Blood Moon Rising Over The Plains - Chapter 6: The End (1)

Rumble— KABOOM!

A massive thunderclap struck, and light flooded everywhere. Amidst the chaotic lightning, I tapped my ears, which felt muffled, and blinked, still feeling the light lingering on my retinas.

Fzz— Crackle.

“H-Hik.”

As my vision finally returned, the first thing I saw was the [Prince] slumped amidst the charred corpses.

Seeing the wet patch between his legs gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. The only difference was that this time, I, not Temujin, was the cause.

It was unclear whether the dangerous element was the possession of weapons, but seeing the [Prince], who had been giving orders, unharmed, and Temujin over there, quick to discard his sword, unscathed, seemed to confirm my guess.

Suddenly, lights began to flicker on in the palaces, one by one, in response to the unexpected thunder. However, it wasn’t particularly alarming, as it sounded like ordinary thunder during a rainstorm. Though lightning from a clear sky was a bit unsettling.

“…Yeojin.”

Temujin hesitated, unlike his usual self. Was he worried about another Level 1 alert being issued? I tilted my head, puzzled, and then said what I wanted to say most.

“I’m sorry.”

“…What? What are you, I’m the one who should be apologizing…”

“Emotions change, I said. I’m sorry.”

“Ha, still hung up on that…”

He roughly ran his hand through his hair. Despite the winter, beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He must have ridden here on horseback, but he seemed to have run a long way inside the palace.

“…It’s not your fault. If there’s any fault, it’s all mine. I knew you were a [Fairy] and still pushed my own agenda. And to let you get kidnapped, I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off you in this situation.”

Hmm, I suppose differing ideologies are inevitable given the generational gap. But wouldn’t the latter be more difficult? It’s not like we’re living together forever.

“I let you suffer something filthy.”

Temujin picked up the sword he had discarded on the ground, strode over, and took off the fur coat he was wearing, draping it over my shoulders. The fur, warmed by Temujin’s body heat, enveloped me, making me feel much better both physically and mentally than I had a moment ago, standing there practically naked.

Whew, I sighed in relief as the warmth spread through me, and corrected Temujin’s misunderstanding.

“Nothing happened to me. I just changed clothes.”

“And your feet are like that?”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Temujin’s face twisted in a fierce scowl. I belatedly looked down to check the state of my feet. The heavy shackles pressed down on my insteps and scraped my ankles with every step, leaving streaks of red blood around them. Strange. It hadn’t hurt.

Temujin easily scooped me up as I tilted my head in confusion. I had struggled to move even with the weight of the shackles, but he managed to seat me on one arm. Then, he pulled out a familiar white shoe from his embrace.

Ah, Gravity Shoes. I was worried I’d lost them, but he brought them. I wonder if he brought my pouch too? I hope he has the contraceptive patches, if nothing else. And the Zippo lighter, since it’s hard to start a fire… Hmm, I’ll have to check later.

“I can cut the chain right away, but I need the key.”

“Can’t you just cut it?”

I stared at the thick shackles binding my ankles. Well, I guess you can’t just cut a person with a sword. If I had the laser beam attached to the android robot back home, it would be easy. I suddenly missed the conveniences of the future.

“I could cut it, but your ankles would be cut off too.”

“…”

Tsk, I nodded awkwardly at Temujin’s words, accompanied by a click of his tongue. I couldn’t live without feet, no matter what. But wait, it can be cut with a sword?

I wiggled my toes as Temujin helped me put on the Gravity Shoes. As warmth began to spread, I belatedly felt the pain.

“Ugh.”

I groaned in pain, barely managing to keep my balance. I grabbed Temujin’s sleeve with my hands, bound together by the handcuffs, and leaned against him for support.

“So, is that bastard the one who did this to your feet?”

“H-Hik…!”

I looked back and forth between Temujin, who was glaring at the [Prince] with murderous intent, and the [Prince], and then tilted my head.

“I don’t know. But I think so. Hmm, he said he’d cut off my limbs. Blind me, deafen me. And…”

I wasn’t usually one to talk much, but I found myself blurting out things I didn’t need to say in response to Temujin’s questions. It was all in the past, there was no need to go into such detail.

With each word I spoke, the [Prince]’s face grew paler. Then, he began to tremble and crawl on the ground.

Of course, Temujin wasn’t going to let that go. He immediately plunged his sword into the legs crawling on the ground.

“Aaaagh—! Aaaagh—!!”

“Such a noisy bug. A [Slave] just poked you a little and you’re crying and screaming so pathetically. Ha, you even wet yourself? What a great [Prince].”

It’s probably a good thing that [Prince] is wearing red clothes. The blood is hidden, so it’s not as gruesome.

Temujin, who had been looking down at the [Prince] with a cold expression, turned to me and gently urged me on.

“So, what’s next? Huh?”

His voice was as sweet as when we were intimate at night, and I rolled my eyes, trying to recall.

“[Totto]? Where did he say he’d throw it? Hmm, [Ddongto]…?”

“[Ddongtong].”

“Ah, that’s right! That’s it! He said he’d do everything and then throw me in there!”

I clapped my hands together and nodded. The words I found so difficult to pronounce came out of Temujin’s mouth with ease.

“Hoo, I see. So, he’d cut off your limbs, blind and deafen you, and then throw you in the [Ddongtong]? Not bad. A very good method.”

Temujin nodded, seemingly pleased, and curled up the corners of his lips in a smirk.

“How about the [Pigsty] instead of the [Ddongtong]? This [Slave] has already been to the [Ddongtong], so the distinguished [Prince] should be put somewhere else. He can’t go to the same place as this [Slave], can he? Oh, now that I think about it, it’s the perfect place.”

“H-Hik. Y-Your, Your Majesty won’t let you get away with this?! Do, do you know where this is…!”

The [Prince], shouting loudly, didn’t seem to be very bright and couldn’t grasp the situation. I stared at the [Prince] and recalled the Level 1 alert that had just been issued.

I was going to ask Noah earlier, but this place had a satellite, unlike what I had expected. But the current date was unknown, wasn’t it? The date is determined by the satellite… No, wait, was the location determined by the satellite? This kind of thing isn’t common knowledge.

Whatever its function, the fact that there was a satellite meant that this place was—

“Hahaha, where is it? Do you even know where this is?”

Temujin threw back his head and burst into laughter.

This place wasn’t the past, but the future of where I had been.

Whoosh—!

“Enemy attack!!”

“The Mongols are here!! The Mongols have invaded!!”

At that moment, loud shouts echoed from all directions, and fires erupted. It was different from the fires that had been lit inside the palace to illuminate the interior. It was a great blaze, like the ones they used to turn villages to ashes.

“The timing is good.”

Temujin glanced around and then looked down at the [Prince] again. The [Prince] was gaping, dumbfounded.

“Ah, I forgot. That noisy tongue—”

What? The end of the sentence was cut off by the commotion, and I couldn’t hear it properly. At my questioning gaze, Temujin stopped moving with the sword in his hand. Then, he hesitated as if in thought, sighed, and lowered the sword.

“…I’ll have to cut it later.”

What? I asked again, but Temujin ignored my gaze and clicked his tongue, looking at the [Prince] with displeasure.

“Khan is here!!”

One of the soldiers shouted loudly. I flinched at the loud shout that was deafening.

They seemed to find it very difficult to face Temujin, and despite being twenty or so in number, they couldn’t easily approach him. They just gripped their swords tightly with both hands and formed a perimeter around Temujin.

Even I thought it would be difficult for Temujin to win against the slowly closing net, but Temujin, who was facing them, bared his teeth and seemed excited.

“Ugh, what are you doing! Save me now! Someone, save me!!”

The [Prince], clutching his broken leg and groaning, was still crawling on the ground. Really, he had an amazing voice. Or was the injury not as painful as he made it out to be?

Temujin seemed to think the same, as he immediately kicked the man who was a step away.

Crack!

“Aaaagh—! Aagh!! Aaaagh!”

The [Prince] let out a sharp cry and rolled around on the dirt floor, clutching his broken leg.

“[Prince]…!”

While the soldiers were restless and at a loss, Temujin moved more leisurely than anyone else, despite being alone.

“You can’t escape now. I’ll decide your fate later.”

Whoosh—!

Temujin put his fingers to his lips and whistled. The high-pitched sound, which was hard to believe came from a human mouth, echoed widely inside the palace.

Clop.

The sound of hooves, which was particularly heavy compared to other horses, was unique, but I had heard it enough times to recognize it quickly. I reflexively tightened my grip on his collar as Temujin bent down.

“A, a horse! Don’t let the Khan ride it!”

“Stop him!”

The soldiers waved their swords, trying to stop Temujin’s horse, ‘Temur,’ which was running towards them from afar. But Temur, whose arrogant personality was still evident, snorted and easily jumped over the soldiers’ barrier, arriving in front of Temujin.

Thump—!

No sooner had Temur landed on the ground with a heavy thud than Temujin grabbed the reins and jumped on. My body swayed greatly as I was seated on Temur.

“Did you think you could take a horse from a Mongol?”

Temujin, who had only attacked villages until now, had always left the work to his subordinates and had never properly wielded a sword. I tried to lift my head and look around, but Temujin pressed my head firmly against his chest.

“Ugh, uaaagh—!”

With each clop of hooves, countless screams mingled. The shoulder I was clinging to was tense, the muscles bulging and as hard as rock, but his arms moved fluidly.

Through the gaps in my swaying vision, I could see Temujin on horseback cutting down the soldiers. Not a single spear or arrow came close or flew towards us.

Temujin’s sword deflected spears and cut down arrows. The soldiers underfoot were trampled by hooves, and the backs of fleeing soldiers were marked with red lines as blood poured out.

As if he had the limbs of a horse, Temujin skillfully bent his arms on horseback. He even occasionally shot arrows, accurately piercing the gaps in the soldiers’ helmets, checking to see if I was in the way.

Clearly, this was a war, and I had been trying to escape because I was afraid of this war, but strangely, this embrace felt as reassuring as having an army of a million men.

Perhaps Noah had also sensed this, which was why he hadn’t issued a Level 1 alert.

***