Ch.72Crimson Flame (3)

“Irene.”

Sometimes I wonder.

What if.

If I had been stronger.

Could I have prevented all the tragedies left in the past?

“I can no longer stay by your side, Master… nor should I.”

“So this is farewell.”

The silhouette of my master walking away in silence.

It was a scene filled with regret.

If I hadn’t let you go alone then.

If I had possessed enough strength to protect you.

“Please, stay alive.”

Everything felt like my fault.

So I pushed myself harder.

Swinging my sword, sweating, hardening my tattered heart.

With a determination to never break again.

‘But.’

I’m not sure if that was enough.

Simply doing your best doesn’t always lead to good results.

The girl was still powerless.

She could only move forward.

Even in the depths of helplessness.

Searching for her star, as her master had told her.

“Find your own star.”

The fox would often wander through the pitch-black dawn.

***

The sky darkened.

Storm clouds suddenly gathered and swallowed the sun, then began to drop raindrops one by one.

Was a storm brewing?

The wind felt ominous.

Whoooosh-

Following the rough sea breeze, the thin rain streams gradually grew thicker.

It was truly the worst weather for sailing.

Rain pouring down with fierce intensity.

Despite such terrible conditions.

A confrontation continued on the ship’s rooftop.

The sound of powerful strikes echoed.

Thwack! Crack!

The hound’s fist struck her abdomen.

While she was groaning from the dizzying pain, a kick followed, hitting her shin.

The fox staggered momentarily.

“Ugh…!”

A painful breath escaped her.

She tried to maintain her posture, but her battered appearance suggested she might collapse at any moment.

Irene barely maintained consciousness.

Before her stood a figure in a gray robe.

“I told you~ You should have just stayed put.”

The hound mocked her.

A sinister smile lingered on his lips.

Judging by the tune he was humming, he seemed quite pleased with the current situation.

The hound casually rotated his wrist.

“Do you enjoy getting hit? Why do you keep giving me reasons to beat you?”

“……”

“Oh? Not answering?”

Thwack-!

Though I called it a confrontation, it was closer to a one-sided beating.

The fox was barely maintaining consciousness.

Her exhausted body couldn’t even properly hold her sword.

It was only natural.

After being injected with sleeping drugs, not only did she avoid losing consciousness, but she sprinted at full speed, cut down dozens of guards, and finally reached the rooftop.

She had no strength left to resist.

“Tough bitch… What kind of person doesn’t collapse?”

In her physical state, an ordinary person would have fainted long ago.

Irene was enduring solely through willpower.

“At least it’s entertaining! Even after all this time, your endurance remains the same!”

Crack-.

The hound grabbed the girl’s hair.

After firmly securing her by gripping it, he slapped her with his palm.

Smack-!

Searing pain.

A red handprint appeared on her pale cheek.

Blood dripped from between her lips, as if something had burst inside her mouth.

The hound laughed openly.

“You know, right? You can never beat me.”

“……”

“You haven’t forgotten who captured you and your siblings, have you? This is the second time you’ve been caught by me.”

The fox couldn’t refute the mockery.

It was all true.

Irene had already been defeated by the hound before.

When she was secretly leaving the village with her siblings, this man before her had persistently followed.

He eventually knocked her down and threw her into a cage.

“Accept it. What can you do about your fate?”

It was the same now.

With her exhausted body, he was an opponent beyond her reach.

“Well… shall we continue?”

The hound raised his hand again.

As he was cocking his fist, a voice suddenly stopped him.

“That’s enough.”

A young man in an immaculate suit.

He was the person called “Guest” who had been watching the situation from behind until now.

He politely intervened with the hound.

“Any more damage will reduce the merchandise value.”

“What? I told you not to interfere.”

“I’m simply offering a rational assessment. If she gets scarred, our employer will be displeased.”

“…Tch. I know that.”

Perhaps the mention of the employer had an effect.

The hound eventually clicked his tongue and backed off.

When he released her hair, Irene’s posture, which had barely been maintained, collapsed.

The girl fell to one knee.

“……”

“Hmm? Is the drug finally taking effect?”

“She held out for a long time. This drug knocks out even bear shapeshifters with one dose. It’s rather surprising she maintained consciousness until now.”

“Well, it’s over now anyway.”

The hound dusted off his hands.

He turned around without hesitation and ordered the soldiers who remained.

“Move that bastard carefully~ You’re dead if there’s even a scratch, got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Sigh… can’t trust these idiots. I’ll follow along, so hurry up and bring him.”

“Yes!”

Several men approached the fox.

She was in a completely battered state.

Sprawled out, seemingly dazed.

“……”

Irene didn’t resist.

She was giving up.

This was enough.

At least she had done her best, so it seemed okay to surrender now.

It was a despair too overwhelming to hold onto hope.

-Isn’t it okay to expect a miracle sometimes?

-You never know! Someone might appear like a prince on a white horse to save us.

Words she once heard from Anne.

When they were trapped in the dark mages’ laboratory, she had said it to give hope.

The fox bit her lip gently.

Yes.

The role of a princess in danger.

Sitting quietly and waiting for a prince on a white horse wasn’t necessarily a bad experience.

It felt like being saved when she was weak.

‘But…’

Again this time?

How many times would this make?

If she waited for help every time a crisis struck, how many princes on white horses would she need in her life?

The girl was skeptical.

‘Perhaps.’

This might be right.

Despite having her lifelong enemy before her eyes, she couldn’t even leave a single wound, let alone take revenge.

She had been played with like a toy, completely powerless.

What meaning was there in such a pathetic struggle?

If she couldn’t live without others’ help, was that really a proper life?

The right to wish for a prince on a white horse.

She didn’t have it.

She would only offer her neck to approaching dangers.

“……”

The fox sank into deep helplessness.

Perhaps because her body was exhausted, her thoughts were turning particularly gloomy.

As her arms were being grabbed by the soldiers.

<Irene.>

A familiar voice reached her ears.

It was her master’s voice.

Her consciousness had been unclear for a while, and now she was even hearing things.

Irene blinked her unfocused eyes.

<Why don’t you stand up again?>

Due to her hazy consciousness, she couldn’t distinguish clearly.

The girl could only respond weakly.

<Do you not intend to fight?>

I’m tired.

My body won’t move anymore.

<You’ve changed.>

<You weren’t the type to make such excuses.>

<Wasn’t it your way to get up again and again to hit someone you disliked?>

Two years is enough time to change.

So many things happened.

Since you passed away, I’ve walked through what felt like hell.

I don’t even remember how I endured that period.

<It seems you want to be pampered.>

It’s been a while.

Just listen to your disciple’s complaints.

<I didn’t mean to scold you.>

<I was just surprised.>

<I thought you had closed your heart after that day, but it seems you still have the courage to share your feelings with others.>

It’s just an auditory hallucination anyway.

<You’re free to think as you wish.>

That’s true.

It’s not particularly important at this point.

<Tsk tsk… You seem to have hit a wall.>

<What kind of opponent did you face that made a stubborn person like you give up?>

It’s one of those who killed you, Master.

I tried my best to fight, but in my exhausted state, I was no match at all.

<Won’t you regret it?>

<The young foxes are counting the days until their sister returns… Are you really saying you’ll leave your siblings behind?>

<Then why do you look so troubled?>

What am I supposed to do?

I want to stay by their side too, but problems aren’t solved by feelings alone.

<Irene.>

There have been many crises, but this one seems insurmountable.

<You’ve forgotten my teachings.>

<Have you already erased from your mind the words I gave you?>

<I told you to always remember.>

I remember.

You told me not to submit.

To become someone who doesn’t bow down.

<Even if blocked by unreasonable beings, it’s fine.>

<Even if all that you are is denied, and only a wretched trembling remains, it’s okay.>

<Just don’t bend what you believe is right.>

<That’s what life is.>

<Words I told you until your ears wore out.>

I tried to live that way.

Because I wanted to be like you.

Although it might not have been perfect, I think it was a life in the right direction.

Perhaps even a bit foolish.

<That’s enough.>

Is it sufficient?

<Spirit dwells within the sword.>

<Each footprint of your life gathers to make your sword shine.>

<It’s time to face your true self.>

True self…?

<Open your eyes, Irene.>

<A brilliant light will surely envelop the hands of one who has walked an upright path.>

<Become a flame that burns pure white.>

<Correct all injustice, and bring the wicked to their knees.>

“……”

Irene stood in place.

The whispers coloring her ears.

As she pondered the calm voice, her hazy consciousness gradually became clearer.

It felt as if a realization she had been missing suddenly flashed.

-Find your own star.

The girl understood the meaning of those words for the first time.

Until now, she had thought of “star” as “precious people” or “beliefs to protect,” but in reality, it was a term encompassing a much broader concept.

Star means life itself.

<Open your eyes.>

The direction one aims for throughout life.

Only after establishing that can life truly dwell within the sword.

It embraces genuine light.

Irene Foxis.

The direction that name held.

The life that follows it.

The star it signifies.

The sword it ultimately forms.

<Open your eyes.>

After the pitch-black dawn passes, the daybreak that finally arrives has a name.

It is the name of the life dwelling in the girl’s sword.

Hongnyeom (Red Flame).

Whoosh-!

Suddenly, flames erupted.

The hot energy gradually intensified, beginning to erase even the chill of the raging typhoon.

The falling raindrops evaporated before they could wet her body.

In the omnipotence tinged with high temperature.

“…Blaze.”

The girl opened her eyes.

Meanwhile.

There were narrowed eyes watching all these scenes.

“Finally, the appearance of the Red Flame.”

The snake muttered.

The voice that had been acting as the fox’s master soon regained its original youthfulness.

An ominous smile hung on his lips.

“It’s time for awakening.”

The sinister resonance flicked its tongue.