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Their plan was as follows. First, Arpel, who possessed the power of a spirit and was likely to be mistaken for an executive, would enter the branch first to lower their guard. Second, Arpel would gather everyone inside the branch and send a signal from within.
Finally, upon receiving the signal, the other three would quickly enter and eliminate all the believers.
Of course, Arpel didn’t explain the details. He simply said that he had a plan, so it was right for him to go in first, and that he would give the signal at the right time. His unwavering expression seemed rather reassuring, enough to make them nod in agreement.
“…Hah.”
But not for Rohan.
He felt like he was going crazy with dissatisfaction about this situation. Questions like ‘Why do I have to be separated from Arpel? Why do we have to send him alone?’ dominated his thoughts. He even felt anger boiling up inside him.
Arpel is his sword. The one he’s meant to be with for life, bound to each other. He thought that once they made a contract, there would be no reason to be apart.
But.
‘Arpel.’
Why, out of all the possible methods, did they have to choose to use him as bait? He bit his lip silently.
He wanted to stand by his side. He didn’t want to leave even the slightest possibility of him getting hurt. The current situation of being separated and just waiting reminded him of long ago when he had no choice but to be protected by Arpel.
“Where are you going?!”
“…”
“Hey! Rohan!”
“Let go.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Rohan began to move forward without hesitation, following the path Arpel had taken. Leriana, surprised, grabbed him.
His gaze towards her, blocking his way, was devoid of any emotion to an extreme degree. If anything could be read, it was impatience.
Leriana, feeling this side of Rohan after a very long time, unconsciously flinched and stepped back. As Rohan indifferently shook off Leriana’s hand, this time Casia caught him.
“Are you planning to ignore Arpel’s request?”
Looking down at the woman in armor with a stern expression, Rohan slowly moved his lips. A self-deprecating voice flowed out.
“Do you know what’s most important to me?”
“What…”
“Arpel’s request… it’s really important. It’s important. Especially if it’s something that needs me.”
“Then why…!”
“Nothing is more important than the fact that I need to protect Arpel… that I need to be by his side forever.”
Even if it was Arpel’s request.
When Rohan was very young, there was a time when he thought he could no longer trust Arpel. Unfortunately, that thought hadn’t changed. He knew it could happen again. Yet, blinded for a moment by the sweet promise of a contract, he couldn’t refuse this unreasonable request.
‘He’s mine.’
My sword. My possession. My world.
Casia, facing his piercing gaze, felt cold sweat running down her back. The suspicion she had felt for a long time had been growing day by day, and only today did it finally take its complete form.
What was contained in his eyes was too much to be called warm affection or love. It was much colder, and on the other hand, it felt like a dangerous, raw desire and obsession.
In the end, she stepped back. It was truly a wise choice.
***
The interior that greeted Arpel was no different from the branch that had fallen by his hand in the past. The only difference was that unlike then, when faint human screams could be heard, this place was just dark and smelly, with no strange sounds.
“To see an executive with my own eyes, I have no regrets even if I die today…!”
As soon as he entered, those who had been bowing their heads to the ground were now clinging to his side, showering him with flattery. The urge to kill them quickly kept surging up.
‘…Because I promised.’
He needed to go further inside, to gather them and isolate them securely. Arpel summoned all his patience for the first time.
If there was one good thing, it was that, similar to before, they were voluntarily offering to show their research results, competing to guide him. Thanks to this, he could obtain information without exerting much effort.
“…Ah?”
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem…?”
It was then that Arpel stopped walking. Naturally, the others guiding him also stopped in place. Arpel’s gaze seemed to be looking at something very far away, somewhat dazed.
‘Arpel.’
…He was calling. Rohan was calling for him.
His mind was filled entirely with Rohan’s voice. The desire to run to his side immediately began to surge. He instinctively realized that if he responded to this call, he would move to Rohan’s side.
Arpel’s vision showed a faint purple line. It was a line connecting him to Rohan, visible only to Arpel and not to others.
Is there an urgent matter? Were there remnants left outside? Has it become dangerous? Worries grew like mushrooms after rain. He could no longer hear the voices of the people calling him nearby.
Thud. For a moment, a loud noise sounded from outside. Those who had been restlessly circling around Arpel all turned their heads towards the direction of the noise.
Boom. Bang. Crack.
The sounds of something breaking, collapsing, and even being torn apart were heard savagely. The noise was clearly coming towards where they were. Arpel also stared in that direction as if entranced.
Finally, one of the walls blocking the front burst open.
“Ex-Executive! Please save us!”
“Attack the intruder!”
“Give us orders!”
While some were terrified, most were confident, either thinking the executive would resolve the situation or because there was only one enemy.
The one who appeared through the crumbling wall was, of course, Rohan. With a clean face without a speck of dust, he lightly brushed his hair back and was looking directly at Arpel.
“Arpel. Come here right now.”
Rohan reached out his hand towards Arpel, who was just blinking blankly without saying a word. He was wearing a gentle smile, but his eyes visible through his hair were cold. As he wiggled his fingertips as if urging Arpel to come quickly, the line connecting them grew stronger.
“…Executive?”
“Who the fuck are you calling executive?”
The face that had been smiling all along froze. The curses he spat out were vicious. The emotion of wanting to kill those surrounding Arpel right away was nakedly evident.
“Arpel.”
As his name was called once again, Arpel nodded. At the same time, his body shimmered and disappeared.
“Well done.”
Looking down at the elegant sword finally in his hand, Rohan raised the corners of his mouth gently. It was a face that would have made others exclaim that it was like looking at a beautiful painting, but unfortunately, the only ones watching this were the panicked believers of the Salvation Church.
“How dare… How dare you deceive us! Kill him right now!”
The man standing at the front turned bright red and shouted angrily. He didn’t seem to fully understand the situation, but he had at least realized that Arpel, who had been acting as an executive, had deceived them.
“Kill? Who? Arpel?”
The problem was his statement.
“Should I kill that person?”
A face devoid of any warmth looked at the man, frozen like ice. Before Arpel could even answer.
“No, I’ll just kill him.”
In an instant, the man’s head was cut off. It happened so quickly that those nearby only realized the man’s death when his fallen head rolled and touched the foot of someone next to him.
“Aaaargh!!”
Screams immediately erupted. Some shouted “monster,” while others let out beast-like howls that were hard to believe came from a human, trying to get away from Rohan.
Arpel, held by Rohan as a sword, was momentarily stunned. His thoughts about Rohan, whom he had thought was just pretty and kind, faltered. But even that was quickly forgotten as someone screamed “monster.”
Who are they calling a monster?
As the demon sword firmly held in hand became filled with killing intent, Rohan’s will, sensing this, unleashed an endless onslaught of power. Like a whirlwind, shadows pouring from all directions caused light droplets of blood to spray into the air like water spray.
By the time Casia and Leriana followed in, everything was already over.
“Urgh…!”
Leriana, who had been looking around with blank eyes for a moment, belatedly realized why everything around was red and ran outside. Casia took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the nausea that was coming over her. The smell of blood was too strong in her nostrils.
“Arpel.”
Rohan’s eyes were calm. There wasn’t a hint of trembling in his voice. He seemed not to care at all about the carnage he had created.
“So… don’t leave me alone from now on.”
Rohan’s figure, standing alone in a space where nothing remained except for mountains of corpses, was indescribably bizarre. Casia felt goosebumps all over her arms.
He’s nonchalant after killing people so horribly?
Come to think of it, even when they were first attacked and confronted the enemy, there was no hesitation in Rohan’s movements. There was no momentary pause that someone who hurts or kills a person for the first time would inevitably have.
Casia had been watching Rohan for quite a long time. However, she only felt that he was excessively blind towards Arpel, not thinking that he was too different from other children his age.
He would be sad when hearing sad stories, and when happy things happened, he would blush and be delighted. Everything she had seen dismissed the assumption that ‘he might have been like this from birth.’
