Episode 173: A Multitude of Colors (2)
At Kardak’s outburst, Rubia responded with a weary expression.
“Why are you angry again?”
“You’ve brought in another man! I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened! I begged you not to do this again…!”
Kardak’s voice was a mix of anger and desperation.
Damian watched Kardak with a look of disdain.
‘Still being led around by Rubia, even now.’
Kardak, the fallen genius.
Once hailed as the future of the Mandok School, he had thrown everything away for Rubia.
Even in the future, Kardak couldn’t escape Rubia’s grasp.
“And what are you planning by constantly bringing in mercenaries? There’s only so much I can clean up! If the other masters discover our identities…”
“Fool. This person isn’t a mercenary. Look closely.”
At Rubia’s chiding, Kardak turned back to Damian. His eyes widened in shock.
”…Damian Haxen?”
He had been so fixated on Rubia being with another man that he hadn’t recognized Damian’s face.
Considering the future Kardak, it wasn’t surprising. He was a man who easily lost his senses when it came to Rubia.
“Why is that guy here?”
“Oh, I told you, didn’t I? I planned to kidnap Damian.”
“Yes, you did! But you said you’d melt his limbs with the poison I gave you and stash him in a subspace!”
“That was the plan, but things have changed.”
Rubia glanced at Damian, as if inviting him to explain.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Damian Haxen. While I’m known as a knight of the Haxen Count family, I actually have another identity.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“I’m a direct secret agent of Dorgo.”
Kardak looked at Rubia, as if asking if this was some kind of joke.
“What he’s saying is true.”
Rubia’s defense of Damian left Kardak flustered.
“Rubia, you can’t seriously believe this nonsense?”
“Damian already knew his name. Not to mention, he possesses knowledge only a dark mage would know.”
“What…?”
Kardak’s eyes wavered at Rubia’s words.
“If he’s truly that person’s agent… then why did he kill Garot?”
“I don’t know. Neither does he.”
“How can you say that…!”
“How could we possibly understand all of his intentions?”
Rubia’s eyes took on a dreamy look.
“You know, don’t you? How great he is. There must be a significant reason for killing Garot.”
At a glance, Rubia’s expression resembled that of a woman in love.
But to Damian, it looked different.
‘She seems like a fanatic.’
Those who knew of Dorgo’s existence revered him as a god.
Dorgo was the one who laid the foundation for all dark magic and was the first lich to ever exist.
Moreover, all prominent dark mages of the current era had been influenced by Dorgo, directly or indirectly, so it was only natural to see him as a deity.
To Damian, though, he was just a deranged skeleton.
“Do you believe me now?”
Damian asked Kardak. Kardak slowly nodded, though his eyes were still filled with doubt.
“Now, back to our earlier discussion. I’d like to know where the Mercenary King is.”
“Why are you interested in that?”
Kardak asked sharply. Rubia chided him.
“Kardak, I know you’re naturally suspicious, and that’s one of your strengths, but… Damian is acting on direct orders from him. Don’t be rude.”
“Rubia, I just…”
“Kardak?”
Rubia’s voice lowered.
“Are you questioning me now?”
”…No, not at all.”
“Good, that’s how it should be.”
Rubia patted Kardak’s shoulder lightly.
At that moment, a smile appeared on Kardak’s face. Despite being ignored earlier, he was genuinely pleased by the small gesture of attention.
“The Mercenary King is with someone trustworthy. He should be near the border by now. He’s supposed to meet someone sent by my master from the neighboring country.”
“He hasn’t gotten as far as I thought.”
“There were some complications. Putting the Mercenary King to sleep wasn’t easy.”
From that, Damian could guess how Rubia had subdued the Mercenary King.
‘She exploited his need for sleep.’
One of a dragon’s weaknesses was their strong desire for sleep.
Dragons, being creatures that lived for thousands of years, chose sleep as a way to pass the long time.
“Why are you so interested in the Mercenary King?”
“Oh, I didn’t mention it, did I? Dorgo is very interested in the Mercenary King. That’s why I was sent here.”
“Oh my… I didn’t expect him to covet the Mercenary King as well.”
Damian spoke to the intrigued Rubia.
“My mission was to obtain a part of the Mercenary King’s body, like hair or nails. But since you’ve already secured him, things have changed. Hand over the Mercenary King to me.”
Rubia pondered for a moment at Damian’s words.
“My master has given me orders, but… his will is more important. I’ll do it. But there’s a condition.”
“You want me to mention your name to Dorgo, right?”
“Oh, you remembered. Yes, that’s it. But… make sure to embellish it a lot.”
Rubia continued in an excited tone.
“So that he might take an interest in me.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Great. Then it’s a deal. I can’t leave right now. I still have things to do with the Fafnir Mercenary Corps. Instead, I’ll send Kardak with you.”
Kardak looked up in surprise at her words.
“What?”
“Kardak, take Damian to where the Mercenary King is.”
“Why should I do that!”
Kardak protested vehemently. Rubia lowered her head slightly, pleading.
”…Can’t you?”
“Of course I can! Trust me! I’ll take this man… I mean, Damian, to the Mercenary King!”
Kardak shouted with a bright smile.
Damian watched Kardak and clicked his tongue.
Damian left the mercenary camp with Kardak.
”…This way.”
Once outside, Kardak retrieved a horse hidden in the forest. The two mounted and rode off.
The journey was long, so they didn’t stop to rest. It was only after sunset that they halted.
Kardak gathered firewood and started a fire. The two sat around the campfire.
”…”
Despite the deepening night, no conversation passed between them.
Neither Damian nor Kardak had any interest in the other.
‘I wonder if Athena is doing alright.’
Damian worried about Athena.
As he had seen in the meeting hall, Athena had no allies within the mercenary corps.
In fact, it was filled with people who despised her.
‘In my past life, Athena severed ties with the Mercenary King and wandered outside.’
But things were unfolding differently than Damian had known.
‘The rumors must have been greatly distorted.’
Regardless of the reality, Damian’s task remained unchanged.
He needed to free the Mercenary King and prevent the Fafnir Mercenary Corps from splitting.
“Here, drink this.”
At that moment, Kardak handed Damian a bowl of soup. It was something he had been boiling in a pot.
“Thank you.”
“Rubia asked me to take care of you.”
As if to say he wouldn’t have bothered otherwise.
“What happened with Rubia earlier?”
Kardak asked in a dry tone as Damian drank the soup.
“Nothing happened.”
“Really?”
“You know as well as I do. The one she’s interested in isn’t me. It’s Dorgo.”
”…That’s true.”
With that, the conversation paused. Kardak added more wood to the fire before speaking again.
“But it’s strange. Why do you refer to him by name?”
“Does it bother you?”
“Of course it does. I’ve never seen anyone speak his name so casually.”
Kardak’s tone was sharp. Damian shrugged.
“He doesn’t seem to mind.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Don’t judge everything by your own standards.”
In other words, Damian was implying that Kardak didn’t know Dorgo as well as he did.
“Are you really going to tell him Rubia’s name?”
Unable to refute, Kardak changed the subject.
“I made a promise, so I’ll keep it.”
”…Then I’ll lose Rubia’s attention to someone else again.”
Kardak stared into the pot of boiling soup and spoke.
”…I’ve been thinking about it all the way here. If things continue like this, I’ll inevitably lose Rubia’s attention to someone else again.”
“That’s just how it is…”
Cough.
Damian coughed involuntarily, and blood spurted from his mouth.
“What… what is happening…?”
He kept coughing, blood splattering onto the ground.
“You should’ve known better than to accept food from someone like me,” Kardak said calmly, watching as Damian collapsed to the ground.
“You… you bastard…”
“Rubia belongs to me alone. I can’t let anyone else have her,” Kardak declared coldly. Damian’s head drooped, and he fell silent.
Kardak didn’t spare a glance at Damian’s lifeless body. He simply stared at the pot of soup he had prepared.
“I suppose I should think of an excuse for Rubia on my way back.”
“You could’ve just given him the food without the poison,” a voice suddenly interrupted.
Kardak jumped, startled. Damian, whom he thought dead, was rising to his feet as if nothing had happened.
“How… how is this possible?”
“As you said, only a fool would eat food from someone like you without suspicion,” Damian replied, spitting out black saliva. He had gathered the poison from his body and expelled it.
“This… this can’t be,” Kardak stammered, disbelief etched on his face.
A high-class sorcerer could indeed expel poison using magic, but that was only for ordinary toxins. The poison crafted by a dark sorcerer like Kardak shouldn’t have been so easily purged.
“Foolish man,” Kardak muttered, quickly regaining his composure. The poison he had used was mild by his standards. If he unleashed his true power, he could reduce someone like Damian Haxen to a pool of blood in an instant.
“I intended to give you a painless death, but you had to resist,” Kardak said, spreading his hands as a green aura began to gather in his palms.
“Do you know why I pretended to be poisoned?” Damian asked.
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
“To catch you off guard,” Damian replied, his words causing Kardak to frown in confusion.
“By the way, watch your back.”
Before Kardak could react, a massive sword burst through his abdomen, cutting off any further response.