A Hell Called Serestral - Chapter 26

They reached the hospital without the help of the shadows. The victim of the corrupted soul had been immediately treated and would be discharged after a few days of rest.

“I killed the vessel that I followed. I’m sorry,” Aries did not want to apologize for he had only done what was necessary. But there was a part within him that wanted to say sorry for not trying to use the holy waters given to him. “I forgot about the bottles in my pocket.”

“I will tell the hospital about it,” Pieffer was still smiling kindly at him. “You can wait outside.”

Aries listened and waited outside the hospital. He leaned his back on a wall right next to the hospital entrance and tried to recall the memories he had remembered earlier.

But nothing was coming to him aside from the one where he had seen Pieffer being covered with dark smoke. It was not the Pieffer he loved but Princess Pieffer.

“Kill her.”

Aries moved away from the wall and stared at it. He was certain that the voice came from the shadows covering those bricks.

Is there another person that can pass through the shadows?

“Aries, is there something wrong with the fence?” Princess Pieffer walked out of the entrance and noticed him staring at the stone wall.

“Nothing,” Aries looked away from the wall and stared seriously at the princess. “Just tell me how you can pass through the shadows.”

“Let’s go back to the southern border,” she was smiling despite her anxiety.

“Why?” Aries glared.

The princess ignored it and said to him, “I will tell you when we get there.”

Aries was getting impatient but in spite of that, he followed the princess in silence.

Pieffer stopped at the busy street of the southern border. He glanced at Aries and told him with a tender smile, “This is where we first met.”

Right after she said those words, Aries had been hit by an intense air of nostalgia and he was immediately sent back in time.

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Aries was walking all over Serestral. He was trying to keep the kingdom safe from the corrupted souls that managed to break through the barriers. No one could see them but him. He was the only one who could stop them from destroying his hometown.

In his careful search, a blue-haired woman in a hooded overcoat had caught his attention. It was not because he was mesmerized by her beauty but because she was covered with dark smoke. Not just her head but her entire body.

The suspicious blue-haired woman noticed his gaze. A gentle smile curved on her lips before looking away. She was heading towards an empty alley.

Is she enticing me?

Aries was hesitant but only for a moment. A strange corrupted soul was inside her body. He had to be careful in trailing her.

When he stepped deeper into that empty alley, he found the suspicious woman standing there as if waiting for him.

“Why are you following me?” there was no fear in her eyes. She was just curiously inquiring.

“A corrupted soul is inside your body,” Aries honestly replied and called his claymore Vermillion.

The blue-haired girl was surprised and smiled as she said, “I finally found you.”

Aries ignored it and attacked the woman. As he was expecting, she had a weapon. What he did not expect was that she could summon a blade out of thin air. As far as Aries knew, the Zodiac and Celestial Knights were the only ones who could do that.

The strange woman could also fight well. Her sword was only a tiny blade compared to his broad sword but it was not shattering even though Aries slashed at her with all his might. There was grace in her movement. Her knee-length boots failed to make a sound. It was as if she and all that she was wearing was as light as a feather. She was no doubt a skilled fighter but she was not attacking and it made her even more suspicious.

She must be waiting for me to be enthralled with her beautiful face and gentle smile. I will not fall for it.

Aries became more aggressive in swinging his blade and forced the strange woman into a corner. As her back hit a wall, Aries leaned back slightly before swinging his sword at the chest of his prey.

To his astonishment, the woman sank into the shadow that was covering her and the wall. The woman vanished and his sword was stuck at the wall.

“I’m sorry.”

It was the voice of the strange woman. She reappeared behind him. He failed to sense her presence until she had spoken. Aries willed his broad sword to vanish and resurface in his hands as he turned to face the strange woman. But before he could swing his blade, the tiny sword of the strange woman had pierced his right shoulder and he had instantly fallen into a deep slumber.

Aries did not know how long he had fallen asleep, but when he opened his eyes, he was no longer reliving his memories. He was back at the present and his head was lying on the lap of Princess Pieffer. They were back at the beautiful garden of the Bull House Leader and the princess was sitting on the grass-covered ground. Her head and back were leaning on the ancient tree. Her eyes were closed. She seemed to be taking a nap.

He must have fainted on that busy street and the princess had taken him back there with the transport bracelet.

“How dare you sleep in the lap of my princess?!”

Aries quickly sat up in annoyance. Princess Pieffer opened her eyes and yawned.

“Aries was tired. He had to take care of two corrupted souls,” the princess stretched her arms into the air. “This is always a good place to rest. How was the eastern border?”

“We’ve found one and we managed to throw it past the barrier of this house,” Prince Sunrei answered because Pines was still sulking as he sat near the princess.

Aries could not help but wonder why the house of Pines was still standing strong when he appeared more immature than Leon.

“We can go to the House of Maiden tomorrow,” the prince continued as he sat right next to the sulking house leader.

“Where is Tauren?” the princess asked with eyes closed. Despite taking nap, she still looked exhausted.

“Get some rest,” Prince Sunrei said to his sister. “I’ll take you to your room.”

“I’m also hungry,” Princess Pieffer smiled. “Can we eat first?”

“Of course,” her brother answered with a smile and a shake of his head.

Aries wanted to smile but what he saw in his memories prevented him from doing so. He wanted to ask Pieffer a lot of questions but with Prince Sunrei and Pines around, he could no longer ask those questions out loud.

“Let’s talk later,” the princess whispered to his ear as they were heading inside the tower.

Pines glared at them and the princess walked between him and Prince Sunrei.

“Brother, you didn’t tell me where Tauren is. Will he join us for dinner?”

“He will be late for a few minutes,” Prince Sunrei answered. “But he will be joining us.”

^##############^

Despite the kingdom crumbling into the hands of the corrupted souls, it was still blessed with talented cooks.

Aries could satisfy his stomach whether it was Miko or any other cook from the kitchen of any house leaders. So far, all of them could cook very well.

“My princess, you should have come with me,” Pines said with a quick glare at Aries. “I will never let you feel tired. You should have seen me fight and I’m sure that your weariness will fade away at my greatness.”

The royal siblings only smiled and Aries got up on his knees.

“I’m full,” he said. “I need to stretch my legs. I’ll be in the garden.”

“Okay,” Princess Pieffer smiled.

Prince Sunrei nodded while Pines waved a hand at him with a smile that seemed to be saying ‘good riddance’.

Aries returned to the garden and walked around the lot with plenty of confusing thoughts in his mind.

“You look bothered.”

Aries glanced at the gate that had been opened. He was too occupied with his thoughts that he did not notice it moved. He only realized he was no longer alone after hearing the voice of Tauren.

“Thank you for your help earlier,” he said while closing the gate with just a wave of his hand. “I can only do that to non-living things,” he smiled as he answered the astonished look in the eyes of Aries.

Am I that obvious? They are answering the thoughts in my head.

“They are in the dining room,” Aries walked towards the ancient tree. “I just want to rest here.”

“The Princess is a good person,” Tauren smiled as he turned to leave.

“How are you doing that?” Aries had to ask. “How can you read my mind?”

“I think it is because we’ve known each other for a long time,” Tauren answered with annoying calmness. “And because I had seen that same confused look in your eyes. Last time it was because of the princess. I only assumed that this time it is also because of her.”

“What do you mean?” Aries impatiently asked.

“Here,” Tauren gave Aries one of the two transport bracelets he was wearing. “You can call Pieffer using that. But you should do it once Pines had fallen asleep,” the Bull House Leader grinned. “Don’t worry, he falls asleep surprisingly fast once his stomach is full and his back had hit the mattress.”

The green-haired house leader waved at him before entering the tower.

Aries clutched the transport bracelet and sat beside the ancient tree. He should take a nap. Maybe he would dream the answer to his questions, if not to all then at least to some.

^##############^