24 Hearts

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The twenty-fourth fragment, Carpe Diem

Ea.

That was her name. As a member of the Flying Fighters and the honorable knights of the imperial Baekje, she was sent alone to recover the fragment known to have fallen in Serenia Castle.

Many years before, the fighters dispatched to Serenia Castle were either advanced or intermediate. However, they were sent out every three years, but each time, they returned without much success, and soon Serenia became a place that no one desired to visit. Lord Peerchen didn’t consider talking to the trainees who had to put a lot of effort into being recognized as an intermediate.

Everyone knew the case. Ea didn’t even have a clue about the fragment, but she knew that going to Serenia was a waste of time. Time will pass, and your skills will fall. Her classmates built up their balls and improved their skills on the battlefield or through multiple missions, only to roam in search of fragments that might not exist. All the Flying Fighters that returned from Serenia Castle had only one thing to say, “If possible, do not go.”

There came the point where sending dispatch became a doubt for the empire, but giving up was not one of their plans. However, the loyalty of the Flying Fighters was religious to the empire.

Since no group in the empire paralleled their loyalty to the emperor and the country, it was quite possible that even if she didn’t take Serenia Castle, she was instead to be sent to a different country.

The empire promised high pay and sufficient compensation, but there were still no applicants. Ea was the only one who took the challenge.

Well, the results were exactly what many expected them to be.

Far from finding any fragments, she couldn’t even find anything equivalent to it. As others said, time only passed. It was a shame because she learned from Kaseun, the Wielder of the Sword, and received advice. If not for this, she might have returned to the empire in tears.

Soon after her dispatch period was over, she did not desire to apply for an extension, as did the senior Flying Fighters. She wanted to leave Serenia as soon as possible. She never wanted to waste another second of her life there. Not only was her time wasted, but she also came out with nothing to gain, nor did she foster any relationship.

‘No, there’s one fucking relationship.’

There was Judah, the young hero of Serenia Castle. Their connection was complicated and unpleasant.

Their first meeting and first impression were the worst, and what happened today was a great humiliation. If it weren’t for Kain or Riel, Judah would’ve offed with her head. The humiliation of having his blade upon her neck was unacceptable beyond words.

For the Flying Fighters, defeat and humiliation were nothing more than a stepping stone towards victory. So, even in the empire, they were not held accountable if they were defeated in war. In the case of other knights, severe punishment could not be avoided, but their knights tolerated defeat as much as the fighters.

If you lost a battle, you survived even shamefully. If you had been humiliated, bite your teeth and endure it. As long as you didn’t betray your empire, you could survive by begging for your life.

But to come back alive, you must surely win your next battle. Repay your shame and return from humiliation as many times as you can. It was okay to suffer several failures and defeats. If you don’t have enough skills, you have to step back and always try again. In the end, you have to be able to endure such hardships to smile and look down at your opponent in the winner’s seat.

It was the role of the Flying Fighters of the empire to keep on fighting.

And for Ea, she had to turn the humiliation she endured under Judah’s blade.

She knew every nook and cranny of this forest. Ea had been scrambling around here for two years, and there’s no way she could be estranged here. As she sent her party back home, Ea pretended to follow them from behind before blending into the byway between the bushes. Ea turned, watching them walk among themselves without noticing her disappearance.

“Now then, let’s go after that cheeky little boy.”

She pulled out a portable map from her backpack and headed to where Judah had just disappeared to. Faint footprints traced on the moist soil. The precise way of pursuing someone and performing stealth was basic survival skills, both of which she used to track him down. But something was quite off. Judah seemed to stray from the path.

‘Where is this heading?’

As the trail cut off abruptly, Ea scanned wherever it had brought her to. She ducked for the hills up ahead and, with a knife, cut down the bushes that blocked her way. This was the only way he could’ve slipped through.

EA remained puzzled, checking the map in her grasp. Going this way led towards a ruin he could not possibly know. These ruins were forgotten by time, and only the rubble of brick walls and skeletons of other buildings stood within this aged field.

Ea estimated the time it would take to travel the ruins. No matter how big or fast your stride was, he would have no other choice but to spend the night in the wasteland. She laughed as she continued to hunt the boy.

“Hah, this kid is fast.”

She had been pursuing him on a whim, and Judah was still nowhere to be seen. Ea sighed, already preparing for homelessness. As the day got darker, tracking him down began to feel impossible. She knew the way to the ruins, so it didn’t matter wherever she went, but at that point, she had to take a torch to get through the darkness.

And in such a dark forest, holding a torch stood out too much. So Ea stopped the chase and spent the night in the woods. In the first break of dawn, she continued down the path to the ruins.

A castle could’ve stood there in the past, leaving only traces of fallen walls and crumbled buildings. Even the path that she followed began to smear from age, and sooner, it was no longer possible to follow the footsteps blending into the ground. With a sigh, she raised her head and scanned the area.

Warm sunlight cascaded into the ruins of the old building, and vines of unknown plants stretched along its decaying walls. At night, she could feel the ruins’ timeless beauty but come the day; it felt like a mystery waiting to be solved.

And because of the abandoned houses, it was dangerous at it was beautiful, for monsters who came to escape from the rain built their nests within these walls.

These treacherous beings could jump at her anytime, so she put her hands on her weapons—cold and guarded for any sign of movement. Thankfully, even the tiniest sound of stepping on a stone or the rolling of crumbs over asbestos was loud enough to echo through the ruins.

‘Where the hell is that little kid?’

The ruins, she remembered, was quite large. Something as small as the boy might take quite some time to find in these vast sanctuaries. Maybe they had crossed paths, and she had missed him. And if she wished to kill him, she needed to leave no trace of it. The challenge made her nervous. Then out of nowhere, a question intruded her thoughts.

‘Have you ever noticed that the little boy seemed to drag his weight?’

Did he? Well, Ea wasn’t sure. Was it relevant information? Whatever. All she cared about was to see him face to face. But soon, her anticipation quickly burned down. Judah was nowhere to be found, and it was even more impossible to do in these ruins.

All Ea could find were the discarded dolls sticking their faces among the piles of stones and shredded pieces of old clothes. Finding a comfortable place, Ea sighed as she relaxed for a break. She came out here for revenge, but all she looked like right now was a fool. She took out a packaged jerky from her backpack to relieve hunger and then bit it into it diligently. Chewing the salty jerky in peace, her silence was interrupted with noise from afar.

Kieek!

A monster shrieked. From the pitch of the scream, it was most likely to be a goblin commonly seen here. The pattern of the sound was not a call for help but rather a fearful scream. Its screaming stopped immediately, but it was enough for her to pinpoint exactly where it came from.

“…!”

She spat out the jerky she was chewing, then bolted for its direction. The cry was near, and by following the ruins according to its echo, she knew just where to go. As she ran through the ground with tremendous speed, she heard the unmistakable commotion of a battle.

Kung, Kuung!

A harsh beat whipped into the air like something huge had rolled over, followed by a goblin’s scream. Over a corner, someone was fighting a hoard of green creatures. Victory poured over Ea as finally, she found him. She was bored to death, and after days of it, a smile had managed to appear across her face. Ea hid behind a wall, stopping herself from ascending until the time was right, anticipating the sight of the blood of her enemy.

Kuung!

Kieth!

A goblin flew by her with the momentum of a cannonball, hitting the wall with a splat, before collapsing to the ground. Even if it was just one beat late, it almost hit her. The goblin wriggled with its broken rib… while nothing remained for the other half of its body.

“What?”

Was it fighting an ogre to end up like this?

Ea peaked from behind the wall she hid from. About ten goblins were scattered here and there with one side of their body twisted… And among the goblins stood a knight with a spear and shield.

From head to toe, the Knight was protected with gleaming, silver armor. The armor was made to fit its wearer perfectly, and the Knight’s beautiful curve told Ea this warrior was female. However, their gender didn’t matter to her. That Knight was a Blue Lancer. A knight of Byron, the eternal enemy of the Flying Fighters and the enemy of her empire.

“Who knew…”

After a while, Ea emerged from the shadows with her spears in her grasp.

“Who knew I’d find a chicken instead of the peasant… Or I found a peasant instead of a chicken?”

She came here for Judah, but her priorities had changed. Other opponents would have just stepped back, but the story was different if that opponent was a Blue Lancer. The Knight snapped her head to the sound of her footsteps. She couldn’t see beyond the helmet of the Lancer, but she noticed the flinch of her spear.

“You…?”

Ea smiled and tilted her head slightly, “Hello, Blue Lancer. It’s been a while since we met. Do you remember me?”

“…Of course. It’s not something to forget.”

“Wow, how delightful. The last we met was in the East Forest, correct? What’s wrong with the West Forest? Didn’t find what you were looking for?” Still smiling, Ea replied while playing with the weapon in her hand.

Jeanne, the Blue Lancer, narrowed her eyes at the approaching Fighter. Her soothing voice was comparable to a rose, famous for its beauty. However, as a rose had thorns, her soothing voice managed to send its listeners on edge. In the first place, what was she to do about someone approaching her with a knife? Jeanne hoped the tension between them had been buried by history, but it was wishful thinking. Jeanne strengthened her hold at the shield on her left arm, facing it at Ea to guard herself against the Knight.

“Yes, I thought there might be fragments in the Eastern Woods, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find any. It looks the same for you if you’re here?”

Ea’s eyes flared as she walked closer.

“That’s right. I have invested two years into this too, but there was nothing for me to gain. I could grow old here, and for what?”

Jeanne sympathized, reminiscing at the beginning of their journey. “Do you remember what Lord Peerchen said? He told us that fragments would appear to those who were led by fate. Unfortunately, it seems that we were not one of the lucky ones.”

“Ha! Curse that! Fragments appear to those who are led by fate? Damn such belief. If I found the fragments, I would have asked the Lord if he could shout at me such disgraceful words again.”

Ea, walking towards Jeanne with her spears tracing the ground, stopped in her tracks as her head dropped with a sigh.

“I’m annoyed. Really.”

“I agree.”

Ea closed her eyes, clearing out the mess swimming in her head. She snapped her eyes open, brandishing her spears tightly in her hands. The soother hanging from their handles swayed wildly from her powerful stance.

“You and I have been eating away two years of our lives, and being here gave me no retribution from my regrets. Should I go back from my empire in a state like this, I would be nothing but ridiculed.”

“…You mean to have a duel?” Jeanne asked, reading Ea’s intentions.

“Yes, because the most honorable thing a Flying Fighter could do would be to have a Blue Lancer’s pendant. And as a fighter, I will stop at nothing to bring pride to my empire. I think this place is fit for a duel. This is still within Serenia Castle’s borders. The Lord’s law of neutrality should apply here, so nothing should be prohibited.”

“…Certainly. And if the both of us perished, it would be enough to look as if monsters killed us. Blue Lancers don’t use force as much as possible, but the story is different if the target was a Flying Fighter.”

“Oh, is this a coincidence? It seems like we’re meant to fight.”

Ea smirked, bracing down to position. It was a stance unique to Flying Fighters, and Jeanne, who knew it well, also raised her lance with a shield in front. Their fateful lives have reached what could be the climax of their journey.

“Perhaps it’s time to stop talking. Mouths are of no importance to battle. I hope you can quietly give me your throat.”

“If you can take it, please try. But of course, it will be impossible.”

“Woohoo!”

Ea’s laughter for her banter rang in Jeanne’s ears as the two of them charged head-on.