Chapter 26: Father, Benya Alzred

The cause had surely been something good.

“-Huh… Grrr.”

After building the Alzred Caravan into a reputable merchant caravan and becoming a prominent wealthy man, what Benya came to realize was that Wecos was far more corrupt than anyone imagined.

On the surface, it seemed like a healthy political system governed by the will of the citizens, but in reality, that very will was controlled by a tiny handful of people with wealth and power.

In some ways, it was worse than a dictatorial monarchy.

Benya’s decision to enter politics was only natural.

He wished for his homeland to become even a little bit cleaner.

It was a path full of hardship.

The biggest obstacle was the Devine Trading Company.

From the start, relations between the Alzred Caravan and Devine Trading Company were strained.

For decades, Devine Trading Company had ruled as a merchant guild and formed deep, corrupt ties with the political world.

Their reputation was by no means earned through righteous deeds.

To them, Benya and the Alzred Caravan likely appeared as disgusting hypocrites pretending to be the only clean ones.

At the same time, they were a sharp thorn threatening their position.

When Benya declared his candidacy, Devine Trading Company’s interference grew more blatant and malicious.

Technologies were leaked, patents stolen, employees disappeared only to be found dead.

Benya wanted to defeat them through proper means.

He knew it was impossible.

Long ago, Benya was noticed by a visiting mage in Wecos for his talent and was recommended to study abroad at the Jewel Tower.

Young Benya accepted eagerly.

But one day, he witnessed horrific experiments being conducted in the Jewel Tower and fled in terror.

Magic that summoned, brainwashed, and controlled monsters was one of the byproducts of those experiments.

Except for an extremely few, most people recognized monsters as an unknown terror they could not resist.

Wecos was no different.

Yet, if that power could be cleverly used, not only could Devine Trading Company be brought down, but that repulsive old pig in human form could be erased forever.

The first time Benya entertained that thought, he was so terrified he spent sleepless nights.

Then he asked himself, what made him any different from Devine Trading Company?

But as time went on, temptation grew stronger.

He wanted to look away, but couldn’t.

Even while vowing to use only just methods, Benya prepared magic, convincing himself it was to prepare for the worst.

Originally, this magic required a human life.

After repeated refinement, it became efficient enough to be used by sacrificing only some blood and flesh.

Devine Trading Company pulled the final trigger.

They disguised themselves as bandits to raid the caravan and kidnap Yuria.

The day Benya learned that Callbedo Cheni—the leader he had secretly considered a close friend—had betrayed him long ago, he realized to kill a demon, one must become a demon.

“Yuria… please don’t forgive this unworthy father.”

Benya looked down at his own hands.

Grotesque, blackened, swollen hands twisted beyond recognition.

A voice echoed inside his head.

Kill humans.

Kill and devour their blood and flesh.

Humans are enemies and food.

“I… I am human.”

No longer.

Benya, or rather the demon he had become, covered his face with his two hands and roared as if weeping.

“-Ooooooo…”

“Dad! Dad, I’m here!”

Then came the voice he never wanted to hear.

The monsters that had been surging endlessly from underground beneath the caravan building froze all at once.

They sensed a human very close by.

The monsters stamped their feet in delight.

Benya mustn’t let them attack Yuria.

He crushed the surrounding monsters with his hands and desperately squeezed out a strained cry through his twisted throat.

-Yu…ria! If you come… it’s… no good!

“Dad’s voice!”

The voice and footsteps drew closer, but the voice inside Benya’s head grew louder, threatening to overwhelm his sanity.

He went into a near trance, rampaging and killing every monster in sight.

That was when he reached the caravan headquarters, now completely ruined.

‘…Dad?’

Among the countless monster corpses, impossible to distinguish shapes, stood a monster barely resembling a human.

Yuria immediately recognized the ragged cloth draped over its shoulder.

Two terrible possibilities flashed through her mind.

The first: that monster had already killed and devoured Benya.

The second…

“Yuria, I told you not to come…”

Yuria squeezed her eyes shut and drew her dagger.

“Dad, why didn’t you tell me anything? I’m your daughter. You said I was a proper partner too.”

“Yuria, I am too late.”

“Say something! Why did this happen? Why did you become like this?”

“I was foolish.”

“That’s right! Dad, you’re such an idiot! If you’d just told me when things were hard, maybe something could have changed!”

“Yuria. Run away from me. I cannot hold on to my sanity any longer.”

“No! I won’t run away ever again!”

“Then… kill me. Before it’s too late.”

“You idiot! What kind of words are those!”

Yuria cried out as she raised her dagger.

From Benya’s mouth came not words but a beastly breath.

With her tear-streaked face, Yuria steadied herself in the stance she had mastered learning from Zion.

“I’ll stop you, Dad. And I’ll bring you back.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Save your apologies until after you’re back to normal. And this time, don’t hide anything—tell me everything.”

“I will tell you all.”

Straining what was left of his consciousness, Benya confessed every wrongdoing he had committed.

Yuria listened, nodding repeatedly through her tears.

“Why did you do it… You always told me to do what’s right…”

“When people grow old… even knowing better, they sometimes still make mistakes.”

Murmuring with regret, Benya closed his eyes gently.

He was close to the end.

“Yuria. Please, kill me quickly.”

“No. I told you, I’ll bring you back.”

“That way… is…”

At that moment, a monster that had survived buried beneath the rubble let out a terrifying roar and lunged at Yuria.

Yuria froze in place, and Benya dashed forward desperately to protect her.

The monster’s fangs sank deep into his shoulder as his fist smashed the monster’s head.

“-Kuh!”

Pain, the smell of blood, and a piece of monster flesh accidentally in his mouth twisted Benya’s once stable consciousness.

The quiet voice inside his head thundered.

‘Kill humans!’

“Ah, Dad.”

“Yuria, noooooooo!”

The desperate cry turned into a savage roar.

Benya—no, the demon—fiercely swung his fists.

Yuria raised her arms to block, but her body flew like a cannonball.

“Ugh…!”

She bounced and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

Her whole body throbbed in pain, stars flashing across her vision.

Tears slipped from her eyes.

“-Waaaaaah!”

A furious wail filled the air.

Dizzy and barely able to think, Yuria grasped what was happening.

‘I have to move!’

She twisted her body desperately as the demon’s fist narrowly missed her and smashed the stone floor.

After stumbling several times, she barely got back on her feet.

A terrible pain like her left arm was breaking forced her to scream.

Her limp left arm barely moved.

‘It hurts so much I feel like I’m going to die…!’

The demon leapt toward Yuria.

His bloodshot, gleaming eyes filled with tears like rain.

Yuria’s sharp eyes, as keen as Zion’s, took in the sight clearly.

Swallowing her sobs, she raised her dagger.

‘Dad must be hurting just as much!’

The demon slammed his interlocked hands down onto the ground.

Yuria lowered her stance and slipped through the gap like flowing water.

The demon reacted and wildly swung his fist, striking Yuria’s unguarded side.

She collapsed without even a scream.

“-Grrr…” The demon paused his finishing blow abruptly.

In his left chest, exactly where the heart lay, was a dagger plunged so deep only the hilt remained visible.

“-Keugh.”

The demon knelt.

“Well done, Yuria. You’ve passed. Nothing can hold you back now.”

Spitting up a rush of blood, Benya grasped the hilt with both hands and collapsed.

Looking toward Yuria, who lay some distance away, he summoned his last strength and drove the dagger even deeper.

“Go… travel as far as you want.”

***

The caravan headquarters was a complete ruin.

Zion, who had run on foot after Frey’s summoning limit had been reached, gasped for breath as he hurriedly surveyed the area.

“Yuria! Benya-nim!”

Zion was the first to find Benya—or rather, his rapidly aged corpse.

A dagger was deeply embedded in his left chest.

[He finally became a demon.] Frey muttered gloomily.

“That monster… Pride, wasn’t it? Maybe it was his influence. Demonization hadn’t progressed enough to turn him overnight.”

Swallowing rising anger, Zion stood silently before the corpse and bowed briefly.

Then he resumed searching the surroundings.

“Yuria!”

She was buried in nearby rubble.

Though she had some scrapes and fractures, thankfully, there were no fatal injuries.

“Healing will be difficult, but this will help a little with natural recovery.”

Zion lightly gripped the Pendant and infused it with MP, then brought it to Yuria.

Her complexion softened slightly.

Relieved, Zion let out a deep breath.

“Ugh… Dad…?” Yuria groaned and regained consciousness, looking drowsily at Zion.

“What happened to Dad?”

“Benya-nim…”

Unable to speak, Zion wrapped his arms around Yuria’s head.

From that silence, Yuria understood many truths.

“Dad… so that’s what happened.”

Zion’s collar grew damp.

After a moment, faint sounds of quiet sobbing came from Yuria.

She raised her arms and tightly embraced Zion’s waist.

In front of the ruined building, they held each other like that for a long time.