Chapter 289, Is It Because You’re Going Through Puberty? (5)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

How long has it been since he last saw the sea?

 

The sound of the waves was calm and the sky was tranquil. The sandy beach gave off a pure white glow, and the black sky was entirely filled with silver stars.

 

It was truly a dreamlike scene, but Arsene, standing in the midst of it, felt a chill.

 

The condition of all four corpses was the same.

 

Whether the heart had been pierced, the throat cut, or the neck severed, there were no signs of defence. Aside from minor scratches, there was only one major wound. It meant that a fatal blow had struck them in one strike, with no time to block the incoming attack.

 

He was not unaware that this was Kalian’s swordsmanship. Despite knowing this, the reason he felt chilled was because he knew very well just how strong those now lying dead were.

 

“How much stronger will His Highness become… I cannot even begin to imagine.”

 

Those who use Mana in physical form were Mages.

 

Those who strengthen their bodies and swords with Mana were Sword Masters.

 

And Kalian was both a Mage and a Sword Master.

 

He had taught himself how to transform Mana into Aura and Magic Power, freely using both powers. Thanks to this, he had become the only person who could materialise a ‘sword’ and wield it.

 

In other words, if his Mana was depleted, the sword he held and wielded would disappear.

 

For this reason, Kalian often did not use Magic together during sparring. However, in the battle just now, he had wielded his sword while freely stirring up the wind as if there were nothing to hold back. He had killed his opponents with swordsmanship no different from usual.

 

It was because his Mana itself was increasing, and he was becoming more familiar with Magic. Since he was originally someone who had walked the path of the sword, once his body grew more and he could fully exert his former strength, his swordsmanship would undoubtedly become even stronger.

 

That was why Arsene felt chilled.

 

Because he could not imagine how much stronger Kalian would become.

 

“At this rate… when I get caught making that statue, the chances of my body being intact are virtually zero…”

 

And so.

 

This thoroughly crazy blue-haired lackey, who had still not given up on the statue, decided that he could not let those Knights in the distance catch on to the chill he had just felt. While he himself felt chilled thinking that the chances of surviving statue-making had decreased after seeing the state of the corpses, those Knights would feel chilled out of wariness towards Kalian’s strength.

 

Therefore, Arsene decided to give up on examining the corpses more closely.

 

*Whoosh!*

 

A deep red flame rose over the pure white sandy beach.

 

“Deputy Commander Hertz. Put out the fire. We need to investigate.”

 

When Arsene, who had been examining the corpses, suddenly set them aflame, one of the Knights, who had been standing in the distance, ran over to stop him. He was the one leading the Knights.

 

Before he could get closer to the corpses, Arsene moved first. Having teleported directly towards the Knight, Arsene blocked his path.

 

“They’re already dead, so what investigation would you conduct?”

 

“They’re a suspicious group who attacked the Princes of Cyries, so of course we must investigate. What do you mean by that?”

 

“I’ve never seen those attempting assassination carry items that would reveal their affiliation. Rather than wasting time on futile effort, wouldn’t it be better to deal with this swiftly and chase after the two Princes?”

 

“This is Secritia. We have the authority to decide on matters that occur in Secritia.”

 

“Secritia didn’t even involve itself in the fight from the start, so I cannot understand what authority you claim to have.”

 

It was Kalian who had prevented them from intervening in the fight, and Plants who had firmly told them not to interfere at all. Thanks to obediently following the two Princes’ words, there were no casualties, but the means to voice opinions on this matter had also disappeared.

 

“No issue will be taken by the Royal Family of Cyries against Secritia for not investigating them, so do not worry.”

 

Arsene, well aware of what the Knight was concerned about, drove the point home with these words.

 

During the brief argument that followed, the corpses’ clothing had already completely burnt away. Even after that, the fire did not go out and continued to burn what remained. As the unpleasant smell coiled around the surroundings, the Knight, his expression briefly contorting, looked at Arsene.

 

He realised that Arsene was currently trying not to show the state of the corpses. However, he could say nothing more.

 

“I expect you to take responsibility for saying you won’t take issue with this.”

 

“As I said, I am the Deputy Commander of Valkan. I am not in a position to say things I cannot take responsibility for.”

 

In the end, the Knight agreed to this extent and acquiesced to burning the corpses.

 

A human body was truly tenacious.

 

It surprising took quite a long time to burn away even the trace of a single sword strike.

 

“Rest. When the corpses have completely burnt, we’ll leave then.”

 

Therefore, after saying this to the Knights, Arsene, who had been looking around, lowered his gaze to the ground.

 

Bloodstains scattered in disarray came into view. Bloodstains spread in a semicircular shape from being sprayed from a slashing wound, bloodstains dotted as if they had dripped from the tip of a sword, bloodstains that had flowed from the corpses and spread widely. All were bloodstains from the Warriors. Arsene, who was not one to feel rejection or discomfort at such a scene, began to carefully survey the traces of battle.

 

Then, Arsene’s bright blue eyes fixed on bloodstains that appeared to have dripped down in front of the grey-haired Warrior’s corpse.

 

There was no corpse connected to the bloodstains. Only bloodstains continued where the owner of that blood had walked, instead of footprints. Then at some point, the bloodstains no longer continued.

 

[So, His Highness indeed got injured…]

 

It was definitely Kalian’s.

 

Arsene could not smell blood, but he could read the flow of Mana. He had also noticed why Kalian, who had approached the Knights, had so secretly used the Clean Spell repeatedly.

 

Arsene, who had been looking down at the ground with a bitter expression after confirming his expectation was correct, briefly tilted his head. Then he crouched down and examined the surrounding traces and Kalian’s traces, or more precisely, the difference in their ‘colour’.

 

“What on earth is this…”

 

All the other blood that had not yet soaked into the pure white sandy beach was still red. Except for one place. This was the blood that had fallen where Kalian had stood and where Kalian had moved.

 

It was black.

 

The colour of the blood Kalian had shed was black.

 

“This is bad.”

 

Only now did he realise that Kalian, who had gone back alone with Plants, had not simply sustained a minor wound. After erasing the bloodstains on the ground with the Clean Spell, Arsene carefully confirmed the state of the corpses in the flames. Seeing that all traces of swordsmanship had disappeared in the unextinguished fire, Arsene turned without hesitation.

 

“Sleep”

 

Then he manifested a Spell he had rarely used. It was aimed at the two Knights who had walked towards Arsene, unlike the thirteen Knights who had tensely placed their hands on their swords when Arsene first appeared here.

 

“What are you doing!?”

 

The Knight, who could not possibly know the reason for Arsene’s sudden action, asked in surprise, and just as Arsene was about to open his mouth to make an excuse…

 

*Clip-clop clip-clop!*

 

The sound of a horse’s hooves was heard in a place where no one else should come.

 

A jet-black body with only the right ankle white.

 

It was Raven.

 

Raven was not carrying anyone.

 

Raven, who had galloped across the sandy beach without hesitation, stopped in front of Arsene. Then he looked at Arsene with eyes that said he would specially carry him this one more time, so stop wasting time and get on quickly.

 

His pride was slightly hurt, but Arsene, who understood Raven’s gaze very well, addressed the Knight.

 

“I’ll have to explain later. When the cremation of the corpses is finished, take those two Knights and return to the Royal Palace. If they happen to wake up, it would be even better if you could casually ask whether they’re connected to the assassins.”

 

After that, Arsene mounted the saddle as if there was nothing more to see, and Raven immediately kicked off. On top of Raven, who was picking up speed, Arsene, with a face that said he had forgotten something, quickly turned his head and called out loudly.

 

“If it’s all right, please look after my horse! Her name is Roro!”

 

Thus, the blue haired Mage, who had abandoned the detailed reason for putting the Knights to sleep and only barely managed to introduce his horse’s name, rapidly disappeared into the distance.

 

* * *

 

Twenty-six, no, twenty-eight, no.

 

Thirty-two.

 

“…Thirty-four.”

 

They were not Warriors of the Great Dunes.

 

They were neither Knights of Secritia nor spies that Kalian remembered.

 

Thirty-four swordsmen of unknown affiliation, skill, and identity.

 

Fortunately, they showed little interest in Raven and Estina, whom he had made escape from here. Unfortunately, the swords of two of them were glowing red.

 

Another fortunate thing was that there were no familiar faces, so there would be no hesitation in his strikes. Another unfortunate thing was…

 

*Throb!*

 

The pain in his heart felt when creating the sword.

 

The very pain he had felt when he first opened his eyes in Kalian’s body in this place had returned. Having continued to overuse not only detoxification and wound treatment but also the Mana contained in the Circle within his heart, the power of Syspanian’s Blessing seemed to have reached its limit.

 

“I should have listened to you properly, older brother.”

 

Kalian, who had let out a bitter laugh, made a joke.

 

Plants, who had been looking at the shield spread before him, spoke in a low voice.

 

“My younger brother’s words and actions are different.”

 

“Using a bit of Clean Spell and creating a shield won’t make it any harder.”

 

“Not that.”

 

“What can I do? If I poorly pretend to be on bad terms even in this situation, older brother will die. So I think it’s better to keep my truly frail older brother alive and kill all those bastards.”

 

It was also about how he was overexerting himself by wasting Mana again, and it was also what he was saying because after going through the trouble of acting at the beach, he had brazenly placed a shield on Plants first in front of the Knights.

 

“It is a harsh situation to experience on your birthday, but since older brother brought this upon yourself, I’ll consider it your fault that you’ll see blood before your eyes. But since it’s not your fault that you’ll see my blood, don’t think about anything else and just wait.”

 

“All right.”

 

He could see them starting to move little by little.

 

Kalian grinned at the silence that would shatter the instant anyone made the first move.

 

*Wooong!*

 

With a threatening resonance, two daggers rose.

 

In the black, dark forest, the small, small blades glowed red like the eyes of a beast.

 

*Shiiiek!*

*Crack!*

 

Two streaks of red light cut through the black forest. With a decidedly unpleasant sound, two swordsmen plummeted to the ground.

 

It was also the signal for the start of the battle.

 

*Thud!*

 

As soon as the two nearby fell dead the instant the daggers were created, the swordsmen rushed in all at once.

 

Even while watching them, Kalian did not move.

 

Ignoring the black blood beading on the bandages and flowing down his clothing, he made the daggers that had already flown move instead of his body.

 

The two daggers that had severed two lives changed direction. The two small blades containing Kalian’s trust in the Magic Power of the wind pierced the hearts and throats of four more.

 

[Six and…]

 

Kalian, who had unconsciously started to count the number of dead, closed his mouth.

 

*Throb!*

 

Instead of thinking whether it was because of Plants standing beside him or because of the fishy scent surging up his throat, Kalian simply smiled brightly. It was towards the two Warriors standing amongst the swordsmen without moving, holding swords glowing red.

 

*Wooong!*

 

Fourteen swordsmen had died. Kalian had not moved. The swordsmen’s feet stopped. Kalian’s daggers did not stop.

 

In addition to the two daggers cutting through the air, another dagger rose. And it split the atmosphere like lightning. Kalian, who had even forgotten the pain in his heart, continued to move the daggers while keeping his gaze fixed on the two Warriors of the Great Dunes.

 

*Shiiik!*

*Crack!*

 

The moment the swordsman who had deflected one dagger flashing in the darkness felt relieved, another blade flying from behind pierced his heart. Whether encased in solid muscle or wearing armour made of sturdy chain mail, it was of no use.

 

If they blocked the dagger, the sword pierced through; if they failed to block it, their breath was severed.

 

One swordsman who had given up approaching grabbed a bow.

 

An arrow that left his hand flew straight towards Plants.

 

*Shiiiek!*

*Clatter!*

 

Plants did not dodge, and the arrow, which struck the shield with a strong impact sound, fell to the ground with a *thud*.

 

*Shiiik!*

 

When all three daggers changed trajectory towards the direction from which it had come, a short scream soon rang out.

 

Kalian’s head, having disposed of the one who had shot the arrow, turned towards Plants for a very brief moment.

 

“You trust me too much.”

 

“My younger brother told me to wait.”

 

Plants, who had not blinked an eye knowing it would be blocked by the shield, continued his reply.

 

“…I must wait. When you’re taking such good care of keeping me alive.”

 

Kalian let out a small laugh.

 

Because he did not mind hearing that he was keeping someone alive rather than killing people.

 

“Yes.”

 

The daggers flew again.

 

A dagger that sprang up from the ground took one life and flew towards the next one’s throat. A dagger that fell from overhead aimed for the heart of the one standing beside. In that scene, before there was even time to step back, a dagger had already flown before the heart.

 

Just three daggers continued to create red ripples in the darkness. As the scent of blood thickened, the number of enemies steadily decreased.

 

But only until then.

 

*Thump!*

 

Kalian, who had not frowned even when his waist wound twisted as he jumped down from Raven’s back, unconsciously clenched his fist. It was simply too much to become accustomed to the feeling of his heart tearing with each breath.

 

The three daggers lost their light in an instant and faded away.

 

He tried to infuse Magic Power into the daggers once more, but the pain continued. His heart, pushed back by the power of Syspanian’s Blessing, refused to release any Magic Power.

 

*Throb!*

 

Twenty-seven had died. Five swordsmen and two Warriors remained.

 

*Flicker.*

 

The shield spread before Plants disappeared as if erased.

 

Sharpness entered Plants’ eyes, and a long arc formed on Kalian’s bright red lips.

 

“No more shield. If something flies at you, dodge.”

 

“…All right.”

 

“Just wait a little longer.”

 

*Wooong!*

 

Instead of the daggers that had been more difficult to create and use, he held only one more familiar sword in his hand. The red Aura swirled and rippled, emanating a sharp edge.

 

“Whatever happens, I’ll take good care of keeping you alive.”

 

A voice flowed out that could sound full of playfulness or could sound chilling depending on how one heard it.

 

With all seven before him, with Plants behind him, swallowing down once more what rose from deep within, Kalian’s feet finally moved.

 

*Step.*

 

And then.

 

Footsteps that could not be hidden were heard beside Kalian. Kalian frowned, but regardless of whether he did or not, someone who did not particularly care grasped a sword.

 

Cutting through the dark forest, one sword of brilliant red light.

 

One ash-grey sword that had swallowed the starlight. One blue-silver sword that contained the starlight.

 

Three swords were held in the hands of two people.

 

“No.”

 

And thus, the pea who had drawn his sword continued with the sound of not listening to his younger brother.