Chapter 118

Chapter 118

First day of April.
After a long, long break, Nuova Era left Kavarati. What was both surprising and funny was the number of citizens who waved goodbye as he left the city.
“Oh, that’s weird to see again.”
A word from the back seat made Kim glance in the rearview mirror.
Edwin turns his head to look behind him. They’re already so far away that the citizens look like dots.
“Mafia welcomed by civilians, it’s hard for my common sense to comprehend.”
“It’s because we’ve tried to make it work. You have to take into account the specificity of the place.”
Antonio’s answer.
Kim, Edwin, and Antonio. The four of them, plus one of the gang members, were in a car. Antonio took the wheel as if it was a given.
“I’m just going to snap it, he’s going to get it.
Is he a leader by example? Maybe. Kim was convinced and chimed in.
“I’m sure there’s some math involved.”
“What calculation?”
Think about it,” he explained.
“The Kavarati are very afraid of Naraka, to the point of using unrealistic terms like curse. If they are truly concerned about our safety, they should capture him.”
“……Hmm. Does that mean it’s a sham?”
“No, you’re right to feel sorry for him.”
Kim propped her elbows on the armrests and jammed her chin into her fists.
“The problem with the Kabarati is that they can’t defend themselves, and we’ve been protecting the city with the bare minimum of ritualism. How relieved they must be.”
“But why didn’t you push back?”
“They don’t listen to us, and we’re too many to keep feeding and sleeping. You never know when they’re going to show their true colors and try to exploit us.”
“It’s best if you come back with a modestly reduced head count, is that what you mean?”
Antonio smiled bitterly.
“That’s just my personal opinion.”
“I get it, but isn’t your view of the world a little too narrow?”
“I wasn’t meant to be this way, the world made me this way.”
My brain shrivels at the thought of Polaris’s ferocity. Of course, there are some who are genuinely concerned. The twins, for example.
‘Hmm. What about those guys.’
Acceptance in Dustborn is ambiguous in many ways. Unlike the game, you don’t even have the minimum combat power as an agent. Rather, you’re a non-combatant agent of the Labs.
“I’ll take him before he comes back.
Both spells are useful in a variety of ways.
Unless there’s something wrong with Kushan’s brain, he won’t say no. Including Manoj. He’s not the kind of man to turn his back on a rookie agent’s family.
‘I know you’re going to nag me, but…….’
Whatever. I’m used to it now.
Boom!
Dozens of vehicles traveled up and down the dunes.
There were two main changes I noticed as I got closer to Naraka. First, the visibility got worse. There were gusts of sandy wind that could roll boulders the size of my fist.
The next thing is that it’s getting quiet.
“It’s been two hours already.”
Antonio frowned as he gripped the steering wheel.
“I’m not hoping for a monster, but… it’s a creepy silence.”
“I see. When I first arrived in Banjar, I was surprised to find that there were so many beasts in the desert.”
“There are many, many surprises.”
Edwin, despite his seemingly emotionless demeanor, was part of the curious axis. It’s just that getting blood on my hands unwillingly hasn’t made it easy for me to show emotion.
“In a way, it’s like Astran.
Imagine this.
If only it had fallen a decade earlier than the tutorial. If only Edwin had been brought in earlier, just as Ast had protected him from the Pavoni family.
“That’s disgusting.
I don’t even want to think about it.
“How did you get to Kabarati, anyway?”
“I asked for a guide in Timorta. After we left the city and traveled for a while, he tried to extort money from me, so the car was mine.”
Thanks, or should I say positive?
“What happened to that car?”
“I had a run-in with a sandworm near Kavarati, and my bonnet was damaged beyond repair, so I couldn’t drag it any further, and ended up walking for quite a while.”
“Haha, that was kind of crappy. Good job.”
Antonio, who had been listening in silence as if in the background, burst out laughing. The small talk was just the right amount of relaxation. Mostly because of Edwin’s slightly off-kilter sensibilities.
The journey was smooth.
Beast attacks weren’t unheard of, but at most every two or three hours. The further in I went, the less frequent they became, and I was able to sleep in peace at night.
Around noon the next day.
Nuova Era has reached the yellow sand zone.
“…from here to Naraka.”
Antonio muttered to himself.
Sandy dust that never seems to settle, as if protecting or isolating Naraka. Inside, an unidentifiable silhouette seems to hover.
In Kavarati, he was closer to the citizens than anyone else in the organization. Though it was entirely for work, he was naturally exposed to many rumors about Naraka.
Most of which are myths.
Stories that have gone in one ear and out the other are replayed in the brain. Fear takes shape. It’s as if he’s walking into a monster’s stomach.
I was nervous, so I didn’t notice.
“…….”
Kim and Edwin exchanged glances in the rearview mirror. Their gazes were cold and sterile. As if they were surrounded by all sorts of factions and had become part of them.
The lead car then took off.
One by one, the cars disappeared into the sandstorm. Antonio stepped on the pedal with determination. Not a word of conversation passed between the four of them, as if they had an unspoken agreement.
Whoosh!
The wind howled outside the car window.
It was like a ghost’s song. The pebbles pounded relentlessly against the window, and the radio crackled. It was static from the grains of sand rubbing against each other.
‘Damn. I can’t see anything.’
Antonio’s posture is rigid. The dust was thick, making it difficult to gauge the distance between him and his coworkers. Stumbling a little would only make it harder. He drove the car at a predetermined speed.
……, and then looked away as much as possible.
It was a shadow in a sandstorm, like a remote island hidden in a mist of water, and when I tried to focus on it, it disappeared as if it were an illusion.
“Those are, yes, illusions.
Antonio told himself. Ghost stories are usually shallow. The mind is agitated and sees and hears things that don’t exist.
Chirp, chirp, chirp!
The sound of gravel scraping against the window is eerie. I had to fight the urge to plug my ears. His eyes were stiff from not blinking for so long.
It was a labor of love.
“……Haaaah!”
With the opening of the field of vision came breathing room.
By the time he emerged from the nasty sandstorm, Antonio was soaked in a cold sweat. Even though he thought he looked like shit, a feeling of relief rose in his stomach.
“Jingling.”
The wipers swiped at the dirt, going side to side. The scratches on the window felt like the claw marks of a monster. What followed was an experience I never wanted to repeat, even if it was less terrifying.
The first car to arrive was parked in the right spot. Antonio pulled over and waited. After about 10 minutes, the last car, which was nowhere to be seen, showed up.
“Good, everyone’s safe.”
Ekidna, who was outside, nodded. The creature’s existence was uncertain, but if it did exist, fortunately, it seemed to have a forgiving temper.
“It’s finally Naraka. We don’t know what’s going to happen from here. Keep your wits about you.”
The excitement that had greeted her upon leaving Timorta was gone. Ekidna’s nervousness was palpable, even if she didn’t show it.
It was inevitable.
From now on, she will be tested: whether she is qualified to challenge Naraka’s supremacy and whether she can accept the consequences when they come.
Of course, not being convinced won’t change the outcome.
The landscape itself was similar to the area we had just traveled through. The desert was still desert. Sand and rocks everywhere you looked. Interspersed with trees that looked like quartz artifacts.
But the “rock” was different.
“So that’s the ‘lactnidi’ I’ve been hearing about.”
Raktnidi, the red treasure of Naraka. A mineral that is both elastic and hard. A fantastical material that can be transformed into outrageous weaponry if the craftsman is skilled enough.
Tamtam’s eyeballs are embedded with enough material to make them pop out. In the game, these are items that can be purchased in small quantities for a large amount of credits at the Exchange.
“Hey, if I mine that, how much will I make….”
The member of the group who’d been silent the entire time swallowed hard. It was not unreasonable. Nuggets of gold were rolling around.
But Kim wasn’t interested in Lactnidi.
“If they could, someone would have stolen it long ago.
He was poised, unobtrusively. ready to move at any moment. From now on, you can’t relax your concentration for even a minute. You have to react faster than anyone else.
However.
The change came in a different way than we expected.
– Stop.
The muffled voice had a strange chill to it. By the time Kim caught on to the discomfort, the car had stopped in the dunes, as if he’d made a promise.
It wasn’t just one car.
All the cars were in position. With a click, the car doors opened one by one. Next to Kim, Antonio took his hands off the wheel.
Next, I raised the pistol and pointed it.
“……What is it doing?”
“I’m just following orders.”
“Not yelling, of course.”
Antonio didn’t give Kim the answer she wanted. Instead, he jerked his gun outward, aiming it at her head. It was a gesture to get out.
I thought about it for a moment.
“Should I spill it?
There is Edwin here. You and Edwin as agents. Not a weak formation by any means. Between the two of them, they’re more than capable of wiping out Nuova Era.
We put it on hold for now.
“I need to see what’s going on.
It’s short-lived; the time to move is soon.
“Got it.”
Kim shrugged it off and walked out the door. Outside, the gang members had already drawn their guns and surrounded them.
A coordinated move. It was clearly premeditated.
“I never thought I’d get stabbed in the back.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a clue.
Ekidna has never been in the same vehicle as Kim Yi-hyun. Not even once since leaving Timorta, which means she’s always had Kim’s treachery on her mind.
It was a difference in order.
They were getting ready to stab each other in the back, and Kim was just one step too late. The betrayal was almost cool, rather than chilling.
“You don’t look too surprised.”
Ekidna approached, pistol drawn.
“I don’t blame the mafia.”
“You’re right, but don’t hold it against me.”
Don’t close the distance any further than necessary. Ten steps. Apparently, ten paces is what I thought was a “safe distance.
“We’re only using you because you’re using us, and if you were truly part of our family, none of this would have happened, but we can’t keep a reactionary around when it’s obvious he’s going to betray us.”
“You’re going to kill him before he kills you?”
“I’ll give you a chance to choose.”
Poof.
Something was thrown at her feet. Kim lowered her gaze and looked down. A ring that had been scattered across the sand. It wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing for an accessory.
I know what it is. I’ve actually seen it.
“Ish’lard’s restraints. Good thing I got these.”
“Timorta gets all the weird stuff.”
Takes the form of a necklace. It reacts to a special substance secreted by the body when a spell is cast, injecting the prisoner with poison. It is both a restraint and an execution tool.
“If you want to kick it, I’ll let you live.”
You won’t be unable to spell at all. Ekidna will have a controller. She only needs to turn it off when she needs her spells.
‘Timortara. You’ve been planning this from the beginning.’
As it turns out, he was not to be taken lightly.
“You have 10 seconds to decide: join the family or die.”
“How is this family and not a dog?”
“This is going to be controversial. Don’t you know the word pet?”
I joked around as usual, but the gun didn’t go down.
“10, 9, 8.”
The count began slowly. There was no noise to interrupt Ekidna’s words. The world beyond the sandstorm was eerily quiet.
The number dropped to five, at which point Ekidna’s eyes crinkled. As she counted down the seconds like a machine, she said, partly annoyed, partly pleading.
“…don’t let me kill you.”
Again 4 seconds, then 3 seconds.
Kim closed her eyelids slowly. It was time to make a decision: pretend to accept, or get her hands dirty.
He bent his knees.
─Woof!
A heavy crash shattered the silence of the desert.
The commotion drew attention to itself. The bonnet of the lead car was crushed and the body lurched forward. A shadowy figure sat on top of the car for what seemed like forever.
No, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a person. The limbs peek out from the ivory-colored cloth and hood wrapped around its body. The left arm and right leg are misshapen and bulging.
Over the hill, shadow after shadow appeared.
Hashashin (حشّاشين). The ghosts who live in Naraka.
The second twist, and the one that was coming.
For Kim, it was ideal timing.
Chaaaahhh!
A large amount of sand rose up and then came cascading down like a waterfall. It was like a mini natural disaster, created by a single hand.
It wasn’t a special process.
Maybe it was some kind of spell, but on the surface it seemed simple enough. He merely swung a sword. A sword that was oddly shaped, as if it had been carved out of a guillotine.
The sound of destruction followed as the view was blocked.
“Why now…!”
A sense of despair washed over Ekidna’s face. The muzzle of the gun turned. The moment she was sure that the gang’s attention had shifted, she made her move.
Static Tower] in my left hand. I twisted my arm back, ready for the bullets that were aimed at my back. In his right hand, he crafted an FE-7 suppression shield and held it in front of him.
Thump!
“Boom!”
It was a light collision, but the impact was heavy. Antonio was thrown out, losing his grip on the gun. Kim threw himself into the driver’s seat with the door wide open.
I turned my head and our eyes met. Antonio smiled bitterly. I could feel the apology I hadn’t said.
But there was no reason to accept it. They crossed the line first, so Kim ended up being the ‘victim’.
Finally, I saw Ekidna’s despondent expression.
Bam!
I closed the door immediately.
The keys were in the ignition and the car was running. From the backseat, there was a “whoosh, whoosh” sound. Edwin knocked out his passenger and pushed him out.
“Here we go.”
“Yes.”
The car has started.