Ch.50Choice, Irefi Justitia

I was shocked at first.

I fumbled over the organism that had been Nepy several times. It was cold and stiff, with all traces of life completely erased.

I floundered in self-loathing, thinking it was just a prank—a cruel joke. How could I, of all people, have failed to care for Nepy’s wellbeing?

I feared that perhaps I had killed him. Maybe the time spent in the basement had been more stressful than imagined, and I had strangled Nepy’s neck.

Or if not that… had I… had I truly… gone mad?

Lately, I’ve been experiencing gaps in my memory. I’m aware that my emotional stability has deteriorated. Yes, my true self would never imprison Nepy. Even if it were necessary, it made no sense.

What? Makes no sense? Why wouldn’t it make sense? Eliminating Netionpis is the best path for him. I keep adding these strange imaginings. There’s nothing wrong with it.

No, that’s not right. This is wrong. Looking at the tragedy before me makes it clear. The lifeless remains of Nepy are right here. I’m sorry, Nepy. It’s all my fault. Please laugh and tell me it’s just a joke. Please? I’m begging you. Tease me kindly… like you always do.

“Ah… aah… AAAGH!”

My heart is pounding so hard I can’t calm down. I need to find a solution, but even in ancient texts with vast histories, there are no records of the dead coming back to life. If there was one exception who evaded the reaper’s scythe, it would be Netionpis. That guy.

When my thoughts reach this point, I feel a slight sense of dissonance.

“Netionpis. The immortal who lived for 500 years. The one who spent over 400 years in a barren, empty space. Yes, that’s right.”

I burst into laughter at the pathetically deduced truth.

“Ahah, AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Of course, Nepy is immortal—he wouldn’t die just from being confined in a basement for a few days. To lose my mind and panic over such a prank… I still have a long way to go.

“Just thinking about our first meeting should have given me the answer.”

I recall the embarrassing memory of cutting Nepy’s waist in half with a slash. At that time, the proportion of the separated upper and lower body was almost equal. Yet Nepy attempted regeneration from the lower body.

Why?

Because he couldn’t regenerate from the upper body? That can’t be right. All the vital organs are in the upper body, so it should be possible.

The deducible answer is Nepy’s choice. Simply that. Then what is the possible range of regeneration? For example, what would happen if Nepy’s upper body fell in the central plaza?

“If we consider him as Netionpis, it seems entirely possible. After all, this is the body that fought against the saint who controls space. It’s right to assume he has that level of mobility.”

I gently caress the cheek of the meat that was once Nepy. After savoring the lingering sensation of his skin, I turn my back to pursue my confirmed objective.

The basement, the Justitia family’s shameful secret, is no longer needed. With that judgment, I create an inferno with a slash.

Indeed, what need is there for it? If he so desperately wanted to escape, I should accommodate him with generous understanding. It’s better to dispose of this useless basement that fails to serve its purpose.

Rather, I should keep Nepy within my reach. Whether walking, eating, or sleeping, I will always be by his side. The thought of being with my beloved savior makes my heart flutter a little. I should have done this from the beginning!

“Wait for me, Nepy. I’ve been quite upset, you know.”

Now I need to address the question of where to look. I need to determine the extent of Nepy’s regenerative abilities before I can narrow down potential locations.

Unfortunately, there’s no method to do so. The only time I directly witnessed Nepy’s regeneration was during our first meeting in the Great Cavern.

I give up on reasoning cleanly and consider other options.

“If Nepy is determined to run away, there’s no way to catch him. Unlike me, Nepy has infinite stamina. But… I believe in him. Nepy wouldn’t run away. After all, he’s already endured so much for my sake.”

My savior won’t flee. He will appear in some form and reach out his hand. With firm trust, I modify my approach.

“Then rather than somewhere distant, it would be a place where he could receive assistance. Miren’s residence at the Chester Estate? Or perhaps…”

The Imperial Palace, maybe.

Did he think I wouldn’t take him away if he was in front of Miren? If so, that’s an absurd assumption.

Miren has long been aware of my affection. Now I can whisper my love without hiding.

I can wrap my arms around him, bury my face in his chest, and exchange warmth in a loving embrace without hesitation.

“I miss you… Nepy.”

Just imagining it makes my body heat up like a kettle on a stove. The absence of Nepy in my daily life creates such a profound emptiness. I want to find him immediately, embrace him, and fill my heart.

To do that, I need to make a decision.

“Chester or the Imperial Palace?”

……

I made my choice. It was an action based on intuition without any evidence. Perhaps it was also inevitable.

Like the moment Nepy and I encountered each other in the Great Cavern.

◇

“Welcome, Commander Justitia!”

A member of the Iagis Knights guarding the Imperial Palace gave a sharp salute. Their respect was evident in their disciplined ceremony.

Since Feita’s rebellion, my status within the knights seemed to have risen immeasurably. Because of that influence, they opened the palace to me without proper inspection.

If they had insisted on following procedure, how would I have dealt with them?

“First, the main palace…”

I move forward.

My heart pounded for inexplicable reasons. It could be déjà vu, or it could be premonition. The only certainty was that the beating of my heart and my fragmenting sanity were real.

The full moon hiding coyly behind thin clouds feels familiar.

The dimly lit palace under the dark night sky should be something I’ve seen many times before, yet an inexplicable feeling wells up.

Emotions surging like rapids blur my focus. Why can’t I control these emotions? What am I seeing?

Sadness, disgust, self-loathing and remorse. And finally… anger.

After staggering for a while, I managed to distinguish the raging emotions into several categories. The untimely, wicked feelings storming within me were bewildering.

“Ugh… this isn’t… the time…”

I force my body forward. With shaky, precarious steps, I gradually regain my balance. I was certain that finding Nepy would solve everything.

I forcibly lifted my head to examine the palace. My gaze naturally rolled toward one space. The most familiar place in the vast, towering palace.

The office of the Nelfrugia Knights Commander. By now, Bartlant would certainly be using it.

While I was staring blankly at that place, slightly caught in memories, I noticed someone.

In the darkness of the night sky, I couldn’t see clearly, but someone was sitting on the terrace. The person concealed their appearance with a large hood. I could only guess it was a man due to his tall stature.

Then.

BOOM!

“…Huh?”

A thunderous sound echoed.

BOOM!

A noise so pressuring that even thunder would cower in fear.

I quickly scan my surroundings to prepare for any unusual situation.

I immediately realized that was in vain. The knights standing guard in the distance, not even stirring, taught me that. The strange one was me.

Even the grass rooted in the still scenery and the insects mercilessly scolded me, saying I was the problem. I couldn’t understand what was happening and couldn’t steady myself.

THUD!

I fall to my knees like a criminal. My posture slumped as if every tendon in my body had snapped.

By chance, my head was tilted upward, still allowing me to look into the commander’s office.

The next moment, the hooded man opened the terrace window and entered. As he removed his hood, his profile was reflected in my pupils.

He had features that could easily be mistaken for Nepy’s. While sharing the common denominator of black hair and red eyes, his face was that of a beautiful young man, different from Nepy’s.

I stared at his red eyes.

BOOM!

Those unforgettable red eyes.

BOOM!

SHAAAA…

My first reaper, engraved in my soul.

BOOM!

And so I remembered.

“Ah… ahk… AAAAAAAGH!!!”

Black energy leaked out, hiding in the veil of night. The black energy was both familiar and disgusting. It soon rose from my chin to the top of my head, forming a black fog.

The gradually fading black fog led me to a scene completely different from the palace. I realized this phenomenon was a kind of vision.

“Ugh… urk, where is this…?”

A cabin on the flatly cut mountainside. There were two neatly laid skeletons. Inside the cabin, a terrible human with a foul body odor was dozing off in a chair.

A blood-red longsword, the emblem of the Samaedo, and pitch-black full armor dripping with rust. And a ghastly appearance with no trace of past beauty.

BOOM! BOOM!

The march of a large army moving forward beat against the thin surface of sleep. Yet it seems I had a very pleasant dream until then. Perhaps I had been frolicking in another ideal world.

But I might have despaired at how even that was nothing more than a futile illusion. Because before the fatigue could fade, contemptuous hatred echoed, addressing that person.

[Destroyer Irefi Justitia, come out and face death by your own will!]

Bartlant Chester. He shouted with rage in a booming voice.

Gone was his youthful appearance, replaced by a head full of scars and gray hair, and a bushy beard—the name of an armed warrior.

He tracked me tirelessly and challenged me to fight time and again. Each time, Bartlant somehow survived, grew, and evolved.

He was the first commander to present me with the concept of a threat.

It was an achievement made possible because my skills and body had deteriorated dramatically at some point. I realized only very recently that it was due to Malice.

“AAGH…! No, it’s not true, I… I…!”

I realize it despite my reluctance. The one receiving that hatred head-on was undoubtedly the end of a villain who cursed and hated the world.

It was a trace of time that had actually happened… no, that had already occurred.

As I become certain, memories begin to flood in like a bursting dam.

The outcome of my first betrayed loyalty was the worst.

The acts of revenge for this were also clearly the worst.

The price of harboring excessive malice was giving birth to fear and hatred in the world, causing the worst.

My life was a pit stacked layer upon layer. Once you sweep the bottom, the ground collapses pathetically.

And if you step wrongly, the floor cracks again, and you fall into a deep abyss.

There is no light in the abyss. And if you ask whether there is depth, even that wasn’t the case.

An invisible hand pulled at my limbs into an endless trench with no visible bottom. As if to judge my karma.

Irreconcilable hatred.

That was the relationship between me and the world.

When the world abandoned me, I turned my back on the world in return. I was strangled by my mistake of thinking this was the natural order of things.

Living is shameful. The very truth of being alive carries sin.

Yet I am angry. I cannot forgive the phenomenon that the god who governs the heavenly principles did not save me.

“I… what… what should I do?”

With trembling hands, I draw my ceremonial silver sword. I hold the handle in reverse, aiming the tip at my throat.

Is it atonement?

Or revenge?

I make my final decision.