Ch.24Those Who Commit Sins, Those Who Will Commit Sins

Sunlight pours magnificently through the entrance where bizarre rock formations spread out like wings on both sides.

The Great Cavern was a space that boasted considerable width.

Only a small portion of the ground was touched by sunlight. Just turning one’s gaze slightly revealed a vast expanse of dark shadows flaunting their emptiness.

In the center of what should have been empty shadows, there existed a man and a woman. It was Charle sleeping peacefully on the altar, and Zikharun Misrakh staring down at her intently.

“…”

Ruby-like eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness. Zikharun was silently gazing at Charle, lost in thought.

‘Now… the preparations are complete.’

Irefi Justitia cannot move even as a precaution. Even if the other three ducal houses besides Feita were to move, it would already be too late.

Zikharun suddenly thought of a man. A man with the same black hair and red eyes as himself. If not for the height difference of a head, his comrades might have mistaken them for each other.

The man with no background information had possessed shocking physical abilities. His imbalance between physical ability and motor skills was strikingly bizarre.

He should have been annihilated, engulfed in golden beams, yet Zikharun felt a scratchy sensation in his throat like sand dust.

It must be because this was the first time he had killed someone. Zikharun decided to dismiss it as such.

‘With this child’s sacrifice, the trigger for the empire’s downfall will be complete. Yes… the empire will… fall.’

He kept questioning himself internally.

Is this really okay?

Swish.

Zikharun’s hand brushed against Charle’s golden hair. She must have always taken meticulous care of it, as it felt as soft as down and as smooth as a frozen pond.

Zikharun found himself startled. It was because he was amazed by her vivid humanity. For a moment, he was captivated by her features, clearly visible even in the shadows.

“Ah…”

It was Charle’s sleep-talking. A reaction to Zikharun brushing aside her side hair and touching her cheek with his fingertip.

‘It’s warm.’

The sensation was felt with just the tip of his finger, close to his nail. Such minimal contact.

Zikharun felt the warmth of a human being.

“Ha, haha…”

The product of his uncontrolled unconscious was a hollow self-mockery. Zikharun rarely faced such immense bewilderment.

“What choice should I have made?”

He asked with a trembling voice.

There was no answer.

Zikharun turned his gaze toward the sunlight that didn’t reach the altar. It was an equitable light that illuminated the world evenly, extending its hand even into the damp Great Cavern.

It must surely be warm. Basking in it would make one drowsy.

He thought it fortunate that no one else was here. As long as there were watching eyes, he always had to reign as the tyrannical and strong Zikharun.

He had to live that kind of life until the day time permitted.

Otherwise, he would have freely expressed his remorse without fearing others’ eyes.

‘It’s too late for me to casually walk into the sunlight… I’m too tainted.’

A large hood completely covered Zikharun’s head. Inside the shaded hood, only his ruby-like eyes blinked quietly.

They were the eyes of a man bearing sin.

◇

Irefi was descending a dark spiral staircase alone. It was a secret space in the main palace where access was limited to certain personnel.

Although it was underground where light couldn’t reach, large lamps were placed at regular intervals, so there was no worry about misstepping.

At the end of the spiral staircase was an elaborately decorated door. Irefi took a deep breath and slowly entered.

“Miren.”

Unlike the dim exterior, the inside of the door was as bright as if sunlight was touching it. It was spacious and splendid like a room for distinguished guests, and all necessary items were neatly arranged without a speck of dust.

In the corner of the room was a spacious bed large enough for four people. Occasionally, its ample surface area gave a lonely impression.

This was especially so because the bed’s owner was a girl with a small frame compared to the space she occupied.

“Has it been too long since your sister visited? I’m sorry.”

Irefi gently stroked Miren’s neat face. Seeing her with only skin barely clinging to her bones made her chest ache.

What made Irefi’s heart even colder was the fact that Miren’s growth had stopped since she fell asleep.

Her sister, four years younger, had her physical growth completely halted after her soul was bound by the golden chain. She remained a fourteen-year-old girl, no different now than before.

“Are you in pain? Are you uncomfortable? I wish you would wake up soon.”

Miren’s body is currently bound by the golden chain, part of the Eldchain. With her soul bound to the chain, releasing the chain’s restraint could lead to more dangerous consequences.

Miren’s situation, bound like a criminal, was pitiful in contrast to her pure appearance.

Nevertheless, Irefi held back her emotions and spoke kindly.

“Miren, you know what? Recently, I’ve been living in a different mansion… not at Marquess Justitia’s Manor but another one. The reason is quite something…”

Irefi casually talked about the many things she had experienced.

Meeting Nepy, daily life at the grand mansion, events in social circles.

“You might not believe it, but when Nepy dances, his hips make sounds like a rusty carriage. And despite being a marquess, he always speaks politely to the servants? He also often talks nonsense, which can be quite funny. He’s so soft-hearted that he readily offered to give away half of that huge mansion…”

Perhaps because she hadn’t visited for a while, she had an overflow of stories to tell. Daily life at the grand mansion was always colorful and somewhat enjoyable.

“Miren, actually, Nepy is said to be a terrible villain. He committed terrible wrongs in the past. So I’ve been wary of him all this time… but now he’s forgotten everything. Despite living for 500 years, he converses like a peer, and doesn’t scheme bad things. Though he grumbles, he does everything he’s told…”

Irefi gently held Miren’s hand.

“Was Nepy really a bad person? If it was a misunderstanding… how should I apologize? Actually, I was a bit… no, very disrespectful during our first meeting…”

Irefi recalled their first encounter when she mercilessly dismembered Nepy’s arms, legs, and waist with her formless sword. Although it was a justified act as the knight commander following orders, she often worried about her actions at that time.

Whether to apologize or not—this was truly ambiguous.

“I want to reclaim our daily life soon. I hope for a daily life where Miren and I are at Charle’s tea party, and… Nepy is fidgeting nervously.”

A gentle smile lingered faintly on Irefi’s lips.

Yes, I want to protect the current daily life.

Our, my, unchanging daily life.

At that moment, Irefi suddenly felt a piercing pain in her temple.

Throb-

“Ugh… what is this?”

She had been healthy all her life without even minor illnesses. The sudden extreme pain made it difficult for her to steady herself.

Fearing she might harm Miren, she had to step back a few paces from the bed.

Ring, ringing-

“Ah… ugh… ah…”

A strange sensation of tinnitus ravaging her skull followed the headache. She staggered from the tickling sensation as if bugs were crawling through her brain and the feeling that her eardrums might burst.

“Mi… ren…”

Irefi couldn’t even pronounce Miren’s name properly. Unable to endure the unknown phenomenon, she leaned against a table.

It was difficult to control her own body. When she applied a little force with her grip, the table she was leaning on crumbled like a cookie.

Having lost her support, Irefi collapsed.

“Ah… aagh…!”

After trying to endure with groans, she finally let out a scream.

Irefi saw a flash of light that seemed to destroy the world as she writhed on the ground like a caterpillar.

Her consciousness sank into deep sleep along with the world turning white.

◇

Creak, creak, screech-

Everything was dark. Her body had lost its freedom, making her feel stifled, and her lungs felt dusty, making her chest sting with every breath.

“Ah… oo… ee… eh…?”

A hideous metallic sound rose from her throat. Without a tongue, she couldn’t even pronounce clearly.

She moved her unbearably restrictive body.

Creak, creak, screech…

The rough surfaces of rusted metal scraped against each other, creating a chilling noise. She finally realized why her entire body felt so constricted.

Heavy armor encased her from head to toe.

“Oo… ee… ah…?”

Is this a dream?

She—Irefi—noticed that the pain she had felt just moments ago had completely disappeared.

Although the pain was gone, her current physical state was terrible. She wondered what kind of dream this was.

As Irefi’s vision began to adapt to the darkness, she noticed a long object stuck near the hut.

“Ee… uh…”

This is… a sword. A long sword.

The blood-red weapon in the form of a nodachi was sticky with the scent of blood. Though she didn’t know whose it was, it was crystal clear that it was a sinister emblem of heretical swordsmanship.

She dreaded to imagine how much blood had to be spilled to create such a terrible monstrosity.

For the first time, she felt contempt looking at an object.

‘What kind of nightmare is this? I don’t know how to wake up.’

Her body was like that of a dying old woman, and the heavy armor covering her body and the blood-colored sword were unpleasant elements beyond imagination.

She wanted to wake up and see Miren as soon as possible.

While Irefi was pondering, she heard footsteps pushing through the undergrowth outside.

‘Who is it? It’s not just one or two people. The scale is large!’

For some reason, a murderous intent that pierced her skin pressed upon her. Irefi slowly rose from her seat.

Creak, creak.

Just as Irefi was about to go outside.

A man’s roar resonated throughout the area.

“Destroyer Irefi Justitia, come out and face your death!”

“Huh…?”

What…?

Irefi wondered if she had misheard, so she mulled over it two or three times. But the man’s roar was too loud to be misheard, and unlike her, his pronunciation was clear.

‘Destroyer… Irefi…? What’s a destroyer? And…’

Come out and face your death?

She couldn’t understand. Even though she knew it was a dream, she felt indignant.

While she might not have lived without making any mistakes, it was evident that she had lived without shame.

She felt wronged because she didn’t know why she had to die or why she had to hear such a rebuke.

Irefi dragged her heavy body outside the hut.

What greeted Irefi, whose figure was now fully revealed in the moonlight, was extreme humiliation. This was because people from here and there openly conveyed their hatred filled with curses.

“Indeed, a horrific appearance befitting her reputation. From the ash-gray hair dragging like a broom to the heavy armor dangling all over her body.”

“They say she was famous for her beauty in the past, but everyone must have been blind.”

“If that were true, she must have been a wicked witch. A woman deserving of death.”

Numerous malicious comments were directed at her. Irefi was genuinely perplexed.

‘What… what did I do to deserve such insulting remarks? What grudge do they have against me?’

She had already forgotten that this wasn’t reality. It was the result of vivid realism and terrible déjà vu.

‘Huh? That’s…’

It was when Irefi’s focus became distorted. Suddenly, the crowd split into two.

Emerging from the divided crowd were two people: a large middle-aged man who had been roaring and a young man with a large hood pulled over his head.

Irefi felt a shock like being struck by lightning as soon as she saw the young man.

Jet-black hair and ruby-like eyes. A familiar appearance she had become so accustomed to over nearly half a year.

“Eh… ee…?”

Nepy…?

The question “Why?” rummaged through her mind. But soon, Irefi sighed in relief.

‘It’s not Nepy. I saw wrong because it’s dark.’

When she focused her eyesight, the other person’s appearance became clear. Although his appearance was similar to Nepy with black hair and red eyes, there were subtle differences.

While Nepy had relatively masculine features, the man she now saw was androgynous enough to be described as beautiful, and he was slightly shorter than Nepy.

“Is that Irefi?”

The man’s ruby-like eyes turned toward Irefi. Their eyes met directly through the thinly pierced hole in her helmet.

‘Kuk?!’

At the moment their gazes met, Irefi experienced extreme dizziness again. The world distorted and melted into a bright flash.

Until Irefi closed her eyes, the person resembling Nepy and the middle-aged man who had roared were calmly having an incomprehensible conversation.

Then the earth boiled. As a golden pillar transformed heaven and earth, her consciousness detected an unknown thought.

[Daily life… grasped… my… that…]

Like a stream flowing through a world of repeating white flashes, someone’s voice flowed in.

It was someone’s desperate and earnest wish and calling.

[Protect it.]

With this imperative statement, Irefi regained consciousness.

“Ouch!”

Her hand stung from being pricked by a piece of the broken table. Though there was no wound, the pain was real.

This meant she had returned to reality.

“Sigh, what happened… Not only did I collapse, but I also had such a nightmare.”

She approached Miren and reassured her kindly as if nothing had happened.

“Your sister accidentally made a mess in your room. I’ll call the dedicated servant and be right back, so please wait a moment.”

Irefi left Miren’s room and stepped onto the dark spiral staircase again.

[Protect it.]

The simple phrase she had faintly heard in the shaking world remained unforgotten. Irefi climbed the stairs silently to shake off the unsettling dream.

Woong-

At that moment, the golden chain binding Miren emitted a faint light. Since it quickly subsided, there were no witnesses.