The Escape (1)
“So, to sum it up, we’re going to meet the person who built a hut and lives at the northernmost point on the map in order to find Nathan and Aspen?”
“That’s right.”
“That person... had business yesterday and jumped over to the southern desert, and today wants to meet here in the central region?”
Til, the glorious Lion Wing Knight, shot his paper superior a distinctly un-glorious glance.
This inquisitor has lost her mind.
“Whether you believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s the truth. I’ll skip the explanation since you’ll be meeting him shortly anyway.”
The Heresy Inquisitor cut off further questions. Til, however, did not withdraw his suspicious gaze. Now that he looked closely, the woman’s eyes weren’t particularly clear either. It was odd that she appeared much younger than him yet had completely white hair. Could he have been tricked by some lunatic wearing the mask of a superior?
Come to think of it, Heresy Inquisitors spent their entire lives hunting Abyss cults. After witnessing everything from living sacrifices to evil spirits, their minds could hardly remain intact...
In contrast, Inquisitor Solita suspected Til. They had ridden a hundred kilometers from the relay station to their destination at full speed without rest. Yet this man named Til kept striking up conversations as though he felt no fatigue whatsoever. Come to think of it, Lion Wing Knights spent their lives slaughtering the asymmetric forces the Abyss created. Perhaps some dangerous monster had swallowed the knight named Til whole and was now impersonating him. The inhuman sight of him not sweating a single drop made the theory disturbingly plausible.
Unable to admit that prolonged conversation would make her vomit, Solita limited herself to the most economical replies. She knew this only made Til’s suspicions flourish further.
“So what does any of this have to do with finding the missing Nathan and Aspen?”
Til’s interest, as a Lion Wing Knight, lay solely in that. Solita felt a wave of fatigue at the questions that kept chaining together.
“The Peres family has already been informed of Aspen’s disappearance. We should also notify Nathan’s father.”
“I understand the Peres family is a prestigious military house. They’ll be a great help. But Nathan’s father, to put it bluntly, is just one individual. Is there any need to travel this far just to meet him?”
Solita finally brought her horse to a slow halt. She slid off and dropped to her knees, beginning to heave up her lunch in spectacular fashion. Til felt a twinge of guilt. Caught up in his juniors’ affairs, he had forgotten his companion was an ordinary person who required consideration. After politely refusing Til’s attempt to help her up, Solita wiped her mouth with a cloth and spoke.
“That one person might prove more helpful than the entire Peres family. As you said, he’s someone capable of traveling from the northernmost edge of the world to southern Shamarla and then back to the central region.”
Lion Wing Knight Til frowned. Was he even human? Not even a mage could manage that.
“If there’s such a secret, share it with us as well. We’re on the verge of dying from the travel distance.”
“I agree the Federation seems overly eager to summon you. A sharp sword is always tempting to wield, especially when it’s as renowned as yours.”
Til’s lips twitched with pride, then quickly flattened into a pout.
“But you cannot do it. That is not something a person can imitate.”
“Are you saying even Wing Knights cannot accomplish it?”
An unavoidable soldier’s habit. When their valor was questioned, competitive spirit naturally flared. Til tapped the badge welded to his shoulder armor. Above the Double Wing Knight’s insignia sat an embossed medal depicting a severed dragon’s head.
“Out of the eight knights who went to intercept an Abyss Dragon a year ago, five succeeded and returned: Khan, Izelto, Aspen, Nathan, and myself. I am the one who drove a spear through its neck. If we cannot do it, then no one can.”
So this man was also a dragon slayer. The Heresy Inquisitor wished to offer the respect due a hero, yet her churning stomach allowed only a small nod.
“It is not a matter of valor... Oof... No. Nor is it a matter of birth. It is difficult to explain. It is similar to how you could never create such a work even if you spent your entire life carving stone.”
The inquisitor pointed ahead with a trembling hand. Their destination was near. Til turned to look and forgot everything he had been about to say. The sight rivaled even Castaya, humanity’s greatest fortress. To take in its full grandeur, one would need to fly high enough to see the entire mountain. The dwarven citadel, carved from the very edge of the mountain range, cast majestic shadows beneath the setting sun that had just begun to fall.
“The first mountain, Mikreheim. Among the mountain kings scattered across the world, it is home to the highest-ranking of them all.”
Among the hundreds of kingdoms comprising the Federation, it was both the oldest and the most recently joined power. Mikreheim had maintained a close alliance with the Federation, yet had consistently refused offers of formal membership. After all, the Federation was a human union centered on the Humanity Sect, and it must have been uncomfortable for dwarven lords hundreds of years old to stand on equal footing with human kings. Recently, however, the situation had changed drastically when Nathan rescued the mountain king’s daughters, who had been abducted during their travels. After exchanging only a few words with Nathan—who was neither diplomat nor inquisitor—the first mountain king signed the accession documents without hesitation, dismissing his kin’s concerns by declaring it the simplest way to repay the debt.
“Thanks to that, we can use the road the dwarves paved as our meeting place. Provided no separatist dwarf decides to snipe us on a whim. Ironically, it seems we will be reporting the disappearance of the very person who accomplished that feat right here.”
Til, who had been listening with a bitter nod, suddenly squinted toward the distant sky. An awkward stain marred the sunset one might wish to paint and frame. At first glance it appeared pitch black, and mysteriously, the stain was steadily growing larger.
“Inquisitor, you should mount your horse.”
“Oh, the motion sickness hasn’t passed yet. There are still twenty minutes until the appointment, so walking would be—”
There was no time. Til seized the inquisitor by the nape and hauled her onto the horse.
“Damn it, it’s a dragon! I noticed it late because it came with its back to the sun. An Abyss Dragon is incoming!”
“An Abyss Dragon?”
“Yes! According to the route report it wasn’t due for several weeks, but it seems to have changed its mind! Run—go request support—”
While Til unfastened the long spear strapped to his back, Solita spurred her horse at full speed. In the opposite direction from the one Til desired. Straight toward the dragon.
Til was dumbfounded. Was this the tactic of retreating into enemy lines he had only heard about? Using soldiers’ homesickness or survival instincts to enhance combat effectiveness... That could not be it. Til let out an absurd scream and chased after the mad inquisitor.
“What in the world are you doing—! If I tell you to run, then run—!”
“It’s him!”
“What?”
“He arrived twenty minutes earlier than scheduled. Damn, the motion sickness still hasn’t passed. Full speed!”
Til gave up on saving the inquisitor. Grabbing her at that speed would result in a snapped spine in a hundred out of a hundred cases. He decided to stop listening to her mad words. From now on there was only one task. To somehow kill the Abyss Dragon that even several knights struggled to face—alone. If not, at least draw its attention until the Federation’s new ally could prepare. If they simply watched, assuming the dwarven fortress would handle it, the dragon would climb the mountain range and shove fire into every vent that air could pass through.
Damn it, Nathan, Aspen. I’m sorry. I came running like mad to help find you, yet in the end I can’t be of any help...
Til’s resolve was firm and deep. That was why the sense of futility he felt minutes later, when it crumbled, was so vast. Even after seeing two soldiers running desperately, the Abyss Dragon did not spew black fire upon the ground. Instead, it spread its massive wings and landed docilely. There was no sound even as dozens of tons of flesh settled. As the dragon lowered its head as though paying respects, a person slid down its back. That sequence alone was astonishing enough to make one faint, but the moment Til saw the man’s face, he nearly fell backward. At first he thought the man wore a mask of minced meat. Only after spotting traces of eyes and a mouth did Til realize it was a face. It was a visage more fitting for someone already dead from shock or wandering between life and death with festering wounds.
In contrast, the inquisitor showed no sign of agitation. As if she had expected precisely this entrance.
“It’s been a while, Dispator. I wondered how you managed to cross the continent and return in two days, but there was such a method.”
“You’ve had a hard journey, Solita. I won’t stop you if you wish to imitate it, but remember I only rode the dragon when coming here from the south. Don’t get into trouble searching for non-existent Abyss Dragons in the north.”
The scarred man extended his hand to Til. Til shook it in a daze while glancing sideways in terror at both the man’s face and the Abyss Dragon behind him.
“You’ve had a hard time as well. Call me Orcus, Til. I’ve heard much about you from Nathan. If it weren’t for the concern that the dwarves saddened by joining the Federation might kidnap high-ranking officials, there would be no need for an escort. My son causes quite a bit of inconvenience to many people.”
A hint of pride colored the cracking voice. Til was shocked. This man truly seemed to be Nathan Maia’s father. It would be disrespectful merely to think it, but hopefully that good-looking boy would never end up looking like this. The man composed of scars turned around. He seemed to possess an extremely fair temperament; he did not forget to acknowledge the monster of the Abyss either.
“You’ve worked hard too, dragon.”
A massive gap opened between scales resembling the colors of the universe. In the eyeless sockets flowed only flames like lava. The dragon glared at the man with fire and death.
The man nodded and set down the sack he had been carrying. Inside lay a huge egg with dark red light flowing across its surface. He placed his rough hand upon the exposed shell.
“It’s your child.”
“Suppose I crush this.”
Steam slowly rose from the massive dragon’s mouth. Its patience appeared to have reached its limit. A heavy killing intent poured down like wet metal powder. Til began to wonder whether he should retreat or charge.
“Then would tears of blood flow from your eyes?”
“Of course it wouldn’t. For a living being, liquid carrying breath should flow in the blood vessels, but how can we call you a living being when you’ve joined the side of the starving gods and all your blood has dried up?”
The man drew a two-handed sword from his back. His hand remained on the egg.
“The mothers of the children you burned to death, the children of the fathers you trampled to death, shed tears of blood. What right do you, who abandoned your original life and became an unfeeling thing unrelated to worldly affairs, have to commit such sins? Know shame. You beast that can only produce misfortune.”
The enraged dragon raised its head filled with fire. Til, who had missed the chance to charge, began circling the creature with all his might. To pierce its neck with one spear as he had done before. Although there was no Nathan to hold the neck, and this one looked four times larger than the previous, he had to succeed...
“No. You will never take revenge on anyone now.”
The dragon’s head, which he thought had gone far away, fell as if it were a lie. The neck, precisely severed in the middle like a massive raw chicken, convulsed in all directions from rigor mortis. Instead of blood, black steam gushed like a volcano from the cross-section. Til blinked. Even with a Wing Knight’s eyes, the event that had just occurred was impossible to comprehend.
I shouldn’t go around saying I caught a dragon.
Unlike when it had descended on its own, the huge skull without attached feet produced a tremendous roar the moment it struck the ground. Eyes wide, tongue hanging limply. Orcus Dispator did not even glance at the corpse. He merely shook the black mist from his two-handed sword.
“When you accumulate blood debts, your hide seems to thicken. Even after committing such sins, when their turn comes they all make faces like children.”
A creepy face that had no hide to thicken and could not make a childlike expression smiled.
“So, who kidnapped my son Nathan?”
“You already knew this time as well. It would be meaningless to ask how you knew.”
Instead of answering, Orcus kicked the egg. When a substance like black sewage poured onto the ground, Til shrank his neck. He wasn’t angry, was he? No, of course he would be. His son had disappeared. Disappeared... Wait. Til squinted.
“Kidnapped? Did you just say kidnapped, not missing?”
There was no answer. Gazing at the black egg fluid slowly evaporating without soaking into the soil, Orcus muttered calmly.
“There is nothing inside that egg. The spawn of the Abyss cannot reproduce. Only shadowless shadows imitating dragons, orcs, and humans are produced. That is how they prosper in the bosom of the Abyss, and those descendants are nothing more than artificial products made by copying living things and shaping filth. But my son is not like that.”
“You are correct.”
“I’ve grown old. Rambling about unnecessary things to someone who already knows. Let’s get to the point quickly. You called me because you have clues and because I can help, correct?”
Solita spoke calmly.
“The investigation is still ongoing. The Peres family has demanded command authority. Since it is a family that has made many sacrifices for the Federation, His Majesty the Emperor has granted them military discretion.”
“But?”
“However, the way they exercise that right is suspicious. The Peres family headed straight for Mikreheim, which you can see over there. According to calculations, they arrived only two hours ago. As you know, inside that fortress...”
“Inside the vertical walls of the deep volcanic caves, the dwarves are training griffin flocks. To attack and burst their eyeballs when the Abyss Dragon swarm approaches. How meaningful. Do they think Aspen Peres has soared into the sky or something?”
“In the first place, they shouldn’t have known about the existence of the training ground. It was information they had neither the authority nor the means to access. There was something that stood out at this point. The head of the Peres family had communicated multiple times with an unidentified target. It is said he whispered secret conversations with an unknown existence in a dark secret room in his house. The identity has not yet been confirmed.”
“A provider of confidential information, I see. Smells like betrayal. What was the title, by any chance?”
“According to the intelligence, Andau Peres called that unidentified target ‘Master,’ or...”
At that moment, with a tremendous roar, flames soared from the dwarven fortress. Til, who had been listening blankly, was startled and pointed his spear toward the sound. And soon lost himself in the sight. It was a spectacular scene. A spectacle with no way to intervene. The deepening sunset, and flames brighter than the sunset. Through that intense color flew griffins’ wings. A thousand flying monsters that had burst from the gaps in the opened fortress were spreading in all directions in terror.
“...called her a ‘woman.’”
The shocked Til widened his eyes.
“Wait a minute, the secret weapon prepared to stop the dragon legion that would come soon... the Peres family has destroyed it now?”
“Not just destroyed it. They’re probably riding it and escaping. They couldn’t have killed all those tough dwarves in such a short time.”
Orcus answered in a contemptuous tone. Solita clenched her fists.
“They moved much faster than I thought. Damn, even if the dwarven fortress legion, known for their strong soldiers, stood in the way, how...?”
“They must have had a few hidden cards. It could be the assistance of that woman. I should have kept the dragon alive if I knew this would happen.”
Even if the dragon were alive, it was questionable whether they could chase it. Tracking and catching a thousand individually was impossible. Moreover, among the countless dots in the sky, only a few dozen would be the warriors of the Peres family.
“Immediate tracking is impossible. They’re wearing exoskeleton aids that reduce fatigue, so in extreme cases they could even fly to the stratosphere.”
“Tracking is done. You two, help the dwarves of Mikreheim or return as you please. I need to go see the Emperor.”
Til swallowed hard at the unusual sense of pressure. Orcus’s face toward the distant sky was contorting. Through the hideously twisted scars, his eyes seemed to have fire flowing inside, just like the Abyss Dragon. Orcus’s gaze, filled with killing intent, was fixed somewhere and did not move. He was not chasing the scattered griffins. What he glared at was somewhere beyond those clouds.
“I have an idea where they might have fled.”