“We were supposed to be together…”

The voice inside the tent grew louder. Levian strode forward, following the tearful voice. Finally, when he lifted the dimly lit tent flap.

“W-who’s there!”

Levian found a crying Orc and Dwarf. And beyond them, a strange sight.

“I asked who you are!”

“Stop it! What are you doing!”

Without hesitation, Levian lifted Egru’s upper clothing. Dried blood fell off stickily. The wheat bread hidden tightly inside the clothes had swollen and burst, soaked in blood, to the point where its original form was barely recognizable.

“Egru.”

“…”

“Answer me.”

Levian patted Egru’s cheeks.

“Wake up! Hey!”

“Stop it! Don’t shake Egru!”

“Is he unconscious?”

At Levian’s question, the Orc’s face, tear-stained, contorted fiercely.

“Show some respect for the dead.”

“What are you talking about? He’s clearly just passed out. He’s just taking a short nap because he’s tired.”

Someone once said that the dead look as if they’ve fallen into a peaceful, long sleep.

That wasn’t true.

He looked dead. He looked like someone who had died in agony. The series of facts began to choke Levian.

“Let’s go home and sleep.”

Levian denied the reality before him with all his might.

“If you sleep in a place like this, your mouth will go crooked.”

Levian picked up Egru in one swift motion. He felt lighter than usual. It was the weight of a body whose heart had been removed by magic.

“That’s enough. Put him down.”

The Orc Chief blocked the tent entrance.

“…Move.”

“I don’t know what your relationship is, but we’re taking Egru. He’s a hero who deserves to be buried in the Orc’s sanctuary.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. He’s not an Orc.”

“Give Egru back.”

This time, another Orc clung to his ankle. Even the short Dwarf had picked up a wooden stick.

Levian, naturally, raised his fist.

***

Bang, bang, bang.

Levian kicked the underground door of the Papal Headquarters like a madman. His arms, cradling Egru’s corpse, gradually tightened.

“Ah, it’s Levian! Good to see you!”

A nauseating voice echoed beyond the quiet chill. The majestic brass door leisurely opened a crack.

“What brings you here at this hour? I thought you’d gone on a trip since you hadn’t visited in so long.”

“Bring him back to life.”

“Hm? Bring what back?”

“You can do it, can’t you?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a desperate expression. About 400 years, perhaps? Since the Hero passed away…”

“Shut up and tell me if you can revive him.”

“Oh, Levian! How can I speak if I shut my mouth?”

Levian silently stared at the Pope, Salvanel. His pumpkin-colored eyes, consumed by intense emotion, took on a fierce glow.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if everything could be resolved just by glaring?”

“…”

“Hmph, can’t I even make a joke?”

Salvanel greeted Levian with a sulky face.

“Come in first. Would you like some tea? Coffee? Milk?”

“…”

“Alright, I’ll answer you first.”

Salvanel began brewing his portion of tea. Contrary to the fragrant smell, the experiment tables scattered throughout the underground were full of dismembered flesh. It seemed he was combining something again.

“The ritual known as forbidden ancient magic, you know. In reality, it’s nothing special, unlike its grandiose name.”

The sound of a dainty flower-patterned teapot and teacup clinking resonated.

“It’s similar to children fishing for prizes with toy fishing rods at an amusement park. Among them, the Hero’s soul was, how should I put it, as if the netherworld didn’t want to let it go. Without actually going there, we can’t know the exact reason, but it was utterly despairing. Useless souls kept flocking to the bait I cast with all sincerity every time. Now that I’m telling you this…”

Shhh, the soft reddish tea filled the cup warmly.

“It felt like they were mocking us, tying the targeted prize with glue or string so we couldn’t take it. There are many similar frauds at the amusement park you run, right? Like dolls that won’t fall no matter how many times you shoot them with toy guns. Or coins that you struggle to pull up with a magnet, only to have them drop at the last moment.”

Salvanel sipped the tea with a refined gesture.

“But well, someone like that child is easy.”

It was a leisurely assertion. A glimmer of expectation arose in Levian’s eyes, which had been trying hard to appear indifferent.

“He might be able to open his eyes by tomorrow, don’t you think? Even if he underwent an exceptionally early reincarnation, there are ways to track him.”

“Then immediately…!”

“But you know, Levian.”

“?”

“Why should I?”

Salvanel laughed brightly, elongating his elegant eye corners.

“What do I gain from this? What an outrageously shameless request.”

The high-pitched laughter echoed through the basement for a long time.

Wiping away tears of mockery, Salvanel straightened his back. His long white hair flowed smoothly down his straight back.

“Just because you made a little mistake like you did in the past.”

His purple eyes rolled gently. They briefly glanced down at Levian’s hand, where veins were bulging.

“You look like you’re about to throw a punch? My face is too pretty to be hit.”

“…The heart is missing.”

“You should get into the habit of stating the subject.”

Levian said as he laid Egru’s corpse on the sofa.

“There’s no one else who would pull this kind of bullshit except you.”

“Hmm.”

Salvanel crossed his arms and leaned back.

“The fragment of the Hero’s heart was rightfully mine. Moreover, the toxins that started in the liver were spreading to other organs. What if the heart had been contaminated? This all happened because you arbitrarily canceled the deal.”

Salvanel slowly approached the sofa where the corpse lay.

“Still, it’s really a shame. If only we had met a little earlier.”

“…”

“If I had known it would be such a useless soul, I should have collected it sooner…”

Suddenly, Salvanel’s words cut off. It happened in an instant. A dagger was lodged horizontally in Salvanel’s slender neck. Like a piece of meat skewered on a stick.

But Salvanel laughed without even flinching. Blood spilled from between his upturned lips, wetting his chin.

Purple eyes, showing no sign of guilt, stared directly at Levian.

Snap.

The sensation of reason snapping. Levian rushed forward, raising his fist.

“A little more…”

How long did the dull sound of beating echo? Salvanel abruptly embraced Levian’s waist.

“I’d like to let you hit me more… but unlike someone… I don’t have the time.”

Salvanel grasped the dagger’s handle with a shaking hand. Then he pulled out the blade that had been causing him to cough up blood continuously. The fatal wound on his neck regenerated as if by magic.

“Preparing for war is much busier than you think.”

Salvanel finally breathed out comfortably and continued his remaining explanation.

“That’s enough now…”

Thud.

“Calm down, Levian. Is it okay for you to do this to me…?”

With each crisp punch, his head kept turning. Salvanel rolled his eyes widely, as if disgusted.

“This is too much. I’ve been turning a blind eye to your secret meddling all this time.”

Salvanel chuckled softly.

“Seeing how you can’t hide your frenzy, I guess you failed? Actually, this looks easy, but it’s a very delicate process. Dealing with wandering souls[1] is originally…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“You experimented on your own, didn’t you?”

Salvanel opened his eyes wide with an innocent face.

“You made countless meaningless attempts. Egru. To transfer one useless gutter life into a new body.”

“…”

“You used relatively easy-to-obtain low-grade magic beasts, right? Most recently, was it a goblin?”

Levian momentarily withdrew his fist. He took in several rough breaths with his disheveled appearance.

“It pains me. To think the reward for trust is theft. You know better than anyone what the fragment of the Hero’s heart means to me.”

“…”

“Now you understand, don’t you? How I felt when you killed the Hero.”

Levian’s fist trembled helplessly.

Yes, now he understood. Salvanel was truly insane.

To have embraced an irreversible loss and not committed suicide for hundreds of years. It was impossible to fathom what kind of mindset he lived with.

“Ow, it hurts. You’ve cracked my skull. The jaw is troublesome too…”

Salvanel reached out towards the sofa where the corpse lay. A wave imbued with magical power enveloped the cold body and gently melted into it. It was high-level preservation magic. It firmly solidified the body in its battered state to prevent decay.

“Now take him.”

“…What?”

“You never know. If you cling to a corpse for 400 years like me, struggling, maybe you’ll be granted mercy?”

Salvanel smiled triumphantly.

“Continue to do your best as my invisible hands and feet. You haven’t forgotten the contract bound to your heart, have you?”

“…”

“You must wait obediently, Levian. Do you understand? Your will to live must never break. You must live on by any means necessary.”

“Say it clearly, say you’ll definitely bring him back to life.”

“Ah, I see.”

Salvanel, whose wounds had almost completely healed, tapped his chin with his index finger. For some reason, he intentionally left a few bruises on his face.

“You thought you had a choice right now. Whether you accept it or not, I have nothing to lose.”

Salvanel smiled brightly.

Levian could only slowly bow his head. It was a sign that he would continue the contract engraved on his heart.

“Someone once said that revenge is nothing but futile.”

Pfft, Salvanel burst into laughter, unable to hold back.

“That can’t be true. It’s so thrilling.”

“This…”

A heavy ripple stirred in Levian’s pumpkin-colored eyes.

“You didn’t have to go this far. He had nothing to do with me.”

“This is my first order.”

Salvanel casually ignored him. He stood up without even looking back at Levian, who was hugging Egru’s corpse with a dazed expression.

“Clean up.”

Salvanel said, snapping his broken jaw back into place.

“I know your skills are terrible, but at least wipe up all the blood before you go.”

****

[1] 유혼(幽魂): The soul of a dead person that has left the body and is wandering.