Chapter 219: Mobius (3)

The carriage is heading towards Mobius’s magic tower, carrying our restless hearts. I tried to lighten the mood for Taffy, who was lying in the coffin, by cracking jokes through the narrow gaps or singing simple songs to pass the time, while Milia hummed a tune and enjoyed the scenery outside. Petunia Titi sat huddled in a corner of the carriage, drawing her legs close and staring at the floor.

I confirmed that Taffy was sleeping soundly, breathing softly, then turned and approached Petunia. Petunia glanced at me, clutching herself tightly, and said.

“What is it?”

Her tone was curt, but there was no hostility towards me. She seemed down because of something else. I asked her.

“Why are you so gloomy?”

“….I was thinking about Alexander’s death.”

Right after Petunia Titi arrived at our place, news of Alexander’s death spread everywhere. Outside the mansion, people were dancing and celebrating Alexander’s death, saying he died well, and the church priests, who were busy with their petty greed, pretended to be liberated from Alexander’s tyranny while watching the villagers’ reactions.

What would it feel like to see people rejoice after a former comrade who defeated the Demon King dies? I thought about people celebrating my death, saying an evil demon had died.

“That wouldn’t feel good.”

“Of course not. It’s strange that it feels like he deserved to die. Still, he was my comrade, and when he was with me, even though he said some weird things, he wasn’t such a bad person. But now, without my knowledge, people are saying Alexander was a human who deserved to die.”

I fell silent. I decided to sit quietly beside her and listen to her complaints. Petunia, tears welling up in her eyes, fiddled with her bow and continued speaking.

“I don’t know. On one hand, I feel like Alexander wasn’t bad enough to deserve death, but on the other hand, his wrongdoings come flooding back. And, and now I’m going to kill Mobius. How did it get like this? Things were really good back then.”

Tears streamed down Petunia’s face. In the swaying carriage, she held onto herself even tighter. As if she would be thrown out of the carriage if she didn’t hold on so tightly. As if she was afraid of where she might fly off to.

“When we went to defeat the Demon King, we were really good friends. We, we had so much fun.”

But that wasn’t the case now. The memories remained intact, but while Petunia Titi had paused, the former heroes were plummeting wildly. They had become evils themselves, committing wicked deeds, and were waiting from the bottom for someone to stop them.

Petunia Titi poured out her complex feelings, shedding tears. I moved close beside her and gently put my arm around her shoulder. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and she looked at me, saying.

“You’re a demon too, aren’t you? You’ll change eventually, right? Will you fall to the bottom like those people?”

“I don’t know.”

I couldn’t know. I had only thought of revenge, believing that vague happiness would adorn its end, but now I couldn’t predict what kind of conclusion awaited. Even the future I thought I had planned seemed to turn pitch black again the moment I closed and opened my eyes.

Saying that, I stroked her back, and Petunia Titi buried her face in her knees and started crying again.

The carriage rolled on like that.

We were embarking on a journey to kill Mobius.

The atmosphere in the capital grew more menacing with each passing day. However, there was an area that neither the citizens looking for a chance to kill nobles nor the nobles vying for the throne dared to touch. Only a few soldiers stood there, while beastmen carried bricks, sweating. The beastman leader, Snow Leopard, paid no attention to the brutal struggles unfolding outside, his gaze fixed solely on the building. Both nobles and citizens acted as if this area simply didn’t exist. Although they were part of the same hero party, Fabian’s misdeeds were not openly exposed, and his feat of perishing with a demon in the north remained deeply etched in people’s hearts. Ironically, he, who had betrayed Wolf and run off, was the only one receiving heroic respect and treatment. Even the nobles who held grudges against Fabian couldn’t act recklessly. It was clear that the moment they touched the construction or the beastmen, the wrath of the hero Wolf, who was heading towards Ithaca, would turn upon them, and they would lose the support of the citizens. Regardless of Wolf’s plummeting public favor, the construction of Fabian’s tomb was proceeding smoothly.

“Human. What happens to us after we finish building this?”

When the beastman leader, Snow Leopard, spoke to the overseer, the soldier clad in armor and holding a whip flinched and turned around. The officer, who had been filling out documents in the rear, put down his pen and walked towards Snow Leopard. Quite some time had passed since the beastmen began the construction, and now the work was nearing its end. The officer still couldn’t figure out the true purpose of this massive structure. It bore no symbols representing Fabian, nor did it seem to house anything for heroes. The enormous pedestal and the towering stairs gave it an alien appearance, out of place in the country’s landscape. Forgetting to answer the beastman’s question, the officer stroked his chin and said.

“Is this… really a memorial monument?”

A soldier behind him spoke.

“They say a statue will be placed on top, but the hero hasn’t commissioned it yet. Honestly, even if it’s a statue for up there, considering its size, I doubt our current finances can cover it…”

It could be made. Because the hero would make it happen. The officer figured that if the hero pushed for it, he’d empty the royal treasury entirely. The officer swallowed the words that had risen to his throat, nodded, and chuckled. There was no point in bringing such things up. In truth, the officer had no idea what the hero’s purpose was in building this altar. This was because, right after massacring people in the square, the hero had been repeating increasingly abnormal actions. Rumors circulated about hearing the hero muttering all day locked in his room, or seeing him screaming and crying in the royal palace’s prayer room. The officer thought the hero might die before this altar was even completed.

“Perhaps he’s just forgotten because things have been so busy. Haven’t there been many incidents lately? Personally, I think a small tombstone would be more appropriate.”

“I’m not trying to disparage Lord Fabian, but a giant statue seems a bit excessive. Who would haul a statue up to such a high place, and how would they even move it here?”

The soldier said this while looking at the complex streets of the capital and the buildings of varying heights. Hearing about moving a giant statue, Snow Leopard surveyed the other beastmen, then glanced at the soldiers, and said.

“Th-that’s impossible, even with all our strength. A statue the size of this altar… even if we combined our efforts, we couldn’t move it.”

“You won’t have to move the statue. Your only task is to build this altar. Whether the statue will actually be made is another question.”

The officer said this, scanning the beastmen. These beastmen would never see the statue completed. Not only would they not see the statue finished, but they would never see the world outside the capital again. After the altar was built, these beastmen, unaware of their fate, were scheduled to ascend it and then fall into the fiery abyss, all of them dying. The souls of the beastmen who caused Fabian’s death would appease Fabian’s vengeful spirit. It was a bizarre yet ingenious idea. For the officer, who had encountered their human side through his interactions with the beastmen, it was a somewhat unsettling prospect.

The officer spoke to Snow Leopard. It was the answer to the question Snow Leopard had posed.

“Snow Leopard. Once this altar construction is finished, you and your kind will ascend the altar and perform a ritual to pay respects to Fabian. Then, everything will be over.”

“Understood.”

Snow Leopard nodded calmly and returned to his work. Just as he was about to pick up another brick, the officer noticed a small mark on Snow Leopard’s ankle. It was a scar branded onto young slaves, still clearly visible even now that he was grown. The officer said.

“You were a slave, weren’t you? You must have harbored much resentment towards humans.”

Snow Leopard put down the brick and looked at the officer. Unlike his former timid self, he straightened his back and looked down at the officer. The officer was reminded that the beastman was taller than him and tensed slightly.

“Say what you want to say properly. Human.”

“Was siding with the demons on the snowy plains revenge against humans? I’m not being sarcastic. It’s just… personal curiosity. If I don’t ask now, I might not get another chance later.”

“Revenge?”

Snow Leopard looked up at the sky. The city walls and the altar blocked the horizon. The massive altar looked as if it were prepared to worship a god, and the horns jutting out on either side felt sinister.

Snow Leopard said.

“I was born under slavery and never called by a name. I was fortunate enough to escape and lived in the north, peacefully, until Baara became our leader. Baara said, ‘If you don’t want to raid humans, die here.’ Surviving that, the demons then said, ‘Join us or die.'”

“Are you trying to say you had no choice?”

Snow Leopard shook his head.

“Human. My life is too complicated to be obsessed with the word ‘revenge.’ Now, I can’t even tell who should be taking revenge on whom. Is this your revenge? Or is it merely the victor’s right, a mere memorial for the dead? Do you want to think of me as a vengeful spirit??”

“…..I just wanted to know the reason for the betrayal. For a long time, beastmen and humans have had a distant relationship.”

The officer said this, avoiding eye contact. Snow Leopard did not get angry at his statement. The beastman looked towards the royal palace and said.

“The hero told me to learn pride. But I stand here for my own pride. I have no desire to learn your pride.”

Hearing the word ‘pride,’ the officer couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed quite amusing that this Snow Leopard possessed something called pride.

“What is your pride?”

Snow Leopard picked up a stone again.

“You wouldn’t understand. Because you haven’t lived a life like mine.”