Ch.23Ghost-Filled Island (5)

The Valkyrie and I were shipwrecked in the waters near Tatangkur. If that’s the case, where did the souls of the soldiers who died there that day go?

They literally sank. Down to the cold deep sea below.

Bodies that couldn’t even be found weren’t given the privilege of a proper funeral. And so, only their vengeful spirits drifted aimlessly like untethered buoys before eventually settling on this island.

[“We died unjustly that day. Kill that holy woman and that Dragon Rider to appease our anger. Then we won’t harm you, Major.”]

There was a pleading tone in the voices of the spirits. Their intentions were unanimous, without exception.

To think I’d hear requests from my fallen subordinates to avenge them.

[“I understand the Valkyrie, but why is the holy woman your enemy?”]

[“That military chaplain tried to cast us down to hell. Even though we ended up like this because of the Holy Spirit Kingdom, that woman looked at us and tried to exorcise us, calling us corrupted! She didn’t comfort us, so we distrusted her; she wasn’t fair, so she’s biased; we weren’t understood, so we’re only left with anger.”]

As soon as one voice finished its speech, the remaining voices cried out in unison.

[“If you offer those two as sacrifices, two of our souls can be saved.”]

[“Sacrifices? Salvation?”]

[“Major, we’ve been speaking with a certain demon.”]

I had been feeling sympathy for them, but my brow furrowed immediately upon hearing those words.

[“He told us that for each Holy Spirit Kingdom officer who comes to this island, he would bring one of us back to life. Since then, we’ve been waiting all month for castaways to appear on this island.”]

I turned my head. In the darkness, the holy woman’s eyes flickered with a red light. She spoke firmly, with a tone that seemed to be suppressing hatred.

“So your souls were sold after all. To a demon. You’ve become evil spirits harming the living, yet you still hope for salvation? Don’t you think that’s shameless? Cursed things.”

“Enough.”

I tried to stop the holy woman, but she snapped at me too.

“Mage, what are you going to do now? Will you kill me and the Valkyrie? You might be able to, with the help of these monsters.”

The reason the holy woman was being so venomous. It was easy to understand by observing her eyes. Red with purple mixed in. The holy woman was both angry and afraid at the same time.

Everyone has a fear of death. The holy woman was no exception. She was pretending to be composed because she was the face of her church.

“I am a vessel chosen by the goddess of healing. I can serve as a doctor. If you kill me, you won’t receive treatment. If you’re injured or fall ill, you won’t be able to do anything.”

[“Major.”]

“But it seems neither you nor I have a choice.”

Clang!

Sparks flew.

The holy woman who had raised her staff was pushed backward. The ghost had attacked her. Though its form wasn’t visible, judging by how far the holy woman was pushed back, it was a terrifying physical force. The purple in the holy woman’s eyes intensified.

“Ugh!”

[“Now, kill her while we have her restrained. There’s no time. She recovers her holy power very quickly, so we must deal with her now while her strength is drained.”]

I don’t know much about the ghosts here.

I don’t know how strong or remarkable the holy woman is.

The only thing I know is this: the resentment of those who were my subordinates and comrades has overcome the holy woman’s divine power.

However.

Despite the lack of information.

[“No. I won’t kill them.”]

My course of action hasn’t changed from a month ago.

[“I’m sorry. I can’t fulfill your request.”]

[“What are you saying?”]

[“I don’t know how many dangers lurk until we escape this island. I can’t overcome them alone. You could say I’m in the same boat as these women now. So I cannot comply with your request to kill the Valkyrie and the holy woman.”]

The souls stirred restlessly. Some voices immediately began to argue or show hostility toward me. The murmuring sounds felt like they were kneading my brain.

[“…Major.”]

Amidst the commotion, one calm voice stood out clearly. It was the voice of a soldier named Allen who had died that day at Tatangkur.

[“Major, you always showed respect even to subordinates like us, and despite your high rank, you took on difficult tasks yourself. Your name was famous in the 8th Fleet. Many soldiers respected you. That’s why we, the dead, are shamelessly making one more request.”]

[“You want me, a living person, to finish off your enemies with my own hands?”]

The souls answered with silence.

[“If you know it’s shameless, you shouldn’t be asking in the first place.”]

[“We died too unjustly. All our lives, we only followed others’ cues and superiors’ orders. We couldn’t do anything as we pleased while alive, and now even after death, must we be mocked and manipulated by others?”]

[“Listen.”]

[“Now we will live for ourselves. We will gain new bodies in exchange for the lives of these two Holy Spirit Kingdom officers. And in our second lives, we will live as we please, doing whatever we want…”]

[“The Pledge of Jeriem.”]

The moment I uttered those words, all voices fell silent at once.

[“Have you forgotten?”]

[“…”]

[“One, use magic only for beneficial purposes.”]

The Pledge of Jeriem. Or the Pledge of the Mage.

That pledge is the ultimate declaration created by a great mage who sacrificed his life to improve the perception of mages. And it’s the constitution above all constitutions that every mage in the Magic Kingdom must uphold.

I recited one by one the clauses that they surely knew.

[“One, do not harm others with magic without just cause. One, neither speak with, contract with, nor deal with demons. One, prioritize morality above all other values.”]

[“It doesn’t matter anymore! By offering these women as sacrifices, we can regain what we’ve lost…!”]

[“One, under no circumstances shall sacrificial offerings be used.”]

I raised my voice, pointing into the empty air.

[“The moment you tried to offer sacrifices to a demon, you all violated the pledge! That’s punishable by death under criminal law! No matter how unjust and resentful you feel, if you want to be remembered as human, there are things you must never do!”]

[“What does it matter if we’re human or demon followers! No one will remember us anyway as time passes!”]

Whoosh.

A chilling wind brushed past my cheek.

“Ah…!”

The holy woman let out a brief sigh. In that brief moment, her eyes had turned orange. The souls must have done something I wasn’t aware of. Yet my body remained unaffected.

Regardless, my answer was already decided.

[“Kids.”]

During war, mental illness patients emerge as frequently as those with physical injuries. That’s why I often called struggling soldiers outside of work hours to counsel them.

If I’ve comforted countless living people, why couldn’t I do the same for dead souls?

[“I was born and raised in an orphanage. The director beat me whenever he had the chance, so my body was never free of bruises. Despite that, I studied hard and made it to graduate school, but my mentor, whom I considered family, died from diabetes just before my graduation review, nearly delaying my graduation.”]

I continued.

[“After somehow completing my studies, I spent two years in the army to fulfill my military duty. When I was about to finish my service as a sergeant, I thought all hardships were behind me. But I was wrong. War broke out, and afraid of dying, I re-enlisted as an officer, only to be assigned to the front lines…”]

The path I’ve walked. The life I’ve lived. I laid it all out.

This isn’t about asking for pity.

[“…And then I lost you all, whom I considered brothers, to the enemy, and ended up stranded on this island going through this ordeal. How could I not want to do as you ask?”]

Everything was for this one statement.

[“But we endure. Just as we always have, we’re simply living while enduring.”]

[“…”]

[“This is my choice.”]

Where is there an easy life? Who doesn’t have regrets or unfair moments? No matter how diligently one lives, a single traffic accident or an incurable disease can cut life short.

It’s regrettable, but I think there’s nothing we can do about it. However.

[“Even though I’m a mage who uses incantations, I will absolutely never make sacrifices to demons. That’s a path to self-destruction. If life was difficult, shouldn’t at least your soul find salvation? Follow the pledge, kids.”]

[“Salvation?”]

When one soul spoke in a disgruntled voice, other souls began to speak up one by one.

[“It’s too late for us. That woman cast us down to hell!”]

[“Even the soul of a friend I knew for 10 years vanished at her hands!”]

[“Was not believing in the Holy Spirit religion such a great sin? We all killed people equally, so why do they go to heaven while we fall to hell?”]

[“If the Valkyrie is destined to kill the body, and the holy woman to kill the soul, isn’t it better to rely on a demon?”]

[“We had no choice.”]

[“We receive no comfort. We won’t even be remembered. No one understands us. If only there were at least a tower made of mana…”]

[“I will.”]

The complaints stopped as soon as I moved my hand. I took out the magic stones I had prepared earlier from my pocket and began to walk.

[“I will pray for your souls.”]

The souls fell silent.

[“I’ll build a memorial and pour liquor on it every year.”]

Though I don’t believe in divine grace or the existence of heaven, there’s no doubt that those innocently sacrificed in war would be grieving.

[“I want you to know that there are people who understand your resentment as much as you feel wronged. So forget about worldly matters, and let’s meet again someday in the distant future. Let’s be reborn in an era without war, and then truly live doing what we want to do.”]

Ah. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.

This spot will do.

I found a sunny place, sat down, and began stacking stones one by one to create a small tower.

***

Tiria, who had heard every word of the conversation between the man and the evil spirits, couldn’t hide her bewilderment. These souls weren’t ancient monsters. They were the spirits of Magic Kingdom soldiers who had died in the Tatangkur naval battle.

The man had said he wouldn’t kill her.

The souls, disappointed in him, swung heavy fists toward the man, but he took the attacks without even blinking.

Or more precisely, the vengeful spirits’ punches passed right through him without causing any harm.

“That’s impossible.”

While people may not be able to see evil spirits, they cannot ignore their attacks. At least, that’s what the scriptures said. If the content of the Bible is infallible, how could this be happening?

So the devout Tiria came to a different conclusion.

These souls don’t consider the man an object of their resentment.

Tiria, who had received forceful, almost brainwashing education from the Holy Spirit religion, momentarily thought: Does this mean the man is in league with these vengeful spirits? Could this situation be a setup?

Her thoughts reached that point before she shook her head.

No. That can’t be right. If this mage had been acting all along, he should have revealed his true colors when Rachel was asleep and Tiria was at a disadvantage, pressed down by resentment.

Instead, the man was preparing to pacify the vengeful spirits to save Tiria.

The mage geometrically stacked stones infused with his own mana and carefully shaped them. He showed considerable skill, as if he had done this many times before.

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, she had heard that in the Magic Kingdom, people build stone towers as a symbol of not forgetting the deceased. Because while rocks may be carved or broken, they neither die nor disappear.

Tap.

After placing the final stone, the man stood up and spoke.

[“Kids.”]

As if he truly was their superior, in a gentle voice.

[“Come forward one by one and report your discharge.”]

At those words, the spirits who had been on edge until just moments ago all began to sob.