Wandering Mercenary in an Open World

“What are you trying to say?”

Ruon held his holy sword towards the blonde woman.

She gasped in horror and grabbed the older man beside her by the shoulders.

“What do you think you’re doing, put that away!”

The men standing around her shouted.

“He’s definitely in league with the witch!”

“The damned swordsman has no business being here!”

“Scum aiming a sword at a delicate woman!”

Disregarding their remarks, Ruon struck the ground. The people around him, surprised by his reckless action, screamed and scattered in all directions. The only one who stood still was the blonde woman.

At first glance, she seemed like someone frozen in fear, but that wasn’t the case.

She was following the trajectory of Ruon’s swinging sword with her calm eyes.

Seeing the determination in her tranquil gaze, Ruon cast away any hesitation and brought down his sword.

In that moment, the woman twisted her body and Ruonged at him with a beastly roar.

Ruon quickly raised his leg to retaliate, but surprisingly, the woman skillfully evaded his attack and struck back with her hand.

Ruon grabbed her outstretched arm and parried the attack, taking two steps back to avoid her incoming strikes.

‘I didn’t think she’d be the hand-to-hand combat type.’

Ruon, who had judged his opponent to be a witch based on her feminine appearance, smirked at the woman who was transforming before his eyes.

“—I thought a woman’s transformation was supposed to be innocent.”

Her once fair skin became rough and calloused, and her plump lips ripped open, revealing long fangs. With a crackling sound, sharp claws emerged from her fingertips. From her transformed mouth, a beastly growl echoed.

The now scarlet-haired woman, or rather, the monster, spoke.

“You ruined everything I’ve been working for.”

Then, with a sharp, contorted finger, she pointed directly at Ruon.

“You shall quench my thirst. I’ll squeeze every last drop out of you.”

With her gums exposed, she smiled, and her elongated fangs glinted menacingly. The creature placed both hands on the ground and rushed forward on all fours.

The monster leaped up and swung her arm forcefully.

Ruon didn’t dodge or block the blow, which sliced through the air like a whip. Rather, he extended his arm.

Like an acrobat catching a flying blade, Ruon clasped the monster’s wrist in mid-air.

“Kyaaah!”

The monster screamed in agony, falling to its knees. The bone that protruded through the broken wrist looked gruesome.

“Kyaaah! Let go! Let go!”

The creature tried to strike back with its other hand, but before it could, the holy sword pierced through the back of its hand and embedded itself deep within the earth.

“Kyaaaah!”

Trapped with both hands immobilized, the creature writhed and shuddered. It was the only movement it could make with its freedom taken away.

Ruon, his hands now free of the shattered bones that once were her wrists, grabbed the creature’s head with both hands, its eyes filled with terror.

“Wait! Wait! Please, don’t do it! Stop!”

The monster pleaded desperately, seemingly anticipating what was about to happen.

Ruon spoke with an unyielding voice. 

“Squeeze every last drop out? I’m just doing as you suggested.”

Thick tendons bulged on the back of his hand.

Crack! 

With the chilling sound of a thick skull being crushed, the monster’s eyes rolled back, and blood poured from every hole in its face.

Releasing his grip, Ruon spat on the ground and brushed his hand off.

Hoping to absorb the essence of the dead monster, Ruon stared at the holy sword embedded in his hand, but after a while with no response, he scratched his head and pulled the sword out.

It was highly effective at signaling when he was near an evil being, but unfortunately, it appeared that he couldn’t absorb the power of a non-demonic entity.

Putting aside his disappointment, Ruon turned and approached the bound woman, cutting the ropes that restrained her.

“···Ah.”

Seeing the woman collapse, unable to even take a proper step, Ruon sighed and bent his knees, taking out a vial of red liquid from his backpack.

It was a potion he had received from Amella before leaving the tower.

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Ruon tilted the woman’s bloodied ankle and let a few drops of the potion fall onto it.

After dripping some of the potion onto her wrists as well, Ruon brushed off his hands and stood up, and Becky spoke in a desperate voice.

“I, uh–can you help me get home?”

Looking at her uneasy gaze, Ruon glanced around. Even though everyone had clearly witnessed that the blonde woman was a monster, their gazes towards him and the woman were cold and indifferent.

‘They must be trying to rationalize it.’

Ruon nodded his head.

“Sure, let’s go.”

***

The house was an absolute mess. There was not a single piece of furniture still in place, and various odds and ends were scattered all over the floor.

Even worse, the walls were covered with red letters, labeling the place as a witch’s lair or a devil’s abode. It didn’t feel like a house fit for human habitation at all.

Ruon chuckled to himself as he realized that the place had been stripped of anything that could be used for food or money.

“Thank you,” said Becky, struggling to bow her head as she slowly tore off small pieces of the dried meat that Ruon had given her.

“Thanks to you, I’m alive. I’m sorry, I wish I could give you my entire fortune—but I don’t have anything left.”

“It’s okay. The experience points were surprisingly substantial, so that’s enough.”

Although it seemed clear that Becky didn’t understand Ruon’s words, she had no strength to question him and she leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

After breathing heavily for a while, she slowly opened her mouth.

“I… I can’t live here anymore, can I?”

“Do you still want to live here after what you’ve been through?”

Becky shook her head heavily. Tears welled up in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks before falling to the ground.

“I thought–I thought they’d at least apologize.”

‘Damn.’

Ruon smiled bitterly to himself.

It was clear that nobody would apologize to her. They would move on, averting their eyes from their own wrongdoing, ruining an innocent person’s life.

But he didn’t dare say those words. 

It would only cause more pain to say as such to someone who was already overwhelmed with distraught.

“What do I do now?” 

Becky’s voice grew weaker as she spoke, and she began to slump down. Unable to resist the overwhelming exhaustion, her body collapsed onto the floor.

Watching her like that, Ruon scratched his head.

“I’m not sure what to do.”

Although there was nothing left for him to do here, and he could leave without any problems, he felt uneasy abandoning the unconscious woman in this mess.

In the end, Ruon sat down on the floor and took out a rolled-up map from his backpack.

The map was marked with small ‘x’ symbols, indicating his travel route.

‘I should be able to arrive within a few days.’

Estimating the distance between the last ‘x’ mark and the city of Nook, Ruon nodded.

He usually moved wherever his feet took him, but this time, he had bought a map and was moving along the fastest route.

He finally had a clear destination after a long time wandering.

Ruon tapped the words “Nook” on the map with his finger.

The city of Nook, a port city located at the edge of the kingdom’s territory, was his destination.

To be precise, the real destination was the Grand Church of Tibella within Nook.

‘The Grand Church…’

The reason Ruon decided to visit the Grand Church was not because he suddenly developed faith, but because of the vision of Belducias that he had seen at the Tower.

Whether it was a confirmed future or not, Ruon knew well that as long as he carried the sword blessed by Tibella, he couldn’t help but be associated with Belducias.

Because it was at Tibella’s monastery that it had all started, he planned to go to the Great Church to learn more about Tibella’s true intentions and prepare for the fight ahead.

Putting the map back into his backpack, Ruon leaned against the wall and closed his eyes quietly.

After a few hours, he woke up from a light slumber and looked around. It seemed that the sun had set, and a mixture of white moonlight and darkness poured through the window.

Turning his head, he could still see Becky lying there, unconscious.

Ruon looked around to see if there was anything he could use to cover her, but there was nothing suitable nearby. As he did so, he noticed a faint trace of aura coming from beyond the door.

He closed his eyes and engaged his senses.

He activated [Fairy’s Hearing], which had been dormant for a long time, and brought the sounds from outside the door to his ears.

“Do you have to go this far, chief?”

“Shut up! He’s the one who killed Sela.”

“Village chief, Sela was a… She was a monster.”

“And if that brat hadn’t shown up, no one would have known, not me, and not any of you. Becky would have died, and Sela would have remained my eternal companion!”

The village chief sounded less than a tenth as sane as a normal person, continuing to spout nonsensical words.

“···And what if Becky goes to the city to report what happened in the village? If she was alone, we could just treat her like a crazy woman, but if she brings up the one who killed Sela as a witness, things will get complicated. Can’t you understand this? If anyone here hasn’t thrown a stone at Becky, then step forward now!”

Silence hung in the room, and the village chief spoke again with an agitated voice.

“If she complains and runs away, it’s over. If they both die, all the better, and if only Becky dies, we’ll be done.”

‘…Truly insane.’

There was nothing more to listen to, so Ruon clicked his tongue and got up from his spot. He opened the door and stepped outside, heading towards where the voices had come from.

The group of men who had gathered across from Becky’s house and behind the dead Koon’s house, were startled by Ruon’s sudden appearance and shouted in surprise.

“Whoa! What, what’s this?”

“When did he get here?”

Ruon silently scanned the huddled group with his eyes. 

Spotting a man carrying a glass jar that smelled of oil and a torch, he said.

“It looks like he has something to burn.”

At that, an older man who appeared to be the chief spoke up.

“Mind your own business, outsider.”

Ruon slowly approached the man, who’s voice trembled with fear and eyes watered.

“Kek!”

In an instant, Ruon grabbed the village chief by the collar and leaned close to his ear, growling softly.

“If you’re going to try to conspire against me, you might as well be dead.”

Suddenly, the chief’s crotch grew damp under Ruon’s formidable gaze.

As Ruon let the trembling village chief fall to the ground like trash, he turned his gaze toward the villagers who were watching cautiously with fearful expressions. He clicked his tongue with a threatening look.

“Put down what you’re holding and get lost.”

The men with the oil bottle and torch dropped them on the ground without looking back and hurriedly fled.

After a moment’s glance down at the chief, who was grunting as if he’d hurt his back, Ruon picked up the torch and jar of oil and started walking toward the largest house in the village.

Confirming the nameplate next to the door that read ‘Chief Fran,’ he didn’t hesitate to toss the torch and oil bottle through the half-open window.

“What, what are you doing!? Have you gone mad?”

The staggering chief shrieked, and Ruon shrugged.

“Rather than squeal, maybe you should put out the fire.”