Regina Lena – To the Unforgiven - Chapter 47

By the time they found the snakes under the bushes, Rena and Lynn were already surrounded.

 

Realizing this, the two turned their backs to each other as they had for the past 15 days.

 

“Can you move?”

 

“I think so.”

 

“Then…”

 

Rena couldn’t continue as the dead flocked in without giving her a chance to.

 

The dead, in the shape of all kinds of reptiles, with black scales and red eyes, charged with sharp venomous fangs.

 

Rena moved first for Lynn, who was injured. A sharp dagger cut through the neck of a snake that flew like an arrow.

 

As the split snake fluttered and twisted its body, the others crawled through the gap.

 

The dead were strong. Because they did not know fear, they did not know to step down, and because they were jealous of living things, they coveted life. It was an existence that overwhelmed life by borrowing the form of death.

 

However, their power did not work for these two.

 

When the snakes were cut into pieces in the hands of the two, they stopped rushing and began to tangle with each other. The snakes melted the outer skin and stuck together, and soon changed its shape to form a pupa.

 

After a while, it raised its body and spread its wings.

 

Rena and Lynn quickly retreated.

 

“It’s so high.”

 

“Who’s going?”

 

“Can you lift me up?”

 

Lynn thought for a moment.He had a crack in his ribs, so he couldn’t abuse his arms. But he had a lot of other useful parts besides his arms.

 

“With my right shoulder.”

 

“Then I will go.”

 

At that moment, the dragon in full form roared and swung its head. With a roar, the ground was recessed and soil splashed everywhere.

 

Rena and Lynn, who quickly escaped, were scattered to the left and right of the dragon, respectively. The dragon turned its head around as if picking an opponent, and then thrust his snout down towards Rena, who drew closer.

 

Kwaang! The dragon’s hard head hit the ground again. But this time, it was in vain.

 

The dragon, who made a series of mistakes, shouted as if it were angry. Then its throat swelled as if to spit something out.

 

“Mr. Lynn!”

 

Rena noticed that the dead was trying to vomit poison and ran to Lynn. Lynn quietly spread his legs apart and bowed his upper body.

 

As his back formed a gentle slope, Rena stepped on it without hesitation.

 

Rena, who jumped on Lynn’s shoulder and leaped, flew straight up to the dragon’s eye level, and slashed the back of its neck with all her might before the lizard could spit out.

 

But it was a little shallow. The dragon did not die immediately, but twisted its body in agony. At that time, Lynn, who was watching, turned his sword and hit the dragon on the head that came down to the ground.

 

Rena, who landed, smiled gently at Lynn’s cleaning up.

 

Over the past 15 days, Rena realized a new pleasure. It was the joy of fighting together.

 

Rena’s battlefield was always lonely, and it was always up to herself to fight and protect.

 

But fighting with Lynn, Rena left her back to someone for the first time in her life. It was not only reassuring but also quite fun.

 

“It’s coming again.”

 

While Rena was secretly proud, Lynn looked over her garden and said.

 

The snakes were once again tangled up. But this time, it didn’t come at them.

 

The snakes, who were twisting their bodies, gradually formed a human figure, and soon finished it with red eyes.

 

— I missed you, my bride.

 

Contrary to his eerie voice, he had a rather sweet tone.

 

Rena let out a sigh at that sudden remark, and Lynn opened his eyes wide.

 

“Your greeting is too rough for that.”

 

― I just wanted to get your attention.

 

“You wouldn’t get it just because you’re like this.”

 

Lynn was more embarrassed by Rena’s nonchalant answer.

 

Under the circumstances, the owner of that voice must be the King with Many Hearts, that is, a dead being.

 

However, the dead Lynn knew were nothing more than monsters crawling out of the Tomb. He had never imagined exchanging words with such an existence.

 

However, Rena laughed at the thought and spoke with that being.

 

― Please speak lower, my love. Please scold me as cold as before. If you do that, there’s nothing more I can ask for.

 

That being was even strangely obsessed with Rena.

 

Lynn looked at Rena with bewildered eyes.

 

Rena noticed the gaze, but didn’t have time to explain it. It was because the being at their side continued to talk arbitrarily.

 

— I know you handed over Celeste’s heart to the woman whose neck was cut off.

 

Lynn’s eyes widened once more at the meaningful remark.

 

And Rena pressed the king in a stern manner.

 

“So, are you here to take revenge?”

 

― I am only worried about your safety.

 

“You’re worried?”

 

― The fanatic and the war maniac are also looking for you.

 

‘The fanatic’ is a derogatory term for the King of Burning and Scorching, Hiems Gracia.

 

A maniac who burned his people alive and claimed it was God’s will. Those atrocities did not shame the title ‘the fanatic’.

 

Lynn, who thought so, was convinced that “war-maniac” was also a reference to another king of the dead.

 

‘Are the kings of the dead after Rena?’

 

Lynn was startled by the vague hypothesis, but soon realized that it was quite possible.

 

If the being who was speaking now was really a king of the dead, if they have such intelligence and ability, of course, they will aim for Rena Ruber first.

 

Of course, they’d hate it if a person who knew the secret of the Tomb was set to conquer the Tomb.

 

Lynn, whose thoughts had gone so far, looked at the mysterious dead with a subtle mood.

 

‘Is he interested in Rena?’

 

The call of ‘bride’, the courtship attitude, and the information about the plans of other kings. It was all an act full of goodwill.

 

However, Rena did not accept it as a favor.

 

“It doesn’t make sense to say that you are worried about my safety after attacking me in the first place.”

 

— That…

 

Rena’s cold smile made the dead hesitate, then he soon began to laugh grimly.

 

Rena briefly clicked her tongue as the king’s true color was revealed.

 

“Well then.”

 

Rena held Lynn’s arm without saying a word.

 

Immediately after the two of them turned together, the body of the dead was torn apart and a terrible stench spread.

 

It was poison.

 

.

.

.

 

The two, who were running to avoid the poison, stopped under a huge tree.

 

“It’s always the same place.”

 

“Yeah, I guess we’re stuck.”

 

As Lynn said, no matter how hard they went through the bushes, the end of the garden was not visible.

 

In addition, they’ve passed this large tree a few times before. It meant that they were hovering around the same place.

 

“Let’s get some rest first.”

 

Rena sighed and sat with her back leaning against the tree, and Lynn sat down near her.

 

As he barely caught his breath, the questions that he had put aside came to mind.

 

It was no longer surprising that Rena knew well about the Tomb, however, it was a completely different story fto have a private conversation with the dead.

 

Lynn was full of questions, but he didn’t ask. Because that was the basic condition of the alliance.

 

So, while he was thinking alone, Rena suddenly lay down with her head on the flat ground.

 

“Mr. Lynn should lie down too.”

 

“No, I…”

 

“I feel uncomfortable lying down alone.”

 

At Rena’s request, Lynn moved reluctantly.

 

Because Rena put her head in Lynn’s direction, Lynn also put his head in Rena’s direction.

 

Eventually, the two lay head-to-head.

 

“This situation might last a little longer.”

 

“How much longer?”

 

“Probably around a day or two. So you should rest when you can.”

 

Rena said so and calmly closed her eyes. Lynn looked at the face right next to him, and then turned his head away in embarrassment.

 

As he lay under the tree, all he could see was the leaves. It was an unnecessarily peaceful sight.

 

So Lynn followed Rena and closed his eyes. But it was also impossible to rest.

 

Not only did he have a question about the kings of the dead, but it was also because of the accident before that.

 

Lynn couldn’t remember, but he knew what he had done to Rena. The traces remained intact, so even if he didn’t know, he couldn’t not know.

 

In short, Lynn kissed Rena.

 

Recalling that fact again, Lynn wanted to die a little.

 

He couldn’t believe he kissed her. Did he just kiss her mouth? Could he have done anything more shameful than that?

 

He could have. When he saw Rena’s clothes torn, he must have crossed the line.

 

Just kissing someone who wasn’t a companion would have crossed the line a lot, but Lynn was convinced that he had done more than that.

 

And he couldn’t even remember.

 

Lynn looked at Rena again, suffering from a sense of shame.

 

But unlike him, Rena still closed her eyes peacefully.

 

 

He thought they’ve gotten pretty close, but Rena was still someone he didn’t know about.

 

He could of course come up with a few modifiers in no time if he had to. Strong, determined, pretty, kind, etc.

 

However, this was only what Rena showed on the outside, and the things like Rena’s thoughts, feelings, and conditions were always veiled.

 

So Lynn was always curious. What Rena was thinking, how she was feeling, and what she wanted.

 

It was still the same now.

 

Rena was still calm as if nothing had happened, but Lynn wondered if she was like that because she was really okay with it.

 

Whether it’s because she understood everything, or if she just passed it lightly, or if she was trying to resist disgust, or whatever it is.

 

He was curious. He was so curious

 

“Are you curious?”

 

When Rena asked like this, his heart sank.

 

Rena, who suddenly opened her eyes, was looking at Lynn. Her face was only a span away.

 

“Are you curious about what the dead said earlier?”

 

It was a strangely contradictory question. So Lynn paused for a moment before answering.

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Since this happened, I’ll explain it to you.”

 

Perhaps on purpose, Rena smiled graciously pretending to be generous. So Lynn had no choice but to sympathize with her, covering up his real questions.

 

“Where should I start talking…”

 

“From the call of ‘bride’…?”

 

Rena smiled and looked at Lynn.

 

With that thorny smile, Lynn realized his fault, and Rena sighed tiredly as if she were scolding him.

 

“‘Bride’ is what he calls me on his own. And didn’t he get his name from that?”

 

“The King with Many Hearts.”

 

“Yes, he’s the king of those snakes that often appeared in the East.”

 

Rena said as if there was no need to hide it anymore, and Lynn’s prediction was right, making his mind more complicated.

 

“I didn’t know you’d be so close to the king of the dead.”

 

“We’re not close, it’s just a bad relationship.”

 

Lynn asked the reason with his eyes. Rena thought it over and said.

 

“It’s a bit long to explain, but, well, Lynn also knows about the apostle, right?”

 

“The apostle?”

 

Lynn asked back at the unexpected word. It wasn’t because he didn’t know, but because he was surprised.

 

The apostle. A generic term for those who serve or come close to the dead.

 

Since the appearance of the dead 100 years ago, they have been objects of fear and enemies to be rejected by the people of the empire.

 

But there were people everywhere who came up with different ideas.

 

Some people were very attracted to the power of the dead, the existence of the altar, and the mythical stories about the kind of the dead.

 

Therefore, there were people who used the dead as envoys or worshiped them, and the empire called them apostles because they abandoned God.

 

“I was caught by those apostles when I was young.”

 

“What?”

 

Lynn looked at her in surprise, but Rena continued to speak as if it was nothing special.

 

“They were rather obsessed with calling snakes.”

 

She was 13 years old.

 

Rena, who returned from the Tomb but found out that she had a long way to go back to her father, once vowed to live a new life.

 

It was with the intention of abandoning herself as well as her father who abandoned her.

 

But Rena failed.

 

Because of the King with Many Hearts.

 

***

 

Five years ago, at the age of 13, Rena fell to the Tomb once again.

 

— You’re here again.

 

“Shut up…”

 

― What is it this time?

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Regina came out to greet her for the first time in a long time, but Rena only frowned.

 

She had no choice but to do so.

 

The fact that Rena met Regina at the Tomb meant that she was driven to the brink of death, so Rena could never welcome this meeting.

 

Furthermore, it was already the fifth time Rena had met Regina this year alone.

 

It was the year Rena died the most.

 

 

The author’s words:

The story of 13 year old Rena.