I've Wanted to Meet You

On a hill that looked straight down onto the mouth of Creun Forest.

"They're finally here."

Temus narrowed his eyes as he watched the carriage and the Zieghart swordsmen push into the trees. His gaze was not on the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader, nor on her vice-commander. It was locked on the blond swordsman moving flush against the carriage.

"Raon Zieghart…."

Temus spat the name as if he meant to chew it to pieces, killing intent thick on his tongue. Being thoroughly humiliated by a brat who wasn't even old enough to be his son was a first, and even now his guts were boiling.

I'll kill you. No matter what it takes.

As long as he could kill Raon, he didn't care what became of the rest of them.

You ran that mouth of yours so well. I'll listen very carefully to whatever comes out of it when you die.

Remembering how that bastard had mocked him, he hadn't been able to sleep properly. Tonight he would sleep like a baby, using that bastard's screams as a lullaby.

"Encia Yonan…."

Temus ground his teeth as he watched Encia open the carriage window and look out at the forest.

Her face!

Being passed over not for his medical skill, not for his reputation, but because of his face — that was too humiliating to bear. Just thinking about it made his hands tremble with rage.

I won't kill you here. But you won't live long either.

He had already decided. He would keep Encia alive until the moment he swallowed the Yonan family whole, then make her taste the torments of hell before drying her out and killing her.

"Yufen."

"Yes."

At Temus's gesture, his disciple Yufen came forward and dropped to one knee.

"Are we ready?"

"The formation, the Ink-Silence Bombs, the poisons, the venomous insects — all of it checked three times over. The assassins are standing by at their positions as well."

Yufen's mouth curved into a cold smile as he went on.

"That maggot who humiliated you, Master, will be erased so thoroughly not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even a bone chip remains."

"Well done."

"There is one thing that worries me, however."

Yufen's pupils trembled faintly, as if something uneasy had taken hold of him.

"Worries you?"

"I keep thinking the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader might find our position…."

"A Grandmaster is not a god. We've cut off our presence with two layers of formations at this distance. Unless Glenn Zieghart himself comes looking, they will never find us."

Temus snorted and shook his head.

"That's a relief, then."

Yufen let out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a breath and smiled.

"Stop wasting time on pointless worries and get ready to send the signal."

Temus turned his eyes back to the carriage carrying Encia. It was rolling steadily into a stretch of forest where the light had begun to dim.

Once they're trapped in the formation, it's over.

The array laid down in that stretch of woods was the Blood Mountain Formation — a killing formation that crippled the senses and crushed the body under crushing pressure. The more skilled a warrior, the more sensitive they were to shifts in perception. It would work just fine on the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader and her unit.

After that, we blind them and spread the poison.

The moment the formation triggered, they would blot out vision, scatter Ink-Silence Bombs to choke the flow of aura, flood the air with poison, and then the assassins would charge.

But that's not the real play.

Temus looked down at the ground, where gray soil had been scattered. Buried beneath it were dozens of venomous insects capable of killing even a Master without much trouble.

While the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader was busy shielding the carriage from poison dust and assassins, those creatures would be used to assassinate Raon. That was today's plan.

"They're almost there. Get ready."

Temus gestured as the carriage pushed deeper into the forest.

"Yes."

Yufen stayed glued to Temus's side and brought a silver flute to his lips. The instant the carriage entered the heart of the formation, he blew hard.

A thin, insect-like whine uncoiled from the flute — and silver energy snapped shut like a snare, locking the carriage and the swordsmen inside.

"It's triggered."

Temus's mouth curled into a savage smile.

"I'll kill you without leaving so much as a bone chip!"

A roar like the sky itself collapsing tore through the air. The forest spun in a spiral, and a landscape none of them had ever seen unfolded before their eyes. A mountain peak. Fog so thick the drop below was invisible, and almost nowhere to set a foot — a high, barren summit stretching out in front of them.

"Wh-what is this? Where are we?!"

"Why is there a mountain all of a sudden?!"

"Waaaaagh!"

"Watch it! You'll fall straight off!"

The Light Wind Squad swordsmen screamed, startled out of their wits by the sudden change in terrain.

"It's a formation!"

"Don't move from where you stand!"

"Tighten the perimeter!"

The Heavenly Sword Squad swordsmen were startled too — but they snapped into stance at once and finished preparing for an ambush.

It's been a while.

Raon wasn't rattled in the slightest. He looked down at the ground and smiled.

The Blood Mountain Formation.

This bizarre phenomenon was not teleportation magic. It was the Blood Mountain Formation — a killing array used by House Robert's Shadows.

The Blood Mountain Formation dulled the senses, generated crushing pressure that restricted movement and breathing, and even produced a realism so complete it felt as if you had actually been transported to that place. Even now, a cold wind was howling as if they really were standing on a mountain peak.

The Blood Mountain Formation's greatest strength is how hard it is to break.

Ordinary force wouldn't punch through it. If Sheryl unleashed her true ability it might be a different story, but at Econ's level — or his own — the formation's durability was simply too high.

The moment the array locked into place, black smoke billowed in from every direction and swallowed their vision. Ink-Silence Bombs. Specialized smoke canisters designed to disrupt the flow of aura.

Same as always.

Crippling the five senses and aura with the Blood Mountain Formation and Ink-Silence Bombs, then striking — the method hadn't changed in the slightest from before. The assassins' assault would begin any moment now.

"This isn't a real mountain, so there's no need to panic! Don't step outside the formation!"

"Mm."

"You move and I'll cave your skull in! Shut up and draw your swords!"

Even in a situation like this, Burren, Runaan, and Marta didn't flinch. They only tightened their guard.

"Y-yes, sir!"

"U-understood!"

Dorian and Crain found their courage in the three of them and settled into stance. All that relentless drilling had been worth it.

But…

Raon turned his gaze toward the front of the carriage. Sheryl, Econ, and the rest of the Heavenly Sword Squad were strangely quiet.

He was about to speak to her when an aura message arrived first.

Of course.

The instant those words ended, the Ink-Silence smoke was pierced as if it were nothing, and Sheryl's calm eyes came into view. It was the look of someone telling him to show her what he'd prepared.

Can't disappoint her, then.

But it still wasn't time to move. He needed to wait a little longer. He needed to show the one who had created this situation what despair actually looked like.

A sound like sand scattering on the wind — and something began to spread through the black smoke.

Poison. Three kinds, no less.

Three poisons of different particle sizes were seeping out between the Ink-Silence fumes.

It's him, all right.

He was certain now. Judging by the types of poison, the one commanding these assassins was unmistakably Temus.

Just as expected, the prideful bastard hadn't been able to swallow the humiliation, and had come all the way here to plan an assassination.

He would be watching from a distance even now. That much was obvious.

Good of you to come.

Raon smiled, cold as frost. The man thought they were rats in a poison jar. The real rat was him.

The poison spread — and at the same time, a sound like a cold wind howling rolled in. It wasn't real wind. It was the Blood Mountain Formation muffling the sound of assassins in motion.

Right now those assassins were charging in like madmen, each of them with an antidote clenched between their teeth.

"Hoo…."

Raon confirmed the direction from which the most assassins were coming the fastest, then turned.

"Burren! Marta! Runaan! North and west!"

"Got it!"

"On it!"

"Mm."

Burren, Marta, and Runaan clenched the green bracelets on their wrists and brought their swords down.

Blue light surged from the bracelets, sank into the three blades, and erupted into a colossal storm. Wind rose like a waterspout and unfurled in a single instant, blasting away every last shred of Ink-Silence smoke and poison dust that had been choking their vision.

The false darkness tore apart, and a blue world opened once more. Vision control, poison, and surprise attack — a single stroke had shattered three of the enemy's plans at once.

The Whirlwind Kite, just as I thought.

Those bracelets were artifacts called Whirlwind Kites, capable of generating enormous gales. With wind riding the three of them's aura, a single sword stroke had been enough to scour away every last Ink-Silence Bomb and grain of poison dust.

Whatever poison's left, the poison-warding artifacts can handle easily.

Most of it had been blown away. What remained could be blocked without effort.

"This is…."

"Nngh!"

The approaching assassins faltered, thrown by the poison and smoke vanishing in a single breath. They hadn't expected the plan to break this easily. Even with their faces covered, their shock came through plain as day.

"Move! They've already inhaled the Ink-Silence fumes, and the Blood Mountain Formation is still up!"

At the order of the one who looked to be their leader, the stalled assassins started forward again.

"Sorry — none of that's going to work."

Raon tapped his necklace and smiled. The aura-restricting property laced into the Ink-Silence Bombs was itself a poison-based substance, which meant the poison-warding artifacts had blocked all of it. Not a single person here had a problem with their aura.

"The formation isn't a problem either."

He drew a round orb from his coat and tossed it to the ground.

A blue radiance burst from the stone and swallowed the Blood Mountain Formation completely.

"Wh-what?!"

"My body's gotten lighter!"

"Is this an artifact too?"

The Light Wind Squad swordsmen felt the formation's effects drop off sharply and their eyes went round.

"It's a Luminescent Stone."

A deceptively simple name for a top-grade artifact that suppressed a formation's effects with the light it radiated.

"Hahh…."

"Y-you prepared this too?"

"He's insane…."

The Light Wind Squad stared at Raon with their mouths hanging open as he dismantled the enemy's plans one after another.

"Woooaaaah!"

Dorian, of all people, started clapping in the middle of a battlefield, raving about the incredible supply work.

"I'll give you this — your preparation is thorough."

Sheryl let out a short laugh and brought her sword down on the dozens of assassins charging toward them.

Hard Sword and Heavy Sword unfurled in harmony, and the space in front of her warped like heat haze on a summer road.

A single stroke. Dozens of assassins sprayed blood and went down.

Her gaze swung this way. She jerked her chin at him, as if to say, Your turn.

She does love to teach.

Raon smiled faintly and drew the Heavenly Sky Sword. Raising the Heavy Sword principles he had been accumulating, he poured sword strikes toward the assassins rushing in from three directions.

The streams of aura spreading from the blade carried the essence of Heavy Sword, crushing space itself.

Assassins who had been flying in like shafts of light were swept away like sand, never even managing to fully extend the swords in their grips.

"You picked that up in the meantime too?"

Sheryl frowned at the sight.

"You really are no fun."

She let out a light sigh and turned her head. From behind, the corner of her mouth looked like it had lifted, just slightly.

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

The Light Wind Squad sent their own sword strikes crashing into the assassins rushing the rear of the carriage.

The assassins couldn't punch through the tightly woven Light Wind Squad. They died spraying blood.

Even so, they came on like moths to a flame, ignoring death itself as they thrust their blades and spread poison — as if they were waiting for something.

So this isn't all of it, after all.

A man of Temus's temperament would never stop here. He would have planned a method to kill Raon for certain.

Underground, then.

Temus's primary weapons were poison, medicine, and insects. Spreading poison from a distance carried too high a chance of failure, so he would have buried venomous insects in advance. That much was obvious.

Raon cut down even the assassins who slipped through the gaps in his sword strokes — and the ones who had been about to charge began to fall back, as if they'd lost their nerve.

The act is painfully obvious.

Pretending to know nothing, Raon chased after the retreating assassins, putting distance between himself and the carriage — and that was when he felt a faint current in the earth.

Inside the formation, it was a movement so small he would never have noticed it if he hadn't prepared in advance, or if not for the Luminescent Stone.

He cut down the assassin at the very front and took one more step — and the energy beneath his feet detonated all at once. From the bursting cloud of dirt, dozens of venomous insects lunged with their fangs bared.

"Just as I thought!"

Raon laughed, cold, and drew the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames to its peak. In a fraction of a breath, the energy of blazing flame flooded his mana circuits, and petals of fire bloomed from the tip of his sword, unfurling as if scorched by the wind.

The poisonous things that had lain in wait beneath the earth for so long never even got to use their venomous fangs. They turned to ash and vanished.

"Ah…."

"Wh-what is this?!"

"How…."

Assassins who hadn't even screamed as they died stared at Raon with their eyes bulging, watching him melt every last venomous insect. Shock had gone past dismay into outright horror at every plan being shattered.

But it was still too early to be surprised.

Raon cut down the frozen assassins in a single sweep, then opened the Ring of Fire and Glacia's Sea of Senses at the same time.

Found it.

He located the formation core that was sustaining the Blood Mountain Formation, then shattered them in the order the pentagram connected.

A roar like the one that had opened the formation in the first place thundered out, and the mountain reverted to the original forest. With the array gone, the Luminescent Stone spent the last of its power and went dark.

"You really did all of it yourself."

Sheryl cut down the last remaining assassin and let out a hollow laugh. Even she seemed startled that he had dismantled the smoke, the poison, the venomous insects, and the formation — all of it.

"It's not over yet."

"What?"

"We still have to catch the ones who caused this."

He hadn't prepared this thoroughly for small fry like these. Only by cutting down Temus could he deal Derus a real blow.

There's a personal grudge, too.

Temus was the one who had used assassins for live human experiments. Raon himself had been tortured under the pretense of "training," his flesh carved away. When they had met at the Yonan family, just thinking about it had nearly made him leak killing intent, and he had forced it down.

"Unfortunately, even I can't find their position."

Sheryl shook her head, calm.

"I'd still like to look."

"Looks like you've got some kind of lead."

She waved a hand, as if telling him to do as he pleased.

"Thank you."

Raon smiled faintly and bowed his head.

Wrath.

He tapped the ice-flower bracelet and called to Wrath.

-What is it? Is it mealtime already?

Wrath yawned and stretched, as if the fighting hadn't interested him in the slightest.

You remember the man who claimed he was a physician, the first time we saw Encia?

-Of course This King remembers. It was quite the show, watching him get dismissed for that ugly face of his.

Wrath snickered, thoroughly entertained.

That physician is here right now. Find him.

Wrath didn't talk much as a rule, but the range ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of his senses was on an entirely different level. If it was this one, he would be able to find Temus's position even when Sheryl could not.

-And why should This King do that? The affairs of mere humans…

When I bought you ice cream not long ago, you promised. You'd grant me one request.

-Urgh….

The little thing's mouth fell open, as if it had only just remembered.

Get to work, Wrath.

Raon smiled brightly and slung the Heavenly Sky Sword over his shoulder.

"Wh-what?!"

Temus stared down at the scene below, his teeth clicking together.

"What the hell is this?!"

He screamed and slammed a fist into the ground.

"I-I never thought it would turn out like this either…."

Yufen swallowed dryly, still sitting where he had collapsed. His face was a mask of pure terror.

"H-how could this even…."

Temus chewed his lip until it bled.

Every last plan I prepared, blocked? That's not possible!

The Ink-Silence Bombs and three kinds of poison had been blown away by sword wind. The formation's influence had been reduced to almost nothing by a Luminescent Stone.

Thanks to that, the assassins hadn't ambushed a startled enemy. They had died like swarms of flies against swordsmen whose defenses were already perfect.

And he even reacted to the venomous insects in that situation….

He had maintained his concentration to the very end and steered the insects, but Raon had reacted in that sliver of an instant and burned them all. Not a single scheme had landed. His mouth wouldn't close from the sheer absurdity of it.

A roar like the earth splitting open made him look down again. It was the sound of the Blood Mountain Formation shattering, the land returning to what it had been.

"Hah…."

From the look of it, Raon had broken the formation too. He was past words now. He had no idea what that bastard even was.

"This is bullshit. Complete bullshit!"

Temus's clenched fists shook. His head felt like it would burst from rage, but there was nothing he could do. Charging into a place where the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader was standing would be suicide.

There's going to be hell to pay when I get back.

He had started this without telling Derus, and he had failed. A simple scolding wouldn't be the end of it.

"M-Master."

Yufen swallowed and pointed down.

"That monster brat is gone."

"What?"

"Raon's disappeared!"

His shoulders shook as he stared, horrified.

"H-he's not coming here, is he? If that bastard comes…."

Yufen's pupils trembled. He seemed genuinely frightened of the Raon who had so casually smashed every plan they had prepared.

"Don't talk like an idiot."

"Urgh!"

Temus scowled and backhanded Yufen across the face.

"Forget the distance — this formation is laid down in two layers. Even the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader can't sense it. You think a brat like him could find us?"

"But he smashed everything we prepared! H-he's more ominous than the Heavenly Sword Squad Leader!"

Even after Temus's words, Yufen shook his head hard.

"Stop talking garbage and get ready to leave."

"R-right now?"

"We've already failed. There's no reason to stay."

"Understood!"

The moment Temus said they were leaving, Yufen's face brightened. He looked desperate to run from this impossible situation as fast as he could.

"Hoo. Let's go."

Temus glared one last time at the carriage carrying Encia, then turned his back.

"Yes."

Yufen nodded and stepped out of the formation first.

"Ah, Master. The remaining Shadows, we can use them as bait—"

He was turning to look back when a crimson flash cut the air, and Yufen's head dropped to the ground.

"Yu-Yufen!"

Temus screamed — and the double-layered formation shattered like a pane of thin glass. A swordsman in a blood-soaked uniform stood revealed.

"Ra-Raon Zieghart…."

"So this is where you were hiding. Like a rat."

A crimson tide rose in Raon's eyes.

For a very, very long time.