Didn't know this world had such advanced tech, especially since everything outside this city feels normal.
Jinhwan's gaze swept across the dead city as he walked toward a broken building, collapsed long ago and now nothing but an empty shell.
He stopped at the corner, where the rubble had taken the shape of a small hill. Standing there alone under the crimson light that bathed the entire world, he let the cold wind brush past him. Jinhwan took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
A gentle voice broke the silence. Koko approached, a bag slung over her back and that piece of cloth she had brought earlier in her hand.
"Not yet. There's nothing here.. but it's a big city. It'll take time before I can reach a conclusion."
Jinhwan closed his eyes, letting the gentleness of nature wash over him. The air here was cleaner than the Earth he had lived on.
Koko stepped forward carefully, her eyes flicking down with each step as if wary of the uneven ground. When she reached him, she stopped at his side. Slowly, she extended her hand toward him.
Jinhwan opened his eyes, catching sight of what she was holding, that same piece of cloth she had carried with her earlier. He turned his head to look at her before reaching out to take it. As he did, Koko quietly withdrew her hand, folding it gently into her other hand.
Holding the bundle in his left hand, he used the fingers of his right to peel back the cloth. Bit by bit, it revealed a pair of daggers. They looked as though they were carved from pure glass, the edges gleamed with a sharp precision, and the grips were a deep jade green, intricately crafted with delicate engravings. The blades themselves shimmered silver, but along the very edges ran a thin, crimson sheen, glinting like diamonds under the crimson light.
When he wrapped his fingers around the hilt of one, a sudden chill seeped into his skin. The sensation was strange, colder than steel, harder than iron, yet unnervingly light, as if forged from some unique type of metal.
He took the second dagger into his left hand, letting the piece of cloth drift to the ground.
"It looks nice.. well crafted. Why are you giving it to me?"
His gaze met Koko's, the question lingering in his tone.
"It was found among the belongings of those people you killed. Maybe they brought it with them, no one in the village uses anything other than axes and swords. It was useless there, so...I thought you'd like it."
Hearing her words, Jinhwan smiled faintly and began to spin the daggers in his palms, the blades flashing under the crimson light.
Koko watched, surprised by the smooth, practised move.
"So… you can use these too?"
He gave a small nod.
"I saw you when you were fighting those people." she continued. "First you used an axe and sword.... then twin axes. You're also pretty good without any weapon. And now you can handle these too. How can you do that?"
Jinhwan's lips curved into the smallest of grins.
"Well, you see... I can use pretty much every weapon and martial art. I've been training since I was little. My main speciality is martial arts, but I learned weapon-based styles too; it's an easy way to become stronger. I trained under my uncle. He's a tough man."
Koko shifted slightly at his words, her gaze lingering on him. She opened her mouth to speak again... but stopped. A sudden chill crept through the air, raising goosebumps along her arms.
Jinhwan's expression hardened instantly, his eyes sharpening. The grip on the daggers tightened, his knuckles whitening as if he were ready for something.. or someone.
"What a day. A completely unaffected man... and a woman with a high mana level."
That sudden voice broke the silence in the dead city.
Jinhwan and Koko moved their gaze toward the sound, following it carefully. As their eyes fell on the spot the voice had come from, just a few meters away from them, standing on the ground of the dead city, they saw him.
A person wearing a long black coat stood there. The coat was dusty and old. His long black hair was silky and shiny, swaying slightly as the cold wind passed. He stood calmly, both hands placed together behind his back. The lower hem of his coat floated gently with each gust of wind.
Under both of his arms, three limbs like a spider emerged on each side, six in total. Two were wrapped tightly around his waist, two hovered in the air, moving faintly as if alive, and the last two were planted on the ground, giving him a strange support, almost like the legs of a chair.
His eyes were hidden in the shadow of his hair, but there was a faint smile on his lips, a smile that sent chills running through the quiet air.
"What brings you two here?"
The man tilted his head toward Jinhwan as if he were looking straight at him, but with his eyes hidden behind the shadow of his hair, it was hard to tell where his gaze was truly set.
"And since you're looking normal." he continued.
"I assume you're from another world then."
Jinhwan stayed on guard, his eyes fixed on the man. After a few seconds, he slowly lowered his hands.
"I am from another world. But... may I know who you are?"
"Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself." The man gave a slight tilt of his head.
"I'm Zeze, the protector of this city. A pleasure to meet… Mr..?"
Zeze paused.
"Jinhwan."
As soon as he heard the name, Zeze continued, his tone smooth.
"Mr. Jinhwan, then. So, why are you here? I mean… in this world."
"I got here by accident. And I have to find a princess. Since I assume you live here, do you know anything about her?"
Jinhwan's eyes didn't move. They were locked on Zeze, unblinking.
The two limbs floating in the air behind Zeze suddenly tensed, freezing in place as if ready to strike. Jinhwan's grip on the daggers tightened in response.
"Princess.."
[Episode 38 End]