A little star rescued from the darkness
I don’t know who I am.
But I know I have work to do.
The memory of its existence had long since disappeared, but the duty to uphold was deeply engraved in its soul.
I have existed only for that.
※※※※
The first encounter was a confrontation, but from the second, it became anger, and from then on.
[Are you saying that you went on a rampage as if you could achieve something with just such skill?]
It was just violence.
At the height of the ceaseless violence, the headless man had no choice but to step back in great panic.
I guess I forgot about it for a while.
The headless man who has lived off of someone else’s death knows that there may come a time when he, too, gets eaten by someone else.
bang-! Quang! bang!
Watching the flash of light flash through the unadorned sword, the Headless One brought out an emotion that he had not remembered for a long time.
“······Who are you?”
fear.
Even now, he was afraid that the priest’s clothes that were bursting open and the presence of the ghost horse in the distance would be his appearance in a moment.
[I have nothing to say to trash that sucks the blood of young things.]
A roaring storm was passing by the voice’s left eye.
It was a merciless thunderstorm.
[So die.]
For a moment, the world turned white.
At least that’s how the Headless Horseman felt.
Here he comes.
A white monster.
With fierce teeth raised.
They come to eat me.
A ferocious beast made of white lightning was charging straight towards the headless knight.
At a speed that even the raindrops couldn’t wet him.
‘It’s the left! or not?’
The headless knight hesitated and flinched dozens of times even in a split second.
The steps the voice took contained dozens of possibilities.
The problem was that each possibility had its own destruction engraved on it.
It was like fate approaching violently.
‘right!’
The headless knight did his best to respond to the movement of the voice, which could not go anywhere, but all that came back was a cold sound coming from behind.
[Did you just say something because it was this slow?]
“······!”
The ferocious beast suddenly approached and blew its chilling breath from behind the headless man.
How dare you and the like mock the possibilities I cherish.
Quaaaaang-!
“Aaaah!”
A voice that mercilessly strikes down a headless man with a sword filled with anger.
The headless knight was thrown to the ground by such a strong impact that he screamed without realizing it, but this was not the end.
bang-! bang-!
The headless man, who had been cut dozens of times while floating in the air, was struggling in fear worse than death.
“Wow!”
The headless man, who was free from death and refused even pain, was now unable to come to his senses due to the attack of a voice that seemed to be tearing at his soul, not his body.
How can something like this exist in the world?
The headless man could only wring his hands as he saw a voice that could not be compared to any enemy he had ever faced.
[Give it to me!]
A white beast lunged towards the headless man lying in the rain-filled mud.
[I mean hand it over right away!]
“Ugh!
The voice that had exactly what the boy had said a moment ago was beating down the headless man mercilessly.
Every time the sword or fist was swung, the dry fragments falling from the headless man were fluttering helplessly.
Puddeuddeuk-!
“Kwaaaak!”
The voice was twisting with a sword and crushing with fists, finding the children’s breath in the arms of the headless man.
A weak world is bound to be eaten.
Still, the children are innocent.
Children should not yet be forced into harsh rules.
[It was here.]
Thus, the voices were able to capture the breath of the children who were being sucked into the darkness.
The voice held the children’s still sparkling breath with a small sigh.
Although they were small, the presence of children felt heavy.
Two worlds must shed blood and tears to grow the little sparkle they are holding on to now.
Feeling the weight of his father and mother, the voice once again hit the headless knight in the chest.
“Kwaeook!”
Rainy night. The knight who did not know his own name pulled out a star from the darkness of the headless man.
[Let’s finish now.]
The voice carefully placed the star in the boy’s arms and held onto the unadorned sword once again.
Because there was still work left to do.
[I used to remember how to kill guys like you, but now I seem to have forgotten.]
“······.”
The headless man looked at the voice slowly approaching him and reprimanded his mistake.
I thought they were of the same kind, but they weren’t.
He was clearly someone who had escaped from death like himself, but his energy was extremely pure.
[I can’t remember, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way.]
The white lightning that started from the fingertips of the voice was shining brightly on the unadorned sword.
[If you rip off all of its limbs and tear it into pieces, it would be no different from being dead.]
Winners on top, losers on the bottom.
The winner decides everything.
And you are torn apart here today.
Hearing the merciless conclusion the voice had decided, the headless man stepped back and stretched out his hand.
It was almost like a shout.
“Ramashtu…Ramashtu!”
The headless man, who could not call God and had no choice but to call his master’s name, squirmed and called out someone’s name.
[······!]
Although I couldn’t remember the voice, I could feel it.
That the shabby thing in front of you is asking someone for help.
Wood clatter-!
[······this.]
But the boy’s body began to scream that it could no longer endure.
The boy’s body and world had clearly grown, but it was no longer possible.
Rather, I should say that I am honored that they have included me so far.
“It’s here!”
While the voice paused for a moment, the headless man stretched out his hands towards the sky as if hoping for salvation.
However, the salvation he hoped for actually began from the earth, not from heaven.
As if there was a hole, a pitch-black shadow was slowly opening its mouth and pulling the headless man and the ghost horse.
“Lord Ramashtu? Lord Lamashtu!”
The headless man let out a heartrending scream as he looked down at his increasingly dry hands, but his master had already retrieved the man’s immortality.
[Ramashtu.]
I was watching the end of a man whose voice was gradually collapsing as he let out an unfamiliar sound in his mouth.
Things that have served their purpose will eventually disappear.
I don’t know if it was meant as corporal punishment or to avoid leaving evidence, but the headless man was shrinking like that.
“no!”
Death was returning to the earth.
According to the call of the master.
The last thing he left behind in the world was a single, meaningless scream.
However, the voice that was the only one who heard the scream had no intention of remembering the man’s last days.
The voice began to make one last move, saved from the boy’s limitations.
[Go back.]
Kaaaaang-!
In the final cries of death, the voice struck down the unclean symbol with the last movement it had saved.
The children’s sparkling breath rose from the tip of the unadorned sword.
Dying death and blooming life.
The sight the voice saw in the village where the rain had stopped was life and death itself.
Standing on the border between the two, he just swallowed the whole sight in without saying a word.
The fog was settling.
※※※※
An inn in a village that still has no customers.
There was a man busily moving alone in that quiet place.
He was also the person who secretly returned to the now dead and quiet church and collected the articles that were lying around like corpses.
“Leader. “How are you feeling now?”
“······It just sucks.”
Vlad looked at Goth looking at him and let out a small sigh.
It was frustrating to see myself still having a hard time lifting even a spoon.
“I’m glad you stopped though. “When I first brought it in, I thought it was a piece of rag.”
“······.”
Vlad was silent as he vigorously stirred the soup he was holding.
There is work to be done after eating this, so it would be a good idea to save some energy.
“There are other drivers I need to take care of. “Please rest.”
“okay.”
With those words, Goth left to visit Vlad.
After seeing that Goth was moving away, Vlad began talking to the voice out loud.
Maybe it was because I was overexerting myself, but I couldn’t convey my true feelings.
The voice said that we would probably have to do this for a while.
“Still, I’m glad everyone is alive.”
[yes. That’s the most important thing.]
All the knights who fought against the Headless Man suffered major and minor injuries, but were still able to survive.
This is because the barrier put up by Justia held tenaciously and protected the knights, and Vlad’s astute actions brought the Headless One out of the church.
But in the end, it was probably because of their voices that they were able to survive.
The knights may have thought they were the only four people that night, but in fact, there was one more hidden person.
It was a secret that only the boy and the voice knew.
“thank you.”
[······okay.]
The boy was not yet used to revealing his true feelings honestly, but he still did his best to speak for now.
The voice that knew the situation said nothing more and just closed its eyes inside the boy.
In the room where only the boy was present, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of bowls and spoons clashing.
※※※※
After finishing his meal, Vlad got up to finish the work he had to do, even though he felt uncomfortable.
“thank you! thank you!”
“Knight. thank you so much!”
That night, the parents, who were crying while hugging their children who were struggling to breathe, did not spare a word of gratitude as they watched the boy walk with difficulty.
They are probably the ones they want to praise more than any other hero.
The boy looked at that and didn’t really reply.
I just rubbed my nose to feel the tickling feeling that was rising for no reason.
And there was work that needed to be completed.
“Don’t approach there anymore.”
“I am from Shoara. “A paladin named Justia will know me.”
“······wait.”
Vlad was standing in front of the half-crowned church, waiting for the Holy Knight to inspect him.
The paladins brought by Justia arrived a little late, but they still made sure to finish the job.
The sight of them confirming and investigating the curse spread from the church clearly reassured the villagers.
“Go in.”
After receiving permission from an unknown paladin, Vlad carefully walked into the church.
The church, which was still full of traces of that day and the sound of creaking floors, had a gloomy atmosphere even though it was daytime.
If there were no paladins busy moving here and there, Vlad would have moved with his sword drawn.
“Justia.”
“······What’s going on here, Vlad?”
Vlad, who was looking for the green-eyed woman while tilting his head, found Justia holding a Bible-like book under the unclean symbol.
“Can we go down to the basement? “There is someone I need to find.”
“The women who went missing in Shoara have already been confirmed by Sir Gregory.”
The investigation team that departed from Shoara originally came here to find missing women.
Even though things got worse along the way, Gregory did not forget his mission.
“There is someone I want to find personally.”
“······I’ll go with you.”
And so did the boy.
There was someone I had to find.
Justia, who had guessed the situation, closed the book she had been looking at for a while.
Two people open the fire-charred door and go down the stairs leading to the basement.
In the shallow basement, there was some light coming through a small hole in the wall.
“There may still be remnants of the curse.”
Vlad, who went down to the basement with Justia’s care, frowned at the bloody smell he felt from there.
“Can I have a look?”
“If you get my blessing when it’s done.”
Vlad, who realized that Justia’s words meant permission, began to look for someone while carefully removing the litter lying around.
“······.”
The faces of young women in pain were there.
I lifted it carefully, prayed for his peace, and covered it.
Vlad, who was searching through the rows of corpses one by one, let out a small sigh.
The familiar, albeit dirty, brown hair was there.
“I’ll go out for a while.”
Justia, who noticed that the person Vlad was looking for was here, moved out of the way.
A basement with no one in it.
In a place where only a small amount of light shined, Vlad looked down at Anna without saying a word.
“Life is so dirty. right?”
A woman who had been beaten by an unfamiliar man and offered the boy an egg to protect her was lying there.
With black tear stains that I couldn’t wipe away.
Looking at that scene, the boy felt sad rather than angry.
If the tip of her sword had been a little sharper, if she had been a little stronger, maybe she wouldn’t be lying on the cold floor right now.
The boy, who could not be satisfied despite his best efforts, swallowed his bitter saliva and opened his mouth.
“······In your next life, be born as something other than a prostitute.”
Vlad raised his hand and closed the woman’s front chest, which was wide open like that day.
I hope that my current touch will warm her up a little.
In the place where the boy left, only the carefully organized woman remained.
Unlike other women, the woman did not have black tear marks.
A flower ring was on her hand, with a small light shining through the gap.
Young people these days (1)
A woman who is not breathing.
A woman who does not touch the ground.
A being that is free from God and not subject to the laws of the world.
“······.”
The woman closed her eyes and remembered the boy’s blue eyes.
Someone’s soul residing in that boy’s left eye.
Although he had a shining soul, the engraved marks were cruel, so he was clearly someone who used one of the old techniques.
“Old old things are stretching out.”
The woman who closed her eyes thought.
The time has come.
anarchy. When cracks appear.
A time like this would be a good time for people living on the border like themselves to settle down.
The woman had been waiting for that time for a long time.
“······Let my knights take what they like from what is in front of them.”
The woman, whose eyes were still closed, opened her mouth, pointing with her finger to the center of the darkness.
Where the woman’s fingertips pointed, there was someone’s face still dripping blood.
A face in pain, a face in shock, or a face in fear.
The faces of Baron Utman’s knights were there.
“For the time being, I will take care of you on this land.”
“All right. “Lakshma.”
The headless knights who had been waiting for her in silence in the dark bowed their heads towards their master.
Baron Utman paid the price.
His only son returned from the dead and in return the city of Moshiam embraced darkness.
Darkness permeates everywhere.
And they are always looking for an opportunity.
Like the woman whose eyes are closed right now.
The night sky that approached the city of Moshiam tonight came with a slightly darker color.
※※※※
Vlad thought as he looked at the woman making eye contact with him.
If you look closely, your eyelashes are long.
Although the eyes were of the same light as Oksana, the feeling they were drawn was completely different, which made it fun to look at them in detail.
“So you got sucked into a black hole that suddenly appeared?”
“yes.”
Justia’s harsh tone and facial expressions were reminiscent of a scene from an interrogation, but her attitude toward the boy was actually very considerate.
It was the blond-haired boy who dealt with the headless man while they were lying in the half-collapsed church, relying on a faint barrier.
It would be natural to want to give something more to a boy who did his best.
“Please explain in more detail.”
Justia asks in a harsh tone, but actually stirs sweet tea with her hand and hands it to her.
Their first meeting was the worst, but now that they had gone through a deadly battlefield together, they could now be called comrades.
“So, I climbed the bell tower and broke the emblem. Then he got angry…”
Vlad, encouraged by Justia’s consideration, once again began to describe the events of that night in detail.
The boy, the last witness and survivor of the headless man, was the person who held an important clue to explain this situation.
In other words, it also meant that there was no solid evidence to replace the boy’s testimony.
“The battle was so urgent. “It was difficult for me just to block the sword he was swinging.”
The scene recreated through close investigation was truly gruesome.
This is because there were traces of another person who had suffered pitifully in the face of one person’s violence.
The Holy Knights, who discovered someone’s miserable struggle among the chaotic mix of footprints, applauded in respect for the boy on the spot.
Because no one would have thought that a boy who was just a squire would have overwhelmed the headless man.
“Then suddenly a black hole of unknown origin appeared in the ground. “The headless man was as if in the mouth of some gigantic beast.”
Justia was concentrating and writing down Vlad’s testimony, which explained the events of that day by cleverly mixing truth and lies.
The eloquence of a boy who lived next to prostitutes who made a living off of their speaking skills was quite convincing.
“And then it disappeared. “I am not that old, but it was a strange sight I have never seen in my life.”
“Hmm.”
Justia became lost in worry as she listened to Vlad’s testimony, which sounded like gibberish but contained everything.
“ah! And I think he called me some name.”
“What name? What name?”
Justia, who was thirsty for even the slightest clue, opened her eyes wide and looked at the boy who was tearing his hair out trying to remember.
“Oh, I can’t remember. “I feel dizzy.”
“Wait. “Wouldn’t it make you think if you eat something?”
Justia quickly picked up a nearby fruit and began peeling it at a rapid pace.
In some ways, there wasn’t a single gap that could be explored, but Vlad made a subtle expression as he looked at her, who seemed so innocent in her current appearance.
“Lama…what did you say? Lamache?”
“Ramasht?”
“Oh yeah. “I think it was called Ramasht.”
After hearing Vlad’s words, Justia suddenly stopped moving with a stiff expression on her face.
She may have been gaining strength without realizing it, but the fruit she was holding was leaving darker handprints.
“······okay. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Justia put down the fruit she was peeling and stood up.
“San Logino will not forget your efforts that day.”
“······yes.”
“Rest.”
Vlad just sat there with a blank expression as he watched Justia quickly leave the table after saying what she wanted to say.
Also, Vlad was so determined in this respect that he could never get a hold of the person named Justia.
Well, I was glad.
It passed safely.
[Thank goodness. Because I don’t doubt you.]
“I heard the size of the foot pictured was the same. “Even if you’re like me, you’re confused.”
Here was a boy who used common sense and prejudice as a shield to give false testimony to a faithful paladin.
Even though she lied, the information contained within was true, so Justia’s efforts would not be in vain.
“If you’re going to shave, shave everything and then go.”
Vlad gently picked up the fruit that Justia had left behind and took a bite.
“······make.”
The half-cut fruit tasted like her.
※※※※
The next morning.
After faithfully completing all investigations, Justia and the Holy Knights bowed their heads as they saw off the group leaving the village.
They were people with noble pride because they were close to God, but what Shoara’s investigation team did in this village was definitely worthy of recognition.
Even now, you can see the Holy Knights shaking the boy’s hand and congratulating him on his hard work.
“We at San Logino will not forget your courageous decision.”
“······Then, please speak kindly. “Because the mayor I’m currently serving is a very strict person.”
Justia had no choice but to respond in silence to Gregory’s joke-like seriousness.
As a Holy Knight who must always tell the truth before God, the name Gregory of Bayezid cannot be left out in this matter.
“Although I cannot tell a lie, I will do my best to consider Gregory’s position.”
“I just wish you wouldn’t do it.”
“······sorry.”
The party, who had recovered their energy with the holy power of the Holy Knights, was making final inspections and waiting for Gregory’s departure signal.
Justia’s green eyes, looking at them, stopped at a certain place.
There was a small flag that the boy was carefully folding.
“······Vlad had a flag.”
“This is a possibility that Bayezid is paying attention to, as it has been a long time coming. “I’m being careful about how I handle her.”
The surrounding paladins who heard Gregory’s words nodded, saying it was worth it.
Since he was a boy with such courage, his potential would have been extraordinary.
“Then we’ll just head back.”
“I pray that the grace of St. Rosino will be with you.”
After greeting the paladins, Gregory gave a signal and Goth grabbed the reins of the horse.
Heeeeeee-
The group drives a shabby cart instead of the wagon they burned.
Although they lost their wagons, they gained the favor of the northern diocese of San Logino.
I don’t know when I’ll use it, but I’m sure I can expect some help in the future.
“Are you okay?”
“It’s worth sitting down.”
“If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll say it, and if I get hurt for no reason, it’s embarrassing.”
Vlad, who was still suffering from the aftermath of having his voice captured, placed his buttocks on the end of the cart he had borrowed from the village.
The reality of constantly having to ride a cart was very unsettling, but since I couldn’t ride a horse, it was inevitable.
“It’s nice to see the fog clearing.”
“They said it was originally a place with good sunlight. After all, it was all his doing.”
Gregory’s words put the boy at ease a little.
It would be better for Anna to be buried in a sunny, open village rather than somewhere in the dark back alleys of Shoara.
A village full of fog.
People at the village entrance were waving to the group leaving for Shoara.
Among them, Vlad found the child who gave him the flower ring and gave a small response to the small hand that was waving towards him.
The boy raised his head from the shaking cart and looked at the sky.
The sky was full of bright blue with white clouds floating around.
“Good.”
I hope Anna is warm here.
The boy truly thought so.
With the blessings of the Holy Knights and the seeing off from the villagers, the returning party was able to return to Shoara with a lighter heart than when they came here.
※※※※
Shoara’s mayor’s office bathed in sunlight.
The owner, Josef, was personally pouring tea for an old man sitting at the reception table.
Although he was dressed in shabby clothes, he had a unique look in his eyes.
“When did you come here?”
“It’s been a while since we arrived. “Has it been a day or two?”
“If you had given me a message, I would have received it right away.”
The old man looked at Josef with a satisfied look as he poured tea in an orderly manner.
The child who was so weak and looked as if he might faint at any moment has grown up so much.
The old man felt proud because he felt like he had contributed even a little to this situation.
“If I am just the lowest person right now, how can I tell you to come or go?”
When he saw Josef, he was referring to him as ‘young master’ rather than ‘mayor’, but not only those who were listening but even Zayar who was next to him were ignoring it without saying anything.
The old man who was drinking tea now was someone who had the right to call Josef master anytime, anywhere.
“okay. “Where is he?”
I knew well from a young age that the old man had an impatient personality.
Seeing the old man get to the point before even putting down the cup of tea he was drinking, Josef answered with a generous smile.
“I sent you on a brief mission. “I sent it to Baron Utman, so a message will come soon.”
“oh. “Already on a mission to the seed subject.”
After hearing Josef’s words, the old man nodded with his eyes shining.
I think this guy might be useful.
“Actually, before coming to Shoara, I stopped by Sturmah to see the head of the family. “I only had one ducat left, so I wanted to finish it off.”
Josef and Zayar flinched when they heard the word ducat.
Was it really with that intention that you came here?
“All of the servants there have blurry eyes. “How can it be that the people who will bear Bayezid’s name in the future all look like that?”
The old man clicked his tongue, saying that there are no useful young people these days, then turned his head and spoke, this time looking at Jayar.
“Are the seeds you grow like that too?”
“······It’s better than those guys.”
“Seeing how Grumpy talks like that, I guess it’s worth using.”
Zayar pursed his lips tightly as he looked at the old man calling him grumpy.
But what should I do?
When I was young, I showed everything I could and should not show to that old man, so I had nothing to say.
“I hope this guy named Vlad likes me. “If you act proudly by relying on your parents’ backs, like a guy who thinks you’re a Sobanin or something, you’ll get hit hard, no matter how young you are.”
“My seed has no parents.”
Josef smiled as he held out the refreshment in front of the old man.
“He grew up in a back alley without his parents and climbed up here on his own.”
“oh······.”
Josef, who understood the intention of the old man who came here, tried to keep him on his feet by stimulating his interest as much as possible.
Josef’s story, which tells the typical starting point of a self-made man, can certainly stimulate the nostalgia of old people remembering the difficult times of old.
“You don’t have to give me the ducats, so just teach that friend a lesson.”
“Hmm. “Well, if you say so much.”
An old man stroking his beard while chewing the cookie that Josef gave him.
Josef turned his gaze towards the flag planted behind the old man.
“Of all the young guys I’ve seen these days, there wasn’t a single one I liked.”
Although it was small and old, it looked like it had been handled with care, and it was clearly similar to the flag that Josef had given to Vlad.
“You have a request from the master, so I will take a good look at it.”
An old man pontificating and stroking his erect goatee.
The old flag the old man brought had more than ten patterns engraved on it.
The flag, as old as it was old, was the flag of someone who had proven his own honor.
