Approaching the Great Epic

“Jinsuuu!”

Evo’s voice rang out, tearing through the silence that surrounded the place.

Jinsu stopped walking.

Then he slowly turned around.

He looked at Evo.

He did not answer.

He did not say a single word.

His eyes were strangely calm, and his expression showed no hesitation whatsoever, as if Evo’s shout had not been directed at him in the first place.

Evo froze for a moment.

Then he clenched his fist.

He slowly drew his sword.

SHING!

The sound of metal leaving its sheath rang through the air.

At the same time, the members of his squad did the same.

One after another, swords were raised.

Jinsu was surrounded by weapons.

Yet Jinsu did not move.

One of the squad members looked at Evo nervously.

“What do we do, Captain?”

Evo did not answer.

He remained standing where he was, sword in hand, but he did not raise it.

He was only looking at Jinsu.

Thoughts raced through his mind.

(What do I do?)

(Do we kill him?)

It was not as simple a question as it seemed.

Jinsu was standing before him.

The person he knew.

The person who had become part of this village.

But at the same time...

There was something else standing before him.

Something Evo could not understand.

He tightened his grip on his sword.

And just before he could make his decision—

“Evo! Hurry!”

Saki shouted from behind.

“The barrier is going to disappear soon!”

Evo glanced toward the barrier.

Cracks had already begun spreading across it.

Time was running out.

Evo gritted his teeth.

Then he raised his sword.

“Attack!”

The members of his squad charged forward.

But—

“Not so fast.”

Another voice rang out.

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Calm.

Yet it stopped everyone.

Evo’s squad came to a halt.

Suddenly, a group of people appeared before them.

It was Ryo’s squad.

Ryo stood at the front, with the members of his squad behind him, completely blocking their path.

Evo’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing, Ryo?!”

Ryo looked at him calmly.

“This is no longer Jinsu.”

Then he looked at Jinsu.

“He is Kaizen... the King of Yami.”

Evo’s expression hardened.

“No!”

His voice rose.

“No, you won’t attack him, Evo.”

Evo took a step forward.

“Are you betraying the village now?!”

Ryo’s smile did not change.

“No.”

Then he tilted his head slightly.

“You are.”

Evo fell silent.

Ryo continued:

“Isn’t Jinsu one of us?”

He smiled slyly.

Evo froze.

“What?”

Evo looked directly at him.

“But he’s Kaizen.”

“And that is your problem, Evo.”

Ryo stepped closer.

“You never see things clearly.”

Silence fell.

Then Ryo pointed toward Jinsu.

“Look carefully, Evo.”

Evo slowly turned around.

Jinsu was still standing there.

No weapon.

No defense.

No fear.

He was simply looking at them.

Ryo said:

“This is someone standing in the worst possible place.”

He paused.

“The Land of Assassins.”

Then he looked at the members of the squad.

“Among people who have devoted themselves to killing him.”

His gaze returned to Jinsu.

“But...”

He paused.

“Do you see him afraid?”

Evo did not answer.

He could not.

He was staring at Jinsu.

There was not the slightest sign of fear.

Not even hesitation.

Only that strange calmness.

Ryo continued:

“Do you see Kaizen, Evo?”

Evo’s eyes widened.

“What...?”

He raised his hand to his head.

Then grabbed it tightly.

Thoughts began colliding inside his mind.

(What exactly is happening?)

(Where is Kaizen?)

He suddenly raised his head.

He looked at Jinsu.

His eyes widened even further.

(Don’t tell me...)

(Were they manipulating us?)

The entire picture in his mind began to change.

(They were never enemies?)

(Yes... That makes no sense.)

(He made a pact with him... so why did we assume Kaizen was the one in control?)

Then—

“Hahahahahaha!”

Evo burst into laughter.

A loud laugh.

Almost insane.

He threw his head back, laughing with all his strength.

Then he looked at Jinsu.

“Jinsuuu!”

He clenched his fist.

“You bastard!”

He laughed again.

“You’ve been manipulating the entire world this whole time!”

Silence fell.

Evo’s laughter stopped.

Jinsu looked at him.

Then he smiled.

But it was not the smile of the Jinsu Evo knew.

It was different.

The smile of someone who knew something the others did not.

Jinsu said:

“No.”

Evo’s smile faded slightly.

“You’re wrong, Evo.”

Jinsu took a step forward.

“The world was the one that thought it was manipulating me.”

Then he stopped.

“But it simply miscalculated.”

He looked at everyone.

“The King of Yami returned long ago.”

Silence.

“But he did not possess Jinsu as they thought.”

A mocking smile appeared on Jinsu’s face.

“He returned as nothing more than his master’s servant.”

Jinsu laughed mockingly.

No one knew how to respond.

Even Ryo remained silent.

As for Evo...

He continued staring at Jinsu, as if trying to see the person he once knew somewhere inside him.

But something had changed.

Jinsu said:

“Prepare yourself, Evo.”

Then he raised his eyes.

“The world will see who the true king is.”

No one said anything.

Jinsu took one step forward.

Then another.

His steps were steady.

Calm.

As if he were not surrounded by assassins.

As if he were not walking among his enemies.

As if none of them mattered to him anymore.

The members of the squad watched him.

Their hands remained on their weapons.

But no one attacked.

They did not know why.

They could not explain that hesitation.

The greatest enemy standing before them.

The King of Yami.

The person they were supposed to fight without a second thought.

And yet...

No one moved.

Jinsu continued walking away from them.

One step.

Then another.

Until he began leaving the village.

They could have attacked.

They could have tried to stop him.

But they did not.

And they did not know that this hesitation...

Was something they would regret for the rest of their lives.

Jinsu reached the barrier.

The barrier was already cracking before him.

Jinsu slowly raised his hand.

He touched the surface of the barrier with his fingers.

Crack...

More cracks spread across it.

Then—

The barrier disappeared.

Just like that.

As if it had never existed.

Jinsu looked at the place where the barrier had been.

Then he turned toward them.

He looked at Evo.

At Ryo.

And at the rest of the squad.

Then he said:

“Goodbye for now.”

And in the next moment—

Jinsu leaped into the sky.

He disappeared from their sight.

The members of the squad remained standing.

Staring at the place where he had vanished.

No one moved.

Then Evo turned toward Ryo.

He stared at him for a long moment.

Then said:

“So you betrayed us, Ryo.”

He paused.

“Are you ready for the consequences?”

Ryo looked at him.

“I betrayed no one.”

Then he added:

“Everything that happened was because of you.”

Evo frowned.

Ryo continued:

“You were the one who made an enemy one of us.”

He stepped closer.

“And you knew that the moment he became one of us...”

He smiled.

“We would support him no matter what.”

Evo clenched his fist.

“I will never support an enemy.”

Then he looked directly at Ryo.

“Even if he is one of us.”

Ryo raised an eyebrow.

“Oh.”

He smiled.

“Those are big words, Evo.”

Then he said:

“Are you saying the rules of the Assassins, written by our ancestors, mean nothing to you?”

Evo answered without hesitation:

“No.”

Then he clenched his fist.

“I’m saying the rules can change in a situation like this.”

Ryo stared at him for a few moments.

Then said:

“It doesn’t matter.”

He pulled out his bottle and took a calm drink, as if what had happened moments ago meant nothing.

Then he put the bottle away.

“But...”

Ryo stood up.

“You will find me to be the first person to stop you.”

Evo raised his eyes toward him.

Ryo smiled.

Then pointed a finger at him.

“Remember this.”

In the next moment, Ryo leaped over the buildings.

The members of his squad followed him.

Within moments...

Ryo left the village.

The remaining squad stayed where they were.

No one spoke.

No one knew what to say.

Everything had happened so quickly.

Yet its weight remained heavy in the air.

The members of the squad looked at one another.

Then toward the path where Jinsu had disappeared.

Saki was on the ground.

He was coughing up blood.

Melia quickly approached him.

She sat beside him and began wiping the blood from his mouth.

She was crying.

But Saki said nothing.

As for Evo...

He turned toward the rest of the squad.

He looked at them one by one.

Fear was clearly visible on their faces.

Their greatest enemy had stood before them.

The King of Yami himself.

He had been right there.

Close to them.

Walking among them.

And yet...

They had not moved against him.

Or rather...

They could not.

Evo clenched his teeth.

Then raised his head toward the sky.

He remained silent for several moments.

And inside his mind, only one question remained.

A question he could not get rid of.

(Was this what you were protecting, Thalin?)

He continued staring at the sky.

(Did you know... that he was an enemy?)