Billy opened his eyes and looked at the bright window covered with curtains. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if this was the world after death or the reality of survival.
‘Or is it a hallucination right before death?’
Just before doing something foolish to verify if this was real, thankfully, Suvel opened the door and entered.
“Oh, you’re awake. The doctor said you’d probably wake up tomorrow.”
Suvel leapt to the side of the bed, landing with enough force to make Billy’s body jolt slightly.
“Where am I?”
“This is a clinic in Nadium. Since we were enemies, they said we couldn’t be taken to the royal hospital. But it’s a pretty good facility. Don’t feel bad about it.”
Billy, with Suvel’s help, sat up against the wall. He was bandaged around his chest and stomach.
“I… “
Billy tried to recall his memory. He remembered stabbing Black in the back with the sacred sword of Lontamon and then being attacked. At that moment, he thought he had died.
“How am I still alive?”
“It’s magic, nothing else. When we arrived, you were in a fatal condition, but some strange procedures seemed to work, and they notified us that you survived. I was badly injured too when I came here, but look, I’m already walking around.”
Suvel replied, gently holding Billy’s hand.
“It’s good you’re alive. The doctor said to thank the Queen’s blessing for it wasn’t for her, the injuries would have been fatal.”
Billy looked bitterly at the sacred sword of Lontamon placed beside him.
“Black… or should I say, Welch?”
He could roughly guess the outcome, but he wanted a definite answer.
“He’s dead.”
Suvel showed a sad smile.
“Peacefully?”
“Peacefully.”
“That’s good…”
Billy sincerely said so. However, he couldn’t help feeling a void in his heart as if a hole had been punched through it.
As soon as he could walk, Billy went outside for some air. He couldn’t stay still, overwhelmed by his stifling emotions. In the distance, he could see the towering White Gate and the vast plains.
The day’s battle seemed to appear before his eyes.
“Are you alright?”
A tall man in a thin shirt suddenly spoke to him. Billy took a moment to recall his faint memory.
“Ah, Sheyden… right? A White Wolf.”
“That’s right.”
“I heard you were seriously injured, but you seem fine.”
“I’m not fine. But my injuries were less fatal than yours.”
Sheyden lifted his shirt to reveal the bandages wrapped around his stomach. The bandages, stained green from the herbs applied to his wound, signified his injury.
“I’ve also gotten better. Breathing is much easier now.”
“That’s good to hear. If you’re feeling up for it, would you like to walk with me? We can talk here, but…”
“Where to?”
Sheyden gestured upwards with his head. Since Billy hadn’t been walking in any particular direction, he followed Sheyden.
“As I’ve said, rest easy and leave whenever you wish, Billy. Be it a month or a year. It might take months to fully recover, but do as you please. No one will drive you away.”
Sheyden spoke while climbing the stairs.
Billy suddenly felt curious.
“What about Kassel?”
“He left for Lutia. Didn’t ask for my opinion, nor said goodbye.”
Sheyden grumbled, seemingly annoyed.
Billy sighed and said,
“Lutia? You talk about the city of the Sky Mountains, legendary to us, as if it’s just a neighboring country.”
At the end of the stairs, Nadium’s castle lay beautifully spread out. Billy, unaware of his embarrassment, gazed at the castle with a dazed expression.
Sheyden, without a word, leaned on the railing at the top of the stairs, giving Billy time to admire the view. Billy couldn’t bring himself to describe the beauty with words, as if it would be a sin, and simply watched in silence for a long time.
“I’ll leave as soon as I’m fit enough to ride a horse.”
Billy spoke before Sheyden, who had initially mentioned he had something to say.
“Is there something urgent?”
“There’s someone in Lontamon waiting for me. I want to tell them what I’ve been through as soon as possible.”
Billy thought of Captain Loren as he spoke.
“Suit yourself. But are you taking Suvel with you?”
Sheyden pointed to a small building beside the castle. Though not visible, Billy knew it was the Wolf Knights’ quarters, where Suvel had been going to and from since dawn. Sheyden seemed to have wanted to show him that.
“That’s for Suvel to decide. He pretends to hate this place, speaking as if he loathes it, but in truth, he probably wanted to come back. I won’t force him.”
Billy continued quietly.
“But if it’s Suvel, he’ll likely follow me. After all, he’s sworn loyalty to me.”
Sheyden tilted his head.
“That’s similar to what Suvel said.”
“Suvel did?”
“If it were Billy, he would probably ask me to follow him. He really likes it here, but his place is in Excelon, he said.”
“Did he say that? That guy…”
Billy smiled fondly, watching the Queen’s castle until sunset. The evening breeze at this altitude was quite chilly, making his wounds ache.
“I should go. Standing for too long still tires me.”
Billy turned towards the stairs but stopped and asked,
“Sheyden, I’ve been wanting to ask this, and I want you to be honest.”
“I don’t mince words. Ask away.”
“What was Captain Welch like, in your eyes?”
Sheyden briefly smiled and said,
“Honestly, there’s not much to say. He was the best opponent I’ve ever fought with my life on the line. Nothing more.”
Sheyden slowly walked towards the Wolf Knights’ quarters. Billy murmured in a voice too soft for Sheyden to hear,
“That’s the answer I wanted.”
Despite being summer, the evening wind at this altitude was quite cold. Billy returned to his room and lay in bed, trying to sleep.
As he fell asleep that evening, Billy experienced a hallucination, much like the time he was stabbed by Jaymer and dying.
He saw Black, as he was before the battle at the Plains of Nenadros. But strangely, unlike before, Black didn’t seem sad or desperate.
Loren was crying out in tears. It was a scene from the past that Billy had once witnessed. But strangely, this time, Black’s face was clear in his vision. Why had he thought that face was sad back then? Why had he interpreted that proud smile as the desperate smile of a knight prepared for death?
“Captain, only your defeat is known in the royal court. No one remains to acknowledge the great achievements you made after the Battle of Gold Gate. But for what purpose are you sacrificing yourself? It would be better to surrender. If you surrender to another country, you will be welcomed as a hero.”
“I am a knight of Excelon. And my duty is not to surrender.”
Black slowly put on the helmet tucked under his arm and picked up the halberd leaning against the wall. Loren’s voice, trying to stop him from heading to the battlefield, was filled with desperation. But Welch rejected everything.
“The place of my death is my choice, and it is not the Plains of Nenadros. I will soon go to Nadium. As long as there is something left for me to do there, I will not die…”
What was it that he still had to do?
Billy still didn’t know.
Would Suvel know? No, he wouldn’t have seen Black’s final moments. Maybe he should ask Sheyden later. If Sheyden doesn’t know, he’ll ask the Queen of Aranthia.
But even after waking up from the dream, Billy didn’t do so. He no longer felt the need to ask.
In the last battle on the Plains of Nenadros, Welch stood tall, looking at the arrows pouring down from all sides.
Welch was not afraid.
“I will not die here.”
His voice never wavered.
“I promised to return to the Queen of Aranthia, I can’t fall here.”
Tears streamed down the sleeping Billy’s face, soaking his pillow.
“I must atone for the selfish desire that led me to kill people to absolve my comrades’ sins. I must apologize for slaying the holy dragons, the guardians, and for the innocent blood spilled undeservedly on this land.”
Arrows filled the sky, raining down on him like a downpour.
“I must apologize for the sins I committed to the one who came to forgive me, a sinner born and living as a sinner. Until then, I shall not find rest even in death!”
He closed his eyes and slowly knelt down.
The last words of Captain Welch of Excelon echoed softly to his fallen comrades in Aranthia.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me.”
–TL Notes–
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