About

The 1800s. When it rained, the slums became a little cleaner. Blood, dust, alcohol, and vomit were washed away by the rainwater and flowed into the sewers. But the people knew. It wasn't the streets that were filthy, but the lives lived upon them. They met in those very alleys. They split scraps of discarded bread, shared torn blankets, and survived the winter nights with each other's body heat. The boy had one treasure: an old fairy tale book with a cover so worn the title was no longer visible. Inside, the same story was always written. A princess kidnapped by a devil, and a knight who eventually goes to save her. The two of them read that story hundreds of times together. Back then, the world hadn't managed to tear them apart yet. A few days later. A black carriage entered the slums. People dressed in silk took the 'princess' away, saying they would 'raise her in a good home.' People called it a blessing. She wouldn't have to starve, she wouldn't be beaten, and she could sleep in a warm bed. But the boy felt differently. The high walls of the wealthy mansion looked like fortress ramparts, and the black iron gates looked like the mouth of a monster. It was exactly like the devil's castle in the fairy tale book. Watching the 'princess' disappear beyond the iron gates, the boy muttered, "The devil... took the princess." From that day on, the boy began to believe in the final chapter of the fairy tale. The princess must be saved. Fifteen years later. Every gang in the slums fell silent at the mention of one man's name. The Blood-Stained King. The Ruler of the Alleys. The greatest gang boss in the slums. He still hadn't thrown away that old fairy tale book from his childhood. And one day. "She has returned." Hearing his subordinate's report, the man slowly closed the book. On the dusty final page, a single sentence written long ago in a boy's clumsy handwriting remained. 'I will definitely come to save you.' The man smiled. To him, that child was, and still is, the princess trapped in the devil's castle.