Chapter 80

The Light said.

“Ar-e-ti-on, Ar-e-ti-on.”

At the sight of the hill rising from the sea, Arete Island cried with fear.

Many people knelt and begged, trembling, but the Light didn’t listen.

“The second yoke is the Thorn Wave.”

When the Light spoke, the waves split.

“Rocks will sprout and break the waves. I will make them sharp.”

Reefs began to rise as if to surround Arete Island. Tens of thousands of reefs appeared, encircling the island and making the waves sharp.

“They will relentlessly pierce the feet of those who try to approach you, preventing them from even reaching the Hill of Storms.”

***

“Look at the wind. It's fierce.”

The closer we got to the Hill of Storms, the stronger the waves and the wind became.

They were so strong that they felt sharp, like blades.

I stood on the deck, looking through a telescope.

It was an item I had bought in Sillemol.

It was far away.

The hill made of storms, and the ancient island within it.

“Let's anchor soon, Mr. Gloriosus.”

“Huh?”

The man with sideburns asked back.

It was the sea.

The middle of it.

Where was he talking about anchoring?

I pointed with my chin.

“Look carefully. The sea is starting to split.”

I could see a group of blade-like waves.

Although it wasn't obvious on the surface, it was because of the sharp rocks piled up below the water.

“Since this is the Thorn Wave, it means the reef is right in front of us.”

“…No, even if that's the case, are you going to go down by yourself?”

“I'll find a big reef and jump down.”

'That one over there looks big and decent,' I muttered, and Gloriosus fiddled with his sideburns. It would be a lie to say he hadn't grown a little attached.

“…I’ll drop you off a little closer.”

“Are you worried about me? I appreciate the thought, but I'll just accept the sentiment.”

I held out my telescope.

“Watch my back with this.”

“……?”

Gloriosus felt a question but accepted the telescope.

My finger pointed at a small dot-like shape behind them.

“……!!!”

The dot-like shape was a ship. It looked like it could hold fifty or sixty people.

“You know whose ship it is without me telling you, right?”

“…The 11th Legion’s fast ship.”

Having once been a part of the 11th Legion, he couldn't fail to recognize it.

It was a type of ship Gloriosus himself had once piloted.

“The fast ship has anchored, but a boat is heading this way…”

It was a small boat.

It looked like it could hold at most six people and it was the kind that moved by rowing.

Yet, it was approaching them at a terrifying speed. Was there an oarsman as good as Niko Nereyades?

“They're chasing me.”

I said it nonchalantly.

There was no further explanation.

I didn't want to explain and Gloriosus didn't want to hear the reason for the chase.

“Let's part ways here.”

“…You're going into Arete, aren't you?”

“It won't be difficult if I'm alone.”

“……”

Gloriosus hesitated.

Seeing the man with sideburns wavering, I waved my hand as if to say, ‘What's wrong with you?’

“Don't pretend to be loyal, it doesn't suit you…”

I stomped my foot on the deck.

It was a ship I had bought with a large sum of money.

Since it was a new product that had only sailed once, he could probably sell it back for almost the original price.

Or he could just sail it himself.

“This ship is yours now. You should go and enjoy a pleasant life in the southern countries with your golden-toothed brother.”

“…Eh-eh!”

Gloriosus snapped his head up.

“Are you really leaving? You’re going to leave without looking back!?”

“Just go.”

At my gesture, Gloriosus took a step.

He didn’t want to, but there was nothing he could do by staying.

I chuckled.

“By the way, you should run away quickly.”

“……?”

I pointed my finger at the boat approaching them.

I could see about three or four people.

“Do you know where those people are from?”

“…Since it's an 11th Legion ship, I guess they're from the 11th Legion.”

“Incorrect.”

“Then where?”

I put my index finger to my lips.

“The Imperial Security Bureau.”

“……!!!!!!”

Gloriosus was startled and trembled.

The Imperial Security Bureau, the nemesis of criminals!

A name that brought him, a man with sideburns who had never touched anything other than illegal means, a nightmare, no, a fear greater than that!

“And of them, the Special Operations Unit.”

“Goodbye, it was a pleasure! Get off quickly, Mr. Pasionus!”

“Live well, Mr. Gloriosus.”

I lightly jumped and stood on the railing.

Judging the distance, it was a good jump to a large reef.

After all, I just had to move by stepping on my 'Fantasy Finger.' Just as I was about to jump, I turned my head.

“Oh. One last piece of advice.”

I met the eyes of the man with sideburns, who had somehow gotten into the wheelhouse.

“You want to live a long life, don't you, old man?”

“Of course!”

“Then don't ever return to the Empire.”

The Reclusive Prince cackled.

“Ever.”

***

“I see the ship, Commander Amethus.”

Unteus said.

He was looking through the telescope.

“He really did head for Arete.”

“……”

Amethus was in the middle of rowing hard.

Unteus Ubias Uterbeum learned for the first time that one could row to achieve this kind of speed. It was a little scary.

He wondered how Shadi, who couldn't even see, could be so calm.

“…Oh. Someone got off the ship, no, he jumped. He's standing on a reef.”

“And the ship?”

“The ship is leaving. Should we chase them?”

“Give it to me.”

Amethus, who had stopped rowing, held out his hand.

Unteus handed him the telescope.

The jade eyes looked through the lens.

He saw the departing ship.

The man who had landed on the reef, his blond hair shining in the sunlight, and him waving as if to say, 'Come on over.'

There was no mistake.

The one who landed on the reef was the one he was chasing.

“Take this.”

He handed the telescope back.

He also handed him the oar.

Unteus grabbed the oar but was puzzled, not understanding what was going on.

“Unteus.”

“Yes, Commander Amethus.”

“Look over there.”

“There's a rock.”

Unteus continued.

“I think we can barely call that a rocky island.”

“Wait there.”

“What?”

What was Amethus going to do then?

Before he could ask the question, Amethus began to take off his clothes in a rush.

To be precise, he took off all his heavy leather armor and metal weapons.

“C-c-commander!?”

Unteus realized what Amethus was intending to do.

The reason this monstrous man was making his body lighter was obvious, wasn't it?

His attitude was as if he was going to sprint to the edge of the coastline!

“That's crazy! No matter who you are, this distance… N-n-no!”

He quickly changed his words.

It was because he realized he couldn’t stop Amethus no matter what he said.

He had to ask something more important. What, what should he say…?

“The 11th Legion!”

Unteus shouted.

“Can't we just go back to the 11th Legion's ship?”

“No.”

The jade eyes glanced at him.

“If I don't return in five days, go back. But until then, wait on the rocky island.”

The man with jade eyes was only wearing light cloth clothes.

He wasn't even wearing shoes.

Only the double-edged sword he always carried was tightly fastened to his back.

'Oh my, you're taking your clothes off? It's a shame I'm blind,' Shadi Shandor chuckled softly.

“I'm leaving Shadi to you.”

Amethus ran.

As if to fly over the sea, he bounded.

When Amethus jumped, the boat rocked as if it would capsize.

How hard had he jumped?

Both Shadi and Unteus were soaked in seawater.

When they wiped away the seawater and lifted their heads, Amethus was already turning into a dot.

“…My God.”

***

He flew like a cannonball.

But it wasn't a distance a cannonball could reach.

He jumped once and flew a few hundred steps.

Like a bird over the sea, he was shot forward.

But it was still far from the reef.

It was a long way from reaching the landscape he had seen through the telescope.

This was what he had expected.

Amethus drew his sword.

It was a double-edged sword so familiar that it felt strange without it.

Just before he fell into the sea, he twisted his body and forcefully struck the side of the sword against the Thorn Wave, which was about to swallow him.

A loud 'Thw-ooong---' sound rang out for a long time.

His body, which had struck the sea with the flat of the sword, rotated and rose into the air again, flying like a cannonball.

It was still far, but it was closer.

Thump, thump, it continued.

The sound of the flat of the sword hitting the sea and the man with jade eyes flying like a cannonball.

He flew like a skipping stone, bouncing off the surface of the water.

He did that nine, no, ten times.

“What are you…?”

I couldn't help but ask.

There was a cannonball that had reached me, breaking the reef.

There was a man more dangerous than a cannonball.

A man with jade eyes, who was soaked in seawater and radiated a crazy light even as he stood up.

“No matter what, this distance…”

He was at the edge of the coastline.

He had jumped and then became a skipping stone himself, bouncing and flying over the sea.

It happened in an instant.

The way he was clutching his double-edged sword, he could only be called a monster.

“…No matter what I expect, you’re always more than that.”

“You flatter me, Your Highness.”

***

Amethus shook his head, shaking off the seawater.

He looked like a puppy, but he didn't say anything.

He had approached too quickly and wasn't ready to face him yet.

The man with jade eyes slowly bowed his head.

“Please forgive my disrespect for greeting you in such a messy state.”

He wiped his face. It was smeared with seawater, and seaweed was stuck to it.

“It's right after running a long distance.”

Huh? I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

“More importantly, Your Highness, Your Highness Zionis.”

Right, that was my name.

Continua the Great's fifth son, the Fifth Prince Zionis.

Thinking about it now, it felt strange.

“You really, truly… are alive.”

He couldn't help but stammer.

The months he had chased me after leaving the Lutilium Islands.

The moment his suspicion became a certainty, and his certainty bore fruit.

“Do you remember the first time I greeted you?”

“Wasn't it the first day of the Succession War?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The sense of déjà vu was strong.

I slowly realized the reason for my feeling and said,“You're going to say that from then on you felt a deep unease, that it wasn't just unease, but that you saw something incredible behind me?”

“…Hmm? Yes, that’s correct.”

Amethus felt a sense of wonder.

How did I know what he was about to say?

But he endured his wonder and continued.

There was something he absolutely had to say.

“Do you know what this Amethus felt when I first heard the news that you had lost your life in the Sobel Mountain Range?”

“You were suspicious. That's why you chased me, right?”

“Yes. That Your Highness…”

“That I wouldn't die in such a way. For whatever reason, I would never die. That kind of suspicion.”

“…Yes.”

Amethus's brow furrowed, as he kept having his words stolen from him.

“In any case, Your Highness, you are a dangerous person. I have seen many strong people. And great people…”

“Ah, stop, just stop!”

I waved my hand.

Amethus had forgotten.

We had already had the exact same conversation in the Rubeko Valley after he had chopped Lacrosha into pieces.

But because the Last Clown had erased his memory, he was repeating the same conversation.

“You're the only one who's forgotten; everyone else knows this story! You can skip it!”

“……?”

Of course, Amethus couldn't understand.

It was only natural since he had forgotten everything.

“Anyway…”

However, even if he didn't understand, his actions were loyal.

He slowly raised his double-edged sword. He intended to behead me in one strike.

“…I will take that life.”

A 'clang' sound rang out.

My neck was not cut.

Instead, I felt an intense heat.

It was what the black metal cord in my hand was emitting.

It was so tough that the teeth of the double-edged sword, which he had swung with all his might, chipped.

“This is…”

“Can't you tell just by looking at it? It's my Ars.”

The third Ars, 'The Heated Iron Bloodline.'

It didn't matter if you called it 'The Heated Iron Bloodline.'

“My life won't be easy to take now.”

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