An abandoned warehouse where no human footsteps reached. A woman lay there, using a hole-ridden, dirt-caked rag as a blanket.
“Sniff, sob. Hngh!”
A sob squeezed out between her bitten lips. There was also the sound of her sniffling.
This place was far too lonely and cold for her.
“Those sons of bitches. Hic! As if I, huh? As if I wanted to break it. Why the hell did it break? How can garbage like that cost five million? Sniff!”
Grumble, grumble.
Talking to herself was a habit she had developed recently. A Pecatum’s journey away from her homeland was always harsh and lonely, so she had to talk, even if only to herself.
Even more so on a night this unfair.
“......What should I do?”
If she killed someone, they would shave off one million. The last words of that boss bastard kept circling in her head. Bluntly speaking, five people would wipe the debt clean.
Morality. Ethics?
Through this incident, Asterike had clearly realized something. Conscience did not put food on the table. Rather, it only made her suffer losses.
She had worked hard to earn money, only to be pickpocketed. She had stepped forward to help someone being attacked by monsters, only to end up with a five-million debt.
There was only one way to repay it.
“If they’re... bad people. Right.”
She could do it. She had no choice but to do it. Just as poison began to fill Asterike’s golden eyes,
“If they’re bad people, what?”
“Eek!”
At the voice suddenly ringing in her ear, Asterike leaped up. In the blink of an eye, she retreated all the way to the corner and looked straight ahead.
The only light was moonlight streaming in through the door, one side of which had been blown away. It was far from enough to illuminate the night, but Asterike was used to darkness.
Because of that, she could see without difficulty. Eyes watching her while crouched down.
“I can’t get a read on you. If you’re sleeping in a place like this, I guess you’re bold. This isn’t even a safe zone. What were you planning to do if a monster came out?”
“......I can handle monsters on my own.”
“When you didn’t even hear a person’s footsteps?”
“Today... I had a lot on my mind. And it’s not like I want to be in a place like this either.”
“That’s true. Sorry.”
There was no trace of mockery. Asterike examined the appearance of the nameless man.
“Who... are you?”
“Kim Yi-hyeon. You?”
“......Asterike.”
What kind of situation was this? Introducing themselves out of nowhere. Asterike found it somewhat absurd, but she did not feel purely displeased.
‘It feels like it’s been a long time.’
How long had it been since she had introduced herself? Those bastards who had made a fuss about her paying five million had never asked her name until the end.
Many people had been like that. To people, the name Asterike did not seem important.
“Other than my name, hmm. I don’t really have much to say. I’m a homeless man wandering here and there. Same as you.”
“I-I see. Do you need something from me?”
Instead of answering right away, Kim Yi-hyeon shifted his gaze. A single photo had fallen on the floor.
The photo of the “target” Pavoni had pointed out.
“I know roughly what situation you’re in.”
“Huh?”
“Five million. Pavoni Family. Murder contract.”
Asterike’s face filled with confusion. Soon, that confusion turned into hostility. A hypothesis formed inside her brain.
“You were one of those bastards’ comrades!”
“Yeah, no. So calm down.”
“You’re lying. Otherwise, how would you......”
“What secrets are there in a backwater like this?”
Click!
The flashlight switched on and scattered pale light. With her vision brightened, Asterike narrowed her eyes.
“Who came in and when, where they’re staying. Even the fact that some immigrant bought a flashlight a few hours ago can be known after passing through a few hands.”
“...Is that how it is?”
“And thanks to you talking to yourself, I also learned that you were feeling ready to kill Wang Lin. Judging by your state, you would’ve done it tomorrow or the day after.”
Hit where it hurt, her body flinched. Her white hand gripped the tattered cloth she had been using in place of a blanket.
“I can’t help it. I don’t have money.”
“I’m telling you just in case, but the magic sword is bullshit. Five million? A low-ranking guy carrying something that valuable by himself and getting attacked by monsters? That makes no sense. He’d have to be an idiot.”
“I thought it was strange too! But what can I do? They kept insisting I was the one who broke it, so it just became my fault.”
A typical extortion. Asterike knew at least that she had fallen into a trap.
But she had realized it too late.
Even if she claimed the magic sword was fake, they would not pretend to hear her. And the compensation they had offered was an appropriate amount, neither absurdly high nor low.
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen to you.”
“What?”
“If you kill Wang Lin, bad things will happen to you. Wang Lin may be a low-ranking member, but he belongs to the Red Scarves faction. The moment you touch him, you’ll be marked by the Red Scarves. Around the time you’re in danger, the Pavoni Family might try to do you a favor.”
“......”
“Next, they’ll probably offer about 1.5 million and tell you to kill a member of a mafia called Svedeniye. As for you, well, you won’t exactly be in a position to refuse, will you? The more grudges you earn like that, the more desperately you’ll need the Pavoni Family’s protection.”
“Wh-why on earth? What do they want from me......?”
“You’re a Pecatum with all four limbs intact. They may usually avoid you, but as a hitman, you’re useful talent.”
A Pecatum’s traits were not limited to their unique horns. Outstanding physical ability. Innate combat sense. Their disposition was also known to be combative.
‘Ast isn’t particularly battle-crazed, though.’
The “Asterike” in front of Kim Yi-hyeon did not look like someone who enjoyed battle either.
Disposition probably varied between individuals. It was a prejudice that had formed because many Pecatum worked as mercenaries due to their traits.
‘Pecatum are definitely in a precarious situation.’
Because they had been ostracized for so long, there was a danger they could easily be dyed by “their” ideology. Those who wanted to place the powerless beneath their feet.
Legion.
The organization Shadower had belonged to, and the villains that decorated the main episodes until the middle part.
The world of Polaris was currently stable in its own way. But afterward, because of Legion, it would be turned into a mess.
To stop the tragedies that were scheduled to happen, he needed companions. Talent exactly like Ast.
“I realized it just a few days after leaving my hometown.”
After a brief silence, Asterike spoke.
“That there aren’t many Pecatum in the world. When I heard there were members of my own race who shaved down their horns themselves... back then, I thought they were fools. But now, I can only think they’re amazing.”
Horns were a Pecatum’s proof and pride. Pecatum did not welcome kin who lost their horns for dishonorable reasons.
Damaging one’s own horns by one’s own hand. That was no different from burning away the option of returning home.
“Those people made up their minds. To live in a place like this... where there are only people who despise them, fear them, and try to use them because they’re Pecatum.”
Asterike’s eyes sank darkly. Eyes where suspicion and resignation, murky emotions, swirled stared directly at Kim Yi-hyeon.
“And you? What do you want from me?”
“......Mm.”
Kim Yi-hyeon scratched the back of his head. He could deceive her with smooth words. An appropriate story assembled itself like puzzle pieces inside his mind.
But he did not feel like lying.
“I’m not that different from the Pavoni Family. I want to use your ability however I like.”
At those words, Asterike snorted.
“Ha. You’re honest.”
“You weren’t expecting an answer like, ‘I’m helping you because I feel sorry for you,’ right? Wake up. During my time here, I’ve only seen three good people like that. Ah, maybe one of them wasn’t.”
Kim Yi-hyeon picked up Wang Lin’s photo and handed it to her. Just as Pavoni had done.
“For at least the next three years, every person who approaches you will be the same kind of bastard.”
“Three years?”
“Because the people I just mentioned won’t come this way for three years. Unless you plan to hole up in the mountains, you have no choice but to choose the better son of a bitch.”
“And that’s you?”
“That’s for you to think about carefully.”
He set the flashlight down. It was a small gift. The sight of her clutching the ragged cloth was pitiful enough.
If he could, he would have liked to give her a blanket too, but unfortunately, he did not have one on him right now.
“If you’re going to side with me, don’t enter the safe zone. Stay here for three days.”
“...Then what about food?”
Her voice was so small it seemed to crawl. Perhaps she was embarrassed even after saying it herself, because the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
“Ah, food. That’s important. I’ll take care of it appropriately. I say three days, but it could end tomorrow. They didn’t seem like very patient guys.”
Asterike tilted her head. Perhaps because he had omitted this and that, she did not seem to understand. Kim Yi-hyeon did not bother explaining in detail.
“You’ll know soon enough anyway. I don’t know if you’ll have time to think calmly then, but moving by instinct might actually be better.”
As he straightened his bent knees, he spoke one last time.
“What I want to say is... You were mumbling earlier, weren’t you? ‘If they’re bad people.’ I’ve decided not to care too much about that.”
The enemy’s personality did not matter. Just as Shadower had an unfortunate past, villains had circumstances of their own.
“The key is this. Are they bastards who will harm me? If I let them do as they please, how much trouble will I have to suffer later?”
A calculation of risk and return. When he had decided to deal with Shadower in advance, he had also calculated it coldly.
And now.
Considering the return called Ast, the risk called the Pavoni Family was not threatening.
***
To state the result first, Asterike did not leave the warehouse. She only went outside briefly for physiological needs.
On the evening two days later.
“Haha. Is this what you call hiding?”
The Pavoni Family sauntered in. Twelve people, including Pavoni himself. They strode confidently into the warehouse.
“Is it because you’re a savage? Seems you don’t understand the concept of debt, but holing up like this doesn’t solve anything. You need to think about paying it back properly.”
Pavoni openly clicked his tongue.
“You said you had no ability to repay, so I even suggested a method. If you act like this, we’re put in a very difficult spot. Hey, don’t you want this sword back?”
Thump, thump!
He swung the sword, still in its scabbard, and struck the wall. It was the item they had robbed from Asterike. Noise echoed through the not particularly large space.
“......Hm?”
Soon, Pavoni’s eyes narrowed. He had intended to deliberately provoke her, but the Pecatum woman did not show any particular reaction.
“Something’s strange.”
“Pardon?”
She did not even look flustered. Even though the mafia had stormed into a place she had hidden in, thinking of it as her own hideout. She did not ask obvious questions like how they had known.
Most of all, her gaze.
“Where do you keep looking—”
Bang!
A sharp gunshot. The tall man guarding Pavoni’s side collapsed with a thud. Shock spread across the faces of the members at the surprise gunfire.
Bang! Another gunshot rang out. One mafia member who had been floundering around sank down while clutching his abdomen.
Only then did someone shout.
“F-fuck! It’s an ambush!”
The location was identified. Tarps spread here and there around the warehouse. Among them, the one closest to the door.
A gun was sticking out from beyond the tarp.
As soon as he was discovered, Kim Yi-hyeon removed the sheet. At the moment the mafia’s muzzles aimed at him, another piece of equipment was crafted in his hand.
The 2-star Special Armament [FE―7 Riot Shield].
“Don’t just stand there watching, shoot!”
Thud, thud-thud!
Bullets struck the shield. The transmitted impact made his grip go numb.
It was not enough that he could not endure it. Kim Yi-hyeon tightened his hold on the grip and stepped backward.
‘This is my first gunfight too.’
It was also his first time shooting people.
A sensation similar to, yet different from, the first day he had fallen into Polaris. His ears rang, and the smell of gunpowder stabbed his nose.
To summarize his impression briefly.
‘This is easier than that Shadower bastard.’
It was heaven and earth compared to back then, when there had been no way to oppose him except through an exploit. Of course, even now, he would die if he made one wrong move. But that was the same when fighting monsters.
How many difficulties would he face from now on, and how steep would they be? His life would be threatened countless times. There was a limit to getting through things with exploits.
‘I just need to think of this as gaining experience.’
The main episodes afterward. Things would change again once it reached the latter half, but at least until the middle part, the main enemy was Legion. In other words, humans, not monsters.
He needed to become used to dealing with them.
‘And so does she.’
Kim Yi-hyeon glanced sideways at Asterike between the mafia members. Fear could be read on her face. At the same time, she seemed to be agonizing over something.
It was about time Ast came to her senses.