C1044
"Huu..."
Rector sighed heavily as he held his cup of tea.
'Things are not going well.'
He had hoped that Darkan would at least listen to his story, given how much he valued Raon's talent since their first meeting. But Darkan, seemingly frustrated by his lack of enlightenment, hadn't even given them a chance to speak.
'We've already been here for a week.'
At Raon's suggestion to wait, they had observed Darkan for a week, but it seemed like a waste of time. Rector placed his empty tea cup on the table with a soft clink and stood up.
'I should tell them it's time to leave.'
Although Darkan's help in stopping Derus Robert would be invaluable, it seemed unlikely that would happen given the current situation. It would be better to return quickly and consider other options rather than waste time on an improbable outcome.
'They should still be there.'
Rector stepped out of the tea house, recalling the alley where Raon and Darkan had been that morning. As he entered the alleys of the royal capital, thinking about what to say to persuade Raon, he heard a rough voice in the distance.
"P-please, give me a coin!"
It was Darkan. He was begging people with a voice deeper than before.
"Don't cling to me."
A middle-aged man who looked well-off frowned but tossed a silver coin from his pocket.
'What's going on?'
Rector's eyes widened as he watched Darkan succeed in his begging.
'He used to barely get anything.'
Darkan had such a low success rate that he couldn't even get a single coin after begging all day. Despite wearing an eye patch, he acted as if he could see, and his muscular physique was as imposing as a general's, so his failure at begging wasn't particularly strange.
'Is he having good luck today?'
Darkan managed to receive another silver coin from a young woman dressed in noble attire.
"T-thank you!"
Darkan bowed his head to the noble lady, clutching the silver coin that had fallen to the ground.
'Wait, now that I look closely...'
His gestures seemed to have changed. Previously, Darkan had stretched his hand threateningly, with broad shoulders and a straight back even while begging. The beggars and thugs of this neighborhood, having discovered who he was, treated him like a punching bag when they were bored, but ordinary people couldn't help but feel intimidated by his appearance.
But now, Darkan was kneeling with his knees apart, shoulders hunched, and back bent. Seen this way, his large build really made him look even more pathetic.
'Has he succeeded again?'
It seems Rector wasn't the only one thinking this way, as quite a few people were throwing money at Darkan.
'Did he have some sort of epiphany?'
If Darkan had been acting like a beggar before, now he had truly become one, hitting a broken rice bowl. It was as if he had reached an enlightenment about human life in a fleeting moment.
'If that's the case, he might listen to our story...'
Just as Rector was approaching Darkan with a sense of expectation,
"That's not it, I'm telling you!"
A young man who looked like a real beggar appeared next to Darkan and slapped the back of his head.
"The angle! The angle of your hands is too wide!"
The young beggar demonstrated the begging posture to Darkan by spreading his own hands.
"If you had kept a 45-degree angle between your right and left hands like I'm doing now, you would have gotten gold coins instead of silver!"
He pushed his hands toward Darkan's eyeless face, insisting that he had to observe and feel it correctly.
"Your tremble is also too artificial! You should tremble in different rhythms as if you're sick!"
The young beggar kicked Darkan's back, pushing him toward the front of the alley, telling him to try again.
"P-please, give me a coin..."
Darkan began to beg again, seemingly impressed by the words of the young beggar. Watching his fingers tremble at a 45-degree angle, Rector's hand unconsciously moved toward his pocket.
'W-what is this...?'
Is it some kind of charm magic? He looks truly pathetic. Even knowing Darkan's true identity as the Dark Night Sword God, a feeling arose within him to give him money out of pity.
'H-how is this possible...?'
As Rector laughed dryly and shook his head, the young beggar who had instructed Darkan let out a thin laugh.
"Huh...?"
Rector's jaw dropped as he looked at the young beggar.
'Could it be Raon?'
Although his disguise was different from that of the morning, the young beggar was undoubtedly Raon.
"That was good. But there's still room for improvement."
Raon clicked his tongue as if something was missing.
"You're blind, right? Then you shouldn't grab or receive money immediately. If you deliberately drop the money and pretend to look for it, you'll look even more pathetic."
"I understand! Certainly!"
Darkan clasped his hands as if he had learned another valuable lesson. It was a respectful gesture, as if he had truly taken Raon as his master.
"Then I'll try again."
"Good. Express what you've felt through your begging."
"Understood!"
Raon nodded and took a step back, while Darkan stepped forward to begin begging again.
"P-please, give me a coin..."
As Darkan shrank his body and moved as if he had truly gone blind, people passing through the royal capital threw silver coins at him.
"T-thank you!"
Recalling Raon's words, he didn't immediately pick up the money but swept the ground with his palm.
"Gasp!"
Rector unconsciously tossed the silver coin he had been using on his finger toward Darkan. However, he wasn't the only one finding Darkan pathetic. The people watching Darkan also pulled money from their pockets and carefully handed it to him, seemingly believing he was truly blind.
"T-thank you!"
Darkan shed tears from his empty sockets, as if he felt enchanted to have truly become a beggar.
"Hmm!"
Raon nodded with pride, as if he were satisfied with that sight.
"Hah..."
Rector tightly shut his eyes as he watched his former superior contentedly begging and his grandson proud of having taught him how to beg.
"Am I dreaming right now?"
And if so, is it a nightmare?
***
"So..."
Rector let out a dry laugh as if he couldn't believe it.
"You taught Darkan how to beg?"
"Yes."
Raon nodded as he removed the rags that not even a beggar would wear.
"At first, I thought you were talking nonsense..."
Darkan turned to Raon with a kind smile.
"But that kid was right."
He placed his dirty hand on his chest and exhaled softly.
"Even though I was acting like a beggar, my soul was always that of the Dark Night Sword God. Even when I was trampled by other beggars or despised by players, I always had tranquility thinking that I could kill them at any moment."
Darkan scoffed at his former self with his hands clasped in front of him.
"But nothing changes that way. It's literally just a waste of time that exhausts both the body and mind. I felt like I had taken the wrong path, but I didn't know what to change, so I remained still. It was then that that kid said such things."
He lowered his head heavily, pointing to himself.
"'Don't underestimate beggars,' he said. That's when I realized. I had been doing senseless things."
Darkan said he was able to change his mindset thanks to those words, and a thin smile spread across his face.
"Now I feel uncomfortable, as if I have truly become a beggar. As if I have to worry about tomorrow's food. This must be the true life of a beggar."
Darkan said that, although his mind was uncomfortable, the discomfort that had been tickling his conscience had disappeared, and then he froze in place.
-Hah...
Wrath blinked as if he couldn't believe it.
-Does enlightenment come from learning to beg? Does this make any sense?
He shook his head, saying he couldn't understand.
"D-don't tell me..."
Rector swallowed hard as he looked at Darkan, frozen.
"It's enlightenment. It probably won't last long."
Raon nodded calmly as he wiped soot from his face.
"No, you. I mean, uh..."
Rector hesitated in his words as if he wasn't sure what to ask first.
"How do you know so much about begging?"
He nodded, deciding he should start with questions about begging.
"I learned it during my information-gathering missions."
Raon waved his hand as if it were no big deal.
"A beggar's ears catch all the world's rumors."
There was no better profession than a beggar for information gathering, and disguising oneself as an assassin. A beggar was a being that wouldn't seem out of place no matter when, where, or how they appeared, so even the Shadow taught seriously how to act as a beggar. However, unable to mention his past life, he could only express it as something learned during missions.
"...I see."
Rector nodded as if he believed it a little, though not entirely convinced.
"Then..."
"Haa!"
Just as he was about to open his mouth again, Darkan exhaled heavily.
"Now..."
Darkan clenched his fist as he brushed aside the hair that had fallen over his eye patch.
"My head feels fresh as if cold water has been thrown on me. The worries themselves have disappeared."
He smiled weakly, saying he had gained a significant realization.
"Thanks to you, Raon Zieghart."
Darkan, though an eccentric obsessed with swords, bowed his head to him like a true martial artist.
"It's nothing."
Raon shook his jaw indifferently.
'I just acted because I was a little annoyed...'
But things turned out this way. He wasn't a god, nor had he calculated all this before acting. He had simply taught Darkan a little because his clumsy begging act was irritating, but thanks to Darkan playing along better than expected, his own frustrations had also cleared.
"Now tell me. What do you want to ask of me?"
Darkan moved his fingers. Judging by the ease in his voice, it seemed he would likely accept most requests.
"Before making my request, I have something to ask. What do you think of the Five Demons?"
Raon mentioned the name of the Five Demons before asking Darkan to stop Derus.
"The Five Demons?"
Darkan briefly gestured with his lips.
"I have no feelings about them right now. Although I think they are pathetic."
He shook his head, saying he had neither goodwill nor malice.
"Even toward the Heavenly Demon?"
"I know he's strong, but that guy is not a swordsman."
Darkan snorted, saying he had no interest in the Heavenly Demon because he wasn't a swordsman, no matter how powerful he was. Raon couldn't help but think he was indeed obsessed with swords.
"Then I guess I can make my request."
Raon nodded, looking at Darkan's eye patch.
"Derus Robert will soon move to attack the Five Kings. Can you stop him?"
"Derus Robert?"
Darkan murmured Derus's name while scratching the bridge of his nose.
"Yes. At this point, only you and the Destructive King of the North can stop Derus."
"Has that guy become so strong?"
He opened his mouth roundly, as if surprised.
"I can't even read his martial prowess."
Rector frowned, saying he was at a completely different level from before.
"Even you might not be able to win now."
He slightly bit his lip, saying he couldn't predict the outcome of a fight.
"Please. Stop Derus Robert."
Raon bowed his head toward Darkan.
"I know your ultimate goal is my grandfather. But in that fight, one of you will disappear, so it wouldn't be bad to test it first, right?"
"No..."
Darkan moved his finger in front of himself. It seemed he was going to refuse after all.
"If it were something like that, you should have said it earlier!"
He shook his head as if wondering why they hadn't mentioned it sooner.
"If you had only told me that Derus had become so strong, I would have accepted to fight him right away."
Darkan shrugged as if questioning why they hadn't talked earlier.
"No, you didn't let us talk!"
Rector stomped his foot on the ground, exclaiming that Darkan had prevented them from speaking with his murderous intent.
"Did I?"
Darkan scratched the back of his head as if he had forgotten his own words and actions.
"Well, let's pass what happened. I'll stop Derus for you."
He nodded, accepting the request with disappointing speed.
"And..."
Darkan touched his temple while looking at Raon.
"I'll give you a little lesson in return."
"A lesson?"
Raon frowned slightly.
"What do you mean...?"
"I like to trade. Thanks to you, I gained enlightenment, so it's only fair that I return the favor."
Darkan smiled, saying he just wanted to reciprocate.
"I'm going to take a look at your swordsmanship."
He nodded, saying he would examine Raon's swordsmanship skills.
"Wasn't it such a great enlightenment, right?"
"At my level, even the smallest enlightenment becomes precious. What you did for me was not small at all."
Unlike most people who would minimize what others had done for them, Darkan recognized Raon's act as something greater than its actual size.
"What have you been stuck on lately?"
Darkan extended his arms as if he were willing to listen to everything.
"Well..."
After thinking for a moment, Raon slowly opened his lips.
"The power of my Soul Sword seems weaker than I thought."
"Huh...?"
Darkan blanked out for a moment before exhaling empty air.
"S-Soul Sword? Have you reached the realm of the Soul Sword?"
He shook his jaw as if he had no idea.
"Yes. Although I still need to borrow the power of this sword."
Raon said he still couldn't do it alone while drawing the Blade of Requiem.
"Then you should have said it earlier! If I had known you were a swordsman walking the same path, I would have listened to everything!"
Darkan tilted his head, wondering why they hadn't talked earlier.
"No, no, you wouldn't listen!"
Raon shouted at Darkan, just as he had done to Rector.
-Sigh, this king has misjudged again.
Wrath held his head after hearing the conversation between Raon and Darkan.
-That guy is indeed your equal. You're both crazy!
***
In an alley of the Oscott Kingdom.
"What kind of lesson are you going to give?"
Raon stood in front of Darkan in front of the ruins of a building illuminated by moonlight.
"From now on, I'll throw Soul Swords at you."
Darkan grasped the air with his right hand as if holding a sword.
"You should try to defend yourself with your Soul Sword."
He lifted his head arrogantly, as if telling Raon to block well.
"Wait!"
Rector raised his hand toward Darkan.
"Raon has only recently reached the realm of the Soul Sword. He is not at a level to block your sword."
He shook his head as if telling them to stop.
"That kid can't even use the Soul Sword alone, so the power difference is obvious!"
Darkan looked at Rector and smiled.
"But what you're thinking won't happen. My current Soul Sword is special."
He waved his hand as if there was no need to worry.
"As Darkan, I can lie as easily as I breathe, but as a swordsman, I never break a promise."
Darkan nodded as if saying they could trust him.
"Grandfather."
Raon looked at Rector with a slight smile.
"It'll be fine."
After telling him to wait, he took another step closer to Darkan.
"Let's begin."
He gritted his teeth while holding the Blade of Requiem in his hand.
"That's a good attitude."
Darkan curved the corners of his mouth and extended his hand holding the invisible sword. A terrifying killing intent clashed against Raon's soul like a typhoon, even though not a slight breeze was blowing. It was the wave of Darkan's Soul Sword.
Raon gritted his teeth and connected the resentments that dwelled in the Blade of Requiem with his own soul.
Just as many rivers form a sea, the souls of different colors mixed, forging an even sharper soul sword.
'Now!'
Raon swung his own sword toward Darkan's fierce incoming Soul Sword. With a deafening clash, sword against sword, and soul against soul, it created a sound like thousands of breaking glass windows. After closing his eyes momentarily due to the tremendous shockwave, Raon opened them to discover that the entire world had changed.
"This is..."
A vast gray space stretched before him, seemingly infinite, where the ruined alley had been.
"Welcome."
Darkan, standing in the center of this gray space, looked at him with a curved lip.
"To my Soul Sword."
-
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