needing to be told, they rushed toward the stream, shoving their faces into the water to drink. The dwarves were no exception.
As their thirst was quenched, life slowly returned to the group.
“You found a spot like this so easily?”
“Worth every bit of the thousand gold you’re paying .”
Entrusting the search to her had clearly been the right choice.
While everyone rested by the stream, Dorneth approached and extended his hand.
“You’ve done a great favor.”
Not only had I saved Sharbadin, but I had also achieved what seed like an impossible escape.
If we had failed, Dorneth’s forces would have clashed directly with Dominic, resulting in imnse bloodshed. Thanks to , that disaster had been avoided, leaving Dorneth deeply indebted.
“Dwarf, don’t tell you’re planning to settle this with just a few words of gratitude?”
“You think I’m as shaless as you?”
At Fenry’s sarcastic jab, Dorneth furrowed his brow and pulled out a small token from his pocket, tossing it to . It was a golden badge engraved with the image of a hamr. Fenry’s eyes widened slightly at the sight.
“You’re opening the Blacksmith’s Garden?”
“He’s more than earned the right.”
“And what about ?”
“You said you wanted money, didn’t you?”
“The Blacksmith’s Garden? That’s a whole different story!”
“Pick one, you damn she-cat!”
While the two bickered, I examined the small golden badge in my hand.
The Blacksmith’s Garden.
A place I had often heard ntioned in conversations among notable figures.
When Beneta had fallen to the Mad Butcher, Kal Blazer, the Blacksmith’s Garden had disappeared along with it.
There were rumors that Dorneth himself had burned it down, but I knew its hidden location.
Of course, knowing where it was didn’t an I could just enter.
The garden was a collection of equipnt amassed by Dorneth’s ancestors for generations—a place one could only enter with the permission of the dwarves.
The golden badge now in my possession served as a one-ti voucher to claim a piece of equipnt from the Blacksmith’s Garden.
This ant that Beneta’s trust in had risen to a level beyond re goodwill.
‘This is huge.’
I had worked with Dorneth to increase the chances of escaping, but this unexpected reward was beyond anything I had hoped for.
I had already been planning to procure better equipnt.
‘The better my gear, the higher my chances of survival.’
And starting with the Blacksmith’s Garden? That was beyond generous.
What kind of equipnt should I choose?
‘A pleasant dilemma, but now’s not the ti to think about it.’
After thanking Dorneth, I tucked the golden badge away. This was no ti to relax and stretch out my legs.
My true purpose wasn’t here.
I needed to move on to the final stage of my plan. After everything I had gone through to get here, there was no stopping now.
“It seems my work ends here.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying it’s ti for us to part ways.”
Fenry and Dorneth both froze mid-argunt, turning to look at with curious expressions. They were understandably puzzled—why suggest parting ways right after escaping such a crisis?
“Aren’t you headed to Beneta?”
“I have sothing important to take care of.”
“Sothing important? You’re not thinking of going back, are you?”
Fenry pointed toward the distant cliffs.
The jagged precipice stood tall in the heart of the forest, where Dominic was still locked in a horrific battle amidst Retonicalus’s trial.
As I t Fenry’s gaze, I clicked my tongue and nodded.
Those piercing elven eyes of hers, always digging for the truth, were annoyingly hard to fool.
“Sharp as ever.”
“You’re planning to go there alone? Well… I suppose with your abilities, you might survive. But why?”
“I’m interested in the beings gathered there.”
“I thought you were sick of them?”
“They’re the only ones who react negatively to my ability. I want to know why. If I observe them, I might uncover so clues.”
“Clues, huh… You’re just going to observe from a distance, right?”
Her persistent questioning made it clear she was keeping an eye on because of the Mark of Life. If I recklessly provoked Dominic and got into trouble, she would be obligated to step in to protect .
No wonder she’d been so reluctant to grant the mark in the first place.
“I’ll just observe. Nothing more.”
“Really?”
I smiled and nodded.
For now, I’d stick to observing. Beyond that, I left my intentions vague.
If she caught wind of the plan in my head, she’d probably knock out and drag back to Beneta.
Fenry was unpredictable, so I needed to reassure her for now and send her on her way.
‘Besides, I can summon her if I need her.’
The Mark of Life worked unilaterally.
In other words, I held all the power.
After everyone had rested enough, the procession was reorganized with Dorneth at its center, ready to head toward Beneta.
The only one left out of that procession was .
It was ti to part ways.
Before she left, Sharbadin ca to see .
“Why are you giving this…?”
“Because Dorneth is by my side now.”
What she handed was an obsidian ornant shaped like a black rose.
The Dark Rose.
Originally ant to be a symbol of Fenry Chaser, its value had shifted due to Sharbadin’s survival.
The Dark Rose carried an extraordinary blessing.
But why give such a rare item to ?
“I heard you’re going sowhere dangerous. This will help you.”
“Wasn’t this a gift from Dorneth?”
“He gave permission. He said he’d make sothing even better. So please, take it.”
Only a fool would refuse the Dark Rose.
Still, with so many eyes on us, I made a show of hesitating before pinning it to my chest like a brooch.
First the golden badge, and now the Dark Rose.
Was this really happening to soone as unlucky as ?
I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“Please visit Beneta soday.”
“I’ll visit soon.”
“You promise? Promise!”
She repeated her request several tis before leaving.
The rest of the group was ready to leave, but it was clear that the ti Sharbadin had spent with —facing death together—had left a significant impression on her.
A stunning elf, selflessly offering help with no strings attached.
It felt strange to have ford such a good connection... no, an alliance, with soone like her.
“Let’s go ho!”
Dorneth’s spirited shout echoed across the clearing.
The dwarves responded with roaring cheers, their voices brimming with joy and relief. The others in the procession, following their lead, clutched their hearts and sighed deeply, overwheld with emotion.
Ho.
The realization that they had survived, that they were finally going ho, began to sink in.
Despair and anguish gave way to relief, and the grim expressions on their faces softened into faint smiles.
In the warmth of that shared sentint, people began exchanging glances, silently comforting one another.
It wasn’t long before their collective gaze turned toward a single figure.
A young man stood at the edge of the procession, waving at the departing Sharbadin.
Ordinary at a glance, the type of person you wouldn’t even notice if you passed him on the street. But to these people, the young man before them now felt monuntal, larger than life.
They didn’t know his na.
Or rather, they had asked, but he had answered only with a smile, never giving it away.
So no one knew his na.
But the miracle he had brought about—the golden light, the salvation—was forever etched in their mories.
The man who called forth miracles.
'The Saint of Salvation.'
On the road back to Beneta, whispers of the man’s deeds began to spread among the survivors.
* * *
“Quite a lot of them survived.”
As I watched the six thousand people disappear into the forest, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of emotion.
They were all ant to die in the original story, their fates sealed by Dominic’s rciless hand. If they went on to influence the world, even in small ways, the ripples of their survival would bring significant changes to the tiline I knew.
‘Sharbadin’s survival alone has already altered so much.’
Having foreknowledge of the future was undeniably powerful.
But that future was now shifting in real ti because of my choices.
Do I regret it?
“Not one bit.”
Turning my back to the retreating figures, I began walking slowly toward my next destination.
From the mont I t Kal Blazer, under the guise of an assassin, this world had ceased to align with the one I once knew.
The story was already veering off course, and I was navigating this new reality by leveraging everything I could to build my strength.
What was the goal? To seize the world? To rule over it?
I had no delusions of grandeur like that.
Survival.
That was my only objective. It was all that mattered.
Even the “Hundred Hearts” event was no exception.
I wasn’t going to leave this main event as a playground for the Butcher or Dominic.
‘I’ll turn it into an event for myself.’
The stronger I beca, the more options I’d have.
And with that, my next goals would naturally fall into place.
Packing up my gear, I carefully checked my equipnt.
Three daggers and a crossbow.
Inadequate for soone planning to face Dominic, to say the least.
‘But I’ve gotten close enough to breathe down Dominic’s neck.’
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I tightened my grip and started running.
It was ti to move.
* * *
Roooaaaaarrr—!!
The crimson beast towered over the battlefield, its massive fra exuding overwhelming power.
Its strength was just as fearso.
With wild swings of its limbs, it crushed Chiras like insects, their bodies reduced to pulp. With one hand, it grabbed multiple Chiras at once and hurled them savagely through the air.
Whenever the massive mouth on its chest opened wide, blood splattered across the sky, as countless Chiras were devoured in a single gulp.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Any human facing this monstrosity would have frozen in terror or fled outright.
But the Chiras were different.
Mindless, corrupted beings.
They were nothing more than puppets, bound to obey commands.
Kiiiieeeeek!
Kuaaargh!
For every Chira that fell, two more erged.
For every two that fell, four took their place.
And when those four fell, an even larger number charged forward, swarming the crimson beast like insects.
Crack—! CRASH—!!
Yet the beast tore through them as though they were nothing more than brittle shells. Blood and viscera splattered across the battlefield, carried by the foul winds of the carnage.
The nauseating stench of death was suffocating, forcing to cover my nose as I muttered under my breath.
“Fuck, this is insane.”
That one sentence sumd up the battle before .
A grotesque clash so horrifying it turned my stomach.
A fight consud by pure, unrelenting madness.
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