Chương 331: A Truth thats hard to Swallow

Vale's heart sank as he stared at the crimson-haired commander through the cold iron bars. His eyes remained wide, frozen somewhere between despair, denial, and utter disbelief. For several agonizing seconds, he simply stood there, unable to breathe, unable to think, his mind refusing to accept the words it had just heard. Then, almost involuntarily, his lips parted.

"No..." he whispered, the word barely louder than a breath.

"No... that can't be right. I told Illu he would be free. He trusted me..." His voice cracked.

"He... he can't be dead." Ares regarded him with the solemn patience of a man who had delivered far too many unbearable truths in his lifetime. His crimson eyes never wavered.

"And yet," he replied quietly, "no lie has left my mouth." Vale's legs buckled beneath him. He stumbled backward until his heel caught the edge of the stone cot, then collapsed onto the prison floor with a dull thud. His back struck the cold wall as trembling hands flew over his face, fingers digging into his skin as though he could somehow shut the world out. His lungs refused to fill properly. His eyes remained wide open behind his fingers. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. Instead, there was only silence.

It felt as though something had been torn out of him, leaving behind nothing but a hollow abyss where his heart should have been. His throat tightened until it became painful to swallow, while every memory of Illu clawed its way back to the surface. Then came the final memory. The endless ocean. Inferno. The burning flames. Illu reaching toward him. Vale's pupils suddenly contracted.

"It was her..." The whisper escaped him almost unconsciously.

"It was her..." His breathing became ragged. Ares watched him for another moment before continuing, his voice calm despite the grief unfolding before him.

"As I was saying... regardless of whether your attempt ultimately succeeded, you committed a grave crime." He folded his hands behind his back.

"The escape from the colosseum, assaulting military personnel, resisting lawful arrest, and placing countless lives at risk cannot simply be overlooked." His gaze swept over Vale's battered body.

"Ordinarily, your punishment would already have been decided." He paused.

"However..." His expression softened ever so slightly.

"Considering your current condition, I will postpone that decision." Vale did not react. He merely continued staring blankly at the floor.

"I will return tomorrow," Ares continued.

"Use this day to recover your strength. Think carefully about your choices, because when I return..." his voice lowered, "... your future will be decided." Silence answered him. The commander lingered for another brief moment before closing his eyes.

"... Though despite everything..." he said quietly, "... I am glad you survived." Then he turned. His footsteps echoed steadily through the prison until they disappeared beyond the corridor, leaving nothing behind except silence. Silence...... and grief. Vale remained motionless. Minutes passed. Then dozens. Eventually, his trembling hands lowered from his face. His teeth ground together with enough force to make his jaw ache.

"It was her..." The words no longer sounded sorrowful. They sounded hateful. His fingers tightened around the coarse fabric of his prison clothes until the cloth began tearing beneath his grip. Threads snapped one after another as his breathing grew heavier. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"If she hadn't been there..." His nails dug into the fabric.

"... Illu would still be alive." He suddenly slammed his fist into the stone wall beside him. The impact echoed through the empty prison again and again as Vale drove his fist into the stone wall without restraint. Each strike hurt more than the last, splitting his knuckles open until blood streaked across the cracked surface, but he welcomed the pain. It was something tangible, something far simpler than the crushing weight pressing against his chest. Hatred settled inside him. Hours drifted by unnoticed.

Sunlight slowly crawled across the prison floor while Vale remained exactly where he was, staring into nothing, trapped inside the prison of his own thoughts. Every passing minute only hardened the bitterness festering within him until grief itself began to feel distant, consumed by something colder and infinitely more dangerous. Eventually, footsteps echoed through the corridor once more. They stopped outside his cell. Vale didn't even bother looking up.

He continued biting at one of his fingernails until it finally tore free, blood welling from the damaged skin. He spat the broken nail onto the stone floor and muttered flatly, "Go away." Blood trickled steadily from his fingertip, but he paid it no attention. The pain felt deserved.

"I..." The familiar voice hesitated.

"I'm sorry." Vale finally lifted his head. Korin stood beyond the bars. The normally imposing man looked strangely diminished. His shoulders sagged, his fists remained tightly clenched at his sides, and he couldn't even bring himself to meet Vale's eyes.

"I thought..." Korin began quietly.

"I truly believed I'd done everything I could." A bitter laugh escaped him before he shook his head.

"But... I was wrong." Vale studied him for several long moments before letting out a slow breath.

"Don't apologize." His voice was frighteningly calm.

"It wasn't your fault." His gaze darkened.

"It was hers." Korin's jaw tightened.

"No." The word came out far sharper than he intended.

"No, it wasn't." Forcing himself to meet Vale's eyes, he continued, "I told her to take leave that day. She agreed. At least... she said she did." His expression twisted with frustration as his fists tightened even further.

"Then the alarms sounded..., and she ignored my request. If I had made certain she stayed behind..." His voice fell almost to a whisper.

"... none of this would've happened." He swallowed.

"Illu wouldn't have..." The sentence died before it could be finished. Neither of them possessed the strength to say the words aloud. Silence settled over the prison once again. Vale slowly pressed his bleeding thumb against his lips until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

"The Goliath..." Korin blinked.

"What?"

"The Goliath of the Reef." Vale's voice remained completely devoid of emotion.

"What happened to it?" Korin released a weary sigh, his shoulders slumping further.

"We don't know. It disappeared. Even Commander Ares couldn't track it." His gaze drifted toward the narrow prison window where only a sliver of blue sky remained visible.

"Our best assumption is that it returned to the deepest parts of the ocean." His eyes lowered.

"If Illu's body was ever recovered..." He slowly shook his head.

"... it would be there." The words lingered between them. Vale's blood continued dripping steadily from his injured finger, staining the pale cloth wrapped around his hand. Korin shifted uneasily before speaking again.

"I know she fired the shot that brought both of you down," he said carefully.

"But she didn't know who you were." Vale slowly raised his head. His eyes were empty.

"I don't care." Korin frowned.

"It matters."

"No." Vale's voice never rose.

"It doesn't."

"Illu considered me his father."

"And she killed him." Silence answered.

"He..." Vale swallowed painfully before forcing the rest of the sentence out.

"... was just a child." Korin looked away.

"It's not that simple." A quiet laugh escaped Vale. Cold and humorless.

"Why isn't it?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Isn't that exactly what happened?" Korin had no answer. Every explanation he could offer sounded hollow beside the grief of a father who had just lost his son. Eventually, he straightened himself with a weary sigh.

"I know this is impossible to process, so... I'll leave you alone." He paused beside the bars before speaking one final time, his voice noticeably softer.

"But... please. For your own sake... try to see things from her perspective." Vale never answered. He simply looked away. After another moment, Korin turned and left, his footsteps gradually fading into the distance until silence reclaimed the prison once more. Only then did Vale lower his head. The blood soaking through his sleeve finally caught his attention. With an irritated hiss, he grabbed the rough prison shirt and pulled it over his head, exposing the countless scars crisscrossing his torso. Old wounds.

Deep wounds. Marks from a life he still couldn't remember. Normally, they would have consumed his thoughts. Not today. Instead, his attention drifted toward the narrow prison window as the setting sun cast long amber rays across the stone floor. Something caught his eye. His body froze.

"Impossible..." There, stretching across the floor, lay his shadow. Vale slowly raised one hand. The silhouette copied him. He lowered it again. The shadow followed. Everything appeared perfectly ordinary. At least...... until he noticed the delay. Almost imperceptible. Barely a fraction of a heartbeat. Yet it was unmistakably there. Every movement came just slightly too late. Vale's breathing slowed. His eyes narrowed. He tested it again. Raised his hand. Lowered it. The delay remained. His expression hardened.

Without warning, he lifted his foot and slammed it directly onto the shadow.

"Don't lie to me..." His voice turned to ice.

"... you filth." The instant his heel struck the stone... The shadow disappeared. Completely. For the briefest moment, nothing remained beneath him. Then, Clap. Clap. Clap. Slow, mocking applause echoed from the far end of the prison corridor. Vale's head snapped toward the sound. A man emerged from the darkness with a broad grin already spread across his face. Wolf.

"Bravo..." he said, continuing to clap as he approached.

"Young Vale. I'll admit... I didn't think you had the courage to pull off something like that." He chuckled.

"But it seems I underestimated our dear vessel." The final word lingered.

'Vessel' Vale slowly rose to his feet despite every muscle protesting. His grief had not disappeared. It had simply changed. His eyes now burned with murderous intent.

"Give me..." he said quietly, "... one reason..." Taking a slow step toward the bars, he finished, "... why I shouldn't kill you right now." Wolf's grin only widened. Tilting his head with theatrical amusement, he casually tapped one of the thick iron bars separating them.

"Oh, that's easy. For one, these lovely bars are keeping me wonderfully safe from a savage like yourself." He leaned forward slightly, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

"And secondly... I've come to tell you exactly what happens next to a dangerous criminal who thought he could escape the Kingdom with such a dangerous beast." Vale's breathing gradually steadied. The rage remained. He simply buried it beneath cold restraint. Not because Wolf deserved mercy. Because information was worth more than vengeance. Slowly, he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"You have..." he said without taking his eyes off Wolf, "... one minute."