C850
"Ah..."
Alice trembled as she looked at the brown ceiling adorned with intricate patterns.
'Am I alive?'
She thought she would never open her eyes in this world again, yet here she was, clearly breathing and alive.
'This place...'
As she turned her gaze, she saw luxurious decoration and wallpaper. On the table to her right were medications and blood-stained bandages. It appeared that a high-class mansion was being used as a infirmary.
'Is this Uncle Federick's mansion?'
She remembered that Federick used one of the Zieghart mansions as a treatment center, and this seemed to be one of those rooms. With great effort, she lifted her head to look out the window and saw a path leading to the annex building. Now she was sure: this was Zieghart.
'Why am I here?'
Sif had captured her deep within the dungeon. She did not remember how she had returned to Zieghart.
'After I was stabbed in the cave... Ah!'
As her mind slowly cleared, the last scene from her remaining memories emerged.
"Ri-Rimmer..."
The scene of Sif's black sword piercing Rimmer's chest and Raon witnessing it. That memory, too horrific to believe, crept into her mind.
"Aaagh..."
Alice clutched her head and let out a groan as if her vocal cords were being torn apart.
—No! It can't be! If I'm here, doesn't that mean Rimmer could also be okay?
She clung to a small hope that since she had survived and returned to Zieghart, Rimmer might also be alive. But at the same time, her instinct as a martial artist told her that the wound Rimmer had sustained was one that no one could survive.
-Sif. Why...?
The Sif she knew was unfair, but he was kind and gentle. The reason she had trained him to be strong was to prevent his gentle heart from breaking or getting hurt, but she never dreamed that a person could change to such an extent.
'Is Raon okay?'
Sif had absorbed her blood and crossed the wall of transcendence. Concerns about what he might have done to Raon and whether the children from the Light Wind division were safe began to flood her mind.
"Phew..."
As Alice held her head with both hands, lost in anguish, the infirmary door opened, and Federick and Lawaine entered.
"...Alice. You're awake."
Federick let out a deep sigh upon seeing Alice's contorted eyes.
"Miss Alice!"
Lawaine rushed toward Alice, not even realizing he had dropped the bandages and wet towel he was holding.
"Are you, are you okay?"
He pressed his trembling lips as he looked at Alice's emaciated cheeks.
"Lawaine."
Alice parted her dry lips and spoke with frustrating slowness.
"What happened? No, what happened to Rimmer and Sif?"
She asked about those two before anyone else.
"That is..."
—Lawaine, go call the others.
Federick exhaled deeply and nodded toward Lawaine.
"E-Okay..."
Lawaine exited the infirmary with heavy steps after glancing at Alice's trembling eyes.
—Uncle, why did you send Lawaine away? Please tell me. I feel like I'm going to die again from suspense...
Alice coughed blood as she touched her chest, where the wound had not fully healed. It seemed her internal injuries had reopened due to her intense emotions.
"Neither Lawaine nor I are the ones who can tell you that story."
Federick shook his head while taking a cloth from the table.
"The one who has the answers you seek will come, so wait."
He simply wiped the blood that had erupted from Alice's mouth, seemingly unwilling to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"The one who has the answers..."
Alice lifted her head, swallowing the blood that rose in her throat.
"Is it Raon?"
"Yes."
Federick nodded calmly, as if it were okay to say that.
"Haha..."
Alice exhaled in relief and clasped her trembling hands together. She had also been worried about Raon's condition, but knowing he was coming here gave her some comfort. At least it meant that Raon was safe.
"Thank God. Really..."
While waiting for Raon, with a small hope that Rimmer might be alive, she heard a commotion outside the infirmary. After a brief sound of someone catching their breath, Raon and Glenn entered the room.
"Ah..."
The moment she saw Raon's eyes, she swallowed the question she was about to ask. In the eyes of her nephew, who once saw the world with bright light, there was now a mature darkness. Alice realized that the thin thread of hope she had been clinging to had snapped, and she let her hands drop from her chest.
'Rimmer...'
* * *
Raon bit his lip as he looked at the trembling Alice.
"I never thought I would see my aunt so weak."
In a way, he had considered Alice to be even stronger than Glenn. Always brimming with confidence and proud to be a martial artist. He thought she was someone to admire, regardless of gender. But the Alice before him now was pale and trembling with anxiety. She seemed like someone who had lost all hope and fallen into despair.
'Aunt...'
In fact, after Rimmer's death, he had blamed himself before directing his anger toward others. The person he had blamed the most was Alice. He had even made the ridiculous accusation of why she had sought Sif and why she had allowed herself to be emotional and not blocked Sif's surprise attack.
But after saying goodbye to Rimmer, he realized there was someone else to blame.
It was Derus Robert who destroyed Sif and killed Rimmer. He was the only one guilty, the only one who deserved to die.
'The person who is suffering the most right now is not me, but my aunt...'
She had been betrayed by the son she had finally found, that son had killed Rimmer, whom she treated as a friend, and in the end, she was killed by her nephew. Even with the strengthened mental fortitude from his second life, she could have gone mad if all of that had happened to her.
"Haha..."
Raon dispelled the emotions that had been building up with a small sigh and approached Alice.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"..."
Alice bit her dry lips as she looked at Raon's sunken gaze.
"...Can you tell me what happened?"
She seemed to know to some extent the outcome, but still wanted his answer.
"Yes."
Raon nodded and sat in the chair in front of Alice's bed.
"I'll tell you everything. After Sif stabbed you..."
He decided to tell her everything, trusting in Alice's mental strength. Such matters should not be hidden.
"...That's how it happened, and I pursued Sif and Bardiel out of the dungeon."
Raon paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling before lowering his gaze. He looked into Alice's eyes, which seemed about to burst if touched, before uttering his final words.
"After that, I killed them both with my own hands. I'm sorry."
He bowed his head as he said he had killed Sif with his own hands.
"..."
Alice closed her eyes without saying anything. The tears that had been accumulating in her eyes fell, soaking the blood-stained pillow.
"I'm sorry."
Alice opened her eyes again and struggled to lift herself from the bed. She tried to kneel and almost fell off the bed.
"It's all my fault."
Alice bowed her head, letting out a groan that sounded like metal scraping.
"If I hadn’t insisted on finding Sif, if I hadn’t let my emotions get the better of me and lost my strength, if I hadn’t let my guard down around Sif! If I! If I! If I!"
She blamed herself and struck the wound on her chest that had not fully healed. The white bandage soaked through with blood, and blood poured from her mouth.
-It’s not your fault, Aunt.
Raon shook his head as he held Alice's blood-covered fist.
"The one to blame is not you, but Derus Robert."
- No! It's all my fault! I...
Alice, seemingly too weak to shake off his hand, sat up and began to sob.
"Aunt..."
Raon bit his lip as he watched Alice, who had lost all her strength and couldn't even cry properly. His heart ached in a different way than when he learned of Rimmer's death. He wanted to say something comforting, but there was nothing he could do.
"Aunt, I..."
"Raon."
Just as he was about to offer her words of comfort, Glenn placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. It seemed to mean that Alice needed time as well.
-You weren’t stable from the beginning either.
Wrath clicked his tongue bitterly as he looked at Alice.
- Even that noisy one will need time.
-Yes, that's right.
As Wrath said, Alice's current state was not different from his when he first woke up.
"Wow..."
Alice gasped for air as if her chest were tight, then closed her eyes and collapsed.
"Aunt!"
Raon grabbed Alice's shoulders and arms, shaking her body, but she did not wake up.
"Move aside."
Federick exhaled deeply and examined Alice's condition.
"She fainted from mental exhaustion. It’s nothing serious yet. There’s no need to worry."
He said everything would be fine and placed Alice back on the bed.
"Lady Alice..."
Lawaine sobbed, covering his mouth as if he understood Alice's feelings.
"We will have to postpone the training session."
Glenn shook his head firmly and said they should spar later.
"Yes."
Raon nodded and then clenched his teeth as he saw Glenn's eyes.
'Now that I think about it...'
The grandfather's face did not look good either. He hadn’t realized it because he was focused on his own emotions, but Glenn's eyes were also sunken and dark.
-Of course. Naturally.
He had lost Rimmer, his closest subordinate, his grandson had killed his grandson, and his daughter was in a state of mental and physical devastation. At this moment, Glenn must have been the one suffering the most. However, as befitted the leader of Zieghart, he did not show his pain to anyone and instead comforted and took care of others.
It was admirable and at the same time sad that he could not express his own emotions.
"I will stay here. You go tell the other children that Alice has awakened."
"Understood..."
After giving a deep bow, he left Federick's mansion.
"..."
Raon exhaled a murky sigh as he looked at the bright sky, oblivious to human emotions.
"Human relationships... are truly difficult."
* * *
"Is this the black sword you mentioned?"
Vulcano squinted as he looked at Sif's black sword, which seemed to be made of black amethysts connected together.
"It has a very peculiar form. It looks like it was carved from a gem instead of forged."
He stroked his chin and said he had never seen a sword like that before.
"Lord Raon said it had this form since the first time he saw it."
Roenn nodded as he placed the black sword on the table.
"This sword is possessed by something. And it is a particular curse. How can it be so full of murderous intent and malice?"
Vulcano murmured that he understood how it could have stolen Alice's power, exhaling sharply.
"You shouldn’t touch it directly yet."
Roenn stopped Vulcano’s hand just as he was about to grab the black sword.
"As you said, it is cursed and will reject anyone who is not its master. Although it is currently inactive, anyone who is not its master will faint the moment they grab it."
He lowered his brows, saying that at least a Master level was needed to hold this sword.
-So, what do you want me to do?
Vulcano shrugged and asked what he could do if he couldn’t even touch it.
"That’s why we invited a shaman from the Beast Union. If he suppresses the curse, we should be able to examine it."
Roenn nodded, and the gray-bearded elder leaning against the wall stepped forward.
"I am Pasirion."
The shaman from the Beast Union introduced himself as Pasirion and looked at the black sword with hawk-like eyes.
"Indeed, a terrible curse resides within it. It seems to have consumed the blood of at least a thousand people."
Pasirion let out a low groan, saying that it had been a while since he had seen an object with such a strong curse.
"This sword was made by condensing blood compressed with a curse spell. It is probably harder than steel, no, than any metal."
He covered his nose and mouth as if he felt nauseous.
"However, the curse is now latent. It seems that other conditions must be met for it to awaken."
"That is correct."
Roenn nodded toward Pasirion.
"According to the leader of the Light Wind division, it also used the blood curse that resides in the cave."
"There must have been a lot of deaths there as well, but that’s not all."
Pasirion placed his hand on the blade of the black sword and chanted an unknown spell.
"What do you mean that’s not all?"
Vulcano tilted his head as if asking what he meant.
"Restrictions. Whether in martial arts or magic, spells can exert greater power if restrictions are set. For example, using the sword only against certain people or committing murders only in specific places: such restrictions make the granted power stronger."
Pasirion frowned and said these were the basic principles of spells.
"..."
Roenn kept his mouth shut and didn’t say anything further.
"The only forces that can manipulate this level of spell are the White Blood Religion and Eden. Of course, Derus Robert as well. It could be different if that demon has hidden forces somewhere."
Pasirion let out a brief exhale, saying he needed to examine it a bit more.
"So, can you break the curse of this sword?"
Vulcano revealed an expectant look, saying it was necessary to examine the sword in detail.
"..."
Pasirion examined the sword in silence before shaking his head vigorously.
"It can be broken, but it is impossible for me alone. As I said, the blood of more than a thousand people has accumulated, so dozens of shamans would have to die."
He closed his eyes and said that breaking the curse of the black sword would require many sacrifices.
"Haha, what a disgust."
Vulcano bit his lip, seemingly incredulous.
"Can I take a look?"
Denier opened the reception room door and entered. He smiled faintly and said he would like to examine the black sword.
"Oh, that’s right. The Wise Martial Palace Master has also studied this field."
Roenn clapped his hands softly as if he had just remembered.
—Yes, I remember they called you a generalist.
Vulcano nodded, saying he had heard rumors about Denier.
"It’s not that I’m a generalist, but I have a broad range of knowledge."
Denier let out a hollow laugh and grabbed the black sword lying on the table.
"I’m not an expert in spells, but I know a bit about curses. This is... huh?"
Just as he was about to lift the black sword from the table, a hand appeared with a blue wind and snatched the sword away.
"I'm sorry, but..."
It was Raon. He had appeared like lightning and was now holding the black sword in his hand, shaking his head coolly.
"Palace Master, you cannot touch this sword."
-
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