“But with that mountain collapsing, a previously impassable cliff was leveled, and the wolves began to come down from the Black Fog Mountains on the other side. It seems the wolf-men’s territory was also up there…Last month several were killed.”
“I see—how many werewolves?”
“There were two then, and a hunter felled one of them. As for how many more…”
“It doesn’t matter!” Howzer blurted out impatiently. “Who cares how many, let’s just wipe them out!”
“You know we can’t do that.” Nicholas smiled bitterly. “Anyways, we’ll scout it out before Griamore returns.”
“Yes, sir,” Gilthunder nodded. Thank you kindly, the village mayor lowered his head.
“But how odd—wolf-men…Their numbers are already very few,” Nicholas remarked as he trod the mountain path that continued from Isula toward the Black Fog Mountains.
“I hear they’re quite strong,” Howzer said.
“Only on nights when the moon is full or nearly full. During the day, not so much. To begin with, as the name ‘wolf-man’ suggests, only some males are able to assume a perfectly human form, or so I’ve been told. Well, the females rarely leave their territory, so we don’t actually know…”
“In that case, let’s just attack them during the day.”
“In theory this is true. However, if it’s a matter of their territory shifting due to a change in terrain, there might a way of settling this peacefully by addressing that issue.”
“Seriously? How boring!” Howzer hoisted his spear.
“Now, don’t say that. It’s always best not to get into a fight,” Nicholas, who was a large but kind man, chided with a smile.
Listening to their conversation, Gilthunder alone walked in silence. These parts were cool even in the summer, and at such a high elevation, they didn’t see many large trees even deep into the mountains. Instead, large boulders and naked cliffs continued endlessly, and a white haze that was neither cloud nor fog hung just above them, reducing visibility. The ground was so thoroughly sodden that tiny rivulets had formed in several places.
“Hmmm—this area?” Nicholas, who led the group, halted. “It seems this is where we enter their territory. Sure enough, the paths around here look new—now, what to do.”
“I’ll go and look a little further,” Gilthunder said and began to march on without waiting for Nicholas’ reply.
“Hey, be careful. Don’t venture too far.”
“I’ll go too!”
Gilthunder heard Howzer but hurried on without waiting.
He wanted to be alone.
He’d come so close to Margaret and still couldn’t meet her. When he first received his mission, his heart thrilled to the idea of approaching her at least, but now, after passing that place by, his heart only ached.
I wanted to come. I shouldn’t have come.
Tossed about by those two sentiments, Gilthunder just clenched his teeth and proceeded along the mountain path.
3
“It really is pretty, dear sister!” Elizabeth happily spread out the hem of her dress with both hands. As she did, the light filtering through the stained glass made her white dress look like a beautiful piece of rainbow-colored cloth.
They were at the north villa, in the basement chamber that Margaret had found.
“To think that such a secret was hidden in this puzzle…I wonder who made it.” Veronica, too, spoke with admiration as she held the puzzle up to the stained glass.
Margaret smiled but didn’t reveal that the answer to her sister’s question was the Seven Deadly Sins. Veronica had always abhorred the Sins as strange, evil people, and since Zaratras’ death, she disliked hearing even their names.
“Your Highnesses, the meal is ready for you in the dining room,” Grace, the maid, came to call them.
“I want to eat here—you held big sister’s birthday celebration in this room, didn’t you?” Elizabeth said, a little dissatisfied.
“Perhaps tomorrow we can have them bring it down here,” Margaret suggested with a chuckle before gently pressing on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Now, go on up. You too, Veronica.”
“Okay!” the younger sisters answered brightly and followed after Grace to exit the chamber.
After watching the two of them leave, Margaret stood before the stained glass again and looked up at the beautiful geometric pattern. Every time she came here, her heart felt just a little lighter. Was it because memories from a distant day seemed to envelope her?
“Hmm, I see.” A woman’s voice suddenly spoke right beside Margaret and made her jump away.
“Vivian!”
It was she who stood there. Vivian wasn’t wearing a mask, but in her right hand, she held the staff shaped like a monster’s hand.
“ ‘The one who solves it all shall kiss the witch and gain an invitation to the banquet’…” Vivian grabbed the puzzle from the tabletop and, like Veronica, held it up against the stained glass. “I know this handwriting. It belongs to one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Goat’s Sin of Lust, Gowther. ‘Kiss the witch’—huh.”
“Vivian…please give it back,” Margaret pleaded. Vivian, however, merely narrowed her eyes and continued to gaze at the puzzle.
“So you kissed that woman’s name in this puzzle, and found this chamber.”
“Yes…”
“But that doesn’t mean you’ve solved this puzzle.”
“What?”
Vivian laughed triumphantly. “ ‘An invitation to the banquet’—this room? You think?” Holding the puzzle up to the stained glass once more, she slowly recited some kind of spell. Then, all of the letters written in the puzzle sprang up in the stained glass as well. “Stained glass with the same pattern as the puzzle…Naturally, there’d be another twist,” she muttered and stepped up to the wall.
Tracing her finger over the floating letters spelling MERLIN, Vivian hesitated for a few seconds before knitting her brow and whirling around to face Margaret.
“Nope! Your Highness, you do it.”
“Do…what?”
“It’s obvious! ‘Kiss the witch.’ ”
Margaret squeezed the hem of her dress but saw fit to do as Vivian said. Placing one hand on the stained glass, she softly pressed her lips against the “R” of MERLIN.
Then…
“Ahh!” Just like with the puzzle, a bunch of letters inscribed in the stained glass sparkled and flickered and leapt out into the air to form a sentence.
But these letters were no longer from the alphabet, somehow having turned into runes used by magicians. Margaret couldn’t decipher it.
The moment Vivian saw the line, her face changed color. “That woman…So she was hiding it in such a place!”
“Vivian!” Margaret cried out. She had a bad feeling.
But not sparing the princess another glance, the witch vanished with a single wave of her staff.
4
The fog steadily grew thicker as Gilthunder walked the narrow path. Until moments earlier, there were still signs of Howzer behind him, but not anymore. Perhaps he’d taken a wrong path somewhere.
Had he? Or had Howzer? Either way, Gilthunder needed to turn back. No matter how lengthy a summer day, these were the mountains. It was already growing dark.
Still, he pressed on.
He began not to care where he was going, or why. He just wanted to disappear into the fog. As the thought crossed his mind—
Rustle, came a sound from up ahead. Gilthunder’s hand shot to his sword’s hilt.
“Who goes there?!”
“Wait!” bade a mild voice.
She appeared in the fog—a young woman, slightly older than Gilthunder. She had a slender build and wore hunting garments. Her silver hair was tied up behind her head.
“I’m Blanca. I’m a hunter from the village at the northern foot of the mountains. I strayed too far and lost my way.”
“This path leads to the village of Isula, in the hinterlands of Liones.” Gilthu
nder squinted and looked over the women’s appearance. There was nothing particularly suspicious about her.
“I see. So I must have passed over the ridge and come out on the other side.”
“If you go straight down this path, I think you’ll find my group. Please join with them and leave the mountains. I’m sure it’s past sunset now.”
“What are you going to do?” Blanca asked, tilting her head.
“I’m…going a little further.”
“I heard werewolves prowl past here. It’s dangerous.”
“I know.” He did. “It’s dangerous—that’s why I’m going.”
“I see—so…” Blanca’s voice grew quiet. “You’re also—out to slay wolves.”
Something about her tone made Gilthunder shudder, and he did a double take. “I…”
Blanca’s blue-gray eyes flashed in the fog. Gazing into Gilthunder’s, she suddenly took a deep breath.
Ooooo…
Howzer stopped in his tracks when he heard a wolf’s howl in the distance. Realizing that he’d lost sight of Gilthunder somewhere along the way, he was retracing his path.
He gripped his spear and listened. The howling echoed amidst the rocks and fog, and he couldn’t pinpoint its source.
“Gil!” The fog swallowed up his call. He couldn’t tell how far it traveled. “Gilthunder! Hey!”
Did the wolf’s howl reach Nicholas as well? Was he heading this way?
In any case, clearing away the fog seemed like a good idea. Just when Howzer started to think his wind magic might be up to the task—
“……”
A human shadow swayed onto a boulder just to his right.
“Gil!” It was Gilthunder. Relieved, Howzer smiled at his friend. “Hey, did you hear the howling just now? I wonder which way it came from. Did you see a wolf?”
“…”
“Anyways, let’s return to Nicholas. Or do you want to look for the wolf together?” proposed Howzer, laughing.
It was at that moment.
Gilthunder suddenly raised his blade and leapt from the boulder.
“Whoa!”
Howzer jumped back immediately, but Gilthunder struck again the moment he landed. Howzer used the shaft of his spear to block the sideways swipe just in time.
“What the heck?!”
“Dead…”
“What?”
“You’re dead.”
Gilthunder’s eyes were hollow, and they didn’t settle on anything. Seeing this, Howzer finally realized that Gilthunder wasn’t in his right mind.
“H-Hey, Gil! Wake up!”
“I’ll avenge them—you’re dead! You humans are all dead!”
“Gil!” At close quarters, Howzer would be at a disadvantage with his spear. Frantically dodging Gilthunder’s blade, which swung again and again, or parrying it with his own weapon, Howzer shouted, “Gil! What are you doing?!”
The words fell on deaf ears.
Gilthunder’s sword closed in, giving Howzer no time to think.
Eh, I don’t have a choice!
Shoving Gilthunder away forcefully, Howzer held his spear aslant. Fortunately, his friend was weaker than usual, robbed of his mind. It seemed he couldn’t even use his magical powers.
“This would’ve been difficult a little while ago, but with Lord Dreyfus’ spear…”
I’ll blast him away without hurting him, and then…
Howzer imagined the wind blowing. He wanted to seal Gilthunder’s movements, and also signal Nicholas if possible.
With his current skills—with this spear, perhaps he could pull it off.
“Here goes, Gilthunder! Wall Shock!”
A swirling mass of wind blasted Gilthunder away. Then from beneath his floating body struck a tornado.
“Rising Tornado!!”
“Aaahhhh!”
Gilthunder’s scream echoed, and the fog scattered.
5
“I see…so this is Merlin’s magic square.”
Hendrickson looked around with his arms crossed. He was deep under the royal family’s villa, in a different spot from the chamber that Margaret and the others had found. That room was right beneath the keep, but this place seemed to be positioned under the tower. The nearly perpendicular walls and floors carved into the natural cliff were covered with complex patterns.
“With this,” flared Vivian, “even considerably difficult fusions will be feasible—yes, for instance, beasts and plants, or even fish can be combined.”
Hmm, Hendrickson pondered. “You said the other day: crossing strong animals helter-skelter only unbalances them because their powers conflict.”
“Yes. And I don’t think using a magic square would change that.”
“Right, no matter how strong the synthesis, it might be pointless if it has the intellect of a beast.”
“I’m sure that’s true…” Vivian looked up, her face pale. “Um—you cannot be planning on using humans?”
“Hah…” Barely listening to Vivian, Hendrickson murmured with a hand on his chin, “What’s amplified through a demon’s blood are emotions that the subject already felt. And not simple ones like anger or fear, but rather, inner conflicts like envy, resentment, and rancor—they tend to create the best responses.”
Vivian quaked at his flat voice. What was it that allowed him to be so cold-hearted?
Restoring the demon clan so that chaos would engulf the world again. There, only the truly strong would reign as beacons of light and guide people. Overturning a world filled with a deceptive, false peace, so that the insulted might reclaim their pride.
Was the man aspiring to become a demon god for the sake of that ideal?
“Yes…it’s worth a try. Before we turn to humans.”
“Hendrickson…”
The man chuckled at Vivian, who was trembling. “Don’t worry, I won’t use humans yet. Apparently, there are fitting subjects not far from here.”
Chapter Seven
The Courage Charm and Their Vows
—from Meliodas
Gilthunder ran over the stone-paved path, bathed in the morning light. Surely at that hour, Meliodas was warming up in front of the lodging house. It was his daily routine.
Ah, there he was. The small form atop the stone bridge was that of the Seven Deadly Sins’ leader.
“Sir Meliodas!”
Meliodas turned around at the sound of Gilthunder’s voice and flashed his usual smile—not knowing anything.
“Hey, Gil boy. Today’s the kingdom’s anniversary festival!”
The yearly commemoration…
The castle town would soon be filled with dressed-up people if this were like any other year.
“Tell your father that I challenge him to a drinking con—”
“Run away!!” Gilthunder shouted, his breath ragged. Tears spilled from his eyes.
“Run…what is this, all of a sudden?” Meliodas questioned with a blank stare.
“Something horrible is going to happen to you and the others…Nkk.”
“Why don’t you explain it to me in detail?”
“That’s…not possible!! If it gets out that I talked about it…” Clutching Meliodas, Gilthunder groaned. He had to tell, yet couldn’t say anything. He didn’t know how to save both the Seven Deadly Sins and Margaret, whom he loved. “What do I do…what can I—”
“Calm down!”
Meliodas delivered a chop to the crown of Gilthunder’s head. It was in jest but hurt considerably, and Gilthunder cradled his poor skull.
“I don’t know what happened, but you just think about what you need to do,” Meliodas said, staring Gilthunder straight in the eye. “What do you need to do?”
Meliodas was always right. He always showed the way.
Gilthunder sniffled and, wiping his tears with the back of his hand, answered, “I have to…protect Margaret.”
Yes. He was her knight. He had to protect her. That was his number-one duty.
“All right, good!” Meliodas
smiled. He must have guessed from Gilthunder’s demeanor that this was nothing trivial, but still he remained calm.
“B-But I’m not sure I can, alone…”
Gilthunder had always been protected, if not by this man, then by his father Zaratras, or his uncle Dreyfus, or by Hendrickson. He also had his friends, Howzer and Griamore. When he was in trouble, he had many people to talk to…
But. He was going to lose all of that. From now on he couldn’t depend on anybody.
“Then I’ll teach you a charm.” Although Meliodas knew nothing yet, he laughed as though he did. “Recite it when you’re down and out but can’t depend on anybody.”
“A…charm?”
Meliodas stared into Gilthunder’s eyes. “Yes. It goes, ‘I’m stronger than any of the Seven Deadly Sins’!!”
“I-I’m stronger than any of the Seven Deadly Sins?”
There, Meliodas nodded and lightly thumped his fist against Gilthunder’s chest. “Well? You feel braver, don’t you? If you’re stronger than any of us, there’s nothing to be afraid of, eh?”
With that, he gathered Gilthunder into his arms. Meliodas’ small but powerful hands ruffled Gilthunder’s red hair.
“Don’t worry, Gil boy. When you’re in a pinch, I’ll always help you.”
“Meliodas!!”
Gilthunder clung to him and began to cry again. Meliodas just continued to embrace the sobbing boy, who still wasn’t explaining a thing.
1
“Hey, hey, Gilthunder, get it together!”
Gilthunder awoke as someone patted his cheek.
“Where am I…”
“Isula.”
Howzer and Griamore were hovering over him. Gilthunder sat up in a panic. He was lying on a plain bed in someone’s home.
“Where am—what happened to me?”
Howzer laughed. “So you don’t remember anything? All right, fine. You were possessed by a wolf.”
Hearing those words, Gilthunder remembered. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he understood. “Blanca—where’s Blanca?!”
“Blanca? You mean that wolf? It’s gone now,” Nicholas said, opening the door and coming in.
“Gone?”
The Seven Deadly Sins Page 9