Episode 603
“Two hours—almost up.”
The mages checked their watches and glanced toward the castle gates. Despite the allotted time nearly elapsed, there was no sign of movement inside Purpato. The mages watching from above shook their heads, signaling that nothing unusual was happening.
“How much time left?”
“Exactly one minute and thirty seconds.”
“Inform Minister Tweller.”
“Yes, understood.”
The Imperial Defense Department, not the Ministry of Magic, was taking the lead in launching the attack. Whether the loophole in the oath tied to the name would hold was uncertain, but if the Purpato defenders had made their decision, Bariel couldn’t just stand by.
Just as the mages acknowledged and turned to leave, a shout rang out.
“A white flag has been raised at the gate!”
“Ian! The Burgos flag has been lowered!”
At the very top of the gate, the proud black Burgos banner was taken down, replaced by a white flag.
It was a clear surrender. The mages smiled, patting each other on the shoulder, while Tweller hurried inside the formation to report to Jin.
“It’s done! We can pass through Purpato without shedding a drop of blood.”
“Ian, someone is waving their hand in front of the white flag. Should we go ahead first? It might be a trap, so it’s better to scout inside before passing through the gate.”
“That’s wise.”
“Tommy! Nakina!”
“Yes, yes. Let’s go.”
“Wooooah!”
The cheers of Bariel’s soldiers swelled, shaking the very earth. No matter how fiercely the enemy had resisted, they refused to fight when faced with the name Bariel! Pride in being soldiers of the Great Empire surged through them.
Ziiing! Ziiing!
Hail, Tommy, and Nakina kept a cautious distance as they approached the Purpato walls. The only figure in sight was a soldier who looked half out of it.
“This is Captain Hail of Bariel’s mages. Has Purpato officially surrendered? If so, I will report to His Majesty the Emperor.”
“…Yes, we have surrendered. We will open the gates. Bariel may pass through without any disturbance, as promised.”
Hail frowned, sensing something off. Why was this message being delivered by a mere soldier instead of someone like Lautan, who should be handling such matters?
Tommy and Nakina also looked around, puzzled.
“Where are the other soldiers?”
The walls were empty. Not a single Purpato defender remained, no one gripping weapons or resisting. Only the soldier before them.
“We surrendered, but we are Burgos. We feel deep shame and guilt and cannot bear to watch Bariel enter Purpato. You should take the central road through Purpato and exit through the opposite gate. If you proceed straight, you’ll reach Kalamath without trouble.”
The soldier wiped away tears, voice trembling.
Though unexpected, this posed no real problem for Bariel. Whether the defenders were outside or hiding inside made no difference.
Having said his piece, the soldier hurriedly disappeared down the wall.
Ziiing! Ziiing!
Pewong!
Hail lightly released magic, signaling the Bariel forces that the surrender was genuine and they could move forward.
As the soldiers approached, Hail, Tommy, and Nakina flew above Purpato, carefully scanning for any suspicious signs.
“There really isn’t a soul around. Not a single person on the streets.”
“They must all be hiding inside buildings, right? Captain Hail, are you sure this is safe? If they suddenly ambush us, we’d be completely surrounded.”
“The difference in forces is too great. Opening the gates carries far more risk than any ambush could justify. I don’t think Lautan is foolish enough to make such a choice.”
“Hmm, that makes sense. The city’s smaller than expected, too.”
Purpato was structured around a central square, with roads radiating out in all directions. Entering through one gate and going straight would lead out the opposite gate, allowing all Bariel soldiers to pass through in a couple of hours.
Swish!
Hail and the others quickly returned to report the situation to Ian.
Ian’s expression showed surprise, as if he too found the behavior strange. Though he had accepted many surrenders on countless battlefields, he had never seen defenders vanish like this. If it was out of shame, it was understandable, but still…
“Understood. We’ll enter Purpato. Set a tight guard around His Majesty the Emperor, and have the mages assist the palace guards. Maintain protective barriers around the Emperor until we pass through.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Move out! We’re entering the city!”
“Wooooah! Bariel! Bariel!”
The Bariel soldiers pushed the gates open, sliding them aside easily since the latches were unfastened.
Through the widening gap, the inside of the city came into view. It was empty. Not a single person in sight. The soldiers stepped into Purpato with a mix of curiosity and unease.
Creak!
Boom!
“Quiet. Hmph.”
“Yeah, it’s dead silent.”
“This just makes me more nervous. Damn it! Hahaha!”
“Let’s go, let’s go! Move forward!”
The small city was utterly devoid of life. Even knowing the enemy had surrendered, Bariel’s soldiers couldn’t help but glance around nervously.
The Ministry of Magic and Imperial Defense Department shared the same caution. Unsure of what traps might lie ahead, they maintained their protective barriers as they cautiously advanced toward the central square.
—Kyu-yu?
“What’s wrong?”
Meanwhile, high above Purpato, Beric was perched on Kyu’s back, scanning the city below. Suddenly, Kyu stopped mid-flight, nostrils flaring. Beric tugged on Kyu’s horn to urge him onward, but the creature refused to budge.
—Kyu-kyu!
“Cut the crap and let’s go. You’ve eaten well, so why—”
Beric suddenly froze, sensing something himself. Like Kyu, he lifted his head and flared his nostrils.
The tense mages on patrol noticed and shouted irritably.
“Stop messing around, Beric!”
“No, I’m serious. Don’t you smell that?”
“…What smell?”
“It’s getting stronger.”
Could it be poison? The mages shivered and quickly signaled Ian. Meanwhile, Beric and Kyu sniffed the air intently. The scent was fishy, sweet, and sticky somehow…
Ziiing! Swish!
Ian, having received the report, took off at once. Beric and Kyu’s eyes snapped open in recognition.
“Beric, what is it?”
“Ian, it’s the smell of blood.”
“…Blood?”
“The wind confused me, but yes, it’s blood. Not from one spot, but all around.”
Ian and the mages froze at Beric’s words. Blood? Purpato was silent and deserted. What could have caused so much bloodshed?
‘Suicide.’
Lautan, who had sworn to die calling out to the Guardian Ian. It was entirely possible.
What baffled them was how Beric and Kyu could detect the scent. Were they sensitive enough to sense a single death? Or was there something else…
Breeeeep!
A piercing whistle shattered the silence. Soldiers who had entered the city had found something. Ian informed Tweller that they were moving in and hurried toward the walls.
Thud!
“What’s going on?”
“We climbed up to change the flag, but all the soldiers inside are dead.”
“……”
Ian stepped inside. The stench of blood hit him hard. More than dozens lay collapsed, their hearts pierced.
The shocking sight froze not only Bariel’s soldiers but the mages as well.
“Ian, there’s uneaten food on the table here. It looks like it was for a ritual.”
“Did they pray to the Guardian before taking their own lives?”
“Ugh, how foolish can they be.”
“Ian, I’ll inform Minister Tweller immediately. We should order a thorough search. If this was a purposeful death, we need to understand why.”
Ian nodded, studying the expressions of the dead. Their deaths were peaceful. Though they had pierced their own hearts, they showed no sign of pain.
Tap tap tap!
Creak! Boom!
“More dead here!”
“Another group committed suicide!”
“Good heavens, there are ten bodies here!”
As Bariel’s search parties flung open doors, they found more corpses. All had their hearts pierced in the same way, suggesting a prearranged method of suicide. Not out of shame for surrender, but to conceal their deaths.
Thousands of Bariel soldiers passing through Purpato heard the grim news.
“They all died? By their own hands?”
“If they’d rather die than surrender, why open the gates? If they’d just locked themselves in and died, at least we’d have had a hard time getting in.”
“Who knows. Burgos people are strange.”
“Ugh. Look at the blood on those stairs.”
“Don’t look, it’s bad luck.”
The fierce momentum of the Bariel soldiers shattered instantly in the face of the bizarre, incomprehensible madness of the Purpato people. Their once-bold steps grew hesitant, and the loud cheers and laughter had long since faded away.
It was then, amid the constant reports of bodies found, that a new announcement came.
“A survivor!”
A living Purpato had been found. He was dragged out by the soldiers, his posture almost resigned to despair.
When the soldiers pressed their swords to his throat, the man’s eyes sharpened fiercely.
“I opened the gates because you promised to spare us if we surrendered. But it seems the great empire of Bariel’s promises are lighter than the wind! Does the emperor’s name carry no weight at all?”
“Shut up!”
“Enough.”
As an agitated soldier raised his blade to strike, Ian stepped in to stop him. Calmly, he looked down at the man and asked,
“What kind of agreement did you make? You said you’d spare us if we surrendered, yet you choose both surrender and death at once. I don’t understand such foolishness.”
“Don’t call us foolish. That’s an insult to those who risked their lives. Just move along! Wasn’t the condition to leave quietly?”
“You’re the ones causing the disturbance. With this many corpses piling up, how could Bariel simply look the other way? If you don’t provide an accurate account, we’ll have to reconsider our promise.”
At Ian’s words, a barefoot child suddenly ran out from the building where the man had come from. The child burst into tears, blocking his father’s path, then dropped to his knees and begged Ian.
“Please! Don’t kill my father!”
“Get back!”
“Father, no! Please don’t kill him. I’ll tell you everything. Just please, go on your way.”
The man tried to stop the child, but the soldiers held him back. Wiping away tears, the child steadied his voice.
“Lord Lautan said he would take his own life first. Somewhere inside Purpato, he shouted Ian Hielo’s name as he died. The rest were to surrender and seek safety… and allow Bariel to pass through.”
“No! Shut your mouth!”
“But after he left, someone said it wasn’t about the promise between the Guardian and the Minister of Magic. They said we could just pray separately to the Guardian ourselves.”
Ian hesitated. The man bowed his head to the ground, closing his eyes, while the child kept pleading with his small hands.
“Those who died did so for that reason. Everyone left here surrendered to Bariel. So please, don’t kill us. Please spare my father.”
‘If they prayed separately to the Guardian…’
Ian’s gaze involuntarily shifted.
The one who commanded Bariel, the very embodiment of Bariel itself.
If they had prayed anew to the Guardian, then surely the intended recipient was not him…
‘It was Jin.’
At that moment, in the center of Purpato Square.
After sending the search party ahead, Jin followed at a leisurely pace. He suddenly looked up at the massive deer statue standing in the middle of the square. It was beautiful, but the feeling lasted only a moment before he froze.
“Your Majesty? Is something wrong?”
“That statue…”
The deer’s eyes seemed to glimmer with a faint light.