Black mist began to coil around her.
○
The other side of the portal was just as pitch-black as it had seemed from outside, but Belgrieve could still see himself clearly when he looked down. It was neither particularly hot nor cold, and since their footsteps made no sound, they were surrounded by ominous stillness. Only the breathing of his companions and the beating of his own heart remained to be heard, amplified by the silence.
They were moving forward at a considerable pace—or at least, it felt like they were—but there was no sign yet of Angeline or Schwartz. The same pitch-black void simply seemed to continue on for eternity. With that said, now and then, a transparent ghostly apparition with a humanlike shape would float by overhead.
Belgrieve looked back. The trail of yarn extended back farther than he could see. He was cautiously leaving a trail behind as he walked. He didn’t know if there was any point to it, but doing so put his mind at ease, knowing that there was a way back. Of course, he had no way of knowing if he had enough yarn for the journey.
For a while, the party warily pressed on without a word, but eventually, the silence became unbearable. It wasn’t clear who had started the conversation that was now bouncing back and forth.
“He said this was a coalescence of events, right?”
“Yeah.” Kasim scratched his head. “I thought it was the drivel of a madman, but it looks like it was true...”
Everything that Salazar had said about the flow of events had been a complete enigma to Belgrieve as well, though if even Kasim couldn’t fully grasp it, perhaps that went without saying. However, one thing seemed clear—Schwartz had applied the theory with the end goal of punching a hole through space. Why was Angeline the key to doing that? This was still unknown.
Anessa spoke up. “Apparently, Ange is human because she was born with a demon’s soul in an elven body.”
“Where did you get that from?” Kasim asked.
Miriam answered, “Ange said so herself. She went off to that old hag and asked her a few things on her own.”
“If it’s from Maria, then that’s credible information...”
“But a child between a demon and an elf is human? I don’t really get it,” said Marguerite.
Anessa folded her arms. “Um, a human’s soul is like the middle of the road. Neither black nor white...”
“Hmm... So they can roll both ways, huh? Just like how there are good people and bad people.”
“But what’s that got to do with the ‘flow of events’...? That blasted Schwartz, working on the most esoteric of things...” Kasim sighed and shook his head wearily.
Unlike everyone else following him, Percival kept his peace as he led them. Belgrieve looked at him with concern.
“Percy... Are you all right?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning on cutting Ange down,” Percival answered bluntly.
He’s really trying to keep a lid on his emotions, by the sound of it... This was the man who had sought out the demon hiding within Angeline for over twenty years. Sorting out his feelings on the matter would not be an easy task.
Belgrieve closed his eyes and twisted the hairs of his beard. “Sorry... But this is one thing I won’t back down on.”
Percival heaved a deep sigh. “It’s fine. It was originally my own self-conceit, anyways. For me...it was anger and hatred of that fiend that kept me going. Sure, hating something so unrelentingly did harden my heart, but the fiend also made it clear where I stood and what my role was... I thought it was something I could chase and kill with nothing to hold me back. Cough, hack...”
Percival took out his sachet and pressed it against his mouth. “But to think it would turn out to be your daughter. Good grief... I don’t have it in me to kill my friend’s little girl. So now, what am I supposed to do with all that anger?”
Percival had tried to play the matter off as a joke, but his levity was so forced that it was painful to listen to. Belgrieve struggled to find the right words to say to that, but not for long.
“In that case, just stop being angry, right?” Marguerite chimed in from behind. “Don’t you think you’re a bit too old to be going around everywhere with that sour look on your face? This is why everyone calls you a monster.”
“What was that?” Percival yelled.
“What, you wanna have a go?” Marguerite yelled back.
Percival scowled at her for a moment, but he couldn’t stop the laughter from spewing out. “Ha ha ha ha! You’ve got a point there! Just how long am I going to hold on to this anger?”
Kasim burst out laughing. “Looks like you just needed an idiot to set you straight, Percy.”
“Who are you calling an idiot?” Marguerite pouted.
The mood softened, and the party pressed on. But the scenery around them showed no signs of change. So we’re still at a loss here, Belgrieve thought, a somewhat perturbed look on his face.
Percival smacked him on the back. “Don’t make that face, Bell.”
“Ow... Sorry.”
“It’s not like I’m completely over it. But I won’t talk about it for now.”
Belgrieve smiled. “Thank you.”
They continued onward, picking up the pace a little. It was a mysterious space, and the ground—if it could even be called that—was perfectly level all throughout. He had already run through two hanks of yarn. Whenever one ran out, he would tie its end to the next one and begin unraveling that, but at this rate, he wasn’t sure if he’d have enough.
A peculiar presence filled the air. A black mist was gradually beginning to overtake the area. As everything around them had been black to begin with, no one paid it much attention, but it was clearly growing thicker. The holy sword roared loudly.