Chapter 23 : Wishbone Ash (6)

Chapter 23

Wishbone Ash

Even Nora, who had already walked through her share of gray shadows, was still stunned to learn that Casca herself… had once done something like this before.

And from this point on… who were they supposed to believe?

What were they supposed to worship?

What was reality, really?

“And… what about Sir Harry? After the news reached him? What did he do next?”

“Of course he hurried back to Velmount,”

Casca replied.

Because at that time, the capital no longer had Fury.

The patriot of the land rushed back from Snowhaven as quickly as he could, only to find that in the capital, everything had already spiraled far beyond control.

Paul’s voice echoed in Nora’s ears.

 I had the chance to see Velmount with my own eyes after the incident… the forests had turned into dry, cracked earth. Fire was the only trace left behind… the army of the Black Magic Association they once took pride in wasn’t even a name left on a signboard. I saw pieces of human bodies scattered like minced meat in a slaughterhouse… the black liquid ink that flowed within the Shadows smeared across everything that had once been dry.

By then, Fury’s rage had lessened somewhat.

But the price had been the entire capital.

The first step Sir Harry took onto Velmount’s soil—

He came face to face with the monster he had once defeated.

But upon seeing its ‘fully evolved form’…

The black mage collapsed to his knees without even realizing it.

It sat atop the ruins of the Ministry of Defense, a black body over three meters tall encased in black-and-crimson thorned armor. Its eyes burned orange. Its form was drenched in the stench of blood, gunfire, and ash. Black smoke hung thick over the land… and mangled flesh that had once been human lay scattered from the city gates onward.

There was no hope that black magic alone could defeat this creature.

It had already surpassed the limits of the man once called a genius archmage.

He could not cast a single curse upon the being that had reduced Velmount’s capital to nothing.

Did this thing truly originate from this world?

“That day, Harry was just like you now…”

Dan said, looking at Rafinya.

Shattered.

Doubting his own power.

Only the scale of what Harry faced—

Forced him to do something he had never once imagined he would have to do.

To abandon the proud dignity of a genius archmage…

And kneel, begging before the demon seated upon the wreckage of the Ministry of Defense.

“I told him I wanted the one responsible for the deaths of Grandmother and our people. The Axis leaders had scattered, fleeing in every direction,”

Dan said.

“I told Harry I wanted their heads. Now. Immediately. Otherwise, there would be an even greater loss for Velmount.”

As for whether Harry had any knowledge of the decision to use [Schisma Particular] against us… I still don’t know to this day.

But personally, I choose to believe he did not.

“Why?”

Because if he did know, then it would mean that on the day he promised to hunt down the Axis faction and sever ties with the Shadow tribe, he had already cast aside all his proud honor and agreed to ‘sell’ all of us in exchange for survival—driven by nothing more than raw instinct.

“That would mean I was deceived by him… but…”

Who would be destroyed more? Me, or the man who would one day realize that the head he had always held high in pride—was, in truth, nothing more than a rat that sold out his own comrades to survive?

Even if what he did was overthrow his own government and raise the name “Harry” as a savior before the eyes of the world—

Deep down, he knew he had done nothing heroic.

It was only survival.

We all believe we hold our heads high with noble pride… until the day we are cornered. The day our power means nothing.

That is the day we truly find out—

Whether it was “honor”…

Or merely “arrogance.”

That sentence struck straight into Rafinya’s chest.

“No book records this story. Only Harry and I know what lay behind the military government’s revolution.”

Dan relaxed slightly. He released the hand resting on his knee and looked at the two of them.

“There’s no evidence except my memory.”

He let out a low chuckle.

“If something happened but no one recorded it… does historical reality still remain ‘real’? Or do we count it as something that never happened?”

Because if I die, the “reality” of this story dies with me.

You two have heard nothing more than my words. But I was there. I was the first person present—yet with no proof. That makes our ‘realities’ different.

“As I said, I don’t expect you to believe a single word. I’m only speaking from my perspective. This isn’t even the worst thing I’ve ever done. If Harry were here and still alive… the story might be entirely different.”

Dan turned to look at Casca with eyes that had already accepted the weight of life, then continued,

“Harry couldn’t accept the truth—that the power of Velmount, which he was so proud of, could not contend with ‘beasts’ like us. He had to swallow it all. The hatred. The sense of superiority. The honor. What remained was only pity and a shattered arrogance… I saw it gnawing at him in his eyes—even on the day the Five Heroes were inducted into the Inter-Kingdom Peace Organization… and the day the peace treaty was drafted…”

Dan paused for a moment… gathered his thoughts, then spoke again.

“That day, I saw the eyes of a man who wasn’t truly there. A man whose mind was still stuck in a two-front war and the glorious days when Velmount seized Mathema Zentinel and the northern half of Luminus, rising as a superpower.”

Not long after that, he was reported dead in his own residence.

The finest coroner of Zentinel—one of the Five Heroes, Professor Son—personally performed Harry’s autopsy and discovered:

“In Harry’s brain tissue, there were tumors that had been spreading for quite some time. Numerous small growths scattered everywhere. The cause was his lifelong immersion in the art of black magic.”

These tumors directly affected the overall function of his brain.

It gave them answers for Harry’s changed behavior. His silence… his depression. Talking to himself. Withdrawing, until it accumulated.

Combined with ‘Fury,’ who at the time stirred up chaos until Harry broke apart—and the abnormalities in his brain from being a black magic user—all of it became a violent accelerator that led to his decision to end his own life in his residence.

“This is my theory,”

Dan said.

“Harry was a true mage. He was truly talented. And I see that same thing in you, Rafinya.”

I tell you this story so that no one walks Harry’s path again.

You may argue that your case has many factors different from his.

…And that’s true.

Dan stood up.

“But I’m not the type to sit around regretting things later. I’m telling you this for my own peace of mind. I consider my warning delivered. Whether you listen or not is up to you.”

But if someone who could break my armor at your age were to end up like Harry… that would be such a waste. Even Casca couldn’t do that at your age.

Rafinya’s eyes widened… her arms, her face, her entire body went still.

“Hm. Before I knew it, it’s already evening.”

Dan removed his pocket watch to check the time, nodded.

“That’s it for training. Tomorrow, we’ll both be free of this burden, Rafinya. Second-year. You won’t see me anymore. Congratulations again—and goodbye.”

Rafinya: “…”

“Nora.”

“Yes?”

“Tonight we’ll study in your room.”

“Of course, Mr.Fury. Certainly.”

Princess Nora Ophilis’ bedchamber, 10 p.m.

Someone began to yawn.

Not the room’s owner, nor Dan—

But Zeedee.

“By the way, have you finished your side of the work yet?”

“Just pushing it along. It’ll finish itself eventually, Your Highness. I’m finally free from that research. Heh.”

Dan could tell the guard didn’t want to talk about it, but knowing it was done was enough.

Though he had no idea how Freya managed to write her way out of the poison issue.

“You should execute that Roma. He’s the reason our secret leaked!”

They had told Zeedee about Rafinya. What Nora and Dan hadn’t expected was how much calmer Zeedee was than anticipated. They thought it would be a bigger issue.

“Then we’d have to execute you retroactively too, to be fair.”

“Nooooooo!”

“Then keep reading.”

“Your Highness, I request a ten-minute break. Quick nap.”

“We’ll see whether it’s quick or long.”

“Then carry me back! Bleh!”

Zeedee stuck out her tongue at Dan, then took her book to the window and dozed off.

Dan shook his head and returned to reading.

After a while…

“Mr.Fury.”

“?”

“When Her Majesty the Queen Mother passed away, you must have been furious… What stopped you from wiping Velmount out?”

“My father.”

“The Demon King?”

“In that situation, Father was just as furious as I was. Our capital was devastated by that spell. We had to relocate entirely. He was enraged—but far calmer than me. Still clear-headed enough not to act rashly… unlike me.”

Father wanted those responsible in a systematic way. He had the maturity of a leader. He didn’t want to destroy Velmount for the sake of fleeting satisfaction.

Humans are not like Shadows. We don’t want to erase Velmount from existence. We don’t want to eliminate our trade partners.

“There are no eternal friends or enemies…”

“Correct.”

Dan turned.

“What I did in Velmount was beyond Father’s orders… I disobeyed because my anger was unbearable.”

“Mr.Fury…”

“That’s why I say I failed. If I had controlled my rage that day, perhaps today we wouldn’t bear such a terrible image…”

It was the consequence of my actions. That’s why I feel responsible for the country’s Rebrand plan.

“I only truly understood the meaning of ‘impact’ ten years later… Don’t make the same mistake as me, Nora. Think carefully before you act.”

Nora leaned back in her chair, gazing into empty air as if in thought, then asked,

“Mr.Fury, what role did your grandmother play in the Diablo Kingdom?”

“My grandmother?”

Dan pressed his lips together briefly…

“We all owe her… every one of us in Diablo.”

“Why?”

“Because—”

Knock knock knock.

A knock sounded at the door.

{ Your Highness, it’s almost time. }

Nora’s attendant reminded her that the dormitory would close in about ten minutes.

Dan began packing his books into his bag.

“Ah… it’s late. Sorry for dragging this out so long tonight, Nora.”

“It’s alright.”

“Zeedee, wake up.”

Poke poke.

“Yawn… See? Quick.”

“If I hadn’t woken you, it’d be long. Get up.”

“Yawn See you, kid.”

Nora: “Yes.”

Nora watched them leave.