67

Click

One of the door’s locking mechanisms opened.

The remaining mechanisms numbered four, matching the number of people.

‘Was there originally a locking mechanism like this?’

Although it was odd that the mechanisms matched their number, Hamel decided it was simply designed that way and let it pass.

In any case, as Rena had proven, the way out of this room was simple.

Open the box, face the illusion, and overcome it.

Still, no one stepped forward easily.

After a brief silence, someone took a step forward.

“Damn.”

Ono scowled and muttered a curse.

“I hate it because I think I know what it’ll be.”

“…Is that it?”

“Probably.”

Ono answered gruffly to Hamel’s question and approached the box.

Then Hamel took from his bag a mirror he must have packed earlier and held it in his hand.

The next moment.

Clunk

Ono opened the box without hesitation.

Thick mist rose up, just like with Rena.

And something revealed itself within.

Seeing it, Ono wore an expression of ‘I expected this.’

Only the voice that called the name sounded as if it spat out pain.

“Catherine.”

The woman who had turned to wax and died in Haidern.

She was Ono’s former comrade.

Ono could not speak when he faced her.

Catherine, with a face contorted in pain, called to Ono.

“…Ono. Run.”

“I…”

Ono couldn’t finish his sentence and clenched his teeth.

It was then.

Catherine’s body began to harden into wax.

Only then did the Sphaerooculus appear opposite Catherine.

A repetition of that painful day.

A memory of helplessness and a shard of despair.

There was no way to save her.

For she was already dead.

Gnash

Ono gritted his teeth.

Even so.

Thunk

Ono gripped his talisman, a mace, tightly.

Then he shouted in a voice filled with rage.

“Hamel!!”

“Yes.”

Hamel immediately threw the mirror he held.

It was the mirror with night vision he had taken in Haidern.

The mirror landed perfectly in Ono’s running hand.

Ono ran straight toward where the demon was.

“Kriiiik?!”

The Sphaerooculus urgently emitted light from its eyes.

But it meant nothing.

Ono had already turned and raised the mirror behind him.

What filled Ono’s view was the demon in the mirror.

The petrification could do Ono no harm.

Crrrk.

He must have gripped it that hard.

The leather wrapping around the mace tore under his grip and blood flowed.

Ono closed his eyes and spun his body.

Spinning his whole body, he brought the weight of the mace down onto the Sphaerooculus’s head.

“Die.”

Ono swung the mace with a cold voice.

Crack

The mace split the demon’s head cleanly.

Then it turned to dust and vanished as if it had never been there.

“….”

Ono dropped the mace he held to the floor with a clank.

He turned and began to walk.

Compared to when he had charged the Sphaerooculus, his steps were painfully slow and weary.

But Ono did not avoid his past.

He walked slowly, meeting his past helplessness head-on in a straight line.

And at the end stood Catherine, whom he had failed to save.

Ono stood before her.

After a moment of silence, Ono spoke slowly.

“I don’t regret it. Back then, running away was the only thing I could do.”

“….”

Catherine, half-encased in wax, simply looked at Ono without speaking.

Ono continued.

“Even if the same situation came again, I’d run the same way.”

Catherine’s lips were already waxen and wouldn’t open.

Only she blinked, as if to respect Ono’s decision.

Catherine began to crumble into dust from her waxen legs.

Then, at that moment.

“But.”

“…?”

Ono looked directly into Catherine’s eyes.

Then he slowly bowed his head and spoke.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

“…!”

Catherine’s eyes opened wide.

And then….

Her eyes narrowed into crescent shapes and crow’s feet formed at the corners.

They were clearly smiling eyes.

Seeing that, Ono flinched and shuddered.

“…You.”

Ono was momentarily speechless.

He bit his lip and nodded.

At the same time, Catherine’s body turned to dust and vanished completely.

The pit was quiet once more, as if there had never been a commotion.

Ono snapped his head up and turned around.

“It’s nothing.”

Ono returned to his place with a face that pretended nothing had happened.

His eyes were red, but no one pointed it out.

---

“Next, I’ll go.”

Perhaps Daniel felt something watching Ono.

Daniel suddenly stepped forward.

He steeled himself and opened the box in one breath.

What appeared this time was….

A woman sat with her hands folded demurely, engulfed in flames.

Daniel approached her and murmured.

“…Mother.”

The smell of burning hit his nose.

Where did the illusion end and reality begin?

Daniel’s fingertips trembled slightly.

He had expected a situation like this.

Even having steeled himself, his body wouldn’t move easily.

Like the memory of that day.

‘…Don’t come. Daniel, please.’

A mother’s voice he had never heard before churned in his head.

In the distance came the creak of wooden stairs as someone climbed.

Was that intruder approaching?

He had to hurry.

But why….

Did his body still not move?

It was then.

At the edge of Daniel’s trembling gaze, he saw someone standing.

Hamel Saint Gilmore.

The peculiar Exorcist priest they had met in Rengbator.

Seeing him, Daniel felt his tremors subside.

That’s right.

He had surely followed the author all the way here.

The sacrificial mark etched on his long-sought mother’s body.

The family’s tragedy was clearly connected to those who had branded that mark, whom they were now pursuing.

It had not been an easy path to get here.

They had survived several near-death crises.

But the more they endured, the more he felt.

‘I’m no longer a helpless child.’

Daniel recalled the day he and Hamel had fought a super-class demon.

The day they had plunged deep into the river of the afterlife.

For some reason a smile tugged at his lips.

Compared to that, this was nothing.

“It’s nothing.”

Daniel adjusted his helm and took a step forward.

The red crest of his helmet fluttering, Daniel strode straight toward his mother.

“There’s something I couldn’t tell you that day.”

The fire consuming his mother grew larger, as if warning him not to come closer.

The scorching heat stabbed his lungs.

His eyes stung dry, and the iron armor felt like a hot plate.

A spark landed on his helm’s crest and caught.

Sizzle

Every step echoed with the sound of flesh searing.

Still, Daniel walked on without hesitation.

“…I’ve regretted it ever since.”

He stood before his mother, burning in the flames.

Daniel knelt and hugged her.

Then, calmly.

He spoke in a voice full of affection.

“Thank you for everything.”

“….”

Pat pat

The woman who had been burning patted Daniel’s back.

The next moment.

She turned to dust and disappeared.

Whoosh

At the same time, the heat that had filled the surroundings vanished.

Even Daniel, who had suffered severe burns, had no wounds left.

Daniel remained kneeling in the center of the pit.

Daniel slowly rose to his feet.

He didn’t know what that had been.

Whether it was merely an illusion.

Or regret conjured by his own memory.

Or something else….

‘No, by now Mother must be resting peacefully in the land of the gods.’

Daniel shook his head and stood.

Yet he felt somehow relieved.

---

“Next is me….”

Contrary to his words, Rupert hesitated to approach the box.

He took a laborious step and stood before the box, hesitating for a long while.

Still, no one urged him on.

They all simply waited in silence.

That gave Rupert strength.

He was grateful for comrades who watched as if to say he could do it.

Rupert slowly reached out and placed his hand on the box.

Smoke spread, and an old memory revived.

Step step

A man walked out of the mist.

Seeing him, Rupert froze stiff.

He had thought time might change him, but it did not.

“Father.”

“…”

A face slightly younger than the last time he saw him, still stern and grave, was unchanged.

A warrior often mentioned when discussing the empire’s strongest, the empire’s greatest sword.

The guardian of the north and a sword master.

Reikard Glenval was that man.

Facing those sharp, restrained eyes, Rupert instinctively shrank.

Reikard, who had been gazing quietly at Rupert, spoke slowly.

“…Do you intend to say nothing?”

There was an unfamiliar edge of anger in that cold voice.

“I’m sorry.”

Rupert apologized immediately, but the mood only worsened.

Reikard looked coldly at Rupert and muttered.

“You’re not apologizing to the right person.”

“Father. I…”

“What on earth have you… what have you been doing?”

Reikard closed his eyes tightly and covered his face with his hand.

A father who normally showed no emotion.

So it was all the more clear how emotional he was now.

Sadness, anger, and… resentment.

Rupert had thought he’d be fine once he opened the box.

But it wasn’t so at all.

All he could do was replay past memories.

Rupert kept bowing his head and apologized like a child.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

“Coward. You should have…”

Reikard stopped as if something stuck in his throat.

Ah, that was it.

The words Rupert would never forget, even in death.

Words that still haunted him in nightmares.

Rupert knew what would come next.

‘…You should have died with me.’

Rupert’s face went pale and he squeezed his eyes shut.

He wanted to cover his ears but couldn’t; he just waited silently for the next words.

It was then.

Thud

Someone placed a hand on Ono’s shoulder.

Rupert turned his wavering gaze as if he might collapse.

There stood Hamel.

He nodded toward Rupert.

As if to say, ‘Leave it to me.’

“…Who are you?”

Reikard looked at Hamel with contempt, as if at a pest.

The pressure was enough to stop an ordinary person’s heart.

Still, Hamel did not flinch and spoke calmly.

“You should not say words you can regret.”

“…What?”

Reikard’s expression twisted.

Then he spoke sharply, as if about to draw his sword.

“Can you not tell when to intervene and when not to?”

“I don’t know what happened. But…”

Hamel lifted his head and looked straight into Reikard’s eyes.

His steady gaze was full of conviction.

For some reason Reikard paused and waited for Hamel to continue.

“The words you were about to spit out will be a shackle on Sir Rupert for life.”

“…How do you know that?”

“Your presence here is proof of that.”

Reikard had no answer to Hamel and fell silent.

Still, Hamel continued as if not finished.

“And furthermore, that is…”

Hamel raised his hand and pointed at Reikard.

“It will become a burden you must carry for life as well.”

“….”

Reikard glared at Hamel silently, then clicked his tongue as if deflated.

He glared at Rupert for a moment, then turned sharply away.

At that moment, Reikard’s body turned to dust and vanished.

Rupert slumped down where he was, breathing heavily.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes… yes.”

Rupert slowly nodded to Hamel’s question.

When he looked up, he saw Hamel’s outstretched hand.

Grasping it, he was hauled to his feet.

It felt as if he had been pulled from the past back into the present and could breathe again.

‘Ah.’

He had received kindness again.

Rupert wanted to be like Hamel.

If he could, surely he too would….

‘Surely next time I won’t tremble before my father.’