Chapter 4
The moment he heard the offer, Cesare stopped chewing his bread.
The “thug” the brothel owner was talking about was probably the man calling himself Dane.
A request from the very brothel owner who had taken over the Domus…
He didn’t like the sound of that.
Sensing his hesitation, one of the mercenaries added,
“She’ll pay 200,000 batz per person. It’s just one guy. It’ll be over in no time.”
Two hundred thousand batz.
The man claiming to be Dane had promised him 500,000 batz if he came looking for him, but favors without clear compensation made him uncomfortable.
A straightforward transaction like this felt much better.
Fiddling with his bread, Cesare stuffed the last piece into his mouth.
“Fine. Let’s go. What time are we meeting?”
He had nothing to do with Valanus anymore.
So what if the brothel owner was the client?
Why should he care?
And that man claiming to be his master?
That didn’t matter either.
The dead didn’t come back to life.
He was probably just a con artist who happened to resemble him.
Thinking that, Cesare prepared for the job.
He considered having a drink before leaving but decided against it.
Instead of his usual spear, he picked up a wooden staff.
The brothel owner had only ordered them to cripple the man—not kill him.
With around thirty mercenaries, he headed toward the Valanus Domus…
No.
Toward the brothel.
Moonlight illuminated the road, yet an inexplicable uneasiness clung to him like a lingering hangover.
As he tried to shake the feeling, their destination gradually came into view.
Once, he had dreamed of saving enough money to reclaim that place.
But it had only ever been a fantasy.
Valanus no longer existed.
It had fallen.
That place was a graveyard.
A ruin.
So it didn’t matter what happened to it anymore.
Thinking that, he approached the Valanus Domus.
Creeeak…
The old hinges groaned as the front door slowly opened.
A man stepped out.
Dane.
Pale blond hair framed a pair of golden eyes that shone with a far fiercer light than before.
Holding a single wooden sword, he calmly looked over the mercenaries.
After a brief silence, his voice echoed through the night.
“This is the Valanus Domus.”
His voice was loud and crystal clear.
He wasn’t shouting.
Yet it carried overwhelming authority.
His face remained expressionless, but his eyes blazed.
“Anyone who trespasses upon the Valanus Domus…”
For an instant, Cesare felt as though their eyes met.
“…whoever they may be, will pay the price.”
A chill crawled up his spine.
This was nothing like the man he’d seen earlier that day.
One of the mercenaries burst into laughter.
“Valanus Domus? What’s that supposed to be? It’s just a brothel.”
Even at the mockery, Dane’s gaze never wavered.
Moonlight softly bathed the courtyard until a cloud drifted across the moon, plunging everything into shadow.
The moment darkness fell, one mercenary shouted,
“Attack!”
At once, the mercenaries rushed Dane with weapons drawn.
Sharpened blades flashed through the darkness.
The man in the lead swung his sword.
The blades met, but the bind lasted only an instant.
The moment their swords touched, Dane twisted his wrist, wrapped around the attack, and effortlessly wrenched the weapon away.
As the disarmed mercenary stumbled in panic, Dane seized him by the collar and yanked him forward.
The axe meant for Dane buried itself into the pulled man’s shoulder instead.
“AAAGH!”
Blood sprayed as he screamed.
Even so…
Dane remained perfectly calm.
His eyes gleamed like those of a predator.
Watching from the rear, Cesare froze.
That look…
It felt strangely familiar.
Whenever his master had stood in defense of the Domus against intruders…
Those were the eyes he wore.
Like a beast.
He held nothing but a wooden sword, yet it looked sharper than any real blade.
Like the fangs and claws of a wild animal.
Some mercenaries tried attacking from behind.
It made no difference.
Dane fought as though he had eyes on the back of his head.
CRACK!
Without even turning around, he simply twisted his sword to block the attack before spinning and thrusting into his opponent’s chest.
Had it been a real sword…
The man would have died instantly.
“H-He’s a freaking monster!”
Out of roughly thirty men…
Nearly half had already fallen.
Groans echoed everywhere.
The remaining mercenaries hesitated, their morale shattered.
Then…
A quiet voice called out.
“Cesare.”
Hearing his name, Cesare instinctively swallowed.
“I warned you.”
Holding the wooden sword, Dane slowly walked toward him.
“I said that anyone who trespassed upon the Valanus Domus…”
“…whoever they were…”
“…would pay the price.”
The instant he finished speaking…
Dane disappeared.
Or rather…
It looked that way.
Feeling the disturbance in the air, Cesare instantly pivoted sideways and raised his wooden staff.
CRACK!
The collision rang out with a dull impact.
The moment their weapons met, Cesare’s eyes widened.
I can handle this?
After watching Dane tear through everyone else, he’d assumed the man was some unstoppable monster.
But now that their weapons had crossed…
His strength was perfectly ordinary.
In terms of raw physical power…
Cesare actually had the advantage.
I got worked up over nothing.
Smirking, he began swinging his staff relentlessly.
BAM!
CRACK!
Each clash rang sharply through the night.
To an outside observer, they appeared evenly matched.
But with every exchange…
Cesare grew more anxious.
Damn…
I should’ve had a drink.
Without alcohol, his hands had started trembling again.
His chronic shakes only disappeared when he drank.
That’s why he was always drunk.
Now, completely sober, his balance wavered.
Frowning, he glared at Dane.
“What the hell are you smiling about?”
Dane was smiling.
The kind of smile one gave a child who had grown up well.
Effortlessly deflecting every attack, he said,
“Because what I taught you still remains in your sword.”
“…What?”
“I started teaching you how to fight when you were ten. I couldn’t teach you very much…”
“But I made sure you learned one thing.”
“Your center.”
Your center.
Yes…
That had been the foundation of everything taught at Valanus.
“Cesare.”
“I can feel your center in your attacks.”
“It’s crude…”
“…but it’s there.”
Dane smiled gently.
“A great tree remains majestic…”
“…even after it dies.”
“The hell are you talking about?”
Center?
Valanus?
He had forgotten all of that.
There was no way any of it remained inside him.
When Valanus fell…
Everything had disappeared.
Originally he’d intended to hold back.
Not anymore.
He had to beat down this ghost of Valanus standing before him.
Leaping backward to create distance, Cesare hurled his wooden staff like a javelin.
The staff shot forward like an arrow.
The instant Dane casually dodged it…
Cesare vanished from in front of him.
A presence appeared behind him.
A heavy fist came crashing down.
CRACK!
Cesare had somehow appeared behind him.
Despite the unexpected attack, Dane swiftly raised his sword and blocked it.
Glancing at the shattered remains of the wooden staff, he remarked,
“So you move to wherever your thrown weapon lands.”
“It seems the staff couldn’t withstand the mana and broke.”
He figured out my ability… just like that?
Though startled, Cesare didn’t retreat.
All he had to do was knock him down.
With surprising agility for his large frame, he launched one relentless assault after another.
If even one punch or kick connected…
Bones would shatter.
Yet…
Not a single blow landed.
And then Cesare realized.
His center.
It was in Dane’s feet.
In the tip of his sword.
In his eyes.
Even with attacks inches from his face…
Dane never wavered.
He evaded everything with only the smallest possible movement.
Watching it, Cesare could only stare in disbelief.
“You’ve grown.”
Warm affection filled Dane’s voice.
Meeting those eyes, Cesare faltered.
The man before him…
Really did seem like his master.
The same gentle…
Kind…
Then the smile disappeared from Dane’s face.
“But the things that deserve punishment…”
“…must still be punished.”
Dane attacked.
A lightning-fast charge.
Using only the minimum amount of strength, along the most efficient path, his sword was elegant…
Yet unimaginably sharp.
As Cesare barely dodged, memories hidden deep within his body resurfaced.
Relentless attacks like an icy storm.
The swordsmanship he’d watched since childhood.
At last…
He recognized this familiar chill.
“…Master?”
Yes.
He’d defended against this sword countless times as a child.
Back then, Dane had never fought seriously…
But it had been enough for Cesare to understand what kind of swordsman he was.
It really is Master…?
But… he died.
Overwhelmed by confused joy, Cesare froze.
Dane smiled.
“So you finally recognize me.”
He didn’t know how a dead man had returned.
But one thing was certain.
The man before him…
Was Dane.
His heart threatened to overflow.
After fifteen years…
He had finally reunited with the family he’d searched for.
The master he’d believed dead.
“Master…”
“Ghk!”
A violent shock exploded through his body.
Dane’s wooden sword had driven straight into his solar plexus.
Dane’s eyes gleamed dangerously.
“Now…”
“…it’s your turn to take a beating.”
At that moment, Cesare remembered something.
His master hadn’t always been gentle.
“H-Hold on! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it was you, Master—!”
“It’s alright.”
“That’s understandable.”
“Who would easily believe that a dead man had come back to life?”
The unexpectedly gentle words forced a smile onto Cesare’s face.
“So…”
“…you forgive me?”
“No.”
“Not yet.”
“A master’s duty…”
“…is to correct his disciple’s mistakes.”
WHACK!
The “rod of love” came down again.
Struck squarely in a vital spot, Cesare screamed.
“AAAGH! Why are you hitting me?!”
“You little brat!”
“You left Valanus, and then joined the people trying to invade the Domus?!”
“Ow! Aagh!”
Without giving him even a second to recover, Dane mercilessly beat him.
No matter where Cesare tried to escape…
Dane was already there.
“Running away while your master is talking?”
“Damn it! Could you stop hitting me first—?!”
“I told you not to swear!”
SMACK!
The wooden sword struck the top of Cesare’s head with pinpoint accuracy.
His skull rang.
The world spun.
Then he collapsed.
And the beating continued without mercy.
“You little punk!”
“My stupid disciple!”
Whack! Whack!
As the relentless blows echoed through the courtyard, Cesare curled up, clutching his head and screaming.
“Ow! Damn it! Stop!”
“Stop what?”
“Do you even know what you did wrong?”
“I-I tried to invade Valanus! I was wrong!”
“Is that all?”
What else was there?
Before he could think—
SMACK!
The wooden sword cracked against his head again.
With tears welling in his eyes, Cesare finally shouted,
“I swore! I cursed!”
“And?”
What? There’s more?!
As Cesare stammered in confusion, Dane finally lowered his sword.
“Are you quitting drinking or not?”
“I’ll quit! I swear I’ll quit!”
“Are you coming back to Valanus?”
“I’ll come back! I’ll go!”
Only then did Dane let out a long sigh and finally stop hitting him.
The way he looked at Cesare…
Was exactly how one looked at a mischievous child.
The mercenaries stood frozen in place.
Half of their comrades had already been defeated.
The other half had just witnessed Cesare being mercilessly thrashed.
Looking at them, Dane spoke.
His eyes gleamed as though he could kill a man.
“So.”
“Does anyone else…”
“…want another beating from me?”
