To Azwin, a human, Tachisel seemed like an ancient city that had disappeared. She looked at the grand city of the Lemifs as if she had become an explorer.
Throughout the city, gigantic trees that seemed to support the sky blocked the surroundings, but compared to other forests, there were relatively few trees. It was almost odd to see the clear blue sky through the gaps.
Between the thick trees, the stone buildings of the Lemifs were visible. She had thought they only built with wood because they liked trees, but it seemed that was not the case.
‘I was captured by them, so this must be Tachisel, right?’
Azwin’s head was still fuzzy, and she was having trouble grasping the situation and didn’t seem to care much. She just wanted to know how long she had been unconscious.
Azwin lay in the middle of the village square, her arms tied behind her back. She slowly tried to get up but felt a heavy sensation grabbing her leg. A metal chain was tied around one of her legs, the end of which was hooked to a deeply embedded log in the ground. She moved her tied hands slightly, but it was hard to tell if they were moving.
“Awake, Azwin?”
Azwin turned around at the sound of human language spoken with an awkward accent. A few steps away, Rontlos was tied up in the same way.
“Still alive, I see. Sermei will be pleased.”
Azwin said, smiling.
“What about Bapukuz?”
Rontlos asked with difficulty.
“Gerald took the Hapu across. Haven’t seen him since, but he surely succeeded.”
“Redward hasn’t returned either, and neither has the army that joined him there. I’m worried. I was worried. I only knew from what the soldiers here talked about. I couldn’t have known. I was curious… Oh, I heard one of the Iguceluns was killed, is that true?”
“It was Holten, I believe.”
“I don’t know about that, but it’s caused quite a stir.”
“If I had been in good condition, I might have killed Redward too… No, that’s an excuse. Even with my remaining strength, I might not have won. Clearly, you Lemifs are fearsome adversaries.”
Thirst parched her throat. If there was water pooled on the ground, she would have licked it up.
“And one of the Kagua died too. I heard it was killed.”
Rontlos said, as if he hoped Azwin would tell him it was an exaggerated rumor. Azwin didn’t have the energy to explain.
“So how many days has it been since I killed the Kagua?”
“Uh, um, maybe two days? I think not. You were tied to this log yesterday. The soldiers of Tachisel were saying ‘the day before was like a nightmare.’ So, it’s been two days. But I also fell asleep several times and lost consciousness, so it’s not certain. I can’t calculate the time.”
There was no strength or hope in Rontlos’s voice. Azwin stupidly stared ahead and leaned her back against the log to which her chain was tied. Some parts of her body were numb, and some hurt as if they were breaking.
“Still, we did it. Gerald must have safely taken Sermei, and Sermei will call the dragon. Even though we’ll be executed here, the dragon she calls will dramatically resolve everything, right?”
Azwin said, as if seeking consolation.
Rontlos was silent for a while. Azwin thought he had passed out due to the length of time he was silent and didn’t wait for an answer. But Rontlos was awake and after a while, he spoke in a grim voice.
“Time… it’s too late. It’s too late.”
“Too late?”
“We did our best. We weren’t wrong. But according to what I’ve heard so far, Larunton, our Larunton, has been destroyed by Putier’s army. It’s already over.”
Azwin asked in surprise.
“Destroyed? Putier has destroyed Larunton?”
Azwin momentarily thought it was a foreign name, but then the names of the Lemifs’ countries began to settle back into her memory.
‘Putier and Tachisel allied. But Larunton resisted alone, not betraying the dragon.’
“Ka-Tanthol did not lend its power. It was too late for Sa-Knadil to respond. Our resistance ultimately did not see the light. Larunton has been destroyed.”
“That’s what happened.”
“Larunton could not have withstood the combined forces of the Lemifs’ armies from the two countries, along with Guanil and the Kagua. Last night, I saw another Kagua. In that building in Tachisel.”
Rontlos pointed to a blunt, triangular-shaped building with his chin.
“The moment I saw that black monster walking behind the temple, I lost hope.”
“That big?”
“When it stands upright, its head surpasses the building. It seems to be lying down now.”
Azwin imagined the monster behind the building.
‘The Kagua I killed was just a cub wasn’t merely a threat. If it’s that big, even Gerald’s axe being embedded would be like merely sticking a pin in it.’
Azwin couldn’t even bring herself to utter clichéd words of hope to Rontlos. She had already lost hope herself.
‘Redward, Kagua, and a Lemif sorcerer crossed over Hapu. Can Gerald fend them off? Did Sermei safely reach the dragon?’
Azwin did not hope for Gerald to accomplish all that. She just hoped he was alive.
‘I shouldn’t have told them to come rescue me.’
Azwin regretted the moment they parted.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Rontlos spoke as if he had just remembered.
“I’m not sure if we need to know this… beyond the temple.”
“Where you said a Kagua is?”
“They are together. Might be. Along with Kagua, there’s a force from Mozes in the north of Tachisel. It seems about one-tenth of their original number remains here. The rest are in Putier. Are they? That horde of monsters will soon invade the world of the Ugehs.”
Azwin recalled the news that Lutia was being attacked and asked.
“Did you get that right? Are they planning to do it, have they already finished it, or are they in the middle of doing it?”
“I really don’t know. I don’t know. What I’ve heard is that the allied forces of Putier and Tachisel will dominate the western Lemifs, and those monsters’ armies will dominate the land of the Ugehs… that’s about it.”
Now Rontlos’s words even lacked a sense of reality.
‘An army from the Sky Mountains invading human lands? What a lie. Where in the world does that happen?’
Even as Azwin thought this, she mentally sketched a military strategy.
‘If they’re invading from this direction, on the Acrand continent, let’s see. Where is it? Carnelock? They wouldn’t have set up a military presence near the Sky Mountains, a single strike would crumble it.’
Suddenly, she remembered her parents still living in Carnelock. Since becoming a Wolf Knight, she had only exchanged a few letters and hadn’t visited them. She had asked them several times to live in Aranthia, but they had refused.
‘Damn it. When have I ever not cried? Is it really okay to cry now since I want to cry at this moment? It would be annoying to see the great White Wolf crying, so I guess I just won’t cry.’
Azwin muttered to herself and then sighed.
“Hmm? But why are you and I still alive?”
Azwin, suspicious of the guards walking back and forth, asked Rontlos.
“Why didn’t they kill us and just capture us? And if they captured us, why aren’t we locked up somewhere? Why are we tied up outside? What’s the meaning of this? Lemif customs? Are we bait like Sermei, waiting for someone to come and rescue us?”
“That must be it. What else could it be?”
Rontlos replied uncertainly.
“Weird people indeed. Sermei would neither discard the dragon and come here. Larunton is already finished, right? So it’s not about luring her here to capture her either.”
“Then it seems we’re not bait after all.”
Rontlos thought hard. There was plenty of time, and Azwin waited patiently while he thought for a long time. Finally, Rontlos shared his deduction.
“They’re not killing us, they can’t kill us. Because you killed a Kagua.”
“Why is that?”
“That is an astonishing thing. It’s not because you are great and strong. Rather, it’s because you killed a being they thought they could never kill. That’s why they are very afraid of you. They fear you. It’s not simply because you killed a Kagua, or one of the Excelons, it’s not just about your strength.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Try to explain it more clearly.”
“Ever since a while ago, the soldiers of Tachisel, the Lemifs here, have been whispering about you as ‘the evil spirit of Kadrok.'”
“What’s that?”
“I mentioned it briefly before. Kadrok. It was originally the guardian dragon of Tachisel. However, the Lemifs of Tachisel couldn’t withstand the threats from Excelon and Kagua and ended up killing their own god. They committed such an act to save themselves. Can you imagine the guilt they must be feeling?”
“That makes sense. It wasn’t just any animal they killed but their god, and even if it was for the survival of their race, human hearts don’t work that way.”
“From what I see, they regard you, Azwin, as a being resurrected from Kadrok, or something similar.”
“Hmm, well, it worked out since I’m not dead. That’s enough for me. But now it’s become troublesome. What if my husband jumps in trying to rescue me?”
“Husband? Isn’t that a term for a spouse? Are you referring to Gerald? When did you two tie the knot?”
Azwin laughed heartily.
“A marital bond… It’s funny how you put it like that when it was just a joke.”
“Gerald talked about you a lot when he was with me. Had talked.”
“I talked a lot about you with Sermei too.”
She missed Sermei. She wanted to see Rontlos, who was shy even to express his feelings for her.
‘I should have talked more, whether it made sense or not.’
Azwin was more worried about Sermei, who seemed less troublesome than Gerald, who could be left in hell without much worry.
“Hey, look at that, it wasn’t just men gossiping about women to strengthen friendships. Women do the same with men talk. I should have gotten closer to the Wolf maidens earlier by talking about men. What a pity.”
Azwin reveled in her new realization, turning to look at Rontlos, who had leaned his head against the pillar and closed his eyes.
“Hey, Rontly, are you listening?”
“Rontly? Is that me? Are you referring to me?”
“Your name is too long. I was going to call you Ronny. Hmm, I feel a bit sorry for teasing someone much older than me. Anyway, Rontly, if everything ends safely this time, what will you do? Don’t you think about tying the ‘marital bond’ with Sermei?”
Azwin emphasized the term jokingly, but Rontlos answered seriously.
“You know we can’t do that. But no one thinks it’s unfortunate, sometimes that can be a greater happiness. I’m rather curious, how did you develop such feelings for Gerald in such a short time that you speak so confidently as if he were your lover?”
“Wow, when you ask like that, I can’t confidently answer. Just… yeah, it’s probably too much to expect Lemifs to understand a fickle heart like mine. You all keep such feelings quietly even after looking at each other for decades, but humans can blaze up and burn out in an instant. I’m even worse.”
As she spoke, Gerald’s actions and words came to mind.
‘I didn’t say it, but it seems like Gerald has had me in his heart for quite a long time. Why didn’t he say anything? He probably chose the position of a friend who could stay by my side longer over that of a lover who would have to leave soon.’
Azwin sighed.
“I’ve realized Gerald’s feelings. Now that I know such a wonderful guy likes me, I can’t just let it go. Even though I know I might hurt Gerald. To pretend I don’t know…”
Her voice trailed off.
“…to pretend I don’t know is already too late. It’s been too late for a long time. Because I liked Gerald too. Yes, I liked him. I’ve liked him for a long time. Damn it, I’ve liked him from the start!”
Azwin, suddenly excited, then hung her head.
“It’s disgraceful, you know, Rontly? In human fairy tales, there’s a lot about princesses who do nothing but wait for a handsome prince to come and save them. I used to tear up fairy tale books just from the portrayal of those pretentious ones. But now I’ve become just like them. And yet, I feel good. It feels like Gerry might actually come and save me.”
Azwin laughed and raised her head again.
“I feel terribly sorry for Gerald. At the very moment he might have been fond of me, I could have been playing around with another man. If I make it back alive, I’ll treat him really well. I’ll treat him incredibly well.”
Azwin held back her tears and continued.
“I want to get married. I really do. The queen won’t oppose it. I could just quit being a guardian knight. If Gerald rejects my proposal, I’ll show him the fangs of the White Wolf! But if he doesn’t reject it… Hey, Rontly. Are you listening?”
Rontlos was again leaning his head against the pillar, his eyes closed. Even after rattling the chains around his legs several times and calling out, there was no response.
“Did he faint? Damn, have I been talking to myself? What does it matter? Right. If he doesn’t reject it, I have to treat him well. Really well. I have to repay him many times over for all the times I’ve felt sorry. So come and save me, Gerry. Your lady waits here for rescue.”
Her voice echoed emptily and faded away.
“Come and save me, Gerry.”
In the end, Azwin let the tears fall.
Azwin listlessly stared at the empty ground. Occasionally a Lemif soldier would bring her water, and she would take a few sips, nibble a bit of bread they offered, and kept waiting. As the ground darkened, the boots of someone in black armor entered Azwin’s view.
A piercing gaze from beyond a helmet shrouded in a black robe stared down at her.
“Still alive, White Wolf.”
His voice was weary but familiar.
“Redward?”
Azwin said.
“Yes.”
Redward looked down at her and suddenly swung his sword down. Azwin instinctively jerked her head back. Her top was sliced open, exposing her chest. As Azwin’s jaw was about to shout out, the blade touched it.
“What was it that you did back then? Either facing me in a duel or killing a Kagua…”
“Why don’t you unleash me then? This time, I’ll defeat you in three moves.”
“I’ve always liked feisty women. I’m tired of dealing with scared Lemif women presented by Tachisel, but it’s not too bad to have fun with you lying here.”
“Ha, I also really like someone who speaks their mind like you do? It’s unexpected to meet someone with similar tastes in such a place? So, unleash me for a moment.”
Azwin said sarcastically, and Redward laughed loudly.
“Don’t mess around, kid. Killing you is no trouble at all. If those stupid Lemif fools hadn’t been calling you the ‘evil spirit of Kadrok,’ I would have stripped you naked and hung you as an example long ago. It would have been quite a sight to see you writhing in pee.”
Redward removed his helmet and growled at Azwin.
“Ah, come on, just untie these ropes. I’ll even take off my clothes if you want. That’s not easy for a woman to say. I’m totally smitten with you, so let me go.”
Azwin smiled broadly in response.
“Don’t worry. Even if you suddenly unleash me, my arms won’t move well. It won’t be dangerous. And lend me your sword for a moment, will you? Nice, right? After that, it doesn’t matter whether I pee myself or what…”
Redward swiftly moved his sword sideways across her chin. The blade grazed her chin. Then, his next swing aimed precisely to slice across her cheek. Azwin pulled her head back as far as she could. The place the sword tip grazed felt as if it had been burned by fire.
She couldn’t properly dodge the next series of slashes.
Shoulder, nape, forehead, leg, arm.
Redward’s expression did not change as he deliberately avoided vital areas and merely left cuts. Azwin clenched her teeth and endured the pain. It was hard not to moan.
Redward then crouched slowly and crushed Azwin’s trembling legs with his knee. The hard metal of his armor seemed to crush her bones.
Redward then grabbed Azwin’s exposed breast with his left hand and pressed the blade against it. With an impassive face, he said,
“They say women sometimes cut off their cumbersome breasts to fit into the world of men. Shouldn’t you do the same?”
The blade dug into her chest. Azwin did not close her mouth to keep her smile, but her jaw trembled and the pain intensified.
“I was going to do that, but my chest is so pretty, I just couldn’t bear to. Besides, I didn’t become a knight out of sheer malice.”
Redward’s sword pressed harder. The blood that oozed out followed the curves of her chest, soaking her clothes. Several Lemifs around her had eyes wide with terror. Redward seemed to notice their stares and withdrew his blade.
He snorted and stood up, saying, “Your execution will take place after the Captain arrives. And the moment your curse lifts, you will be responsible for everything you’ve just said. Whether it will be the worst death for a woman or a human will be up to my choice then.”
Azwin gasped painfully and muttered to herself, “As if…”
The pain continued, and the blood did not stop from several wounds. Looking down at her blood-stained chest, a sorrowful sigh escaped her lips.
“Why am I not angry? Hmm, Kardrok, the dragon, I haven’t met him but I owe him my life several times over, so I should be grateful.”
Being tied up was hard enough, and now that she was bleeding, fatigue rushed over her. Azwin lay down for a moment and then propped herself up against a log like Rontlos and fell asleep briefly.
In her dream or maybe due to exhaustion, Azwin whispered faintly, “I’m sorry to everyone, but maybe I should just die here?”
“Azwin, you need to wake up now. Your death is upon you. Wake up, Azwin. Wake up! The goddess has awakened. Hear my voice.”
“Sermei?”
“You must not accept your fate. Resist it!”
Sermei’s strained voice struck her eardrums.
“Wake up!”
Azwin woke up to the noisy sounds. It was dawn. The cold air made her body shiver involuntarily.
‘My body doesn’t feel like my own anymore.’
She tried her best not to move, yet her ankles, chained in iron, were bruised. The wounds Redward had inflicted were oozing pus and not healing properly. The slash across her chest seemed to have widened.
There wasn’t a spot that didn’t hurt.
A strange beast with black fur, the Excelon knight called it, was walking toward the white stone building that Rontlos referred to as a temple. Redward had gone out to meet the knight of Excelon. Their conversation wasn’t clear from a distance.
“Is Rontly awake?”
He had called out but didn’t expect a response. Fortunately, his voice was heard.
“Just don’t speak for a moment. I’m listening. I’m here.”
Azwin did as told and kept her mouth shut.
“Hmm?”
Something was there. No, someone was there. It seemed to be behind her, in the forest she couldn’t see. He continued moving along the forest line. Catching a glimpse of the attire and form, Azwin was startled.
‘Gerald!’
There were originally four Lemifs guarding the northern forest. Now, none were visible. Perhaps they had slipped away during a shift change while she was asleep? But now wasn’t the time to reduce guards; it was a time to strengthen them. So the four missing guards had been ‘forcibly’ removed.
‘He really came to save me.’
Azwin’s heart pounded, but she quickly calmed down and surveyed her surroundings.
‘They haven’t noticed yet. But Gerald, it’s too bright now. The chance of a successful surprise attack is too low. Would have been better if you had come at night?’
Azwin recalled the events of a few days ago when she had tried to save Sermei. The Lemifs had much better night vision than humans. That’s why Gerald had not chosen the night.
‘But that doesn’t make the morning any safer. What are you planning?’
Azwin couldn’t figure it out.
As the Excelon knight continued talking with Redward, he glanced at Azwin. Redward kept explaining something about Kardrok’s evil spirits.
‘It’s clear that this guy outranks Redward. Could he be the Captain? But wasn’t he supposed to arrive tomorrow?’
The brief exchange of glances conveyed a menacing intent. The man soon followed Redward into the temple.
Azwin asked Rontlos in a low voice.
“Just heard about that new knight who came in, what’s up with him? Have you heard anything?”
“The Lemifs have sharp ears but they don’t seem to understand human language, so they don’t pay attention. So, I heard everything they said. The guy who was talking with Redward just now is someone named Nathan who just came back from attacking a city called Lutia.”
“Nathan?”
That was the very name Sermei had prophesied. The memory had faded like a conversation from years ago, but that name was still clear.
Azwin scooted closer to Rontlos and asked, “What else were they talking about?”
“Redward said… the Captain is coming today.”
“The Captain is coming today? So that guy isn’t the Captain. What else? Keep talking.”
“Redward was saying there’s a goddess nearby, and ‘another group’ that was looking for Sermei is roaming that area. They missed her but roughly know the location. He suggested raiding that place. Nathan said, ‘It’s not just up to us, let’s wait.’ Redward said, ‘If we kill the goddess, this fight is over, no need to hesitate.’ Then they argued a bit.”
Rontlos seemed to struggle to speak at length, pausing often to take deep breaths.
“Then Redward asked Nathan why he returned alone, and Nathan said two people, Beate and Edmond, were sacrificed, and then he put off the rest of the talk because he was tired. They talked again about the evil spirit of Kardrok, but they spoke too softly after that for me to hear.”
“Is that guy really that strong? I mean Nathan. Sermei said he’s the knight who has killed the most dragons…”
Azwin deliberately omitted the prophecy part and asked.
“How could our Lemif measure the strength of an Excelon? But to us, Nathan’s name is as feared as that of an Excelon, and he’s the most feared among those with that title.”
“Did he, by any chance, talk about killing me during their conversation?”
“They said the Captain will execute you when he arrives. I missed some details, but a sorcerer named Ruskin is supposed to arrive here with someone named Kagua this evening.”
‘Ruskin. That name sounds familiar?’
She couldn’t quite remember. Azwin asked something else.
“Nathan came from Lutia, right? What did he say about Lutia?”
The White Wolves had originally set out to the Sky Mountains to aid Lutia, but Azwin and Gerald had an accident and lost their way, ending up fighting in a completely unrelated place. However, hearing that Nathan had come from Lutia seemed to connect the dots somewhat.
‘I hope our efforts and sacrifices haven’t been in vain.’
Rontlos briefly replied, “He didn’t mention anything about Lutia.”
“Really?”
In Lutia were Loyal and Dunmel, but Nathan had returned alive. Had Nathan met those two? And yet it was Nathan who survived? Azwin grew increasingly anxious, and her anxiety exploded in front of the temple.
Azwin gaped in disbelief.
Gerald stood in front of the temple.
His clothes were full of weeds and, as always, his short brown hair was uncombed, and despite being covered in wounds, he struck a confident pose. In his hand, he still held the axe that Lergo hated to make, its blade sharp, and on his back, he carried a huge sword she had never seen before.
The Lemifs, who had better eyesight and hearing than Azwin, could not have missed Gerald appearing in such an exposed place. Dozens of Lemif soldiers surrounded him with spears, shields, and swords, but they did not attack. Gerald was holding an old Lemif from the Fvoe tribe, who had grown a shaggy beard, and had an axe to his throat.
“Hey, Rontlos! Are you listening? Tell these guys that I have their king as a hostage. So they better quietly release the queen I serve.”
In the midst of this, Azwin yelled instead of Rontlos.
“What are you doing, Gary?”
“That’s the thing. I’ve been wracking my brain since dawn and this was the only way. Look, no one can attack me now.”
He burst out laughing.
Rontlos agreed.
“Not a bad idea. For us, Hopet is a precious individual incomparable to mere Ugeh hostages.”
“Huh, it’s reassuring to hear such dismissive talk, makes it all the more fun.”
Azwin laughed.
Rontlos then translated Gerald’s words into the Lemif language verbatim. The Lemifs stirred greatly, and some guards even hurried over to release Azwin. It seemed Gerald’s simple plan was working, at least until Nathan and Redward came out of the temple.
“Tpfod Luiv Dru Worbts Ogu Uphermai!”
Redward’s resonant voice caused many Lemifs to freeze in place.
“What’s that bastard saying?”
Azwin asked.
“He’s telling them not to listen to the enemy.”
As Redward continued, Rontlos became flustered. The Lemif soldiers were also confused, especially the old Lemif that Gerald was holding, who shook violently and yelled out.
“Gerald is holding Hopet who is now claiming to bewitch them with evil magic. Oh, my God, even though Hopet himself is saying he’s Hopet…”
Rontlos immediately shouted that Redward’s words were a lie, but it was too late. Redward snatched a spear from a guard next to him and threw it at Gerald. The force and speed were so great that Gerald barely managed to dodge.
The spear that missed Gerald pierced the belly of the old Lemif and stuck in the wall.
Azwin was flabbergasted by this violent turn of events.
‘Did that guy just kill the king of Tachisel?’
Some Lemifs screamed, and women watching from a distance fainted. However, Redward boldly shouted in the Lemif language. Rontlos hurriedly translated for Azwin.
“Don’t panic. I have merely removed the magician’s spell. I have shown you a potential future that might have occurred had I not intervened. Your king is safely inside the temple. Kill that man. Do not fear the evil spirit of Kardrok!”
Hesitant at first, the Lemifs soon believed Redward’s words. Even as Rontlos shouted that it was a lie, his voice no longer reached them.
The soldiers all at once raised their spears and charged at Gerald. Gerald quickly ran up some stairs to a higher position and swung his axe broadly to block their approach, then yelled at Azwin.
“Hey, this is messed up! It’s going to take a bit longer. Wait for me.”
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/jB26ePk9