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Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (Light Novel) - Volume 10, Chapter 7: And so the Mouth Opens
Volume 10, Chapter 7: And so the Mouth Opens
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Drip, drop.
It never ended.
Drip, drop, from inside of her jail cell.
She was held in place by chains.
“……”
How many days had it been? She had no sense of time from within this dark cell that no light could reach.
A deep sense of uneasiness had long since settled in her chest. Was this what it had been like for him too?
He’d gone to jail in her place. Was it as scary and lonely for him as it was for her? What if it was? What would she do?
“……”
She couldn’t do anything anymore. It might always be like this. She might never get to see him again.
“…Ryner,” Kiefer Knolles whispered. Her voice sounded like she was going to cry. Her red eyes were cloudy with tears, too. She had matching red hair, but it was dirty with grime. Her figure had filled in, but she was still on the thin side.
She was currently far from the southern tip of the continent, Roland - instead she was in the Northern Continent… more specifically, she was in prison in the Gastark Empire, tied to the wall with chains.
“……”
She’d been captured because she slipped and accidentally let them know that she knew about Ryner, the special Alpha Stigma bearer.
Ryner… what was he?
“……”
She couldn’t help but wonder why Ryner was still so precious to her, even though she was so far away from him now.
From what she caught about King Riphal Edea’s conversation with the others, Ryner had some kind of amazing power. But… she didn’t know what.
She’d already vaguely realized that he wasn’t an Alpha Stigma bearer.
“So what are you?” Kiefer whispered. She’d been searching all this time for a clue on how she might save him, and she finally found one, only for this to happen… Even though the answer might be right in front of her face, she couldn’t reach it.
“……”
Kiefer gazed at the chains binding her arms.
“…I can’t do anything like this,” she said.
“Kiefer,” someone called on the other side of the darkness. “You’re beautiful today, too.”
What shallow, insincere words.
It was Gastark’s young king, Riphal Edea. He stepped closer, into view, holding a candlestick. It lit up his form. He had long pink hair, native to Gastark, and his left eye had been lost in battle, so he kept it closed as he watched her. His open eye, on the other hand…
She knew she’d be charmed if she looked into it. It could capture anyone’s heart, really. Because there was a powerful light in the depths of that eye that showed an unmistakable ambition and strength of will. A childish, innocent smile played on his lips to go with it. “You really are beautiful…”
“…Nothing is beautiful chained up like this,” Kiefer said.
Riphal shrugged, apologetic. “I don’t like it either, but Sui - that’s my friend whose shoulder was eaten - that happened in Roland, right? I had to put you in here knowing that one of your allies did that. I can’t very well let one of Roland’s spies raise a hand against us.”
Kiefer thought back to Kuu, who had been crying and begging them to save her brother, and Sui, who had arrived mortally wounded. His shoulder had been eaten off by some kind of massive beast, and it was covered in ice when they arrived, though Kiefer had no idea how. In any case, it was an undeniably fatal wound. Saving him was impossible.
Even so, everyone had been talking about a potential way to save him. Gastark had numerous mysterious powers… They knew more details about Alpha Stigma bearers and the other Cursed Eyes than anywhere else, and the king used a strange longsword called Glowvelle capable of annihilating a million of Stohl’s soldiers at once.
“…Were you able… to save him?” Kiefer asked.
Riphal smiled. He looked pleased. “To think that you’re worrying about someone from your enemy country. You sure are kind, Kiefer. I’d expect no less from the woman I fell for.”
Kiefer breathed a sigh of relief. “Does that mean… he’s alright?”
Riphal half-nodded. “Well… I don’t know that I’d call him alright. He’s still unconscious, but… well, he won’t die.”
Did that mean that they’d managed to close his wounds? Roland also had the spells to give someone an artificial limb once they lost one, but… it was impossible to heal wounds as bad as Sui’s were.
It had to be that thing they’d been talking about using to heal him - the Sacred Hollow. That place had to hold some secret… but that didn’t really matter now.
“I’m glad he’s alive,” Kiefer said and sighed once more. She hated it when people died. No matter who they were, there were people who held them dear who they’d leave behind.
Riphal smiled. “You really are kind.”
“…Nothing will come of praising me.”
“I know that. I don’t think you’ll give me the information you have. You won’t say a thing where Ryner Lute is concerned.”
“……”
Kiefer went silent.
Riphal’s smile didn’t waver. “See? You shut your mouth the second I say his name. You won’t talk about the Kingdom of Estabul or anything to do with Roland, either… The second we get to a topic that could relate to Ryner Lute, your mouth shuts tight.”
“……”
Kiefer didn’t respond. She didn’t know much about why this was happening, but what she did know was that she’d absolutely never sell Ryner out.
She’d always been someone who betrayed others. She even betrayed her whole country. But she’d already decided. She would never betray Ryner. It didn’t matter if they tried torturing her to death. She would spend the rest of her life chained up in here if that’s what it took. She was okay with never seeing Ryner again if that’s what it took…
“You really won’t tell me anything about Ryner, will you?” Riphal asked.
“……”
Riphal looked a little sad. “So, I’ve been thinking… Like, about how Ryner might be your lover… That’d explain why you won’t talk to me about him. Am I right?”
Lover.
“……”
She wanted to cry. How wonderful it would be if they were lovers. She’d betrayed him, gotten people who he cared about killed, and she was even the reason for him going to prison… And yet, when she heard that word, all she could think was how wonderful it’d be.
She couldn’t help but speak, quiet as it was. “I… I couldn’t. I’m a traitor, after all… I’d never be a good match for him.”
“…You wouldn’t be a good match? Are you in love with him, then?”
Ryner’s face rose to the front of her mind.
She’d seen him so, so many times. Every single day.
He was alway so sleepy, so motivationless. He never did anything if she wasn’t there to force him to.
She thought of back when they could laugh together. It was a time she held very dear.
All those memories rose up in her mind. They were always smiling together. Everyone was.
Did she love him? Did she!?
“…I love him,” Kiefer said, her voice shaking. She was crying. She must look so stupid. What would crying do now? What would saying this now do when they were so far away?
She was always so…
“…Uwah, does that mean my love’s unrequited?” Riphal asked.
Kiefer laughed through her tears. “I have no interest in you. You never would have had a chance.”
“Whaat? I must have at least a little chance,” Riphal said. He grinned, overconfidence overflowing from all of his pores.
“…Sorry,” Kiefer said.
Riphal’s smile vanished. “No, uh, it’s worse if you apologize… I like you, you know.”
“…I know that.”
He was charming, yes. He was straightforward. He wanted to save people, to save his allies, to save the world. Then he said that he wanted her with that same straightforward honesty.
If Ryner didn’t exist, she might have accepted Riphal’s feelings. That might lead to a certain happiness of its own. But…
“…Sorry. You’re doing this for me, aren’t you?” That was why she was in prison instead of dead.
Riphal smiled. “It’s a man’s job to protect women.”
Kiefer smiled too. “Yes, yes, very cool.”
“Right? So what do you say about falling in love with me?”
“No, not going to happen.”
“Aww… One-sided love sure is hard,” Riphal said and pulled his shoulders in to show it.
“I’m sure there are plenty of other girls you could fall in love with instead.”
“I have no interest in them,” Riphal said without hesitation.
“I hate lustful men like you,” Kiefer said and smiled.
Talking with Riphal was always like this. It went at his pace, and she’d end up smiling no matter how rough he made things for her.
“…You’re the one who’s kind. Not me,” Kiefer said.
“Why do you say that?” Riphal asked. He looked like he really didn’t know. Ugh, this guy…
“Okay, fine. So what did you come down here for today? To ask about Ryner even though you know that I won’t talk?”
Riphal nodded. It looked like he understood now. “It’s fine if you don’t talk about Ryner. Another one of my men who has made direct contact with him just came back home.”
“What!?”
“Are you interested?”
“Yeah.”
Riphal wore his hate on his face. “Wow… you get reaaally honest when it involves Ryner. I really hate that.”
“No more honest than you are. More importantly, tell me. What business do you have with me if you already know about Ryner?”
Riphal just stared, the hate stagnant on his face.
“What is it?” Kiefer asked.
Riphal opened his mouth reluctantly. “Well… I was thinking I’d help the woman I love see the man she loves… but I dunno what that says about me as a man…”
What?
Kiefer was having a hard time following. He meant her, right? Then… then that meant…
“Huh? You’re… you’re telling me to go see Ryner?”
Riphal thought about it for a while. Then, “Nah. Better not.”
“No! Don’t go back on your word! At least give me some information here.”
“Information?”
“Yes!”
“…It’s a long story,” Riphal said. He looked up at the cavern’s ceiling in thought, then set the candle on the floor and sat down beside it. “Where to start…”
There were endless things that she wanted to know. But most of all… “Let’s start with what you said about helping me see Ryner. Did something happen to him?”
“Did something happen? I mean, of course something happened… He was born with a horrible burden.”
Horrible.
Ryner’s face rose in her mind once more. He was never motivated, but always so kind. Yet behind all that, there was a sad hue to everything he did. And he thought of himself as a monster…
“…Are you talking about the Alpha Stigma?” Kiefer asked.
Riphal shook his head. “An Alpha Stigma bearer’s burden isn’t too bad. Because they can die like anyone else.”
“Die like anyone else…? Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Are you saying that Ryner won’t die normally?”
Riphal nodded. “He can’t die. He goes through something worse than death, without fail. See, around when the king changed in the far south, the demon king’s door was opened. Ryner is the key to that door, who allows himself to be devoured… He’s its sacrifice, cursed to live without dying for all eternity… and the only way to save him is for him to die before he is devoured. We’re going to save—”
“W, w, wait. This is all too sudden, I don’t understand… Demon? Sacrifice? I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“The short and sweet version is that Roland’s king is going to betray him,” Riphal interrupted. “Then Ryner will fall into a hell worse than death… but before that happens…”
Kiefer interrupted him again. “I, I said to wait. I still don’t understand. Roland’s king… will betray him?”
“Yeah.”
“Who’s he betraying?”
“Like I said, that Ryner guy.”
“Huh? But…”
She just couldn’t comprehend it. What was Riphal saying?
Roland’s king was Sion. But there was no way that Sion would…
“…What in the world is happening in Roland?” Kiefer asked.
Riphal stood, then took a step closer. Then he released her chains. “What’s happening… is that a legend is playing out the same way as always.”
She didn’t understand. She couldn’t understand any of this.
“It’s a story of betrayal. Of despair.”
She didn’t understand.
“The great mouth of despair… will open,” Riphal said. “Before it can, I…”
She really, really didn’t get it. But she could understand one thing, the most important thing of all.
“…So before that can happen… Kiefer, I want you to bring Ryner here from Roland.”
Bring him here…
“You want me to bring him… to bring Ryner here…?”
Riphal nodded.
“I want you to save Ryner from Sion Astal, the monster of the south.”
“……”
She… was supposed to save Ryner?
Kiefer shivered faintly.
---
The great dark mouth of despair…
---
In the Roland Empire, a country in the far south.
An elegant manor stood at the edge of the city. It was a bit too small to call a noble’s mansion, but it wasn’t like one could call it a commoner’s house, either.
Lieral Lieutolu stood in a room in that house, watching several hundred soldiers through the window.
“…Well… I expected that this might happen,” he said. Then he shrugged, and that was that. He put a pile of important documents in his bag, then stood. He wore a stylish black suit. It was his favorite. His late wife had picked it out for him, after all.
Now, he had to leave.
As soon as he thought that… a faint knock sounded at the door of his room.
“…Who is it?” Lieral asked.
A terribly dark and cold voice responded. “I am Lieutenant General Miran Froaude.”
Miran Froaude…
Miran…
Lieral couldn’t help but smile. “This is just too good… Charmed by Roland’s darkness, aren’t you… I suppose it does tend to attract people, doesn’t it.”
Halford Miran, right?
He had to be the Holy Knight Miran’s descendant…
“So what do you need from me?” Lieral asked.
The same dark voice responded from the other side of the door. One really wouldn’t think that he was descended from a holy knight of all things hearing that. “I was thinking that you ought to disappear sooner than later.”
“Why?”
A massive shadow beast destroyed the door, and a man stepped through quietly. He had long, straight black hair, and a model-thin figure. He was beautiful, but his face lacked the human vitality one might expect, making him come of as rather cold. “Because… you mustn’t kill Ryner Lute before His Majesty is able to devour him.”
“Hm. Did Sion Astal order this?”
Froaude opened his red lips and smiled. “Well… either way… It is impossible to flee from this area. Will you die for me?” He raised his hand, where a pitch black ring lay on one of his long fingers. That was most likely the Dark Emperor’s ring. The Dark Emperor’s…
“…Hehehh. You can’t kill me,” Lieral said.
Froaude smiled. “Is that so?”
“Yes. You are unable to win against me.”
“I won’t know that unless I try.”
“I know that.”
“I will try, then… O darkness—”
Lieral raised his hand, too. “Elto, elel, ellura…”
He recited a spell in the old language, but his arm was caught by something.
“What?” Lieral said. When he got a good look at it, it was a thin line of light. “This is… Lastel’s thread? There are more of you?” He followed the string with his eyes to find the source.
Two people were standing there. One was a tall man of twenty-four or twenty-five with white hair despite his apparent youth. He was the one with Lastel’s thread. But Lieral’s eyes were drawn to the other person.
He had a stern, wrinkled face, and he was about ten years to Lieral’s junior. Lieral knew that scowl. “Rahel Miller…”
“…It’s about time for Roland’s ghosts to move on,” Miller said. “Die.”
Roland’s ghosts…
“O darkness, appear,” Froaude said with his ring raised high.
A dark beast rose up to attack Lieral. He smiled. All he did was smile.
As for why… well, it was because the ones who would die here—
“—that’s you guys.”
---
That was the start of Roland’s era of darkness.
