Ch.154154. Wanted (4)

The closed door didn’t take long to open again. Rather than exposing my face here and spreading unnecessary rumors, it was better to silence them, even if it meant being a bit aggressive. I narrowed my eyes as I looked around the inn lobby. Some people had collapsed on the floor, unable to withstand the pressure.

“Ugh… uhh.”

The large man who had been blocking the door fumbled with the locked door, but it wouldn’t open. As I took a step forward, the panicked man punched and broke the door. Then, while struggling to escape, he misplaced his arm and slammed his head on the floor. It wasn’t hard to imagine what expression the innkeeper behind me was making.

“You’ll be paying for that door.”

The large man nodded repeatedly, not even understanding what I was saying. I sighed and made my way out of the inn. Adventurers who were about to enter the inn stood frozen like statues, stunned as they stared at the broken door and me walking out.

“[You seem to be enjoying this quite a bit.]”

“…Quitting being a hero and becoming an adventurer might actually be fun.”

As I passed by, murmurs erupted from the adventurers trying to enter the inn. I quickly moved my feet, afraid that attention might turn back to me.

Border regions adjacent to foreign countries, except for the Holy Kingdom, were rough places. I thought of this detachedly as I moved away from the central area. The southwestern coastal areas weren’t particularly harsh or hostile, and the northern regions emphasized solemnity through duty, discipline, and pride rather than being rough.

“Consider yourself lucky, you bastard.”

“What nonsense. Haven’t been beaten enough in the gut yet? You blind piece of shit.”

Here, every street was no different from a back alley. Every ten steps, there was a fight, and another ten steps later, there would be a chase between a fleeing pimp who had stolen money and the hunters pursuing him. Among buildings with few unbroken windows, the church building remained intact.

“What a strange sight.”

“[It means everyone needs salvation. You know that better than anyone.]”

I smiled bitterly. The buildings continued sporadically without interruption before gradually disappearing. Many abandoned, dilapidated buildings lined the middle of the road. They looked like hideouts that fugitives and trackers might find useful. I considered searching them but quickly gave up. I simply couldn’t imagine Aryen hiding in such places to evade pursuers.

“This area is under control.”

As I walked absentmindedly for a while, a guard blocked my path. It was a passage to the border. Except for me, hardly anyone was visible in the area. I could see ruffians lurking around, glancing furtively. When the guards glared at approaching people, those loitering would turn away, avoiding eye contact.

“Is this your first time here?”

The guard stopped me and asked. I immediately showed him the pass issued by the Queen. The guard stared blankly at the card I suddenly presented, then stepped back after confirming the seal on it. He seemed like a well-trained soldier who didn’t overreact. The guard ran to his colleague on duty, whispered something, and then both returned to me.

“I apologize. We’ll let you through right away.”

“Is the area being controlled because of that wanted criminal?”

The guard shrugged with a troubled expression. Aryen seemed to be causing quite a headache. Beyond the guard’s spear, a knight was conducting a search with some soldiers.

“Recently, several adventurers were found dead on this passage. They were brutally murdered. Without even having a chance to put up a proper fight.”

The guard’s voice was mixed with a sigh.

“We don’t know if it’s the work of that wanted criminal. There are no witnesses, no evidence left. But considering they were quite skilled fighters, there’s no one else who could have done such a thing.”

The guard slightly jerked his chin toward the road behind him. The searchers, casually looking at the ground as they walked, didn’t seem to be genuinely looking for clues but rather just pretending to carry out their orders. Well, I couldn’t blame them.

“Are you here to catch that wanted criminal, sir?”

The guard seemed to vaguely think I was someone of high rank. Since there was no benefit in revealing all information to the guard, I ignored his question and took back my pass.

“May I enter now?”

“Ah, yes. I apologize. You may proceed.”

The guard withdrew his spear. I expanded my spiritual sense as I stepped onto the path. I quickly passed by the knight and soldiers who were searching half-heartedly, making sure they didn’t notice me, and entered deep into the border area where no human presence could be felt. No presence at all. I frowned. There was nobody here.

“It seems Aryen has already moved elsewhere. I can’t sense anything.”

“[Will you turn back? Or cross the border?]”

“…No. Let’s quickly scan the area. He might be deceiving my spiritual sense. If he can do that, it’s even more urgent. We need to find him quickly.”

If he had already crossed into another country, it would become a matter beyond my jurisdiction. I looked at the long stretching road with a sense of helplessness. What did Aryen want? Come to think of it, I didn’t know why he had left with Bishop Andre, or why he had suddenly headed to Barktins when the comet was falling. I knew nothing.

“[You don’t need to consider even that your responsibility, Ilroy. Don’t make your burden heavier.]”

“It’s not a burden. I just think I failed to properly observe what was happening around me.”

If I had any sin as a possessor, perhaps it was taking the protagonist’s place and neglecting the actual protagonist. Maybe if I could have talked with him then, I should have tried harder.

“I think I should first visit the scene where the bounty hunters were killed, and then go all the way to the border.”

Having someone to talk to at times like this was truly fortunate. If I were just muttering to myself, I might lose focus on pursuing Aryen.

The terrain became increasingly complex. The border area is divided into strips of land about 1 kilometer wide. This is no man’s land. A raw wilderness where fugitives, pursuers, and monsters all live entangled together. But now, not a single presence could be felt in this land.

“[It seems he killed even the monsters and disappeared.]”

“Or they all went to another area.”

I expanded my spiritual sense further, even further. There was a very faint, fishy smell tickling the tip of my nose. I moved my feet following the smell. It felt like I had become a hunting dog. I had never tracked anything by following a scent before.

“That darkness.”

Suddenly, words that the Holy Sword had once uttered flashed through my mind.

“[What’s wrong?]”

“You said it was a remnant of the Evil God.”

“[The Evil God was sealed, but its traces haven’t completely disappeared from this world. That’s why some people desperately seek those traces and worship them as evidence of the divine.]”

“…That remnant seemed to speak as if it knew Aryen well.”

That twisted one said we would meet soon. The Holy Sword remained silent for a while after hearing my words. I continued to follow the lingering scent.

“[No transcendent being who controls time exists. Claims of being able to see the future are ultimately just boasts. The old gods were like that, and so are the heroes who became constellations.]”

The Holy Sword spoke as if reminiscing.

“[The way gods fulfill prophecies is very cunning. With enough power, it’s possible to manipulate events. If words thrown out without any information come true in the future, they ultimately become prophecies. Gods fulfilled prophecies that way to move people and gather faith. That was the same whether it was the Evil God or a benevolent god.]”

“That’s a frightening thought.”

“[There is no immortality, Ilroy. As long as something exists, it also has an end.]”

I frowned deeply.

“That sounds exactly like something Evil God worshippers would say.”

“[The Evil God exploits the fear that those words evoke. No being is unafraid of the end.]”

“So they’re the ones who turn away from the present because they fear that end.”

“[Everyone knows. But what happens to those who don’t even have the strength to live in the present?]”

“…They would be persuaded. So simply, and inevitably.”

Was that how Aryen was persuaded? Someone who lived in the present more fiercely than anyone? I simply couldn’t believe that someone who was as wary of the end as I was could be persuaded by someone else. Aryen wasn’t the type to listen to others; he’d rather die.

“[It would be best to investigate the scene first.]”

Blood was scattered. Not just scattered, but horribly sprayed everywhere. All ten people must have died here. I could even tell how they died. Blood on a jagged rock. The path of the blade was clean. And as if there was no intention to hide the traces, the bloodstains continued in one direction, forming a dotted line.

“It’s almost as if it was made for someone to follow.”

I knelt down and gauged the path created by the droplets of blood. The trail extended far and showed purpose without wandering. Without hesitation, I began to follow the bloodstains. The search party probably wouldn’t have followed the bloodstains left as if daring them to come. If Aryen was waiting at the end, it would be suicidal.

“It’s almost as if… it was left for me.”

What was waiting at the end of the bloodstains? Would Aryen himself be sitting there? An inexplicable anxiety kept pressing on my heart. It felt like some trap was opening its mouth, waiting for me.

The place where the bloodstains led was a shrub. The thorny bush was withered and twisted, looking as if it had been burned once before. I could see a piece of paper firmly secured with a stone in front of the shrub. The paper looked like a polar bear in the desert, conspicuously out of place.

“…”

Very slowly, I bent down and picked up the paper. The writing was on the other side. As I brushed off the dirt on the paper, the written words were revealed. The message was much shorter and more disturbing than I had expected.

To the hero who banished me.

I remembered. Everything. What you took from me, and what I originally was. Now it’s my turn to reclaim what I’ve lost.

Aryen Elmione.