Chapter 117: A Cruel Escape (2)

[117] 18. A Cruel Escape (2)

Irene watched as Amy’s heart was absorbed into the Dragon King’s Essence. The more it swallowed the red heart, the brighter and more beautiful the red jewel became.

Dragon King’s Essence, whoever named this thing, it’s a terrible name. ‘Heartless Jewel’ would be more fitting.

“Lady Irene…”

When she looked up and saw Gillian standing at the open door. His face was drained of color, making him look almost ghostly.

“The ritual preparations are complete, as you requested.”

“Are the people ready as well?”

“Yes, just as you instructed, only the most loyal…”

“Good. Make sure everything is ready to begin as soon as I give the signal.”

Irene placed the completed Dragon King’s Essence and Alain’s pocket watch into a box. Slowly, the box shrinks until it becomes the size of a small bead.

“Send this to the Great Divide, along with the letter I wrote earlier. By the time it arrives, things should be more or less settled.”

“…Through that pigeon?”

“That would be the safest method, wouldn’t it?”

Irene flashes a faint smile.

Gillian hesitates for a moment, tightly clenching the bead in his fist, then suddenly speaks up.

“Lady Irene.”

Irene, who was about to shift her gaze back to the documents, looks at Gillian. Even after that, Gillian struggles for quite a while before finally getting the words out.

“Is this… really the right thing to do?”

Gillian’s face contorts with genuine anguish.

“If the ritual succeeds… many will die. So many lives will be lost. Of course, I know you always do what is right, but…”

Gillian’s eyes meet Irene’s cold gaze.

“I must ask. Is there really a need for such a cultish ritual?”

Irene stares at Gillian for a moment, then closes her eyes and leans back against the headrest.

“And if I said I couldn’t answer, Gillian, would you defy me?”

“…I wouldn’t defy you… but I would try to investigate the reasons myself.”

“Even if I tell you that it’s for your own good that I’m keeping it a secret?”

“…Then all the more reason I need to know, wouldn’t you say?”

“Haa…”

A deep sigh ended their conversation. Irene rubbed her eyes and muttered with a lament.

“Why in the world did the ‘me’ in this world keep such tiresome people around…”

“What do you mean, ‘this world’…”

Gillian’s words were cut short.

“Aah…?”

From the gaping hole in Gillian’s throat.

A gurgling sound flowed from the wound.

*Thud-*

In the next moment, Gillian’s body collapsed to the floor. Irene avoids the growing pool of blood at her feet and laments.

“Playing the reluctant back-alley boss, a role I never asked for… It was a necessary measure, so I couldn’t avoid it…”

Irene turns her eyes to gaze out the window.

The grotesque mountain range of the Great Divide naturally enters her line of sight.

“I wish Oppa would just make up his mind already…”

***

“Wait a minute…!”

When I came to my senses, I was already inside the stone walls. The moss growing between the cracks was yellowish, and so was the light from the luminous stones.

And my arm, reflexively outstretched, simply grasped at empty air.

“Damn it…”

I cursed inwardly, rubbing my face. Amy’s smiling face flickered like an afterimage behind my eyelids.

[Please, don’t forgive me.]

“What the hell am I supposed to…”

“Rem.”

A voice called out from behind me. Given the situation, it didn’t sound very pleasant either.

Stifling a sigh, I turned my head towards the voice.

“Who are…”

My words were cut short as soon as I saw her face.

Eyes like ice, the color of the sky,

Jet black hair,

And the giant axe strapped to her back.

It was Feya, or rather, how she looked when she was still my enemy.

She flashed me a smirk and opened her mouth.

“Long time no see, Rem.”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words and could only stare at her blankly. She must have interpreted it in her own way, as an awkward smile appeared on her face.

“What, surprised I came to meet you? I mean… things didn’t end on the best terms between us. But now that we’re on the same side…”

“Who are you?”

Yes, the appearance was definitely Feya’s.

But to put it another way, only the appearance was Fey

The mannerisms, speech patterns, expressions, even the look in her eyes.

Not a single thing matched except for her outward appearance.

I’d been with Feya for four years.

But in that time, how many life-or-death situations had we navigated. How many hardships had we faced.

The memories I had built with Feya were too vast for me to be fooled simply because the appearance was the same.

“…”

The woman with Feya’s face, in other words the fake Feya, stiffens her expression. Eventually, she sighs and lowers her head.

“The Great Chieftain said this would be enough.”

“By Great Chieftain, are you referring to Feya?”

A bewildered look appeared on the fake Feya’s face. It was an expression that seemed to ask, ‘Who the hell are you to casually call our Great Chieftain by name?’

But I was in no mood to explain right now, nor did I want to dredge up old history.

I frowned and asked.

“Did Feya ask you to impersonate her?”

“…Well, yes. It just so happens my build is similar to the Great Chieftain’s former physique…”

The fake Feya grumbled and then pulled out a magic tool from her bosom. And with it, Feya’s appearance was peeled away, revealing a strange woman.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be discovered this quickly.”

“…Why did Feya even bother with an impersonator?”

“That’s a question you should ask the Great Chieftain, not me.”

The woman replied, averting her gaze. It was a reaction as if she had a good idea why.

“In that case…”

“Please follow me. I’ll lead you to your quarters.”

I tried to probe further, but the woman was faster. She immediately turned around and began walking deeper into the cave with long strides.

In the end, I had no choice but to swallow my questions and follow behind her…

.

.

.

“Here we are.”

The woman said as she opened the door.

And at the sight beyond the door, I was momentarily speechless.

There’s a space that every mage dreams of at least once.

A space without spatial limitations, without the limitations of tools, or without financial difficulties.

A space where one can devote oneself entirely to the study and pursuit of magic.

The scene spread out before my eyes now was close to that ideal space.

Expensive materials piled up everywhere.

A space so wide that you could detonate an explosion spell inside and be fine.

And research equipment that seemed not just cutting-edge, but even more advanced than the latest models in my world.

“Alain’s pocket watch and the Dragon King’s Essence will be delivered soon. Until then, Rem, please work on the return magic circle here.”

I stared at the woman with a hint of shock.

“You, do you know how I ended up here?”

“I was originally supposed to act as the Great Chieftain’s impersonator, so I know the general details.”

“…And you believed that?”

“If the Great Chieftain believes it, of course I must believe it too.”

I could read the deep affection and trust she had for Feya in that answer.

Is the Feya of this world at least loved by the Derin?

…If so, maybe Feya hasn’t been as badly broken as the others…

“Anyway, I’ll be heading back now to report to the Great Chieftain.”

The woman’s flat voice broke suddenly broke through my daydream. Without realizing it, I quickly grabbed the woman who was about to leave.

“Wait.”

The woman turned to look at me with a suspicious expression.

“May I also go with you?”

“Where?”

“To Fe… no, to see the Great Chieftain.”

A look of distaste immediately appears on the woman’s face. It seemed like a refusal was about to tumble out right away.

But I decided to be stubborn.

“There’s something I need to confirm by meeting her in person. I’ll handle things myself after I meet her. You can just tell me where she is if that’s easier.”

“Well… Haa…”

The woman trails off and eventually lets out a sigh.

“I’ll be honest with you. The Great Chieftain probably won’t want to see you.”

Those words strangely rubbed me the wrong way. I reflexively raised an eyebrow and questioned back.

“Probably?”

“She’s never directly said so. But… if I were the Great Chieftain, I wouldn’t want to either.”

An infuriatingly ambiguous answer.

I felt irritation rising and opened my mouth.

“What’s that supposed to…”

Suddenly, I remembered that the ‘me’ in this world had been beheaded by the crown prince. And also what my last moments, as remembered by Feya, would be like.

Me, refusing to even look at her when she came to rescue me.

The memories of hurling all sorts of curses and violence at her.

They were plenty to sever any affection she has of me.

In fact, they were things I did with the intention of severing that affection.

Maybe the Feya of this world isn’t that attached to me anymore. Better yet, she may resent me a little.

After all, out of the five, only Feya had tried to stop them from bringing me here.

It was more likely that the Feya here had no feelings for me.

“…Still, I’d like to at least talk to her.”

But even so, even if that were true, I had to meet Feya.

Clara, who tried to use her own body to restore mine,

And Parsley, who had risked her very existence to try rewriting my unfortunate past.

And Amy, whose whereabouts were unknown.

I’d already witnessed what kind of disaster could occur when I simply assumed they were fine and ignored them.

Even if she really was doing well, I had to confirm it with my own eyes.

“Hmm…”

Again, a reaction as if she didn’t want to. But at the same time, I could read the conflict on her face.

And after a short while.

“…I will guide you to where the Great Chieftain is.”

Finally, the woman gave a positive answer along with a sigh. I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you. Then…”

“In exchange, promise me one thing.”

I looked at the woman with questioning eyes. In response, the woman lowered her gaze and made a sorrowful expression.

“If the Great Chieftain tells you to leave, promise that you will.”

.

.

.

And twenty minutes later.

I started to feel a deep distrust for the woman guiding me.

The reason was simple.

Generally speaking, the place where the leader resides should be the best place. A king lives in a palace, a noble lives in a mansion, and even a bandit leader settles in the most comfortable hut.

It should be no different for the Great Chieftain of the Great Divide.

However, the further I followed the woman, the more I felt the inside of the cave becoming barren.

The luminous stones that lit up the cave gradually decreased, and the number of cobwebs in the corners increased. The floor, too, was uneven, as if untouched by human hands.

Above all, it was too cold.

It was cold enough to make my body shiver, despite my clothing not being particularly light.

To be frank, I doubted there would even be a place fit for humans to live at the end of this path. It seemed more likely that it would lead to a storeroom or a treasury.

Or maybe, just maybe, she was secretly planning to stab me in the back…

“We’re here.”

The woman’s voice once again breaks through my thoughts. But as I looked around at her words, I was left bewildered.

“Here? There’s nothing here.”

Without a word, the woman pointed a finger at one spot. Only then did I realize that what looked like a crack in the rock face was actually a gap between two stone doors.

The texture was so uneven that it didn’t look like a door at all.

“You’re saying… Feya is here?”

Instead of answering, the woman walked up to the door and stood in front of it. She raised her voice.

“Great Chieftain, I’ve come to report.”

But no answer came for a long time. Gradually, I started to think that maybe this woman really had tricked me.

It was just then.

“Why, why did you bring him?”

For a moment, I was speechless.

The voice didn’t sound human at all. It was more like a mixture of wind and beast sounds.

A sound you might hear in the middle of the night in a forest.

But at the same time, I could recognize Feya’s manner of speaking in it.

“Feya…?”

“…!”

A strange sound came from beyond the stone door. The sound of something dragging and something snapping.

Only after a while did I realize that it was the sound of Feya backing away from the door.

And that something was seriously wrong.

I approached the stone door and placed my hand on it. Trying hard to suppress my anxiety, I spoke in a soft voice.

“Feya, it’s me. So…”

“Don’t come in.”

Again, that grotesque voice. But the fear and firmness within were unmistakable.

“Rem, please don’t come in.”

A sound like scraping stone mixed in with her voice. I immediately knew it was the sound of her holding back tears.

Feeling my anxiety turning into pain, I rested my forehead against the stone door.

“Feya.”

“No, please, I’m begging you.”

“I’m opening the door.”

“Rem, please. Don’t do this. Just go. Please…”

I pushed the stone door open.

The light from the luminous stones enters through the gap in the door, lighting the inside of the room, no, the prison cell.

“…Don’t look at me. Please…”

At some point, Feya had hidden herself in a corner where the light didn’t reach. But light is cruel in how easily it touches things, exposing them to the world.

Even though she was hiding in the corner, I could vaguely make out Feya’s silhouette.

Feya wasn’t human.

“Rem, please turn your eyes away…”

Her lower body was that of a giant scorpion.

Her arms were those of a wyvern.

Bat wings protruded from her back,

And her left eye was abnormally large.

A form as if a human and a monster had been forcefully combined.

Speechless, I approached Feya. I grabbed her legs as she kept trying to back away.

I grabbed them and collapsed to my knees as if crumbling. A futile question spilled out like vomit.

“Why… Why…?”

“I’m sorry… Rem, I’m sorry…”

My head was spinning.