Chapter 44 - An Uncomfortable Reunion (3)

The space around Yohan roiled with thunderous blasts. Like a sea disgorging a sunken ship being raised from its depths, the night sky convulsed again and again. It looked as though it were vomiting up something too much for it to bear.

Yohan stared overhead, frozen stiff. Black mist was rising through the warped space.

'It can't be!'

Pitch-black demonic energy. It was so ominous, yet so familiar, that Yohan could hardly fail to recognize it.

It was White Horn's demonic energy.

"Damn it!"

Was this Gawain's doing? Whatever it was, he had to stop it. He could not let that pull drag White Horn out.

Yohan looked at Gawain. Just as he was about to dash toward him, his expression twisted in bewilderment.

"Wh-what?!"

Gawain was convulsing, blood spurting from every opening in his body. Horrific screams echoed through the hills. His body slowly crumpled, as though he could no longer endure the pain.

Only then did the blasts subside. The warped space returned to normal, and nature regained its stillness. The seeping mist vanished as well.

Even amid the urgency, Yohan thought as hard as he could.

What was his best option now? Should he leave Gawain and flee? Would it be better to help him somewhere safe? No, perhaps he needed to finish him off immediately.

Gawain might have discovered his identity.

Dozens of questions assailed Yohan in an instant. As he struggled to find the best course, shouts came from behind him.

"Your Highness!"

"Check his condition! Hurry!"

"We need a priest! Send for help!"

Several armed figures swept past Yohan and rushed to Gawain. They were all members of his Royal Guard.

The moment he saw them, Yohan felt utterly thwarted. How much had they noticed? He had no way of knowing right now.

For the moment, he decided to watch how things unfolded. As he stood quietly observing them, one of the knights examining Gawain cast a glance his way.

It was a woman with long black hair. The crest of Artelga's royal family was engraved over the heart of her plate armor. A lion with black claws glared at Yohan alongside her.

Her gaze was icy cold.

She began approaching him slowly. Yohan stared back, his face expressionless. He was tense, but did not let it show.

Soon the distance between them had closed, and the knight stopped. She opened her mouth.

* * *

Gawain was puzzled. Whenever he drew near Yohan, Espada's cries abruptly ceased, yet the farther he moved away, the louder it wailed. It sounded as though it were begging him not to leave.

He could not understand why. This could not happen unless Yohan had Espada. That was why he had examined the boy several times.

Naturally, there was no sign of Espada on him. Hiding such an enormous weapon inside his body made no sense to begin with. Besides, Yohan was not the sort of person who would hide the holy spear.

Their conversation had been brief, but he had left a good impression. Thoughtful and intelligent despite his youth: that was Gawain's assessment of Yohan. He felt that knowing the boy would prove a great help someday.

Had there been enough time, he would have liked to talk more. Unfortunately, there was something he had to do.

He had to find Espada.

Just as he was about to walk away, Espada began wailing again, far louder than before. He simply could not ignore it and leave.

On the off chance it might work, Gawain recited a holy chant.

— O vanguard that pierces malice and carves justice into it, return once more to the front lines.

At that instant, his surroundings shattered. The world he saw splintered like a broken drinking glass, and the space around him twisted wildly.

He had never experienced anything like it. All he had tried to do was summon the holy spear, yet he had encountered some unknown phenomenon.

His brain seared with pain. A terrible burning sensation struck his entire body. It felt like a wordless warning not to venture any farther into the unknown.

Gawain could not ignore that warning. He broke off the holy chant at once and bore the remaining punishment. Fountains of blood erupted from his body.

Unable to cling to consciousness, he collapsed.

* * *

The armored woman stopped before Yohan. Perhaps it was her sharp eyes and pointed jawline that gave her such a cold appearance.

She glared at him. More precisely, it felt like a glare. When Yohan cleared his throat in apparent discomfort, the knight spoke.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

It was not the opening he had expected. Apparently, the Royal Guard had noticed nothing and merely thought Gawain had gone berserk as he had yesterday.

A small mercy amid the misfortune.

"I'm fine. More importantly, how is His Highness?"

"His Highness's life is not in danger either."

Whether that was good news or bad was less clear. Bad if Gawain had discovered White Horn, good if he had not.

Why had Gawain ended up like that in the first place? Yohan could not be certain, but he could hazard a guess.

'Most likely, something went wrong while he was trying to retrieve the holy spear.'

The prayer he had recited had definitely ended with the words "return," and the anomaly had occurred the moment he finished it.

Even if that hypothesis was correct, two crucial questions remained.

First, why had Gawain directed the prayer to retrieve the holy spear at Yohan? He could come up with a rough answer to that.

'... He instinctively caught the holy spear's scent on me.'

It seemed he would have to avoid Gawain until he had dealt with the holy spear.

Second, what had actually caused Gawain to collapse? Someone that tough would not be left half-dead merely from the backlash of failing to retrieve the spear. There had to be another cause.

For now, the answer eluded him.

Fortunately, at least he now knew exactly what he had to do.

'Get out of here as quickly as possible.'

Once he was out of Gawain's sight, he had to deal with the holy spear embedded in White Horn. Nothing like this could be allowed to happen when they met again. If he could somehow remove the spear, he would be able to feign ignorance about today's events.

His course decided, Yohan spoke.

"I'm glad his life isn't in danger, but we mustn't grow complacent. Please take His Highness to safety at once. He looks to need urgent treatment."

"We've already sent for help. A priest will arrive shortly, so please don't worry."

"I see. Then I'll be on my way. Please take good care of His Highness."

As Yohan hurried to leave, the knight called him back.

"One moment."

"What is it?"

"I have a few questions. Please cooperate. I am Yuri Zrael, a knight of the Royal Guard."

Yuri Zrael. She had appeared several times in the original novel.

'Damn it. Of course they wouldn't just let this go.'

The prince had collapsed, and Yohan alone had been left standing there. The Royal Guard had no choice but to question him.

Hiding his urgency, Yohan spoke as calmly as he could.

"I'm Yohan Miyatro. I'll cooperate."

"Thank you. First, what is your relationship with His Highness?"

A perfunctory question. Yuri could hardly be unaware that Yohan and Gawain had never met before.

"Today was our first meeting."

"I see. What were you discussing?"

"I'm sorry. It was a sensitive matter, so I cannot disclose it without His Highness's permission."

The mere fact that they had discussed Count Staviana could give rise to all manner of gossip.

"It is necessary for the investigation."

"I don't wish to put His Highness in political jeopardy."

Yuri glanced behind her, seemingly checking on her colleagues. Then she looked back at Yohan and lowered her voice.

"... Was it, perhaps, about the eagle?"

The eagle was the symbol of House Staviana.

"He told me to beware. Of the eagle."

"That answers my question. Just one more. How did His Highness end up like that?"

"He suddenly seemed to be seeing things. Going berserk, like yesterday... No, that would be disloyal of me to say."

Yuri did not react. She remained deep in thought for a long time before she finally spoke.

"Sir Yohan, may I ask a favor of you?"

Yohan had a fair idea of what she was going to say, but he feigned ignorance.

"Let me hear it before I decide."

Yuri nodded.

"Please keep what happened today a secret."

"What happened today...?"

"His Highness's rampage."

Just as he had expected. If word spread that Gawain had gone berserk two days in a row, he would no longer have a place in the kingdom. He might even be sent to the Empire under guard.

As Gawain's loyal retainer, Yuri had to prevent that at all costs.

"If that's your request, you needn't worry. I never intended to tell anyone."

She bowed her head slightly.

"You have my sincere thanks for your kindness. That concludes my questions."

Since Yuri believed this entire situation had stemmed from Gawain going berserk, she seemed more eager to wrap things up quickly than to conduct a detailed investigation.

Whatever her reasons, Yohan welcomed it.

He said, "Then I'll be on my way."

"Have a safe journey back. White Horn has yet to be captured."

"I'll keep that in mind."

After a brief farewell, Yohan headed to the slash-and-burn farmers' village.

* * *

Demons captured within the holy sealing array were not summarily executed. Instead, they were escorted to a single location to be investigated for connections to White Horn.

Numerous processions escorting Demons made their way toward the center of the array. In one of them, an imp resembling a red ball of fur muttered to himself.

"Treating me the same as nameless petty spirits. Don't they know who I am?"

The Demons locked in the same cage snickered.

"Ha! A name? You have a name?"

"Let me guess. Rat Dick. Yes, his name must be Rat Dick."

"A fitting name for something the size of a rat's dick."

The imp trembled at their jeers.

"You wouldn't dare squeak if you knew who I was."

Abuse rained down on him.

"You're Rat Dick, I told you! Grow up before you start mouthing off!"

"He'll still be a furball when he's fully grown. What use is that?"

"He might be able to charm a little girl. He'd be perfect for knitting."

Unable to bear it any longer, the imp shouted.

"I was chosen by the great End! Once I pass his trial, I will lead the vanguard of his evil deeds!"

A sudden silence fell. Every eye in the cage turned toward the imp. Had he said too much? Just as regret began to creep in, laughter erupted all around him.

"An Apostle?! Did they say they were going to knit with you?!"

"What Apostles are there in this age, anyway?"

"There's one! That pathetic bastard who lost to a human!"

"Oh! The brat who got speared and fell into the gorge?"

As the insults against the Apostle continued, the imp sprang to his feet.

"How dare you, before the End's right hand!"

His red fur began to flicker like a candle flame, leaking demonic energy.

The dark-green lump of flesh confronting him curled its lips. The countless eyes packed across its body curved into crescents.

It was a revolting, sinister smile.

"The End's right hand? Then I'll break it."

It shot a dark-green tentacle at the imp. Just before it touched his red fur, the world froze.

An intense chill enveloped everything. Every object around them stood still, as though even time and space had been frozen. The long procession was rooted in place.

Naturally, the tentacle could extend no farther either.

Only one thing moved. Someone was approaching from the side of the procession.

A silver-haired girl in pure-white furs. She alone moved freely through the blue-frozen world. Her sweet, lilting voice addressed the Demons.

"What an interesting conversation. Let me join you. What was that about the Apostle?"

The girl approached slowly and stopped before the cage. The fleshy Demon opened and closed its mouth, but no words escaped. It was so cold that even its voice seemed to freeze.

"Oh dear, you seem to be having trouble answering. No helping that. Just nod your tentacle for me. You said the Apostle was a brat, a pathetic bastard. Those were your words, weren't they?"

The dark-green tentacle pointing at the imp bobbed briefly up and down. A yes.

The girl's eyes curved in a smile.

"I like your honesty. I'll give you an easy death."

Terror filled every one of the fleshy Demon's eyes. At the same moment, the girl lightly flicked her index finger.

The frozen cage exploded. The Demons inside shattered, spraying icy fragments in every direction.

Only the terrified imp survived. His red fur was frozen stiff.

The girl stepped into the cage and looked at him.

"You said the Apostle gave you a trial?"

The red fur trembled.

"Do you know where he is now?"

The imp bobbed his fur up and down.

"If you're lying, your death won't be pleasant."

The desperate bobbing continued.

"I'll take your word for it. Lead the way."

Ilea's lips curved into a gentle smile.