Time seemed to stand still. It was like a scene from a dream. The sun was at its highest point, a warm breeze blew gently, and the blades of grass slowly shook in the breeze.
It was quiet. No one made a sound, any sound. Enri barely brought his trembling hand to his face. With the back of his hand, he wiped away the liquid that ran down his cheeks, a trickle that pooled at the tip of his chin. There was something red and warm on it. It took him a moment to realize it was blood.
Something hit the floor, breaking the silence. A pale, smooth forearm fell limply to the floor. A forearm losing blood, the earth turning red. The blades of grass swaying in the wind were stained red, but her silver eyes were still clear.
"Me... thena?"
It wasn't easy to say the name; he wasn't sure if he should call her Methena. The face looked as if it didn't know what had happened to it, and as it held that expression, Methena's face split in half.
"Methena."
Enri called her name again. His voice trailed off into thin air, unanswered. Methena Le Fay. She was Marie's age, the most mature of the five children. She didn't say much but couldn't leave someone in need alone. If someone was crying, she would come to their side and tell them what they needed to hear.
Enri's legs buckled and his knees sank to the ground. Enri took Methena's hand. Her hand was still warm. That fact pained him even more, for he knew there was nothing he could do to warm her.
"Enri?"
The children called to him from the bottom of the ladder that connected the underground passage to the surface. Methena and Enri had agreed that they would check the situation first, and then the children would come up on their signal. However, Enri gave no signal. He didn't even respond to their call. He quietly turned around and put his hand on the doorway leading to the basement.
"Enri! Methena! What's going on?"
Without a word, Enri slammed the doorway shut. The children's shouts faded. Silence returned.
Enri stood up and looked at Edulis. The sight of Edulis standing there was like a painting. A painting by a madman or a demon. The spring water flowing around the altar was black. The bodies of children floated on the surface. One could almost use them as a bridge to cross the water. How many hundreds had he killed?
Edulis stood before the altar, his entire body stained red. There was no sign of white skin or molten silver hair; the only thing that identified him as Edulis was his searing silver eyes and the bloodied curved sword.
"Am I…seeing things wrong?" Enri's lips quivered. Something between words and sobs escaped his lips. "The witch is deceiving me, isn't she? Edulis, there's no reason for you to kill Methena...Methena...we...we all believe in you..."
Edulis didn't open his mouth. He stood as still as a statue, staring into Enri's face.
Enri screamed. "This can't be happening. Yes, that's right. You have your reasons that I don't understand, right? Methena will come back to life, just like you did...Edulis, you'll work a miracle..."
The words were like a prayer. A spell. Enri looked at Edulis, pleading. Hoping the answer would come from his mouth.
"No. Methena is dead." Edulis' voice was like a knife, cutting through Enri's hopes. "If you come near her, I will kill you too."
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- Does Captain Bosha think he saved the children?
- He thinks so because he drew a line between the children and himself.
- Captain Bosha didn't save the children; he saved himself.
Edulis remembered a time when he had stayed with the children. He smiled wistfully as he saw them sleeping soundly at the end of the first day of the Feast of Saints. He was surprised to realize it. The great Bosha, smiling at the sight of children.
They were good children. They were just like Ygraine. They thought of others even when they were cornered, and they faced enemies stronger than themselves to defend those who persecuted them. Edulis thought, he must create a world where these children laugh and talk with joy.
He remembered clearly what Methena was like. He knew how she laughed and talked and thought. The one who had comforted even Raghad her opponent in the Saint's Festival. She was gentle and loving.
"Bashme. I hope you died in terrible agony."
Edulis didn't know whether the liquid running down his cheeks was sweat, tears, or blood.
He'd hoped they'd have smiles on their faces, not a knife in the back of their heads.
"Edulis? You..."
Edulis looked into Enri's eyes. In those eyes, shining like the moon on water, there was still faith in him. It wouldn't take much to keep that faith alive. He just had to speak and tell them that Bashme had captured Methena and that there was nothing else they could do to save her soul from Bashme.
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But what's the point?
To build a tomb for Methena with the children, bowing in front of it, crying together, comforting each other with words like 'It's not your fault,' letting the children blame themselves thinking 'If only we hadn't interfered...', sharing regret, sorrow, and anger... What does one gain after all these processes?
"I said I would kill you."
Edulis leaped toward Enri, then twisted and swung his sword. With enough intent and momentum to really kill someone.
"Edulis..." Enri parried Edulis' attack with a diagonal slash. It was the first move Edulis had taught him.
"You've been training hard," Even though he was crippled by the curse, Edulis swung his sword with all his heart. He intended to slice his wrist. But Enri's skill was more than Edulis had expected.
"Was that attack... really meant to kill me?!"
After blocking Edulis's blade, Enri stared at him with a determined expression. Just as Edulis had intended, Enri sensed his murderous intent. "Why? Edulis, didn't you teach us swordsmanship because you wanted us to live? Why do you want to take back the lives you have saved?"
"No reason."
"What?"
"Didn't Kurzina tell you what I, Bosha, was originally like? I save when I feel like it, I kill when I don't feel like it. Playing with children was fun back then, now it's just a nuisance."
Edulis twisted his lips into a smile. Then he thought to himself, 'I'm the one who put them in danger. If they hadn't trusted me, they wouldn't have had to face Bashme. I must completely withdraw their faith in me.'
"Is that really why…why Methena died?"
"Yes, you pesky flies, you mean to tell me that you followed me all the way here just because I played with you once? Are there any more idiots in the world?"
Enri's shoulders shook. "Why did you kill the children? Over a thousand children."
"Sometimes I just want to hear them scream. I grew up an orphan, and the sight of children with good parents makes me sick to my stomach."
Enri's eyes reddened. "This is ridiculous. Edulis, there's no way you're... that kind of person..."
"Hahaha! What does a child who lived in Kaldura know about my humanity? There are many people in this world."
His piercing gaze turned to Edulis's face. Enri's face was devoid of hope and faith. His bloodshot eyes burned with anger.
'Yes. That's it, Enri'
The veins on Enri's forearms bulged as he gripped his sword. "Edulis, how could you...! Methena...Methena...Methena...!"
Enri kicked the ground with all his might and leaped toward Edulis. The curved sword, pulsing with watery magic, flew at Edulis. The momentum of the blow was as fierce as the tidal wave that threatened to swallow the island.
"Die."
With that, Edulis stomped his magical feet into the ground as hard as he could. The spring gushed forth and the ground warped and cracked in places.
"Yes... even if I die here, Edulis, I will cut off at least one of your fingers!"
Enri, using the Black Fang's leaping technique, pursued Edulis, who leaped similarly. Edulis had anticipated this. He watched how many steps Enri could leap in one go and adjusted his own leaping distance accordingly.
Enri's feet didn't reach the ground. He had leaped through the crack Edulis had created. Beneath it, he could see the corridor of the underground passage.
"Edulis, I'm not going to let you...!"
Seeing that Enri had fallen, Edulis stomped his foot on the ground once more. The ground twisted, and the crack widened, and thus the entrance to the underground was blocked.
"Let us not meet again, Enri. Survive until Lutea's world comes."
Silence returned to the ruins of Rekabi. Edulis sank to the ground and clutched Methena's body. He aligned her split face and closed her wide-open eyes. Then he spoke to the body.
"I'm sorry. It's all because I'm weak."
Edulis's sobs echoed through the ruins of Rekabi. But there was no one to hear them.
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Murjana ran from island to island as Edulis had instructed her— to watch the towns, to see if any red stones remained, and to check if anyone was spreading the curse.
Murjana was slow-witted, but not stupid. She knew what Edulis wanted. He had sent her away so he could fight Bashme alone.
Murjana was furious. She wanted to fight alongside Edulis, even if it meant risking her life. But she had no choice but to listen to Edulis. She knew she wasn't as strong as Edulis, and she understood that against Bashme, the curse-spreading witch's minion, she'd just be a hindrance.
'If only I were stronger...'
Thinking of Edulis, she felt a pang in her stomach, as if a heavy weight had been placed on her shoulders. Ever since meeting Armillo in Lunia, Edulis' demeanor had changed, but Murjana could sense that, despite his outward appearance, he was still the same warm person.
'Why doesn't everyone understand? Why can't they trust Edulis?' she wondered.
As she ran, she came upon an empty town. In a large square, seven people in robes holding staffs stood in a circle. Murjana knew they were Edulis' enemies, for one of the seven was Kurzina.
- You must never attack anyone you see.
That's what Edulis had said.
'But he didn't say I couldn't talk.'
Edulis hadn't allowed Murjana to defend him. But now, Edulis is not here.
'I'm not good with words, but Kurjina will understand.'
Murjana stepped toward Kurzina.
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The ring on Kurzina's little finger cracked. A ring of bonds. When one breaks, the other breaks with it. Enri had a ring that matched Kurzina's.
'I was hoping this ring wouldn't break, Enri.'
It was a sign that Enri had judged Edulis to be evil. Kurzina raised her staff.
"We are gathered here to correct a great anomaly of providence, the first light of Uraeus, the moon that symbolizes humility and moderation. Grant to the children of Lutea the power to correct this misalignment!"
As Kurzina recited the incantation, a pillar of light appeared before her.
"Second Light of Uraeus. The fire that symbolizes valorous will. Give the children of Lutea the power to right the wrongs!" The one beside Kurzina recited the incantation, and a pillar of light appeared before him. Then the one next to him began to chant.
A total of seven pillars are required to cast the Gast-Ovora spell. However, when Gast and Ovora used this spell, Gast summoned three pillars by himself and Ovora summoned four pillars by herself at the cost of their lives.
As the fifth pillar rose, someone approached Kurzina.
'Is it... an enemy? Oh no, I can't move while I'm casting the spell…'
Kurjina broke out in a cold sweat and spun around. She was worried that they would attack her, but to her surprise, it was Muryana who started rambling.
"Kurjina, you are mistaken. You are mistaken. Edulis is not evil. There is someone named Bashme..."
A sixth pillar rose. Kurzina could not open her mouth. It took all her concentration to maintain the pillar of light.
"Kurzina... I thought you'd understand. It wasn't a child that Edulis killed. Edulis is fighting the witch alone. Can't you hear me? ...What's with these pillars?"
'What is this child talking about?' As Kurjina questioned Muryana's words, the seventh pillar rose.
The spell was complete. A large spear of light rose from the center of the djinn and flew through the air with a tremendous force.
"What is this... Kurzina, what have you done?"
Only when it was over could Kurzina turn her head. There was no turning back. The spear of light was flying toward Edulis.