Shadowless Night

Rosaline barely sensed the trickle of blood and realized the situation. She had been attacked. From behind, literally. It must have been the dagger she had been carrying all along, used to slash through the forest branches. Due to her evasive movement, it grazed her heart dangerously and lodged itself right beside it. The impact would have been much greater if she had been slightly slower.

“Aagh!”

Rosaline screamed again because Diech, who noticed the missed strike, twisted the embedded dagger still stuck in her, slicing her inside. The excruciating pain of bones and muscles tearing apart made her nerves hypersensitive and her head dizzy.

She felt no murderous intent. She couldn’t read any signs. The human heart was too gentle and had no intention of attacking the vital organs at the center of the body. For a moment, she even thought that Diech had made a mistake.

But Rosaline realized it. From the agonizing pain in her back, the scent of a dying forest, and her helpless situation. It was a very familiar sensation, and it was intense. It was deeply engraved.

Diech. It was him.

Tears streamed down Rosaline’s cheeks. The dark forest. The one who had been chasing after “Rosaline”. The one who had wished for her death. The one who wished for her death once again. With cruel claws.

Another ‘It’.

Diech. Diech’s shadow.

***

The tent fluttered in the wind. Through the gap, the dark forest was revealed. The sound of rain pierced through, and breathing reached him clearly—the sound of astonishment that sent the damp air deep into the lungs!

Diech didn’t hesitate for a moment and darted out. The temperature of the air changed across a piece of cloth. Whoosh, a gust of wind blew. Rain poured down on his head and face. A trespasser fleeing with their cloak billowing could be seen.

Thump, thump, thump!

With a few powerful strides, Diech effortlessly caught up with the person. He swung the hand of a large beast without hesitation. Under the firm and sharp claws, soft flesh and muscles were torn apart. Overwhelmed by tremendous force, the intruder tumbled forward a few times as if struck by a horse. The person staggered up and started running again.

Where were they? How far had they seen? Did they also see the bronze-skinned man who had gone outside the tent before? This hand too? This eerie, non-human hand that’s hard to believe?

A mistake. There was no other way to express it. The assassins of the Black Moon, whom he had met before the ambush, had said that this time even Ricardis couldn’t escape the blades.

He knew that Ricardis would not be an easy opponent and that perfection was impossible in everything, so he also understood that their words were nothing more than wishful thinking. However, the end seemed slightly within sight even with that vague notion.

Ha, it wasn’t strange to breathe and be filled with emotion. And that complacency had allowed someone’s approach.

The price would be cruel. Everything that had been slowly built would crumble if he couldn’t catch that person who ran through the dark forest like a scared child, even with wounds…!

Diech charged forward with strength. The distance that had widened closed again. Wet soil, trees, the smell of blood. Cutting through them, Diech caught the familiar scent of that person.

She was someone who suited the sunlight well. Someone with a beautiful smile. Ah, I hoped it wasn’t you. On this rainy night, in this place devoid of any moonlight, where blood is shed, I hoped it wasn’t you.

The price of complacency was too cruel.

***

As the wind grazed the dagger, the scent of blood filled the air. Diech was suddenly reminded of a past event. In fact, it hadn’t been even a year, so he couldn’t really call it a long time ago. It just felt as if the real Rosaline, the one who had truly died, had become a distant memory.

Rosaline, who had desperately struggled to break free from Diech’s grasp, gasped for breath a few steps away. She stumbled, coughing up blood. The aftermath of a deep wound was clearly visible.

Diech silently watched her. Come to think of it, that’s right. I killed “Rosaline”. It was only after smelling the blood that he realized it anew. He couldn’t even imagine being faced with a situation where he had to repeat it all over again… Diech let out a laugh.

Rosaline leaned on her sword planted in the ground to support herself. Diech took a step closer to her.

For a human, it would be a fatal injury. Just from the concentration of the scent of blood, one could guess the depth of her wounds. She had a look of confusion in her eyes, as if she hadn’t expected this from him.

Diech tilted his head. Didn’t such a thought require tremendous trust as its foundation to take root?

Diech remembered every word that Ricardis had spoken while tenderly caressing Rosaline’s cheek before the start of the hunting competition.

[Don’t trust anyone.]

Even though the person most precious to her had advised her not to trust, Rosaline had believed in him. It was both gratifying and… futile.

Rosaline cried. It was a natural bodily response to the stimulation of pain. She took a breath and opened her mouth. “The one who killed Rosaline….”

Her question was filled with certainty. It seemed as if she had realized that the one who had killed the past “Rosaline” was him. Indeed, memories could resurface in an instant when the right trigger was given. She must have experienced something similar.

“It’s me, Rosaline.” Her wet green eyes were pitiful. “It was me… I slashed your back, pushed you toward the cliff, toward death.”

“Why… did you do that?”

Diech pondered her question. Why? Strangely, it was difficult to find an answer to that.

“I… I…” His voice choked. It felt like his airway was constricting, so Diech nervously untied the garment wrapped around his neck.

“I am Rosaline.”

But even after hearing that, he couldn’t provide a proper response. What kind of fool was he acting like? Diech’s expression grew fierce.

Crunch, crunch.

At that moment, as they faced each other, the sound of withered leaves and twisted branches rustling reached them from afar. But more distinct than that was the pulsating surge of immense power, as if it were the heartbeat of a colossal force. Emitting a terrifying pressure, it was rapidly approaching. Diech confirmed the presence of someone. It must be the king of the raptors, flying around Rosaline.

Diech turned his gaze away from that direction and looked at Rosaline. Then, he looked at the dagger in his hand. The blood that drenched the blade was still dripping down. The crimson hue awakened him to what he had been doing.

[So, um… I want to have my own closure, you see. I would appreciate your help.]

Closure.

Diech slowly closed and opened his eyes. The power within him began to surge.

Diech, who had stood rooted in place, started to move. Step by step, he approached her without hesitation. A long shadow cast over her. Rosaline looked up at Diech. It was a cold face devoid of any discernible smile or emotion. Diech slowly raised the dagger.

Rosaline clenched her teeth and pulled out the sword stuck in the ground. Simultaneously, a tremendous surge of power wrapped around her, filling the space like an explosive whirlwind.

Unable to withstand her own power, Rosaline stumbled and coughed up blood. She exposed a significant vulnerability, but the dagger blade didn’t even graze her. Diech stood frozen as if time had stopped. His pupils stared into the empty void.

He vividly felt the fierce aura emanating from Rosaline. An overpowering darkness that engulfed the entire mountain. An immense strength that made any creature with magic tremble and bow their heads. Goosebumps rose on Diech’s arms.

In that fleeting moment of hesitation, the sound approaching through the forest abruptly stopped. Something broke through the tangled branches and flew toward them. Diech quickly assumed a defensive stance.

Thud! With a sound like an explosion, his body was thrown back.

The boots of a man blocking Rosaline’s path scraped against the ground. Diech, who had been forcefully pushed back, regained his balance.

Rosaline looked up with difficulty at the man standing before her with back turned. As the wind blew, their ash-colored hair fluttered. It was Macaron. Rosaline released the tension in her body and slumped down.

“Drink some water.”

Macaron spoke without turning around. Rosaline remembered the canteen that Ricardis had given her and tremblingly opened it with her shaky hands. There wasn’t a significant effect, but it seemed like the bleeding was slowly stopping.

Until Rosaline finished emptying the canteen, the two men continued to gaze at each other silently. Occasionally, the wind would pass by, making a faint rustling sound.

Time passed, but nothing changed.

The heavy silence between them was broken by the sound of footsteps, not from either the two men or Rosaline, but from a group. The murmuring sound gradually approached. The sound of urgent footsteps could be heard. Macaron’s gaze briefly turned in that direction before returning to Diech.

Diech let out a light sigh. The tension that had been maintained through the silence of the three individuals was abruptly broken. Macaron tensed, ready for anything that might happen. However, there was no collision.

Diech turned around, revealing his back as if he didn’t even consider the possibility of being attacked by someone. Macaron took a hesitant step forward but couldn’t go any further.

Rosaline felt a sense of incongruity in their appearance. Macaron and Diech. It didn’t seem like the first time they had met. While they might have passed each other as a member of delegation and an eagle, it wasn’t that. It was hard to explain. They seemed to know each other well.