The Village of Illusions and Requiems (1)
The name was Vincent.
A great mage from a distant past who had brought Celestial Magic—once the exclusive domain of the demon race—to humanity. A divine archer. And… the current Sixth Sword.
In the game, he had always been elusive, yet willing to take risks. His execution was unparalleled. Whenever he decided something needed to be done, he would charge in headfirst without hesitation. If I had to describe him, I would call him the field commander type among the Six Swords.
In that sense, he was completely different from the duo of Vankite and Yagnus. Those two were the kind who stayed hidden in the shadows, scheming sinister plots from behind the scenes. Cowards who would never move unless their safety was absolutely guaranteed.
‘But it couldn’t be helped. The revelation that Vankite was the mastermind and the existence of Yagnus were truths that originally only surfaced in the latter half of the game.’
Therefore, Yagnus’s exit naturally came after Vincent’s. The fact that I had taken down Yagnus first was only possible because I, knowing the truth in advance, had created a divergence that should never have occurred.
Thinking about it now, it wasn’t strange at all that Vincent was making his move.
And the reason I was certain he had begun to act wasn’t because I had caught some incredibly subtle clue.
In the game Eternal Eclipse, whenever Vincent appeared anywhere, or when his minions revealed themselves, there was always one consistent visual effect: a meteor falling in an unnatural direction at an unnatural time.
It was something the developers had intentionally designed. ‘They wanted a visual way to represent his ability to distort space and instantly travel anywhere in the world.’
Anyway, that directing was so central to his character that it remained burned deeply into my mind.
Normally, the moment I saw that distinctive sign, I would have immediately thought, ‘Vincent’s here. Damn it,’ and scoured the area. But last night…
‘…Ugh!’
Thanks to spending the night with the young lady, my brain had practically melted. I noticed it a little too late.
I told you before. I’m only human. As a man, I simply made a very human mistake.
“…Ow, my head—”
And that wasn’t all. I had drunk far too much in that snowy field, and more than anything, I hadn’t wanted to put the defenseless young lady in danger.
So I had no choice but to carry her—barely able to stand—through the Secret Passage Hidden from Others’ Eyes and secretly lay her down in her room.
There had been no time to react.
In the end, the only time I could properly think about Vincent was at this early dawn, as the sun began to rise.
It seemed everyone else had passed out cold, but I’ve always been the type to sleep very lightly after drinking.
Click— Click—
To shake off the hangover, I leaned against the solid railing, lit a cigarette, and fell into thought.
‘…The Demon Army’s main force is currently advancing toward the imperial capital. So does that mean they’re planning to deploy one of the Six Swords here in the North—where we’ve already exhausted their forces—to finally bring down Vitagarte?’
But that thought was immediately dismissed.
“No way.”
No matter how relentlessly we had been beaten since the war began, my homeland wasn’t some backwater village. To send a single Six Sword to cut off Vitagarte’s breath in a short period of time?
Even though the empire had been weakened by the dark army and the tyrant, a rich house doesn’t fall in a day. This nation had once possessed enough military might to threaten the empire’s very life. It couldn’t be ended by sending just one of the Six Swords.
Then again, there was the possibility that the Demon King had sent a scout to observe the situation in the North after the invasion…
But what had appeared here was either Vincent himself or at least one of his direct subordinates.
“Sending someone of that caliber just to scout? No. If that were the case, he’d send them to the main front instead…”
Vincent was decisive, but he wasn’t a fool. The Vincent I knew would never waste his own limbs on mere reconnaissance. There had to be a clear reason.
…….
…….
If so, there was only one answer.
“It’s me. Or perhaps… that place.”
No, maybe both.
There weren’t many places in the North where Vincent could indulge in his usual perverted hobbies. But whichever it was didn’t matter.
If he was looking for me, he would come here. If he had come for his twisted pleasures, then it would be the place I was thinking of.
Either way, there was no need for me to stay at the royal castle.
‘There’s no reason to put everyone in danger.’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I stubbed out my cigarette in the ashtray, whoosh— equipped my armor and sword, and leaped from the castle railing, heading somewhere into the distance.
The mountain village of Mihelrn, near the war-torn capital of Fralbert.
Surrounded by steep mountains, it wasn’t a place people visited often even though it was close to the royal capital. But the recent devastating war had reached even Mihelrn.
Because it was tucked away in the mountains, the Skull and the four-legged beasts that had ravaged Fralbert were rarely seen. However, the wyverns that soared through the sky and burned the earth were a completely different problem.
With their piercing wingbeats, they dropped like bombers, raining down hellfire. The village had burned like never before. People had died.
So for Anella, a girl who had been born and raised in Mihelrn her entire life, the past few months had been incredibly difficult.
The adults in this remote mountain village always said the same things.
“Who would have thought we’d see a wyvern’s wings up close? They’re all incompetent. They say it’s not worth protecting, so they don’t even send the army. How are we supposed to survive alone?”
“When the Lord of Steel and the young lady were here, the front lines never came this close to the royal castle…”
“Kicking out such promising young talents is what causes the nation’s fortune to decline. Of course it does.”
But somehow, recently the front lines had strangely fallen into a lull. Just when it seemed everything might finally return to normal… sure enough, rumors began to spread from the royal capital.
「The young lady and the Lord of Steel have turned the war toward the Empire. And they have resurrected Her Highness Gorgo and returned! What wonderful news this is!」
Whether the rumor was true or not, every person in the village—who had been desperately clinging to any sliver of hope—thought the same thing.
“The Lord of Steel has driven out the demon army!”
“Lady Karalin has returned!”
They simply believed that the heroes must have done something in the capital for the North, and that was why things were changing. It was a comforting thought.
So that day, a warm energy filled the entire village. Not a single person went without a smile on their face all day long.
The oldest watermill in the village ran nonstop from morning until late evening. The chapel of the Orthodox Church—which had been destroyed by the wyvern’s flames and hastily repaired with nearby coniferous trees—rang its bells of blessing without pause.
“Anella, have you finished the laundry?”
“Yes, ma’am! I’m coming out now!”
“Hurry back, your father is waiting!”
The laundry had originally been so heavy it felt like it would dislocate her shoulders. But today it didn’t feel that way at all. The reason was the royal messenger’s announcement that the castle would purchase every single livestock animal in the village.
Even old, sick cows. Even half-dead goats. All at full price!
‘It looks like the war is finally ending, Anella!’
From the afternoon the news arrived, her father—who had been so worn down by the war that he could rarely smile—had looked brighter than ever. Just seeing that made Anella, who was a good child, feel happy.
Moreover, from what she had heard, the reason they were buying the livestock was to prepare a banquet for the visit of precious guests. That was strong evidence that the rumor about the Lord of Steel returning was true.
So Anella was happy.
That was why she spent the entire day helping with the housework so her father—who was busy taking the livestock outside—could rest. She sewed, lit fires, fetched water… she even willingly took on the laundry request from the most nagging miller’s wife in the village.
She thought that if she lived this one perfect day—the day the hero was returning—her father might grant her request.
“…Perfect! Since I’ve been such a good girl, I’ll ask him tomorrow to take me down to the capital to see the Lord of Steel!”
The Lord of Steel, who had been chosen by the young lady, entered the royal castle, and was now the greatest soldier protecting her—he was exactly like the knight from the fairy tales she dreamed about.
Fralbert wasn’t far, and since she had been such a good girl, if she asked nicely, her father—who would be in a good mood—might take her to see the capital and let her meet the Lord of Steel.
Still just a child, Anella simply believed that.
When the night of the banquet finally arrived, a modest feast was held in the village square. They couldn’t replicate the grand banquet of the royal castle, but everyone sang, roasted meat, and lit up the snow-covered village with lights. Every single surviving villager came together with one heart.
…Except for one person.
“Um, Village Chief!”
“What is it, Anella?”
“Where is Uncle Fiorn? It seems like he’s the only one missing today.”
“…Anella. You’re too good for your own good. But let me give you some advice: there’s no need to pay so much attention to that old madman.”
“B-but…”
Fiorn. In the village, he was known as the Crazy Astronomer. He liked to brag that he had learned Celestial Magic as a child, but now those good days were long gone. He had become nothing but a beggar who mooched meals off others.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Every day he would ask to borrow money, and when someone pitied him and gave him some, he would immediately spend it on alcohol. He was a pathetic man. Still, Anella felt sorry for him and would sometimes bring him water.
On a good day like today, he could have eaten as much meat and drunk as much alcohol as he wanted without begging. It was very strange that he hadn’t shown up.
But the village chief only said this:
“…Though it is a bit odd. The last time I saw him, he was muttering something suspicious and heading toward the capital.”
“What did he say?”
“‘The meteor looks suspicious. If you see such an omen after the sun sets… an empty orbit is coming.’”
“What is that supposed to mean? It’s weird…”
“Yes, it is. So don’t pay any attention to a person like that.”
However, the one who eventually found him was Anella, after the feast had ended and dawn was breaking.
“…Haaam!”
While the adults were eating and drinking, Anella—who had lain down her tired body and woken up earlier than anyone—came out as she did every day to draw water from the well far from the village.
There, she found him trembling and staggering dozens of times worse than usual.
And Fiorn was muttering something.
“A star fell. It fell. It wasn’t a fake star. It was a real star. The origin, the origin looked at me…!”
“F-Fiorn, Grandpa?”
“Ah, you! You’re Anella.”
With that, he gave a bizarre smile and showed her a girl about Anella’s age standing beside him.
“Anella. Let me introduce you. This poor child got lost during the feast… She said she wanted to come to the village, so I was guiding her. It’s okay to let her in, right?”
“Y-yes?”
“Greetings. This girl is called Grespara.”
“Ah, hello…”
Slide—
“Now, let’s go, Grespara… I’ll show you all the Celestial Magic I know.”
“……….”
With that, Fiorn walked past Anella.
And the moment Grespara, who was following behind him, brushed past her—
Shiver—!
“H-hiiiik?!”
Anella’s legs gave out and she collapsed on the spot.
What was that? She wanted to run away. She had to get out of here. An instinctive fear she couldn’t explain gripped her heart.
“……….”
But Grespara didn’t even glance at her, as if she had no interest whatsoever.
“W-what the heck. What a weird kid.”
Anella quickly went to draw water from the well.
Splash—
But the moment she had filled the bucket completely—
Splat. Splat. Splat—
“Ugh?”
Something red splattered onto her body.
What was it? What on earth?
It smelled horrible. It looked like chunks of meat, but there were strange fine hairs on it.
“…F-flesh?!”
It was human flesh.
So when she turned around—
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!
Kyaah—! KyaAAAAAAAAH—!
From the direction of the village came screams. Iron shards swirled through the air. Flesh flew. A bloody mist filled the sky.
She didn’t know what was happening, but the pieces of what had once been human had been flung all the way to this distant well because of it. As if someone had thrown meat into a grinder.
And Anella, even though she wasn’t very smart, immediately understood who was being ground up on the other side.
“D-Dad… M-Mom…?”
So Anella could only say that as she sank to the ground.
“N-nooooooooooo—!”
But at that moment.
“…Little one, step back for a moment.”
“H-hiiiiiiik—!!”
“Don’t worry. I’m not such a bad person. I only came here because… I have a little business to take care of.”
And although Anella lost consciousness from the overwhelming shock, even as her mind faded away, just from seeing that figure… she knew immediately who it was.
The knight she had wanted to see.
It was the Lord of Steel.