Chapter 116

Ding!
The sound of heavy iron awakened the man’s consciousness.
“…….”
The first thing he saw when he raised his head was the cage, once again separating the inside from the outside of the cramped room. Having just woken up, he had a strange feeling.
The view beyond the bars was no different than the room he was in. You could flip the room 180 degrees and it wouldn’t make much difference. Except that there was a door on the other side that led outside.
That alone divides the prisoners from the guards.
“…… is, … because….”
“…I can …, so … do it.”
The clattering of horses rattled against the iron gate. The man’s hearing was more acute than most. If he listened closely, he could hear the words of the guard who had been watching him all day.
“Please call me when you’re finished.”
Then, with another clang, the iron gate opened.
The figure that entered the room was an unremarkable-looking young man. His black hair was noticeable, but it wasn’t particularly rare, so it was hard to make a memorable impression.
But the man felt a strange sensation.
“There’s something off about this.
It’s a bit vague for words. To put it bluntly, it’s like being forced to wear clothes that don’t fit. As is often the case with spies who are clumsily disguised as locals.
“Oops. Was that loud?”
The young man pulled up a chair and sat down.
“It’s shift change time. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“Nope. Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re good to go.”
He glances around the cell and opens his mouth again.
“Do you want to catch up with each other?”
“Do you have any questions for me?”
“In my experience, Pekatum has a lot of stories to tell.”
Makes a gesture of banging his head.
The man touched my horns, proof that he, too, had Castus’s blood, the blood of the bigoted Bastitheans.
“And they’re trying to get at something else upstairs, so I need your help.”
After staring at his smiling face, the man finally shook his head.
“Let’s start with your full name. What’s your name?”
“Edwin Berenice.”
“Aha. I’m Pablo.”
Pablo nodded in approval.
“Who is this Hafael you seek?”
“His name is Hafael Fabio, also known as Mithril.”
“That’s an unusual nickname. Where did you get that?”
Edwin chose silence.
“I don’t want to talk about this. Let’s move on.”
Pablo, arms folded, changed the question.
“Why are you looking for it?”
“…….”
“There you go again, shutting up. I heard you were caught trying to cross the checkpoint on your own. Kabarati, no, you don’t know much about Banjar, do you? How long have you been in Banjar?”
“We’ll be one day short of two weeks.”
“Oh, right. That means you’ve come all this way to see Hafael.”
His gaze suddenly sharpened to a blade.
“Unfortunately, Hafael is dead.”
The passing of a longtime acquaintance and colleague.
But Edwin was unable to show any emotion. His stare was unforgiving, searching for the slightest reaction, even a blink.
“Now that you’re out of the way, are you going back?”
“Can you take over the body?”
“You do realize you’re making a brazen demand, right?”
“To some extent.”
I sighed, “Aha.
“Hey, Edwin. You should know that we’re doing you a tremendous favor by not killing you, although by the looks of your tail, I don’t think you’ve been fed properly.”
“Banjar is a harsh land.”
“It must be especially difficult here, but it’s not much different anywhere, because who would say yes and hand over a body, even one we’ve taken the trouble to dispose of.”
It was a no-brainer.
Edwin didn’t expect it to be smooth sailing, either; he wouldn’t be alive today if his head was a field of flowers.
There were many reasons why he was able to survive away from home.
For one thing, he’s a powerhouse.
“I ask again, hand over Hafael’s body. I have my reasons for doing so, just as you have yours. This is a grave duty entrusted to me.”
“What if I don’t?”
Puddle!
The rope that bound Edwin’s hands broke. The red marks on his flesh faded away like an illusion.
“I’ll have no choice but to kill you all and come looking for you.”
“You sound very confident. Do you think you can do it?”
“That’s not a problem, it’s something that needs to be done.”
Despite the threat, Pavel’s demeanor was strangely relaxed. In fact, he seemed happy. The discomfort in Edwin’s gut grew stronger.
The questions that followed only amplified my doubts.
“So, you don’t want to do it, but who made you do it?”
“……What does it mean?”
“No, I don’t know, it’s just the nuance of following something reluctantly. Is it something you do because you want to, or is it money, or is there a reason you have to?”
The content was easy to understand.
I just couldn’t figure out what he was trying to say. Threatening to kill Hafael if he didn’t return the body. That didn’t sit well with me.
Pablo, no, the man who called himself Pablo, said.
“Would you ever consider working with me?”
“Are you asking me to become mafia?”
“Not really. That’s a different story, hmm.”
Tap your finger on the armrest of the chair for a moment.
“Honestly, I don’t like it, especially when you look at the Legion tail these days.”
Boom!
Edwin grabs the bars in front of him. The grate bent under the absurd force. His opponent’s expression remained impassive, as if he felt no danger.
He stood up from his chair and said two words.
“I’ll come back in three days, and you can think about it from there.”
It was a bizarre first meeting.
* * *
The three days went by quickly.
In the meantime, Edwin became even more withdrawn. He was given minimal food and water, which he rarely touched. Despite being closely monitored, he made no attempt to escape from the camp.
My head was spinning.
It would have been easy to dismiss it as bullshit, but I couldn’t. It’s not that I didn’t try to think about it, it’s just that it was always there.
“Legion is not what it used to be.
When I first joined the Legion as a godmother’s ‘child’. Back then, there was a clear idea and goal. It was a group of people trying to accomplish a cause, even if the means were undeniably radical.
But what about now.
Hatred and anger drive her to tear others apart. The Godmother made her that way, and she hasn’t changed. She was vicious from the start, and as her influence within the group grew, the Legion was tainted by her.
And one failure after another.
The weakening of the Godmother’s grip does not return the organization to its original state. All that remains are venomous soldiers who are suspicious of their leaders. How different from a mob.
For Edwin, the past three days have been about acknowledging the feelings that have been brewing inside him, he realized with a sinking feeling.
That he despises the current legion.
‘But…….’
Is it really okay to betray.
“Your face looks moderately better.”
The second time around, Pavel was much different than the first.
His physique and voice are the same. The black hair is the same, and the unnerving sense of foreignness is gone. His tone and demeanor are natural.
Another, the face was a completely different person.
“…I know who you are.”
“Of course.”
“Why are you here?”
“Wherever I am, it’s my heart, isn’t it?”
The ‘string’ I’d only seen in Chapter chuckled.
“You might be different.”
Kim had a lot, a lot, a lot of information about the man in front of her.
‘Asshole. You’re handsome, even if you haven’t washed all day.’
The light is so weak it would go out if you flicked on a light switch, illuminating his blue-gray hair, and his shadowy face exudes decadence. I can’t help but recognize him as the same man.
A person who is the Godmother’s bodyguard.
To put it more blatantly, it’s more like a hunting dog. A loyal dog that barks when it’s told to bark and fetches when it’s told to fetch. Their status in the Legion is also on the high axis.
The most unusual part.
‘The original traitor.
6-Star Agent Edwin Berenice.
In real life, Mithril hits the player, but in the game, Edwin betrays the Legion. This is after Camellia’s death. He joins the Rap because he’s disillusioned with the Legion’s increasingly outrageous behavior.
It’s a far cry from Mithril, who was a victim of organizational incompetence. Edwin is also a big part of the main episode, helping to bring down the Legion.
‘Although I don’t really like him as a character.
There’s not a lot of reason for a male user to be attracted to a hottie. Not even epic. I’d rather have a ghost who defends his comrades and oxidizes them epically.
But that’s about it as a character in the story.
There are some things in the game that are just impossible.
‘It’s fucking great anyway.’
One of the agents unanimously judged to be a human rights scum by the deceased users. She has a completely different use than Ast, but her power is such that even the most man-hating players can’t help but succumb to her.
In other words, the shit has hit the fan.
“I wouldn’t call it luck.
It’s more of an inevitability.
If Mithril escapes, the Godmother’s hounds will be after her, and there’s no one better suited than Edwin. Odds be damned.
They are, in short, a set. Edwin’s encounter with Mithril was preordained when he was reunited with her by chance. At first, she’s surprised by the sudden arrival.
“Well, whatever.
Kim wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.
“If you know me, you can spare me the details, right?”
“You’re asking me to be part of the Cellbromics Lab.”
“For now.”
“…I don’t understand.”
Edwin frowned.
“I’ve heard countless stories about you, and in all of them, you come across as a steely, level-headed human being, or at least that’s how I felt.”
“But?”
“You’ve been so hell-bent on excluding the Legion, why are you suggesting that to me?”
What to believe?
“Hmm.”
Kim scratched his head. It was a legitimate question. If he didn’t have any real game knowledge, he’d have put a bullet in it as soon as he realized the connection to Legion.
Naturally, I couldn’t be more honest.
I puzzled around in my brain for a while, trying to come up with a story that made some sense… and then… I slapped it down.
I just said this.
“Contemplative.”
“Coffin… yes?”
“I think it suits you better here. Why, you haven’t killed anyone while you’ve been holed up here eating dog food, and that alone proves you’re not like any of the lunatics I’ve ever met.”
Kim fumbled in his arms, and a key came out. Edwin gave her an awkward look, and with a click, click, click, the bars swung open.
It was a pointless restraint in the first place. I could have easily ripped it off with my bare hands.
And yet, for some reason, Edwin felt liberated.
“Come out first. I’m sorry for locking you up.”
“Are you sure it’s okay to take me out?”
“What’s not to like?”
He gestured urgently out of the cage. Edwin staggered out of the cell, his few steps heavy after days of not being able to walk.
“If you need more time, follow me around and think about it.”
“…….”
“If it’s not, I’ll give you the body. If it is, well.”
Kim said, twirling her keychain around her index finger.
“Until then, take care.”