Ch.30The Last Fireworks (2)

# Chaos Erupted

The starting point of the blazing inferno was the streets of the imperial district surrounding the palace. The way the flames spread resembled red paint dissolving in clear water. Though the fire had started outside the palace, it was obvious that it would eventually transform into a massive conflagration that would engulf both the district and the imperial palace.

Thud!

“Your Majesty!”

“Ugh…”

The Emperor collapsed, almost prostrating himself. The Empress, who had been facing him directly nearby, turned pale with horror. Her shock reached its peak when Serin began to stagger.

“This feeling…?”

“Seriniel?!”

“Your Majesty! Sister!”

Only the Empress, who had escaped the deadly poison, and Tesser remained by their side, not knowing what to do. Under normal circumstances, they should have called for the royal physician. However, in such an emergency, they couldn’t afford to leisurely arrange for treatment. While they tried to stabilize, everyone would be consumed by the flames.

The calamity didn’t end there.

Crash, clang!

The glass windows connecting the banquet hall to the outside shattered all at once. Through the newly opened windows, assassins with their lower faces covered invaded, brandishing gleaming metal weapons. Witnessing the peace shattered in an instant, I quietly closed my eyes.

“Is this what you wanted?”

Was this the scheme you were planning to use me for?

Is this the business proposal I would soon learn about?

I admit it. It had to be kept secret.

If you had told me earlier, I would have strongly opposed it.

I call out the name of the man who kept this secret alone.

“Rodrick.”

The man who had been out of my sight until now briefly answers from behind me.

“Yeah.”

“I have plenty to say, but I suppose it’ll have to wait.”

“…”

Silence.

You know when to keep your mouth shut, even if you had ten of them.

I set aside personal matters and give an order.

“Rodrick, the assassins who just infiltrated.”

“…”

“Kill them all.”

“Understood.”

Crack!

Immediately after, the sound of chains breaking spread. It was the sound of the chandelier, which had been emitting light, falling.

Clang! Crash! Smash!

The world is enveloped in darkness. In the night rushing toward midnight, moonlight is far too weak. No matter how wide one opens their eyes, there’s no miracle of gaining visibility in the darkened banquet hall.

“Aaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

“What on earth is happening…!”

Screams of chaos scatter. Only a handful of people had noticed the assassins’ infiltration. Due to the banquet hall’s sudden blackout, there wasn’t enough time to properly assess the situation.

Meanwhile, I walked in a straight line toward the child I couldn’t afford to lose.

“Eshtiel.”

“Rahilt, big brother…?”

“That’s right.”

“Brother, brother…!”

“Yes, come here.”

Eshtiel approached me with wobbly steps, trying to maintain her balance, and fell into my arms. Then, sniffling and stammering, she pleaded.

“What do we do, brother… Sister Serin collapsed. She must be in a lot of pain. And there are so many ‘bad people’ everywhere… Uuu…”

I patted Eshtiel’s back as I moved.

“It’s okay. The Knight Commander is here, and so is Rodrick.”

“But Rodrick is just an old man…”

“…Hmm.”

Since there’s no time to explain this, I hurriedly left the area. I cut straight across the center of the banquet hall toward the terrace. An assassin controlling the terrace entrance blocked my way.

No need for words.

I strike down without hesitation with a blade gleaming in the pale moonlight.

Slash!

I buried Eshtiel’s face against my chest.

“There’s a child watching.”

Supporting Eshtiel with one hand, I grab the blade with the other.

Crunch!

The murderous blade crumbles like a water-soaked scone. Without bothering to shake off the blade fragments remaining in my grasp, I grabbed the assassin’s throat.

Splurt!

Blood spurts from his throat. The man could only make wheezing sounds with his dysfunctional vocal cords before collapsing.

Slice!

“Guurgh…”

Hiss!

“Kack…”

From behind, the sound of flesh being cut and the resulting death throes formed a harmony. Surprisingly, there was little commotion and screaming from the guests. It seems Rodrick and the Emperor’s Knight Commander are properly controlling the banquet hall.

Therefore, I stepped onto the terrace without hesitation and leaped to the top of the banquet hall.

“You can open your eyes now, Eshtiel.”

“Mmm… okay.”

“I’m going to put out the fire now and then come back down. You mustn’t move from here until I return. Can you stay still, Eshtiel?”

“I’ll stay very still.”

“Good.”

I stroke Eshtiel’s head. With my other hand, I summon forth the power. Eshtiel murmurs blankly as she watches.

“Black smoke… black dragon?”

I wonder what “black dragon” means.

Regardless of that unknown vocabulary, the observation of “black smoke” is technically incorrect.

This power, uniquely taking on physical force according to my will, is essentially a cloud, as I’ve come to understand while growing up. In other words, anything possible with clouds was possible. I produced endless storm clouds, filling the sky above the district.

Rumble, rumble!

The clear night sky of the district was covered by widely spread thunderclouds. Then, the first raindrop—what would later be called the miracle of the district—fell from the sky to the ground with a plop.

Drip, drop.

Whoooosh!

The thin streams of rain gradually narrowed their intervals, pouring down like countless spears. The fire that had been growing, consuming the night’s peace, shrank pitifully in the blink of an eye. Now it was only a matter of time before the district’s flames were extinguished.

“I’ll be back, Eshtiel.”

“Rahilt brother, don’t get hurt…”

“You know I’ve never been hurt before.”

I gather the power into a fluffy mass above Eshtiel’s head.

It was meant as a makeshift umbrella.

As soon as I ensured she wouldn’t get wet, I jumped back down to the terrace.

“Rain… it’s raining…!”

“A miracle! Such a massive fire, so easily…”

“Oh, God…”

Unexpectedly leisurely comments.

It seemed the suppression of the assassins had proceeded more smoothly than imagined. Focusing my senses, I could see Rodrick wiping blood from his face, surveying the surroundings with eyes that had regressed to those of his past.

‘He would have known everything, of course.’

Rodrick had predicted it all from the beginning.

The infiltration routes of the assassins.

Their subsequent movements.

And even the plans they would likely make based on those movements, calculating their efficiency.

It must have been child’s play for him.

Because Rodrick was the epitome of such a human archetype.

[I can teach you. I’ll make sure you can live comfortably without wanting for anything. So please… spare my life. I’m Rodrick. I’m something of a celebrity in our circles…]

The eight-year-old me was not lied to by Rodrick who begged for his life.

True to his promise, Rodrick was a celebrity in the underworld.

On the surface, he was an information broker dealing with all kinds of information circulating in society. The hidden side of such a man was the apex of assassins known as the Plague.

Even if retired, his experience remains intact. Planning an assassination in a place where Rodrick existed was a foreshadowed failure from the start.

I called out to him as he was finishing up the situation.

“Rodrick…”

That’s when it happened.

Before I could convey my message properly, a massive greatsword flew toward me like an arrowhead with merciless momentum.

I inevitably summoned the power to protect myself.

I had to proceed even at the risk of witnesses. It was a flying sword containing such killing intent and power.

Clang!

“Rahil… Rihart!”

Rodrick screamed a cry comparable to a wail. I was pushed out beyond the terrace—outside the banquet hall—by the massive mass, without even time to respond.

“This is…?”

A familiar greatsword. By the time I had pictured the owner of the greatsword in my mind, a man with a mountain-like build had already crossed over.

The Knight Commander of the Imperial Knights.

The scar on the man’s face, which he had personally carved when I was five years old on the anniversary of my parents’ death, proves his identity.

A twisted fate has manifested.

“Finally found you, child of the deposed emperor!”

“…”

“I’ve been waiting for this day. The root of trouble I let slip, the only mistake left by my arrogance. I’ve lived with the mindset that I couldn’t rest easy for a moment as long as you were alive.”

He raises his greatsword and adds:

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you if you wore a mask? Not at all! Only I, who was defeated by you, have not forgotten you. Those clear, transcendent eyes…”

“…I have never defeated you.”

“Are you trying to deny it?”

“No. It’s simply a fact.”

To the man who saw through me across the years, I bowed my head with respect.

“It’s been 14 years since we last met. I am Rahilt, the child of the deposed emperor you claim me to be.”

“Ha… haha! To have deceived the world so perfectly!”

He laughed maniacally. His obsession, released after more than a decade, seemed to have reached its peak.

“I have no desire to fight you.”

“For me, it’s enough. More than enough motivation to risk my life to kill you.”

“…”

“Haha, a miracle? This rain? These dark clouds in the sky? I, who have directly witnessed your ability, am not fooled, child of the dragon who controls even the weather.”

The man had closed his heart long ago. No matter what I explain or how I explain it, he won’t listen. In his mind, I was a monster wearing human skin.

“For the peace of all people, I shall cut down the last dragon remaining on earth.”

Boom!

He leaps.

A nimble movement that lightly ignores the weight characteristic of a large man, and a tyrannical strike dominated by dark resentment.

“Now is the age of humans!”

Crash!

With immense force, a horizontal slash of the greatsword unfolds. Though it was just a simple swing, the air pressure pressing against my face was intense.

I summon the power.

The black clouds gather densely, taking the form of a black sword perfectly matching my stature.

Crack!

An ambiguous impact sound.

Neither hitting metal nor bursting liquid, an in-between tone.

But the efficiency was outstanding. The slash that could cleave rock was completely blocked by the fluffy black form.

Then, the man dug in his foot.

Slide, thud!

“Ugh.”

My body was lifted. The man was forcibly pushing with his brute strength.

My eyes widened.

The experience of being pushed by sheer strength was the first since my childhood.

Bang!

The moment the monstrous strength erupted was instantaneous.

My floating body flew explosively along the trajectory of the swung greatsword.

Crash!

The air resistance was fierce. It was difficult to maintain balance. As I planted my feet on the ground with an unsteady body, I was helplessly caught in inertia and dragged along the ground.

The imperial palace was already far away.

It was a distance where no one could observe our battle. Yet an ominous roar warns me.

Boom!

A powerful footstep unfolds. The man who had reached the pinnacle of imperial knights closed this much distance with just one leap.

“I’m not being careless. I laid down my pride long ago when a five-year-old child tore my face. If you don’t counterattack, that too will be cause for celebration.”

“If you hold a grudge for the injury I caused, I could somehow…”

“I told you! I laid down my pride long ago!”

Clang!

The massive blade struck the ground.

Dust scattered and rock fragments flew like meteor showers. The impact of the fragments would be enough to tear through my body.

Clear murderous intent.

But I could only defend passively. The reason why I had to do so was clear.

“If not resentment, then why…?”

“Because your existence bears sin. That’s all there is to it.”

Original sin.

As the child of the deposed emperor and his consort, I was born with many sins.

The innocent imperial citizens who died were part of that, and Eshtiel’s past was also part of that original sin.

It’s an understandable matter. As a knight protecting the imperial family, he had every right to question my sins.

“I hear you saved the Imperial Princess. But I don’t believe in goodwill. If it was kindness, you should have revealed that you were the child of the deposed emperor. How could I stand by and watch as you hide your origins and ride on the imperial family’s favor…!!!”

“Is the imperial family’s will the same as yours?”

“Of course not. My lord is merciful. So this is purely my will and disobedience. It’s nothing more than removing a potential threat to the empire based on my judgment.”

“I see. That’s… a relief.”

I feel relieved.

The wish for me to disappear is not Serin’s will. Her smile toward me was genuine, not pretense. Just that fact brought a strange warmth to my chest being beaten by the heavy rain.

‘Still, the difficult situation remains unchanged.’

He was strong.

Not someone I could subdue moderately.

Either kill him completely, or I unilaterally flee. He’s a person who forces a difficult binary choice.

‘Even so, I absolutely cannot kill him.’

I don’t particularly feel guilty about killing. I just think it’s unnecessary.

It’s not that I don’t want to offend Serin and the imperial family either.

It’s just because it’s this person. Because it was he who sincerely rushed to kill me, I couldn’t take his life.

As the stalemate continued with me focusing only on evasion, he provoked me.

“What’s wrong? Do you not even feel I’m worth facing? I hope that feeling lasts until I cut off your head!”

He was full of openings. But he was equally destructive and agile.

Taking advantage of the fact that I had completely abandoned the idea of attacking, he openly gave up a defensive stance.

“Kuk, ahah, ahahahaha!”

He swung his greatsword in ecstasy. His endlessly emerging strength was admirable. Just from the aftermath, the beautiful scenery of the imperial palace was becoming devastated.

One-sided devastation.

The moment the battle’s situation, which seemed like it would continue for a lifetime, flipped was instantaneous.

Bang!

A sound of something tearing through the air.

Both the man and I stopped in surprise and turned our gaze to the source of the sound. There, an unknown form was stepping through the air at tremendous speed.

Soon, a black mass falls, enduring the heavy rain. We realized it was a human figure only after narrowing our eyes.

“What are you doing right now!”

Thud!

As she plunged to the ground, she deflected the man’s greatsword with an accelerated kick. With just that one strike, the man’s grip loosened, and the greatsword that had been turning the imperial palace into a wasteland broke into three pieces.

“Serin…”

“Imperial Princess.”

We both named the intruder simultaneously.

In a situation where we would have nothing to say even with ten mouths, the man and I froze.

“Imperial Princess. You clearly drank poison…”

“If it’s a poison I’ve tasted before, it’s only natural to detoxify quickly!”

It was absolutely not natural. Serin’s pride, her inhuman body, was truly monstrous.

After shouting, she coldly addressed the man.

“Knight Commander Ruslet. Which of your lords ordered you to persecute this Imperial Princess’s guest?”

“No one issued such an order.”

“It’s your own judgment?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Because only I recognized this person’s true identity.”

“Oh, is the guild master a criminal?”

“Yes, a criminal.”

Knight Commander Ruslet boldly expressed his view. After confirming his will, Serin placed her hands on her hips and asked:

“Then is that sin innate? Or acquired?”

“Innate, his original sin.”

“Original sin? Original sin…”

“Yes, original sin. Without a doubt.”

“Haha…”

Serin let out a small laugh. It was far too hollow to be a laugh of pleasure.

When the hollow laughter abruptly stopped, Serin coldly announced:

“You are wrong.”

“Imperial Princess?”

Knight Commander Ruslet reflexively called out to Serin. However, Serin continued without caring:

“A child born bears no sin. Original sin? The very existence of such a term is disgusting.”

“But!”

“He is my person!”

“…!”

“As long as I stand on my two legs, no one in the world can touch my people.”

The area fell silent at Serin’s declaration.

Even the common insects seemed reluctant to make sounds, pressed down by her aura. It was a frost-like aura that could make even the free breeze stop in its tracks.

This time, she looked at me.

“Rian.”

“Yes.”

“Come here.”

“…”

“Hurry.”

Serin gently urged.

It wasn’t an order. It was a respectful invitation to me. Without knowing the reality that I was the child of the deposed emperor, it was a kind word delivered only to the Rian she knew.

It was temptation.

A dangerous temptation where my fingers might melt if I reached out carelessly.

She was imprinting in me the feeling of a moth throwing itself into a brilliant light.

“…”

One step. I take a step forward.

And then another step. And yet another. The rhythm of footsteps accelerates, and the steps I take gradually speed up.

Step, step, thud, thud!

“…Rian?”

Serin calls out to me in astonishment. On the other hand, Knight Commander Ruslet laughed joyfully with a face full of manic laughter.

“Yes, that’s it. I never thought of winning anyway. I wasn’t stupid enough not to know the immense gap!”

The target I was closing the distance to was Knight Commander Ruslet.

I betrayed Serin and poured all my concentration in his direction.

“Kill me, and reveal your true nature!”

Finally, Ruslet exposes his chest nakedly.

I rushed toward him with his vital point clearly exposed, and

Stab!

I offered my shoulder to the sharp dagger aiming for his back.

“Ugh.”

“Rian!”

“What…?”

The joy and sorrow of the three people intersected.

No, to be precise, it should be called four, including the surviving assassin.

I grabbed the assassin’s head and drove it into the ground like a nail.

Crash!

Even if he doesn’t die, he’ll lose consciousness for a while. It was a moderate handling to leave someone to interrogate later.

“…Why?”

It was a question mark that encapsulated a long sentence.

Why did you save me?

If you had left it alone, no one would have held you responsible, and you could have silenced me.

For what purpose did you save someone trying to kill you? And even getting your shoulder cut in the process.

His eyes trembled.

Confusion. That was the emotion in Ruslet’s eyes.

“Rian! Wait a moment. I’ll immediately provide first aid…!”

“Just a moment, Serin.”

At my request, Serin stopped her urgent steps.

“Please wait. I have something I must tell this person.”

“You…?”

“Rian…”

Just as Serin had gently urged me, I too made a request to her.

“It will only take a moment, could you please step back?”

“……Alright.”

Fortunately, Serin agreed. To fulfill my request, she stepped back to a distance where our conversation would be obscured by the heavy rain.

“You… what are your intentions?”

“I have no intentions.”

“Are you telling me to believe the nonsense that you saved me out of pure goodwill? That’s not even funny.”

“Goodwill… perhaps that word choice isn’t wrong.”

If it’s called goodwill, it would seem incredibly meager from his perspective. Even so, I had a sense of righteousness that I had to carry through. I sincerely bowed deeply to the man who was bristling with hostility.

“All along, I wanted to… express my gratitude for the mercy you showed.”

“Are you insane…? Child of the deposed emperor.”

“I am perfectly sane.”

I confirmed that Serin’s view was completely blocked by the man’s back, and slowly removed my mask. Seeing the appearance of a child across 14 years, Ruslet’s broad shoulders trembled. It was only natural for his face to contort in bewilderment.

“You must be wondering why I’m doing this.”

“…”

Though his mouth was shut, it was definitely an affirmative response.

Therefore, I honestly conveyed the gratitude I had held since my lonely childhood at age five until now.

“The reason I saved you is because I haven’t forgotten the mercy you showed to a young boy who was being chased in the district that day. You drew your scabbard instead of your blade.”

I was weak when I had just learned to speak. Though born with abilities incomparable to peers, I was just a baby bird that had just hatched.

In reality, I couldn’t shake off Ruslet in the district that day.

Far from shaking him off, I allowed a strong strike.

Thanks to being hit with the scabbard, it ended with the incident of being embedded in a wall, but if he had drawn his real sword, I would surely have died instantly.

Ruslet’s intention to draw his scabbard was the minimum consideration for a child. Thanks to that insignificant consideration, I am still alive today.

And I had the opportunity to meet Rodrick and Eshtiel, feel human warmth, and gradually learn normalcy.

There were overflowing reasons to repay his kindness.

“Thank you.”

I truly wanted to convey these words.

To you who suffered from the wound I inflicted.

I, who had mastered normalcy, really wanted to tell you.

“…”

He didn’t hastily open his mouth.

He just covered his face as if washing it in the pouring rain and exhaled deep regret.

“It wasn’t consideration, nor mercy.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If I had known your capabilities, I would have drawn my real sword.”

“That statement proves the truth that you drew your scabbard because I was a child.”

“…Ha.”

I looked directly at the face of the man who had lost the will to retort. And Ruslet, whose hatred seemed to have been washed away by the heavy rain, faced me head-on.

Following Rodrick and Eshtiel, the third person to see my bare face was the large knight who had tried to kill me.

Drip. Drop.

The rain loses its momentum.

The storm clouds, having fulfilled their role, dispersed, bidding farewell to the stars adorning the sky.

The moon and stars sparkled brightly, as if washed clean by the rain.

I shook off the moisture from my mask.

It was time to return to being Rihart, the mercenary guild master, not Rahilt, the child of the deposed emperor.

“Damn it.”

Ruslet cursed.

Unable to bear the confusion, at the end of his gaze looking up at the sky, stars would be shining.

“If you’re not going to stop me, I’ll go.”

“…”

Has he developed a habit of expressing affirmation through silence? I didn’t refuse his goodwill and moved in the direction where Serin had retreated.

With this, my story comes to a period.

The rest I will leave to his choice.

Hopefully, this time it will be a choice without regrets.