Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Sun Shadow Steps
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How on earth did they track us?
Arjan and I had moved leaving almost no trace.
I was certain they wouldn't be able to track us quickly, even after sunrise. That's why I'd let Arjan sleep soundly and ventured deeper into the cave.
But those bastards caught up to us with unnerving speed, as if they knew our exact location.
*‘...Not something to worry about right now.’*
The situation was dire, but if there was one silver lining, it was that the assassins hadn't pinpointed our exact position yet.
*‘Is holding out the only option for now?’*
I hoped those assassins would pass by without noticing us.
But somehow, I doubted things would go that smoothly.
It was one of the things I’d learned in my short life.
Bad feelings usually turn out to be right.
One of the assassins prowling nearby suddenly whipped his head around and threw a dagger at me.
It was an unexpected ambush, but I calmly drew my ring sword and countered.
Clang!
As the sound of clashing blades echoed, another loud noise rang out from behind the assassin who had attacked me.
I couldn't see it, but it sounded like Arjan had also engaged in battle.
Arjan’s situation might be even worse than mine, but unfortunately, I had no time to worry about others.
Just as I was about to attack the assassin before me, I felt a chilling presence from my left and right.
I had no choice but to retract my half-extended hand and retreat.
Whoosh!
Two more assassins appeared, their robes fluttering dramatically, and drew bizarrely shaped curved swords, swinging them.
I clicked my tongue.
At my current level, a direct confrontation with sword-wielding opponents was inefficient.
Evasion was my only way to counter their attacks, but their swordsmanship, thick with killing intent, was not to be taken lightly.
They also seemed accustomed to coordinated attacks.
I could tell just by looking at their formation.
Only three were attacking me directly, while the rest provided ranged support from a distance.
They knew full well that having more than three people crowd in a place like this would only get in each other's way.
Immediately after concluding that dragging this out would do me no good.
I kicked off the ground and retreated.
By infusing my internal energy, I instantly created a significant gap between us.
Of course, the three assassins tried to close the distance in a flash, but before they could, I threw my sword and spoke.
“You did well.”
One of the assassins scoffed.
He seemed to have misunderstood my words.
I was bidding farewell to a weapon that had grown quite familiar to my hand.
Crack!
A moment later, cracks spiderwebbed across the blade, and it exploded.
The shattered fragments of the blade, wreathed in flames, rained down on my opponents.
The internal energy I had infused beforehand, a fiery energy that grew progressively hotter, had finally shattered the blade.
I couldn't completely control the direction of the attack, which meant the blade fragments showered down on me as well.
I unfurled the cape I was wearing to block the shards.
When I looked at the cape again, its edge was on fire.
*‘Will this work?’*
Lacking confidence, I closed the distance with the assassins.
The assassins, now covered in blood, didn't writhe in pain but instead swung their swords in a counterattack.
I’d heard that among the cultists, Hardenaihar's minions were particularly tenacious. It might just be true.
Fwoosh!
As if I had been waiting for this, I swung my cape.
The flames clinging to the edge swelled violently, becoming an inferno that threatened to consume everything.
Of course, it was all for show. A fire of this scale could barely singe the hem of a robe.
However, it was enough to obscure the vision of the assassins providing support from the rear.
The same went for the assassins up close.
Their gazes were momentarily captivated by the surrounding flames.
In that instant, I thrust a punch at the one standing in the middle.
The assassin, snapping back to his senses, instinctively tried to block by crossing his arms.
Crunch.
My punch not only shattered both his arms but also crushed the bridge of his nose beyond them.
His hood fell back, revealing a face with eyes rolled back in their sockets.
*‘Knocked him out.’*
I ignored the fallen man and turned my attention to the assassins on either side.
They swung their curved swords in unison again, as if choreographed, but feeling the pressure from the raging flames, their precision was a notch below their first strike.
It was an angle I could exploit.
I bent my back to dodge the blade, then kicked the shin of the assassin on my right.
Crack. The bone shattered completely, his leg bending at an impossible angle.
The assassin dropped to one knee, and the resulting shift in his blade's trajectory sent it toward his companion.
Startled, the assassin on the left blocked it with his sword.
A poor decision.
It was like sacrificing the bone to save the flesh.
Thud.
I placed my palm on the defenseless assassin's chest.
Just as a look of confusion crossed the assassin's face, flames erupted from my palm.
Boom!
The assassin shot into the air as if struck by a boulder before crashing to the ground. His neck was broken; it looked like an instant death.
This was another way to use Fire Wheel, the second form of the White Sun Eclipse.
If released at point-blank range, that is.
Fwoosh…
In that time, the illusory flames completely dissipated, and the other assassins, grasping the situation, sent three more men forward.
*‘Damn it.’*
I was about to react when I leaped backward instead.
A volley of daggers and needles embedded themselves in the spot where I had just been.
The assassins' ranged support had started again.
This meant I could no longer use the trick with the cape…
Even so, the assassins in close combat stuck to me relentlessly.
*‘…This is bad.’*
Of course, this fight had been a worst-case scenario from the start, but it was actively getting worse.
Despite the fortuitous encounter I'd had, my internal energy reserves were still not plentiful.
Besides, the White Sun Eclipse was a martial art whose powerful techniques consumed a great deal of internal energy.
How long could I keep fighting at this pace?
Five minutes? Ten?
*‘I need another way.’*
I kept fighting, my mind racing furiously.
What tools did I have at my disposal in this situation?
Suddenly, Keian came to mind.
The strange footwork that old Collector had shown me, the Shadow Steps.
It was a technique that could display terrifying power in one-on-one combat.
Against opponents like assassins, it would be incredibly effective.
The problem was, I had only ever used that footwork once.
*‘Son of a...’*
I should have practiced it.
But I had no other choice.
After dodging a blade that grazed the bridge of my nose, I kicked the nearest assassin, and as soon as I felt a gap open, I took my stance.
Sway, sway.
I began to move my upper body in a bizarre rhythm.
It might look like a fool's dance at first glance, but when a competent fighter suddenly adopts a strange posture, it's right to be wary.
And these guys were even more likely to be cautious.
Prudence is the most important virtue for an assassin.
As expected, they paused to observe my next move. In that moment, I took a step forward.
Thud.
My step was light, and somehow, it felt right.
I was confident I had successfully replicated Keian's movements from memory.
I continued to advance.
The distance between me and the assassins closed in an instant, but a distortion of their spatial awareness would prevent them from realizing it.
Killing them would be as easy as slitting a corpse's throat.
Whizz!
Damn it.
I hastily retreated to dodge a dagger.
This time, I couldn't evade it completely. A single dagger lodged itself in my left shoulder.
Coincidentally, it was near where Osel's dagger had struck.
Maybe I should have taken Arjan's advice and gotten it treated?
Fortunately, I could still move my left arm without issue, but I had realized a fatal flaw in the Shadow Steps.
*‘This only works on opponents directly in front of me.’*
It might be fine for a one-on-one fight, but against multiple opponents, especially in a situation like this where they had me surrounded, it was a useless technique.
*‘How could I not have realized this?’*
It was obvious, in hindsight.
I thought I was fine, but maybe I'd already lost my edge.
Biting down hard, I drew blood from my lip.
I swallowed the coppery taste and glared at my opponents.
The flaw in the Shadow Steps was certainly fatal.
However, the key to breaking through this situation still lay with the Shadow Steps.
Then the answer was simple.
*‘If it has a flaw, I just have to fix it.’*
The fact that I had to do it *right now* made the difficulty skyrocket.
But with my life on the line, I had to do what I had to do.
Thud!
I took another step.
Gently? No, forcefully.
In a stride that was uniquely my own.
Of course, that wasn't the only change I made.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from beneath the soles of my feet.
It was for misdirection, like with the cape, but not in a way that inefficiently scattered flames everywhere.
What I was envisioning now was a landscape shimmering under a hot sun.
In other words, a heat haze.
Thump!
I broke into a run.
My gait, mixed with fiery energy, took on a form completely different from the original Shadow Steps.
I stomped as if to shatter the earth, leaving fiery footprints in my wake.
This footwork was no longer dark, but it still retained an element of stealth, so—
I gave this new footwork a name: Sun Shadow Steps.
Swoosh.
The assassins' projectiles grazed past me, but the more precisely aimed the attack, the more likely it was to miss.
In the end, it was a minor illusion, so a few attacks did scratch my skin, but none were fatal.
In that time, I reached the assassins. One by one, I shattered a jaw, crushed a ribcage, and snapped a neck.
Thud.
More reinforcements?
I clicked my tongue, but a rather unexpected person appeared.
It was Arjan.
“Butler?”
“……”
Arjan let out a ragged breath.
Her face was so covered in blood I could barely see it, but on closer inspection, it wasn't her own.
*‘Just how many did she kill?’*
I thought she had killed about as many as I had, or was barely holding on.
Moreover, Arjan's complexion seemed strange.
Her eyes glinted like a beast's.
“This way.”
Still, it seemed to be the Arjan I knew, as a suppressed voice escaped her lips.
Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist and took off at a sprint.
When the surrounding assassins moved to block our path, Arjan swung her right arm wide.
BOOM!
An explosive sound erupted, and the group of assassins in front of us was swept away.
I was rendered speechless by the incredible power.
The destructive force was akin to a high-level mage casting a spell without an incantation.
*‘Just what is she?’*
My previous assumptions about Arjan's identity were once again thrown into question.
Of course, this wasn't the time to press for answers, so I silently followed her—
In any case, Arjan broke out of the battlefield at an unbelievable speed.
* * *
It was a good thing the cave was large.
If it had been an ordinary cave, we would not have been able to shake our pursuers.
As I mentioned, this cave had only one large, straight passage, but there were many smaller spaces branching off from it.
Arjan and I chose one of them as our hiding place.
“Hah, hah…”
“Butler, are you okay?”
Arjan was panting as if she were on her last breath.
She seemed to find it difficult even to answer, merely nodding her head slightly.
I watched for any movement beyond the crevice, waiting for Arjan to recover.
“I am fine now.”
After a moment, Arjan, having regained some of her strength, spoke.
I looked at her face for a moment.
The overwhelming martial prowess, the explosive aura I had just witnessed, was gone.
Her eyes were back to normal, too.
I was curious about the source of the power Arjan had displayed, but…
“……”
I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I had a feeling that even if I asked, she wouldn't give me a straight answer.
Besides, I was the one who suggested we let some things about each other remain unknown.
“This is a predicament. The number of enemies has dwindled, but that alone isn't enough to—”
At that moment, I felt a gaze on me.
When I whipped my head around, I saw a black figure standing in the gap of the crevice.
When did he catch up?
What's more, realizing he stood no chance fighting alone, he immediately turned to flee.
*‘Damn it…!’*
He was going to call his comrades.
If only I had something to throw, it would be perfect, but I had nothing suitable.
Just as I grit my teeth and prepared to give chase myself.
Swoosh—!
A sword flew from somewhere and pierced the assassin's head.
The assassin collapsed in mid-stride.
“……”
I fell silent.
It wasn't Arjan's doing. She was far too exhausted to have even sensed the assassin's presence.
Above all, what had pierced the assassin's skull was a sword, a longsword.
A weapon neither of us possessed.
And that last attack, the speed…
*‘An incredible master.’*
A chill ran down my spine.
I was far more tense than when I had faced Osel, the assassins, or even Keian.
“Hey, you.”
Suddenly, a voice reached me.
“Go pick up my sword.”
I wondered where it was coming from, then found a crack in the cave wall nearby.
A crevice narrow enough for just one person to squeeze through.
The voice was coming from within.
I asked tensely.
“Who are you?”
“—Heh.”
The voice from beyond the crack let out a breathy laugh and said.
“If you're curious, come on in. You don't seem to be with the cult, and I must admit, I'm a bit curious about who you are, too.”
The voice fell silent after that.
It seemed he had no intention of continuing the conversation unless I entered myself.
“It is dangerous, Young Master.”
It was a typical comment from Arjan, but this time, I agreed.
If I had a bomb in my hand right now, I would have tossed it through the crevice.
The reason I hesitated, however, was simple.
*‘…I’ve heard that voice somewhere before.’*
Who was it?