Chapter 042
* * *
The children of the Zima family had come all the way to some distant northern land, the name of which they didn't even know, and were undergoing harsh training over and over again.
That night's watch was kept by eleven-year-old Corbinian and nine-year-old Peco.
The biting cold wind swept mercilessly over their frail bodies.
Shiver shiver shiver.
Corbinian and Peco chattered their teeth. Their toes already felt numb, as if they had frozen.
"Uuhh?! No, I can't stand it any longer!"
Corbinian sprang to his feet. Peco grabbed the hem of his pants.
"? Hang in there. J-just a little longer."
Corbinian glared at poor Peco but finally sat back down.
He did it simply because he didn't want to lose to a southern country boy.
"Hey, I'm not even supposed to be here, you know that, right? Ronald is going to come pick me up soon. Or maybe Aunt Stephanie or someone."
His golden bangs, peeking out from the robe wrapped tightly around his face, shivered.
Peco stared at them for a moment before simply nodding.
"My room was so warm. Even in the dead of winter, I could be naked and not feel cold. The fireplace never went out, and a mage from the Magic Tower, ah, what was his name. Oh. Mr. Cridan. That guy kept the whole mansion warm with a warming spell all day. You, do you know anything like that?"
"? Ah, no."
"I must be stupid to ask a southern darkie something like this."
All of a sudden, a strong gust swept past them. The sound of the wind brushed their ears. It felt like their earlobes would freeze and fall off.
Grrrrgle.
The sound of Corbinian's stomach was just as loud as the howling wind.
Peco heard it too. For no reason, corbinian grumbled even louder.
"Ha, I'm missing Hakoba's corn soup! In winter, mother used to make it herself every morning. Ugh, I want to eat it again."
Corbinian rambled on about fancy food.
Peco fiddled with a piece of candy in his pocket.
"? Damn. My sister always said talking about food when you're hungry only makes it worse."
Corbinian buried his face between his knees. When he closed his eyes, faces and landscapes he missed vividly came to mind. His eyes stung.
"? I miss them. I want to go back, you know?"
Corbinian, his head drooping low, sniffled harder than before.
The boy knew well that he had no home to return to. His father had been executed for joining a conspiracy to assassinate the emperor.
Peco gently tapped Corbinian's arm.
He offered the candy piece from his pocket.
"Want to eat this, at least?"
Corbinian's tear-soaked eyes flicked back and forth between Peco and the candy.
He didn't like the muddy dull color of it at all. It looked like it would be bitter, and even then, only half remained, as if it had originally been round.
Crunch.
Corbinian popped the candy into his mouth and chewed thoroughly. He couldn't remember moving his jaw this much for anything he'd eaten before.
"? Not bad."
At that, Peco grinned, revealing his white teeth.
Far off in the distance, the next watch was approaching.
* * *
Tap.
Corbinian removed the mask he was wearing.
His blond hair gleamed.
"Corbinian."
"? It's been a while, Ran."
Ran was speechless. He hadn't checked the roster, but out of the Zima family's peers, only four—including himself and Peco—had been transferred into the Special Unit.
Even then, with Peco dead, there was only himself left.
He felt no particular sense of belonging. The Zima family had simply been a means to join the Holy Church's Special Unit, following Iscarang's orders.
Over two years spent with his peers from the family.
Some, like Peco, might look back on that time as precious memories, but Ran did not.
Consumed by his missions, he had no time to look around him. Sometimes, he could have laughed and joked with everyone, but couldn't. It had felt forbidden to blend in with them.
So he kept pushing "Zima family" out of his mind.
In the empty space in his memory, only blame and resentment with no clear target lingered.
"Peco was a good guy."
Corbinian said quietly. He remembered that Corbinian and Peco had gotten along well. As children do, the closer they were, the more they bickered.
"He must have had his reasons. I believe that."
Reasons.
He could have asked. If only he'd been with Peco that day. If only he'd listened when Peco asked for advice.
Maybe then.
Clack!
The sound of metal echoed from all around. Special Unit soldiers and holy knights surrounding them all drew their weapons.
The inquisitor had betrayed them. Now wasn't the time to demand explanations.
"Special Unit, execute the traitors."
Tessa narrowed her eyes. Ever since Felix was assassinated, she'd been keeping backup plans ready. Uniting with the holy knight order was the only way for the Special Unit to survive.
Either way, all the inquisitors had to be eliminated.
"Ran, don't tell me you planned to fight all of them alone?"
Corbinian glanced back warily at the Special Unit agents slowly closing in.
"I did."
"Heh, still the same. So cocky it's annoying. It's impossible. Some of them can use aura, you know."
"? Aura?"
"Ah, guess you might not know. It's kind of a hot topic on the front lines these days. Well, not that it matters now. Anyway, don't look back, just head for the imperial capital."
The imperial capital was the road leading to the palace.
"What's the plan? Why is father waiting for me in the capital?"
"We don't have time for explanations."
No sooner had he said this than a Special Unit soldier lunged at Corbinian.
The sword Corbinian drew low cut swiftly through the soldier's torso.
Thud.
"Anything within five steps is my territory. Step in if you dare."
Corbinian flicked the blood off his blade. The Special Unit agents hesitated and fell back, reorganizing their line.
"Steel Viper Caseus will handle this!"
From the spot where the inquisitors had gathered, a man called out boldly. True to his nickname, both his build and hairstyle were long and thin.
Corbinian muttered.
"That guy's one of the aura users too."
Caseus pushed aside the Special Unit soldiers blocking his path and started advancing.
Ran's eyes widened. He didn't know exactly what aura was, but he knew that people in the Zima family never said anything unnecessary while 'doing a job'. There must truly be something to be wary of.
Slice!
In an instant, a streak of light cut across the darkness.
Caseus's head fell along that line. It was a lightning-quick ambush, giving him no time to react.
"I've just been waiting for this chance, bastard. Ptooey!"
Ran's eyes widened. From behind Caseus, a burly man swaggered forward, swinging a halberd.
He wore a black wolf mask.
"Eden, well done."
"Guess I can take off this damn mask at last."
The black wolf Jose high-fived Corbinian and removed his mask.
A strangely familiar face was revealed.
"You, you're...?"
"Now do you remember me, Ran? I exaggerated my voice just in case you might recognize me, but honestly, I'm a little hurt you didn't."
Black Wolf Jose. He had shown obvious hostility toward Zima in the special room where Peco died.
"My acting was killer, wasn't it?"
Eden stroked his chin proudly. Seeing him like this, memories about him came surging even more vividly in Ran's mind.
Ran was too shocked to say anything.
When had Zima's plan, all these schemes, begun in earnest, and why did Zima now want to see him?
While Ran was still at a loss, Eden shouted.
"Alright! Hurry now, brother! We had no choice but to tie up all these guys in one place. Now we have to go!"
He hefted his massive halberd with both hands. Corbinian, standing beside him, spoke in a flat voice.
"Father is aiming for the emperor's life."
Ran remembered a conversation he'd previously had with Zima.
When Ran asked about his true identity, Zima had merely replied that he was similar to Ran. That was all. He'd ended with a formal "Let's meet again soon."
'That was the last.'
After that, Zima disappeared without a trace. Along with Emma.
With the sudden appearance of the apocalypse disaster as a factor and his connection to Zima, everything started falling apart. Before he knew it, Ran found himself at the very center of the storm.
'I already can't stay in Gerinhild as a Special Unit member.'
Gordon's holy knight order remained powerful, and the Special Unit was quickly regrouping internally under Tessa's lead.
When the time came, they would try to purge Ran.
So before being hunted himself, he planned to eliminate all powerful figures he could from the church.
After Bern, then Gordon, and then the Grand Cathedral bishop.
After pulling off all these coups, he'd rescue Emma in the end.
'?? Target the rotten heart.'
Ran recalled Iscarang's last directive.
The rotten heart.
The emperor.
A man who denied the Holy Church and dared to covet the throne of God.
'The root of all this.'
He was at the heart of the imperial capital.
"Has the emperor returned?"
Ran asked. Still keeping their eyes on the enemies surrounding them, corbinian and Eden replied.
"Probably."
At last, Ran turned his back. He drew the sword Corbinian had given him.
The three pressed their backs to each other.
"I'll break through the encirclement. Cover me."
"Ran! You don't know, but so many brothers sacrificed everything for this moment. Don't let their deaths go to waste. You're our brother, too."
Ran gave no reaction.
He didn't really know what "this moment" that Eden spoke of was, or what purpose Zima's children were sacrificing themselves for. Nor did he understand why, suddenly, his presence was needed after receiving no message before.
The only thing clear was their shared purpose: to stop the emperor.
He had been a member of the Zima family, and their brotherhood was a fact. Bonds of blood and trust didn't just vanish because one side turned away from them.
"Ooooooh!"
At Eden's howl, the three dashed forward. Each charged into a different section: the rear of the encirclement, the holy knights' line, and the Special Unit's formation.
"Stop them!"
The holy knights in the rear frantically closed ranks into a defensive formation, raising a wall of shields. Behind their visors, terror flickered.
Ran charged forth like a wild beast.
'Cast out distractions.'
Ran's hair and cloak whipped in the wind. His eyes gleamed coldly.
At a glance, there had to be more than thirty holy knights blocking his path.
Behind him, screams and the clash of steel erupted in chaos.
Corbinian and Eden had already accepted that they would die here.
Clack!
Ran's blade pierced the neck of a holy knight holding a shield.
The holy knights couldn't believe their eyes.
Ran had run straight for them. He even looked reckless, like a mindless beast.
Just before impact, Ran leaped and plunged into the middle of their formation like a meteor.
His sword sliced through the gaps between shields and armor with surgical precision.
The defensive line collapsed in a single moment.
"Don't panic! Hold your positions!"
"There's only one enemy!"
Breaking through the encirclement was only possible by direct assault. As long as they survived his charge, they'd be able to surround and attack from all sides. The shield-bearing holy knights braced themselves, putting their full weight forward, convinced as long as their line didn't break individually, it would hold.
'Is he going for our rear? Is he insane?'
Instead of focusing on a single point, he dove right in like a moth to flame.
That left only two explanations: He'd resigned himself to death or he had supreme confidence.
The holy knights all reached the same chilling conclusion.
Mad Dog Ran was the latter.
Crunch!
Ran reversed his grip on the sword. Aiming flawlessly for the joints in the armor, he stabbed. Each time the blade slipped in and back out, thick blood gushed forth.
His movements were concise and without waste. Each time he changed direction, the sword spun midair as if alive, then landed precisely in his grip. He handled the longsword like a dagger.
'A demon, he's a demon!'
Crash!
His sword smashed into the terrified holy knight's face.
In an instant, six holy knights dropped limply to the ground.
"Don't block my way any further!"
Ran shouted, then caught his breath in rasping pants.
The holy knights hesitated. Their opponent might be exhausted—or so reason said—but their instincts screamed louder. Without anyone leading, the knights began to edge backwards, step by step.
"Raaaan—!"
It was Alvin. Unlike the others, the apprentice holy knight charged alone, wearing light armor.
"Look at me!!"
But, just as Alvin yelled, Ran's attention flicked elsewhere in surprise.
Where Corbinian and Eden fought, different colored lights tangled and clashed. It was impossible to tell whose was whose. Streaks of brilliance flashed from all directions. Light would collide, bounce off, and scatter.
Thud!
Without even looking, Ran snapped out his leg. Alvin, kicked in the stomach, tumbled back, rolling over and over.
'Is that aura?'
Suddenly, he recalled the indigo light of Damien. Ran had thought it was the manifestation of desire interwoven with holy power.
Desire itself was the engine that moves humanity, the tool that shatters boundaries.
Even if it emerges twisted.
"Look at me!"
Alvin, who had been knocked away, charged again.
Ran finally looked at Alvin.
Over the boy's desperate, contorted face, Ran superimposed the innocent expression he remembered.
'Not that I deserve it, but...'
Ran clung to life.
He had faced death more than anyone, but that made it all the more true.
Is even this a revelation and a trial from God?
From contradiction, desire was born.
Ran's one and only desire was to preserve life.
Even the life of a boy who had hardly begun to ripen deserved respect.
Everyone was a young boy in the beginning.
Crash!
"Uh, ughk!"
Ran struck Alvin's gut with the hilt of his sword.
Alvin toppled to his knees, vomiting.
'Corbinian, Eden?.'
The two still continued to fight against many.
Casting them a final glance, Ran broke through the encirclement.
While running, he focused all his senses with force.
The scenery of the imperial capital spread out before him.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Alvin is getting annoying.
Talk about clueless.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】