Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Siblings
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Silence blanketed the wild mountainside.
Whoosh...
As the night wind rustled through the underbrush.
"Hah."
The man who appeared to be the leader let out a hollow laugh.
"You're completely insane. You really think you can take us on?"
"That's exactly what I think."
"You're out of your mind. Do you think entering the Azure Dragon Tournament makes you somebody?"
I hadn't come to Aonia just to participate in the Azure Dragon Tournament, but whatever.
It didn't matter what they thought.
They'd probably been told by that Hiiragi family of theirs that I was someone trying to interfere with the tournament anyway.
"We know you're an imperial noble. Anyone can tell just by looking. That fancy air about you. That flawless face. That expression like you've never known a day's hardship in your life."
"......"
"That's why we were planning to leave you alone if we could. But you're really trying to piss us off. Do you have a death wish? It'd be a shame if we accidentally killed you, wouldn't it?"
Acting all tough like they intend to kill me, even though they have no real plans to.
No matter how remote these bandits are, the Leonhart Ducal Family would track them down.
If they were truly serious about avenging their young master, they'd turn the entire continent upside down to find them.
That's why these guys were just trying to scare me.
Telling me not to make a fuss.
To just let them kidnap me quietly.
'No thanks.'
I didn't like the sound of that.
"You think I'm some kid who'll fall for an obvious lie like that?"
"What did you say?"
"And watch your mouth. That bit about me never knowing hardship? It pisses me off."
I flicked my hand dismissively.
An obvious provocation, plain as day.
No one would feel good getting shown up by a boy at least ten years their junior.
"Hah."
The leader sneered.
And then.
"You're begging to die, you little shit!"
He kicked off the ground and charged at me.
'Here he comes.'
It felt strangely detached, like playing a game with self-imposed handicaps.
The enemy's sword closed in faster than expected, like it was fast-forwarded.
But not so fast I couldn't block it.
Clang!
The clashing blades rang out with a metallic screech.
Normally, I'd have parried and gone straight for the throat.
But even so, all I could manage was to block his sword.
I couldn't push further.
It wasn't a matter of talent or experience.
This was the result of damage to my soul.
My body simply couldn't perform at full capacity because of it.
Greeee...
No time to focus on the locked blades.
There were still plenty of enemies left.
My senses were severely dulled, but my vision was different.
If I focused my eyes, I could see it.
The Flow of All Things. Their movements.
Shing!
I pulled my sword back and blocked a strike coming from the side.
I took a few steps back in a backstep and caught my breath.
"Hoo."
It was more manageable than I'd thought.
Partly because I was still showing impressive skill even with my handicap.
But also because the enemies weren't trying to kill me outright.
I had to make good use of that.
The leader's words weren't entirely empty.
They were just poorly trained bandits, after all. If things went south and they got pissed enough, they might actually kill me.
I had to block their attacks while keeping it precarious—annoying them without crossing the line.
'And then?'
I had no idea what came next.
Maybe someone would find me if I held out.
Maybe I could slip away and get help from the village.
Optimistic guesses weren't an option.
But I kept going anyway.
I couldn't afford to fall here.
It was the dead of night.
I steeled myself and faced the bandits once more.
Ariel's heart was pounding strangely.
At first, she thought something was wrong with her body.
Lately, she'd sensed that the very substance making her up was changing.
Like milk fermenting into cheese.
She could feel herself transforming into something with entirely different properties.
She'd noticed it now and then, but her conversation with her mother just now had made her realize the truth.
Something was definitely changing.
The material composing the inhuman being known as Ariel Leonhart was undergoing a shift.
No, it went beyond mere change—it was a revolution.
A fate that had never been permitted to her.
A lifetime of atoning for forgiveness from her brother, never needing to display any inhuman traits.
She had broken free from that destiny.
The Path of the Heaven-Defying Son.
Kline's defiance of fate had even altered Ariel's own destiny.
At first, it had only amplified her inhuman nature.
The sister who should have spent her life suppressing herself and living quietly.
Now, basking in her brother's love, her restraints had come undone, and her inhuman side was emerging.
But that was in the past now.
She had received enough love.
Her brother's infinite affection, and today, even her mother's.
It had transformed her warped psyche.
It had opened her eyes to human emotions she should never have understood in her lifetime.
And so—Ariel Leonhart's heart pounded.
Anticipation filled her.
What would become of her from now on?
How should she live?
What future awaited her?
That eager anticipation quickened her pulse.
Or so she thought.
"Ah?"
Ariel, racing toward Kline's location, let out a gasp.
Something was wrong.
Kline's presence felt off. It wasn't the usual peaceful, safe aura.
Threat loomed. Someone was targeting her brother.
The moment she realized it.
Tsss—Boom!
Ariel kicked off the ground, crossing the distance in an instant.
A speed that might rival a cannonball.
But Ariel didn't care about any of that.
The pounding in her heart wasn't anticipation.
This was an alarm.
A silent urging to hurry—your precious brother is in danger right now.
It was Ariel Leonhart, connected to the reverse world, instinctively sensing crisis.
Her vision warped.
She closed the great distance to Kline in a single leap.
And took in the scene below.
She didn't need moonlight to see.
If Ariel wanted to see, she could see just fine.
There was Kline, surrounded by men in black clothes.
They were threatening her brother.
The man who seemed to be the leader was kicking Kline.
...That was enough.
Understanding the situation was simple.
Her brother was surrounded by enemies, his life in peril at any moment.
No. Maybe it wasn't that dire in Ariel's mind.
Maybe they had no intention of taking his life.
Maybe her brother could handle them alone.
But what did any of that matter?
The situation she perceived right now.
Kline Leonhart had been kicked by some lowly scum.
And the reason she hadn't stopped it.
Was because he couldn't use his full power.
Because his soul was injured.
And that injury stemmed from her promising to help him.
The moment she realized that.
...Ariel's consciousness snapped.
"Kuh!"
I clutched my battered stomach and steadied my stance.
Outnumbered.
Even I couldn't handle this many swordsmen with my soul damaged.
I'd managed to hold on this far somehow, but now?
Hoo—
I caught my breath and eyed the front.
"Quit putting up a fuss and just take it quietly."
The bandits who were still unscathed licked their lips as they approached.
They were certain of victory.
Of course they were.
There was no chance of a sudden reversal now.
I hadn't given up hope, but I was assessing the situation objectively.
If this kept up, things would get dicey—right as that thought crossed my mind.
Shoooo—Boom!
A white meteor plummeted from the distant sky, like a bolt of lightning had struck.
Thud thud thud...
Dirt and dust scattered everywhere.
"What the hell?!"
"What's going on?!"
The bandits fell back.
Even they didn't understand what had happened.
But I did.
'She's here.'
Come to think of it, Ariel had been following behind me.
Now I could relax.
Even if their numbers doubled or tripled, these guys couldn't handle Ariel.
"Ariel—"
I started to smile and call out to my sister.
'Huh?'
Something felt off.
"......"
The dust cleared.
The white meteor embedded in the ground rose up.
No, it wasn't a meteor.
It was a white calamity.
"Sssss..."
White breath leaked from the girl's mouth.
It wasn't human.
An overwhelming malice incomparable to winter breath.
Flutter—
Ariel's clothes billowed.
There was no wind. The air in these mountains was still.
Purely the aura emanating from Ariel's body was creating the breeze.
'What happened?'
This ominous presence was something I'd never sensed from Ariel before.
That it wasn't human.
That I needed to run from this place right now.
Alarms blared in my brain—Ariel felt that alien.
Gulp.
I swallowed and gathered my resolve.
I couldn't back down.
A brother couldn't avert his eyes from his sister.
I looked into Ariel's eyes.
My sister, whose emotions were always unreadable, but whose feelings I could always discern from her gaze.
...But none of that was there now.
Her eyes were pure white.
The boundary between pupil and sclera had completely collapsed.
Bleached pupils.
Unstoppable aggression.
A rampaging enemy.
I'd heard about it before.
That Ariel was a calamity.
A monster with power humanity couldn't handle.
Back then, I'd laughed off the prophecy.
Said my sister wasn't some inhuman monster.
But in this moment, I realized.
The calamity had manifested.