Chapter 236

Chapter 236 – All the Vile Things

Once our intense scuffle came to an end, Shine and I set off down the road once more.

With those bottled-up feelings finally released, a refreshing clarity washed over my mind.

The sun was just beginning to crest the horizon, and as daybreak dispelled the shadows, my internal gloom seemed to lift alongside it. It certainly didn’t feel like mere coincidence.

“So, where exactly are we marching to? Are we still wandering aimlessly?”

“No, I’ve made up my mind.”

“Have you?”

I offered a composed nod in response to Shine’s inquiry.

Truth be told, I hadn’t settled on a specific destination until now.

‘Just toward Decullan territory.’

That had been the entire scope of my strategy.

My initial thought was to figure out the next step once Maisern senior, Henji, and Lortel’s young patriarch managed to grab Decullan’s focus and fragment their forces.

The reason was simple.

A strike delivered from the blind spot lands with far greater impact when the target is thoroughly preoccupied.

On the surface, it might have resembled a reckless gamble lacking any real safety net, but striking precisely where they weren’t looking would leave them scrambling to adapt, serving as the ultimate method to throw them into disarray.

Yet, as I pondered further, a new question emerged.

‘Is merely dismantling Decullan truly sufficient?’

Certainly, that would achieve my goal.

However, a vivid memory suddenly materialized in my thoughts.

‘……The dark alleys within the Second Black-White Slums.’

Past a flimsy, decaying entrance, the lifeless bodies of young children from the Black-White Slum were piled together like discarded refuse, left to rot in isolation.

The pungent odor of decomposition told the story of their wretched, miserable, and completely neglected existences.

As that grim image resurfaced, I had to confront the harsh reality of my motivations.

• Tell me, what drives you to march against Decullan right now? Is it truly for those helpless youth?

• If my sole concern were those children, I wouldn’t be calculating the risks to my own life.

Though I had spoken those exact words back then…… when it came down to it, the plight of those youngsters had ignited a spark deep within my soul.

Recalling that misery made my ultimate path crystal clear.

In its inception, the Tower was intended to offer a chance at education to those stripped of the means to learn, nourish themselves, or find proper clothing—even if it lacked the resources to directly feed and clothe everyone.

The fundamental objective was supposed to be that straightforward……

‘But there is no reason to confine myself to such narrow boundaries.’

Once my choice was solidified, I wasted no time jumping into action.

“Wait up for a moment.”

“……?”

Stepping out in front of Shine, I retrieved a communication orb from within my garments.

My intention was to establish contact with Maisern senior, Henji, and Lortel’s young patriarch. Because I had previously provided them with these magical devices alongside my correspondence, initiating the call was effortless.

Having anticipated my transmission, those on the receiving end answered almost instantaneously.

[Understood. Very well, we shall proceed along those lines. It promises to be a highly impactful endeavor.]

Maisern senior offered his agreement without the slightest hesitation.

[Embarking on another one of your wild schemes, are you? It sounds quite entertaining. Alright, I will adjust my tactics to match.]

Henji readily agreed to shift his maneuvers to align with my altered strategy.

And lastly, the young patriarch representing Lortel……

[Ha! That is brilliant. Truly magnificent. Yes, that concept far surpasses our initial arrangement. My father might even find himself intrigued by this…… Go ahead and cause absolute chaos.]

He even let loose a boisterous burst of laughter.

Having successfully conveyed the modifications to every single one of my partners.

I shifted my attention back to Shine, who had remained quiet during the exchange, and disclosed a detail I had previously kept hidden.

“To tell you the truth, I very nearly transformed into a Decullan myself.”

“……?”

Shine tilted his head to the side, his expression laced with confusion.

Naturally, my statement didn’t imply that I intended to align myself with the house of Decullan or become one of them.

It was a metaphorical realization, the essence of which became evident when analyzing the core of my previous intentions.

“The house of Decullan is utterly wretched, yet that doesn’t mean every single wizard bearing their name is inherently evil. Consider how things would appear from the viewpoint of an ordinary spellcaster. What sort of figure would I seem to be?”

“That would be……”

“A random spellcaster who suddenly appears out of nowhere and begins slaughtering Decullan mages indiscriminately. In what way does that make me any different from the monsters of Decullan?”

That was the realization of how close I had come to mirroring the very enemy I loathed.

Shine knitted his brows further, still failing to fully grasp the nuance, but his comprehension wasn’t the critical factor.

The vital part was that I had recognized the danger myself.

Had Shine not been by my side, I undoubtedly would have succumbed to the same depravity as Decullan.

‘I possess a nature that absorbs corruption far too easily.’

I had stared into the dark depths of Decullan for such an extended period that I had begun to take on its grim hues.

Simultaneously, a separate realization surfaced.

‘Could it be that my adherence to a righteous path was merely because the opportunity to embrace malice never presented itself?’

To ensure I remained untainted by corruption, I would need to exert unceasing vigilance moving forward.

While I strengthened my internal resolve, Shine suddenly interjected, cutting through the silence.

“The expression on your face is utterly dreadful……”

I cut him off before he could finish.

“The only dreadful face around here belongs to you.”

“……You insufferable idiot. I was actually going to remark that you looked slightly better, and you immediately spout garbage like that.”

Ah, so that was what he had been getting at?

As I muttered a lukewarm apology, Shine let out a heavy breath and went on.

“Whatever. Your countenance seems respectable enough now, so I will let your rudeness pass.”

“A respectable countenance?”

“The look of a person who is actually contemplating what comes tomorrow. Up until this point, you carried the desperate aura of someone ready to throw their life away this very day without a single regret.”

Had I truly appeared that way?

I wasn’t entirely certain.

Regardless, it was undeniable that a sense of serenity had finally settled over my mind.

Putting that matter aside.

“Are you absolutely certain you can handle this? The path ahead demands a grueling pace.”

“Hmph, I may be past my absolute prime, but I am hardly so weak that I require sympathy from someone like you.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Letting out a quiet, mirthless laugh, I spun around to lead the way.

From that point onward, there was no requirement for further conversation between us.

Shine and I bounded across the open plains like twin bolts of lightning.

When we initially embarked on this journey, our movements had been driven entirely by boiling resentment, but at this precise instant, a wholly different sentiment occupied my soul—one devoid of malice.

I refused to transform into another Decullan.

If that was the case, what identity would I claim?

The Tower Lord.

The title that embodied every single atrocious element.

This marked the opening stride of that journey.

Rumble, rattle.

Deep within a gloomy transport vehicle.

Inside the utterly pitch-black chamber, where not a single ray of illumination could penetrate the sealed barriers, a group of filthy children clustered close together.

“……I’m frightened.”

“Waaaah, sob. Leader, where are you……”

The youngsters crammed into the wooden enclosure wept from sheer terror, yet notably, none of them cried out for their mothers.

Under normal circumstances, intense fright prompts a child to seek maternal comfort as a basic instinct, making this behavior deeply peculiar.

Yet for these particular youths, such a reaction was entirely standard.

They had never possessed parents to begin with.

For the young inhabitants of the Black-White Slums, the concept of a mother was nothing more than a mythical fairy tale, completely disconnected from their harsh daily existence.

Nestled among those weeping street youths was a single boy who possessed a notably clever demeanor.

“You miserable runts! Stop your whining!”

The young boy snapped at the sobbing children in frustration, but his outbursts failed to quiet the weeping flock inside the vehicle.

Ultimately, he bit down on his lip out of sheer helplessness and let his eyelids fall shut.

‘Where in the world…… did my path take such a disastrous turn?’

The boy hailed from the Seventh Black-White Slums.

Known widely as the ‘scout’ among his peers on the streets, he began to ponder the miserable trajectory of his existence once more.

If one were to chart his misfortune…… yes.

It truly commenced several months ago.

The catalyst had been the weakest member of their street crew.

• Oh, by the way.

• It wasn’t just a single person who thrashed me.

The pathetic kid who used to serve as everyone’s personal punching bag on a daily basis had returned from some unknown location filled with a bizarre, overwhelming power, suddenly becoming incredibly formidable.

Following that transformation, he had escorted some wealthy-looking child back to their turf and thoroughly thrashed the entire gang into submission……

It had been an absolute nightmare.

It was during that event that the realization struck him.

‘Ah, this existence is unforgivingly harsh.’

The brutal lesson learned that day completely derailed the scout’s aspirations of eventually rising to become the mastermind behind a Black-White Slum syndicate.

Consequently, the scout chose to dissolve his crew and swore an oath to pursue an honest path forward.

Every morning, he would cleanse his grim-covered body in the currents of the Sail River before sprinting toward the local bakery to take on any menial task available.

The proprietor of the bakery had shown him nothing but hostility initially, but the scout persevered through countless days of uncompensated drudgery by relying on his inherent cleverness.

‘A person has to do whatever it takes to survive.’

As the months rolled by, the elderly baker eventually began to display genuine affection for him.

……Up until that point, his life was on an excellent track.

If he simply maintained this dedicated routine, mastered the craft of baking, he could eventually journey to a bustling metropolis and establish a shop of his own.

Just as his heart swelled with anticipation for the future, catastrophe struck without warning.

• Listen here, old man. Well? When do you intend to settle your outstanding debt?

It turned out that the elderly baker had secured a loan from the local Black-White Slum syndicate.

With the establishment on the verge of being repossessed in an instant, the scout made his very first pledge to act selflessly ‘for the sake of another.’

‘I never…… should have made that choice.’

Merely a few days prior, he had succumbed to a syndicate enforcer’s allure of a massive payout.

In a desperate bid to rescue the old baker, the scout allowed himself to be guided away by the criminal organization, only to be bartered off to an unfamiliar destination.

‘Curse it all, truly. For once in my life, I genuinely desired to walk the straight and narrow.’

He possessed absolutely no inkling of where this transport was taking them.

He had no perception of what grim fate awaited him.

Yet one reality remained undeniable: the individuals who had purchased him and the others were exceptionally monstrous, far beyond normal criminals.

• It seems we must quiet these noisy animals.

During their initial gathering, simply because some of the captives were making a racket, those captors had crushed the skulls of several children without showing a shred of remorse……

Even the scout, who prided himself on having witnessed every conceivable horror within the confines of the Black-White Slums, found himself utterly paralyzed by terror.

‘What…… is going to become of me now?’

Trapped within the weeping confines of the vehicle, the scout could only visualize a horrific destiny stretching out before him.

It was precisely at that grim moment that the transport ground to an abrupt halt.

Thud!

“……!”

“Ah!”

The young captives gasped in unison as the motion ceased, and the scout instinctively cowered back, stifling his own breath.

What nightmare lay in store for them the moment that barrier swung open?

However, contrary to his expectations.

Crash, boom! Shatter!

The distinct sounds of violent warfare reverberated from the exterior environment.

Hearing the muffled signs of conflict, the terrified youth pressed themselves even closer together in absolute panic.

But the sharp-witted scout narrowed his vision and cautiously dragged himself toward the wooden perimeter, desperate to perceive what was transpiring outside.

Something about the situation felt incredibly unusual.

‘Could it be……’

Had the grand forces of the imperial army arrived to liberate them?

He recognized the utter absurdity of the thought immediately.

The grand imperial army would never deploy its forces to salvage the discarded youths of the Black-White Slums.

Even so, grasping onto a microscopic thread of optimism, he pressed his ear against the wooden partition and maintained his vigil—until the sounds of strife abruptly ceased a short while later.

‘Even if it turns out not to be the imperial army…… I will make a break for it regardless. Any fate is preferable to being marched into some unknown abyss.’

With that grim determination locking into place, he steeled his nerves.

Moments later……

Slam!

The barrier was violently wrenched open.

Radiant beams of daylight flooded into the dark compartment, accompanied by a concealed face peering into the interior. In that instant, the scout understood everything.

“You are all unchained. Leave this place.”

It wasn’t the imperial army after all…… but a miracle he had deemed utterly impossible had manifested before him.

Aster escorted every last one of the Black-White Slum youths out of the transport vehicle, subsequently redirecting his gaze toward the towering peaks in the distance.

‘The hidden facilities for training Troubleshooters: four locations in total.’

From this exact moment onward, the entity known as the Troubleshooters would cease to exist.

This was the destiny that Aster had actively resolved to forge.