Cain, who was turning to the left of the building, ran hurriedly at the loud noise coming from the main gate.
“What are you doing, Erne?”
There, Erne was breaking the doorknob with the handle of his sword. Behind him, Judith was standing, holding a stone the size of a fist, ready to help him at any moment.
“Mr. Smith is trapped inside.”
Judith answered on behalf of Erne, who was busy opening the door. The person trapped in the darkly painted room was Smith.
Smith, who discovered Judith, scratched the glass until his fingertips were worn out, removing the black stuff.
Erne, who recognized Smith's face, tried to break the window to save him, but he shook his head.
Even though he was terrified, he silently shouted that they couldn't break the window.
“It looked urgent.”
Judith had never seen Smith look so terrified.
What could possibly scare Smith? Why is it that windows are not supposed to be broken?
“The door is open.”
Erne opened the front door of the building.
“What are you doing, Erne?”
There, Erne was breaking the doorknob with the handle of his sword. Behind him, Judith was standing, holding a stone the size of a fist, ready to help him at any moment.
“Mr. Smith is trapped inside.”
Judith answered on behalf of Erne, who was busy opening the door. The person trapped in the darkly painted room was Smith.
Smith, who discovered Judith, scratched the glass until his fingertips were worn out, removing the black stuff.
Erne, who recognized Smith's face, tried to break the window to save him, but he shook his head.
Even though he was terrified, he silently shouted that they couldn't break the window.
“It looked urgent.”
Judith had never seen Smith look so terrified.
What could possibly scare Smith? Why is it that windows are not supposed to be broken?
“The door is open.”
Erne opened the front door of the building.
Tinkle-
Cain's teeth chattered in disgust at the sight of the insect's sharp claws, its legs as thick as fingers and covered in black hair.
“We need to hide quickly before it attacks again.”
Erne motioned for Smith to come out quickly, but Smith walked out unsteadily.
“Why are you so slow? Did you want to become fly food?”
“It’s because of the poison, the poison!”
Smith gasped for breath as he barely made it across the room.
“Have you been poisoned?”
“Everything on this floor is poison. If it touches your skin, your nerves will be paralyzed and you won’t be able to move.”
“He does all sorts of things.”
Erne clicked his tongue and put Smith's arm around his shoulder. They quickly fled to the next room.
“A ruined guy.”
A relaxed Smith collapsed on the floor.
“What happened to Mr. Smith?”
“He tried to feed me to flies.”
Shadin always called Smith's last supper, meaning the last meal he would give them before releasing the flies into the world.
He said that if he fed him too early, Judith would not be able to recognize Smith later, so he shouldn't feed him. However, he overlooked the resistance that Smith had developed.
“Wait a minute, what do you mean, let that monster loose on the world?”
Cain, the capital city security officer, asked in surprise.
“Is he just going to let that go now?”
“He said he couldn’t be the only one who died.”
Shadin often confided his plans to Smith, probably because he thought he was going to die anyway.
“He said the method wasn’t that difficult. Just open the front door and the doorway and they’ll come out on their own.”
The front door and the main gate? Judith swallowed.
“The front door was open earlier...”
There was silence for a moment.
“Oh, no!”
The first to rise was Cain, who was in charge of the capital's security forces.
“It’s earlier than expected, but that’s okay, Sir Henry.”
“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”
“I’m ready.”
Shadin stroked 'His Keep'. The rope that sealed the complex was on the verge of breaking.
“There is a medium here.”
Shadin pointed to himself.
“Here is the offering.”
His finger pointed at Henry.
“His physical body, which will soon become his guardian angel, will also descend.”
Bright yellow eyes looked down the stairs leading to the basement.
“We were together until we were thrown into the room of flies.”
Henry is alive. I thought I knew where Henry was. It was inside the door that had slid shut by itself earlier. I was sure of it.
"Wish."
"Yes?"
“You didn’t forget that you promised to grant me one wish, did you?”
I, who had been suffering from damp steam due to having a bad dream with the Marquise of Ferney, once said that I would grant his wish if Erne would let me hold his hand and sleep with him.
Erne was just saying that wish.
“In this situation right now?”
“Yes. Close the building door now go outside and wait. That’s my wish.”
“What about Sir Henry?”
“I’ll save him and get him out.”
For me to be safe. That was Erne's only wish.
“...Erne.”
I turned my head away and avoided his gaze. I knew that Erne was trying to send me away, even mentioning his wish.
But are you telling me to turn away again? To leave everything to Erne and step back?
It couldn't be. It would be a lie if I said I didn't want to follow Erne's words and pretend not to win.
But this is something I have to finish with my own hands. The reason Shadin is running wild, and the reason Henry was kidnapped, is all because of me.
But if I turn away and run away, I might regret it for the rest of my life. I wanted to cut off this stubborn bad relationship that followed me throughout my life with my own hands.
'Maybe that's why we met again here.'
So this time, I must not run away.
“I’m sorry, Erne.”
Erne looked like he knew it.
“Then I can grant you your other wishes.”
Erne told me not to be sorry, that he had expected it, and gently ruffled my disheveled hair. However, the mood did not go as he had hoped.
“Have you always had a wish in mind?”
“I guess you’re surprisingly greedy.”
There were many intruders. Erne tried hard to ignore them.
“Don’t go meet him alone.”
“Is that your other wish?”
“You can listen to this.”
I bit my lip. The hazy emotions that were transmitted from heart to heart rose like soap bubbles.
“Oh, isn’t there something quite romantic about it?”
“I see. It doesn’t seem particularly appropriate at this moment, given that the capital’s security is in shambles because of that deformed fly.”
A deep crack appeared on my forehead at the sounds that followed.
“If you’re jealous, you too should get married.”
Smith and Cain looked dumbfounded as Erne turned to look at them and glared.
“You’re suddenly attacking us? We’re on the same side?”
“This is ridiculous.”
Just as they were bickering for a moment, a noise was heard outside.
“Captain, are you here?”
“We are here, Captain!”
Brother Luhmann? At the same time, my eyes and Smith's met in the air.
“Ugh!”
Brother Luhmann's screams echoed.
The belated sound of a bell rang inside the building. Cain gripped his sword tightly.
“I think it’s that room.”
Judith pointed to a door halfway down the hallway.
“I see blood on the floor.”
Cain looked around for a while and tilted his head as if he found it strange.
“Erne, doesn’t that door look open?”
“It looks like that.”
“If the door is open, why can’t Mr. Smith come out?”
It was a surprise. Erne took the lead, with Judith following close behind.
“Mr. Smith.”
Those who approached the door quietly called out to Smith. There was no answer from Smith.
What could have happened while they were opening the door and coming in?
Erne put the tip of his scabbard into the crack of the door. The door slowly opened, and a foul smell like decades of filth poured out.
The next thing that came into view after the stench was a sight reminiscent of hell. A thick, black slime covered the floor and walls, and corpses with sunken faces were piled high on top of it.
And under a single beam of light streaming in through the window, Smith was crouching.
“Mr. Smith!”
When Judith called him, Smith made an unnatural X gesture, then slowly looked up at the ceiling.
Judith, Erne, and Cain's gaze also followed the ceiling.
"Fly?"
A fly larger than a grown man's forearm looked at them with red eyes.
The moment the straw-like spout flinched, Erne sent Judith out of the room.
Erne instinctively knew that it was a similar type of spider to the one he had seen the last time he raided the priest's hideout through the fog.
“Be careful, that blood can be toxic.”
It would have been a problem if he had cut it with a sword and the blood had splashed on Judith or Cain.
Damn, but the spider didn't have wings. That was even more of a pain to deal with.
“...?”
Meanwhile, Judith, who had been pushed out of the room, stopped herself as she drew her dagger.
“Did we leave that front door open?”
Even though the doorknob was broken, it seemed like they had closed it and came in. As she tilted her head in confusion, a door on the other side of the hallway slid shut.
'This feels like it's calling me.'
It wasn't her imagination. Maybe it was a trap. Just as Judith was momentarily distracted, a deformed fly flew out of the room and rushed at Judith.
Erne's scabbard leaped out and swung at the deformed fly. The fly flew up and avoided the scabbard, but Erne was a little faster.
Thud -
“I think it’s that room.”
Judith pointed to a door halfway down the hallway.
“I see blood on the floor.”
Cain looked around for a while and tilted his head as if he found it strange.
“Erne, doesn’t that door look open?”
“It looks like that.”
“If the door is open, why can’t Mr. Smith come out?”
It was a surprise. Erne took the lead, with Judith following close behind.
“Mr. Smith.”
Those who approached the door quietly called out to Smith. There was no answer from Smith.
What could have happened while they were opening the door and coming in?
Erne put the tip of his scabbard into the crack of the door. The door slowly opened, and a foul smell like decades of filth poured out.
The next thing that came into view after the stench was a sight reminiscent of hell. A thick, black slime covered the floor and walls, and corpses with sunken faces were piled high on top of it.
And under a single beam of light streaming in through the window, Smith was crouching.
“Mr. Smith!”
When Judith called him, Smith made an unnatural X gesture, then slowly looked up at the ceiling.
Judith, Erne, and Cain's gaze also followed the ceiling.
"Fly?"
A fly larger than a grown man's forearm looked at them with red eyes.
The moment the straw-like spout flinched, Erne sent Judith out of the room.
Erne instinctively knew that it was a similar type of spider to the one he had seen the last time he raided the priest's hideout through the fog.
“Be careful, that blood can be toxic.”
It would have been a problem if he had cut it with a sword and the blood had splashed on Judith or Cain.
Damn, but the spider didn't have wings. That was even more of a pain to deal with.
“...?”
Meanwhile, Judith, who had been pushed out of the room, stopped herself as she drew her dagger.
“Did we leave that front door open?”
Even though the doorknob was broken, it seemed like they had closed it and came in. As she tilted her head in confusion, a door on the other side of the hallway slid shut.
'This feels like it's calling me.'
It wasn't her imagination. Maybe it was a trap. Just as Judith was momentarily distracted, a deformed fly flew out of the room and rushed at Judith.
Erne's scabbard leaped out and swung at the deformed fly. The fly flew up and avoided the scabbard, but Erne was a little faster.
Thud -
A pair of thin legs compared to his body fell right in front of Cain.
Cain's teeth chattered in disgust at the sight of the insect's sharp claws, its legs as thick as fingers and covered in black hair.
“We need to hide quickly before it attacks again.”
Erne motioned for Smith to come out quickly, but Smith walked out unsteadily.
“Why are you so slow? Did you want to become fly food?”
“It’s because of the poison, the poison!”
Smith gasped for breath as he barely made it across the room.
“Have you been poisoned?”
“Everything on this floor is poison. If it touches your skin, your nerves will be paralyzed and you won’t be able to move.”
“He does all sorts of things.”
Erne clicked his tongue and put Smith's arm around his shoulder. They quickly fled to the next room.
“A ruined guy.”
A relaxed Smith collapsed on the floor.
“What happened to Mr. Smith?”
“He tried to feed me to flies.”
Shadin always called Smith's last supper, meaning the last meal he would give them before releasing the flies into the world.
He said that if he fed him too early, Judith would not be able to recognize Smith later, so he shouldn't feed him. However, he overlooked the resistance that Smith had developed.
“Wait a minute, what do you mean, let that monster loose on the world?”
Cain, the capital city security officer, asked in surprise.
“Is he just going to let that go now?”
“He said he couldn’t be the only one who died.”
Shadin often confided his plans to Smith, probably because he thought he was going to die anyway.
“He said the method wasn’t that difficult. Just open the front door and the doorway and they’ll come out on their own.”
The front door and the main gate? Judith swallowed.
“The front door was open earlier...”
There was silence for a moment.
“Oh, no!”
The first to rise was Cain, who was in charge of the capital's security forces.
***
“It’s earlier than expected, but that’s okay, Sir Henry.”
“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”
“I’m ready.”
Shadin stroked 'His Keep'. The rope that sealed the complex was on the verge of breaking.
“There is a medium here.”
Shadin pointed to himself.
“Here is the offering.”
His finger pointed at Henry.
“His physical body, which will soon become his guardian angel, will also descend.”
Bright yellow eyes looked down the stairs leading to the basement.
***
“We were together until we were thrown into the room of flies.”
Henry is alive. I thought I knew where Henry was. It was inside the door that had slid shut by itself earlier. I was sure of it.
"Wish."
"Yes?"
“You didn’t forget that you promised to grant me one wish, did you?”
I, who had been suffering from damp steam due to having a bad dream with the Marquise of Ferney, once said that I would grant his wish if Erne would let me hold his hand and sleep with him.
Erne was just saying that wish.
“In this situation right now?”
“Yes. Close the building door now go outside and wait. That’s my wish.”
“What about Sir Henry?”
“I’ll save him and get him out.”
For me to be safe. That was Erne's only wish.
“...Erne.”
I turned my head away and avoided his gaze. I knew that Erne was trying to send me away, even mentioning his wish.
But are you telling me to turn away again? To leave everything to Erne and step back?
It couldn't be. It would be a lie if I said I didn't want to follow Erne's words and pretend not to win.
But this is something I have to finish with my own hands. The reason Shadin is running wild, and the reason Henry was kidnapped, is all because of me.
But if I turn away and run away, I might regret it for the rest of my life. I wanted to cut off this stubborn bad relationship that followed me throughout my life with my own hands.
'Maybe that's why we met again here.'
So this time, I must not run away.
“I’m sorry, Erne.”
Erne looked like he knew it.
“Then I can grant you your other wishes.”
Erne told me not to be sorry, that he had expected it, and gently ruffled my disheveled hair. However, the mood did not go as he had hoped.
“Have you always had a wish in mind?”
“I guess you’re surprisingly greedy.”
There were many intruders. Erne tried hard to ignore them.
“Don’t go meet him alone.”
“Is that your other wish?”
“You can listen to this.”
I bit my lip. The hazy emotions that were transmitted from heart to heart rose like soap bubbles.
“Oh, isn’t there something quite romantic about it?”
“I see. It doesn’t seem particularly appropriate at this moment, given that the capital’s security is in shambles because of that deformed fly.”
A deep crack appeared on my forehead at the sounds that followed.
“If you’re jealous, you too should get married.”
Smith and Cain looked dumbfounded as Erne turned to look at them and glared.
“You’re suddenly attacking us? We’re on the same side?”
“This is ridiculous.”
Just as they were bickering for a moment, a noise was heard outside.
“Captain, are you here?”
“We are here, Captain!”
Brother Luhmann? At the same time, my eyes and Smith's met in the air.
“Ugh!”
Brother Luhmann's screams echoed.
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