Resurrection Chapter 7 - The Man Who Was Once a Paladin

I cracked my knuckles and spoke.

“Enough. You guys don’t deserve to have these. As you know, you didn’t help at all. Instead of shamelessly whining, why don’t you think about how to get out of here alive?”

At my words, one of the guys’ faces turned red as he huffed.

“I’m not interested in thinking about that.”

“What?”

“I’m not going back empty-handed. If I can’t gain anything, I’d rather die here!”

“Hah!”

I snorted and stomped on the remaining magic stones, crushing them.

Seeing the magic stones shatter like lumps of salt, their faces turned pale. I shook my foot to brush off the fragments and said.

“Fine, do whatever you want—live or die.”

I turned and led Heesoo hyung away.

“Heesoo hyung, let’s go.”

Heesoo hyung nodded and followed me. Kang Cheoljun looked at me with a troubled expression as I walked off.

Ignoring any farewell to him, I started moving, but Heesoo hyung, who I thought was quietly following, began to slow down. Eventually, he stopped completely, leaving me no choice but to halt as well. Instead of turning around, I clenched my fists and spoke.

“Those guys will be fine. Kang Cheoljun’s there, after all.”

“…”

“He’s a government official, so he’ll figure something out.”

I pretended not to know that Kang Cheoljun was alone and the others were useless deadweight. I also ignored the unspoken rule that awakened ones should always help their own.

Of course, just because I acted that way didn’t mean Heesoo hyung would. He remained rooted to the spot, and I had no choice but to turn and face him.

My expression was sullen, as I could already guess what he was going to say. Seeing me like that, Heesoo hyung apologized out of the blue.

“I’m sorry.”

His words made my chest tighten. He had no reason to apologize, yet seeing him do so made me feel even more guilty and ashamed.

“You don’t need to apologize. I knew you were this kind of person from the start.”

I gave a slight smile and continued.

“If you weren’t so kind-hearted, I wouldn’t have saved you in the first place.”

I don’t know what sin he committed to be abandoned by the White Goddess, plummeting from A-rank to E-rank overnight. But even if he’s no longer a holy warrior, I know his endlessly compassionate nature hasn’t vanished.

Others might not see it, but I couldn’t help but know. After all, I was saved by his kindness.

Thirty years ago.

During a time when the world was in utter chaos.

As a mere teenager, I watched my house collapse under a monster attack, my parents crushed beneath it. I was near the entrance and miraculously survived, but I couldn’t save my parents no matter what I did.

Then, a group of hunters appeared.

Back then, I wasn’t an awakened one or anything, but I knew they had superhuman strength. Thinking they could save my parents, I screamed for help with all my might.

But they passed by me without a shred of interest, giving me only a fleeting glance as if I were a background extra.

It wasn’t because they were scared of the monsters rampaging everywhere.

They were hunting.

Afraid their easy prey escaping from the dungeon might get away, they all ignored my cries.

The one who helped me then was Heesoo hyung.

Back then, he wasn’t a holy warrior or anything—just a boy who had only recently become a hunter, a few years older than me. When he fended off the monsters attacking me, it felt like I was seeing a storybook hero in real life.

No, perhaps it was like witnessing an angel descended to Earth? Or maybe a miracle wrought by a god?

Honestly, I still don’t know how to describe it.

But even after living through all sorts of experiences over the years, I’ve never felt as awestruck as I did then.

After defeating the monsters, Heesoo hyung cleared the rubble and pulled my parents out. Thanks to the expensive potion he cherished like his life, I was able to say my final goodbyes to them.

Through tears, I sent my parents off and became an orphan. Life in the orphanage was far from happy—it was practically a gathering place for misery. The only thing I could rely on there was my memory of Heesoo hyung.

Years later, when I learned he had become the White Goddess’s one and only holy warrior, I thought he deserved it. Even before he was a holy warrior, he was righteous and noble.

For someone like him, it was only natural to believe he should help those in need.

“Let’s go back. Let’s find a way to help them.”

As I spoke, Heesoo hyung grabbed my hand.

He gripped it tightly, showing a faint smile. Even in the shadow cast by his bangs, his eyes shimmered softly.

“Thank you.”

His single word of thanks surely carried more meaning than he could express. His eyes spoke louder than words, and I couldn’t help but feel proud.

From the moment we met, Heesoo hyung was my hero. Hearing gratitude from someone I’ve admired my whole life was addictive. When I reunited with him and saw his broken state, I thought everything was over, but I was right to choose him.

I resolved once again to restore his strength. He was my chosen savior, so he deserved my devotion.

I gripped his hand firmly in return.

As expected, Kang Cheoljun was in a bind. Judging by the reduced numbers, the ones who insisted on not leaving empty-handed must have taken off on their own. Those who remained wanted to leave the sanctuary but were too scared of the monsters.

When we reappeared, Kang Cheoljun brightened up almost uncomfortably so.

“You’re back! I was just wondering what I’d do alone.”

I grumbled.

“Just help them and drag them to the Agency, no? Oh, are they not even worth that?”

Even with my blatant sarcasm, the remaining guys stayed quiet. Kang Cheoljun didn’t bother responding either. Instead, he looked at Heesoo hyung and said.

“It doesn’t seem like Kim Yitae came back willingly. Did you convince him? Thanks. As expected of a former holy warrior…”

I glared at him, and Kang Cheoljun quickly backtracked, saying, “Oh, my bad. Pretend you didn’t hear that.” But it was clearly intentional. He was probably trying to dump these annoying guys on Heesoo hyung and me by bringing up the holy warrior thing.

I wasn’t thrilled about coming back, knowing this would happen. But since it was what Heesoo hyung wanted, I had no choice. Helping him was my mission, so I swallowed my complaints and said.

“We can’t drag these guys all the way to the sanctum, so we’ll stick with them only until we find a large raiding party. Kang Cheoljun, as a government official, you can request protection, right?”

I recalled a few flags of large raiding parties I’d noticed earlier.

Such parties came to conquer the sanctuary while also farming or hunting, so they had large numbers. They probably had the capacity to help others.

More importantly, raiding parties were obligated to respond to requisitions in exchange for tax benefits. Of course, no raiding party was happy about that.

But in a situation like this, where it wasn’t about mobilizing their members or seizing resources, there was no need to bring up obligations and cause a fuss. Kang Cheoljun seemed to agree, nodding readily.

“Let’s do that.”

We led the deadweight out of the forest.

Emerging from the forest, we encountered a wasteland-like terrain. Scattered rock piles gave it the feel of a ruin or archaeological site.

As the terrain changed, unease crept in. It was the perfect moment for monsters to appear.

Sure enough, a dark silhouette rose like a mirage in the middle of the field.

It stood atop a decayed horse skeleton, clad in tattered rags, holding a massive scythe reminiscent of the Grim Reaper’s. But it had no head.

Soon, the system issued a near-warning alarm.

“DULLAHAN ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆: This headless man roaming the wasteland was once a hero who dominated battlefields. For some reason, he lost his head and his sanity, becoming a monster, but his terrifying scythe skills remain unmatched. Obsessed with reclaiming his lost head, you’d better guard your own when facing a dullahan. Weaknesses? Well, unless you have the dullahan’s head, I can only say that showing off pointless bravery makes you the perfect target to die.”