All Chapters of The Squalor Bastard Becomes The Gravemarch: Chapter 121
- Chapter 130
136 chapters
The Shadow
Won woke up in the evening. He went to bed very late and didn't sleep well. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard the voices of those guards.He sat on the edge of his bed and looked at the makeshift calendar he had scratched into the wall. His eyes drifted to the table. Hozhi was fast asleep, sprawled out on his back. Beside the hamster, the alcohol flask was lying on its side, the cap off. A small puddle of alcohol had spilled onto the table.“As long as you enjoy it, buddy,” Won muttered quietly. Just as Won turned to grab a water bottle, Wynn appeared out of the air, leaning against the dresser as if he had been standing there for hours.Won jumped, his heart hammering against his ribs. He clutched his chest, gasping for air. “Holy… m
The Birth of Grif
Won drew his Sensari Sword. He looked down at the knight. “It’s going to hurt you a little,” Won said. “But it’s nothing compared to what you’ve already endured tonight. Hang in there, buddy. I’m going to bring you back.”A wet, gurgling sound rose from beneath the knight’s shattered armored mask. His body jerked. His gauntleted hand scraped against the stone, and he began to push himself upward.Won froze, his grip tightening on his sword. “You’re... resisting?”The knight was trying to sit up. His armor groaned, the metal screaming under the strain of his broken bones. “You want to fight?” Won asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Even now? You’re at the edge, buddy.
The Silent Temple
Won had been walking for four hours. Won looked toward the horizon. The sun would rise in an hour. In the distance, he could see a few weak, scavenger-class beasts fighting over the remains of a carcass. He didn't bother with them. He planned to walk for a few more hours, mark a few new locations, and then retreat to the safety of the Hollow Chamber.As he walked, his thoughts drifted back to Noah.But he didn't want to think about Noah for now or the possibility of a family he never knew. He had convinced himself that the answers were locked away behind the test he was currently living through. If he survived the Veyne, he might find the truth. If not, the truth didn't matter.There was a certain peace in being alone here. No one to give him orders, no one to rely on, and no one to disappoint. He had always been a
Missed
Won sat back. He stayed silent for a long time. In the Dark City, a voice was rarely just a voice. It could be a Mimic, or some ancient horror. He was confused.He leaned down, pressing his ear to the floor again. "Why did they keep you here for seven days?" he asked.There was a pause. The silence from below lasted long enough for Won to start reaching for his sword. Then, the girl spoke."I came here alone," she said. "I was exploring the ruins. They thought I was an attacker, so they threw me down here.""An attacker?" Won mused. “That’s a bit hard to swallow, don't you think?""Are you going to save me or what?" the girl snapped. Won raised his brows. That an
The Waiting
As they stepped onto the polished marble porch, the pale grey light of the approaching dawn washed over them.“You can get me down here,” Mikasa spoke softly. She tapped Won’s shoulder with fingers.Won leaned forward, letting her slide off his back. As soon as her boots touched the stone, a soft, radiant glow began to seep out from her skin. The cuts on her face closed, leaving nothing but faint pink lines that soon faded away.Won turned to look at her, his eyes tracing the way the light danced in her hair. He exhaled a deep breath he felt like he had been holding for five months. When he spoke, his voice was rougher and more jagged than he intended.“Now tell me,” he growled, his hands trembling slightly at his sides. “What the hell are you doing in a place like this? Exploring the ruins? Is that what you call it? I might have only known you for a days weeks before I left, and I know you’re interested in risky stuff. But this? Coming here without any backup? What were you thinking,
Dancing with Shadows
As the Inda emerged from the jagged ruins, the silence of the temple porch was replaced by a cacophony of scratching and hissing. There were dozens of them. They didn't look like humans anymore. Their bodies were unnaturally thin, their limbs elongated as if they had been stretched on a rack. Their cloaks, woven from literal shadows and the bleached ribs of monsters, fluttered in a wind that shouldn't have existed."Stay behind me!" Won barked, his voice cutting through the noise."I’m not a child, Won!" Mikasa retorted.The first Inda lunged. It skittered across the road like a giant insect, its bone-daggers gleaming with a sickly violet poison.The giant knight took a single, heavy step forward, the marble beneath his boots shattering into powder. With a grunt that sounded like grinding tectonic plates, he swung his massive arm. The blow caught the Inda in mid-air. There was no struggle, only the sound of snapping bone as the creature was sent flying into a nearby pillar, turning in
The Shaking of the Heavens
The drumming vibrated inside Won’s teeth. It was a rhythmic, soul-crushing sound that seemed to command the very shadows of the Dark City to rise. And rise they did. From every shattered window and every gaping crack in the pavement, the Inda poured out like a tide of black ink."They aren't stopping!" Mikasa shouted over the roar of the wind.She stood beside Won, her hand reaching into the air. A flash of golden light erupted, and a slender, radiant longsword materialized in her grip. Won gripped his Sensari Sword in his right hand and his Fangs Wrath dagger in his left. He felt the cold, heavy weight of his Graveborn essence swirling around his feet like a dark mist."Grif! Hold the perimeter! Don't let a single one of those scavengers touch her!" Won roared. He was still worried that the torture Mikasa went through might weakened her core. He felt less essence and energy from her as seconds passed by.The giant knight slammed his fist into his chest plate, the metal echoing like a
The Weight of the Return
The wind at the top of the clocktower was cold, biting through the layers of Won’s worn clothes. From this height, the Cursed City looked like a massive, jagged puzzle of broken dreams.Beside him, Mikasa stood silently. She leaned against the rusted iron railing, her eyes fixed on a specific point in the distance, a shabby building that looked like it might collapse if the wind blew too hard. That was where the rest of the team had been huddled for the last few months.It had been a day since the battle with the Inda. They had traveled through the ruins with a quiet intensity, camping only when Mikasa’s exhaustion became too much to ignore. Won hadn't entered his Hollow Chamber once during the journey. He was quiet the entire time. There was too much to say, and neither of them knew where to start.Won’s eyes drifted toward the street level near the hideout. He saw a few small, makeshift shops, little more than stalls. Hanging from a wooden beam in one of them were several small bag
Girl with Grey Eyes
“How have you been?” Leo asked.His voice was casual, almost too casual. He didn't look angry, and he didn't look sad. He kept his face like a mask of stone, as if Won had only been gone for a few days to run an errand, rather than vanishing into the mouth of a nightmare for five months.Won’t eyes shook. He wasn't just looking at Leo; he was sensing him. He could feel the heavy, erratic thrum of Leo's heart. It was beating fast—way too fast for someone who was supposedly "fine." Leo was acting tough, playing the role of the fearless leader, but Won knew better. He knew exactly how much his disappearance must have hurt the guy.Won gulped, the lump in his throat feeling like a jagged rock. “Good. I have been—”“Happy?” Leo interrupted.The word hit Won like a physical blow. He didn't even think about it. He just instinctively shook his head.“Good,” Leo said, his voice dropping an octave. “I wouldn't like it if you said you were happy. Not while we were back here wondering if you were
Hollow Echo
Won blinked twice, the grey of Emma’s eyes feeling like a physical weight against his chest. He shook his head slowly, his voice sounding distant even to his own ears.“I’m not back,” he said. “Not really. Or at least… I haven’t decided yet.”To Emma, he was an outsider. A ghost that had wandered back into a house that no longer belonged to him. Won couldn't blame her for the suspicion. In a world where every shadow held a blade, a man who leaves and returns is often more dangerous than the monsters that stayed. He felt the familiar pull of the Dark City calling him back to the ruins, back to the simple, cold logic of being alone.Just then, the door to the adjacent room creaked open.Orson stepped out, his hand still resting on the iron knob. He froze the moment his eyes fell on Won. For several long seconds, he just stared, his chest rising and falling in a jagged rhythm. The silence in the room became brittle, ready to shatter at the slightest sound.“Hey, Orson?” Won said, trying