1.
Lactea Babylonia.
The elder sister of Empress Reina Babylonia and the Vice-Captain of the <Black Wolf> Mercenary Corps.
Like the other members, she holds an S-rank, but among them, she stands at the highest S+ rank.
However, if there is one difference—while the other members are significantly weakened due to the Restrictions of <Black Wolf>,
“Even if it’s suffocating, endure it. You’re used to it, aren’t you?”
“Guhhp!”
Lactea, despite being bound by the Restrictions of <Black Wolf>, retains her original strength.
“L-Let… go…!”
“Shh. Don’t you just want to kill someone when they talk too much?”
Effortlessly subduing a resisting Luna, she turned her gaze to the rest of the team.
“【Stay focused.】”
At that moment, an aura of white-golden light, tinged with black and red, spread outward.
【Vice-Captain – <Lactea Babylonia (S+)> has used Skill 1 – <Commanding Voice>.】
(TLN: Well, I had another skill for Lactea Skill 1 so author might have changed it.)
A power inherent to royalty, capable of restraining others with mere words.
Overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of her presence, three approaching members stumbled and collapsed.
Crack!
At the same time, their masks shattered.
As if it had been coordinated, the masks that had been forcibly controlling their actions all broke simultaneously.
The first to regain his senses was Dalan.
Yielding to the suppression of the Commanding Voice, he lowered his head cautiously.
“I have shown an unsightly display.”
“Clean it up.”
“Yes, Vice-Captain.”
After gathering Ruby and Han-Ryang, Dalan bowed to me once more before stepping out of the tent.
A concise command, met with absolute obedience.
It made me wonder—seeing such a display of dominance greater than my own—why would a woman like her choose to join the <Black Wolf> Mercenary Corps?
With a faint smile, Lactea tightened her grip on Luna and met my gaze.
“Captain, your orders?”
The overwhelming force she had displayed moments ago was nowhere to be found—replaced by a breathtakingly elegant presence.
I barely managed to avert my gaze.
‘…At any rate, the situation is resolved.’
Though the subquest had failed, causing Luna to go berserk, if I eliminated Mother, everything would return to normal.
But why…
– That’s too cruel.
– I… trusted you.
The look in Luna’s eyes when I cut down Mother kept pulling at me.
‘Why…?’
The Mother I saw in Luna’s memories was nothing but garbage.
A trafficker who kidnapped orphans, imprisoned, and abused them before auctioning them off to the highest bidder.
The scar on Luna’s face,
The rusted chains that once choked her neck,
Even her twisted concept of love—
All of it stemmed from Mother.
It was an unforgettable nightmare, a past she should want to erase.
So why, Luna…
“Let go…!! Mom…!!!”
Why do you fear losing her, fighting desperately, even at the cost of your own life?
‘Luna will be spared. But Mother… wouldn’t it be better to erase her completely?’
She has no value beyond Luna calling her “Mother.”
“…Captain?”
“Wait. I’m thinking.”
“Understood, Captain.”
As I struggled with what to do about Mother, a conversation with Big Brother came to mind.
It was on the day we collected a debt from a young man, drowning in loans after being abandoned by his father.
After finishing our work, Brother lit a cigarette and asked.
– You’re an orphan, right?
– …What?
– Relax, I ain’t insulting you. Just asking. Look me in the eye when you answer.
– Yes, Brother.
Leaning against a battered door, he chuckled as he watched the young man cry.
– That’s a good thing.
– …Huh?
– Being alone. No family. That’s a good thing.
With a flick, the cigarette butt hit the ground.
– Family is like that. No matter how much of a piece of sh*t they are, you can’t abandon them so easily.
I learned later.
Brother had also run away from a gambling-addicted father.
Even after rising to become the most powerful leader in Seoul, he still occasionally sent money to that man.
– No money? He beats me. Annoyed? He beats me. Breathing too loud? He beats me.
– Then why don’t you just cut him off? Just like you told that guy to abandon his father.
– I want to. I really do…
Grinding the cigarette into the ground, he scratched his head and muttered:
– But I keep remembering the times he was good to me.
– Even though he’d beat me, he’d cry about it afterward.
– Even though he’d hit me, he’d bring back cheap fried chicken as an apology.
– …Shit. Let’s just go drink.
– I’m underage.
– …Tsk. You and your damn honesty.
A few years later, Brother died.
Cause of death was excessive bleeding.
He was stabbed while trying to save his gambling-addicted father from a rival gang.
– Family is like that. No matter how much of a piece of shit they are, you can’t abandon them so easily.
How many times did I ponder it as I stood watch at his funeral?
If only he had been an orphan like me.
If only I had stopped him from going.
At the very least,
– He’s my son! Of course, I should take his funeral money, you bastards!!!
I should have killed that piece of trash.
“…Lactea.”
“Yes, Captain?”
Memories of my past failures converged, leading me to the most optimal choice.
“Kill her.”
The target was…
Just as Nahan’s cold gaze, the Black Wolf’s eyes, passed over Luna and slowly moved—
…Squelch!
Something dark and sticky barely managed to grab Black Wolf’s ankle.
“…No, …you can’t.”
The words that had so far sounded like background noise from Mother suddenly became clear upon contact.
Sensing it as an attack, Lactea moved swiftly—
But before she could act, Mother, whose upper body had been severed, crushed her own mangled torso and lifted her head toward Black Wolf, pleading.
“Not Luna. Kill only me.”
“…What?”
At first, Nahan thought she was just trying to deceive him again and attempted to shake her off.
But then—
【“Nahan. Walk a different path from mine.”】
【By the contract between <Black Wolf (EX)> and <Aria (???)>, the world shall assist you.】
【<Mother (S-)>’s memories are flowing into you.】
A voice filled with overwhelming authority echoed, and Mother’s memories began to flood into Nahan.
2.
Mother.
A woman as emotionally barren as the Ashen Wasteland she had drifted into.
The leader of the Wandering Troupe – Loss and the greatest trafficker in the Babylonia Empire.
“That must be her. The one who takes in orphans, raises them, and then sells them off.”
“Raising them only to sell them later… No sane person could do that.”
“Right? She’s no ordinary villain. Not that we’re in a position to talk.”
The Ashen Wasteland was already overrun with criminals, but even among them, Mother was infamous.
That was why the villains who ended up in this wasteland were curious about her life.
“Why does she do it?”
Why would she raise children with care only to sell them off to noble bastards?
“Isn’t it just about money?”
After all, even wise men lose themselves for wealth.
“No. I heard she was blinded by a desire to become stronger.”
They said she was a former Top Ten mercenary.
That she was using children’s hearts to craft an Aura-enhancing elixir.
The villains whispered countless rumors, but none had the right answer.
Mother.
The reason she had wandered into this Ashen Wasteland was singular.
“My daughter must live. That was the promise.”
“And we shall ensure it.”
A deal with the enigmatic organization <Eclipse>.
“…Selena.”
— I’ll become a mercenary as strong as you, Mom!
— Pffft! You can’t even do one sit-up.
— That’s not true! I can do one now!
— Even an E-rank mercenary does at least a hundred.
— …Eh.
Unlike herself, who was consumed by darkness, her daughter was as bright as the rising moon.
— An incurable disease?
— I’m sorry. The periods where she wakes will become less frequent, and eventually…
— No… That can’t be…! She’s never even had a cold before!
Struck by an unknown, incurable disease, Selena lost consciousness, and no amount of wealth could extend her fragile life—only sustain it.
— We can’t continue any longer.
— Shut up. I’ll bring the money soon.
— But the overdue payments alone are already…
— Listen, you need to be alive to spend money, don’t you?
— …One week. We can wait just one more week. No more.
Even as a mercenary ranked among the Top Ten, Mother couldn’t afford the exorbitant medical expenses.
She began to consider the unthinkable—letting Selena go.
Then, <Eclipse> came with an offer.
— If you complete our assignments without fail, we will cover all treatment costs and even fund the development of a cure.
Her instincts as a mercenary screamed.
It was an obviously dangerous deal, a poisoned flower that gleamed with deadly beauty.
But she had no choice but to accept.
—Mom! Don’t I seem healthier?
—Yes, my love.
—Right? I have to get better soon so I can train. Even if I start late, I can still be like you one day, right?
—Yeah. Of course.
On the wretched path of a mercenary, where not even a sliver of light existed, Selena was the only brightness in Mother’s life.
—…Is that true?
—Yes. In exchange for employing me forever, they promised to take care of everything. So, Selena, don’t worry. Just rest.
—…Mom. If it ever gets too hard…
—Quiet. No more… no more talking.
—…Okay. Sorry.
That was the last day Selena spoke.
After that, she fell into an endless sleep, and Mother abandoned her name, drifting into this ashen wasteland.
The work was simple.
“Take in abandoned orphans, rehabilitate them, and then put them up for auction.”
Seller: Me.
Buyers: Nobles.
In short: Human trafficking.
“Don’t make that face. These children would have died anyway. Living comfortably under noble care is better, isn’t it?”
“I get it. Now get lost.”
“So cold. In any case, as long as you hand over all the profits, I’ll ensure this place keeps running smoothly.”
Time passed mercilessly.
One year…
Five years…
Ten years…
A full ten years since Selena fell asleep.
Mother no longer visited her.
She simply waited for the cure, silently.
Because if the corrupted version of herself stood before Selena, even that could hurt her.
“Auction begins.”
She no longer felt guilt.
“Auction closed.”
Thinking about it, I was like that piece of trash had said, and I was just trying to extend the lives of the children who were going to die anyway.
“Auction begins.”
She no longer felt guilt.
“Auction closed.”
Looking back, perhaps she really was just doing what that scum had said—
Giving children who would have died anyway a bit more time to live.
“Auction begins.”
Of course, whenever No.1, that wretched creature, was present, any child who cried during an auction…
“Auction closed.”
Didn’t live to see the next day.
But rather than living a fate worse than death, wasn’t a quick end better?
“…Was it better?”
Occasionally, a sense of déjà vu made her question herself.
But she was already too broken to know the right answer.
The only thing she held onto, the last shred of goodness, was whispering to the children she took in—
“Smile. That’s how you survive.”
And so, Mother silently continued her work.
“Auction begins.”
“Auction closed.”
Time flowed, as mercilessly as ever.
“Auction begins.”
By then, Mother had grown to hate herself so much that she couldn’t bear to see her own face—
so she started wearing a mask.
And then, ten years later.
“Auction closed.”
Just like any other day, after finishing an auction, she stepped outside to collect more orphans.
And that day—
“…?”
For the first time in years, part of the ashen mist lifted, and the moonlight from beyond the wasteland shone through.
And standing in that radiant moonlight—
A child looked up at her and asked.
“…Mom?”
—…Mom. If it ever gets too hard…
—Quiet. No more… no more talking.
As the sudden flood of memories overtook her, Mother simply stared at the moonlight and murmured.
“No. I am not your parent.”
At the same time, she wondered.
If Selena saw who she had become now…
Would she still say she wanted to be like her?
Would she still smile?
At that moment—
Under the moonlight, that filthy, tattered child…
…Clung tightly.
Holding her tainted hand firmly.
