Chapter 47
“You are quite bold to lie in a situation like this.”
Aquila added the remark while examining the dagger in his hand.
Afternoon sunlight filtered in through the iron bars left slightly open.
Thanks to that, the inside of the carriage was somewhat bright, and they could make out each other’s faces.
Eyes watched them from a distance, as if to see whether Gilesha would attempt anything foolish even after the mark of oath had been carved onto his tongue, and those eyes were ominous.
Ianpel’s gaze was especially so.
If Gilesha knew about his skill, that meant the Guild of Darkness also knew about him.
His mind was surely working furiously to figure out how that information had been leaked.
In any case, the one who had caused Ianpel’s unease was the man who had been writhing and nearly rolling around since earlier.
“In this state, what kind of lie could I possibly tell? More importantly, could you give me some more water? Honestly… I cannot live with this discomfort. Why did you have to carve the mark of oath on my tongue of all places?”
Gilesha stuck out his tongue this way and that, irritated by the discomfort of the mark carved there.
He had no choice but to accept it to be left alone with Aquila, but that did not make it any less unpleasant.
“Ptuh!”
When Gilesha shook his head, droplets of water fell from his soaked hair.
“You are not unreadable, are you? Even if you have a blessing, it would protect your heart, not your head.”
“Well now… hahaha! So you knew? Then why not say so? That everything I say is a lie, and that your insidious saint can read other people’s minds.”
Gilesha squinted one eye and let out something between a laugh and a sneer.
As he said, claiming that his mind could not be read was plainly a lie.
It was nothing more than a statement meant to keep the saint from paying attention to the matter.
And, incidentally, to see that flustered expression as well.
“Why would I? If I had said that, this situation would never have come about.”
“Then is it not fortunate that I lied? I would say I deserve praise, if anything.”
Aquila had no intention of doing as Gilesha suggested.
If he had spoken that way from the start, it would have been tantamount to admitting that he knew about Ianpel’s skill.
Of course, now that Gilesha had already exposed it, everyone was probably making rough guesses anyway.
“Well, enough of this idle banter. So, what are you? What exactly do you know?”
After sticking out his tongue a few more times and smacking his lips, Gilesha asked without waiting any longer.
Ever since Aquila had mentioned the contents of the Revelation earlier, Gilesha had been outwardly composed but inwardly still confused.
“Well, as you can see, I am Aquila Reschenhardt.”
“…As if anyone here does not know that.”
The killing intent that surged when he spoke the name showed in Gilesha’s eyes.
It was the reaction of a corrupted fanatic.
“How are you still alive? You should have…”
“According to the Revelation, I should have died already?”
At the word “Revelation,” Gilesha flinched.
Aquila did not bother to lower himself, merely looking down at him.
“You people turn pale the moment the word ‘Revelation’ comes up, as if you cannot believe it. For something with ‘darkness’ in its name, the Guild of Darkness is remarkably open about things.”
Aquila’s expression was indifferent.
It was not for a day or two that corrupted fanatics had tried to kill him.
Among them, the man before him was especially persistent.
A gaze burning with black flames was fixed on Aquila.
Gilesha spoke as if grinding his words between his teeth.
“You speak as though you have met many people like me.”
At that, Aquila smiled.
He had met countless such people, but Gilesha would never understand.
“How did you avoid the ritual… that sacred ritual? How did you break the curse that burns the heart black? Our long-cherished wish! Our desperate devotion!”
The more he voiced his doubts, the louder Gilesha’s voice grew.
Everything Aquila had gone through was a one-way road toward death.
If Gilesha had been in Aquila Reschenhardt’s position, he would not have endured a single thing.
Yet this man had survived it all.
Plans that had been laid down for decades, no, even longer than that.
Blood crept into Gilesha’s eyes.
“And Fenein, Washerd Forest, the nameless uninhabited island… If you had mentioned these separately, perhaps. But to bring them up together makes no sense! Just what do you know…!”
“Shh. We arranged this meeting to speak quietly. Everyone will hear you.”
Aquila brought the flat of the blade near Gilesha’s mouth, as if placing a finger there.
But Gilesha continued to mutter.
He was curious about everything that had been said, but there was one question he wanted to ask above all else.
A question he had chewed on endlessly while locked in the underground dungeon.
Gilesha’s dull yellow eyes stared straight at Aquila’s face as he stood with his back to the door.
“…All right, fine! Let us say you know the contents of the Revelation, even though that should be impossible! But how do you know my name?”
If he only knew the Revelation, that alone would be troubling.
Gilesha’s name was not recorded in it.
“Honestly, how, why, what… you have so many questions.”
Aquila brushed his hair back.
He remained unruffled.
This was the first time he had faced a Gilesha so young, but whether then or now, the man was the same in having endless questions.
“Then I will ask you in return. How do you think I know all of this?”
“That is…”
Gilesha could not answer immediately.
It was only natural. Corrupted fanatics were a closed group that shared nothing.
That was precisely why Gilesha suppressed his hostility toward Aquila and sought the answer.
It was something beyond his understanding.
And when it came to the Night God, Gilesha was faithful and deeply devoted.
‘Using that will not be difficult. It never is.’
Aquila turned the blade of the dagger and looked at his reflection in its flat surface.
Red hair, and black eyes.
His appearance changed every time, but the method of ensnaring them never did.
Threats were useless on him.
Persuasion was the same.
‘Having to do this again is truly bothersome.’
After a long silence, Aquila exhaled soundlessly and lowered himself.
He had made his decision.
“…Very well. If you cannot realize it yourself, then I will tell you.”
“Hah! Realize it? From an unbeliever like you, what nonsense…!”
Aquila lowered the tip of the blade toward the floor and spoke quietly.
“The reason I was able to live—no, the reason I was able to be reborn—was thanks to Al Siden.”
“…What did you just say?”
Gilesha’s eyes flew open as he questioned whether he had heard correctly.
Al Siden.
That name carried even greater weight within the Temple of the Night.
Al Siden was the name of an angel, a close attendant of the Night God Helitica.
It was also the title borne by successive high priests, and the current priest carrying out the Revelation was likewise called Al Siden.
“Did you not find it strange? According to the Revelation, someone who should have already died still remains within this order. Someone who passed through a ritual no unbeliever could ever endure as if it were nothing.”
“H-how do you know that name…?”
“But do not worry, brother of the Night. Under the name of Al Siden, and through your devotion, the soul of Aquila Reschenhardt is already dead and gone.”
Shock and disbelief surfaced on Gilesha’s face.
There was no way he could believe it.
Aquila Reschenhardt had been their long-standing objective.
Some within the Guild of Darkness, who did not share the Night God’s faith, considered it the malice of Celsia Reschenhardt or an internal conflict within House Reschenhardt, but this was not something as simple as noble infighting.
Aquila Reschenhardt had to reach death.
Only then could the power of the sole ancient dragon in this world, the Red Dragon, be driven from the continent.
Unable even to bite his lips because of the mark of oath, Gilesha furrowed his brow even deeper.
“Ha, haha, ha! I do not know where you heard that name, but to say such things…!”
“The soul died, and within that shell the Night was born. A new soul was bestowed. To see whether you are truly worthy of salvation. This body is proof that Al Siden is watching over you.”
At times like this, one must not leave room for denial.
What mattered was not complete belief.
Even if it was flimsy, it only needed to be believed in this moment.
A single grain of ‘what if’ was enough.
Aquila’s expression hardened in an instant, and he spoke in a low voice.
“…Our brother. Do not doubt. The Revelation has been fulfilled.”
With that, he suddenly undid his cuff links and rolled up his shirt sleeve.
In the dark interior of the carriage, Aquila’s pale skin was revealed.
He lifted the blade that had been hanging toward the floor.
Without changing his expression, he pressed the blade against his forearm.
Thud.
With no hesitation, the blade cut into his skin.
A crescent shape, crossed by a diagonal line.
A mark known only to corrupted fanatics.
Blood flowed from the wound, dripping down to soak the floor of the carriage.
Gilesha’s eyes slowly widened.
“You, too, may receive salvation without fear. Thanks to your faithful fulfillment of your duty, the soul of the Night has been able to lodge itself within this empty shell.”
“Ah, ah…!”
Momentarily dazed by the mark carved alongside the blood, Gilesha let out a groan.
His entire body trembled.
Had he not said with his own mouth that it was a lie?
“Ah…! Al Siden…!”
How could one doubt after seeing that mark?
That symbol was something not only unbelievers, but even ordinary followers of the Night God who had not participated in the ritual could never know.
Only the chosen.
A hidden symbol recognizable only to those who had devoted themselves to the Night, like Gilesha himself.
“O Helitica…!”
Aquila’s strangely gleaming black eyes were reflected in Gilesha’s gaze.
‘So that is why!’
Gilesha screamed inwardly.
The dying look in those eyes from before was gone, as if he were an entirely different person!
Aquila whispered in a solemn voice.
“Therefore, believe. Do not fear death. I will come to collect you myself. From that moment, you shall step onto the path toward salvation.”
“Yes, yes…! Nothing, nothing frightens me anymore. Truly…!”
Rapture and joy began to boil over on Gilesha’s face.
Aquila subtly curved the corners of his lips and roughly wiped the blood flowing from his wrist onto the inside of Gilesha’s clothes.
Gilesha fidgeted as if he had just received a baptism.
‘…Tsk. If only it did not smell of blood.’
After finishing the pointless performance, Aquila wiped the blade as well and lowered his rolled-up sleeve.
He could feel the blessing of the Sun God stir more intensely, warm energy slowly spreading through his body.
An injury of this degree would soon disappear.
Brushing off his hands, Aquila stood up and used the heel of his shoe to smear away the blood on the carriage floor.
“Now then, answer my question. Do you know anything about the thing that appeared in Belmaburn? It should not be part of the plan.”
“Hah…! Overseer who has been granted a new body! May I dare to call you Overseer? Or should I address you as…?”
Aquila considered briefly.
“Claude.”
“…Claude, Lord Claude! I will carve your name into my heart! Then, Belmaburn—yes! You ask whether I know anything about Belmaburn?”
“That is right. If you know anything at all, speak.”
“I do not know.”
“Right. You do not kno—what?”
Gilesha, who had been wriggling awkwardly, added with a bright smile.
“I was locked up. How would I know?”