Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Juni
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Gamal tried to leap out of the box and run over right away.
“Kunis, this is bad. Adawi…!”
Kunis grabbed Gamal, who was rushing toward Adawi, and spun her around with such force that it sent her reeling from the momentum. Then he said firmly.
“He’s dead.”
Gamal’s face shifted from confusion to sudden realization, then to horror.
“No way….”
Kunis dragged Gamal along without delay.
“Come on.”
Gamal stumbled after him in a daze. She couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality. Kunis peered out from behind the door to check for any sounds outside, then slipped out.
“Kuni…!”
“Quiet. They can’t find out about Adawi yet.”
Kunis moved smoothly out of the village and into the forest as if he’d planned it all in advance. Darkness enveloped them.
Only after being pulled along, panting heavily for what felt like ages, did Gamal finally grasp it. This was real.
“Kunis!”
She yanked at his arm and cried out desperately.
“Kunis! We have to go back to the village!”
Suddenly, Kunis pulled her into a suffocating embrace.
“I love you.”
He confessed in a burning voice.
“I love you, Gamal.”
“Kuni….”
Kunis pried her away and roughly cupped her face in his hands.
The raw desire blazing in his eyes left Gamal speechless. She couldn’t believe it. This was the look Rantu had given her, and Adawi too—the hungry gaze of a man craving a woman.
“Even the pharaohs of Egypt married their own sisters.”
A sharp slap rang out.
Kunis stared at her in disbelief. But Gamal showed no regret for striking his cheek with all her strength.
“So you killed him for that?”
Gamal spat out her fury in a voice Kunis had never heard before, one that seemed to erupt from her core.
“How could you? Rantu and Adawi were innocent! How could you…!”
She clenched her teeth. Tears glistened in her fierce eyes.
“Go back to the village. Apologize. Atone for your sins!”
Ironically, in that moment, Kunis loved her even more.
A thrill shot through him at seeing his twin—always like a shy little girl, endlessly endearing in her bashfulness—reveal such unyielding strength.
No, he knew better than anyone that Gamal possessed a deep well of conviction and will. They were twins, after all.
Kunis seized her wrist.
“Gamal.”
Unable to contain his surging desire, he yanked her close, pressed his face to hers, and whispered.
“I love you. I want you.”
Gamal twisted away, but Kunis only gripped her tighter.
“Kunis! Kuni….”
“Please accept me. You’re all I have. It’s not like I didn’t try loving other women. But no matter how many I held, they were all just substitutes for you. This hair….”
He clutched her hair and inhaled its scent deeply.
“This skin….”
He cradled her face and pressed his lips to her cheek. Gamal, who had resisted fiercely, froze in shock, forgetting her words. She felt it pressing hard against her below—the evidence of his arousal.
Smack.
Gamal shoved him away.
“Kunis! You’re my brother. We’re twins!”
“That’s why!”
Kunis bellowed like thunder. Gamal flinched as if struck by lightning.
“You were born to be mine. The gods gave you to me.”
Consumed by the madness and fever ignited by his murders, Kunis raved in a delirious voice.
“You’re mine!”
He clamped down on her shoulders with brutal force. The pain felt like her bones would shatter, and Gamal called his name, but it was as if he couldn’t hear. Kunis roared again like thunder.
“If you won’t be mine, then what’s the point of you living?”
In that instant, a powerful hand seized her throat.
“Kuni…!”
She tried to cry out in shock, but the grip was immense.
“Ku…!”
“Say you’ll love me!”
Kunis shook her neck, his voice breaking into something like a sob.
Gamal clawed at the hand with her nails, trying to pry it off. They dug into flesh and snapped, but Kunis, blinded by unnatural heat and rage, felt no pain.
Pushed down by his weight, she toppled to the ground, her mouth gaping silently as she tried to speak. But to Kunis, it was like watching a muted video.
In that video, Gamal finally went limp and her eyes fluttered shut.
Kunis snapped back to awareness.
He flinched and slowly released his hand. Gamal hung slack, unmoving.
“Gamal…?”
He called cautiously. No response.
Her face had drained to a deathly pallor, a bluish chill settling over her skin—the cruel hue that turned a vibrant new bride, blooming like spring flowers moments ago, into a corpse.
“Gamal.”
He called again, reaching out with trembling hand as if urging her to stop playing.
“Ga….”
That was the moment. Gamal’s body slid downward a fraction. The edge of the swamp she lay sprawled upon had crumbled away.
Kunis froze in alarm. His own feet were on the brink; he scrambled back instinctively. He knew all too well that once the swamp claimed you, no human strength could escape.
Gamal began sinking headfirst into the swamp.
“Ga….”
Kunis reached out in panic, but he knew it was too late to pull her free.
Her face vanished into the thick, viscous muck like molten mud, her shoulders followed, sucked in, and her legs—clad in the blood- and dirt-stained wedding gown—slid away smoothly.
Even the trailing hem of her white dress disappeared, and silence fell.
The swamp, having devoured the young bride’s corpse, lay mercilessly still. Insects chirped faintly all around.
Kunis broke into soundless sobs. Tonight, he had killed three people: the man who married the woman he loved, the woman he loved, and his only sibling.
“No… no… no!”
He collapsed to the ground, weeping.
“I’m sorry, Gamal. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just so angry…. I didn’t mean it!”
Time passed—he didn’t know how much—until his sobs gradually subsided.
But no one would ever find Gamal’s body. Corpses swallowed by the swamp never resurfaced.
Only Gamal knew he had killed Rantu and Adawi. If he returned to the village now, no one would know what happened tonight.
Kunis slowly lifted his hands from his face. The surroundings were quiet. Insects chirped.
That was the moment.
Splash.
The swamp erupted upward like an explosion. Kunis’s eyes widened as he stared at the divine roar of fury.
***
Gamal crawled out of the swamp, coughing up globs of it. The thick, slimy water dripped from her hair.
The swamp was a ravenous beast that never spat out its prey once swallowed. She had no idea how she’d escaped. She just… could.
The world buzzed chaotically. It was strange. The area was empty and silent, yet the noise in her ears was deafening, scrambling her thoughts.
Shouts and frantic footsteps pounded like hammer blows against her skull.
“Found her!”
Someone yelled suddenly. Black shapes swarmed in, surrounding her—Adawi’s tribespeople.
She recognized familiar faces here and there. But Gamal couldn’t comprehend the looks they gave her: waves of contempt, rage, and fear.
These were the same people who had smiled and blessed her at the wedding. Now they stared as if she were something filthy and vile.
A voice dripping with murderous intent shouted.
“The woman who killed her husband on their wedding night!”
Gamal truly couldn’t grasp it.
“W-what…?”
“Get up!”
Men hauled her to her feet roughly. One staggered and fell on his ass trying to lift her. Another scolded him.
“Can’t you do one simple thing?”
“It’s slippery!”
The man snapped back, then stood and yanked her up again.
“Why’s she so heavy? The clothes?”
Then they dragged her along.
Gamal struggled to look around. No sign of Kunis. She vaguely recalled his shocked expression, but had no idea why or where he’d gone.
“Kunis… where’s Kunis….”
She mumbled, but in the uproar, no one heard. Or cared.
***
They flung open the tent flap and dragged her inside.
Someone lay on the bed: Adawi, dressed in warrior’s garb. His hands clasped over his stomach held a bouquet of every flower blooming this season, and his ears were adorned with more.
And his skin, turned an ashen blue.
Gamal recoiled. This was Adawi’s corpse. She hadn’t noticed at first because of the floral decorations, but a white cloth was wrapped around his neck.
“To do this on your wedding night!”
Someone shoved her, shouting. Despite the full force, she only swayed slightly, but then the crowd surged, pushing her from all sides.
“Wicked woman!”
“Demon!”
Gamal finally collapsed to the ground.
The curses rained down on her. She was terrified. Up until now, she’d been numb, but words could wound like blades—her body trembled and ached from intangible blows.
She hadn’t killed Adawi. But she couldn’t say Kunis did. There was no proof, and more than that, the words wouldn’t come.
To accuse Kunis—her gentle twin, always putting her first….
“Lock her up!”
The men hauled her up again. Their hands were brutal, treating her like an object. If she were still human, she’d be covered in bruises and scrapes.
They shoved her into the hut used as a jail. She slammed her knees on the floor. Even without time to note the odd lack of pain, she whipped around and asked.
“Kunis… where’s Kunis?”
The man sneered with pure disgust.
“He hasn’t come back. You killed your twin too, didn’t you?”
Gamal shook her head frantically.
“No. I didn’t….”
Thud.
But the door slammed shut. Outside, the commotion continued. Excited shouts and chatter vibrated through the walls.
It did nothing to still her shaking, but Gamal hugged her shoulders. She wondered where Kunis had gone—and why she felt so parched.
She licked her lips. They felt cracked and raw.