Chapter 1: For Kartan
A warrior‑clan called Charun lived all their days for honorable fights.
The long‑standing history of Charun finally ended today.
The homeland of the blazing Charun, the grand camp of Katrania.
Cold corpses contrasted with the heat emanating from surrounding flames.
Thirty percent of the corpses were Charun warriors, seventy percent were humans.
Their stubborn, valorous last stands spoke of honorable deaths, befitting true warriors.
Those fallen likely marched joyfully toward the Golden Palace, Kartan.
But Orcus, who stayed to see them off, could not bless their deaths.
‘Can this really be called honor?’
Gazing at the ashen sky, Orcus sighed.
Four years ago, the Western heretic Sakadur waged war upon the continent, and the Kingdom of Kronik united the lands to resist.
Great Warrior Orcus led his clan in battle against Sakadur.
The war lasted three years.
They succeeded in banishing the heretic beyond the continent, but the war did not end.
The royal court’s blade then turned toward the Charun clan.
Teran, one of Orcus’s human close friends, said:
―They hated their names being mentioned alongside Charun. They needed a scapegoat to cover countless failures in the distribution of merit. Those bastards.
Katrania endured the continent’s assault for a year, but eventually reached its limit, and Orcus and the warriors made a decision.
They would draw attention here so that the Charun children—hope and future—smuggled from the grand camp could reach the great snowy plain beyond the Northern Sea.
“Heh heh…”
With foaming laughter, Orcus’s vision darkened.
His tenacious vitality was finally letting him go.
‘Warrior‑god, does Kartan truly exist?’
The Charun followed the warrior‑god, but did not worship him.
They called him only “warrior‑god,” without even a name.
Yet in this moment, Orcus became a devout follower and prayed fervently.
‘Then please open the gates of the Golden Palace for them all.’
The future for the young Charun would be bitterly cold and harsh.
‘You must watch over and guide those children—Charun’s future. Otherwise…’
Just before death closed his eyes, Orcus’s gaze flashed fiercely.
‘I will come back after knocking you down…’
Then Orcus closed his eyes… and awakened centuries later in the body of a young Charun named Hindir.
It seemed the warrior‑god had not granted his wish.
---
Strange waves of memories flooded in.
Orcus remained motionless for some time as he absorbed them.
When he finally regained awareness, he realized he lay in a cave filled with biting cold and a foul stench.
‘What was the end of this body’s master… Hindir…?’
Running in darkness, falling off a cliff—it seemed the last memory before Orcus opened his eyes.
Had Orcus truly possessed Hindir’s body or was it mere delusion?
‘Typical cliff‑cave fortuity.’
Orcus, attempting to rise, winced at a pain in his abdomen.
“Mm…”
His abdomen bore wounds unlikely caused by a fall.
They were clearly bite marks, and the foul smell gave away the culprit, drawing a wry smile.
“What is this…”
The cave was full of rotting corpses.
It was no mystical cliff cave but just a beast’s lair.
The great Warrior Orcus had nearly become beast fodder.
The situation was clear.
The beast probably carried unconscious Hindir into this cave after the fall.
No broken bones suggested the cliff may have been low—or luck had favored him.
‘Perhaps Hindir was already dead.’
The beast would not reliably carry still‑alive prey…
“Tch. What’s the point of analyzing now.”
Ruminating over the body’s original memories was no immediate concern.
Although his body had changed, Orcus’s innate perception remained.
He sensed something approaching the cave—not far off.
The prey that seemed dead suddenly stirred.
The creature would not let him go easily.
‘No weapons…’
Hindir in memory had a sword, but it must have been lost during the fall.
So he picked a sharp bone of suitable length from scattered remains.
Thunk—thunk—
Heavy footsteps began to echo.
Moments later, a massive life form, backlit and blocking the entrance, glared at Orcus with crimson eyes.
‘As expected, a bear.’
But…
“Red fur?”
A bewildering sight.
According to Hindir’s memories, this land was snow and ice.
Yet here was a red‑furred bear?
“Strong one.”
Otherwise it could not survive in such conspicuous form.
The bear approached Orcus slowly.
Once engulfed by the cave’s darkness, its form became clearer.
A forepaw as big as Orcus’s torso, elongated fangs too long for a usual bear.
Short fur, thick fat layer breached by developed muscles—plus its formidable aura.
A term existed for such creatures.
A spiritual beast.
‘Or maybe still a bit short of that.’
Orcus had fought many spiritual beasts and knew their energy levels well.
Compared to them, this bear could not yet be called a perfect spiritual beast.
‘A rock lies before me. Should I call that lucky or not?’
It was fortunate it wasn’t a full spiritual beast, but too much for this unfamiliar and frail body.
Hard to believe it was truly the descendant of the warrior‑clan…
Payment for injuries?
That was no real problem.
Charun warriors often fought while carrying wounds both big and small before they accumulated experience and years.
What held Orcus back was simply that he couldn’t trust this body.
“You could find other prey in no time.”
A creature of that size would likely understand speech, so he tried talking.
Avoiding a fight for now would be ideal.
“Just so you know, I’m the guy who beat up the warrior‑god and came back to life.”
Probably.
“Which means I’m the best fighter in the world. So how about you pretend you didn’t see me? Things won’t end well for you.”
Grrr—
Hmm. It seemed the message got through.
Look.
It bared its crimson gums and teeth as if laughing in reply.
“Heh heh. That’s right.”
Orcus let out a dry laugh.
It didn’t suit him.
Charun warriors never avoided battles against the strong.
KWAANG—!
With a destructive, reckless charge, the bear initiated the fight.
Orcus had predicted the attack by the subtle tremble of the bear’s fur and dodged easily, but was still not satisfied.
‘Slower than expected.’
He had time to counterattack, but this flimsy muscle couldn’t keep up.
THUMP—
Unable to control its momentum, the bear slammed into the opposite wall, but bounced back unfazed and swung its forepaw again.
Orcus dodged it even more easily this time.
His residual combat instincts adapted more with each roll of the unfamiliar body.
It was a moment that proved the worth and power of the Great Warrior’s memories.
CRACK— KWAANG—!
Each swing of the bear’s forepaw shattered the walls and floor.
Orcus dodged the savage attacks by a hair’s breadth and closed the distance.
THUD—
In an instant, he drove the bone into the bear at a spot similar to the wound on his own abdomen.
But with thick hide and fat, a dull bone couldn’t penetrate.
If he’d had even half of his old strength… no, in his original body, he wouldn’t need a weapon at all for a foe like this.
SQUELCH—
He stabbed repeatedly before the bear could react, but it only provoked the beast’s fury with no real damage.
Grrrr—
With a growl full of irritation, the bear swung its massive paw again, which Orcus dodged and used the opportunity to stab under the armpit.
The more agitated the beast became, the more it exposed vulnerable spots—and Orcus struck them with precision.
Still, to bring it down, a fatal blow was necessary.
ROOOAAR—!
The bear roared so fiercely it shook the entire cave and lunged at Orcus with its paws spread wide.
Using its bulk to crush and block all escape routes—simple but highly threatening in a narrow space.
But it picked the wrong opponent.
Instead of backing down, Orcus stepped in.
Just as he was about to be crushed, he grabbed the bear’s flank fur and pushed off the ground, sliding.
He climbed onto the bear’s back and drove the bone down toward its head—aiming for the eyes.
CRUNCH—
“Ha!”
An instinctive exclamation burst out.
The bear reacted to Orcus’s acrobatic move and blocked with its paw.
“Hahaha!”
Orcus laughed heartily.
‘How long has it been since I fought a beast this fiercely?’
For the bear, it must’ve felt like fumbling against an insect—infuriating.
But for Orcus, the primal thrill of this fight stirred him for the first time in ages.
RIP—
The bear threw off Orcus’s forearm and flung the bone weapon away.
Had it realized Orcus was now unarmed?
Instead of attacking again, it snorted—*huff*—as if mocking him.
“You dumb brute. I told you already. I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Still clinging to the back of the bear’s head, Orcus grinned broadly.
“The first fight always begins with the fist.”
THUD—
He slammed his fist into the bear’s unsuspecting eye.
ROAR—!
At last, the bear cried out in pain for the first time.
It raised both forelegs and scratched at Orcus, leaving large wounds one after another.
But Orcus, unfazed as if this pain were nothing, swung his fists without pause.
If the eyes were blocked, he struck the crown of the head. If the crown was blocked, he went for the ears. Then back to the eyes, the head—raining blows indiscriminately.
‘You think swinging those soft fists is going to kill me?’
The bear was probably thinking just that—until its vision spun and its massive body staggered.
With this current strength, no matter how much he pounded the head, he couldn’t break the skull.
But he could shake the fragile brain inside.
There wasn’t enough fat to cushion the blows, and the skull’s density meant the shockwaves created by Orcus’s punches transmitted directly to the brain.
As he warned at the start, the bear’s defeat was inevitable.
Grrr…
The bear began to stagger heavily.
THUMP—
At last, it slumped forward and collapsed.
Only after seeing thick red blood oozing from its snout did Orcus relax and rise to his feet.
Its brain must’ve turned to mush—it wouldn’t be waking up again.
“Huff… haah…”
After attacking nonstop without even breathing, Orcus now felt dizzy.
The blood loss from all those claw wounds must’ve contributed as well.
“…Heh heh heh…”
Orcus’s whole body, like the bear’s red fur, was now soaked in blood.
But he was the one still alive.
It must’ve been misfortune for the beast that it could no longer feel this vivid pain.
Orcus dropped to the ground and closed his eyes.
His body was utterly drained, and his mind was exhausted.
Though his flesh had changed, he had still just died moments ago in brutal combat.
And to wake only to fight to the death again—of course he was worn out.
‘If I fall asleep like this, I might freeze to death.’
That thought brought a bitter smile to Orcus’s lips.
‘That wouldn’t be so bad.’
It was still better than the wretched, bloody end he faced at the grand camp…
Perhaps this moment was nothing more than his own delusion, a final fight to the death as a warrior before dying properly.
“To Kartan…”
…he meant to say.
He habitually tried to recite the warrior’s chant.
But the words caught in his throat, and the ending wouldn’t come out.
He had been called the greatest Great Warrior in history.
A warrior who never once lost in the rites of warrior training that every warrior must endure.
But perhaps it had all been arrogance.
One decision had doomed his entire clan…
Did someone who killed everyone truly deserve to invoke the honor of a warrior?
“…For…”
Orcus murmured, barely audible.
The wind blowing into the cave was bitterly cold and lonely.