Eve Story | Judgment Fable | Ella and Yoru | Episode 50: The Roubent Turtle Festival - Shadow of the Twelve Apostles
The festival was continuing.
That was how it felt until just a moment ago.
But now, I am in a completely different place.
Ella and Yoru Episode 50
[The Roubent Turtle Festival - Shadow of the Twelve Apostles]
[The After-Festival]
The festival night seemed to have suddenly gone quiet.
Sasha's figure, illuminated by the dim light, captivates my eyes.
Ella was trembling slightly.
"Nico..."
"She is not Nico."
San cuts off Ella as she tries to speak.
With a voice different from usual, dark and heavy.
"And she is not Sasha, either."
As she says this, San's red eyes stare at Sasha.
It was a gaze bordering on anger.
Ella is stunned.
Her hands are moving slightly, as if trying to grasp at the air repeatedly.
There is a name she wants to call, but she cannot.
That is how it looked.
San stands up and approaches Sasha.
"You. Who are you?"
San's cold words are directed at Sasha.
Sasha's mouth, reacting to the voice, lifts slightly.
In that instant.
Clink.
The sound of metal scraping.
A knife blade was pointed at San's throat.
San stops it with her sword at the very last moment.
A man dressed entirely in black emerges from the darkness.
"Oh, not bad, young lady."
As the moonlight shines in, the man's figure is revealed.
Only his black eyes peek out from the black cloth covering his face.
"San!"
I raise my voice and draw Silve.
Just as I am about to rush out, San reaches out and stops me.
"The Hanged Man..."
As she mutters this, San shouts.
"Yoru, please stay back."
Saying this, San deflects the knife with her sword.
The man leaps back quickly.
As if she had read that, San delivers a thrust.
The man manages to deflect the thrust with his knife.
However, San's sword tip grazes the man's arm.
—Fast!
Silve in my hand grows warm.
My vision sways, guiding the man's movements.
But faster than that, San strikes.
The composure fades from the man's eyes.
"Hey, hey. I didn't hear about this. What is this person?!"
San's red eyes flicker like afterimages.
One thrust.
One flash.
Everything is precise and fast.
The man is driven into a corner in no time.
"This movement. Could it be, Judgment!"
Words I had never heard before came from the man's mouth.
"Do not speak that name!"
San shouts.
The next moment, it looks as if a full-force blow has pierced the man.
However, what caught San's sword was a giant shield.
A knight encased in black armor blocks San's path.
"Even the Tower is here!"
San uses the recoil of her deflected sword to spin and strike again.
Clang.
The giant shield blocks it.
San immediately steps back to gain distance.
—Amazing.
I remained unable to move, still gripping Silve.
The Hanged Man.
The Tower.
Neither sounded like a person's name.
It was as if their very roles were walking.
Ella remains silent, looking down.
The hands that were trembling a moment ago are now tightly clenched.
San gauges the distance.
She is about to strike again.
But her sword tip stops slightly.
It is not hesitation.
It is caution.
I understood it too.
There is still something else here.
The sounds of the festival grow distant.
The laughter of the people, the sound of flutes, and the beat of drums all seemed to be on the other side of a thin veil.
Only San's red eyes are looking deep into the darkness.
"That is enough, everyone."
A voice echoes from Sasha's shadow.
At that voice, everyone stops moving.
A man with a bizarre appearance appears, clapping his hands.
Black clothes, a clown-like hat.
His face is painted white, his eyes are narrow, and his pupils are invisible.
The man speaks while laughing.
"Today is a day of feasting. Playing with swords is forbidden."
His tone was somewhat playful.
However, his voice cooled my heated head just a little.
"Fool..."
San says, glaring at the man.
"Wonderful. Wonderful. You know me."
Fool claps his hands, delighted.
He places a hand on his chest and bows theatrically.
—Like a jester.
Every single movement looks artificial.
But I cannot laugh.
Both the Hanged Man and the Tower had stopped moving.
It was not because they were ordered to.
It was because this man had taken center stage.
"Shadow of the Twelve Apostles. Shadow Apostle. Second Seat, Fool. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
—Shadow of the Twelve Apostles?
The words that suddenly appeared float in my mind.
The Hanged Man.
The Tower.
Fool.
They are not so much names as they are seats.
Roles of some kind.
Things that had been lurking in the shadows of this city all along.
That is what I felt.
San stands between us and Fool, speaking quietly.
"Who is that woman?"
At those words, Fool stops moving.
There was a feeling as if the air had frozen.
No.
It is not a metaphor.
The air around Fool is cold.
That coldness was trembling minutely.
—Magic.
San notices it too and readies her sword.
But the air settles immediately.
"My, my, how interesting. To not know this person."
Saying this, Fool kneels before Sasha and bows his head.
"This person is our master. Empress Sasha of the Red Eyes."
The theatrical lines continue.
"And we are her servants, who swear absolute loyalty to the Empress. We are the Shadow of the Twelve Apostles."
It was as if we were in a theater.
The Hanged Man.
The Tower.
Fool.
The three shadows line up before Sasha.
Sasha says nothing and turns her back.
"Wait!"
San is about to step forward.
"Don't."
Oto stops her.
San looks back.
I could see people around us.
There were children who had been enjoying the festival.
Some were watching us before we knew it.
If we strike here, it will no longer be a festival.
San bites her lip.
"I'm sorry. I got too heated."
Saying this, San sheathes her sword and watches Sasha leave.
＊
After Sasha left, the surroundings regained their original brightness.
Music plays, and people's voices mingle.
Except for our table.
Ella remains looking down, not saying a word.
Oto tries to read the room and speak, but both Ella and San are slow to react.
It was as if the heat of the festival was avoiding that one spot.
I have Silve in its sheath.
But the heat still remains in my palms.
I couldn't fight.
I couldn't move.
But what I need to do now is probably not draw my sword.
Seeing that scene, I take a breath and face San.
"San. Tell me everything. I'll tell you everything about us, too."
I look straight into San's red eyes.
San touches the mask covering only her eyes, but does not remove it.
However, the red eyes behind it are no longer hidden.
San nods briefly and opens her mouth.
"Understood. I will tell you everything."
There was a brief pause.
San's red eyes look at Ella.
And then, she says quietly,
"About my younger sister..."
Creative Awards 2026 Fantasy Novel Category Submission