Глава 13

All with power will die worthy deaths.

Is that up for you to decide?

Haven't you realized yet that your manners, gentleness, affection, and even your arrogance and scorn are all fake?

You're just a hypocritical tyrant despite your bombastic words.

Death is just a scepter for you to brandish your authority, and you're not the first tyrant I've met either.

Stay away from Reunion.

What an extremely dull answer.

But your answer will change in the end, so it'd be a pity for you to die here.

'Reunion'. Indeed, those flowers death could not burn earlier are equally deserving of affection.

So, what if I tell you... Dublinn's forces will exterminate every last one of Reunion's members if you refuse to submit to me...? What will you do then?

You...

Do you wish for us to be enemies?

I don't know what happened in the time you spent drifting about Ursus after leaving Victoria, but I can feel it.

From your flames—strong and weak, profound and superficial, angry and remorseful.

I—

She's a sinner from Reunion.

Don't think too highly of yourself, Draco.

Ah. The little flower.

Your team's not too far away. You must be so concerned for her.

It doesn't matter, this isn't the first time Reunion is up against a strong foe.

Dublinn's forces? You already erred by not calling in your high-speed battleships immediately.

We'll kill you before your drones arrive. I'll do my best, and everything it takes to kill you.

Your desires and ambitions—we don't care for them, and I'm in no mood to listen to your red dragon chat with Talulah.

All I know is that you'll die.

For sure.

Enough with that look. All of us have no wish for this to continue, right?

—Alright, Talulah, other descendant of the red dragon.

Even if you reject me, and your actions have wholly nothing to do with my Tara...

But your fury, resistance, desires and answers—your end lies me with too.

Let us treat today's meeting as a first prophecy.

Tara's loyal servants shall come here one after the other.

Go, Reunion. Bring some chaos to Victoria, and create some opportunities for us.

The next time we meet...

One red dragon is bound to bite the other to death.

That's enough hiding. Come out already.

It's only going to become more humid after night falls, and you won't be able to light the firewood you got.

Who... are you?

...You're Infected.

Doesn't matter, I'm the same. I won't harm you or anything.

There's no need to be so wary. I'm not lying, I really am Infected.

You're... not a Victorian?

I'm from Yan.

What's a Yanese doing here?

My family came here for business and got caught up in the war. I was going to evacuate with them, but I accidentally contracted Oripathy.

So they left me behind.

Hmph. Everyone's unfair to the Infected everywhere. Your luck sure sucks.

But we can't help you either.

I can tell.

You don't even have a way to start a fire, so you're probably no Arts users.

Don't seem to be hunters either, so you won't live more than a few days.

Getting captured by the military as an Infected, or by the Sarkaz as a Victorian, either way is a terrible way to go, right?

So?

I can help you get a fire going at least.

Watch.

Woah! It's really burning! It was that easy?

Thank you so, so much, Yanese lady.

What about you? Do you need us for anything?

The sky's getting dark. Can I rest here for the night?

I'll leave at first light tomorrow.

How's a foreign refugee like you this calm and unruffled?

And your sword... even I can tell it ain't some ordinary blade.

You're right... I'm what they call a zoubiao in Yan, like the Messengers here.

I'm pretty skilled, and not a stranger to traversing adverse conditions either. Surviving in the wild isn't that difficult for me.

You helped us start a fire... I'll leave it at that.

*sigh*...I'll admit what we did, even if it's the soldiers who find out. As long as the Sarkaz don't catch us.

It's not like they'll reward you with a feast.

Is that worth discussing when we don't even have a crumb to eat right now?

Those Reunion crazies... they're the reason why it's so dire for us now...

Reunion?

You haven't heard? Well, you've only been recently Infected, after all.

...Mm.

They're a band of Infected, and we were all counting on them to be our saviors.

You fought over something?

Bah.

We robbed a Sarkaz, but they were of the opinion that we killed one of their Infected 'countrymen'.

Sarkaz? Countrymen? My daughter's dead because of them!

My daughter... my girl... *sigh* Oh!

Do they have a leader...?

'Nine'.

Yeah. She's the one who chased us away.

There was another one they called Guard, but he's dead.

...Grr. I really want to roast something for dinner.

I don't know what Reunion is exactly, but the group we encountered were a bunch of hypocrites who belong in a dumpster.

What? Heh, you want me to shake hands with the Sarkaz and make peace? I'll beat the next one I see to death.

Right, remember the rumors we always heard? From the Ursus tundra?

——Talulah?

'Hero of the Infected'? She didn't seem much at all to me.

I remember she was always trailing behind Nine, and never said anything more than a few words.

The hearsay from those old Infected weren't worth shite. Nine might have been the actual decision maker all along.

...*sigh*. This is all just useless banter. It's too late for you to join them, Yanese fella.

Where did they go?

And how would I know?

Back then I left in a huff with this guy in tow. I remember there being a Messenger station in this direction about a dozen kilometers from here.

An early rest for us today then.

We have to get back on the road tomorrow.

...Nothing unusual to report.

Did you hear? The dukes seemed to have bumped into each other.

Duke Windermere sacrificed herself, and the other lords can no longer sit still either.

*sigh* The madam's legendary tale is still in my mobile terminal...

Legends are useless now.