Chapter 214 - <21>
There was no door where one should have been among the stone statues.
Ritz struggled desperately, pushing and pulling. These statues were clearly part of a gateway, yet there was no door. It was impossible.
Finally, a change from the white corridor that had stretched on endlessly. If there was nothing here, then there was nothing anywhere else.
Though panicked by the approaching hemispherical objects, he had no other escape route. Frantically, he felt along the wall. But there wasn't even a crack; it was sealed perfectly.
In the center of the statues was a single, immobile hemispherical object, but thankfully, it seemed to be broken. If it had moved before now, they would have been caught in a pincer attack. He searched it, wondering if it held some clue to an escape, but found nothing.
It must have broken here by some coincidence and was simply left abandoned.
Hiding behind the statues, he desperately dodged the attacks from the hemispheres, searching for his life, but he couldn't even find a door, let alone a way in.
"Dammit. What is this?!"
In a fit of anger, he kicked the wall.
"Is this it?"
Edward's voice was heavy with exhaustion. Breathing heavily, Franz also looked up at Ritz, his strength gone.
Swords were useless, spirit magic was useless; against such an opponent, they were helpless. Even if they resisted with all their might, they had no idea what to do next.
It was a dead end.
The hemispherical objects were gathering to surround the three of them. From the opposite side of the objects that had been chasing them, more were now approaching.
"Like hell I'm giving up!"
He shouted, but there was no solution. If this had been back in his mercenary days, before he'd met and fallen in love with Anna, he would have had no regrets dying here. After all, Ritz had always been searching for a place to die.
But now was different. He couldn't afford to die.
Yet as things stood, their journey would end in the worst possible way—death in this place.
"I can't let it end here."
He groaned involuntarily. If it ended here, he would never see Anna again.
"Anna…"
He whispered her name.
He had sworn that once their journey was over and all the mysteries were revealed, they would absolutely return to the Royal Capital Sears together. He couldn't let it end like this.
No, forget the logic. He just desperately wanted to see Anna.
Whether she was a child of a god or an orphan, none of that mattered. He didn't care what she was.
He just wanted to see Anna.
The hemispherical objects closed in steadily, their red and green lights blinking, cornering them in a place with no escape. A cold sweat ran down his back. This was the first time he'd been trapped in such an incomprehensible situation.
And now, escape was becoming difficult.
Could I create an opening if I scattered them with my greatsword? The thought crossed his mind for a second, but he knew that if the path he'd run down was all the same, it would be impossible to explore while evading these things swarming the corridor.
There were too many of them, and they were too fast. The moment he opened a door and stepped into a room, he would undoubtedly be surrounded.
"Ritz…"
Franz let out a deep breath.
"What is it?"
"Any ideas?"
"…None."
When he answered frankly, Franz groaned with a sigh.
"I see."
Am I going to die here, killed by these bizarre things? Just as he thought that and clenched his back teeth, something changed. The hemispherical object in front of the door, which had been motionless as if broken, began to move.
With a strangely slow motion, it spun around and glided toward them.
"You bastard!"
He instinctively raised his greatsword, and the hemisphere stopped right in front of him.
'Ritz.'
The hemispherical object spoke in a voice devoid of emotion. For a moment, he was too stunned to understand what it had said, then he realized it was his name and nodded.
"That's right."
'Ritz. Similar. To. Spirit. King. Statue.'
"Huh?"
Not understanding, he stared at the hemisphere before him. The moment it had started moving, the swarm of hemispheres that had been surrounding them, about to deliver the final blow, began to slowly back away.
'For. Sub-Administrator's. Life. Support. Terminating. Partial. Elimination. Program.'
As that single hemisphere announced this, all the others moved without a sound, aiming their glowing red and green dots at Edward and Franz.
Then, like the first one had been moments before, they silently ceased all movement.
Apparently, only Ritz had been removed from the list of targets.
"Hey, wait. Why just me?"
He hurriedly asked the first object, and it blinked its lights.
'For. Sub-Administrator's. Life. Support.'
"And what the hell is that?!"
He couldn't help but shout, and the hemisphere replied in its emotionless voice.
'Cannot. Live. If. Something. Happens. To. Ritz.'
"Huh?"
'Input. By. Sub-Administrator. Therefore. Management. System. Will. Exclude. You. From. Target. List.'
"No way…"
He was at a loss for words, a certain person he could think of as the 'sub-administrator' coming to mind. There were only so many people who would say something like that. Moreover, there was likely only one person in a position to control these objects.
"Is it Anna? Is Anna here!?"
Instead of answering his question, the object dispassionately spat out words.
'Administrator. And. Sub-Administrator. Information. Is. Classified. Resuming. Attack. Please. Evacuate. To. Safe. Location.'
He panicked at the unexpected words.
"Hold on!"
At this rate, the other two were in danger. The moment he thought that, an idea struck him.
"If anything happens to them, I'll be in big trouble too!"
He blurted it out, and the first object's lights began to blink.
'Big. Trouble. Is?'
"I won't be able to live either!"
He declared it. The object fell silent as if thinking, and after a moment, its lights blinked again.
'Understood. Aborting. Attack.'
With those words, the surrounding hemispheres scattered without a sound.
"What in the world is…"
Edward asked with a bewildered expression, but Ritz had no way of knowing either. The only thing he understood was that this one object seemed to be the leader of all the others.
"What… are you?"
When he asked, the hemispherical object answered.
'I. Am. WO-T. Model.'
"Uh… what's that?"
'A. Machine.'
"A machine?"
He didn't understand at all.
"Is it alive?"
'If. Asked. Whether. I. Am. An. Organic. Life-form. The. Answer. Is. NO.'
He glanced back at Edward and Franz, but they seemed just as clueless, only tilting their heads in confusion.
"Well, do you have a name? You must have one of those, right?"
He asked, and it shone with a sparkling light.
'I. Am. T.'
"T? WO-T makes T, huh."
'Given. By. Sub-Administrator.'
That naming sense somehow convinced him. Salamander becomes Sara-chan, WO-T becomes T. There was no doubt the sub-administrator was Anna.
"T, is this a door?"
Ritz pointed to the center of the gate-like structure that looked like a wall, and T answered.
'YES.'
So it was an entrance after all. He nodded to Edward and the others before asking.
"Could you let us in?"
It was a gamble. If they couldn't get in, they would have no choice but to wander this endless corridor further.
'Obtaining. Permission. From. Ark. Please. Wait. A. Moment.'
T, which had been answering instantly until now, said that and fell silent. They held their breath and waited for a while in the horrifyingly quiet corridor, where they could hear each other's breathing. Then, the light blinked again.
'Permission. From. Ark. Granted. Sub-Administrator. Wishes. To. See. You.'
With those words, T operated something on the door and took out a board-like object with numbers on it. A metal arm extended from below and performed some sort of work on it, and the wall before them opened without a sound.
A flood of light, and the thick scent of greenery…
"What is this?"
He groaned involuntarily. A forest was spreading out before his eyes.
'Please. Enter.'
Urged on, he stepped inside. T remained stopped in front of the door, seeing the three of them off. As they stood there in a daze, the door closed silently. He instinctively touched the place where the door had been, but he could no longer tell where it was.
"Not very friendly… I should have asked for a guide."
Relief and a joke came out at the same time. But the overwhelming vitality of the forest before him made him let out a deep sigh.
"What in the world…"
Groaning, he looked around as Edward murmured softly.
"I'm surprised."
"About what?"
"Look at the sky. This is… indoors."
"What?!"
He looked up and saw that the ceiling, which was quite high, was entirely covered in a lattice pattern. Light was pouring down from above the lattice.
"Is it possible for that tower to have such a large summit?"
He said in a daze, and Edward shook his head.
"Impossible. And don't forget. It's night right now."
He gasped. That was right. When they had charged in here, it was the beginning of the night. In that case, only a few hours should have passed. There was still a while until morning.
"Then where are we?"
"Who knows. But it's possible that the tower is connected to the great mountain range behind it, and this huge forest is located there."
"But this feels like sunlight. It can't be artificial light."
Franz, finally recovering from his daze, shook his head. Indeed, this light was completely different from the light of flames from lamps or chandeliers.
"But it's still night, no doubt about it."
"Then why…"
Edward lightly patted the shoulder of the stunned and speechless Franz.
"In any case, shall we walk for a bit?"
Urged on by Edward, Franz let out a big breath, and Ritz took a deep breath as well. He had to calm down.
He walked through the forest, stepping on the soft, damp undergrowth, feeling the gentle scent of flowers. This sensation was no different from a real forest. The chirping of birds echoed from somewhere, and insects occasionally flew by. The magnificent large trees were as big as those in his homeland, the Ciedena Forest.
Confused by the environment, which was completely different from the inorganic corridor they had been in, they proceeded toward the center of the forest. At this rate, he was about to forget that they were in the middle of the enemy's headquarters.
That was how indistinguishable this place was from a real forest.
After a while, they heard the sound of water from somewhere. Without a word, they all turned their feet in that direction.
Parting the tall grass, they came upon a spring brimming with clear water.
"…Water…"
Franz murmured in a stunned voice and, from between Edward and Ritz, quickened his pace and knelt before the spring. Without a word, he was the first to cup his hands in the spring, scooping up the water and drinking it down. He must have been terribly thirsty.
It was the same for Ritz and Edward.
Silently, the three of them scooped up water and drank. Come to think of it, since their ship had crashed into this tower, they hadn't had any food or water. They had lost their water in the crash, and though he had some jerky in his bag, there had been no time for it.
Besides, they had been running the whole time. After one sip, he realized just how thirsty he was and drank the spring water greedily for a while. It was cool, soft water that left a faint sweetness on his tongue.
It felt just like drinking the water from the lake in Ciedena.
Feeling refreshed, he plunged his face into the spring. Perhaps because he had pushed himself too hard after being wounded in the back, his body felt a little hot and weary. The spring felt cool and pleasant against his feverish body. This was real spring water.
"Ah!"
Franz, who had been washing his face with scooped water next to Ritz, noticed something and cried out.
"What is it?"
"That's a stone monument."
Looking in the direction he pointed, they saw a familiar stone monument. It was a monument that marked a holy site, with an Eye of the Spirit King embedded in it.
He stood up and ran over. There were letters written on the half-buried monument.
'I am here.'
That was carved on the monument. And below it, it was also written:
'The progenitor of my clan, the Darkness Spirit King, sleeps here.'
"This is different from the others…"
Franz groaned.
"This is just like… a gravestone."
To Franz's stunned words, another voice quietly added.
"That's right. This is a gravestone."
Turning around at the familiar voice, he saw Kuchiba, clad in a jet-black robe adorned with gold trim.
At the moment their eyes met, Kuchiba smiled, the corner of his lip curling up slightly.
"The princess is no longer here. It seems you were a step too late."
"You bastard!"
Blood rushed to his head in an instant, and he drew his greatsword and charged.
"As hot-blooded as ever."
Kuchiba muttered and raised both hands. A writhing dark spirit manifested before him.
"And yet that is the very reason you lost the princess."
"Damn it!"
His greatsword cut through empty air. The Kuchiba before him split in two and vanished with a soft pop.
"An illusion!"
It was a trick he'd fallen for many times. As he gnashed his teeth in frustration, Edward's voice cut in.
"Behind you!"
Faster than he could confirm, he swung his greatsword backward. Using the weight of the blade, he swiftly repositioned himself to face behind him. But Kuchiba was already there.
"Too slow."
Kuchiba taunted with a calm, smiling tone and unleashed a dark spirit. The snake-like thing writhed, trying to entangle his greatsword.
"Sara-chan! Burn it to ashes!"
Simultaneously with Franz's voice, fierce flames erupted between Kuchiba and Ritz. The incinerated dark spirit vanished with a cry of agony.
But he couldn't just stand by and watch.
For Ritz, who was weak to dark spirit magic, his only option was to close in on Kuchiba before a second wave could be launched.
He charged through Sara-chan's flames and lunged at Kuchiba, whose eyes widened. It seemed he hadn't expected Ritz to charge through the fire.
Can I do this?
The next moment, Kuchiba's dagger parried Ritz's greatsword.
"I see, you do not even fear flames."
Though Kuchiba sneered, his hand was trembling slightly. In terms of strength alone, Ritz was still superior to the spirit user Kuchiba.
Just as he thought he could push through, a fierce wind began to blow from his feet.
"Wh—!"
A violent wind surrounded Ritz. The wind let out a high, clear roar that echoed throughout the forest. It was a Wind Dragon, the highest-ranking wind spirit.
"Did I not mention? I am a user of dark and wind spirits."
Surrounded by the Wind Dragon, his body was nearly swept away by the wind, and he desperately planted his feet. But the wind was raging with a force beyond what Ritz's strength could handle.
Eventually, the Wind Dragon transformed into a massive tornado, and before he knew it, Ritz was trapped in its center. In Kuchiba's hands, who had recalled the Wind Dragon, were several daggers.
"You bastard!"
"Even if you seal one of my hands, defeating me is impossible."
Frustration welled up at Kuchiba's sneering, confident attitude.
His acrobat-like movements, his abnormally fast travel. And his levitation into the air.
Why hadn't he realized until now that he was a wind spirit user of considerable skill?
He swung his greatsword with all his might, but the wind showed no sign of abating.
"Now for the next bit of fun."
With those words, the wind slammed into him even more fiercely. Its sheer force obstructed his vision, and the violent roar of the wind stole his hearing.
He could only catch fragmented glimpses of what was happening outside the vortex.
It's just wind, if I have time, I can handle it. The moment he thought that, a sharp pain shot through him. He forced his eyes open and saw the daggers Kuchiba had been holding flashing within the vortex of wind.
The daggers, dancing violently within the vortex that was spinning at a terrifying speed, attacked Ritz at its center from unpredictable positions and angles.
"Damn youuuuu!"
As Ritz struggled, frantically striking down the daggers, he saw a fierce flame in his vision. Franz must be fighting back with Sara-chan.
He could hear fragments of Kuchiba's words.
"That Fire Dragon from before was magnificent. But it seems you're already out of breath."
"We won't know that until we try!"
Franz answered forcefully, but Ritz knew. He knew Franz was already near his limit.
And Edward, who was supporting him, was also exhausted.
Enduring the frustration, impatience, and sharp pain, he finally managed to knock down all the daggers and roared toward the outside of the vortex.
"If you want to lay a hand on them, you'll have to kill me first!"
Perhaps his voice reached him, as he heard Kuchiba's voice from right behind him.
"How loyal to your friends."
"Shut up!"
There was no presence nearby. A wind spirit user could send their voice on the wind, so he wouldn't be fooled. He desperately searched for the real Kuchiba's true presence.
"If you wish to die so quickly, then I shall grant your desire."
Along with Kuchiba's mocking words, darkness descended upon him. It wasn't the writhing darkness from before. It was a darkness that simply crept in, encroaching on his vision. In an instant, his sight was gone.
"Be grateful. This is an advanced dark technique, second only to the dragons. Devour life, Predator of Darkness."
The darkness swallowed even the violent wind.
"Tch…"
He grit his teeth in the inescapable situation as the darkness enveloped his entire body.
Pitch-black darkness slowly, slowly encroached.
He couldn't hear.
He had no vision.
He couldn't even see his own hand.
—He couldn't feel anything. All that existed there was nothingness.
But for some reason, it was calm. As if soaking and drifting in lukewarm water, the strength drained from his body. He was supposed to be standing, yet he felt as if he were floating.
His senses were going haywire. His thoughts were becoming hazy and seemed about to disappear.
The sensation that what he had been seeking so desperately just moments ago was gradually evaporating from his body and dissipating like mist brought him back to his senses.
"No."
He meant to say it out loud, but there was no sound.
Something, I need some sound, some sensation. The moment he thought that, something appeared before him.
He strained his eyes and saw it was himself. The back of his own figure.
It was the sight of himself wearing armor over a tattered mercenary uniform, a blood-soaked greatsword hanging at his side.
The self before him slowly turned around. He gasped at the emptiness in those eyes. That was him. The him who had been searching for a place to die.
"It's okay now, isn't it? I can finally be at ease."
The self before him voiced the thought he had always held in his heart. His comrades all died. He was left all alone in the long passage of time. And due to that length, even his precious memories and recollections were all worn away and vanished, like stone weathered by the wind.
Everything vanishes. All that remains in his hands are fragments of warm memories and a longing for the comrades who will never return.
He had found a place to belong for the first time. He had been given a purpose in life for the first time.
Before his eyes, a young Edward, Shasta, Patricia… numerous comrades, people he respected as masters, floated up, blurred, and disappeared.
His precious, precious… memories of his own life from forty years ago, which he never wanted to lose…
If he lost that one thing, if even his precious memories weathered away, where would he go? How was he supposed to live?
He was scared.
Losing everything, even his memories fading away, the voices and hearts of his comrades and trusted friends all gone, yet having to continue living—he was terrified of the horrifyingly empty time that lay ahead in that long lifespan.
Darkness in the name of time lapped at his feet.
No one can live alone. That would be true no matter how strong a heart one possessed.
But even if he lost to loneliness, gained new friends, and found new comrades, he could only repeat the same thing. Even if he accumulated happy memories that slipped through the gaps between his fingers like sand and disappeared, all that remained in his hands were lost memories.
It was too painful.
Someone, anyone… live with me…
Share the same time, the same memories with me.
Hold my vivid memories in your arms with me, so they don't weather away.
In the darkness, his past self shed tears of blood.
No, don't get swept away, you can't get swept away, he told himself, but the anguish of his past self was too familiar, and he was being dragged down.
An old wound was traced, and fresh blood scattered.
This was the cause of being consumed by the dark spirit.
Seeking sensation, he bit his lip. The pain slightly eased the sorrow. Relying on the senses that had returned just a little, he thrust both arms out in front of him.
Someone… give me light!
The moment he thought that, words floated down gently.
'Would I… not be good enough?'
A single ray of light…
'Can't I live together with you, Ritz?'
What floated before his eyes was Anna's smile.
Those were the words Anna had said to him on the cliff that day, that time… when Ritz was on the verge of death.
That was the moment a single ray of light had pierced his heart.
"Anna."
The moment he called her precious name, he came back to his senses.
That's right. I'm not the person I was back then anymore.
A streak of light appeared in the darkness. Through it, he could faintly see the surrounding scene. Edward and Franz were being forced into a difficult fight.
"I've already decided I'm not going to die."
He had promised Anna. He would never do anything to kill himself again. So he couldn't let himself be killed by the ghost of his past self here.
"I'm going to defeat you and go get Anna!"
The surrounding darkness burst apart.
"KUCHIBAAAAA!"
He charged at the Kuchiba before him with all his strength.
"What!?"
A momentary opening appeared in Kuchiba, who turned around with a look of astonishment.
An opening that had never once appeared in Kuchiba, who had always been superior to Ritz in their several battles.
"Got you!"
His greatsword flashed, cutting through the wind as sharp as a beam of light.
With the momentum of the upward slash, Kuchiba's robe burst open, and a spray of blood danced in the air.
He thought he'd finished him, but Kuchiba, though deeply wounded, staggered without falling. He must have dodged with those swift movements of his, but he hadn't managed to evade it completely.
"Tch…"
Before Kuchiba, who groaned while clutching one arm, could regain his posture, Ritz put strength into both hands to deliver the final blow.
"This is the end!"
He fixed his gaze on Kuchiba and raised his greatsword.
At that moment, Franz's cry struck his ears.
"Don't!"
He instinctively stopped his movement.
"Why are you stopping me?!"
He roared while still glaring at Kuchiba, and Franz shouted back in anguish.
"Kuchiba is the high priest of the darkness, so…"
He trailed off, as if unsure of what to say.
"So what?!"
"So… so, he's the same as Taisha!"
Franz shouted, as if frustrated with his own inability to find the right words.
"If he's the same as Taisha, then I'm the same too. We're the same, Ritz!"
Franz, who had been behind him, desperately grabbed Ritz's arm, trying to convey something. From the force in his grip and his desperate voice, Ritz understood.
Franz had said that Taisha was like an older brother disciple to him. Both had been influenced by the same person and pursued knowledge in the same way.
And now, Kuchiba was acting as that person's hands and feet, protecting the order of this world. No matter what form it took, he was fighting to protect it.
Their positions were different, but all three had looked up to the same person to get this far.
"Why do you show mercy?"
Kuchiba looked up at Franz, blood dripping from his wound. Franz, too, met Kuchiba's gaze without averting his eyes.
"I think that I would probably fight just as you do, if it were absolutely necessary to protect what is important to me. His Majesty, too…"
Saying so, Franz looked at Edward, who was on his knees by the spring, catching his breath.
"His Majesty was the same. You don't fight because you like war or want to see people fight. Taisha taught me that."
"…He says too much…"
Kuchiba's face twisted with bitterness.
"I don't know if your way is right. But if you try to lay a hand on what's important to me… on my country, then I will challenge you head-on."
"…Hoh. Are you confident you can win?"
"I don't know. But just as you try to protect this world, I think I probably love my own country just as much."
Kuchiba gave a low laugh.
"Then do you not think to cut off the source here?"
"I do not. If I were to kill you here, the next high priest would come to resent us, and by extension, Yuresla. That could become the source of a great war."
After saying so thoughtfully, Kuchiba gave a small smile.
"That's true. I thought that would be fine as well, though."
"It's not fine. I want to avoid that. Because I still don't understand why knowledge affects the world. That's why I have to meet your god. For my own sake, and for the sake of Taisha, who entrusted his wishes to me."
"A memorial for Taisha, is it?"
"Not exactly, but it's probably my duty to deliver his last words…"
Franz trailed off and looked up at me. I nodded at his serious eyes. It was Franz who had accepted Taisha's final words.
After a period of silence, Kuchiba quietly looked up at Franz.
"…Do you… know my god?"
At that question, Franz looked down. He couldn't say he had studied under him. It was possible Orphe had been in Yuresla secretly, without Kuchiba knowing. Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn't know of the existence of Franz, who was Orphe's disciple.
After a moment's hesitation, Franz looked up.
"Just a little."
Perhaps he had gathered something from that subtle phrase. Kuchiba nodded silently.
"In any case, it is my loss. Go to the god. The god said that if you came this far on your own, he would guide you to him."
Where Kuchiba pointed, there was a single black door, half-hidden by the trees of the forest.
"Go inside, and speak to the god before the great Eye of the Spirit King, and the god will answer."
Saying so, Kuchiba stood up, supporting his immobile dominant arm with his other hand.
"Your wound…"
At Franz's question, Kuchiba gave a faint smile.
"I would ask that you not wound my pride any further."
At his cold tone, unchanged from before, Franz stood frozen.
As Kuchiba slowly made his way through the forest, he suddenly stopped.
"Why were you able to dispel the dark spirit?"
To the dispassionate question, Ritz answered while staring at his back.
"No matter how dark it is, a single ray of light is enough to escape. I'm a simple guy, so a single glimmer of hope from just one woman is enough for me."
"…You fool…"
For some reason, he felt that Kuchiba, still with his back to him, had smiled.
"Protect the princess to the very end."
"Of course."
When he declared it firmly, Kuchiba started walking again.
"Farewell. My nephew, Ritz, son of Moegi."
With Kuchiba's words, a fierce wind rose up. Ritz instinctively shielded his face with his arms.
When the wind subsided and he looked ahead, Kuchiba was already gone. After seeing off the back of the uncle he would likely never meet again, Ritz turned to Franz and Edward.
"Alright, let's go see the god."
All the answers were there.