episode_0058

In Ariel’s mind, the angel who believes in Venice and the devil who doubts him battle endlessly.

The day goes by.

The heart that believed in Venice is slowly crumbling as doubts as small as dust eat away from deep within.

The tug-of-war between faith and doubt eventually begins to shift control to feelings of denial.

Depressive thoughts bloom vaguely and grow uncontrollably. The snowball of distrust that begins to roll gradually grows bigger and soon breaks down the strong walls of the mind.

Two days have passed.

Ariel went out of the room. Kale and Fria. And the family hugs her tightly and offers good wishes.

“….Thank you. I’m fine now.”

Ariel answers like that. However, her expression looked broken and awkward.

As the dam that built up my heart collapsed, the small hole grew larger due to the emotions leaking out, and soon emptied its contents in an instant.

I ate for the first time in 4 days. I cut a well-cooked steak and put it down my throat, but I can’t even taste it.

Am I eating something right now? Is he even alive? I don’t know anything.

Even amidst the family’s friendly conversation, Ariel simply maintained expressionless silence.

Another day passes by without me even remembering how it passed. I let myself go by without thinking, and before I knew it, the world was covered in a veil of night.

“…….”

Arriving at the room, Ariel sits by the bed and quietly looks out the window. Even today, on a pitch black background, white eyes are spread out like drawings.

Suddenly, I remember the first time I went on a raven mission with Venice.

The face that looked at him with an awkward posture and a confused expression as if he couldn’t understand it.

…..It was in this room that time too.

Starting with that incident, all the times with Venice slowly or quickly pass by like a flash in Ariel’s mind.

And in those memories, the fire of depression and disbelief is kindled and slowly burns away. Soon, the memories turn into ashes and disappear as if scattered in the wind.

Grumbling.

A single tear flows from Ariel’s empty eyes. I expected that too much had already flowed and that it wouldn’t flow anymore and that it wouldn’t hurt anymore.

It seems that the body does not follow suit like the mind. Tears flow endlessly, soaking the pillow and blanket.

At the same time, tears begin to well up in Ariel’s heart. My heart, which had begun to burn hotly, seemed to have stopped beating after being soaked in cold tears.

Crackling-

The moment when even the angels who could not withstand the devil’s fierce attack disappeared. Ariel’s heart is filled with anger and hatred. And only despair remained.

The fact that all his happy memories with Venice were a past full of lies, and that he was nothing more than a black magician who had come after him.

Ariel was angry at him, hated Venice, and felt empty in the cold reality that remained after the happy past had passed.

“…Let’s stop.”

You won’t have to think about that kid anymore.

However, even before falling asleep, Ariel did not notice that she was still crying.

***

The next day, when the sun went down and the moon rose at night, spreading moonlight across the world.

The Frost Estate is busy even though it is unusually late. The Frost matriarch, who rarely shows any sense of urgency, shouts loudly and gives orders to her knights and servants, and they move busily according to her orders.

Kwaaa!

The reason is that just moments ago, an explosion sound and vibration that seemed to shake the earth was felt near the Frost territory.

The explosion, the cause of which was unknown, occurred suddenly and awakened the spirits of everyone who had begun to feel tired.

As soon as the sound of the explosion was heard, the Frost matriarch ordered all knights to strengthen the defenses of the Frost territory and find out the truth of the incident.

The Frost brothers also took part in discovering the cause.

Not long after, Jake Frost entered the conference room alone with a mesmerized expression on his face.

“Okay. Sons. Did you find anything?”

“Incredibly… traces of a large explosion remained.”

“…Is that all?”

“No, father. Around there… there were countless corpses of warlocks.”

“….What?”

Jake Frost began to explain.

At a point not far from the Frost Territory, there was a trace of a huge explosion, and around it there was a sea of cold corpses and blood stains of warlocks.

It would be reasonable to assume that a battle occurred, but if that were to be the case, the corpses of other forces would also have to be seen. However, it is said that all that was visible were warlocks.

When he heard that he had left other knights and Kyle Frost on standby to see if there were any forces left, the Frost matriarch covered his forehead.

“What on earth happened?”

“…Ah. Another thing I discovered was that there were bloody footprints heading in any direction…”

Why~!

However, their conversation was interrupted by an alarm that suddenly began to echo throughout Frost Citadel.

“Father, what is this sound…?”

“….This is the alarm sound that sounds when a warlock invades! Jake, order all knights to search around and inside the castle right now!”

Under their instructions and commands, the knights quickly began to search.

“…Matriarch! In the backyard of the castle…!”

Hearing the words of the knight who came in out of breath, the Frost matriarch hurried to the backyard.

“This is…!”

What he found in the castle’s backyard was a dark magician’s barrier with a hole large enough for a person to pass through, and a huge amount of blood scattered around it.

And there were only bloody footprints that seemed to go from the inside to the outside.

Breed Frost and Jake Frost, who were looking at the footprints, looked up to find the source of the footprints. What you see when you look up is a window wide open, letting in a cold breeze.

“…..Eriel-!”

“No!!!”

The window in Ariel’s room was wide open. They rushed into Ariel’s room with all their might.

Kwaang-!

When they burst through the door and entered Ariel’s room, Ariel did not disappear as they had feared.

“Be….nis..?”

There was only Ariel looking at the blood-stained window frame and the outside with frantically shaking eyes.

***

Ariel was lying in bed due to sudden chest pain, chills, and coughing.

“Clog…Clog.”

‘….Have I caught a bad cold again?’

It was the same pain I had experienced before, but the intensity seemed to be stronger than before.

Pain as if a bug had burrowed inside the heart and was gnawing away from the inside. And the heat felt throughout the body.

At first, the heat was vaguely felt only near the heart, but it soon spread throughout the entire body.

Ariel’s mind was in a daze due to the pounding in her head that made it difficult for her to even think.

The pain became unbearable, so Ariel tried to sleep.

It was hard to sleep because of my pounding head and heat, but I somehow managed to get to the point where I could fall asleep.

Ariel was in a half-asleep state, just before falling asleep, when she vaguely sensed a noise coming from her.

The sound of someone stepping through the window and their collar brushing against each other. And then he lands on the floor of the room, walking quietly, making the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor.

“Cluck…cluck…”

Someone familiar approaches Ariel, coughing repeatedly. Ariel, who thought it was a simple press of scissors, decided to ignore it.

“Eriel….cough. Miss…”

Until she heard the voice that was more familiar than anyone else and was the most deeply rooted in Ariel’s memories.

“I’m late… cough… sorry…”

What was visible beyond the blurry vision was Venice, covered in blood and wearing a warlock’s robe.

He placed his hand on Ariel’s forehead while coughing repeatedly, mixed with blood.

It’s a very realistic fantasy.

That was all Ariel thought when she saw that scene. Because Venice had already left and there was no way it would come back.

I just silently look at Venice in the fantasy created by pain. Although he is wearing a warlock’s robe, it feels like I am looking at Venice, the butler from the past.

Kind, no. Venice, still in her gentle fantasy, places her hand on her forehead.

Strangely, even though it is a fantasy world, I can feel his warm touch. At the same time, the pain that was consuming my entire body seemed to be slowly disappearing.

“Cough-!”

Was it a fantasy that reflected the hatred for Venice that had built up in Ariel’s heart? Venice vomits a huge amount of blood.

When I slowly turned my head and looked down, I saw a huge amount of blood flowing out of his abdomen, soaking the wooden floor.

How much time has passed? Venice, who was continuously coughing up blood, took her hand away from Ariel’s forehead.

Then he looked at Ariel lying on the bed and smiled sadly. It was a smile mixed with sadness that even the viewer felt depressed.

“…With this, all demon energy has disappeared. Miss Ariel… Cough.”

Venice couldn’t keep her balance properly and could barely stand up. He takes out a piece of blood-soaked paper from his pocket and places it on Ariel’s desk.

“I will never see you again… Miss Ariel.”

Looking at his sad expression, Ariel’s heart seemed to be getting wet. I thought I had definitely betrayed my heart, but I hated it and hated it again.

It seems that Venice still remained deep in Ariel’s heart.

“…I’m doing well. Hello..”

Just like that, Venice flew out the window and disappeared, leaving only a bright smile behind.

“………….”

A stream of water flows from Ariel’s eyes as she quietly looks at the fantasy. The image of the fantasy that has left seems as if even the last remaining memory is leaving.

It was that time. Gradually, strength began to return to my body, and my mind began to become clearer.

Feeling like she was about to wake up from a dream, Ariel cried as she let go of the Venice in her heart.

Flashing.

When Ariel woke up and opened her eyes, she was still crying.

I must have had the same illness as last time, but this time I felt sick in an instant and then got better in an instant. It didn’t hurt anymore.

A feeling of relief, as if an insect living in the depths had disappeared.

However, there was something strange. The window must have been closed, but the bone-chillingly cold northern wind was blowing into the room.

Ariel unconsciously raised her upper body and looked at the window.

“….Huh?”

The window was wide open, and blood was hanging and dripping from the window frame.

I turned my head and looked at the floor of the room, and there was a pool of blood on the floor that was big enough to make me believe that a person had died.

That can’t be possible. That thing just now… was an illusion. It was a scene from a dream.

But now I have clearly woken up from my dream and faced reality. The fishy scent of blood and the cold wind penetrate Ariel’s spirit.

And, a small, blood-stained note was left on Ariel’s desk.

“Venice…?”

Kwaang-!

It was that time. The door to the room was broken and my father and brother Jake came in.

And that was the time. I realized that the noise I heard earlier was the sound that rang out when the black magician’s barrier spell was broken.

Ariel denied reality. Yes, what you are seeing now must be a dream. It must be a terribly realistic, vicious nightmare.

However, a chilling feeling was created by the cold chill and the anxiety that was starting to build up. And the echoing noise denies Ariel’s denial.

“Ariel, are you okay?!”

“What on earth…?!”

I felt like my father and brother were talking to me, holding on to myself, but I couldn’t hear anything.

Ariel’s eyes only look at the small note on the desk and out the window.

“………….”

Ariel shakes them off and quietly approaches the window frame. What you can see outside the window are vivid bloody footprints left on the white snow.

“Ah…no. No way…”

“Eriel… Ariel?!”

Ariel throws herself out the window, holding the small note on the desk in her hand. And then he starts sprinting, following the bloody footprints.

The sad smile that Venice showed just a moment ago. The pain suddenly disappeared. And then Venice left and the bloody footprints that remained.

A sense of guilt and anxiety begins to fill deep within Ariel’s heart.