— XIV —
Walking through the narrow path filled with Yggdrasil's gleaming roots, we ventured deep into the hexagonal prison. Every step we took felt like a descent into hell, and the occasional screams made my heart race with fear. That alone was unsettling, yet the absence of guards made me restless.
"Wait, something's not right," Arthur whispered as he prepared his magic book.
Not long after that, we stumbled upon a chilling picture. Dozens of guards lay on the floor, with serious burn injuries and fern-like patterns all over their bodies. A tingling sensation was still in the air, a residue of lightning magic.
Out of the dead bodies, one was still panting in pain. Arthur rushed to his side and asked,
"Hey, are you okay? What happened here?"
"… That witch we took weeks ago… S-She was one of Thundering Pulse… Please, Sir Arthur, tell Mahamagi… This city is not safe… anymore. They plan to destroy everything…," the guard answered before losing consciousness.
"Hey! Please, stay awake! Hey!" Arthur shook the man's shoulder. But it was useless. The man's pulse was already gone.
Thundering Pulse, I remember it was what Ellen called Bianca. Does that mean she's here?
Arthur gently lay the man on the floor. He shook his head and stood up,
"This is not like Bianca," he muttered to himself. "She's never this reckless before. Didn't she know that what she had done posed danger to her comrade in Hexagon?"
Oh right, Arthur was a Lector before joining the Company. Of course, he knew Bianca. Now that I think about it, Bianca was also really reckless in our last fight. She abandoned her stance and went on a rampage because of the things that Ellen said. I remembered Ellen said something about caring for children.
"Maybe she's being threatened by someone," I suggested, my mind racing with possibilities. "Perhaps by Ellen? Or that Pater who controlled The Order? Either way, the perpetrator used her weakness to exploit her like this."
"We must find the Prisoner quick," Arthur said.
We cautiously continued our way through the prison, our senses on high alert. All around us we saw prisoners with the same fate as the guards, knocked down with lightning magic. Yet, the intensity of magic residue grew thicker in the familiar room at the end of the prison. The Dark Room, where I was interrogated before.
However, before we could even approach the cell, someone pointed a gun behind my back.
"Well, well, well, what we got here, eh?" the familiar voice ambushed us. As I turned, I found the grim-looking man, grinning at us. He was the same guard who tricked me with his biscuit.
"Our Lady's favorite and the new Greyhound… What a peculiar combi. Heheheh, I'm glad you still remember me, you wretched witch," said the man before spitting in disgust.
"Drop your weapons and surrender," he growled. "Or face the consequences."
Arthur remained calm, despite the danger. He slowly sheathed his magic book and motioned for me to do the same with the sword I had picked up earlier.
"We're not here to fight. We just need to talk to the prisoner," he said, his voice steady. "As you know, I am Arthur Onyxis, Captain of The Greyhounds. I'm here to investigate The Order by our Lady's decree."
But the man shouted, "Don't think your position means anything to me," he threatened us with his rifle, "As far as I know, you're the same as those monsters. The Order, who sacrificed everything for their cause, even betraying their comrades."
Arthur replied carefully to the frightened man, "O-Okay, I understand you are scared. But firstly, can you put down the gun."
"And what good it'd be? You will kill me, just like that Thunder kills everyone, right?" He aimed the rifle at Arthur, but he made the fatal mistake of averting his eyes from me. With one quick kick, I sent his rifle flying into the air and knocked the guy to the ground.
"Release me!" he shouted.
As he struggled, I asked him, "What did you see?"
Finally, he let down his struggle and answered, "Just right before we started to interrogate that Witch, Striking us in lightning speed, The Thundering Pulse barged into the interrogation room and began to kill everyone in sight. I was lucky that she was in such a hurry that she didn't notice me hiding under the desk."
Dammit, that means the Prisoner was dead now.
"Did you hear anything?" I asked.
The man answered, "Hahaha, I don't know what's going on there! The Prisoner just said The Thundering Pulse is going to get everyone killed. But it was just a moment be-before—!"
"Stop it, Princess. Let him go," Arthur ordered me, which I reluctantly obliged.
However, right after I released him, the man bolted out of the prison screaming like a lunatic. Man, he really got traumatized, huh?
I shook my hips and glanced at Arthur, "Are you sure? He could tell the other that you're here, you know? It might be better to silence him."
Arthur nodded, "That's true. But let's worry about that later. For now, the answer lies behind that door." He said while looking at the Dark Room.
Even from the outside, I could smell thick blood behind the door. I was sure that something horrible happened there.
Arthur hesitated a bit before saying, "Here goes," as he opened the door.
As the door creaked open, a putrid smell hit our noses. The room was dimly lit with only a single flickering torch, casting eerie shadows across the walls. Blood, so much blood. The entire room was drenched in it, and the sight made me feel sick.
"Uarghh!!" I puked out of disgust and horror. Dammit, I… never seen such brutality… Such meaningless slaughter. What the hell that witch is thinking?
"Let it all out, don't hold it," Arthur calmly said Arthur walked towards the center of the room, where the prisoner was supposed to be. He was different from me, as he coldly examined what was left of the Prisoner.
"It's useless, the blood had been clotted. It can't be used like this," Arthur said as he grab the red crystal from the prisoner's body, "Let's head back to Ayunda and tell her everything. She might know the reason why Bianca did this."
…
"Hey, are you okay, Princess?" Arthur kneeled over me and patted me gently on the shoulder.
I shook my head, "I… don't like this. How can someone be so cruel…?"
Even after stopping by Heroes countless times, I never understood their reasoning. Is striving for dreams justify you hurting others? Is fighting for what you love justify you to take someone's life? Is that truly an aspiration… or just a gleaming obsession?
"This is the true colors of The Order," Arthur shook his head, "No, this is the true color of this world. We can only care for limited things, anything else… is just an afterthought. That's just the reality of our cruel world, Princess."
"But that doesn't mean… we have to accept the world as it is, right?" I wiped my mouth, "What's the use of our brain if we can't even think of a way to achieve our dream without hurting others?"
Arthur shut his mouth for a while, his face was shocked. Did I just say something outrageous? It's common sense, right? Even a Devil like me doesn't like how the world works right now.
Arthur's expression softened, and he gave me a small smile. "You're right," he said, "But before we can change the world, we need to take care of ourselves. You need a bath."
I spluttered, taken aback by the sudden change in topic. "What? No, that's not the point-"
But Arthur's chuckle cut me off. "Come on, Princess, you reek. Let's get you cleaned up before we tackle the world's problems."
"How rude!" I shouted.
As we made our way out of the room, I couldn't stop thinking. How could someone be so cruel? The feeling of disgust and despair overwhelmed me, as I worried about my daughter.
Could Milli be happy living in this cruel world?