Chapter 841
Near the top of Villanueva, Diana lay stretched out on the roof of a shack, her back to the city. For a moment, she stared blankly at the dark mountain slope beyond the walls and the roiling black clouds overhead.
"No matter how I think about it, this is insane," she muttered under her breath.
Just like every time she’d been with Ian Hope, things were spiraling further into something bleak and dangerous.
Of course, it was a pointless regret. Trapped on an island in the middle of the Black Sea, there was nowhere to run.
Bwooo—
From somewhere below the rooftop behind her, a horn suddenly blared.
Strange cheers of varying intensity spread throughout the bustling city—it was the people of Villanueva.
Diana’s gaze sank into something more complicated.
Just two days ago, they looked like a bunch of dying beggars. Now, after being given what was essentially a suicidal mission, they were filled with life. The ones who’d gone out on patrol and come back were the same.
It wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. Whenever Hyked had stayed somewhere for a while, the people in those places would end up just like this—filled with hope and a sense of purpose.
Diana herself had been no different back then.
"Fuck."
But now, all that stirred in Diana was a hollow sense of disillusionment.
Letting out another curse-laced sigh, she pulled out her cigarette case.
Just as she placed a neatly rolled cigarette between her lips, a low voice came from behind. "So you’ve been hiding out here, Pointy-Ear."
Diana shot upright and turned around, her hand instinctively moving to the throwing dagger at her side.
"That’s the first expression of yours I’ve liked."
A gray-furred beastfolk poked her head up from the edge of the roof, sneering. Her face bore an uncanny resemblance to the archdemon that had haunted Diana’s nightmares countless times.
Suppressing the pounding of her heart, Diana said, "Walking up behind me without a sound. You’ve got a death wish?"
"Shouldn’t you be thanking me for not killing you? You didn’t even notice me." Nehat climbed up onto the roof, sneering.
Diana fought down the urge to bury every knife she had into that one-armed bastard’s face.
Instead, she turned forward again. "If you’re not here to pick a fight, get lost. I want to be alone."
She struck flint and lit the tip of her cigarette. Of course, Nehat didn’t leave. Instead, she trudged closer.
"I didn’t come to look at your disgusting face either, Pointy-Ears. The chieftain told me to come."
Diana exhaled smoke through her nose as she muttered, "Figures. Got another errand for me, huh?"
Unless Ian Hope showed up in person, she had no intention of moving before finishing this cigarette.
"We’re doing just fine without you. She just told me to talk to you out of obligation," Nehat said as she approached.
Diana frowned and squeezed her eyes shut. "So now I can’t even have time to myself... Fuck. Might be my last chance, too."
"Last chance? What, you're scared you’re going to die?" Nehat sneered again as she sat down at a reasonable distance.
Diana didn’t respond, instead drawing in a deep breath of smoke.
Nehat let out a mocking chuckle. "Guess it’s true. Even the pointy-ears were itching to fight—doesn’t it embarrass you, acting head of the house?"
"You just want to vent all that frustration from living with beasts like yourselves through killing," Diana replied, exhaling smoke as she opened her eyes and looked at Nehat. "Or maybe it’s just the arrogance of pups who have no idea what it means to fight alongside Ian Hope."
"Oh, I see. So you think you know Ian Hope a little better. Must’ve been pretty damn terrifying, fighting an archdemon, huh?" One of Nehat’s fangs showed slightly. She was clearly mocking Diana.
Diana shook her head. "I wonder if you’ll still be smiling like that when you actually face one."
"I’ll laugh even harder. It’ll be a fight worth risking my life for."
At Nehat’s answer, a faint smirk touched Diana’s lips. "Right... you idiots really think dying in battle is some kind of honor."
"It’s far more honorable than trembling like a coward just to survive. And more practical too. No point growing old and becoming a burden to the next generation, right?"
Clicking her tongue, Diana turned her gaze away. "You worship Karha and still dare to spout nonsense that goes directly against his teachings. Then again, it’s not like you’d understand any of that."
She had no desire to keep talking with this ignorant, barbaric creature.
For a moment, only the distant noise drifting up from the city and docks, along with the curl of cigarette smoke, lingered on the rooftop.
"How did my father die?" Nehat asked quietly.
Diana, cigarette still between her lips, glanced back at her indifferently.
Nehat kept her eyes fixed on the dark slope as she continued, "At the very least, I should know. Ian Hope never tells me the details."
"It was ugly. By the end, it was completely consumed by chaos. There was nothing left of who it used to be."
Diana let out a dry scoff, flicking ash from her cigarette as she added, "Honestly, the other beastfolk who turned into mindless beasts died more cleanly."
"I see." Nehat nodded, letting out a low growl with a faint, bitter smile.
The corner of Diana’s mouth twisted. "Not ashamed, but mourning him? After everything, you still haven’t come to your senses."
Nehat wrinkled her nose and turned toward Diana. "Watch your mouth. Unless you want your tongue torn out."
Her orange eyes had sharpened, her pupils narrowing to slits, a faint killing intent simmering within them.
Her voice dropped, laced with a low vibration.
"You’re not going to tell me that just because you were beyond the wall, you don’t know about all the things your pointy-eared lot did to our people."
"Don’t twist things. You brought it on yourselves. And you dare defend demons? You knew exactly what that traitor was doing." Diana shot back without backing down.
A thick, simmering hatred surfaced in her swamp-colored eyes, flashing with old memories as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.
Nehat bared her fangs, looking ready to lunge at any moment as she spat the words. "That was only a minority’s doing! Do you know what you people did? You drove us out of our homeland and slaughtered anyone who resisted. And not just killed them. They humiliated and brutalized them!"
"All the more reason you should blame your father for losing himself to bloodlust and madness," Diana cut her off, pointing her cigarette at Nehat. "And blame yourselves too—for knowing exactly what happened, yet secretly repeating the same atrocities."
Nehat said nothing. Her nose twitched, her eyes locked onto Diana, brimming with killing intent.
Her clenched fist trembled as if she might strike at any moment.
Diana didn’t look away either. She was already prepared to dodge and retaliate if that punch came.
However, Nehat never threw the punch.
"As expected. You can’t win against a pointy-ear when it comes to words," Nehat said, turning her gaze forward.
Diana took another drag of her cigarette and let out a long breath through her nose.
What is the point of arguing like this now?
"But I won’t apologize for what my father and the warriors who followed him did to your people," Nehat said, her voice low and steady.
Diana let out a faint scoff. "Do as you like. I have no intention of apologizing for what my people did to yours either."
"Then I guess it’s a draw."
Diana frowned and turned to her again.
How the hell is that a draw?
She swallowed the words that almost slipped out.
Nehat met her gaze and continued, "Ian Hope... no, the Golden Demigod... bound us into the same fate. Given that, this is the best conclusion I can come to."
Diana’s eyes twitched.
It had turned out exactly as Ian Hope said. Even after trading blows with her, Nehat had actually taken the time to think things through.
Leaning forward slightly, Nehat added in a low voice, "But if you act like a coward in the coming battle and slow us down, I won’t forgive it. The same goes for the rest of your kind. If warriors end up stuck back home because of you lot, that’s a completely different matter."
"You’d better not get carried away and die first," Diana replied quietly.
She’d forced this beast to extend an olive branch first, but strangely, she didn’t feel any better.
That was when Nehat bared her fangs in a grin. "Can’t promise that."
Diana’s eyes narrowed as Nehat continued, "As you said, I’m one of those idiots who think dying in battle is an honor. Even after becoming a follower of Karha, that part hasn’t changed."
Diana stared at her for a moment, then let out a low sigh and looked away. "Unbelievable... stuck babysitting beasts. I’d rather bite my tongue off."
"Why not try it? I’ll make sure you don’t die," said Nehat.
Diana didn’t respond, just inhaled deeply from her cigarette.
So she’d lived in the Central for a long time, had she?
This beast knew exactly how to get under her skin.
"Looks like you’re done arguing." A deep voice cut in from behind.
Both Diana and Nehat flinched and turned at the same time.
At the opposite edge of the roof, a striped beastfolk with an eyepatch peeked up—Palmer, another of their so-called companions bound by fate.
Nehat licked her lips as she asked, "How long have you been watching?"
Only then did Diana realize she hadn’t sensed Palmer at all either.
Climbing up onto the roof, Palmer answered plainly, "Since you two started growling at each other."
"Watching to make sure we didn’t start fighting again, huh?" Nehat clicked her tongue.
Diana let out a small scoff and looked away as Palmer approached.
Palmer shook her head. "As long as you don’t kill each other, I don’t care what you do. I’m here because the demigod is looking for you."
Nehat’s eyes widened.
A beat later, Diana frowned slightly. "Don’t tell me the schedule’s already set."
Ian Hope had just gone to the fortress earlier. That was why she’d been able to sneak away here for a moment of peace.
Contrary to her hopes, Palmer nodded. "It’s set. We will sail tomorrow."
"Finally!" Nehat’s eyes lit up as she sprang to her feet.
Diana, on the other hand, covered her face with one hand and groaned. "Fuck."
The schedule had moved up faster than expected. It seemed that Ian's goddaughter worked harder than necessary.
"There’s still a lot to prepare. You’ve had enough time. Let’s move," Palmer added.
But Diana didn’t get up. She just took a long drag from her cigarette. She wanted, even if only for a moment, to be alone.
But of course, she wasn’t going to get that chance.
"If you want to be dragged there, keep sitting like that, Pointy-Ear."
At Nehat’s whisper, Diana finally let out a long sigh through her nose and pushed herself up.
Maybe Ian Hope put these two on me not to guard me, but to keep an eye on me.