There Is No World For ■■
Chapter 162: Ghosts Of The Past, Connections Of The Present

Even if you cut the knot, the string remains.

Just like when the leader dies, the people remain.

**『The thoughts of ??? upon hearing the tale of the Gordian Knot.¹』**

* * *

Balagu fiddled with his pistol, trying to gauge how many bullets were left.

One for the idiot trying to scale the wall.

Three for the fools peeking around the entrance.

Two for the idiots trying to crawl in through the sewer lid.

He must have fired a total of six shots… No, was it two shots for the one scaling the wall?

It was hard to tell. The smell of gunpowder stinging his nose made it hard to think clearly.

Eventually, he gave up on counting the number of bullets he had left and leaned against the wall.

The cold touch of concrete against his back sent a wave of exhaustion crashing over him all at once.

“…When do you think this chaos will end?”

It was an incoherent question, but Joseph, who had been gazing out the window, answered him.

“Either those targeting this place will all die, or we will. However, it should be over before that happens.”

“…”

“Relax. I’m joking.”

Joseph spoke, fiddling with what seemed to be an AK or some kind of long rifle.

Though it didn’t look like he was joking, Balagu took his back off the wall and stood beside him at the window they were guarding.

Joseph… no, the two of them were guarding the central window on the second floor overlooking the inn’s front door. Originally, it was guarded by a burly man with a mounted machine gun.

However, that burly man was struck in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt, so Joseph and Balagu, the reserve troops, had no choice but to take over.

Joseph patted Balagu on the shoulder and spoke.

“Why? Are you worried about dying? If that’s what’s worrying you, I’d like to reassure you. We have a first aid kit, and there are no more fools who’d rush in after seeing the bodies piled around the inn.”

Balagu didn’t respond, instead gazing outside the window.

As Joseph said, piles of bodies surrounded the inn’s wire fence and entrance.

Gangsters, thieves, robbers— lawless scum who had tried to attack the armed inn.

Even the bodies of those who were self-proclaimed to be security or vigilance committees were among them. As soon as they were chased out, they tried to infiltrate through the sewers. It was clear the city’s security was already lost.

In times of chaos, it’s always the bottom-dwellers who suffer the most…

While Balagu was lost in these ambiguous thoughts as he stared at the corpses, Joseph noticed something moving from the alley and raised his gun.

- D-don’t shoot, don’t shoot! A baby! There’s a baby!

Had it just turned one? A woman came forward while lifting a newborn wrapped in cloth high into the air.

Once she confirmed that the bullets weren’t coming their way, she began to approach the inn’s main entrance slowly.

“Stop there! Stay back, or I’ll shoot!”

Just as the woman reached the entrance, Joseph shouted.

Frozen in fear, the woman raised the baby higher.

- P-please, at least take the baby!

However, Joseph answered the woman’s desperate cry with a bullet.

Bang! The bullet struck the ground just a few meters from her, kicking up dust, and causing the baby to start crying.

“Joseph!”

Balagu yelled out to Joseph in surprise, but Joseph didn’t even spare him a glance as he responded.

“Don’t worry about the kid. Watch our back.”

“What?”

“Damn it, look at the alley the woman came from.”

Balagu squinted and looked down the alley the woman had emerged from.

Hidden between the shadows of the buildings and behind the trash cans, numerous eyes were watching the building.

Scruffy kids, women in similar ragged states, and… armed Rat Beastfolks.

They were so well hidden, that if Balagu hadn’t possessed orc’s eyes that had grown accustomed to nomadic life, he would never have spotted them.

Judging by numbers, at least several dozen…

As Balagu was about to ask how Joseph managed to spot them, Joseph cut him off.

“…Am I correct? Are there others?”

So Joseph hadn’t seen them directly—did he guess by instinct? Balagu nodded in surprise.

Joseph smiled wryly.

“Be it South America or here… trash always thinks the same way.”

He spat out of the window and bellowed orders to his subordinates.

“Everyone, remain alert! It’s Paraguay style! Whether it’s kids or women, shoot anyone who gets close!”

The sound of guns being loaded echoed throughout the inn.

The woman holding the child seemed frightened by the sight of the guns and started backing away, but she couldn’t get far.

- *Kyaack!*

Before she could take even a few steps, a scream echoed from the far end of the alley.

The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence.

Glancing back and forth between the alley and the inn with a terrified expression, the woman holding the child in her arms trembled.

“Using a human shield… Are Rat Beastfolks really that smart?”

Balagu tightened his grip on his pistol as he spoke, and Joseph licked his lips before replying.

“Either a mutant with some intelligence showed up, or a human taught them. Either way, it’s all crap.”

“…”

“Anyway, if they come close, I’ll just shoot. And if it’s hard for you to witness it, fall back.”

His words almost sounded like consideration. However, Balagu didn’t retreat. Instead, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“Joseph, what if we go out and try to save them—?”

“Just shut the hell up. You should only fucking talk like that in the bathroom.”

“…”

“You want us to give up our strategic advantage for some random woman and her kid? Huh? Do my subordinates and I look like some kind of Superhumans to you? Or a hero?”

Balagu couldn’t argue or criticize him.

After all, wasn’t he the same guy who used to capture and sell slaves not long ago?

No matter the circumstances, his past as a slave trader couldn’t be erased.

And now, he was talking about saving a woman and her child? It was hypocrisy at its finest.

But…

“Then I’ll go by myself and at least try to save the child.”

“…”

“Even if we shoot the woman, there will always be someone else after her. Instead, it might be better to focus on saving the children from the start.”

Joseph fiddled with the trigger for a moment, then sighed deeply.

“Do as you wish. But only bring the child back. The woman must stay behind.”

“…”

“And if I see any that might threaten this place… I can’t guarantee your life. My deals come first, not some petty sense of justice. Got it?”

“Thank you for your… overwhelming consideration.”

Balagu bowed his head towards Joseph, then jumped out of the window, his pistol in hand.

* * *

As the bulky orc landed on the ground, the eyes of the woman who was standing in front of the main entrance trembled.

Hope, despair… all kinds of emotions mixed in her eyes.

Balagu stepped forward and extended his hand.

“Give me the child.”

“W-what about me?”

“I’m sorry. I can take the child, but it will be difficult to let you come inside.”

The woman shut her eyes tightly in resignation. After a moment, she offered the bundle that wrapped the child with trembling hands.

The moment Balagu carefully took the child, the woman, with her hands now free, pulled out a long canister from her coat.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Balagu instantly realized that the canister resembled the ‘smoke bombs’ Joseph had smuggled, and reached out to stop her. But the woman was quicker and pulled the pin first.

With a hissing sound, white smoke billowed, filling the space between Balagu and the woman.

That was the signal.

And in the next moment, the Rat Beastfolks hiding in the alley surged forward.

They, too, held the same smoke bombs as the woman, awkwardly pulling the pins and throwing them in the direction of the inn.

Though their throws were clumsy and not many bombs flew far enough, quantity always has its own quality.

The entire area in front of the inn was filled with white smoke in an instant, and the sounds of footsteps and shouting echoed.

- Squeak! Squeak! Occupy!

- The building! Seize the building!

- Ura! Ura!

Reaching through the smoke, Balagu bit his lower lip. His eyes stung, and his throat burned, but there was no time to hesitate.

“Kyaaackk!”

He grabbed the woman who had thrown the first smoke grenade —the one who had come forward with the child—and rushed into the inn.

A moment later, a hail of bullets rained down at the place he had been standing.

Joseph and his subordinates had begun shooting toward the main entrance where the rats were charging.

However, the Rat Beastfolks weren’t stupid. Instead of charging through the main entrance, they pushed through the wire fence surrounding the courtyard and flooded the inn.

“Get in!”

Balagu threw the woman inside the inn and locked the door just as the Rat Beastfolk in the lead lunged at him.

Bang!

Without any hesitation, Balagu pulled the trigger on his pistol. The Rat Beastfolk staggered but kept charging.

Dangling its wounded arm casually, it bared its massive front teeth at Balagu.

“D-die, you orc! Die!”

Balagu pulled the trigger again, but only a clicking sound came from the gun.

Damn, the gun had only eight bullets?

Balagu threw his pistol at the rat’s face. As it flinched, he grabbed the rat by its neck.

“Let go! Let go!”

The Rat Beastfolk twisted and fought back, but the orc was no slouch in terms of toughness. Balagu flung the rat to the ground with all his weight.

Thud! The rat’s body went limp as its head struck the concrete floor.

“…Damn.”

However, he didn’t have time to savor his victory. Hearing the commotion, more Rat Beastfolks came rushing toward him.

“Orc! You killed my comrade!”

“You’ll die too!”

However, unlike the first rat to charge, the ones coming in now were armed with swords and shields.

These were not some makeshift weapons, but properly forged military gear.

Locking the door behind him, Balagu thought to himself.

So, this is how I die. Trying to do something good and it ends in disaster.

It had been a life where nothing ever went right.

He hadn’t even met his damn previous master, and now he was going to die after trying to save a woman and a child whose names he didn’t even know.

There was no regret, but there was guilt. He especially felt sorry for Cheon Yeomyeong, who trusted him and Joseph.

With that final thought, Balagu lunged at the Rat Beastfolks.

He wasn’t sure how long he could hold out with just his bare hands against armed foes, but he was at least determined to take these two with him.

That was the plan.

However, all of a sudden, several sharp lumps of ice pierced through the chests of the Rat Beastfolks charging at him.

They were the same ice spikes he had seen Cheon Yeomyeong use in the desert.

As Balagu sighed in relief, the figures that emerged from the smoke weren’t Cheon Yeomyeong and his group but rather Rat Beastfolks dressed in unusual outfits.

“Damn it…”

As he raised his fist once again, the Rat Beastfolks wielding a hammer interrupted him. The voice was eerily familiar.

“Damn, that’s my line.”

“Miss Hong Seti?”

“I could see everything from behind. You’ve been doing some good work, huh? We’ll have a talk after this is over.”

“…?”

Balagu let out a dry laugh, but the Rat Beastfolk with the sword spoke in the voice of Cheon Yeomyeong.

“We’ll ask questions later. We need to deal with the raid first.”

“Are you really Mr. Cheon Yeomyeong? What’s going on here…?”

“That’s enough questions. Seti and Finel, please clean up the inn. Balagu… you’re with me. Grab the sword and follow.”

Balagu didn’t hesitate and did as he was ordered.

* * *

The Rat Beastfolk legion surrounding the inn numbered around forty.

It was a bit tricky as they were hidden in the smoke of the smoke bombs, but it wasn’t difficult to deal with them.

It took Yeomyeong a little over 5 minutes to take down the Rat Beastfolks all by himself.

“…Have you gotten stronger again?”

Balagu asked as he watched Yeomyeong turn the last Rat Beastfolk into three parts.

Yeomyeong neither confirmed nor denied it, simply wiping the blood off his sword before walking in the opposite direction of the inn.

“Balagu, how many Rat Beastfolks do you think it would take to occupy the sewers and the entire western area?”

“…”

It was an unexpected question, but Balagu answered quickly.

“At least a thousand.”

“What if we were to assume that they have left the western area and have already occupied all the important areas of the city and control all entrances and exits?”

“Then, it would require at least five thousand or more.”

Hearing such an enormous number, Yeomyeong seemed to be pondering deeply as they arrived at their destination, an alleyway.

“This is…?”

Balagu narrowed his eyes as the smoke started to clear in the alley.

It felt all too familiar. This was the same alley from where the Rat Beastfolks first emerged.

Children and women, clearly civilians gathered by the Rat Beastfolks as human shields, were huddled and trembling in fear.

“…Are you planning to save them?”

Balagu asked, holding onto a hint of hope, but Yeomyeong shook his head.

“No, do you honestly believe that we have the ability to save anyone right now?”

“Then…?”

“We’ll obviously use them.”

Use them? How could they use these helpless people? Balagu tilted his head in confusion, but then Yeomyeong’s expression changed again.

It was the face of a stubborn old man, one any city dweller would easily recognize.

It was the face of the Southern Count Palatine.

Even without a mirror, Yeomyeong could tell that the Blood Tear’s illusion had worked from Balagu’s surprised expression.

Then, Yeomyeong swung his sword, dispersing all the smoke, and shouted.

“Everyone, focus—Ahem, you lowlifes! Stand up!”

His voice sounded awkward, but no one in the alley dared to question the sudden appearance of the Southern Count Palatine from the smoke.

- Count Palatine?

- Hurry up! Let’s kneel!

The quick-witted women were the first to kneel, and the slower ones followed suit.

Yeomyeong paused for a moment before addressing them.

“All you lowlifes, gather in front of the inn! Immediately!”

The frightened women and children fidgeted with their hands and feet, but no one dared to move.

Why were they like that? It was because they were afraid after seeing the corpses surrounding the inn.

Unable to help himself, Yeomyeong was about to say something more, but suddenly, Balagu suddenly slammed the ground with a thud and shouted.

“How dare these bastards! Didn’t you hear the words of Lord Count Palatine?! If you don’t move quickly, I’ll take care of you one by one!”

Only then did the women let out something similar to a scream or a response and rushed toward the inn.

Yeomyeong looked at Balagu with a bewildered expression, and the orc shrugged.

“Uh… Wasn’t this the sort of performance you were planning to put on?”

* * *

On the renovated third floor of the inn, in the room with the largest bed.

Seti was sitting by the window, looking down at the inn’s main gate.

The atmosphere near the gate was chaotic as if to prove the battle that had just taken place.

Joseph and his subordinates were busy clearing the corpses, while ragged children and women were carrying sandbags to create a barricade.

However, what caught Seti’s eye was something else.

It was the face of the Southern Count Palatine… more precisely, Neti who borrowed his face and was using Telekinesis to create a tent.

The tent, made by erecting wooden poles in a circular shape and covering them with waterproof cloth, resembled that of desert nomads.

Of course, compared to a real nomadic tent, it wasn’t even half as big, in other words, it was only big enough to accommodate one person.

However, for the refugees, it could be considered a decent sleeping place.

“…Isn’t that a waste?”

Seti turned her gaze away from the window and spoke. Her blue eyes reflected Yeomyeong, who was sitting on the bed.

Yeomyeong did not deny it.

“It is indeed a waste.”

“…Huh?”

“But it’s a necessary waste.”

Seti crossed her arms, as if asking him to elaborate. Yeomyeong took out the fist-sized World Tree’s crystal from his pocket and continued.

“How long do you think it will take to absorb this crystal?”

“Well, logically, it would take over five years…”

But you are someone who defies logic, aren’t you? Seti didn’t need to say the rest as Yeomyeong could hear them in his head.

Yeomyeong smiled faintly.

“It took me three days to absorb a piece the size of a fingernail back in Manchuria. And considering how much stronger I’ve gotten since then… I’ll probably need a month to absorb the entire thing.”

The World Tree’s crystal sparkled as Yeomyeong spoke.

“But a month is too long. And Kahal Magdu will probably find us before then.”

“…That’s true.”

Kahal Magdu. Even though they somehow managed to push him away with the tanks in the underground armory, what would happen if they had met his real form?

No matter what, one of their group members would probably have died. So, if he didn’t get stronger, he couldn’t guarantee victory over such a formidable foe.

Yeomyeong tightened his grip on the crystal and spoke.

“Therefore, I’m going to break this crystal to about the size of my finger. That way… it’ll take me at most three days to absorb it.”

If someone else were to hear this, they would have been horrified. After all, an ordinary person would have taken at least a year to absorb such a crystal.

However, Yeomyeong had already received permission from the World Tree, and three days was the longest period he could afford.

“So, what does that have to do with accepting refugees outside?”

“While I’m absorbing the crystal, I’ll use those people as an early warning system.”

Warning system? Seti observed that the tent outside was surrounding the inn’s walls in a circular shape.

“The Rat Beastfolk might use innocent people as meat shields to attack again, just like today. With those people, we can at least defend against such attacks.”

“…”

“Well, and although we have you, Neti, and Finel, it’s still not enough to stop ten with just one hand, right?”

Seti didn’t argue. Even with all of Joseph’s subordinates and Balagu combined, there were fewer than twenty people guarding the inn.

In terms of armament or quality, they had enough, but the lack of quantity was a glaring weakness in itself.

Especially if they had to protect someone.

Only then did Seti understand Yeomyeong’s point and tilted her head.

“If we share the tents and food, those people will fight to some extent. Even if their combat ability isn’t great, the kids can at least patrol and keep watch.”

It was a three-day investment for safety; a wasteful and reasonable investment.

But…

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it have been better to hire another gang?”

Yeomyeong smiled bitterly.

“Seti, can you trust anyone you hire in this city?”

“Ah…”

They couldn’t trust anyone. The water at the top must be clear for the water below to be clear, but in this city, both the upper and lower levels were completely corrupt.

“People who can fill the numbers and at least set off smoke bombs—yeah, I guess these people are just right for the job.”

Although she said that, Seti chose to believe that this decision came from Yeomyeong’s goodwill.

Had his vengeful feelings lessened a little after killing the Player? Seti genuinely hoped so.

She sincerely wished that the fire burning inside him wouldn’t consume him, and that he would find happiness after his revenge.

Having thought this far, she deftly got up from the window sill and approached Yeomyeong.

Then, she buried her face in his neck to hide her expression.

“When will you consume the crystal… Ah, you’ll consume it immediately, won’t you?”

When it came to becoming stronger, he was always in a hurry. The world and the circumstances around him constantly pushed him to take action quickly.

“No need to worry about anything else, just consume it. I’ll definitely protect you.”

Usually, it should be the other way around, shouldn’t it?

Yeomyeong smiled faintly and tightened his grip on the crystal.

With a cracking sound, the crystal split, and a small piece popped out.

After packing the remaining crystal, Yeomyeong picked up the popped-out piece.

However, he didn’t consume it right away. Instead, Yeomyeong quietly patted Seti’s back. That was why she hugged him even tighter.

The warmth, the soft scent of his skin—Seti didn’t want any more than that.

If she wanted more, she would no longer be able to hold herself back.

After a brief silence, Seti pulled away from his embrace and left the room.

Yeomyeong, who had been watching her, spoke toward her back as she grabbed the doorknob.

“…Don’t nag Balagu too much.”

“Then should I go after the woman who set off the smoke bomb?”

“…”

“I guess it’s better to scold Balagu then, right?”

Seti left the room after saying that. For a moment, Yeomyeong simply stared at the place where she had been, then swallowed the World Tree’s crystal.

Footnotes

1. 1. The cutting of the Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend associated with Alexander the Great in Gordium in Phrygia, regarding a complex knot that tied an oxcart.

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