Stitching the Pieces
*Splat!*
I immediately flung the blood-soaked hand away.
*Twitch!*
The severed limbs wriggled on the floor.
I was about to stomp on the remains when I froze.
"...!"
Looking closer, something was off.
The skin was the gloomy gray characteristic of dark elves, and the tattoo on the back of the hand looked familiar.
This is...
It was Princess Belakir's tattoo. I remembered thinking how unusual it was when I first saw the ivory-colored ink.
Which meant...
Princess Belakir's corpse...?
Why on earth was this here?
The elves should have already recovered her body. I heard they were definitely going to incinerate it...
"Nairin!" I called out toward the entrance.
"Yes, Lord Taepyeong!"
Nairin came rushing in.
"Ah...!"
She gasped, recoiling in shock the moment she saw the scattered body parts.
"W-what in the world is this...?"
"That's what I want to know."
"I am so sorry, Lord Taepyeong! While I was away for a moment preparing your meal..."
"Look closer, Nairin."
"Pardon?"
I stopped Nairin as she hurriedly tried to gather the pieces.
"This is Princess Belakir."
"...!"
As I pointed to the back of the hand, Nairin sucked in a breath. She, too, had recognized the princess's tattoo.
"How could the princess's corpse be..."
Nairin carefully hovered her hand over the pile of flesh.
"...I do not sense any life force. However..."
"However?"
"I feel a strange power—"
*Spurt!*
Before she could finish her sentence, Nairin suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Having received no warning signs, she looked utterly bewildered herself.
"W-why..."
I grabbed her hand and pulled it back.
"...I think I have a rough idea of what this is."
"*Cough, wheeze...*"
"Go outside. I'll handle things from here."
"U-understood... *Urgh!*"
To think she ended up like that just from examining it for a brief moment.
After sending Nairin out, I ripped down a length of silk hanging by the entrance.
*Rip!*
One by one, I tossed the writhing body parts onto the fabric.
*Wriggle! Wriggle!*
The gathered pieces squirmed together. The other parts were manageable, but the two hands kept trying to crawl out, so I tied the knot extra tight.
...Come to think of it, the head is missing.
Arms, legs, torso—everything was there except for the head. Of course, I had a hunch about this as well.
They said they would hang Princess Belakir's head on the city gates as an example.
Even if she was royal, she had attempted to assassinate the Imperial Prince, so it was only natural. Queen Irene had quickly cut ties with her, so there was no one to object.
Putting the head aside...
How were these parts even moving?
Did the manifestation of the Goddess of the Night cause some kind of side effect?
Ugh, how disgusting.
What a ridiculous thing to happen while I was just trying to take a bath.
I cleaned up the area as best as I could, then left the bathhouse carrying the bundle of body parts.
And then...
"Imir."
I drew the Calamity Sword and summoned Imir.
Since Nairin had mentioned sensing a "strange power," a demon would probably know best about such things.
"Did you summon me, Mas—"
However, defying my expectations...
"*BLEGHRRRGH!!!*"
Imir began to retch far more violently than Nairin had.
Well, whatever.
That was his problem.
"Imir, you see it, so you must know."
"*Urgh... Blech!*"
"This is Princess Belakir's corpse. Minus the head, of course."
"*Gaaah-urgh!*"
"I'm sure I slaughtered her along with that Goddess of the Night or whatever, yet here she is, moving. Why?"
"M-Master, please put it away first... *Urgh!*"
"You feel something from it, don't you? What is it?"
"*BLECHHH!*"
Seriously, how could a demon be this pathetic?
He was making a bigger fuss than Nairin.
Only after I set the bundle of body parts aside did Imir finally manage to pull himself together.
"It... it is not alive..."
"Then what is it?"
"No life force remains, but the power bestowed by the Goddess of the Night still lingers within the princess's vessel."
"Power? Mana?"
"Divine power. Though it is merely an afterimage, it is still the power of a god. That is why..."
"That's why you're completely useless right now?"
"Yes... *urgh*... indeed..."
Lingering divine power, huh? So she wasn't actually alive.
"But why did it come all the way here?"
"That is likely..."
Imir cast a fearful glance at the bundle.
"Because when you slew the Goddess of the Night with the Calamity Sword, Master..."
"..."
"The Void Stone absorbed a portion of her..."
"..."
"Those remains simply followed the lingering 'will' to this place."
Ah. Now I got it.
"Okay. You can go back now."
"Thank you, Master!"
Imir vanished back into the Void Stone like a flash of lightning.
*Wriggle!*
I quietly looked down at the bundle, which was still squirming.
In that case...
The Emperor's audience chamber.
"What business brings you to seek me in such haste?"
I had sought out the Emperor, skipping the dinner Nairin had prepared.
"Has there been an issue with your recovery?" the Emperor asked, looking at me with concern.
"It's nothing like that."
"Then what is it?"
"I came because I have a favor to ask of you, Father."
"A favor?"
A look of curiosity crossed the Emperor's face.
"Yes. You did say I could ask for whatever I wished."
"I did."
But his expression suggested he hadn't expected me to cash in on that promise so quickly.
"You said 'anything,' correct?"
"Indeed. There is nothing I would begrudge bestowing upon you."
"You promise?"
"Of course."
I looked up at the Emperor with a smile.
"Princess Belakir."
"...?"
"...I need her head."
The Emperor furrowed his brow, utterly unable to fathom what I was thinking.
"The traitor's head is to be hung on the city walls tomorrow."
"I know."
"And yet you ask for it? Not a legendary weapon, nor an ancient grimoire, nor even gold and silver treasures, but Princess Belakir's head?"
"Yes. What I want is Princess Belakir's head."
"..."
"You did say you would give me anything."
"Ha..."
The Emperor let out a sigh of disbelief.
Then, he relented.
"...Very well. A promise is a promise."
"Thank you."
The Emperor looked at me with a displeased expression. But what could he do? As he said, a promise was a promise.
"Wait here a moment."
The Emperor summoned an elf and whispered something in his ear. A short while later...
"Here is Princess Belakir's head."
Princess Belakir's head, resting on a silver platter, was presented to me.
"Thank you, Father."
I bowed my head slightly to the Emperor.
"What on earth do you plan to do with it?" the Emperor asked, his eyes still filled with bewilderment. "Do you intend to taxidermy it as a souvenir?"
Good grief. I had no such morbid hobbies.
"Surely you do not intend to dabble in necromancy?" the Emperor asked, narrowing his eyes.
It was a reasonable concern. Elves absolutely loathed necromancy.
Besides...
"It's impossible to begin with, isn't it? You know as well as I do that the princess's soul has been completely obliterated."
"..."
"If it weren't, you wouldn't have given this to me in the first place."
"...You are clever indeed."
"I have no interest in such pointless endeavors anyway."
Necromancy? Why would I ever need that?
"Then..."
"There's just something I want to test."
I cut him off with a smile.
"You'll find out when the time comes."
"..."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"..."
"Could you send over a skilled tailor?"
The tailor sent by the Emperor was exceptionally skilled.
To what extent?
"Perfect."
If not for the stitch marks, Princess Belakir would have looked completely unscathed.
"Hmm."
Imir had said he felt "divine power," but I couldn't feel a thing.
If it was strong enough to make both Nairin and Imir retch like that, it had to be powerful. Well, it didn't matter.
Because...
Would you like to connect?
This was already my item.
Not a summon, but an item.
In other words, Belakir had been an item belonging to the Goddess of the Night. And I had claimed ownership of it.
Thanks to that, there was no need to draw magic circles or perform complex rituals. Belakir moved automatically.
Of course, she wasn't as lively as she had been when the Goddess of the Night possessed her, but still...
*Snap!*
As I snapped my fingers, Princess Belakir's eyes fluttered open.
Naturally, there was no light in her eyes like before.
Slowly, she knelt on one knee and looked up at me.
Since she lacked a soul, she didn't seem capable of speech.
Ah, by the way.
She wasn't Princess Belakir anymore. What should I call her? I really had no talent for naming things...
"..."
After a brief moment of thought, I gave her a simple name.
"Bel."
"..."
"From now on, your name is Bel."
I flicked a finger.
Bel stood up instantly.
She seemed to have no trouble moving. That tailor really did a phenomenal job. Or maybe it was because I had soaked her in water infused with World Tree leaves.
"Nairin."
"...Yes."
Nairin swallowed hard and stepped forward.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. I am ready."
Nairin stared at Bel, her face tense with anxiety.
"Then, shall we begin?"
"Yes, Lord Taepyeong."
The moment Nairin nodded...
*Whoosh!*
Bel snatched a dagger from the floor and lunged straight at Nairin. Her speed was incredible.
*Slash!*
The dagger swung in a swift arc.
*Whoosh!*
Barely dodging the strike, Nairin attempted to counterattack with a spirit. A water spirit shot forward like a bullet.
And then...
*Slice!*
Bel cut it clean in half.
Without giving Nairin even a split second to summon another spirit, Bel lunged straight for her throat.
"Ah!"
Just before the dagger could pierce Nairin's neck...
*Snap!*
I snapped my fingers.
*Clatter.*
Bel immediately dropped the dagger.
I grinned, looking at Bel.
"Pass."