There Is No World For ■■

I was one of the countless imperials who rejoiced at the fall of the Soviet Union.

The heavens struck down Stalin, who mocked emperors and slaughtered dwarves...

(Omitted)

When Earth’s army retreated, the atmosphere was still celebratory.

Pro-Earth nobles, like the Lerak family, quickly liquidated their assets, but no one sensed anything strange...

(Omitted)

It wasn’t until the railway construction companies went bankrupt and stockpiled supplies began to dwindle that the noble assembly finally realized something was wrong.

The price of fertilizer for the coming spring skyrocketed...

(Omitted)

...Wasn’t it the Soviet Union that collapsed? So why is my homeland crumbling too?

What the hell is this so-called economic crisis?

—『Collected Interviews on the First Red Panic, Document 11-C』

“Who the hell sent you to do this? The Duke of Drayterial? Or those disgusting elf bastards?”

Dagal screamed the question, but the assailants didn’t respond immediately.

The two whispered to each other briefly before pausing and then answering.

“We’re... bounty hunters.”

“A bounty?”

“There’s quite a lot of gold coins on your head.”

The bounty hunter’s golden eyes swept over Dagal from head to toe.

The way his sunken gaze lingered on the sword at his waist—it was the look of a butcher sizing up meat for slaughter.

‘The reason they’re not killing me right away... Ah, I see.’

Realizing something, Dagal licked his lips. Then, with a smooth voice, he asked,

“How much is the bounty on my head?”

“Five hundred gold coins.”

500? My life is only worth that much?

I’m no lowly knight or petty criminal—I’m a wizard!

Dagal felt unbearable humiliation. But instead of letting it show, he swallowed the feeling.

Now wasn’t the time to lose composure.

While he pondered how to start negotiating, one of the hunters spoke first.

“We heard from the orcs. You squeezed your clans dry and hoarded quite a fortune.”

It was a blatant, greedy tone. Dagal bit back a curse and straightened himself, trying to recover the dignity of a wizard.

Of course. Filthy maggots who only chase after bloodstained gold always act like this.

“What do you want?”

“More money than what’s on your head.”

“In exchange for sparing my life? Don’t make me laugh. Why should I trust you?”

The answer came not from the man but from the woman standing behind him.

“Then don’t. Die instead.”

Her half-curled, blue eyes sparkled with amusement. She looked like someone who could kill at any moment.

Dagal lowered his head without protest.

Because he had no argument? That too.

But more importantly, he still had one last trick up his sleeve.

The venomous insects he’d been raising deep within the dungeon.

Greed always leaves an opening. If he showed them the gold he’d stockpiled, they’d let their guard down—and that’s when he’d unleash the insects.

There was still a chance to win.

“Fine, I’ll accept the deal. But I have one condition.”

“A condition? You’re hardly in a position to make demands.”

“It’s part of the deal! I need you to come with me to the gold. I can’t carry all that weight by myself.”

The two bounty hunters exchanged glances and then smirked, sheathing their swords.

Dagal cautiously extended his hand.

As their hands clasped, tension simmered beneath the surface—two conflicting schemes entangling.

After the handshake, the three of them moved deeper into the dungeon.

Dagal took the lead, opening paths. When he pushed aside a bed creaking under its own weight, a hidden staircase revealed itself below.

“A secret staircase? You’ve got everything, don’t you?”

Ignoring Seti’s sneer, they descended.

The pungent stench of blood and filth hit them like a wall.

Even Yeomyeong, who was used to cleaning filth, instinctively wrinkled his nose.

The smell of corpses.

By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs and the dim corridor below, Yeomyeong asked,

“Why did you gather slaves?”

“Obviously, for money. What else is there to sell in this cursed desert?”

Dagal chuckled and continued.

“You’ve seen Drayterial, haven’t you? Ever since the beastmen of the southern plains were wiped out, the only thing the city wants from the south is slaves.”

“But slavery is...”

“Illegal? Sure. But who cares about Earth’s so-called international laws?”

“...”

Silence fell as they walked down the corridor.

Even after their noses adjusted to the stench, it took a long time before they finally reached their destination.

Torches illuminated iron bars—prison cells.

Beyond the bars were chests overflowing with gold coins, but what caught Yeomyeong’s and Seti’s eyes wasn’t the treasure.

It was the slaves.

“Ugh... Ahh...”

“Lord Mordak, end our suffering...”

“Mom... Mom...”

Orcs, beastmen, and humans—all shackled and trembling amidst corpses and filth.

Most were adults, but a few children were scattered among them.

Skin stretched tight over bone, their bodies frail, their voices barely above a whisper as they called for their mothers.

“...”

While Yeomyeong silently stared at the horrific scene, Dagal, unlocking the treasure-laden cells, sneered.

“Are kids your type?”

“...”

“Take one if you want. They won’t last long anyway.”

Yeomyeong tightened his grip on his sword.

He wasn’t a hero. But he also wasn’t a coward who could stay silent in the face of this.

“Why did you take children?”

“What else? For money.”

“Don’t give me that crap. This is how you treat slaves you plan to sell?”

Yeomyeong spat the words out, and Dagal raised a brow.

“They were meant to feed my centipedes. Not that it matters now—you killed my bugs.”

“...”

“But you talk like one of those Earthlings or priests. What, are you one of them?”

“...What?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Those without mana exist to be used by those who have it. That’s the truth every wizard learns.”

Swish—

As Dagal spoke, he began chanting a spell.

Poisonous insects hidden in the shadows of the ceiling stirred at his command.

“All the powerless exist as fuel for those who awaken mana. Those kids, the desert clans... and you—you should’ve learned that already.”

“...Learned?”

“It’s a simple truth. Are you embarrassed as a knight for not knowing it?”

The moment Dagal finished speaking, he commanded the insects.

Kill them. Swarm their bodies!

Mana surged, and the spell completed—but Yeomyeong’s sword was faster.

A flash of light split the air, followed by gusts of wind scattering the falling insects.

“What?! That easily...!”

Dagal, realizing his trump card had failed, tried to transform into a bug and escape.

But Seti—and her hammer—were faster.

Crash!

Her blow sent Dagal flying over the iron bars, crashing onto the pile of gold coins.

Coins rained down, and blood gushed from his mouth as his limbs snapped.

“No... No...!”

I can’t die like this!

Desperately clinging to consciousness, Dagal tried to complete his transformation spell.

But he failed.

Seti approached and pressed her foot firmly on his mouth.

“Do you like torture?”

*****

All wizards beyond the dimensional gate believed, without a doubt, that they were exceptional beings.

Dagal was no different.

Of course, unlike other wizards, he wasn’t born of noble blood. His mother had been nothing more than a common street prostitute.

But hadn’t it always been said that true greatness wasn’t inherited but forged?

Dagal overcame the defects of his birth and awakened mana through his own efforts.

Although he was too old to be granted nobility or join the Mage Tower...

He still managed to catch the eye of the Duke of Drayterial’s western court—or rather, that greedy pig of a man—and was given an official post.

Sewer Supervisor.

It wasn’t an impressive title. For a commoner, it might have sounded decent, but for a wizard, it was the lowest of the low.

Yet Dagal accepted the position without hesitation and swore loyalty to the duke.

He had confidence that he could rise higher.

His insect-controlling magic, honed over years, was particularly suited for eavesdropping—and Drayterial was full of things worth overhearing.

Companies illegally dumping waste and bribing nobles to look the other way. Secret dealings between organizations and the filthy tastes of high-ranking officials.

Dagal used sewer flies to uncover countless secrets.

With his natural talent and the right information, his rise to power had been inevitable.

Before long, he left the sewers behind and entered the court, nearly becoming part of the duke’s personal mage division. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Nearly.

The day before he was to officially join the counterintelligence division, he overheard a secret he was never meant to know.

Maybe the mistake had been visiting the sewers out of nostalgia.

Or maybe it had been tailing the duke into the sewers without realizing it.

Whatever the cause, if Dagal could go back in time, he would never have eavesdropped on that conversation between the duke and the beast-headed creature.

“...A beast head?”

The air suddenly grew cold, and the hammer pounding Dagal’s body paused.

A short silence.

Seti turned her head as Yeomyeong, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.

“Was the beast head a cow, a pig, or a horse?”

“You—you know... them... too?”

Barely clinging to life, Dagal’s battered body trembled as he answered.

His shaky confirmation made Yeomyeong’s eyes turn cold.

Slowly, Dagal explained.

“A p-pig... I don’t know... But cows... and horses... I’ve seen. My—my fly found... a chicken-headed one...”

“...A chicken?”

“Te-terrifying... things... If I hadn’t run... and stumbled into those damn elves...”

Dagal trailed off, drooling as if his mind had reached its limit.

It wasn’t surprising. He’d taken enough hammer blows to die dozens of times already.

“Can we get anything more out of him?”

Yeomyeong glanced at Dagal, who was teetering on the edge of death. Seti shrugged.

“I can try.”

Before she even finished speaking, Dagal convulsed and screamed.

“P-please, kill me...! I—I told you everything I know...! We—we had a deal...! Please...!”

It was a complete reversal from his earlier arrogance when he’d tried to ambush them with poisonous insects.

Yeomyeong looked down at him, then turned his gaze toward the corpses of the dead children.

He didn’t hesitate.

“Keep squeezing him. Make him spill every secret he knows about the city.”

Seti did as told.

She infused mana into the lightning spell holding his nervous system and heart together, then raised the hammer again.

Dagal screamed.

But no one was there to listen.