The Spirits Respond
Ruen's voice was calm. So calm, in fact, that it seemed strange for someone facing death. "So."
Thwack. Ptui. One of the mercenaries spat and stepped forward with a swagger, glaring at Ruen. With his sword slung carelessly over his shoulder, the man tilted his head and sneered. "You're going to die anyway. What the hell do you want us to do about it?"
"Exactly. Whether you catch me or not, you're all dead men." Ruen accepted the mercenary's words without a hint of emotion. The man grinned again.
"Then killing you would be the smarter move, wouldn't it? At least that gives us a chance to live."
"No. There's one way you can survive."
Ruen's quiet voice tossed them a lifeline. "Help me, and I'll spare your lives."
……
Ruen's offer wasn't particularly tempting. There was no fortune, no honor, no power attached to it. Yet the mercenaries and soldiers couldn't easily dismiss it. Even Kalsento's promised wealth meant nothing if they were dead. In the end, life mattered more than gold. None of them had sworn such loyalty to Kalsento that they would throw their lives away for him.
"Puhaha……!! Puhahahaha!!"
……At least, that was what Ruen had thought.
The moment he finished speaking, laughter erupted from the mercenaries and soldiers. Ruen frowned without realizing it.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, my dear noble lord. You seem to be under a misunderstanding. Following that side means certain death. But you're talking like following you will save us? How could we not laugh?"
……
From their perspective, Ruen wasn't a lifeline. He was a rotten rope that would drag them straight to the bottom with him. His proposal wasn't even worth considering.
"And what exactly do we stand to gain by following the heir of a famous magical house who can't even sense mana? What, are you planning to hand out Calbrandt's maids one by one?"
At their mocking voices, Ruen ground his teeth and stared at them. It wasn't the mockery that bothered him. It was the fact that their words were true.
……Is there no other way?
In the short time he'd had, this was the only plan Ruen could come up with. He hadn't been given enough time to think of anything else. He exhaled deeply, his mind working calmly. There was no way out. Realizing there was nothing more he could do, the light faded from his eyes.
So this is how I die. Pathetically.
He had sworn revenge. He had vowed to make Kalsento pay for what he did to his parents and for slaughtering the retainers of House Calbrandt. But revenge was a steep road for the powerless. The truth sank into his bones once more. Slowly, he opened his mouth.
"I'm listening."
It wasn't directed at Ophelia, nor at the mercenaries and soldiers who had come to capture him. His gaze grew cold.
I'm going to die.
He could accept death. But if he was dying because he lacked power… because he had no talent… then this was always how it was going to end.
[……Are you talking to us?]
[He's speaking to us!]
The chattering voices that had been cut off rang out again. The spirits had noticed he was no longer afraid of them. Ophelia's magic had kept them at bay before, but not anymore. At the voice of Ruen—a Spirit Summoner with talent said to be the greatest in history—they began to respond once more.
Hearing their giggling laughter, Ruen answered in a low, sunken voice.
"Yes. I'm talking to you."
If everything had come to this because of talent—or the lack of it—and he had no power to take revenge…
Ruen's eyes gleamed coldly, like moonlight.
[Help you? Help you? Help you?]
Then he would use even this cursed power.
"Kill them all."
At Ruen's death sentence, everyone stood bewildered.
Crack……!!
[We'll help!]
Disaster had begun.
@
"This…… This isn't what we were told……!!"
Ruen looked down with emotionless eyes at the mercenary screaming in rage. Blood covered everything. The one who had turned the once-peaceful morning forest into a sea of blood stood perfectly calm. Even though it was his first time killing, Ruen felt no guilt. It was only natural. He wasn't soft enough to show mercy to people who had come to kill or sell him for money. Especially when he wanted nothing more than to tear Kalsento apart.
Suppressing his cold fury, Ruen spoke to the mercenary whose legs had been torn off, now crawling on the ground.
"Just in case, I'll ask. Do you know which territories are working with Kalsento?"
Dozens of mercenaries. Calbrandt could hire as many as they wanted, but doing so within their own territory carried too much risk. Ruen had assumed most of them came from elsewhere. The mercenary only coughed up a mouthful of blood and gave no answer. It wasn't some code of honor about never betraying a client. He simply didn't believe speaking would save him.
"……Medrock? Jennan? Hokruk?"
Even as Ruen continued, the mercenary only pressed his lips shut and glared. Knowing the man wasn't driven by malice but simply refusing to give the answer he wanted, Ruen let out a small, hollow laugh.
"Don't tell me you're still thinking you can survive this."
If someone tried to kill another, shouldn't they be prepared to die themselves? If they raised a sword against someone, shouldn't they expect a sword to be raised against them? Wasn't this just shameless?
Thinking this, Ruen raised his hand.
Crunch……!!
The roots of a tree that had already devoured dozens of humans burst from the ground and bound the man's limbs tightly. There was no need to dirty his own hands. The spirits moved exactly as he thought.
"Ghh……!!"
As his limbs were pulled in different directions, a rough groan escaped the mercenary's mouth.
"You have two choices."
There were many ways to execute a criminal. The simplest was hanging. Decapitation was considered the cleanest and most merciful. What was it called again?
"Die peacefully. Or die in agony."
Though he didn't know the name, Ruen chose to give him pain until the very end. As the roots yanked mercilessly at his arms and legs, the man finally seemed to understand the situation. His face flushed red as he screamed with all his strength.
"It doesn't matter who you ask!! Everyone's going to die anyway!!"
"……Everyone, you say."
Even though he'd finally gotten the answer he wanted, Ruen couldn't smile. It meant all three houses near Calbrandt Territory had been involved in its downfall.
"That's right!! So please……!!"
Crack!!
With the sound of something breaking, the mercenary's words were cut short. Ruen turned his gaze away and let out a hollow laugh, running a hand through his hair. They had only been soldiers and mercenaries, yet it had taken mere minutes to deal with nearly a hundred of them. The sight was something even a great mage might have struggled to create. Ruen exhaled a long breath.
None of it mattered anymore. The very premise that some house might help him had been wrong from the start. His dream of revenge was drifting further away, like clouds in the sky.
"Ha."
Ruen let out a small scoff and looked ahead with sunken eyes.
[It's all over!]
[We did good, right? We did good?]
"……Yeah. You did well."
Their forms were beginning to appear faintly before his eyes. Or perhaps they had always been there, and he had simply been ignoring them. He nodded at the spirits chattering like children hungry for praise and offered them words of approval before looking past them.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the place where Calbrandt—and Kalsento—would be. Then he turned away and began walking slowly. He no longer knew where he should go or why. His steps had no destination, no will.
……
Yet one thing remained deeply rooted in his heart.
Revenge. A single, burning desire for vengeance against those who had brought all of this upon him.