Chapter 5: Reunion (2)
Knight Alto knew of the Langin tribe.
No, from his perspective, it was impossible not to know of the Langin tribe.
The blood-red eyes staring at him as if to tear him apart and the white hair.
Despite the Langin tribe's disdain for wearing accessories, the red earring on the right ear was exactly like the appearance of Red Eyes he had heard of through rumors.
Seeing this, Alto felt puzzled at the same time.
The question was why she, who should have settled in the north of the Southern Continent, in other words, where the Norba Kingdom was located, is here.
As far as Knight Alto knew, the distance between where the Norba Kingdom was located and here was very far.
Yet, Red Eyes appeared before the knight.
'What on earth?'
Knight Alto, while experiencing a suffocating fear unknowingly, endlessly harbored questions on one side.
Roar-!
"Huff-! Gah-!"
Soon, as she let out a roar and prepared to charge again, the monsters turned their screams towards Alto, and he, gasping for breath without realizing, turned his gaze to Red Eyes.
Her, facing and standing alone against a horde of hundreds of monsters.
Simultaneously, the nicknames of Red Eyes flashed through Alto's mind.
The Emotionless Massacrer.
The Hero Killer.
The Mad Wolf.
Each one a title representing her power, and at the same time, names created out of awe and fear towards her.
Naturally, Alto thought all these nicknames were not unfounded, even though he had not seen her fight.
If those nicknames were unfounded, the stories of a small community formed in the faraway Norba Kingdom would not have traveled this great distance to reach his ears.
Moreover, the appearance of Red Eyes he saw was indeed fitting of those nicknames.
Just by making eye contact, Alto had already realized.
That the monster venting anger towards him could easily kill someone like him, maybe even a being as powerful as one of the Five Swords of Calan.
However, the reason Alto could maintain his sanity and continue his thoughts despite the fear of being targeted by such a powerful being was only one.
'She can't possibly stop that alone.'
For some reason, Red Eyes appeared to protect the Lord of this barren territory, but naturally, the Labyrinth Break she had to stop could not be carried out alone.
There were more than hundreds of monsters visible to him, among which were demonic creatures even heroes found difficult to confront.
Therefore, to stop the Labyrinth Break, military forces and a large number of heroes were needed.
Ultimately, this was not a single combat but a war with monsters.
He thought it was absolutely impossible to stop it alone.
"...!"
Until he witnessed what happened before his eyes.
The first thing the knight saw was Red Eyes' body bending over as she stepped on the corpse of a monster.
Her legs were appropriately spread to tear through the desolate earth. Her left hand was widely spread across the desolate earth, and her right hand was similarly spread wide, aiming at an ogre about to smash down with a huge club.
"-Aran (Hungry Wolf)!"
Swoosh-!
She disappeared with a small murmur.
As if she had never been there in the first place.
And then.
Suddenly-!
The monsters' movements stopped.
Even the greenskins that were about to start advancing again.
The ogre that had swung its giant club at Red Eyes.
Even the demonic creature dripping acidic fluid and emitting strange noises.
Everything. Stopped.
As if time itself had stopped.
And then, the next moment.
Whoooosh-!
A sound as if the wind was picking up reached the knight's ears.
Boom-!!
With a massive explosive sound, the ground where she stood burst open, and the bodies of monsters started to explode in unison.
The bodies of hundreds of monsters exploded at once, scattering blood in all directions.
The head of an orc, baring its fangs in a frenzy.
The hand of the ogre that had swung down to strike Red Eyes.
The legs of a gnoll, as if unable to contain its ferocity.
The corpses of monsters fall from the sky.
And then.
Kim Hyunwoo, like the knight gaping in astonishment, was watching the scene.
Thud-! Thudding!
Along with the bodies of monsters falling to the ground.
[You have thwarted the 'Labyrinth Break' quest event!]
[Your domain is preserved!]
[Quest rewards will be given!]
Along with the notification that appeared before his eyes, he could see Merilda, covered in blood, having returned to that spot.
"Uh, ugh...!"
As if he had seen something he shouldn't have.
Kim Hyunwoo, watching the knights and soldiers hastily turn around and start to run, just like he was contemplating fleeing as well, soon quietly turned his head to see Merilda looking at him.
"......"
Kim Hyunwoo had some idea of how strong the 5-star heroes he had raised were.
Although he couldn't actually see them fighting in the game right away, he could view the heroes' stats instead.
That was why he thought that just one of the 5-star heroes coming here could solve this situation.
Kim Hyunwoo knew the strength of the heroes he had raised with affection, pushing in payments with part-time jobs at night and loading and unloading work he had secretly done illegally since he was a student, not even earning minimum wage.
However, to be honest, he did not know it would be to this extent.
No matter how high the stats were in the game, it was only expressed in brief messages and seemed like the character was attacking a few times.
Therefore, that sight was extremely shocking to Kim Hyunwoo.
[Would you like to make a recruitment offer to the 5-star hero 'Beast King'? Y/N]
Kim Hyunwoo, without hesitation, reached towards the 'Y' option on the new notification that appeared before him.
Of course, he didn't know what the Beast King was thinking to come all the way to this domain without even being able to send a message.
As far as Kim Hyunwoo knew, the Beast King had no reason to come here because, in Arteil, if you don't maintain affinity by consuming various actions or using gift payments, the affinity would drop to nearly 0.
'Maybe it could even be negative.'
Having seen the affinity of a hero character leaving because he didn't take care of them in Arteil ten years ago fall below zero, Kim Hyunwoo thought it might be possible, but he did not stop his hand.
After all, the fact that the Beast King received the message and came here meant that he could have some conversation with her.
Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo, who was moving his hand,
Swoosh-!
"......"
He could not help but involuntarily pause his hand at the new notification that appeared before his eyes immediately after.
The wolf with red eyes, no, Merilda, looked at the Lord standing before her.
The Lord, who was gazing at her blankly.
Her Master.
"Ah."
She involuntarily let out a dry exclamation as she looked at him.
The Lord seemed unchanged from ten years ago.
Although he had matured somewhat over the course of ten years, the image of the Lord reflected in Merilda's red pupils was indeed of the same person she had seen ten years ago.
"......"
With that realization, tears began to well up in Merilda's eyes.
Not because she was sad.
Rather, she was happy.
Because she could see that blurry face she had always seen in her dreams once again.
Because the opportunity had come to reclaim the happiness she had kicked away ten years ago.
Because the moment had come to beg for forgiveness from her Master.
As if the emotions that had been dulled until now were a lie, a whirlwind of complex emotions began to swirl within Merilda.
'I must... ask for forgiveness.'
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Merilda's hands began to tremble.
Her heart, which had been unbothered even when dealing with hundreds of monsters, began to pound fiercely.
Her limp tail, without her realizing, wrapped around her waist.
At the same time, such a thought crossed Merilda's mind.
The thought of fear.
Thud-
Merilda knew her mistake.
She knew very well that the Lord was fed up with the nonsense she had caused.
So, she was afraid.
She was afraid of whether the Lord would forgive her.
She was afraid of what the Lord might say.
...She was afraid that the Master would reject her.
Yet, Merilda took another step forward.
Longing outweighed fear.
Thud-
She missed the hand that always stroked her head.
Thud-!
She wanted to see the smile of the Master who looked at her and smiled as if in trouble.
Therefore, Merilda took steps forward and stood before Kim Hyunwoo.
At that moment, another specific detail about the Lord that Merilda had forgotten came to mind.
'The Master is taller than I thought.'
Merilda looked up at the Lord looking down at her, silently, but with trembling eyes.
"Th-"
A voice flowed from her lips.
"I-"
But, it did not continue.
Merilda was confused.
She had no idea what to say at this moment.
The sentences and words she had naturally uttered until now did not combine properly.
It was as if her mind was broken.
In the midst of this, tears welled up, fearing the Lord might get annoyed.
And at that moment.
Click-
Merilda realized a warm hand was placed on her head.
Something she hadn't felt in ten years.
Therefore, a sensation she had longed for, was felt.
With that feeling, Merilda's ears that had been pulled back gently rose again.
At the same time, her head, which she had lowered because of the tears that welled up, was raised.
The tail that was wrapped around her waist gently moved.
At the same time, she felt joy.
"Thank you."
Because the Lord had said those words.
At the same time, seeing the Lord stroking her - her heart began to beat in a different sense.
However.
"Still, it's enough now."
At Kim Hyunwoo's following words.
"...Eh?"
Merilda's stopped.
And so did Kim Hyunwoo.
[Would you like to make a recruitment offer to the 5-star hero 'Beast King'? Y/N]
[※Caution, recruiting this hero to your domain will result in hostile nations and domains.]
[Norba Kingdom Relations -282]
[Calan Kingdom Relations -162]
[Eastern Union Clan Relations -132]
[Sertoa Domain Relations -112]
[Harlancia Domain Relations - 332]
[Altronia Domain Relations -273]
[Kamia Domain Relations -442]
[Ebroa Domain Relations - 263]
[Chelba Domain Relations - 213]
[Anderm Domain Relations -733]
[Kehalam Domain Relations -633]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[※You could become the continent's public enemy!]
'This is a bit-'
He sweated coldly as he looked at the notifications filling his vision.