Chapter 170: Post-Mortem (1)
“Huh… Huh…”
Amon’s gasping breathing can be heard down in the cellar.
‘I’m at my limit…’
Amon’s arms were shaking violently.
The rocky gauntlets on his arms were scuffed and scratched from all the bumps and bruises.
Amon’s eyes focused on the demon before him.
Dressed in skimpy, revealing clothing, the demon wielded a hammer the size of her body.
Amon was no stranger to close-quarters combat, but for once, he was helpless.
Part of it was that they weren’t very well matched…
“Amon… Why…”
A pathetic, sobbing man’s voice came from behind Amon.
It was Trix.
The demon and Amon were attacking indiscriminately, but even so, there was no way that Trix, who had lost his mind, would be able to take care of himself.
“Pathetic…”
Amon didn’t give Trix a second glance and raised his guard.
He was protecting Trix.
There was no reason for him to die, even if he was a stupid, stupid man who had fallen under the spell of a demon.
Besides, if Amon was going to stand by and watch Trix die… he didn’t deserve to see his father, Maxim Caligus, Shield of the Empire.
To protect and defend. Never letting a comrade die.
That was the spirit of Caligus.
Once more, the ugly blunt weapon in the demon’s grasp swung toward Amon.
It was a monotonous attack that even Amon could dodge, but if he did, it would crush the skull of Trix behind him.
Boom!!!
A shock immediately followed.
“Ugh…”
Amon’s tired arms could only block the hammer, even though he had been able to parry and fire a series of blows before.
“Persistent…”
But the demon was tired, too, since it was unable to pierce Caligus’ shield.
‘Why doesn’t it fall…?’
Amon’s opponent, the demon Knalusha, was in trouble.
The lowly cadet behind Amon had no intention of killing him.
This was a golden opportunity to get her hands on a heir of the renowned Four Elemental Families.
She channeled all the magic she could into a few dozen blows.
Amon’s health was such that he should have fallen immediately but Caligus had someone to protect, and she was unable to penetrate it.
“Hmph…Huh…”
But even that seemed to be coming to an end since Amon was no longer able to raise his arm.
“Hmph…Caligus is Caligus.”
Knalusha laughed.
She reveled in the thought that soon she would be able to use the sturdy man as her puppet.
‘I hope he passes out soon…’
Possessing an unconscious man was a simple matter for Knalusha.
Make them accept her, then pour a potion down their throats that would make them physically sensitive and unable to escape the pleasure afterward…A lustful, obedient puppet.
That way, she’ll be able to gather information about the Innocence Academy, which is said to be an ironclad fortress… What’s more, Amon is the heir to the Caligus family, and if she does it right, she might be able to swallow them whole.
“Hmm…?”
Licking her lips in delight, Knalusha spits out a questionable word.
For some reason, her tongue tasted fishy.
“Blood…?”
A quick glance at her face reveals a black, thick liquid on her hand.
“This sword technique…”
Amon muttered to himself as he watched then turned to look in the direction of the basement stairs.
Knalusha followed his gaze but there was no one there.
‘What are you talking about, swordsmanship?’
While she was thinking about it, her vision split in half.
-Crack.
Diagonal slashes followed and Knalusha’s head fell to the ground.
“Heh, heh, heh! What the… what the…!”
Trix panics.
A moment later, the massive hammer on her shoulder knocked her off-center, and her body collapsed with a loud thud.
All the while, Amon’s eyes were drawn to the stairs, the only way out of the basement.
Soon, the basement was silent.
Creak, creak, creak.
The sound of footsteps descending was heard and soon, Amon recognized the figure descending into the basement.
“…It was you.”
Amon sank to the ground, barely able to stand as a man descended into the basement and approached him.
Even he couldn’t tell what he was looking like now. The white bandages covered his eyes.
He has a smile on his face, as always, but as far as he can tell, he’s not laughing at Amon.
Then his lips parted.
“Good work Amon…leave the cleanup to me.”
“…How long have you been there?”
Amon, who was on the verge of collapse, somehow pulled himself together and asked him.
“I just got here.”
Scratching his cheek, he was obviously losing his cool.
“You’re funny… So, were you trying to test me?”
A smirking Amon looked up at him.
“Haha, there’s no test. I just got here, and I was still guarding…It’s a shame it’s a prince and not a princess, but you seem to be okay anyway, and… Well, normal.”
“Normal…?”
“The Amon Caligus I know.”
His words trailed off with a wicked smile, and Amon fell to the floor.
“Caligus…”
How the hell had he gotten here?
What was the identity of the unorthodox swordsman who had just slashed through his struggling opponent?
There were many questions, but the fact remains that Trix’s body behind him bore no marks.
He had honored Caligus, he thought, a little like his father, who had returned from battle with more scars than any other soldier.
Amon closed his eyes with a faint sense of satisfaction.
***
I thought I’d triggered some sort of “fate force” and Amon had suddenly become corrupted, but it wasn’t like that.
I just felt bad for doubting him.
Amon’s determination is amazing. It’s something I should try to emulate.
I would have preferred to give Amon the ‘final blow’, but the situation was not easy and I had to step in.
The small amount of magick left in Trix’s body that Amon had managed to save was a debuff of sorts…Acupuncture could fix it.
However, I had to silence Amon’s ranting and raving about how he’d died because of me, as he was in a lot of confusion.
The two stunned men had to be loaded into the wagon. I don’t know about Trix, but with the large Amon in the mix, it was a bit much without spending mana.
‘I’m a coachman, not an undertaker.’
I had to silence the coachman’s grumbling with a small tip.
Afterward, I went to see Priscilla and she scolded me for bringing two men in the middle of the night.
I decided to leave the rest of the nagging to Amon for when he woke up and stormed out of Priscilla’s house.
After all, I’d made a connection with Priscilla, so what’s the harm in that?
On my way out of the house she asked me.
“Aizel hasn’t been coming to school the last few days, do you have any idea where she’s gone?”
“I’ll try to find her,” I said.
I’m sure Aizel has a pretty good idea of what’s going on.
I knew where she was headed, and I knew who to look for but there was still a little time left.
She’s preparing for the showdown so I had to start preparing myself, too.
I didn’t get home until after sunrise, so I was about to explain my plan to Rei and Geppeti.
It was insurance, just in case.
“Hmmm…”
Faced with a groggy Rei, who had just woken up, and Geppeti, who was staring intently at me as I recited my plan, I coughed once to clear the air.
“”……””
Good, she’s paying attention so I cut straight to the chase.
“…In the next few days, I could die.”
“…What, brother is going to die?”
Rei, who had been rubbing her eyes at my rather shocking words, opened her mouth.
“What do you mean, all of a sudden…Am I still dreaming?”
Rei tugs at her sobbing cheeks.
“It’s not a dream, it’s real. I could actually be dead.”
“…That, that shouldn’t be…?”
Rei stammers, her voice trembling.
She knows me as a prophet or something, so it wasn’t a strange reaction.
For one thing, she still doesn’t know about the Tear of the Dead since she was asleep the last time I spoke to Geppeti about it so as a side note, I told her about the Tear of the Dead in my heart.
Luckily, Rei knew what Tear of the Dead was, so it was easy to explain.
“You put it in your heart? Is brother out of his mind…?”
I couldn’t help but feel like a lunatic.
Sierra, who had narrowed her eyes at this, added,
[He’s crazy…in more ways than one…]
I offer her a faint smile.
“Anyway, the important thing is that it’ll be of use, right? It just so happens that I might die this time… not really, but…”
“For what?”
“To save someone I care about. I’ll be fighting a powerful demon, so…”
“…”
Rei nodded in incomprehension at my vague explanation and pursed her lips, followed by Geppeti, who had been listening in silence.
“So, Lord Zetto…death is final?”
“Not definite, I’m not dying because I want to die or anything, just that I’m willing to die if it takes my death to cut out the roots.”
If it ends without me dying, I’m happy.
I’m prepared for anything but I can’t help but feel a nagging sense of unease since I’ve never been able to prevent Aizel’s death.
‘In another sense… failure is already…’
…In any case, it just feels like an impossible task to me.
Things are not going well for the demons so it was unlikely that Murka would fall down helplessly without taking any action.
“Why does brother has to step in?”
“There are many secrets that are not good for the outside world to know… I feel that in order to protect the lives of others, I must go it alone. I’m sure I can handle it on my own but it’s just that I’m going to die.”
“So if you die, you’ll be resurrected?”
“If it goes according to plan, yes. If it’s an immediate resurrection, I’d love that… but… I’m not sure how long it would take, even for me.”
Right, I’m all for resurrection, but… It’s just a matter of how long it would take.
I know that resurrection is possible, but I don’t know when it will happen. I might open my eyes when I’m in a coffin and buried in the dirt.
“If it’s a little later…we might have to organize a funeral.”
“Funeral…?”
“Well, a person is dead.”
[…That sounds like a dangerous thing to say.]
“I know. I’m sure everyone’s thinking the same thing, that there’s something that should never happen at a funeral…but what can I do, I can’t go around telling people not to worry because I’m going to be resurrected soon, can I?”
“Hmm…It’s the Tears of the Dead, after all…”
Rei nodded in agreement.
The Tears of the Dead were jewels containing the life force and souls of countless people.
In other words, they are the mark of a massacre and it was a dangerous object, far more dangerous than a Spectral Sword.
From where it was obtained, to why it was placed in my heart, to how it was placed.
There were a lot of unanswered questions.
“So… I like the idea of my resurrection being presented as some sort of ‘miracle’ in the eyes of others. Well, preferably I don’t die, but if I do, I’d like to come back to life quickly…However I don’t know how things will turn out.”
“I’ve been told that no matter how good a prophet you are, your own future is unclear. You can’t help it.”
Rei sidestepped the question.
“What matters is what happens after I’m gone. When that day comes, I’ll be lying in a coffin, unable to move or speak, so it seems like a good idea to plan ahead.”
“Is there anything else I should do?”
Geppeti asks, realizing where the story is going.
“Sure. I don’t know about you, Master, but…Rei and Geppeti have a job to do for me when I’m in my coffin. It’s a big responsibility, but I’m hoping you’ll do me a favor.”
“I’m embarrassed, but…It doesn’t matter. As long as you survive, I don’t mind.”
Scratching her head, Rei spoke up.
“If it’s for Lord Zetto sake…”
Geppeti bowed her head and murmured.
“Okay, so we have an agreement…
It was time to explain my afterlife plan.
I mean, after I die…It’s not a sure thing, but it’s still an ‘if.’
If there will be a ‘mess’ after my death by those left behind…this is an insurance and preparation to prevent the mess from growing into an unmanageable problem.