By Zephyria =======
Part 2
[GATE] /sigterm:ego
bio.scan/hell.confirmed
Darkness.
When he opened his eyes, darkness blocked his path. He could hear sounds. Wailing and screaming. Despair.
Wolf pushed himself up and looked around. A profound sense of fatigue washed over him. It felt as though he had just woken from a terrible nightmare that shook his very soul, but he couldn’t remember it. The first thought that occurred to him was a simple, fundamental question, the kind a newborn baby might have.
Where am I……?
It was difficult to grasp at first glance. Light existed. Its brightness was akin to a small amount of water mixed into a bottle of ink, but vague human figures emerged here and there. Some thrashed and screamed as if having seizures. Others walked with staggering steps. That was all. Aside from the madmen, nothing else was visible. No houses, no trees, no rivers, no animals—nothing.
Only after looking around for a long while did Wolf discover the light source. Faint streaks of light were leaking in from the distant void. It looked as if someone had pricked holes into a piece of black paper with a needle.
Faced with this bizarre, desolate, and chaotic sight, only one thought came to mind. Could this place be hell……?
Hell.
A chill seeped through Wolf’s entire body. Memories rushed back in rapid succession. Black Weasel’s neck suddenly snapping. The massive body spurting blood. And…… Wolf’s own body split wide open in half.
It wasn’t a dream. He was dead, and this was hell.
“Ugh……”
A low groan was heard nearby. Turning around instinctively, Wolf was startled. Red Eagle was lying on the ground, tossing and turning. What, even the Prince died?
In the next moment, Wolf’s mind went blank. Black Weasel, Red Eagle, and Wolf himself were all dead. If so……
Silver!
Wolf sprang up and scanned the area. Even in the thick darkness, Silver and Black Weasel were easy to spot. They were only three or four steps away, but Wolf couldn’t bring himself to approach them. He felt as if shackles were fastened to his ankles, unable to move an inch.
Silver was curled up, sobbing. Black Weasel was holding Silver tight, constantly whispering something. That was the sight captured in Wolf’s eyes.
「Calm down.」
Black Weasel spoke.
「I don’t know if this shitty place is hell or some damn evil spirit’s den, but you have nothing to fear. Because the brave Black Weasel is by your side. After all, I am your biological father.」
What is he talking about? Damn it, speak in the Atania language! In Atania!
Wolf clenched both fists. His nails dug into his palms.
Suddenly, a cold sensation touched his left shoulder. Startled, he turned to find Red Eagle standing there, gripping Wolf’s shoulder. His lips were purple.
“Ugh! Blegh! Ack!”
Red Eagle leaned over and vomited. A yellowish liquid mixed with bread crumbs spread out like spilled soup. It was the bread and alcohol they had eaten at the inn tavern just before being murdered. Suddenly, Wolf’s eyes wavered. An absurd suspicion surged up on its own. Is this really hell?
It… should be hell.
Wolf looked up into the void. There was light. Not sunlight, but light leaking from an unknown realm whose origin no human could fathom. Just looking at that, this place was clearly hell. Nevertheless, the question remained. Why is the Prince vomiting? We’re dead, so we should be in a spiritual state. But vomiting is a physiological function of the human body.
Wolf placed a hand on his chest. He could feel a heartbeat. When he took a deep breath, his chest tightened. His palms were warm. Could a soul be like this? The reality of a soul might differ quite a bit from people’s imaginations, but still, this was strange.
Just as the question was about to advance further, Red Eagle let go of Wolf’s arm and slid down to the ground.
“Wo, Wol…… Wolf. Wolf.”
“Prince! Are you alright?”
Wolf hurriedly supported Red Eagle. Red Eagle was trembling all over. He looked like someone buried alive, wailing and scratching at the coffin with his fingernails.
“Wolf, this is hell. I saw it. Uncle and you dying…… You, your wa-waist was torn in half……”
“Please calm down, Prince. Even if this is hell, we won’t receive a severe punishment. We haven’t committed any great sins in our lives……”
Wolf’s voice grew lower as he comforted Red Eagle. A mist-like chill crept down the nape of his neck.
“We…… haven’t committed any great sins. At most, it was just some lying or petty theft. Ah, since you grew up in the court, Prince, you probably didn’t even steal. Even if we are punished, it’ll just be a few strokes of a rod and that’ll be it.”
Barely finishing his sentence, Wolf caught his breath. Nearby, he saw the contract killer hugging and patting the back of his slave. The brave Black Weasel. A man who had killed at least a hundred people. And Silver.
The first time he met Silver flashed before Wolf’s eyes. Silver leaning down, pulling daggers out of men’s necks one by one. With indifferent hand movements, as if pulling carrots from a garden. Blood trickled down the blades.
At that time, Silver had killed four people right in front of Wolf. He is a murderer. Though he might not reach the level of his master and contract killer, Black Weasel, he must have killed quite a few people. Compared to Wolf, whose punishment would be a few strokes of a rod, Silver had committed a far greater sin.
Wolf’s breathing became ragged. Silver—that murderer—is now around my age. If he hadn’t grown up under a contract killer, he would have grown into a moron who occasionally steals biscuits from a bakery, just like me. That damn Black Wea—
Eh?
The burning anger vanished instantly, as if hit by a sudden rain shower. Wolf squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Once more. Still, nothing changed.
“Wolf? What’s wrong?”
Red Eagle followed Wolf’s gaze and let out a gasp, falling back onto his backside. Silver and Black Weasel, who had also discovered ‘it,’ looked speechless, just as he did.
Step by step, a girl walked toward them from a distance. Her shoulder-length blonde hair cast a pale light into the darkness. Her face was expressionless. The only thing she wore was a black skirt embroidered with purple floral patterns. Anyone would see her as a child who died young and feel pity for her. At a glance, that is.
What was revealed beneath the skirt was not a human body. Except for the face, everything was bone. Ribs and a spine instead of a torso. Femurs extending straight down from the skirt. Phalanges so tiny they were almost cute, like strawberry seeds……
Wolf couldn’t take his eyes off ‘it.’ He felt the same way he did when he heard a rumor that a grave had been dug up the day after a funeral, only an empty coffin was found, and the culprit was the fiancé of the stolen corpse. It was terrifying yet absurd, and at the same time, curiosity surged.
What is that thing?
* * *
“You there. Prince and Attendant.”
Wolf snapped back to his senses at the sound of the voice. Black Weasel was gesturing toward them. In the meantime, the thing had been swallowed by the darkness.
“Come here. Hurry. Hurry!”
Wolf hesitated for a moment at Black Weasel’s urging. In his heart, he wanted to turn his back without a second thought, pretending not to hear. If only Silver wasn’t beside that damn contract killer.
Suppressing his anger, Wolf helped Red Eagle up.
“Prince. Can you stand?”
Red Eagle only mumbled incoherent words to himself repeatedly. Wolf supported Red Eagle and approached Black Weasel.
“Uncle, Silver. Are you okay?”
“Hmph, useless worries. Stay sharp. From now on, we must stick together no matter what.”
“……Excuse me?”
For a moment, Wolf’s forehead felt cold. The phrase ‘stick together’ was out of the blue, but above all, the contract killer’s tone was excessively low. Somehow, it felt as if he were being careful lest someone overhear him……
There is something. He didn’t know what it was, but something was there.
“St-st-stick together for what? We’re dead anyway……”
Wolf asked back with intentional denseness. Black Weasel glared at Wolf for a moment.
“Right. We’re dead. But who knows?”
The contract killer’s tone sank even further. He sounded like a general calling his closest aides in the dead of night to give operational orders before a decisive battle. Wolf swallowed hard. Could it be?
37 – Hell Execution Order