Chapter 25
The Bride of the Black Rose
Kaspar turned his head.
“What is it?”
—...
...flow away.
His ears suddenly felt blocked. It was as though he had been submerged underwater, his hearing abruptly restricted to his immediate surroundings.
Even the tolling bells that resounded throughout the village seemed far away.
Then, amid those tolls, a faint song began to drift into his ears.
To the river...
Kaspar tilted his head a little farther.
“...Flow away to the river?”
—...?
The melody sounded like a dirge sung by a woman in the distance, yet also like a nursery rhyme shepherds sometimes hummed in the mountains.
It was unbearably sorrowful.
The ominous bells echoed in the Familiar’s ears.
Rustle...
Somehow, Kaspar felt certain that this song was connected to the Bride of the Black Rose.
He looked toward the square.
—Thump.
Darkness descended.
Meanwhile—
The shattered palisade.
The corpses of mercenaries.
The collapsed buildings.
Every shadow cast over the village began to writhe at once.
Roses steeped in pitch-black darkness burst through the shadows and bloomed.
Black roses even began blossoming beneath the Familiar’s feet.
It swung its enormous forepaw, ripping apart the petals. Its tentacles lashed out and severed the stems.
The Familiar, which had been approaching to finish off the mercenaries, shuddered.
New roses blossomed over the crushed petals and broken stems.
The black roses continued to bloom until they covered the entirety of Huntingville.
No—this was no longer Huntingville.
This was her domain.
A supremely elegant garden of obsidian.
—Grrrr.
Crunch.
The Bride of the Black Rose—
The mistress of the garden stepped into her flower bed.
—Grrrrrr.
The Familiar looked around at the village’s abruptly transformed landscape.
Something was coming.
Something was coming!
At last—
Startled, the Familiar hurriedly put some distance between them. It began pouring out murderous intent toward the newly appeared being.
But that was all.
The bride’s body looked so delicate that even a roar might blow her away, yet the Familiar did not dare approach her recklessly.
The strange standoff lasted only briefly.
The bride raised her head.
As the Familiar looked around, Bewjwa descended behind it.
—Familiar of the forest, you—
Yet perhaps because this was its true body, it did not submit helplessly. It swung its claws and tentacles with all its might, cutting down every stem.
A beautiful voice echoed throughout the village.
—You have harmed the one bound to me.
The bride slowly raised an arm. The tip of one slender finger pointed toward the Familiar.
—How dare you.
—Awooooo!
Snap!
The instant she snapped her fingers, the roses throughout the garden proliferated explosively. The Familiar’s clones were skewered by thorny vines in the blink of an eye, their shrill screams ringing out.
—Yelp!
The Familiar, enraged beyond reason, unleashed another howl.
It drew its body far back, then leaped forward at a terrifying speed. Its tentacles and claws, aimed at the bride’s throat, gleamed pale beneath the moonlight.
Yet the closer it came, the more densely the vines blocked its path.
—Graaaah!
The Familiar itself was pierced by roses erupting from every direction.
—Graaaah!
Thorns on countless tightly woven vines closed in from all sides. Like endless stitches, innumerable stems sewed through the Familiar’s body.
The bride stood as still as a statue, a smile forming beneath her veil.
—How foolish, savage Familiar.
—You should have turned and fled at once.
—The intelligence and spirituality bestowed upon you by your master should have warned you of the gulf between our ranks.
The more it screamed and struggled, the more tightly the vines tangled around it in reaction. Their thorns pierced deep into its body.
—This is my master’s domain. Yet you brought another higher being such as yourself down into it. Do you not fear the consequences?
—Your words make no sense. You tried to kill my people first, and now you ask whether I fear the consequences?
—I... attacked first?
Confusion filled the Familiar’s eyes at the bride’s answer.
Only a short time had passed, but its initial ferocity had already vanished. Its movements gradually grew sluggish.
The flowers of this garden were beyond its power to overcome.
And the being before it was clearly of a higher rank than itself.
Realizing this, the Familiar raised its head.
—Who are you? With whom did you form a contract to descend here?
Overwhelmed by the difference in their power, even its voice had lost much of its savagery.
—And what would you do if you knew?
Could it be that some insidious summoner had not ambushed it while it was toying with the mercenaries, but that someone here had summoned this being?
—Do not lie! You expect me to believe the vermin here... summoned a higher being such as you? Do not deceive me!
—Ha. Vermin?
The bride let out an incredulous scoff at the wolf’s words.
—Mark this well, foolish beast. You have just insulted both me and my people.
The bride’s voice grew sharper with every word. An unprecedented hostility prickled painfully against the Familiar’s body.
—How truly displeasing. Harming my people was not enough for you, so you dared wag that filthy tongue and call them vermin.
The smile beneath her veil slowly disappeared.
—I shall make you pay the price.
The Familiar unleashed a horrific roar filled with unimaginable pain and terror.
Skewered upon the altar, it tried to resist being torn apart, but only for a moment. Its body split into dozens of pieces, scattering blood and flesh through the air.
When the bride raised her head, the vines stretched upward. The Familiar’s body shot into the sky, soaring above the forest in an instant.
—Rustle...
It resembled an altar of thorns offered up to the dark night sky.
As though sensing the impending doom, the Familiar—its entire body impaled—once again continued its futile struggle to escape.
—Graaaah!
—Hehe.
A cruel smile formed beneath the bride’s veil. She spread her pale arms toward the sky.
The altar began to split wide open.
Flowers approached Allen, Ellasen, Zrek, Rude, and Robens, who had all fallen asleep.
The roses then intertwined with one another, forming a roof that blotted out the sky.
As though shielding Kaspar’s companions from the rain of filthy blood and bodily fluids.
The Bride of the Black Rose turned her gaze back toward the sky.
The Familiar’s remains hung limply.
There was no movement whatsoever. Even the ghostly flames that had always flickered around its eyes were gone.
It was dead.
Clear laughter rang throughout the forest.
It was over.
The mighty being of the forest that had toyed with and ravaged the mercenaries met its end without lasting even five minutes inside her garden.
—Dong... Dong... Dong...
The ominous tolling bells echoing throughout the obsidian garden followed her laughter like a harmony.
***
Slurp. Slurp.
The stems piercing the corpse sucked every last part of it through their thorns.
The Familiar’s body began to shrivel.
Before long, the enormous wolf vanished without leaving even a trace behind, as though it had never existed in the first place.
After watching the entire process and confirming that it was over, the bride covered her face with one hand.
—Ahahahaha!
When Kaspar regained his sight, he found himself in a forest thick with trees and grass.
‘Where is this...?’
The space around him had changed abruptly.
This was not Huntingville, where the battle was taking place.
He had experienced something similar once before.
‘Back then, there was a mountain of darkness... and a snake.’
Compared to that place, this one had a remarkably pastoral atmosphere.
A clearing lay before him.
A temple stood in the middle of the forest clearing.
After looking around, Kaspar realized what it had once been used for.
‘It was a building used for wedding ceremonies.’
He recalled seeing monks at the Monastery of Radiance prepare similar buildings for the sacrament of marriage.
This was a place that everyone had forgotten long ago.
Could it perhaps be connected to Bewjwa?
—Dong.
“...?”
A white domed roof, a bride and groom wearing radiant smiles, congratulatory guests, and clear bells of blessing ringing above them.
Yes, that was right. It was definitely a building of a similar design.
Yet only its outward appearance was alike. Its atmosphere and impression were entirely different.
Dry branches enveloped the building. Withered grass surrounded it, and its faded scenery seemed trapped in time.
A strange bell tolled from within the temple.
Kaspar began walking toward it without realizing it.
Step.
He passed through an arched passage of roses, wide enough for a bride and groom to walk through together.
Step.
He trod upon the fallen leaves scattered across the red carpet leading to the entrance.
Step.
Resting upon it were a pair of dust-covered wedding rings and a now-faded vow of eternal love.
The tightly shut doors opened as though they had been waiting for him, welcoming Kaspar inside.
Step.
As soon as he entered, the musty scent of ancient stone and wood washed over him.
The red carpet, embroidered with fallen leaves, continued into the building’s inner hall.
It ended at the center of the hall, directly before a wooden altar.
Step.
The interior had been consumed by dried thorns. Stems and leaves stretched densely over every sacred painting carved into the walls, with black roses blooming at their ends.
And that was not all.
Long pews commonly used for worship stood on both sides of the red carpet.
People were sitting upon them.
No—these figures, long since rotted into skeletons, were guests who had gathered to bless a wedding that would never begin.
“....”
A wedding.
The altar before him was old and covered in dust.
Step.
A ceremony that should have been filled with blessings had become so grotesquely distorted.
Yet instead of disgust, Kaspar felt sorrow.
This entire space was steeped in such a profound sense of loss that it filled his chest with suffocating grief.
Why?
Why did this unfamiliar sight make him feel so... strangely sorrowful?
The girl spoke instead of answering his unasked question.
[Yes. Perhaps. Probably.]
“That is a strange answer.”
[It is certainly a manifestation of my inner self, yet it is as hazy as mist. It may even be a memory belonging to my true spirit. But Kaspar, this place is not particularly important.]
After surveying his surroundings, Kaspar’s gaze naturally turned toward the entrance through which he had come.
Then he spoke.
“Is this your memory?”
His words were directed toward the girl sitting among the skeletal guests, staring intently at him.
“Bride of the Black Rose.”
Only after she was mentioned did Kaspar remember what had been happening outside.
“Ah, there was... the Familiar.”
He felt slightly embarrassed. He had become so immersed in the atmosphere of this place that he had completely forgotten about it.
[I dealt with it.]
“...Already?”
This was her domain, a place to which the name “Bride” suited her perfectly.
It felt as though hardly any time had passed at all.
Judging by Bewjwa’s expression, she did not appear to be lying.
[Hehe. More importantly, Kaspar, there is something I must tell you.]
“What is it?”
[When you wake up, I will no longer be there.]
“What do you mean?”
[Because I must return.]
“...?”
[Hmm... I suppose I should explain from the beginning. Immaterial beings like us cannot descend into the mortal realm without meeting certain conditions. Generally, we must expend either fate or spiritual essence.]
She continued her explanation.
[Fate would be too complicated to explain, and as for spiritual essence... you have seen it, haven’t you? The energy I absorb from corpses. That is spiritual essence. When a living creature dies before reaching the end of its ordained lifespan, its remaining vitality becomes spiritual essence.]
As she continued speaking, everything below her waist began to fade.
[This time, I even manifested a Divine Domain, so I had to expend all the vitality I had accumulated thus far—even the amount needed to maintain the bare minimum of my existence.]
Familiars of the Forest were mighty beings.
The appearance of even one was enough to place the entire White Eagle Citadel on alert and cause it to closely monitor the creature’s movements.
The Masters of the Forest were considered creatures of legend, which effectively made these Familiars the greatest threats within the Eternal Forest.
The battle itself had been completely one-sided, but the amount of spiritual essence consumed had been considerable.
Even though she had absorbed it more aggressively than usual in preparation for an emergency, she had been forced to expend every last bit of it.
What if she had tried to conserve her strength, only for the Familiar and its tremendous regenerative abilities to endure until the end?
The one bound to her and all his companions would have been slaughtered.
“Then... are you saying that you are going to die, Bewjwa?”
[Hehe. Would you like that?]
“Of course not.”
Kaspar’s expression hardened slightly.
He meant it sincerely.
Apparently pleased by his reaction, Bewjwa smiled.
[Unfortunately for you, I will not die. I will return to my true spirit in Wintersteel for a while and recover. It may take some time, but as long as you possess the Parchment of Covenant, our connection will not be severed, so I will be able to find you again. You need not worry too much about me. If anything, I am more worried about you, Kaspar.]
The girl stopped smiling for a moment and looked at the one bound to her.
[This forest is dangerous. The magical beasts and monsters dwelling within it are dangerous enough, as are the mighty beings sleeping here. But now, several dangerous factions are gathering here, each with its own objective.]
“Do you mean the Black Druid Order?”
[Yes. They are one such faction. Whatever happens, this place is going to become extremely noisy and chaotic. To be honest, I want to tell you to return to the city immediately... But if you intend to remain, promise me just one thing.]
The girl reached out, pretending to caress Kaspar’s cheek.
[Please remain safe until I return.]
[For your sake—and for mine, the one bound to me.]
“Understood.”
Kaspar nodded.
[Hehe. Hearing you say that puts my mind somewhat at ease.]
By now, everything below her neck had become completely transparent. Even the slender, delicate hand caressing his cheek had almost disappeared.
[This is only a brief farewell.]
After uttering those final words, the girl disappeared completely.
As though no one had ever been there.
Kaspar stared at the spot where she had vanished for a long while before murmuring softly.
“May you rest peacefully.”
He felt regret, but no sadness.
He knew they would meet again.
It was then—
Rumble.
Kaspar suddenly felt the ground tremble.
He instinctively realized that this entire space was about to disappear.
At the same time, a song drifted from somewhere.
—Flow into the river of reincarnation.
“...?”
—Away from me, bound by divinity.
And then—
—You who shall drift eternally beyond my reach.
The voice was so full of sorrow that it made his chest ache.
—Flow into the river of reincarnation.
—Away from me, bound by divinity.
—You who shall drift eternally beyond my reach.
As Kaspar listened to the heartrending melody, a question arose in his mind.
‘Who is this song for? No... whose dirge is it?’
It was a sorrowful song sung by Bewjwa as she longed for someone buried deep within her distant memories.
Her voice was beautiful and enchanting.
Who could it be?
A dazzling light engulfed his vision.
A lover?
A parent?
A friend?
A child?
**
I truly know nothing about Bewjwa.
The Bride of the Black Rose.
What kind of person had she been when she was alive?
For whom had she sung such a heartbreaking song?
A higher being burdened with endless sorrow.
At the same time, a fallen being who yearned to be restored.
Kaspar opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling came into view.
Where am I?
—Clop, clop, clop.
He could hear horses’ hooves outside.
Realizing that he was inside a carriage, he tried to sit up.
Tilt.
Just as an indescribable emotion swept over him—
“...Huh?”
He toppled sideways.
Both his hands had been tied.
“Oh?”
An unfamiliar voice came from beside him.
“Hey, this bastard’s awake.”
A large man Kaspar had never seen before was grinning at him.