Chapter 53 Guardian Shadows (6).
Chapter 53 - Guardian Shadows (6)
9
“What is a sword....”
Azell leaned against the window frame. He mumbled to himself as he looked up into the night sky.
He had heard this question numerous times long ago. It was 220 years after the Dragon Demon war had concluded, yet he repeated the question and answer he had discussed previously with his teachers.
There were 5 people who Azell had considered to be his teachers. They each had their own answer to this question.
‘The sword is a really nice lethal weapon. It allows a small and skinny kid like you to be able to kill an adult. It is a very wicked invention.’
‘Is it fine to let a child like me hold such a thing?’
‘Isn"t it obvious? I"m letting you grasp the sword because you desire to carry out these lethal intentions.’
‘…….’
His views influenced Azell the most. It was why he thought of weapons strictly as tools. Maybe it was, because he was Azell"s first teacher. Azell had guessed the man was a n.o.ble, and he didn"t treat the sword like how a typical mercenary would. His view was unrestricted.
His second teacher spoke.
‘It is beyond the capability of most people to control their own body perfectly. We are a very poor performing living organism. What a great achievement it would be if one could perfectly control something that isn"t one"s body. What a feat it would be to be able to perfectly control a tool called a sword.’
He considered a sword, or more precisely weapons, as a means to reach the state of absolute sense. After he lost an arm and an eye, he realized the inborn gift of humans were deficient and he therefore searched for the absolute sense. Amongst all his teacher, his second teacher would be the only one called a true seeker of truth.
His third teacher spoke.
‘The path of the sword is the only destination for a lost soul like me. Don"t become like me, Azell."
He was an heir to a fallen kingdom. He had lost everything to the Dragon Demon King"s army. He took revenge on the people directly involved, but he was always felt a sense of futility. In an age of darkness, he was a hero who gave hope to the people like a ray of light. However, he had always been in pain, and he was tormented after he lost everything.
To him, the sword and the sword techniques were a connection to his destroyed past and memories. His extraordinary sword skills made Dragon Demon King"s soldiers shake in fear. However, he didn"t pursue the sword for its strength or the truth. It was a keepsake of his deceased loved ones. It connected him to the past as his memory gradually became fuzzy during the time of madness.
His fourth teacher wasn"t a swordsman. No, he didn"t use a weapon in the first place. He hadn"t even learned any martial arts before he met Azell. He was like wild beast. However, he had an interesting opinion about swords and weapons.
‘It is an item that represents how large a murderous intent the humans have.’
‘What?’
‘Humans are weak. However, humans have an unbelievably large desire to kill those who scare them. Isn"t this the reason why these items were made?’
‘…I guess it could be interpreted that way?’
‘The weak could kill the strong. It is something that happens quite often even in nature. However, it doesn"t happen as often as it does amongst the humans. Weapons and even martial arts were the ultimate result of humans trying to overcome their disadvantage.’
To his knowledge, his 5th teacher was a swordsman who possessed the most outstanding techniques. He was a crafty man who respected the sword more than anyone.
‘The sword is my life and soul.’
‘That is so old-fashion, old man.’
‘Are you trying to say that new is more right than the old? Young men like you are too frivolous. I"ve devoted my whole life to the sword. It would be funny if my sword didn"t hold that much weight.’
‘…….’
‘From the time when I was a child with no hair to the time my hair had turned white from old age, I focused my everything into the sword. Of course, it is my life and soul.’
…They were men who grasped the sword. They bet their lives of the present on the sword. They bet their ideal of tomorrow on the sword. Each of them had their own answers. Azell thought of those times, quietly putting on a smile.
10
They were being chased.
Niberis wasn"t used to situations like this. It was strange that a Dragon Demon King worshipper had never been chased before, but truthfully, she had only moved within the confines of a well-made plan. Her underlings had worked hard to gather information, and they had set the stage for her. She had leisurely worked under these conditions.
She was basically a flower grown indoors. She had extraordinary potential, and she had used it to reach an astonishing level in magic. She couldn"t understand why her organization was so afraid of the world. They possessed such powerful strength yet why did they have to hide while being afraid of the world?
Of course, the prophecy said they couldn"t show themselves until the the Dragon Demon King returned. If they carelessly made a mistake when facing the humans, they would be swarmed by their troops. Their organization might be destroyed.
Still, was there a reason why they couldn"t rule from the background? Even if there were people opposing them, couldn"t they squash the antagonists with their power? Would it be so hard to fill the upper society with the Dragon Demon King worshipers?
Niberis always had a sense of dissatisfaction in her heart, and now she realized she had been wrong.
“Kook……!”
“Miss. Don"t worry about blocking each blow. Put more effort into running away!”
Duran, who was running beside her, gave the advice.
There were beings possessing powerful magic following them from the back, and these beings were firing magic blindly. Moreover, there were more than one.
‘If it was one-on-one, I could……!’
Kwah-kwhang! Kwahng! Kwahhhhhng!
Consecutive magical attacks exploded in the surrounding, and the sound of the explosions rang out.
Niberis had summoned her demonic beast of darkness, travelling along at a high speed as if she was sliding across the surface. Just a moment ago, she had tried her flying magic to surge forward, but she had been humiliated by being shot down.
It was the Dragon Demon Magician Count Michael. He was known as the patron saint of the Eastern Rulain Kingdom. Moreover, three of his students and five knights were chasing after Niberis and Duran.
Duran, Niberis and her other companion was moving at twice the speed of a galloping horse. Normally, they would have lost Michael"s party long time ago. Moreover, if they were the only ones tracking them, they wouldn"t have had to put as much effort in escaping as they were doing now.
The problem was that the beings moved at a frightening speed. These beings were circling their surrounding.
Shweeeeee……!
These beings had a white robe over their entire body. They were like ghosts. It was the Guardian Shadows.
The problem was, they weren"t ghosts. They possessed true bodies. They moved incredibly fast, and they kept disappearing while they attacked, as if they were skipping dimensions.
Cheng! Too-hahk!
Duran received an attack from a Guardian Shadow. The Guardian Shadows had taken a transparent phantom-like blades out from within his robes. Every time its sword clashed with Duran"s sword, a light burst forth.
That wasn"t the only problem.
Puh-puhng! Puh-buh-buh-buh-buhng!
Each Guardian Shadows fought in a different combat style. Some b.a.s.t.a.r.d shot energy arrows, and another one attacked using magic.
They all had frightening mobility, and they had a variety of ways of attacking. Moreover, they were all powerful. Even Niberis couldn"t become lax in her defense. They all seemed to have a screw loose, but at the very least, there were 20 of them in pursuit. Moreover, they worked surprisingly well together. Unlike humans, the Guardian Shadows ran forward without worrying about their lives, so they were very hard to deal with.
“The Guardian Shadows are really... They are really annoying!”
Michael was leading magicians and Guardian Shadows. If one of the two group was missing, Niberis thought that she could take care of them without much difficulty. However, the two groups working in concert was very troublesome. Her group was at a numerical disadvantage, and the Guardian Shadow"s special nature was terrifying to a magician.
“Kook!”
Niberis let out an attack towards a Guardian Shadow who was approaching from the side like a ghost. She had put a large barrier over her entire party, yet this b.a.s.t.a.r.d used some unknown method to enter within. It looked like wizardry whenever it skipped across s.p.a.ce.
It was at that moment that a Guardian Shadow appeared behind Regina, who had been running beside Niberis.
“Look out!”
Niberis reacted almost reflexively. The Guardian Shadow attacked the shocked Regina with a beam of light magic.
Pah-haht!
“Ahhk……!”
She lay herself open to attack, and Niberis took a magical arrow to her arm. Duran raged when he saw this.
“Miss! How dare you!”
Sparks flew from the eyes hidden by the helmet.
They had to run away a long distance, so Duran had been saving his strength. He had been focusing his power on defense and running away. However, at that moment, his magic swirled like raging waves and a shockwave poured out into the surrounding.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!
The Guardian Shadows in the surrounding was swept away in a single stroke.
“I"m… I"m fine.”
Niberis spoke as she calmed her breathing. She wasn"t used to feeling pain. She had always been able to overpower her opponents, so she had rarely felt a threat to her body. The only time she experienced being shaken up was when she had trained her mind.
This was why she had almost lost it when she was. .h.i.t by the arrow. Still, she endured by gritting her teeth. Even if she had led a sheltered life, her pride wouldn"t forgive herself if she let her mind become disordered from a mere arrow wound.
Regina, who had been struck dumb, spoke.
“T...thank you.”
“…Don"t divert your attention. The moment you let your guard down, you are dead.”
Niberis spoke coldly as she glared at Regina. She had given her enemies an opening when she tried to save her underling. The fact that she had been injured was humiliating.
‘If it wasn"t for that man, this would have never occurred. The man with the name seeped in sin. I"ll be sure to repay this humiliation.’
Niberis’ anger towards Azell allowed her to overcome her pain as she continued running away.
11
A boy sleeping under the shade of a tree opened his eyes. The teen had sleepy eyes underneath the hat that was pressed down on his head. His age looked to be around 15 or 16?
“Ah-mmm. What is it?”
The boy looked around his surrounding.
Hoo-ooh-ooh…….
The Guardian Shadows slowly moved around as their white robes billowed behind them. The boy was also someone, who had been chosen by the Guardian Shadows.
“What"s going on?”
The boy asked a question, but the Guardian Shadow didn"t give him an answer. After staring at the boy, it disappeared.
“Hmmm. Was it sent to protect me?”
The boy tilted his head in puzzlement. He wasn"t upset at the non-answer. He was well-aware that the Guardian Shadows were terrible partners to have a conversation with.
“All right. I"ll go.”
The boy let out a yawn. He stood up, then started to walk.
After he had been chosen by these beings, he repeatedly experienced things he couldn"t explain. The current situation was a perfect example. No one told him exactly where he should go or when he should be there. He just felt a tug towards a direction, and he had a feeling that he had to travel that way.
「Prophecy…….」
He suddenly heard the voice of a Guardian Shadow from his surrounding. The surprised boy turned to look at the Guardian Shadow.
“What?”
「The prophesied being…….」
“Are you saying the man of the prophecy has shown up?”
An answer wasn"t forthcoming this time around. The Guardian Shadow had said some ambiguous words, then it shut its mouth.
However, it had been enough for the boy.
“Ha. He really came during my lifetime, at a time when the meaning of my life is almost at an end?”
The boy was in blank amazement as he mumbled to himself. Then he walked towards the direction his senses were directing him to.