DBWC 09

Chapter  09

…Confession?

I looked back and forth at Elkinas and Zephir, completely stunned. Oh my god, Zephir.

“He secretly stole the soul orb,” he said, and it seemed that Hania had found out about it after all.

After all, Hania was the highest-ranking priest in the Order. She had conducted rituals for spirits and the souls of the dead, so it was impossible for her not to notice a soul escaping.

At Elkinas’s words, Zephir let out a painful laugh.

“Hania… she said she’d bring death with her… traitor. This is why you shouldn’t trust priests…”

“Speak properly. I’m really going to kill you.”

“…Go ahead and try.”

“Hey.”

Elkinas fixed his gray eyes on Zephir and furrowed his brow.

“Do you think I can’t?”

The murderous aura he exuded made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The emotion I felt was neither confusion nor sadness. It was simply a pure and distant fear.

It was fear.

It was the first time I had witnessed Elkinas’s killing intent. I realized that he had never fully unleashed his aura in front of me until now.

From earlier, everything had been an ongoing series of unbelievable events. The peaceful life and happiness I had wished for Elkinas after we defeated the Demon Dragon were nowhere to be found.

If things continued like this, it seemed Zephir’s neck would break completely. Was Elkinas really trying to kill Zephir?

At that moment, my vision became so blurry that I could barely keep my eyes open. I was suffocating, and my vision was clouding. It felt like my entire body was burning with heat.

I bit my lower lip hard. I was on the verge of tears. I felt like I couldn’t stand unless I grabbed something, and without realizing it, I grabbed the tail of Calrot’s coat behind me.

Calrot seemed to look back at me, his face full of surprise. I couldn’t confirm it clearly since my vision was blurry…

I leaned more heavily on Calrot, perhaps to ask for his understanding… but I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

I took a deep breath, trying to gasp for air, but it wasn’t coming easily.

Despite me trembling like this, the interrogation continued. Elkinas applied more pressure on Zephir and called his name again.

“Zephir.”

“…”

“Tell me. What did you do with the soul orb of Arenne that you stole?”

“…”

“You better answer well. I was extremely unfortunate because that soul orb disappeared.”

Elkinas spoke quietly, lifting his chin. His eyes seemed to gleam with killing intent when he said “unfortunate.”

“I submerged her body in the holy spring where the holy water rises and purified her, but because the soul orb was gone, I couldn’t revive her. There were talks about resurrection rituals and reincarnation… nonsense like running away from reincarnation. Sure, all those religions might be a scam, but one thing is certain.”

Elkinas lifted Zephir’s body and slammed it against the wall again. With a loud crash, Zephir screamed in agony.

I clearly heard something break. It must have been Zephir’s spine.

But Elkinas showed no sign of stopping, continuing his words.

“—That damn soul orb was stolen, and because of that, I’m living in this misery, listening to these ridiculous things. Where is it?”

“Where is it… kkh… ugh…”

Zephir gritted his teeth and grinned as he answered.

“Why don’t you look for it… maybe it’s… kkh… ugh… next to you?”

His breath was labored, and he seemed to be barely holding on, but his eyes were still calm. His reply was filled with a sense of ease.

It was Elkinas whose gaze began to waver at Zephir’s answer.

“…You really think this is some sort of joke?”

Elkinas glared at Zephir and let out a short, mocking laugh.

“Next to me? Next to me? You mean… someone’s hiding behind Calrot, huh? You’re saying the dragon-who-pretends-to-be-a-human is hiding and trying to join in on this crazy game?”

Elkinas rolled his eyes and looked at me and Calrot. Just his gaze seemed to hurt.

But I…

I… hoped that he would recognize me.

I hoped, like a miracle, that he might recognize me.

Maybe. From Zephir’s words, he might have thought it was me. It was a tiny glimmer of hope.

But…

Hope was just hope.

The gaze that had been fixed on me and Calrot turned back to Zephir again.

“…Zephir, you fucking lizard. You’re even less sincere than the humans. Like the damn Denbain Empire, you didn’t even try to match your appearance. Or at least, you should have brought someone bolder. You’re gasping for breath like this.”

“…”

He didn’t recognize me.

Even though I had already expected it, a part of my chest seemed to drop, feeling like something heavy fell inside.

He treated me like someone he didn’t know.

Of course, that was expected. I had a completely different appearance and voice now. Besides, Elkinas had already gone through so much with the “real” me. It was natural that he didn’t recognize me, and even if he did, he would be cautious.

But… the way he treated me like this, like a stranger… it hurt.

Just his cold expression and gaze made my heart ache. Elkinas, not recognizing me, this situation, it was too painful.

Even more so than the scary scenes I had witnessed up until now, this moment felt like the most fatal wound.

“Ugh… huhh…”

Eventually, I distorted my face into an ugly expression and buried it in my sleeve.

Tears had been streaming down for who knows how long, and I just wanted to wipe them off.

Damn it, my clothes were wrong. If I had been wearing the robe from back then, it would have wiped away the tears. But this damn dress had lace on the upper half, so instead of wiping my tears, it just soaked the fabric.

Why was my dress like this?

If the atelier workers saw me like this, they would surely be shocked. After all, I was the one who had been excited about how beautiful the dress was.

But that was then, and this is now. Back then, I never imagined Elkinas would go crazy like this.

Who cares if my dress gets ruined or if my face is covered in snot?

I desperately rubbed my face with the hem of my dress, trying to wipe my tears away.

And maybe because of that, I only noticed the shadow completely cast over me quite late.

“Uhh… heuu…”

“Your sobbing is a mess.”

“!”

I flinched, feeling as if Elkinas’s voice came from above my head, as if it were echoing through the air.

Hastily, I lifted my face from my dress, and there he was—right in front of me.

“What’s making you cry like that?”

His voice was so gentle.

But the gentleness in his voice made my skin crawl.

I looked up at him in bewilderment. A tear fell from my eye.

I didn’t even know when Elkinas had moved closer. Just moments ago, he had been shaking Zephir by the neck and tossing him around…

He had even broken through walls…

I glanced behind Elkinas, and sure enough, Zephir was lying on the floor, motionless.

The once-noble, exalted White Dragon and leader of the Dragonfolk, Zephir, was now helpless, unable to do anything. It was truly the first time I had seen such a pitiful sight.

Zephir… like that.

“Zephir…”

“Well… according to that snake, you could be Arenne.”

What?

“Now that I think about it. The difference in appearance could be an excuse. You could say your body changed, or that the World Tree gave you a new one. Since Zephir brought you, you must have practiced all the little details.”

I turned to look up at Elkinas with a dazed face.

Elkinas was staring at me without blinking. His deep gray eyes, which had lacked any life earlier, suddenly began to glow fiercely.

And it was that glow that looked much more threatening.

Our child… wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Wasn’t he?

Was he always like this?

Another tear fell.

“Also, there’s the smell of white magic. You’re clearly controlling spirits. A sorcerer… maybe?”

Elkinas, who had been talking as if he couldn’t tell who I was, changed at that moment.

Suddenly, he bent over, bringing his face closer to mine.

His expression was completely different from when he was dealing with Zephir. It was as if a spring breeze had blown, and he smiled brightly at me.

“Alright. Let’s see. If that’s the case, how should I test you, ‘Arenne’?”

“…”

When he called my name, I flinched.

I finally realized what he had been trying to gauge.

Elkinas saw me as a new test subject and was comparing me to the “Arenne” he remembered.

Things like my body, white magic, practice… he was evaluating me as if I was a challenger in a test to become the “Arenne” he knew.

I had always loved my name, Arenne.

In fact, I loved when Elkinas called my name. But had it ever sent chills down my spine like this before?

No, this wasn’t right.

My instincts were telling me something.

I was Arenne. Yes, but I didn’t want to go through the test he had created for the imaginary “Arenne.”

And now that the test had begun, he would likely torment me until I was dead, just like before.

How could I convince him I was Arenne? Or… did it even matter if I said I was Arenne?

It wouldn’t have mattered.

The hopeful future I had once longed for didn’t exist in the first place.

What was left was my friend, who no longer recognized me, driven mad.

Elkinas.

I felt drained, as if all the blood had drained from my body, and my strength had completely evaporated.

Ah…

“I… I…”

I raised my head and met his gaze directly as I spoke.

“I… I’m not ‘Arenne’…”