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Chapter 41 Part 5 – A deadly battle in the maelstrom. Mary tries to take the demon dog Gallam with her, while Bradd and Seraphy put everything on the line for the last hidden card. And then I learn the sad truth about the vengeful spirits that possess the Ruby

 

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Aquilegia

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「Your ancestors kept looking for an opportunity to eliminate us, the Light Bat Tribe. Then, right after the passing of the True Emperor …. without mourning over him, they carried out a dirty plot …!!」

I shuddered as the memories of their nightmare flooded in.
It was a dark history that was covered up, disgusting even to me, who had seen more than enough of human malice and horror.

After the passing of the True Emperor, the kingdoms made a secret agreement and killed all the Light Bat Tribe members who were mourning in sorrow with a revolting plan.
They took children as hostages to block their resistance, threw poison into wells, or took them by surprise at meetings, with a cruelty that defied any means.
They continued to kill and kill and kill, an explosion of human malice.

The Light Bat Tribe obeyed no one but the True Emperor and did not try to ingratiate other influential people.
As the proud and strongest tribe on the continent, they were rigorously trying to identify the next True Emperor.
Neither bribes or threats would work.
The influential powers decided to root out the unruly people while they were 「on their side」 and they were not on their guard against them.
They were afraid that the Light Bat Tribe would seize the throne of the Alliance of Nine Kingdoms.
Authority is the thing that those influential people fear the most.

And so began the extermination war to eradicate the Light Bat Tribe.
They pretended to grieve together for the passing of the True Emperor and took advantage of the depth of the Light Bat Tribe’s feelings for the True Emperor. While pretending to prepare a grand ceremony to mourn his death, they disarmed the Light Bat Tribe while moving a large army behind the scenes. They then cleverly divided the unarmed Light Bat Tribe and suddenly bared their fangs.

Every single mighty warrior of the Light Bat Tribe tried their best until the very end.
Even if they could not display their abilities properly due to poison, hostages, and their weapons being taken away, they used themselves as shields and tried to at least let the women and children escape.
In the end, even that wish was not granted……

Although the Light Bat Tribe are referred to as war demons, they are still humans.
The actions of the people of the Alliance of Nine Kingdoms, who calmly used the death of the True Emperor to scheme were much uglier.
Not only were they cunning, they were also vile in character.
Under one layer of skin, human beings hide the true nature of cruel beasts.
When you give it a cause in the name of justice, the beast sometimes turns into a devil.
Shedding their human appearance, the devils hunted the crying, fleeing children of the Light Bat Tribe with big smiles on their faces.
They are smiling because they can show off their skills by hitting those small targets.
They finished off the children as if they were hunting foxes.
Then they proudly hung the foaming, convulsing children upside down one after another on the tree….
I’ll stop now. As I am currently also a child, I cannot bear to talk about this any more.

And after the death of the Light Bat Tribe, the leaders of the Alliance of Nine Kingdoms took all the credit for the continental pacification of the Light Bat Tribe for themselves. On the contrary, they also put all the dirt of their past against the True Emperor on the Light Bat Tribe. As dead men tell no tales.
And they brought back the Ruby of God’s Eye, the proof of succession to the throne, with a smug look on their faces.
They believed that from now on they would be able to run the Alliance of Nine Kingdoms as they wished.

However, the Light Bat Tribe, who were betrayed by the kingdoms they thought were their allies, held terrible resentments.
They became vengeful spirits and haunted the Ruby of God’s Eye.
That’s how the terrifying cursed ruby that no one could touch was born.

The Light Bat Tribe were falsely accused even after death.
They are proud warriors who swore allegiance to the True Emperor and traveled the continent together with him…..
They are furious because they had been falsely accused of having wronged the True Emperor, deprived of their honor, and had even had their entire family, including women and children, killed. It would be very difficult to communicate with them.
They seem to have only two words in their heads: grudge and resentment.
This lonely, desolate, blood-coloured world was their mental landscape.

… and so what?

As I was blamed for the resentments of the vengeful spirits, I became more and more angry.
I can see their point. I also sympathize with them. As someone who has been turned against by the citizens 「108 times」 and had my castle invaded, I can understand their resentment at the betrayal of humanity.

However, that doesn’t mean that it’s okay for them to curse everyone they don’t like to death, a fine adult should be able to distinguish between what is right and wrong.
You’ll never forgive those who don’t understand the heart of the True Emperor?
You guys are the ones who don’t understand his heart the most!!
Did the True Emperor say to immediately kill those you don’t like? He didn’t say that!!
If you don’t like them, just show them a phantom flame and get rid of them!
Just like you did with Bradd!!

I retorted and the vengeful spirits became enraged.

「….. You unripe gourd that can only speak of ideals!! Our resentment is incomprehensible to those who have not experienced it!! … If you can accept the pain we have suffered without raising a single voice, we will lend an ear to what you have to say…!!」

An unripe gourd? I’m a baby!!
But you clearly said it yourself that you will lend an ear to what I say if I can do this. Okay, I accept the challenge!!
But don’t renege on your words later!! Come on, start the trials or whatever it is right now!!

Along with an angry roar and murderous intent, countless arrows flew from all over the place and pierced me all at once.
My whole body trembled with the old familiar, intense pain of arrowheads piercing through to the bone.
I can’t breathe, the area near the arrow wound was numb and I had no strength.
The pain caused sparks in the back of my head.
My whole body felt like a bare nerve, like a hammer driving an iron wedge into me.

… Ahh … How nostalgic, this pain …

I wryly chuckled to myself inside my heart.
It brought back the experience of being shot to death by Arnold’s powerful archery, one of the five heroes.

… I’ll say it once again, so what?

I forced myself to shrug off the pain, smiled fearlessly, and snickered.
Oh, and of course, as promised, I didn’t say it out loud, but just uttered it inside my heart.
I’m sure they’re mostly going to try to make me go through their experience of being killed in the war, but I’ve drunk a total of about three bowls of all this stuff!
After being killed 108 times, this level of harassment is laughable to me …!!
If you want to break my heart, bring me a full course of slashing, stabbing, poisoning, bludgeoning, and all that.

「…… She just brushed aside that intense pain of death …!?」
「….. And she can calmly laugh about it …」

The vengeful spirits were in an uproar.

… Sorry. It actually really hurts.
My forehead was full of cold sweat.
My whole body is on fire due to the pain. I can’t breathe.
But I can pretend to be courageous and endure an arrow shot.
I’ll take it all, so go ahead and beat me with all your pain of being killed and your sorrow of being betrayed!! …. Because I can at least share that pain with you …!!

「….. No. This is not the pain we experienced when we were killed. This is …」

Perhaps reading my feelings, a conspicuously large flame of vengeful spirit muttered in a somber tone.
The flames of the other vengeful spirits writhe. It looked as if they were covering their faces, while shedding tears of blood.

The color of the blood-soaked sunset flashed before my eyes.
On the hill dyed red, I saw children surrounded by soldiers.
At the top of the hill was a huge tree, casting an ominous shadow.
Standing to protect the frightened young children, an older child was desperately appealing to the soldiers.

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