Calm Before the Storm(1)

I nodded without realizing it, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t flustered.

Amelia Rainwales.

She was my real ally and someone who should have been inside the city walls.

I had been unable to contact her for months while I was outside, and the worry had been building up, so seeing her again was a relief. Even so, I couldn’t help feeling confused.

How is she here?

‘Did she come looking for me because I hadn’t returned?’

Mm, knowing Amelia, that’s exactly what she would’ve done.

She probably asked around everywhere, worried I’d caused trouble again, and eventually figured out a way to get outside.

When it came to this kind of thing, she was someone I could trust more than anyone.

“…Kill us? All by yourself?”

Baek-ho, who was caught off guard by Amelia’s sudden appearance, regained his composure and scoffed. Then—

“Aures!” Baek-ho snapped “You just protect gramps ! I’ll take care of her myself!”

“O–okay!”

At Baek-ho’s command, Aures began to sprint towards the Ruin Scholar’s location. However, Amelia just looked at him and smirked.

“I don’t think I ever said it.”

“……”

“…that I was alone.”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the cave entrance that led down to the magic circle.

Flash—!

A short burst of light shot out from the darkness of the cave.

It wasn’t a regular iron arrow. It was light itself. More precisely, a Spirit Arrow fired using the power of spirits.

Fwoosh-!

I didn’t even need to see who it was.

『Erwin Fornacci di Tercia has cast [Rupture].』

The arrow shot towards the stunned Ruin Gramps at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. Aures quickly threw himself forward to block it before it could reach its target.

And…

Boom—!!

The arrow pierced his left arm and exploded.

Because it was an internal explosion, fragments of his flesh and blood were scattered in every direction.

“…Long ears is here too?”

Everyone stood completely still, as if time itself had stopped.

Step, step.

From inside the cave where the arrow had been fired, my allies slowly started to step out.

“Belbev Ruinzenes…”

 

Erwin’s eyes were burning with killing intent.

“Bjorn! So we just need to take down these bastards?!”

Aynar looked very excited.

“Please calm down. They’re not easy opponents.”

Versyl looked quite nervous about the whole situation.

“A-Again, all by yourself…”

Misha looked at me with worried eyes.

‘Auyen’s here too.’

And the members didn’t end there.

“It looks like he is not here. I heard he was a very skilled archer.”

“So this is outside the walls…”

“Still, it is good that we found our missing captain right after we came out.”

“Yes, and it looks like he is in danger.”

It wasn’t just the founding members of the Anabada Clan. Even James Carla, Sven Parav, Melend Kaislan, and Lilith Marrone. The elite members who had joined us recently through our connection from the Ice Rock Expedition were here too.

‘Seeing them all together like this… our clan really has grown a lot.’

There were enough of us to change the tide of the battle.

As a quiet sense of pride rose inside me, I noticed anger and frustration building in Baek-ho’s eyes.

“…So you’ve come in a whole horde, huh?”

Seeing that look made me realize he was feeling exactly what he had mentioned earlier, the instinct that all seasoned explorers sensed as naturally as breathing.

“Yurven Havelion.”

To sense that feeling more clearly, I called out to the guy who had been nothing more than a spectator the whole time.

“…Yes?”

Was it because he was a mage? Why was he so slow on the uptake The situation had already flipped 180 degrees.

“How long are you going to stay there?”

“……”

“If you do not move, a stray attack will end up killing you.”

“Ahh… Yes…!”

As I repeated the exact words Baekho had used earlier, the GM snapped out of it and hurried over to me.

‘This guy is really something else.’

The way he behaved with Auril Gavis and the way he behaved with Baek-ho were completely different. He pretended to be innocent, but he was the slyest of them all.

Well… I guess from his perspective, it makes sense.

Honestly, neither Baek-ho nor I were his real allies.

 

So he had no obligation to stay loyal, nor any reason to feel guilty about switching sides.

“…S–sorry.”

“Whatever. Just scram already.”

“Yes…”

Baek-ho didn’t stop him. More precisely, he wasn’t in any condition to stop him.

“Wow… with this lineup… you could probably take on Orcules and not lose.”

He tried to act calm, but I could tell he was experiencing a kind of panic he’d never felt before.

‘Well, it’s understandable.’

The Ruin Scholar, after taking Amelia’s kick, couldn’t even stand properly.

“……”

Tank Rex Aures had lost an arm.

Healer Jayna barely had any MP left.

“I should heal you”

“I’m fine, don’t provoke them.”

“…Understood.”

They were so cornered they didn’t even dare cast a healing spell.

“Ahaha… This has gotten troublesome……”

“……”

“Baron, how about… we call it a draw……?”

What is this crazy bastard saying?

I let out a dry laugh, then glanced down at a certain part of Baekho’s body. “You mentioned castration, right?”

“Uh… Baron?”

“Well, I’ve got a hammer. I’m sure we can make it work.”

“Um… How about we try to resolve this through conversation first……?”

Ignoring whatever he said, I took a step forward. Lee Baek-ho clicked his tongue and let out a sigh as if the ground were about to cave in.

“Ha… Really, why does nothing ever go right for me? How do they show up at this exact timing?”

To be fair, I could understand why he felt that way. We were outside the city walls, and I’ll admit I got lucky. But…

‘Looking at him, it doesn’t seem like it’s just luck.’

After watching how Baekho’s team worked from the inside for so long, one question kept lingering in my mind. If Lee Baek-ho were in my situation. Would anyone from his team have come outside the walls to look for him?

‘Probably not a single one.’

Thinking that, this moment today doesn’t feel like just luck.

No matter how many times I emphasize it, it’s not enough.

“Bjorrrrrn!! When are we going to fight?!”

Zero and one are always different.

****

Baekho’s team was now the one at a disadvantage. Even then, I never once believed I could kill him in this situation.

‘If this bastard decides to run, there’s no way I can catch him.’

Nevertheless, this was still an opportunity.

Rex Aures.

Jayna Flyer.

Taking advantage of the fact that we could beat the allies Baek-ho had gathered for himself…

“My sister’s enemy…”

We might finally be able to avenge what happened to her that day, today.

Step.

As I took another step toward him, Baek-ho crouched slightly and spoke with a twisted grin.

“Haha, Baron? Stop coming closer and let’s… talk for a second, yeah?”

Step.

“No, I don’t want to know anymore. I don’t even care what you talked about with that old man.”

Step.

“Ah— fine! Compensation! This is when people settle things with money, right? How much do you want? I’ll match it!”

Step.

“…Do you really want blood to spill? Between us? Really?”

Step.

I ignored him and kept walking.

Baek-ho’s face hardened.

Step.

He no longer tried to speak.

Step.

He only muttered something once I stood right in front of him. It felt as if everything he had done until now had been nothing but an act.

“Baron.”

“……”

“Do you really plan to see this through to the end with me?”

He spoke to me in that familiar threatening tone of his.

“You might be fine, Baron, but the rest will all die, you know?”

He didn’t explain it, but I understood instantly.

[Star Extinction].

Baek-ho’s strongest ultimate skill.

He was planning to use it like a nuclear bomb.

In a way, it felt like a game of chicken. If he truly went all out and chose a suicidal approach, I would not be able to stop him either, especially now that I was no longer the only one involved.

“……”

The moment I was at a loss for words and couldn’t speak, a smile formed on Baek-ho’s lips.

“I knew it. See, your heart is too soft, isn’t it? Unlike how you look.”

He poked at the weakness he had always mocked me for.

Step.

Baek-ho stepped toward me.

“Let me give you a piece of advice.”

Why does everyone feel the need to give me advice today?

 

“A guy with a lot to lose can never beat me. I can throw everything away.”

“…….”

“If it’s for the sake of that one thing I desperately want.”

If it had been anyone else, I might not have believed it — but since the one saying it was Lee Baek-ho himself, I couldn’t say a word.

Because he really would do it.

Whether it was the Ruin Scholar, Jayna, or Rex Aures, if it served his goal, he wouldn’t bat an eye even if they all died.

So that’s why…

“……!”

I reached out towards Baek-ho, who had the nerve to walk right up to me.

Grab—!

I seized him by the collar in an instant, yet Baek-ho’s expression remained relaxed.

His eyes seemed to say that he truly believed I wouldn’t harm him here.

“Go ahead.”

“…?”

“Do anything you want. Try it.”

As if he couldn’t understand what I meant, Baek-ho frowned in confusion.

Really? What part of what I said is so hard to grasp?

This bastard… he seriously misunderstood me.

Losing something precious —

Of course it’s terrifying, painful, suffocating to even imagine.
But precisely because of that—

Crack—!

I yanked him toward me and slammed my forehead into his.

A gruesome sound echoed in the distance, but Lee Baek-ho didn’t utter a single groan and instead shot back.

“…What do you mean by this?”

Huh, do you really not get it?

How much of an idiot did you take me for?

CRACK-!

I got annoyed and gave him another headbutt.

“…Are you really trying to pick a fight?”

No, I mean, I just told you.

CRACK-!!!

An even more horrifying sound erupted than before, and blood streamed down Lee Baek-ho’s forehead.

“Are you really okay with all your precious comrades dying?”

Well, it’s not that I don’t care.

It’s just that I know.

I know exactly what happens to people who give in to a kidnapper’s demands.

Bastards like him don’t understand the concept of “enough.”

Give them one thing and they want two.

Give them two and they want three.

Which is why—

“BETHEL—RAAAAAAAA!!”

There’s only one way to win against people like that.

CRACK—!!!!

 

Putting all my strength into it, I headbutted him, and without pulling my forehead away, I stared straight at him.

“You think someone with a lot to lose can’t win?”

There’s no way.

This guy… he’s seriously mistaken about something fundamental.

“I’ve never once won.”

“…….”

“Without losing something.”

I am Lee Han-soo and Bjorn Jandel.

I’m a player, and at the same time, a warrior who fights to live.

In the Labyrinth, I have always raised my shield to protect my allies.

That’s why, no matter the situation, I never ran.

The path I’ve walked has taught me this much:

You can’t protect anything if you run.

“…….”

After irritably pushing Baekho away as he looked at me with disgust, I continued.

“Lee Baek-ho, if I lose something, you will lose something too.”

Let me make this clear right now.

“Don’t you dare say you have nothing to lose.”

“……”

“I will take from you the one thing you desire most. Whatever it takes.”

Lee Baek-ho didn’t say a word as I spoke. He just looked up at me, as if gauging whether my resolve was genuine or not.

And I was doing the same to him.

My glare clearly said, “Why? Do you think I can’t?”

This was another game of chicken. When both sides had the power to destroy each other, it came down to seeing who had more nerve.

However, it did not take long for the outcome to show itself. After all, Baek-ho is even more rational than I am.

“…So what exactly do you want me to do?”

Frustrated that things weren’t going his way, Lee Baek-ho asked in a defeated voice.

“Do you want compensation? Or blood? If you insist, I could give up a healer or a tank, but not the gramps. If you say you want him, then I’ll have no choice but to fight this to the end.”

So the Ruin Scholar was non-negotiable for him, huh…

“Oh! And neutering is also off the table, so don’t even bring it up!”

This bastard won’t stop talking until the very end. As I watched Lee Baek-ho take a step back, I briefly considered my options, and it didn’t take me long to make a decision.

“I’m not the one making the offer,” I said. He shot me a confused look. “The one making the request should do that. While kneeling.”

Baekho ground his teeth. I had clearly hit his pride. Still, he must have decided that doing what I said was the better choice.

“For… for forcibly… threatening you, Baron… I… am… sorry…”

He spoke like he was dragging each word out of his throat with a hook.

“If… if you look past the mistake I made today… just this once… I’ll repay your forgiveness… generously…”

His voice was unbearably awkward, like a child who had never once apologized in his life.

His awkward, pitiful voice almost made me laugh, but instead I smacked the back of his head with my palm.

SMACK—!

“What the—! I apologized, so why are you hitting me!?

Wow, the audacity.

“It’s not that, it’s just…”

“……Huh?”

“I just felt like doing it.”

Whew, that was satisfying.

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