༺ Gathering (3) ༻
There was a slight movement.
However, the movement was enough for her to notice.
“Vera?”
Renee called out to Vera, feeling the tremor through her fingertips.
Vera opened his eyes.
His vision was filled with Renee.
“Ah…”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you have a headache or anything?”
Renee shot a string of worried questions.
Vera exhaled, realizing that he had returned to reality.
As he looked around, he noticed that the scenery had changed.
There was no more flesh.
What was left were walls made of ancient stone.
‘Is it over?’
Had their suffering come to an end?
He really hoped that was the case.
“Vera…?”
Renee called out to him once again, and Vera flinched.
His emotions had not yet settled.
His voice trembled as he answered.
“…Was I gone for long?”
Renee felt it.
She tightened her grip on his hand and nodded gently in response.
“No, it hasn’t been that long.”
“What about the situation…?”
“It seems to be over. At some point, the feeling of the floor changed. All the shocks transmitted through the protective spell also stopped.”
Renee sensed that Vera had had an unpleasant experience in the other world.
And for good reason, as the emotion seeping from his voice was quite bitter.
She avoided prying further.
Renee gently reached for his shoulders and raised him up, then hugged him softly.
“…You did well.”
Pat.
Pat.
Her patting motion on his back was filled with comfort.
Vera struggled to control his emotions and hugged Renee back.
“Yes, I have returned.”
Warmth filled his heart, and his troubled heart felt somewhat relieved.
Suppressing his tingling feelings, Vera nestled his head into Renee’s embrace.
***
Passing through the castle where the flesh had disappeared was easy.
That was because Vera had already familiarized himself with the castle’s layout.
They followed the path he found based on his experience in the world of those souls.
Soon, the two encountered the rest of their group.
“You’ve arrived.”
At the enormous hall at the entrance of the inner castle.
In the place where the young children were burned just before, Vargo greeted Vera.
Behind him were hundreds of people, already gathered.
“I apologize. We’re a bit late.”
“Don’t worry. You’re the one who cleared away that flesh, right? Finally, you did something useful.”
Snorting in response, Vargo began to recount what had happened.
“We kept walking and found ourselves here. Luckily, the advance party was tied up here, so we started freeing them one by one when the others arrived. Then the flesh disappeared, and now you’re here.”
If it had been Miller, he would have taken dozens of sentences to explain.
Vera nodded his head.
He then looked behind Vargo, scanning the still-unwell advance party.
“How are they?”
“They can’t be used in battle. The mental damage they received is worse than the physical damage. They keep flinching like they had a nightmare.”
“What about their recovery…?”
“None of them should have permanent damage.”
Vera let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s a relief.”
Vargo’s beard bristled.
“What’s going on with you?”
He inquired with a grunt.
He immediately sensed that Vera’s demeanor was different from the usual.
Vera avoided Vargo’s gaze uncomfortably, then finally sighed and answered.
“There was an issue when I used the legacy. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“Hmm…”
Vargo’s eyes narrowed.
However, he didn’t say anymore.
He didn’t want to pry further, and the others had also started to gather around.
Albrecht greeted Vera, looking cheerful.
There was not a shadow to be seen on him, as he had fully recovered.
“Sir Vera! I’m grateful that you came to rescue me…!”
Vera chuckled at his brightly smiling face.
“Judging by your condition, it looks like you would have gotten out on your own.”
“Hardly. I had help from others.”
A brief exchange followed.
Vera then sat with the gathered party to share the information they had obtained.
“How did you deal with the spirits?”
“We sealed them. Spirits cannot be killed or destroyed, so that was all we could do.”
Miller jingled a bottle in his hand.
There were several layers of chains wrapped around the light gray porcelain bottle.
“I plan to ask the elementalists to purify it once we’re done here.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.”
Vera then looked at Friede and Marie.
Friede nodded and spoke.
“We found the traces of Gorgan. It seemed like he had been in a battle, but we don’t know his whereabouts. I think he may have gone deeper.”
“Was there someone else?”
“No. All we saw on the way here were flesh and spirits.”
Friede shrugged.
Vera finally took his eyes off Friede and took a deep breath.
All eyes were focused on Vera.
“I found the way. With the help of the legacy, I’ve confirmed the passage that leads to the inner castle.”
“It’s the door back there, correct?”
“Yes. If we go straight through that door, there’s a prison. Past that prison and further down is the inner castle. Alaysia is probably there.”
At Vera’s words, Rohan, who had endured hardship to reach this place, stroked his chin.
“…But why is it so quiet? If we’re causing this much of a ruckus, there should be some sort of reaction.”
It was a reasonable question.
Considering the troubles they had caused so far at Lake Granice and the commotion since their arrival, it was suspicious that Alaysia had not made any move.
“She might be immobilized.”
Trevor spoke.
Somehow back in Jenny’s arms, Trevor was practically glued to Annalise as he barely managed to speak.
“It’s too quiet if she’s planning something. So far, all of her actions seemed premeditated. She might be preparing some sort of countermove.”
“A countermove…”
“Even if we break into the inner castle, we might not be able to stop it.”
The atmosphere in the room became tense, their faces filled with serious expressions.
“Is there a reason to delay it any longer?”
No one answered Vera’s question.
It also implied an implicit agreement.
Vera nodded and stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“What about the advance party?”
“We’ll have to send them out. If they’re not useful in battle, then it’s better to send them to a safe place.”
Vera’s gaze turned toward the door leading to the inner castle.
It was a door that simply remained quiet, thereby making it feel ominous.
Vera spoke, looking at the door.
“…We’re almost there.”
The time had come to truly see the end.
***
The door leading to the depths creaked open, and the gathered Apostles and Heroes entered.
Passing through a long corridor, they moved to an even deeper prison.
Upon arriving there, Vera’s expression darkened at the sight of red marks scattered all over the place.
His discomfort grew at the traces of history that had not faded despite the passage of time.
“This is…”
“A prison for holding sacrifices.”
Albrecht flinched.
His gaze cautiously turned toward Vera.
Vera didn’t say anything else and simply looked at the prison, reaffirming his oath.
An oath to wield his sword.
An oath to avenge their grudges on their behalf.
Hwaruruk—
The golden stigma imbued power into his body.
“Is the inner castle behind that door?”
Hegrion pointed at the door at the end of the dungeon and asked.
Vera nodded.
“Bodies used to be embedded in the walls behind it. I don’t know what it’s like now.” ”
“Damn…”
A voice filled with disgust burst out from Miller.
“Let’s go.”
Vargo calmed the angry crowd and took the lead.
He then opened the door.
Squeak—
The rusty door slid open with an unpleasant sound.
For a moment, he squinted at the energy emanating from within.
“…We must hurry.”
The corruption was overwhelmingly strong.
***
The entire palace was shrouded in darkness.
Alaysia opened her eyes, seated on the throne.
“…They’re coming.”
Her appearance was unsettling.
Her once spring-like hair was now sullied in a dark red hue, and a shadowy gloom covered the face that used to wear a bright smile.
Not only that, but she wore a red dress different from any she had worn before.
Suddenly, the corners of Alaysia’s mouth curled up.
“It’s almost time. Yes, it’ll all be over soon.”
Whoosh—
Alaysia’s hand dropped to her swollen belly, resembling a full-term pregnant woman.
“Then let’s rebuild it together.”
Her eyes, gazing at her belly, were filled with indescribable love.
“Let’s create a garden, build a house on it, and whisper our love to each other every day.”
With the movement of her snowy white hand, her belly started to thump.
“I’ll collect the flowers, and make a wreath to put on your head. Then, you’d hug me tightly.”
Her voice was dreamy, as though she was singing.
It undoubtedly contained an obsession bordering on madness.
The thumping in her belly intensified.
The kicking which seemed like a tantrum became more and more frenzied.
Thump—!
Thump—!
A bright smile spread across Alaysia’s face, and she began to snicker.
“Do you want to come out?”
Why do you struggle so pitifully?
How could you throw such a cute tantrum?
“Not yet.”
How could something make me this happy?
“Wait. Just wait a little longer and he will come.”
The movement on her belly began to slow down.
It wasn’t calming down.
It was being pulled deeper by Alaysia.
“The last piece will come soon. And also the flesh you’ll wear.”
Thump…
A final, deathlike throb echoed, then faded.
“Aru, Aru.”
Alaysia repeatedly murmured the name she couldn’t help but love.
“Now, everything will belong to Aru. No one else needs to follow, and no more burdens. Just a world with only Aru and me…”
She pondered over it.
Then, she began to shed transparent tears.
“…That’s the paradise we are headed for.”
Her hand caressed her belly.
Holding her one and only world close, Alaysia waited for those who were coming.
***
The place was filled with a sense of corruption beyond words.
There were no bodies hanging on the walls like in the realm of imprisoned souls, nor graves marked with inverted crosses in the wide hall.
There were just walls made of ordinary stone.
And silence.
There was a large door at the end.
“This must be it.”
It was just a lump of iron with no embellishments, and yet it was a door that invoked fear.
At that moment, Vargo felt ominous for the first time in his life.
“…Fucking hell.”
Vargo raised his hand, and the group backed away.
Whoosh—!
Crimson divinity began to blaze all over his body.
“Now that there’s nothing left to hide…”
Divinity gathered on his hand and transformed into a mace.
Gripping it firmly, Vargo spoke as he shook off the looming sense of dread.
“…I’ll just have to crush this thing.”
A crimson trail followed the motions of the mace.
Then, the unleashed divinity created a blinding light.
Kwaah—!
Vera’s blurred vision showed the iron door disappearing entirely, revealing a long red carpet behind it.
At the end of it was Alaysia, looking at him and smiling.
Her lips moved slightly.
— Welcome.
Vera felt his heart go cold at the sight of her genuinely happy face.
