CHAPTER 106
With Horizon’s safe return, the treatment of Monghwagol’s people was also finished.
The women who had been treated were all sleeping peacefully.
Some had already woken up and were busily helping with the reconstruction of Monghwagol.
One by one, red lanterns were being added throughout Monghwagol.
An earthquake may have happened, but there were many mouths to feed.
The lights of Monghwagol could not be extinguished by a mere earthquake.
Furthermore, there were many who were indebted to Monghwagol.
After they finished cleaning up their own areas, they came to Monghwagol one after another to help rebuild.
There were many men who had formed bonds through physical intimacy and held the women of Monghwagol in their hearts. For them, this was a great opportunity to put Monghwagol in their debt, so they eagerly stepped up.
“I wondered how we would rebuild Monghwagol with only women, but it’s somehow working out.”
“Huhu, you shouldn’t underestimate our Monghwagol. This is a place that provides fantasies for men. If they want to protect their fantasies, they can’t just stand by and watch.”
Karuang said with a laugh as she watched the buildings of Monghwagol being erected once again.
In any case, it seemed there was no longer any reason for us to remain in Monghwagol.
Just as I was thinking it was time to prepare to leave, I saw Horizon in the distance.
She was eating a meal of rice balls made with only rice and salt from a bowl.
It seemed she had given most of the money she had to Monghwagol and was now eating such a meager meal.
“Horizon.”
“Ah, M-Mr. Harua.”
Horizon, who had just taken a bite of her rice ball, looked up at me in surprise.
Watching her diligently munch with her small mouth felt like watching a squirrel.
“Sorry, did I interrupt your meal?”
“N-no. I was done anyway.”
“Really? Is that enough for you?”
Horizon was a bigger eater than she looked.
Despite being the shortest among us, she tended to eat a lot over a long period.
Whenever we were out scouting, Horizon would inevitably be nibbling on a piece of jerky.
And, though it’s a sad thing to say, I have a pretty good idea of where the nutrients from that food are going, and it isn’t to her height.
Let’s not say that to her face, though; it would hurt her feelings.
“Ah, yes, this is plenty. I ate a lot.”
Maybe she just doesn’t have much of an appetite today.
Then again, with her hometown of Monghwagol in ruins, I guess she wouldn’t have much of an appetite.
Horizon said as much as she took in the sight of Monghwagol spread out below the stairs.
I sat down next to her, deciding to wait for her to finish her meal.
The red lanterns swayed back and forth.
They were lights that flickered as people passed by.
Horizon diligently ate her rice ball, occasionally glancing at me.
It’s always uncomfortable to have someone next to you while you’re eating.
“Horizon, I think we’ll be going to the 2nd World soon.”
“I-I see! I’m ready whenever!”
A spirited reply.
“And this time, we’re not just going to pioneer the 2nd World.”
Bait to lure out Black Dawn.
This trip to the 2nd World would be accompanied by unprecedented danger.
“By now, Black Dawn must have realized I have Resurrection magic. This is bait for that.”
The breadcrumbs I had been steadily leaving all this time.
There was no way Black Dawn would simply ignore them.
They must be certain of my existence by now.
Furthermore, they wouldn’t be unaware that I’ve been associating with the Regular Army.
Therefore, the only place they could make a decisive move is in the 2nd World, where the Regular Army’s influence is weak.
Horizon listened quietly, holding her breath.
She, too, had realized how serious this was.
“To be honest, Horizon, you just got caught up in all this with us.”
Babiyen, Aranseol, and I each have our own connections to Black Dawn.
In my case, it’s a personal grudge.
For Babiyen, it’s the aftermath of the Red Flame Lord.
For Aranseol, it’s related to the Sword Lord, as well as her own personal wishes.
Each of us had a reason to be hostile towards Black Dawn.
But Horizon is different.
We simply hired her separately as a scout.
To Horizon, Black Dawn was a group she had no particular reason to antagonize.
She had risked her life and overcome many crises with us as a team.
But while she may have developed a bond with us as a team, her hostility towards Black Dawn was a separate matter.
“If you want to sit this one out, that’s fine.”
This trip to the 2nd World would be incomparably more dangerous than any before.

I had already asked Aranseol and Babiyen for their opinions.
The two of them had already decided to join me.
If I had my way, I’d want to take Horizon along for the matter of the Sin of Envy, but…
If she refused, I was prepared to accept it calmly.
“Harua-ssi.”
Horizon opened her mouth to speak.
She spoke while quietly looking down at the rice ball in her hand.
“You know how I was away for a while on some business.”
Horizon had been gone for some time, saying she had something to take care of.
Because of that, Arshel had been filling in for her as the party’s scout.
“I… actually went to my hometown.”
Hometown.
I immediately sensed she wasn’t referring to Monghwagol.
“To the Amyeong Tribe village?”
“Yes. The name of the place is Geryusika.”
She slowly lifted her head, as if recalling that time.
“Among the Amyeong Tribe… since ancient times, mutants were said to bring disaster, so they were often killed or abandoned. In truth, Amyeong mutants and regular Amyeong use different kinds of shadows, so they were treated as different beings. For the Amyeong Tribe, a mutant is like a cyclops among humans.”
An Amyeong Tribe mutant.
The Sin of Envy was one, and Horizon was a mutant as well.
“Normally, most would have been killed, but in my case, I was abandoned here in Monghwagol and raised.”
“A bunch of fools with no eyes to see.”
I now understood full well that the Amyeong Tribe were a bunch of idiots.
They were just more uncivilized this-worlders, after all. Nothing could be done about it.
“No. Their eyes were probably accurate. Because a disaster truly was born from among the mutants.”
I knew in an instant who she was talking about.
“The Sin of Envy.”
“Yes. That Amyeong.”
A monster who was an executive of Black Dawn and had reached the rank of a Deadly Sin.
“The Sin of Envy was originally a descendant of the Geryusika family, which leads the Amyeong Tribe. If things had gone as they should have, he probably would have inherited the Geryusika family name. But he was a mutant. He wasn't killed, but he was cast out from his family and abandoned. In a terrible state, with nails driven into his body and head.”
“So he took his revenge for that.”
The Amyeong Tribe is a very small minority.
The reason for that was because the Sin of Envy slaughtered every member of the tribe he saw.
“Yes. He hates the entire Amyeong Tribe. That’s why all of them live in hiding to avoid him.”
The disaster passed down among the Amyeong Tribe.
The Sin of Envy had become that disaster itself.
“He… eats shadows.”
“Eats shadows?”
“It’s just as it sounds. For the Amyeong, it’s the equivalent of cannibalism for humans.”
Crazy.
I never knew that eating shadows was interpreted that way by the Amyeong Tribe.
“It’s probably a manifestation of his unfulfilled vengeance. By eating their shadows, he believes he has become Geryusika itself.”
“He’s a madman.”
“That’s right. A complete madman.”

Horizon let out a slightly ragged breath.
It was a story so horrific that even she found it difficult to speak of.
“And the mother and father who gave birth to me… were also eaten by him.”
Horizon pushed her bowl aside and hugged her knees to her chest.
“The reason I went to the Amyeong village this time…”
“Yes. It was to confirm that.”
Her small body seemed especially tiny today.
“The Sin of Envy kidnapped Aranseol-ssi and Babiyen-ssi. So… I just had this vague feeling that I wanted to go and see for myself.”
Even though they were the parents who had abandoned her, they were still the ones who gave her life.
Come to think of it, Horizon’s parents were probably on the kinder side.
With a villain like the Sin of Envy on the loose, the prejudice against mutants must have grown even worse. If they had tried to raise Horizon, she would have been killed by the village nine times out of ten. For them, abandoning the young Horizon was likely the only way to save her.
“I don’t have any memories of my parents. So it’s not like I was boiling with some incredible rage or anything.”
She had simply gone to confirm it with her own two eyes.
For Horizon, the death of her biological parents did not act as a catalyst for anger.
“But I did have a thought. That someday, when I grew up, I’d like to talk with my birth parents at least once.”
That vague dream had been shattered to pieces long ago.
The sense of loss and emptiness was an indescribable feeling.
“And then, the great earthquake that just happened.”
Horizon quietly lifted her head. Above was the empty ceiling of Nox.
“This was Black Dawn’s doing too, wasn’t it?”

Had I explained it to Horizon?
The fact that Black Dawn had caused this hadn't been widely publicized yet. The Regular Army, dealing with the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, had refrained from announcing it to avoid causing more chaos.
Horizon must have noticed my reaction, as she gave an awkward smile.
“Because you seemed to be in a hurry about something, Harua-ssi.”
I always get sensitive when Black Dawn is involved.
It seemed Horizon had picked up on that.
“Monghwagol… is my other hometown, the place where I grew up.”
Horizon looked at the collapsed Monghwagol and clenched her two small fists.
“My birth parents are dead, and now my family here has been thrown into such a painful situation.”
Within her always-innocent eyes, a quiet anger began to burn.
“Harua-ssi, I want to stop Black Dawn, too.”
A teardrop formed in Horizon’s eye.
“I want to stop Black Dawn from ever doing something like this again.”
Horizon, who had nearly lost her family after already losing her birth parents.
For her, Black Dawn had become an enemy that must be stopped.
I could feel her will, vivid and clear.
So, without another word, I patted Horizon on the shoulder.
“Alright.”

I let my own anger pour out, matching hers.
“Let’s stop those bastards, no matter what.”
Horizon leaned her head against my arm, her shoulders shaking as she suppressed her rage.
I silently offered her my arm.
Black Dawn.
What they had done left pain and scars in the hearts of countless people.
I hate the people of this world.
But I hate Black Dawn, who commit acts even more uncivilized, far more.
So I will absolutely crush these bastards.
Whatever it takes.