SWY 52

“Sharhan?”

Hearing his name, Abel looked up, saw his face, and finally recognized him. His expression lit up with joy. A smile spread across Sharhan’s face too. He had never expected to run into someone he knew right after arriving in Verden, let alone in a tavern they’d entered just to spend the night.

“Abel! You’re alive!”

“Sharhan! You made it too!”

Abel reached out with a loud laugh, about to hug Sharhan, but froze when he felt the axe blade still pressed against his neck. The slight movement caused it to graze his skin, leaving a thin red line. Noticing the cold hostility on Lestel’s face, Sharhan hurried to introduce him.

“Lestel, this is the leader of the Red Wolves.”

Lestel, who had been glaring at the outstretched arm with frosty eyes, reluctantly lowered his axe and stepped back.

“I’m Lestel.”

Rubbing the spot on his neck and wiping off the blood, Abel replied cautiously.

“I’m Abel. Just like Sharhan said, I’m the leader of the Second Rank mercenary guild, the Red Wolves. But what happened? Someone from Black Pearl came and said you left Verden with the master. So, is this man the master?”

“Yes. Lestel is the master. We went to Luhas together. How are things in Verden now? What are you doing here, Abel? What about the rest of your crew?”

“How is it outside? Is it just as much of a hell beyond the city walls? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sharhan and Abel fired off questions at the same time. They both hesitated, then awkwardly gestured at each other to speak first, but this time, neither one did.

A still silence fell over the dusty bedroom. In the quiet, Sharhan took a closer look at Abel’s face. It had thinned out, and there were new scars that hadn’t been there before. Abel had clearly been fighting to survive.

“Lord Lestel?”

The silence was broken by a quiet call. It was Derry’s voice, like a whisper. He had come upstairs himself, worried after the two had been gone so long. A glowing fire orb hovered above his open palm.

“Derry, over here,” Sharhan called.

Derry entered the bedroom but flinched at the sight of the unfamiliar man. Abel startled too when he saw Derry.

“W-Who are you?”

“A mage?”

Seeing Abel’s eyes go wide, Sharhan burst out laughing.

“Abel, this is Derry, part of my party. As you can see, he’s a mage. Derry, this is Abel, my old mercenary captain.”

“Ah, hello. I’m Derry.”

Derry dismissed the fire orb and bowed politely.

“I’m Abel. A mage, huh… I thought magic users disappeared after the fall of the ancient empire…”

“I’m not a great mage or anything. I’m barely at beginner level.”

“No need to be so modest. You’ve helped our team more than you realize.”

Sharhan patted Derry on the shoulder, praising him. Derry’s face turned bright red.

“Let’s sit down first,” Abel suggested, still standing.

At his words, Lestel and Sharhan sat down on the bed, and Abel pulled over a chair. Derry went back downstairs to look for something to eat.

“Why are you here alone, Abel? What happened to the others? I was planning to search for you and the others since I’m back in Verden.”

Sharhan’s question darkened Abel’s expression. He let out a heavy sigh and began explaining.

“Ras, Kamil, and Renel are still at the Blue Spider’s Goblet. The rest… are dead.”

Sharhan’s face fell. He had been so glad to see Abel that the sudden news hit hard.

“What happened? They weren’t the kind to die easily.”

“Fuck, it was that bastard. The one who got his ass kicked by you for being loud after screwing all night.”

That mercenary had bought Paphun tea from a peddler. Sharhan gritted his teeth, recalling the man frenzied and out of control the last time he saw him.

“You mean… he attacked people? Bit them?”

“Yeah. It happened the day after you left for the caravan master’s house. We were having a late breakfast, and that bastard went berserk again. At first, just one guy went up to subdue him, but he kept coming no matter how many hits he took. We all had to jump in to finally restrain him. But David got bitten in the process.”

Abel paused for a moment, eyes reddening as he rubbed the corners of his eyes. There was no need for him to say more, Sharhan could guess what happened next.

David had turned into a walking corpse and bitten others, causing things to spiral out of control.

Abel confirmed it.

“We sent David to get treated, but fuck… he stopped breathing for a second, then opened his eyes and bit Gunta. The whole inn turned into a war zone. All the mercenaries staying there joined in and barely managed to tie up the crazed ones and shove them into a room. At that point, we thought the outside world was still normal. We figured it was just a new plague or something and went out to report it, but… it was hell out there.”

Abel rubbed his face, trying to steady his rising emotions.

“People were biting each other, the streets were soaked in blood, everyone panicking and trying to escape through the city gates, carriages overturning in the chaos, people fighting… It was worse than any battlefield.”

“Then why is everyone still in Verden? We’re on our way to Serman and had to pass through here. I thought I’d check in on you, but honestly, I didn’t expect anyone to be left.”

“Serman? Right, you said your sister’s there.”

They hadn’t shared their full backgrounds, but they knew the gist of each other’s situations.

“Yes. You’ve got family in your hometown too, right? Why haven’t you gone yet?”

Abel had always been soft on kids, especially ones around his son’s age. At Sharhan’s question, Abel’s eyes immediately filled with longing and concern. With a sigh, he said, full of regret and bitterness:

“It became hell, sure, but I thought things would settle down before long. Verden has mercenaries and a militia, after all. At first, the mercs and the militia worked together to handle the problem… but it was endless. More people kept dying. And I think everyone slowly realized the world had ended. That’s when factions started to form. Each group took over a zone, hoarded food, looted, fought. A lot of people died that way too. This area was controlled by a faction led by those damn Blue Deer bastards. I heard most of them were wiped out recently in a failed raid. The rest of us, my surviving men and a few others, took over the area around the Blue Spider’s Goblet tavern and tried to survive.”

“The Blue Spider’s Goblet tavern is a quite a distance from here. Why are you here alone?”

“Ras got hurt. After hearing that the Blue Deer were nearly wiped out, I came out to look for leftover supplies and herbs, maybe even a way out. We hadn’t been able to leave the city because of those bastards. That lunatic declared this whole area his ‘territory’ and attacked anyone from other factions who got close. The other factions are the same. They each staked out their zones, declared themselves lords, and started exploiting anyone weaker. And when they fight over territory, you know what they call it? A domain war. Can you believe that shit? A goddamn ‘domain war.’ I should’ve gotten out of Verden the moment things started going south.”

What Abel described painted a picture far worse than Sharhan had imagined. Of course, it was hell everywhere. Survivors fought over dwindling food supplies. Hunger drove people to violence.

But he hadn’t expected survivors to divide into factions and start fighting over so-called domains. Getting through Verden was going to be a nightmare, not just because of the moving corpses, but the factions too.

“If your group had shown up just a few days earlier, you probably would’ve had to fight the Blue Deer faction.”

“I guess our timing was lucky.”

“What was the gate like? If you got in, that means it’s still passable?”

“There are carriages blocking the way, but you can squeeze through one at a time.”

“Really?”

Abel’s eyes lit up.

“Are you planning to leave?”

“I have to. Who knows when another faction will take over this area? Like you said, I’ve got family waiting in my hometown. I’ll head back to the Blue Spider’s Goblet tomorrow and talk to the others. They’ve got family too.”

“So we meet, and then part again right away.”

“We saw each other alive, that’s what matters. But Serman… that’s the territory of the Marquis of Ailun, isn’t it? If you’re heading that way… you’ll need to leave through the opposite gate.”

Abel’s face darkened as he recalled the layout. Verden’s walls had two gates: east and west. Sharhan’s group had come in through the western gate. To get to Sermann, they’d need to leave through the east.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Sharhan asked, alarmed by Abel’s tone.

“The faction controlling that area isn’t great. The first bastard who called himself a lord is there. You’ll know him, Sharhan.”

“Who is it? Someone I know?”

“Delos.”

“Who?”

“Delos, the Filthy Crotches captain.”

Sharhan’s expression darkened, and he clenched the hilt of the sword resting beside him.