Chapter 627: Last Will (1)
Chapter 627: Last Will (1)
Senior Sienne’s explanation was brief and clear.
It had been only a few minutes since we moved to a private area with the Academy’s key figures to hear the report. Most of the officials present closed their eyes, swallowing heavy groans.
There was no real doubt on their faces.
Only a sigh-like lamentation that things had finally come to this.
I was the sole exception.
“…Isn’t there some mistake?”
In an instant, every gaze in the room shifted toward me.
I had broken a long silence. It was a reaction I had naturally prepared for, yet I found the emotions contained in those eyes—pity, or perhaps compassion—utterly unbearable.
Unable to suppress the surge of indignation, I slammed my hand against the desk. Bang!
“Celine suddenly attacking the Alphenhauser direct line?! Doesn’t that strike you as strange?! She was a girl who, until just recently, was crossing blades with the Dark Cult… Yes, a deception! We can’t rule out the possibility that this is a ruse…!”
“You haven’t changed a bit, Sir Hand Axe Dummy-Dummy.”
Tap. Sienne tapped her cane against the floor.
She spoke in a tone devoid of both mockery and lament. My heated gaze flew straight to her, but I was soon forced to groan and turn my head away.
The bandages covering half of her once-beautiful face were being soaked through by yellowish pus.
The burn that would never heal.
It was a hideous curse. In terms of sheer agony, burns ranked among the most excruciating of injuries.
Senior Sienne had to endure that pain continuously.
Even while half of her face remained hidden.
She was a woman in such a wretched state. No matter how agitated I was, I couldn't bring myself to raise my voice recklessly against her.
Taking advantage of my silence, Sienne let out a low growl.
“That woman brought up the Haster family’s grudge. I don’t know how she obtained the information, but there is more than enough causality for Celine Haster to betray humanity. She already had points of contact with the Dark Cult in the past, and we’ve tentatively concluded that they were the ones behind the kidnapping, haven't we?”
“That grudge is—!”
Bang! My palm struck the desk again.
Unable to control my emotions, one of the table legs gave way with a loud crack. Despite this, no one spoke up to blame me.
Only Professor Derek turned his gaze away with a sigh.
I shouted, my eyes bloodshot.
“Is that not the Alphenhausers' fault?! How can you be so shameless…!”
“Shameless?”
A hollow, unfinished laugh escaped her.
The woman’s silver gaze pierced my heart like a flash of light. That mournful expression acted like ice dropped into my boiling chest.
“You’re right. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it really is our family’s fault. Maybe there was a better solution… But what does that matter now?”
“Celine has her reasons too…!”
“Reasons to turn her back on humanity and burn the world? How very justified of her.”
I wanted to argue back again, but I could only slump powerlessly into my seat.
She was right.
Betraying humanity and burning the world.
Celine might have her reasons. But for it to lead to the 'destruction of humanity'…
There was no room for my counterargument. Knowing this all too well, Senior Sienne continued to twist the knife.
“Fine, let’s say Alphenhauser was in the wrong. My younger sister is in a vegetative state and can’t even open her eyes, and I’ve become a half-cripple who has to live the rest of my life hiding a hideous face while suffering the pain of melting skin… Fine, let’s say we committed a sin deserving of that! But do you really think that woman will be satisfied just by burning us?”
She might.
I wanted to defend Celine, even if it was just empty words, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Because I knew.
I knew what kind of people the Dark Cult were.
I knew that if Celine truly sided with them, the conclusion was already set in stone.
I simply didn't want to believe it.
I buried my face in my hands.
“That woman has already made an irreversible choice. Therefore, what we must do has also become clear. Do you still not understand, Sir Hand Axe Dummy-Dummy?”
Tap. She tapped her cane on the floor once more.
Senior Sienne spoke in a voice that didn't match the playful nickname 'Hand Axe Dummy-Dummy' in the slightest.
“Your childhood friend is now our enemy….”
“Stop it!”
A roar erupted from my mouth, unable to take any more.
My feet moved on their own as I kicked back my chair and stood up. Staggering with a hand to my forehead, I forced the words out through gritted teeth.
“It might… it might not be too late yet.”
“Ian.”
Senior Sienne didn't even need to step forward.
Everyone gathered there sought to dissuade me. Even Professor Derek called my name with a voice heavy with sighs.
“If it’s too difficult, let’s talk later. I’ll summarize the discussed details and let you know….”
“I will!”
I shouted, scanning the room with smoldering eyes. Senior Sienne met my gaze with an unreadable expression.
“I’ll go see for myself… It might be better than doing nothing. So….”
“Ian.”
“I’ll mobilize the Imperial Intelligence Agency right now and…!”
Just as I took a step forward, trying to organize my mess of a plan.
I suddenly lost my balance and stumbled.
Huh? Why?
Before that question could even form.
Splat. A mouthful of blood sprayed from my lips. Soon, panicked voices began to ring against my eardrums.
“Ian? Ian!”
“No, what is this….”
“Call a priest immediately!”
Thud. My body rolled pathetically onto the wooden floor.
Huff, huff.
The thick scent of blood rose with every breath. I could feel a warm wetness soaking the bandages wrapped around my old wounds.
What is this?
I… I have to go.
Celine was waiting. Since we were children, she had always been surprisingly prone to tears and soft-hearted. She might be crying right now because I wasn't there.
Yes, I have to go.
Suddenly, an old memory surfaced. A promise I made to Celine when we were young.
But my consciousness was fading.
I reached out, but my body refused to listen. My blurred vision distorted the outlines of the room as everything grew dark.
Voices drifted through the gaps of my fading consciousness.
“But keep this in mind.”
A man’s warning.
“Every choice comes with a price….”
A monster’s mad laughter.
“Aha, kh-… cough, kh-… Ahahaha! To think… to think this was the ‘price’ you had to pay… wheeze… Ahahahahak!”
Then there was a day a man had spoken to me irritably.
“You’re late.”
And what did he say after that?
“It can’t be stopped now. You’d better start preparing yourself.”
“Preparing for what?”
“Preparing to pay the price.”
Right.
Memory, memory, memory.
Images of the past were jumbled together at random. Clues that had been dormant in my unconsciousness suddenly stretched and spoke to me.
The dream martial artist who mastered all secret arts.
What did Princess Iris call the Imperial Household’s long-cherished wish to create that monster?
“Its codename is the ‘Artificial God (Deus ex machina)’ project.”
That was it.
Hadn't I argued passionately about the absurdity of that plan? That there was only one end for those who mastered secret arts indiscriminately.
Destruction (破滅).
I see. As I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but feel it intuitively.
This was the price I had to pay.
And then, darkness.
Past and future inverted.
* * *
“…Ian Oppa? Ian Oppa!”
“Huh? Wh-what?”
Rarely for me, I let out a stupid response.
Before me stood a woman with an axe the size of her own body slung over her shoulder as if it were a mere twig. Her black hair was gathered roughly behind her back, and her amber eyes sparkled with suspicion.
My face went blank the moment I saw her.
Celine Haster.
Right, I was definitely….
It was then. Thwack. The girl’s elbow poked my side sharply.
It happened before I could even let out a faint groan.
“Why do you keep spacing out? How long has it been since the battle ended… Heh, or did you suddenly fall for my beauty all over again?”
Seeing Celine smiling so boastfully, a dry laugh escaped me.
“Fall for the way you pop demonic beasts' skulls like firecrackers with that axe?”
“Hmph, well? Wasn't it cool?”
She winked one of her amber eyes, acting cute.
Memories rewound. A woman on horseback held a massive axe, and every time it swung like a lightning bolt, blood poured down like rain.
Was it cool?
It was cool, certainly. If only it hadn't been a scene of one-sided slaughter.
The woman who was my adjutant and evaluated as having the greatest breakthrough power among the 'Crows' was that kind of martial artist.
Celine continued to chatter incessantly as we walked.
“Ah, what a shame. Such a shame! If only I’d discovered my aptitude a bit sooner, I might have surpassed you, Ian Oppa….”
“It’s not too late even now.”
“Pffft… Me? Surpass you?”
At my soulless agreement, Celine began to double over with laughter.
What on earth was so funny?
When I shook my head, Celine laughed even harder.
“Surpass ‘Ian Percus,’ the strongest in the history of the Imperial Intelligence Agency’s Crows? Forget it, forget it… I’m satisfied being your adjutant.”
“If you want, I could transfer you to a safer unit….”
“Oppa, I said I’m fine.”
The girl cut off my suggestion firmly, waving her hand dismissively.
“You were by my side when I was struggling the most, Ian Oppa.”
I didn't give her an answer.
I had business to attend to, and the conversation with her wasn't light enough to have while just walking.
Nevertheless, Celine continued in a serious tone.
“I told you. From that day on, I’ve entrusted my life to you… I’m willing to die for you, Ian Oppa.”
“Reto will scold you if you say that.”
“Lalala, I can’t hear you~”
Celine mimicked covering her ears with her palms. She even stuck her tongue out for good measure.
Honestly, she hasn't changed a bit.
I shook my head with a strange sense of nostalgia. Come to think of it, I hadn't told Celine about today’s business yet.
It was time to bring up a new topic.
I went straight to the point without hesitation.
“We’re going to meet Sir Irene now.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course, we have to report the battle results… Wait, what?”
Celine’s face began to stiffen rapidly.
I continued, feigning ignorance.
“This is the Capital. Naturally, there are procedures to go through before we can see Her Highness.”
“No, no… even so, that woman? I—I hate her!”
“I’m counting on you to play nice with Sir Irene.”
“GYAAAAAAAH!”
Leaving Celine’s scream behind, I stepped forward without hesitation. It reduced the factors that would waste my time.
Inwardly, I felt a bit sorry for Celine. Hadn't she hated those from high-ranking noble families for a long time?
‘Sir Irene’ was the same. A direct descendant of the Lupemion family, a true blue-blooded noble.
Even so, I hoped Celine would meet Sir Irene and come to understand each other.
The people Celine needed to take revenge on were already gone.
They had met a gruesome end that Celine couldn't have even imagined. In the midst of that, these were the last survivors who had lost their families.
I hoped they would become good companions.
Leaving behind a faint prayer, I walked the rest of the way. At the end of that path sat my liege.
A woman so beautiful she could take one's breath away, if only for a moment.