Chapter 937. Gen (16)
‘You’re too late, man.’
“Haa... Heuk...” I groaned.
‘Shit, you scared me. You scared me a lot.’
“You piece of trash,” Gen said.
“AAAAAH!” the short-tempered man screamed.
I trembled at the sweet melody. The man's scream was several times louder than my scream. Gen was in the middle of treating the short-tempered man’s anger management issues in a not-so-gentle way.
However, it was basically a miracle from the goddess.
‘It’s the Goddess Benigoa’s miracle. But it really hurts...’
“Ahh! Gaaaaaaah!” the short-tempered man screamed.
‘Nice tune.’
“Gah! Aaaack!”
‘Nice!’
“Ah...!”
‘Yes!’
Gen frowned, and his fist trembled as he bit his lips. Blood started dripping down his fist, and I was proud of that fist because the blood on it had come from the short-tempered man. It was a lovely fist.
Honestly, Gen didn’t look happy. He seemed to be having mixed emotions and one word wasn’t enough to describe how he looked. He was probably thinking that he needed to hold it in because he couldn't attract any attention right now.
However, how could he hold it in when I was dying?
How could he stand by and not do anything when the Saint of Light, who had been living a life of sacrifice, ended up getting caught up in violence full of malice?
How could he not do anything when I was rolling on the dirty ground, getting insulted, and getting spat on by a thug?
He was already feeling guilty toward me.
He was worried that his wrong decision was making me suffer, and he was also irresponsibly clinging to an impossible dream. I was sure he enjoyed seeing me every day, but a part of him was also heartbroken by how difficult his goals were to achieve.
I was sure his goals were something along the lines of...
‘I want to make him happier.’
‘I don’t want him to be in pain any longer.’
‘I’m going to protect him. I won’t let him get hurt anymore.’
Actually, it was none of my business because it was highly likely that he had all sorts of thoughts.
We had just settled down and were about to start a new life. He made a decision not to hurt me anymore and to protect me at all costs. He had just made that decision when this incident happened.
“How dare... How dare you...” Gen mumbled.
“Ack! Gah!!!” the short-tempered man screamed.
Gen was so angry that I couldn’t compare his current expression to the expression of his everyday, normal self. He grabbed the short-tempered man, who had lost his will to fight, by the collar and lifted him up, creating a very dramatic scene.
The scene was so one-sided and dramatic that he looked like the villain. If he could see himself, I was sure he’d be surprised because he didn’t look like his usual self.
Anyway, I knew what I had to do, and it was pretty obvious.
“I-It’s fine, Mr. Gen... I’m fine. It was just an accident. Please let him go.”
'I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’ll forgive even my attacker.'
‘Knock him out! Shit! I think I have a bruise on my face. Ruin his face!’
“He...”
“I... Ugh... bumped into his first...” I told Gen.
“Do you... Do you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into? This man... Do you know what you look like right now? Do you know what you look like as you’re saying that to me?” Gen questioned.
“He must have a reason... Ack... I’m fine, so please... let him go. Treatment—”
My words were interrupted by Gen slamming the short-tempered man into the wall.
“You bastard!”
“Ack!”
The onlookers already had their hand mirrors out, so I was sure everyone would soon know what was going on here.
One of the new recruits charged at Gen with their sword out.
Their movement was fast and sharp.
They seemed to have received training from Kim Hyun-Sung, as their movement seemed unusual. When I saw that they had imbued mana into their sword, I could tell that they were determined to cut Gen down, but...
Boom!
They fell to the ground, and I saw that a part of their body was crushed.
‘Are they dead?’
“Gah!”
The attacker’s arms and legs were twisted in an abnormal way. The priest of the party quickly cast a spell, but it wasn’t enough to treat the injured assailant.
‘That was a fatal attack.’
The guy who looked like the leader also rushed in, but it wasn’t effective.
‘Look at the difference in skills.’
“Ack!”
“Ahhh!”
Gen was on a completely different level compared to them.
It was like Alp's Shiro attacking Park Deok-Gu, Jo Hye-Jin playing chess against me, or Commander Jin talking about business in front of me.
“S-S-Stop!” the short-tempered man shouted.
“...”
“Are you trying to make the Blue Guild your enemy?!” the short-tempered man questioned.
'That’s right. He knows he can’t win, so he brings up the Blue Guild. He’s become a typical villain.'
Gen finally noticed the seal on their chests and frowned. He was probably trying to assess the situation. He had just obtained a ton of information using the presence of the Blue Guild's Republic branch member as the clue.
In the end, he reached a conclusion and concluded that something was wrong.
I had been eyeing the new recruits, and I saw that their leader looked nervous while staring at Gen.
‘At least he’s not dumb.’
He had finally realized that Gen was far more powerful than him.
‘What will you do?’
I was sure the realization was what led to him screaming the Blue Guild's name.
He didn’t want to use the Blue Guild’s name this way, especially when he was still a rookie, but he had no choice.
Gen was like a towering mountain to him.
There were many hidden experts on the continent, but they had just encountered one of the most powerful figures throughout the continent. Even if all of them were to charge at him at once, they wouldn't be able to handle even Gen’s wings.
“You disgusting fools.”
“...”
The onlookers were getting noisy.
“What’s going on?!”
“Where’s security?!”
“The members of the Blue Guild are fighting someone. That man just punched the other man.”
“S-Should we report this? What should we do? That man...”
“I think I’ve seen him from somewhere...”
Quite a few of the onlookers were recording the scene using their hand mirrors.
Gen seemed to have realized that as well, but he was so furious that his head was muddled. He had no idea what to do. I could understand Gen's feelings, as I knew that feeling as well.
'Your head and your actions aren’t in sync. There’s a fire burning inside you, and you feel like you’ll explode if you don’t let it out. Ah, that rookie has the same expression as him.'
‘Hey, friends. I’m back.’
“You trashy bastards,” Gen said.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? We’re members of the Blue Guild. I don’t know what business you have with us, but you’re making a mistake right now,” the short-tempered man said.
“Yeah, I know,” Gen said.
Boom!
The short-tempered man was slammed into the wall.
Gen didn’t really throw him that hard, but the thunderous boom was so loud that I got worried for the short-tempered man.
Still, it seemed that the throw wasn't that hard, as the short-tempered man could still talk.
“Ahh... S-Spare me... Please stop...” the short-tempered man begged.
“You committed a sin that cannot be washed,” Gen said.
“I don’t know what’s going on... but how dare you persecute an innocent man!” the short-tempered man shouted.
“Innocent? Are you saying you’re not at fault after looking at this man?” Gen said, pointing at me.
“That—man... whoo... It seems like there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m sure... there was a misunderstanding... If you tell me which guild you’re from, I’ll make plans to officially apologize to you later,” the leader offered.
“...”
“If you need an apology, I can compensate with physical items...” the leader added.
‘No. I don’t want gold this time.’
“You... pieces of trash...” Gen mumbled.
‘That actually made him more mad.’
“Mr. Gen...” I said.
“Please wait a moment,” Gen said.
“Mr. Gen!” I shouted.
“I...”
“Mr. Gen! Please stop!” I yelled.
“...”
“You can stop now!” I told him.
'Don’t stop, damn it. Hit them more and show them your strength.'
“Don’t hurt them anymore,” I begged.
'Hurt them. Crush their bones and tear their skin. I think I got a bruise. It hurts a lot. This isn’t enough to calm me down. I think there’s a crack in my bone. My ribs hurt a lot. Pay them back fourfold! No, fortyfold! Kill them! Rip them to pieces!'
“But...”
“Let's just... leave,” I suggested.
'We should run before security gets here but serve them a few more knuckle sandwiches before we leave.'
“I’m fine, Mr. Gen. I—”
“How can you say that you’re fine every time?” Gen interrupted.
“I’m really fine,” I reassured him.
'Why do the rookie members look like that? Their nervous look is making them look like the same person to me. Of course, I’m still the same beggar earlier.'
“I don’t know what you’re after... but the Blue Guild won’t overlook this incident,” the leader said.
'The Blue Guild will overlook this. You’re the one who won’t overlook this. Don’t use the guild’s name like that. You’re so arrogant.'
“L-Let’s go, Mr. Gen. Please... Heuk... Please...” I cried.
'I don’t want to go back to the birdcage. I don’t want to hurt people any longer. But man, don’t hold it in. Punish those fools.'
Gen seemed unable to ignore my tears because he lowered his hand and grabbed my hand.
“Don’t forget. The Blue Guild will never overlook this!”
'Just shut up, man. You’re so loud.'
The scared dog among the rookies finally became quiet.
“I’m sorry. Mr. Lee Ki-Young... I’m sorry,” Gen said.
“It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize for anything. Then...” I paused.
“I think we should... leave the city,” Gen suggested.
'No, I don’t think we can leave. Commander Jin has already organized his troops.'
As expected, they were closing in on us, but the Heretic Inquisitors or the Holy Knights were nowhere to be seen.
However, I was sure they’d soon come flooding in from the warp gate.
“This way!”
"I’m sorry. I... Heuk... I’m sorry, Mr. Gen,” I cried.
“It’s not your fault, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” Gen said.
'I think we'll end up running away into the night.'
'Many people are keeping tabs on the ongoing situation, right?'
***
"Guild Master, I apologize for contacting you so late. T-There’s something I need to tell you. We got into an accident today—Huh? Oh... I-I’m sorry"
— ...
"I thought it was nothing more than an argument... but it looks like there’s another guild involved. Their goal is unknown, but they’re systematically targeting the guild...
"Yes, that’s right. We ran into him exactly three times... It’s like he knew where we were... Yes, yes... I’ll notify the Commander first—What? Ah... yes. It’s more like he’s after the Blue Guild, not us... I’m sorry. My incompetence has stained the guild's honor... I’m sorry, Guild Master."
— ...
"The exact details... Yes. About the video that’s spreading on Benigoa Net... I’m sorry. Please forgive me. P-Please kill me."
— ...
"What?"
— ...
"I’m sorry. I... didn’t hear you. Did you just say Mr. Ki-Young? Who is..."
— ...
— ...
— ...
Click.