Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 301

301

It was an extremely windy day. With each gust of fierce air, the fields writhed in agony. The grass and flowers, unable to even tilt their heads properly, chose to lie flat, unable to withstand the immense tyranny.

Standing on a wide hill, the man looked down at the scene and thought that the grass and flowers looked just like him now. But it wasn’t humiliating. He wanted neither honor nor power, nothing for himself. What he had wanted from the beginning was complete peace. He wanted to live peacefully, watching over this dazzlingly beautiful world and the people he loved. He simply wasn’t understood by the person he most wanted to understand him.

The ferocious wind relentlessly tried to lash at him. He knew what his precious friend had risked to save him from that rough storm. If merely prostrating could save everyone’s lives, it was a cheap price to pay.

“Brother!”

At the sound coming from afar, the man smiled faintly. Far down the hill, a blond boy was waving his hand energetically.

“Sez.”

“You were in a place like this again?”

With each step, the boy stumbled, his feet catching on his long, flowing clothes. The white robe, covering even the back of his feet, severely restricted his movement and was particularly cumbersome outdoors. The man was wearing the same attire as the boy, so he couldn’t laugh at the clumsy gait.

“I heard there was poison in today’s meal too? I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s not your fault.”

“Still, it’s the fifth time already. It’s really too much. Why do they keep tormenting you like this every time? You haven’t done anything.”

“It’s because they have a lot of pent-up feelings from the past. It will be alright with time. Don’t resent them too much.”

“You always say such easygoing things. They should quickly realize that you’re such a pushover. Then they’d be too ashamed to even lift their heads.”

He wasn’t offended by the blatant sarcasm. He knew the boy was saying it because he was worried about him. The youngest, born weakest from the most humble mother. That’s why he felt more affectionate and concerned. He cherished and took care of him as much as his full siblings, or even more. The boy also followed and trusted the brother who doted on him. When he gently stroked his hair, the boy snuggled up with a happy face. The two looked at each other and smiled. The only allies in this bleak and desolate place. Someone he could readily trust to watch his back at any moment.

So, he accepted the fruit the boy offered without suspicion.

“……!”

The moment he swallowed, he felt an excruciating pain as if his insides were burning. As he caught the gushing blood with one hand, he wore a shocked expression. The surroundings were filled with groans. Those who had shared the fruit with him were all collapsing on the floor, complaining of the same symptoms. The only one standing perfectly fine amidst the chaos was the boy he cherished. The boy was staring at him with a serene face.

“I’m sorry, Brother.”

“Sez, you…….”

Strength rapidly drained from his body. Even as he staggered and slumped down, he couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. A terrible pain enveloped his entire body, yet he felt strangely detached from reality. Accepting it meant acknowledging the boy’s betrayal.

“Were you very surprised? Actually, I was the one who had been poisoning your food all along. I wanted to keep it a secret as much as possible, but you managed to avoid it every time. It has come to this in the end.”

“Why would you…….”

“You ask even though you know.”

He wasn’t so foolish as not to understand the meaning contained in those words. Of course, even if he understood, he couldn’t comprehend the situation. As if reading his question, the boy smiled sadly.

“It’s okay if only I die. But I had to protect my people. I had to show proof that I was following ‘his’ will.”

The man’s face hardened at the unknown fact. The boy had no particular support or foundation. He was not someone who could be of help or a threat to either him or ‘him’ in any way. He also thought that he regarded the boy with pity and cherished him. He knew that the boy only drew his cold blade against himself. He thought that his nature would spare the boy at least. He thought he wouldn’t touch him. But that wasn’t the case.

“He can be infinitely cruel when it comes to matters related to you.”

As if reading his question, the boy replied. It wasn’t a blaming tone, but to the man, it sounded like resentment. Why didn’t you realize that? If he had noticed beforehand, he could have prevented all this tragedy.

“Don’t worry, Brother. Everything will be over now.”

Soon, the boy drew a long sword. The man stared at the blue blade looming before him with a sense of futility. He had always thought the boy was far from martial arts, but the way he held the sword was not awkward. The composure that could only be seen in a skilled swordsman who had practiced for a long time could also be felt in the boy. The man distorted his face. The things that made him who he was were collapsing little by little. What had he been seeing and what had he been failing to see until now? How much had he missed while settling for the visible part?

‘I have nothing to say even if I die.’

He thought that he only needed to yield. It was too naive a judgment. In the end, everyone around him chose tragedy because of that complacency. His friend, who had shone like a celestial being without a single blemish throughout his life, had fallen into the abyss where judgment awaited to save him, and the boy, who had been as pure and innocent as dew, would now stain his hands with his brother’s blood. If he had chosen a different path, perhaps this might not have happened. But now, none of it was anything but meaningless thoughts.

The boy came closer. Feeling a completely different expression and a cold murderous intent, he couldn’t take his eyes off him. He didn’t think of resisting or evading. He wouldn’t be able to run far in his poisoned state anyway. Above all, he didn’t want to leave such an unsightly figure as his last image to the boy. He would rather face death with dignity. That was when he steeled himself. The distance between him and the boy was now close enough to share breaths. The boy bent down and, instead of stabbing him with the sword, turned the hilt and placed it in his hand. The reversed blade naturally pointed towards the boy.

“……What……!”

Startled by the unexpected action, the man widened his eyes. His brilliant mind grasped the meaning at once this time as well. But the situation unfolded faster than he could act. With the hilt in his hand, the boy stabbed himself with the sword.

Thud!

Along with the sound of skin being pierced, a blunt sensation of flesh tearing was transmitted to his fingertips. The tip of the sword, which had pierced through in an instant, emerged from the boy’s back. As the horrified man widened his eyes, the boy, who had bent over, coughed up blood.

“Sez!”

The boy’s body rapidly crumbled before him. The man hurriedly reached out and caught the boy. The body he desperately embraced trembled. The boy he had trusted had poisoned him, and the boy he had thought had betrayed him had now stabbed himself. It was hard to come to his senses because he couldn’t accept the unfolding situation. Unlike the stiff man, the pale-faced boy looked very peaceful. He raised his hand and stroked his brother’s cheek. The man realized a little later that it was an act of wiping away the blood on his cheek. When their eyes met, the boy smiled faintly.

“See……see, Brother. It’ll be over……soon, right?”

“Sez…….”

“The poison……you ingested……if you take the antidote within an hour……you’ll be okay. In my pocket……cough! In, in my pocket……it’s inside.”

“……! What! What are you even saying! Sez, why! Why are you doing this!”

“This way……cough, I……it will look like I tried to assassinate……Brother……but failed.”

“……!”

“I’m sorry……I’m sorry, Brother. The only way……to save……Brother and everyone……I could think of……was this…….”

Tears welled up in the boy’s clear, smiling eyes. As his complexion, which had been white, turned pale, the focus in his eyes gradually began to blur. The meaning of that phenomenon was clear. The Grim Reaper’s scythe was tilting towards the boy.

“No. Sez, no.”

The man shook his head, holding the boy’s cooling hand. He had never begged for anything so desperately as he did at this moment. A noble lineage from birth. A position to rule over everyone. He had been taught that his knees were so precious that he should not kneel before anyone except God and the Emperor. But at this moment, he felt like he could prostrate himself and beg even a worm crawling in the gutter if it meant the boy could live. Ah, God of Demons, look upon your dying servant! Have mercy on my younger brother, who was weak and could only be used, and save him!

“The antidote……be sure to take it. Brother……you must survive. For, for my sake…….”

“No, Sez! Please!”

“Please……forgive……your worthless brother.”

The boy’s breathing slowed. Tears trickled down from his slowly closing eyes. The man stared at the boy, who was growing colder in his arms, with an incredulous expression. No matter how much he held him and shook him, no matter how desperately he called out, those eyes would never open again.

Shatter-

And the things that made him who he was were completely shattered and scattered.

“Hah!”

With a sensation of fading away, a breath close to a scream burst out. The first thing that greeted his widened eyes was pitch-black darkness. A chilling coldness unique to winter flowed in the deathly silent space. Only after seeing the faint moonlight shining outside the window did he realize that he had returned to reality.

“Looks like I had a bad dream?”

“…….”

No, perhaps this is also a continuation of the nightmare.

At the sound coming from his ear, the man—Yukarte—smiled wryly and swept back his hair. He had sweated a lot, and the dampness felt unpleasant. It was something that happened often, but he couldn’t get used to this feeling. Normally, he would have gone to wash up first, but he wasn’t happy about having to postpone that. However, instead of expressing his displeasure, he got up without showing it. The other person was a guest who was allowed to visit at any time without an invitation. It didn’t matter that it was the early hours of the morning when everyone was asleep, or that he had just woken up from a nightmare.

“Was it that day’s dream again this time?”

“Why ask the obvious?”

“Hmm. It must be hard to be tormented like that every time.”

Yukarte smiled wryly at the insincere consolation. ‘It must be hard,’ he said. Did he even know what it meant for him to be ‘hard’? It was probably the most mismatched phrase in the world for him. He knew that it was just a word given because it was necessary, not because he actually sympathized. But he was the only one who would even say such things formally. So, he took the hand he offered. He willingly jumped into the fire, knowing it was a pit of fire. He had never regretted it, although he regretted not choosing it sooner. Especially on days like today when unforgettable memories were vividly revived.

“It’s uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Rather, it’s a good stimulus. It keeps me from forgetting my resolution that day.”

“That’s what I value about you. Useless things always weaken quickly.”

That was, of course, a statement that heavily implied past experiences. Hadn’t he said that hundreds of contractors had passed through him to this day? The majority of them couldn’t endure the contract conditions to the end. They either committed suicide, consumed by guilt, or, conversely, lost their sense of judgment and ran rampant, meeting their deaths. Whether in a passive or active form, the result was the same: they eventually went mad within a few years. Yukarte was the only one who had consistently maintained the contract for over 10 years. But even he thought that he was somewhat mad. No, in fact, he was completely mad. It was something he couldn’t have done otherwise.

“This is the preparation for this time.”

He opened a secret space near his head and carefully took out what he had prepared for this moment. What he held in his hand were several glass bottles. The crimson liquid inside sloshed in response to the moving vibrations.

“I’ve prepared more than usual this time.”

“Hmm.”

When he opened the lid, a fishy smell stung his nose. It was a smell that anyone could immediately recognize what was inside. But the man who received the bottle took it to his mouth without any expression, as if it were natural. The sound of him gulping it down resounded starkly, and Yukarte’s expression remained unchanged as he watched the scene. It didn’t take long for the glass bottles that had begun to empty one by one to be completely drained. The man who wiped his mouth looked somewhat dissatisfied. Yukarte’s face, who had been watching intently, clouded with disappointment.

“Is it not effective?”

“Is the restriction the problem after all? That’s troublesome. It’s difficult for me to increase the amount of ingredients any further. Some people are starting to notice.”

“I know. I regret losing Serpis all over again. It wasn’t the time yet. I could have found more hidden demon followers.”