Episode 51: Escape (4)
Muriel became a tattered mess from the harsh torture, but there was not a trace of fear in her eyes. Even if her own fear and pain were not paralyzed, she was confident that she would not be afraid of someone like this.
No one is afraid of a petty thief.
You’re a fake.
Muriel’s eyes, as leaned her tired body against the chair, seemed to say so.
“If you’ve vented enough, please stop now. Sharan and I both know, don’t we? You won’t kill me.”
“Ha? You’re quite confident. Do you think the king will spare you this time too?”
Snort.
“Well, isn’t that the case?”
Muriel used the power of the Ur fragment to cast a healing spell on her body.
The body, which had been stretched lethargically, recovered its vitality as it slowly recovered.
“To shamelessly use the power of the Demon King in front of me. Are you crazy?”
While Sharan spoke with disdain, his eyes were glazed with greed.
Muriel placed her hand over her chest, where the fragment of Ur, taking away her pacio, resided.
With provocative eyes and a languid smile, her demeanor was incredibly seductive.
She appeared more like the Demon King herself rather than a follower. In the darkness, she could only be described as a radiant presence with deadly beauty.
“Are you trying to tempt me into killing you without pain?”
Sharan walked up to her, his dry lips moistened with his tongue. It was an unconscious action. As if possessed, he leaned in closely to Muriel, glaring at her eyes full of radiance.
“You can kill me at any time, but only when I’m alive can you use me to lure out the Demon King.”
“…Can you do that? Does the Demon King hold you in such high regard?”
Sharan’s eyes burned with desire.
If he killed the Demon King Ur, he could become the great ‘Sharan’ even without Sharan’s eyes. Muriel knew that the fake Sharan wouldn’t miss this golden opportunity.
Muriel tried in vain to feel her pacio with her fingertips.
But Ur’s sculpture must be steadily carrying her pacio to Kaiton.
The Pacio that warmed her heart would surely melt him.
“Haven’t you confirmed that I am a worthy bait? The Demon King revealed himself for the first time. Do you not wonder about what he will do next because of me?”
“What is your relationship with the Demon King? Are you merely his follower…? Or…”
Sharan lifted Muriel’s chin.
“Are you in a more intimate relationship?”
Unable to free her hands, Muriel, with a sense of discomfort, recalled Kaiton with a nerve that was on edge with pleasure.
What kind of relationship?
Jaron had asked that too. What kind of relationship did she have with Kaiton?
Muriel couldn’t even guess.
‘…Muriel. Me… Do you remember me?’
Why Kaiton asked so desperately.
Why he was so obsessed with her remembering him.
“We have no choice but to find the answer ourselves.”
It was the answer she gave to herself. She wanted to meet him as soon as possible.
Muriel had reached a point where she had no wounds left to heal, which was regrettable.
If she could use more magic, she could be more connected to him through Ur’s fragment.
“What will you do, Sharan?”
“You must have the confidence to take away the last piece the Demon King possesses.”
“…A lot more. Many things are possible.”
Sharan smiled with satisfaction.
He knew well that what Muriel desired was not the prosperity of the kingdom and that she had loyalty to Sharan. But it didn’t matter. As long as he could lure out that monster hiding in the depths and reveal his true form, he could tolerate the bait not knowing its position and wriggling around. Once the hunt was over, he could crush the bait under his foot at any time.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Aren’t you Kai Crawford? It’s an honor. I’ve been keeping up with your magic presentations. I truly admire you.”
A seemingly polite wizard approached Kaiton, who was standing at the village’s entrance, and greeted him enthusiastically.
Again.
There were no wanted posters for Kai Crawford even in this place.
It was strange and incomprehensible.
Sharan’s eyes must have clearly identified his face.
Why couldn’t he see the knights pursuing him?
“Didn’t you get an official notice from the capital?”
“Excuse me? What’s the matter? I haven’t received any specific orders…”
Even the nobles, who had portals installed to receive real-time updates on the capital’s situation, were unaware that the Demon King had revealed himself.
What was happening?
After confirming that there was no one else around, Kaiton erased the man’s memories. He couldn’t figure out what the hell Sharan was scheming, but he judged that it wouldn’t be good to let him know that he came and went here.
Kaiton climbed onto Fen’s back, feeling the bitter chill that became even more fierce due to his use of magic.
“Let’s go home, Fen.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Hey, there’s no place to stay if you go up further.”
The man spoke to Kaiton, who was heading towards the endless plateau.
He seemed to be studying magic circles. In front of him, there were markings of black magic patterns drawn on the snow instead of paper.
He glanced sideways at Kaiton for a moment, who was wearing a black cloak and covering his face, but showed no further curiosity. It was the law of the plateau, where fugitives gathered.
The plateau was the homeland of fugitives, especially those who chose to become black wizards rather than becoming powerless and facing persecution from the kingdom. The man seemed to think Kaiton was one of them.
“If you came here to escape pursuit, just coming this far is enough. You can stop going up.”
“Mind your own business.”
Kaiton replied bluntly and tried to quickly move forward, but the man stood in his way.
“I told you there’s nothing up there.”
“…Didn’t I tell you to mind your own business?”
Kaiton tightened his cloak and spoke.
He was excessively well-known for his face as the genius wizard Kai Crawford. Even if there wasn’t a wanted notice under his name, it wouldn’t be good if it became known that a palace magician had come to the plateau.
“There’s a house on top, where Ur used to live. That demon king, Ur. It would be a big problem if you hang around there and happen to run into the demon king, right?”
Even in the plateau where black wizards lived, those with the name Ur were outcasts. So Kaiton’s father, who inherited the name Ur, built a house in a secluded place away from people in the plateau. He hid his name, refrained from using magic, and dreamed of a normal and peaceful life like everyone else.
Yet, his father was eventually still remembered as the Demon King Ur. Kaiton sneered at the man who blocked his path, mocking his father who had dreamed of a normal life while being an Ur.
“Should I be afraid? He’s all talk. He’s not a real Demon King either. They’re just like you, those black wizards who have the misfortune of being related to Callahan Ur.”
They?
The man awkwardly tilted his head at the strange way of addressing, and tried to knock some sense into the seemingly young, novice black wizard.
“That’s how you bluff and then you lose Pacio to Ur and become a demon. If you want to die a peaceful death without becoming a ghost, go back-”
The man collapsed before he could finish his sentence.
It would have been nice if he’d just let Kaiton pass by. Kaiton looked down at the fallen man and clutched his hand which had begun to tremble since he’d reached his limit.
If he’s lucky, he will wake up before freezing to death in the cold of the plateau. If not, he will die peacefully as he wishes.
After dealing with the meddlesome intruder, this time it was Fenrir that grabbed Kaiton’s cloak and blocked his path. His familiar, weakened by the diminishing magic power he received from Kaiton, was halfway transparent.
-Crrr.
Perhaps due to having taken the form of a beast for a long time, the creature, originally a spirit, had a good sense. It seemed to notice that Kaiton’s pacio was on the line.
Fenrir pulled Kaiton, as if urging him to quickly absorb the man’s pacio.
“It’s okay. It’s still bearable for now.”
This stupidly fearless fellow.
Kaiton comforted his frightened familiar. In fact, Fen was right.
Considering the future, he had to bring at least a small portion of the man’s pacio with him.
But the man knew the house where the former Ur lived.
Even though Kaiton had cast a barrier to make it invisible to everyone before leaving the plateau.
The man remembered the time before Kaiton left the plateau. Then he must also remember his father, who wanted to be an ordinary person, and his mother, who loved him. Kaiton didn’t want to touch such a man’s pacio.
It was still bearable.
Justifying his hesitation, Kaiton returned to his home. It was now a place not many people remembered.
“It’s nice to be home, isn’t it, Fen?”
Fenrir looked around the familiar place and approached a small snowman perched by the window. The snowman, the size of a palm, remained unmelted even in the warm room with the fireplace lit.
Unlike the powerful spell that sustained it, it had a shabby appearance, like something a young child had clumsily made. It was a pitiful snowman with no decorations made of branches or stones, just small snowballs stacked together.
“….”
Kaiton had never forgotten its existence, but he glanced at the small snowman as if he had just discovered that it had been guarding one side of his house all along.
Knowing that he should conserve his magic, Kaiton still didn’t undo the spell that preserved the snowman. Perhaps it was because he was born in the plateau where the snow never melted, not even once a year. He didn’t want to let go of anything, not even the unsightly snowman from the past. He couldn’t bring himself to let go.
“Kaiton.”
Muriel’s voice calling his name echoed once again.
Thunk.
Kaiton gritted his teeth and knocked down the snowman as he walked away.
-Crrrrr
Fenrir cried pitifully, as if he’d lost a friend. It seemed to be protesting. Asking why he took out his anger on the innocent snowman. Kaiton firmly shook his head, habitually petting the pure white creature.
“No, Fen. You should forget now, too.”
Contrary to his will, however, the snowman, sustained by magic, slowly began to clump together and return to its original form.
When it was time for him to truly melt away the tiresome snow,
Warmth found its way into his heart.
It was Muriel’s pacio absorbed into the fragment.
It felt like his frozen body was melting in the unfamiliar warmth. Kaiton clenched his teeth and endured, trying not to falter as his knees buckled.
“…Muriel.”
