Chapter 235 : Chapter 235
Chapter 235 : The Demonic Doctor (3)
“Collect the corpse?”
Ramba snorted loudly.
“Wow, I'm so damn curious it brings tears to my eyes. Huh? What on earth does that lofty Leader of yours plan to do with this wretched body? Don't tell me he intends to hold a funeral himself? Out of affection for our past bond?”
Ramba slowly stood up. He bluffed on the outside, but in reality, his exhausted and weary body felt incredibly heavy.
‘Roughly fifteen of them.’
He didn't even dream of a frontal clash. It wasn't necessarily because of his diseased body. In the first place, a one-on-one fight against the Wild Dogs was impossible.
‘Since every single one of them is at least at the Sword Expert level.’
They were bastards originally raised as hunting dogs. His breath caught the killing intent tightening through the pouring rain.
POUR—!
Ramba faintly raised his head. The streams of rain grew heavier and heavier.
‘……There's always a way out.’
No matter how much his life was slowly fading away, he wanted to avoid meeting his end in a ditch of rain like this.
Rustle.
Ramba reached his hand behind his back and stroked his bundle once. He had to be prepared for some of it to be lost to the rainwater.
Once that thought crossed his mind, a burning spite surged within him.
“I decide my own end, you sons of bitches!”
Ramba threw himself into the rain without hesitation.
“Pursue him!”
In that instant, all of the Wild Dogs were taken aback. Because the surroundings were blurry due to the water mist created by the torrential rain, Ramba's figure looked as if it had vanished into it.
PATTER—!
Ramba's eyes shone clearly even in the rain. He was confident he wouldn't lose to anyone when it came to running. He had even been recognized by Bihen in the past.
ROAR—!
A white flash of lightning erupted. It was a moment when the fleeting light bleached the entire area.
Ramba felt a severe pain, as if his entire body were engulfed in lightning. It felt as though a sharp blade were mercilessly gouging and piercing his skin and deep within his lungs.
SPLAT—!
The feet that had been rapidly kicking off the ground ended up tangling futilely.
Ramba, unable to overcome his own momentum, tumbled straight forward. His skeletal body crashed down as if buried in the mud.
“Cough! Keuhek, cough!”
Ramba coughed convulsively. Blood and tears mixed wildly with the pouring rainwater.
“Fuck! Goddammit!”
He couldn't contain the anger welling up inside him. His entire body trembled violently. He could only resent everything.
“There he is!”
A shout echoed through the rain. The Wild Dogs arrived nearby just as Ramba's coughing was finally subsiding.
“I told you not to make things tiresome for both of us, yet you absolutely must provoke us to be satisfied.”
One of the Wild Dogs approached and swung a club toward Ramba's head. He intended to knock him out with a single blow.
THUD—!
The dull sound of impact erupted not from Ramba's skull, but from the soft muddy ground.
In that split second, he had instinctively twisted his body and rolled to the side.
“Pant, pant.”
Ramba, who managed to stand up a short distance away, was tightly clutching his bundle to his chest. He was utterly desperate, as if protecting his own child wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Thud.
Right then, the knot of the bundle loosened, and the books, parchment rolls, and reams of paper inside tumbled out all at once.
“……Ha.”
The Wild Dogs, who watched the sight blankly for a moment, soon burst into absurd laughter. They thought he was wrapping it up so tightly because it contained some sort of gold and silver treasure, but to think it was just a bunch of completely worn-out books; it was beyond ridiculous to the point of being exasperating.
“What the……. Are you playing with us?”
The Wild Dog in front unrolled the bundle of parchment that had rolled to his feet, scanned it briefly, and then angrily crumpled it into a ball.
“A truly grand beggar bastard has graced us with his presence. Huh?”
The Wild Dog threw the bundle of parchment far away. The Wild Dogs standing behind burst into mocking laughter as if in agreement.
“Ah, ah……!”
Ramba's pupils trembled faintly as they chased the bundle of parchment disappearing into the pitch-black rain. His fury soared to the top of his head, but his ruined body couldn't even handle that anger.
“Cough! Keuhek! Cough!”
Ramba threw his body into contortions from pain as if his entire body were being hacked to pieces, watching his alter egos spill vainly onto the muddy ground.
The torn individual sheets were pressed down by the heavy rain and decayed into the mud.
Ramba wanted to wail, but he did not. It wasn't simply because of his pride, but it was the final courtesy he could extend to himself.
Watching the sight of his life itself being erased as it mixed with filth. That was a living hell and a punishment.
It was at that moment.
“You shouldn't do that. You shouldn't throw books and behave like this.”
An unfamiliar voice echoed from behind. It was a tone that was casual yet carried a strange weight. It was uniquely clear even while the downpour swallowed the noise of the area.
“What is it?”
The Wild Dog growled toward the direction the voice came from.
“Who are you? Do not loiter around and get lost this instant.”
Due to the thick streams of rain pouring heavily, it was difficult to clearly discern even a few steps ahead. Only the blurry silhouettes of two people shimmered beyond the water screen.
Ramba also turned his head in that direction, only exhaling rough breaths.
“The ones who should get lost are you bastards. Where do you think you are to be throwing a tantrum like this?”
The one who soon revealed his form through the rain was a bald man. He wore rags loosely draped over a naked upper body built with solid muscles, and he held a peculiar staff adorned with dangling metal rings at the end, tucked obliquely under one arm.
Splash, splash.
The man walked over leisurely, as if the Wild Dogs lined up in front of him weren't even visible, and stood next to Ramba.
Then, he abruptly squatted down and began to gather the books, parchments, and bundles of paper scattered in the mud.
“Leave while I'm being nice. Keep in mind that my patience is smaller than ant dung.”
The Wild Dogs looked at one another as if asking what was going on. Since he was defencelessly picking up books with his back turned to them, they were instead bewildered, making it hard to move their feet easily.
“Oh! This is…….”
“What?”
“Hurry up and look at this.”
The remaining person who had been behind walked over and handed the bundle of parchment that the Wild Dog had thrown earlier to the bald man.
Receiving the mud-splattered parchment, the bald man focused on the written content with his brow heavily furrowed. His momentum was so formidable that it looked as though he would pierce the parchment with his gaze alone.
POUR—!
Not to mention Ramba, even the Wild Dogs were engulfed in bewilderment. They couldn't understand why the hell they had to stand blankly in the rain and wait for these unidentified men who were engrossed in reading the verses on the parchment.
“Wait, this is……”
The bald man finally opened his mouth. A mixture of shock and suspicion covered his entire face.
“It's similar to Knights of Elderwood? Though this side feels a bit crude.”
Ramba snapped his head up. In an instant, bewilderment filled his eyes.
“Right? The sentence structure and the tone of developing metaphors are similar. If what the Cult Leader left behind is the finished version, this feels like looking at the rough draft that served as its prototype.”
“Isn't it just a knockoff?”
“No. Even though the word choice isn't refined and is rough, the spirit steeped between the lines is much rawer on this side, making it a good read.”
“Hmm.”
The gazes of the two naturally converged on Ramba, who stood in the middle.
“…….”
“…….”
A situation where everyone had fallen into a bizarre silence created by the uninvited guests who appeared out of nowhere.
The grief of Ramba, who had been rolling in the mud until just a moment ago, and the murderous momentum of the Wild Dogs both evaporated. A bizarre and overwhelming weight belonging only to the two men, more than enough to crush all those emotions and the atmosphere at once, dominated the area.
“Cough! Cough!”
At that moment, Ramba stumbled and coughed again. The blood at the corner of his mouth flowed, mixing with the rainwater.
“Oh, oh?! A, a patient……!”
The man who had appeared from behind spoke as he lifted the red cloth tied like a headband over his eyes. His pea-sized eyes flashed.
The man abruptly shoved a finger into Ramba's mouth.
“Ugh! Wh-What are you—”
Because the bald man next to him was holding him down, Ramba couldn't move an inch. It looked like an out-of-the-blue torture.
POP—!
The man brought the finger that had stirred Ramba's mouth to his own and sucked on it. He smacked his lips as if savoring the taste, and seeing that sight, all the Wild Dogs were shocked.
“This…….”
The man trailed off. Although his eyes weren't visible due to being covered, his brow and lower face were stiffly frozen.
“……It tastes like sorcery.”
“Sorcery!”
The bald man shouted as if chiming in. Then, the blindfolded man trembled violently as if convulsing.
“An evil taste, a scent similar to that bastard who killed Masa……!”
CHING—!
The man pulled out a hand axe from his waist. Rainwater bounced off the razor-sharp blade.
“Kill those bastards, and—”
He turned his head toward Ramba. Ramba flinched involuntarily. Somehow, he felt a gaze hidden beneath the long cloth.
“Take this one with us.”
The bald man agreed. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“Ah, my killing intent is truly surging after a long time.”
The Wild Dogs took their stances simultaneously as if in response. Even though there were only two of them, they had instinctively sensed that they were formidable opponents.
“Who are you bastards?”
“I am Law King Tiaro.”
Tiaro gestured with his chin and twisted the corners of his mouth.
“That guy is Demonic Doctor McRay.”
***
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“Oh? McRay, he's awake.”
Ramba half-opened his eyes. Through the narrow gap of his vision, a part of an unfamiliar sight was faintly visible.
‘A dream? Or, am I dead……?’
He didn't even have the leeway to grope through the blanks in his memory.
He couldn't tell if it was reality or what. He was merely dazed. Above all, the sensation touching his skin was unfamiliar. It was extremely disparate and fresh, as if he were feeling it through someone else's flesh.
“Where…… is this…….”
At that moment, from the edge of his vision, the man wearing the red blindfold, Demonic Doctor McRay, abruptly thrust his face forward. He tilted his head once, then raised his hand axe next to his face.
“Hold on tight. If you mess up, your neck will get cut.”
From the side, the metallic clatter made by small iron tools bumping into each other echoed goosebumps-inducingly.
Ramba wanted to scream, but his tongue was frozen, so no sound came out.
SQUELCH—!
At that moment, a single stream of hot blood spurted out above his chest.
“Keueo…….”
Ramba fainted.
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Rustle, rustle.
Suddenly, a pleasant sound wound into his ears. It was the sound of bone-dry book pages, like fallen leaves, precariously turning.
“Amazing. This really is the sequel to Knights of Elderwood.”
“……No, but seriously, an erotic scene doesn't even appear in the sequel? Isn't Cervantes completely impotent?”
“Dammit! The back part is missing. It must've gotten wet and torn that day.”
Ramba felt the blood of his entire body surge backward.
The senses that had been trying to return, however faintly, were swept away by a wave of anger and receded back like an ebbing tide once again…….
Chirp, chirp, chirp—.
How much time had passed since then?
The chirping of birds tapped on his eardrums like a wake-up call.
‘…….’
The warmth of the gentle sunshine was felt over his eyelids.
Ramba twitched his trembling fingers and slowly lifted his eyelids.
‘An unfamiliar ceiling.’
Memories that hadn't yet been sorted poured into his mind all at once like an accumulated debt.
The streams of rain that chilled to the bone, the severe pain, the mud, and the murderous intent of the Wild Dogs that choked his windpipe.
‘I definitely thought it was the end…….’
The texture of the blanket touching his skin was soft. It was infinitely peaceful, as if everything that had brushed past just a moment ago were a mere lie.
‘Where is this?’
His brow furrowed. Ramba felt a dizziness, as if his awakened consciousness had instead become poison.
He caught his breath and rolled his eyes to the side.
“Ha, gasp……!”
A ragged gasp escaped him. Someone else was lying side by side with him on the bed, and his appearance was that of a living corpse itself.
“Wait, could this person be…….”
Ash-gray skin that had withered away, lips dried up without a single drop of blood, and deeply hollowed eye sockets.
Yet, even the shadow of death cast over his entire body couldn't cover the innate nobility this man possessed.
Like an old tree standing alone on the edge of a cliff, although his physical body was rotting away, his spirit—proclaiming that he couldn't lose his upright grace—was entirely transmitted.
Ramba blinked. Only then did it come to mind.
He was a person who could never be forgotten, and whom he couldn't forget, as the former six-knot master of the Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats and the Conwell branch manager.
‘Noser, the Left Camp Leader of the Imperial Capital Knight Order!’
At that moment, the footsteps heard from outside the bedroom drew closer to this direction.