<Episode 46>
***
How long was there until dawn came?
At the moment we were moving forward little by little, relying on each other, in the dark and scary darkness of the forest, under the dim moonlight.
“Ha…”
Ashamed stopped and let out a small moan.
I looked back at Ashamed.
Sure enough, the wounds left behind when Riat had tied him up with a his robe of darkness and dragged him into the house were turning red.
“You can’t go on like this, Ashamed.”
I bit my lip, held both of Ashamed’s hands, and made him sit on one of the fallen old trees around us.
“Edith?”
Ashamed looked at me in confusion at my sudden action.
“Let’s treat your wounds first, it must be hurting.”
I was so worried that I couldn’t stand it anymore.
“You, children of indestructible life. Answer the call of him whom you have blessed with an immortal heart. [Ilipia]!”
I stared at Ashamed’s wound with a stiff face and summoned Ilipia.
A light that warmly illuminated the dark forest appeared brightly between us.
[Edith, you called me.]
Soon after, Ilipia appeared wearing a warm glow and looked at me with a dignified smile.
[But… how did you end up wandering through this dark forest at night?]
Then Ilipia turned to Ashamed and asked in a puzzled voice.
That is a very long story …
The Naiad must be anxious, but is it impossible for the Spirit Kings to share information among themselves?
“I’ll explain later. Please treat Ashamed’s wounds first.”
When I asked for a favor while thinking about such nonsense, Ilipia wasted no time in gently rubbing Ashamed’s neck and healing the scars left by Riat.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Ashamed, who was awkwardly fiddling with his neck that had turned white again, answered in a low voice.
Even in this confusing situation, his reaction somehow made me laugh, then I smiled.
Tak-!
At that moment…
“!”
I trembled and covered my neck at the intense pain that passed through the back of my neck.
“Edith!”
Ashamed shouted my name as if screaming.
Even in the midst of my despair, I felt an ominous dampness and took my hand away from her neck, and what was revealed in it from the subtle radiance around Illipia was…
It was a dark red bloodstain.
“This…….”
what happened?
I looked down blankly at the blood stains, which seemed horribly unreal.
“……Who is this!”
Contrary to the shocked me, Ashamed immediately came to his senses, gritted his teeth furiously, stood up from the fallen old tree, and stood as if covering my body, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.
Thump thump.
Heavy footsteps began to be heard from beyond the darkness where Illipia’s brilliance could not reach.
Ashamed and I turned our heads at the same time.
[Stop, don’t move forward.]
At that moment, Illipia stopped us and quietly muttered.
[I can feel Arkane’s energy strongly.]
…Arkane?
If it’s Arkane, then the Spirit King of Darkness?!
What?
I gaped in shock.
No, why did Arkane suddenly pop out?
Whether we thought it was out of the blue or not, the person who walked steadily and appeared in front of us was a human man, wearing black clothes that revealed the outline of his whole body and covering his face with a mask.
……Eh? He is human, right?
But why did Illipia refer to the intruder as Arkane?
I was lost in puzzlement and looked up at Illipia, who still had a calm complexion.
Illipia healed my wounds without even looking at me, and then stared intently at the man in front of her.
“…….”
I hold us she could feel the energy of Arkane, the Spirit King of Darkness, strongly.
And an unknown man suddenly appeared…
Anxiety enveloped my entire body.
While I was muttering a summoning spell, thinking it would be better to prepare for the summoning of other spirits in case something unexpected happened.
“!”
The man suddenly took off the mask covering his face.
And the face that was revealed was, oh my….
“You’re Riat’s subordinate…?”
When Riat attacked the carriage, I seemed to pass by him shortly, but I didn’t leave a clear impression of him.
He was definitely one of Riat’s subordinates who must have been there at that time.
Ashamed also seemed surprised and began to tighten his grip on my wrist.
The man, with his impeccably handsome appearance, stared for a long time at Ashamed, who was holding me in his arms and showing his murderous spirit towards the man, with strangely confused eyes.
…But why were his eyes like that?
Just as I was starting to feel a bit strange, the man finally opened his mouth and muttered softly.
“My dear younger brother. You were here.”
……..?
Wait a minute? …Why don’t I understand what that guy just said?
Dear brother?
…What did that mean?
“Hey… Ashamed.”
All the tension disappeared like a lie.
Filled with doubt rather than fear, I forced my stiff lips to move and asked Ashamed.
“Do you have another older brother who is much older than you? Or a brother whose existence is unknown to the world…”
Ashamed, who was staring at the man with an expression as if he didn’t know what kind of bullshit he was talking about, shook his head and answered.
“No, there is no one except the crown prince and that idiot.”
Yes, I see.
…But why on earth did that person call you brother?
Whether we thought he was crazy or not, the man continued speaking in a trembling voice, filled with emotion.
“Now I finally meet you. You can’t even begin to imagine how desperately I’ve searched for you all these years. Why on earth are you being blamed the faults of such an insignificant being? You are not a lowly creature.”
I wonder what kind of bullshit he was saying… but I’m tired and I don’t want to listen to him any more.
I looked up at Illipia, who was still one step ahead of us, staring at the man in silence.
She had an expressionless face whose thoughts could not be guessed.
Illipia said that she felt Arkane’s energy strongly towards that man, right?
Whatever he was, it seemed certain that he was a dark spiritist.
But was there any spiritist powerful enough to overwhelm the Spirit King of Darkness?
It would be perfect if light existed as one of my attributes, but unfortunately I don’t have it…
It seemed best to call Oried, who had the strongest physical power.
When I opened my mouth to summon him.
[Stop, Arkane.]
Suddenly, Illipia’s quiet voice pierced my ears.
“……Arkane?”
“What are you talking about?”
In one voice, we spewed out those words in astonishment.
No.⋯Wait a minute.
That man is Arkane?!
That doesn’t make sense. No matter where I look, he’s a subordinate of the Riat I saw during that day, and he doesn’t have that unique energy that I fell from a spirit.
“…Illipia. As expected, you knew.”
The man who was talking in a trembling voice, unable to take his eyes off Ashamed, instantly erased his previous expression and stared at Illipia with a look of resentment.
I was startled by the change and even trembled for a moment.
“How can you always stop me in every step I take?”
He spoke in a voice still filled with deep resentment.
[It is not your time yet.]
Illipia responded by waving her hand with an expressionless face that didn’t contain any smile, which was rare.
“Illipia…!”
He shouted, looking furious for a moment.
[I won’t say it for the third time.]
However, Illipia still continued speaking in a calm voice.
[Go.]
“……..”
Red blood was dripping from his grip, which was so tight that it turned white.
As if the man was unable to understand the meaning of the series of conversations between them, he just remained silent.
Even after listening to Illipia’s words… Arkane’s gaze, in his human body, was aimed squarely at Ashamed.
“I will not give up on you.”
He said, his eyes shining with an eerie intensity of determination.
“Even if everything is destroyed, you will never be lost again.”
A black fog began to spread around his body.
Then his lips seemed to tremble for the last time as he lowered his head.
“My brother……”
Did I just hear that correctly?
“…Ashamed.”
It was a voice that was really difficult to understand, almost like a breathy sound, but the name contained in those words was…
“…… younger brother?”
My younger brother… He really said younger brother.
Up until this point, I had ignored it, thinking it was just something a dark spiritist with a somewhat unsound mind was saying…
Why did the Dark Spirit King call Ashamed that way?
I looked back at Ashamed.
But Ashamed seemed not to have heard the whispers just now.
“…….”
Since the situation was over, was it better not to talk about it?
Roaaar~!
At that moment, an earth-shattering shock and a huge roar came from outside the forest.
“Grandfather……!”
Something must have happened.
I forgot all about my previous worries and quickly turned toward the direction we had passed.
Tuk–
“Don’t go, Edith.”
At that moment, Ashamed held my hand.
The boy spoke again, staring at me with his quietly shining eyes.
“Let’s trust them.”
The people that Ashamed said to believe in are probably referring to the people brought by grandfather… and my father.
Was grandfather going to be okay?
I thought as I looked at the bottom of the black forest, where I couldn’t even see an inch ahead.
But the worries didn’t last long.
“……Okay!”
I didn’t know it until now and I didn’t think it would be true until today, but you were a hero, my grandfather.
So…I will trust you.
No matter how strange Riat’s powers are, my grandfather will definitely win.
“Illipia, I have a favor to ask. There doesn’t seem to be any more threat to us, so please go outside the forest to my grandfather and the elders. There are people who are injured there. Please heal them.”
But let’s put safety measures in place.
[I will do as you wish.]
Illipia smiled softly as if she knew what I was feeling.
[Dawn will come soon. Go to the end of the forest. I will take everyone with me and go to where you are.]
“Yes!”
After she finished speaking, she disappeared with her characteristic gentle glow.
“Let’s go!”
Now there was nothing to hesitate about anymore.
I held Ashamed’s hand tightly and started running through the forest.
***
Every time I took a running step, I felt excited rather than scared, and although it was dark and my eyes could not see anything, but I was able to rely on our joined hands.
The more we ran, the more the dawn light, a mixture of light purple and warm scarlet colors, slowly came through the trees that surrounded us tightly.
“They’re all here…!”
And, finally.
The children, released from the night shadows, reached the edge of the forest where dawn was breaking and looked at each other.
“Morning has finally come!”
Last night was so long and tedious.
It was supposed to be a journey to Litera to find traces of the Spirit King of Wisdom and Mariette.
Recalling the countless hardships that came unexpectedly, Edith felt a little relieved at the thought that everything was finally over.
So she looked at Ashamed with a smile filled with joy.
“……”
Ashamed looked at that flawless smiling face and endured the loud beating sound of his agitated heart.
Obviously, he at first felt it was malice born of hatred, and then it was a sense of kinship.
But the last one……
“…What on earth is this?”
“Huh? What?”
Edith tilted her head and asked as if she didn’t understand what he muttered without thinking.
However, even if the question was asked, Ashamed had no other answer to give.
Because he hadn’t figured out the exact name of this feeling yet.
But soon, the single reason behind all this fate will be revealed.
***
TL:
There are still 5 left…
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