Strange Companionship (1)

<Side : Barkl Ar Sirenniid>

『Martyr’s Moon – 15th (Dawn)』

【5th Day of the Empire’s Invasion】

Since last night, I’d been sitting on the damp stone floor of the underground prison, passing the time talking with Gunther.

“Hmm… Looks like it’s dawn.”

“Yes…? You mean the sun’s up? How can you tell…? There’s no clock here, and the ceiling’s blocked, so there’s no way to know the time.”

“Hahaha! Didn’t I tell you before? I have an extraordinary sense, gained at the cost of my sight. With this alone, I can roughly guess how much time has passed. The margin of error isn’t that big either. Probably… around dawn.”

Sounds like something a kid would scribble down as a superpower… No, wait…!

It’s already dawn?

Even though we were talking all night, I didn’t think this much time had passed…

“By the way, there’s something I want to ask you, Gunther.”

“Hmm, what is it, Barkle boy?”

While we were talking, we had conversations about the past and anecdotes, and I felt like we’d gotten a little closer.

To the point where we could call each other by our names naturally, like just now.

“What are you planning to do now? According to you, we spent last night in prison, and now it’s dawn. So, you must have a plan for what comes next.”

“A plan, of course, I have a plan. But I need to finish what I have to do first. Barkle boy… no, Prince Barkle.”

“Ugh… Was that just a slip of the tongue?”

“Not at all. I’m always sincere. But from now on, I’m going to implement a compromise where no one gets hurt, and everyone can be happy.”

As an example of what I talked about with Gunther, I told him that I was actually a prince of the Empire.

And Gunther frankly revealed that he had infiltrated the Empire under the false charge of impregnating the Spirit of Smoke, in order to save her.

The way to save the Spirit of Smoke was… for all the blood of the Imperial family who had made a contract with the Spirit of Smoke in the beginning to disappear.

Yes, this blood flowing in my veins.

“Don’t worry. I certainly won’t kill you. I’ll just use the small power I have on you and your Sister, whom you’re worried about. I’ll have you temporarily relinquish your position as royalty, so that everyone can be equal…”

“You don’t tell me the details of that method, so I can’t help but ask anxiously… In the first place, to do that, you have to find my Sister too. Both my sister and I have contracts with the Patient Counselor, and I don’t even know what’s happening to my sister…

Worries about the future, anxiety, fear, and all sorts of ominous thoughts and distractions raced through my mind.

“Don’t worry about that either. I promise you. I will safely rescue both your Sister and you, fulfill the contract with the Spirit, and gift you a peaceful life!”

It’s an unnecessarily hearty voice, but for some reason, it’s also a voice that inspires trust.

This man might be able to get me and my Sister out of the Imperial family’s fence in a more reliable way than the Councilor…

“More than that, your Sister, Princess Materi… was it? According to what you told me, she seems to be quite the heroine. Even in this ominous atmosphere, her martial prowess is outstanding, so I’m sure she can get through it! She must be worried about you right now, Barkle.”

“Haha… It makes me feel a little better to hear you say that…”

“You have a good Sister. I wish I had a family like that.”

As we were exchanging such trivial conversations, a loud noise, like a meteorite falling into a place of peace, suddenly rang out.

–Kwaaaang…!!!

A deafening sound that shook the earth and seemed to uproot the trees.

A heavy noise that went beyond the level of something falling echoed all at once, and I jumped up in surprise.

“Wh-what is it…! This sound…!!?”

Moreover, my heart was pounding. With this kind of commotion, the Imperial palace must have been affected.

“Sister…!”

While I was in the underground prison, there was no commotion, so I was waiting with an uneasy heart, but this situation was different.

“I have to go up!”

For a moment, the thought that Gunther might stop me crossed my mind, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

I kicked off the floor, turned my waist, and headed straight for the exit stairs of the underground prison. Then…

“These Chains are flimsy!”

–Crack… Clang…!!

The sound of metal breaking rang out, and I heard Gunther’s voice. That voice didn’t have the heartiness it had before, and it was filled with an uncharacteristic sense of bewilderment.

“Let’s see, my weapon is… here.”

Then, he strode over, violently tore off the lock of the prison’s storage room with his hands, and took out a Club and shield from inside.

“G-Gunther…? What are you doing this time…!?”

“What are you doing? Boy. We have to move quickly. I have a feeling that something’s not right. This is no time to nonchalantly recite poetry!”

“W-woah…!? Wh-what are you doing!”

And Gunther turned to me again, picked me up, and tucked me under his arm.

“What am I doing? Escape and pioneering! Time is of the essence, so you probably don’t want to be held by a muscle man like me, but please understand!”

I, who had been training since I could clench my fists, could confidently say that I wouldn’t lose to anyone else in terms of muscles, but this man’s, Gunther Owen’s, body was beyond imagination.

I doubted that he was the same human Species, and I was firmly held by his developed body, only able to flail my feet and arms. I couldn’t escape his grasp.

“Then let’s go out!”

–Kwaaaang…!

Gunther leaped. At that moment, the stone floor that his feet were on shattered, dust billowed up in an instant, and a thunderous explosion echoed as if lightning had struck.

“Uwaaaaa…!!”

The tremendous speed at which I couldn’t even tell if I was stepping on the stairs and going up shook my brain, and a dizziness that made me want to throw up instantly hit my head.

“Hoo… Barkle boy. Is this the Imperial palace? I couldn’t control my strength, so I think I came up quite a bit higher than the exit.”

“Ugh… Uup…”

“So, boy. What’s the current situation? I’m blind, but I pride myself on being able to live better than those who aren’t, but it seems that sight is the most superior way to grasp the situation in real time.”

“J-just a moment…”

Barely holding onto the pain that made me want to vomit, I barely focused my shaking gaze back to its original point.

Red carpets and luxurious gold decorations, large windows and high-class wallpaper… It was definitely the Imperial palace, and it was definitely the top floor, but…

“Wh-what? What is this…?”

Elements different from the usual Imperial palace began to appear in my eyes.

A strange Purple mist spread across the hallway. The source of the mist, which was so thick that I couldn’t see my feet, was soon revealed.

“The sky is purple…? Why…?”

It was supposed to be dawn, I clearly heard it was dawn, but strangely, the sky was an ominous purple color, as if it had been thickly smeared with purple dye.

“Purple, you say? The sky, you mean? No, more than that… Boy! Cover your nose quickly! My five senses, no, my Sixth Sense is screaming. You said mist! You won’t be in good shape if you breathe this in! Hurry!”

“U-uh…!”

The man, who seemed like he wouldn’t lose his heartiness even if the world was ending, was sweating profusely and covering his nose with his hand. In that voice… I don’t know if I was mistaken, but it seemed to contain a hint of fear.

Following Gunther’s words, I also covered my nose with my wrist to block the smell, but even so, I felt a faint sweetness tickling my nose.

To put it in perspective, it was like chewing and eating dozens of dried dates at once. It’s like this even though I blocked it quickly…?

“I can feel an unnatural wind direction… According to you, that mist is flowing into the interior through a hole in the Imperial palace!”

“A hole, there’s something like that in the Imperial palace……? Ah!”

Hearing Gunther’s reasoning, before I could finish speaking, the loud noise I had heard just a few minutes ago flashed through my head.

The deafening noise that lifted the prison floor. Perhaps it was the sound of a part of the Imperial palace being destroyed and creating a hole.

“The sound I heard earlier. If that was…”

“I was thinking the same thing. Boy. There’s a very high probability that that noisy roar caused this mess.”

“But what are you going to do!? What I have to do now is… find my Sister…!”

“Of course, I haven’t forgotten. Find your Sister quickly and escape the Imperial castle. This is the top priority! Now, let’s run and run again! Boy!”

Gunther slightly raised the corners of his mouth, smiled, put strength in his legs, kicked off the carpet, and jumped up.

But… strangely, the mist that covered the hallway didn’t care about Gunther’s leap and stuck to the floor.

It was definitely a swaying mist, but it was like sticky honey…

“No, no… I mustn’t be caught in a delusion. I have to find my Sister quickly…!”

I also kicked off the floor in an instant and ran, following Gunther’s path and turning the corner…

Once again, I witnessed a shocking sight. No, should I say that something vulgar and bizarre that I can’t even express as shocking is scattered all over the place…?

“Uh, uh…?”

“Boy… can you see something? I feel like there are quite a few people lying in front of me, but their breathing is faint, so they don’t seem to be dead…”

That’s right. Gunther is blind, so he wouldn’t know what I’m seeing right now.

As he said, there were about ten people lying in the Imperial palace hallway, wrapped in an eerie Purple mist.

But their appearance was… strange. It was so strange. Is it strange? No, more than that…

“D-Demonkin…?”

First of all, the people who had fallen could no longer be called human.

Their skin sparkled with eerie purple, crimson, and aquamarine colors, and emitted a sheen as if a thin layer of oil had been spread on it.

In addition, their hard horns and large wings had an appearance like Demonkin, and I reflexively uttered the Species name Demonkin.

“Demonkin, you say…? No, that can’t be… I don’t sense the energy of Demonkin from them…”

“No, no… it’s not Demonkin, I don’t think it’s Demonkin. At least, I’ve heard that the Demonkin Species I know has both male and female bodies. But… those things…!”

Their chests were swollen and full, and they swayed just by breathing weakly while lying down, and the ends of their chests were wet with a sticky liquid.

Just looking at this, I could have guessed that they were a type of Demonkin, a Succubus, but other bodily organs that directly denied that were towering towards the ceiling.

“They both have it! Is that, is that even possible!?”

An absurdly large Male genitalia rose firmly between their crotches. Even though they were unconscious, it pulsed from time to time and sprayed short, whitish liquids.

It wasn’t just spraying. The Male genitalia and Testicles also made lewd noises, staining the red carpet with stains.

“Demonkin with both Male genitalia and female genitalia…? That’s impossible except for one person among the Demonkin. There’s no way that a mere Succubus or Incubus could do that. In the first place, they’re not Demonkin.”

“I know that without you having to tell me! Then what the hell are they…!?”

At that moment, I noticed their torn clothes, which I hadn’t paid attention to because I was focused on their bodies.

They were all… outfits worn by maids or dancers, or outfits worn by officials.

“No way… no way… right?”

“What did you see? Boy!”

“Those people… are they Imperial palace people?Their clothes were naturally torn as they couldn’t withstand the pressure of their swollen breasts or buttocks, or as abnormal organs such as horns, wings, and tails grew.

I could easily deduce that, but I couldn’t accept the result.

But the seed of doubt that had already been planted in my mind had dug deep and taken root.

“Sister…! My Sister is in danger!”

I tightened my sleeves even more, covered my nose, and worried about my Sister’s safety.

I felt it instinctively. If they were really human, what changed them was…?

This Purple mist must be the cause. Then my Sister won’t be free from this Demonic Beast. Moreover, Gunther and I are on the top floor, so we were able to avoid the influence of the mist, but…

“S…!”

If she was on a lower floor or in a situation where she couldn’t avoid the mist, and my Sister had turned into that…?

“…ter!”

If she had turned into a shameful figure that was worse than death…?

“Si, ster……!!”

I didn’t think I could handle that ending at all.

“Boy!!!!!!!!!!”

“U, ah…!?”

“Get a grip! I can tell what you’re worried about even if I can’t see!”

Gunther grabbed my shoulders and shouted so loudly that my ears were ringing.

“Your Sister must be the cause of that worry.”

“That’s…”

“Think back to what you said in prison! You boasted so much about her being a heroine who defeated strong men in the Martial Arts Tournament, treating sand like a part of her body, dancing gracefully, defeating Challengers, and finally winning the championship! Wasn’t she the strongest person for you!”

Sister… I still can’t forget the sight of her treating sand like a part of her body in the Martial Arts Tournament, dancing gracefully, defeating Challengers, and finally winning the championship.

That Sister, whom I respected and admired, was engraved in me like a symbol.

“Surely… she’s alive! Even I, who have never seen her before, can be sure of that! And we have to find her and escape, right!”

Hazy eyes that couldn’t contain the world looked at me straight on.

Yes, Gunther is right.

I think I was underestimating my Sister too much. Besides, it’s ridiculous for me, a blood relative, to doubt what a man I’ve never met is affirming.

“That’s right. I was wrong. My Sister is stronger than anyone…!”

I will definitely find her and see that face again with these two eyes.

“Now, get ready to run again! Raise your spirits and run until your legs break! That’s how you’ll find what you need to find!”

“Yeah!”

I ran forward with Gunther through the hallway covered in mist.

Sister, wait…! I’m coming!

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