MEMELAND

The inside of the wagon smelled awful.

Old wood.

Sweat.

Rust.

Kai sat inside a small iron cage bolted to the floor.

He rested his head against the bars.

"...A prison again?"

He sighed.

"...Why is this becoming a habit?"

Across from him—

Another cage sat on the opposite side.

Inside were two prisoners.

One old man.

One teenage boy.

The old man looked exhausted.

The younger one looked terrified.

Kai gave them a small nod.

"...You guys okay?"

The old man chuckled weakly.

"As okay as prisoners can be."

Kai scratched his cheek.

"...Fair."

Silence followed.

The wagon continued rolling.

The wheels bounced across rough roads.

Eventually—

The old man spoke.

"They're taking us to Muscle City."

Kai blinked.

"...Really?"

The old man nodded.

"They sell prisoners there."

Kai quietly looked outside through the tiny window.

Muscle City.

Exactly where he intended to go.

"..."

"...That's either incredibly lucky..."

"...or incredibly unlucky."

For some reason—

He remembered Munnu.

Then Persia.

Another strange group.

Another strange journey.

"...I really attract weird people."

The bandits made camp.

The wagon stopped moving.

Voices echoed outside.

Laughter.

Drinking.

Arguments.

Kai leaned against the cage.

Eventually—

Sleep came.

Kai's eyes flew open.

"...What?!"

A body suddenly burst through the wagon door.

It crashed directly into the iron cages.

BOOM!

The impact shook the entire wagon.

The prisoner beside Kai screamed.

The bandit groaned.

Kai looked toward the cage door.

"..."

"...Wait."

The master lock.

Had snapped clean off.

Kai stared at it.

"...How hard..."

"...did that guy get punched?"

Outside—

Metal clashed.

Men screamed.

Someone laughed.

Kai carefully pushed the broken cage door.

It opened.

"..."

He slowly stepped outside.

The camp had become complete chaos.

Bandits lay scattered everywhere.

Some unconscious.

Some crawling away.

Some still trying to fight.

At the center—

One man calmly walked forward.

Bright yellow hair.

A muscular build nearly identical to Nish.

A sleeveless bluish-black hoodie stretched tightly over a combat bodysuit.

The fabric barely hid the muscles beneath it.

Blue military cargo pants.

Heavy combat boots fitted with steel toes.

Metal knee guards.

Wraps covered both forearms.

On his left arm—

A tattoo of a grinning skull.

A gigantic pistol rested inside a thigh holster.

Resting over one shoulder—

A massive single-edged scythe.

The blade gleamed beneath the moonlight.

"..."

Kai blinked.

"...He really likes blue."

Captain Inoy roared.

"GET HIM!"

Eight bandits charged simultaneously.

The stranger didn't move.

Until the last second.

He stepped forward.

The scythe spun.

Not the blade—

The blunt spine.

CRACK!

One bandit folded over instantly.

Another received the wooden shaft across the jaw.

A third flew sideways after a kick to the ribs.

Kai winced.

"...Ow."

Inoy rushed forward himself.

His massive sword came crashing down.

CLANG!

The stranger blocked it with the scythe's shaft.

The ground beneath both men cracked.

For a brief moment—

Neither moved.

Then—

The stranger smiled.

"...Cute."

He headbutted Inoy.

CRACK!

Inoy stumbled.

The stranger immediately spun.

The blunt side of the scythe smashed into the captain's chest.

BOOM!

Inoy crashed through two tents before finally stopping.

Boss Helford sighed.

Still eating roasted nuts.

"...Guess it's my turn."

He casually tossed the bag aside.

Pulled out two enormous axes.

Then charged.

Unlike Inoy—

Helford was fast.

Very fast.

His axes blurred through the air.

The stranger laughed.

"Finally!"

The two exchanged blows.

Steel rang through the campsite.

Neither landed a decisive hit.

Until—

The stranger deliberately let one axe slide past his shoulder.

He stepped inside Helford's guard.

"...Gotcha."

His knee slammed into Helford's stomach.

The bandit boss folded instantly.

Then—

The blunt side of the scythe crashed into the side of Helford's head.

THUD.

Silence.

Helford collapsed.

Unconscious.

The remaining bandits immediately dropped their weapons.

"...Run."

"...RUN!"

Within seconds—

The camp emptied.

Only unconscious bodies remained.

The stranger casually picked his bag of roasted nuts back up.

"...Waste not."

He grabbed one.

Crunch.

Then—

His eyes shifted toward Kai.

"..."

Kai suddenly felt every instinct scream.

Danger.

The stranger disappeared.

"...Huh?"

A gust of wind exploded.

Kai barely saw the movement.

The scythe stopped millimeters from his throat.

Its edge reflected in his eyes.

The stranger stared directly at him.

"...What's your relationship with the bandits?"

Kai immediately raised both hands.

"I'm not with them!"

"They captured me!"

The stranger didn't lower the weapon.

"...Explain."

"I was traveling from Asphyxia."

"I tried helping someone."

"They turned out to be bandits."

"I surrendered."

The stranger remained silent.

Kai continued.

"I'm heading to Muscle City."

"I have to meet someone."

"And deliver a letter to Taai."

The stranger's eyes narrowed.

"..."

"...What's your relationship with Taai?"

The blade pressed slightly closer.

Kai froze.

"I-I have letters!"

"I swear!"

The stranger stared for another second.

Then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

He lowered the scythe.

"...I'm fucking with ya."

Kai blinked.

"...What?"

The stranger slung the weapon onto his shoulder.

"The name's Andrew."

Kai frowned.

"...Andrew?"

"Yep."

"I'm the guy Nish asked to meet you."

Kai stared.

"...You're serious?"

Andrew shrugged.

"I got bored waiting halfway."

"So I figured..."

"...why not walk toward you instead?"

He pointed toward the destroyed campsite.

"Then I overheard these idiots."

"They captured some traveler."

"They started reading the letters they stole."

"I heard Taai's name."

"They were arguing how much money they'd get from ransoming you."

Andrew grinned.

"So..."

"I beat them up."

Kai looked around.

"...For justice?"

Andrew snorted.

"...Nah."

He casually pointed toward the unconscious bandits.

"Bounties."

Kai blinked.

"...You're collecting bounty money."

"Exactly."

Andrew smiled proudly.

"They basically paid me to beat them up."

Kai stood there quietly.

Then—

He remembered something.

Nish's voice.

"He's trustworthy..."

"Kind of a wacko though."

Kai looked at Andrew.

Andrew looked back.

"..."

Kai couldn't help it.

He laughed.

"...Yeah."

"Nish wasn't lying."

Andrew grinned.

"I get that a lot."

Under the moonlit sky—

For the first time since leaving Asphyxia—

Kai finally felt like maybe...

Just maybe...

His trip to Muscle City had gotten back on track.