"Go ahead, Captain!"
"We will hold this place!"
Nadav and Zigore, who had shouted those words, ultimately fell before the traitor's sword.
The moment Mori saw Nadav's back—which had always felt so massive and dependable—crumple, he sensed the end.
It's all over. We can't stop him now.
Yet, he could not simply collapse because he had failed.
"The... the Captain shared a fragment of his power with me. I can... deceive the traitor's eyes, if only for a moment."
"But Mori, you..."
"So... Soana, you must protect the Captain. You can protect him better than I can."
Ascending the main tower, one would find a bridge leading outside. That would be the path to escape.
Soana was clever; she would surely find a way to save the Captain.
Once he confirmed that Soana and the Captain were heading for the bridge, Mori ran upwards with all his might.
He possessed no particularly outstanding talent compared to the other knights. His martial prowess was negligible, and he couldn't even speak a single sentence comfortably.
If only he had a lively personality like Zigore's, but he was timid by nature, overly concerned with others' opinions, and would often tremble when in front of people.
"Huff, huff."
As if to advertise his poor stamina, his breath was already catching in his throat. Under normal circumstances, he might have collapsed by now.
But not at this moment. Mori squeezed out every ounce of his strength until his vision blurred.
"Even... even this much..."
His Captain had taken in his feeble self, made him a knight of the Round Table, and even designated him as his successor.
He wanted to repay that trust. Even if it was insignificant compared to the sacrifice of the other knights who had met their end earlier, holding their swords to block the traitor, if he could be of help like this...
*Clang!*
He finally reached the top floor.
The top floor of the main tower held only a single room. The Captain's bedchamber. A place from which one could overlook everything in the castle.
Mori, panting heavily, locked the chamber door and rummaged through his clothes. Inside his pocket was the fragment of power the Captain had shared with him.
He was not adept at handling it. But to deceive the traitor's eyes, he could manage to activate it intensely for a very brief moment.
Clutching the pouch, Mori headed towards the window.
The blowing wind carried a thick scent of blood. The shattered and collapsed areas within the castle were stained with blood, and screams overflowed.
"Ugh."
Mori bit his lip.
Frankly, he was terrified. The sight of the castle fallen in a single day, his comrades bleeding and falling, and the death that would soon befall him—all of it.
*Bang!*
"Eek!"
Someone struck the chamber door violently. Mori almost screamed reflexively but covered his own mouth.
Trembling, he stared at the locked door and then shakily retreated.
There weren't many places to run to begin with.
*Bang!*
Another loud noise, and the locked door rattled.
Mori clenched his jaw and pressed his trembling lips tightly together.
Holding his breath, he stared at the door. The latch, which had been shaking as if it would break any moment, fell silent.
Did he... leave? Did he realize it wasn't the Captain?
The thought that he might have failed to properly serve as bait made Mori feel his heart sink.
Clutching the pouch, Mori desperately tried to move that power. The moment the faint, flickering green light burst forth brilliantly—
*Crash!*
With a powerful impact, the lock shattered completely, and the tattered door panel swung open with a metallic sound.
Amidst the heavy clanking of armor, blood-stained footsteps imprinted themselves on the chamber floor.
"...Ha."
The traitor, spotting Mori standing before the window, let out a hollow laugh. Having fought knights all the way here, he seemed quite exhausted, as if much of his strength had drained.
Nevertheless, as the Captain's first knight, he remained an opponent Mori could not hope to defeat.
"That is his power."
The traitor's gaze turned to the pouch Mori was clutching.
"It does not seem to be a power you should possess."
"The... the Captain permitted it to me."
At Mori's reply, the traitor frowned. He did not hide his displeasure as he questioned further.
"Permitted?"
"B-because I was chosen... as his successor."
Once, Mori had asked. Why me?
With so many excellent and outstanding knights, why choose someone like me, with no power or ability?
Back then, the Captain had answered with a smile. That there should be at least one person left in the world who can love all things.
That a heart like his, which would not simply pass by a single blade of grass on the path, would be qualified to wield that power.
Upon hearing the answer, Mori couldn't understand everything else, but he was certain of one thing.
The Captain was considering his own absence.
"A successor is only appointed when one steps down from their position."
"S-Sir Samuel."
"Did he say that? That he would step down someday?"
The traitor approached with slow steps. Behind those heavy footsteps, deep red footprints remained.
"Or did he say he would do so soon?"
The traitor was enraged. With every word he spat out, a crimson fury was palpable.
"Did he tell you he would discard everything without a single regret?"
"The... the Captain!"
At Mori's sudden outburst, the traitor's steps halted. Yet, his cold gaze remained fixed on Mori.
More precisely, on the pouch he held.
The traitor seemed intent on snatching the pouch from Mori's grasp, trampling and crushing it immediately.
Sensing this, Mori hugged the pouch protectively to his chest.
"The Captain... merely desires freedom."
"...Freedom?"
"He... he has suffered for a long time and deserves to be... liberated from his duties!"
"Is that freedom an eternal death?"
The traitor, who had paused briefly, took another step forward.
"How can an extinction with no promise of an afterlife be called freedom?"
The traitor's question, filled with ridicule, did not seek an answer. It was merely a soliloquy.
Yet, Mori unknowingly answered that question.
"E-even if that is so."
Already struggling to speak smoothly, his trembling made him stutter even more.
Mori moistened his drying mouth with his tongue and forced out his words.
"You... you have no right to judge that, Sir Samuel."
The closer the traitor came, the more the stench of blood assaulted his senses. The armor, drenched in blood to the point its original color was unrecognizable, and the lowered sword were all terrifying.
Most frightening was the traitor's distorted face. Whether Mori's answer had gravely offended him, he was glaring at Mori with a menacing air.
But Mori, trembling in fear, did not stop speaking.
"The Captain's freedom... is solely the Captain's choice."
His faltering steps had nowhere left to retreat. Behind him was only the wide-open window and the void beyond.
A cold wind seeped into his back, soaked with cold sweat. It was so chilling it felt like being cut by a blade, painful and raising goosebumps.
"We... we merely follow the Captain's will."
Hearing Mori's answer, the traitor wiped away even the faint sneer he had been wearing.
His cold gaze held no trace of mercy for a comrade nor guilt for his betrayal.
"Unfortunately, your views and mine do not align."
The traitor raised his sword. It was close enough to reach with a swing.
So this is it.
In that instant, Mori resigned himself. He possessed no further eloquence to detain this traitor.
His judgment was swift. Mori willingly leaned backward. Still clutching the pouch protectively to his chest.
He could not let even this be shattered under that traitor's feet.
His defenseless body floated and then plummeted at a terrifying speed. Feeling the wind rush past, Mori tightly shut his eyes.
*Thud!*
A dull sound, shocking pain, and a faint, unidentifiable warmth. That was the last thing he remembered.
The place of his death was near the entrance of the main tower. But...
I suppose the place of death is not important.
Mori, who had been staring straight ahead, gave a bitter smile and parted his lips.
"That is correct."
Anelli, who had been standing blankly by the window frame she was touching, sharply turned around.
Mori pointed to the window frame she had been touching and continued.
"Th-there."
The chamber's appearance remained exactly as it was before his death. Even the bloody footprints left by the traitor—all of it.
The bloodstains had discolored, but they were enough to recall that time.
"This was the... the Captain's bedchamber, and I... fell from there."
Anelli looked at Mori with an unreadable expression, then turned her head back to look out the window.
A timely gust of wind wildly tossed her long hair.
"...It's higher than I thought."
"The Captain... wanted to see everything at a glance."
"The Captain of the past was quite greedy."
Anelli muttered softly and let out a deep sigh.
"Mori."
"Y-yes."
"What do you wish for?"
Mori did not immediately understand her words. So he did not answer, wearing a bewildered expression.
Anelli, looking outside, turned back at Mori's lack of response with a puzzled look, then let out a short sigh and added an explanation.
"Rest. I mean."
"Ah...!"
"You've regained your head now."
At her words, he reflexively touched his own neck. Above his once-empty nape, he felt a chin, cheeks, hair.
"That's right, y-yes."
Having regained his head, it must be time to find rest.
Mori, who had been standing dazedly with wide, blinking eyes, meekly lowered his gaze. His long eyelashes settled neatly with the movement.
"I... I am your successor, who swore to embrace all things. I followed in your footsteps to ensure the teachings are not... distorted."
A sudden surge of tension made his hands sweat. Clasping his hands together, Mori continued haltingly.
"My rest... is to follow the Captain's will..."
But Mori soon closed his mouth. He had instinctively realized this was not it.
Just as the Captain's freedom was the Captain's choice, Mori's freedom was something Mori had to choose. A faint light returned to his dazed eyes.
"The... the successor."
"What?"
"The Captain's successor."