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176
I don’t know what thoughts or feelings helped me endure that hellish time. There’s not much I remember.
Leriana’s hand holding me back, the Demon God’s voice flowing into my mind saying it was time, the spectacle of countless holy and magical powers dyeing the sky, something huge descending through the broken space.
Retracing the past events was brief. At some point, I came to my senses and found myself running madly. Despite having a body that wouldn’t normally be affected, I was strangely out of breath.
“Arpel…!”
The center where all the priests’ power poured in, where the power of wraiths gathered.
In reality, it wasn’t that far. If I focused all my strength on running, I could arrive in just a few seconds. I knew this. But even so… that time felt so long. It seemed to keep getting further away no matter how much I approached. Something welled up in my chest.
By the time I finally reached that place that felt so distant, Rohan was staggering. Strength left his toes, his ears were ringing, and his vision blurred.
He scratched his throat hard as his breath caught. He continued until a long wound appeared on his neck and bloody flesh got stuck under his nails.
“Ar, pel…”
He strained his voice once more. There was no answer. Ha ha, ha. Rohan let out a broken laugh. His empty gaze fell on the ground thick with grass. It felt like a big hole had been punched in his chest.
One step, two steps. Rohan slowly approached a place where flowers were particularly abundant. A wind from somewhere lightly disturbed the area. Among the swaying flowers and grass, something black was visible.
“Ah…”
Rohan let out a short sigh. His brief, inarticulate voice was laden with numerous emotions. Despair, dejection, resignation, self-mockery, sorrow, grief… various negative feelings jumbled his mind.
He slowly knelt down. Towards his one and only sword, broken into pieces in the middle of the lush grass.
‘Wish for Arpel to return safely, to remain by your side, for your contract with him not to be broken. Beg me, beg this world. Ask for his life to be saved.’
A faint voice echoed in his mind. Beg the god, and this world. That was the only clearly remaining instruction. Unable to touch the broken sword, Rohan slowly fingered his ear with trembling hands as he gently caressed around it.
“…Please save him.”
Save him. Don’t take Arpel away. Give me back my world, my everything. Rohan muttered without blinking. His murmuring voice was dreamy, as if walking in a dream.
Then he violently pulled out the purple earring embedded in his ear. Blood flowed down his earlobe as if wounded from the forceful removal, but he didn’t care. Rohan clasped his hands together as if praying, tightly gripping the bloodstained earring.
“Please…”
A faint voice flowed through his tightly closed teeth. His clasped hands trembled as much as his thin, quivering voice.
Drip. Drop. Droplets fell between his hands. Some were stained red due to his blood-covered fingertips.
The transparent and red droplets wet the grass, the flower petals, and the broken sword. Rohan, who had been blankly staring at his falling tears, slowly lowered his eyes.
Ah. He missed Arpel.
Once again, he failed to protect him. Just before losing him, he was even begging another being to save him. There was nothing he could do by himself. Wretchedness seeped into his sunken eyes.
But, it was still okay. Although pitiful, if it could save Arpel that way… it didn’t matter if it was someone other than the god and the world.
Whether kneeling, begging, clinging, or even if he had to suffer humiliation, Rohan was confident he would hold onto that thread tightly and never let go. It wasn’t even worth weighing the options to begin with.
‘So, please.’
Rohan muttered inwardly. He bit his ragged lips once more. A thin line of blood traced over the dried bloodstains. Tears flowed endlessly down his cheeks.
At that moment.
Crack. The earring in his hand, or more precisely, the jewel embedded in its center, shattered.
***
Owen suddenly turned his head to look out the window. However, his gaze was distant. It was a strange look, as if he was seeing something very far away that wasn’t visible to the eye.
“Priest? Is something wrong?”
“Just now…”
Lexia, who had noticed the change, asked for the reason, but Owen moved his lips for a moment before shaking his head. However, he couldn’t erase the complex emotions lingering in his eyes.
“I see. Would you like to take a breather? If you’re feeling unsettled, I can leave since we’re almost done with the plan.”
Lexia was aware of this as well. His gentle smile and offer to leave seemed almost skillful.
Owen hesitated for a moment. His mind wavered, but soon he shook his head again. The answer had been decided from the beginning.
“It’s fine. It’s just… it feels like the end is really approaching. That’s why.”
“Haha, you’re more sentimental than I thought. But you know that saying, right? The end is just another beginning. I’d like to bet on that side.”
“You’re quite sentimental yourself.”
“I hear that often.”
A gaze full of incredulity was directed at Lexia. The breath that followed resembled a hollow laugh.
After meeting Lexia, the mercenary guild master, and conversing with him for a long time, Owen realized that he belonged to the exact opposite type of person from himself. In short, it meant they had almost nothing in common.
If they weren’t in a position where they had to work together, if it wasn’t a matter that determined the fate of the empire, he would have quit the collaboration long ago. Owen dared to assert this.
He didn’t expect him to be serious about everything. But shouldn’t a person be serious when it’s time to be serious? However, Lexia had none of that.
He was consistently glib, playful, and excessively light in both words and actions. What was infuriating was that despite this, his work ability was the one thing that was passable.
It was hard to find common ground, and to be honest, he couldn’t stand the sight of him. But now… Owen glanced sideways at Lexia, who was concernedly checking on his condition while pretending not to.
‘It doesn’t seem so bad.’
At least he was someone who knew how to care for those around him. Owen raised Lexia’s position in his heart a little, just a little. At least he didn’t feel sorry for the people working with him at the mercenary guild. That alone improved his complex state of mind.
He recalled the strange wave that had just brushed past his body. An unfamiliar yet familiar aura that seemed to mix wraiths and magical power. Owen’s eyes sank once more.
‘…Arpel.’
The face of the Demon Sword who always stood by Rohan’s side came to mind. Anxiety suddenly surged, but it was only for a moment. Because Rohan was by Arpel’s side. So, nothing bad could happen to him. Rohan wouldn’t make such a choice.
What he felt after the anxiety was an intuition. That the long battle between the imperial family and the temple was finally heading towards its end. As they were on the verge of “overthrowing the imperial family” to borrow Lexia’s expression, his feelings became even stranger.
That was all. Owen, who was accustomed to calming his turbulent emotions, turned his head at the touch patting his shoulder.
“I’m thinking of going for a final check, what do you say? Want to come with me?”
“…Sure.”
He hesitated for a moment before standing up. By then, the worries that had been troubling him until just before had been cleanly erased from his mind. Right. There were other things to focus on. Owen’s expression became deeply solemn.
***
The sunlight piercing through the thinly drawn curtains heated up the noisy conference room. Luciel familiarly observed this scene.
When an agenda is presented, those standing on different positions pounce like a pack of wolves and tear at each other. The Emperor, his father, always silently watched this battle of nerves. Then, when it seemed a conclusion was reached, he would raise his hand for one side.
Although he would give plausible reasons, Luciel knew well. He knew that despite appearing logical, in the end, his father led the results as he desired.
It’s a sight one could usually see. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one feeling this sentiment. All the nobles in this conference room might think that today would flow similarly.
“Then, moving on to the next agenda…”
But not today. Luciel could dare to assert this. When the thought suddenly struck him that the time had come, he slowly closed his eyes.
BOOM!
Simultaneously, a deafening explosion reverberated through the conference room. Glass shattered, and curtains fluttered in the fierce wind. The ground shook terrifyingly.
“Ahhh!”
“Ugh, my, my eyes…!”
“What on earth is this!”
Those with glass shards embedded in their bodies screamed, and among them were those who collapsed with injuries to their eyes. In this place that had instantly turned into a scene of chaos, the Emperor was silently staring at one spot. Despite a clear wound on his cheek, perhaps from a glass shard, he remained that way.
“…What.”
He moved his lips. Luciel, who had been staring at this scene, slowly stood up while rubbing his cheek where blood was flowing from a similar injury.
He approached the curtains that had just stopped fluttering. Pulling back the red cloth, the scene beyond the broken window filled his vision.
Rising flames, black smoke, faintly audible screams… and among them, things that should no longer exist.
– Kyaaaah!
It seemed like the cry of a monster could be heard from somewhere.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
