Chapter 8 - Apostle of Sin
Unfortunately, Jae didn’t have a lot of time at his disposal. The lengthy delay in beginning the escape has cost him quite a bit already, so he had to act swiftly from now on.
“Listen, uhh, kid. You know, we’re not really supposed to leave you alone until everything’s done and dusted at the ceremony, but... Well, since there’s no one here... Argh, frankly, it’s because this place stinks. You understand, right? Anyway, just make sure to be quick so we get back before it’s too late and there'll be no problems.”
With such reasoning. the knight ensured the boy was going to be alright by himself and promptly left him alone, standing guard just outside the door.
Of course, Jae was not in a place to complain, and on the contrary, it was a rather convenient turn of events for him. Not wasting any further time, he immediately turned to the windows and rejoiced that they were undoubtedly large enough for him to squeeze his body through.
Yes! Something went right for once!
Needless to say, even with magic-powered ventilation systems, the many washrooms of the palace needed open windows to properly unleash all the stockpiling ‘toxic fumes’. Furthermore, as there were a substantial number of people who lived in the royal palace and thus required public toilets, the facilities had to be frequently maintained with a high minimum level of sanitisation even in this pre-modern age. Because of this, they were located on the outskirts of the palace to easily dump the generated waste.
Certain residents and special guest rooms, such as those belonging to the royals, were naturally suited with their own private chambers, but those utilised a separate system to either incinerate the waste or lead it outside via sewage ducts.
If there was a single hurdle remaining in the way, it would be the height; see, the windows were set extraordinarily high up on the wall―as if the whole world was trying its very hardest to prevent him from escaping―but Jae thought it shouldn't pose a problem as long as he can climb or jump up to it.
[Wow, would you look at that? Hey hey, just maybe, your idea might work after all? I never would've thought.]
The disturbing and warped voice of Envy resounded once more inside his head, but Jae was quick to snap back.
Hey. I'm sorry, but can you please not talk until I've successfully gotten out of here? I don't want to get distracted, and besides, your voice is really creepy. I apologise, but I don't know how much more I can take alongside everything else.
[Hmph. Well, I don't appreciate it, but fine. Understandably, a puny human such as yourself wouldn't be able to handle my presence for long. My goodness, it makes me worry for the future... Anyway, it'll be fun to witness you realise just how futile your plan is, and I wouldn't want to get in the way, now would I? Then, sure, I'll stay quiet and observe until you make your escape. Hah. Have fun, boy.]
Not replying, Jae let out a light sigh in relief at the fact that he was actually listened to, then nodded his head.
Now then, how do I go about reaching the windows...?
There was nothing directly underneath the window to climb onto, so instead he started by climbing atop the toilet basin closest to the window. Collecting himself, he took a deep breath and leapt to the window.
“Humph...! Oof-! Oh, shit...!”
Bang-!
Barely managing to grab the open window latch, his weight and the inertia from jumping pulled the window shut, causing a loud noise to reverberate around the room.
Instantly, his glance flicked towards the door.
Don't come in! Shit, why are they so high up...?!
“Hey, everything alright? What’s the ruckus? I told you to be quiet in case anyone comes by-- Wait, what do you think you're doing!?”
Opening the door, the knight entered with a warning but shouted upon seeing Jae hanging from the window.
Fuck...!
“Hngh...!”
Groaning, he swiftly scrambled up to the windowsill and re-opened the wide window, turning around to say one last thing to the knight who stared at him in pure disbelief as he caught his breath.
“Ah, hah... Please, don’t tell anyone... Hah... I'm begging... Damn it...”
Not waiting for a response, he twisted his body and wedged himself through the window, dropping out the other side.
“What the hell?! Fuck, kid, get back here! They’ll have my head, you little shit...!”
The fading woes of the knight were all Jae heard as he landed, finding himself on a grassy patch with the surroundings consisting of many various flower bushes.
“Fhoooh...”
He was relieved at successfully managing to escape the palace with practically not as much difficulty as he expected, but he still couldn’t afford to let his guard down yet.
Lining the external east and west sides of the palace was a magnificent flower garden. Engraving this information into his mind through Charting, it compiled together with his old map, letting him know that he was currently on the palace's eastern perimeter.
Nice! He thought. Guards wouldn’t bother themselves with patrolling flower gardens, right? At least, if they do, there should be way less of them than if I were to go through the main entrance. Well, there might be gardeners, too, so I should still be careful anyway.
Running through the garden as fast as he could whilst simultaneously keeping a low profile, he made his way not towards the front nor the back of the palace, but directly opposite where the window left him.
“......”
From what he could tell by pushing his body like this, it felt as if his current physical state was identical to that of his body on Earth. Considering that he and Chris were generally equal in physical education, it indicated to Jae that Chris really did start with an advantage, albeit a slight one.
Lucky bastard...
After some minutes of straight fleeing, Jae was more concerned about the fact he had yet to see a patrolling guard, but it wasn't like he had a right to complain. Having no real opportunity to appreciate its beauty, he soon reached the end of the vast garden and could see a small cluster of trees ahead.
Is it a cosmetic forest or something? Whatever. It's a good cover for me, so let’s just go.
There was no time to wonder, so he dashed straight into the crowd of green. Continuing to rush through the trees for an unknown amount of time, his heart had just begun to calm when all of a sudden, a raised voice was heard.
“We found him!”
What...?!
“The deserter is over here!”
Knights clad in armour encrusted with that dastardly royal insignia were able to be seen advancing fast in Jae’s direction.
How’d they notice already...? No, that guy reported me!
Briefly recalling the face of the knight who escorted him with the utmost ire, he cursed internally.
Shit. There's no choice.
Foregoing his posture that optimised stealth, he instead opted for a full sprint.
Fucking run for your life...!
In what was perhaps the fastest dash he had ever attempted, Jae bolted forth, giving it more than his all would allow.
He had no choice but to do so.
Move those damn legs...!
His life quite literally depended on it, after all.
“Aaarghh...! Fuck off!”
Nonetheless.
"Haa...!"
They gained on him.
"Shit..."
Jae forced his body beyond its limits. Racing quicker than he could feel the pace of his own heartbeat, something inside him regretted being too lazy to work out until now. He pushed his legs, moving them with every ounce of his being as if running on manual, but it wasn't even close to sufficient.
“10 o’ clock! Not far! He’s slowing down! Don't rush yourselves; just watch out for the roots!”
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Not only were the pursuers fully grown adults, but more importantly, they were trained knights; in addition to them being naturally faster than Jae due to their soldier’s physique, their physical attributes far exceeded those that decorated his own Status.
Bastard knights...! For what are you going this far...?!
He couldn’t understand what motivated them to come after him so ruthlessly and with such an obvious intent to harm, but they continued to hunt him down without the slightest hint of mercy in their eyes.
Not long after, Jae spotted a considerable gap in the trees ahead of him. Appearing like a light at the end of the tunnel at first glance, he thought hope might have finally arrived.
It was a foolish notion.
And then.
Arriving closer and closer to the light, he could see it.
And when he did, his heart almost dropped to the pit of his stomach.
He had an instinctual feeling as if this was the end, but he refused to die in this abominable place.
The boy was long out of breath. Nevertheless, he continued forth, exerting all the physical energy he could possibly muster within to push himself forward.
One.
Just one...!
More.
Step...!!
In the name of survival.
He hopped over a fallen branch and found the morning sun shining brightly on him from right ahead. It was truly blinding, but was that because the sun was so radiant or because his senses were pumped to the extreme?
He was no longer trapped between the trees, but now...
“There he is!”
His situation was arguably worse.
The cover of the light-obstructing darkness had disappeared.
The warm rays of the sun only served as a kind of spotlight to highlight Jae's location with a clear marker.
“Do it right, men! Without mess and without mercy! The princess's order; you know what lies at stake should you fail!”
Hearing what sounded like the leader’s voice behind him, Jae’s expression froze.
...She what now?
“““Yes, sir!!!”””
But when...?
His body faltered if only for a split-second, but that single moment was enough to halt his pace entirely.
She wants me dead... Why, because I want to live...?
Blinded by the unfortunate combination of both the dazzling luminosity of the sun and the dark revelation in the knight's words, he found his vision crippled further.
And then.
Shiingg~!
Jae couldn't see what exactly happened, but...
Splatter-!
A familiar sound, infinitely more terrifying when you could not tell what the source of it was.
Huh...?
A shift of gravity, followed by his vision naturally curving downwards.
Thud-!
Suddenly, Jae found himself on the ground, seemingly unable to move any further or raise his body.
"......"
Due to the strange collapse, he also scraped his arms along the rough and rocky ground, which soon began to bleed.
Stomp stomp stomp stomp-!
Belatedly, he realised.
Stomp stomp stomp-!
Turning his head at the dense sounds of armour-plated knights gathering behind him, he saw it.
“...?”
His right leg―gone.
From the knee-down, it was simply missing; as if it never were.
“!!”
That was when a sudden surge of agony flooded Jae’s body, emanating powerfully from the area of the missing limb.
“―Gaaaaahh--!!”
No...
"Ghhhhfgh...!"
As if to desperately deny that it was true, he clenched his fists to endure and closed his eyes that had instinctively widened.
No...!
With the sharp, excruciating pain originating from below his waist, he wanted to wail, but the urgency that took complete control of his mind simply didn’t allow it.
“Shit-- Aaaargh...!?”
His eyes turned blank as he screamed.
A pain the kind he had never experienced before; one whose shock rendered his body useless.
All he felt was anguish, and as if to demonstrate that, his blurry, moist eyes unleashed the flood of the dam.
Conditions met. You have acquired the Resistance Skill: 「Pain Tolerance [Lv.1]」
Upon the appearance of a system notification, Jae's eyes slowly fazed back to reality―now marginally able to withstand the pain―and looked solely to the sky with still-gritted teeth.
“......”
On a bright blue horizon, there were a few white clouds floating lazily about and a glaring sun.
It was not at all the type of atmosphere one would expect to see on the date of one’s death, but then again, who would have a specific scene set for such a tragic thing?
Although a normal person might have ordinarily lost consciousness by this point; fainted from the profuse blood loss, immense pain, and unquestionable stress; Jae had splendidly avoided such a peaceful end.
That’s right.
'Pain' was not an abnormal mental status effect, but one with a Steadfast Mind was nonetheless not one to break so straightforwardly.
For better, or more likely, for worse.
This... Isn’t going to end... Here...
In a desperate, absolute last-ditch attempt to get up in spite of everything, Jae rose his torso.
He didn't experience anything like a second wind of vitality, but he forced himself to move without it either way.
Grit-!
However, perhaps somehow forgetting the missing leg, and in the face of all that was waiting for him, Jae only fell down once more.
Slam-!
Consequently ramming his forehead violently into the unshakeable ground beneath him, his vision swiftly adopted a red hue due to blood flowing like a gentle waterfall into his eyes from above.
Skill 「Pain Tolerance」 has levelled up [Lv.1]→[Lv.2]
He knew it without looking at them―the knights were observing him in silence.
...Die.
He didn’t care.
He couldn't afford to care.
"......"
Death was impending. He should be scared. He felt scared in the way that he knew he should be scared, but wasn’t.
Even still, it wasn’t allowed.
Because 'fear' was an abnormal mental status effect.
Gradually, everything slowed down significantly; as if the world was put into slow motion by some otherworldly force. Jae's gaze, feeling like his body could no longer exert any force, naturally felt like drifting off to somewhere else as he lay flat on the ground.
His vision spinning; his body growing colder by the second; and the numbing of his entire body beginning to seep in; he no longer knew what to think. Even the minor action of thinking itself was proving itself to be a herculean task.
There was one surprise though; he had managed to reach the border of this land on which he was fated to die.
Having fallen, been grievously wounded, on the verge of death and mentally trampled on even further; at least he could glimpse at the path he was just a few minutes away from achieving.
It didn’t make him feel better in the slightest, but wasn’t there some value alone in the fact that he had made it this far at least?
“......”
The reality is, that wasn't true at all.
He no longer possessed the strength to open his mouth, but he wanted to laugh.
If he couldn't even survive to tell the tale, then wouldn't seeing what he could've achieved be like beating the horse while it was down? Still, might he as well take a look at what he was this far from escaping to?
There was no reason not to, and natural human curiosity was more than enough to overpower his own reluctant thoughts at this point, so he subconsciously mustered what little he could to move his head forward.
Promptly, however, he learnt the futility of all his previous actions that led to this point.
"...?"
Ahead of him, after all, was nothing.
More specifically, it was simply air. With the very last of his remaining strength, Jae pulled himself forward, bit by bit, as the knights only watched from behind.
Until eventually...
Ah...
He had reached the unguarded edge of the cliff he was currently struggling for his last few moments atop.
There... was never any hope of surviving in the first place, was there...?
It was a rhetorical question; one to which he already knew the unquestionable answer.
A harrowing chill trickled down his spine as he sensed the knights nearing ever so close now. With each and every step they took, he felt the end of his life closing in, inch by inch.
He grew even colder.
So much so that an outrageous wintry feeling overcame his body, rendering him unable to move.
Shiiiing~!
His bones, flesh, and muscles all synchronously froze as Jae could do nothing but listen to the scraping sound of metal on leather and steel―the unmistakable indication of a sword being drawn from its scabbard.
Gazing out over the cliff’s edge, most of Jae’s frantic thoughts began to cease one by one.
His resistance against death was crumbling bit by bit.
It was inevitable no matter the path he took.
The fall from up here was too far for anyone to survive, let alone someone in his condition. Even though there appeared to be a sea of green at the bottom that stretched onwards forever, the cushioning from the trees would likely never be enough to survive.
And even if that were the case.
Even if he managed to survive, despite all those odds that say otherwise, he would simply bleed out. It’s not like he could just walk out of there and go to the local hospital, after all.
Fatigued, he couldn’t do it anymore.
What was the point of continuing any further?
He was about ready to give up.
If there was even a sliver of a chance that he would survive the fall, all that was awaiting him was more tormented suffering. And so, Jae used all his energy to turn his head around.
He watched as the evident leader of the group slowly approached him with his sword drawn, and he shuddered.
His body quivered uncontrollably on its own and with no manual input, but all he could do was observe his own demise.
Still, his mind was extraordinarily clear.
"..."
It was as if fear was a foreign concept to his brain. He was not scared of dying, nor was he frightened of what might happen afterwards, leaving only the vivid anticipation to remain.
His mind began to feel faint. Whether it was because of the substantial amount of missing blood or something else, was unknown.
Then, Jae’s life seemed to flash before his very eyes.
Mum, Dad... For the times I complained or acted unreasonably... I’m sorry...
―His family.
Amelia... Don’t miss me too much. Just find someone new... Although... Someday, somehow... I hope you find out what really happened to everyone...
―His girlfriend.
Guys... Honour me...
―His friends.
All those who Jae loved dearly―they all seemed to materialise in front of him, before subsequently vanishing like a ghost as he felt indescribable emotions rise up from within.
...Still... Even though it isn’t what the world wants... Even though it isn't what God wants...
He held not an ounce of fear; nevertheless, he felt resistance to the idea of permanent death.
I... I don't want to die...
To go and never come back.
Skill 「Pain Tolerance」 has levelled up [Lv.2]→[Lv.3]
...Fuck... Please...
He didn't even realise the fountain of tears flowing from his face like a newborn baby as he cried his heart and soul out to the world. Then, the knight captain grasped the hilt of his sword, opening his mouth with a low tone.
“Alright, kid. It’s a shame things had to be like this, but I’m sure you’ll find better luck in the next life. Don’t take it personally.”
No... I...
He stretched his arm out; in the next moment...
I want to live---
...and sliced Jae’s head clean off.
"......"
Separating neatly as the blade collided with the ground, the momentum of the blow caused it to slowly roll off the cliff's edge, plummeting silently towards the wilderness below.
“...Rest in peace.”
The captain, who then placed a foot on the remaining corpse, pushed it too over the side. His eyes ensured it fell all the way down until it could no longer be seen beneath the canopy of the boundless forest that took residence there.
Confirming the disposal of the body, he nodded and turned to the other knights.
“Boys. Clean up nicely. I don’t think I need to instruct you to not speak of this incident to anyone. Also, if by some miracle he comes back alive... You get the idea. Remember, our duty regarding this matter is to ensure that the identity of the bad guy is clear. Do you understand me, men?”
“““Yes, sir!”””
And so, without a spec of recognition in this new land, and less than one day after his arrival in this terrifying world...
The ex-student, Jae Kang, passed away.
----------------------------------------
...But then, unbeknownst to anyone, two static notification windows solemnly shone at the top of the now desolate cliff.
You have died
Title 「Apostle of Sin」 has activated