Chapter 5

The princess went on. “Perhaps if you cry and beg at my feet, I’ll spare you such a miserable death. After all, I could still use a hero like you. If you swear allegiance to me, I’ll let you live a life of luxury as a hero among my people. Wouldn’t that be an honor?” I snorted. As soon as she had the chance, she began lording over me. It was blatantly obvious from her words and mannerisms that she thought she still had the upper hand. “Haaaaahhhh…” A deep, long, drawn-out sigh emerged from the bottom of my lungs. What an idiot I must have been to ever think I was friends with a girl like her. I could cry if I wanted to. There was no way in hell I was going to beg for mercy like she asked, but even if I did, I knew the princess would never keep her word. I could see she was just slavering at the idea of putting me in my place, using me as her pawn, and then torturing me to death once she was done with me. I always thought she was a brainless beauty who could be tricked into doing anything, but I guess I was even more brainless, seeing how I had been completely wrapped around her little finger. There was one other thing: It was clear that the pain she felt was nowhere near the level where it would satisfy my thirst for vengeance. She was still thinking about how she might manipulate me to her benefit. I wanted her to be so depraved, driven so utterly mad by my actions, that all she could think about was getting her hands on me and killing me. It was going to take a lot of time and effort to reach that stage, and there was still an incredible number of people I wanted to get revenge on. But that suits me just fine. It means I can take my time and enjoy it! The corners of my mouth twisted into a smile as I thought of what was to come. “Wh-why are you smiling? I’m not lying about the knights!” “Oh, I believe you. But they haven’t responded to all the noise we’ve been making in here, have they? That’s because the walls are soundproofed, warded, fortified—you name it. Anything to safeguard the secrets of the summoning ritual. What’s more, you ordered that nobody disturb this place until the ritual was complete.” “H-how did you…?!” “Because you told me last time.” The princess stared at me, wide-eyed in astonishment. “Well then, I’m off,” I said curtly. I strode over to the edge of the room, where I grabbed a mounted sconce and pulled it toward me. A large block of stone in the wall of the summoning chamber rattled open, and a passage appeared that led up a flight of stairs. “Only those of royal blood know about that secret stairway! How did you—?” “I told you: I’ve been here before.” She was the one, after all, who had led me back here, offering me refuge. She told me about the hidden passage right before she betrayed me. “Oh, whoopsie-daisy. I almost forgot.” So enchanted I was by this prelude to the journey of my revenge that something had slipped my mind. I walked over to one of the knights, who by now more closely resembled a macabre art piece than a human being. “I was going to do this with my bare hands, but you taught me such a splendid way of silencing people that I just have to try it out. My MP is looking a little low, but it should be more than enough for this.” I took out the Pyrachnid’s Claw of Kindling and produced a small ball of flame at the tip before dropping it into the knight’s mouth and detonating it. “?!” It wasn’t enough to kill him, but the knight produced an inhuman scream as the explosion charred the inside of his mouth black. “Looking good. Okay, next.” One by one, I performed the same treatment on the other knights. By the time I had finished, they lay there silently, unable to even cry out in pain. “Now it’s your turn, Alicia. I don’t suppose we shall see each other for some time. If you have something you want to say to me, now’s your last chance.” “…Tell me your name.” “Hey now, I can’t do that. How will I lie low if the entire kingdom knows who I am? That’s why I signed that letter the way I did.” I tossed the ball of flame into the princess’s open mouth. “Call me…The Revenant.” Princess Alicia neither flailed nor screamed as the fire scorched her gullet. She was desperate not to show a shred of weakness. Her fingers were all useless, and her throat would take a while to heal. I had bought myself some time. “Ah, and I’ll take this, too, if you don’t mind. Could do with a bit of spending money.” I slipped off the necklace that lay around her neck. She had once told me it was a priceless treasure of the royal family, so it would take care of my financial needs for a while. Princess Alicia glared at me with hate in her watery eyes. Seeing that made it all seem worthwhile, I thought. I left her with a smile as that pleasing gaze followed me through the secret door and up the stairs. As I continued through the dark underground passage, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had just said. An old, distant memory came back to haunt me. I sighed in a long, drawn-out way, and then the words began to flow. “Argh, why couldn’t I come up with a better name? Grrrrr! I should have just thought about it some more! I mean, come on. ‘The Revenant’? Anything would have been better than that!” The memories of my cringey teen phase came flooding back and lingered with me like malevolent spirits as I made my way through the darkness.