Episode 7 : The Lady's Tent - Part 4

"Guin--"

 Five hundred horsemen rode solemnly through the wilderness of Nosferus.

 At the head of the line is the brave man of Gora, Captain Melum of the Third Red Order of Mongol. Behind him is Cain's squadron, followed by two platoons of white knights, Rindt's squadron and Vron's squadron, and behind them is the pride of Arvon, Astorias' squadron of one hundred and fifty cavalrymen.

 In the center of the troops under his command, guarded by more than 500 elites, is a single rider in a brilliantly shimmering white outfit - Amneris, Princess of Mongol.

 His armor of silver, and his golden hair with its helmet removed, glittered even from afar in the late afternoon sun that was now slanting across the frontier. Even the "winds of Dole," as they are commonly called, which blow over the hot sands of Nosferus and turn men to dust, seem to flutter fearfully from side to side only in the face of this glorious figure.

"Guin--ah,Guin..."

 And behind their proud ranks, the last survivors of the royal family of Paro staggered along like slaves or beasts on the rope, tied to horses, dragged by horses, and chased from behind, their wrists scraped and bloody and miserable.

"Guin--I'm dead ..."

 Linda's voice was faint and almost did not sound like her usual voice.

"Linda! Stay with me. ..."

 Remus tries to cheer him up, but his knees buckle with each step.

"What's the matter, boys - you're not acting like proud pearls of Paro, you're acting weak."

 Guin whispered to her as if scolding her. Linda's hazel eyes looked up at Guin, who was being dragged along by the horse and leaning her head back without any sign of distress, and it seemed to her that his tremendous wild energy was pouring into her frail, battered body, and that she could go on again, even if she had to stagger for a while. for a while.

"Remus--good. Remember this torment and this disgrace--the envy of your father and mother, the curse of Paro's people, and this torment of ours, so that one day it may all come to pass. ... be sprinkled upon them--"

"Don't talk too much."

 Guin scolded. Linda laughs in a faint voice.

"It's a little easier ... to talk to you. Guin, why do we have to go through this? How could the peaceful days at the Crystal Palace, which were just a few days ago, end so suddenly ...?"

 After all, no matter how strong-minded and hard-hearted she was, Linda was only a child of fourteen. A sobbing moan escaped from her dust-chapped lips. But her throat, which had not been watered for a day, was dry. Even his eyes were dry, so it seemed as if even his tears had evaporated into sweat from every pore of his body.

"Yarn's will is unknown to us. The fact that I've lost my memory and have been thrown into this kind of transformation without knowing how it happened before and after must mean that there is some kind of immense fate that is gripping me."

"Oh, Guin, I need some water."

 Remus groans. The Red Knight in front of him looks back at him softly. Not all of the Red Knights of Gora possessed the soul of a demon god. They had given their absolute allegiance to Amneris, and it had never occurred to them to disobey his orders, but secretly, not a few of them had felt a pang of disgust at the sight of the two children, Guin notwithstanding, staggering along in the sunshine.

"Don't talk about the water. You'll make it worse."

"But--oh, I can't walk anymore. ..."

"Get a grip--Rems..."

 Linda gasped. Then suddenly, as if trying to take her mind off of it,

"Hey--Guin."

"Yeah."

"It's like - it's like this sand and rocky ground is always hot - and it's like my feet are wobbling as I walk on it. ..."

"Actually, I've been noticing that for a while now myself."

 Guin admitted.

"Isn't there some kind of noxious miasma in the air? The air of Nosferus is sticky and clings to you like a creature, or like water mixed with jelly. When it enters your throat, it is strangely impure and makes you want to scratch your throat."

"I wonder if the knights of Mongol feel anything at all..."

"Don't talk to me too much!"

 The knight in front of him shouted and then added in a low voice.

"You're only going to fall faster - okay?"

 He had said it with kindness, but the mercy of the enemy had aroused Linda's noble heart. With all her strength she licked her lips and searched for a word to say in reply.

 At that moment, however, a slight commotion suddenly broke out among the leading troops, disrupting the orderly formation of the march for the first time.

"The Gluttonous Bitsug Eater!"

"It's in the sand!"

 Screams came from the front, and soon the area was abuzz with the terrified whimpers of the hippopotamuses, the cries of their attempts to be subdued, and the mad rantings of the captains.

 The Gluttonous Bitsug-eater is a terrestrial monster of the same species as the Great Bitsugmouth of the Kesu River. It is a carnivorous monster with sharp teeth and jaws, but instead of water, it hides in the sand to look for an opening, and is usually much larger than the giant bitumen.

 Without warning, the gluttonous Bitsug Eater suddenly burst into a flurry of sand and attacked the young knight of Merum's troop in the lead and sucked in his horse.

 With the first bite, the horse's body was ripped off and the knight fell into the sand pit made by the remains of the Big Eater's body with a scream. The gluttonous bitgutters bit the bleeding horse as if they were gnawing off the powder of a gourd, while the knight tried his best to crawl up the sand.

"Gah!"

 Suddenly, he screamed and rolled over. He had almost succeeded in escaping when a disgusting white, sticky tentacle suddenly came out from his waist and dragged him to the bottom of the sand pit.

"Help me!"

 The young knight's desperate screams deafened the allies.

"Help him, now!

 The captain shouts.

"No, sir! Not with a giant antsy goblin!"

 Hearing the answer of despair, the people turned their faces away. And yet, just before the figures of their companions, struggling madly and being drawn into the pit, were completely lost in the sand, they saw, at the base of the horrible swell of the tentacles, a huge, disgusting, hairy, blood-sucking mouth, with an indescribably unpleasant odor coming out of it. I could see the indescribably unpleasant odor wafting from the mouth.

 There was nothing we could do. This was the third victim since we left Alvon. The people covered their ears and waited for the horrible screams and noises to cease, and then, in a fury of vengeance, they pointed their spears at the gluttonous bitwig-eaters who had chewed up the horses and pulled them to pieces on the sand, and they poured oil into the sand-holes of the giant anteaters and set them on fire.

 Blood, guts and flesh were scattered on the sand. The horse was no longer in its original state. The people threw the corpse of the gluttonous bitwig-eater into the fire of the giant anteater and backed away long enough to avoid being entangled in the long, writhing tentacles of the grim creature in agony. The stench of the giant anteater burning alive made many of us vomit. Most of the creatures of Nosferus are nothing more than cursed monsters, not unlike those of the Central Plains.

 If only 500 cavalrymen rode there for a day and a night and suffered only three casualties, this would have been an achievement that could have been called an unexpected good fortune.

 They did not even bother to make the graves of their victims, nor did they watch the flames of their comrades burning with the monsters, but resumed their march at once. In Amneris's opinion, they should have been able to take the three prisoners and, by nightfall at the latest, enter the defensive wall which should have been built by now on this side of the river Kes by the garrison led by Count Rickard.

 When they finally reached the place where they could see the stream of the Kes River, the purple darkness was already growing thicker. When we finally reached a place where we could see the Kes River in the distance, it was already dark and purple.

 The wind must have been blowing that way that evening. As darkness enveloped the area, white angel hair, which had been absent during the day, began to fly around the area, and as they approached the Kes River, it began to grow faint, as if it were trying to block them.

 The angel hair, which was neither animal nor plant, and which collided with people's faces in white and melted away softly, was just a harmless wilderness thing by itself, so for a while they brushed it off with their hands without paying it any attention and went on.

 But as they went along, the angel hair did not diminish, but gradually began to gather around them, as if they were calling to each other.

 Or perhaps it was the amount of heat generated by the multitude of people and horses, so rare in the wilderness, that stimulated their primitive senses. At any rate, Angel Hair began to gather noiselessly from here and there, and eventually they were all crowded together like a small cloud.

 The captains gathered their horses and discussed the matter, but decided that it was known to be harmless and would not be a serious obstacle in any case, and ordered them to proceed again. At that moment, however, someone casually looked up and said

 And let out a little scream.

"That one!"

 The people looked up in panic and gasped.

 Angel Hair in the sky!

 The twilight of Nosferus was sticky, heavy, and violet--not unlike the starry, mysterious violets of Linda's eyes, but a dark purple that hid a kind of unholy, suspicious sloppiness, and in which not even a star could be seen. It was as if the sticky jellies of the night had turned into a translucent film and were trying to separate the clear stars from the people on the earth - a great gathering of angel hair dyed the night sky of Nosferus faintly white and misty! There!

 It was such an uncanny view that even if it had been known to be harmless, it would not have diminished the anxiety and shudder of those who saw it. It was as if they were clouds sent by Janus to rain down on them, or as if they were millions of tentacles of a ringworm buzzing in the water. .

 They felt as if their pale, fluttering haze filled the sky as far as the eye could see, but that was only because their angel hair blocked not only the sky above them, but also their sides, front and back, as if they were trying to cover the whole area with their ghostly white.

 And there was consternation among the heroes of Mongol. They could have fought off the hordes of Shem, or the dragon and lion horsemen of Cheironia, but this white, wavering, mute creature took away the resistance of the heroes, and aroused the deepest fears of their hearts.

"Gayus."

 Amneris called out for the mage - his voice might have had a faint, uncontrollable tremble in it.

"What the hell is this?"

 The mage was fumbling with a prayer cord in the shape of a rune with his aged hands. The gesture was strangely irritating to the viewer.

"Angel hair is supposed to be harmless, but it's not like they're coming at us in droves, is it?"

"..."

 Gayus shook his head.

"I've never heard of anything like this."

"A sign!"

"And if there be such a thing, it shall not be a bad omen, nor a good omen, as the Gentile."

"Enough!"

 Amneris said irritably. This exchange between the commander-in-chief and the mage was, of course, unheard by most of the army, but that was a blessing in disguise.

 Because the knights looked up at the white curtain of angel hair in a weird way, and began to sneak around it, brushing it away with considerable panic now whenever it was stuck to their faces.

"Have you ever heard of a story like this, Mars?"

"No, I don't. My cousin's family have been frontiersmen for a long time, living near the Twolead Forest, and they always said that Angel Hair was harmless, if a little creepy. When I was assigned to Alvon Castle,..., he said.

"Hey, listen. I don't think this is normal. I got a bad feeling about this-- it's like a bad omen."

"Don't say it, Hendry."

"You know, it's rumored that I have a well-developed sixth sense."

"Yurek knows his stuff. Let's go talk to him. Yurek, Yurek."

"..."

"Do you know, I don't know if this happens all the time."

"Never heard of it--but this is Nosferus, where anything can happen."

"Hey, guys, listen up. Don't you know there's a myth that these angel hair things, each one of them, is a restless soul that came out of a dead man's mouth?"

"Don't tell me what to do, all of you!

"Over the face of the Mother of Mercy of Janus!"

"When the Crystal City fell by surprise, how many innocent civilians did we, the Black Knights and White Knights of Mongol, kill on top of horse?"

"Oh, no, don't say that! Bad luck!"

"But that was ...."

 The wind, which had died down for a while, came up again a little, shaking the sticky darkness, and the white gauze coverings of the angel hair swayed gently without a sound, as if the cilia of the ringworm were all waving together in the deep water.

 It was an awe-inspiring and terrifying sight. Someone lit a torch and brought it close to the drifting mist, and once around it, the cilia melted in great quantities and disappeared into the brittle darkness. But before long, the angel hair that had gathered from the surrounding areas would fill the hole, blending into a darker whiteness than before.

 At last, the five hundred troops had come to a complete standstill. Although there was no sign that they intended to do any harm, if they had come down and clung to the faces or mouths of the party, it would have been easy to suffocate them all with such numbers, and what was more, it could not be said that they were harmless. They were so blinded by this spectral dusk that they almost slipped into the sand pit of the giant ant colony.

 Even if it was harmless in itself, there was more than enough danger that it would block their vision and plunge them into the myriad dangers of the night of Nosferus. The three captains, Melum, Cain and Asturias, consulted their pigeons and rushed to break into the ranks of Amneris' bannermen.

"Your Highness, Amneris, with all due respect, it would be far too dangerous to proceed any further with horse."

"My men are beginning to fear, sir."

"As a result of our discussion, we have decided to suggest that you stay here for the night."

 They're all talking. Amneris frowned and glanced at the Obergruppenführers on either side of him.

 Vron and Lint nod with an eye face .

"Very well."

 Amneris pondered for a moment and then made his decision.

"The rations I brought with me lasted three days. It's better than forcing our way forward now, so send word and prepare to camp here for the night. However, if the situation is as abnormal as you see, line up the horses in a circle to form a barrier, triple the number of sentinels and rotate them constantly, and light a large bonfire in the center of the circle to keep the fire burning. Keep your armor on even when you take a nap. In the morning, you will stand at sunrise and enter Alvon Castle by the time the sun rises in the middle of the sky. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"I'll make sure he's careful."

"Each of you must carry a torch at your waist, so that you can light it from the bonfire at any time, in case this Angel Hair should show any harm. Angel Hair melts easily when exposed to high heat, so it's not much of a threat if you're prepared."

"I understand."

"Go!"

 After sending the third captain running, Amneris turned around. Not to Gayus, not to the second captain." It's a damn shame - I was determined to reach the walls of Arvon tonight, no matter what, even if it takes a little effort."

"I'm afraid I can't help you, sir, not like this."

"I'm curious. I've never heard of anything like this before. What kind of change could have brought about such an anomaly?"

"Because this is Nosferus--"

"What I'm saying is, it's not that obvious!"

 Amneris was harsh and determined. She bites her rosy lips and glares at the ghostly pallor that flutters above her head.

"We'll set up a tent for you. You may rest now."

 The samurai said, but Amneris did not even show any sign of trying to get off the horse.

 The knights hurriedly prepared the camp for the night. Huge bonfires were lit and ghatis were kneaded with water.

 The prisoners had the rope of their wrists removed, and they were given a rug behind a horse. They immediately fell down on the rug, and for a while they could not move - their spirits were so exhausted that they could hardly breathe.

 Amneris gave no instructions, as if he had forgotten about the captivity. Taking advantage of this, the knights, who were secretly feeling some distress, hurriedly took with them canteens, jars of grain, and grease for their wrists.

 Linda and Remus put the water bottles to their mouths and gulped them down. For a long time they didn't even try to remove the canteen from their mouths. But they could not bring themselves to eat Gati's powder. His hunger was so great that he could not pass it down his throat.

 Guin sipped from his water bottle and slowly gargled his mouth with it, sipping for a while to let the water flow into his mouth before spitting it out. He picked up a dried fruit that he had buried in the grain and began to suck on it, taking his time.

 While he was trying to recover his strength, the twins collapsed into a limp state and looked up at the sky in a daze.

"Huh--that's strange."

 Linda mutters in a weak voice.

"Even though the soldiers of Mongol are so afraid of Angel Hair, so frightened by the prospect of something strange, I'm not the least bit afraid of it. On the contrary, it gives me a strange and nostalgic feeling when I look at it. ..."

"Oh ..."

 Remus agreed in a hushed voice.

"It's not scary, and ... it's beautiful, like the cloth woven of spider silk and morning dew that Aino the Maiden will spread out for us when we die and ascend to the throne of Janus. Yeah."

"When I look at it, I feel like my body is floating and I'm flying in it."

 Linda said with a swoon.

"Maybe it's true that Angel Hair is the soul of the dead. If only it were the image of the mortal Paro, of the tens of thousands who came to see us, burned in the fire. ..."

 Guin looked at the twins. He seemed displeased, but he must have seen that the twins found the idea terribly comforting, because without saying a word, he began to bite into a loaf of battered bread.

 The knights on guard looked at them as if they wanted to say something, but when they saw them, and saw the white living darkness above them, they said nothing, and cut the sign of Janus.

 The swarm of angel hair swayed in the windless air, and the area looked like a white bottom. The second night in Nosferus drew to a close with anxiety and an unceasing awe-inspiring throb.