1.
The first sign of the fall was dryness.
Crackle.
The flesh of the monstrous bird, once slick with blood and oil, dried up from the edges.
The second sign was Ruby’s warning.
She was the first to notice the abnormality and reported it with a sigh.
“We’re falling.”
That’s fine.
It was already expected.
“Estimated time until impact?”
“About thre—”
“Three minutes is enough.”
“Two… On—”
Before a full second had even passed, the monstrous bird’s body crumbled like dried leaves, and everyone plummeted together.
“…!!!”
Wait.
Shouldn’t there be a countdown?
Too shocked to even scream, I stiffened, but the other members—except for Luna—were in awe, their mouths open even as they fell.
“As expected of the Captain…!! Not even fazed…!!”
“Keh keh…! You all felt it earlier, didn’t you…!! He’s already regained that much power—there’s no way this mere fall could be a threat to him…!!”
“As expected. Captain─is! Someone I trust. Was─trusting!!”
What the hell are you guys saying? Save me.
As I stared at the rapidly approaching ground, helplessly falling, my survival instincts kicked in and started spinning at full speed.
‘Can I survive if I just fall like this?’
Impossible.
‘What if I ask the members to save me?’
They’d get suspicious.
It could be dangerous, like with Ruby earlier.
‘Won’t they prepare for the landing on their own?’
Maybe.
Maybe not.
‘Damn it, then do I have any usable skills?’
…There is one.
I just got it.
‘Huh?’
Now that I think about it, what time is it?
That was my last internal question before my self-Q&A session abruptly ended.
“The ground is near.”
Right after Ruby’s warning, the members braced themselves for landing.
Ruby prepared a parachute made of flesh.
Dalan adjusted his footing,
Han-Ryang wrapped tightly around Luna, bracing for impact.
And as for Nahan—
‘Once a day, it said it works once a day—it’s past midnight, isn’t it? Once a day, it said—it’s past midnight, isn’t it? Once a day—it’s past midnight, isn’t it? Once a day—it’s past midnight, isn’t it?’
Frantically, I tried to activate the second skill of <Black Wolf>—Unyielding.
1km.
800m.
500m.
The wasteland between noble territories, resembling an abandoned village, drew closer.
200m.
50m.
5m.
And just as the distance to the ground shrank to less than 5m, when death itself peeked through—
【Skill 2 – Unyielding is activated.】
【Countdown begins.】
【Time limit: 80 seconds.】
Thud.
The moment Unyielding activated, I landed straight on the ground.
‘Ah, ah, ah, ah.’
I nearly lost my balance, but my superior athletic ability helped me stay upright.
The skill’s effect was undeniable.
Even after falling from such a height, I had not a single scratch.
‘Did it negate the impact itself? …Either way, I survived.’
So the claim of 80 seconds of invincibility wasn’t just empty words.
‘…I actually survived.’
Dazed beyond belief.
It felt like I had stepped into a game where the physics engine had malfunctioned—completely unreal.
Thud, Thud Thud.
As I absentmindedly brushed the dust off my clothes, the other members landed in their own ways and approached.
“No way, Captain! You just fell straight down!? From that height!?”
“Youth is truly a wonderful thing.”
“That’s not a youth thing!! Just how much stronger are you planning to get?!”
Ruby rushed toward me in shock, while Dalan stroked his chin as he approached.
‘I’m still too stunned to even respond.’
Trying to catch my breath, I glanced up at the sky—only for Ruby and Dalan to suddenly turn serious.
“As expected, you noticed, Captain.”
…Huh?
“Indeed. Youth is wonderful. I only just realized it now.”
Noticed?
Noticed what?
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I took a few steps toward them and asked.
“What the h*ll are you—”
Tap.
BOOOOM!!
A faint impact struck the back of my head, followed by a thunderous crash, as if a massive boulder had fallen.
Turning around, I saw—
A boulder.
Way larger than I had expected.
“…?”
As I stood there, confused, Ruby and Dalan bowed their heads.
“Thank you, Captain. Thanks to you blocking it, I wasn’t injured.”
“From now on, we’ll handle it. Please give us your orders.”
“…?”
What the hell are they talking about?
Unlike the dazed Nahan, Ruby and Dalan had already grasped the entire situation.
This place was the <Ashen Wasteland>, located between the Gardner Count territory and Viscount Gapelt’s domain.
The ‘Something’ that had taken control of Luna had lured them here and had successfully brought them down by destroying the monstrous bird.
Ruby and Dalan, who had been separated from Luna, were freed from its influence when the bird perished. However, Han-Ryang, who had been protecting Luna the entire time, had succumbed to that “something” and was now under its control.
Just moments ago—
The massive, Aura-infused boulder that had been hurled at them was thrown by Han-Ryang. But thanks to their Captain, they were unharmed.
‘As expected of the Captain.’
Ruby’s eyes sparkled like starlight as she looked up at Nahan.
‘I thought he had lost most of his power after that incident. Perhaps my worries were unfounded.’
Dalan, staring at Nahan with an unwavering gaze, showed a glimmer of relief in his eyes.
Nahan, instead of avoiding their stares, pondered seriously.
‘That boulder was really damn huge.’
If it hit me, I’d definitely die.
Thud.
Nahan leaned against the boulder.
‘Seems like Han-Ryang and Luna got separated a bit farther away.’
With his keen insight, he quickly assessed the situation and then turned to the two.
“I can rest for a bit, right?”
I’ll take a moment to collect myself, so you two go find Han-Ryang.
For a brief moment, he worried that giving orders without doing anything himself might make him seem shameless. But before he could dwell on it, the two, who had already dropped their masks, smiled brightly and responded.
“Of course, Captain.”
“Rest well.”
And with that, they disappeared.
“They’re fast.”
For being part of the world’s most notorious shadow organization, they seemed pretty reliable at times like this.
‘Anyway, this is good.’
Aside from calming his racing heart, there was something else he needed to check.
“…They’re gone, right?”
Only after confirming that there were no lingering presences did Nahan shift his gaze.
【Main Scenario – <The Unredeemed> has begun.】
【Would you like to accept the basic information?】
【Accept / Decline】
The system window had appeared the moment Luna’s Erosion surpassed 50% with the destruction of the monstrous bird.
He could have accepted it immediately, but Nahan chose to wait.
And for good reason—
‘This is a scenario I’ve never seen before.’
The main scenario of <Babylonia> was the story of the <Hero> and their party.
Though it had ended in a bad ending, that was still the core of the novel’s main storyline.
Which meant that this episode, <The Unredeemed>, was a story that had never appeared in the original work or even in the <Babylonia Full Content>.
‘My head already hurts from dealing with so much. This doesn’t even seem to have a penalty like the other quests. Should I just reject it?’
But then again, it offered information.
Thanks to his efforts, he had gathered a fair amount of basic knowledge, but he still lacked crucial details—like the past of this character.
Nahan deliberated.
The main quest revolved around saving the <Empress> and the <Hero>.
Which meant that, conversely, those two had not been saved.
‘Then wouldn’t this basic information contain details about the Empress or the Hero?’
Of course, the timing of this information was suspiciously odd…
‘There’s no penalty for rejecting it, and no penalty for accepting it. So if I’m getting something for free, I might as well take it.’
Decision made, Nahan leaned back against the boulder and pressed “Accept.”
Koom!
“Guh—!”
It felt like misjudging the last step on a staircase—his body abruptly fell backward.
“What the—? The boulder was just here…?”
Frowning, he turned around, but the boulder had already vanished.
And that wasn’t all.
The <Ashen Wasteland> that had surrounded him had completely disappeared, replaced by an endless expanse of darkness stretching out from where he stood.
“What the h*ll is this…?”
The moment his survival instincts kicked in, urging him to get up—
…Tatatatatat.
A sound echoed from behind him.
The rapid, light footsteps of a child running at full speed.
He instantly turned his head toward the source, but the air was thick with an eerie mist, narrowing his vision.
‘Three meters? …No, I can see up to five meters.’
Calmly assessing his field of view, Nahan checked the remaining duration of Unyielding.
【Time Limit: 15 seconds.】
Unfortunate, but not the worst-case scenario.
For the next 15 seconds, he could move freely without fear.
…Tatatatatat.
The footsteps were drawing closer.
Nahan thought quickly.
‘If I stay still, Unyielding will wear off before I see whatever it is.’
But if I run toward it—
‘Within roughly 15 meters. I’ll be able to meet it before the skill ends.’
If I have to encounter it anyway, it’s safer to do so while I’m still invincible.
Without hesitation, Nahan turned and ran.
The speed at which the child was running.
The speed at which he was running.
‘12 seconds… 11 seconds…’
He would encounter them before Unbeaten ran out.
If it was an enemy, he would cut them down with Solar Annihilation.
…Shaaak.
A golden madness mixed with the black depths of Nahan’s eyes, gleaming sharply.
‘Kill. Kill before being killed.’
His bloodshot eyes fixed forward, his hand resting on his sword as he prepared to draw—
Fwack!
The thick darkness split apart, and something streaked toward him, shining in gold and green.
‘Threat. Kill.’
Clack.
Just as the <Black Wolf>’s blade was about to reveal its edge for the first time since his possession—
“I found you! Now it’s your turn to be ittttt!!?”
“…A child?”
A small girl, barely reaching his waist, had been dashing toward him but skidded to a halt, hesitating.
“…A demon?”
“Human.”
He still had his hand on the sword as he answered, and the girl flinched back with a whimper.
“No, you look like a demon.”
“I said I’m human.”
“Demon King.”
“Ao.”
He let out a sigh and furrowed his brows. The girl, finding that amusing, grinned mischievously.
“I was joking.”
“……”
“Oh! Right, introductions.”
Scrub, scrub.
The startled girl wiped her hands on the oversized, dirt-stained white shirt she wore, then gave him a thumbs-up with a bright smile.
“Luna!”
“…What?”
“My name, it’s Luna! And also…”
Her emerald eyes gleamed as she scratched her scarred face before adding,
“I’m not dead yet!”
Though… I might be soon!
2.
The girl had nightmares every night.
—Smile brightly, that way you’ll survive.
—That’s right, smile a little more.
—Brighter, as if your mouth might tear apart.
—That way, you’ll survive.
The dreams were of the time she had spent in that horrifying circus—where she had to smile just to stay alive.
And yet, never once had she woken up crying or trembling in fear.
—Don’t tremble, that way you’ll survive.
—When it gets too hard, cry behind a mask.
—Keep trying, and trying again.
—Someday, you’ll be able to smile even with the mask on.
Because only then could she live.
So, once again, she closed her eyes.
Because only then could she survive.
…Right, Mom?
.
.
.
“That’s it. You’re doing exactly as you were taught.”
.
. .
【Erosion Progress: …80%】
【<Mother (S-)> is awakening.】
3.
The moment they had the <Black Wolf>’s permission, Ruby and Dalan rushed toward the place where the boulder had been thrown.
A corner of the <Ashen Wasteland>.
There, shrouded in thick mist, stood a massive, tattered circus tent.
Feeling something ominous, Ruby grasped her trembling hand and asked Dalan,
“We have to kill them, don’t we?”
“…Seems like it.”
“Is there no other way?”
“There isn’t. …At least, not for us.”
A brief silence.
“Don’t die, Dalan.”
“You too, Branch Manager.”
Flap.
The two stepped into the tent.
