Chapter 156
The man was running through a deep forest. He was young, with short black hair, and wore a black robe trimmed with decorative cords.
Exhausted from running, the man leaned against a nearby tree and panted heavily. A cat approached his feet—a black cat with one blue eye and one green eye.
The man crouched down and picked up the black cat, then murmured with a wry smile,
"What is it, Nero? You followed me, huh?"
As if in reply, the cat meowed. The man stroked the black cat once, then held it firmly in his arms.
"Stay quiet, okay? That woman won't show any mercy, even to a cat as cute as you."
Just then, a nearby thicket rustled. The man began chanting rapidly under his breath.
Something thin shot out of the thicket. It looked like a slender snake, but it was a rose vine with sharp thorns. There were five of them.
Instead of muttering, "So you've come," the man finished his incantation and pointed his fingertips at the rose vines.
A small flame appeared at the man's fingertips. No bigger than his palm, it was black with a faint purple tinge.
"Burn to ashes."
Though there was no wind, the black flame flickered.
It swelled as if caught in a gale, then burned the attacking rose vines to nothing.
These rose vines had the peculiar ability to regenerate immediately, even if they were cut apart.
But the roses burned by the man's black flame did not regenerate. They were consumed by the fire's darkness and turned to dust.
Footsteps crunching through dead leaves came from the direction the rose vines had emerged. They were light footsteps, belonging to a slender woman, yet they carried a chilling pressure.
Before long, a woman wearing a jet-black dress appeared between the trees.
Vivid curls like scarlet roses. Eyes brimming with the verdant life of new growth deep in the forest. Her terrifyingly beautiful face bore a sneer that looked down on everything before her.
Even that wicked sneer was overwhelmingly beautiful. She was the kind of woman whose striking, vivid presence you could never forget once you had seen her.
"Hey, 〈Thorn Witch〉. You're as beautiful as ever."
The beautiful witch—〈Thorn Witch〉—didn't respond to the man's quip. She looked down at the rose vines consumed by black flame.
Her lips, painted a vivid crimson, shaped their words in a lilting, songlike cadence.
"Black... I like black. But I hate you, and that ugly cat, too."
"Hey, cats are the cutest creatures in the world!"
When the man insisted, the black cat in his arms meowed as if it couldn't care less. The man had always thought that sort of easygoing attitude made it the cutest creature in the world.
As he bantered, the man stayed alert to his surroundings. The 〈Thorn Witch〉's roses—the Man-Eating Rose Fortress—had already filled the area. At this rate, there were probably thorny soldiers or dragons waiting outside the forest, too.
"Come on, we're both Black Flame users. Let me go."
Rather than ask her to let him escape, the man deliberately said, "Let me go."
Right now, the man's homeland was under attack by the temple's holy knights.
The temple called his people heretics and would never accept their faith. It intended to wipe them out completely while it had the chance.
The man had little time left.
And, for better or worse, the beautiful witch before him was not an agent of the temple. There was no chance in the world that this woman would become one. She was a witch so incredible that even the king would fall under her spell.
"The attackers weren't just holy knights. Looks like the Lethe faction's mages have joined the temple's side, too."
"That's right. There is no longer any path to survival for you, the people of Kuyura."
The temple had won over the mages of a major faction known as the Lethe faction, and now it intended to eradicate both the people of Kuyura and the 〈God〉 they worshiped.
The people of Kuyura were a people of elite mages, but even so, there were only about five hundred of them, including noncombatants. They had no hope of standing against the temple's forces, which numbered in the tens of thousands.
Soon, the people of Kuyura would be wiped out.
"That's why I have to go to 〈God〉."
The people of Kuyura believed that Black Flame was a power borrowed from God.
That was why, whenever a Black Flame user was born among the people of Kuyura, that person would rule them as God's representative. At the end of their life, they would offer themselves to God and return the Black Flame.
"I have to return the Black Flame to 〈God〉."
"How ridiculous."
The 〈Thorn Witch〉 snorted and flicked a slender white finger.
The rose vines hidden all around them sprang to life and began moving at once.
"I would rather take you for myself than give you to that so-called god of yours."
"I thought you hated me?"
When the man grinned teasingly, the 〈Thorn Witch〉's beautiful, fearsome face took on a wicked smile.
"I do. That's why I'll use you as a rose bed. With your magic, I'm sure beautiful black roses will bloom."
"I'll pass. This body belongs to 〈God〉. I'm not giving it to you."
The man spoke in an easygoing tone and shrugged.
Though he had resigned himself to the death closing in on him, he didn't want to lose his composure in front of this beautiful woman.
If he was going to remain in a corner of her memories, he wanted to be remembered as the same man he'd always been.
"Sorry, but you're going to have to let me through, 〈Thorn Witch〉."
The expression vanished from the 〈Thorn Witch〉's face, and her new-green eyes glinted with an eerie light.
The strongest and most wicked witch in the Kingdom of Ridill chanted in a lilting voice, then declared,
"Young men are flower food, young women are beauty potions, and everyone else is dog food. Now, let the slaughter begin."
＊ ＊ ＊
On a sunny rock atop a certain mountain, it was lying down.
The mountain had little greenery, but it was rich in magic. Spirits of wind or fire always drifted lazily around it.
Spirits were clumps of magic.
The weak spirits, which looked no more than specks of light, burst and vanished with startled little pops when it let out a huge yawn. Then they began to shine again somewhere farther away.
The creature lying among the spirits was known as 〈God〉 to the people at the foot of the mountain.
It didn't really know what a god was, but the humans who occasionally came by said it was a very noble and magnificent being.
As it yawned, it wondered whether that human would come again today.
A black-haired human with a black cat. Apparently, he was the leader of some people called something-or-other who lived at the foot of the mountain. It had forgotten his name. It had heard it a few times, but it was too long to remember.
The man always said, "You really should remember my name, God," but the creature always thought that since he was the only human who ever came to the mountain, it was fine to just call him "human."
The human called it 〈God〉, but wasn't afraid of it and didn't show it much respect, either.
Apparently, his excuse for climbing the mountain to see it was "to offer a prayer to God," but the creature had never once seen him pray for its sake.
The man usually came with the cat in his arms, chatted about trivial things, and left.
For example, he talked about a woman who used the same Black Flame as him, how he liked mathematics and respected mathematicians from other countries, or how cats were the cutest creatures in the world.
The creature didn't dislike the time it spent listening to those trivial stories.
So, that day, too, it waited lying down for the human to come.
──Human. Cat.
──Smell of blood.
──Human has come.
The spirits, a little more refined than lesser spirits and possessed of a faint sense of self, began whispering among themselves.
The whispers carried an ominous feeling. It slowly sat up and peered into the distance.
Its eyes, far sharper than a human's, spotted a figure dragging bloodied feet along the ground. It was that human.
He seemed to be halfway up the mountain. With steps that unsteady, he would never make it to the summit.
The creature spread the wings on its back and took flight. It would reach the human in no time by air.
The human stared up with wide gray eyes as the creature slowly descended from the sky.
His face, twisted as if enduring pain, filled with surprise. Then, in the next instant, he broke into a crumpled smile.
"I never thought 〈God〉 would come all the way to see me. You saved me. That woman must've poisoned her thorns... Man, being popular is tough."
Though he was visibly weakening, his tone was as flippant as ever.
The man slowly breathed out and gently stroked something in his arms.
It was the black cat he always brought with him. Its front paws were covered in blood, and it lay limp and still.
"They say cats don't have any loyalty, but this one stayed with me to the very end. What an idiot. I let you go so you could escape, but you came back... You're the best partner I could ask for, Nero."
With a breathy laugh, the man collapsed on the spot, still holding the cat.
The man was covered in wounds. His legs in particular seemed to have been targeted. Something that looked like a plant vine was tangled around his badly torn boots.
Riddled with wounds and poisoned, the man summoned his last bit of strength and rolled onto his back.
Then he looked up at the creature and spoke with a hint of pride.
"God, God... I've come to return the Black Flame. Eat me."
＊ ＊ ＊
(Ah, at last, I'll be free of my clan's responsibilities.)
The man closed his eyes, at peace.
Thinking back, his life had been full of obligations ever since he was born a Black Flame user.
How many times had he dreamed of a future where he could travel freely with his cat partner, or drink with that terrifying, beautiful witch while chatting about pointless things?
And yet, he could not abandon the people of Kuyura—or their faith.
(My vision's getting blurry at last.)
The sky above him was pale blue. A huge, huge black body—〈God〉's—loomed against that pale blue sky.
〈God〉 opened its enormous mouth and spoke.
Its voice, unlike a human's, made the air tremble.
──Is that what you wish for?
A wish. A wish. What was his wish?
Returning the Black Flame to 〈God〉. That was his duty, but somehow it didn't feel like a wish.
With his thoughts on the small partner in his arms, the man murmured through his haze of consciousness.
"...I'd like to be a free cat. Did you know, 〈God〉? Cats are the cutest creatures in the world, you know..."
With those as his final words, the man's consciousness faded.
＊ ＊ ＊
The 〈Thorn Witch〉 looked at the tip of one of her thorns.
The black flame, which had been consuming it faster than the thorn could regenerate, went out as abruptly as a candle flame snuffed by the wind.
The purple-tinged black flame was the Black Flame wielded by that man. Understanding what its disappearance meant, the 〈Thorn Witch〉 clenched her red lips.
"...You fool."
She murmured, then looked ahead.
A group was coming toward her. She recognized their robes. They were mages of the Lethe faction, allied with the temple.
The middle-aged mage at the head of the group noticed her and stopped.
"Pardon me, but I believe you are the 〈Thorn Witch〉."
When she looked at him without a word, the middle-aged mage continued.
"We are on a mission from the pope to eliminate the heretics. Have you seen any surviving heretics around here? They are mages who use the same Black Flame as you."
The 〈Thorn Witch〉 glanced at the mages without changing expression and raised her right hand.
The remaining thorns gathered all at once and surrounded the mages.
"Lady 〈Thorn Witch〉?! What in the world are you—?!"
The 〈Thorn Witch〉 smiled beautifully at the Lethe faction mages, whose faces had gone pale.
With a flick of her white fingertips, the rose vines snared the mages.
The skilled ones tried to retaliate with offensive magic, but their spears of flame and arrows of ice were blocked by the thorny wall and could not reach the 〈Thorn Witch〉. The only flame capable of burning these thorns to ashes was that man's Black Flame.
Amid the screams and shouts, the 〈Thorn Witch〉 murmured in a cool, songlike voice.
"Red roses would make a fitting farewell gift for that man. Roses that have drunk your blood and turned a deeper, richer red."
The rose vines whipped through the air and ravaged the mages.
They coiled around them, sucking up their blood and magic and staining the white roses the color of fresh blood.
"Devour them all, Rose Fortress. Bloom in glory, nourished by their lives."
The mages raised voices of hatred and despair against the master of the Rose Fortress.
Why were they being subjected to this? You evil witch, obstructing holy work! God's judgment would surely come for her one day.
As the mages screamed those words, the 〈Thorn Witch〉 gave a fearsome sneer.
"You're the ones who took that man away from me. This is your fault."
"Do you intend to make an enemy of the temple?! I can still put in a good word for you with the high priest..."
At the mage's words, the 〈Thorn Witch〉 laughed, her voice bubbling in her throat.
It was true: with the mages' corpses drained of blood by the roses, everyone would assume that the 〈Thorn Witch〉 was responsible.
The 〈Thorn Witch〉 chanted, her voice still echoing with laughter.
She invoked the magic that called forth black fire—a magic with only one remaining user in the Kingdom of Ridill.
"You won't even leave behind corpses."
Black flames rose among the thorns. Unlike the man's Black Flame, these were tinged with a hint of red.
The reddish black flames—the color of half-clotted blood—flickered.
The sparks that danced through the air looked like black rose petals.
"History will record it like this: the Lethe faction mages who attacked the 〈Kuyura people〉 were burned to ashes by the Black Flame wielded by the leader of the 〈Kuyura people〉."
"Now, let the slaughter begin," her beautiful lips sang.
＊ ＊ ＊
A man was walking along a mountain path. He was a young man with black hair and golden eyes, dressed in a black robe.
He descended the mountain with unsteady, swaying steps, as if he were walking for the first time in his life.
"Walking around in a human body is hard."
The man murmured and vibrated his throat, as if practicing his voice with a series of "Ah, ah" sounds.
"I, I... Hmm, this doesn't feel quite right. I mean, 〈God〉 is so magnificent... Yeah, that's it. I am the Great Me."
Muttering to himself, the man crouched down as if exhausted.
Then his figure was instantly enveloped in black mist. The mist contracted tightly and took the shape of a cat.
When the black mist cleared, a black cat with golden eyes stood there.
The black cat swished its tail from side to side and murmured, satisfied,
"I see—so this is what it means to be the cutest creature in the world. The strongest being in the world, me, becoming the cutest creature in the world... I feel invincible now."
The black cat gave a smug little "Nyah-ha-ha" and started walking on all fours.
This body was much easier to move around in than a human one.
"Now then, where should I go? Well, anywhere's fine. The west seems noisy, so maybe I'll head east."
The nameless 〈God〉 murmured and descended the mountain.
Somewhere in the back of its mind, it wondered if it might meet another interesting fellow like that human again.