166. A Past I Cannot Remember
166. A Past I Cannot Remember
***
—Black Ark.
The game Serin had poured years of her life into, and the game that had served as the original for the world she had actually fallen into.
The long march of the main story had taken years upon years to complete. And at the end of it, Serin had wandered the world, adrift.
What she was about to tell now was one story of Serin's from the middle of that main story.
......
The imperial princess first in line to the throne of the Grandelia Empire.
Vir-A von Cecilia.
She was the most important figure in the story that formed the greatest core among the main stories: Continental Unification.
Depending on the player's choices, they could select which member of the imperial family would ascend as the next emperor, and among them, the radiant Cecilia, first in line to the throne, was the one most players chose.
Cecilia's abilities were the most outstanding among the imperial family, and her beautiful appearance stood out unmistakably. Because of that, players found no reason to choose any imperial but Cecilia.
And now, Rin was likewise advancing the main story with Cecilia at its center.
A journey across the vast Western Demon Realm to the Western Magic Tower at the edge of the western continent.
At its end, the purpose of this journey was for Cecilia to secure the firm support of the Western Magic Tower.
Step, step.
Thud.
As befitted a journey undertaken by the imperial family, the companions—renowned knights, mercenaries, Wizards, and the like—were all people who had made names for themselves, and they remained on guard.
Even though days had already passed since they entered the Demon Realm, they had not relaxed their vigilance.
The Western Demon Realm was originally so rarely traveled that almost no information about it was known. Only the all-too-simple fact that it was extremely dangerous existed. So crossing uncharted territory without a single guide carried danger to match.
It was truly a march of hardship.
A woman who exuded an elegant bearing even while clad in resplendent armor. Around her stood only a few who were especially recognized among the group, along with high-ranking knights of the imperial court.
Soft footfall.
A beautiful woman moving with light steps. She was none other than Cecilia, first in line to the imperial succession.
She was now watching the silver-haired woman walking one step ahead with ruby-bright red eyes.
"Rin. Have you experienced the Western Demon Realm before?"
As Cecilia's dignified voice rang through the space, many gazes followed hers to the silver-haired woman.
"Once, in the past."
As the silver-haired woman's indifferent voice rang through the space, several people openly frowned.
To answer without even turning her head when the imperial princess herself had spoken—an arrogance bordering on insolence. That alone was tantamount to a challenge to imperial authority.
And to Aselin, one of the Imperial Knight Order knights who ordinarily admired Cecilia, Rin was an utterly intolerable presence.
'How dare she answer without even turning her head when Her Highness Princess Cecilia asks?'
No matter how extraordinary her skill was said to be, Aselin simply could not understand it.
And it was not only Aselin who harbored such discontent—the renowned knights, mercenaries, and Wizards felt the same.
Cecilia, famed as the most prestigious of all the imperials in the line of succession.
There were few in the party who did not admire her.
But as if unaware of their discontent, Cecilia paid Rin's attitude no mind whatsoever and parted her lips again.
"Would you care to explain it in detail?"
At that, Rin indifferently turned her gaze to the princess.
"..."
Rin's deep, deep blue eyes held no emotion whatsoever, as if they contained all the world's weariness.
Cecilia met those blue eyes with interest, and Rin, facing her, slowly opened her lips.
"Must I?"
"...You insolent—"
Aselin, clad in the Imperial Knight Order's distinctive silver armor, could endure no longer and reached for his sword as he began to speak.
Snap!
Cecilia smiled faintly and flicked her fingers.
"Sir Aselin?"
She instead called out Aselin, who was about to grasp his sword, and her eyes hardened coldly.
"...My apologies, Your Highness."
"Be more careful from now on."
"Yes!"
His expression stiff, Aselin corrected his posture with crisp discipline, as if the previous moment had never happened.
And as Rin watched the scene indifferently, she was inwardly sorting through complicated thoughts.
'This woman definitely shouldn't have this kind of personality.'
Rin was on guard because Cecilia's personality differed from what she knew.
Unlike her outwardly beautiful appearance and gentle demeanor, she had a cold interior, and although she was a central figure of the story, she never revealed her true intentions to the end. That was the Cecilia Rin knew, but the figure before her now was clearly very different.
And with good reason—over the past few days, she had been showing Rin an excessive amount of interest.
"Rin, if you have no intention of speaking, then it is fine. You must be tired from the consecutive battles as well; I have been inconsiderate."
As Cecilia relaxed her expression and spoke warmly to Rin, Rin nodded, concealing her complicated feelings.
"Thank you."
At the perfunctory reply, several people's expressions twisted again, but Cecilia paid it little mind.
'The most useful card.'
The enormous bloody adversity that would soon sweep in, and the vicious path foretold in the ancient texts.
The empty formalities of her current rank would hold little value against that. She could well afford to tolerate this foreigner's insolent demeanor.
Because the skill of the woman called Rin, which Cecilia had confirmed with her own eyes, had reached a realm that no ordinary expert could compare to.
'...In the end, sheer martial power will decide everything.'
Even if the majority of the knights here attacked her, could they even reach the tips of her toes?
Her origins and past were entirely unknown. She was far too dangerous to keep close, but precisely because of that, she was also perfect to use.
And beyond that, Cecilia intended to make Rin hers without fail. She intended to make Rin her ally, no matter what.
Cecilia watched Rin as she thought this.
The prestige she had built up until now had been built for this moment. Now, when she could not easily earn anyone's trust, it was a perfect facade for winning experts to her side.
......
Several hours passed as Cecilia's party walked the Demon Realm, and just as they were beginning to tire without quite realizing it, Rin was scanning her surroundings with a stiffer expression than anyone else.
'It's about time.'
She could not be certain because no proper map was displayed, but if her memory was right, the conditions for the event to trigger had long since been met.
The time limit of several hours after entering the Demon Realm, the number of people, and the condition that a member of the imperial family was in the party—all the conditions had been satisfied.
Then, in an instant, something entered her vision.
Amid the red-tinged vegetation of the Demon Realm, a blood-red banner that radiated presence.
The emblem of two crossed skulls emblazoned on the banner was like a signal marking the start of the event.
"...Enemies."
At Serin's quiet murmur, the people around her all turned their gazes at once.
Rin, who had been walking without saying much, had suddenly spoken. For a moment, they had not heard her properly.
But at that instant, a mercenary some distance away slammed his weapon into the ground and shouted.
Boom!!
"Enemies!!!"
The mercenary who shouted had been watching Rin all along.
They had now shared three journeys together, but her words had always been strangely, unfailingly correct, so he had shouted without hesitation.
Moreover, knowing that Princess Cecilia favored her, the mercenary had no hesitation in his actions either.
Clank!
Shing!
Only at the mercenary's shout did the others begin to raise their weapons one by one and scan their surroundings.
Not long after they had armed themselves, the ground of the Demon Realm began to shake violently.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!!!
A thunderous roar, as if countless warhorses were trampling the earth.
"Kreee-yaaah!!"
"Kyahahahahaha!!!"
All manner of bizarre sounds echoed from the distance.
In an instant, Cecilia's face hardened and her lips moved.
"Demonkin."
She moved her hand to the ornate sword at her waist while casting a sidelong glance at Rin.
She did not know how Rin had noticed, but she had even predicted the danger.
"I will handle the high-ranking demonkin. Reform the front line and hold formation."
Rin's voice was never loud, but her calm words reached the ears of everyone present with clarity.
"...High-ranking demonkin?"
Several people focused on that part of her words with grim expressions, but Rin had already kicked off the ground.
Thud!
As the densely packed red vegetation burst apart in an instant and space opened up.
Beyond it, countless ghostly horses trampling the earth and demonkin with blood-red glowing eyes came into view.
When even threatening beings that could properly be called high-ranking demonkin appeared among them, many faces hardened sharply.
......
Clang!! Clang!!!
Thwack!
Squelch!
Beneath the Demon Realm sky, dyed red even overhead, everyone without exception was fighting desperately in a space swept by a bloody wind.
The renowned knights and mercenaries were each struggling and performing admirably, yet due to the nature of the Demon Realm, the beings they faced displayed incomprehensible strength.
Hummm!
And when a colossal golden sword aura blazed brilliantly above an ornate sword, illuminating the space, several faces hardened further.
The urgency of a situation in which even the princess they were meant to protect had to take the field—it struck them with a profound sense of alarm.
Unlike them, who continued to fight desperately, there was one existence moving through the space alone.
Whoosh!!
As a blood-red line trailing from the Crescent-Moon Weight embroidered the air, splitting space itself, several demonkin collapsed on the spot as if crumbling away.
The woman separated from the party, alone, was Rin.
"Hmm... What is this human?"
Amid the desperate battle, a high-ranking demonkin who instead approached, intrigued by the presence of a single human.
When Lilith asked as if fascinated, Rin stared straight at Lilith and opened her lips as if in recognition.
"Lilith."
The central figure of this event, and the root of the evil that would sharply raise the difficulty from here on.
"What are you... You know my name?"
As Lilith asked in momentary surprise, Rin swung her Crescent-Moon Weight instead of answering.
The first strike is always correct.
In this game world full of pointless dialogue, it was one great advantage she had learned.
Whoosh!!!
As the blood-red Crescent-Moon Weight embroidered the air, Lilith, who had left herself wide open, suddenly changed expression, smiled brightly, and spoke a single phrase.
"Han Serin."
At that, Rin's expression froze over in an instant.