Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Each One's Stage (4)
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Gripping the sword hilt, I thrust it in.
The blade slid in smoothly without resistance, its tip piercing straight through the Life Vessel.
『Aaaahhh, aaahhh!』
Skeval let out a monstrous scream.
Cracks began spiderwebbing out from his right eye where the blade was lodged, fracturing across his skull. I tightened my grip on his head.
Krunch.
Finally, Skeval's skull shattered completely.
Just before the black sludge oozing out could fully collapse his form, a psychic wave rippled through the area.
『Too late, Ashen! You're too late!』
A sneer.
『Far too late...!』
"Quit your bullshit and just die nicely, yeah?"
It wasn't worth listening to.
I swung my hand, burning away the remaining sludge. All that was left was a single sword clattering to the ground.
"......"
I silently picked it up.
Flesh was stuck to the hilt. The seam connecting hilt to blade rattled loosely, as if the sword might fall apart any second.
It was ruined.
And it wasn't just Kalt's sword that was broken.
Aphria's pride and joy, the central plaza, was a total wreck. Sidewalk blocks lay overturned everywhere, the ground bulging up in grotesque shapes. Bloodstains and scorch marks littered the area, painting a vivid picture of the battle that had raged here.
I walked through the heart of the chaos.
Following the trail of blood, I opened my mouth.
"Kalt."
"Yes, Senior."
In response to my call, Kalt gave a bitter smile.
"You came after all."
"Yeah."
"You should've, y'know, rested a bit."
"I'd rest if there was time for it."
I looked at Kalt.
Leaning against a crumbled wall, he was a mess. His body was covered in wounds, and one limp arm hung uselessly, showing no sign of movement.
Serious injuries. But if you asked if they were beyond healing, no—they weren't. I had enough potions stocked at the estate to fix him right up.
'The problem is...'
That eye, probably.
I eyed Kalt's left eye. A dark red trickle seeped from the slit of his closed lid. That wasn't an injury you could heal with ordinary means.
"You..."
"Just one eye."
Kalt waved it off.
"Surviving a calamity like that? That's a win. Losing an eye's just... an honorable scar or whatever."
Cough. Kalt spat up blood.
"And besides."
That eye wasn't looking at me.
I followed his gaze to where it led—behind me.
Screech, grind.
What I saw was a distortion.
Space twisted and tore open, black mist leaking from the rift. Kalt pointed at it and spoke.
"Looks like things aren't over yet."
2.
The black mist seeping from the spatial rift.
'Black Mist.'
This was the third time I'd faced something like the Demon King's very symbol.
The first was against the Demon King himself.
The second was when I fell into that damn bat bitch's trap.
And now the third, here in Aphria.
I stared at the mist trying to force its way through the rift, then slowly spoke. Something felt off.
"...Who's holding that thing back?"
The mist wasn't reaching the ground.
It leaked out from the rift only to get sucked back in, over and over. It was like someone on the other side was gripping it tight.
"Probably Kelrhalm."
Kalt answered my question.
Then he gave a quick rundown of what he'd seen. It didn't take long. Once he finished, I murmured softly.
"Kelrhalm sacrificed himself."
"I saw him drag some black shadow thing into the hole with him."
I see.
'So that's what "swallow" meant.'
I let out a short sigh.
I had a rough grasp of the situation now. And my role in it.
"Hoo..."
I exhaled briefly and rolled my wrists.
As I did, I stepped toward the leaking mist. After a few steps, a voice came from behind.
"...You gonna be okay?"
It was Kalt.
His voice was laced with worry.
"I don't know what that is. But it's related to whatever's stuck in your heart..."
"It is. That's what's lodged in my heart."
I paused for a moment, then kept walking.
"That's why I know all about it."
I spoke as I headed toward the distortion.
"I know it so well, I know how to stop it too."
I steadied my breath in front of the black mist.
The circuit carved into my chest reacted to the shadow. I shrugged and glanced back over my shoulder.
"So it has to be me."
I smiled at Kalt.
"Good work, Kalt. The rest is yours."
"...Jeez."
Kalt looked at me like I was ridiculous.
"So typical of you, Senior."
"That's a compliment?"
"Would I compliment you?"
Kalt sighed and let the tension drain from his body. He'd pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion, so he'd probably collapse like he was dead to the world for a while.
"Oh, right."
Just before Kalt's eyes closed.
"One thing I wanna ask."
"...Yeah?"
"Those students you dropped from the altar—where are they now?"
I tossed the question at Kalt.
He folded his fingers one by one as he answered.
"One in the bushes near the central academy hall, one on the stump by the training grounds... and one each on the outskirts of the alchemy lab."
"The Fourth Princess?"
"Central academy hall. Close by."
"Got it. Thanks."
"But why ask?"
I looked up at the sky and said,
"I need her. The star."
3.
It's dark. Hard to breathe.
Breathing is tough, and her steps waver.
Stumbling through the darkness, the girl keeps walking.
「The Third Princess, well...」
「Yeah, like no one even noticed.」
「Dried up like a mummy.」
With every step, the scenery shifts.
「This time the Second Princess.」
「The princesses, one after another.」
「A curse on the royal family.」
「Like something tore into her like prey.」
It changes, but it's not unfamiliar scenery.
Scenes she knows well.
Before she knows it, the girl walks the palace corridors. With each step, the servants fall silent. They hold their tongues and avoid her eyes.
「Poor thing.」
They don't meet her gaze, but she knows what kind of looks they give her anyway.
Cheap pity.
Or greedy stares.
She's lived her whole life under those eyes. She was born into a battlefield of power struggles. Servants' faces change several times a day. The one you chatted with happily last night turns up a corpse by morning.
Put on a mask.
Hide yourself.
That's how you survive.
Ironically, the first thing the girl learned was how to hide herself. She remembers what happened to her sisters who didn't.
'The star of the ball, the flower of the royal family.'
Her beautiful third sister.
The flower of the family who flaunted herself.
Everyone praised her lovely platinum hair and snow-white skin, but her corpse was anything but beautiful. Her withered end was gruesome.
'The second sister who always honed her martial skills.'
The noble second sister.
The one who said honing yourself was the path to survival, who sometimes taught the girl sword and magic.
She died torn apart by some unknown beast. Without swinging her precious sword even once. Without chanting a single spell.
「Next.」
Who's next?
The last remaining eldest sister? Or her?
Maybe her brother.
「Next, whose death? 」
Watching her blood kin die thickened the girl's mask. It was around then that the star descended upon her.
『Don't set foot in the detached palace.』
The star advised her.
The advice came rarely and out of nowhere, but it always saved her life. The day she skipped the detached palace, it went up in flames.
『Don't speak.』
『Beware the sword nearby.』
『Today your ears hear lies.』
The occasional advice.
Eventually, she realized the star loved her. The royal family's ancient blessing had chosen her. After that, her life grew even more stifling.
「That one.」
「......」
「No idea what she's thinking.」
「Like a doll. No change in expression.」
Everyone watched her.
The girl pressed her mask deeper. It grew tougher day by day. She spent her childhood unable to show herself anywhere.
It was suffocating.
A boring life, a life in a cage.
The girl looked around. No color anywhere. She walked the achromatic corridors endlessly, toward places untouched by eyes.
「Library.」
It was the library.
She'd hole up in a corner of the vast library to kill time. It drew no suspicion and let her breathe a little.
「Move aside, please.」
And one such day.
「How am I supposed to get books if you're blocking the shelf?」
Someone spoke to her.
The girl tilted her head. She looked up at the young man peering down. He had the face of someone annoyed by the whole world. He waved her off impatiently.
「I need to grab a book, so move it, yeah?」
So very annoyed.
That gaze felt novel to her.
From that day, she followed the young man. Every day she went to the library, there he was, reading.
「What now?」
In her colorless world, only he had color.
「Teach you how to read? No, you can't read this either? It's basic incantation language. Basic. Common knowledge.」
Gruff and prickly with annoyance, yet he quietly answered her questions.
「Fine. What today?」
Whenever she brought a book, he'd sigh and set down his quill. He'd push aside his ink-filled pages and place her book on the desk.
Happy memories.
One of the few.
The thought struck her suddenly, and she delved deeper into the past. Time passed. She learned he knew she was a princess. But his attitude never changed.
「They say I'm the princess's tutor now. Should I be honored or pissed I got stuck with this chore...?」
Time flowed on.
One day, as she wandered seeking color.
「Princess, run.」
The corridor ran red.
For the first time that day, she saw knights' true faces. The ones she'd thought unbelievable, staking their lives for her.
「Run... and live.」
Her mask shattered. Gulping dryly, the girl ran down the corridor, tears streaming. Running to survive.
And.
「Princess?」
There he was.
His voice echoed in Aila's ears.
Color returned to her colorless world. Mask broken, she met his eyes bare-faced.
Ash-gray hair, blue eyes.
Icy blue eyes.
"Princess."
His voice rang in her ears.
「Are you alright?」
"Open your eyes."
A voice like back then, but different words seeped into her ears. That time, it wrapped her gently. This voice?
「Stay behind me.」
"Hurry."
He pulled her to her feet.
She felt someone grab her arm.
Blink.
The girl awoke from the nightmare.
Now awake, she looked at the one holding her arm. In the dark, blue eyes gleamed.
"...Professor Lania."
The Fourth Princess, Aila.
She gazed at the professor before her.
Icy blue eyes stared back.
"Princess."
She said,
"I need your help."
The moment Aila opened her mouth to ask what—
A single voice whispered in her ear.
『Run.』
A voice after so long.
The star whispered in Aila's ear.
『Get out of here now.』
Run from this place.