Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 88

88

“……!?”

With a ‘thwack,’ the thick mask caved in.

“Uwaaaaaaagh!”

The torturer, clutching his bleeding face, stumbled backward.

Pahm strained against the leather restraints on his wrists, forcing them open with such force that his fingers nearly broke.

Finally freeing his arms, he then worked on the restraints binding his legs.

Fortunately, with persistent effort and the somewhat loose restraints, he managed to break free without much trouble.

“Uwaaaagh!”

”
What did you say just now?”

Pahm, now free, moved and kicked the torturer.

“Ugh!”

“That I’m using the prince as a puppet? And that someone like you can make him cry out? You piece of trash! Don’t make me laugh!”

Pahm picked up a discarded iron skewer and approached the torturer.

“You poor thing. Let me tell you something. I came from the lowest status in the world. But… thanks to him, I never once thought of myself as insignificant like you.”

“W-wait a minute…!”

“I’ll take your life as payment for the words you’ve uttered.”

He brought the heated skewer down.

***

Prince Eron squeezed his eyes shut.

“Let me go! Please let me go! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Damn it! Why am I here?”

In the royal palace’s underground prison.

Eron, despite being royalty, sat on the cold floor.

Cold sweat streamed down his face.

He tried to stay positive, but he kept imagining the worst possible scenarios.

Fear morphed into terror, gradually eroding his mind.

‘I am a proud member of the Ronia royal family! Do not be afraid! As a member of the Ronia family, I must remain dignified to the end. Even if my head is chopped off. I… must not be afraid…!’

“Hey, want me to tell you what’s going to happen to you?”

The prisoner across from him chuckled and began to speak.

“In a little while, the torturer will come. That guy’s a piece of garbage who gets pleasure from torturing people, you know?”

“…….”

“First, he’ll take a skewer and burn your skin with fire. Thoroughly, in every nook and cranny…! And then your fingers…!”

Eron covered his ears with trembling hands, trying to block out the prisoner’s viscous [malicious] words.

Just then, footsteps echoed through the prison.

The noisy prison fell silent as if a mouse had died.

The torturer was approaching.

‘It’s okay. It’ll be okay. I…!’

He no longer resembled a noble royal; he was merely a frightened young boy who had heard a scary story.

As a shadow fell over him, Eron cautiously raised his head.

The torturer, masked and wielding an executioner’s axe like those used on the execution ground, was looking down at him with indifferent eyes.

Eron, startled, hiccuped and burst into tears he had been holding back.

“Haha! Look at the prince! He couldn’t be more pathetic…!”

The torturer glanced at the prisoner across the way and then struck him with the end of the axe handle.

“Ugh!”

A dull sound echoed as the prisoner’s face was crushed, splattering blood.

The torturer approached Eron’s cell.

“……!”

Eron pressed his lips together tightly.

The torturer tried to open the door with a key, but it wouldn’t open, perhaps due to rust.

As if venting his frustration, he kicked the door and struck it roughly with the end of the axe handle.

The lock clattered and fell off with a clang.

The torturer entered the cell.

Eron’s fear grew even greater at the sight of his ferocious appearance.

“D-d-do it…!”

“……?”

“D-do it, if you dare! I’ll endure any torture. A-as a royal… with dignity…!”

At Eron’s words, a smile appeared on the torturer’s lips beneath the mask.

“As expected of the person I recognized, Your Highness.”

“…Pahm!?”

As Eron was startled by the voice, Pahm lifted his small body with one hand and placed him on his back.

“It’s fortunate that you don’t have shackles on your feet. I can’t do anything about the ones on your hands, though, since I don’t have the key.”

“W-what are you planning to do with me?”

Eron harbored animosity toward Pahm.

The reason was simple.

He believed that Pahm was manipulating the royal family from behind the scenes.

His father, King Elron’s dementia and confinement, as well as this civil war, were all part of Marquis Pahm’s scheme.

Eron glared at Pahm with hatred.

But deep down, he felt a strange sense of relief.

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious? I am someone who wants to become a great noble of Ronia. To that end, I must use Your Highness. Isn’t that right?”

Use me?

Eron was puzzled.

“It would be better to escape alone and defect to another country.”

Pahm Halo was a figure who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Stinger family, the Sword of Protection that shook Ronia.

His reputation was well known in other countries, and he would have enough influence to be granted at least a baronetcy or earldom in another country.

It would be more beneficial for him to live a new life in another country than in Ronia.

Pahm waved his hand at Eron’s words.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to?”

“What I want is here, and it’s not there.”

“……?”

“And it’s also a hassle. Especially since I wouldn’t be able to tease Your Highness anymore, would I?”

“……!”

“Now, be quiet. We’re getting out of here.”

Eron closed his mouth at Pahm’s words.

It was when Pahm was taking Prince Eron out of the prison.

A guard was seen guarding the entrance.

“Hey, wait a minute. Koom. Where are you going?”

It seemed the torturer’s name was Koom.

They probably didn’t notice because of the similar build and the mask.

“It’s Prince Ash’s order to bring the traitor Eron. He must be planning to torture him himself.”

“R-really?”

The guards flinched at the mention of Ash’s name.

“But where are the other soldiers?”

Pahm tilted his head at the guard’s words.

“It’s just me, though?”

“…That’s strange. You’re supposed to bring the prince, but there aren’t any other soldiers? Besides… you seem to have gotten a bit bigger? And your voice is strange too….”

The soldiers placed their hands on the hilts of their swords.

“Hey, are you really Koom?”

“…….”

The corners of Pahm’s lips turned up.

“No, I’m not.”

With those words, Pahm swung his axe and struck the soldier’s neck.

***

The capital of Ronia, Lost, quickly became noisy.

“Eron… the prince escaped?”

It was because the nobles who had resentment toward Prince Ash received the news.

They had heard the rumors while trying to find a way to stand against Prince Ash’s tyranny.

“Y-yes, that’s right. The capital is in chaos right now!”

“…….”

“…What do we do now? If Prince Eron escapes, this country will be split in two again!”

“Gather the troops.”

“…Are you going to capture Prince Eron?”

They were nobles who thought of the country and its people. For them, they had to prevent the collapse of the country.

“No, from now on, we will help Prince Eron escape.”

But the conclusion they reached was to split the country in two.

Rather than the entire country being destroyed by Ash’s tyranny, they would maintain even a part of it to check Prince Ash.

Otherwise, the entire country would be devoured by the Holy Order.

The nobles who decided to side with Eron each wrote their names on parchment and signed it.

A force supporting Eron was formed.

***

Pahm rode with Eron on horseback.

Before long, night fell, and rain began to fall from the sky.

They entered the forest to avoid pursuit, but even in the heavy rain, the cavalrymen chasing after them relentlessly pursued them.

The strong wind and rain lashed at the torches, but the torches filled with oil did not go out and sought to find Eron’s party.

The cavalrymen shouted as they chased Pahm and Eron.

“It’s no use running!”

“There’s nowhere left for you to go in this territory of Ronia!”

That was true.

Ronia had already fallen to Ash.

It was clear that they would be caught no matter where they went.

But that didn’t mean escape was impossible.

When Eron escaped, a riot broke out in the capital, Lost.

-Evacuate Prince Eron!

A small number of nobles helped Eron escape in order to resist Ash’s tyranny.

‘That means there are nobles who follow Prince Eron.’

With their help, they might be able to start over from the beginning again.

‘No, this time the situation is different. The Holy Order has completely come forward to support Ash.’

In the current situation, if there is anyone who helps Eron, they will be turning the entire continent into an enemy.

‘We need help from some other force. Something more powerful and strong…!’

Just as he was thinking that, a barrage of arrows fell from the sky.

The arrows that flew through the heavy rain struck the horse that Pahm and Eron were riding.

“……!”

The horse fell forward, and Pahm, shielding Eron, rolled forward.

The cavalrymen quickly surrounded the two people, who were covered in mud on the damp ground.

The cavalrymen drew their spears and pointed them at Eron and Pahm.

“…This is dangerous.”

It was when Pahm was gripping his axe.

“Who’s there!”

At another cavalryman’s shout, the soldiers’ gazes focused on one side.

The dark clouds and rain made the dark forest even darker.

In that space, a single being walked out.

With a shuffling sound, a pure white bone foot trampled the wet bushes.

A small figure wearing a black robe and a pointed hat was walking through the forest.

Behind him were two knights in armor.

“…What do we do?”

The cavalrymen exchanged glances.

They felt a strange sense of unease.

“S-stop! Who are you!”

“We are acting under the orders of His Highness Ash! Reveal your identity!”

When Ash’s name was mentioned, the one wearing the pointed hat raised its head.

A pure white skull was revealed, and red eyes shone.

“I curse you.”

A low, eerie voice filled with hatred, resentment, and murderous intent spread throughout the forest in an instant.

“L-lich!?”

In an instant, the cavalrymen’s necks were twisted 360 degrees.

Before they knew it, wraiths had grabbed their necks and twisted them.

“I curse Ash Ronia!”

Pahm’s eyes widened at the absurd power, and he stared at the lich.

“…Who… are you?”

At Pahm’s question, the undead’s eyes glowed.

Paul, who had been betrayed by his master and died resenting and cursing, looked at Pahm and Eron.

Paul looked at the two of them and then moved his feet.

To Ronia’s capital, where Ash was.

“T-thank you!”

At that moment, Paul turned his head and looked at Eron.

Eron had a terrified expression on his face and stepped back.

However, he mustered his courage and spoke.

“T-thank you… for helping us.”

Paul’s reddish eyes narrowed.

People being chased by Ash Ronia….

The soldiers had been chasing them to the death.

That means….

“I’ll ask you just one thing.”

If these people escape….

“Is the current Ash Ronia… desperate to catch you?”

What kind of expression would he make?

The two men’s eyes widened.

“I’ll tell you where to run.”

***

Loki did not sleep.

Since sleep was unnecessary for him, he could spend his own time when everyone else was asleep.

He liked night fishing, and he secretly left the border area of Asgard, broke through the frozen lake, and enjoyed ice fishing there.

As that happened every time, he naturally built a small cabin there and spent time there.

It’s quiet and peaceful.

The moon and stars twinkled in the sky.

One person came to the place where Loki was fishing alone in the ever-quiet atmosphere.

“…….”

Hella, she also did not need sleep.

After coming to Asgard, she helped Loki with his work, but like this, when everyone was asleep, she came to Loki and spent time with him.

She silently watched Loki fish without saying a word.

Loki, who was immersed in the silence and enjoying fishing, raised his head.

Unexpected guests had arrived.

Far away, people were walking on the icy road.

They staggered as if exhausted.

A middle-aged man and a boy who was barely an adult.

“I have a favor to ask.”

The middle-aged man said, panting.

“I’m tired after a long journey….”

They were the people Ash was chasing.

“C-could you share some food? I-I’ll give you some money in return.”

Pahm and Prince Eron.

The two of them had come to Asgard.