The knights cheered as they caught another great prey for tonight's dinner. They gathered around, marveling at the three wild boars laying on the grass. In order to arrive at Ashendel in time without delay, they had to leave with little resources with them. Hunting in the forest was their only way to fill their stomachs. At this dire time, finding decent prey will be difficult for them. They had their worries about this. Yet, the situation doesn't seem to come out as they expected.
Luther frowned. Did Heaven smiled upon them this time? There have been no issues since they departed from Resville with the sinner. The animals, either prey or predator, have been getting closer to them. These wild animals should run further away from the presence of a sinner.
"The journey seems going smoother than I thought. If this keeps going, we might arrive at Ashendel in time." Vincent smiled. He had been nothing but concern about the journey. Everyone knew that a journey on a road with the sinner was placing a gamble for their lives.
For three days, Wrath made no movement after eavesdropping on the conversation back at Resville. Vacant crimson eyes gazed at the sky as the carriage carried her cage along the bumpy road. At daylight, they kept the cage unshielded from the sun, taking away her comfort in using abyssal shadow. Never once did the Wrath cursed at them. Only giving her gratitude for letting her see the open sky in peace. At night, the bells hung around the cage illuminate a bright blue light to seal her movement. Again, her crimson eyes sparked at the fragile bells like gems she had never seen.
"Captain, tell the gods our gratitude for tonight's feast!" One knight exclaimed. Luther immediately recognized the towering knight peeking out among the crowd.
"Sir Hartwin, where are your manners?!" Vincent scolded.
"Cut me some slack, vice-captain. We should be grateful for the feast." Hartwin patted the back of a nearby knight. Maybe a little too hard, as the knight almost tripped down.
During the first day of departure, the knights wore tense and rigid masks traveling with a sinner. The closer they were to the carriage, the more often their gazes kept glancing back and forth to the sinner. The hunt hasn't been easy for them either. Hunger was eating them from inside, and the fear grew fiercer. Then, four days passed, snores echoed throughout the night. Bellies warmed their spirits.
Luther patted Vincent's shoulder. He shook his head. Let them enjoy themselves.
"Captain." His partner sighed in defeat.
He turned to the sinner, grabbing crusty bread inside a green satchel. It was his last bread of the day. He looked at the bread and the sinner. He approached the cage, waving to his men to get some rest. They gave a bow before running off to join their brethren. Wrath turned her head to meet him. He handed out the bread through the gap.
"I don't eat mortal's food, nor do I need one," she raised her eyebrows.
Luther put the bread down next to her and sat beneath the tree. He had never seen her eat or drink anything ever since she had been inside the cage. A mortal would die in three days under the scorching sun with no water. If the sinner could die of dehydration, this journey would have never begun.
"Don't waste your kindness on a sinner. You should worry about yourselves more." Wrath took the bread, scraping the crusty part. "War is upon you. A bloody one, like in every age. When the time arrives, you'll eat this bread even if it's mold."
Luther watched the bread wasted away before his eyes. Did he regret giving it to the sinner? A beggar would cry seeing the sight. He caught a handful of faithless and criminals under his name and threw them inside the same cage. Within a day, they begged for water and drink. There were times his heart wavered at their broken state. A spirit that was once good but went to different path in desperate times of war and hunger.
The gentle breeze blew the bells around his waist and those hung around the cage. "These bells. I heard it before some time ago as death was one step closer to taking me back."
Luther cast his gaze over his knights rather than listening to the sinner. Did she know the story behind the bells he held? The bells were relics passed down through his predecessors.
"A stranger hummed a lullaby in the graveyard of sinners."
Despite his effort to ignore, his ears perked at her story, matching to an old story of a mortal man the Order warned him about.
If it were five hundred years ago, it would be around that time…
"Ambush!!!"
A shout from one of his knights hauled his attention away. A group of faithless rode on top of wolves shrouded in black mist emerged from the forest. Flesh fell apart. The hollow corpse held nothing but more obscure mist inside. Black eyes cracked as the abyss pulled the strings of their spirit like puppets.
"Human! Eyes! Soul!" chanted the faithless.
Luther glared at the sinner.
She sighed, disappointed. "Why bother explaining when you will never listen?"
He ignored her, pulling the bells out. Vincent noticed this and ordered the knights. "Together with the captain!" They gathered in a circle around him.
Before he could cast out his miracle prayer, the Heaven's bells resonated through his whole body. Strength completely left him. Luther fell on his knees, shaking.
"What's going on!?" Hartwin pushed the enemies from breaking through.
Vincent pulled Luther's sleeve up. Black veins were visible on his flesh. Luther touched it. He never knew it was there before.
"You broke your oath?" Vincent looked at him.
Luther shook his head. I would never—since when? Through the ringing bells, Heaven called him.
Listen! Listen! Listen!
The Heaven sounded the Final Bell.
Sewn mouths shall finally sing,
Blinded shall find their way back home,
Deaf will know the truth,
Amend the broken wing,
Amend the broken fate,
Heed the oath thee forged,
A promise unfulfilled,
And the promised hope shall be delivered.
It was the same message. He racked his head to comprehend the meaning. Is it because he failed to kill the sinner right then and there? What was the promise? The voices only kept repeating the messages while his men fended for themselves against the enemies. Throats torn opened between the razor-sharp teeth. Faithless plucked out his brethren's eyes, munching them down to their throats.
Ignoring the omen, he rang the bell. A thundering bell crushed his spirit. More black veins appeared like lightning flashes through his entire arm.
"Stop, you can't use your miracle prayer! You'll die the more you defy the Heaven's will." Vincent confiscated the bells out of his hand. Luther looked at him, asking his vice-captain if he should just leave them dead.
"Even if it means you'll survive, we'll gladly put our lives down."
Silence. The ringing bells faded out. Heaven's voice muted. He heard nothing when the declaration was presented to him. Vincent shouted out more orders to the knights. They grabbed his horse. While everything unfolds, a scarlet butterfly passed behind Vincent. Its fire was fierce; he could feel the heat even with its tiny body. Soon, the Sinner of Wrath followed. She walked into the fray barefoot.
"Who sent you here?" asked the Wrath.
The enemies halted. Knight scrambled away from her path.
"THE CAGE!"
He turned to where the cage was now replaced with melted iron and a scorched carriage. The bells placed on the grass remained untouched. A mere cage and bells could never hold a sinner. She walked into the cage because she wanted to.
"I asked again. Who sent you?"
Luther could feel the coldness in her voice crawling on his spine. She had never spoken in such a tone before. The faithless snarled, pointing at her with their jagged daggers. A knight choked as the chain wrapped around his throat tighter. He clawed his fingers as he was desperate for air. They laughed and tugged him around to incite anger from his own kin. Luther dug into the dirt underneath him. He couldn't do anything to save them. Now, his own men were being toyed with. Without a miracle prayer, he was nothing but just a mortal man.
"A stray perhaps." She held her hand out to them. Her eyes turned into a darker crimson as the heat raised inside her. The fiery butterfly burst into bigger flames. "Begone from my sight."
They charged in. Before they could reach her, crimson flames of hands sprung out of their mouths, ripping them apart. Dead silence replaced their screams. Crimson fire devoured them, leaving no trace of their corpses. Wrath watched the ashes fly away.
"You are nothing but a mindless scavenger causing meaningless killing. An act I cursed."
The knight freed himself from the chains once the faithless disappeared. He was the sole survivor of the flame. His wide eyes panicked as he looked around.
Hartwin held his blade at her.
"I did only to ensure we arrive in Ashendel, as planned. Forgive my manner. But I kept my words that I won't harm a soul."
"A sinner knows nothing about a soul. Those were once mortals."
"Their souls were no longer there."
"That's because of you—the abyss who devoured every life and light!"
Luther stood up and pulled Hartwin away. He shook his head.
"But—"
Wrath bowed her head. "You may chain me or cut my limbs if it's the only way we can continue this journey."
Luther grabbed her arm. He can't understand her. She could easily kill them all in one sweep or just go on the journey to Ashendel by herself. Why did she walk to them just to die? Why did she save the mortals?
"Captain, your order," asked Vincent.
Wrath raised her head to meet his gaze. Luther signaled to Vincent.
I'll keep a close eye on the sinner myself until we reach Ashendel.
"Are you certain that is safer?" Vincent turned to Hartwin. Others were not familiar with how they conversed. Luther silently apologized to the pain expression on Vincent as the knights hammered with questions. Luther turned back to the sinner. Her eyes widened in amazement at what she saw.