A Nightmare's Vow
As soon as the Sword Demon opened his eyes, a streak of red slashed across his vision. Under normal circumstances, he would have reflexively thought of the little brat, but for some reason, the name that rose in his mind was hers. "E...lena...?"
When he regained his senses, his vision sharpened a little more. Then, one by one, his other senses returned. The acrid smell of burning. The stench of rotting corpses. Shouts. Gunfire. Screams. The heat licking at his skin. The thick, metallic taste coating his tongue. And then—
"Da...vid..." The horrific sight before him made Zeron's eyes widen until they could stretch no further. Flesh decayed and sloughing off in places, revealing patches of white bone. Skin peeling away in wet strips. Strands of vivid red hair clinging to what remained of a scalp. Hollow, empty eye sockets. Yet that voice... that painfully familiar voice...
"Da...vid... Where are you...? I'm sca...red..."
It was a rasping sound like metal scraping over stone, but beneath the ruin, Zeron could still hear it—her true voice. Playful. Beautiful. Pure. Kind. Lovelier than anyone else in the world. Her voice.
"Elena..."
"Da...vid..."
"Fuck this..."
At that moment, something rolled across the ground with a wet sound and bumped against his foot. Every instinct screamed at him not to look, but he lowered his gaze anyway.
"Ha..."
A round object. Veins threading through the white. The iris stained crimson. The same eyes that had once gazed at him with such warmth when she was alive. Then—crunch. A bug bored its way out through the surface. Hundreds of tiny insects followed, writhing free.
He knew her eyes had long since rotted away completely. He knew it with cold logic. And yet something inside him snapped with an audible crack.
"What kind of worthless fucking maggot..."
His hand closed around the hilt of his sword. The tremor running through his fingers made the sheath rattle loudly. His breathing turned ragged. His vision flickered white. His head burned. His heart hammered against his ribs like it wanted to explode.
"What kind of goddamn son of a bitch—!"
The Sword Demon's roar shook the very air.
The killing intent that poured out of him silenced everything around him. The insects crawling across the ground went limp. The earth beneath his feet dried, cracked, and split apart. The smile he usually wore had vanished long ago. Veins bulged across the Sword Demon's face as he reached out.
Her cheek was so cold it stung his palm.
The bugs, suffocated by his murderous aura, wriggled like maggots as they spilled from her skin, from between her exposed muscles, from the gaps in her bones. They fell away twitching.
"Elena... I swear to you..."
His eyes, bloodshot and veined from overwhelming rage, burned her image into his memory.
"Even if my body is shattered into pieces... every single bastard connected to this... I will..."
Not one would be spared.
"I will slaughter them all."
Even if one of them was the Emperor himself.
"Fucking hell."
That was the first thought that hit him the moment he opened his eyes. He'd wondered why things had been so quiet lately. Zeron sat up and reached for the whiskey instead of water. He drank deeply, each burning swallow making him painfully aware of the shape of his throat.
"Huu..."
Even so, this was a bit much. He chased it with plain water. Ah. Now he felt like he might actually survive the day.
He staggered upright, washed up quickly, then rang the small bell on the table. After slumping over the table like a corpse for a moment, he sensed a presence outside the door.
"You called for me?"
"Yeah. That's right, Luna."
"Please refrain from arbitrarily shortening my name."
"Just come in for a second."
With a clear click of the tongue, the door opened. Come to think of it, a full week had passed since he and Lunalind had properly introduced themselves. Which meant this was the morning that marked the beginning of Duel Week—the period when the students' rankings would be thrown into complete chaos.
'What a pain in the ass...'
Still, he had to watch the little brat's duel. So he'd go. Even if it was annoying.
"What is the matter?"
Before he knew it, Luna was standing directly in front of him. Her gaze was ice-cold. What was the word... An impression that perfectly suited insults like 'pervert' or 'trash.'
"Wanna call me trash and see what happens?"
"...Trash."
Luna's expression twisted. That was genuine disgust. Even so, it stung a little, so he quickly changed the subject.
"No, I mean... Can you make cocktails? Last time I saw, it looked like you knew how."
"...A little."
"Then make me one."
"I am not a bartender, sir."
"Close enough."
"A maid is... Ha... Very well. Just tell me where everything is."
Luna turned sharply on her heel. Her attitude was getting worse by the day, but honestly, it wasn't bad. It felt refreshingly honest.
"Open the cabinet over there. Everything's lined up. Glasses are right next to it."
Once he gave her the location, Luna gathered a glass, shaker, jigger, double strainer, ice, peach liqueur, coconut liqueur, orange juice, and cranberry juice before slamming them down on the table with a loud thud. It was honestly impressive she had carried it all in one trip.
"What, you're not even going to ask what I want?"
"Drink whatever I make for you."
"Cold. With those ingredients, it'll be a Peach Coco, right?"
"Yes."
She filled the glass with ice to chill it, then poured ice into the shaker as well. Measuring carefully with the jigger, she added one ounce of peach liqueur, one ounce of coconut liqueur, two ounces of orange juice, and two ounces of cranberry juice. Then she slammed the lid on with another loud thud.
She shook it with quick, practiced flicks—chack chack chack—the motion surprisingly professional.
"Oh, you've done this before?"
She ignored him. Luna rubbed her cold hands on her apron, dumped the water from the chilled glass, opened the shaker, and used the double strainer to pour the drink while filtering out the ice shards.
"Peach Coco."
"No garnish?"
"...Drink it as it is."
"You could've just spit in it."
When she actually looked like she was about to, he stopped her.
Zeron sipped the cocktail while running wax through his hair. He couldn't remember the last time he'd bothered. When it seemed decent enough, he pulled his hands away. Luna, who had been watching silently from behind, let out a small sigh and finished styling it for him.
"If you're going out looking like that, you might as well have gone out looking like your usual beggar self."
"What? I thought I did pretty well. I've got decent hands."
"I will pretend I did not hear that."
He stared blankly into the mirror for a moment, and soon his hair was perfectly arranged. As expected of a maid's skill. It really was different from what he could manage. Once he threw on an appropriate coat, Luna, who had been waiting quietly in the corner, spoke.
"Are you going to see someone off?"
"See someone off? The hell would I do that for?"
"You normally walk around looking like a vagrant. I was simply surprised to see you taking the time to dress properly."
"Harsh words from you today."
Zeron chuckled and adjusted his clothes. In the end, Luna fixed that too.
"Not seeing anyone off. It's the start of Duel Week for the students today. The little brat's going to be looking for her dad, so I figured I should at least look somewhat presentable."
"...You have a daughter, sir?"
"Not mine. My friend's daughter. But I pretty much raised half of her, so she feels like mine."
"Hmm..."
"What's with that reaction?"
Luna tightened his necktie as if trying to strangle him, a faint smile on her lips.
"Nothing. I was simply surprised that someone like you has friends. Even a person like you has at least one friend, it seems."
"This bitch really doesn't hold back..."
Zeron let out a short laugh and slipped on his shoes. As he stepped out the door, he flicked her a silver coin. She caught it smoothly and tucked it into her pocket.
"I'm heading out. Take a break."
"Yes. Have a safe trip, sir."
The academy held an event known as Duel Week. Just as the name suggested, it was a week dedicated to duels. Students were first ranked by academic performance, then those rankings could be completely overturned through combat. From what he understood, both the initial grades and duel results would be considered when they sought employment later.
Well, that part wasn't his problem.
Today was the first day of that very event.
From what he'd heard, the little brat's duel was nearly first on the schedule. While he was there, he figured he might as well watch the matches of the other students too—like that stuck-up young lady or the one with the dead-fish eyes.
"Lots of people."
Zeron swept his gaze across the arena. From the second year onward, outsiders were allowed to come watch. If it was already this crowded, he didn't want to imagine how bad it would get later. His stomach was already starting to churn.
— Then let the duels begin! —
Had it already started? Zeron picked up his pace.
Several groups were dueling simultaneously across the arena. He scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces.
"Oh, there's Miss Manners."
Grinning, he walked over. Raffien glanced at him briefly before turning her attention back to the duel. This girl?
"Hey. Your instructor's here and you can't even say hello?"
"Pardon? What are you— Wait... No way... Is that really you, Zeron?!"
"It's Zeron, and you use casual speech with me, you brat."
He gave her a light smack on the head. She let out a cute little "Kyaa!?" It was a very satisfying sound.
"Ah, no— You! Is there some important event today?"
"It's Duel Week. Came to cheer for the little brat."
"Hmm... What, are you two lovers or something?"
A mocking smile curved Raffien's lips. The look in her eyes was the same one people gave when they saw a child predator. Rude little bitch.
"Bullshit. Lovers my ass. Just came to cheer for my daughter."
"Your daughter...? You mean Medeia is your daughter...?"
"She's not my daughter."
"Then she's not your daughter!"
"Even if she's not mine, she's still my daughter."
They were still bickering when a loud voice called Medeia's name. Perhaps his voice had carried too far.
The little brat came trotting over, twin-tails bouncing.
"Uncle, are you fighting with her again?"
"Fighting? Nah, just playing around."
"Huh? Raffien. Now that I think about it, why are you here?"
"What do you mean? It's Duel Week, so I'm here to duel, obviously?"
When he looked at her in confusion, Raffien snorted.
"I'm in the Magic Department. I don't have any scheduled duels today, so I just came to watch."
"If you're in Magic, shouldn't you be watching the Magic duels? Why are you here?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Yeah. Think about how I have to look at your face today too."
"This guy—!"
As he laughed, he heard Medeia's name called again. Zeron ignored Raffien's grumbling and placed a heavy hand on the little brat's head.
"Do your best, kiddo. You've got to show off for Dad."
"As if! Who wants to show off..."
Medeia swatted his hand away and marched toward the arena with confident steps. She looked like an energetic baby chick. It made him chuckle.
But then she stopped, turned around, and said, "Still, it's rare to see you dressed up. You did good."
He had no idea why she was the one praising him, but she left the compliment behind and continued walking.
What the hell was that?
"You... You're not actually in that kind of relationship with Medeia, right? I'm seriously going to report you."
"Shut your mouth."