By Zephyria =======
Black Weasel flared up.
「You little shit! You think you can just play the harp alone? Get over here! Let’s settle this once and for all!」
“Shut up, you idiot! Instead of thinking about leaving quickly!”
Silver stepped in front of Black Weasel, blocking his path.
“The Jester is spinning! How many rotations are left? Two? Don’t tell me it’s only one?”
“Don’t stop me, Sil… Rotations? I don’t know?”
「…Wolf. How many rotations of the Jester are left?」
Silver pressed his temples and looked at Wolf. Wolf remained turned away, gazing down beneath the stone needles.
「Four left.」
Right on cue, a voice spoke.
〔The Jester begins the tenth rotation.〕
“Right, Silver! How long did it take you to get here?”
Only then did Black Weasel ask back with a look of sudden realization. Silver glared at him from the corner of his eye.
“You’re asking that now? I got here in a single rotation. There’s plenty of time to go back.”
Silver gestured with his chin toward the other side of the stone needles. Black smoke was rising from various places, settling like a thick fog.
“That way. It’s a straight line. If we skip eighteen more, we’ll be at the door.”
“Oh! That’s a piece of cake. Lead the way, Silver! Let’s run for it!”
Black Weasel rotated one arm in a circle. Silver, who had taken a step forward, looked back. Wolf was still facing away, staring down.
It felt as if they had crossed one swamp only to encounter another. Sweat beaded on Silver’s forehead. Wolf…
“Silver, give it up. That guy can’t keep up until the end,” Black Weasel said with a snort, as if reading Silver’s inner thoughts.
“We have to skip ahead without any acceleration zones. It’s easy for us, but it’ll be hard for the Attendant. Even if he manages it three or four times, he won’t make it to the end.”
「…Wolf. If you skip eighteen more, it’s the door. You can do it, right?」
Knowing he likely couldn’t, Silver asked anyway. Wolf slowly turned around. His face was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth were strangely twisted.
“Silver! Enough already, man!” Black Weasel said, his brow furrowing.
“As your master, I’ve put up with it once for your sake. Not twice! If we don’t leave right now, I’m going to take that Attendant’s head.”
He wasn’t joking. Black Weasel aimed his axe toward Wolf.
“Jump. Now!”
「Silver. Leave first.」
Wolf spoke up as if to block Black Weasel. Silver actually flinched at the words that followed.
「I’ll follow you. To the end.」
Silver couldn’t say a word. The same phrase kept swirling on the tip of his tongue. Can you really follow us to the end? Truly?
Black Weasel stomped his boot hard against the ground.
“Silver, I told you not to stall! Jump!”
「Silver. Leave!」
Wolf raised his voice as well.
「I’ll follow you to the end! We’re… friends, aren’t we!」
Silver went blank. The moment the word ‘friends’ left Wolf’s mouth, he felt as if he had suddenly slipped on a sheet of ice. Friends.
A fleeting memory surfaced. What he had said to Wolf, who kept insisting they leave for Atania.
— You’re overstepping your bounds.
To that, Wolf had replied calmly.
— Friends are allowed to overstep their bounds.
He understood it now. The overstepping that had been so annoying back then was now crystal clear. The guy must have had sweaty palms, shortness of breath, and a suffocating chest. An anxiety like hanging off a cliff must have slammed into his entire body. Just like Silver felt now.
“Silver! Jump! Give up on the Attendant!”
Black Weasel raised his axe.
“Last warning! Jump within three seconds! Three—”
It wasn’t a threat. There was no more time.
Damn it. Damn it.
Damn it!
Silver took one last look at Wolf. Wolf nodded vigorously, as if telling him to be at ease. In a short, very short span of time, many thoughts swirled through Silver’s mind. The Eyepatch Woman falling silently down the cliff. The imagination that Wolf might fall just like her. And yet, the hope that perhaps Wolf could follow them to the end…
“Two!”
Silver took a step back. Two more steps.
Make sure you follow, Wolf.
“One!”
He lowered his body.
The void passed beneath his feet.
* * *
Silver landed firmly, piercing through the black smoke.
“Silver!”
Black Weasel landed with a thud beside him. The surface of the stone needle crumbled, spitting out stone dust. Silver turned his head. In the distance, he saw Wolf leaping across the stone needles. His movements were more fluid than expected.
Maybe he actually can make it to the end?
“Don’t look back, idiot. If you’re unlucky, you might see the Attendant plummeting down the cliff. —Run!”
Black Weasel leaped forward. Silver kept his mouth shut and followed.
“Wooooo! This feels greatttt—!”
Black Weasel flailed his arms as he crossed the void, landing with a loud thud in one go.
“By the way, this feels shitty. I was trying to kill that guy, not Silver, but he totally misunderstood. Doesn’t the Attendant see me as too much of a villain?”
“Obviously. Why would he see you as a good guy?”
“I mean, he sees me as a villain beyond a reasonable degree.”
“That’s because you are a villain beyond a reasonable degree.”
“That’s true.”
The two exchanged trivial jokes as they leaped across distances of five or six steps. Gradually, sweat gathered on Silver’s forehead. His thoughts kept drifting backward. Was Wolf following well? Or had he fallen? Had he finally missed a step and plunged into that darkness?
Silver’s chest heaved. His body trembled and his breathing grew ragged, like a novice warrior facing his first battle. Black Weasel arched an eyebrow.
“Silver, you again… Dammit, I told you to stop worrying about the Attendant! Stop thinking useless thoughts and make a bet with me.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“I’ll put you in the mood. Whether the Attendant follows us to the end or not. How about it? I’ll bet ten gold coins that he makes it.”
“….”
Silver glanced at Black Weasel. Black Weasel was leaping to the opposite stone needle, matching Silver’s pace.
“It’s because the difficulty here is lower than I thought. It’s way easier than climbing the cave walls. Plus, we have plenty of time. With four rotations left, it’s enough for the Attendant to catch his breath and follow. Heave-ho!”
Landing on the stone needle, Black Weasel glanced at Silver.
“I’m definitely winning this bet. So you just focus on guiding the way. Got it, you stubborn slave?”
“…Tch.”
Silver spat out a curse. It seemed Black Weasel had brought up the bet in his own way to reassure Silver. Shameless bastard, acting like a father figure.
“Fine.”
Silver said as he leaped with all his might. Beyond the smoke scattering in the wind, the small silhouette of the opposite stone needle drew close. In the blink of an eye, his feet landed on the stone.
“But switch bets. You bet he can’t make it. I’ll bet he does.”
“Damn it, in that case, let’s make a different bet. How many rotations it takes for the Attendant to arrive. I say three.”
“I say two and a half, plus another half-turn.”
“Whoa, so precise! Switch bets with me! I’ll go with two and a half plus a half-turn too!”
“No way, brat.”
While they bickered, the door drew near. Red Eagle, standing on a stone needle, came into view.
Red Eagle raised both arms and shouted.
「Wolf—!」
Silver flinched at the sound. The moment the feeling that something was wrong surged up, a cold, fierce wind whipped past his side. A fluttering black shadow blocked Silver’s vision. Without even a blink, the shadow dropped down and landed on the stone needle. It was Wolf.
No way!
Silver’s eyes widened in shock. Black Weasel’s expression was likely not much different. As soon as they landed, the voice echoed.
〔The Jester’s tenth rotation has ended.〕
〔The Jester begins the eleventh rotation.〕
「Wolf! Wolf!」
Red Eagle hugged Wolf and sobbed. Wolf smiled and patted Red Eagle’s back. In front of the touching reunion between the Prince and the Attendant, the assassin and his assistant stood frozen like portraits hanging on a wall. It was so absurd that no words came out.
Wolf had finished it before the Jester could even complete one more turn.
Was this how it felt to charge desperately toward the enemy lines with an axe, only to find the enemy had already captured the castle and planted their victory flag? Only one question spun in Silver’s head: How?
How did Wolf get ahead of us? How on earth did the guy who started last… That’s strange, he was much worse than me at climbing cave walls. Did I accidentally step on an extra stone needle in the middle? Could it be… did he change direction and find a shortcut… but was there even a shortcut here?
54 – Hell Execution Order