There's Not Much Time Left. (2)
[You have some nerve, human.]
The wraith let out an eerie laugh. As their laughter swelled, the darkness churning on the horizon deepened.
In an instant, I found myself trapped inside the black fog.
Wraiths thrust their faces through the gaps in the fog with a soft hissing sound.
[Mages are delicious. I will devour that wench's head.]
[Her body is mine.]
Some of the wraiths wore the forms of pirates. Every human who had drowned in the eastern sea had their flesh stolen by wraiths like these.
Even in death they could not truly die, left to wander the ocean.
[Kekeke. You are terrified.]
Olivia did not answer.
Being surrounded by thousands of wraiths was no reason to be cowed.
[Skill 'Lightning Spear' activated.]
Crackle!
A massive spear of lightning materialized in Olivia's right hand, and the approaching wraiths flinched backward.
[Magical power destabilized.]
[Mana consumption increases.]
With a sharp sizzle, sparks of mana erupted and the spear's form blurred. When Olivia forced more mana into it, the sparks greedily devoured the power.
The sparks slowly died down.
I already knew this was no ordinary seawater.
They too were Aquarians. Like Esti, they could create waves that fed on mana.
Then it happened.
A single wraith revealed himself beyond the fog.
His presence was on an entirely different scale from the wraiths seen so far.
Dense death energy. Even adding together all the darkness flowing through the black fog, it did not match this one wraith.
From his restrained demeanor emanated a force that overwhelmed the entire assembly.
Olivia knew who this wraith was.
[...You are no ordinary mage.]
That figure was Krauchel.
He had been the Knight Commander of Aquar, and two centuries ago he had been called the Sword Saint.
His flesh was rotted and decayed, with nothing but bone remaining, yet his sword alone was honed sharp enough to cut.
[Turn back. If you turn back now, I will forgive the insolence of daring to speak of Her Highness with your mouth.]
Krauchel's ego was far too lucid for a wraith of several centuries.
He was incomparable to the other wraiths that milled about nearby.
'That probably meant he was that strong.'
Aquar did not reign as the hegemonic power of the east for nothing.
Though, to put it another way, it also meant that without being as strong as Krauchel, one could not retain their sense of self.
Krauchel continued to speak.
[This place...is cursed. The living cannot endure long. This is advice. Turn back before the madness consumes you.]
It was a remark that hinted at the character he must have possessed in life.
Krauchel was probably the one keeping the wraiths from running wild as they pleased.
[Turn back.]
[Turn back. Turn back.]
The wraiths repeated the same words like echoes.
Olivia fell briefly into thought.
'...Were they always this cooperative?'
As one could infer from the word "Demon Realm," every wraith here was classified as Inhuman.
They merely wore the masks of fish-men and pirates; their essence as wraiths did not change.
Which meant at least a few of them ought to have attacked by now...
[Wait.]
Krauchel turned his body and looked at Olivia.
[I sense a holy aura from you. Hm...has a Saintess appeared in your era?]
Olivia realized the reason was Rebekah.
She must have cast a Blessing on me without my knowing it.
A Saintess would be capable of infusing even a simple prayer with Divine Power, after all.
Krauchel asked.
[What is your relationship with the Saintess?]
Instead of answering, Olivia smiled.
Sometimes staying silent was better for stoking the other person's imagination.
[...Please answer.]
At the words that were almost an entreaty, Olivia tilted her head. Krauchel spoke again to the vacant-looking Olivia.
[If it is the Saintess's Divine Power, it might free us from this curse. So tell me. What is your relationship with the Saintess?]
"We are like family."
[Like...you say?]
"Would it land better if I said my one and only family?"
Krauchel nodded.
[May I ask one favor of you, young mage?]
"That favor would be to bring the Saintess here, wouldn't it."
[...It would.]
"And it would be to purify the curse with her Divine Power."
[That too is correct.]
Olivia smiled.
"If you grant me an audience with His Majesty, I will consider the matter favorably."
[That...is impossible.]
Krauchel wore an inexplicably somber expression as he spoke. When he hesitated, Olivia spoke again.
"I came here because of Esti."
At those words, the wraiths that had been quietly circling about let out a howling cacophony all at once. This time, even Krauchel did not restrain them.
[Young mage. I warn you: never utter that name from your lips again. If you do, this time I will not stop them. Abandon any belief that the Saintess's Blessing will shield you from death.]
The vengeful spirits here were all people who had been dragged into Esti's rampage and drowned.
How immense their resentment was could be seen from the fact that the sunken city had transformed into a demon realm.
"I know the secret history of the Kingdom of Aquar."
[...And yet you still dared to speak such words.]
How dare you, one of the wraiths shouted. The death energy seeping from the black fog grew fiercer.
The wraiths newly revealed within the fog differed in mood from the first ones.
Knights drew their swords, and mages exuded Death Energy in place of mana.
But they did not attack.
Because Krauchel had not permitted it.
[Young mage, for what reason do you seek an audience with Her Highness?]
Having spoken, Krauchel brought his hand to his sword's hilt.
The atmosphere suggested that one wrong word would mean death at any moment.
But Olivia spoke without fear.
"I will tell that to Her Highness directly."
[...Arrogant.]
"I will take that to mean overflowing with confidence."
[Your tongue is long as well. I advise you: Her Highness detests those who are all smooth words.]
Olivia nodded.
"Thank you for the opportunity."
Srrng.
Instead of answering, Krauchel drew his sword.
It was not to stab Olivia. The direction of his slash was aimed at none other than the surface of the sea.
The sword struck downward, piercing through the water's surface.
['Death Knight Krauchel' uses 'Sea Parting']
With a great cracking roar, the sea began to split open. Astonishingly, the parted sea did not close again. With each additional slash, the furrows carved into the sea deepened.
A moment later, the ocean revealed its blackened floor.
[Follow me.]
With those final words, Krauchel leaped down to the dark floor.
*****
[You are the first of the living to come here.]
"...I am honored."
Krauchel walked ahead. Olivia surveyed the sunken city as she followed behind him.
There was no need to worry about swimming. Aquar was a city submerged in seawater, but that did not mean it was an underwater city.
The darkness covering the city.
The dense death energy shrouded the whole city, blocking the seawater's penetration.
[Kuahahahahaha!]
[A human! A living human!]
Thanks to that, I could directly observe the sight of wraiths steeped in madness flying at us.
They clacked their teeth as though they were about to bite down at once, but they could not approach beyond a set distance. Because Krauchel cut them down the moment they came close.
"You show no mercy."
[Those are not citizens of Aquar. They are the vengeful spirits of pirates that woman executed.]
Who "that woman" was needed no explanation.
I could feel once again how deep a grudge they bore toward Esti.
Krauchel and Olivia walked down the palace corridor.
It was filled with broken rubble. In every corner, moss grew without fail, and ominous glowing eyes served in place of candles.
Krauchel's feet stopped before a door from which an ominous energy emanated.
As if to say everything until now had been in jest, hideous death energy seeped through the gaps.
[Danger Zone!]
The notifications that popped up without pause were proof of it.
Krauchel knocked politely on the door, then stepped several paces back.
[Enter.]
The door opened.
Upon the high throne, a pitch-black mass writhed.
Olivia knew the identity of that thing.
"I stand before noble personages."
[...You have sharp eyes.]
"Thank you."
The reason Olivia had used the plural "personages" was simple.
They were one body, but they were not one person.
The next moment.
⌜To be discovered in an instant.⌟
⌜If only you had stayed still.⌟
⌜Everyone quiet.⌟
⌜His Majesty speaks.⌟
Dozens of voices poured out of the pitch-black mass at once. They ranged from a young man's voice to a middle-aged woman's.
All of them were the royalty of Aquar.
They had once been Esti's parents, her siblings, her kin.
Those who had once cherished her most now detested her more than anyone.
The King spoke.
[So, what is this story you wish to tell me?]
As expected, he had been listening to everything.
"Please forgive your daughter now."
Olivia went straight to the point.
"How much longer do you intend to curse her? Do you really think 150 years of suffering is not enough?"
[It is not enough.]
The answer was swift as a blade.
[Tens of thousands were drowned that day. 150 years is woefully insufficient.]
"It isn't as though Esti rampaged because she wanted to rampage."
Strictly speaking, the sinking of the city was not Esti's fault.
The royalty of Aquar performed a ritual when they came of age.
A ritual of entrusting one's body to the sea and drawing out the power of the waves.
The more power the sea lent, the higher the waves rose, as a matter of natural course.
Esti's only sin was being born with a constitution beloved by the sea.
"Do you never consider that you yourselves were complacent? If you had only set up a single barrier, this catastrophe would never have happened. How much could a princess who had just come of age possibly understand?"
She had performed the ritual when told to, and gave it her all when told to do her best.
"You must have been curious, didn't you. Curious just how strong the child who had ridden the waves since birth would become upon adulthood."
The youngest princess did not wish to betray her parents', her family's expectations, and so she gave everything she had.
In the end, unable to control the power, she rampaged.
"It was you who urged her to move not the waves, but the sea itself."
There was no way a human could command the sea in the first place, anyway.
"And yet you say 150 years is not enough. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Esti had lived a life utterly opposite to Olivia's.
"It is not Esti who must atone, but all of you."
Esti had protected in order to atone.
Olivia had atoned after she protected.
Perhaps the reason my chest tightened was that I had felt a sense of kinship.
Shouts of fury erupted from every direction.
⌜Insolence!⌟
⌜This wench who knows nothing has only a mouth!⌟
⌜I will tear you to pieces!⌟
The moment that staggering Killing Intent exploded outward.
[Silence.]
The King stopped them.
[I shall not deny it. Whatever the others may think, I, at least, acknowledge your logic. However, the Binding carved into Esti's soul cannot be released.]
At the unexpected answer, Olivia hesitated.
"What is the reason?"
[That Binding was carved simultaneously by me, my family, and all of Aquar's citizens.]
To the bewildered Olivia, the King extended his hand. From his fingertip, a small fragment of a chain revealed itself.
A Notification Window appeared before my eyes.
['King Fram' Stakes: 0.7%.]
It was a fragment of the Binding.
A tiny fragment, small enough to be called a speck of dust.
[Without a majority agreement, the Binding cannot be lifted.]
The King’s gaze seemed strangely bleak as he spoke.
[You have come too late, mage.]