The Aran border town was choked with soot and the lingering residue of magic. We moved through the marketplace with our heads bowed, but our path was suddenly blocked by a sharp metallic clang. An Aran recruitment officer in a deep navy uniform stepped in front of me with a mechanical gait.
"You there, the big one. Stop."
The officer's eyes glowed with a disturbing blue light, a side effect of the Holy Relic's power. He scanned me from head to toe, his gaze lingering on my shoulders. I could feel Yeon-woo's breathing grow erratic beside me. I squeezed her hand tight to keep her steady.
"A build like yours is perfect for the infantry on the Southern Front. Name? Present your citizen ID."
I deliberately hunched my shoulders, feigning submissiveness, and slowly raised my left hand, which was wrapped heavily in black cloth, before his eyes.
"Oh, mercy, sir... As you can see, I'm a useless man. I lost three fingers in a mine collapse just a while ago. What use would a cripple be to you, someone who can't even grip a plow properly?"
I forced a groveling smile, showing him the dark bloodstains seeping through the bandages. The officer scowled and snatched my wrist roughly. As he pressed against the severed stumps, a pain like a needle stabbing my brain surged through me, but I swallowed the scream and kept the forced grin.
"Looks like you haven't even treated it properly. It reeks of rot."
"Yes, yes... that's why I'm wandering with my little sister here, just trying to scrape together enough for some medicine. Please, sir, have mercy on us."
The officer shoved my hand away in disgust. He stared intensely at Yeon-woo for a moment, then spat on the ground and stepped aside.
"Get lost, you useless lump of meat. The Aran army isn't a charity for cripples."
We hurried into the shadows before he could change his mind. When we reached the end of the alley, I leaned against a wall and let out the breath I had been holding. More than the pain in my left hand, it was the predatory look the officer had given Yeon-woo that made my skin crawl.
I had escaped the recruitment officer's sight, but the sensation of being watched didn't vanish. Three men who had been loitering in the shaded corners of the marketplace were tailing us. They weren't Aran soldiers; they were local scavengers living off the dregs of war. The metallic rasp of one man fiddling with a rusted knife inside his coat broke the silence.
"Yeon-woo, don't be afraid. Stay close to me."
I deliberately staggered, feigning that I was clutching my injured left hand. I needed to instill the conviction in them that I was an easy target. We stepped into a dead-end alley at the edge of the market, a place reeking of filth where not a single ray of light reached.
"Hey, pal. I saw your pockets looked pretty heavy back there. Since your hand is crippled, why don't we 'help' you carry that?"
As we moved deeper into the alley, they revealed their true colors. The leader blocking our path had teeth rotted yellow, and his eyes were filled with nothing but greed. I pushed Yeon-woo behind my back and slowly lowered my bandaged left hand.
"I don't have much. If you just let us pass, no one has to bleed."
"Bleed? Haha! This gimp doesn't seem to realize the situation..."
The moment the man swung his knife and approached, the look in my eyes shifted. I returned to being the platoon leader who had slaughtered hundreds of enemies, no longer the wounded laborer.
Thud!
Before the man could finish his sentence, my right foot kicked him squarely in the groin. As he collapsed without even a scream, I snatched his head with my right hand and smashed it directly into the wall.
Crunch!
The other two lunged in panic, but I used my bandaged left hand like a hook, gouging into the eye of one. The agony in my severed knuckles scorched my entire body, but that pain only awakened my killer instincts. I wrapped my right arm around the last man's throat and twisted with all my might until his jawbone shattered.
The alley was instantly filled with the metallic stench of blood rising from the corpses. Yeon-woo watched the scene from the darkness, holding her breath. She knew. To keep me alive, and to protect her, I had once again abandoned my humanity
I ransacked the pockets of the leader collapsed on the ground. Inside, instead of filthy grime, I found a metallic plaque engraved with a sophisticated silver crest. It was a high-ranking military pass that only Aran officers could possess. These pieces of trash had clearly lured a drunken officer into an alley and finished him off.
"Lieutenant, that is..."
Yeon-woo's voice trembled. I wiped the blood off the pass with my sleeve and looked at her.
"This is a gamble. But if we keep wandering the outskirts like this, we'll either starve to death or be caught by recruiters again. We're better off going into the heart of the enemy to secure proper medicine and supplies."
I gripped the pass tight. We left the alley and headed toward the massive iron gates in the center of town. This was the 'Inner City,' a fortress-like district where Aran's nobility and high-ranking officers resided. Standing before the gate were massive heavy armored guards, augmented by the magic of the Holy Relic.
"Halt. This area is off-limits to civilians."
A massive halberd blocked our path. I took a deep breath and pulled the silver pass from my breast pocket. Then, in the most arrogant and cold voice I could muster, I imitated the tone of the Aran officers I had killed.
"Move. I am on a classified mission for the Security Bureau. My assistant is severely injured and requires immediate medical supplies. If you delay us, I will report you to your superiors."
I deliberately revealed a glimpse of my left hand wrapped in black cloth. The blood-soaked bandages looked like the scars of a fierce battle. The armored guards checked the crest on the pass, exchanged glances, and then pushed open the heavy iron gates.
Cre-e-eak—
As the gate opened, a world entirely different from the outside unfolded. Ornate gaslights illuminated the streets, and soldiers in pristine uniforms marched about. We had walked right into the lion's den of our own volition. Yeon-woo gripped the hem of my coat tightly. From this moment on, even a single breath had to be a performance