Chapter 226 : Chapter 226
Chapter 226 : The Sword Demon, Raman (4)
The body, stripped of all life force by the cruel Blood Magic, was as gaunt as a withered, twisted old tree. The hair and skin were completely dyed a dull ash-gray.
Luke Springeus.
The end of the peerless knight, who had once been so brilliant, was too miserable to look upon with open eyes.
'…….'
I swallowed dryly. It was the dark flip side of the honor and pride paraded by the nobles of the Kingdom.
Since he had ultimately failed to surpass his rival from the opposing family and had botched his family's hidden art twice in front of everyone, after all…….
Luke was no longer the glory of his family, but nothing more and nothing less than a 'disgrace' that had to be erased.
In the end, to protect their swollen pride, the family had chosen the path of offering their failed hero to an evil spirit.
"Brother, it has been a long time."
It was heard from behind. Goosebumps broke out in an instant. It was a voice that I could never forget even if I tried.
'The Blood Devil!'
There was no need to even turn around. He had already come right beside me before I knew it.
"Turn around and show your face. It has been a while, so is there any reason to turn your back so coldly? If my memory is intact, there should be no thorny, ill fate between you and me."
The Blood Devil stood between the Sword Demon and me. His choice of positioning was exquisite, as if his movements had been perfectly calculated.
Raman Windermere, turning his back to the Blood Devil, was still only looking up at the altar straight ahead.
"Your thoughts seem cluttered. Just like those lowly humans. When the human breed witnesses such a sight, they struggle to assign some sort of meaning to it."
"……."
"When it is merely a single insignificant creature reaching the end of its life."
Only then did Raman Windermere turn around. His complexion was as inorganic as the Blood Devil's.
The gazes of the two evil spirits crossed up and down.
It was the Blood Devil who broke the silence first. The fellow chuckled as if it were nothing major.
"Why are you so serious?"
"You went through the trouble of creating a hassle."
"Mmm, no. That is not so."
The Blood Devil lightly shook his head. A languid smile formed around his lips.
"Intercourse with a human. Brother, you formed an absurd connection. Therefore, I personally cleaned it up for you. So that your dignity would not be damaged."
"……."
"There is no need for thanks."
Raman turned around completely. The blood splatters on the other side of his face and clothes were revealed. It was the remnants of the Springeus family members who had blocked him earlier.
"Intercourse? A connection?"
"Are you denying it?"
"Luke Springeus was necessary for the great work. A useful tool, simply that much."
"Then there is even less reason to hesitate, is there not? The tool is recklessly abusing Karma to an excessive degree, so it should rightfully be discarded."
Strength entered the rims of my eyes. A conversation I had previously shared with Kuhn came to mind. It was a story regarding the Eight Demons.
―The ones who established Karma, that is, the providence of the universe, and first spread it to the Empire are the current Imperial Family, the Igraine Dynasty. Warning that Karma must not be abused and taking that moderation as their ideology, they judged the arrogance and corruption of the previous Imperial Family.
The will to maintain the balance of Karma.
Kuhn said that was the foundation of the Imperial Family and the raison d'être of the Eight Demons.
―Then, what if this will of the Imperial Family to protect Karma became the decisive pretext for invading the Kingdom? What do you think about this?
If so, how far did the scope of Karma, which the Imperial Family and the Eight Demons defined as a detriment, extend?
―Does the Imperial Family consider mana to be a type of Karma?
―That is precise.
I had confirmed it at the Springeus mansion. Ethereal is a condensation of mana.
And the ultimate stage of Ethereal, the Flower Does Not Bloom for Ten Days, which the later Sword Saint Luke stubbornly perfected, is based on Innate True Qi, not mana.
"……."
I turned my head. I stared at the Sword Demon standing beside the Blood Devil.
'Could it be that he'd waited……?'
……Until Luke Springeus reached the limit.
"If it is not a connection based on intercourse, how would you make sense of all this?"
I snapped back to my senses. It felt as if he had seen straight through my inner thoughts and was assisting me.
Raman lowered his voice.
"So, are you going to reproach me?"
"……Heh. Look, how nice it is to see you admit it."
"Springeus is now strictly a knightly family. No matter if it is you, there should have been no gap to squeeze into, so how are you coiled up so proudly inside the mansion?"
The Blood Devil let out a smirk, and his shoulders soon shook as he laughed. The fragmented laughter echoed through the underground for a long while.
"Ah, naive. Far too naive. Until now, I thought that child had merely bewitched my brother with crafty tricks—"
"……."
"But looking at it now, that is not it at all."
"Answer me straight."
"I did not come on my own feet. The members of the Springeus family whom you cherished and doted on so much—those children welcomed me with utmost devotion."
Raman's face contorted. He raised his voice, as if there was no longer anything to hide.
"You expect me to believe that?!"
"What will you do if you do not believe it, when it is an undeniable fact? They yearned to become endlessly stronger, loathed to admit defeat, and wished to conceal their own disgrace. Thus, they entrusted the disposal of that child to me. Well, I also bestowed a few minor graces upon that admirable disposition, though."
The corners of the Blood Devil's mouth curved steeply into an arc.
"Has your cleverness been blurred after spending so many years mingled with the children, brother? It is truly pitiful. Surely you are not unaware that human desire has no end and their ugliness has no bottom."
"Do not mock me, Blood Devil."
"Mock? If you truly cannot believe it, verify it for yourself."
It was then.
From the end of the dark corridor in the back, countless footsteps and signs rushed in. In an instant, the Springeus family members and soldiers surrounded the interior as if laying siege.
"Raman Windermere! That's far enough!"
"To think you'd stubbornly uncover our shame……!"
"You won't be able to leave here alive!"
Shouts erupted from everywhere. A pale-yellow malice gleamed atop each of their sharp pupils.
They were people who had offered the bodies and souls of their own kin to an evil spirit. There would be nothing as futile as expecting reason and common sense from those who had already abandoned human morality.
Step—
I doubted my own eyes.
Raman Windermere meekly raised his hands. It meant he had no intention of fighting.
The laughter of the Blood Devil, who was leisurely vanishing into the shadows, lingered in my ears.
***
Raman Windermere was imprisoned in the underground dungeon of the Springeus mansion.
Though the form was imprisonment, it was no different from walking in on his own feet. Even the word resistance was meaningless. After all, if he had made up his mind, he could have escaped such a paltry siege at any time.
In reality, it was close to a voluntary seclusion.
Otherwise, it made no sense for the lofty Sword Demon to rot in the damp darkness for a lengthy period of a whopping twenty years.
"Sir Raman."
Raman raised his head at the call. He let out a smirk upon seeing the face faintly revealed between the iron bars.
"I almost did not recognize you. You have grown well."
"……."
Though it was a brief moment, I also recognized who he was at once. It was Luke's son.
"……Yesterday, the Windermere family officially declared Sir Raman's excommunication."
"Surprising. To think it has only happened now."
Was it because of the stench emanating from the cramped solitary cell?
Luke's son knitted his brows.
"Coincidentally, on the same day, I passed the entrance exam for the Imperial Capital Knight Order."
"Heh, congratulations. A worthy son of a worthy father indeed."
"……Do you have nothing else to say?"
"What more do you want besides congratulations? As you know, I am someone who was dismissed from the Imperial Capital Knight Order as well. I do not even possess the qualifications of a senior."
Luke's son lowered his head deeply and let out a suppressed sigh. Veins bulged at the tip of his jaw, perhaps because he was gritting his molars tightly.
He raised his eyes.
"I kept silent all this time because it felt like I was boasting, but I am telling you because you truly seem unaware. The reason you have remained alive until now is because I maintained your innocence."
"……."
"When the family, the Imperial Capital Knight Order, and the whole world turned their backs on you! I am saying that I alone shouted your innocence until the end. Do you think you can preserve that noble life of yours after a shield like me disappears? Listen well. The moment I leave this mansion, there is no one who will protect you!"
The angry voice echoed throughout the entire underground dungeon. The echo was hollow.
The reply that returned after the silence was drainingly absurd.
"So, what? Do you want to receive a word of gratitude at this late hour?"
"S-Sir Raman……!"
"Stop whining and go. It is a bit awkward to say this myself, but it would be better for you to forget about your father's business and move on with your life."
CRASH—!
Luke's son gripped the iron bars. He looked ready to tear them apart.
"You did not kill our father! Am I wrong?!"
"……."
"Tell me the truth of that day! Both my father and you! I am asking you to clear the dishonor from both of you!"
In the memory of the Sword Demon, Raman Windermere had never once mentioned the events of that day since he was imprisoned by his own accord.
Therefore, if my assumption was correct…….
He seemed to believe that this method alone was the sole way to protect Luke Springeus's honor.
CLANG—!
Raman leaned against the iron door as if almost collapsing. The chains of his fetters and handcuffs rattled noisily. The eyes revealed through the gaps in the bars were sharp, like those of a hungry predator.
"Your father died by my hand."
"……!"
"I waited only for that moment when the ultimate stage of Ethereal, which he yearned for so much, was perfected. Since it seemed that the time had finally come, I watched. It was far more threatening than my estimation. I felt that if I left it alone, my neck would be the first to fall, so unable to overcome my fear, I took action in a fit of anger. That was the end of your father."
Raman reeled off the lies smoothly as if he had vanished them in advance. The son's pupils trembled steeply. Only rough breaths were exchanged between the bars.
"That is all."
"N-No. That cannot be. The one who killed my father was absolutely not you—"
"I said that is all."
"……!"
"So forget everything now. Forget everything and go your own way, brat."
Raman tapped the iron door with his chapped and cracked hand. As if patting him comfortingly.
"……."
Luke's son stared at Raman's back as he turned away for a long while through the bars.
After offering a brief bow just as his father and Raman had shown manners to each other before their duels, he soon left the place.
· · ·
After that, there was no one who visited the underground solitary cell.
Raman Windermere would often spend several days sitting cross-legged, immersed in deep meditation.
Then, he suddenly stood up as if possessed by something and brandished his sword finger. Along with a slicing sound, something was rapidly filled upon the wall.
'Swordsmanship's oral secrets?'
Sure enough, it was correct. It was a series of drawings embodying the oral secrets and sword paths written in the Imperial language.
'……!'
My eyes opened wide. Although the oral secrets left behind by Raman were not entirely identical, they were remarkably similar to the Flower Does Not Bloom for Ten Days.
'Will Luke stop by this place in the future?'
It was not entirely impossible. After all, this location was the Springeus mansion.
My gaze reached Raman, who was sitting and meditating, once more.
Before I knew it, he had become an old man.
THUD— THUD— THUD—
The iron door rattled as if it would break. Come to think of it, the iron door had also become worn out in the meantime.
CREAK—
The iron door slowly opened. It was while letting out a piercing scream. The sound of it scraping against the stone floor was also noisy.
"Are you still alive, brother?"
The ones who appeared from the opposite side were two individuals wearing robes. One of them removed his robe.
Raman, who was meditating, opened only one eye and looked up.
"……It has been a long time, Poison Demon."
In that instant, a thrill ran from both of my temples down to my jaw. My head snapped around.
The Poison Demon of this time was not Karim, but a grave old man.
Raman let out a smirk. For someone who was smiling for the first time in a long while, it was quite natural.
"Your tastes are indeed as unchanging as ever."
"Ah, this body? You see, an elderly side makes it easier to gain trust from patients in many ways."
The Poison Demon stroked his thick white beard. His scalp was smooth, like Bolero's.
It was a brief moment where I felt like I had somehow met the true author of The Way of Medicine, making me feel solemn despite myself.
"Let us leave now. I have heard all about your business. You gave excessive affection to humans."
The Poison Demon spoke in a complicated voice. Raman's gaze shifted behind the Poison Demon, toward the single individual who had not removed his robe yet.
"Excessive affection, you say."
"Yes. When expectations are high, disappointment is equally deep. I have seen their absolute rock bottom, that desperate bare face, until I was sick of it. How cowardly a human standing at death's door can become, and what kind of betrayal they commit habitually to preserve their own shallow life. Humans are originally creatures designed that way. Existences born incomplete, harboring flaws that cannot be filled."
"Incomplete……."
"Yes. Humans are inherently incomplete existences. What could you possibly expect from them?"
A fellow who looked like an octopus head was spouting reckless words just because he had an open mouth. How's he so different from Karim? Could there be two Poison Demons?
It was right when I was having such thoughts.
"It is because they are incomplete that they are human. That is why there is meaning in their lives. Because each of them possesses a different color."
Raman spoke. To think the Sword Demon looks like a person of high character. It seems I've been here too long.
Upon hearing those words, the octopus-headed Poison Demon continuously tilted his head. He appeared to be considerably shocked.
He soon snapped back to his senses and spoke.
"Springeus and Windermere are flourishing according to your wish. Now they can be called influential knight families of the Kingdom in name and reality. Well, you might not be curious, but it means your current life was meaningful in its own way after all. So let us go out now and find the next body—"
"I would like to leave that to you."
"……What?"
"Transfer me to a reasonably sturdy body."
"What are you talking about, Sword Demon?"
"I will make a request."
"What request this time?"
"No, not you."
"……?"
Raman's gaze shifted behind the Poison Demon, toward the single individual who had not removed his robe yet.
"Luke Springeus. I would like to request his reincarnation."
As soon as he heard those words, the Poison Demon's eyes abruptly widened as if they would pop out. His lips trembled minutely.
"Y-You surely don't……, can you see that fellow?"
Raman nodded.
"Yes. He is behind you."
The Poison Demon hurriedly looked back, but as if nothing was visible to his eyes, he merely looked around continuously.
Returning his head to its original position, he merely blinked his eyes.
Raman chuckled.
"It seems I lived quite like a human in this life as well."
At that moment, the unidentified individual who had been standing still like a stone statue behind the Poison Demon leaned his body toward Raman. The facial area concealed by the robe was completely empty.
"Reincarnation. Do you truly request this while knowing what the price for forcing the wheel of providence backward is? You will carve a cruel stigma upon the bloodlines of the families you took such painstaking care to shape."
The voice was disparate, as if it did not belong to this world.
But for some reason, it's strangely familiar. As if I've heard it somewhere, sometime.
"They will not be permitted a whole body, and they will groan for their entire lives within a shattered mental world. What flows through their veins will not be life, but a dreadful curse that gnaws away and fragments them from the inside out. Inheriting a life where even breathing is agony, they will wish that death were a mercy instead……, but even so, will you truly call that fellow back?"
Raman replied without hesitation.
"I request it, Ghost Demon (Guima)."