Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Slightly Strong Rookie (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A chilling clash of intents hung in the air. The false hands gripping Ban's feet had long since cracked under the pressure of the sharp aura emanating from him.
'......Sharp one, aren't you.'
Kane swallowed a sigh and forced a smile. Deceiving the world was difficult enough, but it was also terribly inefficient. As he withdrew his qi, the hands holding Ban and his companions vanished into ash. At this point, scaring them off was out of the question. There was no reason to push it.
"Brother. What should we do......?"
"......No escape route, and we can't fight them head-on. Quite the pickle."
Kane gave a bitter smile. Watching him, the man in the black hood sent a resolute glance.
"We'll make an opening for you to escape, no matter what it takes. So, Brother, you......"
"Forget it. Didn't you see their skills? It'll just get the kids hurt. Don't."
"But we can't just let you go like this......!"
The man glared at Ban and the others with eyes blazing in fury. Kane silently patted his shoulder. A flicker of regret crossed his resigned expression.
"I've been a burden long enough. Stand down, all of you. This isn't a place for you to shed blood."
The moment Ban and his group didn't back off in fear, the battle was effectively lost. They had come to capture Kane, but if he stained his hands with even one drop of an academy trainee's blood...... next time, it wouldn't be capture—it would be kill on sight.
With his last trick foiled, what remained was...... desperation, perhaps. Winning a fight wasn't an option. Combat wasn't his forte, and even if he did win, the academy's vengeance would be all that awaited.
'......Yeah. I've run long enough.'
Kane stepped forward, approaching Ban. His face, smeared with sweat and sand, wasn't clean, but the pride in his eyes sparkled like jewels nonetheless.
"Might I have your name? At least then I'll know who I'm being taken by—it'll ease my mind."
"Ban."
"Nahar Anya."
"......Eustaine Jeo."
"Yeoryeong."
They each gave their names. It was odd. Just moments ago, they thought they'd been overwhelmed. Or so they'd believed. But now that they knew it was the enemy's best show...... there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
Anya's flames now barely licked at their skin. Yet the situation still favored them. The moment her flames died out, Kane might toy with them again...... but if they ended it before then.
"Allow me a proper introduction. I'm Kane of the Shiraz Clan. Remember my name. It might not be called anywhere after today."
"......Begging for mercy?"
"Would you grant it if I did?"
Ban didn't answer. Truth be told, he already pitied Kane to some extent. Kane wasn't the sort of person you could hate.
No matter where you looked on his handsome face, all you saw were traces of kindness.
And handing him over to the Shiraz Clan...... would be as good as killing him.
"I do pity you. Already."
Ban said as he leveled his longsword. The deliberations could come later. First, they had to subdue him—only then could they deliberate.
Anya's pure white flames danced over the pitch-black blade. Ban and Kane stared at each other in silence for a moment.
Then Kane vanished. As Yeoryeong and Jeo shielded Anya, Ban shot forward.
As expected, he wouldn't give up so easily. Ban gritted his teeth, pursuing Kane as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop and vanished in an instant. It was like watching the Drampo Clan's spatial jumps.
But the efficiency was incomparable. Kane's speed slowed bit by bit, while Ban's feet quickened. Back in his academy days, he had run until his breath gave out. Running and running until his heartbeat couldn't keep up......
Kane glanced back, his expression darkening. And in that instant, his afterimages split into dozens, scattering in all directions. His final gambit. His last desperate struggle.
And to that desperation, Ban responded with his own best move.
The name of the fourth sword: Sword that Hunts the Serpent.
The initial trajectory of his longsword resembled the third sword, Scattering Sword. The blade trembled, seeming to split into multiple strands, then whipped out like a lash, striking in all directions. Sword that Hunts the Serpent—it was as if it declared that to hunt a snake, one must become a snake oneself.
No matter how cleverly it hid, it was meaningless. Years of training let him control the eight-headed serpent he had forged as he wished.
It was a chillingly eerie sword. Through branches, under sand burrows, slicing through air at times. Each twist of the whips infused with White Flame erased the afterimages one by one. From twenty to fifteen. Fifteen to seven. Seven to two......
On the dry sand, only one man who refused to lose himself remained.
"......It's over."
"Ha."
Ban's blade touched Kane's throat. Perhaps because he had distanced himself from Anya, or her stamina had run out, the White Flame on his body and blade began to fade. Kane let out a strange laugh.
"The fire's gone out. Young friend."
"Best not to try anything foolish. Whether deceiving the world or me...... my sword will be faster."
"......Cold one, aren't you."
Kane chuckled. Instead of looking at Ban, he gazed at the Milky Way tattoo etched on his back. He spoke in a peculiar tone.
"Do you know? They all look the same up there, but each of those stars has its own light."
"Not much astronomy in me."
"Not talking astronomy. Just the human heart. I wanted to name each one. Hated letting them end as mere stars."
That was when he stopped. Yeoryeong, Anya, and Jeo had caught up, having pursued them. Yeoryeong landed from a tree, looking down at Kane with an odd expression.
"You had a chance to finish us off."
If he'd killed them all while they were confused, before Anya unleashed White Flame...... he wouldn't be in this state now. But Kane looked at them with a sad smile instead.
"Killing young ones like you to cling to life a bit longer...... well, that might've been a way."
"......The elders of the Shiraz Clan said this: 'We are born clutching many privileges. And because of that, we must offer our 'selves' to this kingdom and world. No exceptions. Not even to honor others' sacrifices.'"
"Very Shiraz of them."
Kane laughed. Even now, he seemed like a good man. Victory and defeat were decided. Kane would become 'Shiraz' now, and that was the end of the tale. Kane muttered.
"True enough. The Shiraz Clan is as vital as the Nahar Clan. When the night stirs, no courier excels Shiraz...... So go on, take me. I've run too long. Yeah. Time to end it. Life of a coward."
Ban said nothing. Nor did Anya or the others. Despite completing what had seemed a tough mission, none looked pleased.
"Brooooother!"
"You bastards, come at us! Come on!"
That was when Kane's subordinates came charging belatedly from afar.
Ban instinctively glanced at the others. They all looked at each other. No one spoke. No one could.
But their faces showed a deeper understanding than ever.
§
"You failed the mission?"
"Yes. That's how it went. They were ridiculously strong."
"......And you're ridiculously weak?"
The Shiraz men asked with inscrutable expressions. Ban shrugged.
"That's how it turned out. Sorry."
"Shouldn't have trusted academy rookies."
Still that peculiar tone. Hard to read their minds, or even tell who was speaking. But that put Ban at ease. If they'd left Kane like that, he wouldn't have been able to eat in peace. He and the other team members alike.
"Do you know what a golden opportunity this was?"
"Sorry. But...... may I ask one thing?"
"Ask."
"Why didn't you come yourselves?"
At that, both Shiraz men looked at Ban. He asked with an awkward smile.
"Bad matchup. If the elders had helped...... we could've subdued him easily without falling for the illusions. We resisted thanks to White Flame, but...... it wasn't enough."
"......Shiraz does not draw blades against Shiraz. Young man."
Shiraz answered.
"Even to capture a runaway clansman, there should be no blood between family."
"......That was the reason?"
"Not the only one, but...... Shiraz doesn't get involved in such things. So don't get the wrong idea. Got it?"
"Yes. Of course."
"Wasted time. We're off. Mission failed. Fools."
The Shiraz men spat that and left. Still peculiar men. Man, adult, child—who could say. Only after they departed did Jeo relax with a sigh.
"......Phew, thought they'd read my mind."
"You said they can't read thoughts secretly."
"Even if they read 'em outright, we'd have no comeback."
"Well...... true."
Ban shrugged.
Simple story. They had let Kane go. They could've captured him, but it felt like abandoning their consciences. There were reasons and motives aplenty to take him...... but they weren't prepared for that.
"Still rookies, us."
Anya said it, but she smiled softly. Truth be told, none of them felt bad about the mission's failure. Not just because there'd be other missions...... but because it felt like they'd found something important.
That was when Ban turned to Yeoryeong and asked. She'd had that odd look since earlier.
"What's up?"
"Oh, just...... those two earlier. They kept smiling the whole time."
"Isn't that their thing?"
"Not that creepy smile, but more like...... a smile from living people, I guess."
Ban silently tapped the railing with a finger at her words. Peculiar, but he got it. Shiraz people were no one. Woman, man, elder, youth. But that also meant they were everyone.
They would've been Kane's friends, brothers, parents.
Ban recalled the smiles on their lips and mirrored them. A thought struck him. They'd told them to capture Kane, but perhaps they hoped they wouldn't...... Chastising the runaway, yet beyond that chastisement lay love.
' Ridiculous notion.'
Yet that ridiculous notion...... he felt he'd never forget it.
The rookie thought so.