Chapter 219
Chapter 219
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: The Blind Swordsman
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dashing through the rain, Loan carefully surveyed his surroundings.
This wasn’t easy.
Rainy days made it difficult to both see mana and perceive presences with his five senses.
The downpour acted like a barrier, blurring his vision and making it hard to get a clear look at a target’s mana.
Sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste were all affected by the rain. He couldn’t expect any help from the moonlight or stars either. With no single sense standing out, the realm of synesthesia was a distant prospect.
*'I can't be the only one,' he thought.*
If he was having a hard time grasping the situation, then any potential enemies would be facing similar difficulties.
Loan deliberately left the road and stepped into the forest.
No one in their right mind would enter a darker forest just to get out of the rain.
Getting lost was a given, and accidents like falling were common.
But for Loan, this place was much better.
Even if his abilities weren't at their peak, he was still better off than others. If he applied what he had learned at the right time, he could more than make up for the disadvantage.
In that respect, Loan was fortunate.
It was thanks to the excellent training he’d received from the Faith Division, whose main activities were tracking and espionage.
*Swoosh…*
As he entered the forest, the world paradoxically became clearer.
Loan moved forward, observing the sound of raindrops hitting leaves, the scent of damp earth and tree trunks, the direction the grass grew, and the rings on tree stumps.
Occasionally, under spots where clusters of bare branches formed a makeshift umbrella, he focused on observing mana.
Thanks to this, it wasn't long before…
Loan was able to confirm that there were living beings in the lightless village.
One person with clear, bright mana, and several others shrouded in darkness.
The old Loan might have seen the contrast in mana and assumed someone was fighting a demon or the Grave alone.
But after meeting Birna, he knew that even someone from the Grave could possess pure, clear mana, so he had to be cautious.
Loan closed the distance to them with extreme care.
Soon, he heard voices.
"Make sure you check for survivors."
"Understood."
"We'll behead them in the square, so drag them over as soon as you find them."
After the order was given, the dark mana scattered in all directions.
The one who remained was the owner of the bright mana. He was their leader.
*'Not a survivor from the farm, then.'*
His voice was too old for that.
Loan moved a little closer.
His vision was still blurry, but a faint light brightened the area.
Carriages were lined up at the entrance to the village square. Luminous stones embedded in the coachman's seats were illuminating the surroundings.
He’d heard the inn business thrived here, and it certainly seemed like a place with many visitors.
But something was strange.
The shafts and harnesses connecting the horses to the carriages had been dropped on the ground without being properly stored.
When the horses were unhitched, it was customary to tidy up the equipment. The fact that they were left lying around suggested the horses had been removed in a great hurry.
*'Or perhaps the horses vanished without a trace.'*
He checked the ground, but the pooled water made it difficult to find any tracks. Only the smell of blood, which had been suppressed by the rain, felt stronger now.
What was certain, however, was that these men had complete control of the village.
He needed to resolve the situation before any potential survivors were dragged to the square.
"Hoo..."
But Loan didn't rush.
No matter how urgent it was, he couldn't just launch a reckless attack.
First, the mana of the man standing alone was formidable. His posture was unremarkable, but it was difficult to find any openings in the aura he exuded.
The way he calmly contained the ferocious mana settled in his lower abdomen suggested he had trained for a very long time.
A man like that would surely have achieved a high level of mastery in wielding his mana.
*'Is this an opportunity...?'*
He had complained to Sienna, but that was only possible because of the bond they shared.
In his heart, Loan actually wanted to figure things out on his own and surprise her, rather than receive her help.
Even if he was an enemy, a man possessing such mana would have something to teach him.
*'I'll know for sure if I clash with him.'*
To do that, he would need to gauge the man's skill and then engage in close combat to observe him more carefully.
There wasn't much he could learn from this distance.
As the thought settled, his Circles naturally began to spin, bringing his entire body to a state of combat readiness.
*Swaaa…*
The first attack was Sheville.
Two rained down from above the man, and five shot toward him diagonally.
He didn't attempt a Convection slash, as the downpour would reduce its precision. The physical nature of Sheville made it a more stable choice.
In addition, he made sharp icicles erupt from the puddles on the ground, shooting at the man from all directions.
It was an expanded, icy version of Bone Spikes.
*Claaaang!*
The surprise attack, which targeted him from above, the side, and below simultaneously, was neutralized in an instant.
The opponent deflected all the Sheville projectiles with a blinding flash of his sword, then leaped away in a wide arc.
The icicles, having lost their target, crashed into each other with a loud roar, but the sound was quickly swallowed by the rain.
*'Wow...'*
The power with which he blocked it was surprising, but the fact that he sensed it beforehand was even more incredible.
The sound of the rain was sporadic enough to drown out the roar.
Had he heard the faint whistling of Sheville amidst the noise?
How did he detect the ice suddenly shooting up from the ground?
He was truly a master.
Most importantly, there was that sword, which emanated a clear light.
The ability to wield an Aura Blade meant he was a formidable opponent, on par with a Seeker.
However, he was still too far away to properly observe his opponent's inner workings, and the rain remained an obstacle.
Loan raised his mana and revealed himself in the square.
As he drew closer.
First, he needed to find out how his opponent had been able to avoid the Sheville and the icicles, so he tried the same attack once more.
His opponent responded in the same way.
He deflected the Sheville with a single strike and leaped into the air to evade the icicles.
However, Loan noticed something peculiar in the split second before the man unleashed his sword, the moment he perceived the attack.
His face was illuminated by the blue flash of the blade.
The man, who appeared to be in his forties, had his eyes closed the entire time.
In other words, he had blocked and dodged Loan's attack using only his other senses.
The fact that he kept his eyes closed afterward suggested this was his normal state.
Had his other senses expanded into the realm of synesthesia because of it?
The man's voice cut through the rain.
"Your mana is quite peculiar. Are you from the Union? A mage? Then you must be the rumored Loan."
The man tilted his head slightly, turning his right ear in Loan's direction.
It seemed to be his way of perceiving him.
Loan didn't reply.
"Silence is as good as an admission. In any case, it's fascinating. I don't sense particularly strong mana from you, yet that was a remarkably sharp attack."
"Are you saying I look weak?"
He asked out of curiosity.
After hearing Loan's voice, the man smiled faintly, as if convinced his guess was correct.
"I wouldn't say that. If I had to describe it, I'd say it's... abundant."
"Abundant?"
"It's my own way of assessing an opponent, since I can't see. To me, the strong feel like a red-hot fireball. But you... you feel like the wind. A small, swirling vortex of wind."
Loan was inwardly impressed.
It seemed the man had grasped the nature of his Domain and Convection—the way he drew in mana.
He couldn't see mana, but he could feel it with a comparable sensitivity.
That must have been how he blocked and dodged the attacks.
"Your guess is correct. I am Loan, a Runner from the Union's Faith Division. And you are?"
"Grint. I belong to Le Tell. I heard you killed Birda? You can consider me to be in a similar position to her."
"You don't sound like a survivor from the farm."
"I was a manager. The one who looked after the human trees and their fruit."
Loan's face flushed with heat.
He was no different from Blake. Loan struggled to suppress his boiling rage.
Grint's clear mana made even less sense.
"Why would you conspire with demons to do such things?"
"Well, isn't it faith? The belief that a better world will come through sacrifice. A world where someone like me isn't abandoned simply for being blind. The faith that they will create such a good world for us."
"Le Tell's leader will do that? Is a world where demons descend and annihilate humanity a good world?"
"There is always a transitional period. Isn't our world the same? This peace we have now... they call them autonomous duchies, but the six duchies have all but surrendered to Grafton. It was only made possible through the deaths of countless people."
"And how can you be so sure the world created that way will be any better?"
"I can't be sure. But isn't true faith the kind that doesn't waver, even in the face of uncertainty?"
He was no different from a fanatic.
People like him couldn't be reasoned with, so they couldn't be easily persuaded.
Arguing with him was a waste of time.
"Fine. I'm on the side that believes a good world will only come when Le Tell, the Grave, and all demons have been wiped from existence. There's nothing more to say."
"Clear enough."
The life-or-death duel was set.
Grint finished his preparations by slightly lowering his stance.
Loan levitated his Sheville projectiles, linked them together, and then gripped the bottommost one with Convection.
It had no hilt, but it was unmistakably the shape of a sword.
The Aura that had been flowing through each piece individually now spread throughout the entire blade, coalescing via Convection to create a more distinct shimmer.
*'If I clash swords with him up close, I should be able to learn more clearly.'*
He decided to become a swordsman for a moment, not just to defeat his opponent, but to gain at least one piece of insight.
Just as Loan recalled the basic swordsmanship he'd learned at school and took a very orthodox stance...
Grint's brow furrowed slightly.
"How curious. You use a sword as well? It doesn't seem like you're simply mimicking the form."
Despite his surprise, his stance didn't change. He hadn't even drawn his sword from its sheath.
Loan didn't rashly charge in, either.
Judging by how he’d deflected Sheville, Grint’s attack range was wider than the length of his sword. He could use his Aura to extend the blade.
Moreover, his range of perception was even wider. Loan couldn't afford to close the distance carelessly.
Feeling a light tension, he activated his Domain. The moment the raindrops falling to the ground reversed their course...
*Chwaaat!*
Grint closed the distance and drew his sword.
The acts of drawing the sword from its sheath, striking out, and closing the distance all seemed to happen simultaneously.
He was that fast.
With his synesthesia dulled, his precognition wasn't as sharp.
The brilliant blue blade of light shot toward Loan's neck as if it had extended from within Grint's own body.
It ignored his Domain, pouring inside to perfectly cleave Loan's body diagonally.
*Clang!*
Reflexively, the Sheville sword met the strike.
It was an attack so powerful that the links between the sword fragments were twisted apart before being reconnected by Convection.
The shock wasn't just felt by Loan; it seemed to have been transmitted to his opponent as well.
Grint, who had intended to size Loan up with a single strike, instantly put distance between them, just as he had come.
However, his stance was no longer the one he'd used to draw his sword, but a very orthodox high stance.
He held his sword straight, its tip pointed precisely at the space between Loan's eyes.
"Impressive... I didn't think you'd be able to block that. And to wait until the last second. I didn't expect someone so young to be so cautious."
He sounded genuinely impressed.
Loan didn't reply.
He returned to his original stance and replayed the last moment in his mind.
He recalled how Grint hadn't stepped into his Domain, but had slid into it.
He replayed the moment and confirmed what he had seen: the mana that erupted from Grint's lower abdomen hadn't simply flowed into the sword. It had surged through his entire body, correcting his posture, empowering his back and shoulders, and honing the blade's edge to an even greater sharpness.
Furthermore, at the moment their swords clashed.
He had perceived the internal pathways through which his opponent's mana was channeled—how they unfolded and expanded—as a scene, a fleeting fragment like a flash of lightning.
The moment was too short, gone too quickly.
Loan wanted to observe his opponent more closely. He wanted to cross swords with him again. He felt that if he did, he would see something more.
*Ssk—*
This time, he took the initiative, closing the distance by extending the Narrow Path.
It was an overly direct and straightforward charge, to the point of seeming reckless.
Grint was taken aback.