Raon clutched his throbbing chest and lifted his gaze.
Unlike the small, picturesque village that had appeared in his mind moments ago, Capoly Village was sophisticated, with large buildings dominating the landscape.
It was almost enough to call it a small city with just a bit more growth. It was entirely different from the faint memories of the village.
However, the shape of the mountain ridge rising as if overlooking Capoly Village and the sunset hanging between them matched the suddenly resurfaced memories perfectly.
It felt like different pictures drawn by different people overlapped into one.
'It's certain…'
Raon pressed his pale lips.
'This is the village where I lived.'
Just as muddy water rises when you kick your feet in a valley, the past life memories buried deep in the sea of memories slowly surfaced.
This was definitely the village where he had spent his childhood before being kidnapped.
'That's why everything felt familiar.'
When Siris, who controlled The Water Demon Guests, mentioned Capoly Village, it felt familiar. The path to the village and the mountain ridge visible from the entrance all confirmed it. It was because he had lived here.
'Ugh…'
With a strong headache, new memories stimulated his mind. A young man and woman. They seemed to be his mother and father from his past life.
Their faces were not visible. Only their hands and mouths were revealed, and their hands were very rough, and their mouths were hardened as if angry.
Then he remembered his mother running along the path with him on her back. Her steps were rough, not caring if he got hurt.
"Ha…"
Raon held his forehead and let out a low sigh.
'I thought I was kidnapped, but I was sold?'
He had comforted himself by thinking he was kidnapped by the Shadow, not abandoned by his parents, but it seemed that was not the case.
Nausea welled up. Regret for seeing dirty memories after coming here hit him like a wave. It felt like ants were gnawing at his heart.
'Damn it…'
As he clutched his throbbing head, a low voice came from behind.
"Is there something wrong?"
Raon turned around urgently. An elderly man with a kind appearance was bending over, smiling.
'An ordinary person approached, and I didn't notice…'
There was no trace of mana from the old man. He was a commoner who had not even entered martial arts. His emotions were too intense to notice such an old man approaching.
"…I'm fine."
Raon spoke in a deep voice suited to the middle-aged man he was disguised as.
"Hm, it seems like this is not your first time here."
"What makes you think that…"
"The path."
The old man pointed to the path he had taken earlier.
"First-time visitors to the village walk on the wide road, not on that path."
With a gentle smile, he extended his hand.
"I am Beruric, the village chief of Capoly."
"I am Ballen."
Raon said the alias he had thought of beforehand and took Beruric's hand.
"You seemed surprised to see our village after a long time."
"Yes, that's right."
Raon nodded, thinking he could get information about the village from Beruric.
"It has changed a lot. It will be a city soon."
He looked around the village with a satisfied expression.
"What made Capoly Village grow so much?"
"Of course, it's because of the iron ore mine."
"Iron ore mine?"
"Hm? You don't know? The mine was discovered a long time ago…"
Beruric tilted his head, saying it was discovered when he was young.
"I have been here a few times, but I always just passed through, so I didn't know."
"Then I need to explain!"
He seemed eager to boast about the developed village and smiled as he moved closer.
"Come on in."
Beruric beckoned lightly and entered the village first.
Raon followed Beruric's steps, licking his lips.
'This isn't bad.'
Perhaps because he came to Capoly Village too early, the information from the Black Market hadn't arrived yet.
Since it was an opportunity to grasp the information first, he matched his steps to Beruric's pace and followed him.
"The reason our village has developed is, as I said before, the discovery of the iron ore mine. I don't remember exactly since I was living in the nearby village at the time, but it's been over several decades."
"..."
Raon listened to Beruric, narrowing his eyes.
'It must have been after I left the village.'
If the iron ore mine had existed before, the village wouldn't have been so small and picturesque. Whether kidnapped or sold, it must have been discovered afterward.
"The iron ore at the entrance of the mine was of poor quality, but as they went deeper, the quality improved, and there was plenty of it. So, our village's name began to spread. Recently, we even opened a new trading route to the central continent."
Beruric couldn't hide his smile, seemingly delighted by the village's development.
"That's great. But how did you, who used to live in another village, become the chief of this place?"
Raon pretended to be interested in Beruric while asking questions to extract information.
"I originally lived in Prisil Village on the other side of Haro Mountain."
"Then why are you here…?"
"Both our village and Capoly faced a major problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"There was a landslide."
Beruric sighed as he warned the children running around the village.
"Decades ago, both Prisil Village, where I lived, and Capoly were hit by a landslide. More than half of both villages were destroyed. Many people, both adults and children, died, and many bodies are still missing."
"Ah…"
"At that time, it was hell itself. Prisil Village, where I lived, also suffered greatly, but Capoly had almost no survivors. When we were about to abandon the village, the iron ore mine was discovered by chance."
He pointed to the mine entrance built halfway up Haro Mountain.
"It's unfortunate for the dead, but the living must survive. Survivors from Capoly and Prisil gathered here and became miners. The Yuhwa Merchant Guild even built a factory for us, so everyone could eat and live well."
Beruric lowered his gaze as he looked at the large factory built in the village center.
"I didn't know such a thing happened. There must have been many orphaned children; it must have been chaos."
Raon expressed sympathy while subtly asking about the children.
"Unfortunately, most of the children and the young couples raising them were buried in the landslide. At that time, the village was filled with the cries of adults, not children."
Beruric shook his head, saying he still couldn't forget that hellish scene.
"That's terrible…"
Raon trembled his hidden hand inside his sleeve.
'They didn't just take me.'
No matter how secluded the village, if many children were kidnapped, the nearby martial arts families or the kingdom would have had to act.
Derus must have caused a landslide to abduct the children and cover it up from external investigations.
'Monstrous bastards…'
Not only did they kidnap the children, but they also caused a landslide, killing their parents. It was something even the demons of hell wouldn't do. His stomach churned.
"Whew…"
His lips opened on their own, and he let out a rough breath. If Derus were here, he would have attacked him without hesitation.
"Here we are."
While Raon was struggling to suppress his emotions, Beruric stopped. A large stone tower that could be mistaken for a building stood at the entrance of Haro Mountain.
"This is the memorial stone and grave built to comfort those who died then. The survivors built it themselves."
Beruric looked at the stone tower with wistful eyes.
"This can't console those who died unfairly, but…"
"..."
Listening to Beruric, Raon approached the stone tower. As he reached out to touch it with his trembling hand, a new memory surfaced with a strong impact.
No, it wasn't a new memory; it was the memory he saw as soon as he came to this village.
But unlike then, his parents' faces were clear.
His father, who looked fierce with a thick beard but had gentle eyes, and his mother, who had a neat impression with her black hair neatly pulled back. Though their rough hands and hardened mouths were the same, their eyes were different.
His parents looked at him with eyes filled with sorrow, regret, and urgency.
His father gently patted his head before handing him to his mother and took the axe hanging on the wall.
His mother nodded and climbed out the window. She entered the path barefoot, passing the village entrance.
His mother's feet and face were scratched by the branches as she ran without hesitation, covered in blood and panting heavily, but she never stopped.
But she couldn't escape the path. The moment the black shadow blocking the thin moon approached, she collapsed, coughing blood, and his memory ended there.
'Then that gesture…'
The rough gestures, hardened mouths, and hurried steps in the forest that he saw when he first arrived in this village were all to save him from Derus's subordinates.
He wasn't abandoned or sold.
His parents had desperately tried to protect and save him even when they were about to die.
In the sinking headache, he heard his parents' voices.
William.
The name they called him. A gentle name that meant a person who is kind and loves peace. A name that he never lived up to.
With the vivid memory of his parents smiling at him, the past memories that had surfaced in his mind all sank back.
The stone tower came into view again. He felt weak all over. His limbs trembled as if he couldn't stand anymore.
Raon fell to his knees. Biting his tongue to suppress the anger burning from the depths of his soul, he clasped his hands together.
'Mother, Father.'
I will take revenge. No matter what it takes, I will bring back Derus Robert's head here.
Consoling the dead comes later. Now is the time to swear vengeance for those who died without even closing their eyes after losing their children.
"Thank you."
Beruric patted his shoulder and smiled gently.
"They would be grateful to you too."
He seemed satisfied, thinking that Raon had prayed to comfort the dead.
"Is there anything else you're curious about? It's all common stories, but talking after a long time makes this old man feel good."
Beruric smiled, seemingly liking the person Raon had created as Ballen.
"I am looking for work, but how do the factory and the mine operate here?"
"Oh, really?"
Beruric smiled, saying he would introduce him if he wanted to work. It seemed listening quietly had earned him points.
"I need to inform my acquaintance in the village I was supposed to visit, so I'd like to look around today."
"You won't regret coming here. It will soon become a city."
He gestured quickly and entered the factory first.
"Oh? Village chief?"
"What brings you here at this hour?"
The factory workers near the blast furnace bowed to the chief.
"I just stopped by."
The chief waved his hand, telling them not to worry.
"You've caught another young man for your chatter."
"He must have had a hard time; his lips are dry."
"Every week, there's one."
The workers shook their heads, feeling sorry for him.
"Hey! Don't talk badly about good people!"
The chief blushed in embarrassment and waved his hand. It seemed this had happened many times before.
"..."
Raon nodded to them and looked around the factory.
'They're all commoners.'
There was no mana inside, nor the movements typical of assassins. They were clearly people maintaining the factory.
The factory seemed fine on the surface. But since Siris wouldn't have lied, there must be something here.
As he was about to activate the Ring of Fire and Perception of the Snow Flower, the door to a room on the left opened, and a plump middle-aged man walked out.
"Oh, village chief. You're here?"
"Foreman. Why is it so hard to see you?"
Beruric frowned, calling the middle-aged man the foreman.
"There's so much work. Who is this?"
The foreman smiled at Raon, but unlike his mouth, his eyes were not smiling.
"Oh, I just picked him up on the way. I had a long chat."
Beruric laughed, saying he was the one who approached first.
"Ha, another victim."
The foreman waved, asking Raon to take care of the chief's chatter.
"No, I'm grateful to hear his valuable words."
Raon bowed to the foreman. His eyes, rising again, were cold and menacing.
'I found it.'