#91
“The entrance ceremony day.”
“What?”
What Rikin brought up then was a word I hadn’t expected at all.
“Surprisingly, despite so many magical beasts appearing, there wasn’t a single fatality.”
“Yes. I heard it was because the Duke moved quickly.”
“No, I understand that guards appeared from somewhere just when fatalities were about to occur. Especially the noble students near the stage—not even a scratch on them.”
It was certainly surprising that no one had died in such a massive disturbance. That’s why I thought it was strange. It seemed the Imperial family, who had planned this incident, had arranged the situation in advance to minimize casualties as much as possible. They positioned guards to respond immediately and placed people who could counter the magical beasts among the students.
No one died. However…
“Fifty-seven. That’s the number of students who became half-disabled or lost an arm. The number of injured is even higher.”
It wasn’t that no one got hurt. Students who fought magical beasts to protect others and were severely injured, students who lost arms after being caught in the sudden appearance of magical beasts—various people had their lives changed after being involved in the incident. And most of them were commoners.
“That’s truly unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate? You’re the one who caused the incident.”
“Me? I have no power whatsoever. And even if I did cause it, Young Master Parten, they sacrificed themselves for the Empire.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My ears went numb and blood rushed to my head. If Rikin hadn’t been in front of me, I might have lunged forward and swung my sword right then.
“Someone of the Parten family like yourself must know how dangerous demons are. I heard it was a small experiment to protect the imperial citizens from them. It’s truly unfortunate that some were injured in the process, but it was an unavoidable sacrifice. If the sacrifice of a few commoners can save the majority in the future, isn’t that worth it?”
Ramtel’s words sounded reasonable at first glance, but when analyzing them word by word, they made no sense. If a few sacrifices were needed in the first place, why were the injured mostly commoners? Moreover, there was no guarantee that the experiment would save the majority. Is it right to sacrifice someone for uncertain peace?
Rikin couldn’t have missed this interpretation that even I could make immediately. Rikin let out a hollow laugh and roughly stabbed his sword into the ground after pointing it at Ramtel.
“Thanks so much for saying that. I almost got in big trouble with my father and mother.”
Rikin’s sword stuck in the ground began to tremble finely. That trembling gradually spread to the ground around us.
“You know, there’s something you’re misunderstanding. The Parten family doesn’t exist to kill demons. If that were the case, our family’s nickname wouldn’t be ‘The Empire’s first shield and wall.'”
Ramtel hurriedly pulled out a long rod from inside his coat and began drawing something on the ground.
“We do not fall. We do not turn our backs.”
Rikin recited the magic incantation passed down in the Parten family. This was both a family magic created by the Parten family and a phrase that represented the Parten family itself. Though he only recited two sentences of the approximately eight-line incantation, the power was tremendous.
The ground, once it started shaking, completely turned over and collapsed on Ramtel. At that moment, Ramtel thrust the rod he was holding into the ground. Then a transparent barrier formed in front of him, blocking the magic pouring toward him. Rikin clicked his tongue briefly and tried to cast the spell again by stabbing his sword more forcefully.
It was Persis, who had been watching silently, who stopped Rikin.
“If you use more, they’ll notice where we are.”
“They’ve probably already noticed. That’s why he’s here.”
Since Yaksi had said she would buy us time, not everyone must have noticed. Perhaps Ramtel was acting alone. But then, how did he find this secret passage? Unless Kuatrin had told him, there was no way Ramtel could have entered here.
At that moment, a chill ran down my spine and I found it difficult to breathe. I sensed something familiar from Ramtel. It was the power I had felt when I briefly connected with “him” through the sword. It was very faint and hard to notice, but this was clearly…
“What have you done?”
At my question, Ramtel smiled broadly like someone who had found the rarest treasure in the world. His expression, so out of place in this situation, dragged me down even further.
The magic circle that caused the entrance ceremony incident was drawn with blood. Most assumed it was animal blood, but something else was mixed in. And now the rod that Ramtel was holding was partially enveloped in a mysterious crimson light. Without anyone explaining, I could tell what it was made of.
“What did you do to him?”
A scene I had never witnessed appeared in my mind. There was a man trapped in a transparent glass container. His forearms were covered with many wounds, and his blood, which hadn’t completely stopped, spread across the transparent water. The blood that had slowly leaked out eventually covered the entire container. His face, hidden by black hair, became indistinguishable as it was covered by the red water.
“I’m asking you, what did you do?!”
Before anyone could stop me, I lunged at Ramtel. Then I dug my fingers into the transparent wall he had created. There was a screeching sound like metal being scratched. My fingers, which penetrated all the way through at once, mercilessly tore apart the wall Ramtel had created. The sound of glass tearing spread far.
“Ana!”
I heard Persis calling from behind. But I couldn’t stop and grabbed Ramtel by the nape of his neck. Even with his breath choked off, Ramtel didn’t erase his smile. He looked like someone who had dreamed of this whole situation.
“Found you.”
That was what “he” had said when looking at Ramtel through my eyes. Ramtel stared at me with wide eyes as if trying to memorize every detail of my face. His face was so grotesque that it calmed my intense emotions somewhat.
“Heh, hehehehe. Found you.”
He said that while barely able to breathe properly. The creepiness made me loosen my grip on his neck, and at that moment, Persis, who had been watching the situation, grabbed Ramtel’s head and slammed it against the wall.
Even subdued by Persis, Ramtel didn’t take his eyes off me. His snickering face was so different from the man who had been standing with an innocent face moments ago that it was disorienting. After the nauseating emotion subsided, what remained within me was endless anxiety.
“Shut up.”
“Hehehehe.”
The soft laughter sent chills down my spine. Persis muttered something softly and created an invisible sword. Then he raised the sword high. If not stopped, Persis’s sword would pierce right through Ramtel. If I had been ruled by emotions, I would have welcomed Persis’s action, but not now.
Just as I urgently tried to grab Persis’s arm, Rikin’s sword, which had somehow approached right beside us, stabbed Ramtel’s thigh.
“Urgggh!”
Ramtel’s scream spread throughout the narrow passage. We needed to move quickly in case it was heard outside.
As soon as Rikin withdrew his sword, Ramtel collapsed. Released from Persis’s grip, Ramtel moaned and clutched his stabbed thigh. Red blood could be seen pouring through the gaps between his fingers holding the wound.
“Rikin!”
“Let’s not waste time. He saw our faces, so we have no choice. Better to cut the bud.”
It was a natural statement for our safety, but I felt reluctant about Rikin killing someone. They were still students who hadn’t even reached adulthood. They were too young to bear the burden of taking a life.
However, if we left Ramtel like this, he could go to Kuatrin and testify that he saw us.
“Ha, haha. Don’t worry. His Highness Kuatrin doesn’t know at all that you’ve entered.”
Ramtel spoke to us with a smirk as if he couldn’t feel any pain.
“I really want to help you all.”
As Ramtel started talking again, Rikin tried to swing his sword. But Ramtel was a bit faster.
“Of course, everything ends if I die. I’ve made arrangements for certain facts I know to be revealed to people if I go missing.”
Ramtel stared intently at my face as he spoke. I couldn’t tell what those arrangements were, but I could guess they were related to me. Even while wounded, Ramtel was trying to manipulate us as he pleased. I couldn’t fully believe his words, but I couldn’t move rashly without knowing what he might reveal.
“What do you want?”
“To preserve my life, of course. Since I’ve failed to subdue you all.”
Ramtel answered Persis’s question with a giggle. Despite the fact that his life could vanish in an instant, Ramtel couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, as if this situation was extremely enjoyable.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
