At the southeastern end of the Southern Continent, there is a powerful kingdom called Karen, which can reach the endless Dusk Desert by walking along the borders of the Karon Kingdom.

But there is another country near the entrance to the Twilight Desert, the "Independent Self-Governing State of Conacht" with a group of brave warriors who once considered prosperous.

However, because it was a small country, it perished during a war with the powerful invading kingdom of Karen.

Then, because of the demon army that suddenly appeared in the desert at dusk, Connecht was abandoned and became a slum inhabited by refugees.

Although the kingdom is gone, the muscular cuirass, the spear and the round shield have been passed down as symbols of the warriors of Connecht in this land that has perished.

And the story takes place between the boys in the slums.

Between the remains of the old city, the broken stone staircase serves as the entrance to the slum.

Young teenagers leap up and down the crumbling steps, each holding a round rotting wooden shield and a long stick, playing the heroic image of the Conacht warriors in battle with the Cullen soldiers.

Then the teenagers began to cobble together the numbers in order to form their own groups, which looked like a miniature version of the two armies.

They come in groups, oppress the weaker group, plunder the money or food they have accumulated, you go back and forth, over and over again, and finally plunder and being plundered become the eternal yoke of these people.

For slum dwellers, this kind of slum fighting is the daily routine, so no adult has ever stopped children from doing so.

After all, the law of the jungle, which robs the weak and is robbed of by the strong, is transmitted by these adults to these children.

Because of this thinking, the slum continues endlessly, like hell on earth.

At dusk, night falls on the streets of this slum, neglected by the gods.

Narrow, twisted roads are littered with dilapidated walls and littered garbage, and cracked buildings loom as they did before they collapsed.

In the dark alleys, the gloomy atmosphere and irregular shadows hide everything that falls from the sky.

Every street is littered with collapsed bricks, sticky puddles, and various garbage heaps, among which discarded weapons can be found everywhere.

Drug addicts and criminals, orphans, and vagrants wander the dilapidated streets, whispering in the dark shadows, and the entire ghetto is enveloped in gloomy laughter and heavy footsteps.

The twisted runes and graffiti on the walls flickered as if they were artificially shaking light.

In the corner of the alley, a teenager with long blood-red hair was surrounded by a group of teenagers who were much taller than himself.

This suffocating confrontation seems like a pack of hyenas surrounding a lion.

Although the gang members are now in a situation where more bullies and fewer are bullying, they know very well that this blood-red long-haired teenager is not so easy to bully.

Despite this, they still keep an eye on the red-haired boy, because he still has bread in his bag that will belong to the gang, and even if he suffers a loss, the operation is not destined to be in vain.

When the tension was at its peak, I don't know who struck first, and in the blink of an eye, a chaotic battle began, waving shields and sticks vigorously at each other.

The red-haired boy's shield struck a man in the head, who bled to the ground, but no one cared about him.

The gang attacks the red-haired teenager on the inner thigh with the tip of a stick, and the teenager loses his balance and falls down after being hit.

They looked excitedly at the boy who was squirming on the ground in pain, laughed and bullied him even more, snatched his bread, and disappeared into the alley.

The red-haired boy lay on the ground panting for a while, looking at the sunset sky, slowly getting up, staring blankly at the alley where they had disappeared, and after a while he turned his gaze to something that had stumbled on his feet.

The gang just threw the guy who fell after hitting the head with a shield and walked away.

Thinking of the bread that had been snatched, the boy suddenly became angry and kicked the fainted guy until he vented his anger, and the guy who fell to the ground at that time did not move.

Whether he fainted or died, there was no difference between the two, so he didn't care too much.

When his breath had subsided, the boy picked up his stick and shield and stumbled into the small slum alley.

The boy looked left and right for a long time, but found no trace of anyone living here.

He wanted to find someone who had food and was weaker than himself, otherwise he would have to sleep hungry today.

How long have you been walking? The wandering boy came to the east of the slum, where he stopped behind a warm, candlelit building called the Vault.

Through the window, you can see the table with dinner neatly laid out in the sanctuary, the smiling children in front of the table, and the priestess sitting and laughing at the table with them.

Her facial features and appearance were strange to a bronzed-skinned teenager.

A window separates hell from paradise, and suddenly, a sense of deprivation arises in the boy's heart.

At this time, the sound of the old man's coughing phlegm came from behind the young man.

"Ahem, the Vault isn't something to be provoked with, you know? These strangers are God's messengers! Damnation will be upon coveting God's goods! ”

After a few words of gossip, the old man limped away into the dark alley.

This group of strangers claimed to have come from distant Talata as an accompanying priest, and their teachings were very different from those of the Imperial Hall.

In order to escape being burned as heretics by the Jasmine Court, they dispersed to foreign lands and unconditionally performed good deeds according to their teachings, making them the presence of the slum dwellers suffering from poverty and violence.

The inhabitants of the slums, even if they had no interest in their religion and teachings, would not doubt the fact that these strangers were good people.

As a result, it became an unwritten rule not to touch objects in the Vault.

This is the least respect that the people of this land who have been abandoned by God have for the strangers.

"Hmph, what's there to know!"

Of course, the boy knew this unwritten rule, but the aroma of the bread was so fragrant that it seemed to have taken away his soul.

He slowly lowered his body over the fence of the vault, using his sensitive sense of smell to reach for the basket with the smell of bread.

“……”

But let him down, the basket was empty and there was nothing.

His face was full of loss, and suddenly, the boy felt his body slowly float, which made him very panicked, and he struggled to look back.

"What? Let me go! ”

A tall, worn-out man in worn armor grabbed the boy by the back of his neck and lifted him up.

The boy has been through many battles in the slums, but only compared to his peers here, and in the face of these large adults, the boy is no match at all.

Therefore, even if the boy struggled in mid-air to escape, it was all in vain.

Perhaps sensing the sudden commotion, the priest who had just seen the boy through the window walked in as the wooden door of the vault was pushed open.

"What happened?"

"Ah, Sophia. I found the bunny who stole the bread! Haha, you see, it's a red guy. ”

“……”

The boy lowered his body in a self-defeating manner, sighed deeply, and listened to the conversation between the two.

"Alex, let go of this teenager."

"But ......"

"The doors of the refuge are open to all, hurry."

"I ...... Got it. ”

In the calm, rigorous words of the priestess named Sophia, the tall Alex carefully sent the boy to the ground.

The boy nervously shook off the man's hand and assumed a pose that he was about to flee into the darkness.

Looking at the boy, Sophia bent her knees and began to tell the story.

"I'm the head of the vault, and my name is Sophia. This is the policing man, Mr. Alex. Can you tell me your name? ”

"My name is ...... Echel. ”

"Okay, Echhell. Are you hungry? ”

Under Sophia's questioning, Echel snorted rebelliously in the opposite direction and avoided the question. Unhurriedly, Sophia pulled out a piece of bread from her pocket.

"Come, take it."

Echel looked at the bread handed over by Sophia, and before he had time to think seriously, he hid it in his arms.

The bread he got for free was like a windfall for him.

"You're injured, do you need to be bandaged?"

In response to Sophia's question, Eichel wiped the wound carelessly and said categorically that he didn't need it.

"The shelter is being expanded, so you can find it at any time."

Sophia left that sentence and returned to the shelter, and Archer stood dumbfounded for a moment before returning to her hiding place.

Through the shattered windows, the moonlight shone on a mural painted by Eichel on the wall.

Echel sat in the cracked, precarious, sloping corner of the room, masking the bread he had just received in his mouth.

"Why did the woman give me bread? Is it a fool? ”

"You can't be pitying me, are you?"

"......Shh It's annoying! ”

Sudden unhappiness surrounds the brain.

It didn't get out of Echell's thoughts until he fell asleep.

-

The next day, Echel woke up frowning in the sunlight pouring out of the cracks in the ceiling.

Although I couldn't sleep all night because of the lingering unhappiness in my mind, I had something to do today, so I still wandered through the labyrinthine slums with sticks and shields.

After a while, having found his target, Echel swooped down like an eagle that had found food.

"Red ...... Red wild dogs! ”

As soon as the teenagers of the same age saw Eichel with her long red hair fluttering, they fled towards the dim alley.

Two teenagers jump over scattered garbage heaps and quickly traverse a maze of intricate roads, engaging in a pursuit battle like a game of hide and seek.

But soon after, the desperate teenager stopped like a slip, didn't have time to adjust his rough breath, turned around and shouted in a panic.

"No! This is definitely not for you! ”

Afraid of being robbed, the boy blocked his bag with his shield and threatened him with a long stick, as if he was about to stab him.

What Echel was looking for was the bread in the boy's bag, and he didn't need to know how the boy got it, he just had to grab it.

Echel knocked off the boy's stick with his shield and swung it at his neck, causing the boy to fall to the ground weakly on his knees.

After easily subduing the opponent, the careless Ellchel reached into his bag, and the anxious teenager slammed Etchel's head with his shield.

The sound of craniums and planks clashing resonates in the alley.

Ecchelë tilted his face, ignoring his bleeding head, and carelessly snatched the bread with his stick hand, and kicked the boy with his foot.

With a scream, and dust wafting from the corner, the slumped boy finally intuitively understood.

It doesn't matter if you give the bread away, survival is the most important thing.

Eventually, the boy's beloved bread was taken possession by Echel.

Looking at the panting teenager, Echell, who had been blind, seemed to think of something, so he quickly left.

-

Echel stopped somewhere else but in front of the Vault, but instead of going straight into the Vault, he hesitantly observed his surroundings.

In any case, people usually think that shelters are places for vulnerable children to go, and he doesn't think of himself as weak, so this is very distressing for him.

After checking for a long time, making sure there was no movement around, Eichel gently walked through the door of the vault.

It is the day when the warm sun shines on the shelter.

There were two clotheslines hanging parallel to the grass, and Sophia, who was drying linen, noticed Echel walking quietly, and Sophia smiled.

The little paradise blew a gentle wind as if to welcome Chelé, and the clothes swayed gently.

"Hello, Echell. Here you go again? ”

Echel looked at Sophia, who was smiling at him, and was so embarrassed that she avoided her gaze.

Then he took out the bread he had just snatched from his bag and handed it over.

At a glance, you can see that this is completely different from the bread given to him yesterday, the appearance and texture are different.

"Huh? It won't be ...... Give it back to me, right? ”

"Take this, and we won't owe each other anything in the future."

Archell, who pretended to say all this casually, did not know that the wound on his head had quietly shed blood.

"It's worse than yesterday's wound, is it because of the bread fight?"

"Ah, this is...... The guy struggled so hard in the morning that ......"

Looking at Echell, who replied with a stiff shrug of his shoulders for the sake of that little pride, Sophia's face instantly darkened.

"So, this bread was snatched from someone else?"

"Don't worry about it, if I robbed it, it was mine."

For Echel, a teenager who grew up in the slums, this is a matter of course.

If the snatch is successful, it will change hands.

It is very natural for the strong to rob the weak of what is in the slums.

"Echell, I didn't want you to fight anyone because you were hungry when you gave you bread yesterday."

"So?"

"I can't ask for this bread, give it back to its original owner."

Never expecting this to be the case, Eichel was furious.

"If you don't want to take it, don't take it! You're going to tell me just a piece of bread? What are you? ”

“……”

Angry, Echel turned his back and ran outside the shelter.

He sat in the corner of the three-way intersection that stretched out in front of the shelter, took out the bread that had caused the quarrel, and took a few nervous bites, stuffing his mouth all over the place.

I really couldn't understand the phrase "return the bread I had worked so hard for", so the anger never subsided.

At this time, a group of boys surrounded the alley and walked towards Echel.

Among them was the boy who had just been snatched the bread by Echel, who also sensed the signs and stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth in one gulp.

"What to do? I've eaten it all! ”

Echel chewed bread in an inaccurate pronunciation as a group of angry teenagers raised their sticks and swung them at Eacher.

There was a chopping sound from the stick, and Echel tried desperately to stop it by covering his face with his shield, but was crushed by numbers.

The battle had already been decided from the start, and the teenagers angrily attacked Ellchel.

The place where the shield could not hide was injured, blood gushed out, red and swollen, but the beating was not over.

"Stop."

The owner of the solemn voice was none other than the priestess of the Sanctuary, Sophia.

Hearing Sophia's words, the boys wielding the sticks stopped their movements in unison.

Although the teenagers were menacing, they didn't dare to do anything, because she was accompanied by a tall man, Alex.

"Why did you hit this boy?"

"This guy stole my bread!"

"Come, take it."

Sophia took out a loaf of bread from her bag and handed it to the boy.

The boy stared blankly at the bread, wondering if he was in a good mood, so he turned around and walked with his companions to the other side of the alley.

Exhausted by the beating, Eichel quickly got up and asked Sophia unsteadily.

"Why...... Why give it to those guys...... Bread? ”

"What is taken by violence will inevitably be taken away by violence. Violence only produces another kind of violence. In order to break this vicious circle, I gave them back the bread for you. ”

Echel didn't get to the point where Sophia could be understood.

So he got angry and began to say something heart-wrenching.

"Nosy! Bah! What have you been staring at? After doing what needs to be done, let's go! ”

Listening to Echel spit out bloody spit and say rebellious words, Sophia glanced at Alex, the huge man behind her, and said something.

Alex then smiled, slung Echell, who was almost half a corpse, on his shoulders and walked back.

"Let go of me!"

Echel struggled desperately, but the wound seemed to scream, and then he lost consciousness and calmed down.

In this way, the three disappeared into the alleys of the slums.

-

After a long dream, Echel arrives in Paradise.

Tranquil landscapes, pleasant winds, swaying flowers and plants, this is a place free from sadness and hunger.

"I ...... I'm here for Irene? ”

Because it was completely different from the hellish slums, there was no real feeling, so Echel immediately thought it was a dream, and struggled to open his eyes to look at the ceiling.

But he was immediately startled by the uncracked ceiling, and immediately realized that the place where he was lying was not a hard stone floor, but a bed.

"Awake? Can I help you change your bandage? ”

Sophia, who was making another bed, looked at Echel and asked in a consultative tone, but Echel was a little resistant to the sudden concern, so she put on the quilt and pretended to sleep.

At this time, Alex snatched Eichel's quilt and said.

"The wound seems to have healed, right? So, come to work, friend! ”

Echel muttered to his feet, and miraculously he felt an unexpected feeling of refreshment.

Only then did he realize that his beaten body was wrapped in a white bandage, and the wound seemed to be completely healed.

Following Alex, who was walking in front, Sophia also walked out of the door, there was no way, Archer could only follow out.

Outside the shelter was an empty pasture, and in front of them was a huge bucket with more than half of the water.

"Okay, let's get started!"

"What the hell is this?"

Alex shouted loudly and soaked the stained quilt in the bucket: "What else could it be, of course it's laundry!" ”

Sophia also trimmed the wool after the work was skillful, which seemed to be easy for her.

"We can give the goat's milk we have saved to the people here or sell it to the next village, and the same goes for wool. The proceeds can then be used to buy some necessities. ”

It was the first time in his life that Echel felt that he could get what he wanted without fighting.

And so, when the ranch was done, Echel began grinding rusty farm tools, and then began to clean the sanitation of the shelter.

Finally, it's time to prepare the long-awaited dinner.

But ah, when all the work is done, the sun has already set.

Time passed so fast that Etchel had no intention of going home, so he sat at the table with everyone and watched the paradise-like scene outside the window.

Perhaps because of what he has experienced today, Echel has a new sense of refuge.

The quilt that looks clean, the room without even a single spider silk, the goat's milk and bread on the table, etc., are all made by Sophia herself.

Not only that, but the conventions to be observed in the shelter, the customary order and discipline, all of which she formulated and perpetuated.

At this time, Sophia handed the bread to Echell, who was staring blankly at the table.

"This one is entirely yours, and it is your fair reward for your divine labor."

"Reasonable? Remuneration? ”

No fighting, no complaining, just the first loaf of bread that I got by hard work.

For little Echell, the bread is more delicious than it looks, and there is more to it than it looks.

Sitting next to Echel was a group of innocent children eating their food, and Sofia watched with a smile on her face.

Echel looked at the natural calm scene and suddenly felt a strange resistance.

"Why don't you eat it?"

"You don't have to worry about it, I don't have much appetite."

Echel found that there was a mismatch between the food and the number of people on the table.

The sight of the abundance of the shelter that I saw outside the window at that time was an illusion for a moment.

His heart was heavy at the thought that the bread he had given himself on the first day and the bread he had paid back to a group of teenagers the next day was not leftover.

If you are hungry, you will be robbed, and if you are unlucky, you will be robbed......

For Echell, who has always lived like this, everything is very strange now.

A person's kindness without asking for anything in return is a noble sacrifice behind it.

If God really existed, he would have had the same sense of awe as Sophia in front of him.

Archer tore the bread in half and handed it half to Sophia.

"Come, take it."

"It's okay for me, I want you to eat it all."

Seeing Sophia waving her hand in refusal, Echel said with a glare.

"I don't want it, why are you starving? Obviously did the most things. ”

"Eichel ......"

Sophia stared into Echelle's eyes and accepted the bread that had been handed her.

"Thank you, I'll enjoy it."

Seeing Sophia accept the bread with a smile on her face, Echel began to eat his bread with peace of mind.

In this harmonious atmosphere, Echel asked the question from the bottom of his heart.

"Why...... Want to help me? You can also pretend not to know. ”

"For it is the instruction of God."

Sophia replied ambiguously to Echelle.

"What are you talking about?"

"I also don't know very well, sometimes there are some inexplicable emotions between people, could it be because God is in our hearts?"

"Then why doesn't your god reach out to the other guys?"

In the slums, there are many troubled teenagers besides Echel.

Among them, Sophia only saved Eichel, which was very puzzling to him.

"That's because it's not someone else, it's you knocking. Your soul is bleeding, as if you are looking for someone to heal. So I want to tell you. It's not just that you're experiencing a hellish world of the jungle, it's a world of God that we all live together. ”

Listening to Sophia's answer, Echel suddenly remembered the day he came to the shelter in order to steal bread.

Recent events have passed by like a marquee.

"In fact, the God in my heart wants to take care of all the people in the slums. But I can only think that the situation of the shelter is also very reluctant. ”

In response to Sophia's answer, Echel nodded in agreement.

Sophia used her own efforts to maintain the small paradise of the refuge.

Remembering Sophia's sacrifice not long ago to endure hunger and not eat bread, Echel secretly vowed not to let this happen again.

"I'll help you."

"Huh?"

"I saw that there are still a lot of things to do, if I come to help you, will the Vault become bigger than you expected?"

Although it was a seemingly childish idea of the little boy, Sophia seemed to be pleased to stroke Echel's head.

"Thank you, Echel will definitely be of great help. Just stay here, you have to follow the rules here, can you do it? ”

“……”

Echel nodded silently.

And so Ell's life in the shelter began!

-

Since that day, Echel has been in the shelter, doing almost all kinds of chores.

Caring for the sheep, milking or shaving the sheep to sell to neighbouring villages, maintenance stations that supply water and food, etc., are very busy.

Thanks to the efforts of Echel and Sophia, the shelter is gradually enriching and allowing for better care of the children.

Sophia also took more care of the children in distress as the shelter prospered.

As usual, Eichel walked down the shady alley with food bought from a neighboring village.

At this time, a group of boys rushed out of the alley and blocked the car together.

Archer stared at them and stopped the car, and one of them, a teenager who seemed to be in the lead, walked slowly.

"So busy? Crimson Wild Dog, is it another person? ”

"Get out of the way, I don't want to fight."

"What's in the car?"

When the leading boy tried to roll up the cloth covering the car with a stick, Echel grabbed the stick with his hand to stop him.

The two teenagers glared at each other with murderous eyes.

"Things in the shelter, don't just move them."

"Cut, don't get out of our way, coward."

The boy glared at Echel and the group as they disappeared to the other side of the alley.

Indeed, if it was before, there would definitely be a fight before speaking, but now Eichel is following Sofia's rules.

Archer looked at the alley where the teenagers had disappeared, lost thought, and then pulled up the car again and walked towards the shelter.

But the more I went to the shelter, the more uneasy I felt in my heart.

The children of the shelter who always greet themselves warmly, I don't know what is going on today, there is not even a shadow.

Echel parked his car near the ranch and as he stepped into the shelter, he heard the shrill sound of something being broken, mixed with the cries of children.

He carefully observed the chaotic atmosphere, where soldiers in armor were busy in the corridors and rooms of the shelter.

"What...... Who are you? ”

Sensing that Archer was back, Sophia hurriedly pulled Archer behind her.

"It's Karen's soldiers."

"Why are they here? Why watch the vault being smashed! What about Alex? ”

Alex protested to the soldiers from so far away, which seemed to have no effect, and looked very depressed.

Although Echel also said it in a state of anger, he knew that even Alex could not deal with so many soldiers.

"A tip-off letter has been received that the Vault is providing money and weapons to the remnants of Conacht, and in search of evidence, we are conducting a search."

"Whoever said that."

Sophia calmly conveyed the facts as they were, and Echel was speechless.

And vandalism under the pretext of searching is really infuriating.

The soldiers pushed the furniture around, rummaging through the entire space in search of possible secret passages.

"Enough!"

Echel clenched his fists and was about to run towards the soldier in front of him menacingly, but was stopped by Sophia.

When he looked into Sophia's eyes, who was shaking her head, Eichel's anger seemed to be suppressed.

"I'll come."

Her eyes seemed to say so.

"Whose order is this?"

Listening to Sophia's resolute tone, a man who looked like a captain said menacingly.

"An order from Baron Lowell himself."

"I see, so did you know that Countess Kailas is funding this Vault?"

Echel watched as the two of them talked about the nobles whose names they had never even heard of.

I wanted to see how long this kind of argument would end, and suddenly I heard the knight captain ask in shock.

"What?"

"If today's events could reach her ears, even Baron Lowell wouldn't stop there, would he?"

"Huh."

"Let's stop here, no matter how much you rummage, even if you burn down this shelter, there is nothing to say, it will only make everyone unhappy."

Unexpected heavyweights were mentioned, and they couldn't hide their bewildered looks.

Then, under Sophia's warning, the captain of the knights, who had been coughing and distressed, shouted orders to the soldiers.

"That's enough, withdraw!"

At the command of the captain of the knights, the soldiers stopped what they were doing and fled from the shelter in a swarm.

Suddenly realizing that Sophia had kicked them out of the shelter without letting them shed a single drop of blood, and looking back on his violent approach to solving everything, Echel realized how naïve he had been.

If you use violence to resist the Knight captain, can you really defeat them?

Echel shook his head, leaving the strange thought behind him.

On the other side, after the soldiers who had turned the shelter into ruins left, Sophia began to comfort the frightened children.

"Let us not forget that God is always in our hearts, and as long as our hearts are steadfast, any trial can be overcome."

The choked children nodded one by one when they heard Sophia's words.

Echel looked at the scene, and in order to soothe the complicated emotions in his heart, he quietly walked out of the shelter and walked onto the hillside covered with the setting sun.

Under the golden sunset, look down at the slums below.

Echel sat down with a plop and drew a few lines on the ground with a branch, and in an instant he drew a sketch.

Slowly, Connacht was drawn as if he had never existed in reality, and it was a peaceful atmosphere.

This is not broken, what Archer imagined Paradise to look like.

"Echell, are you painting?"

Echell, who was concentrating on drawing, heard something behind him and turned his head to look behind him.

"May I sit next to you?"

Sophia asked for permission and sat down next to Etchel.

"That's handsome, are you drawing Conacht?"

“……”

Echel nodded shyly.

"It's like a paradise, isn't it?"

"Have you ever seen Paradise?"

"Paradise is everywhere and everywhere. If we live according to God's will, perhaps this land will be a paradise. ”

“……”

This time Archer didn't answer, just nodded.

Looking at the slums at sunset again, Sophia also saw where Echel was looking.

Staring blankly at somewhere in the slums, Ell spoke slowly.

"That...... Just now...... Before I knew it, my fists were hard. ”

When Echel blamed himself for almost throwing his fist again and bowed his head, Sofia tapped him on the shoulder.

"I know, you want to protect everyone."

"But ......"

"Echel, I stopped you, I just hope you don't get hurt, fighting for something precious is not something to blame."

“……”

"I'm doing this to protect you, and to protect everyone."

"It's so hard."

Echel listened to Sophia's words and scratched his head in bewilderment.

Suddenly, there was a big commotion in the slum at sunset, and the two of them turned their eyes there.

The two gangs clashed and fought together, and the distance was too far to be observed closely, but from experience, it was a bloody battle.

Echer broke the silence and asked Sofia a question.

"Have you ever thought about it? Why are they fighting? ”

“……”

Sophia looked sadly into the distance and did not answer.

"If you can't beat it, you'll starve...... It's hell there. ”

"Eichel ......"

"Do they know? It was themselves who really turned that place into hell. ”

“……”

With curse and contempt, Echel looked at the mouth of the alley where the struggle was about to begin.

"What, you feel this way because you don't feel much about this hellish place, right?"

Hearing this, Sophia gently closed her eyes, shook her head slowly, and then cautiously confided in her past.

"I also live in hell, a member of the Order of Heresy since the Royal Hall of Tarata. Our teachings are very different from those of the Emperor's Hall, and we believe that only 'harmony and symbiosis', not 'war and extermination', can open the doors of paradise. ”

"The Emperor's Office has persecuted and ravaged us, and in order to convert us, we have been tortured and tortured, and countless lives have been taken. In the end, we left Talata, falling apart and completely disintegrating. ”

"But our doctrine, our spirit, has not disintegrated, and I believe that our religion will definitely spread somewhere and produce new adherents. Therefore, even in a distant land in a foreign land, I did not lose hope in Connacht. Because I know that even if I walk in hell, I have to save people who are more miserable and sad than I am. ”

From Sophia's calm memories, Echel seemed to see a brief hell.

Still, she didn't lose hope.

Presumably, Sophia must have experienced a lot of twists and turns before settling in a foreign country, and it will definitely not be smooth sailing.

In short, Sophia's ability to create such a small paradise in this place now has made Echel deeply respected.

"If it's a hellish place, I don't miss my hometown......

"No, memories in pain will blossom. In particular, the sunset over the Ignach River is really beautiful when you see it before you leave. ”

Sophia's eyes were moist because of the river in her mind.

Born in Conacht, near the twilight desert, Echel could not imagine the river Sophia described.

I just imagined the paradise I had seen in my dreams.

Sophia smiled helplessly and continued.

"But if you go back, will you be kicked out again? It's really hard to do. ”

"If this really happens, I'll help you teach those people a lesson, didn't Sophia say it just now, if it's for protection, it's okay to fight."

Seeing Eichel trying his best to pretend to be natural, Sophia felt that he was quite cute and touched his head.

"Thank you for saying that."

"Ahem, I just want to see the river Sophia was talking about."

Sophia couldn't imagine a paradise that didn't exist.

Perhaps because of this, Echel wanted to stay with Sofia all the time.

Seeing that Echel in front of him was saying those prevaricating and lame words in order to hide his true heart, Sophia replied with a smile.

"Yes, Echel is so strong, protect me. Let's take a trip to Tarata! I would like to introduce you to the most beautiful 'Ignach River' in the world. ”

“……”

At that time, Sophia was clearly smiling so brightly, and for some reason, it seemed so sad to Echell.

Archer remembered the promise of that day for a long, long time.

A few years have passed, and every day is busy.

Through everyone's efforts, the scale of the shelter is getting bigger and bigger.

Bigger means more things to do.

Echel also takes care of twice as many sheep and takes more time to clean like a shelter space that needs to be expanded.

In addition, with the increase in the number of children, Sophia is busy day and night, with countless days without food and serious lack of sleep.

Why is it God's will to be so desperate and infinitely driven by yourself? Although Echel is curious, the daily busyness makes it impossible for him to have a warm conversation with Sophia.

It doesn't matter, it will be okay, under each other's trust, a day of mutual silence as usual, Sophia suddenly fainted.

When he held Sophia, who had vomited blood and fainted, in his arms, Echel was startled.

"It's hot, it's light."

Archer felt something big could happen in a moment.

So he yelled at the children who were just looking at him in a row.

"Don't just watch! Doctor! Call a doctor! ”

Echel cried out loudly that there could be no doctor in this hellish Slum of Conacht.

It took four days for a decent doctor from a neighboring village to find the shelter.

The doctor looked at Sophia on the hospital bed with a serious look on his face and shook his head.

"It's an endemic disease, and it should have been delayed for a long time, too late...... There is no cure. ”

Echel simply couldn't accept these desperate words.

"Save her! You...... Are you still a doctor? ”

Archer grabbed the doctor's collar and screamed and shook it, and the doctor held his glasses helplessly.

Hearing this series of commotions, Sophia spoke to Echel in a hoarse voice.

"Ell, don't do this."

“……”

Archell's hand slowly let go, and the doctor quickly packed up his things and immediately walked out of the room.

"You can't use violence...... Remember our rules? ”

"Sophia, you...... You're dying, and the rules are irregular! ”

"I'm sorry Eichel, but the rules still have to be followed."

Seeing Sophia smile embarrassed and trying to speak, Archer couldn't contain the anger in her heart.

"Heh......"

Unrestrained, Echel slammed the table in anger.

"Don't be too sad, there will be a ...... of parting when there is an encounter"

"Why push yourself so hard? ...... like a fool"

“……”

Echell, who usually never expresses his emotions, felt as if he was about to cry, causing Sophia to choke up and couldn't speak for a long time.

She looked out the window at the scenery, adjusted her breathing, and continued.

"I'm sorry, I may not be able to keep the agreement, I said I would introduce you to the Ignach River."

“……”

Echel had a stiff expression on his face, gritting his teeth and holding on to keep the tears from coming.

"Echell, are you still looking for paradise?"

"I don't know."

"If it were you, I would have found you, after all, you are a warm person."

“……”

"Follow the guidance of the God in your heart, and He will guide you to Paradise, and although the road ahead is difficult, you can overcome it with your strength."

"Paradise."

After Sophia said this, she wanted to take a break.

The sun was scattered on Sophia's face, and she smiled, as if without any regrets or nostalgia, and closed her eyes quietly.

As a child, Etchel felt as if everything he was experiencing was slowly crumbling like a god dissipating.

Sophia's funeral was cremated in the traditional Connecht way.

After rushing her away, the vault quickly collapsed.

Without her care, the children who could not survive left the shelter in search of a way to survive.

It's as if after God left, the old story lost its light in an instant.

No one was able to inherit Sophia's divine will, and the rules of the refuge that had been established with great difficulty were broken.

Violence and looting have once again taken root in the Sanctuary, which is no longer safe.

One, two, three...... Because of the repeated partings, it is expected that no one will be left here.

Finally, Alex also patted Echel on the shoulder and said his final goodbye.

"Echell, take this, it's a parting gift."

"What is this?"

"I heard that this is the armor that your ancestors used to wear, it is too small for me, you can wear it if you are older."

Alex gave the Conacht armor he had gotten out of nowhere.

Although it has a bright red rust, it is an unusual item that remains of its primary color.

"Ah, it's rusty, but if you fix it well, you can get it back to its original color, you know how to do it, right?"

"Of course, I know."

Alex nodded slightly as he watched Archer try to look like an adult.

Eichel had repaired rusty farm tools a few times before, and it shouldn't be a difficult task.

"Okay, be strong, see you soon."

And so, simply, to end the last greeting, Archer watched Alex leave.

Archer looked around the empty shelter alone.

In the warm light, he seemed to hear the laughter of children, but in fact there was no one here.

Once upon a time, Echel thought it was good to be alone.

But he understands now.

It's great to have someone to cherish around you.

How painful it is to be alone.

Now, there is no God to go through pain with me.

Echel stayed in the shelter for a while, sorted out his memories, and left quietly.

Since then, no one has seen a man known as the Crimson Wild Dog in the slums.

A few years later, in the late summer evening, a young man walked slowly along the banks of the Ignach River, dyed with a golden sunset.

The water of the river sparkles in the reflection of the sun and looks like diamonds flowing with gold.

The setting sun on the Ignach River seems to be sprinkled with vivid orange-yellow paint, and the surrounding area of the river is shaded by trees and grass.

The mountains across the river were stained purple with smoke.

The evening breeze gently blows across the river, the warm sunshine, the calm sound of the river, and a peaceful atmosphere.

All this in the setting sun, forming a beautiful and elegant landscape painting.

Echell, who had grown up, got on an empty boat, looked at the Ignach River dyed red by the sunset, and pulled out a small glass bottle of white powder from his bosom.

Pulling off the cork, the fine bone meal in the glass jar fluttered in the wind, and soon the powder was carried away by the golden river water.

"It's the Ignach River, and I kept the agreement with Sophia, although not all of them were complied with, but ...... Things are not so good here. ”

Immersed in his engagement with Sophia, Echel began to grumble and grumble.

In retrospect, the memories of the Vault have faded over the long journey.

Lonely again, Echel has forgotten the most precious thing in his heart.

After experiencing the eternal lies and hypocrisy of human society, he became extremely vigilant and coldly shook off all the hands that were stretched out to him.

Whether it was good or bad, he didn't care.

It's like fighting is inevitable.

What would be the expression of Soyafi if he was next to him?

Echell, who was painting Sophia's face on the trickle, inadvertently muttered to himself.

"You're right, this river is the most beautiful river in the world."

As she said a long time ago, this is a beautiful scenery that you will never get tired of looking at no matter how many times you look at it.

Just like that, when he was about to turn around, a rough voice came from behind.

"Guest officer, do you want to take a boat?"

“……”

Listening to the boatman's words, Echel quietly watched the sunset for a while, and after a brief contemplation, he nodded silently.

"You don't look like a local, have you figured out where you're going?"

“……”

Echel listened to the boatman's words and shook his head.

"It seems to be a wandering place without a fixed place! It just so happens that there is a place where as long as you have good strength, you don't care about your background, how about it? ”

"Okay, let's go."

Listening to Eichel's muffled voice, the boatman shrugged his shoulders and began to paddle.

Stirring the golden waters of the Ignach River, the boat slowly sailed towards Kuhan.