Winds of Plague (6)
Their enemies had doubled from one to two.
Not just mindless demonic beasts, but an intelligent race with whom humanity shared a bitter, blood-soaked feud.
It was, by every metric, an agonizingly precarious situation.
"H-Hey... what do we do now...? We've got two enemies..."
"If those bastards hit us from behind while we're dealing with the rats..."
The humans, having barely outrun the horde of rodents, were paralyzed by the terror of a pincer attack from the Sirens.
"We're already stretched to our limits holding off Shanberesh...!"
"Kh... cunning human scoundrels...!"
And the Sirens, pouring everything into defending the lake—their final Maginot Line against Shanberesh—lacked the strength to spare for fighting humans.
Neither side welcomed this encounter in the slightest.
A suffocating vigilance stretched between them, taut as a bowstring. If things remained like this, even a miraculous extermination of the rodents would only pave the way for an all-out war between the two factions.
"Wait, that child..."
"Was she with the humans?"
Within the perimeter of the Sirens' barrier, no uninvited human could set foot. The refugees remained blocked by an unseen, impenetrable wall.
Yet one girl stepped straight through into the Sirens' territory. It was possible only because she was the sole human under their protection.
And she sought only one thing.
"Senia..."
"I beg of you, everyone! Please let them inside the barrier!"
She needed to make them understand: this was not a time for war, but for survival together.
Humans had appeared out of nowhere to the west of the lake, and from among their ranks stepped Senia.
Even if they owed Senia a debt far too immense to treat her like the rest of her kin, the fact remained that the presence of humans soured the Sirens to their very core.
"Senia. Do you truly comprehend what you are asking?"
"I do, Elder. But—"
"If you know, don't you think it's cruel to even suggest such a thing?"
The village gatekeeper cut in, throwing a venomous glare toward the clustered humans before turning back with a twisted expression.
"They are the ones who refused to believe us and cast us out! They wouldn't even listen to our explanations. Surely you know better than anyone how we've been treated since that day!"
Being falsely accused of harming humans had driven them mad with grief and fury, yet they had been expelled entirely from the livable southern reaches of the Kempf-Litton Continent, driven beyond the borders of the Grand Duchy.
It was an unvarnished declaration of hostility, requiring no further words.
"The Sirens aren't in any position to afford pride either!" Senia shouted back. "If we combine our strength and help them, we can drive the beasts back!"
"And what then? So they can frame us again, claiming we took them hostage?"
"Reinforcements will arrive! If we assist them until then and prove that the Sirens never harbored ill intent toward humans—"
"We have more than enough proof of our own! Proof that humanity sees us as nothing more than enemies!"
At those words, others stepped forward, their voices rising in an impassioned chorus of bitterness.
"Hah! Did they leave us alone after exiling us? Not in the slightest! They labeled us a cursed, sinful race and dragged us off in chains as slaves! When we merely went to draw water, they beat us within an inch of our lives, claiming without a shred of evidence that we poisoned their lake! There is no evil they haven't visited upon us! Does anyone here lack a story to tell?!"
"Those monsters lured us with honeyed words, only to flay our skin and strip our scales for their own greed. My little brother, naive as he was, was dragged into slavery!"
"My son left for the Grand Duchy, beaming with excitement because he thought he had found work. The reality... they drained his mana like livestock until he collapsed and died of exhaustion!"
"My sister was────"
The list of grievances went on without end, each voice raw with unhealed wounds.
Holding up a hand to quiet the clamoring crowd, the Elder looked down at Senia and spoke with grave solemnity.
"Senia. You must understand by now. We fled here simply to survive. To escape those very humans."
It was humanity that had ceased recognizing the Sirens as fellow beings of reason. They denied them basic dignity, and though the Sirens had reached out multiple times to unite against their shared enemy—the demonic beasts—they had been spurned at every turn.
Worse, false charges were heaped upon them. At some point, the humans had begun categorizing them as monsters, slaughtering everyone who dared plead for justice.
Treating humans as mortal enemies was the only natural response left to them.
Not a single Siren present was willing to extend a hand to any human other than Senia.
Even though the humans were trapped against the barrier and slowly being overwhelmed, the Sirens watched with cold indifference. Even if their own strength fell short, they refused to lean on human hands.
"Do you truly believe that?" Senia pressed, her voice trembling. "That every single human is like that?"
In the past, their relationship had not been broken; noble human houses had traded and communed with the Sirens.
Clinging to the desperate hope that they could return to those days, Senia raised her voice.
"There were humans who tried to help you! They weren't like the rest! If we reveal the source of the plague alongside them and demonstrate what the Sirens can do, public opinion can change!"
Yet, all that returned was bitter rejection.
"Ha. Those who tried to help? Do their families even remain on the Grand Duchy's maps?"
"Those people were branded traitors and thrown into dungeons merely for defending us," the Elder murmured quietly. "Senia, we do not even know if they draw breath."
"..."
"Give up, Senia. They are only receiving the retribution due for the sins of their kind."
To the east, the Sirens were locked in their own chaotic battle against the rodents. Yet here they stood, willing to watch humans be torn apart before their eyes?
It defied reason.
If they would only step back and think, they would realize both sides were being crushed by the same horde, and uniting was their only hope of survival. But right now, their irises burned with nothing but blind, suffocating hatred.
What do I do?
How do I shake them? What words could possibly break through this wall?
She didn't care if her thoughts burned her mind to cinders—she just needed one thing. One single lever to overturn this impasse.
And right then.
—Chireu!
"Chi-Chireu! No, don't go out there!"
Someone's familiar darted clean out from the safety of the barrier.
—H-Hey, Junon!! On your shoulder!!
—A beast...? No, a lizard? Wait, where did this even come from...
A lizard? Chireu was no mere lizard.
Why had Chireu suddenly lunged through the barrier? As Senia turned the thought over in her mind, a blinding flash of inspiration tore through the despair, illuminating a path forward.
"...!"
She found it. The reason the Sirens had no choice but to help them.
A reason they could never refuse.
"If you refuse to help now, the humans won't be the only ones who die."
"We are aware," the Elder replied, unmoved. "It will not be long before our flesh, too, becomes fodder for the Devourers..."
Expecting that response, Senia smoothly slid the ring from her finger and held it high.
"You remember that my hair was originally black, don't you?"
"...!"
The ring was a sacred artifact crafted by the Sirens. It was a joint creation designed to conceal her conspicuously dark hair and protect her single greatest secret.
Yet Senia removed it without hesitation, unconcerned if the truth were laid bare.
Fixing them with an unwavering gaze, she pressed her advantage.
"What if someone like me is out there right now?"
"...What madness is this?"
At the suggestion that another person like her stood among the crowd, every Siren fell dead silent.
They had no choice. Senia was an outsider summoned from another world through an ancient taboo, brought forth by the combined might of their entire people.
"You wondered why Chireu took to me so quickly. You said it was because I was special," Senia said, her voice ringing clear across the clearing. "What if, beyond that barrier, stands another Calyx, just like me?"
There was no need to ask where every eye turned.
Gathering their gaze upon a single point, the hatred vanished from the Sirens' eyes, replaced by pure shock as they beheld a black-haired youth with Chireu perched comfortably upon his shoulder.
A stunned stillness blanketed the lake, but it did not last.
"Bring them inside the barrier at once! We will speak of this later!"
Kal'Rix.
In the Imperial tongue, it translated roughly to a familiar—one who was summoned.
Yet when spoken in the ancient language of the demi-human races, it carried an entirely different weight.
Guide.
Not a deity worshiped by humanity, nor a divine being to be revered from afar. To them, it signified the noblest of guardians—the one destined to shield and lead their people through the catastrophic trials that visited their kind.
How did things end up like this?
Though they had received aid from the Sirens, the resolution could hardly be called smooth.
"You can't use it either?"
"Yeah... my mana won't budge. It's definitely these bracelets."
"Damn it, locking us up in a place like this and stripping our power... what the hell are these fish-people planning?"
"At least they saved our skins for now. Let's just wait a bit longer."
The clearest proof was that every single human was currently locked inside this damp basement.
Thinking back on the frantic scramble that had brought them here... they had truly been at their absolute limit.
When the distant, chittering screech of rats had echoed over the water, Junon had thought the main force might have arrived. Instead, what met his eyes were humanoid figures with patches of shimmering scales and webbed fins in place of ears.
Sirens.
The very race the people of the Ardellion Grand Duchy despised with every fiber of their being.
Having no other choice, Junon had attempted to navigate past their territory to find a defensible position, only to find an invisible barrier blocking their path, warning all outsiders that this domain belonged to the demi-humans.
Why none of the others could pass was a mystery. When Junon reached out, his hand slipped straight through the boundary without the slightest resistance, while everyone else was repelled by an unseen force.
Still, slipping inside alone wouldn't save the rest from the beasts, so he couldn't simply walk through.
Beasts snapped at their heels from behind; an impenetrable barrier blocked their path ahead. The fate of the rear guard was obvious. Across the water, the Sirens were fighting their own desperate battle against the horde. Unless both sides were eager for mutual annihilation, joining forces had been the only logical solution.
It was then that Senia had strolled through the barrier as if it weren't even there, exchanging words with the Sirens.
Seeing her connection to them, Junon assumed she would negotiate for aid. Yet as time dragged on, the Sirens didn't lift a finger. Lumia had once mentioned that the Sirens were unjustly framed and deeply resentful; perhaps they were willing to embrace total ruin if it meant watching humans perish alongside them.
Just as Junon resolved to cross the threshold himself to force a conversation, something had leaped onto his shoulder.
—H-Hey, Junon!! On your shoulder!!
—A beast...? No, a lizard? Wait, where did this even come from...
That lizard was...!
Thinking back, he had already crossed paths with a Siren before. If that young girl was here, she could have testified on his behalf.
He had meant to step forward and seek an audience, but there had been no need.
By then, the Sirens had already surged out to defend us. After that, the remaining warriors marched off to clean up the rats on the eastern front.
Claiming they still couldn't trust them, the Sirens had slapped mana-suppression cuffs on the exhausted, helpless humans and herded them into this underground holding area.
And that was the long and short of how they had managed to stay alive.
A basement impervious to physical force, four to a cell. Considering how quiet it is despite the next room being right beside us, the walls must be completely soundproofed, save for the main gate.
Junon had pieced together most of the layout. The only reason he remained quietly seated was his hunch that the Sirens had their own reasons for this caution.
Besides, Senia had slipped by earlier to whisper that she would have them out soon, so trusting her and waiting seemed the wisest course.
While he pondered, one of his companions began to grumble.
"Man, I'm starving..."
"Are you seriously thinking about food right now?"
"Hey, they still have to feed us! What if those Scourges double back and attack? We need our strength to help out in an emergency!"
The complainer was John. Since the boy practically ran on three square meals a day, it was hardly out of character. Noel, as usual, was trying to hush him from the side.
As John continued his bellyaching, a young Siren standing guard outside the iron bars strolled over, an amused smirk on his face.
"Is that what you humans call those rats? 'Scourge'? Good grief..."
"Well, they blow themselves up and ruin everything, so 'Scourge' fits!" John snapped back. "I think it's a great name!"
"Oh? And what do you call them, then?" Noel chimed in defensively. "Let's see how much better your Siren names are!"
"What? Pfft! You're really an idiot, aren't you?"
...Wait, this conversation cannot be allowed to escalate.
"The Sirens once lived in the Grand Duchy, so they speak the Imperial tongue fluently," Junon intervened smoothly, cutting off the rising tension. "Just let it slide."
"Uh... oh, really?"
"Well, well. Look at that. At least one of you has something resembling a brain."
Having successfully derailed the petty argument, Junon decided to probe for useful information.
"Never mind what they're called. What I want to know is why you're still keeping us locked in here."
The young Siren's expression instantly froze into cold stone.
...Did I step on a landmine?
"That isn't for you to know," the guard replied stiffly. "And here's a fair warning: if you try channeling mana, those cuffs will alert us instantly. You'd do best to sit quietly."
"Tch... so that's why the damn thing was humming earlier."
A warning. In other words, step out of line, and they wouldn't hesitate to use force.
With that parting shot, the guard turned his back and resumed his post.
Meanwhile, John surged to his feet, gripped the iron bars with both hands, and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Just give us some food!! I'm starving to death here!!"
As if screaming would magically produce a loaf of bread.
Still, the room is surprisingly spacious.
For a detention cell, it was remarkably clean and comfortable. The Sirens had even cast cleansing spells over each prisoner before ushering them down into the cellar.
At the very least, it seemed unlikely they intended to line them up against a wall and execute them.
Just then, a voice spoke up quietly from the shadows of the cell—someone who had remained silent the entire time.
"Hyung-nim."
The cell held four bunks. The fourth occupant was Cain.
Junon recalled how the boy had been shooting subtle glances toward his wrist ever since Senia had stopped by, likely catching onto some silent signal passed between them.