Chapter 85: Lantern (4)
Chapter 85: Lantern (4)
Why do I still linger in this world?
I do not know. Countless religions and spiritualists speak of the world beyond. They prattle on about how all living things return to the embrace of the Nine Goddesses and the Seven Chief Gods upon death. They warn that those who violate the laws of the heavens will suffer eternally in the depths of hell. Yet, I could neither soar to the heavens nor fall to the abyss. I simply drifted through the void. A specter.
“…….”
Is this the will of the gods?
Is it their noble intent for me to remain in the Mortal Realm and fulfill the purpose I could not achieve in life? Or perhaps my obsessive will curdled into a grudge, turning me into a vengeful spirit. The obscure shamans of the East say that those with lingering attachments cannot leave even in death, wandering this land forever.
There was nothing I could truly know.
Standing in a daze, all I could see was a burning land—a world trampled into a ruinous mess. The people I once took under my wing were wandering, lost. An era of war tormented my people; the subjects who once laughed and talked were now sobbing in agony.
However.
“I ask the Progenitor.”
Even within that darkness, there were stars.
Amidst the thick gloom, there were stars that still twinkled.
“What must I do?”
Children who had lost their parents sobbed and wailed. Starving, they baked mud over campfires and soaked tree bark in filthy water to soften it. Among the gathered young ones, there was a girl called 'elder sister' and a boy called 'elder brother.' The boy and girl willingly gave up their meager scraps of food to the younger children. They must have been starving too, yet they gave away what was theirs without hesitation.
Then, the little ones who could barely speak would greedily devour the mud and bark without a word of thanks, parching their throats with the silt-ridden water. After eating such wretched things, the little ones would wipe their dirty mouths and smile brightly. Then, the boy and girl would clutch their own stomachs, hiding their hunger, and smile back at them.
“I do not know.”
An era of war.
Swords, spears, and shields once again stained this peaceful land with blood. But even in a world dyed in darkness, the stars twinkled. Even in a dark world, there was light. Yes, the stars did not disappear.
“I do not know how to lead those pitiful ones, those who have lost their way.”
Humans are still beautiful.
They are still lovely.
They shine with a dazzling brilliance.
“So, please tell me.”
I cannot turn a blind eye to them.
I cannot let the light vanish.
“Tell me how to light up the world.”
I looked at the boy wearing dragon robes.
A boy who resembled me.
“Tell me how to become a lantern.”
I answered his question.
And so, the world became a little brighter.
The wandering souls came to smile a little more.
And just like that...
I ended up staying for hundreds of years.
* * *
Ptui. I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth.
I saw the Beastman watching me warily. He wasn't in good shape, but I was much the same.
I should have finished it with that last attack.
The trick of intentionally controlling my breathing to utilize the 「Lantern」 was certainly effective. Even if I burned through a handful of mana, I could quickly replenish it just by taking another breath. Immediately after using the mystery of the 「Lantern」, I was left momentarily defenseless because all the mana in my body was exhausted, but it wasn't a major problem. The period of vulnerability was incredibly short.
The state where my muscles lost all strength and my vision went dark lasted only a fleeting moment. Moreover, that state could be resolved with a single breath. With one deep inhale, the empty 「Mana Heart」 and the withered 「Path」 would instantly spring back to life.
The real problem wasn't the 'defenseless state.'
...How many more times can I use it?
Thanks to the breathing trick, I avoided the catastrophe of dying after a single swing. However, it didn't mean the side effects were completely gone. Burning all of one's mana was fundamentally nonsensical. The 「Mana Heart」 and the 「Path」 that branched out like veins through the body were similar to actual physical organs. The more I overworked them, the more the damage accumulated.
Every time I used the mystery of the 「Lantern」, my 「Mana Heart」 had to endure a shock equivalent to being destroyed. The 「Path」 within my body also had to withstand the impact of every blood vessel being torn to shreds. Burning all your mana was synonymous with burning all the blood in your body. A 'handful of breath' was merely the level I could currently endure; it didn't mean there was no damage.
Master had said it too.
If I didn't have the heart and path of Steel, my body would have exploded and I'd be dead by now. He said it wasn't a power a mere 「Sword Walker」 was meant to handle.
Four times at most? No, I can probably only pull it off about three more times.
If there was one saving grace, it was that the 「Lantern」 wasn't my only weapon. I still had many tools I could draw upon. But it seemed the same was true for the Beastman.
"—!"
Instead of retreating, the Beastman warrior, who had lost a leg, lunged even more violently. This charge was faster than before. As I barely defended, biting my lip, blood sprayed and clouded my vision. It was blood spraying from the Beastman's severed limb.
「Those beasts fight by pouring out everything they have. It's a completely different feeling from the martial artists and Monks you've fought before.」
“…….”
「If Monks—those ascetics—fight by relying on their sturdy bodies and persistent recovery... a Beastman is truly like a wild animal.」
My field of vision narrowed. Instead of relying on my restricted sight, I closed my eyes. I focused on my heightened senses—the exclusive domain of a 「Sword Walker」. It was the power to synthesize all information and map out the 「Path」. I swung my sword, following the 「Path」 that flashed through my mind.
But the blade failed to reach the Beastman.
The moment the tip of the sword touched skin, the Beastman warrior reacted instantly, twisting his body in mid-air. This was the weapon of the Beastfolk: an instinctive evasion granted by the 「Path of Blood」. It was a dodge far swifter than one made after visual perception—an evasive maneuver executed the very instant danger was sensed. It was impossible to land a fatal blow. Ssh. I only managed to carve a shallow scratch.
Immediately after leaving that single mark, thump, an impact slammed into my armor. The shock vibrated through my entire body. A surge of nausea hit me instantly. My balance faltered with the dizziness, and then, bang, shocks poured in consecutively. It felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck my head.
「Be careful.」
I almost lost consciousness.
I managed to take a step back and inhaled deeply. My broken balance was restored, and my heart of Steel throbbed again, clearing my mind.
「It's an attack that disrupts your Qi.」
“What is Qi?”
「To put it simply, think of it as an attack that targets the mana inside your body rather than the physical shell. Since it attacks the interior, even your heart of Steel won't be able to withstand it many times. You'll just pop from the inside out.」
“…….”
「I heard that among martial artists, there's a training method where they strike watermelons.」
His movements were unbelievable for someone who had lost a leg. Did this guy not even feel the dizziness from blood loss? If I could see his complexion, I might guess his state, but that special helmet was still thoroughly concealing the Beastman's face.
「They say that to be recognized as a true martial artist, they must be able to leave the watermelon's rind perfectly intact while churning the inside into a mushy mess.」
“...Hah.”
「So, what I'm saying is, your current state is probably similar to one of those training watermelons. You look fine on the outside, but the inside is a shattered, mushy mess...」
Dammit. That was an unpleasant analogy.
And even without the comparison, I could feel my own condition. The 「Path」 inside me was tangled into a mess. If I took any more hits, I really would burst like rotten fruit.
"—!"
But the enemy didn't wait.
With another thud, the beast lunged again. I stomped down hard on the wintersteel sword rolling on the floor. As I stepped on the tip, the longsword spun and landed in my hand. The moment I grabbed the hilt, I lunged forward. The Beastman moved exactly the same way. Instinctive evasion.
“You bastard—”
But this time, I expected it.
Doubt.
It was the conclusion reached in my mind after endlessly questioning, 'How do I kill this beast?' The crisis-sensing ability called the 「Path of Blood」 was close to cheating. That ability seemed perfect, but it had a flaw.
It can sense any crisis. But it cannot distinguish between a real attack and a bluff.
That was a clear weakness. It couldn't tell the difference between fake and real.
“……!”
In the middle of the thrust, I let go of the sword. Simultaneously, I dropped low, rolled once, and delivered a kick with the heel of my plate boot. Compared to him, my martial arts were pathetic. But what did that matter? Even an attack like this would appear as a 'threat' to him. And a beast that perceives a threat will always flee.
As I thought.
It was just as I expected. The Beastman warrior retreated once more. With a crunch, my heel dug into the floor. I immediately pulled a dagger from my thigh and threw it. This, too, would look like a threat to him. Another weakness of the 「Path of Blood」:
It never chooses to sacrifice flesh to take a bone.
In the Beastman's view of the 「Path of Blood」, the option to accept a small loss for a great gain did not exist. It was a truly beast-like ability. Furthermore, that power couldn't even sense the blood of Steel I possessed.
If he had predicted I would use the 「Lantern」, he would have reacted in advance. But the guy who reacted as if he could see the future strangely reacted too late back then.
Small clues.
With the information given to me, I deduced the 'truth.' Endless doubt eventually provided the answer to my internal question of 'How do I win?' Clang! Metal clashed against metal, and sparks flew. His fists poured down. I met them, swinging my sword.
A brief exchange. I was the winner of that clash.
“Whew—”
The Beastman could not detect a bluff.
Only after his weakness was exposed did the beast start mixing bluffs into his own attacks or acting as if he would intentionally take a hit. But it was impossible to beat me in that kind of fight. If anything was even slightly off, if anything changed from before, my doubt would flare up.
The other side couldn't properly block my attacks anymore. Thus, the square room was now drenched in the Beastman warrior's blood. There were many marks carved into his armor, and tufts of animal fur could be seen poking through the cracks in the broken plates.
The tide of battle had turned in my favor.
No matter how good a Beastman's stamina was, he wouldn't be able to fight much longer after losing that much blood. The winner of this fight was practically decided. An uncomfortable standoff ensued. I had no reason to be in a hurry. I leisurely pointed my sword at him.
And then...
“...Huh.”
Sensing his defeat, the Beastman fled through the window without hesitation. He ran for his life without even looking back.
“…….”
Left alone in the room, I stared blankly at the retreating back of the Beastman warrior. I won. But, this...
This victory feels a bit dirty.
As I stood there awkwardly, Liam spoke.
「Didn't I tell you? These beast bastards are pieces of shit.」
Only now did I understand the true meaning of those words.
「So, are you going to chase him?」 Liam asked.
I shook my head. “Are you crazy?”
Going outside in this state was just asking to be killed. Now was the time to recover my battered body and steady my breathing.
「Good thinking.」 Liam nodded at my words. 「That beast... another fellow will take care of him anyway.」
“Another fellow?”
「Someone who will never let a lunging beast escape.」
For some reason, Liam was still staring intently out the window.
「A sword far more dangerous than that cowardly beast.」
Truly, very intently.
* * *
The Beastman warrior who jumped out the window turned and ran until he was out of breath. He looked back several times to check his rear. What about that strange warrior he had just faced? Fortunately, he wasn't being followed.
That was close.
The Beastman's heart was still pounding.
The 「Path of Blood」—the power that allowed him to distinguish between the weak and the strong through scent, and warned him of all kinds of danger in advance. Through that power, the Beastman had caught a sweet fragrance. It was the scent wafting from a delicious prey. From a creature that could be easily trampled and killed without much trouble. That was why the Beastman had ambushed him through the window immediately. But that warrior was strange.
Did I injure my nose? Or was the Path of Blood wrong?
The scent changed during the fight. The delicious fragrance of prey turned into a foul stench every time that warrior swung his sword. It wasn't the scent of prey, but the stench of a predator. The more they fought, the thicker the stench became. The Beastman, who had lost a leg, finally smelled the scent of a gruesome death. At that moment, he lost his will to fight.
So he gave up the fight and ran.
It wasn't a shameful thing for Beastfolk. By nature, the beasts of the field always hide in the brush, biding their time for another day. In the wild, fleeing is not a disgrace, and victory or defeat doesn't matter. In a cruel ecosystem, the one who survives the longest is the winner. That was why the Beastman ran and ran with all his might.
The scent changing while fighting? I've never heard of such a thing. It's like... like I met a ghost...
If he had to give it a name, it would be Sword Demon.
As he thought that, the Beastman felt like it was a word he had heard somewhere before. Sword Demon... wasn't that a term that had been mentioned a few times by the humans of Steel City? After racking his dull brain for a moment, the Beastman suddenly stopped. A strange smell was wafting from ahead.
“……?”
A stench so foul and terrible that it was impossible to ignore. At that stench, the Beastman slowly raised his head and looked forward. There, blood was splattered everywhere as if it had rained red. Atop the splattered droplets of blood, butchered corpses were piled up. Like a mountain.
“Uh...”
At the very top of the mountain, a pitch-black warrior sat perched, his head nodding up and down. As if he were dozing off lazily.
“…….”
The moment he saw that warrior, the Beastman's body froze like ice. While the Beastman remained stationary, the warrior's head moved slowly. The warrior's face eventually turned toward the Beastman. At the same time, the frozen Beastman caught a terrifying stench, one he had never smelled in his entire life.
“Why... do you keep coming to find me...”
A natural enemy? No. It couldn't be expressed with such a simple word.
“I'm tired to death.”
The scent wafting from the creatures at the very top of the pyramid-like food chain. A natural enemy to all living things, one who had no need to fear any other.
“Yaaaawn...”
The Apex Predator.
The moment that term crossed his mind, the Beastman's body moved on its own. He hurriedly turned his back to get even a little further away, fleeing pathetically as if swimming across the ground. But—
“Where are you going?”
There was no way a mere prey could escape in front of the Apex Predator.
“But you... where did you run away from?”
Never.