SOTBW -6

It was around sunset when a boy soldier came to fetch Najane. He explained that the entire Romsoa Knights had been ordered to rest for the day after last night’s fierce battle.

Apparently, most of the knights and soldiers had gone to spend the night at taverns or brothels. The only ones left in the barracks, as usual, were Maximón and the three knights who were his most loyal followers.

Perhaps finding Najane’s gentle demeanor comforting, the boy soldier chatted freely as they headed toward the training grounds. Najane, realizing their destination, felt an overwhelming urge to flee. It was clear that Maximón had figured it out—that she was the one who had killed the Serith wraith that had crossed the walls during the prolonged battle at dawn.

Otherwise, why would the commander, who had no reason to concern himself with a maid who spent her days cooking and cleaning, order her to the training grounds? Najane followed the boy soldier nervously until she spotted Belshua standing in front of the armory near the training grounds. There was no sign of Maximón.

The boy soldier handed Najane over to Belshua and quickly departed. His lively expression from earlier had turned pale with fear by the time they reached the armory. Sensing something was off, Najane hesitated, glancing at Belshua, who gave a curt nod toward the armory.

“Go in.”

The pitch-black floor of the armory revealed a trapdoor leading underground. Startled, Najane looked back at Belshua, but he simply tapped her back with the hilt of his sword, urging her forward. Reluctantly, Najane descended the damp, gloomy stairs.

The faint glow of a few candles lit the endless, arching staircase. From below came the distant sound of an animal’s wailing. A feeling of unease washed over her. Water dripped continuously from the ceiling, soaking her thin shoes, and the beast’s cries echoed ominously through the darkness.

Though she wanted to feign ignorance, Najane recognized that haunting sound. Serith. The nightmarish creature was waiting at the bottom of these stairs.

At the base of the stairs, a narrow bridge appeared. On it stood two knights holding torches, a group of well-trained soldiers, and, most incongruously, Amelia in a dress that did not belong in such a foreboding place.

“...Amelia?”

Najane, startled, stared at the pale-faced Amelia. Amelia, her beautiful face drenched in sweat, was trembling uncontrollably, her neck gripped by the hand of the largest soldier.

Just then, a hollow clanging sound echoed from the opposite side of the bridge. Najane instinctively turned her gaze toward the source of the noise. Maximón appeared, his armor clinking lightly, carrying a training sword usually used by boy soldiers.

Maximón ran a gloved hand through his jet-black hair, a meaningless smile playing on his lips.

“We meet again, Najane.”

As soon as his words left his mouth, a piercing shriek erupted from beneath the bridge. The terrifying cry of the Serith wraith echoed deafeningly, freezing Najane to her core.

Amelia, unable to withstand the horror, collapsed, her legs buckling beneath her. If the soldier hadn’t been holding her by the neck, she would have crumpled to the ground.

“Commander, what is the meaning of this...?” Najane asked, her voice trembling.

“Did you know a Serith crossed the walls last night?”

Maximón ignored Najane’s words and approached her until they were face-to-face.

“It was a close call,” he said. “The villagers could have been slaughtered if it hadn’t been taken care of in time. But someone dealt with it even before Jacob arrived. I wanted to find and reward them properly, but then Amelia over there claimed it was her doing.”

Oh no. Amelia had broken the Oath of Sylin. Najane clenched her lips tightly, glaring at Amelia with eyes full of disappointment. Before she could say anything, Maximón tossed the practice sword he was holding into the darkness under the bridge and forcefully turned Najane’s face toward him, gripping her chin with enough strength to make her wince.

“Look at me,” Maximón whispered coldly.

“I know it was you who hunted the wraith.”

“...I don’t know anything about that,” Najane muttered.

“Really? Then do you believe that Amelia was the one who killed the wraith?”

“…If Amelia says so, then it must be true.”

“Ah, so you’re going to keep playing dumb until the end, huh?”

Maximón withdrew his hand and gestured with his eyes to the soldier holding Amelia. Sensing danger, Amelia began to scream like a child being dragged to a beast.

At the far end of the bridge, Belshua and Jacob shot fire-tipped arrows into the darkness below. The arrows lit torches fixed to the walls, illuminating a foul-smelling, shallow pool of water, where the faint outlines of thick chains could be seen.

As the bridge grew brighter, the creature bound by dozens of chains came into view.

It was a Serith wraith.

The Serith growled lowly, and the walls of the underground chamber vibrated slightly in response. The creature looked as though it had been starving for a long time.

“No! No! What are you doing? Let me go! Please, please!”

Amelia suddenly screamed in terror, her voice trembling with desperation. It was only then that Najane snapped out of her thoughts and turned her gaze back to Amelia.

The soldier was opening a trapdoor leading down below the bridge. Amelia clung to the soldier, barely staying on her tiptoes, like someone standing at the edge of a cliff.

The soldier looked ready to throw Amelia straight into the pit where the Serith waited. Horrified, Najane rushed to intervene, but Maximón stopped her effortlessly, holding her back with his strong arm.

Furious, Najane shouted, “This is madness! Amelia is just an ordinary woman who doesn’t even know how to wield a sword. Throwing her down there is as good as sentencing her to death!”

“Ah, you’re underestimating Amelia too much,” Maximón said, his tone mockingly sweet. “She’s an exceptional fighter who managed to kill a Serith wraith that crossed the wall in an instant. Isn’t that right, Amelia?”

He turned to Amelia with feigned gentleness.

It was at that moment that Amelia finally realized the gravity of what she had done. Standing precariously at the edge of the pit, Amelia broke down, sobbing like a child as she begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t do it—I just lied! I’m sorry, please forgive me, please, just spare me this once...”

As Amelia burst into tears, the Serith wraith below let out an even louder roar in response. If Amelia were thrown down, the Serith would likely break free from its chains and devour the prey in an instant. Najane could feel cold sweat running down her back.

Maximón spoke to Najane again.

“I’ll ask you one last time. Was it you who killed that Serith?”

“…”

Najane averted her gaze, avoiding his question.

Maximón sighed briefly.

“I can’t understand it. Why are you hiding this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s all a misunderstanding…”

“Your answer never mattered to me in the first place. I’ve already decided to make you a knight of Romsoa.”

With a faint smile, Maximón leaned forward to meet Najane’s eyes. Startled, Najane stepped back. His dark green irises glimmered in a way that seemed too unnatural, too eerie, to belong to a human. She had seen such eyes before, glowing in the darkness.

Yes, they were just like the Serith’s…

Then, as if to whisper a secret, Maximón leaned in so close it seemed he might kiss her and murmured softly:

“By the way, that light emanating from your chest—is it a cursed mark?”

Najane flinched, clutching her collar tightly as she gasped sharply. Her face turned pale. Straightening his posture, Maximón gave a command to the soldier.

“Throw her.”

“No!”

Najane shouted desperately, but it was too late. The soldier ruthlessly kicked Amelia in the back, sending her tumbling down with a scream onto a thick pile of straw below.

Najane clenched her fists tightly, her eyes squeezed shut, anger surging within her at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

“Thinking of going down there?” Maximón asked casually, standing beside her. Najane glared at him without a word.

He looked at her with amusement, like someone watching two starving hounds locked in a cage.

“Suit yourself. I couldn’t care less whether she lives or dies. If it’s you, you’ll be able to deal with that wraith easily, right?”

“…”

“Or will you turn your back on her?”

“Saving someone in danger is the duty of knights,” Najane said firmly.

As Amelia burst into tears, the Serith wraith roared louder in response from below. If Amelia were thrown down, the Serith would likely break the remaining chains and shred its prey in an instant. Najane could feel cold sweat running down her back.

“I’m not interested in saving people,” Maximón said. “I just fight Serith.”

“There’s someone down there whose life is being threatened by that Serith,” Najane argued.

“I don’t see it that way. All I see is a Serith bound by chains, unable to move. What part of that looks threatening? Maybe if it were a fully grown Serith, but this? It’s nothing more than a child’s toy.”

“Why are you doing this to me? Why…?”

“I should be the one asking. Why are you so desperate to hide your abilities? Are you afraid of fighting Serith?”

“I’m just an ordinary—”

“An ordinary maid wouldn’t know how to fight a Serith. Like that woman down there.”

Maximón motioned toward the area below the bridge. Amelia, seemingly shocked by the fall, lay motionless, unresponsive even to the Serith’s howling. She appeared completely unconscious.

“But you? You hunted a Serith. And you did it flawlessly with nothing more than a crude practice sword. I’ve got a few decent knights under me, but very few as skilled as you. Meanwhile, the cursed Serith are multiplying every day. Consuming the people of conquered lands, spreading like cockroaches endlessly.”

It was already a world where Serith outnumbered humans. These wraiths, born in countless numbers, would continue to devour human flesh and blood in their quest to evolve into full-fledged creatures. The Kingdom of Bastronia would face even greater trials ahead.

Najane knew this. She knew it all too well. Her homeland, the Kingdom of Elgort, had already been trampled underfoot and destroyed by the Serith. In the face of such a massive crisis, individual circumstances were inevitably disregarded. Maximón had no interest in Najane’s situation—he would use her as a sword, no matter what.

But Najane lacked the courage to fight in front of everyone. If anyone were to recognize her, to uncover her true identity, if the slavers, the priest who had carved this curse upon her, or those who had dragged her and her sister here realized she was still alive…

Najane’s crimson eyes wavered, unfocused. No one would believe her, but encountering that Serith wraith and finding a practice sword lying nearby had all been a coincidence. As though someone had foreseen Najane’s tragedy and deliberately set the stage.

Why was she so desperate to hide her abilities? Because her identity could never be revealed. Was she afraid of fighting the Serith? No, not at all. Najane hated them to the core of her being. If she could, she would storm beyond the city walls this very moment, sever their heads, and avenge her loved ones.

But she could not. She absolutely could not. Najane had to find her sister. Quickly. She had to save enough money to free her sister, who had been unjustly sold into slavery. That was the only reason Najane continued to endure and live.

But even with her heart so desperate, she had to search for her sister quietly. Spreading flyers or asking merchants for information was impossible.

Because Najane was…

At that moment, the Serith below let out a roar, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. Najane snapped out of her thoughts and looked down. The Serith had broken some of its chains and was now swiping its claw-like hands wildly toward the unconscious Amelia.

Clang. The soldier who had kicked Amelia opened the hatch leading down again. Everyone on the bridge turned their eyes to Najane. She swallowed hard. Running away was impossible. Even if she could, she couldn’t leave Amelia behind.

After finishing her thoughts, Najane looked up at Maximón. Noticing that Najane’s breathing had steadied, he smirked at her with a tilted grin.

“I don’t know what your story is, but as long as you’re caught up in this, you have to fight Serith. Until one day my homeland falls, or those damn Serith are completely eradicated.”

The Serith, nearly freed from its chains, scraped the ground and thrashed around. Maximón gestured toward the hellish depths below.

“Go down.”

Just before pushing Najane forward, Maximón whispered quietly.

“Prove to me, in front of my eyes, that you’re the one who truly defeated that Serith.”