MAEPG: Episode 13
Episode 13 Azantu (1)
“This way! Hurry up!”
Lee Chang-soo, a Guardian belonging to the Korean Returnee Association, was tracking the escaped criminals with his team members.
“Senior, do you think we can catch them even if we chase them now?”
They arrived at the scene less than five minutes after the incident occurred, but it was more than enough time for returnees with various abilities to escape.
“Then what do we do? We have to at least pick up their trail! This is the third time!”
The werewolf and the man in the black mask duo weren’t first-time offenders.
And they had tracked them before, but they had disappeared without a trace at some point, leaving them empty-handed.
‘Damn it, their area of activity is too wide to cover everything. It seems like they have an accomplice helping them escape. I’m going to get chewed out again.’
As always, the defending side needed far more numbers than the attacking side.
And there was always a shortage of Guardians.
Still, hoping to find at least a small clue this time, they were chasing after them when
Thump—!
A crashing sound erupted from inside the construction site, their destination.
“S… Senior, this energy…”
“Ugh, follow me! We’re going in!”
The sound was a minor issue.
A terrifying malice emanated from the chilling energy spreading from inside.
Lee Chang-soo immediately entered the construction site.
“What’s going on here?”
In the corner, people who seemed to be construction workers were lying unconscious, and in the center, a man in a mask and an ordinary-looking woman were also unconscious.
And a werewolf, battered and bruised, was stuck against one wall, slowly returning to its human form.
After surveying the scene, Lee Chang-soo immediately shouted to his team members.
“Search the area! The fight ended not long ago, so they must still be nearby!”
The situation was clear.
Someone had fought the villains and disappeared.
Judging by the fact that they had subdued the villains, they didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, but they couldn’t ignore them either.
The residual energy left at the scene was enough to give them goosebumps, so they had to at least identify them if possible.
But whoever it was, they had disappeared without a trace.
“Team leader, we’ve subdued the villains.”
One of the team members approached, levitating three people with special handcuffs for supernatural criminals using telekinesis.
The woman was someone they had never seen before, but judging from the circumstances, she must have been the accomplice in charge of escape.
‘We’ll find out everything once we investigate.’
Lies couldn’t fool interrogation using supernatural abilities.
As a precaution, they requested backup and moved the workers at the scene to a hospital under the jurisdiction of the Guardians.
Even if the accomplice pretended to be a victim and mixed in with them, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
‘We’ve caught the criminals, and the problem we were worried about is solved, but…’
A new worry had emerged.
The evil energy that still lingered thickly in the space.
‘I hope we can get some information from these guys.’
They must know something since they had encountered them directly.
“This way! Hurry up!”
Lee Chang-soo, a Guardian belonging to the Korean Returnee Association, was tracking the escaped criminals with his team members.
“Senior, do you think we can catch them even if we chase them now?”
They arrived at the scene less than five minutes after the incident occurred, but it was more than enough time for returnees with various abilities to escape.
“Then what do we do? We have to at least pick up their trail! This is the third time!”
The werewolf and the man in the black mask duo weren’t first-time offenders.
And they had tracked them before, but they had disappeared without a trace at some point, leaving them empty-handed.
‘Damn it, their area of activity is too wide to cover everything. It seems like they have an accomplice helping them escape. I’m going to get chewed out again.’
As always, the defending side needed far more numbers than the attacking side.
And there was always a shortage of Guardians.
Still, hoping to find at least a small clue this time, they were chasing after them when
Thump—!
A crashing sound erupted from inside the construction site, their destination.
“S… Senior, this energy…”
“Ugh, follow me! We’re going in!”
The sound was a minor issue.
A terrifying malice emanated from the chilling energy spreading from inside.
Lee Chang-soo immediately entered the construction site.
“What’s going on here?”
In the corner, people who seemed to be construction workers were lying unconscious, and in the center, a man in a mask and an ordinary-looking woman were also unconscious.
And a werewolf, battered and bruised, was stuck against one wall, slowly returning to its human form.
After surveying the scene, Lee Chang-soo immediately shouted to his team members.
“Search the area! The fight ended not long ago, so they must still be nearby!”
The situation was clear.
Someone had fought the villains and disappeared.
Judging by the fact that they had subdued the villains, they didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, but they couldn’t ignore them either.
The residual energy left at the scene was enough to give them goosebumps, so they had to at least identify them if possible.
But whoever it was, they had disappeared without a trace.
“Team leader, we’ve subdued the villains.”
One of the team members approached, levitating three people with special handcuffs for supernatural criminals using telekinesis.
The woman was someone they had never seen before, but judging from the circumstances, she must have been the accomplice in charge of escape.
‘We’ll find out everything once we investigate.’
Lies couldn’t fool interrogation using supernatural abilities.
As a precaution, they requested backup and moved the workers at the scene to a hospital under the jurisdiction of the Guardians.
Even if the accomplice pretended to be a victim and mixed in with them, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
‘We’ve caught the criminals, and the problem we were worried about is solved, but…’
A new worry had emerged.
The evil energy that still lingered thickly in the space.
‘I hope we can get some information from these guys.’
They must know something since they had encountered them directly.
___________________
I summoned Hans again, whom I had dismissed.
I was gradually getting used to it, and I could manage to face him directly.
‘Han Seong-hyeon can’t do anything, but Hans is different. I don’t have to reveal myself.’
It was far from home, and there was no risk. I also had the power to screw over the villains.
There was no reason not to step in.
‘And they were stronger than I thought.’
I easily subdued the woman who was off guard after opening the Gate that seemed to be their escape route and the masked man who seemed to be a non-combatant, but the werewolf’s resistance was stronger than expected.
Fortunately, I was able to defeat him before the Guardians arrived and disappear using Dismiss, but it was quite close.
‘He fought back that much even while under the influence of fear. Well, he’s a returnee who survived his own ordeal, so it’s only natural.’
Of course, not all returnees were like that.
Compared to those who were transported to other worlds with nothing in the early days, recent returnees had some information and were prepared, and there were many who returned after steadily acquiring Karma.
Therefore, compared to the early days when it took about ten years to return, there were now returnees who came back in as little as five years.
Of course, there were also those who used Karma to strengthen themselves and stayed longer.
‘It’s terrifying that the average return rate is still 20%. And this is even a much higher number than in the early days.’
Anyway, it had nothing to do with me now.
The Guardians would recover the stolen jewelry and punish them.
I thought about killing them to eliminate witnesses, but…
‘It seems they didn’t kill anyone. If I went around killing people carelessly, Hans would also be treated as a villain. I just need to make sure they don’t find out he’s not human.’
It wouldn’t be bad to occasionally engage in activities like beating up villains.
It seemed like it would help me overcome my trauma and relieve stress.
I summoned Hans again, whom I had dismissed.
I was gradually getting used to it, and I could manage to face him directly.
‘Han Seong-hyeon can’t do anything, but Hans is different. I don’t have to reveal myself.’
It was far from home, and there was no risk. I also had the power to screw over the villains.
There was no reason not to step in.
‘And they were stronger than I thought.’
I easily subdued the woman who was off guard after opening the Gate that seemed to be their escape route and the masked man who seemed to be a non-combatant, but the werewolf’s resistance was stronger than expected.
Fortunately, I was able to defeat him before the Guardians arrived and disappear using Dismiss, but it was quite close.
‘He fought back that much even while under the influence of fear. Well, he’s a returnee who survived his own ordeal, so it’s only natural.’
Of course, not all returnees were like that.
Compared to those who were transported to other worlds with nothing in the early days, recent returnees had some information and were prepared, and there were many who returned after steadily acquiring Karma.
Therefore, compared to the early days when it took about ten years to return, there were now returnees who came back in as little as five years.
Of course, there were also those who used Karma to strengthen themselves and stayed longer.
‘It’s terrifying that the average return rate is still 20%. And this is even a much higher number than in the early days.’
Anyway, it had nothing to do with me now.
The Guardians would recover the stolen jewelry and punish them.
I thought about killing them to eliminate witnesses, but…
‘It seems they didn’t kill anyone. If I went around killing people carelessly, Hans would also be treated as a villain. I just need to make sure they don’t find out he’s not human.’
It wouldn’t be bad to occasionally engage in activities like beating up villains.
It seemed like it would help me overcome my trauma and relieve stress.
_________________
For a few days, Heinz gathered information in the city with Diana’s help.
Diana was the twelve-year-old girl he had met when he first entered the city, a native who had lived in this city her whole life.
‘She’s the perfect guide. She knows a lot, probably because she’s had a hard life.’
For the price of two silver coins, she would be my guide in the city every day while I stayed here.
That was the content of the contract I made with Diana.
Knowing that the situation was urgent, I paid the two silver coins as a down payment.
It was a gesture of goodwill, accepting the risk of being ripped off, and fortunately, Diana had been faithfully fulfilling the contract so far.
I was so surprised to see her squatting in front of my lodging at the crack of dawn on the first day.
After that, it became routine to make an appointment during lunchtime, eat together, and tour the city.
‘That’s how it was until now…’
Yes, until yesterday.
I sat at a table on the first floor of my lodging, waiting for Diana, then got up.
‘She’s not the type to break a promise. She’s kept it well so far. Did something happen?’
Well, the help I had received so far was enough to make it worth hiring her.
Just in case, I left a message with the lodging owner and headed to the city’s shopping district alone.
The name of this city was ‘Azantu’, a small city located in the Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent.
It was an ordinary city where people farmed, hunted, and gathered in the forest outside.
‘Public order doesn’t seem to be very good, though.’
There weren’t many people walking around, and they seemed to be cowering in fear of something.
Diana didn’t go into detail, but she repeatedly emphasized that I should only walk on the main roads and not go near the back alleys.
And she urged me to leave the city as soon as possible.
‘I guess I should leave this city soon. There’s another city further east, so I’ll…’
As I was organizing my thoughts and stocking up on travel supplies,
“Hey, mister, let’s talk for a second.”
Several large men with tattoos on their necks were beckoning to me from inside an alley.
I looked behind me just in case, but there was no one else there.
‘Why do my bad premonitions always…’
I obediently approached them, following their words.
I was planning to leave soon anyway, so if I could resolve this quietly, I would, and if not, I would find another way.
“…So, we’re looking after this shopping district, and we have a lot of mouths to feed…”
It was nothing special.
They were just telling me to pay them a bribe.
“Hahaha, I see. Here, it’s not much, but I hope it helps you maintain order. Please accept it as a token of my appreciation.”
“Hmm… This guy is very understanding. We’ll put this to good use.”
So I just flattered them a bit, slipped them some money, and finished it.
I had prepared a separate money pouch for situations like this.
‘Anyway, it seems like public order is definitely not good.’
“Hey, boss, so why that kid…”
“Why else? They told us to get him ready, so we’re doing it. We’re just following orders…”
I could hear the conversation of the large men as they walked away, but my attention was already elsewhere.
‘A week’s walk east to the next city. That’s based on ordinary people, so it’ll be shorter for me… Should I try to get a horse or a carriage?’
If I came to another world, I had to ride a carriage at least once.
As I was thinking about my journey and looking for a grocery store to buy preserved food, I saw a very familiar back.
“…Anyway, thank you. If you see him, please tell me!”
“Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind.”
Diana finished talking to the store owner, bowed her head, and hurriedly walked towards me.
She was in such a hurry that she didn’t even recognize me and was about to pass by, so I grabbed her by the back of the neck.
“Eek—! Wh, what?! Let me go!”
Anyone would think I was the bad guy.
I quickly let go of her hand and frowned.
“It’s me, Heinz! What are you doing here after missing our appointment by so long? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
“Ah, mister?”
Diana’s eyes widened as she finally recognized me.
Her pupils were shaking, as if something had happened.
“Ah…! I, I’m sorry for breaking our promise! I should have gone to you first and told you… I was out of my mind…!”
“Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, what happened?”
“Ah…! My, my brother Aaron… that is…”
Diana, who was stammering and trying to say something, suddenly started to tear up.
‘Uh, isn’t this a pretty dangerous situation?’
A strong young man was threatening a young girl, and the girl was crying pitifully.
And that young man was me.
I hurriedly stepped back and created distance between us.
Diana was still trembling and tears were streaming down her face.
“Wa, wait! Okay! Okay, just calm down, will you? Take a deep breath. I’ll listen to your story.”
And to be honest, I was weak to children.
For a few days, Heinz gathered information in the city with Diana’s help.
Diana was the twelve-year-old girl he had met when he first entered the city, a native who had lived in this city her whole life.
‘She’s the perfect guide. She knows a lot, probably because she’s had a hard life.’
For the price of two silver coins, she would be my guide in the city every day while I stayed here.
That was the content of the contract I made with Diana.
Knowing that the situation was urgent, I paid the two silver coins as a down payment.
It was a gesture of goodwill, accepting the risk of being ripped off, and fortunately, Diana had been faithfully fulfilling the contract so far.
I was so surprised to see her squatting in front of my lodging at the crack of dawn on the first day.
After that, it became routine to make an appointment during lunchtime, eat together, and tour the city.
‘That’s how it was until now…’
Yes, until yesterday.
I sat at a table on the first floor of my lodging, waiting for Diana, then got up.
‘She’s not the type to break a promise. She’s kept it well so far. Did something happen?’
Well, the help I had received so far was enough to make it worth hiring her.
Just in case, I left a message with the lodging owner and headed to the city’s shopping district alone.
The name of this city was ‘Azantu’, a small city located in the Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent.
It was an ordinary city where people farmed, hunted, and gathered in the forest outside.
‘Public order doesn’t seem to be very good, though.’
There weren’t many people walking around, and they seemed to be cowering in fear of something.
Diana didn’t go into detail, but she repeatedly emphasized that I should only walk on the main roads and not go near the back alleys.
And she urged me to leave the city as soon as possible.
‘I guess I should leave this city soon. There’s another city further east, so I’ll…’
As I was organizing my thoughts and stocking up on travel supplies,
“Hey, mister, let’s talk for a second.”
Several large men with tattoos on their necks were beckoning to me from inside an alley.
I looked behind me just in case, but there was no one else there.
‘Why do my bad premonitions always…’
I obediently approached them, following their words.
I was planning to leave soon anyway, so if I could resolve this quietly, I would, and if not, I would find another way.
“…So, we’re looking after this shopping district, and we have a lot of mouths to feed…”
It was nothing special.
They were just telling me to pay them a bribe.
“Hahaha, I see. Here, it’s not much, but I hope it helps you maintain order. Please accept it as a token of my appreciation.”
“Hmm… This guy is very understanding. We’ll put this to good use.”
So I just flattered them a bit, slipped them some money, and finished it.
I had prepared a separate money pouch for situations like this.
‘Anyway, it seems like public order is definitely not good.’
“Hey, boss, so why that kid…”
“Why else? They told us to get him ready, so we’re doing it. We’re just following orders…”
I could hear the conversation of the large men as they walked away, but my attention was already elsewhere.
‘A week’s walk east to the next city. That’s based on ordinary people, so it’ll be shorter for me… Should I try to get a horse or a carriage?’
If I came to another world, I had to ride a carriage at least once.
As I was thinking about my journey and looking for a grocery store to buy preserved food, I saw a very familiar back.
“…Anyway, thank you. If you see him, please tell me!”
“Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind.”
Diana finished talking to the store owner, bowed her head, and hurriedly walked towards me.
She was in such a hurry that she didn’t even recognize me and was about to pass by, so I grabbed her by the back of the neck.
“Eek—! Wh, what?! Let me go!”
Anyone would think I was the bad guy.
I quickly let go of her hand and frowned.
“It’s me, Heinz! What are you doing here after missing our appointment by so long? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
“Ah, mister?”
Diana’s eyes widened as she finally recognized me.
Her pupils were shaking, as if something had happened.
“Ah…! I, I’m sorry for breaking our promise! I should have gone to you first and told you… I was out of my mind…!”
“Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, what happened?”
“Ah…! My, my brother Aaron… that is…”
Diana, who was stammering and trying to say something, suddenly started to tear up.
‘Uh, isn’t this a pretty dangerous situation?’
A strong young man was threatening a young girl, and the girl was crying pitifully.
And that young man was me.
I hurriedly stepped back and created distance between us.
Diana was still trembling and tears were streaming down her face.
“Wa, wait! Okay! Okay, just calm down, will you? Take a deep breath. I’ll listen to your story.”
And to be honest, I was weak to children.
___________________
I was finally able to talk to Diana after she calmed down.
“I have a younger brother named Aaron. He was sick until recently…”
She was still rambling, but I could understand the gist of it.
Diana had an eight-year-old younger brother.
The siblings had lost their parents and were making a meager living by running errands and doing chores for the residents, but Aaron suddenly fell ill and was bedridden.
“I was desperate, so I took Aaron to the pharmacy with the money I was going to use for the protection fee. I was feeling hopeless, and then I met you, mister.”
Thanks to meeting me, she was able to pay the overdue protection fee on time.
“And we fed him the food you bought us, so he’s gotten healthier recently, but…”
‘No wonder she always wrapped up some of the food in a cloth when I bought her meals.’
I thought she was saving it for later when I saw her neatly wrapping bread, meat, and other things in a clean cloth.
If she had told me sooner, I would have packed some food separately for them.
But that wasn’t important now.
Aaron had suddenly disappeared today.
“Could he have gone out to play with his friends?”
“That’s impossible! Aaron is a child who always felt sorry for me and helped out with chores even when he was sick! He’s not the type to go out without a word and worry me like this!”
Diana, who had been passionately refuting me, then spoke in a dejected voice.
“…And he doesn’t have any friends his age to play with…”
I could roughly understand the situation from her words.
Poor orphaned siblings, the gazes of society were the same in any world.
“Then let’s go back home first. He might have just taken a different route, so let’s check at home, and if he’s not there, I’ll help you look for him.”
“You will, mister…?”
I had told her several times that I wasn’t a mister, but that wasn’t important to her right now.
“Yeah, I can’t just pretend I don’t know after finding out.”
We weren’t strangers, and the child I had spent a few days with was crying because her brother had disappeared. How could I turn a blind eye as an adult?
Diana, who had been staring at me with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open, then lowered her head and shed tears.
“Come on, we don’t have time for this! Let’s go to your house first.”
“…Yes!”
We couldn’t waste any more time, so we hurriedly headed to the siblings’ house.
As expected, the environment the siblings lived in was very poor.
It was one of the shabby shacks scattered deep inside a back alley.
“Hey, isn’t it dangerous to live in a place like this?”
I knew they didn’t have a choice, but I asked anyway because I had encountered many dangerous-looking people on the way here.
How could these powerless siblings have been safe until now?
“It’s okay for now. We paid the protection fee.”
Diana said so and pointed to a mark drawn on the wall of the alley with her finger.
It was a drawing of a shark’s mouth with sharp fangs.
It must be the symbol of the organization that ruled this place.
‘Huh? Where have I seen this drawing before…’
“Aaron! Aaron, are you there?!”
As I was lost in thought, Diana entered the house and called for Aaron, but there was no answer.
“What do we do? Aaron still hasn’t come home. What if something really happened…”
As Diana, who had calmed down for a while, started to tear up again, I was able to recall the scene I had glimpsed earlier.
‘The tattoo on the necks of the large men I met earlier!’
And I immediately remembered something related to it.
‘Someone told them to prepare a kid, and they said they were just following orders.’
Those guys were the ones who took Aaron.
I was finally able to talk to Diana after she calmed down.
“I have a younger brother named Aaron. He was sick until recently…”
She was still rambling, but I could understand the gist of it.
Diana had an eight-year-old younger brother.
The siblings had lost their parents and were making a meager living by running errands and doing chores for the residents, but Aaron suddenly fell ill and was bedridden.
“I was desperate, so I took Aaron to the pharmacy with the money I was going to use for the protection fee. I was feeling hopeless, and then I met you, mister.”
Thanks to meeting me, she was able to pay the overdue protection fee on time.
“And we fed him the food you bought us, so he’s gotten healthier recently, but…”
‘No wonder she always wrapped up some of the food in a cloth when I bought her meals.’
I thought she was saving it for later when I saw her neatly wrapping bread, meat, and other things in a clean cloth.
If she had told me sooner, I would have packed some food separately for them.
But that wasn’t important now.
Aaron had suddenly disappeared today.
“Could he have gone out to play with his friends?”
“That’s impossible! Aaron is a child who always felt sorry for me and helped out with chores even when he was sick! He’s not the type to go out without a word and worry me like this!”
Diana, who had been passionately refuting me, then spoke in a dejected voice.
“…And he doesn’t have any friends his age to play with…”
I could roughly understand the situation from her words.
Poor orphaned siblings, the gazes of society were the same in any world.
“Then let’s go back home first. He might have just taken a different route, so let’s check at home, and if he’s not there, I’ll help you look for him.”
“You will, mister…?”
I had told her several times that I wasn’t a mister, but that wasn’t important to her right now.
“Yeah, I can’t just pretend I don’t know after finding out.”
We weren’t strangers, and the child I had spent a few days with was crying because her brother had disappeared. How could I turn a blind eye as an adult?
Diana, who had been staring at me with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open, then lowered her head and shed tears.
“Come on, we don’t have time for this! Let’s go to your house first.”
“…Yes!”
We couldn’t waste any more time, so we hurriedly headed to the siblings’ house.
As expected, the environment the siblings lived in was very poor.
It was one of the shabby shacks scattered deep inside a back alley.
“Hey, isn’t it dangerous to live in a place like this?”
I knew they didn’t have a choice, but I asked anyway because I had encountered many dangerous-looking people on the way here.
How could these powerless siblings have been safe until now?
“It’s okay for now. We paid the protection fee.”
Diana said so and pointed to a mark drawn on the wall of the alley with her finger.
It was a drawing of a shark’s mouth with sharp fangs.
It must be the symbol of the organization that ruled this place.
‘Huh? Where have I seen this drawing before…’
“Aaron! Aaron, are you there?!”
As I was lost in thought, Diana entered the house and called for Aaron, but there was no answer.
“What do we do? Aaron still hasn’t come home. What if something really happened…”
As Diana, who had calmed down for a while, started to tear up again, I was able to recall the scene I had glimpsed earlier.
‘The tattoo on the necks of the large men I met earlier!’
And I immediately remembered something related to it.
‘Someone told them to prepare a kid, and they said they were just following orders.’
Those guys were the ones who took Aaron.
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