The World Does Not Exist for ■■

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: ford53
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< Chapter 16: The Inevitable Encounter of the Mob (3) >

The cold sea breeze paused for a moment as dawn sneakily peeked over the horizon.

A small smuggling boat was headed towards Incheon Port.

On the deck of the boat, smaller than a cheap fishing vessel, two individuals draped in ponchos and a smuggler were on board.

The elongated ears of the two passengers poked out from the sides of their ponchos, but the smuggler paid no heed to them.

For the smuggler, it mattered not who the passengers were or what race they belonged to; his only concern was receiving a hefty payment.

In that sense, these passengers were good customers. One gold bar each, two in total.

An enormous sum just to smuggle in two people.

Feeling lucky, the smuggler energetically steered his boat. His small craft circled around the harbor, heading towards a closed-off dock.

Only he knew this waterway, a dangerous route where any larger boat risked being turned into a beehive by the guards.

But the risk was worth it, for once you got through, the rewards were certain.

Following this route to the abandoned Pier 13, security was lax enough to walk into Incheon city itself.

The small boat smoothly sliced through the water.

After about thirty minutes, guided by the stretched out dawn, the destination came into view.

“Passengers, we’re almost there.”

The smuggler looked towards Pier 13 and smiled. Or rather, he tried to.

‘…Lights?’

The moment he saw Pier 13 in the distance, the smuggler couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.

Where Pier 13, once quiet enough for an ant to roam, was now brightly lit in various places.

Squinting his eyes, he surveyed Pier 13.

Amongst the lights, he could see collapsed containers, something large, and people in suits wandering about.

‘…What the hell is all that?’

Just as the smuggler sensed something ominous, his passengers spoke up.

“I thought this was a decent country, but here at the entrance, we have miscreants roaming about.”

It was a voice as beautiful as to send shivers down one’s spine.

The smuggler startled and halted the boat.

“…My apologies, Comrade Miridis.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Comrade Rime. It’s not your fault that we lost contact with the advance team.”

“However… it was my suggestion that we come to this country.”

“Again, it’s fine. If we’re placing blame, it ultimately falls on me for coming to Earth.”

Comrade? Comrade? Upon hearing these terms, the smuggler’s spine chilled.

His suspicions about their long ears were confirmed, then?

‘Red-eared communists…’

Without making eye contact with them, the smuggler bowed his head deeply and spoke cautiously.

“Um, passengers… there seems to be a problem at our original destination, so we’ll have to head elsewhere. It’s just a small detour, so please bear with me for a moment longer.”

He did his best not to let his voice tremble, but the response he received made his body quake.

“There’s no need for that. That dock is our original destination, right? We’ll continue to that dock.”

“But… smuggling is about staying unnoticed.”

“If being noticed is your concern, then there’s even less to worry about.”

“…Yes?”

“They’ve already seen us.”

“What?”

When the smuggler looked up, something at the edge of the dock caught his eye.

A man with a cow’s head.

Mask or disguise, it was unclear, but the cow-headed figure was staring straight at his small boat.

‘Damn it, I knew my luck was too good today…’

The smuggler wanted nothing more than to flee, but he had no choice.

He could only hope that the reds were as strong as the rumors suggested as he steered toward the dock.

***

Ssshhh…

When Dung Beetle turned on the shower, water cascaded down from above.

Days’ worth of blood and grime washed off his body, flowing down the drain.

He watched the reddening floor and thought about the people—and what used to be people—that he had killed.

Fortunately, he felt no regret or guilt.

Feeling faint relief, Dung Beetle silently continued to cleanse himself.

Until the blood stopped flowing from his body, he continued.

After using up an entire bar of soap and ensuring that no more blood or filth was coming from his body, he stepped out of the shower room.

And upon opening the door, he was taken aback.

“Ah… I didn’t notice before you washed up, but you’re quite handsome, aren’t you?”

Greeting him outside the shower room was Seti, eating a cup noodle.

Dung Beetle slightly raised an eyebrow and looked over the cheap motel bed where she sat.

The bed was covered with various convenience store foods. Ramen, onigiri, burgers, bread, cake, and so on…

About half of them were already gone, leaving just the wrappers behind, and the rest were semi-unpacked, seemingly waiting to be devoured by her.

“…When did you get all this food?”

“I went shopping while you were holed up in the bathroom showering for 30 minutes.”

“…”

“I have a body type that needs to replenish what I’ve used. I normally don’t eat instant food, but…”

She glanced back and forth between Dung Beetle and the motel room, then added with a fake cough.

“Ahem, considering the situation of coming to a motel secretly with a man, how can I be picky about food?”

Slurp

She gulped down the noodle soup in one go, then picked up an onigiri.

Dung Beetle shook his head and sat down on a chair by the bed.

He planned to talk immediately, but there’s an old saying not to disturb even a dog while eating. He could wait until she finished her meal.

He watched Seti for a moment, then recalled their last conversation on Pier 13.

Her answer to his question “What do you want from me?” had been excessively elaborate.

“Will you join hands with me? You assist my revenge, and I will assist your vengeance against the government. We both risk our lives.”

At first, he thought it was nonsense and frowned, but Seti was serious.

“I understand if you can’t trust me. But my offer is sincere.”

Dung Beetle asked whom she sought revenge upon. Her answer was short and to the point.

“Do you think you’re the only one who has a grudge against this country’s government?”

Dung Beetle didn’t respond. He had been through too much recently to lightly accept a sudden offer of alliance.

Then, Seti began to move around the dock to prove her sincerity.

First, she tampered with the pig-headed man’s corpse and found the secretary’s body, disguising it to look like it had been crushed under the titan.

Next, she targeted the traces of Dung Beetle that were left around the dock.

Remnants of grenades and shotguns on the titan’s body, shell casings, fragments of grenades… she pushed them aside, smashed, and erased them.

Only after observing the entire process did Dung Beetle belatedly realize one possibility.

The government could analyze the traces and track him down.

Seti had manipulated the scene out of concern for the possibility that he had not realized. To prevent the government from detecting or pursuing Dung Beetle.

If someone were to examine the scene later, it would look like she had fought the necromancer.

“I’ve said it before, but if you join hands with me, you won’t regret it, you know?”

After finishing her manipulation of the scene, she handed him the bag the secretary had, saying that.

Inside was not just any old thing, but a potion of awakening. Regrettably, out of all the potions in the bag, only one had maintained its contents intact.

But that was enough. It was the potion the government had tried to obtain even by dealing with the necromancer. It would be worth millions for just a single bottle.

“Why are you showing me such kindness?”

“Kindness and goodwill are the basics of trade, no?”

After hearing that, Dung Beetle’s heart was slightly moved.

He decided to listen to her offer. Or rather, to pretend to listen while probing her true intentions.

“Shall we move our location first?”

Side by side, they left the dock. To avoid any potential tailing, they circled around the outskirts of the city and arrived at a secluded motel.

And now…

Dung Beetle looked at Seti, who was swallowing the last onigiri, and asked.

“Let’s hear your reasons for making such an offer to me.”

Munching away like a hamster with her cheeks full, Seti leisurely finished her food and wiped her mouth before answering.

“Hmm, there are two reasons.”

“…Two?”

“Firstly, your talent.”

“Talent, huh?”

As Dung Beetle trailed off, Seti gave a sly smile.

“The non-lethal skill you’ve eyeballed and stolen from me. You used it quite perfectly, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Did you know? That footwork you stole, called ‘Shadow Skipping.’ I learned that from a very young age, and every time I twisted my ankle, the instructors would strike my calves with a cane.”

Remembering the past, a slight cynicism crept into Seti’s smile.

“I practiced it to death for months, getting hit until my calves burst. Only after putting in that much effort could I use Shadow Skipping perfectly. Do you know what I was told at the moment I succeeded with Shadow Skipping?”

“…I have no idea.”

“A genius! The instructor called me a once-in-a-century genius. Huh, do you get it? Shadow Skipping is such a skill that even mastering it in just a few months earns you the title of genius. But what about you? Ta-da, you mastered it perfectly in just three days?”

‘Perfectly mastered’ was the wrong expression. The Shadow Skipping executed by Dung Beetle was far from perfect.

Throughout the time he used Shadow Skipping to dodge the titan’s attacks, his ankles twisted numerous times, and his ligaments stretched to the brink.

There was a lack of insight and knowledge in its use. The only reason he could use Shadow Skipping was because of his body’s nonsensically robust resilience and regenerative ability.

However, Dung Beetle didn’t bother to mention that fact out loud. Instead, he redirected the conversation more diplomatically.

“…Isn’t it a bit premature to be sure of my talent based on just that skill? Maybe I just happen to be a good fit for that Shadow Skipping skill.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Seti’s smile widened.

“…Being able to say that is proof enough of your talent. Your mouth claims to know nothing about martial arts, yet your body perfectly executes the technique. If that’s not a talent, what is?”

“…”

“The real martial arts like non-lethal skills are different from sports. It’s not a matter of fitting well or not once you start dealing with mana.”

Seti muttered for a moment, then sighed softly and continued.

“And more than anything… you used True Strike.”

“True Strike?”

“The technique you used to smash the titan’s head. Hmm… how should I put it, it’s like the finishing move of non-lethal skills.”

“…That’s a finishing move?”

Dung Beetle recalled the moment he shattered the titan’s head. The power was tremendous, but there was not much finesse involved.

To throw everything into one hit, regardless of whether the body breaks.

That was all there was to it. It was about crossing the body’s instinctively drawn limits, loading up the power.

For Dung Beetle, it was a gamble relying on his body’s regenerative capability.

A finishing move? For someone without regenerative abilities, it would be nothing more than a self-destructive move.

When Dung Beetle looked puzzled, Seti elaborated.

“Like non-lethal skills, True Strike is more like a stepping stone to advanced techniques. Without talent, it’s impossible to even learn.”

“…”

“You felt it too when you used True Strike, right? The whole body must be controlled to complete it.”

Ah. Dung Beetle finally understood the true essence of True Strike.

To surpass the limits set by the body.

He had succeeded so naturally that he hadn’t even realized it was about unlocking the locks instinct had set.

Even enhancing senses with mana wasn’t easy, let alone instincts. If that wasn’t the realm of talent, what was?

“…Now you understand why I believe in Mr. Dung Beetle’s talent, right?”

Dung Beetle quietly nodded.

He decided to save the small epiphany in his mind for later and continued with his questions.

“So, what’s the second reason?”

“Your thirst for revenge.”

It was an immediate and unexpected answer. Dung Beetle slightly furrowed his brows.

“My thirst for revenge? What does that have to do with anything?”

“You didn’t run away.”

“…”

Seti looked him straight in the eyes as she spoke.

“When you were fighting with the necromancer. You could have run away, but you didn’t.”

“…”

“Even if the titan and necromancer were fast, they couldn’t have caught up if you had used Shadow Skipping to escape. You were much faster, and the necromancer wasn’t in any shape to ride a car.”

“That’s because…”

“If I hadn’t been there, Mr. Dung Beetle, you would have died. You knew that too.”

Dung Beetle couldn’t think of a rebuttal. She was right.

“But you didn’t escape. Why? Because dying is better than running away.”

The blue eyes of Seti that looked at him. Deep within them, emotions he couldn’t understand swirled.

“Am I right?”

“…”

Something mournful in Seti’s voice burrowed into Dung Beetle’s heart.

“Huh, Mr. Dung Beetle, it’s all written on your face. Right now, you’re thinking, ‘How does she know all this so well?’”

Then, the words that followed stirred a gentle ripple in Dung Beetle’s heart.

“Because once, I was in the same situation.”

Seti slowly raised her head. Her gaze wasn’t on the old motel ceiling but anchored in a distant past.

“But… I ran away.”

Dung Beetle couldn’t know what past event she was recalling. But he could be sure of one thing.

She was filled with regret.

“I thought as I fled: ‘I’d rather die than this, but let’s live and seek revenge later…’”

A clenched fist, a trembling voice.

“But after surviving, I couldn’t muster the courage to take revenge. The opponent was much stronger, and the living must keep living…”

She slowly lowered her head. The blue eyes of Seti, returning from the past, overshadowed Dung Beetle’s reflection.

“…It’s a pathetic story, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s a pathetic story.”

Chuckle

Seti covered her mouth and laughed.

“I would have been angry if you had said anything less, even as a courtesy.”

After that exchange, both were silent for a moment.

After brief reflections passed between them, Seti reached out her hand and proposed to him.

“Mr. Dung Beetle, will you join hands with me? We both risk our lives; you help me, and I help you.”

Dung Beetle didn’t respond. He quietly rested his chin on his hand and looked at her hand.

Scattered calluses, but a fair and beautiful hand.

It was the hand of someone who had lived a completely different life than his own.

“Um… If you don’t do anything in this atmosphere, it will be quite embarrassing for me…”

“Seti.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s shake hands. You help me, and I help you. But let’s not risk our lives.”

“…”

“That’s my condition.”

Dung Beetle extended his hand in turn.

No matter how much he washed, he couldn’t hide the calluses that were the hallmark of a cleaner… no, a murderer.

Seti looked at his face and hand back and forth with a dazed look, then let out a small laugh.

“Agreed. The deal is set.”

She reached out her hand. Their hands overlapped, and Dung Beetle realized that this was the first time in his life he had held a woman’s hand.