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Book 2 Part 3 Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4.2

A gigantic plume of steam rose from the large pot. Inside, the cut-up meat and vegetables made a delicious simmering sound.

The residents of the lower quarter had yet to return to their normal lives after the uproar, and as such decided to hold a soup kitchen in the plaza. Fortunately, they still had plenty of water. The fountain was the only benefit they had gained from the uproar. Since Godonan had been at the root of its creation, there were worries about what would happen to it in the future, but there was no point worrying about it for the time being.

The residents gathered together all the ingredients everyone had brought and cooked it. As they ate side by side, a small sense of normalcy returned to them. Just like before, people laughed, and encouraged each other, and vowed to rebuild their home.

The lower quarter became one again, and the wounds they had suffered slowly started to heal.

The change happened around the time the sun was beginning to set. A resident was repairing a piece of broken furniture when he suddenly dropped the hammer he was holding. Laughing to hide his embarrassment, he bent down to pick it up, before collapsing onto the ground.

Seeing this, his neighbour called out to him and tried to run over, but he couldn’t. After taking a few steps, he found his legs getting tangled up in each other, and like that he collapsed. He tried to stand up, but he found that he couldn’t put any strength into his body. Filled with fear, he tried to cry out, but all that came out was a feeble groan.

Silence quickly descended over the lower quarter. People stopped moving and simply collapsed onto the ground.

Even at ‘My Home’, the children were collapsing one after another, while Yuri and Flynn watched on helplessly.

“What in the world is happening?”

Flynn said in a hoarse voice. His sense of balance was off, but despite that somehow he managed to keep standing.

“I don’t know. All of a sudden it felt like all the strength in my body left me, and then everyone collapsed. …Wait, are you okay?”

“Honestly, it feels like I’d collapse the instant I relax. How about you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it feels like if I collapse, it’d be the end of me too.”

Their stronger bodies had saved them. But even as they continued talking, they could feel themselves gradually getting weaker.

“Is this some kind of illness? But for it to affect all of…”

At Flynn’s words, the two of them looked at each other in shock. They were reminded of something — the mysterious illness that had swept through the entire capital many years ago, that weakened the body and eventually resulted in death. The illness that had taken Flynn’s mother’s — Norein’s — life.

A girl on the ground let out a small gasp.

“Just bear with it for a little while, okay?”

Yuri called out to her in an encouraging voice, but he didn’t even have the strength to go and help her up. Yuri gritted his teeth.

“Hey, are you guys okay?”

At the sound of that voice, they turned around to see Jiri standing in the doorway. Even someone as strong as her was leaning against the wall, her eyes devoid of strength. From the looks of it, Hanks must have long since been unable to move.

“Aunt Jiri, what in the world is going on…?”

At Flynn’s question, Jiri shook her head weakly.

“I have no idea what’s going on either. I looked outside the window and saw a few people collapsed on the street. Most likely, the whole lower quarter has become like this.”

After saying that laboriously as if it was too exhausting to even speak Jiri slid down the wall, and — still leaning against the wall — sat down.

“Aunt Jiri!”

Yuri and Flynn couldn’t help but cry out at the unbelievable sight before them. For Jiri to be lying there on the ground weakly. To the two of them, it was as if the lower quarter’s last line of defence had been destroyed.

“Don’t yell so loudly. You’ll scare the kids.”

Her chiding voice was weak, and her breathing was shallow.

“I don’t feel sick anywhere, but it feels like my lifeforce is draining from my body like a bucket with a hole in it. It’s so annoying.”

****

“Well done.”

Mirarem’s butler said in a stony, expressionless voice. However, far from being happy, Jareth instead looked incredibly anxious.

“Are… are you sure it’s going to be alright? You said, uh… they were going to feel a little weak, right? They looked like they were in quite a bit of pain…”

The two of them were standing in the middle of the slope that connected the citizens’ quarter to the lower quarter. They weren’t hiding in the shadows, but rather were standing in the middle of the road, watching the lower quarter.

Just a few days ago, Godonan’s forces and the residents of the lower quarter had clashed violently here. Now, apart from them, there was not a soul in sight.

“Humans, you see, can’t move when they’re weakened. That’s a simple fact.”

“B-But, for it to weaken them by that much… there are children down there, you know…”

The butler knitted his brown in annoyance.

“Listen carefully. The core that you swapped in changes the water. Drinking it destroys the entire equilibrium of one’s body. There is no surviving that.”

As the meaning of those words permeated into his brain, Jareth’s eyes widened.

“No… surviving…?”

As if he’d said all he needed to say, the butler looked at Jareth again with those emotionless eyes.

“T-This isn’t funny!”

Shouting that, Jareth turned his back on the butler. This was terrible. He had to let everyone know right away.

A shock pierced into his back, followed by scorching heat.

“Ugh…… huh?

Jareth winced as a warm sensation of something ran down his back. He reached a hand behind to touch it. He trembled as his fingers touched something liquidy, and he brought his fingers back to see that they were stained a bright red.

Jareth slowly turned around. The butler in front of him had no change in expression as he wiped the blood off the dagger in his hand.

“If everyone who lives there is exterminated, then there is no need to chase anyone out. And then, without delay, everything will become Lady Mirarem’s.”

Without uttering a single word, Jareth collapsed onto the ground. Above him, a stream of clinking golden coins fell on top of his body.

“Here is the reward you were promised.”

Saying that, Mirarem’s butler curtly turned on his heel and left.

****

A moment of carelessness proved to be his downfall. When he tried to adjust the leg that was supporting his body to shift his centre of gravity, he lost his balance. Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem, and he would have recovered without even needing to think. But the present Yuri no longer had the strength to do so.

“Yuri!”

Flynn’s voice sounded distant in his ears. Yuri tried to brace himself, but he couldn’t control his knees at all, and just like that he collapsed onto the ground. He barely managed to raise the upper half of his body by leaning on the wall for support, but that was the best he could do.

“Are you alright, Yuri…!”

“Does it look that way to you? …Well, I guess this is it.”

“……!”

Perhaps seeing Yuri’s state had snuffed out the last of Flynn’s fighting spirit — Flynn’s legs finally crumpled, and he sat down on the spot. Jiri hadn’t said a word since then, either.

Is this really how it ends? Without knowing what’s happening to us, with everyone lying still, unable to move? But the truth of the reality was staring right at him.

You’ve got to be kidding me. For a brief moment, an intense rage welled up from within, but Yuri couldn’t even contain that, and it drained out of him.

—— That was quick.

Yuri felt his eyelids growing heavy. He fought back against the drooping of his eyelids, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.

****

He ran. Pain lanced through his body with each step he took. As if in concord, blood spurted out as well with each jolt of his foot. The pain would subside a little until he took the next step, and with it he felt a little more of his life slip away from him.

…No, it wasn’t just a figment of his imagination. The blood dripping down his back showed no signs of stopping, leaving drops of blood and bloodied tracks to mark the path he took. Each and every stain on the ground was a symbol of a fragment of life that had slipped away from his body.

Jareth walked on desperately. His vision was blurred by pain and blood loss, but it was all he had to guide his way. Honestly, he wanted to run. He wanted to run to where everyone was. In his mind, it felt like he had walked long enough to reach them already, but in reality he hadn’t even made it down the slope yet.

He didn’t consider what to do if the butler noticed and came after him. Even if he did, there was most likely nothing he could have done about it.

The urge to puke rose up from the back of his throat. Jareth didn’t resist it. Something spilled out from his mouth, but whether it had come from his stomach or not, he didn’t have the time to worry about it now. He was crying. He was aware of that. Tears flowed endlessly down his cheeks. Droplets of water fell from his chin, mixed with his blood and seeped into the ground.

Jareth kept walking. Where was he going? To the place he needed to return to. To the place where he lived — to ‘My Home’.

****

When he arrived at the house, both the visitor and the visited were gasping for breath.

Even so, the person who had set off had reached their destination, and the people who received him at their doorstep were there to witness it.

“Jareth?! That blood—”

Flynn said in surprise, as he lay there paralysed. Jareth gave him a weak smile and stepped inside ‘My Home’. A trail of bloody footprints followed in his wake. As he passed by Yuri, Yuri saw the deep wound carved into his back and stared, at a loss for words.

Jareth dragged his body past the fallen children.

“I’m sorry, everyone. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry……”

Mumbling repeated apologies in a weak voice, Jareth walked deeper into the house.

“……Aunt Jiri……”

At his call, Jiri slowly opened her eyes.

“Jareth? You… I see, so you came back.”

Jiri’s voice was calm, as if she’d understood something upon seeing the horrific state the youth was in.

“Aunt Jiri — it’s the water… the fountain’s water…… I followed the orders of a noble called Mirarem and swapped out the fountain’s core —”

Jareth repeated exactly what the butler had said. He didn’t necessarily understand all of it, but it didn’t matter.

“‘Destroys the equilibrium of one’s body’… that’s…”

As Yuri groaned that, Flynn nodded weakly as well.

“…Yes, it’s similar to what happened to my mother.”

Upon hearing that, a spark lit up in Jiri’s eyes, as if she was surprised. But now her eyes were filled with determination, and she spoke to Jareth.

“Sorry about this, Jareth, but could you do me a favour?”

“Tell me anything, and I’ll do it.”

Jareth smiled weakly. His face was already frighteningly pale. Even so, there was a hint of joy and determination in his voice.

“At the very back of the kitchen, on the bottom shelf, there’s a small box there. I want you to get that for me. …Can you do it?”

“Yes…… I can. I have to……”

As Jareth walked unsteadily and disappeared into the kitchen, Yuri and the others looked at her with puzzled expressions on their faces and spoke.

“Aunt Jiri……?”

Jiri slowly shook her head. Her eyes were closed again, as if her earlier words — the act of ordering around a deeply wounded youth — had used up all of her strength.

“Pathetic. I forgot all about it until you all brought it up. And after all that fuss was made, too……”

She had whispered those words as if talking to herself, but Yuri and Flynn clearly understood what she was talking about.

Before long, Jareth returned, walking at the same pace — or maybe even slower — as when he’d set off. In his hands was a small box.

“Here, Aunt Jiri……”

Jiri gave a small nod, then signalled with her gaze for him to open it. Sluggishly, Jareth obeyed her.

The lid opened and fell to the floor. A weak but clearly discernible bluish white light lit up Jareth’s pale, bloodless face.

It was obvious what was inside the box without needing to see it. With a voice filled with almost reverence and awe, Flynn murmured its name.

“Panacea…”

From the ornate glass vial, a single glimmering drop of the liquid dripped into Jiri’s mouth, and she swallowed it whole without savouring the taste.

“Sorry, could you also let those two drink some too?”

Jareth nodded. He slowly approached Yuri and let the liquid drip into his mouth the same way.

Normally, she would have drank the whole vial by herself. But right now this single vial that served as everyone’s lifeline was all they had left. She didn’t know how much you were supposed to drink for it to be effective, but she decided it was best to err on the side of caution.

Sure enough, the miracle elixir that had cured even the most mysterious of illnesses in the capital lived up to its name. As soon as he swallowed the droplets of panacea, Yuri felt a sensation similar to a cool, refreshing breeze spread throughout his body. The refreshing sensation spread to every part of his body and disappeared. Is that it? …Looks to be that way. He had been expecting something more dramatic, like his body being filled with a strange, unknown power.

Maybe it would have been different if he had drunk the whole thing instead of just one drop. But Yuri realised something else. The feeling of that ‘something’ being endlessly drained from him had stopped. In its place, a small but definite amount of vitality was being generated. The ‘hole’ had been plugged, so of course it would gradually accumulate once more — ‘it’ being the vitality generated by his own body.

How about Flynn? As Yuri turned over to look, his expression stiffened. Flynn was glaring as Jareth approached him, or more specifically, glaring at the vial in Jareth’s hand.

Flynn’s mother Norein had once pushed away that small vial. She had refused to drink from it, choosing to place her beliefs over her own life. And, she had died for it.

Yuri felt a chill run down his spine.

Surely not. At this late in the game, was Flynn going to do the same? Was he going to reject the salvation Jareth had — in spite of his severe wounds — brought to him?

Yuri wasn’t able to understand all of the conflict that Flynn felt. Because between the two of them, there were just some things that they couldn’t share. Even so, Yuri prayed. Please, drink it.

Flynn opened his mouth. Surprisingly, he was compliant — at least on the outside. Drops of shimmering liquid dripped onto his tongue.

For a brief moment, a look of hesitation flashed across Flynn’s face. Yuri thought Flynn would spit it out at the very last minute, but Flynn only closed his eyes, as well as his mouth. His throat bobbed up and down, an indication that he had swallowed.

“……Thank you, Jareth. You saved us.”

Yuri looked over and saw that Jiri had stood up. Jareth smiled. Then suddenly, his body went limp.

“Jareth!”

Shrugging off his woozy state, Yuri leapt up and caught Jareth’s body in his arms. And then, he realised that he could move again. The vial fell from Jareth’s hands. He couldn’t reach around to grab it, but another hand reached out and caught it before it could spill its precious contents onto the ground. It was Flynn.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yuri made to gently lay Jareth on the ground. But Jiri stopped him. She knelt down and took Jareth into her arms.

Jareth’s bleeding had mostly stopped, but Jiri knew it wasn’t because his wounds had closed, but because there was almost none left to bleed.

“Aunt Jiri, the panacea—”

Flynn held out the vial, but Jiri shook her head slightly.

“……The panacea can’t heal wounds.”

As if he’d heard those words, Jareth’s eyelids cracked open slightly.

“Aunt Jiri—”

“Thank you, Jareth. Thanks to you, we might be able to save the whole lower quarter.”

Jareth looked like he was going to smile again, but the corners of his mouth only tilted upwards by a bit.

“I……”

At this point Jareth was forcing himself to speak, but Jiri didn’t stop him. In fact, she brought her face closer to him so she wouldn’t miss his words.

“I… wanted everyone to understand… that they could also… live a better life over there… that it would definitely be better over there…… But everyone looked at me strangely… and I got so frustrated that… I thought if I could force them to…… that… eventually… they’d… understand……”

His voice grew quieter and quieter. His expression slowly relaxed, but a single tear fell from his eye.

“Aunt Jiri… I’ll… give you all of my money… so please… buy all the medicine you need… and then… save…… every………”

“Jareth.”

Jiri called out his name, but Jareth could no longer hear her. Jiri held onto him silently as his body fell limp.

Neither Yuri nor Flynn uttered a single word. They only hung their heads in silence.

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