The Light of the Haind Secret Art
Brian 2
Once again, my younger brother's face floated before my eyes. I lay in bed in the dead of night, but sleep refused to come. I stayed perfectly still, listening only to the steady breathing of Kevin in the bed beside mine. It was strange. Lately, Edgar's face kept appearing in my mind over and over. The frustration in my chest grew too heavy, so I sat up. Kevin stirred at the movement, but thankfully he didn't wake. I quietly dressed, slipped outside, and stepped into the cold predawn air.
To shake off the distracting thoughts, I headed toward the clearing on the outskirts of the village. If I practiced my swordsmanship there, maybe my head would clear. In the distance, I heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air. Shk...Shk-shk... The strikes were sharp and clean. Someone was definitely training.
I approached cautiously and saw a woman's silhouette bathed in moonlight. The arc of her greatsword caught the lunar glow, dancing through the air like a silver ribbon. Hafel? At this hour?
As I drew closer, I confirmed it was indeed Hafel. The sight of her swinging that massive blade under the moonlight gradually came into focus. Her usual arrogant expression was gone, replaced by a face completely absorbed in serious training. The enormous greatsword gleamed softly as it caught the moonlight. Sweat beaded on her forehead, sparkling like crystals in that same glow.
Her swordsmanship was breathtaking. The overwhelming power radiating from the way she handled such a heavy weapon as lightly as a feather left me stunned. Her movements had no wasted motion. Perfect balance. So this was the skill of an A-rank adventurer.
My chest ached. She had already reached that exalted rank, yet here she was, training from the crack of dawn. And me...? Had I truly lived with such dedication? I'd grown quite a bit recently, but maybe it was only natural that I'd been stuck at C-rank for seven years.
Just as I was about to turn away, Hafel noticed my presence and stopped her sword mid-swing.
Her tone carried the usual challenging edge, but something about it felt different from before. Ever since she'd met Ricoris, Hafel's attitude toward me seemed to have subtly shifted. It wasn't quite as sharp as it used to be.
"Sorry. I couldn't sleep..."
"Distracting thoughts?"
Her intuition was razor-sharp. I nodded.
"Huh?"
"Sword practice. It's better than doing it alone, right?"
I couldn't believe my ears. Hafel was asking me to train with her? That would have been impossible in the past. As I stood there hesitating, she slung her greatsword over her shoulder and spoke again.
She trailed off. At that exact moment, a streak of light split the darkness. A single intense beam shot up from above the Sia Kalt mountain range. It looked as thin as a thread, yet it burned brighter than moonlight and purer than starlight.
"What is that..." Hafel muttered, puzzled.
But I knew. I knew exactly what that light was. It was something my father had told me about countless times. The secret technique of the Haind family. A sword art that burned one's life force to temporarily grant immense power. I had never managed to master it, but Edgar... Edgar must have.
My heart pounded wildly. That was Edgar's light. So this was why my younger brother had been on my mind so much lately.
"Wait! Where are you going!?"
Hafel's shout didn't register. I was already running toward the light on pure instinct.
"Brian!!"
Hafel caught up and grabbed my shoulder.
"I have to go to where that light came from."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"That light... it's the Haind family's secret technique."
"Haind? You mean that noble house from Genesis?"
I nodded.
"I used to be... the eldest son of the Haind family."
Hafel's steps faltered for a moment.
"Then that light..."
"It must be my brother."
No further explanation was needed. Hafel followed silently behind me.
My chest tightened with every step up the mountain. My breath came in ragged gasps, but I couldn't stop. The Haind secret technique was practically a life-burning sword art. For Edgar to use it, he must have been in a truly desperate situation...
The sound of Hafel's footsteps behind me brought a strange sense of relief. She said nothing, but whenever my steps faltered, she would subtly reach out as if ready to steady me. Of course, she never actually touched me.
Hafel asked in a deliberately casual tone, but I could hear the worry she was trying to hide.
"I'm fine."
I answered, but my voice trembled. Was it the limit of my stamina, or the fear for my brother?
… I ran and ran. The freezing predawn air cut into my lungs like knives. My breath scraped at my throat, but I couldn't stop.
And finally, when we reached the source of the light, the entrance to the great labyrinth came into view.
Please... The desperate prayer rose unbidden.
But reality was far crueler than any prayer.
"Edgar!"
I couldn't bear to open my eyes. His armor was gone without a trace, leaving only torn cloth. His entire body was frozen, his skin deathly pale like frost-covered marble. Deep gashes across his body still oozed blood. The sight of those crimson drops falling onto the white snow was painfully vivid.
What shocked me even more was his breathing. The price of using the Haind secret technique had left his breaths thin and irregular, like those of a hundred-year-old man. I could see blue veins frozen beneath his skin. It was as if his very life force had been encased in ice. Perhaps the side effects of the technique combined with the extreme cold.
For a moment, childhood memories flashed through my mind. The time I first held a sword, guiding Edgar's small hands to help him find the proper stance. Back then, he had just been an annoying little brother who followed me everywhere... Only now did I realize how precious those days had been.
After seven years, this was how I saw my brother again. The little boy who had been called a genius and always carried himself with such confidence was now groaning on death's doorstep. As his older brother, I had done nothing for him, and now we were reunited like this. My eyes burned with unshed tears.
"Edgar..."
I reached out and touched his face. It was so cold. So terribly cold that it felt like my own heart might stop. I saw his lips trembling faintly. He was still alive. But for how much longer...?
My mind began to drift. Then Hafel's voice cut through.
Hafel pulled out a potion glowing with red light from her pouch. It was an intermediate life force recovery potion. The crimson liquid inside the sparkling vial swirled as if alive. I noticed her hand was trembling slightly. Was she nervous too?
"Open his mouth."
Hafel carefully poured the potion between Edgar's lips. With every drop, my heart hammered. Please... please let it work.
But the effect was minimal. His pale complexion seemed slightly better, yet he still looked dangerously weak. I checked his pulse with my fingertips. It was growing fainter. In this state, even the explosively talented Marianne, or even the Saint herself, would struggle to save him.
Despair washed over me.
"Let's go to Ricoris," Hafel said.
I looked up at her.
"If it's Ricoris's recovery pollen, it might be possible."
Hafel... was trusting Ricoris? The same Hafel who had been wary of her just days ago...? But she was right. Ricoris's pollen possessed miraculous restorative power.
I recalled the mysterious being we'd encountered on the mountain recently. After the Hero and the Saint had met Ricoris, they'd told us about her. Ricoris had moved deeper into the great labyrinth, and Frostia had left her post as well. And right now, we were standing at the labyrinth's entrance.
I looked at Hafel.
"Hafel, could you please tell the others that I've entered the great labyrinth?"
Before I could finish, Hafel's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What? You've already come all the way to the mountain range. That's more than enough..."
"If you go in alone, you'll die. It's obvious."
Her tone was gruff, but I could sense the concern hidden beneath it.
As we stepped into the great labyrinth, an icy chill wrapped around my entire body. The walls covered in ice radiated cold, and our footsteps echoed through the empty space. Drip... drip... The occasional sound of water droplets echoed from somewhere far away.
The blood trail split into two paths. One showed staggering footsteps, the other looked like someone had been supporting a companion. They must belong to Edgar and another person. Fortunately, we didn't see a single monster. At this depth, we should have encountered at least ten by now. Was it because of Ricoris's influence? Or was there another reason?
Carrying Edgar on my back made every step a struggle. The cold radiating from his body was overwhelming. It felt like I was carrying a block of ice. My whole body shook.
"Give him here."
Hafel suddenly reached out.
"I can handle..."
"I can see you're shivering."
Hafel was already trembling from the cold herself, but the way she took Edgar into her arms was surprisingly gentle. Where had her usual roughness gone?
We advanced slowly, very slowly. The deeper we went into the labyrinth, the darker it became. It must have been morning outside by now, but here there was only pitch-black darkness.
Fortunately, we still hadn't encountered any monsters. At this depth, we should have run into at least ten. Then Hafel suddenly stopped.
I shook my head firmly.
"Ricoris can't use ice attacks like this. She has root attacks and various pollen abilities, but..."
"But she controls those ice bugs, doesn't she?"
With a sinking feeling, I examined Edgar again. There were some suspicious small wounds, but most were massive gashes. Those couldn't have been made by Ricoris's bugs.
"No, look at these wounds. No matter how big Ricoris's bugs get, they're only the size of a palm. They couldn't make cuts this large. This looks like... the work of something much bigger..."
"Now that you mention it, you're right. These torn wounds... they can't be explained by normal monster sizes..."
"Then could it be that Frostia has returned?"
Tension crept into Hafel's voice.
"That would be even less likely. If they'd encountered Frostia... they wouldn't have been able to escape with their lives."
The moment the words left my mouth, a chill ran down my spine. Then who on earth...?
… We had been following the blood trail for quite some time when Hafel suddenly stopped again.
Her sharp eyes pierced through the darkness.
"Someone's coming from behind."
A moment later, we heard voices. Human voices. Who else could possibly be this deep in the labyrinth besides us?