"Ah..."
Alice trembled as she stared at the brown ceiling adorned with intricate patterns.
'Am I alive?'
She had thought she would never open her eyes in this world again, yet here she was, clearly breathing and alive.
'This place...'
As she turned her eyes, she saw luxurious decorations and wallpaper. On the table to her right were medicines and blood-stained bandages. It seemed a high-class mansion was being used as an infirmary.
'Is this Uncle Federick's mansion?'
She remembered Federick using one of Zieghart's mansions as a treatment facility, and this appeared to be one of those rooms. With great effort, she lifted her head to look out the window, seeing a path leading to the annex building. It was certain now. This was Zieghart.
'Why am I here?'
She had been captured by Sif in the deepest part of the dungeon. She couldn't recall how she had returned to Zieghart.
'After I was stabbed in the cavern... Ah!'
As her mind slowly cleared, the last scene from her remaining memories surfaced.
"Ri-Rimmer..."
The scene of Sif's black sword piercing Rimmer's chest, and Raon witnessing it. That memory, too nightmarish to believe, crept into her mind.
"Aaagh..."
Alice clutched her head, letting out a groan as if her vocal cords were being torn apart.
'No! It can't be! If I'm here, doesn't that mean Rimmer might be alright too?'
She clung to a tiny hope that since she had survived and returned to Zieghart, Rimmer might be alive too. But at the same time, her instinct as a martial artist told her. The wound Rimmer had suffered was one that no one could survive.
'Sif. Why did you...'
The Sif she knew was not righteous, but he was kind and gentle. The reason she had trained him to be strong was to prevent his gentle heart from being broken or hurt, but she never dreamed a person could change to such an extent.
'Is Raon alright?'
Sif had absorbed her blood and broken through the wall of transcendence. Worries about what he might have done to Raon and whether the children of the Light Wind division were safe came flooding in.
"Ugh..."
As Alice was clutching her head with both hands, lost in anguish, the door to the infirmary opened, and Federick and Lawaine entered.
"...Alice. You're awake."
Federick let out a heavy sigh as he saw Alice's contorted eyes.
"Lady Alice!"
Lawaine rushed to Alice, not even realizing he had dropped the bandages and wet towel he was holding.
"Are, are you alright?"
He pressed his trembling lips together as he looked at Alice's gaunt cheeks.
"Lawaine."
Alice parted her dried lips, speaking frustratingly slowly.
"What happened? No, what happened to Rimmer and Sif!"
She asked about those two before anyone else.
"That's..."
"Lawaine. Go and call the others."
Federick exhaled deeply and nodded to Lawaine.
"A-Alright..."
Lawaine left the infirmary with heavy steps after gazing at Alice's trembling eyes.
"Uncle. Why did you send Lawaine away? Please tell me. I feel like I'm going to die again from the suspense..."
Alice coughed up blood while touching her chest where the wound hadn't fully healed. It seemed her internal injuries had reopened due to her intense emotions.
"Neither I nor Lawaine are the ones who can tell you that story."
Federick shook his head as he grabbed a cloth from the table.
"The one with the answers you want will come, so wait."
He only wiped the blood that had flowed from Alice's mouth, seemingly unwilling to tell her what she wanted to hear.
"The one with the answers..."
Alice raised her head, swallowing the blood rising in her throat.
"Is it Raon?"
"Yes."
Federick nodded calmly, as if that much was alright to say.
"Haah..."
Alice exhaled in relief, clasping her trembling hands together. She had been worried about Raon's condition too, but hearing that he was coming here gave her some comfort. At least it meant Raon was safe.
"Thank goodness. Really..."
As she waited for Raon, holding onto a small hope that Rimmer might be alive, she heard a commotion outside the infirmary. After a faint sound of someone catching their breath, Raon and Glenn entered the room.
"Ah..."
The moment she saw Raon's eyes, she swallowed the question she was about to ask. In her nephew's eyes, which once viewed the world with bright light, there was now a mature darkness. Alice realized that the thin thread of hope she had been clinging to had snapped, and she let her hands fall from her chest.
'Rimmer...'
* * *
Raon bit his lip as he looked at the trembling Alice.
'I never thought I'd see Aunt looking so weak.'
In some ways, he had considered Alice even stronger than Glenn. Always overflowing with confidence and a proud martial artist. He thought she was someone to look up to, regardless of gender. But the Alice before him now was pale and shaking with anxiety. She looked like someone who had lost all hope and fallen into despair.
'Aunt...'
In fact, after Rimmer's death, he had blamed himself before turning his anger towards others. The person he had directed the most blame towards was Alice. He had even made the ridiculous accusation of why she had searched for Sif and why she had fallen for her emotions and failed to block Sif's surprise attack.
But after saying goodbye to Rimmer, he realized. There was someone else to blame.
It was Derus Robert who had broken Sif and killed Rimmer. He was the only one to blame, the only one who needed to die.
'The person suffering the most right now isn't me, but Aunt...'
She had been betrayed by the son she had finally found, that son had killed Rimmer whom he treated like a friend, and in the end, he was killed by her nephew. Even with the strengthened mental fortitude from his second life, he might have gone mad if all of that had happened to him.
"Hah..."
Raon dispelled the emotions that had been building up with a small sigh and approached Alice.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"..."
Alice bit her dry lips as she looked at Raon's sunken gaze.
"...Can you tell me what happened?"
She seemed to know the outcome to some extent but still wanted his answer.
"Yes."
Raon nodded and sat in the chair in front of Alice's bed.
"I'll tell you everything. After you were stabbed by Sif..."
He decided to tell her everything, believing in Alice's mental strength. Such matters shouldn't be hidden.
"...That's how it happened, and I chased Sif and Bardiel out of the dungeon."
Raon paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling before lowering his gaze. He looked at Alice's eyes, which seemed ready to burst if touched, before uttering his final words.
"After that, I killed them both with my own hands. I'm sorry."
He bowed his head as he said he had killed Sif with his own hands.
"..."
Alice closed her eyes without speaking. The tears that had been welling up in her eyes fell, wetting the blood-stained pillow.
"I'm sorry."
Alice opened her eyes again and struggled to get up from the bed. She tried to kneel down, almost falling off the bed.
"It's all my fault."
Alice bowed her head, letting out a groan that sounded like scraping metal.
"If I hadn't insisted on finding Sif, if I hadn't become emotional and lost my strength, if I hadn't let my guard down around Sif! If I! If I! If I!"
She blamed herself, punching the wound on her chest that hadn't fully healed. The white bandage became soaked with blood, and blood burst from her mouth.
"It's not your fault, Aunt."
Raon shook his head as he held Alice's blood-covered fist.
"The one to blame isn't you, but Derus Robert."
"No! It's all because of me! I..."
Alice, seemingly without the strength to shake off his hand, sat down and began to sob.
"Aunt..."
Raon bit his lip as he watched Alice, who had lost all her strength and couldn't even cry properly. His heart ached in a different way than when he learned of Rimmer's death. He wanted to say something comforting, but there was nothing he could do.
"Aunt, I..."
"Raon."
As he was about to offer words of comfort, Glenn placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. It seemed to mean that Alice needed time too.
-You weren't stable from the beginning either.
Wrath clicked his tongue bitterly as he looked at Alice.
-Even that troublemaker will need time.
'Yeah. That's right.'
As Wrath said, Alice's current state was no different from his own when he first woke up.
"Uaaagh..."
Alice gasped for breath as if her chest was tight, then closed her eyes and collapsed.
"Aunt!"
Raon grabbed Alice's shoulders and arms, shaking her body, but she didn't wake up.
"Step aside."
Federick exhaled deeply and examined Alice's condition.
"She's just fainted from mental exhaustion. It's not serious yet. There's no need to worry."
He said she would be fine and placed Alice back on the bed.
"Lady Alice..."
Lawaine sobbed, covering his mouth as if he understood Alice's feelings.
"We'll have to postpone the sparring session."
Glenn shook his head heavily, saying they should do the sparring later.
"Yes."
Raon nodded and then clenched his molars as he saw Glenn's eyes.
'Come to think of it...'
Grandfather's face isn't looking good either. He hadn't noticed because he was focused on his own emotions, but Glenn's eyes were also sunken and dark.
'Right. Of course.'
He had lost Rimmer, his closest subordinate, his grandson had killed his grandson, and his daughter was in a state of mental and physical devastation. Right now, Glenn must be suffering the most. However, befitting the head of Zieghart, he didn't show his sorrow to anyone and instead comforted and took care of others.
It was admirable yet saddening that he couldn't express his own emotions.
"I'll stay here. You go and tell the other children that Alice has woken up."
"Understood..."
After bowing deeply, he left Federick's mansion.
"..."
Raon exhaled a turbid breath as he looked at the bright sky, oblivious to human emotions.
"Human relationships... are truly difficult."
* * *
"Is this the black sword you mentioned?"
Vulcan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sif's black sword, which seemed to be made of connected black amethysts.
"It's a damn peculiar shape. It looks like it was carved from a jewel rather than forged."
He stroked his chin, saying he had never seen such a sword before.
"Lord Raon said it had this form from the first time he saw it."
Roenn nodded as he placed the black sword on the table.
"This sword is possessed by something. And a particularly cursed one at that. How can it be so full of killing intent and malice?"
Vulcan muttered that he understood how it could have stolen Alice's power, exhaling sharply.
"You shouldn't touch it directly yet."
Roenn stopped Vulcan's hand as he was about to grab the black sword.
"As you said, it's cursed and will reject anyone who isn't its master. Even though it's currently dormant, anyone less than a Master will faint the moment they grab it."
He lowered his eyebrows, saying that at least a Master level was needed to hold this sword.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
Vulcan shrugged, asking what he could do if he couldn't even touch it.
"That's why we've invited a shaman from the Beast Union. If he suppresses the curse, we should be able to examine it."
Roenn bowed his head, and the gray-bearded old man leaning against the wall stepped forward.
"I am Pasirion."
The Beast Union shaman introduced himself as Pasirion and looked down at the black sword with hawk-like eyes.
"Indeed, a terrible curse resides in it. It seems to have consumed the blood of at least a thousand people."
Pasirion let out a low groan, saying it had been a while since he'd seen an object with such a strong curse.
"This blade was made by condensing compressed blood with a curse spell. It's probably harder than steel, no, than any metal."
He covered his nose and mouth as if nauseated.
"However, the curse is dormant now. It seems other conditions need to be met for it to awaken."
"That's correct."
Roenn nodded at Pasirion.
"According to the Light Wind Division Leader, it also used the curse of the blood dwelling in the cavern."
"Many people must have died there too. But that's not all."
Pasirion placed his hand on the blade of the black sword and chanted an unknown spell.
"What do you mean by that's not all?"
Vulcan tilted his head as if asking what he meant.
"Restrictions. Whether it's martial arts or magic, spells can exert greater power if restrictions are placed. For example, using the sword only against certain people, or committing murder only in specific places - such restrictions make the given power stronger."
Pasirion furrowed his brow, saying this was the basics of spells.
"..."
Roenn kept his mouth shut, not saying anything more.
"The only forces that can manipulate this level of spell are the White Blood Religion and Eden. Of course, Derus Robert too. It might be different if that devil has hidden forces somewhere."
Pasirion exhaled briefly, saying he needed to examine it a bit more.
"So, can you break the curse on this sword?"
Vulcan revealed an expectant look, saying that was necessary to examine the sword in detail.
"..."
Pasirion examined the sword silently before shaking his head heavily.
"It can be broken, but it's impossible for me alone. As I said, the blood of over a thousand people has accumulated, so dozens of shamans would have to die."
He closed his eyes, saying that breaking the curse on the black sword would require many sacrifices.
"Hah, how disgusting."
Vulcan bit his lip, seemingly incredulous.
"May I take a look?"
Denier opened the door to the reception room and entered. He smiled faintly, saying he'd like to examine the black sword.
"Ah, that's right. The Wise Martial Palace Master has studied this field too."
Roenn clapped his hands lightly as if he just remembered.
"Right. I remember you being called a generalist."
Vulcan nodded, saying he had heard rumors about Denier.
"It's not that I'm a generalist, but that I have a wide range of knowledge."
Denier let out a hollow laugh and grabbed the black sword lying on the table.
"I'm not an expert in spells, but I do know a bit about curses. This is... huh?"
As he was about to lift the black sword from the table, a hand appeared with a blue wind and snatched the sword.
"I'm sorry, but..."
It was Raon. He had appeared like lightning and now held the black sword in his hand, shaking his head coldly.
"Palace Master, you cannot touch this sword."