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Chapter 46 Part 4 – Meeting Again

「…… I’m sorry I’m such a …… crybaby …… terrible groom …… we finally met again …… but I can’t clearly see your face …… because my eyes are filled with tears …… Mary ……」

…… His murmur was intermittent and only faintly audible.
Instead of petals, ashes and dust danced around Matzo.
…… Matzo’s head hung limply as he sat in the middle of a puddle of blood.
The blast shook Matzo’s hair.
Pierced by arrows all over his body, he quietly passed away alone.
His face was smeared with tears, but infinitely peaceful.

…… Arnold did not see the series of visions that Matzo had seen.
He only saw a veil fly down and drape over Matzo’s shoulders as if to snuggle up to him.
Still, from his dying words, he could understand what Matzo had wanted.

「…… Farewell, Sir Valentine. She’s such a great woman that you fell in love with her. You don’t have to worry, she must know how excellent you are. Proposal …… She won’t refuse it. Both of you will be together forever in the afterlife ……」

Arnold watched Matzo pass away, closed his eyes and prayed, then turned and walked away.
The ceiling and walls were warped and the pillars bent.
An avalanche of debris and smoke engulfed Matzo.
Arnold did not look back.
He thought of it as courtesy for the warrior that the scene burned into his memory is the sight of his brave and gallant figure.
His chest ached with loss.
Arnold only realized then that he had been looking at Matzo’s back superimposed with his father’s figure, not as a worthy opponent.

A huge owl soared above the burning castle.
This owl, which flies in the daytime as well as at night, is Arnold’s partner.
Arnold can share its view.
So Arnold can see overhead from the sky while on the ground. He can grasp the battlefield in a three-dimensional image.

He can see the old soldiers who are dying with smiles on their faces as they defend each other.
None of the queen’s few soldiers made any attempt to flee.
Arnold could see his own allies, wielding stolen clothing, in a frenzy of looting.

Arnold gritted his teeth at the extremely contrasting sight.

The majority of the rebel army were a disorderly crowd.
Some of them are bandit-like ruffians.
If Seraphy’s Orange Privateers had not been in charge of the supply and communication network, the rebels would have fought among themselves and collapsed. Arnold knew this, but now that he had seen Matzo’s glorious death, the fastidious Arnold found it hard to forgive their wretchedness.

Arnold’s irritation turned to anger when he saw the two girls being grabbed by the hair and dragged around by a group of men with eyes glazed with lust.
They looked familiar.
They were the maids who had always served by the queen’s side.

Borrowing the owl’s eye, Arnold had noticed a group of people escaping under the cover of the night before the siege.
Since they were all women, he had let them go without reporting them to the rebel army.
These maids must have been among them.

Arnold’s hair stood on end as he realized that they were worried about the queen and had turned back.

The queen remained in the castle to let the maids escape.
The maids returned to the castle, worried about the queen.
The old soldiers who smiled and fell in a desperate battle to protect the queen.
Matzo who gave his life for the queen.
In comparison, they were ……!!

「Shame on you ……!! You lowlifes!!」

Arnold ran out onto the balcony and drew his bow.
He was driven by anger, not only at the scumbags, but at himself as well.
His steel-like muscles that have been trained thoroughly emerged from beneath his brown skin.

「…… Old man Matzo. I know that I’m not good enough, but I, Arnold, will take the liberty of taking over as the guardian of the women and children on the battlefield ……!」

The arrows were aimed into the air and he shot five arrows in rapid succession.
The five arrows tore through the air and ran up and disappeared beyond the tower in a parabolic trajectory.
This is Arnold’s special move, bird’s-eye view shooting.

From Arnold’s position, he normally wouldn’t be able to see where the maids are.
However, Arnold, who shares the owl’s aerial view, is capable of an archery technique of shooting a target that is located beyond an obstruction.

The first arrow pierced the back of the hand of the fellow that tried to push the maids down.
Then four arrows, flying almost vertically, grazed the nose of the ruffian who screamed and fell back, and stood equally spaced on the ground, intercepting the space between them and the maids. The horizontal line created a wall that was a clear warning not to touch them.
An owl swooped down noiselessly, using the shaft of the arrows as perches and glared at them.
The ruffians realized that it was Arnold’s owl and were unable to stand up due to fear.

Originally, Arnold was famous for his dislike of assaults on women on the battlefield.
It was feared that he would rain arrows of judgment down on the perpetrators from any distance, and that they could never escape his arrows. They were made to realize that that story was not a legend, but the truth.

They fell into a frenzy of panic, as if they were on fire, for they thought that they were sure to be shot dead, even though they could not see the archer from where they were. They let out a muffled scream and tried to run, but their legs got tangled and they ended up crashing onto the ground. They didn’t even notice that they were covered in scratches and their mouths were wide open screaming, while they struggled to stand back up.

Those ruffians left behind the maids. The owl watched them roll away and soared back into the sky.

Arnold sighed as the owl circled above the castle, searching for any other women who might have been dragged into the mess. He remembered that his best friend Seraphy had been depressed these days.
Such as before this siege.

「…… Arnold, I think we might need to rethink this battle. We may be making an irreversible mistake ……」

He looked like he was about to cry as he told that to me.
At the time, I laughed it off, thinking what a stupid idea he was thinking, but now I don’t find it funny at all.

「Maybe I should have listened to him more seriously ……」

As he let out a grunt of regret, Arnold suddenly stopped walking.
Because the flying owl’s eyes caught sight of a black flower dancing below it.

The black flower danced through the debris and blood-filled battlefield.
It was beautiful, but at the same time, it looked cruel and ominous. It looked like the incarnation of the dark sky.
However, it was not a flower, but rather a woman in a black dress.
A chill ran down Arnold’s spine.

When the woman stopped walking, she laughed.
Her blonde hair shone eerily in the horrors of war.
Her blue gaze reminded him of an ice wall.
The ends of her mouth raised up and hung like a crescent moon.

The symbol of the rebel army, Alisa Diamondi, looked up at the owl and sneered.
It was not the usual harmless, helpless smile of the 「Maiden of Salvation」.
It had a piercing and ruthless feeling to it that made the owl’s vision far above shake.

Arnold unconsciously clenched his fists.
His palms were drenched in sweat.
The cold smile on her face was familiar.
Even though their appearance was completely different, the cold stare the queen had given him at the execution site came back to Arnold with a horrifying clarity.

Arnold didn’t hear her, but Alisa muttered with an amused laugh.

「…… He finally noticed. What a stupid hunter. I wonder how your meat will smell like when it’s burned. Now, my dear fools. It’s time for the finale of the tragedy. Let me hear the screams of your souls. Oh, you poor things ……」

Alisa held out her hands. She had a wicked, enraptured look on her face.
Black smoke separated to the left and right like a stage curtain, making a way for Alisa.
The last scene of the nightmare that will trample on people’s hearts was about to begin.