By Zephyria =======
At that moment, Wolf lowered his head abruptly. Like a frail branch snapping under the weight of accumulated snow. His chin nearly touched his chest.
「You really do like Uncle, don’t you.」
「…….」
「It’s only natural since we’ve lived together for over ten years. I was a fool.」
「……Wolf.」
「You know, Silver. Do you remember? When you saved me from the cliff.」
Wolf abruptly changed the subject. Silver’s brow furrowed. What was he talking about?
Wolf continued, staring only at the floor.
「I was a bit dazed back then, wasn’t I? I didn’t budge like a rock even when you spoke to me.」
It was a murmur that sounded almost like talking to himself. A tone that seemed to be dragged out reluctantly.
「I… I became dazed because you saved Uncle first. No matter how long we’d lived together, I believed you would save me, your friend, first.」
「That was… because the Ice Armor Warrior’s shoulder was dislocated…」
「I know. It was a practical decision.」
Wolf gripped his knees tightly with both hands. His fingertips turned white. Silver felt a suffocating tightness in his chest. As long as Wolf didn’t know the truth, Silver was nothing more than a son of a bitch to him. A son of a bitch in league with a contract killer trying to murder his friend.
Should I just close my eyes and tell him? That the Ice Armor Warrior is my biological father?
As Silver wavered, the voice continued.
「You hugged me and cried back then. You shouted in the Stohl language, but I understood everything. Your heart, grieving because you thought I had lost my mind from the shock.」
「Uh… well. G-grieving… it wasn’t quite to that extent…」
「Your tears soaked my neck. They were warm, like a scarf.」
「When… when did I ever cry…」
Unconsciously, Silver’s face grew hot. Hey, you idiot, Wolf? Look, no matter how you see it… isn’t this something you shouldn’t say to another guy?
He stole a glance at Red Eagle. The latter was leaning forward intently. He looked like a kid who had woken up in the middle of the night to get water, only to freeze at the sound of suggestive moans leaking from his parents’ bedroom. You bastard, don’t get the wrong idea!
「So, I just felt good for some reason, and I kept pretending to be dazed. I was happy that you were crying for me… I just, just felt that way…」
His voice grew smaller and smaller. Wolf’s ears turned red as he rubbed the floor with his fingertips. He looked as if he were writing a letter to someone.
Suddenly, a chill spread across Silver’s skin. These embarrassing words he was suddenly pouring out… Could it be?
The realization hit his head like a battering ram. A final will left for him?
Because he didn’t want to run away alone and put his friend in danger? Had he given up on escaping entirely and was confessing his inner feelings to his friend one last time?
This stubborn idiot! I can’t take this anymore!
「Stop it, you idiot! I’m not gonna die by the Ice Armor Warrior’s hand! That guy is my biological father!」
Silver shouted abruptly. Red Eagle’s eyes widened like a frog’s, and his mouth hung open.
「Silver, what did you… Uncle is…?」
Wolf also slowly raised his head. Silver slammed his fist onto the floor.
「Get it now? I’m not gonna die. So stop being so pathetic and focus on the escape!」
「Silver. You’re trying too hard.」
Wolf let out a hollow laugh. Red Eagle chimed in.
「Yeah. This is a bit too much, Silver.」
Silver was speechless at the unexpected reaction. He had finally gathered the courage to confess… and they don’t believe him?
The Prince and the Attendant each threw in a comment.
「First, there isn’t a single resembling feature on your faces. There’s a saying that strawberries don’t grow on apple trees…」
「Exactly, Prince. Uncle and Silver are as far apart as a worm-eaten tomato and a blooming lilac.」
「At least those are both plants. In my eyes, they’re as different as a whale and a bluebird.」
「If it were just cucumbers and eggplants, I might have believed you. Well, the look in your eyes is similar. I’ll give you that.」
Silver ground his teeth inwardly. The Bronze-beaked Hawk, who had acted smugly saying, ‘A wise man looks at aptitude rather than features,’ was far smarter than these peers. Are you blind, you brats? Didn’t you see that the Ice Armor Warrior and I have the exact same alcohol tolerance!
There was only one way left. To punch the Ice Armor Warrior square in the gut right in front of Wolf and say, “Being your son is fucking miserable.”
「Uh, but Silver…」
Suddenly, Red Eagle looked over hesitantly.
「Are you really not going to tell us? The reason Uncle is trying to kill Wolf…」
「Too much trouble. Wolf can hear it from him on the ship to Atania.」
Silver replied indifferently.
「And you, Wolf. Stop getting sentimental. This isn’t a children’s game of war. I’ve confirmed it from the Ice Armor Warrior’s own mouth twice. No, was it three times? Anyway, right before coming down here, he bragged that if I behaved, he might extend your life a little.」
Having finished his warning, he shifted his train of thought. The escape issue had been resolved more simply than expected. The next headache was the evil spirit clinging to Wolf. Could the priests of Atania drive out a Stohl evil spirit? It would be tedious, but it might be better to explain the whole story to Red Eagle. Since he had the status to recruit the best priests.
「Hey, Prince. Don’t be surprised, just listen to m—」
Silver’s words stopped mid-sentence. Red Eagle’s expression also shifted instantly.
「Wolf…? What are you doing?」
Red Eagle asked hesitantly. Silver snapped his fingers right in front of Wolf’s eyes.
「Hey, do you see a giant spider or something? What are you staring at?」
Wolf said nothing. His gaze remained fixed on the empty air. As if he had discovered a ghost standing somewhere, invisible to others. A chill permeated Silver’s entire body. Had the evil spirit already swallowed Wolf’s soul?
「Wol—!」
Just as Silver raised his voice, Wolf pointed into the air.
「Can’t you see that, Silver?」
「See what? For now… I don’t see any bugs…」
Silver’s voice unconsciously trailed off. Where Wolf pointed, only fine dust, like flour, was swirling in the lamp light.
「Like a window… like a small door… You can’t see that?」
Wolf, who had been mumbling, suddenly fell silent. The irises of his eyes, still nailed to the same spot, became more vivid as they absorbed the lamp light. Silver shook Wolf’s shoulder.
「Wolf! Snap out of it! Don’t just stand there, wave your left hand! If you do that, the evil spirit…!」
「Option… right to refuse…」
「What are you talking about! I told you to wave your left hand!」
「5 times… conditions met…」
Wolf’s pupils moved rapidly. Left, right, left, right.
「Side effect… essence…」
Silver turned toward Red Eagle.
「This isn’t working. You keep waving Wolf’s left hand. I’ll go find an offering on the deck, so you have to hold out until then!」
「Wolf! Wolf!」
Red Eagle grabbed Wolf’s left hand. It was the moment Silver tried to stand up. A light engulfed his vision, white and intense. An explosive flash. Then, pressure.
「U… uwaah…!」
「Aaaagh!」
A tremendous wind slammed into his chest. Both Silver and Red Eagle were blown away in opposite directions like sacks of potatoes. At some point, his body slammed hard against the wooden floor. He rolled over and over like a log sliding down a hill.
“Ugh… damn it!”
A curse burst from his mouth. Silver used all his strength to plant his palms on the floor. Even so, his body kept spinning. Damn it! More! More!
He kicked the wooden floor with his toes. Contracting every muscle in his body, he channeled all his power into his palms. At some point, his fingertips dug into the floor. Splinters of wood snapped and flew up. Stop.
“Haa, ha…”
Panting for breath, Silver hurriedly raised his head. The moment Wolf entered his field of vision, he was struck with horror. He was emitting light and gusts of wind. Dozens of brilliant rays of light leaked from outside his clothes. His robe fluttered like a flag in the raging wind.
The dark corridor had instantly transformed into a winter wilderness at noon. Despite the violently dancing barrage of light and wind, Silver could not take his eyes off Wolf. What… was that?
Wolf’s right hand. Something was abruptly surging from his wide-open palm. Growing long like a snake, it instantly transformed into a greatsword the size of a child before dropping from his hand. Wolf’s large hand swiftly gripped the descending greatsword. Even in his bewilderment, Silver felt a chill run through his body. That hand movement, lightly swinging the greatsword left and right. It was too proficient. Instinctive.
“Hut…!”
Silver flinched. Suddenly, total darkness. The wind was gone.
Darkness. Lamp light. Laughter pouring from the deck. Everything returned to how it was before. Except for Wolf.
Wolf was standing askew. Staring blankly downward. With the greatsword gripped in one hand.
Silver intuited it. He’s a monster.
「W-W-Wolf… why, why…」
At the end of the corridor, Red Eagle lay collapsed, sobbing. Blood was flowing from his forehead.
Wolf slowly raised his face. Silver couldn’t move a single finger. It felt as if wet sand had filled his entire body.
「Silver.」
Wolf cast his gaze toward Silver. His eyes were different from before. Something as cold as winter seawater had taken over his pupils.
「There’s no problem if I go up to the deck and kill Uncle now, right? Since this is Stohl.」
Silver couldn’t open his mouth. A sense of dread pressed down on his entire body like a bronze casting.
「I’ll end this. Just wait a moment.」
Turning abruptly, Wolf ran, dragging the greatsword. His movements were so fast it was hard to believe even while seeing it. Deep gouges were carved into the wooden floor wherever the greatsword passed. Silver belatedly snapped back to his senses. No!
「Stop right there!」
It felt as if his entire body was being submerged by an incoming tide. A premonition surged.
「Wolf!」
Silver leaped into the darkness. Skipping two, three steps, he ascended to the deck in one go. Winter wind. A blade already in motion. In the darkness, a single white trajectory. Black Weasel’s head left his shoulders and flew toward the river. The large, sturdy body staggered three or four steps like a drunkard heading home, then slowly sank to its knees. Thump. The head had already vanished from sight.
Cheers, whistles, the smell of alcohol. Warriors shaking their fists.
Silver collapsed as if breaking. Sweat poured from his body like rain. To think it ended this quickly.
It makes no sense.
This is reality?
The warriors surrounded Wolf and cheered. The Bronze-beaked Hawk, who once praised Black Weasel, slapped Wolf on the back with one hand. White Deer laughed, arching his back. Everyone was enthusiastic about the victor. A red line crawled slowly toward Silver. It was his biological father’s blood.
‘Silver! You are thunder too!’
He remembered Black Weasel lifting Silver high and shouting eleven years ago. At that time, his father had laughed like a man who held the world in his palm.
Silver’s vision blurred. He couldn’t tell what was what.
Why Wolf suddenly turned into a monster.
Why the Ice Armor Warrior died so quickly.
Why.
He didn’t know.
Everything was a mess.
Everywhere was a scene of carnage.
It was hell.
69 – Hell Execution Order