Episode 2
Episode 2: Days at the Storm Fortress (Part 1)
Six years had passed since Jin chose Barisada.
Though Jin no longer endured the humiliation of having a nanny change his diapers, pretending to be a child was still a torment.
‘I just want to get out of this Storm Fortress as soon as possible.’
The Storm Fortress.
A remote annex of the Runkandel estate. The children of Runkandel were forbidden from stepping outside its walls until they turned ten.
All because of assassination threats.
‘Who in their right mind would try to assassinate a Runkandel child? Even Zipple wouldn’t be crazy enough for that.’
About two hundred years ago, such a thing had actually happened.
The Kun Genga family, another renowned swordsmanship clan, had attacked Runkandel, resulting in the deaths of nine young Runkandel children.
The very next day, the entire Kun Genga family, including distant relatives and servants, was wiped out, erased from history.
Since then, it became tradition and law that Runkandel children remain inside the Storm Fortress until they turned ten, after their selection ceremony.
It was boring.
The Storm Fortress lived up to its name.
Perched atop the summit of Mount Murakan, said to be the highest mountain in the world, it was battered year-round by relentless storms, thunder, and lightning.
‘Definitely not a place for a child’s emotional well-being. No wonder my siblings all turned out so fierce, having grown up here.’
Only two siblings remained inside the Storm Fortress now. The other ten were too old to stay here.
Jin and two brothers.
Along with five elite guardian knights and a dozen or so nannies and servants, they were the only ones living in this vast fortress.
“Jin!”
The moment he heard his name, irritation flared up inside him.
The boy who called out in a sharp tone was Daytona Runkandel, Jin’s older brother by two years.
“Where did you leave that great Barisada, all alone like this? Hahaha.”
Following him was Heytona Runkandel, the sarcastic twin brother of Daytona.
The Runkandel Tona brothers.
Those who had encountered these brothers in their past lives unanimously called them little devils.
‘What a pain in the ass.’
Jin turned around.
He had no good memories of the Tona brothers either.
Since childhood, they had bullied him relentlessly, all because he had chosen Barisada at the age of one.
But don’t mistake it for typical sibling teasing between a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old.
A year after leaving the Storm Fortress, the Tona brothers’ first act was murder. They were naturally problematic.
When Jin didn’t respond, the Tona brothers kept provoking him.
Today was the one day Jin’s nanny, Gilly, was away from the fortress. The Tona brothers had been eagerly waiting for this day and had no intention of leaving Jin alone.
“Hey, I’m asking you. Where did you put Barisada?”
The bullying from the Tona brothers had started just a year ago.
At first, it was subtle enough that nanny Gilly didn’t notice—locking the bathroom door when Jin went in, dumping heaps of salt into his soup.
Then they hung a dead bird on his door or secretly released venomous scorpions caught in the courtyard onto his bed. The harassment escalated.
And Jin endured it all silently.
The two brothers strode toward Jin.
A smile slowly spread across Jin’s lips as he looked at them indifferently.
“Well, where did I put it? Maybe shoved it up your ass?”
Suddenly.
The Tona brothers stopped in their tracks, exchanging glances. This wasn’t the reaction they had expected.
‘Up my ass’…
Even if they were born killers, hearing such harsh words at nine years old was shocking. Though clearly unpleasant, their faces flushed bright red in an instant.
“What did you just say… Jin, are you crazy?”
“Get a grip. Your nanny’s not here, remember?”
A small chuckle escaped Jin as he took a step closer.
He wasn’t the only one waiting for the nanny to be away. More than anyone, Jin had been eagerly anticipating this moment.
To put those devilish brothers in their place.
‘In my past life, seven-year-old me would never have dared stand up to the Tona brothers.’
But not now.
Even if the nineteen-year-old Tona brothers stood before him, Jin was confident he could take down at least one of them.
The Tona brothers, still not grasping the situation, scowled and pouted.
“If you beg me nicely right now, I’ll just break your nose and call it even.”
“Otherwise, I’ll turn you into a bird like the one I hung in your room yesterday.”
The distance between Jin and the Tona brothers in the Storm Fortress hallway was about five steps—small strides for a seven-year-old.
“Argh!”
Suddenly, Heytona let out a short scream and collapsed to the floor. Startled, Daytona turned his head to see Jin pressing his foot down on his younger brother’s back.
In the blink of an eye, Jin had closed the distance and punched Heytona in the stomach.
“Huh?”
Thud.
Daytona was next, hit squarely in the jaw by Jin’s fist and collapsing with a thud. It was the first time the brothers had ever been hit like this, and the seven-year-old Jin’s punch was cold and solid as ice.
‘W-what is this?’
In that instant, Daytona caught sight of a dark energy enveloping Jin’s fist.
There was no time to think about what it was. Before his eyes could roll back, another punch came flying.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
A strangled cry barely escaped him. Tears streamed down his eyes in pain, and all he could think was that something was terribly wrong.
There was no one else in this hallway.
They had deliberately chosen this place to bully Jin, but it had backfired in a way the Tona brothers never imagined.
“I buried that poor bird you guys crushed properly.”
Thud, thud, crack.
Without changing his tone, Jin kept mounting the fallen brothers, raining down punches.
‘Maybe this is too much for kids…’
The thought briefly crossed Jin’s mind but vanished quickly. After all, in his past life, the nine-year-old Tona brothers had even forced him to eat their own filth.
If Jin had just endured it today, something similar would have happened.
“Hoo.”
Trembling, the brothers lay on the floor after the beating. Jin stood up and looked down at them coldly.
“The less I see of you in the family from now on, the better. If you want to live, that is.”
“Master!”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, a family guardian knight rushed into the hallway.
He was a top-tier guardian knight. Even in Runkandel, he wouldn’t be fazed by kids fighting.
But seeing the fallen Tona brothers and Jin standing calmly, his eyes widened in disbelief.
‘Seven-year-old Master Jin knocked down two nine-year-old masters?’
Impossible. There was a significant developmental gap between seven and nine-year-olds, and the Tona brothers had already begun training in Runkandel’s martial arts.
Meanwhile, Jin hadn’t learned any combat skills yet. At least, that’s what the guardian knight knew.
“Ugh.”
“Master Jin, what on earth…?”
Daytona groaned weakly as the knight asked.
“They suddenly fought.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said they fought.”
The guardian knight immediately realized it was a lie but couldn’t press further. Jin’s sly smile showed he had already calculated how this would play out.
The guardian knight’s role was to protect the children from outside threats. He had no authority to interfere in internal matters within the Storm Fortress.
‘I knew it, even the kids in Runkandel are ruthless… I should report this to the head of the family.’
Click.
The guardian knight bowed respectfully. Even though Jin was only seven, he was a pure-blooded Runkandel.
“Very well, I will take the Tona masters to the doctor.”
“No. The Tona brothers have somewhere else to go.”
“Somewhere else? Where on earth?”
“The grave.”
“Th-the grave?”
“Do me a favor and listen to your brothers.”
Jin’s eyes darkened as he spoke, and the guardian knight had no choice but to hoist the Tona brothers onto his shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
The guardian knight awkwardly followed Jin to a small burial mound in the storm-lashed backyard of the fortress.
It was where the bird the Tona brothers had killed yesterday was buried.
Despite the pouring rain, the mound remained intact.
“Put them down here.”
“But Master Jin, the storm…”
The fierce wind and rain seemed ready to swallow Jin, the guardian knight, and the Tona brothers whole.
Jin said nothing, just stared at the guardian knight.
It was an order. The guardian knight soon understood Jin’s demeanor—a commanding presence typical of Runkandel family members issuing a proper command.
He never imagined a seven-year-old would display such regal authority.
The guardian knight had no right to refuse. Even if it meant harm to other Runkandel members, the Tona brothers were currently unable to give orders.
Therefore, he had to obey the command of a Runkandel.
Whatever happens next is a matter for the clan head and the elders to decide—it’s not the duty of the guardian knights. Even if the Tona brothers were to perish from hypothermia, the family would not hold the guardian knights responsible.
Blood feuds among kin were common in Runcandel.
“I will obey, my lord.”
The guardian knight gently set the Tona brothers down in front of their burial mound. The brothers twitched occasionally but showed no real resistance.
About two hours later, Gili, who had just returned, found them and rescued them.
They suffered severe pneumonia for several days and, until they left the Storm Fortress, didn’t even dare to meet Jin’s or Yeon’s gaze.
Far to the east of the continent lay the Unprotected Zone, commonly called the Black Sea.
There, Siron Runcandel had been sitting in meditation for days on end.
Though he sat still, massive monsters nearby dared not approach him.
And now, a man had fought through countless beasts, bloodied and battered, to reach this place and meet Siron.
“My lord, it’s Khan.”
Khan was the guardian knight who, ten days earlier, had left the Tona brothers to the storm on Jin’s orders.
“What is it?”
Siron slowly opened his eyes and asked.
“I’ve come to report on the dispute between the young lords at the Storm Fortress.”
“You wouldn’t interrupt my training over some petty quarrel. Speak.”
As Khan explained the fight between Jin and the Tona brothers, Siron smiled faintly.
“So, did the Tona brothers die?”
“They contracted pneumonia, but their lives are not in danger.”
“Then it was a valuable lesson. Very well. You may leave.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Khan had battled monsters for three days just to deliver this brief report. Yet he showed no trace of resentment, silently retracing his steps.
‘I should pay a visit to the youngest one,’ Siron thought.
It was a month later that Siron finally made his way to the Storm Fortress.