VIII. A Knight Craves Battle (5)
VIII. A Knight Craves Battle (5)
The wolf's muzzle gaped wide. A sulfur-scented flame burst forth with a whoosh—
[ The warrior has come again. ]
Keldric grimaced at those words. He had not come here because he wanted to.
He had merely gone to bed exhausted, only to be dragged here the instant he closed his eyes.
In other words, Keldric had been given no choice.
He disliked situations in which he could not act on his own judgment.
No sane person would enjoy that, and being dragged here without consent was irritating in itself.
"Was it not you who called me?"
Keldric asked with equal parts complaint and suspicion. The wolf answered with a phlegmy cackle.
[ Such a conceited question! Yet I do not dislike it. ]
"Answer the question. Why have you summoned me here?"
[ Fearless warriors are rare. Still, you are right. I should answer plainly. ]
The wolf moved its paws, prowling languidly through the cavern.
Keldric remained seated on the broken statue and slowly followed the circling wolf with his eyes.
[ You, warrior. I have never summoned you here. ]
The wolf halted and gave a low growl. The wrinkles on the bridge of its nose deepened, and flames flickered not only from its muzzle but from its nostrils as well.
[ I have no reason to summon you into my domain, nor do I possess the power to do so. ]
"That's a laughable claim. Did you say you have no power?"
[ Abominable wretches have stopped up every last hole, so I am caged here and can do nothing. ]
"Then, why am I here?"
At Keldric's question, the wolf's muzzle finally closed.
Keldric wondered whether even a demon sometimes ran out of answers. The deepening wrinkles along its snout suggested that it found the situation equally unpleasant.
[ I say again, I do not have that power. Warrior. ]
A powerless demon—the very notion was absurd. Keldric remained suspicious to the end.
He had no intention of trusting a demon, least of all one that had loosed a creature capable of tearing men apart like paper.
But Keldric did not know how to wake from the dream, and leaving this place was solely at the demon's discretion.
Could he fight his way awake?
Keldric swallowed a groan. His full-force attack during their last encounter had earned him nothing more than one fang.
Whether he could physically harm the demon remained uncertain.
[ Pitiful Sepe. When I tempted Sepe, I could accomplish anything, but the result of our wager bound me here. Thus, I am powerless. ]
The wolf continued speaking in its wet, rasping voice.
Keldric ignored most of it. There were limits even to nonsense, and the creature kept speaking in circles he could barely understand.
"Then why am I here again?"
[ Impatient child. You are young yet wise, gentle yet courageous, but your haste may invite disaster. ]
"Just answer what you're asked."
Keldric rose to his feet, gripping his meteoric-iron longsword tightly. The distance to the halted wolf was no more than ten paces.
If he kicked off the ground and charged, he could swing the longsword at once.
Accounting for the longsword's length and Keldric's arm reach, the blade would reach the target far sooner.
[ You, valiant warrior. ]
But the wolf, as if seeking to forestall that, dissolved into black smoke and melted into the darkness.
Keldric tensed. He had not known the demon could dissolve into smoke and disappear into empty air.
The writhing smoke vanished into the darkness and reappeared directly beside him.
[ You have roamed far and wide across this land. ]
Keldric swung immediately. The heavy meteoric-iron blade cut toward the demon as it resumed its wolf form.
Clang!
But the wolf's fangs were harder than steel, and Keldric's longsword was deflected off its muzzle.
Keldric recovered his stance at once. The wolf did not pounce, but slowly approached his side.
[ There is no need to be so hostile toward me. ]
"There is no reason to heed the words of a demon that beguiles people."
[ Are you a warrior who moves only by necessity? Then there is no need to be hostile toward me in my domain either. ]
"..."
[ I desire conversation of value. ]
Keldric frowned. He had expected the demon to demand a soul, blood, or a still-beating heart. Conversation was modest by comparison.
"Conversation of value?"
[ Do you remember the disc? ]
The disc. Keldric recalled the gleaming object hidden beneath his bed.
The enigmatic disc with the Flame Emblem engraved at its center had certainly been intriguing.
But it did not seem interesting enough to attract a demon’s attention.
"How do you know of that?"
[ This is my domain. All who set foot here must pay a toll of valuable experience. ]
So the demon had looked through his memories. Keldric shuddered in disgust.
He did not know how much it had seen, but nothing good could come of such a creature rifling through his mind.
[ Courageous warrior. What say you to a bargain with me? ]
"I refuse."
[ It will not harm you. Accept my request, and I shall answer three questions with absolute truth. ]
"..."
Keldric had no way to know the full extent of the demon’s abilities.
But it did not seem likely that the demon was an omniscient and omnipotent being.
The promise to answer any three questions—whatever they might be—was a rather alluring offer to Keldric.
Keldric deliberated for a moment. He could not even guess how dangerous accepting a demon's bargain might be.
"What do you want?"
Let me at least hear it. That was the mindset with which Keldric asked.
The wolf twitched its nose and moved its muzzle.
[ Show me that disc. For now, that alone will suffice. ]
A simpler demand than expected, yet a reward far more valuable.
This was hardly even a bargain. One could reasonably take it as pure goodwill from the demon.
But demons were not beings who extended goodwill without cause—even Keldric, ignorant as he was of religion, knew that.
"There's no guarantee you won't lie, is there?"
Trust ought to be placed where it was warranted; a demon's words could not be so readily believed.
As Keldric held fast to his suspicion, a clicking sound—impossible from the wolf's long muzzle—met his ears.
[ ...I do not dislike a wise warrior, but you are full of suspicion. Is it because your faith is under threat? ]
"None would lend an ear to wicked whispers."
[ Then, very well. ]
The wolf's body dissolved once more into black smoke and vanished.
Unlike before, the black smoke did not disperse into the darkness but instead coalesced stickily, writhing before Keldric and beginning to mold itself like clay.
Keldric watched the sight with his longsword still in hand. He fully intended to cut the thing down if it made the wrong move.
"It has been a long while since I took this form."
What appeared before Keldric's eyes was a tall woman.
The breastplate, bearing a dark golden sheen, subtly revealed a captivating figure. The hide worn beneath it was, at a glance, the skin of some uncommon beast.
A splendid sword hung at her waist, and a spear was strapped across her back. Firm muscle lay over her light bronze skin, radiating vigor.
The beautiful woman of robust build was a warrior.
The problem was that this woman was the form the demon had taken.
Keldric blinked with a flustered look. It was undeniably so—when someone suddenly appeared as a person, he had no idea how he was supposed to react.
Regardless, the woman roughly swept back her auburn hair and took a step toward Keldric.
"When I'm in this form, I speak no falsehood. Will you believe me now?"
"...Demons have a sex?"
"What? Ah, hahaha!"
The demon in woman's form began to laugh as if she would double over.
She looked so genuinely human that Keldric felt oddly self-conscious.
"The division of male and female is meaningless to me. I appear as a woman because you're a man, and since I can't leave my domain, that is how it will remain henceforth."
In other words, had a woman come instead of Keldric, she might have manifested in male form.
Keldric's expression immediately grew sour. He certainly had no desire to see a demon turned into some hulking, rugged man.
"You don't lie when in human form. Have I understood correctly?"
"That is so. Valiant warrior. It seems we're finally beginning to understand one another."
"Your manner of speech seems to have changed a little as well."
When she had been a wolf, there had been a tendency to speak in riddles, twisting her words this way and that; now, as a female warrior, there was a magnanimous quality about her.
As far as Keldric was concerned, this was far better. He rather liked her forthright manner.
"So, will you show me the disc?"
The demon in woman's form asked. Keldric paused to consider.
She claimed she did not lie in human form—if even that was a lie, then there was nothing more to say.
But as for whether a demon was a being that could run about completely as it pleased... it seemed that was not the case.
Even a demon would be bound by restrictions. Perhaps a contract, or maybe an inherent disposition particular to demons.
"A guarantee that you won't lie even in that form—"
"It is good to be full of suspicion, but it does not always guarantee wisdom. Warrior."
"..."
"When I'm in this form, I speak no falsehood. This is an immutable truth, so don't doubt it."
Would you like me to offer my throat, if that is what it takes? Smirking, the demon thrust her own neck forward.
Keldric looked at the sight with slightly appalled eyes.
With the demon going this far, his inclination to say "to hell with it" and simply ignore her began gradually to shift.
'If it's just showing it to her...'
Even if he accepted that condition, Keldric did not have the disc with him.
Inside the dream, he possessed only his enormous body, clear mind, armor, and meteoric-iron longsword.
When Keldric pointed that out, the demon, without answering, gestured toward his hand.
"...?!"
The disc was somehow already in Keldric's hand.
Before Keldric could react, the disc passed into the demon’s hand.
"..."
The demon examined it for a long time, feeling its surface and scraping the rim with one unusually long fingernail.
Keldric watched, still not letting go of his longsword.
If she tried anything, it did not matter that she wore a woman’s form. Surely a thorough beating with the longsword would still kill her.
"You may take it back."
But the demon merely inspected the disc and returned it.
Keldric took the disc back, eyeing the demon with lingering misgiving.
"Then, as promised, I shall answer three questions."
"Oh..."
The demon was more honest than he had expected—perhaps more honest than many greedy mortal knights and nobles.
Keldric slowly organized the questions in his mind. The first naturally concerned the demon itself.
"What are you?"
"I fell from heaven together with the Morning Star, and I was a guardian of dominion and prosperity."
The first question, and the first answer.
Keldric was disappointed by the vague reply. He could barely understand it.
"Two remain. Courageous warrior."
There was no use regretting a spent question. Keldric clicked his tongue and asked the second.
"Is the Count of Bogenberg, Johann von Bogenberg, fated to betray me?"
"That depends upon your actions. But if you continue upon this course, there will be no cause for a falling-out."
The demon’s assurance did not make the answer entirely trustworthy.
Keldric would not treat its words as absolute truth, but he could not afford to ignore them.
A demon might at least possess some ability to see beyond ordinary perception.
"This is the last."
The demon's words rang out like a pronouncement.
Keldric considered his final question. He had asked about his future with Count Bogenberg but learned almost nothing about the demon.
Then his gaze fell on the disc in his hand.
"What is the true nature of this disc?"
"..."
The demon still wore the same faint smile, but its silence differed from the previous two answers.
Several minutes seemed to pass before the demon finally spoke.
"It is an idol of the apostates who wander the desert. An object that honors a being worshiped by foolish men."
"Worshiped by fools..."
"It means it is an object consecrated to the worship of a being similar to myself."
An object used to worship a demon. Keldric blinked at the unexpected answer.
"Then, does that mean they are not heathens, but demon worshipers?"
"Your three questions are spent, warrior."
"Damn it."
He had not wasted any question, yet regret still lingered.
No obviously better question came to mind.
Keldric accepted the result. What he had learned was useful, and careful memory might give him a chance to exploit it.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Did I not say from the beginning? I don't dislike a courageous warrior."
"..."
"It is time for us to part."
Keldric’s consciousness gradually faded—the warning that he was about to wake.
As his vision blurred, the demon’s fading voice brushed his ear like a whisper.
"Beware the apostate you captured. He will certainly harm you. The way to avoid it is—"
Before he could catch the final words, darkness swallowed his vision.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
When he opened his eyes, he was still in the guest room of the inner castle.
Sunlight stood high in the sky and irritated his eyes. Keldric sat bolt upright.
The demon’s final warning echoed in his mind. He had memorized it instinctively, but in hindsight it sounded insane.
Yet because the demon had shown him so much goodwill, the warning bothered him even more.
Keldric scrubbed his face with both hands. The unease would not fade.
The captured apostate could only be the old man Keldric had taken alive the previous day.
If he was dangerous, did that mean he would explode like Jamash?
Keldric could not know.
What he did not understand, he could not counter. What he could not counter would inevitably harm him.
Keldric tried to eliminate uncertainty whenever possible.
'...All right.'
Having reached a decision, Keldric sprang up and left the room.
He headed directly to Alisa’s chamber.
"Alisa."
"Sir Keldric? What brings you here?"
The sun was already high, and Alisa received him in ordinary clothes.
Keldric hesitated. He was not sure he should say it, but the demon’s warning continued to trouble him.
Finally, he opened his mouth.
"Are you, um... by any chance a virgin?"
"...Pardon?"
He had nothing to lose.