Chapter 2: Draw
Kael looked up at the sky.
A clear sky without a single cloud.
An annoyingly sunny day.
The weather was bright, but Kael's mood was gloomy. It felt like a downpour could hit at any moment.
There was a reason Kael felt that way.
He had tried his best to think positively, but—
‘Hmm, no matter how I look at this……’
It seemed like he was screwed.
Kael calmly reflected on his situation.
The national treasure of the Empire—Balmung, the Sword of Heaven's Decree.
The reason a State of National Emergency had been declared.
The culprit behind it all was currently hanging at Kael's hip.
‘If they catch me, it's probably execution.’
Probably, my ass.
Execution was an absolute certainty.
He'd be told he had a lot of nerve thinking he could survive after stealing the Empire's national treasure, that he had no conscience whatsoever.
He'd be marched straight to the chopping block, and from that day on, Kael would be bidding farewell to his own head.
He had no idea what was so special about this utterly ordinary-looking sword, but it was a treasure significant enough for the Empire to declare a State of National Emergency without a moment's hesitation.
The Empire had classified the situation as a danger on par with wartime, and no fewer than 5 of the Empire's Swords—said to be the protectors of the Empire—had gathered in the capital.
‘Thanks to all that, I hear some strange bastards are running wild too.’
As expected of a fantasy world setting, there were all manner of people lurking about.
Chief among them was some villain organization called the Seven Deadly Sins or something, and rumors were spreading that with the Empire's political situation turning volatile, those people had begun moving openly.
But to a lowly Imperial Guard like Kael, talk of the Seven Deadly Sins or the Empire's 5 Swords didn't really hit close to home.
It all sounded like a story from another world.
It was the same principle as how an ordinary office worker can't really relate when someone talks about billionaires.
But Kael had now become the main character of this very ‘story from another world’.
And not by his own choice—but by someone else's.
‘Hmm.’
Kael looked down at the sword hanging at his hip.
If he had his way, he would have thrown it away on the spot.
No, actually, he had already thrown it away multiple times.
So why was it still hanging at his hip, you ask?
‘Crazy stalker bastard.’
Kael recalled the events of a few days ago.
Around the time he had more or less gotten used to life as an Imperial Guard—
He had just wanted to wash up and go to sleep, when a single sword was standing smack in the middle of his bedroom.
‘What the hell is that.’
Whose sword is this?
At first, he thought maybe it was some kind of surprise gift.
‘That can't be it.’
Kael knew all too well how meager the Imperial Guard's salary was.
Everyone was barely scraping by as it was—who would go and gift someone a sword? If such a person existed, they'd either be a saint or someone mentally unhinged.
‘It doesn't look particularly expensive.’
A crude, plain appearance.
Its exterior was ordinary.
‘Still, it looks better than the standard issue.’
Without exaggeration, the swords issued as standard equipment in the Imperial Guard were so shabby it would be difficult to even slice a radish.
‘Definitely better than the standard issue, this one.’
Without giving it much thought, Kael picked up the sword and fastened it at his hip. It didn't feel bad.
And the next day.
The Empire immediately declared a State of National Emergency.
A minister announced directly that Balmung, the Empire's national treasure, had gone missing, and stated that every effort would be devoted to searching for the missing Balmung.
Upon hearing the news, Kael felt deeply uneasy.
‘Don't tell me……Is it this?’
Of course, he thought the probability was low.
No, surely something that was supposed to be a national treasure of the Empire couldn't look this ordinary, could it?
But his brief rationalization didn't last long.
A memory he had forgotten suddenly resurfaced.
The messages that had appeared just before he was transmigrated into this godforsaken other world.
He couldn't remember the complete sentences, but he clearly remembered words like ‘starting bonus’ and ‘Balmung’.
The moment he recalled that memory, his back began to grow damp.
Cold sweat kept coming.
He had a strong feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
‘These crazy bastards……’
If they were going to give him a bonus, couldn't they have handled it so it wouldn't cause problems—why would they throw it at him like this and expect him to deal with it?
He was beside himself. He didn't even feel like denying reality.
Sensing the danger, Kael immediately tried everything he could.
He started with the easiest method he could act on right away—slipping it into a back alley where no one was around and leaving it there.
But what do you know.
Like something out of a horror movie, when he returned to his lodgings, the very Balmung he had just abandoned was sitting there, waiting for him.
‘……So that's what ‘non-transferable’ meant.’
Even after that, Kael tried every possible method to escape from this leech of a sword, but every attempt ended in failure.
In the end, Kael resigned himself to it.
With a whatever, if they catch me, they catch me attitude, he walked the streets with Balmung at his side.
‘And yet, nobody's noticed.’
He finally understood why people said the darkest place is under the lamppost.
It had been 2 weeks since Kael had been openly carrying Balmung around, and he still hadn't been caught.
No matter how he thought about it, it was a situation that drew nothing but hollow laughs.
Kael trudged along the street.
"Good day to you, big bro! Have you eaten yet?!"
A rough-looking man came running toward Kael and bowed a full 90 degrees.
The man's name was Yan.
He was the leader of a street gang well-known throughout the city.
"……Didn't I tell you to change how you address me?"
Kael, who was already in a foul mood, scrunched his face, and Yan flinched.
"S-sorry! Big br—Hup!"
"……Forget it. What was I expecting anyway."
Maintaining public order in the city was one of an Imperial Guard's duties.
As an Imperial Guard, Kael couldn't simply overlook the street gangs causing trouble in the city.
To put it plainly—he picked a day and beat the hell out of him.
Yan had quite a reputation as a fighter in the city, but Kael was a professional martial arts fighter who had made it all the way to the UFC.
The moment Kael had decided to give him a beating, Yan was no different from a living punching bag.
That beating was what led to the present situation.
There was a reason people said pain was the best teacher.
Yan, who had been causing trouble left and right every single day, became a gentle lamb from that day on.
"I've been spreading my boys around too, trying to track down whatever that national treasure thing is, to at least take some of the load off you, big bro. But wow, whoever took it must've really planned this out—not a single rumor is going around. I seriously don't know who the hell pulled this off, but the moment they're caught……"
Smack!
Kael's hand came down hard on the back of Yan's head. Yan, struck out of nowhere, blinked back tears.
"……Big bro?"
"Shut your mouth, would you?"
"Yes sir."
He was clearly from the back alleys—his read on the situation was sharp.
"Anyway, don't cause any trouble and keep your boys in line."
"Yes sir! I've got them on a tight leash, so don't you worry! You just focus on catching that lunatic thief……"
Smack!
"……Big bro?"
"What."
"……Nothing."
Yan felt wronged, but he didn't dare show it.
The fear etched into his bones wasn't something easily shaken off.
‘After that day, Kael had established himself in Yan's mind as something more terrifying than a ghost.
"Big bro, by the way……This is a bit awkward to bring up, but……could we maybe adjust this month's tribute? It's not that I begrudge giving it to you, it's just that business has been slow because of this whole situation……"
"Ha……Tribute? When did I ever collect tribute from you."
"……Huh?"
"Huuh?"
"Ah……Y-you're right! I think I mixed you up with someone else! Then I'll take my leave!"
Yan bowed a full 90 degrees and disappeared in a flash.
Everything he did was irritating somehow. It felt deliberate—like he was intentionally getting under Kael's skin.
"……Tch."
Kael clicked his tongue with a displeased expression. His nerves were too on edge, probably from all the anxiety.
‘Stay calm.’
He couldn't afford to lose his cool, especially now.
There was an old saying—even if you're caught in a tiger's den, you'll survive if you keep your wits about you.
Shhhhhhhh!
A sudden downpour.
Heavy sheets of rain slammed into Kael.
He stood there blankly, and slowly lifted his head to look up at the sky.
"……Damn."
It was a truly forlorn mutter.
As Kael stood there getting soaked and forced his reluctant feet to move—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out, as though a bomb had gone off.
His mind snapped to attention in an instant.
‘What the hell was that?’
His body moved on reflex. Kael took off running in the direction the sound had come from.
He arrived at the scene.
A massive figure of a man stood motionless between the rubble of a collapsed building.
An enormous, muscular body.
Large and small scars carved all over it.
A man who, at a single glance, was clearly no ordinary person—someone who radiated danger.
‘……Who the hell is that?’
Kael first looked around to assess the situation.
His gaze came to a stop on something.
It felt like his heart turned to ice.
A man collapsed between the debris of the crumbled building, bleeding.
It was Max.
Max, who had just been exchanging small, idle jokes with Kael, was bleeding out and dying.
No—he might already be dead.
His head went cold, like he'd been doused with ice water.
Max was one of the few good senior officers in the Imperial Guard. He was the kind of person Kael would have set up with his sister, had he had one.
"Huh, another pest crawled over."
The large man spotted Kael and bared his white teeth in a grin.
Ferocious killing intent rolled off him alongside a foul, rancid smell.
"……You. Did you do this?"
"Who knows? Why don't you take a guess."
The moment the giant said that tauntingly, his figure vanished from sight.
"Hey there, pest."
His voice came directly from behind.
Goosebumps erupted instantly and the hair on Kael's neck stood on end.
Kael chose to fight instead of flee.
He rotated his body, planted his foot into the ground, and twisted his hips and waist.
A high kick thrown with full force—near perfect in form.
The kick traced a clean arc through the air.
"Well, look at that."
But the giant evaded Kael's kick with ease, doing nothing more than leaning his upper body back.
"What's this, you actually know how to handle yourself?"
"Go to hell."
Kael shot back sharply and used the momentum of the kick to spin his body once more.
Whoosh!
A back-spin blow.
It was a strike he had put his faith in—but.
Snap!
Once again, Kael's attack was easily neutralized.
A hand the size of a pot lid snatched his arm.
"Oh. What was that just now. You're a more entertaining guy than I thought."
Crunch!
The man laughed and squeezed his grip—it felt like Kael's arm was being crushed. No—it actually was being crushed.
‘……Damn it all.’
The difference in raw power was too great.
No matter how much Kael had been a professional fighter, in the end he had only ever fought other humans.
Knowing a few fighting arts didn't mean he could take down a lion with his bare hands.
"Keep going."
The man smiled and threw a casual punch.
Bang!
It was a playful flick of the hand, yet that flick was enough to send Kael flying without any resistance.
"……Cough!"
Kael slammed into the rubble of the collapsed building and coughed up blood.
His consciousness flickered out for a moment.
‘What the hell kind of punch……’
Without a shred of exaggeration, it didn't feel like being hit by a fist—it felt like being hit by a truck.
"All done?"
The man strolled toward Kael, picking at his ear.
His demeanor was like someone playing with a toy.
‘……Damn it all.’
He knew it instinctively.
He couldn't win against that. No—a fight couldn't even be called a fight to begin with.
It had nothing to do with willpower.
He was a complete wreck from a single punch.
No matter how hard an ant struggled, it couldn't beat an elephant.
Grind!
His teeth clenched. Kael bit down hard and forced his broken body upright.
"What, you want to keep going?"
The man laughed like he was having fun.
His head was burning. It felt like his blood was flowing backward.
Rage surged up as though his brain was about to boil over.
‘This is complete bullshit.’
The man stood there with that easy smile.
That carefree grin was grating on Kael's nerves something fierce.
But separate from the burning rage—Kael was now in a state where just standing upright was a miracle.
His spirit hadn't broken yet.
But an unbroken spirit didn't change the situation.
No matter how hard Kael pushed, no chance of winning was going to appear out of nowhere.
It was right then.
[Draw it.]
An unfamiliar voice pierced Kael's ear.