Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Red Lion
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Cleanup was over in no time.
Since it was just an assassination, there was no need for a flashy display, which actually made things easier.
Adelin skimmed through the documents and remarked,
“To think this is supposed to be the logistics headquarters branch, and their skills are this pathetic.”
“These guys specialize in delivery, not fighting.”
I picked up another set of documents from the desk.
[Destination: Neivil Academy]
[Items: Monster Transformation Accelerator Stock Solution, Monster Culture Fluid, Restraint Set…]
Scheduled delivery was right after the start of the second semester.
Sure enough, they were already hatching their plans. If we'd been even a little later, all these items would have made it into Neivil.
I handed the documents to Adelin. Her eyes turned icy cold as she checked the items.
She stomped down on the branch chief's chest, who was rolling on the floor, crushing it flat. He was already dead, of course.
While we gathered the documents, Luna planted Ellier's bombs throughout the warehouse's stockpiles.
Detonation would be remote via Luna's magnetism.
When the bombs went off, everything meant for Neivil would vanish without a trace.
It would be a bolt from the blue for the laborers, but we'd compensate them later.
‘There it is.’
Turning my head, I spotted a safe tucked in one corner of the office, just like before.
This one used a key instead of a dial. I searched the dead branch chief's pockets and found a keyring.
Inside the safe, as expected, were ledgers, bundles of cash, and the item I was after.
[Abyss Fragment]
‘That makes two now.’
Just one more, and I'd have enough to craft a final weapon.
Whether I'd be its owner or someone else would be, I had no idea.
As I pocketed the fragment, I heard laborers murmuring outside.
We'd tried to keep it quiet, but coworkers vanishing right in front of them wasn't something they'd miss.
Slipping the fragment away, I said,
“With evidence everywhere, we can leave the rest to the soldiers.”
Proof that this was a church branch was scattered all over, so leaving it like this shouldn't cause issues.
We headed straight for the back door Luna had scouted earlier.
Rain still poured down fiercely.
All the better. The downpour would wash away any traces of us.
“So we're heading straight to Ashpole?”
“No.”
Through the curtain of rain, the faint lighthouse glow flickered.
“We'll wait for the rain to stop, then take a ship to Baran.”
“Baran… You mean the southern island.”
I nodded.
The main event of this vacation was Baran from the start.
Wait out the rain, sail to Baran, tackle the Aren-related event and the shipwreck dungeon there.
Grab everything we could from Baran, clean up the Ashpole branch, then head back to Grabner. That should take about a month.
By then, diving into the demon dungeon's depths with Ellier would fit perfectly.
As I sorted through the plan and shoved open the iron door—
‘Death.’
My body reacted before my mind.
I yanked Luna back and flung her behind me.
At the same time, I drew my sword to block ahead.
Kwaaaaa!
A massive sword aura tore through the rain, surging toward us.
A deep navy-blue sword aura, comparable to Adelin's.
The key difference from hers?
‘What the…!’
While Adelin's was optimized for wide-area destruction, this one was purely aimed at killing just me.
Kwang!
The moment the sword aura hit my blade, a bone-shattering impact jolted through my arm.
It didn't end there.
‘Insane…!’
What I'd thought was a single slash was actually dozens of thin auras compressed together.
Pew-pew-pew-bam!!
The compressed auras detonated in a chain.
I swung my sword like mad to counter them.
[Just Guard!]
[Just Guard!]
[Just Guard!]
……
…
Kagagagak!
My feet skidded back, gouging the ground.
“Urk…!”
Just as I barely blocked the first one, another navy-blue flash gleamed from the darkness.
The second sword aura.
‘Shit.’
I couldn't block this one.
I'd burned most of my energy on the first.
‘Better draw it into a full fight.’
As I lunged forward with that thought—
“Move!”
A golden flash burst from the side.
Kwaaaang!
Adelin soared up and slapped the incoming sword aura head-on.
The shockwave from the clash of titanic forces scattered the rain everywhere.
Regaining her stance, Adelin pointed her sword into the darkness.
She didn't say anything like ‘Who are you!’
Neither did I. We both knew the owner of that sword aura.
The instant I'd blocked the first, I'd recognized the swordsmanship.
‘Extreme Divine Sword, First Form: Extreme Blade.’
The pressure dwarfed Aren's, but it was unmistakably Extreme Blade.
At this point in the story, only three characters could wield Extreme Divine Sword at that power.
And of them, only one would show up right here, right now.
Step.
Footsteps echoed through the rain.
But not just one set.
Dozens of booted feet, synchronized to sound like a single person's stride.
At the center emerged the leader: Knight Commander Killien Rubel.
Sword auras usually match their owner's hair color, but Extreme Divine Sword users were the exception.
Just as Aren's turned golden only with Sun Shine active, Killien's was deep navy-blue, unlike his blond hair.
That made identifying him easy.
The problem was…
‘Why the hell is that guy here?’
The question didn't last long.
Killien, whom I'd expected to charge me, suddenly halted and parted the way.
Chak!
The dozens of soldiers behind him split left and right in perfect unison.
Luna's eyes darkened at the sight, and Adelin clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She shrugged and sheathed her sword.
“Our group's a bit too conspicuous. Knew trouble would catch up eventually.”
Adelin's gaze fixed on the center of the parted soldiers.
“Didn't expect the Red Lion himself to grace us with his presence. Must be something tasty on the menu.”
The path opened through the rain.
At its end, the red lion approached.
‘I knew we'd cross paths someday.’
Truth be told, after the undead dungeon raid, countless nobles had tried contacting me.
Even academy instructors, and some students, had sought private audiences.
I'd dodged them with every excuse in the book.
I avoided one-on-one meetings as much as possible and always stuck close to Cecilia, Aren, or Mine when moving.
But no matter how much I squirmed, some encounters were inevitable.
“I figured we'd meet sooner, but you kept me waiting longer than expected.”
A massive frame radiating presence even in the pouring rain.
Hair blazing red like a lion's mane.
“Halibal Belder.”
The empire's prince.
Joaquin Cyrus stood there.
⁎⁎⁎
Shwaaa.
Wind rustled through the bamboo grove.
Thud.
Gnarled, old-tree-like fingers set down a single tile.
Tupae, an imperial game you'd see in gambling dens.
The old man seated on a cushion played alone, facing an empty spot across the low table.
A weathered wooden sword hung at his waist, striking.
Rustle.
With the sound of footsteps on dirt, a figure pushed through the bamboo.
Hair too long for a bob, too short for long locks—a youth with a short ponytail tied at the nape.
Aren Bright bowed before the old man.
Thud.
Without lifting his gaze, the old man placed another tile.
“You set on growing that hair out?”
Aren didn't open her mouth.
No, she couldn't.
She wasn't even sure herself.
She was known across the empire as the ‘male’ Aren Bright.
Though the divine relic's power masked any incongruity, it couldn't fully hide the physical changes.
As her hair lengthened and her features sharpened, the mirror showed more girl than boy.
If word got out that the prophecy was wrong, the empire would turn upside down.
Logically, she should cut it—so she'd picked up scissors, then set them down dozens of times while staring at her reflection.
But in the end, she couldn't bring herself to cut her hair.
“It's not just your hair you can't bring yourself to cut.”
Aren's shoulders twitched.
“Hesitation dulls the blade. You've heard it so often your ears must be numb.”
“…I know.”
“‘You know,’ huh.”
Thud.
The old man placed another tile, muttering to himself.
“Easy, isn't it? Far too easy.”
“…”
“Blade still sheathed, and enemies fall on their own. Is it my skill, or are they going easy?”
Only then did the old man's eyes meet Aren’s.
“What do you think? Does that sword truly stand with me?”
She clamped her mouth shut.
It wasn't a question seeking an answer to begin with.
The old man always read currents she couldn't see, so he'd sensed something again this time.
“So, what's the deal with dragging that eyesore along? You're not here just to say hello.”
“I want to get stronger.”
‘To stand by his side.’
She wanted to be someone who could open the path ahead of Halibal—equally, no, ahead of him.
That's why she'd come here. To seek her master's teachings after so long.
“Greedy child.”
The old man clicked his tongue.
“Pretending to be a man, harboring a woman's love. And on top of that, aiming for the top spot?”
Aren's eyes wavered, pierced to the core.
The old man rose casually and slowly drew the wooden sword from his waist.
Sring.
“Then prove it.”
He aimed the wooden sword's tip at Aren.
“Whether that hair is mere whimsy, or poison eating away your blade.”
Kuuuuu.
Just pointing the sword unleashed pressure crushing the entire grove toward Aren.
Aren bit her lip and drew her sword.
“…Here I come.”
Pabat!
Dust barely rose before her form shot forward.
Sun Shine already active. A golden sword strike surged at the old man's throat.
But.
Tok.
The wooden sword merely grazed her sword path, and Aren's blade bounced away powerless.
“With distractions clouding your mind, of course your sword feels heavy. You can't accomplish a thing with a blade shaken by one mere man.”
“That's…!”
Face flushing red, Aren swung again.
Faster, sharper this time.
But the old man deflected every attack with minimal motion.
“Extreme Divine Sword reaches completion only when focused utterly on the one.”
Thud! Tadak! Puck!
“Urk…!”
The wooden sword dug into her side, sending Aren tumbling pathetically.
“I thought you'd improved some. My mistake.”
Aren bit her lip and rose.
Infuriating, but she couldn't argue. Her shaken heart had indeed thrown off her sword.
“…Then should I cut out all these feelings?”
“Hm?”
“Sever all petty emotions since they only hinder the path of the sword…”
“When did I say that?”
The old man shot back incredulously.
“Why sever them? Embracing those feelings fully to the end is one way to banish hesitation.”
“…Eh?”
Aren blinked in呆.
She never imagined such words from her master, who preached no-mind and serenity.
“Half-assed suppression is what chokes you. Go all the way, and distractions vanish.”
“I-is that how it works?”
“All or nothing, isn't it?”
The old man kicked up the wooden sword with his foot and sheathed it at his waist.
It looked simple, but Aren had struggled to copy it despite trying many times.
“So. That guy you're hung up on—is he coming?”
Aren's gaze flicked downward.
“…He promised he would. Not sure if circumstances will allow it.”
“If he enters Baran, send him here first.”
“Him… you mean?”
“Yeah. Can't read his fate at all—it's like fog. Driving me nuts. Need to see him myself.”
The old man waved her off, issuing an eviction.
“Got it? I'm not sitting here for your love advice.”
“…I'll come again.”
Face burning, Aren bowed and fled the grove.
Footsteps faded, silence returning to the bamboo.
The old man chuckled at the solitary tupae board.
‘Only through tempering the blade with steel named experience does true sharpness take hold.’
Words he'd once told his young disciple resurfaced.
Swordsmen harden through countless experiences.
But teaching a life as a woman to a child doomed by stubbornness to live as a man his whole life was no easy task.
‘Yet, what tops the experiences a girl can have?’
Love, of course.
Old man Master Jin No slapped his knee and shouted.
“Hah! That kid's finally falling in love!”