When the Sky Turned Red (2)
When the bugle sounded, for some reason it made my heart tremble.
Almost without thinking, I lifted my head. Above me was a cloudless sky, the sun hanging bright and stark in the blue; when I lowered my gaze again, all I could see were hundreds upon hundreds of banners packed tightly around us.
Knights stood in formation, each carrying a flag embroidered with their family crest, and I couldn’t help a small laugh at the sight of them in such splendid armor, dressed exactly as representatives of their houses ought to be.
“Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable?”
“You’re the weird one, Sir Knight. Normally everyone goes out of their minds trying to look cool at times like this, so I don’t get why you insist on wearing the same thing you always do.”
“It’s uncomfortable. I really can’t wear armor like that.”
Perhaps irritated that I was wearing my usual uniform, Ropena pouted, and when I answered like that, she suddenly giggled and leaned closer, whispering into my ear.
“But… doesn’t it feel like everyone’s only looking at you?”
“...I’m aware of it. Just don’t make a fuss about it. I’m finally starting to get used to things like this.”
“Must be nice, being so popular. Your letters have been sparse lately, but I bet you’ll get even more now.”
Maybe that should have been a good thing, but honestly, it was nothing but a burden to me.
I had no intention of getting involved with any of them, and whenever Irene happened to find the stack of letters, her expression always seemed to darken.
She told me not to let those letters distract me, to focus on guarding her instead, but since I barely even checked what they said, I couldn’t help feeling wronged.
The Hunting Festival wasn’t a gathering of knights alone. Since the noble ladies who had come with them were here as well—including Irene—it seemed most of the Five Great Houses were present.
And naturally, the most striking banners of all were those of the Five Great Houses themselves, so the glances drifting around us were mostly directed at those flags—or at me.
Of course, not every look sent my way was the kind soaked in sticky, feverish longing.
Some were simply curious, because the knight chosen to represent Yuris was only sixteen years old; others were likely wondering about the skill of the so-called genius knight, Evan Fried, who was making his first appearance at the festival.
Though, how much chance would there really be to show off skill in a place where all you did was hunt animals?
After checking the hilt of the sword at my waist, I tapped Ropena lightly on the head and smiled.
The festival would begin as soon as the beacon was lit, so it was probably time for Ropena to head back.
“...Stop patting my head. I’m not a kid, you know.”
“You are one. You’re fifteen. Is the young lady all right?”
“She’s in the separate building prepared for her. But why does being fifteen make me a kid?”
“Because I’m sixteen.”
When I grinned after saying that, Ropena scrunched up her face and immediately began grumbling with a pout.
I was only one year older than her, and yet she accused me of being absurdly territorial, then complained that she’d be sixteen once her own birthday passed, so she didn’t understand why I was acting like this.
She never behaved this way with the other knights, so the only explanation was that she felt comfortable enough with me to do it.
Watching her for a moment, I soon heard the bugle again and gently pushed her toward the path away from me.
In five minutes, the horn would sound once more, and when it did, the beacon would be lit and the Hunting Festival would begin.
“Good luck. And don’t come back injured again.”
“Listen to you, you’d think I always come back hurt.”
“But you did come back injured. Consider it karma.”
“...Yeah. Thanks.”
Come to think of it, maybe I did seem to get hurt every time I picked up a sword.
But when I’d faced the assassin, it had been the first time I ever held a blade, and the black mage attack had come from an unexpected direction.
Honestly, if I got injured this time too, I might have to seriously doubt my own skill.
Talent or not, in the end wasn’t it the one wielding the sword who mattered?
Once Ropena left her post, it wasn’t long before the third bugle call rang out.
As everyone lowered the flags they had been holding and began drawing the swords prepared in advance, a thunderous voice boomed from far ahead.
“Welcome, everyone. I’m truly delighted that the Hunting Festival held this winter has been entrusted to Roman.”
When a young man stepped onto the platform, looking to be only a year or two older than me at most, applause broke out all around us.
Dark teal hair, the hallmark of Roman, and purple eyes.
Roman of the Sword—one of the Five Great Houses of the Empire, which traced its lineage back to Seran Roman, the founder said to have conquered all things by the sword.
I frowned.
For the man standing on that platform was none other than Adel Roman, Irene’s fiancé.
He smiled brightly as if nothing were wrong, but wasn’t he the one who would later turn his back on Irene and become the decisive reason for her downfall?
“To cleanse the beasts and monsters that threaten the Empire’s peace, and to once again draw a picture of harmony, I bless this festival anew. From this moment, I shall raise the sacred flame.”
With a roar of flame, the beacon ignited, and the knights gripping their swords raised them all at once toward the sky.
It was a kind of ritual—an offering of peace to the Empire’s symbol, the sun—so I lifted my sword as well, and then Adel Roman pointed his blade toward Verdeng Mountain.
The white blade gleamed brilliantly, and when it overlapped with the snow-covered mountain and seemed to vanish into it, Adel Roman shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Glory to Evangelium!”
Thud.
The knights’ footsteps struck all at once, and for an instant I felt as though the earth itself had shaken.
Knights from the Five Great Houses, along with those from dozens of other prominent noble families, all surged toward Verdeng Mountain in armor that shone like stars.
I watched them go for a moment, then slowly began to move as well.
Since she told me not to soil the handkerchief, I carefully tucked the one tied around my wrist into my sleeve.
#
Crunch.
The sound that came with each step ought to have pleased the ear.
That crisp, clean noise only winter could make, even if the snow that sometimes rose to my knees was a little annoying.
Even so, my mood itself wasn’t bad.
It reminded me of childhood, and of snowball fights with Ropena, enough to make the corners of my mouth twitch upward.
Yes, if I had been alone, that would surely have been the case.
If only it weren’t for the one knight who had somehow come up beside me and was chattering noisily away.
“I’ve heard your name before, Sir Evan. I understand you defeated a black mage this time. Truly, the Empire and Roman owe you a great debt.”
“Is that so.”
“Just as expected. They say strong knights are quiet, and every movement of yours seems to carry discipline. Might I ask how you usually train?”
Where had all the solemnity from the platform gone?
I shot a quick glance at the blasted knight chattering at my side, then let out a sigh and stopped walking.
I really hadn’t wanted to run into him, so how had he found me?
“Sir Roman.”
“You may call me Sir Adel.”
“...Could you please leave me alone now?”
My voice came out icy. I had no desire whatsoever to keep walking with him like this.
At this rate, our prey would overlap before long.
I had been deliberately circling this area just to put distance between us, yet he’d followed me for a full twenty minutes, and the beasts were scattering more and more, making my eyes narrow.
If I didn’t get rid of him soon, I’d only end up embarrassing myself for no reason.
To be honest, every time I looked at his face, a faint irritation rose in me, so I had no real desire to keep staring at him for long.
For that matter, wasn’t he the same Adel Roman who abandoned Irene and walked away in the novel?
I didn’t trust a man like that, and I certainly had no interest in wasting time walking alongside him.
Even though I had met him with a bristling attitude full of thorns, there was no real change in Adel’s expression.
He only kept smiling as if nothing were wrong, just as he had when we first met.
Was he here for the festival, or did he have some other purpose?
I had no idea what was in his head, even as he kept smiling like an idiot, and that only made my brow crease slightly.
Was this why Irene had said she felt uncomfortable around her fiancé?
Still, I hadn’t expected the heir of one of the Five Great Houses to be ordinary.
Part of me wanted to draw my sword and drive him off on the spot, but he had shown me no hostility, so I couldn’t exactly say anything.
Realizing that his attitude toward me wasn’t exactly pleasant, Adel Roman gave a bitter smile and let out a sigh before speaking.
“I came because I thought that even if Sir Evan spoke with me for a little while, you would still be able to win easily. But it seems I’ve only gotten in the way. How should I apologize? If it comes to it, my family could always offer you some kind of gift.”
“I don’t need any gift, so let’s part ways at the fork up ahead.”
“If that’s what you want...then of course.”
After that, no more words were exchanged.
Only the crunch of snow underfoot and the occasional crack of a branch striking our bodies and snapping apart could be heard.
Whenever his teal hair fluttered in the wind, my mood somehow worsened and my brow tightened.
Wasn’t there always someone like that?
A person you had just met, someone you’d never even exchanged a proper conversation with, yet who already made it hard to like them.
It wasn’t as though this was the first time I’d ever seen Adel Roman, but that was exactly how I felt now.
No matter how friendly he tried to seem, he somehow gave me the impression that he was acting.
Sometimes, the purple eyes that flashed in the light seemed to hold only dusk.
In the fading light, beneath this brilliant sunlight, what on earth was he looking at?
Reading Adel Roman’s thoughts was no easier than watching Irene try and fail to hide her emotions.
Maybe one of the Five Great Houses is colluding with the black mages. If not, then perhaps all of them except Yuris are involved.
The duke’s words came back to me, buzzing faintly in my ears.
The warning to be careful at the Hunting Festival, and the connection between the Five Great Houses and the black mages.
If Roman was tied to black mages—
Bzzz—
Just as the sword at Adel’s waist began to glow blue, I reflexively reached for the blade at my own hip.
Was I more focused on his movements than on the beast’s presence ahead of us?
Seeing my sudden alertness, Adel Roman gave a faint snort of laughter and looked at me.
“What’s there to be so startled about?”
“...It seems to be a wolf. I’ll cut it down.”
“Since I’ve already drawn my sword, please let me handle it. My skill is still rather lacking, so beasts are about all I can manage.”
I stared at his smiling face for a long moment, then gave a small nod.
Adel immediately swung his sword and cut down the wolf that had come right up to us.
With a clean strike, the wolf was split at the waist and rolled helplessly into the snow, and Adel wiped the blood from his blade with a cloth before straightening his chest and proudly pointing at it.
“Well? Not bad, right?”
“As expected of a Roman son.”
Had he not noticed that I had been wary of him?
He had severed the wolf’s neck and tucked it into his bag, yet his attitude toward me hadn’t changed in the slightest.
If he hadn’t noticed that I’d been startled by him drawing his sword rather than by the wolf’s presence...
Well, perhaps that was for the best. There was no reason for things to sour between us now.
Part of me did think it would be best to annul Irene’s engagement to him.
But without a proper reason, the chances of making that happen were extremely slim.
If he really was tied to black magic, that would be a different matter, but right now I had no evidence at all.
Apparently very pleased by my praise, Adel’s expression brightened as he sheathed his sword and gave me a small thumbs-up.
“Even if I’m nowhere near as good as you, Sir Evan, I’m still a Roman through and through. This much is basic.”
“...Is that so.”
What a carefree man, I thought, and after walking a long while, what appeared before us was the only fork in this mountain, splitting into three paths.
The place where I’d agreed to part ways with Adel was right there, and perhaps knowing that our time together was ending, he gave me a thin, regretful smile.
“What a pity. I had so much more I wanted to talk about.”
“......”
“Well then, I hope we meet again. If you ever come to see Irene, would you be willing to exchange a few sword strikes with me?”
“I will.”
After my brief answer, Adel nodded, turned around, and began walking down one of the paths.
Once I had seen him off and was just about to head toward the beasts I had already scouted out for the festival, something happened.
Crash—
From the mountaintop, not far from here, a sudden deafening roar erupted.
The sound of trees breaking and splintering, of rocks cracking and being crushed.
And what twisted my face was the scream of a human voice woven through it all.
“Sir Evan, did you hear that!”
Even as Adel, who had gone off by another path, came running back, my gaze remained fixed on the mountain’s summit.
Still layered in snow, still touching the sky, the peak looked peaceful, holding on to the purity of its white brilliance—but why, then, could I sense the aura of black magic?
I gripped the sword at my waist. Mana coursed through my heart and, obeying my will, began spreading through every corner of my body.
White flames flared, hot enough to melt the snow around me, and the moment they rose, I kicked off the ground and shot forward like an arrow.
Was this the darkness the duke had warned me about?
I supposed I would have to find out.
#
“So, you’ve come.”
A rough, blunt, low voice echoed as though it were walking through a dense and ancient darkness.
In the space where that voice rang out, human skulls were piled high, and animal bones and half-dried blood had pooled on the floor.
The shadow of the forest, faintly spread across the ground, devoured the light.
No more light was visible. Hidden by trees, hidden by darkness, hidden by shadow, all that remained was a dim, lingering requiem.
Thud.
The ring hanging from the snorting nose twitched faintly.
Breath drew in through the nose and then spilled out again, breathing white mist into the air.
It scattered into the darkness, wrapping the surroundings in cold.
The white breath soon touched the dark and began to glow blue.
Like phosphorescence, the breath that still shone in the dark drifted around and touched a wavering light.
It almost looked like candlelight.
That purple flame.
Amid this carnival of shadows, this darkness as though draped in a veil, the lone violet flame slowly began to grow.
Like smoke, like fire, like a blaze swallowing everything around it.
The flame that had flickered faintly in the dark soon devoured the shadows and became a hellfire.
Grrroooaaar—
Fangs burning like yellow hellfire pointed toward the sky.
The roar spilling from its open jaws was a bellow, a cry that seemed to pierce the heavens.
An axe scraped the ground with a strange sound as it hung in a hand powerful enough to crush a human head in one strike, and the beasts nearby, startled by the noise, began to flee downward.
Small footsteps gathered into a tremor, and that tremor gathered into one that shook the snow covering the mountain.
A tiny snowball rolled and became an avalanche; as with the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, those faint movements swelled and swept everything nearby away.
The darkness roared.
Colder than the north wind, darker than the night’s shadow, it coiled around the area and devoured the light.
Purple death surged and swayed. What it signified was the end of life, the annihilation of hope.
Before long, the sun was swallowed by the moon, and the blue sky began to be buried beneath darkness.