Chapter 155 : Omen (2)

Looking Luis in the eye, Parnaci was overcome with emotion and poured out everything he had been holding back.

He was drunk, so in a way, it was close to a drunken ramble.

Because of that, it was difficult to understand exactly what he was trying to say, but as time passed and he sobered up, I was able to roughly deduce the situation.

I don’t know how they found out, but the bastards knew that Parnaci had been a key informant and contact network for Shadow in the past.

So they approached him and demanded information on Shadow’s base.

But Parnaci, who now had no relationship with Shadow, had no way of knowing Lunatic’s location.

He naturally said he didn’t know, but the bastards, who thought it was a lie, kidnapped Jaygie and demanded a trade.

“They told me if I don’t know the location of the base, to bring someone who does. Yes. They meant you. From my perspective, it’s a maddening situation.”

To save his daughter, he had to sell out Luis, but Luis was like a benefactor who had saved him in the past.

But if he kept his loyalty to Luis, his daughter’s life was in immediate danger.

“So this was the conclusion I came to.”

“Are you saying you will solve it yourself?”

“I lost my daughter right before my eyes. Bringing her back is the natural duty of a father.”

“You could have asked me for help.”

Parnaci swirled the glass in his hand.

Looking at the swirling yellow liquid with bitter eyes, he suddenly let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

“I finally met you after 10 years. But you want me to burden you with danger as soon as we meet? You might as well ask me to stab myself in the back.”

“You are in danger because of me.”

“No. You guys have nothing to do with it. This happened because I am weak. And……”

He trailed off for a moment before speaking again.

“……Even if you’re right, working for Shadow in the past was solely my decision. That decision was the best choice of my life, and because of that time, I am who I am today. Blaming this on Shadow is to deny my entire life. Don’t you agree?”

I didn’t give any answer to Parnaci’s question.

I just stared quietly at his face.

Was the gaze burdensome?

Parnaci turned his head to avoid my gaze and changed the subject.

“Anyway, what I said earlier while crying and clinging to you, right? About asking for help. That was just my pathetic drunken rambling, so erase it from your mind. It’s a dark part of my history. Hahaha! You’ll do that for me, right?”

“……But Mr. Parnaci.”

“I’ll say it again, this is my business. You guys stay out of it. Absolutely.”

“…….”

“Promise me.”

Watching Parnaci speak with a hardened face, I could only sigh inwardly.

‘Is this a vow you’re making to yourself?’

That’s how it looked to me.

The image of him sobbing and crying for help while drunk and the image of him now, telling me not to interfere because it’s his business.

There was no way I wouldn’t know which one was his true feeling.

“I understand.”

“Yes. Good thinking.”

Parnaci nodded his head with a satisfied expression.

“And as you know now, I’ve been completely exposed to them. So, it would be better for you guys to stop coming this way from now on.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“Yes. Then today is the last.”

Saying so, Parnaci extended his hand.

I took his hand.

A desperate trembling felt through the tightly held hands.

“We finally met, only to part like this right away……”

Parnaci blinked his eyes, trying hard to hide the welling moisture.

“……I’ll be cheering for you from afar. Just like I have for the past 10 years.”

May the blessing of the night be with you on your path.

Leaving that mumble behind, I left ‘Parnaci of the Plaza’.

Trudge, trudge.

The night road back was very quiet.

The serene Icata.

The full moon illuminates the city.

At its solemn and mysterious appearance, I momentarily stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

Like that, there was a time when Shadow also looked down on Icata.

We are running hard to reclaim that glory, but honestly, I didn’t even know when that would be.

Whether it would be 10 years, or 100 years.

Perhaps we would be buried in the oblivion of the night and be forgotten forever.

Maybe that’s why I was more obsessed.

With the memories and connections of the past, of which there are not many left now.

It goes without saying, but I had not the slightest intention of granting Parnaci’s final request.

Gerard was away, and I knew it was a trap, but sometimes there are times when you have to push through even when you know it’s dangerous.

‘The master would surely have made the same choice as me.’

Based on the explanation I heard from Parnaci, I tried to organize the general situation.

From the circumstances, it was the Beltus Cult who kidnapped Parnaci’s daughter.

According to Parnaci, the bastards first tried to find out the location of Shadow’s base, Lunatic, through him, but in the current situation, the only ones who would want to know that were the Beltus Cult, who were at war with Shadow.

The problem was that Parnaci, who had no connection to Shadow anymore, had no way of knowing Lunatic’s location, but of course, the bastards didn’t believe him and kidnapped Jaygie.

‘If you want to save your daughter, bring Luis to the shop by tomorrow.’

That was their demand.

I raised two questions here.

First.

How did the Beltus Cult know that Parnaci was an informant who helped Shadow?

‘Parnaci of the Plaza’ was a place that had survived even the empire’s surveillance network.

If not a member of Shadow.

No, it was an intelligence post known only to a few, even among Shadow’s members.

Following that, the second question.

Parnaci said one of them impersonated him.

That meant there was someone among them who knew Luis.

For reference, I had never once exposed my identity to the outside world.

The only ones who knew my name, then and now, were my comrades in Shadow, and likewise, it was impossible for someone to impersonate Luis.

……Yes. Unless they were a member of Shadow.

Therefore, combining these two questions led to this conclusion.

A comrade who was once a part of Shadow has now, after 10 years, appeared before us as an enemy.

“This is a troublesome situation.”

My brow furrowed deeply.

***

A decade is enough time for mountains and rivers to change.

No matter how great one’s loyalty and affection for the guild were, a period of 10 years was enough time to turn even those feelings into a faint memory.

Moreover, Shadow had turned to ash in front of everyone.

Even if there were survivors, who in that situation would try to carry on Shadow’s will to the end?

‘It would be difficult for most.’

But.

Even so, the act of stabbing a former comrade in the back is unforgivable.

Especially in such a cowardly and despicable way.

‘Who could it be.’

According to Parnaci, he had a rather rough impression.

His eyes were full of venom and the aura he exuded was ferocious and thick with killing intent, openly giving off a dangerous atmosphere.

Also.

“He seemed to know you well.”

At the same time, one face came to my mind.

His name was Hajin.

A fateful contemporary who joined Shadow before me and studied under the First Seat, Yugen, but was pushed out in the selection of the successor and eventually chose to leave Shadow.

It was a forgotten name, but if it was really him, I wasn’t sure how I should act when I finally faced him.

‘It’s not him. He’s not the type of person to do something so cowardly.’

My thoughts stopped there.

The identity of the traitor would be revealed on its own anyway.

What was more important was the plan for the future.

In any case, I had already decided to help Parnaci.

I had to make a plan for this.

‘First, I need to convince Dayle.’

Knowing his personality, he would surely oppose it.

So, as soon as I arrived at Lunatic, I told Dayle in the underground storage about what had happened.

And the reaction was as expected.

“……So? You decided to grant that request?”

“That’s not it. Mr. Parnaci did not officially request a commission from us. However, I plan to do so.”

“No. That’s the same thing, you bastard! Are you really crazy? Huh? Do you not know our situation right now?”

“Is it a crazy choice?”

“Of course it is……!”

Dayle, who was about to fly into a rage and curse, paused when he saw my calm eyes.

Then, he scrunched his brow like a mischievous child and smirked.

“……It’s normal.”

“Pardon?”

“Yeah. If you just stood by and watched that happen, it wouldn’t be you. Aren’t we the kind of guys who live by damn loyalty? Huh? Huh?”

Dayle, clenching his fists, stood up and shouted.

It was the complete opposite of what I expected, as I thought he would vehemently oppose it, and I was momentarily dumbfounded.

“Alright, Luis. How are we going to save her? You have an awesome plan or something, right?”

“There is no such thing.”

“Eh?”

“We have to make one now.”

But Dayle’s expression turned gloomy, as if nothing had happened.

“……We’re screwed. The boss isn’t here either.”

When the boss comes back, we won’t be here.

We’ll be in the afterlife, dammit.

He grumbled with a foolish grin, but he didn’t lose his fighting spirit.

“Well, whatever. You’re the boss for now, so what can I do but follow. Luis, you do know the extent of their forces, right?”

I raised a corner of my mouth.

How could I not know?

All the data on the cult’s side sent by Rachel was already in my head.

If we clash head-on, strength against strength, there’s no hope, just as Dayle worried.

This would be the same even if Gerard were here. In the first place, didn’t Gerard leave for Karagas to make up for this lack of power?

“Dayle.”

“What?”

“Our goal is not their annihilation. It is the rescue of Mr. Parnaci’s daughter, Miss Jaygie.”

Dayle stared intently at me.

He wasn’t a fool either.

On the contrary, he had considerable intuition developed from living as a fugitive and by now, he could also grasp the intention of what I was trying to say.

“Wait. So right now, you’re saying you and I should team up and work together on this?”

“One thing is wrong. It’s not you and me, the two of us, but three.”

Saying so, I raised my head and looked up.

Up the stairs. At some point, Clatter, who had finished recovering in the cemetery and returned, was looking down at them and waving his hand.

Clack──!

“Ooh! You’re back, Clatter!”

Dayle, who spotted Clatter, spread his arms wide.

His face was bright, as if he had found a savior.

“Alright. If we have Clatter, who accounts for 50 percent of our guild’s power, it’s doable!”

I didn’t bother to deny it.

It wasn’t an exaggeration or a joke.

We had never properly measured his combat power, but their thought was that Clatter’s strength was slightly below that of an elite knight.

This was a skill that belonged to the 1st division in each knight order, called special class.

And.

There was one more person here.

“I’ll help too.”

At the unexpected voice, the two of us threw our gazes behind Clatter.

“You, you are……”

Dayle, who had a surprised expression looking at her, tilted his head a moment later.

“……Uh. Um. Who was it again?”

“It’s Miss Rachel, Dayle.”

“Ah! Right.”

At his goldfish-like memory, Rachel looked down at Dayle with a pathetic look in her eyes.

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