Chapter 34
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 34
Translation: godsn
"What? Are you insane?"
"I'm perfectly sane. Ah, and since I'm currently deliberating, it would be best if you kept your mouth shut."
"Deliberating? About what...?"
Eki rolled just her eyes to glance behind her. Ian, who was still dazed from the abrupt situation, felt ice water pour down his spine at her gaze. Echinacea's eyes were terrifying. She smiled with only the corners of her lips lifting.
"I'm debating whether to kill you with my own hands or leave the decision to Senior Baraha. If you keep talking, I might get irritated enough to kill you right now."
"...Kill? Who?"
"You, of course, Senior Ian."
Ian gaped at her blankly. He staggered back, gripping his sword. There wasn't the slightest hint that she was joking.
Eki turned her gaze outward again, casually presenting her back to Ian. As she wrung out her soaked pink hair clinging to her entire body and roughly combed it with her fingers, she continued:
"I really, really don't want to kill people if I can help it. I've already killed thousands—no, tens of thousands—of people I didn't want to kill. Hmm, I'm not sure exactly—I never kept count. But after being forced to kill that many, you'd understand exactly how I feel. Ah, though someone like you might never understand, given your personality."
"What nonsense are you—"
"I'm saying I'd rather not see blood. I just... want to live peacefully. Wearing pretty clothes, eating delicious food, living alongside people I love. A life where I don't kill anyone and no one threatens me. That's what I want. But... well."
Having roughly tidied her hair, she now wrung out the soaked hem of her dress. Her tone remained tranquil as she spoke:
"Come to think of it as I'm talking... I'm not sure I should extend that courtesy to things that barely qualify as human. Dragging you around until I find Senior Baraha would be a hassle too. And judging by this place, it won't be easy."
[Master! Me! Use me! I'd love it! It's a Node anyway—there's no one around to see!]
Valdergiosa, reacting to her murderous intent, pleaded excitedly. Ignoring the demon sword, Eki continued:
"You should've just targeted me. I would've found it so pathetic I might've let you go. Whatever you did to me, I wouldn't have cared. But..."
As she spoke, she kept searching for Baraha's presence. She found him—not far away, hiding inside one of the tents. Alive. Fortunately, the monsters seemed too preoccupied with devouring the remaining shadow soldiers to ransack the tents yet.
Finally relieved, Eki turned her gaze away from outside and back to Ian. He had turned pale, unable to comprehend this bizarre situation. Smiling, she finished:
"But I can't stand seeing you harm others."
After a brief silence, Ian forced a smile. It was stiff and unnatural.
"What exactly have I done? Cadet Echinacea, you seem to be misunderstanding something. More importantly, we should focus on surviving this place first—"
"That's not a problem you need to worry about. You have a different dilemma to consider right now."
Eki shook out her dress with a few sharp snaps after wringing it. She finally discarded the umbrella she'd stubbornly held onto until now, looking down at her own sword before tossing it aside. Empty-handed, she stepped lightly toward Ian. Her small face, framed by darkened wet pink hair, whispered:
"Senior Ian... are you the kind of human who can reflect and change?"
"......I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about right now."
After a brief silence, Ian let his eyebrows droop with an expression that seemed wounded. The pallor in his face had slightly faded. He slowly raised his hand and placed it on Eki's shoulder. She didn't brush it away.
"I don't even know who I supposedly 'touched.' It seems you've got some serious misunderstanding......"
He spoke softly. The hand that had been soothingly stroking her shoulder moved near her nape—
In that instant, Eki seized his wrist like lightning. The thick wrist couldn't budge an inch within her grasp. Without even glancing at the wrist she held, she said:
"Seems like you'll never change after all, Senior."
She twisted his wrist with force. The hand encased in violet silk gloves looked delicate, but as mana swirled within, it displayed terrifying grip strength.
Ian let out an involuntary groan. From his twisted hand, a small dagger—no larger than a razor blade—clattered to the ground. The same dagger that had stabbed Baraha. Eki ignored the falling blade and stared straight into his eyes.
"Why did you do it?"
"Ugh, let—let go......"
"I'm asking what your problem was. Right now, it seems you tried to stab me because I confronted you. But why did you do it to Senior Baraha?"
"Damn you."
A curse burst from Ian's lips. His composure shattered for the first time. His face contorted like a demon's in pain as he glared at her, eyes wild.
"Let go right now! Do you have a death wish?"
Eki only tightened her grip on his wrist. A sickening crack echoed as bones snapped. Only then did she release him. Ian clutched his wrist with his uninjured hand, staggering back as he screamed.
"Ghk, ugh, ughh...... Y-you fucking—how dare you!"
"Your voice."
"Ghk."
"Lower it. We're still inside the Node, remember? You saw outside earlier, didn't you? What if monsters hear that noise and come in?"
She seized his throat, then slowly released it. Ian collapsed to the floor. Gasping for breath, he stared up at Eki with a pale face as she crouched before him, removing the glove from her right hand. Resting her bare chin on her knee, she asked again:
"Tell me why you did it. If your reason makes sense, I might let you live."
"You crazy... fucking monster......"
"Honesty is good, but you still don't grasp the situation?"
Eki tilted her head. Her gaze drifted to his other, uninjured wrist—a look brimming with clear intent. Realizing this, Ian shuddered violently, his shoulders heaving as he gasped. With trembling hands, he rubbed his face, swallowed hard, and licked his dry lips several times before speaking.
"You're asking... why I pushed Baraha into the Node?"
"Yes, that's what I've been asking."
"You're seriously asking because you don't know?"
Ian gnashed his teeth. He glared at Eki from behind the hands covering his face.
"I gave it my all. Playing nice like a damn knight's lapdog, enduring that irritating Cadet Representative role—hell, I did everything! So why? Why does some desert rat who wasn't even a temporary squire suddenly become an Owner's squire? Why does some airheaded bitch prancing around in dresses get appointed as the Captain's squire on her first damn day? It's unfair! These brats who never lifted a finger get everything handed to them!"
His voice, quiet at first, grew increasingly hoarse and rapid, spat out like chewed-up scraps. Eki stared at him blankly before asking again:
"Is that all? Just because of that, you pushed Senior Baraha into the Node?"
"Just? Is that just to you? Because you've only walked the easy, lucky path, my struggles seem trivial to you? Damn it, do you know how hard I've worked? And those who've put in no effort at all just waltz in and take everything because they're lucky...!"
"No effort at all, you say."
She cut him off. Her voice was icy. The unusual tension in the air made Ian flinch and shut his mouth.
"Is that how it looks to you? That everyone else has it easy? That everything others have was just handed to them by luck? And for that reason, you tried to kill him?"
Eki's lips twisted unconsciously. No effort? Handed to them easily? The six years she spent screaming inside a body she couldn't control, the nine years she groveled like a dog to earn this life, this moment—it all surged up from her toes to the crown of her head.
She lowered her head. Her vision darkened, and she took a deep breath. She didn't want to be swept away by bloodlust. Anger was fine, but when it came to action, she had to stay cold. She couldn't lose control. Not as the wielder of the Magic Sword.
The look in her downcast eyes cooled. She pushed aside her fury and thought calmly. About what to do with Ian Pelletro. She gave him one last chance.
Ian noticed her agitation. Her head was bowed, her gaze no longer on him. The slender nape of her neck peeked through her disheveled hair. And she was unarmed—her sword lay discarded at the entrance of the barracks.
This was his chance. Maybe his only one. That's what he thought.
With his uninjured hand, Ian swiftly drew his sword and swung it toward Eki's neck. But just before the blade could touch that pale throat, a searing pain erupted from his chest.
"Guh—!"
His mouth fell open, and something hot surged up his throat. Eki, who had effortlessly dodged his strike, lifted her head.
Ian Pelletro had just kicked away the last chance she'd given him. Eki showed no further mercy. In her right hand, where there had been no sword before, now gripped a blade—transparent as glass, with a black hilt. Crimson blood trickled along the patterns engraved on its edge.
[Ahhh... It's been so long, this feeling. So good...]
The Magic Sword purred like a satisfied cat. Eki twisted Valdergiosa free from Ian's body. He collapsed in a shuddering heap, his trembling eyes closing. Instant death. The blood staining Valdergiosa seeped into the sword as if absorbed. The Magic Sword hummed cheerfully.
[Ahh, that's refreshing. How about you? Feel better now? Your bloodlust's eased up, hasn't it?]
"Maybe."
She replied dismissively and recalled the sword. It vanished back into her palm in an instant. She pulled her glove back over her right hand and stood there for a moment, staring down at Ian's corpse. The Magic Sword asked curiously,
[What? Feeling guilty? Like you killed him for nothing?]
"Not that."
[Then why?]
"Just adjusting my resolve."
[Resolve? What resolve?]
"The resolve for how I'll live from now on."
[What is it? Tell me!]
"You don't need to know."
[Tch, tch, tch! Always so stingy.]
As she looked down at Ian's lifeless body, a thought crossed her mind. If it hadn't been her, it might have been Baraha lying dead here instead of Ian.
In the erased past, that would've been certain. Ian Pelletro would have lived on, becoming a knight three years later, while Baraha Islaf would have died during a monster subjugation.
'Kairos Giosa said there wouldn't be a second chance. No more reviving the dead. So... I'll just have to protect them.'