Rise of the Fallen Kingdom’s Third Prince

“Hihihi…”

The one who had been laughing from the beginning was himself.

Yuri clutched his chest to try to stop the laughter rising up. But his throat was strangled with only a bit of air, producing that muffled giggle.

Like air escaping from a balloon, the laughter slipped out without stopping. He held onto the shelf to keep from staggering.

With his other hand, he groped for the sword at his waist, but found nothing. He had left it in the banquet hall. Yuri clenched his fists. He awakened his mana method, but there was no response at all from his body.

Yuri understood.

This was not something that could be faced with swordsmanship or with a mana method.

It was something else.

Desperately holding back the laughter, he asked,

“What are you?”

There was no response.

Yuri clenched his teeth and spat out the words.

“Tell me who you are.”

Then, something in the darkness began to move. No, “move” wasn’t the right word — it was flowing. Its body oozed outward, and soon a pile of crimson flesh gathered around Yuri’s ankles.

The open door closed softly, and the moonlight descended over the entire room.

Yuri held his breath.

They were the same horrid monsters he had seen in Hodle’s paintings.

So terribly intertwined that it was impossible to tell if they were one or many. The only clear thing was that countless eyes were watching him, and countless mouths were opening into grinning smiles.

Yuri realized that the muscles of his own face were moving to imitate the monsters. His eyes were opening wide, his lips curving upward. And, more than anything, uncontrollable laughter was welling up from inside.

That laughter echoed in his eardrums through his own body and skull.

“Hihihi…”

Without realizing it, Yuri took a step forward. He wanted to throw himself into that mass. If he did, something would change. He wouldn’t laugh forcibly as he was now, but would laugh truly, with joy, like them. And for that reason, Yuri…

“Mr. Yuri.”

At that moment, Hodle’s voice came from outside the door.

“Are you choosing a wine, Mr. Yuri?”

Silence fell. Yuri’s mind returned. The strange smile vanished from his eyes, his lips fell.

He blinked.

In the room there was nothing but himself and the wines.

Had he seen something? Or had there never been anything from the start?

Unable to answer himself, Yuri grabbed whatever bottle he found at hand. Unable to organize his thoughts, he stepped out in confusion. Hodle was waiting for him in the hallway with his crutches.

“Good choice. Do you know about wines?”

“A little.”

“Let’s go back.”

Hodle walked ahead. On the way to the banquet hall, Yuri forced himself not to look back.

As soon as they returned, he uncorked the wine and said,

“Mr. Hodle. Actually, I just saw something strange.”

He didn’t tell him everything. He felt that saying it aloud would acknowledge it. That thing he had seen had suddenly vanished.

Then, where had it gone? Had it melted into the darkness of the room? Or had it perhaps gone inside him?

“Ah, I see…”

“It was truly something very strange. Could you explain it to me?”

Hodle let out a long sigh.

“It seems you really did see it.”

“What does this mean?”

“First of all, I must apologize.”

He bowed. His sunken nose and cheeks cast deep shadows. He looked as if he was harboring a terrible secret that was not meant to be known.

“First, I lied to you, Mr. Yuri.”

Yuri nodded calmly. He wasn’t angry. Since arriving at that mansion he had sensed that Hodle was hiding something, and that was why he had received him with such hospitality.

“Go ahead.”

“Mr. Yuri, this mansion and the inhabitants of this city suffer from a curse.”

“A curse?”

“Yes. That painting.”

Hodle took a deep breath.

“The truth is, I didn’t paint it. I inherited it along with this mansion. At first I thought, as you said, that it had artistic value. Many artists have been tied to the demonic along with their genius. So I exhibited it in the city’s museum. I wanted to share its value with everyone. But…”

He sighed.

“Everyone who saw the painting began to have visions. Or maybe they weren’t just visions. Whatever the case, I and the inhabitants of the city have been seeing what you just witnessed, for a long time.”

“And they still appear?”

“Yes. They never go away.”

Hodle looked at Yuri.

“Most of the inhabitants saw the painting. This city, though it’s like this now, was once a lover of art. Both I and they have suffered because of those horrible monsters. We never found a solution.”

“So you sought out a traveler because…”

“Because we can’t deal with it anymore. We hoped someone would free us from this terrifying situation.”

A bitter smile drew deep wrinkles at Hodle’s eyes and lips. Yuri thought he might be younger than he looked. They weren’t marks of time, but of terrifying experiences that had carved scars into his face.

Perhaps he himself was already the same. For even now he could sense something moving in the darkness behind Hodle, in the banquet hall. He pretended not to see it. But he couldn’t stop his nose from wrinkling in distaste.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Mr. Yuri, I know it’s selfish. You may even hate us for this. But we had no other choice. We couldn’t resolve it alone anymore.”

“It’s truly macabre.”

“That’s right.”

Hodle swallowed and continued.

“The most terrifying thing is that even if the painting is copied, that power is transmitted. Even though we recovered the original, the copies have spread. Some did it with malice, others in the hope that someone would break the curse.”

He bowed his head.

“Mr. Yuri, help us resolve this. Now you are like us as well.”

“Mr. Hodle. But tell me.”

Yuri tilted his face toward him.

“Why are you smiling?”

Yuri saw it.

The corner of Hodle’s lips, as he bowed his head, was trembling almost imperceptibly.

That enigmatic man who had invited him, who had forced others to see horrid visions — was he now smiling, after having created another victim like him?

Hodle slowly raised his head.

“Mr. Yuri. But tell me.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Yuri, you are smiling too.”

Yuri suddenly brought his hand to his mouth. The corners of his lips had risen to his cheeks. Yes, he was the same.

“I see. Hihihi…”

“Hihihi…”

Yuri and Hodle looked at each other and laughed together.

That night, Yuri had a terrible nightmare.

***

At dawn, Yuri left the mansion with his backpack on his shoulder and began to stroll through the city.

The city was still a gloomy gray. But perhaps because he had gotten used to it, it didn’t feel as desolate as before. At a fruit shop he suddenly found, the fruits were piled on display, their colors intact. Yuri didn’t know whether to consider it surprising or natural.

The fruit seller spoke to him.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen your face. Are you a traveler?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh…!”

The man greeted Yuri with great enthusiasm.

“It’s been so long since a traveler came to our city! Take this, it’s on me.”

“One apple is enough.”

“Take this one too, and this one.”

“That’s too much.”

“You can put them in your backpack.”

“It’s already full.”

Yuri, who only wanted an apple for breakfast, ended up receiving several thanks to the fruit seller’s generosity. With his arms full of fruit, Yuri smiled.

“Thank you very much.”

“Oh, and also…”

“Don’t worry. My hands are already full, even if you give me more, I couldn’t carry it.”

“No, look at this.”

The fruit seller picked something up from the floor. It was a painting.

An old man was curled up inside a glass sphere. But the sphere was far too small for a human body. His spine was arched backward, his knees touched his ears, and his ribs had deformed to follow the curve.

The result was a terrifying figure, as if they had compressed a human body into a perfect circle.

Inside the glass sphere, the man smiled happily.

“What do you think?”

Yuri didn’t answer. The fruit seller grinned slyly.

“It’s one of my favorite paintings, I wanted to show it to you. Isn’t it magnificent? Now you can go.”

The fruit seller covered the painting with a cloth, set it down on the floor, and went back to cleaning the fruits on display, cheerfully humming. Seeing Yuri staring at him in astonishment, he spoke to him impatiently.

“What are you standing there for?”

“It’s nothing.”

Yuri turned away. He tried hard to forget what he had just seen and bit into an apple, but out of the corner of his eye, something moved.

The deformed man inside the sphere was rolling along, smiling. He passed in front of Yuri and went into an alley. However, the townsfolk in the street didn’t react at all. Only Yuri was watching him, bewildered.

Roll, roll…

While listening to that sound, he was left as if hypnotized. Then someone spoke to him.

“Are you enjoying your trip?”

It was the guard he had seen at the city gate the day before.

“Yes.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

The guard nodded.

“Our city, as befits a city of art, has a magnificent museum. I recommend you visit it.”

And he left.

Following his advice, Yuri walked toward the museum. It wasn’t very far. The rolling, rolling followed closely behind him, but he pretended not to notice. The sound came closer and closer, until suddenly…

Hihihi…

He heard a laugh right behind his ear. He turned instinctively. The man inside the glass sphere was rolling right at his heels. The sphere struck a stone and shook violently. Cracks of breaking bones sounded.

Crack, crack.

The man, upon meeting Yuri’s eyes, smiled. Yuri also smiled. Then he remembered that the laugh he had heard a moment ago was, in fact, his own.

Holding back the laughter, he again ignored the man in the sphere who rolled off into some alley and quickened his pace.

He finally arrived before a large gray museum. Above the entrance waved some flags on which, when he looked closely, he saw painted figures. Something strange within one of them was staring straight at him.

A welcome greeting.

Yuri entered the museum, whose dark mouth opened like the jaws of a beast. The interior was empty. Each of his steps echoed, as if two people were walking.

In front of him appeared the first painting.

It was the same as those he had seen in Hodle’s mansion and the fruit seller’s shop grotesque, terrible.

Monsters, strange objects, deformed human beings, all rendered with chilling realism.

Yuri gazed at the painting for a while.

“Do you like the painting?”

He turned. A man with glasses was there. On his chest he wore a badge that read,
“Museum Guide.”

“I’m the guide of this museum. Are you a traveler?”

“Yes.”

Yuri added,

“I’m that traveler everyone in this city seems to be waiting for.”

“Ah…”

The guide smiled bitterly.

“With the city in this state, no one is in their right mind. I apologize.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’ve already seen it.”

“Yes…”

The man sighed.

“Things will only get worse. We always live as if in a nightmare. Even awake, we keep dreaming. We don’t know what is dream and what is reality. The only sure thing is that both are horrible. To be frank, sometimes I think you’re nothing more than a new character in my strange nightmare.”

“I’m a real person, don’t worry.”

“That’s reassuring.”

He smiled.

“It’s strange for me to say this, but would you like me to present the works to you?”

“That’s fine. Let’s hear it, if it’s possible to explain them.”

“All right. Let’s start with this one.”

He cleared his throat.

“This painting is the work of the most proud painter of our city, Mr. ■■■■. He painted it using the Ho. It depicts the beautiful ■■ of ■■ and the ■■ of ■■.”

“Wait a moment.”

“Let’s move on to the next one. This is by a great painter who visited our city, ■■■. He also made it using the Ho. It depicts our cityscape. He even said he was happy to have visited our magnificent city. Our creativity always pleases artists.”

“Then…”

“And this one was painted by ■■ ■■ as a hobby. For this, he used the Ho violently. Apparently, he was inspired while ■■ his ■■■ and portrayed it like this. He is not a formal painter, but he has a future as an amateur.”

Roll, roll.

Hihihi…