Chapter 335 : Side Story (5)

“Damn it!”

Even as he left the village, Cheshih could not suppress his anger.

It was hard to endure, and he didn’t want to endure it.

Regardless of whether the few Peniteo people stared or not, he rampaged and shouted.

“What kind of sight is that?”

From afar, the sound of children laughing could still be heard.

It was the sound leaking from Ferbias’s house.

Through the window, Ferbias could be seen feeding the children.

Suddenly, their eyes met.

Ferbias looked at Cheshih for a moment and then nodded.

As if saying he would be here, so go without worry.

Even though Cheshih was on his way to prepare to kill him.

“Is that… How is that for Ferbias? How can that man be that arrogant and despicable person?”

Hatred welled up and kept touching his uvula.

Unable to endure without vomiting it out, he ran.

There were still two daggers in his bosom.

Cheshih, who had run for a long time, sweated, but his hatred did not drain away even a little.

The sun was blazing in the mountains.

“…Oh, God.”

He is a Horm person.

Among them, he was on the stronger side of faith.

“God.”

The sun blazed in the sky.

“This is simply too much.”

Cheshih recited his hatred, regarding that sun as something like the eye of God.

Even while regarding the blazing sun as God, he vomited his anger without backing down even a little.

“Just that one guy. Just that one guy…!”

Tears flowed from his eyes as he glared at the sun.

It was because the sun blazed too brightly.

It is all the sun’s fault.

There is no other reason.

There shouldn’t be.

“The person who trampled my homeland, the person who killed my children and wife! The person who took the life of the new lord I served just to try and live somehow-!!”

The shout was chilling.

It pierced sharply enough to make one surprised that such a shout existed in his throat.

“It is all that one guy! Ferbias Caseptus, that dog-like man!”

He is still glaring at the sun.

He did not stop getting angry at the God he had believed in all his life.

“Do you intend not to allow even hating that one guy? How, how can you do that?”

He clenched his teeth.

“How….”

It was to try and block the shout that was about to burst out.

However, he couldn’t block it properly, so hatred leaked out entirely through his teeth.

“…Just, how….”

In the sunlight bright enough to cause dizziness, the stranger continued to cry.

Even eyes sharp like a bird of prey have tears.

Just as there is dark skin symbolizing a stranger, there is also dark hatred.

“…….”

Rumble, a sound came.

It was from the sky.

Dark clouds were gathering suddenly.

It was a surprisingly fast speed.

The sun was hidden in no time.

“…You too….”

Cheshih sent a sneer toward the sky.

“…It seems you have nothing to say either. Seeing as you are suddenly hiding your face.”

Beyond the dark clouds, the sun would still be there.

But Cheshih had no interest in such things.

Whether the sun was beyond or not, his reality was the blackishness full of dark clouds.

He bared his teeth and sneered.

Whether he had chewed the inside of his mouth, blood came out and his teeth were all bright red.

The bright red teeth glistened.

“I will kill him.”

He declared toward God.

There are two daggers in his bosom.

“This Cheshih will kill Ferbias Caseptus no matter what.”

***

The heavy rain was sudden.

The sound, swaaaaaaa-, was close to a roar.

Rain fell on the entire mountain.

It poured down brutally enough to make one wonder if a hole had opened in the sky.

As heavy rain fell in the deep mountains, a torrent arose in no time.

The torrent was like a writhing giant snake.

Sudden torrents, sudden enough to make one wonder how this could happen, rushed in.

Twisting their massive bodies like snakes, they surrounded Cheshih from all sides.

Amidst the raging streams of water, Cheshih was blankly isolated.

It felt like something unseen was trying to swallow him.

Just three hours ago it was sunny, but now several streams of giant snake-like torrents were tightly binding him.

Looking at the muddy water raging fiercely like blades, Cheshih raised his head.

“…Geez….”

The Horm person muttered amidst the flood.

“…This has become Ji-oteu.”

Even looking at the sky, there is no sun.

Instead, streams of rain hit his face.

The rain streams were so thick that the struck skin stung.

He imagined the sun beyond the dark clouds and growled.

“God, so this is how you intend to play it.”

Cheshih blamed God for all this.

He doesn’t know which God it is.

Whether it is the Hotus Eight Gods, the Ancient Gods, or some unknown absolute being.

Anyway, he did not stop getting angry at the God who knew him and would be here too.

The torrent is God’s fault.

Being isolated without being able to kill the enemy is God’s fault.

Ferbias pretending to be good, Secundus dying, his wife and children dying, all the pain in this world is just God’s fault.

“Fine!”

There is a shout in the heavy rain.

Cheshih raised his voice even amidst the roar of swaaaaaaa-.

As if to say you can absolutely never suppress me, as if my hatred and sorrow cannot be washed away by anything.

The violent rain washes everything away.

The torrents soon became one mass and were washing away the entire mountain.

But Cheshih, the dark-skinned stranger, shouted even more out of resentment.

“Kill me!!”

Every single word is close to a scream.

The streams of rain seep even into his bosom.

It is fierce, as if telling him to throw away the two daggers in his bosom.

Cheshih clenched his teeth and grasped the daggers in his bosom.

Thick veins stood out on his neck.

“But, I cannot let go of this knife.”

He suddenly worried what if all the problems he blamed were really God’s fault.

If God is really here and urging him to let go of the knife?

Then how great a blasphemy is he committing?

But what does such a thing matter?

When flames are boiling in his heart like this.

When the fire that doesn’t subside a bit whether it rains or is swept by a torrent still rises up to his throat and blazes.

“If I cannot kill that guy, I have no reason to live.”

The sky is still blackish and only shedding tears endlessly.

Whether a bright sun even exists, there is no sign of it revealing itself at all.

Cheshih giggled as if to say look at that.

“So rather, kill me instead.”

***

“Damn it….”

Cheshih soon floated away.

“…Does he really kill just because I said to kill….”

The torrent finally made it impossible for him to stand.

It seemed God had heard his prayer.

How diligent, not ignoring even the words to kill.

Cheshih grabbed hold of a broken tree.

“…Geez, usually there isn’t a single answer. Why does he listen only to words like this so diligently….”

Water rushed in.

A mass of water, large and powerful enough not to be compared with Cheshih, covered him.

“…Like Joteu (fast pronunciation of Ji-oteu)….” ( horm curse word)

It was muddy water.

Because all sorts of things were mixed so their original forms couldn’t be recognized, a simply murky and turbid, dirty torrent swallowed Cheshih.

He ended up sinking.

***

While sinking, it is just painful.

Cheshih was submerged into deep water.

He fell so deep he couldn’t even know he was submerged in water.

The turbid water is dark in color.

It resembled his skin, so it soon became one.

Inside the torrent, Cheshih felt like he was wearing away at a very fast speed.

‘…Nayar, Nadim….’

His mind was strangely calm.

It might be because the torrent tore apart everything except his mind.

Cheshih monologued in that silence.

‘…My children, my sons….’

Nayar was young and had a buzz cut, and Nadim was in the middle of growing his hair.

Nadim had also said he wanted to grow a cool mustache like Cheshih someday.

But that won’t happen.

Because both have died.

‘…Dua, my beautiful wife….’

He remembers his wife’s black hair.

Dua’s hair after combing post-bath was beautiful as if not of this world, like a heavenly black waterfall flowing in waves.

Cheshih was satisfied with his poetic expression toward his wife’s hair.

Dua laughed kyah-reur-reu asking what that was, but there is a memory that even that laugh was beautiful as if not of this world.

But lo and behold, she is truly not in this world now.

No matter how much Cheshih misses her, she has disappeared forever and cannot be seen.

Nayar and Nadim, two sons.

Dua, beautiful wife.

Missing them so painfully, he just wants to leave to be by their side….

‘Cheshih.’

Some voices interjected abruptly.

However, Cheshih didn’t even notice the interruption.

Because he is dying inside the torrent.

‘You are truly a detestable man too. Do you intend to pretend you were a good father, pretend you were a good husband now?’

‘…What do you mean? We had no discord….’

‘Probably not. How could there be discord when you didn’t see each other’s faces?’

Cheshih unknowingly exchanged questions and answers with the voice.

He didn’t have the mind to figure out where it was speaking from or who the opponent was.

He just retorted instinctively.

‘You were uncomfortable with Dua, right? Since it was an arranged marriage anyway, you couldn’t understand why she acted so affectionately and avoided her all along, didn’t you?’

‘…No. I loved her….’

‘Love? Does a person who loves go home once every ten days? Even though the workplace wasn’t far?’

‘…I said no….’

Cheshih answered urgently.

‘Work was busy. Work was busy….’

‘Right. Busy.’

‘There was no one who sat in the First Scribe seat at my age…. I had to see His Majesty the King once every three days. So how busy was I….’

‘So in the end, it’s all because of your greed?’

A piercing chill rushed in.

‘You are truly detestable, Cheshih. You know it too, right? How big your responsibility is in your family’s death….’

‘…….’

‘You just want to blame. You just want to cover it up and curse Ferbias.’

The voice continues.

‘Secundus is a foolish man. He tried not to touch civilians as much as possible. Especially the families of high-ranking officials, he protected them very specially. Because he intended to seek their cooperation. You agree, right?’

‘…….’

‘No words. Good. But why did your family die? Why were the wife and sons of the genius Cheshih, who sat in the First Scribe seat at that young age, shattered so not even their corpses could be found?’

‘…….’

‘How long will you keep your mouth shut?’

It is a voice whose owner is unknown, yet every single word spat out is piercingly sharp.

‘It’s all because of you, isn’t it?’

A snicker.

‘It’s all because of you, Cheshih!’

‘…No….’

‘It is because you didn’t return home early. Because they had no way to prove their identity.’

‘…No…!’

‘You are truly a dog-like guy too. How could they have no way to prove their identity? Was there not a single item in the house to prove their father, their husband, was the First Scribe?’

‘-No-!!!’

He began to make excuses.

‘Secundus, His Highness Secundus confirmed it for me later…! Said it was because there was shelling, shelling…. He said he was truly sorry, he even asked me to please forgive him….’

‘Was that speech so touching? Were you so grateful he relieved your guilt? Is that why you followed him?’

Cheshih had absolutely no words to retort.

‘Even though he killed tens of thousands of Horm people?’

‘…Still, he is, he is a good person…. I saw it. His Highness Secundus is trying to protect as many lives as possible….’

It would be a lie if he said he didn’t hate him.

Still, he tried to understand, and Secundus made Cheshih his confidant as if responding to that.

‘So I also followed him, to save people, more people….’

‘Why didn’t you protect your family instead?’

‘…….’

It swirled.

Sharp murmurs kept tearing Cheshih’s heart apart.

Amidst the faint light and confusion, he was just distressed and in pain.

Therefore, he realized soon.

‘Aha, I see….’

Cheshih ended up crying.

He realized he wasn’t in the torrent.

‘This place is hell itself. It seems I have already died.’

The snickering grew louder.

As if asking if he knew only now.

‘God.’

The Horm person who had served God all his life repeated while submerged deep in grief.

‘It seems you have finally abandoned me.’

***

A hand interjected abruptly.

The hand that interjected into the torrent had very many scars.

That hand firmly grabbed Cheshih’s collar and soon pulled him out of the water.

Heavy rain was still falling, and the torrent was still a fierce torrent, but he was able to breathe.

“……Kek……!”

Cheshih realized he was alive.

Because the fact that breathing was this painful probably meant he was still in reality.

Vision is still blurry.

Rain is fierce and currents bumped here and there.

His mind was still in confusion.

“Wake up!”

“Kehek-! Kek-!!”

“We are still in the torrent!”

A shout hit his ears.

Cheshih did as the voice told him unconsciously.

“Grab the rope quickly and breathe! Breathe!”

“…Keuk…! Ke-ek…!!”

Since he was on the verge of drowning, water was vomited from his throat every time he breathed.

Yet because everywhere was water, it was hard to even know he was vomiting water.

Only, breathing became increasingly comfortable.

As his mind returned, many things became clear.

He realized he was holding a thick rope, and that someone had tied a rope and jumped into the torrent to save him.

Separated from the suffering of drowning, Cheshih was just grateful.

“…Thank, thank you….”

At the miraculous rescue, Cheshih almost recovered his gratitude toward God.

“……I don’t know who you are… though…….”

If he hadn’t seen the face of the person who saved him, he might have been able to continue being grateful.

However, Cheshih ended up seeing the hand holding him in the torrent, and the owner of that hand.

He had grown a beard and had golden eyes.

“…….”

Anger flared in Cheshih’s eyes which had been limp and powerless.

Even after receiving the grace of saving his life, he had no choice but to get angry.

“…This, son of a bitch….”

“…….”

Ferbias Caseptus was silent.

They were still in the torrent, and the current was only getting stronger.

Cheshih remembered that two daggers remained in his bosom.

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