Her (part 1)

Ch. XXV - Her (Rake)

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Three nights ago was when the darkest night happened.

The night that crushes all hopes and dreams held by the ethelens and the Velborn kingdom. The night where souls are screaming painfully as they reach the heavens.

And I… was the cause of it all.

The deaths started with the explosion that I caused, and it allows their defenses to fall apart. I also killed three fourth of their strength with that initial explosion, and it's possible that their strongest warriors probably got killed by it.

Velborn was completely open, and Ardjestyn used a cheat to reach the other side of the world very quickly.

Tens of thousands of lives were lost, and it was all because of me.

I know about it all, but I kept it deep within my mind. But eventually, a sin that powerful will resurface.

And when it does…

"Khhh!!!!!"

It will eat my mind…

And I will lose it.

Afternoon, October 24th, the day when the heroes are awarded for their achievements.

In the morning, I met Jack on the public main road as we walked towards the White Cathedral. The people around us were shouting our names, praising us for what we are.

Except, for one person.

A scrawny old man, with barely any days left in his life, possibly only one step away from the grave. He was old, but when I saw his eyes, it felt like I'm looking at death itself.

When he shouted those words at me, it felt like thunder had struck my unprotected heart. It's like I'm being thrown off a cliff by people that I truly trust. It's like I'm using my own hands to murder the people that I care about.

The feeling of regret… guilt.

Bearing the deadliest sin of mankind, genocide. How can one man live with this much pain in his chest?

I truly wanted to suicide. But I understand that killing oneself is just a means to escape the guilt quickly, and will do nothing but escape.

So… how can I atone it? Exactly what am I left to do, when the said sin is a genocide? If all of the victims are already dead, then… What can I do?

The pure insanity of that thought alone has completely ruined me. I have no way of atoning whatsoever, and the pain is continuously ruining me.

Until, news came to my ears.

The butler of the Ignicius manor. I hated him so much because he is acting as the one responsible for my entire wellbeing in the house. He is always so stern, and he always meddles into my businesses.

But, for that reason, I realize now that it was indeed for my own good.

As always, he is very meddlesome. He always placed his nose in everything that could be related to me, and found out many things that even I can't find out myself.

Including the news of Gilbert's command to capture any ethelens that have been sighted in a human town or village.

The butler told me when I was locking myself in my room. He simply stood outside the door, and told me the news. And after I heard that Gilbert somehow had caught one, I immediately reacted.

I came out of my room, and showed him my condition.

My eyes are blood red from the stress, and my skin is so malnourished. I have not eaten or slept for many hours, and everything about my condition is just horrible.

"Tell me everything."

I said to the butler, and he began telling me.

A 'package' will arrive from a far away town that is in the south. It was a town that is rather close to Velborn's territory, and as such has a very high chance of an ethelen running there as an escape route.

They caught one ethelen, and they are now transferring the captured to the capital.

"Why did Gilbert wants to capture ethelens now?"

"That is information that I cannot get a hold of. However, all that I can tell you now is that he truly wants this ethelen alive and well, even ordering the knight who captured them to not hurt them much."

"… His plan has not ended yet."

"It's most likely that Commander Gilbert has more things to do in his schemes."

"That's why he is capturing ethelens now instead of killing them… I will see to it."

And so, I began preparing. I got cleaned up and wore my armor, and I began rushing towards the White Cathedral.

From the looks of it, the 'package' still hasn't arrived yet. So I stayed on the top of the roof as I waited, and it took a very long time until a carriage entered through the front gate of the knights headquarters.

It's a carriage with a second cart right behind it. From how the shape is a box, anyone can tell that this thing is carrying valuables or items.

But from how it is being covered by a cloth, I can already see that it was actually a jail cart.

The cloth was lifted, revealing the package inside.

It's… a female?

It's a female ethelen looked to be a teenager. She has black eyes, two short horns on her forehead, and a pale skin similar to humans. From her condition, it can be said that she has been living a rough life in the past two days.

… and I am the one who caused it all.

The gate behind the jail cart was opened, and the girl noticed. She kicked it, causing the person who was opening it to get knocked by the jail door.

She jumped out very quickly and arrived next to the person. She tackled him, and placed her arms on his neck.

I can see them causing quite the commotion, but my attention turned somewhere else.

Far behind the commotion, behind where the ethelen girl is currently at, a glimmering light suddenly appeared from the darkness.

The light suddenly appeared, revealing the individual hidden underneath.

T-That was a cloak… an invisibility cloak??

That's a kingdom relic. An item so powerful that the kingdom kept it hidden in their vaults. And yet, that person is using it so casually on this random evening.

Who is that person??

It was rather dark, but with my eyes I could see his face rather clearly. My suspicion became more and more correct as sparks of red lightning appeared on his hands.

So… it was you…

BAAARRRR!!!!!

The red lightning struck the ethelen girl in the back, but not strong enough to kill her. The girl got knocked out, and was immediately brought to the dungeon by the knights.

He didn't kill the ethelen girl… how interesting. He brought him all the way here, to the capital, even though he could have killed her at the southern town. Not to mention the town was extremely far away, he must've spent quite a lot of cash paying the driver.

… What is it that you are plotting, Gilbert?

After confirming that the girl had entered the dungeon, Gilbert then left the area. He went inside the headquarters building, possibly to his quarters.

Meanwhile, I leaped away and sneaked into the dungeon.

I hid myself just in time when two junior knights were exiting the dungeon, but they are not completely leaving. They are guarding the entrance.

Leaving will be a hindrance if they're still here.

At the time, my mind was completely corrupted. I was at my lowest, and my thought process simply could not move properly.

Without taking my sword out, I assassinated the knights in silence.

There were more coming from the outside, and I had to sneakily assassinate them as well. I left a large amount of puddling blood on the path, but I didn't really care. I began sneaking deeper into the dungeon.

Voices can be heard, and I sharpened my senses. From the sound of it, the torturer is probably torturing the ethelen girl right now, and from how happy and loud he is, it's possible that it is rape.

I began to move in a hurry, and I arrived in front of the jail cell. I stopped and hid myself once again, deleting my presence from anyone close to me. It's like I am becoming a ghost, but one can still notice me if they see me standing right in front of them.

So, I hid. And I listened even deeper into their conversation.

"You really were… the princess…"

The guy inside said with a really surprised tone, and I immediately knew what's going on.

Gilbert… he was looking for the princess of Velborn?

That guy, when we were at Velborn, he rapidly dashed towards the royal castle. He was the one who dealt with the royal family, so he is the one responsible for the deaths of the royal family.

And yet, the princess is right here. Which means she escaped Gilbert's hands.

And Gilbert… didn't want to kill her…

… So that's your plan, huh?

You want to torture the last surviving royalty that much?

You really are a psycho, Gilbert… I can't believe I've ever talked to you in my life.

If only I didn't meet you… if only you were dead…

A grin formed on my face as I came up with an idea.

The last surviving ethelen, the very princess of Velborn too. Gilbert's plan was to torture her, to solve his thirst for ethelen blood.

Then… I will ruin that plan of yours… and I will atone for my sins with that.

And so, I began my move.

"Y-You are… Rake Ignicius!!"

SHRESSSHHH!!!!!

Like before, my mind was not in the correct place. I killed that man without a slight thought, and he got cut in half vertically.

"How are you feeling?"

I asked the female ethelen after freeing her from the chains. But the moment I took notice of her eyes, I became sure.

This girl… was a princess. From her expensive looking dress, anyone can tell that she was once a nobility.

She lived her entire life as a princess, never seeing any horrible things, to enjoy tasty food everyday, and to live happily without minding much of the future.

But… I ripped it all away from her.

She was living peacefully and happily, and I took it all away when I killed all of her people. Gilbert may be the one who killed her family, but I was the one who took freedom from her.

She became like this… because of me.

Her eyes are so lifeless it's like seeing a doll. Her skin was so dirty, it's clear that she's been touching mud with her face. Her once beautiful black hair is now covered in mud and dirt.

She has suffered… But,

From how she kicked the jail cart's door earlier,

From how she is still not giving in to the torturer,

I can tell.

She is still fighting.

So I shielded my thoughts and continued with what I was doing. Saving her.