Azhantu (1)
“Over here! Move quickly!”
The Guardian belonging to the Korean Returnees Association, Chang-soo Lee, was leading his team to track down the escape route of the criminals.
“Senior, do you think we can catch them if we chase now?”
They had arrived at the scene in less than five minutes since the incident, but it was more than enough time for returnees with various abilities to escape.
“Then what should we do? We have to catch some trace of them! This is already the third time!”
The duo consisting of a werewolf and a man in a black mask was not their first crime.
They had tracked these guys before, only to end up empty-handed as they vanished without a trace.
‘Damn it, their activity range is too wide to cover. It seems there’s an accomplice helping them escape. We’re in for another big mess this time.’
As always, the defenders needed far more numbers than the attackers.
Moreover, the number of Guardians was always insufficient.
Still hoping to find at least a small trace, he was chasing after them when—
Boom—!
A shock wave erupted from within a construction site that was their destination.
“Se… Senior, this energy…”
“Ugh, follow me! We’re going in!”
The sound was just a minor inconvenience.
The chilling energy emanating from inside hinted at an ominous malice.
Chang-soo immediately entered the construction site.
“What’s going on here?”
In one corner, construction workers lay unconscious, while in the center, a masked man and an ordinary-looking woman were fainted.
And against one wall stood a werewolf, slowly reverting to human form, battered and bruised.
Surveying the scene, Chang-soo shouted to his team members.
“Check the surroundings! The fight just ended, so they must still be nearby!”
The situation was clear.
Someone had fought with the villains and disappeared.
Judging by the fact that they had subdued the villains, they didn’t seem to have bad intentions, but that didn’t mean they could be dismissed.
The remnants of energy left in the area sent chills down his spine, and identifying this mystery person was crucial.
But whoever they were had vanished without a trace.
“Team leader, we’ve successfully restrained the villains.”
One of his teammates approached, levitating three individuals restrained with special handcuffs for ability offenders using telekinesis.
The woman was someone he had never seen, but given the circumstances, she was probably the accomplice responsible for the escape.
‘It’ll all come out in the investigation anyway.’
Interrogating through abilities was a foolproof method that couldn’t be lied through.
Just in case, he requested support and transferred the workers at the scene to the hospital under the jurisdiction of the Guardians.
Even if the accomplice tried to blend in as a victim, they wouldn’t escape undetected.
‘I’ve caught the criminals, and the problems I was worried about are solved… But…’
A new worry had arisen.
The lingering malicious energy still clinging to the space.
‘I can only hope to gather some information through those guys.’
Since he had faced them directly, he should be able to learn something.
*
I called upon Hans, whom I had released from summoning.
Slowly getting used to it, he was bearable to meet directly.
‘Seong-hyun Han can’t do anything, but Hans is different. I won’t need to show myself.’
He was distanced from home and bore no risks. Plus, he had the power to mess with the villains.
There was no reason not to step in.
‘That said, they were stronger than I expected.’
The gate that had seemed like an escape route and the non-combatant-looking masked man were easily subdued, but the werewolf’s resistance was unexpectedly fierce.
Fortunately, I managed to take him down before the Guardians arrived and disappeared from view, but it was a close call.
‘To resist so forcefully while under the fear effect. Well, he must be a returnee who overcame his own hell, so I suppose that makes sense.’
Of course, not all returnees were like that.
Compared to the early ones sent to the other world without gear, recent returnees tended to prepare with some information in hand, and many returned after reliably accumulating karma.
As a result, what took around ten years to return back in the beginning has now seen some returnees coming back in as little as five years.
Although there were also those who took longer and used karma to grow stronger before returning.
‘Still, an average return rate of 20% is scary. Even this is a significantly improved number compared to the early days.’
In any case, it was no longer my concern.
The precious metals they had absconded with would be recovered and dealt with by the Guardians.
I even considered killing them to eliminate witnesses…
‘They didn’t seem to have committed murder, and if I just recklessly went around killing, Hans would be treated as a villain too. As long as I’m not outed as not human, it should be fine.’
Sometimes, it didn’t seem so bad to take down villains like this.
It could help me overcome my trauma and relieve stress.
*
For several days, Heinz gathered information in the city with Diana’s help.
Diana was a 12-year-old girl he had met upon entering the city, a true local who had lived in this city her whole life.
‘She’s the perfect guide. After living the hard life, she knows a lot.’
In exchange for two silver coins, she would serve as his guide for the duration of his stay.
The urgency of the situation meant that he had paid her upfront to avoid being shortchanged.
Fortunately, Diana had diligently fulfilled her part of the contract so far.
On the first day, he was astonished to see her squatting in front of his lodging from the early dawn, waiting for him.
From then on, they set up appointments for lunch, eating together and touring the city as part of their routine.
‘That was the case until yesterday…’
Yes, until yesterday.
I was sitting at a table on the first floor of the inn, waiting for Diana, when I stood up.
‘I didn’t think she would break a promise. She’s been good about it so far. Has something happened?’
Regardless, it had already been worth it for the help I had received.
Just in case, I left a message with the innkeeper and headed towards the city’s shopping district.
The name of this city was ‘Azhantu,’ located in the western Talia Kingdom of the continent.
It was a simple city that grew crops and hunted and foraged in the forests outside.
‘The security doesn’t seem too great, though.’
Few people were around, and it felt like they were all hideously intimidated.
Diana hadn’t gone into detail but had warned him not to stray into the back alleys, hinting that he should only stick to the main roads.
She even urged him to leave the city as soon as possible.
‘It seems I should leave the city soon. I hear there’s another city further east…’
As I was sorting those thoughts out and stocking up on supplies for my journey, suddenly—
“Hey there, buddy, can we have a quick chat?”
A few bulky men with tattoos on their necks were waving at me from the alleyway.
Feeling uneasy, I glanced behind me but found no one else around.
‘Why do bad premonitions always come up…’
I cautiously approached them as per their request.
Since I was planning to leave soon anyway, I thought I might get by quietly… otherwise, I’d figure out another method.
“So, you see, we’re watching over this shopping district, but you know, massive mouths to feed here…”
It turned out to be nothing serious.
All they wanted was a little bribe.
“Ahaha, I see. Here, this is a small token to help you keep the peace. No need to stand on ceremony, just take it.”
“Hmm, this guy knows how to talk! We’ll put this to good use.”
I just played along and wrapped things up nicely.
In fact, I had prepared a separate coin pouch for occasions like this.
‘Regardless, it’s clear that security isn’t great.’
“Brother, so what about that little kid…?”
“Why would we care? We’re just following orders….”
I heard the conversation of the departing men but was already focused on something else.
‘It’s a week’s walk to the next city heading east. That would be for a normal person, but I might be faster… should I look for a horse or wagon?’
If I was in another world, I should try riding in a wagon at least.
As I was considering the journey while looking for a grocery store to stock up on rations, I saw a very familiar back of someone.
“…Anyway, thanks! If you see her, please let me know!”
“Sure, I’ll remember,”
After finishing the conversation with the shopkeeper, I nodded and saw Diana hurrying towards me, her attention not even wandering in this direction as she rushed past.
Curious about her haste, I grabbed her by the shoulder.
“Gah-! W-what are you doing! Let me go!”
Anyone could mistake me for the bad guy here.
I quickly released my grip and frowned.
“It’s me, Heinz! You disappeared long after our appointment! What are you doing? Do you have any idea how long I waited?”
“A-are you, sir?”
Finally noticing me, Diana’s eyes went wide like saucers.
With whatever had happened, her pupils were swirling left and right.
“Ahh…! I-I’m so sorry for breaking our appointment! I should have come to tell you first… I got a bit flustered…!”
“Yeah, it’s clear to see. So, what went on?”
“Ahh! My little brother Aaron… um…”
Stumbling over her words, Diana suddenly began to choke up.
“I-I made breakfast for him this morning… so I told him to wash up for a bit… since there’s no water. I went outside to look for some…”
Tears began falling as she babbled, her voice cracking.
‘Whoa, this could get dangerous real quick.’
A sturdy young man intimidating a little girl, while she cried pathetically.
And I was that young man.
I quickly distanced myself from her.
Diana was still trembling, tears streaming down her face.
“Wait! Okay! I got it! Just calm down for now, okay? Take a deep breath. I’ll listen to you, so let’s just take it easy.”
To be honest, I was pretty weak against children.
*
After a while, I managed to get Diana calmed down and restarted our conversation.
“I have a little brother named Aaron. He’s been sick until recently…”
She still sounded a little frantic, but I could gather the crux of it.
Diana had an eight-year-old younger brother.
The siblings had lost their parents and were working odd jobs or chores for the residents just to scrape by, but suddenly, Aaron had fallen ill.
“In a hurry, I took Aaron to the apothecary with the money I had for our taxes. So I was just at my wit’s end when I bumped into you.”
Thanks to encountering me, they could manage to cover the overdue tax payments.
“And after you treated us to such hearty meals, he started to recover recently…”
‘So that’s why he always packed leftover food in cloth whenever I bought him meals.’
Make it a habit to wrap things like bread or meat in clean cloth and carry them away for later, I had thought he was saving them for later.
If I had known earlier, I’d have set aside food for them.
But right now, that wasn’t the big concern.
Today, Aaron suddenly went missing.
“Could it be that he went out to play with friends?”
“That’s impossible! Even when he was sick, he always said he was sorry to me and tried to help with chores! He wouldn’t just disappear like this without a word!”
Diana passionately refuted, but her voice quickly turned subdued.
“…And he doesn’t even have any friends to play with….”
That told me just about everything I needed to know.
Poor orphan siblings; the way the world looks at them doesn’t change, no matter the world.
“Let’s go back home for now. There’s a chance he may have crossed paths with someone else, so let’s check there; if he’s not home, I’ll help you look for him.”
“Y-you too…?”
I’d mentioned before that I wasn’t old enough to be called sir, but right now, that didn’t matter to the girl.
“Of course. It’d be one thing if I had not known, but I can’t ignore this now that I understand it.”
It’s not like I did not know them; she’s been my travel companion for several days, and now that she’s crying about her brother going missing, how could an adult just ignore that?
At my words, Diana’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open.
Tears began to spill from her eyes.
“Now, we don’t have time to be sitting about! Let’s go to your house first!”
“Y-yes!”
We couldn’t dally any longer, so we hastily made our way to the siblings’ home.
As expected, their living conditions were very poor.
One of the numerous ragged shantytowns in the back alleys.
“Say, isn’t it dangerous to live in a place like this?”
I figured they had little choice, but I asked out of concern; I had run into several sketchy characters on my way here.
How had these powerless siblings managed to stay safe until now?
“It’s still alright. We’ve paid our taxes.”
Diana pointed to a symbol painted on the alley’s wall.
It depicted a shark’s jaws with sharp fangs.
I figured it was the symbol of the gang that ruled over this place.
‘Huh? I’ve seen that symbol before…’
“Aaron! Aaron, are you in there?!”
While I contemplated, Diana rushed into their home to find Aaron, but no response came back.
“What do we do? Aaron still hasn’t come home. If something really happened…”
As she began tearing up once again, I recalled a fleeting glimpse I had seen earlier.
‘The tattoos on those big dudes’ necks!’
And immediately, a related memory surfaced.
‘Someone mentioned preparing a little kid, and they said they’d just follow orders.’
Those guys were the ones who had taken Aaron.
