Chapter 24 - The Attack (1)

Hoofbeats thundered along the river through a valley stained red by sunset.

“Relax your body! Absorb the jolts with your waist and hips!”

Two horses raced side by side. One galloped steadily, but the other swayed precariously.

“Riding is all about rhythm! Move your backside up and down in time with the horse!”

A fierce wind battered Yohan’s face. Even amid the frantic gallop, he listened carefully to Gaf’s voice beside him.

'Find the rhythm? Easy for you to say.'

He had never ridden before. He had mounted after a quick lesson from Gaf, but practice was nothing like theory. He could neither steer nor control the horse’s speed. Staying in the saddle at all was an achievement. He clung to the horse’s back like chewing gum, fighting not to fall.

“Sit up a little straighter! If you’re tense, the horse gets nervous too!”

It was a tall order, but he had to manage somehow. At this rate, he would fall, and his frail human body would not withstand the impact.

Yohan straightened a little. His view opened up, the horse’s mane streaming before his eyes. Gripping both mane and reins, he focused on the path ahead.

“That’s it! Now keep time!”

Yohan moved his hips up and down with the jolting gallop. It was not easy, but he could grasp the rhythm. Little by little, he grew accustomed to it.

Riding beside him, Gaf murmured, “Not bad.”

Beginners often fell off even at a walk or trot, yet Yohan was beginning to find his balance at speed. For a first attempt, he was doing very well.

Yohan beamed.

'I’ve got the hang of it.'

As his tension faded, exhilaration filled him. The wind battering his face began to feel pleasant.

Just as Yohan was about to spur the horse on, Gaf shouted, “Enough! That’ll do! Stop the horse!”

Accidents happened when one let one’s guard down. That exhilaration needed reining in.

Gaf pulled on the reins, calling, “Whoa, whoa.” Yohan followed his lead and slowed down. The thunder of hooves gradually subsided.

Silence settled over them. The halted horse snorted, its white breath dispersing into the sunset.

Panting, Yohan said, “Not bad for a first try, was it?”

“Still clumsy. Practice from time to time.”

Yohan chuckled. “You’re a tolerable teacher, I’ll give you that.”

“You know how to give compliments? That’s news to me.”

“You simply haven’t done anything well until now. I’m not stingy with praise.”

“I couldn’t care less what you think of me.”

“A foolish attitude. Feedback between partners is vital.”

Gaf frowned. “Partners?”

“Yes, partners.”

Displeasure flickered across Gaf’s face. Yohan shrugged.

“We’re working together toward the same goal. That doesn’t make us friends or comrades, so why not think of us as partners?”

Partners with a half-demon, of all things. The notion deeply unsettled Gaf, but he could not dispute it. From Taharan village until now, they had done almost everything together. The future would likely be no different.

Gaf sighed deeply.

“Partners or whatever you call it, now that we’ve agreed to do this together, I need to hear your plan. What exactly do you intend to do?”

Come to think of it, Yohan had explained nothing to Gaf. He had merely told him to show up at the castle gate.

“I was about to tell you. We have three objectives.”

Gaf needed to know his part, too. Sending him into a mission blind might ruin everything.

“First, we kill Kril.”

“He’s traveling with the pilgrimage party. Assassination is impossible.”

Yohan shook his head.

“Will Kril follow the pilgrimage party all the way to the capital? Absolutely not. They have different destinations. They’ll have to part ways eventually.”

“And once Kril leaves the pilgrimage party, we attack him?”

“More or less.”

“That will turn every noble in the kingdom against us.”

News of Kril’s death would spread far and wide. Anyone would see the baronial House of Miyatro as the force behind the assassination. Even without evidence, the circumstances would be far too damning.

A house that invited guests only to murder them. People would stop coming to the domain, and the baronial house would slowly wither away. That was hardly a welcome outcome for Yohan, who needed power and influence.

Yohan said, “That won’t happen. I have no intention of taking the blame.”

“You have a way?”

He always had a solution. This time was no different.

“Of course. Your role is crucial.”

“Tell me.”

“Kril has elite soldiers escorting him. There should be about ten, and not a single one can be left alive. First of all, we need to leave no witnesses.”

Yohan pointed at Sir Reil.

“With Reil helping, that should be well within your abilities.”

An aura-wielding knight and a legendary mercenary captain. Together, they could easily wipe out ten grown men.

Gaf looked at Reil. “I’m not sure he’ll be any use.”

At some point, Reil had completely lost his sense of self. Gaf had received no detailed explanation, but he suspected this was Yohan’s handiwork.

“His combat skills will certainly have declined somewhat. But his physical abilities are unchanged. He’ll be plenty of help, so don’t worry too much.”

“Is that all I have to do?”

“The most important task remains.”

“What is it?”

Yohan’s expression was firm as he spoke.

“Subdue Kril, but under no circumstances kill him. Avoid leaving even a scratch if you can.”

“He’s an excellent warrior. Fighting him while holding back is a tall order.”

It would have been easy for the Gaf of old, but he no longer had an aura core. Unable to wield aura, he would have to fight under yet another handicap.

“Is it impossible?”

“I said difficult, not impossible.”

“Of everything you’ve said so far, I like that best. Quite reassuring.”

“That’s the second time a compliment has made me uncomfortable.”

Yohan chuckled.

“Get used to it. Demons and witches will be the only ones left to praise you now.”

Gaf would no longer receive the blessings of gods or humans. He would live the rest of his life cursed by all. He had already made his peace with that.

He spoke evenly.

“Enough pointless chatter. Stick to the matter at hand. Is there anything else I need to do?”

“That’s all as far as Kril is concerned. We’ll discuss Shaperia again after we’ve dealt with him.”

Gaf nodded and mounted his horse. Reil climbed on behind him.

“Then let’s go. Get on your horse. From what I saw earlier, you could use more practice.”

Yohan looked up at the sky.

“The sun is setting.”

Darkness was swallowing the sunset. Even the last sliver of light caught on the distant ridge vanished. Night fell.

Yohan murmured, “I no longer have any reason to ride.”

At that very moment, his skin dispersed into black smoke. Where the human had vanished, a hideous monstrosity was revealing itself.

An eerie voice settled over the valley.

“Come to the far end of the valley. That’s where Kril and the pilgrimage party will split up.”

Enormous wings spread to either side. The startled horses snorted violently.

“I’ll be waiting there.”

The Demon took flight. The red glow spilling from his crimson eyes trailed after him in a streak of light.

Gaf stared up at the night sky in bewilderment. Beneath the full moon, a pitch-black figure swept across the darkness.

* * *

The campfire crackled pleasantly. Three grown men sat around it, talking.

“After what we’ve seen this time, even taking the domain will bring problems. The thought of the donations the Church will bleed us for makes me sick.”

Kril chuckled at his subordinate’s words.

“I’ll gladly pay whatever donations they ask. The Miyatro domain is worth that much.”

The subordinate asked cautiously, “Is there really treasure buried somewhere in the domain?”

According to legend, the baronial House of Miyatro was the kingdom’s treasure vault. Gold, jewels, ancient holy relics, and the world’s most precious treasures, including the now-lost Third Holy Grail, were said to lie there. The moment one claimed the domain, immense power and wealth would be within one’s grasp.

That story might have held true two hundred years ago. Now, the Miyatro domain was no more than a remote backwater. Its glorious heyday had faded, leaving not even a trace. In this age, no one believed the legends of the baronial house.

Kril said, “I don’t know either. Even my father, the head of the house, didn’t believe the legends.”

“Then why do you want the domain? I don’t understand.”

“Count Staviana was different. Once, he questioned me at length about the layout of the lord’s castle.”

His subordinate’s eyes widened.

“If he took an interest, doesn’t that mean there’s solid evidence?”

“Yes. The Count isn’t a man to act without certainty.”

“Then you made a deal with him?”

Kril nodded.

“He offered to support my claim to the succession if I allowed him to search the entire domain.”

Disappointment flickered across his subordinate’s face.

“Surely you haven’t agreed to hand over the treasure vault to him if it’s found?”

“I thought he would ask for that, too. But he didn’t. There was only one thing the Count wanted.”

“What was it?”

“The Third Holy Grail.”

His subordinate slapped his knee.

“You’ve struck a profitable bargain!”

The Holy Grails only served their true purpose when all seven were brought together. The Third Holy Grail alone could do nothing.

“It’s too early to celebrate. We’re still wanderers, and no treasure vault has been found.”

His subordinate gave a sinister smile.

“You saw the state they’re in, didn’t you? The castle is as good as ours.”

The baronial house’s walls had long gone without repairs, and nothing about its army was in proper order. If war broke out, their opponents would likely be peasants clutching sickles and standing about uneasily. It would be no contest.

Kril largely agreed with his subordinate, but one thing troubled him. The bastard. He could not understand the boy’s confidence.

'My nephew was certain he would win.'

Dismissing it as childish bravado did not sit right, either. The boy was far too mature for his age.

His reputation in the castle was strange, too. He had brought everyone to heel from the day he arrived, even reducing the hotheaded Baron to groveling. There was clearly something extraordinary about the child.

“What’s troubling you so much?”

His subordinate’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“There’s a lot on my mind.”

His subordinate chuckled.

“That’s because something momentous lies ahead. Even if something unexpected does happen, we have insurance, don’t we?”

Worry crossed Kril’s face.

“If you mean Reil, there wasn’t so much as a glimpse of him.”

“He’s probably off whoring somewhere again. Isn’t that just like him?”

“Whoring for a whole month.”

A month had already passed since Reil, whom he had planted as a spy, had vanished without a trace. There were also rumors that he had recently started acting like a man whose mind was gone.

When the worry failed to leave Kril’s face, his subordinate sighed.

“Needless anxiety will only ruin things. Get a good night’s sleep and clear your head. I’m going to take a piss.”

His subordinate rose and walked toward the bushes.

RUSTLE, RUSTLE.

The sound of trousers being unfastened reached them. Kril frowned.

“Go a little farther...”

SHICK.

Instead of a strong stream of water, a chilling slicing sound followed.

Kril looked toward the bushes. Something rolled out and bumped against his foot.

“What the—!”

It was his subordinate’s severed head.