The man walks and the boy follows him.
Behind the steps of the man walking in the darkness, the steps of the boy overlapped once again.
Only the light of the stars following them silently illuminated the overlapping footprints.
"I think I've seen that sword somewhere before."
[Yes?]
No matter how many times I walked the unknown path, it had no end, and surprisingly, the voice ahead did not draw closer.
When even the surrounding darkness seemed faint, a sword gleaming in the starlight suddenly entered Vlad's field of vision.
A silver sword richly adorned with colorful jewels.
However, the familiar shape hidden behind the splendor stirred something in Vlad's memory.
"At first glance, it seems expensive. Is that yours?"
[In a way. It's a title that seems quite unfamiliar.]
"So, what should I do then? I really don't have a name to call you."
The voice stopped laughing as it watched Vlad shrug.
Now that I think about it, we haven't even exchanged names yet.
"You still don't remember your name?"
[No.]
"It seems like you got hit pretty hard on the back of your head. If this happens, it's pointless to search high and low for it here."
[Then tell me. Who am I that you've been searching for all this time?]
The voice ahead suddenly stopped and looked at Vlad.
His figure was close, but somewhat vague.
Seeing his appearance flicker like a candle, Vlad quickly began to speak.
"…First of all, it has to do with spirits. It seems you're moving lost spirits from one place to another."
[Go on.]
Following the voice urging him to respond, Vlad began to follow, lost in thought.
I don't know if it was my mood, but I felt like his distant back had drawn a little closer.
"It also relates to other races. Elves and dwarves. Your tracks led there."
[And?]
"Judging by the fact that the White Serpent of Deirmar recognized you, it's also related to the first chief of Hainal."
The more he answered, the more slowly Vlad's steps caught up with the voice.
However, Vlad was so focused on responding that he didn't notice the distance between him and the approaching voice.
"And..."
Vlad had always thought about this.
What kind of person is the voice?
What kind of person was the one who reached me through a black lightning bolt?
"It's the swordsmanship I use."
[Is it?]
"Did I hear that this is a sword technique used by the imperial family?"
[So what? Is that how it went?]
The swordsmanship taught to me by the unknown voice was an uncommon swordsmanship said to be taught only to knights of the imperial family.
Seeing that the voice didn't pay much attention to the mention of the sword as an imperial sword, Vlad simply pursed his lips.
"Hey, maybe... No, really?"
[What.]
A word too big to pronounce was caught in Vlad's throat.
All the clues gathered throughout the journey so far pointed in the same direction, and there was only one person standing at the end.
Unless I made a mistake.
"Tsk!"
[They've all arrived.]
Vlad, who had been pondering for a while, suddenly approached and knocked his forehead against his back.
The distance between the man who had become so close to me and me was now just one step.
[I almost got lost too. I don't know who did it, but it was placed quite crudely.]
Vlad peeked his head behind the voice in front of him and could make out a large tree floating in the distance.
It was a strangely shaped tree, with branches that reached down to the ground and rose fiercely toward the sky.
"...I couldn't even see it until now."
[That's the existence of the Other. You can't see it even if you're right next to it and it can be clear even if you're far away.]
Vlad, who had reached the border of his own world, only then could see the other world he was in contact with.
That's Jean's dormant world.
In reality, they were side by side, but the world of the young deacon following fate was very far away.
[My name is Kihano.]
"Yes?"
[I'd like you to just call me Kihano. I don't like the other names.]
Vlad looked at the voice shaking his hand.
The man who finally found his name introduced himself as Kihano.
"...I'm Vlad."
[Yes. Vlad. Nice to meet you.]
A man and a boy exchanged names in front of a twisted tree.
Although the two could not overlap in any place, time, or space, they could at least see each other in the world they faced.
***
[You will notice the moment we enter Jean's world. You did notice it, right?]
"I noticed because you spoke to me."
[I told you to call me Kihano, not "you."]
The two knights standing before Jean's world took a deep breath and stepped towards the world's border.
Kihano said.
Entering a foreign world other than one's own is an action that carries great risk.
"Let's go."
[Yes.]
But it was a path they had no choice but to take.
Even now, the strange tree floating in Jean's world slowly descended and approached.
"…What is this place?"
[Don't be deceived.]
With firm determination, they took a step forward.
It was clearly a space filled with darkness just a moment ago, but the surrounding area had already turned into a hallway full of grayish-white bricks.
"It must be a church. Well, after all, he said he was a deacon."
"It looks like the church in Varna. I've been here once."
[Is it a building you know well?]
"...Only the basement?"
[Then you don't know it well.]
Jean's world was built around the church in Varna.
For Jean, who had lived his whole life as a deacon, the clearest place was the church in Varna, so it was only natural.
[If we're talking about a church, it must be the prayer hall.]
"Will Jean be there?"
[We'll find out when we go.]
The most important goal for both of them now is Jean's safety.
The world of the young deacon, who was about to be consumed in three days, still tilted with a creak somewhere.
[Let's go first.]
"The chapel is on the first floor."
The two realized they were underground during the rescue and quickly began to run down the hallway.
"I'll take the lead!"
[Okay.]
The church in Varna was also a significant place for Vlad.
It was also where Vlad received the name Vlad of Soara from Andreas.
Vlad recalled the memory of carrying the cursed woman's coffin and quickly located the stairs.
"Here!"
[Good.]
Vlad reached the end of the hallway, which was much longer than he remembered, and kicked open the familiar door.
Boom!
There was no point in being cautious as they would have discovered it already.
All that matters is swift action.
A stone spiral staircase with a swinging door appeared.
However, the appearance was completely different from Vlad's memories.
"Why is this so high?"
[It seems the boy named Jean was afraid of the basement.]
The stone staircase rising endlessly upwards was much higher than when Vlad had descended with the coffin.
It was as if the staircase completely divided the ground floor from the basement, leaving Vlad puzzled.
[Let's go up first.]
The two knights began to ascend the stone steps that were as long as the fear harbored by the young deacon.
At the end of the seemingly endless stairs, they began to hear someone singing.
- Spin, spin around.
- Until all the matches are out.
[Doesn't sound like a hymn, does it?]
"It sounds like a song I've heard in a dream."
Despite the long staircase, they finally reached the end and cautiously held their swords as they heard a song coming from the other side of the door.
[Will you do it, or should I?]
"I've been doing it until now."
[The young man has no guts.]
The door didn't budge an inch when they tried to push it open.
A door that doesn't open is like a prison, so Kihano quickly closed his left eye.
"Hey, Kihano."
[What?]
"Not to rush you, but I'd appreciate it if you did it quickly."
[Why?]
"Because something's not right downstairs right now."
As Kihano prepared himself, Vlad looked towards the stairs and clicked his tongue.
A dark mist slowly began to rise along the spiral staircase, like rising water.
Following the mist, the familiar figure of a woman, whom both Vlad and Kihano knew, became visible.
"I definitely nailed the coffin shut."
[The deacon must have had a strong memory of that time!]
There was a woman approaching from below, shedding black tears.
A woman who clung to Joseph as she searched for her son.
It seems that for young Jean, the memories of that day were a fear difficult to bear.
"Hurry up!"
[Wait a moment, it's been a long time since I've done this, and it's a bit tricky.]
Kihano tilted his head once and then smiled as if he had finally figured it out.
Crack! Crackle!
Lightning began to emanate from his closed left eye.
Residual images of lightning began to flow from his closed left eye.
A matching color began to flow from the silver sword that was drawn.
A radiant white world.
It was such a bright light that even the woman who now crawled with tears in her eyes had no choice but to turn her head.
[Hmmph!]
The large door was cut through, and Quijano took a deep breath.
Vlad's eyes widened as he looked at the cleanly cut cross-section without a speck of dust rising.
"Are you going to teach me this technique?"
[This is not a technique, it's just a skill.]
Vlad, who was surprised to see Quihano's sword for the first time, looked back to see if the woman with black tears was following them.
"…!!"
However, there was only a new door there, blocking the basement.
Only then did Vlad realize he was in a dream world, while standing there as if the previous blow had never occurred.
[Chapel room, prayer room. Where is the chapel?]
"Follow me!"
Although he had only entered the building once, Vlad had found the route as he was accustomed to in the back alleys, and the hallway leading to the chapel was still clearly in his mind.
"Here it is!"
[Good. If the deacon is here, it would be perfect.]
Inside the chapel, they could hear the strange voice they heard before, but the two had no other choice.
They could only hope to find Jean here.
"Ugh..."
However, beyond the door they opened, there was no sign of Jean, whom they were expecting.
There were only countless gazes tainted in black.
"Why are they all here?"
[It seems the curse has already infiltrated. These are not children who belong to the deacon's world.]
There were many children in the chapel.
Their clean clothes and carefully groomed hair were impressive, but the eyes of the children staring at Vlad and Quihano were vacant.
[…Why are they so fixated on the children?]
Kihano, facing the black-eyed children, looked towards the highest point of the chapel.
The highest seat in the chapel, richly decorated with colored crystals.
There, where the children had been looking, there was a sinister emblem of the church overturned.
The appearance reminded me of a pattern I had seen in the mist-filled village.
***
In front of the mist-filled gate of Moshiam.
A procession was approaching.
A carriage escorted by dozens of people.
It was a procession that seemed to be attended by nobles, but the strange thing was that none of the guards had heard them coming.
"Stop! The procession ahead must stop!"
The fog thickened.
It was as if the procession in front of me was emitting fog.
Now, in fog so thick that it was difficult to even recognize the soldiers standing beside it, the commander of the guard decided to step forward and stop the unidentified procession.
"Where are you from?"
"..."
As we approached, the carriage we saw was completely painted black, almost like a coffin.
However, unlike the sinister color, every single detail made seemed unusual.
"If you don't reveal your affiliation, we won't be able to let you in."
The appearance of an eerily silent procession, though it seemed like anyone would step forward and respond.
Sensing a suspicious atmosphere, several guards slowly began to apply force to the spears they held.
"...Everyone is happy to have returned to their hometown."
The captain of the guard listened carefully to the faint sound coming from inside the carriage.
Though it wasn't the response he expected, the woman's voice following the mist's sound was clear and beautiful, something anyone would listen to attentively.
"Yes. Shall we get off now? This is Moshiam."
"Wait a moment..."
The captain of the guard tried to prevent them from getting off the carriage, but at that moment, he felt a strange sensation and held his breath.
Creeeek!
The sound of hinges echoed from the fog.
However, the captain of the guard was looking under the slowly opening carriage door.
"This is…"
Looking down at the ground, the captain of the guard finally understood how they had reached the castle gate without making any noise.
The carriage wheels that should be in contact with the ground.
However, the carriage wheels visible through the dense fog simply floated in the air.
Finally, even the tips of the woman's toes.
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