TUK 22

Chapter 22

Grrrreeeekk! Krrrk!!

Just from the sounds alone, it was obvious that dozens of Murlocs were spread out all around them.

If they had encountered them before their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they would have undoubtedly become those creatures’ meal.

Fortunately, by now their eyes had adjusted enough to the gloom that they could make out the vague silhouettes of the shadowy creatures.

Step—.

Rian stepped forward.
As long as he was careful about the Murlocs’ teeth, he judged that he could easily handle them on his own.
But there were always variables in a fight.

Clang—.

A Murloc rolled its bulging eyes toward Rian, then reached for a weapon lying among the corpses of Imperial soldiers scattered around.

“Haha! So, it wants to answer swordsmanship with swordsmanship, combat with combat?”

Berquir tapped the iron gauntlets on his hands with delight at the Murloc’s reaction.

‘Ah—’

Rian suddenly remembered the Murlocs’ mirroring ability — a peculiarity they displayed when facing a true enemy rather than prey.

Grrk! Grkkk!

The creatures let out vibrating, gill-like sounds as they split off in different directions.
Those with weapons targeted Rian.
The unarmed ones seemed to be aiming for Berquir, who had stepped slightly back.

“Haha! So I can’t just sit and watch, huh? Surely I won’t have to save you?”

Berquir, realizing what the Murlocs intended, naturally widened the distance between himself and Rian.

Rian gave a small nod — but could he even see it?
In this pitch-black darkness, there was no way Berquir would understand that the gesture meant “No help needed.”
So Rian opened his mouth to say it aloud—

GRRREEEKK!!

Before he could, the Murlocs roared and charged, splitting their forces as they attacked.

“Haha! Fish-heads running to their deaths! I knew coming here would be fun!”

Berquir laughed loudly and rushed toward the charging Murlocs, fists raised.
Rian’s lips curved slightly upward — though not just because of Berquir’s boisterousness.

‘A Murloc with a weapon, huh? Well, that’s nothing to worry about.’

Splat!!

He thrust his fingers straight into the eyes of the Murloc that lunged at him, then slammed it to the ground.

Clang! Thud! Whoosh! Stab!

He struck, dodged, and stabbed, gouging out gills and bursting eyes as the Murlocs swung their weapons like clumsy children.

It wasn’t easy, though.

Grrrrkkk!!

Some of them hurled themselves forward as living sacrifices, throwing their bodies to protect their kin.

Kang!

He couldn’t recklessly cut them down — their thick scales could damage his blade.

Stab! Squish!!

So he fought efficiently, aiming precisely for vital spots like their gills and eyes.

That was why it surprised him to hear Murlocs ripping apart near Berquir’s position — the sound of flesh tearing and bones crunching violently.

“Haha! Why that look? This is merely the fruit of endless training on the edge of death! Rian, was it? You could learn this too! Haha!”

Just as Rian was watching Berquir, Berquir was also watching Rian — though neither could actually see the other in the dark. They sensed one another through instinct and awareness.

Berquir found himself impressed — Rian was defeating Murlocs without a single scratch on him.

He finished his assessment.

‘Hmm. No need for a sparring test after all.’

Strength and endurance — both passed.
Even after running all the way here, when most would barely be able to lift a sword, he was cutting through Murlocs with inhuman power and reflexes.
That alone proved he was someone they needed.
But still—

‘How will Lord Sion see him…?’

Berquir smiled in satisfaction, yet there was a trace of worry in his eyes.
With that expression, he swung his monstrous fists at the Murlocs rushing in again.

Boom! Crack! Squish!!

The Murlocs were torn apart, crushed, and smashed — a massacre, or perhaps a bloody judgment.

Their guts, blood, and scales splattered everywhere, swallowed by the darkness.

Eventually, the gurgling Murloc cries died away.

“Ugh! What is this smell! I told you we should’ve scouted this place in the morning and camped elsewhere!”

The four disciples of Sion, who had taken their time catching up, arrived at the scene.

Fina, who was particularly sensitive to smells, wrinkled her nose and shouted while covering it.

But Berquir only wiped the Murloc blood smeared over his face and grinned, showing his white teeth.

That, of course, made Fina shout again.

“Seriously!! Go wash yourself! Use dirt if there’s no water!”

Berquir just laughed heartily.

“Haha! You’re right, I suppose. Then I’ll go wash up with Rian Cade — everyone else, stay put. I’ve got something to discuss later. Oh, and clean up here, will you? Haha!”

With that, he left with Rian to find a water source.

“That bastard… makes us clean up his mess?!”

Dominic cursed and hurled a stone at him.
Berquir casually batted it away with his gauntlet and continued walking with Rian, paying no mind.

***

The blood-soaked Murloc corpses quickly dried and crumbled under the wind, turning brittle enough to shatter with a light step.
Even their once-impenetrable scales cracked and flaked away, like a dragonfly’s wings losing their sheen.

Leah, Fina, Dominic, and Taryn crushed the dried remains beneath their boots to erase the traces.

The corpses of the fallen Roden Empire soldiers were buried, to prevent other monsters from catching their scent.
Burning them would’ve been cleaner, but that would risk revealing their location to hidden enemies — so burial was the best option.

Meanwhile, Rian and Berquir sought a stream to wash away the monster blood and their own sweat.

“Heh. So this was the Murlocs’ den, huh?”

A bit away from the battlefield, under the faint moonlight and countless stars, a vast frozen mountain range cast long shadows.

A stream flowed down from beneath it, branching into a swampy area — and near a wide pool surrounded by scattered animal bones, they realized it had been a Murloc nesting ground.

Splash—.

Berquir stripped down and waded straight into the water without hesitation.
His silhouette alone looked like a finely carved statue of stone.

Rian followed him in — his physique no less impressive.

“Hooh. As expected. That’s the body of a man who trains relentlessly. Excellent.”

Berquir pressed his hand against Rian’s back muscles, smiling with satisfaction — while silently noting something else.

‘Incredible. Not a single wound… he actually finished them all unscathed.’

He had thought Rian was just another reckless soldier unafraid of death.
Yet here he was — after running all this way without tiring, he’d slain every Murloc cleanly.
Now, seeing him up close, Berquir could feel his talent radiating.

‘Yes. He’s definitely someone who must join us!’

Berquir looked at Rian with open admiration.

“Rian Cade, was it? I just realized — I never asked your age. I’m twenty-eight, the oldest among Sion’s disciples, haha.”

Rian felt uneasy at Berquir’s sudden friendliness and subtly moved away.

‘What’s with him all of a sudden?’

First, he’d demanded a duel with Dominic, then tested him with a running race, and now he was suddenly trying to be friendly — asking personal questions.

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t answer, but clearly Berquir was probing for information.

‘Could it be he suspects something… because of the way my strength improved right before I “died”?’

He didn’t know for sure.
If he acted too defensive, he might draw suspicion where there was none.

Better to stay calm.

“I’m twenty,” Rian answered politely.
Since Berquir was older, he used honorifics — partly to draw a respectful boundary between them.

Berquir didn’t seem to mind and smiled warmly.

“Haha! Same age as Leah, then! Dominic and Taryn are both twenty-three, so if you get along like they do, that’d be… good… hmm…”

His tone trailed off into a quiet sigh.
Rian tensed, wary of where this conversation might lead — would Berquir question how he’d survived death? But instead—

“My mistake. I just meant — I’d like for you to get along with Leah. That’s all.”

Rian tilted his head.
Berquir noticed his confusion and chuckled.

“Haha! I’m being too forward, huh? What I mean is — I like you, Rian. I’d like you to join us. That’s what I was trying to say, in a roundabout way. Haha.”

“……”

Rian just stared at him blankly.
First the sudden friendliness, then the invitation to join their group.

‘Well… at least he’s not acting like he knows about my immortality.’

Still, wasn’t becoming a disciple of Sion something only Sion herself could decide?

Rian decided to listen more.

“Of course, it won’t be easy,” Berquir continued. “Even if you’ve passed our tests and proven your skill, there’s still one more mountain to climb.”

Rian already knew what that mountain was.

‘The Knight of the Pentagram… Sion.’

Becoming Sion’s disciple was only possible if she accepted you personally.
Even if her current disciples approved, if she refused, it was over.

Berquir’s worried gaze said as much — but he didn’t know one crucial thing.

‘I never said I wanted to become Sion’s disciple.’

True, being accepted by one of the Five Knights of the Pentagram, the “Knight of Freedom,” was an incredible opportunity.
Unlike other knights who built influence and power, Sion devoted herself purely to saving the weak and destroying evil — a true guardian of peace and justice.

To train under such a woman was an honor beyond measure.

But how would she view his undying curse?
What if her disciples discovered that he could not die?

‘That blond bastard, Dominic, would definitely try to kill me on the spot.’

And Berquir — this man trying to befriend him — how would he react once he learned the truth?
Would he still reach out like this?

The more time he spent with them, the more likely they’d notice something strange.
And once they did, he wouldn’t be a knight — he’d be branded a heretic, imprisoned beneath the Church, or worse, used as an experiment by some nameless mage.

No — before anything else, he had to uncover the cause of his undying state.

‘Still, to measure my growth, I don’t mind more tests or sparring.’

After all, through Berquir, he had learned of the possibility of Aura release.

“I won’t refuse any tests or evaluations,” Rian said finally.

He left the door slightly open.
Whether he became Sion’s disciple or not didn’t matter for now — what mattered was that her disciples could help him grow stronger.