“Lucia, go first.”
“… … Yes, brother be careful too.”
“Yes.”
Discree evacuated Lucia, who had exhausted most of her mana while being wary of Stolas.
From now on, he takes over.
No, Punisher and Stilena. It will become a problem for the heads of the two families.
“after… … .”
Tung!
Stolas sighed and threw most of the spear he was holding into the air.
Windows come flying from all sides.
An invisible thread moves.
The flying spear breaks the loose thread.
And the broken threads fly like whips.
A landscape reminiscent of hell.
“From now on, I won’t have time to use my leftovers.”
It was definitely a technique that could be called a special move, but it didn’t work on Discre. Stolas just stared at him as he waved like a mirage.
That it wouldn’t work was something that Stolas knew too.
That’s why I threw it.
To make the body lighter, to reduce the distance to think.
“Where, shall we see what the essence of the Punisher family is like?”
In the end, all that remains is the skills and body that have been honed for decades.
The darkness that covered him was lifted. White-washed hair, aged body, faded wings, scars and scars, and a face stained with regret.
But the two ugly eyes that make all of that irrelevant.
“Are you thinking of leaving?”
Diskre asked.
Stolas is strong.
Even if it was only for a moment, I could tell just by facing the sword.
But he was old and sick.
No matter how strong you are, there is a clear limit to your stamina.
Then it was right to leave. Rather than betting, I had to adjust my posture and look for the next opportunity.
“If I was going to back down, I wouldn’t even start.”
But Stolas had no intention of stepping down. I didn’t want to step down, even if it meant taking risks.
“… … You don’t answer.”
“know.”
Diskrae is the head of the Punisher family.
Even through the blackout, he had met with Stolas a few times.
he was a prudent man.
As an assassin, he was a person who faithfully performed the natural virtues he had to possess.
“You wouldn’t have done something so reckless in the past.”
“It did.”
Assassination works best when you are undetected.
If you failed, it was right to take your body out.
“Why are you here alone?”
“I have been alone from the beginning.”
The result has already been decided.
Whether or not the plan works, Stolas will die.
He accumulated too many evil deeds in the name of being for the family he was left behind.
“Why didn’t you accompany the Stillena family assassin?”
“That is why.”
Stolas laughed in disgust at Discree’s question.
yes, that’s it Because of that question, he raised his spear again.
“In fact, there are no more assassins in the Stillena family.”
He has intentionally hidden his skills. He did not teach the vision of Stillena to anyone in his family.
“I am the only assassin named Stillena. And that was 20 years ago. I have been retired for quite some time.”
wanted to change
I’ve endured the inconvenience because I wanted to be ‘Stilena’, not an assassin family.
Even while sacrificing the technology that our ancestors had accomplished. I wanted to be normal.
“But yes, look back on what you said now. Everyone is like that. I fear the assassins of the Stillena family, who don’t even exist in reality.”
A derogatory term for an assassin, deeply rooted in history. No matter how hard I tried, the prejudice could not be removed.
“That’s why I want to erase history. It’s the reason I picked up the weapon I never wanted to pick up again.”
If you’ve grown old as a back room old man, that’s enough. That’s why he focused only on strengthening internal stability, such as paperwork, even inside ＜Eclipse＞.
An organization that simply collects information and reports, that was enough.
Yeah, that was enough… … .
“You know that, too.”
I worked hard and worked hard, cut and cut, and lived like that.
But now I know.
It was impossible for him.
It was not something that could be reversed by repeated efforts.
Those who insisted that they could do it.
They say they dream of a hopeful tomorrow that will change someday.
Miracles didn’t happen.
“Didn’t you do that too? Weren’t you stunned by the scenery that did not change even after you climbed to that spot through bone-breaking efforts?”
I did my best to die.
suffered a lot of inconvenience. I’ve been walking my whole life to achieve only one.
“So I’m going to overturn the plate.”
Stolas remembers.
How the ancestors who stained their hands with blood for the empire were treated.
What kind of end did his father, who was only kind, meet.
“This world was wrong from the beginning.”
The story that has been built up in history for a long time has already been rooted too deeply for an individual to overturn.
“… … then.”
Discre, who had been listening to the exhausted old man’s complaints, cautiously opened his mouth. It was something I knew.
I won’t be able to convince you. Isn’t this the conclusion reached after decades of research?
It is impossible to break that strong will.
Even so, Discre couldn’t help but speak.
“Who in the future will be able to remember the truth for which you are crying and suffering?”
“… … .”
“Don’t you know Didn’t you at least know the other side of that history?”
Wasn’t that why you didn’t try?
Didn’t he constantly walk because he wanted someone to know?
“If we get rid of history, who will recognize their sacrifices now?”
For him, the name ‘Stilena’ may have been a fetter.
But at the same time, it was also a bond.
“yes… … .”
Stolas was able to sense a lot even in Discree’s grave tone.
Appeals aren’t the only things that touch people’s emotions. Sometimes the plain truth strikes the heart more than anything else.
“No one will find out.”
It would be terrifying.
You will be sad too.
Trampling even a single flower that was blooming in the mud to erase history.
“But that is why it has to disappear. Young people who will live in the future should not be trapped in this endless loop.”
I want to clear the stigma of our ancestors.
I want someone to recognize my efforts.
But that’s selfishness.
It will become the shackles that squeeze the ankles of those who will live in the future.
In that case, it was right to disappear. You have to disappear for them.
“This is my selfishness.”
To distinguish good from evil, it is evil.
If you’re looking for right and wrong, it’s wrong.
“So don’t think about anything else before me. All you have to do is convince me… … .”
He did not accept this job because he wanted to be understood or sympathized by someone.
He recognized that it would be despised by everyone and condemned by everyone, and he decided to do it anyway.
There is only one ending he will face, regardless of whether the plan fails.
“It just knocks me down.”
It just dies and disappears.
* * *
“ha… … .”
The leader of the Imperial Knights.
Perses sighed.
“… … You make me tired.”
Stasia, who said she would come after fixing her makeup for a while, disappeared.
Since this had never happened before, Perses let out a deep sigh.
Isn’t it the same as Antares to act arbitrarily?
It would have been better if I had been a human with no emotions like before.
It is difficult to predict behavior as much as it has learned human emotions halfway.
“where… … .”
There was no need to search all over the place. I wouldn’t have gone far unless I had run away with [Teleport].
Perses is the strongest knight in the Empire.
His senses far transcend the human realm.
He can distinguish the sound of people’s footsteps and the flapping of wings of birds flying in the sky.
“Hmm.”
That’s why it was not a problem to find the location of Stasia, who had not undergone proper combat training.
“Is it coincidence or inevitability… … .”
location was found.
I also knew where I was heading.
But the direction was the problem.
“You’re flying in exactly the direction of the problem.”
Stasia was facing the direction where the latest report came from. This is where reports of Oz appearing.
I was controlling and manipulating as much information as possible for her.
The attendants around her had only injected false information in the first place.
Just as Stasia does not know, the attendants do not know what is going on outside. So, the information must not have been confirmed through blood.
Perses moved right away.
Catching up wasn’t a problem.
but… … .
‘Have you stopped?’
Stasia, who was moving in a straight line, suddenly stopped.
distance not too far.
It was a position that was far from being able to join Oz’s group.
‘no… … .’
I set my standards too high.
The problem was that he thought that Stasia might be holding the information implicitly.
It was none other than Antares who controlled the information going to her.
The idea that all members of the royal family were monsters was just an illusion for Perses.
“You are here. Sir Perses.”
“… … field ward. okay.”
The biggest reason Antares likes Stasia is because of her ability.
What was the reason for planting false information in the servants around her?
The ability to read memories through blood.
In front of that ability, concealment of information is virtually impossible.
“I got help from a few people.”
“What do you know?”
“Um, I understand the general situation. Why are you detaining me?”
“okay.”
Perses sighed.
There are soldiers in the field ward. There are also victims of war.
But consuming their blood won’t tell you what’s going on. Aren’t most of the patients lying down now victims of war?
that’s why i knew
“The royal family is, after all, the royal family.”
Stasia completed the picture by collecting pieces of information.
Perses was thrilled by the talent.
This is it. This is why he hates the imperial family but still follows him.
“Your Highness Stasia, even though you are a knight who is a commoner, would it be okay if I dare to say a few words?”
“… … Yeah.”
Perses fully agrees with Antares’ judgment. No, it would be right not to question it.
“Does Your Highness feel sorry for their situation?”
“… … .”
“Do you think this is an unnecessary sacrifice? Do you really think you can carry them all?”
Stasia will become the monarch.
You have to look at the reality, not the ideal.
Antares looked at reality more than anyone else in that regard.
He could cut out things that an ordinary person would never be able to cut out.
“People are different and cannot all be one.”
Antares was a monster.
A monster that has lost its humanity and started to value efficiency.
At first, I even protested.
It was as if he was bleeding blood that he didn’t want to shed. Perses, a young man who was touted as a hero, had no choice but to rebel against Antares’ judgment.
And Antares showed.
How did he come back as a result of his forcible push?
What would be the result of Perses’ rebellion?
Antares was looking into the distance.
He was the one who fertilized the land at someone’s sacrifice.
He was someone who could easily make the decision to cut one off.
“Please judge soberly.”
You have to look at the long term.
This plan will also make a lot of blood flow, but it will be able to make the empire strong.
“Sympathy is a deduction that a ruler should not bear, and affection between people is a weapon that a ruler should use.”
Don’t be swayed by emotion and make foolish decisions. A leader should see Jung simply as a means.
Perses had nothing to lose.
That’s why I was able to play an active part on the battlefield and become stronger.
It was Jeong who tamed him.
Antares lifted up Perses, who had nothing to lose, and made many precious things.
“Perhaps the time will come when you will have to put your hand on us on a leash someday.”
And all those precious things became his weakness.
If you ask me if that made me angry, of course I couldn’t help but be angry.
But if you were to ask if that was wrong, Perses could affirm that it was not.
It was because it was only for the empire without any self-interest.
“That might be the surest way to unite the country.”
Antares sometimes took weaknesses and sometimes offered sweet rewards. I put everyone on a leash.
That’s how he raised the empire into a great country that couldn’t be more than this.
Seeing the strange and twisted situation up close, Perses shuddered.
That’s why he decided to follow Antares even though he hated it.
“It may not be possible to become a perfect monarch while still human.”
For the sake of necessity, you must know how to kill your emotions.
You must learn to love people and know their value. And you have to know how to cut that value.
“Your Highness Stasia. That was the judgment that His Majesty Antares had come down to, and He became a monster for him.”
Yes, there must be a necessary evil in this world. but… … .
“What do you think, Your Highness?”
That was Perses’ right answer, Antares’ own way of thinking and practicing.
Perses is not a monarch. He is the sword and shield of the imperial family.
That’s why I couldn’t do it as much as I forced it.
“Thoughtful. Please give me an answer that I can confidently claim to be ‘right’ deep down in my heart.”
He just wanted to be heard.
In the future, where the tip of the sword that is oneself will be headed. He has seen many things while standing on dozens of battlefields.
No matter how good a sword is, if the tip of the sword shakes, it will not be able to exert its full power when it is swung. The sword has weight to protect.
At one time, his sword was extremely light and could slaughter dozens of people without hesitation.
However, as I went through life, the weight of the name of responsibility was added.
Its weight made me think a lot every time I swung the sword and made it impossible to strike it down easily.
What is needed to wield such a sword are two arms that have been honed over many years.
Unshakable wick.
“Establish your own definition that will never waver.”
In other words, it was justice that one could believe oneself to be ‘right’ even in front of the threshold of death.