Gathering (2)
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Albrecht woke up, feeling a pain in the back of his head.
What he saw was a red ceiling.
Then, he felt a pressure on his ankles.
Ugh
Have you awakened?
Hearing the voice, Albrecht raised his head.
Archduke?
What he saw was Hegrion, dragging him by his ankles, and Theresa beside him.
Albrecht was bewildered.
What the No, you have to escape!
We escaped and ca back. Do you rember what happened?
Hegrion stopped walking.
At that, Albrecht frowned and shook his head.
His mind felt foggy.
Hegrions words implied that a considerable amount of ti had passed, but his mory ended at the mont he was trying to lead the advance party out.
Not at all. My last mory is frantically swinging my sword.
Hegrion let out a long sigh and spoke to the confused Albrecht.
After the escape, we re-entered with a small group. Elias group, , Miller, and Friede.
Where are the others?
Albrecht got up, touching his head.
Hegrion shrugged his shoulders.
I dont know. We went separate ways as soon as we entered.
Then its dangerous
Its not.
Albrecht tilted his head.
This ti, Theresa stepped in.
She smiled and answered Albrechts question.
The movent of the flesh has stopped. Even the laughter of the spirits is gone. It seems like soone in the other groups did sothing.
Ah!
Do you see that?
Theresa gestured to a patch of flesh.
Albrechts eyes widened as he followed her gaze.
An arm is
It was decaying.
Its been like that for several hours. I dont know who it is, but soone among those who entered seems to have found a solution.
Albrechts face brightened.
Thats great! Lets go help them quickly!
Theresa smiled even more at his quick recovery.
Yes. But first, our goal is to find the advance party that wasnt able to escape.
How many are there?
Approximately two hundred. How are you feeling? Ive treated you, but are you feeling any discomfort?
Albrecht felt around his body, then shook his head with a bright smile, showing his neatly aligned teeth.
Im perfect! Thank you for your kindness.
Thats good.
The atmosphere brightened as Albrecht woke up.
Hegrion observed their conversation and hesitated.
There was only one reason.
He wanted to express his gratitude to Albrecht for helping him reach the realm of Intention.
However, it was not easy.
The first reason was that it was difficult to thank him now after expressing his displeasure for so long.
The second was
Phew, I look like a ss. If I keep moving like this, my skin will get damaged
That consistent personality was the problem.
No matter how much he tried to see it positively, Albrechts particular narcissism seed repulsive and made it difficult to speak.
Hegrions expression soured.
Albrecht, unaware of it, flicked off a speck of dried blood from his hair.
Theresa, who noticed Hegrions mood a bit late, just laughed.
This is a good ti.
She thought that there was sothing magical in the friendship of young n.
***
Vera wrapped his body with divinity.
The deathly aura is getting stronger.
The deeper he went, the thicker the deathly aura beca.
It went from a level he could just tolerate to a level that made him frown, and to a level that directly affected his body.
In the now dangerously dense deathly aura, Vera looked at Camilla.
Are you okay?
Yes, yes
Camilla was looking more and more frail.
His golden divinity shielded her, but it wasnt enough; her complexion was becoming more pale and sickly.
Lets, lets go
Yet, she didnt collapse.
Her next step was full of desperation, as if she was determined to find her sister.
Vera bit his lip at the renewed surge of bitterness and nodded.
The entirety of the castle was deplorable, but the center was particularly nasty.
First, old people with their flesh peeled off were nailed to the walls.
They should have been dead, but they shuddered and trembled, signaling that they were alive.
Then, there was the overwhelming deathly aura and corruption, and sothing else that set off Veras alarm.
No one else is here.
Apart from the old people, there was no sign of anyone else.
No guards, not even the apostates who must have brought the old n and children here.
It made no sense.
It felt even more dangerous that there was evidence of people but nothing upon entering.
Vera readied his posture to draw his sword at any ti and moved on.
After what felt like an endlessly long ti,
Wait!
Vera stopped.
Camilla caught her breath and looked up.
Then, she gasped.
The sight before them had brought out that reaction.
That that is
Her voice trembled.
Despair began to fill her eyes.
What filled the enormous room was a graveyard.
No, it was a strange scene that resembled a graveyard.
There were tombstones, and behind them was soil, with inverted crosses rising from it.
Hanging upside down from the crosses were
We we have to go!
Camillas body bolted forward.
Vera lifted his arm to stop her and covered her mouth.
Mmph!
Shh
Vera cald her down, but his heart seethed with more rage than he had ever felt before.
As expected, it was a scene of a sacrifice.
Even considering that, it was a repugnant scene he could not bear to look at.
Countless children were hanging upside-down from the inverted crosses.
Below them was a spell inscribed with blood.
Veras eyes flashed red at the scene that unfolded.
His voice was the most brutal it had ever been.
Stay here. Ill check for enemies and co back.
Camilla burst into tears.
The thought that her sister might be one of those hanging there made her body shake uncontrollably.
She barely managed to nod.
Then, Vera released her arm and slowly moved forward.
Thump.
Thump.
His heart raced violently.
His pupils constricted, etching the dreadful scene into his mind.
It was a grueso sight.
Therefore, it was a sight that compelled one to question what it was for.
Is all of this really necessary?
Woong
The Holy Sword seed to wail as if it would break.
rely
Even though he didnt completely understand her motives yet, the only thought that ca to Vera was rely.
No reason could justify such actions, at least not as far as Vera knew.
No matter how evil soone was, there was a line that not be crossed.
Just for a re
re personal greed led to this tragedy, and that made Vera furious.
Squelch
Sowhere, flesh burst forth.
Veras gaze shifted towards the sound.
Bones protruded through the floor, muscles and flesh layering on top, and then skin.
All of it ford a pulse.
Thump.
Thump.
The corrupted pulse reached Vera.
The slowly forming figure was sothing he had seen before.
It was flesh shaped into the form of a child.
Ten horns erupted from its head, and six faces sprouted from various parts of the body below the neck.
The face that sprouted from the left chest spoke.
Fal se
The voice moaned as if screaming.
Kwaduduk
Fr-free dom
Squelch
The mass grew in size, forming arms.
Another sprouted face opened its mouth.
Theee eeeen
Veras expression crumbled.
It was because he saw sothing.
The legacy he wore, the eyes revealing the essence, the veil blocking corruption, and the binding connecting him to the opponent all told him how this being was born.
Sacrifice.
It was a sacrifice, a vessel for the Tenth.
It was a corruption made from the purity of children to contain the Tenth.
Theee eeenndd
The completed sacrifice crawled towards him, its mouth agape and screaming.
Thump.
Thump.
It pounced on Vera with its considerable weight.
Then, Vera reached out his hand.
Tap
Despite the threatening movent, its attack was feeble.
It was truly an attack at the level of a childs tantrum.
Vera let out a long sigh as he watched it struggle in his grasp.
Woong.
The Holy Sword wailed.
Vera looked at the sacrifice with a deeply furrowed expression.
He looked into its eyes and into the howling souls trapped within.
How long
How long had they been wailing like this, trapped inside?
Since the Age of Gods until now.
As he didnt know how ti flowed within the castle, it could be shorter or longer than that.
No, ti was not important.
What mattered was that Alaysias wrongdoing had resulted in this tragedy.
Gaaa
The sacrifices mouth opened wide.
From inside it, a red tongue lashed out like a whip.
Divinity burst out from Vera, repelling the tongue.
Wooong
The Holy Sword resonated softly.
Alright.
Vera answered and turned his right hand towards his waist.
He gripped the Holy Sword.
Its ti to let you rest.
His voice beca choked with emotion as he spoke.
It was an indescribable feeling.
He simply felt sad and hollow.
The sacrifices eyes moved.
It stared directly at Vera.
True to soones saying that eyes were windows to the soul, the shining eyes held the light of the tortured children.
Vera knew.
This sacrifice was the source of the world he was trapped in.
The mont this sacrifice t its end, he would wake up.
The flesh would entirely dissolve in the real world.
Clang
The tip of Veras sword pointed towards the sacrifices forehead.
His gaze never wavered from its eyes.
Speaking as if promising never to forget the scene that he saw at this very mont, he opened his mouth.
His stigma flared.
I promise.
Having no way to save those whove suffered for so long, Vera made a request to the one who could.
All of you will be saved. You will go to a place free of pain, sorrow, and resentnt. The one who watches this promise will surely fulfill it.
His fair God would surely grant this request.
The price he offered was well worth it.
I will wield my sword and make those responsible for your suffering pay. That is my promise
Veras words paused.
With a cloudy, pained smile, he finished.
Rest now.
Whoosh.
The pure white blade of his sword sank into the center of the sacrifices forehead.
The sacrifices body spasd for a mont and then stopped.
Ah
His voice trailed off.
The expressions that had been hovering above the seven faces vanished.
Then, the burning light within its eyes began to lose its power.
Like lting ice, the sacrifice lted away.
Just then, sothing strange happened.
Swoosh
Veras head tilted back.
Camilla was looking at him with a confused expression, her gaze unsteady and her lips trembling.
Ah
Her trembling arm rose to cover her mouth.
Nurous expressions flickered across her face.
There was shock, and there was sorrow.
Despair ca next, followed by emptiness.
A faint smile was at the end of those cascading waves of emotion.
So Im already dead.
Everything around her crumbled away.
Without any shock or vibration, it simply vanished like a mirage.
Her body, too, was slowly turning into ashes and disappearing.
Vera stood still, watching her.
Camilla looked at her own hands, then at the children scattering on the inverted cross, and finally at Vera.
Is it over now?
Its over. All of it.
Vera responded as such, capturing the sight of everything vanishing before his eyes.
He was the only one left to rember them, so he missed nothing in his effort to morialize them.
You can rest now. Your sister
Vera placed his hand over his heart.
Within it was a new promise, shining golden above his dark, somber soul.
Youll et her again. Lushan has accepted my vow.
Camillas head dropped, seemingly dazed.
With half of her body already gone, she lifted her head and responded with a small smile.
Yes
Veras consciousness began to blur within the crumbling world.
He faintly heard her last words.
Thank you.
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