Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Ban Who Cuts the Night (2)
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"......They're coming."
A woman in a dark purple dress smiled seductively. Threads like spindles poured endlessly from her dress, touching everything from trees to the ground.
A man wrapped head to toe in bandages watched her with a strange expression.
"Roksana. The more I see your ability, the more mysterious it seems. Truly...... unique."
"Oh my, that's not something for you—who can swallow even the sea—to say. Nakmun."
"This isn't the time to pat each other on the back."
A eerie voice echoed. It was something cloaked in a black robe. Inside the robe, something seemed visible yet wasn't.
Roksana looked at the robed man with an uncomfortable expression.
"Don't be so uptight, okay? Once we suck up those guys' essence, we'll recover our strength. Then we can head back to the Abyss."
"......What the hell was that thing? Even for the Abyss, that was a monster beyond imagination."
Nakmun muttered.
At that moment, the thing that had been silently watching their conversation rose.
It was a beast defying description. It crawled on four legs one moment, stood on two the next, and its hide was covered not in fur but in countless sharp blades.
"Doesn't matter. Who it is. I, Kshatu, will return and get revenge."
"Yeah, yeah. You will. But first, you should learn to speak properly before thinking revenge. How long do you plan to talk like a halfwit, sputtering like that? It's embarrassing for the rest of us nobles."
"......Roksana. Do you dare wish to die?"
Kshatu growled, lowering its stance.
Roksana gazed at Kshatu with a leisurely smile.
"I don't want to die, but do you really think you've reached the point where you can throw 'dare' at me?"
"Enough. This isn't the time for you two to fight."
The black-robed man spoke.
Roksana snorted and turned away as she faced the writhing black darkness.
Kshatu glared at the robed man with razor-sharp eyes.
"......Mesha. This companionship won't last long. It ends soon."
"I know. Kshatu. But right now, we need this alliance. No matter how much Qi we drain from these half-lived humans, it won't properly heal our wounds. An investigation team...... that should make for decent medicine."
Kshatu silently turned away.
Those who were once human, once villagers of a ruined settlement...... now lay drained of life, little more than corpses.
The process had been simple. Rather than them seeking refuge with the Revolutionary Corps, these beings had found them first.
Looking down at the villagers who couldn't even twitch a finger, Kshatu wore a baffled expression.
"I don't get it. Humans. How are they this weak."
"Not all humans are weak. Sometimes there are strong ones, like those in that investigation team."
"Humans born weak, grow strong? Or born strong, but weak."
"An interesting question."
Mesha chuckled softly.
"We'll think on the answer after this fight. This place is too bright. Light robs wisdom. Answers are always in the darkness."
"......Mesha. I, Kshatu, will remember this conversation."
Kshatu nodded.
Then Roksana spoke.
"They're here."
The words had barely ended.
A massive dawn of White Flame rent the darkness, signaling the start of battle.
§
"Why the hell are these things after us?"
Kizl scowled.
The mushrooms tempted them so blatantly anyone could see it. For what? Just because they didn't like the investigation team?
Siraz spoke.
"Because they're hungry."
"......Hungry? For us?"
"The Seeds of the Night, especially the nobles, have a strong tendency to devour people. And it's not just about eating flesh. It's closer to sucking out the essence of their lives. For those who've cultivated Qi or hail from great clans, that essence is all the sweeter."
"So they're fishing for us."
Kizl let out a hollow laugh. He'd never encountered—let alone imagined—an enemy dangling bait to eat him.
He turned to the Drampo Clan's mobile sorcerer.
"Lord Tambi. If things go south, can you teleport us straight to the lighthouse?"
"Of course. That's my only job."
Tambi nodded amiably.
Ban turned to Anya.
"Ever fought a noble-grade?"
"......Never fought one, but I've seen one. Back when the lighthouse light flickered out briefly. It came charging in that instant."
"How was it? Strong?"
"Strong. And different."
Anya added in a small voice.
"I can't describe them any other way."
He couldn't quite grasp their strength, but he got a sense of how they differed. All the way to Soy Dam, the group had to witness mushrooms and molds sprouting on the ground, trees, even the raccoons' backs. The soil was bone-dry like a desert, and in places, massive cicadas bisected yet still alive struggled to cry out.
The closer they got to the dam, the worse the anomalies. Undying creatures dotted the landscape, and molds protruded like fur everywhere, as if ready to lash out.
Each time, Kizl unleashed his White Flame without restraint. Such trifles barely annoyed him.
But even that changed when Ban halted.
"Sensed something? Ban?"
"About five hundred paces ahead."
Ban said curtly.
He hadn't measured their strength yet, but no one matched Ban's 'sense.' Perhaps from a lifetime attuned to the sword's slightest shifts. Ban could detect enemies from air currents, scents, even humidity.
"Four...... or so, but it's fuzzy. I feel normal people too."
"......We'll see when we get there. Which way?"
Ban pointed without a word.
Kizl trusted Ban's judgment. He knew Ban was no ordinary swordsman.
"Alright, we'll take point."
The next instant, a massive White Flame storm erupted from Kizl's fist, devouring spores, corpses, and dry branches as it surged forward.
Five hundred paces was no issue for Kizl. He specialized in long-range combat.
'Amazing power.'
Ban shuddered anew at White Flame's might. He'd felt it from Dein and Anya too, but it granted far more power than their efforts warranted.
Even the Cho Clan, born with heroic strength, couldn't wield it fully without training. But White Flame delivered this just by unleashing it.
Among those who prided themselves as warriors, how many could land a proper strike against it?
'......Not the time for such thoughts.'
Ban gripped Yuri.
Kizl's White Flame shot straight and true. Fast, but the foes weren't pushovers.
No greetings.
Spindle-like spores cascaded like a waterfall toward them. Cracks split the earth to swallow them. And......
".......!"
Clang-clang-clang! Before his eyes could track, his hand reacted. Ban deflected the countless strikes aimed at him.
'Strikes? No, not quite. Something else......'
Ban spun, his gaze naturally locking on his attacker.
A tiger? A leopard? A bladed beast of unclear form.
The beast spoke.
"......You blocked it. Human."
"Blocked it. Nice claw swipe. Hmm...... cheetah?"
"I am Kshatu."
"......Not here for introductions."
Ban smirked faintly, assuming a stance as the four nobles revealed themselves one by one.
No hesitation. Ban realized Kshatu was his to handle. Against physical might, he had the best matchup.
"Welcome, lighthouse investigators. And farewell. You'll be our sustenance here."
"......Four noble-grades in this backwater. What's going on? Lost a territory spat?"
"No time for chatter."
Mesha said coldly.
"When you meet your god in death, tell them our return is still far off."
"Hah, night nobles are always like this."
Kizl growled.
"No class."
"Oh? Me too?"
"Moldy women aren't my type either."
"M-moldy?"
"Hate talking? Fine. I'll shut that mouth forever."
As if on cue, Kizl and Anya unleashed White Flame. The darkened forest brightened like midday.
That instant, Kshatu launched at Ban. Yuri rippled.
A chime like bells rang instead of clashing steel.
Kshatu scowled fiercely at Ban. Something had connected, yet it hadn't truly collided.
Kshatu muttered.
"Strange."
"Maybe. But you lot look even stranger to me."
"Kshatu tears, slashes, cleaves all. Yet your sword doesn't touch."
"It did."
Ban continued.
"Just didn't tear, slash, or cleave."
That's why it was deflected.
Ban felt a strange confidence with him.
After all their journeys, he hadn't properly assessed his growth.
But clashing blades with Kshatu now, it hit him.
Perhaps he'd grown far stronger than he thought?
To the point lesser foes couldn't even graze him?
"Kshatu strong. Are you strong?"
"Strong......"
Ban pondered briefly.
By absolute standards, maybe he was.
But those standards were ultimately mortal ones, so accounting for that...... he still felt something lacking to call himself strong.
—Draw me, I'll give you power, Ban! Rip that mutt apart now!
'Quiet, Kishin.'
Ban soothed Kishin and raised Yuri.
He wouldn't reveal Kishin's power before the lighthouse folk. Especially not before Siraz.
No need for Ropo's sword. He could now slip time-space flows without it.
Better to stick with the familiar Yuri.
'Above all, bad matchup for Time-Space Sword.'
Ban eyed the blades cloaking Kshatu.
By sheer number, Kshatu had more.
Better to pierce them all with one swing.
Cho Swordsmanship. Jensen's Overhead Slash. Obun's thrust. The five—no, six—swords he'd nurtured. Scorpion Sword. Storm Sword. Thousands upon thousands of techniques he'd studied flowed through his mind.
'......Five Swords of Ban.'
He recalled the old title. After wielding so many, just Five Swords of Ban. What a shameful past. Beloved by myriad swords, yet handling only five.
He needed a sword unbound by any style.
Ban lowered his stance, gripped Yuri.
Kshatu charged with a roar. Hundreds of blades on its body tensed to shred him.
No fear. Those blades held no contemplation...... no life, no subtlety.
"Light."
He raised the sword upright. Pulled it down. Overhead Slash.
Amusing. Only facing lightness did Ban realize his sword's weight. And how firm the arm supporting it.
Kshatu's weight pressed in.
This beast was lighter than his sword.