CHAPTER 53

The night in the back alley is brighter than the day in the city.

Because it was a place where only those who could live in the darkness gathered, most of the people living in the alleys were accustomed to activity at night.

Among them, it would be needless to say about the organization members of Captain Hoover, who made smuggling their main business.

One of the organization members of Captain Hoover, Cripple Harven.

He was currently struggling, holding a document in his hand.

"One-armed Jack is going crazy..."

The ledger he was holding was empty in many places, but Harven, who had to fill it in, was at a loss for what to write on the documents.

One-armed Jack, who virtually ruled the alleys.

The knight of the prostitutes had fallen, and in a situation where other organizations were severely diminished, there was no organization left that could dare to raise their heads against him.

At best, those engaged in the special business of smuggling, like Captain Hoover, were somewhat free from Jack's control, but even that was now a thing of the past.

"...What am I supposed to do if he keeps plundering so blatantly."

Harven sighed deeply, covering his face with both hands.

One-armed Jack had always been one to keep to the line.

Though he squeezed out a drop of silver from a dry rag, he was not the type to push his debtors into a corner.

It meant he didn't intend to cut the bellies of even rats, although not to the extent of a goose laying golden eggs.

However, since the death of Jorge, One-armed Jack had shown a completely different side.

He had been ruthlessly plundering people to the point where he wouldn't even spare the small fry, to the extent that the economy of the alley itself was crumbling.

Someone even said that Jack had fallen into alcoholism and was not managing the organization, and Harven thought that might actually be true.

The money bug, with no one to restrain him, was gradually falling apart.

"I guess I should report it for now."

In the end, Harven had no choice but to report to Hoover about the goods looted by Jack's subordinates today as well.

It might sound like a difficult task, but it was an unavoidable duty.

Because that was the task assigned to Harven.

Haven, who escaped from a room that could barely fit a desk, ran into a young gang member who was coming inside at the same time.

"Harven! Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

The organization member responsible for patrolling the area opened his mouth to Harven with an expression suggesting he had brought something significant.

"They say the back alley has been sealed off?"

"Why?"

"They say people from Sturma came to catch One-armed Jack. Shoara's guards have surrounded this place entirely."

"Ha..."

Harven sighed upon hearing the news.

So it has come to this.

One-armed Jack had finally crossed the line.

Harven tightened his grip on the staff he was holding, thinking that a lot of things would pour in after he was captured and taken away.

"But hey. Weren't you close with that guy?"

"Who are you talking about?"

As Harven was about to head to Hoover's office, the voice of the organization member came from behind him.

"Vlad, I mean."

"...Why Vlad?"

Upon hearing the long-missed name, Harven turned around to look at the organization member who was talking to him.

"Why suddenly him?"

"No, I didn't see it with my own eyes, but..."

The organization member scratched his head, speaking with an uncertain tone.

"They say the enforcer from Sturma is blond. On top of that, he called himself Vlad of Shoara. Could it be him?"

"What?"

As familiar words reached his ears, Harven felt the strength in the hand holding the staff.

"...Really?"

"That's what they're saying. They even said he planted a flag in front of Rose's Smiles."

"..."

Blond, Vlad, and Rose's Smiles.

All were words associated with someone.

Harven's heart was pounding.

"Take this."

"Huh?"

Handing the stack of documents he was holding to the organization member, Harven hurriedly began to walk towards the exit.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go. I need to go and check."

Harven, who was sensitive to information and news, was already aware of the existence of Vlad of Shoara.

The young squire of Bayezid, who had shown his prowess in the duel at Deomar's and played a role in the recent Deathworm hunt.

'It might be real!'

However, based solely on rumors, he couldn't be certain that it was the Vlad he knew.

He had done some remarkable things.

The Vlad he knew was certainly a guy with potential, but it was hard to believe he had caused such a big commotion.

"You're going to get whipped again!"

"Just a little late, that's all!"

Harven stepped out onto the sealed-off street to confirm if the blond he knew was indeed present.

Relying on his staff, his stumbling footsteps were undoubtedly more unsteady than before.

※※※※

"Should've filled in those teeth while I had the chance."

"Huh..."

Vlad looked at the man staring helplessly at his feet.

It was the same guy who had come in with One-armed Jack back in the days when Vlad was Jorge's subordinate, overturning crates of candles.

His teeth, which Vlad had knocked out back then, were still empty.

"Guess it's not needed now."

Quietly, Vlad slowly pushed the sword into the chest of the man lying on the ground.

"Gah..."

Whether from the punctured lung or not being able to properly groan, the man slowly lowered his head, foam forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Sigh..."

Vlad took a moment to breathe as he looked back at the path he had walked.

The corridor filled with blood.

The broken staircase.

The rooms of the prostitutes, silent.

All of One-armed Jack's subordinates, numbering over fifty, lay collapsed with the boy's sword piercing them, all silent.

All holding their breath.

[That should do it.]

"..."

Hearing the voice's words, Vlad swung the unadorned sword to rid it of blood.

The boy had willingly led himself onto the path of hardship.

Even Vlad, who aimed to become a knight of the blue moonlight, had to somehow follow in the footsteps he left behind.

"Yes. This should suffice to some extent."

And although not perfect, Vlad could somewhat reproduce the scene of that day.

Everywhere was filled with roses blooming from the boy's efforts.

"...Just need to finish it."

Vlad wiped something, whether sweat or blood, from his forehead. He leaned against the wall for a moment and looked at the stairs leading to the fourth floor.

The first floor was the lobby. The second and third floors were the brothel rooms.

And the fourth floor was where the organization's members resided.

There, as always, sat the knight of the prostitutes, consuming his predetermined meal.

Vlad ascended the stairs to the fourth floor step by step.

Creak...

The ominous sound from that day still echoed in this place.

Though the staircase was in need of repair and had been neglected for half a year, it also meant that Rose's Smiles hadn't received proper maintenance during that time.

'Marcella would freak out.'

Ascending the missed staircase, Vlad found himself inadvertently thinking back to the past.

But the boy climbing the stairs was no longer the boy selling candles.

"...I've come. Boss."

The rightful avenger and representative of honor had finally ascended to the very end.

"Oh, there you are. Promising one. Come in."

Having presumably shoved all his subordinates onto the third floor, only One-armed Jack sat alone on the fourth floor.

Jack turned his head with a welcoming gesture, but Vlad remained motionless, saying nothing.

"Not in the mood for small talk, eh?"

As Vlad just stood there silently with a grim expression on his face, One-Armed Jack turned his head and raised his glass alone.

This might just be Jack's last drink.

"So, you're the real Vlad of Shoara, huh? I heard the rumors."

"Did it spread this far?"

"I should've brought you in a couple of years back. Who was the one I took in back then?"

One-armed Jack furrowed his eyebrows, pondering for a moment before chuckling.

"Well, that guy's already dead by now."

Setting down his drink, Jack slowly rose and stood facing the boy.

"Well, it's still good to know someone."

Jack, dressed neatly with his waist straight, held a short sword that looked like a cutlass in one hand. He then looked at Vlad, his hook out in his other hand.

"I usually let things slide because I don't feel like dealing with them, but I'm someone who always finishes what they start."

An inevitable connection.

A world that devours its own.

"....."

However, facing One-armed Jack directly, Vlad didn't feel the same presence he had sensed back then when he looked up at him.

Perhaps he had fallen, but it was also because Vlad's world had expanded in equal measure.

One-armed Jack's world could no longer confine him.

"I'm coming."

Though he was akin to an enemy, Vlad decided to show One-armed Jack one last courtesy.

Kaang-!

Though it was a rough gesture typical of alleyway manners, it was still an act of respect.

"Grrgh!"

Jack crossed his sword and hook to block Vlad's blade.

He had done so to see if Vlad would stop at this point, but Vlad's force exceeded his expectations.

"That's right! You've come this far, crawling up from there!"

Watching the boy's growth, Jack was genuinely impressed.

Jack too had dreams.

He was a man who harbored his own star, albeit in a different form.

That's why he could understand the hardships the boy had faced.

"Excellent!"

"..."

Amidst the clash of swords, sparks flew.

The boy was struggling against the world that had bound him for a long time.

Knowing that Jack's world could no longer contain him.

"Gah!"

Jack did his best to receive Vlad's blade.

Even if he stumbled, even if he looked pathetic.

Perhaps this was the last appearance and choice he could make.

"Jorge would've been pleased to see this!"

"Shut up!"

Seeing Jack dare to bring up Jorge in the context of their enmity, Vlad shouted fiercely.

He was unforgivable.

He aided in Jorge's death, swallowed the broken Rose's Smiles, and sold Marcella.

You deserve to die miserably.

"Heh... Haha!"

In the midst of pain, regret, disappointment, and stoicism, Jack swung the hook on his left arm.

The cutlass he had been wielding was already rolling on the ground along with his right arm.

He had known that a day like this would come.

He had lived fiercely, believing it wouldn't be his last day.

'I guess this is better after all!'

One-armed Jack genuinely thought so.

Rather than being crushed by a giant world like Jorge, it was better to be crushed by the younger world that was trying to rise.

If his life was going to end here anyway, he wanted to end it by his own choice.

"You'll rise higher than me!"

"I said shut up!"

The boy, who hadn't yet grasped the depth of time, swung his blade in anger, not fully understanding Jack's words.

But even though the boy's heart was burning with rage, the sword he held was icy cold and relentless.

"Grrgh!"

That chill pierced through Jack's insides and emerged from his back.

Red drops dripped from the bloodied tip of the sword.

Breaking the severed bond and truly liberated, with his final words.

"What's your last word?"

"..."

Vlad, gasping for breath.

Seeing Vlad who had crawled this far with all his strength, Jack quietly raised his hook and gestured towards where he had been sitting.

"...Rest. You've done well."

"······What?"

With incomprehensible words, One-armed Jack slowly stepped back, withdrawing Vlad's sword.

"Ugh!"

Despite the agony of his innards being torn out, he forced himself to stand and staggered backwards towards the railing.

"...This should do."

Jack sighed and lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling.

He looked back on his life as he watched the flashing lights passing by inside the gorgeous chandelier.

"I've done enough."

He was content.

He had lived wickedly, but his life had been intense.

Even though he was ultimately crushed and crumpled by the giant world at the end, it wasn't entirely his fault.

"······."

Finally, Jack shouted loudly towards the building he could never possess.

"Jorge! I had a good time!"

Vlad watched as One-armed Jack slowly fell backwards over the railing, back into the lobby from the fourth floor.

The last sight of him falling from the 4th floor to the 1st floor.

Thud!

A world that fell apart, just like Jorge that day.

In the death-like silence, only the falling blood drops indicated the passage of time.

"······."

Revenge is sweet.

It's what must be done.

However, the bitterness lingering at the tip of Vlad's tongue was inevitable.

After finishing everything he had to do, Vlad walked wearily towards the table where Jack was sitting.

"······Oh dear."

There were two drinking glasses waiting for the boy.

Vlad looked at the full glass sitting beside the empty one that Jack had emptied.

Having caught on to what Jack had just said, Vlad sat quietly and looked at the glass poured for himself.

The seat where the boy sat with his head bowed.

Two empty glasses.

"······I'll return it, Boss."

And a glinting gold coin.

The boy returned the gold coin that One-armed Jack had given him that day.

A knight should only accept a fair price.

This is Rose's Smiles.

A place where people passing by gather for a moment.

Today, a drop of stagnant water flowed out into the world.

Leaving behind a small ripple in the boy's world.