Discovery (4)
The crow croaked its piece and died. The words were spat out in the last moments of its life, a joke—no, closer to a curse—uttered with an unlikely calmness for a creature on the verge of death.
“That bird isn’t speaking on its own. Someone's voice is coming out of its beak.”
Charon realized the crow wasn’t tamed. Someone was controlling it, making it fly in their stead, offering its body to the blade, even delivering their voice. It was an ability he had never encountered in the Agoris Continent.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
Thud!
Colin, barely back on his feet, dashed toward the door again.
In an instant, Charon reversed his grip on his sword.
“If the crow interferes…”
‘I’ll pierce through you both, Colin.’
Woong!
Charon’s aura flared, instantly converging on his blade. The air hummed as if brushed by a phantom wind. The ground pulsed once, like a beating heart, and then—
Shhhing!
The blade shot out, aimed at Colin’s back. The air, caught off guard, rushed in to fill the vacuum, creating a miniature whirlwind.
It was an attack that couldn't be blocked by a mere bird or two. If they dared to intervene, they would be torn to shreds, scattered alongside Colin in a shower of gore.
However, Charon didn’t yet know.
This crow wasn’t simply tamed; it was being controlled. It possessed the intelligence of a human.
And the implications of that…
Clang!
“!”
Charon’s sword was deflected.
It wasn’t Colin who had blocked it, nor the crow that had flown in the way.
Charon was a Paladin. His aura-infused attack was a guaranteed death sentence to almost any human.
Yet, his blade stopped mid-air, its tip forced into the ground.
“This power…!”
Charon looked up, realization dawning upon him.
The door was open.
And perched atop the doorknob was the crow.
[From what I heard, you didn't want him to go through this door.]
Another crow, this one with an irritatingly smug air.
[What’s going on here?]
The crow tilted its head in a very birdlike manner.
[Birdbrain like me wouldn’t know.]
“This…this pointless interference!” Charon roared.
Just then, a voice drifted from beyond the open door.
“Charon.”
A woman’s voice. But the speaker remained hidden within the room.
This was Charon’s parlor, a place where he received important and secretive guests. The space beyond the door, shrouded in darkness, exuded an eerie and ominous aura.
“‘Number Nine’ has judged Colin and this bird to be companions, recognizing that Colin opened the door of his own volition.”
“….!”
Charon’s face contorted in rage.
“Preposterous! The agreement was that the condition was met when one of them set foot inside the room!”
As Charon protested, Colin disappeared into the room, leaving only the crow perched on the doorknob. But Charon couldn’t bring himself to follow carelessly anymore.
Instead, he yelled, “Even if Colin is one of the Nine, offering him unconditional protection goes against our agreement!”
The woman’s voice responded, “How strange, Charon. For you to bring up our agreement.”
“!”
“Our agreement exists solely to protect us. Such conditions are in place to solidify the intent of protection. In this current situation, it is clear that Colin has requested our protection.”
Charon clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He had let Colin slip away right before his eyes. His anger, with nowhere else to go, made him draw blood from his own palms.
“Charon, trying to win over one of the Nine with wordplay… the Paladin’s sense of righteousness is a difficult thing to grasp.”
“…Hand over Colin. Otherwise, you’ll face the full might of the Paladins. Not even you can handle all of us.”
“Of course, if all Nine of us were to engage in an all-out war with the Paladins, we would lose.”
Despite admitting defeat, the woman’s voice remained elegant.
“However, we are merely abiding by the agreement. Even if all of us perish, and all of you Paladins remain unscathed…”
And then, a chilling, venomous intent laced her words.
“You will die. Paladin Charon.”
“…Tsk.”
Charon let out a breath and extended his hand.
Screech!
His sword, embedded in the ground, twisted with a strange sound, as if alive. It pulled itself free and flew back into his waiting hand.
“The Paladins will not forget the Nine’s decision today. You will regret this soon enough.”
“Regret, you say?” The woman’s voice seemed to hold a hint of amusement.
“That which we did yesterday, and that which we will surely do again tomorrow?”
“…Hmph.”
Charon turned and left, sparing one last glare at the crow before disappearing.
Silence descended upon the hallway, broken only by the rustling of the crow’s feathers. It was the woman who spoke first, breaking the quiet tension.
“Now then.” She addressed the crow perched on the doorknob, Gregory.
“Are you just going to stay there? Colin’s esteemed savior?”
The door remained open. Neither Colin nor the still-unidentified woman had closed it. It was a clear gesture of welcome toward the crow, Gregory.
Yet, the crow, with its bird’s face, responded, [I have no idea what the Nine is, nor what agreement that man was talking about.]
“Oh my, is that so?”
[So I’m warning you. If there are secrets hidden beyond that door, showing them to me wouldn’t be wise.]
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