Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Autis
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(21) Autis
"I can't hold back any longer."
Autis suddenly stood up. Franco jumped to his feet in surprise as well. The imperial guard eyed them curiously.
"I want to see His Majesty the Emperor."
Autis stepped toward the guard.
The guard extended his hand sternly and politely.
"Step back."
Autis refused.
"No matter how I think about it, this seems like the only chance. Whatever Jade and His Majesty are discussing right now, once they finish, he'll probably just leave. He won't come back to greet or encourage us. Right?"
The guard drew his sword from his belt without a word. Instead, it was Franco who spoke in shock.
"Brother Autis, are you in your right mind?"
"I'm in my right mind. In fact, I'm in the clearest state of mind I've ever been in since I was born—perfectly sane. That's why I'm doing my utmost to meet His Majesty, isn't it?"
"Drunk people don't realize they're drunk! For you to say that yourself proves you're out of your mind."
"Say what you will!"
"Stop it! For people like us, just being in the same space as His Majesty for a moment should be enough!"
"That's exactly why. If I'd never even seen him, I might have just dreamed about it and endured. But now that I've seen him once, I can't hold back. Besides, he's right there within arm's reach. I'm no fool to let this opportunity slip by."
"Seeing this as an opportunity is what makes you a fool. Sit down and pray."
"I've prayed. I've always prayed for a moment like this. So isn't this the chance? Now, step aside."
Autis demanded of the guard. The guard thrust the tip of his sword toward Autis.
"Step back."
Franco tried to intervene from the side.
"Come on, Brother Autis. Why don't you pray once more to confirm if this situation is truly rational and aligns with the will of the gods? Then we can talk again. How about it?"
Autis smiled.
"That's a good idea."
He knelt before the guard's blade and murmured a prayer inwardly. It was a bizarre prayer Franco had never heard or seen before.
"...You've given me the chance to kill His Majesty, so I ask if this is that moment. If I may carry out this great deed, please say nothing. If I must not, then collapse this stone chamber and kill me..."
Franco recoiled in shock, and the imperial guard looked at him with incredulity, hand on his hip. His expression seemed to ask, 'Even you wouldn't complain if I killed him, right?'
Franco had no words to deny it.
*
"The conversation has dragged on."
Emperor Benclaus, who had been speaking with some excitement, lowered his voice again.
"In any case, I didn't want to meet the person I'd send after the Holy Grail through an intermediary. Since Danel hasn't come, you'll answer me here instead. Can you find the Holy Grail?"
Benclaus wanted a devout reply, but Jade answered off the cuff. He was still preoccupied with the stone chamber where Franco and Autis waited.
"I won't know until I go. The rumors are hard to believe, and there's so much information it's difficult to separate truth from lies. Honestly, I can't believe that thing which toppled the Eastern Kingdom is truly the fourth holy relic. So first, I need to verify if it's real."
"And if the rumors are true and it is the Holy Grail?"
"I hope it's fake. If it's real, the aftermath terrifies me. Would it be wise to bring it to Your Majesty? Do you feel confident you could handle it?"
Benclaus paused for a moment.
"I told Danel to destroy it if it was a demon's object. But I haven't thought deeply about what to do if it's real. What do you think would happen if I, or the Rom Empire, possessed the Holy Grail?"
"Your Majesty would know better than I."
"It would be more curse than blessing."
Benclaus nodded slowly.
"Is the Holy Grail worth that?"
"My only concern is whether I have the insight to recognize its value if I find it. I can only hope Father Danel does."
"You're humble."
"I'm just stating the facts."
"Stating facts as they are—that's humility."
The emperor smiled faintly and asked again.
"I've already discussed the reward with Father Danel after this matter ends. I suppose I should negotiate separately with you. What do you want?"
Jade sensed the emperor was testing him. Danel had said there was no reward for the Holy Grail expedition. Danel wouldn't have lied to him just to claim it alone. So the very claim of prior discussion was obviously a lie.
Jade started to say he needed nothing, then changed his mind.
"Do you have a specific amount in mind for the reward?"
The emperor replied with a stern face.
"Yes."
"There's the Athena Convent in the north of Rom. I'd like you to donate to it there. Even if the Grail expedition fails."
"That's an unexpected request. Strictly speaking, it's not even under the Rom Priesthood, is it?"
"Yes. But Abbess Julia is always fair and kind. I'm sure she'll use it for a worthy cause."
Jade didn't mention Saph. It was money for Saph, but funneling it directly to her wasn't wise.
"Very well. I'll have it donated in your name."
"Please omit my name. And Father Danel's too."
"Hm, better not reveal connections. Understood. Nothing else? We won't have another chance to meet. Even if you come to the palace, I'll have to pretend not to know you. You know why. Speak now if you need anything."
Jade hesitated briefly. Then, almost unconsciously, he turned his head toward the stone chamber with Autis and Franco.
Benclaus followed Jade's gaze. The word "vengeance" hovered on his lips.
'No! I can't! I mustn't!'
Jade clenched his fist, trembling, then released it. Overcoming the massive temptation, he answered in a hollow voice.
"Nothing."
Benclaus, sensing the shift in Jade's mood, asked.
"Really nothing?"
"Yes, nothing."
"Understood. Tell Danel to take care. And relay any new information through Bishop David."
"No, don't. Unless it's directly from me or Father Danel, don't believe it, no matter who brings it."
"Even Cardinal Pietro?"
"Yes."
"...You're right. So be it. Well then..."
Benclaus scanned the surroundings as if checking he'd forgotten nothing.
Then, a dull thud echoed from the rear stone chamber again. Franco's voice followed.
"H-Hey. Wh-What are you...?"
Then his voice cut off.
The guard in the same chamber as Jade turned. He warned toward the figure approaching down the dark corridor.
"Who's there? Stop!"
But the footsteps didn't halt. The guard drew his sword, ready for combat.
Benclaus and Jade retreated to the back of the narrow chamber. The man's face emerging from the dim passage gradually revealed itself in the torchlight.
It was Autis.
The guard's swung sword clattered to the floor. The fallen sword still had the guard's hand attached. Blood splattered against the chamber wall.
Autis thrust his dagger into the guard's throat, then without pulling it out, sliced across. Half the neck was severed.
Autis snapped the guard's neck at the cut. There was a sickening crack of bone. The head dangled limply below the shoulders, held only by tendons and veins.
Autis shoved the guard aside, his head a mangled mess. He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, but it only smeared more onto his jaw and mouth.
He tried wiping again a few times, gave up, and said.
"Forgive my unsightly appearance, Your Majesty."
"You... who are you?"
Benclaus asked, eyes wide.
Autis replied politely.
"The one here to kill Your Majesty."
Autis's face still held the excitement of a boy in love, his eyes gleaming. Now it was clear—a faint light emanated from his pupils.
"From the moment memories existed within me, I've thought I must kill Your Majesty."
The dim chamber, lit by a single torch, filled with only Autis's voice.
"Humans might call it 'from when I came of age,' but that doesn't fit me. I was born long ago. Back when Rom wasn't yet Rom. When this underground tomb was still called a sanctuary. I was small and weak then. So my desire to survive burned fiercely."
"Wh-What are you talking about?"
Benclaus demanded.
Autis extended his bloodied dagger.
"Don't speak, Your Majesty. I'm not doing this to hear you. I want to tell my story. So just listen. Perhaps, drawing on the tolerance and mercy I learned from Caitlic priests, I'll let you die painlessly."
Benclaus backed to the farthest corner of the chamber. There was a tunnel to escape through if he crawled, but he doubted he could move nimbly enough against Autis now.
Jade listened silently to Autis's tale.
"Within me, Rom's emperors always shone. Your grandfather and father, Your Majesty now too. That light moved me, leading me to conclude I must kill Your Majesty."
As the emperor tried to speak, Autis waved his hand again.
"Ask nothing. I don't know why either. I just knew I had to. But I was too weak. I lacked the strength to kill even a cat, let alone a person. No power to steal life from human flesh. Then one day, I heard heaven's will. 'I'm sending a man now. He'll die before me in an accident disguised as chance. You can take him just before his last breath!' That man was Autis. I seized his body as the carriage crushed him, right before he expired."
Autis smiled happily, recalling it. An expression too serene for such a tale in this place.
"The human body of Autis I entered... it was so strong and pure. Is it just this one? Or all humans? I don't know. This is my first human body, so I needed time to adjust. Heaven's will advised me too. 'To kill Your Majesty, practice on other humans first.'"
"Heaven's will?"
Jade muttered, but Autis ignored him.
"I killed about thirty. Many mistakes at first. I didn't know to dispose of the bodies. I thought leaving them scattered was best. 'Heaven's will' advised me. My acts were too like Gerba's serial killings—be careful. I mustn't get caught before meeting Your Majesty. So I've held back this past month."
Autis regripped his dagger and advanced on Benclaus.
"Now the time has come. I thought I'd need years posing as Autis to meet you, but opportunity arrived so soon. I pray my intent—"
Benclaus hurriedly bent to flee through the tunnel but bashed his head against the wall. He ended up lying meekly before Autis.
As Autis approached laughing, Jade asked.
"So you're not the real Autis now?"
Autis halted, then replied.
"No. I just have Autis's memories."
"That's odd, because you described surviving the plague so vividly."
"That's because the original Autis had the same personality as me now."
Autis answered readily, then frowned.
"Wait, something's off. How can you stay so calm facing me now? I've watched many die, killed some myself, but I've never seen anyone act like you before a blade and blood. You're not bracing to fight to the death, not fleeing in fear, not resigned to life either."
"If you've observed humans well, you'd know the expression. I'm disappointed. Maybe even pleased. Confused is closer."
Jade spoke to Benclaus, who lay on the floor, face pale with terror, glancing between them.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. Truth is, I couldn't focus on our conversation just now. My mind wandered."
Jade had expected his voice to tremble, tears to well, but somehow he spoke flatly.
"Autis was the murderer who killed my parents. When Your Majesty asked what reward I wanted, vengeance flashed through my mind. 'The man called Autis behind me killed my parents. Arrest him, charge him with murder, and execute him in the most agonizing way possible.'"
Jade continued to Autis.
"But Autis is already dead. Dead before I could do anything. Damn it, and now a demon possesses his corpse. Should I be glad or grieve?"
Autis turned his dagger from Benclaus toward Jade.
"You should fear. You're going to die now."
"You're the one dying. Speak your name, demon."
"Foolish, Jade! I am about to become the great being who slays Rom's emperor and enters the prepared sanctuary."
Light poured from Autis's eyes, his voice booming through the chamber. It shook like an earthquake. Stones bounced on the floor, dust fell from the ceiling.
Benclaus clutched his head and screamed.
"A name a excommunicated priest like you can utter."
Jade smirked, ignoring the rumbling ceiling.
"No name at all?"
Autis flinched momentarily.
Jade pulled a book from his robes as he spoke. To buy time, to provoke.
"Maybe a higher demon than the one I killed three years ago. I didn't sense you as a demon at first glance."
The pages of the book in Jade's left hand flipped on their own. Ordinary scripture lines shifted to other text in his vision. He read aloud inwardly a language no human tongue could form. Faint light emanated from the book, flowing into Jade's body.
Autis asked.
"What is that?"
"No need for nameless demons like you to know."
Autis roared and raised his dagger.
Jade extended his hand. White light burst from his palm, shoving Autis back. He dropped the dagger and flew into the wall.
"Arghhh!"
Autis clawed at his eyes, screaming. They had burned away, evaporated. His cheeks peeled like fresh from flame.
"My God, the light that slays demons. I only heard of such things—you wielding it..."
Jade approached, seized his head. Light seared his body, white smoke billowing everywhere.
Autis clasped his trembling hands in prayer pose.
"Won't you give me time to repent? Though a demon, I lived a year as a monk in the Rom Priesthood and came to believe in the human god. Give me time to pray, and I'll repent not just my sins, but Autis's murders too, in all the angels' names."
Jade ground his teeth and said.
"That's curious. If angels heed a demon's prayer, what of mine they ignored back then!"
Light exploded from Jade's hand. Autis's body ignited white.
Moments later, only gray ash and a year-rotted corpse remained. Rotten limbs thudded to the floor. A skull rolled to Jade's feet.
Jade looked down at Autis's skull and said.
"What prayer did you utter when the carriage crushed you, Autis?"
Jade crushed the skull underfoot.
It shattered like it was made of dust.