Chapter 70 - Hero’s Training (1)
1
Keepers of the Prophecy.
The Guardian Shadows was an unidentified organization that was trying to eradicate Dragon Demon worshippers from the lands ruled by humans. They were beings shrouded in secrecy.
“We are no longer alive, so isn"t it strange to use expression used by the living, kid Epsilon?”
A youth, who gave off an arrogant impression, had spoken. He had light red hair, and his appearance was very glamorous. He had on a twisted smile that was a bit creepy. He was looking at the Tarantos Castle from a long distance away.
“I don"t know why I have to tell you every time I see you, but I"m older than you, kid Zares.”
Leone was the one, who had replied with an ambiguous tone. His words fluctuated from being respectful and insolent. He looked like a 15 year old, yet he had lived for a very long time. His time had frozen when he made the contract with the Guardian Shadows to become a Keeper of Prophecy.
Epsilon.
It was Leone"s name as the Keeper of the Prophecy. It was a codename for the 5th seat of the Keepers of the Prophecy.
It was the same for Zares. He held the 15th seat of the Keepers of the Prophecy. His codename was Omicron.
“But you are a kid. Also, our designated names have meanings behind them. Why do you insist on calling me by my name? Just call me as Omicron.”
“I don"t want to, big kid Zares.”
“If you want to treat me like human, shouldn"t you be respectful towards the station I held as a human? I was someone of great importance before I became a Keeper of the Prophecy. You wouldn’t have even dared to speak to me.”
“It"s quite fortunate for us. You have enough humanity left to blather on about your old glories.”
“Hoong.”
Leone replied without showing any signs of being angry, so Zares lost interest. He turned his head away. After a brief silence, he spoke.
“What about the others?”
“They aren"t here yet. It is unfortunate, since I would have preferred to see the others before I saw you.”
“I really have no idea what the criteria is for picking a Keeper of the Prophecy.”
“I have no idea. No one amongst us knows.”
“This is way beyond keeping secrecy. Why do we have to work in ignorance?”
“The reason is very obvious. Anyways, since you"ve called me out here, just tell me your business.”
“I thought you have a lot of free time?”
“I"d rather observe the ants marching near the road. I don"t want to waste my time listening to your sarcastic remarks.”
“All right. I"ll have to test that guy named Azell Zestringer to see if he is the prophesied being.”
“I"ve already tested him. Didn"t we arrive at a conclusion to give him more time?”
“I don"t remember agreeing to that conclusion. Moreover, you testing method was too soft. How will we be able to tell if he is the prophesied one, who could bring an end to those Dragon Demon King"s d.a.m.n organization?”
“What are you going to do? It isn"t as if you are going to fight him. I"ll guarantee you"ll cut off his head within 3 seconds.”
“You have the eye to make such a judgement?”
“I know how poor your skills are. How long do you think you will last when fighting Zeta?”
“I think 5 seconds will be possible. It"ll be hard to last past 10 seconds.”
“You are unexpectedly good at not overrating yourself. That is your sole strong point, Zares."
“It isn"t a strong point. It"s just that I won"t be able to do this job if I overrate myself. Still, I believe I have a better method to discern if he is the hero we have been waiting for.”
Zares had a meaningful smile on his face. Leone really didn"t like his expression.
“Please do not cause harm to the Dragon Sword Duke. He is one of the pillars of our organization, and he has a fiery temper. He"ll probably crush you before you can tell him about your own self-importance. Then he"ll make you a corpse after you give an explanation.”
“I like the sound of that. However, I have no plans on squandering my time here in this domain. Moreover, it would be a problem if the Dragon Sword Duke stepped forward to interfere. I will also partially respect the decision you and Zeta came up with. When I was coming here, I heard the Dragon Sword Duke is preparing a fun event for Azell Zestringer.”
“He is going to order Azell Zestringer to do what those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds at the Field of Darkness like to perform.”
“You are talking about the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual.”
There was taint of insanity in Zares" smile.
Dragon Slayer"s Ritual.
It was a knowledge that had been completely wiped off the world after the Great Darkness. However, the Keepers of the Prophecy still had the information in their custody. This was possible, because some of their members had been born before the Great Darkness.
However, they didn"t possess all the knowledge, and this was true about the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual.
“A ritual to gain the power of a Dragon....”
This was all the information Leone and Zares knew about the Dragon Slayer"s ritual. Even before the Great Darkness, the knowledge about the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual had been scarce.
At times, high ranking Dragon Demon King worshippers exited the Field of Darkness. They carried out the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual away from prying human eyes. However, they didn"t do the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual just because they wanted to get drunk on power. They did it to form the Dragon Qi. However, even the Keepers of the Prophecy didn"t know about the Dragon Qi.
Moreover, the Dragon Demon King worshippers used the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual to coerce the Dragons into do their bidding. The Dragons thirsted for the wisdom possessed by the humans, so the Dragons never refused the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual. This was why the Dragon Demon King worshippers promised the Dragons that they"ll attempt the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual if the Dragons grant them one boon beforehand.
Zares spoke.
“The Earth Dragon that attacked the Dragon Demon Princess probably moved, because of that method. ”
Kairen had reported what Arrieta went through to the Guardian Shadows. The Keepers of the Prophecy shared this information amongst themselves. They suspected the Dragon Shadow used the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual as bait to get the Earth Dragon to act.
Leone spoke.
“If it is as the Dragon Sword Duke suspects, Azell Zestringer completed the Dragon Slayer"s Ritual. It is good news, since he basically stole the Dragon from under the Dragon Demon King worshippers.”
“It is praiseworthy. However, if he did succeed in such a test, we have to confirm it with our eyes.”
“Even if we don"t do anything, wouldn"t the Dragon Sword Duke create a proper spectacle for us to observe?”
“That won"t be enough. We have to prepare a more flashy tribulation for him. If we use the humans, we"ll be able to prepare a suitable stage.”
“Hmmm. You do as you please. You won"t listen to me even if I try to stop you. You have to take care of the aftermath.”
“You know me well. You can look forward to it.”
After saying those words, Zares turned his body away.
2
Havanz had become a spy, who observed Azell"s training. He was tasked to sending a report every week. In truth, he contacted the Tarantos castle more frequently than that. He had to attend Azell, and he had to manage the estate located in the Lance mountain. Havanz had a lot of things he needed to request.
There was a magical communication array set up between the estate and the Tarantos castle. It was quite easy to contact the Duke. However, it had been 15 days since Kairen had heard Havanz"s report personally. Problems had cropped up in the early stages of manufacturing the Dragon Weapon. Kairen hadn"t had the time to listen to the reports.
The communication equipment was made out of gla.s.s and water. An enspelled bowl was filled with water, and the other side"s image appeared when the magic was activated.
When Havanz"s figure appeared on the surface of the water, Kairen asked a question.
“So how is he doing?”
“You ask about him the instant you see me?”
“Of course. He was the reason why I sent you there.”
“I knew you would do that. Mmmm. In my opinion, Sir Azell is a bit insane.”
“What did he do that made you come up with such an a.s.sessment?”
“He is great at coming up with weird methods to harm himself. I"m kind of worried that a rumor might start up about the methods he is using to try to kill himself.”
“Mmmm? Give me the specifics.”
“He is fighting with himself.”
“…I"m guessing you don"t mean it as figurative expression?”
“Then I wouldn"t have called it him trying harm himself. First, I"ll tell you about the easiest one that you will be able to comprehend. He is self sparring.”
“Self sparring? What is that?”
“I didn"t know what else to call it, so I made up the name. I don"t know what method Sir Azell is using, but he is making clones of himself. He equips these clones with armors and swords, then he fights them diligently.”
“Huh? Did I hear you wrong? The clones are using armor and weapon to fight the real body?”
“I’m still having trouble believing what I saw, but it is really as I have said.”
It was as the word "self sparring" implied. Havanz continued to speak.
“I"ve continued to observe him, and the clones made by him are quite strong. In truth, they are at a level where I"m thankful I don"t have to fight them. Sir Azell also has to fight them with all his strength. At the end of the session, he needs healing by the Healers for the numerous wounds he receives.”
“Mmmm…….”
“Then there is the Dance of the Swords.”
“What is that?”
“This is something crazier. Even I’m able to use psychokinesis to move swords from a distance, but Sir Azell is able to move 20 swords at the same time.”
“If one is allowed to use magic, it shouldn"t be considered such an amazing task. Of course, one has to consider the amount of magic he has.....”
“I am willing to bet 100 gold that you aren"t fully comprehending what I"m trying to say.”
“I"m starting to get a little bit displeased. If a misunderstanding occurs after reading the regular report, then the report itself wasn"t clear enough.”
“This is why I implore you to be patient until I can give you a clear explanation. From my observation, the twenty swords moved as if each of them had a will of their own. Their movements was very sharp as if it was being swung by people... He was able to maintain it for ten minutes.”
“Basically, each sword moved as if the sword was being swung by different people? Each of the swords had a will of their own?”
“Yes. It is scarier than 20 swordsman charging at you. The tireless attacks are fearsome, and Sir Azell dodges them with bare hands. Moreover, he isn"t pulling back on these attacks. He is a b.l.o.o.d.y mess at the end, and once he suffered a really deep cut. The Healers are on their toes, because of all the wounds being taken by Sir Azell.”
“…I hope you aren"t telling me to believe this nonsense?”
“I"m a bit sad that you aren"t trusting my words. You should come see it for yourself.”
“Mmmm…….”
When he heard the stories, he felt dejected that he couldn"t see it for himself. He was so curious that he felt jealous of Havanz.
‘That Azell. His skills seems to be boundless. Did he perhaps not even show half of his capabilities when sparring with me?’
The thought suddenly made him angry. The impudent kid dared to fight him without showing his entire capability? Moreover, he won numerous times despite doing this?
‘Let"s see what happens when his training ends.’
Kairen was very petty, so he made a firm resolution.
Havanz continued to speak.
“Duke. I have something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“You said Sir Azell is short on magical energy. Is this really true?”
“It"s the truth. There is no room for doubt.”
“Mmmm…….”
“What is it again?”
“For now, your a.s.sessment has been proven correct. Sir Azell falls over quite frequently from exhausting his magical energy. Every time that happens he drinks magic recovery potions like he’s drinking water. I want to talk to you about the total cost of the magic recovery potions used by Sir Azell....”
“I don"t need to know about that kind of stuff. Just tell me what I want to hear about.”
“He broke the training facility. It was only a wall on a single side, so the magic itself wasn"t shattered.”
“…what?”
Kairen became surprised.