The distance was too far for a crossbow.
Sehyun pulled a fifty-meter rope and a bow from his inventory. He tied the hooked end of the rope to an arrow and drew the string back as far as it would go. It was a throw he’d practiced hundreds of times in the training grounds—rope hook and arrow as one.
‘<Purifying Drop LV.1>’
A faint light gathered at the tip of the arrow. The instant it did, Sehyun fired toward the railing above. Tang! The arrow shot upward, the rope trailing behind it like a streak of light. Watching anxiously, Sehyun saw the hook strike the railing, bounce off—and immediately reeled the rope back, yanking the hook into a gap between the bars.
Barely, the hook wedged itself into place. After one hard tug to test the hold, Sehyun wrapped the rope around his waist and began climbing.
The sound was louder than expected. Anyone with sharp ears could have already noticed the arrow’s impact.
His palms were slick with blood. Each time he gripped the rope, the sting forced his teeth together. Instinct screamed to stop, but he crushed it down and kept climbing.
When he finally reached the bridge, the first thing that greeted him was a hand—an enormous one that clamped around his neck hard enough to crush it.
“Ghhhk…!”
It happened before his feet even touched the ground. The grip lifted him and slammed him against one of the bridge pillars. His blurred vision caught a red-haired man glaring down at him with feral eyes.
“Who are you.”
The low growl of the man’s voice was pure threat. Sehyun wheezed and clawed at the hand choking him. His lungs burned for air.
“Who dares set foot in this place.”
Each word carried a pressure that could kill. Sehyun’s throat convulsed, his eyes reddening, tears spilling from the strain. His vision blurred, warning him he was moments from blacking out.
The man’s red eyes narrowed dangerously. His hand reached up and tore away Sehyun’s black mask. The lips beneath it were blood-bitten, marked with tooth impressions from where he’d held back screams. The man’s gaze dropped to Sehyun’s hands—skinned palms raw and bleeding.
Then, from Sehyun’s throat, came a strangled, broken whisper forced out through pain.
“Je… hhk…! Je…non….”
The man’s feral red eyes widened instantly. The crushing grip on Sehyun’s neck loosened at once. Sehyun collapsed to the floor in a heap.
“Kh-cough, cough—ghh….”
He had nearly died. Wiping his tears with his arm, Sehyun staggered upright, one trembling hand clutching an arrow drawn hastily from his inventory. He reversed it, pressing the tip under his own chin, shoulders shaking as he gasped.
“Hahh… d-don’t move… hahh….”
But the red-haired man was already calm. His fierce eyes lowered slowly, and the murderous air around him faded away.
A chill wind brushed past both their cheeks, stirring the man’s fiery hair. Through the drifting strands, Sehyun saw his eyes again—unreadable, storm-still.
When the wind died, the man dropped to one knee. His movements were precise, disciplined—the posture of a vassal paying respect to his lord.
It felt as if time had stopped. Sehyun knew he shouldn’t be swayed, yet he couldn’t look away.
The blazing hair, the ember-colored eyes—he had always loved those colors. They belonged to Jenon.
Jenon. One of the twelve SSS-rank heroes Sehyun had raised with his own hands. His original name had been Jernon, but ever since Sehyun had started calling him Jenon, he had accepted and changed it himself. Only Sehyun was allowed to speak that name.
He had been the first to open his heart to Sehyun, steadfast and loyal to the point of foolishness—a rock-solid vassal whose silence spoke of devotion. That was why this moment hurt more than anything.
Jenon had never once disobeyed him. And even now, that had not changed.
“The tenth hero of the Black Empire, Jenon, greets his Lord.”
“You… hahh… you didn’t… see me here. Understand…?”
Jenon said nothing. His clenched fist trembled—whether from anger or restraint, Sehyun couldn’t tell. His own heart trembled with it.
“…Yes.”
The Daegong had known. He had known Sehyun would come here. That was why he had stationed Jenon—the one person Sehyun could never bring himself to harm.
Any other hero might have captured and imprisoned him on sight.
If Sehyun resisted, they would have bound and gagged him without hesitation.
He couldn’t trust them anymore. Not after the day he had received that “Message of Hatred” from one he once loved. From that day, faith had died inside him. The affection he’d given had only ever returned as unbearable pain.
To them, Sehyun’s safety meant nothing compared to the Empire’s stability and glory. And at the forefront of that ambition stood the Daegong.
This, too, was just manipulation.
Sending Jenon was a warning—a command to walk willingly into the trap. And that warning was Jenon’s own life. If Sehyun escaped tonight, Jenon would be the one thrown into the underground prison in his place.
“Just a little longer… just hold on….”
Jenon gave no answer. He already knew his fate.
Staggering past him, Sehyun headed for the end of the corridor bridge. His breathing rasped, half-choked, every step a strain.
Run, stop. Run, stop. Only after repeating that rhythm over and over did he finally reach the bridge’s end—before a massive golden door, rimmed with precious metal.
The treasury gate. Only the king could open it. Only the king could command what lay beyond: the wealth of the entire Empire.
That was why Sehyun had come—to take the Elixirs stored within.
[Please state the password.]
When his hand brushed the door’s handle, glowing letters appeared above it. Only the king could set this code; only the king could know it. Except, of course, when a king handed his authority to the Daegong. Then the Daegong shared that access.
“I… love… you….”
Sehyun’s lips trembled. His eyes tightened as if the words hurt. Then he spoke them aloud.
“…I love you.”
[Verification complete. Opening gate.]
Rrrrumble—
Dust fell from the seams of the door as it began to open for the first time in ages. Sehyun stumbled through into the darkness beyond. The moment he crossed the threshold, the gate slammed shut behind him with a resounding thud.
Step…
The treasury stretched vast and deep, impossible to take in at once.
Rows upon rows of treasure chests filled the hall, gleaming piles of gold and jewels reflecting the faint light of embedded mana stones along the walls.
Sehyun moved quickly, prying open chests at random. After several tries, he finally found what he was looking for.
Elixirs.
Miraculous medicine said to heal any wound.
Four small bottles held golden spheres glowing faintly within. Sehyun took all four and placed them carefully in his inventory.
Then he gathered the other important supplies he had planned for, stuffing them into his inventory as fast as possible. He had just finished when the blare of a horn echoed from outside—the alarm of an intruder.
“!”
Sehyun’s head snapped toward the treasury gate.
He’d been discovered. For an instant, Jenon’s face flashed through his mind—but he refused to suspect him. Jenon was not the kind of man who broke his word, even if it cost him his life.
Right now, escaping took priority. His body was drenched in cold sweat, but there was no time to hesitate. He ran back to the gate and struck the handle three times. The treasury groaned open slowly, grinding against the floor.
But in front of it stood a tall shadow—Jenon.
This time, he held a long spear, the one Sehyun himself had engraved and gifted to him.
The pain in Jenon’s red eyes spoke volumes.
“I have only a few questions.”
“…Go ahead.”
“Have you… abandoned us?”
The words lodged in Sehyun’s throat like glass splinters.
Those unwavering red eyes held no hatred—only quiet, endless waiting.
At last, Sehyun managed to answer.
“No.”
“Then why must you go?”
“There’s something important. Something I must do.”
“Something so important that you’d end up like this?”
“…Yes.”
So important that he would drag his body through blood and pain.
And yet, compared to what that child had suffered—this was nothing at all.