The Nature of Possession

392 – EP.14 The Sword of the North-5

***

A piece of news ran across the snowy field.

[Humans inside the wall wound the tribe’s champion.]

The children of the earth gathered together. The tribes living at the foot of the mountains, the tribes living on the mountainside, and the tribes living far away in the plains.

Everyone gathered in front of the great warrior, holding their own horses and weapons.

“It’s war.”

The chieftain came out after finishing the meeting.

“There is no need for war.”

The great warrior standing in front of the chieftains avoided eye contact and spoke.

If I only fired one arrow and received the contempt of the Duke, what would happen if I started a war?

As I recalled those eyes filled with hatred, my body began to tremble.

“This is not for you to decide. The Great Warrior represents the glory of Mother Earth. Her blood has been spilled on the ground, and the humans within the Wall will pay the price.”

The one-eyed chieftain said.

“But I’ll go first….”

“That’s your mistake. From their perspective, they’ll think we’re picking a fight over nothing. But there’s nothing we can do. This is tribal discipline.”

“Chief.”

“The council of chieftains and even the great shaman have agreed to this. You should say no more.”

A group of sheiks passed before her.

“ah….”

It’s because of me.

Because of me, the Snowfield tribe goes to war.

How many sacrifices must be made?

She felt a heavy sense of responsibility that the blood of innocent people would spill on the earth.

If I hadn’t done that…

Then he thinks of the little peacock again and bites his lip.

Bright red blood flowed out between my teeth that were clenched tightly.

The blood of the great warrior, who represented the glory of Mother Earth, fell to the ground again.

‘Isn’t self-harm punishable?’

She asked questions about the blood she had shed herself, but no one paid attention.

The day of war was approaching.

***

The fight against the humans within the barrier resulted in many casualties.

After three months of war, they had lost as many warriors as a tribe.

The walls they erected were thick, high, and intimidating.

Its body was stronger than any other prey, and many warriors’ spears and swords had to be broken.

The general should have appealed to stop the war at that point.

But I would have done so if I had not listened to what the soldier on the wall said during the fifth battle.

[Because of you guys, our little prince can’t even get married! You savage b*stards!!]

Even on the battlefield where arrows were flying, the voice was heard clearly.

I’d like to hear more details.

The great warrior picked up the spear that had fallen on the battlefield and threw it away.

A taut muscle sent the spear flying straight through the shoulder of the screaming soldier.

The staggering soldier fell out of the barrier, and the warrior caught him and threw him to the ground.

[What do you mean?]

[What, what.]

[The little duke can’t get married? What do you mean?]

[What the heck kind of question… aaah!]

As the warrior twisted his spear, the soldiers’ screams grew louder.

[Answer. What does the war have to do with the reason why the Duke can’t get married?]

[Kyaaah, you b*stard, asking such an obvious question!! Can you have a wedding during war!!!]

For a moment, as if a lightning bolt had struck her head, her eyes flashed.

So… you’re saying that if there’s a war going on, you can’t have a wedding?

The corners of his mouth slowly rose.

[Savage warrior! Aim for that!]

An arrow flies towards the warrior at the shout of a soldier on the wall.

She closed her eyes, using the fallen soldier as a shield to block them.

It seemed like they had found a reason to fight this war.

***

The war was prolonged.

It wasn’t like every day there were battlefields with arrows flying and blood flying.

The children of the earth, who suffered great damage, changed their strategy to guerrilla warfare, and the damage to the humans inside the barrier, who often had to go out to the snowfields to gather, increased.

Duke Wiltenprem, who guarded the Wall, was a cautious man.

As expected of a duke who had steadfastly protected the North for decades, he did not use his soldiers emotionally.

There was one time when he personally led his troops outside the barrier.

When the warriors who had ridden out on horseback for the guerrillas returned, they were greeted by a village where everyone, including women and children, was dead.

It was the peacock’s warning.

The warriors who had lost their daughters and wives cried out, and the feeling of revenge began to eat away at their hearts.

The war that started with a single drop of a warrior’s blood gradually began to build a tower of hatred.

After the destruction of his tribe, the proud Duke of Wiltenform fell from his horse and was beheaded during his next campaign.

Because they could not withstand the attacks of the barbarians who had set up an ambush using the village as bait.

The entire empire was in an uproar over the terrible death of the Northern Grand Duke, and the little duke became a duke.

That day, the little duke with his broad mind and bright smile disappeared, and another duke of Wiltenform, who looked just like his father, was born.

The little duke, now a duke, tore off the limbs of eleven warriors and displayed them on the wall.

The great warrior killed the imperial people who came out to gather food by tying them to their horses and grinding them to the ground.

If the duke kills the savage,

The Great Warrior slaughters the humans within the barrier.

Hatred builds and tears gather.

The first drop of blood is forgotten, and the wheel of senseless killing rolls on.

***

“I caught it like this.”

The great warrior who had received the Duke’s kick on his shoulder now recalled the hazy past.

Their relationship started with a saber-toothed tiger.

And war and hatred.

“Your eyes, once filled with hate, are now sweet.”

The great warrior showed a blood-stained smile.

The warrior laughed, even though his heel was still cracking his shoulder.

It was a pleasure to see the peacock’s face so close.

A war that started with an arrow fired impulsively.

The war that was sparked by himself was heavy on the heart of the great warrior.

Even in my dreams, I could hear the cries of wounded warriors and tribesmen wailing over their loved ones.

That’s why she needed something to support her.

There was a need to rationalize.

Why this war must continue.

Why we must win this war.

“It’s you. I’ll have you!”

He picks up the greatsword with his strong arm and cuts it down.

With his sword swinging, the man in the peacock’s body did not miss that weak point.

“I told you I didn’t need a weapon?”

After the man finished speaking, the warrior felt a strange sensation.

A sharp wind blew.

“?”

I lost the feeling of holding the greatsword.

The feeling in my hands wasn’t the problem. Before I knew it, my body was falling apart.

When I came to, I was kneeling before the Duke.

Before he knew it, a small sword was in the duke’s hand.

“under-“

Without even realizing it, you’ve severed your leg tendons and blown your arm off.

The great warrior looked dumbfounded at the vast gap.

“Are you hiding your skills?”

“Do you think so?”

The warrior shook his head at the man’s question.

Then he opened his eyes wide as if he realized something.

“You. You’re not a duke.”

At the Grand Master’s words, the Duke slowly nodded.

“Why do you think so?”

“I’ve faced the duke dozens of times. The way he swings his sword, the way he holds it… everything is different from the duke.”

“You have a good eye.”

The man in the peacock’s appearance was truly amazed.

“I’d like to ask you one thing.”

The warrior spat out a handful of blood and spoke.

“say.”

“Where is the peacock?”

“He died. I took over his body at the moment he died.”

“…I see, did the Duke die in that attack? I guess I was too absorbed in the fight to control my strength.”

The warrior grimaced in pain. It certainly wasn’t the pain caused by the sword.

Deeper than that, it was clear that the pain was eating away at my heart.

“Yes. I can only enter the bodies of those who are dead or beyond recovery.”

“Then the Duke’s soul is already.”

“He must have gone to the afterlife.”

“I see….”

The great warrior lowered his head and looked at the ground.

The warrior’s blood fell to the ground.

“Hehehe….”

The great warrior laughed as he looked at the blood soaking the ground.

“What’s funny?”

“I thought it was the price I paid for wanting more than I deserved.”

“Who said that a person who takes on challenges is beautiful?”

“That’s a nice saying.”

The man with the peacock’s face stuck his sword into the ground and watched the battle slowly coming to an end.

At the moment when the great warrior knelt, the barbarians had no more thought of running wild.

They resisted the spears of the soldiers, but were pierced and fell from their horses.

“Then will you continue to live in that body?”

“That’s right. Until I die.”

The man said as if he was bored.

“You. I asked you about the tattoo earlier, right?”

He was a great warrior who proudly showed off the blue tattoo engraved on his body. The man nodded as he remembered it.

“I lied to you about something.”

“What is it?”

“There are also tattoos that are engraved with personal shame.”

“okay?”

“Yes. It’s a tattoo given to defeated warriors.”

The great warrior straightens his back.

Even as she knelt, her eyes did not waver.

His sweaty, tangled black hair tangled around his shoulders.

She could barely lift her remaining arm.

“This is it.”

Her index finger was pointing to her neck.

“A long horizontal tattoo is tattooed here.”

“…I see.”

The man nodded, understanding what she meant.

“The color of the tattoo is red, and the tool used to inscribe it is a sword.”

As soon as the warrior finished speaking, the man pulled out the sword he had stuck in the floor and cut horizontally.

The warrior’s head flew into the sky as the sword was swung in a straight line.

At the last moment, what the warrior saw was a cloudless blue sky.

“……I don’t feel so good.”

The man muttered, looking at the same sky the Great Warrior had seen.

It was the sky of the twenty-second world.